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PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

ss, i would invest in a sling for daytime so your hands are free. j's ped is a cio advocate and gave me a firm no sleep training until 4 months.

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poor girl hasn't broken her fever and is joining e in the diaper rash brigade. i've turned my bathroom into florida with all the steam baths we've taken.
 
somethingshiny said:
Thank you all for your quick advice!

Mara~ Yeah, 32 oz is so much. JT topped out at around 26 oz and he was a bigger baby. The CIO has come about because I do have another child and have to be able to put her down. She has a paci and she likes it but can't quite keep hold of it yet. The bouncer is a no-go for sleeping, she just likes to be in it cor 30 min or so. We've only tried the swing once. I will try to get her more used to the swing or bouncer. JT slept a lot in the bouncer and loved his swing as an infant so it was really surprising that Lily really doesn't care for either. The only white noise we have is a fan. During the day (she sleeps better) and I bring her bassinet in the living room and she deals with all the noise of the house pretty well.

ginger~ The CIO is a bit out of necessity during the daytime when I have to get things done and because I'm trying to get some sleep at night. (DH works 2nd shift and doesn't get home until 4am so I'm basically on my own all night). Anyway, I make sure everything is fine with her and lay her down sleepy but not asleep (or try to). Then every 5 minutes or so I pat her or stroke her hair and talk/sing to soothe her and then walk away again. Then when it gets to 20-30 minutes I do pick her up and rock her before putting her back down. I've tried putting her down only when she's asleep which has a bit better results but I can't always get her to sleep in my arms. This isn't a problem EVERY day. She's had a couple really good days that I can't seem to duplicate. She usually starts getting worked up in the evening hours. I do use the level 1 nipples, lots of burping and the paci too. She's definitely hungry. She's gaining well and is healthy so maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on the amount.

natalina~ We definitely have a schedule and she sticks to it fairly well during the day. In the evening is when she starts fussing a ton.

As far as talking to the ped: we have a GP. He told me to make her beg for that last ounce of formula and is fine with a little cereal in a bottle (especially for bigger babies). I haven't talked to him about CIO (or my version anyway). I plan on calling him on Monday to get more suggestions, but I feel like I'm at my wits end today.

More suggestions are welcome!!
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ditto the baby wearing. and actually there is something even slower than level 1 -- look for preemie nipples. although that may be a problem if you're putting in rice cereal and the hole is TOO small. anyway, when we switched from level 1 to preemie, he slowed down and he seemed to be more satiated with the same amount, like his brain had time to register he was full versus gluping more quickly and geting overfull before feeling satisfied, y'kwim? once his gulping calmed down and he got a little older, we switched back to level 1s when he got frustrated with the preemies around 3 months or so.

we had some trouble getting A to sleep around 3.5-4 weeks (we were at our wits end also) and finally po\pped in the HBOTB dvd. the swaddle and head jiggle worked like, well it seemed like magic! def helped our sanity to have what for the most part was an almost 100% for sure method to calm him and pretty much knock him out to dreamland.

big hugs for doing this with a 2nd child! eventually i'll be there :errrr: . i think. :cheeky:
 
ummm A just traversed the diagonal length of our king sized bed in less than 30 sec. the promptly, and rather nimble turned around in pursuit of his target (hubby's brand new 'spensive phone) when it changed trajectory.

ummm slow down kid! mom hasn't made much progress with the baby proofing yet!!

in a related question...how is it that a 5 almost 6 month old can tell that a fancy phone (that is all black) is way cooler than a colorful teething toy? is there some kiind of baby sense that tells them which one has more impact if they happen to destroy it? :bigsmile:
 
Hi, SS! Congrats on the birth of Lily. E was and still is a huge eater. Even now at 6 months, 3 hours is the max he goes between feedings except at night. When he was a few weeks, he was going more like every 1.5 hours, so I think she is doing just fine at 2 hours even though it is a ton of work, but it does get easier. Something I did for A after E was born is to get him lots of coloring books, sidewalk chalk, movies, play dough and other things he could do more independently. It is a huge adjustment going from 1 to 2 for both you and JT...it's really hard work taking care of a little one while trying to reassure the older child you still love them the same as before. It took me a good 3-4 months before I felt like I was adjusted to having 2. I also would be really cautious with the CIO with her having a heart issue. I kind of feel like those first couple of months you just have to go with those middle of the night wake ups and realize it's only a temporary thing, but that's just me. I would try to talk with an actual pediatrician...do you have anyone you can contact at the hospital? Hang in there momma!
 
SS, I hate it to say it, but it is WAY too early for CIO, whether you have another little one at home or not. She is just too small to be left to cry like that yet. It's recommended that babies be at LEAST a few months old before you try it. Lily is going to be a completely different person from your first born, it's guaranteed, so try not to compare or wish she was more like your first. Enjoy the person she is!

