PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[cara]

Its not friday, but here is a somewhat recent picture...

 

[gingerB]

yay allie for an awesome deal!

crying in their sleep - gosh..that's so sad i don' t like it when A does it, and now thinking of him seing me leave making him cry, well that makes ME want to cry

HH - i think YOU don't think things are moving in the right direction, then def see another pedi -- if anything at least for a 2nd opinion. our A had smilar symptoms, we did all the non-medical things first because i REALLY didn't want him to start meds unless he had to, but nothing worked so we started prevacid. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. now i'm not saying it'll work for your A, but if you don't agree with what oyur doc says, ask another one what thay think...can't hurt.

mara - oh em gee that is the cutest! seriously though, i can't whitsle either so i'm next in line after tao for lessons A started clapping this week too! Wednesday to be exact. Our nanny had an emergency so I came home and we were just hanging out. He loves when we clap and get excited about something,, so I was doing that and he started copying me. It actually tok me a while to process that he was clapping. SO FRIGGIN' CUTE! So now when we clap and say "Yay! Yay A yay!!!" he starts giggling and clapping. LOVE

cara - what a smile!!

As for us, A is now standing on his own and he doesn't need to pull up on things to stand anymore, he can just get up from a sit/crawl and stand . Cruises steady, but can only take 1-2 wobbly steps before losing his balance and plopping down. He zips up the stairs like a pro (with us right behins him of course) and can CLIMB ON to our ottoman . i swear once this kid figures out how to run, DH and I are in TROUBLE. He hasn't figured out how to get off things yet, still goes headfirst. i swear this kid has no fear. He's fallen off our bed (not that high onto carpet) and he's fallen off a chair (at a photography session onto a hardwood floor ) and DH and i tried to let him do a controlled fall, just to scare him a little so that he'd stop flinging himself off into empty space, but nope, nothing fazes him. when i catch him, I try to turn him around and show him how to slide off backwards, but he hasn't caught on yet.

he's opening all our cabinets and has figured out how to turn DH's xbox on and off . i think it's cute, DH does not

food-wise, we're putting that single toofus to work! today i stewed sirloin and chicken (seperately) until for tender and then cut it up, essentially like a micro version of pulled pork, added the "jous" back in to keep it juicy and gave him that with pureed carrots and green beans. i'm slowly moving away from pureeds and putting more and more "solid" solid foods in. and getting over my wussiness and giving him tidbits of our food, atleast to taste so he can get used to lots of diff flavors.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Its not friday, but here is a somewhat recent picture...

What a cutie!!!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Woo, ginger, you sound like you have a very busy bee on your hands! I wish I had the kind of energy these babies have. So jealous.

Micah has been on all fours and rocking all weekend, off and on. I REALLY want him to crawl, and until now he hadn't shown much interest. The baby of my mom's co-worker that was born 5 days before Micah is already crawling all over the place and I was so sad that Micah wasn't yet. I was afraid he was going to go straight to walking ( ) but maybe now there is some hope!

He still has no idea what is making him move when he's in the walker, though. He will scoot towards me, or backwards if I am not attracting his attention, and always looks surprised. It's kind of hilarious. Silly baby.

 

[blushingbride]

Hi All!

Just checking in with all of you again since I have a few minutes to myself.

Cara - love the pic! What an adorable smile he has!

HH - I can totally sympathize with you and your pedi issues. The main pedi who runs our practice had a very relaxed approach to Laila's reflux issues when we took her to see him last week. Meanwhile, we saw their usual Dr. today for their 2-month check-up and she gave us a prescription for Zantex which we are eager to try. Poor Laila has such bad reflux and is so uncomfortable...it's really hard to watch! We are hoping that this and a little rice cereal added to her breastmilk/formula will do the trick.

The babes are growing up quick! Laila is now 8lbs. 7oz and Alen is 9lbs 11oz! He's also now 21.5 inches and she's 21.3 inches long!! Crazy they are already two months!

