PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Mara]

re: length, think i missed some of the convo but we don't really measure J at home anymore because it seems impossible to do it as accurately as they do at the pedi. first off they have us hold him and then they make marks on the paper and then take him off and measure the marks. they mark from top of head to tip of toes. and they pull/stretch the legs out. so they are way more precise about it than we are. we don't have a long hard area with a big piece of paper and when we try to do it on changing table it's always inaccurate.

also once a nurse did it and Dr came in and did it again and it was like 1 inch longer the 2nd time, she was just more accurate, the nurse was a little sloppy. but they're just numbers, and honestly i use the fit of clothes that i know to gauge how he is growing. he had a huge length spurt around 4mo but then since then his length has grown REALLY slowly, which is fine for us since he is already wearing 12-18mo onesies for length only so i am ok with him chilling for now!! he was 75% length last time so we know it's not like there's anything to worry about.

re: baby size overall... my friend has a 1mo old who is already 10.5lbs! J took like 2mo to hit that size if not closer to 3. and she was born at about 8lbs same as him. so funny how every babe is diff. he's about 18lbs now. J seems giant to us overall now when i see him sitting in his booster chair. some 1year+ babies are his size!

re: clothes and size, it bugs me that so many manufs don't continue to make cute baby clothes for biggie sizes. like 12mo+. most newborn stuff is up to 12mo. but what if your babe is big like SS's lily and at lets say 3-4mo she is already wearing 12mo+. but she's still only 3mo...and you can't really put her in toddler clothes at that point. i love softer baby clothes--we have a ton of jeans and other things people have given us for J but he has never worn them. i prefer him in softer more comfy clothes (liike me i guess, i don't find wearing things like jeans at home very comfy) and i know at some point i'll have to dress him like a real kid but for now i am enjoying dressing him like a squidgy baby.

re: weighing, if you want to do it at home i read of a great way. get on your scale with baby. take your weight. then give baby to someone else and get on yourself. subtract your weight and you should have baby's. we did this 3-4x to get an average. it's not totally accurate but it is a good 'in between appt' option if the kid is older and you aren't looking so much for 2-3 oz growth but more like lb.

lulu nora is A.dorable. those eyes!!
mere your two boys are so handsome!

speaking of pics... i got a preview of a few pics from our session last week. most of you have already seen this on the other site but i cropped it (since he's nekkie with just scarf) so you can just see his face because this picture melts my heart. this is my baby!!!!!! i have a BABY!!!! and he's almost 8mo. WOW. sometimes i get my mind blown all over again.

and funny story about this pic, the event i was at the last few days has gap as a big advertiser and some of the team was there. a few people who saw this pic were like 'you should go show this to the gap guys because this looks like it's straight out of one of their magazines!!' i thought it was super flattering (on J's behalf!) and was tempted but then was like NAHHH. i think this might be a gap scarf, the photographer had it. so funny!

 

[Puppmom]

Sha, love the Dadiva nickname! That sass will pay off later in life. N is pretty laid back now mostly just fussing when hungry, tired or gassy. That could all change in the blink of an eye though!

SS, can I join you in the big baby club? N was about 13 pounds at 7 weeks which doesn't sound crazy except he was only 6lbs9oz at birth! I personally like a pudgy baby. Fortunately, my nephew who will be the giver of all of our hand-me-downs is huge - by huge I mean 25 pounds at under 8 months. I bought N the Halloween PJs with the glow-in-the-dark skeleton on them. They're so cute!

Mere, cute pics! at our last appt the doctor said "Oh, he has a nice big head."...like it was a compliment. So I panicked and when I got home I measured N's head around the biggest part and couldn't get anywhere near what the tech measured. The closest I got was 1/2 inch less which is a HUGE difference with head circumference. Drawing two lines on that bed paper can't exactly be the most accurate way to measure a kiddo but I can't really think of a better way. Yay for trips and football games! Maybe I'll start rooting for the Texans now that the Eagles have broken my heart.