I recommend baby wearing if she needs you a lot. It lets you get stuff done without having to carry her in one arm or sit on the couch with her all day. Also, Micah ate a TON at first, and he gained almost a full pound in that first week. But that is just the kind of baby he is. He isn't fat or unhealthy, and he did eventually slow down and eat less. At this age, feed on demand, and feed her what she wants and needs - don't try to force her to eat less, poor thing, she's hungry! :wink2:
 
gingerB said:
ummm A just traversed the diagonal length of our king sized bed in less than 30 sec. the promptly, and rather nimble turned around in pursuit of his target (hubby's brand new 'spensive phone) when it changed trajectory.

ummm slow down kid! mom hasn't made much progress with the baby proofing yet!!

in a related question...how is it that a 5 almost 6 month old can tell that a fancy phone (that is all black) is way cooler than a colorful teething toy? is there some kiind of baby sense that tells them which one has more impact if they happen to destroy it? :bigsmile:
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Bwahaha, go A! And it's more interesting because YOU get to have it :tongue:
 
MrsAT- Remember that every mother and every child is different... I know that it wouldn't have been possible for me to practice co-sleeping and retain my sanity, so I firmly believe that in our case, crib sleeping IS what's best for my child. As for CIO, you say that our babies would probably prefer to be sucking on a breast then his/her own fingers... Undoubtedly. When my J was 2-3 weeks old, I went through 10 days with NO sleep at all because he wanted to nurse all night. Let me tell you, after 10 days I was losing my mind. I gave him a pacifier to put him to sleep. Yes, I'm sure he would have preferred my boobs, but with no sleep I could not care for him properly. So which is better, I ask you? Sometimes, we do have to be "selfish" (to use your words, because I don't call this selfishness) and take care of our own needs and limitations as moms so we can take care of our children to the best of our abilities. As far as I know, moms here don't use CIO to neglect their children. We make sure all their needs are met. As a matter of fact, I know that for J, staying with him would be totally counter-productive because he won't go to sleep until I leave him alone! So, my advice to you... get a little more backstory before jumping in and telling us that we're raising our kids to resent us.

SS - Welcome and congrats! I understand that you need to get some things done and get some sleep! In addition to baby-wearing, have you tried the paci, or the swing? Those three things are life-savers, especially in the early days. ETA - I agree with a previous poster who said to not limit her food. If she's hungry, let her feed. My pedi also recommended that it's better to give the baby more milk than to start solids too early.
 
ss hang in there... i kept trying J in the swing and bouncer over and over and sometimes he liked it and other times he wouldn't ...so i would just try to take his lead. also i ditto the other gals re: happy baby. swaddle, shushing, sucking and swaying worked for us big time. sometimes it would take up to 45 min to get him down for the night but once he went out he was out. ditto that i'd be a little freaked out using CIO so early with L's heart condition so hopefully you guys can figure something out that she accepts!! good luck lady.

ginger lol... J is starting to get pretty fast with the flipping, thankfully he's realized he can turn himself over now! and he's better about not just flopping over and banging his head down. he always wants us to pull him up to sit, he also is obsessed with our TV remote haha. it's hilarious to see him flapping his arms and legs like a grounded fish trying to crawl.

re: babies eating a ton in the beginning, just how does a 2-3 week old fit 32oz in their bellies?!?!?! when J was born they told us his stomach was the size of a walnut and it doubled within 2-3 days after birth but i don't know if 2 weeks later it would be the size his belly is now?? that's so crazy!!! but i agree to not limit her food, if she wants it she wants it, but wow.
 
Welcome SS! Have you looked into reflux as an issue? Even though she's not spitting, she could have silent reflux...sometimes reflux babies eat more because it soothes their throats. I know when my ds's reflux is really acting up, he does tent to eat more often. It's just something to consider and maybe ask the pedi. about. I agree with the idea to try babywearing if you can...maybe for the next few weeks, do whatever it takes to get her to sleep well so that she can catch up on sleep, and at that point once she's not overtired and her stomach has had a chance to mature a bit, she'll be more responsive to you trying to put her down drowsy but awake. I know dba works well for a lot of moms early on, but my experience has been different. Ds had colic, a milk protein allergy (so we ended up having to switch formulas to nutrimagen, another thing to consider if she's having tummy issues), and reflux. So basically he spent a lot of time crying early on, and I spent a TON of time swaddling and then rocking, swinging, and shushing him to try to get him calm. I did have to put him down to do necessary things like eat, go to the bathroom, etc. even if he was crying, but that's different than leaving him to cry for long periods of time IMO because the longer he cried, the harder he was to get calm. Good luck and hang in there!