BTW - I'm pumping tons more milk now...when I wake up in the AM, I'm pumping at least 6.5 oz's...where as before it was 2.5 or 3oz's tops. Thanks for all the help in this area!

Seems like everyone is doing well...will be sure to write more later when I have more time...the babes are calling my name!

 

[Sha]

Just popping in really quickly...I was away over the weekend and am back home trying to catch up with stuff.

cara - cute pic!

Where are all the other BPF pics??

HH - Dalila's name is pronounced 'Da-lee-la'. Thanks for the compliment!

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

So AF came on Saturday! What a shock! After 11 months. It was such a surprise to see 'red' down there when I wiped - I literally stared at the paper for 5 minutes in disbelief. I had no warning cramps or cramps during or anything. She only lasted 2 days - Saturday and Sunday, so pretty light overall. It's nice to know my body is getting back to normal.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Oh Blushing, happy to hear that your supply is up! Sounds like the Domperidone is working for you- how much of that (and the other supps) are you taking? I never know if I'm taking enough.

Boo for AF, Sha. At least her stay was short!

Cara- what a sweet pic, and too cool that you were able to take advantage of your DH's conference to get in some family getaway time

Ginger- YAY for clapping and standing. A is really on a roll!

Mara- Any new news on J's cold/cough?

I forgot who asked about schedules- we're 3 weeks into it, and things seem to be working OK:
6:10- mama/papa wakes- 1st wave of getting ready (shower, makeup, etc...)
6:30- bebe wakes- papa feeds bottle, mama pumps one side. bebe nurses on other side. burp, "upright time"
7:15- change bebe's clothes, have him hang out on bed while mama dresses- pass off to dad. Mama finishes getting ready
7:30- bebe and mama in car- head to DC

DC is about 3 minutes away from home. I'm usually there for about 10 minutes as I like to get him settled into his crib, put his BM in the fridge, etc... Work is about 30 minutes from home and I'm there by 8:15 on a good day.

AFM- Nico turned 5 months yesterday! We began solids over the weekend. He had his first taste of avocado and didn't know what to do with it- was so perplexed. But by yesterday he actually opening his mouth towards the spoon and sucking on it. Today is the last day of avocado and we'll try sweet potatoes tomorrow.

Work is going OK- getting into the swing of things, but am SO glad to walk out the door at 2p. It's my last PT week, and I'm not looking forward to going FT week after next.

We leave for the IL's on Sunday for the Holiday week. I'm NOT looking forward to being there for 5 days. ugh- why did I agree to an extended visit? They live in middle-of-nowhere-PA, so it's always an adventure to get there (I think we connect in Dulles). I'm usually a VERY light packer, but I'm planning to bring EVERYTHING and the kitchen sink for this visit as I really don't know what we'll really need for N.

 

[somethingshiny]

Lily and I both had dr appts today. I have had 3 migraines in 3 weeks. My GP thinks it's hormone related and there's not much to do but wait it out. My ob/gyn has suggested going off the pill for 3 months. THAT'S not a good idea!! So, we're going to use the oh-so-reliable rhythm method this month and see if the headaches go away. If they don't, I'll jump right back on the pill. If they do come, I'll have to reevaluate the situation.

Doc is concerned about Lily's weight now. She's off the charts. 19lbs 10oz. She's just doubled her birthweight, so that's appropriate, but because of how much she's gained in 2 months, he's concerned. She's 25.5" and in the 90th percentile for height. He's assuming she'll be built like her daddy and me. It bothers me though. I don't want my daughter to have the weight battle all of her life. It makes me sad. Last appt, doc said to dilute the formula a bit and today he had me dilute it a bit more. He does think it's a side effect of her heart meds, but the only way to find out would be to take her off and obviously that's not an option. She sees the card on Monday so I'll talk to them and see what they think. Maybe there's a different med or something to try.