Lovelylulu, awesome that you found a great daycare! We're going to send N part time maybe around 1 or so. I'm not looking forward to that search. I imagine it's exhausting but so rewarding when you find the right one. My bro and SIL just moved and had to change daycares and my nephew LOVES it. They thought he was happy at the old place but he lights up when they step foot into the new one. As always, great pic. Nora is beautiful!

Mara, I just discovered kellymom and definitely like it but the idea of being able to come here and post a question is very nice. I just browse kellymom but there's some good info out there. ...and a big YEAH to a full night sleep! OMG - that is the most gorgeous pic! I bet you're excited to see the rest...what a great teaser!

Phoenixgirl, sending some tough mommy vibes to you!

Puffy, Holy crap! Walking? I'm sure you weren't prepared for that! Did N hit his other milestones early?

Not much new here...having someone come check out our (ancient) fridge. Last night, I had some ice cream and when I pulled it out of the freezer it was melted! My precious BM is in there. Please tell me I don't need a new fridge!

Here's my BPF contribution. I'm always running about a week behind. These are from last weekend. I love N's "Hi, how are you?" shirt - another gift from SIL.

 

[PrettyBlues]

Ginger, I love hearing you describe your time with A. I think it will be so much fun once M reaches that age.

Sha, I was just reading about emerging personalities from the little ones, so have been thinking about it as well. Even though M is younger, I can already tell that he gets frustrated when he tries to do something and it doesn't quite work, like putting a toy in his mouth and he gets the angle wrong...he gets so mad! I also wonder if he will be like his Dad in that respect. I guess we will see. And I love the DaDiva!

Ally, cute pic! The monthly stickers are so great aren't they? I will have to pull out my "6" one right away as well. Glad to hear the appointment went well.

HH, just like everyone has said, don't worry about the questions. We have all been there. As for his poops, they are normally pretty loose at that stage, and as long as he is eating and is peeing enough (I think it's 6+ wet diapers in 24 hours?) then he shouldn't be dehydrated. I also remember when M was young that D was convinced a few times that he had diarrhea, but he didn't. But if you are worried at all, call your pedi. That's what they are there for, and I'm sure they are quite used to it. Oh, and we used Gripe water for gas as well - it seemed to help a lot when he was going through that phase.

Mara, glad to hear your work trip went well and yay for a good sleep! I am dreaming of the day that I can get a sleep like that. But right now, M is usually up somewhere between 5-6, and since he breastfeeds...well, no sleep in for Mom. I'm hoping that now that it is starting to take longer for the sun to come up, he will sleep in more. Probably not, but hey, a girl can dream. Love your pic, he looks so cute in that scarf. You must be soo excited to get all of them.

Lulu, your picture is gorgeous again (along with your baby). Sorry about the rough day, they just seem to show up every now and then. We had one on Monday.

Mere, the boys are so handsome! I love the "we" in your packing, the same thing occurs at my house. Oh well, if your place is like mine, then at least you packing means that you know that everything that is needed is packed. I can only imagine what it would be like if D was in charge of getting everything together.

Pupp, aww cute! I also love his "Hi, how are you?" shirt. Hope your fridge (and BM) is ok.

re: size. I think even at the pedi's there is no completely accurate way to do it. I bet numbers would differ there if done by a nurse and the doc. I have done it at home, and if I do it three times, I can probably get a slightly different number each time. I think as long as they in the "range" then it's not too big of a deal.

As for M, he was such a peanut when he was born - only 4pounds, 15 oz. And it took a long time for him to start gaining. Then he went through this crazy growth spurt, around 2 months I think...and he was gaining about a pound a week. And I remember thinking,
if he keeps gaining like this he is going to weigh 40 pounds at one year! But of course it leveled off.

Today is D's and my anniversary. We were going to go out, but we have a family thing out of town tomorrow and it will be a long day. So we are just going to stay in, get some sushi and wine, and enjoy a movie on the sofa. It sounds like bliss to me!

Here is my bpf pic...gotta go the boy is fussing (and I have already been trying to type this out for two hours).