MrsAT...the only thing I'll add to the response you've already gotten is that some babies don't sleep well regardless of what you do. We coslept until the dr. and we felt ds was old enough to learn to self-sooth (4 months), and even with cosleeping he wasn't sleeping well and I wasn't sleeping at ALL (and he was ff - not by choice - which makes cosleeping a lot less restful as well), so we let him CIO at that point and he's been a fantastic sleeper ever since. We did it for HIM more than anything. The one thing you will find that all us moms on here have in common is that we all unconditionally want whats best for our LO's, and since our LO's are so different, we often arrive at different solutions, but I would NOT DARE to call a single one of us selfish!

Ginger...good luck with your mobile baby! I do think babies are born with something that makes them like OUR electronics better than their coolest toys! Even after opening presents yesterday and being surrounded with cool stuff, Jacks still went after his aunt's blackberry the second he saw it!

Anchor, how is J doing with the UTI? Sorry he got another one and that I never got to reply to say so earlier, but hang in there!

As for us, we survived Jackson's birthday! We actually had a great time with dh's parents, brother, and sister and my mom. We went to the beach yesterday afternoon, then after Jacks's nap he opened presents and had cake. Even though he loves sweets, he didn't really want or eat a whole lot of the cake. He started by poking out the icing eye, and then he got icing all over his hand, and my finicky boy doesn't like having stuff all over his hand, so then he just waved it around a bit trying to get the icing off, and he never quite made it to the cake part! I ended up using a spoon to give him a few bites of cake, and he did like that, but he didn't eat much on his own.

So I guess I'll be heading over to the toddler thread, but I'll still be around reading! I've loved seeing all your LOs grow up so far, so I don't want to miss the next few exciting months for all of you!

And a few pics...

s.jpg

s2.jpg
 
Sabine- Jacks is so cute! What a handsome little boy! I cannot BELIEVE he is one already! I totally remembr when you were pregnant and waiting for his arrival! How nuts! You did a FANTASTIC job with the cake- it's adorable. Sad to see you bump over to the other thread :(sad , but I guess e aren't too far behind :errrr: .
 
Sabine, awesome job on the cake!

SS, I hope you had a better night last night. I was thinking about you last night, and something popped in my head. They had E in the pediatrician's office like every other day for low birth weight. Why in the world would they not be sending Lily to not only a pediatrician, but a pediatric heart specialist? That is very odd that they would just let you walk out of the children's hospital with just a good luck and follow up with a GP. Even if it's something insurance wouldn't cover (and I'm not sue why they wouldn't) most children's hospitals are not for profit and offer some services for free. I would not rest until she had the best care with specialists until her heart was back to normal. Maybe I'm wrong here, so maybe some of the MDs will weigh in. Hope you are okay this morning.
 
SS, Lily is lovely. Congratulations! What a scary first few days. Hugs!!! I don't really have any advice about her guzzling like a champ -- the smaller nipple idea sounded good. Hang in there, and definitely ask your pedi all your questions. Let us know what s/he says!

I went back to read some of MrsAT's original posts after the interesting allusions people were making (selfish, cage, etc.) and wow, it was worse than I thought ("maybe for once think about what your baby feels/needs, instead of your own feelings/needs"). I mean this as a compliment to Mara -- I'm just glad that Mara received this "advice" and not somebody likely to let it trouble her (because I think most of us would be more vulnerable and prone to Mommy Guilt than easy-going Mara). Then She Who Must Not Be Crossed (TM) would be on the warpath!
 
Thanks for the compliments on A's baptism dress. It sure was a poofy one. She was trying to eat it the whole time.

SS- Congratulations! Your children are adorable. Hope you get some answers at the dr.

Kim- How is J doing today? Hope you guys have gotten over the bug.

Mara- Love that pic of J. He looks so snuggly! How long did the cinnamon irritation last?

Anchor- Look at those big beautiful eyes. Super cute!

MP- Aww, you're making me blush. Thanks. Wow, M is growing really fast. A is still in 0-3m onesies but 3-6m pants. She's 13lbs at 4months. M is just adorable, look at that beautiful smile!

Mtjoya- You captured a great moment. She's reeling you in with her cuteness, and then surprise attack. Hehe. Wonder what she was doing?

MrsAT- Thank you for providing a different perspective, although I take great offense to your use of the word selfish when it comes to a mother's choice to use CIO and equating a crib to a cage. As you can see, this is a supportive community and although we may sometimes disagree, we are still respectful of one another. I have only participated in this thread for a short time, but the mothers here have been nothing but supportive and helpful.

JCrow- I think my A just went through this 4m wakeful period. She's now 4m1w. She went through a few days of waking every 1.5-2hrs. We're now in the midst of deswaddling so her sleep is still in limbo. Hope E's sleep gets back to normal soon.

GingerB- Wow, you've got your hands full now. Have fun :cheeky:

Sabine- Happy bday to J! Yummy looking cake, good job!