Sorry this is so mecentric, Lily had shots yesterday and has been running a fever and fussing so I have to do all of this one-handed.

Cute bebe pics but where are the rest?? I love seeing all the PSer pretties!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Here's a better late than never BPF of my little chunk-a-monk!

 

[Puppmom]

SS, don't stress too much about Lily's weight. My nephew went from 12lbs to 18lbs between 2 and 4 months. He's now 10.5 months and weighs 25lbs. It's still a lot but the weight gain really tapered off. I'm not convinced that a child's weight at this early age is much of an indication of their future stature.

HH, that baby throwing gang signs again? He's getting so big...and cute!

Charger, I'm glad to hear work is going well. Boo to full time but it sounds like you have a good set up with your schedule and DC being close-by. Maybe you and DH can take advantage of staying with family and have a nice night out!

Monkey, sounds like Micah is going to crawl any day! My nephew did the all fours, then moved to downward dog...now he's crawling all over!

Ginger, standing? That's awesome! It must be so weird to look at that little peanut standing up!

Cara, Silas is so handsome. Smiles are the best!

Mara, J sounds like he's so much fun these days. The whistling sounds absolutely adorable.

AFM, things are a little hectic as the pace has really picked up at work. I FINALLY got N to laugh for me tonight. So cute!!!! I got out the video camera and tried to get him to laugh again but he decided to cry instead. Oh well, maybe next time.

N still always wants to eat when I get home. We've come to the conclusion that's just how it is. It doesn't matter when he last ate - even if it's just an hour before, he still wants to nurse when I get home. I think it's more about needing the closeness than the nourishment. I think it's cute that he wants his mama!

Here are a few pics since I never get to share anymore. I just love him!

Oh, and mommies of boys - you must listen to Beautiful Boy by John Lennon. You'll seriously tear up!

 

[somethingshiny]

lol. I think half of Aidan's pics look like he should have a speech bubble that says "sup?"

pupp~ I'm trying not to worry about Lily's weight. the thing is, I have a friend whose little girl started gaining weight really young and is now a 100lb 5 yr old. Logically, i realize that this is unlikely, but it's what my mind goes to. i think of that little girl's poor health and my heart aches for her. I just don't want that for Lily.
Nolan is so sweet sucking his thumb!!

 

[Mara]

babies are sooo cute!!! yay!

CG.. thanks for asking about J. he's getting better finally! i called and the nurse said not to worry about a snotty nose esp if teething, apparently he can be snotty pretty much almost forever and it's ok. she said if no fever and no real cough then it's fine. she said persistent cough for 2 weeks, then they worry. anyhoo he's finally drying up even though he has a little cough.

and yes he is so fun...!! i love him at this stage/age. my sister is coming home from europe for a week for thanksgiving next week and i am so excited for her to see J and spend some time with him. she is going to freak out when she sees how different he is..!! i can't wait.

here's a belated shot of J from this wkd taken by one of his most favorite aunties..!!! i love it because i'm tickling him and he's giggling.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Hey ladies, yea Aidan belongs to the west side gang...Thanks for the compliments

Aidan is constipated. Like full on rabbit pellets of play dough. I'm guessing it's from the rice cereal we put in his bottle for his reflux. I changed from Gerber to Beechnut the other day. What can I give him to soften things up? I'd really rather not have to put anything in his butt at this point.

 

[Mara]

Is he totally on formula now HH? You might be able to increase water intake a little bit through less powerful formula for a bit. I think in the past people have used a little prune or apple juice in the bottle. But if J had constipation one or two poops it would usually clear up the next one if we modified his eating a little. And when you mix rice cereal, just use more liquid. Good luck.

 

[Puppmom]

Mara, J's hair looks so light in that pic! ...he's so handsome.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Hey ladies, yea Aidan belongs to the west side gang...Thanks for the compliments

Aidan is constipated. Like full on rabbit pellets of play dough. I'm guessing it's from the rice cereal we put in his bottle for his reflux. I changed from Gerber to Beechnut the other day. What can I give him to soften things up? I'd really rather not have to put anything in his butt at this point.