 

[Sha]

puppmom, - glad to hear everything went well with the MIL. Love the pics of Nolan! Cute outfits, too.

ally - love the headband! I have the same playmat design (Fisher Price) as A's bouncy seat. Re: cereals - yes, as far as I know, you should continue with the cereals while the baby gets additional solids. When we started solids, the first week we did cereal in the mornings (for breakfast), and then added vegetable purees at lunch. In the second week, we added fruit purees in the afternoon. So that made for three 'meals' per day.

PG - Love the sense of humour. Sending you lots of energy vibes!

Mara - glad your work trip went well. Right now my best friend is at the UN Millenium summit in NY, in a posh hotel. I'm so jealous...even though she said she's working like crazy. I just wish someone would send me away somewhere to a fancy hotel...where I could sleep in fluffy beds and eat lots of food. I need some pampering!

LOVE that pic of J! Who took it? It looks straight out of the pages of Benetton or something! Love his twinkly, slanted eyes....

lovelylulu - soooo angelic.... What a beautiful pic!

meresal - awww...look at the boys hanging out. Love it! C looks so grown up in his jeans!

Prettyblues - glad to know I'm not the only one with an...uhm.....'spirited' baby. It'll be interesting to see if their personalities change as they get older. Love that pic of Miles!

*****************

Be back later with a BPF pic. Haven't posted one in a while...

 

[jcrow]

5.5 months

just a drive by to finally post a little pic of em. this was taken last week. i was trying to take her picture but she kept putting her hands in her mouth. In this pic, I'm trying to take them out of her mouth. I thought it was appropriate for ps!

 

[KimberlyH]

Gah, Lulu, that girl is simply gorgeous! Jane is doing well, thanks for asking. She's ventured into the world of mobility, rolling all over, but only in one direction, so we spend a lot of time doing 180s. I was asked to join a Mom's group by a woman I met on a walk; I am not much of a joiner and am very shy in large groups, especially with strangers but I want to teach J to participate and it would be nice for her and me to have friends in the neighboorhood as she gets older, so I think I'll suck it up and go. I'm contemplating making her Halloween costume, but not commited. We'll see.

 

[Mara]

jcrow that is a great photo... blue eyes, red sundress, BLING!!!!!

sha...we had some prof photos done last week by the same photog who did J's newborn shots and she posted 2-3 for a preview so far and that was one of them. i love it!!!

add me to the list with a spirited baby. sometimes we fondly call J 'damien' if he is misbehaving. the temper on this kid!!! i had a friend tell me her kid just had his first tantrum at 1 and i was like really ? we have those daily!

miles and nolan are sooo cute!!!! pupp i love nolan's clothes!

 

[mtjoya]

Omg I love alll the bebe pics! Soooo beautiful! Cuteness overload!

jcrow-I love ur doll's pic and the shot of your bling bling! Nycee!

mara-J is soooooooo beautiful! I love that scarf and those beautiful eyes!

mereseal/puppmom/pb/ll/ally :sooo cute! I wanna reach over the screen & squeeze!

Sorry didn't want to miss anyone I love these bebes!

I need to post a pic of diva j but I need to take a good one hehe!

 

[lovelylulu]

thanks for all the compliments my model sure is cute and fiery, i totally recommend investing in a good camera - though I've seen plenty of adorable s pictures to know that you've captured lots of great moments!!!!

i use the rebel xti - it's about four years old and a great, great camera. though i know many a ps'r loves a nikon.

j crow - such a pretty little girl you've got. and i love the bling

mara - glad the work trip was good. work. yikes

kim - glad to hear that jane is good. I, too, was approached about a mom group and just now am feeling like N and I are ready to participate. i figure i can try it out and if it's good then great. and if not, well i don't have to continue on with it

love nolan's apres bath photo.

mtjoya - what are you talking about all of diva j's photos are good!!

love miles' expression. and t-shirt. too cute!

mere - hurray for more sleep! and have a great trip. i should be packing myself, but for some reason can't seem to get organized.

 

[somethingshiny]

We had a nerve-racking afternoon.