AFM- I'm now in deswaddling h*ll. A has now mastered rolling from back to belly (she was already rolling from belly to back since she hated tummy time). Since she was rolling all day yesterday, we figured it was time to deswaddle and to just go cold turkey. Well, she was up every hour from 9-2, then from 4-7. She's not use to having her hands free, but I don't think we have any other choice but to just let her get use to sleeping without the swaddle. Any deswaddling help or suggestions?
 
Sabine, J is soo cute!! Love that he didn't want to get his hands dirty. We plan to do a cake smash photo session with J so I hope he wants to get dirty or else it won't be any fun hehe. What is DBA by the way?

SS...actually I agree with Steph, J was born at 8lbs so he was a fine weight but we were required as part of our discharge to agree to bring him back in 24 hours later to the newborn lounge (where nurses check him out and also help mom with bf'ing), and then 48 hours after that and then 72 hours after that. And then his pedi appt was a week later and he had not gained enough for her so we had to bring him back a week later and then a week after that. I also am surprised your doctor or hospital isn't more insistent about routine appts given Lily's heart condition as well. can you email your Dr? We email our pedi all the time with random Q's, and she typically responds within 24 hours. Anyway hang in there.

PG...you are so cute thinking I am easy going hehe, thank you. I just know that a lot of people have diff opinions on child-rearing and they often think their way is the ONLY right way and that everyone else's way is sucky. Thankfully the ladies on here are not like that or else it wouldn't be as fun of a place to share things. And yeah it can kind of bother me going, wow someone who doesn't even know me might think I am a crap mother, but my son IS happy and healthy as someone noted, and I see it in him all the time so we must be doing something right.

Ally...re: deswaddling, we just had to go it cold turkey with J and no it was not fun--I would just stick with it and she might pick up on it in a few days. I was going to say try the Woombie which is like a stretchy material that might help with deswaddling but actually it keeps their arms and legs in there too and if she is rolling then you would want those to be free or else it might be dangerous. J's deswaddling took about 2-3 weeks to really catch on but we also were deswaddling him for naps before that for about 1.5 months so he was 'somewhat' used to having limbs out but not for long periods of time. good luck!
 
AA - we did a gradual de-swaddle, 1 arm in 1 arm out and switched between the 2 arms for which was in or out for about a week or so, then went to the sack. knoinghow much of a flailer A was, and the fact that he is NOT a glood sleeper, i was surprised we managed to get through in one piece :bigsmile: . but we survived and A is now happily sleep sacked. we tried cold turkey and quickly back pedaled to the 1 arm method. we figured even if he rolled, 1 arm was at least enough to allow him to manuever and call for help.
 
ally, we're both congested and coughing still, but no more fever. it's naptime for both of us. thanks for asking.

i keep saying i'm going to get rid of the swaddle, for a month now actually if not longer, but i'm terrified. we'll go the one arm at a time route. it's going to be hard, she loves it so.
 
Thanks again, ladies.

The baby wearing is a great idea. I was given a thingy but found out it was recalled and when I read the stories about it, they just freaked me out. I'm not familiar with baby wearing or which products are best so any suggestions would be great!

Lily has a separate team of cardiologists and her GP. The cards are just that, they don't really offer support in other areas. We have a GP because we're in a rural area and there aren't many peds. The Children's Hospital is 1.5 hrs away so we didn't pick a ped from there. DH and I have been looking into peds in our area but I haven't found one I like as much as our GP.

We're not currently doing the cereal. We tried it for 2 days but she wasn't sleeping any better so we quit. The preemie nipples may be something to try. She downs the 4 oz within 20 minutes so maybe she's not getting the "full" signal in that short of time. It's not that I don't want her to eat when she's hungry. I just don't like how her belly is hurting from so much iron. Have any of you mixed regular formula and the no-iron formula together??

Last night was not good. Today we put Lily in her room to sleep. I thought maybe she's not getting really good rest with all the commotion during the day. I rocked/sang her to sleep each nap today and then put her in her room. ( I had to hold her during an entire nap though because she'd wake as soon as I put her down.) She did sleep more soundly during her naps. Hopefully, catching up on some sleep will help her to rest better tonight. I fed her and rocked, sang, etc for about 45 minutes and she's been sleeping soundly for 45 minutes, so fingers crossed!!
 
Cute BPF pics everyone! And Sabine - thanks for sharing the pics of Jacks on his birthday. What a lovely cake! Glad everything went well.
 
SS - I wasn't formula feeding when J was in his colicky period, so I'm not sure about that, but maybe mixing the formulas could help? What I did was lot of walking, heat on the tummy and massaging the tummy. Do you think you'd be able to get your doc's advice on this one? I sympathize on the doctors issue, because finding pedis or family doctors is incredibly difficult where I live... I hope your Lilly will get all the medical care she needs! As for baby wearing, I used a scarf-type sling until J was 2 months, after that he stopped liking it. I think one that's been recommended here was a sling called the mei tai? Could be worth a try!

AFM - J has been able to put his paci in his mouth on his own for a few days now! I'm so proud, and it does make my life easier! :appl:

Sabine - J is doing better, thank you. We caught this one early, so it wasn't as bad, and he's not reacting to this medicine like he did last time, thank god.
 
ss- welcome! i second third and fourth and fifth the idea of baby wearing. i got a secondhand baby bjorn for $10 at our second hand store - awesome. also, i used the peanut sling (walmart) for the first few months of my son's life - it was a LIFESAVER! c was as colicky as they come - the sling made life, doable. just make sure her head isn't folded onto her chest and you will be amazed at how active you can be without knowing your sleeping giant is on you - i found it really easy to do most things one handed and kept an arm under him most of the time b/c i was worried about suffocation too.
i also agree that 2.5 weeks is really too early for any type of CIO. 4 months is the earliest doctors say infants area able to self soothe. crying in the first few months means they need something. diaper, feeding, cuddle. it could be reflux? my son also nursed a lot (like every hour!) to soothe his tummy due to reflux before we figured out what was going on. have you checked her diaper for any black/dark poos? she also could have a milk or soy intolerance that makes it unable to be comfortable. i can't even imagine how hard the switch has to be from one child to two, but i would hope that some family members or friends can help you make the transition so that you are able to give your daughter some essential mommy time.

sooooooooo i'm the one who posted the comment about going to the car to avoid CIO. it wasn't me, it was my girlfriend. and i never said i condone her actions. i find it odd that you felt the need to come out of lurking just to comment on an event that never involved anyone on this board and chastise the people who CIO. i'm all for an open discussion about controversial topics and have been quite active in several of them. but always remembering to have an OPEN mind and to present my opinions in a (cough) respectful way.

anyhoo... mara ;) as i mentioned before, you know j best. and i don't think i could do CIO until i knew that c could find his paci, he wasn't sick anymore, had the appropriate layers etc. since j can not do that just yet, i think you might just be in for another month or so of middle of the night binking - since listening to him cry is hard. (it IS!) i'll be here for you whatever you decide. and if you need some help with the 'other' option i will be around to help you with the modified viz approach to CIO too ;) stay strong mamma.

ok, so back to me ;) hahahahahahaahhaaha... were you all really talking about the same viz? like this one who is typing right now?? ::) it's so funny because i look at everyone on this board and think that you all have it way more together than i do. i envy all of the mom's who work and still find time to make their own baby food and take vacations and go on dates with their husbands and keep their house in order - i think .... holy h-e-doublehockeysticks how do they do it?? i make most of my decisions based on (sorry cdt, i know you hate this ;)) ) mommy guilt. i feel guilty that c is in daycare and that i'm not around as much as i would like, so when i do get the chance to be with him i make it 100% about c. however, i do want to thank you ladies for making my day and not making me feel like a complete failure as a mom. i know there are a lot of mom's who work and seemingly are much better suited to be a working mom. i never thought i would be like this... the wanting to stay home type - but stranger things have happened with this kiddo.. right ladies? :bigsmile:

i henceforth with nominate each mom on this board for 'mom of the decade'! each and every woman here obviously cares immensely about their child and their well-being or they wouldn't be here sharing, laughing, crying with one another. this is the craziest road i've ever been down (and i backpacked in europe for 2 years ;)) ) nothing will throw you into more of a tailspin, but let you come out on the other side laughing and smiling from ear to ear. kudos ladies! muuuaaaaahhhh :D
 
i agree that every mom on here is awesome. it's funny because obviously while everyone differs from time to time in their approach, i would never doubt how much love all the ladies have for their babies. and really in the end feeling loved is all the kiddos really want.

so sat night J also slept quite well only waking up once at 3:30am. i binked him and tossed his blanket in, out til 9am. last nite he was a little restless around 10pm (but i blame the noise of us getting ready for bed and coming into his room to turn down his sound machine etc), binked him, he spit it out 2 min later, so i binked him again and gave him his lovey, and then he did not even wake up til 6am!! i thought based on his restless 10pm activities we'd be up a few times but nope. this morning at 6am i binked him and tossed him blankie and he slept til 7:45am.

once a night bink i really do not mind, but last week it was traversing into the 2-3x a night with 3 being the operative # and that was bothering me a lot more. i would love to wait to do anything til he was more 'secure' with finding and putting paci in etc...but the other thing i feel like the kid is L-A-Z-Y. he will spit out the binky and then cry when it's sitting right by his face. HELLO kid i know you aren't a dodo, but he doesn't even check anywhere. and i don't think he even looks for it at night. short of tossing like 30 pacis in there, not sure how i can get him to start hunting for it. the only times i have seen him even attempt to put one in on his own is when i was trying to do CIO for a nap a few weeks ago and he cried for 10 min THEN started rooting around on the mattress like HEY WHATS THIS. i was watching him the whole time. so anyway we'll see. again if it stays 1x a night then i am ok with it but if he gets HM again then i feel like i am just enabling him and he's not actually learning anything on his own. but if he can go so long at night then i know he's moving around and prob partially coming awake but not requiring intervention which is what i want.