Lily was in her bouncy seat happy and smiling and all of the sudden spit up out her nose, stiffened, and started shaking. I checked her heart rate assuming it was related to SVT then called the card. He said he didn't think it was SVT but a seizure. I called her doc and asked what they thought. I hate that the nurse won't give a definitive answer. I was told it may have been a seizure but there was no way to tell. I could take her to ER if I wanted (which I didn't because she was fine by the time I called.) All they would do in the ER is evaluate her. She has an appt on tues for evaluation. Obviously she's still in my arms and I'm very flustered. I wonder if she wasn't just scared from not breathing when the spit up came out her nose, or if being scared triggered a seizure. It was all over in a matter of seconds but it's still freaking me out.

 

[Puppmom]

SS, sorry about the scare. Hopefully Lily was just scared by the vomiting and had a physical reaction to it. I can only imagine the sense of panic that created in you.

 

[jcrow]

shiny - oh no! that sounds sooo scary! i hope her appointment goes well and nothing like this ever happens again. big hugs!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Oh my goodness Shiny, how scary! I hope she's alright and you have no repeat performances!

 

[lovelylulu]

how scary for little lily. i hope that all is well and that NEVER happens again.

viz - how's c doing?

 

[Puppmom]

This morning, I wanted to give Nolan pumped milk so I could get to WW on time. I opened the fridge to find that the milk I just pumped 2 days ago was curdled! Even after shaking it up, there were chunks!

My liquid gold - down-the-drain...about 50 ounces of it.

 

[fieryred33143]

Wow SS how scary! Glad Lily is ok.

 

[Mara]

pupp... yikes how did that happen??? that sucks, i am so sorry!!!

ss...how scary..! i really hope that it doesn't happen again and at the appt next week they have some answers. hugs.

not much new to report here. J was rubbing at his ear so we thought maybe he had an ear infection but he has no other 'signs', appetite is good, and in fact the last 2 nights has slept from 7:30 to 7:30 without even waking at night. good natured most of the day and getting crabby at evening so that's normal. we'll keep an eye on him but i think he may just be self-soothing, he does it mostly when he is eating.

and thankfully the diaper rash is gone after a few days of air time, then diapering with cornstarch and lots of desitin in the evenings.

babysteals had some super cute costumes this morning but they sold out in 5 min. their monkey was adorable! guess i need to just order that darn spider.

happy wkd all.

 

[Puppmom]

Fridge is fixed but about 50 oz of breastmilk is trash. Seems like a lot but when I think about it in terms of being less than 2 days worth, it makes me feel better. Repairman said it was just the fan and fixed for less than $200. Thank goodness we don't need a new one!

Mara, I swear...sometimes that babysteals stuff is sold out right at 11EST! Gap has some cute costumes too. They're more like outfits though.

 

[phoenixgirl]

SS, hugs. I hope the evaluation gives you answers, peace of mind, and a course of action to follow if anything like this happens again. I have a coworker whose daughter has had seizures since she was a baby, but I don't really know any of the details, just that daycare would call occasionally to say she'd had one and her mom would have to leave.

Pupp, sorry about the BM! So frustrating, but you'll have it replaced in no time!


Operation Wean is in effect. Yesterday was the first day where we nursed only 3x. That is my goal for the next month until her 12 month check up (I may go to 2x just before). Then I'll have 3 weeks to wean her before we leave for France. The boobs hurt. Hopefully this will pass soon. Yesterday she took a whole sippy cup of juice, which was a first. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

I ordered a new PBK crib. Darn Baby Bargains led me astray with the cheapy Graco Sarah. It's just a flimsy piece of crap. Recently Claire chewed the finish off like a little squirrel. And when she pulls herself up to standing, the rail rattles like "Ga dunk, ga dunk, ga dunk" as she pulls it back and forth. Real safe. Plus when I crawled under it to try to find whatever code would allow me to get the kit to fix the recalled drop-side, I couldn't find it. Thankfully Grandma offered to pay for the new one, and it was on sale for $400 instead of $600 (it's the Kendall crib: http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/kendall-fixed-gate-crib/?pkey=bcribs). I figured if I'm going to need a new crib eventually, I'd rather get it now.