the other thing i noticed last nite was that he wants something by his face. he will do 'baby crunches' to bring his sleep sack foot material near his face then he tries to snuggle with it which obviously doesn't work because as soon as he lowers his feet, the material escapes him. i don't really want to give him his holey blanket in the crib all night long, a few hours in the morning is one thing as his sleep is lightest... sooo i'm not changing that for now but it was obvious he wanted to snuggle something. the lovey is good but too small aka he can easily lose it in his sleep but the blanket has enough heft to where i think he always knows where it is and can grab it.

thx viz, i appreciate your support--esp knowing how hard it was with C.

speaking of baby food, the only way i am able to make any is because it isn't TOO time consuming, i just make and freeze cubes and then pop them into freezer bags. and i am starting to mix them with 1/3 of a jar of blended EB meats. i made corn, sweet potato, peas, blueberries, and mango this wkd. i have pears and peaches in the fridge that i will need to make tonite or tomorrow as he is out of fruits. i would love to keep making his food as long as i can but i don't know as it CAN be time consuming on some wkds and this wkd was a mellow one so i had time but on wkds we don't then it's harder to keep up -- esp now that he's eating 2x a day.

oh and someone asked about his cinnamon reaction--the face darkness only lasted about 1-2 hours thankfully. but it was weird!! i am def going to give it a while like 2-3 months before trying it again. apparently it is just a sensitive skin reaction...and he does have sensitive skin, if he is pressed up against the hard plastic in the tub for a few minutes he gets these dark red patches on his body. i bruise really easily so i don't know if he picked up that from me or what.

happy monday all. not really but i'm pretending. :naughty:
 
Claire, 9 months

Claire just had her 9 month check up. She's 50th percentile for everything, which is a big change in weight, which was 20th percentile before. The doctor said she's doing very well. She has a prescription for a multi-vitamin to make sure she's getting iron since she's still BF.

Claire definitely seemed to remember the doctor's office and started crying as soon as she saw the shot-wielding nurse. The nurse said little kids will see her in the grocery store and cry! When I tried to put her on the examining table, she cried, so she definitely has associations with that place even though it's been 2 months since she's been. But everything checks out well. The pedi said that while nursing her for middle of the night teething pain isn't bad for her, it's just teaching her to expect it, so we're going to nix that from now on.

Mara, I know moms who have put like 6 binkies all around the baby -- that might not be a crazy idea! Claire has weaned herself from the pacifier, which is a relief because that's one less thing to figure out how to do, but I would have totally done that if it meant she'd go back to sleep on her own.

Viz, hugs. I felt exactly the same way while I was working. OK, so make your own baby food and keep your own in order? No way! I can barely do it SAH (and I only do the latter, not the former; I bought apples to follow this simple baby food recipe two weeks ago and DH ate a couple of them and the others went bad :roll: ). You just farm that out to baby food company and the cleaning lady! Vacations, well, yeah, you should take one! And dates with DH, yeah, do it! But make sure they're nice relaxing vacations/dates, not something else that you have to "squeeze in" and keep your energy up for. For my BIL's birthday, my sister got a sitter from like noon to 10 p.m., and she got a hotel room and massage appointments and they just lounged around until it was time to go back home. That sounds like my kind of date!
 
Happy Birthday Jacks! I wanted to get on here sat to do a b-day shoutout but we were so busy. I love the pics. Does he like cake? S hates it.

I'm glad you ladies handled the concerns of the lurker with such class. I would not have been as nice ;))

The pictures are awesome!! :wavey: I'll share photos of Sophia's b-day party soon but some first birthday tips:

Do everything EARLY. We were still running around taking care of stuff while our guests were there.

Kids like anything and everything. We had a bounce house which they loved. But then I took out two jump ropes I bought for $1ea at walmart and they played with that for hours :sun:

Assign someone to take pictures. I took zero pics. I didn't even have my camera with me. I was too busy getting the other stuff out the door and to the park to remember it. Once I was there, I was too busy coordinating food and drinks and kids and toys and random guests asking for food (We had an old man pass by with his grandson who claimed that they never had Spanish food and was wondering if they could try some. I said yes of course. We treat birthday crashers very well :bigsmile: )

If you're having more than 15 guest, either do something really simple when it comes to food or just cater. Everyone loved the bbq but it was soooooooo much work. Poor R thought he was going to pass out by the time he was done. I told him that next time we are doing just burgers and hot dogs.

Three hours is more than enough time IMO for a b-day party.

Sophia is (obviously) a summer baby and I think this will be one of the last times we do an outdoor party, at least until she's old enough to really enjoy something like a water park. It's just too hot to have the kids outside doing stuff.
 
SS, I was given a peanut sling and a bjorn. I put J in the peanut days before the recall and could see it affecting her breathing right away (we had to go to the nicu for a carseat test before they would release her so I was on alert about the C shaped position being dangerous). I never touched the thing again. I've used the bjorn a ton, but never loved it; the weight distribution was/is really uncomfortable for me, I feel like I'm being pulled forward with her in it and it hurts my back (residule from a car accident). I recently bought an Ergo (from diapers.com for $105 with no shipping, it arrived in 2 days, or sales tax). It's the best purchase I've made for baby/myself. It sits her in what appears to be a much more comfortable position (not dangling from her crotch), there's a hood that can be used when she is sleeping, it converts to back carry and goes up to 40 lbs. There is an infant insert that can be purchased, which you would need for L. I hardly notice the extra weight because of the way it's distributed. I am totally in love with the thing. The only thing it's missing is it doesn't allow for carrying face out, which J loves, but she doesn't seem to care as she can still see things. I've read the Ergo Sport is better for larger people, so if your husband would use it I'd look into that (my husband would never use it so I didn't consider it), it's the same price.

****

We're just laying low still, trying to get over this bug. Little Miss is coughing a ton, poor thing.
 
Happy Monday ladies!

I was coming on here to post about my success with de-swaddling, but now I just feel like I'm bragging - sorry Addy. I didn't do one arm out, or anything like that, I just went cold turkey. First for his naps last week, and when those seemed to work no problem, we took a deep breath and said let's go for it on Fri. He slept exactly the same 8-4, up to eat and back down until 7.30 :appl: Same thing the past two nights as well. I certainly wasn't expecting that. I think the key thing for us was that he was really ready for it. I had tried in the past a couple of times and just as he was going to sleep he would flail his hands, wake himself up and cry. So I would swaddle him up and he would pass out in minutes. By last week, he actually seemed to be waking himself up because he was swaddled, and trying to get his arms free.

Mara, I decided I just don't feel comfortable with the A & A sleepsack as it is, so I am still only using it for naps. But I noticed that grobaby has side-snaps near the armpit, so I might get one of those. We'll see. He doesn't really seem to need it, but I think it's because *I* like sleeping with some sort of blanket, I think he should too. :rodent:

Sabine, Happy Birthday to J!

Kim, it is not the Ergo sport. I had a look, and it's called the Performance. Apparently it is super light weight and breathable, which is why I think it would be great in this hot weather. But, it is August now, so in no time it will cool off and I can save the $120. If we are still using a carrier next summer then maybe we'll get it.

SS- for the newborn stage, a Moby type wrap is great. They can seem intimidating at first, with all of the fabric, but it doesn't take long to get the hang of it and the baby can really snuggle up to you in the kangaroo hold, and will often sleep very well that way. The only thing is they don't tend to have the longevity of something like the Ergo, as most Mom's don't use them after a few months - as the baby gets heavier it is not as comfortable on the back and the Moby stretches out with the weight. But maybe you could find one second hand if you don't want to spend the money for a new one?

M is four months today! :appl: I can't believe how fast the time goes. I was just looking at pictures from when he was first born and he was SO tiny (under 5 lbs). I can't believe he was ever that small.

We have a doctor's appointment for him today though, so I don't know happy he is about being four months - shots today. :(sad
 
Thanks ladies for your deswaddling help.

As much as I wished for A to be *the* baby that was ready to be deswaddled completely, I don't think she's quite ready, as evidenced by her hourly wakings Saturday night. Since I'm back to work today (*sob*), I just could not go through another sleepless night. So we swaddled only one arm and she slept from 8:30-12, woke up to eat, then slept from 12:45-7:00 :appl: . We'll keep at this until she 's *ready* to be completely deswaddled.

Sorry for the quick drive by - back to work.
 
Thanks for your replies ladies. We have been out of town this weekend, so I am just getting back to my computer.

The night that I posted, C actually woke up at 700, and went down for the night about 9 o'clock. I don't even remember how that night went. I have had too much intermittent sleep since then.

I started calculating his sleeping in my head and he is just not sleeping enough. Google said 15 hours a day at 3 months, and 2/3rds should be at night. He is sleeping more like 13 hours a day, and about 2/3rds of that is at night.
The last two nights he has gone to sleep at 11. Saturday night, he woke at 230 to eat and back down, and then up at 530 to eat and stayed awake for about 40 minutes, then finally fell asleep with me holding him and woke up at 830.
Last night he went to sleep at 11, woke at 3 to eat and went back down, then woke at 6 to eat and went back down, and then woke at 730. He only slept for 8.5 hours. Also, he was awake from 630 to 11 last night. Right around 830 when he should have been going down for the night he started getting extremely fussy. I had to feed him at 830, 945, and then finally 1045 to get him asleep. I'm thinking he just needs something more substantial before falling asleep, but how do you add rice cereal when you are BF'ing? I don't mind that he doesn't nap much during the day, but I feel like he should be STTN, or even only waking up once at night, if he isn't sleeping much during the day.