 

[Mara]

PG we have the Kendall and I love it so far. Only thing is J is already on the lowest setting, yikes! We're going to need to get the crib net. I think some cribs have 4 settings, ours only had 3. But if I recall correctly, C is pretty normal sized right? Also, I don't know how this converts, I think we have to buy a conversion rail for another $100. So who knows.

Speaking of Cribs, Target is having some closeouts on Stork cribs, I don't know if they were the ones recalled or not but they are $75 marked down from $250. I am tempted to get one and a mattress for my mom's house since J has pretty much outgrown napping in the PNP. While he won't stay at her house often, I am thinking for like $200 total it doesn't hurt to have another crib in case we need it.

 

[anchor31]

SS - This episode sounds so scary! I also think the trembling might have been because she was scared. It has happened to J once when he had a bad scare, poor little thing.

puffy - He's walking already! Wow. J is turning 9 months in 4 days and I'm so not ready for him to walk!

pupp - I'm so sorry about the lost BM...

jcrow - That photo is gorgeous! Em is so pretty.

AFM - J is also starting to show some character as well... He may very well hit the tantrum stage long before the "terrible twos"! He's able to sit up by himself now, but sometimes it doesn't quite work and he gets so mad! We are having a bit of separation anxiety, but it's not so bad for now. We moved up his bedtime a bit and he's easier to put down, so I guess he was just overtired!

 

[turtledazzle]

re: gas.. I think I said this on the previous page already but Mylicon and Gripe Water were great for us. GW is all natural and you can get it at Whole Foods and the like. and if there are signs of reflux, elevate the baby when sleeping and and burp more often.

Mara (and anyone else who used mylicon and gripe water):

How often did you use the mylicon and gripe water? Did you give the grip water 6 times per day and the mylicon at each feeding (before each feeding)? Were you giving the dosages in the syringe or were you bottle feeding? Did you sometimes give both at the same time?

Sorry for the 20 questions, we're just stuck in gassy land over here and my stamina is waning. My LO will be 6 weeks old on Monday, and has been having gassy issues for the past few weeks. We started with gripe water a couple of weeks ago and started the Mylicon a few days ago. We may be seeing some improvement ... but that could also be coincidental with him getting a little older and that GI system maturing a bit. The Mylicon does seem to be allowing us to get some bigger burps out. I'm trying to be super vigilant about burping during the day, but admit that for those 2 middle of the night feedings I don't always get a burp out. When I burp him in the middle of the night, it completely wakes him up and putting him back to sleep is a lengthy process.
Otherwise I am working with him at every diaper change with tummy massage and leg bicycles to get the gas out.

Any other suggestions? When did your little ones outgrow this gassy phase?

 

[MonkeyPie]

SS, omg, that sounds awful. I hope that never, ever happens again! Poor baby, and poor mama for the scare. I hope all is well.

A lot of you will have seen these elsewhere, but I got some new "professional" pictures (meaning not taken by me, for once) of Micah. Sooooo cute! But he refused to smile for us, he was far more interested in tearing up the props, haha. And he was not impressed by the photog, who shouted a lot. Oh well.

He also sat up all by himself on the rocking horse with no problem at all. He sits up by himself just fine but he tends to topple quickly because he's trying to get stuff. This time he was totally still. My monkey.

 

[puffy]

gorgeous pics mommies!! and of course gorgeous babies!!

MP, your little man is just way too handsome for words!

anchor, yup, 9 months and walking. the only thing that was ready for him to walk was the house being all proofed. but it's pretty cute for sure esp when my older son thinks he needs to help N and they hold hands and walk together.

SS, that must have been so scary. i am so sorry you had to go through that and poor baby!

pupp, sorry about the BM!

kids are down for the night...time to enjoy some ben and jerrys and a movie and wait for DH to get home.

hope everyone is doing well!! take care!