ETA: ALSO... C is rolling over everytime he wakes during the night. He hates being on his back, so once he does this, there is no hope for him falling back asleep. Wht can I do to make it harder for him to roll over. Right now, he is only wearing a onesie and pants. Should we try putting him in a sleep sack? (Hates the swaddle)

SS- My son is just over 3 months, and I still have to hold him for most of his daytime naps. I know it can be frustrating, especially since having another little one, but I don't think CIO is the right answer. C isn't sleeping thru the night yet, not that he should be, but we aren't going to try CIO until 4 or 5 months. I would definitely go the route of the wearing. C loves to be held all the time, and I finally invested in a Bjorn, and it has been great.

Fiery- Congratulations on the birthday party going so well!
 
oh ally i didn't realize today was your first day back... huge gigantic biggest ever hugs... i was a MESS my first day back.. mess! and there might be some pathetic posts on here somewhere that chronicles that time period ;)) i hope today FLIES by - my recommendation is to take a short week this week. also, c was a swaddle-a-holic! it took us almost 2 months of deswaddling before he was completely unswaddled. my bit of advice is that it's totally ok to go really slow. we did one arm for 2 weeks, then the other arm for another 2-3 weeks before finally unswaddling his legs.

FIERY!!! hi hi hi hi hi!! thanks soooo much for the tips! i can not WAIT to see pictures! miss you around these parts.

kim, the peanut sling didn't get recalled - just the infantino brand sling b/c it was soooo deep. there are lots of slings out there that are really safe if used correctly and a godsend for those babies who need to be worn. that said, i've never tried the ergo and would probably have loved it just as much as the peanut sling. :D

speaking of, now that c is 9 months i think i need to get a full out back carrier. any recommendations on a good one that isn't HUGE? c still LOVES to be held :love: - over sitting in the cart or stroller. and frankly i like it better when shopping to have him in the bjorn - but i think i need to flip him around to my back because he's just getting so heavy now.

pb - brag away!!! :bigsmile: that's awesome!!!!

ETA: mer - i feel ya girl. i drove myself nutty with how much C was supposed to sleep but didn't. but remember that dr.google is just an estimate based on an average. some babies will sleep more than 15 hours and some less. the best thing you can do is to keep doing what you are doing. make an environment that is comfortable for sleeping and keep at it when you know he should be sleeping. c was overtired for much of his infant life, and we tried everything! we held C for most of his daytime naps too for a loooonnnnngggggg time, (and still do sometimes). i took sleeping very serious and would mamma bear anyone who tried to give me advice (just keep him up during the day, he'll sleep better at night, etc.) you know c best and things will eventually even out. i think sleep will always be a hot button topic for me, but like everything - it's temporary! hugs mamma!
 
meresal said:
I don't mind that he doesn't nap much during the day, but I feel like he should be STTN, or even only waking up once at night, if he isn't sleeping much during the day.
Click to expand...

One thing to keep in mind is that anything you read about what a baby "should" be doing is simply a guideline - every baby is different. Also, babies don't quite work the same way we do, so if he doesn't nap during the day, that doesn't mean he should sleep better at night, in fact it usually means the opposite. By the time night comes around, he is overtired and so he will be more likely to fight sleep, or sleep lightly. He needs daytime naps, something I totally understand is hard to force a baby to do - Micah simply didn't like to nap during the day until recently. But once he did start napping well in the daytime (usually 3-5 hours total) he slept significantly better at night, with longer stretches between waking.

ETA: Try a positioner to keep him from rolling. A sleep sack won't stop him if he's determined!
 
thanks for the advice on baby wearing.

i'm holding lily while she naps right now. hence the lack of capitalization while typing one handed!

i'll youtube some techniques for managing the wraps and slings.

swing is still a no-go.

much better night last night. i didn't put her down until she was floppy-asleep and she usually remained asleep. guess i've just got a big cuddler! i do wonder if she has such a need to be held because of her first few days.

jt is getting used to me being less available so i'm more comfortable holding lily for a long time without feeling guilty. i'm also trying to do quicker meals so i don't have to put her down for extended periods. so, now i have mommy guilt about giving jt pizza twice in one week! but, i know it's only temp....

btw-lily is not colicky --knock on wood-- jt was horribly colicky so i've got a bagful of tricks for that!

sorry i can't catch up with everyone right now. i'm really trying to get it together but it's taking longer than i anticipated!
 
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