 

[Mara]

MP cute pics! i love how he's just chillin' in the box like ... 'i do this all the time'. my mom has a baby wooden rocking horse that she used for my sisters and J loves to sit on it, we hover near him of course in case he decides to flip off!

turtle... while we used both, and they were pretty effective in conjunction with other things, i felt like nothing was a cure all or fix all. J was gassy but he was mostly refluxy and the gripe water seemed to help a lot with that, and the mylicon seemed to just help overall. i tried not to give them both at the same time but we'd use them interchangeably. also we ALWAYS made sure to get a burp out of him because if we didn't, 99% of the time he'd throw up soon after.

he didn't really start to grow out of it until almost 6-7months really. honestly even after he was sitting up fairly well, he'd still upchuck on himself fairly often... we'd go through like 4-5 bibs or outfits a day sometimes. finally in the last month or so he seems to be growing out of it and will rarely spitup after eating too much. or sometimes he might have a spitty uppy day like if the pollens are thick and our allergies are bad. i know it's hard to just keep waiting for them to grow out of it but we just had to learn to manage it, it wasn't that bad, and his poop was fine and all that. i think also it may have become a little bit better after we took him off BM entirely and just put him on formula (around 6mo).

we would mostly bottle feed so we'd put it in the bottles but i also used the dropper sometimes. he is funny in that whatever comes into his mouth from a dropper he totally loves, like tylenol, mylicon, etc. he just sucks on the dropper. we also did tummy time and bicycle and we did the learning forward tummy burping most of the time. hope this helps.

 

[somethingshiny]

Just popping in to say that everything seems normal. Lily is still up now which is becoming her norm--staying up until midnight every night. Thank you all for your good thoughts.


RE: Mylicon. I give it after every feeding (the pkg says after feeding, not before) and sometimes in between feedings.

 

[mtjoya]

lovely lulu-thanks girl! hehe!

mp-oooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyy gosh! what a cutie!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Here's my late BPF submission! I think it's gas, but it's a smile none-the-less!

Ugh, I feel like we've had a revolving door of visitors for the past two weeks. My dad and SM came last weekend, then we were at my mom's, then DH's mom came for the week (OMG kill me) and then his sister and her family came for this weekend. We're all SO overstimulated at this point. Aidan had two really good nights and then fell off the wagon again last night. He just wouldn't settle down for some reason. Nothing made him happy, but we couldn't figure out why, he wasn't gassy or anything. I think he'd just had enough at that point. I'm looking forward to having a week alone with DH and the little one. Then DH goes back to work and I'll be on my own. I'm actually really looking forward to it. Does that make me a bad wife? It's not that I don't love spending time with my husband or appreciate his help, but I'm just such a social loner sometimes. I really like my alone time and I feel like I've had none in the last three weeks. Having Aidan there doesn't count as having company in my opinion.

 

[MonkeyPie]

I love his squishy, happy little face, HH. What a sweetheart.

 

[phoenixgirl]

HH, I get you on needing alone time. Today I said I wanted to go dress shopping, and I know DH was trying to make it more fun for me by suggesting I invite a girlfriend, but I was like, "No way!" I can't remember the last time I left the house by myself for two hours.

Operation Wean is helping on that front (nursing 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.). We can go out with a babysitter without worrying about pumping. I can disappear for hours during the middle of the day. So luxurious! Not that this really happens all that much, but the possibility is nice.

So I bought a dress for this charity ball we're attending this weekend. It wasn't too depressing, but I did wind up buying this spandex-like contraption/torture device that sucks in the mama pooch and fastens under my crotch like some kind of medieval chastity belt. The annoying thing is that the pooch is still there -- no amount of stuffing, tightening, or sucking in seems to erase it completely -- but at least it won't spill over when sitting down. Let us all take a moment to mourn the eternal passing of my 6 pack, which was once so magnificent that it was the belle of the ball at a gay pool party. Good-bye, nice abs of my 20s . . . hello spandex of my 30s.

Also, I didn't post about losing them because I was too afraid they were really gone forever, but I just found my missing diamond stud earrings. I figured out they were missing last week when we were heading to the beach and I was trying to secure my jewelry in case of theft. For some reason I had stuck them in the pocket of a purse that I haven't used in forever. I mean, yeah, I was already scheming how to find my pendant solitaire a new buddy and turn those into a new, bigger pair, but this is much better. Need to save $$$ now that I'm not working!