Poor little guy! He just can't catch a break! Try some baby apple prune juice in his formula - a tablespoon or two will do the trick. This is what we do for Micah. You can get it in the baby food section, the kind I use is Gerber. And holy cow he's humongous! It's like he grew overnight. He's such a cutie!

pupp, omg, the thumb sucking! That is SO adorable! Get that video camera ready, lots of fun things are coming.

Mara, I love the tongue sticking out, hah. Do all babies do that? Giggles = tongue out like a puppy. It's seriously the cutest thing.

Micah was a naughty monkey last night. He fussed a little around 2am so DH fed and changed him, and I thought he went back to sleep. But then I woke up at 4:20 to Micah crying and DH asking him why he won't just go to sleep already. Apparently he stayed awake that whole time and DH didn't want to wake me (I had barely slept the last two days for some reason, I was exhausted) so he just kept him in the living room. He was so tired when I got up he couldn't stop yawning and he was hyper as heck. Bad baby!

 

[Kunzite]

Hi ladies! For those that don't read the preggo thread, my little Oliver was born a week and a half ago at 31 weeks. He's still in the ISCU (moved from the NICU on Monday... yahoo!) and doing really well.

Obviously at that age I can't BF so I've been pumping. My question is about freezing BM. I have the Medela freezer bags and they seem to get milk under the seal when I lay them flat to freeze (they don't actually leak it just sits under the seal). Is this a normal thing with freezer bags? I've started freezing them upright to get rid of this problem, but obviously the bags take up a ton more space in the freezer when they're not frozen flat. Am I just being paranoid or do these bags just suck?

 

[Puppmom]

Kunzite, I had the same problem with Medela bags. I switched to Lansinoh, they're cheaper and have a double-seal. They freeze "flatter" too if that makes sense. The only downside is you can't pump directly into them.

Glad to hear O is doing well and I hope the girls cooperate and give you lots of output! Sounds like you're off to a good start!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I never used the Medela bags, just the Laninsoh. I sealed them standing up-so I could squeeze out all the air and then I laid them flat for freezing. Speaking of, I've got SO MUCH frozen BM that I can't use...what should I do with it, thoughts?

So Aidan had another suspiciously firm poop, larger and the consistency of playdough again. So I picked up some apple juice. I had no idea there was an apple juice specific for babies though. I got the Organic Apple and Eve, will that be OK?

 

[MonkeyPie]

I never used the Medela bags, just the Laninsoh. I sealed them standing up-so I could squeeze out all the air and then I laid them flat for freezing. Speaking of, I've got SO MUCH frozen BM that I can't use...what should I do with it, thoughts?

So Aidan had another suspiciously firm poop, larger and the consistency of playdough again. So I picked up some apple juice. I had no idea there was an apple juice specific for babies though. I got the Organic Apple and Eve, will that be OK?

Apple might work, but usually when you look for something to loosen stools you want anything starting with a P - prunes, pears, etc. If he's never had juice before though it may work just to startle his system. Does he act like it hurts to push or anything? Micah had peanut butter consistency poops for ages before he got on a "schedule".

 

[Mara]

HH you should look into donating it.

We also used Lanisoh, 1/2 the price of Medela and worked great. I also squeezed all the air out then froze upright then just laid flat to store. I think that Lindsay had some sort of solution gift bag thing where you could freeze upright then store upright in some container and she said it was a perfect fit. Not sure if anyone remembers that. We had an ice area in the freezer that we didn't use (we don't use our icemaker) so I just used that separate area to store all the BM.

MP... I love that tongue!! So cute..and he's always blowing raspberries and if we stick our tongue out and move it back and forth and make a noise with it he will mimick us. So fun.

Pupp.. I know his hair is getting really light! Who IS this child?!

 

[jcrow]

Hi ladies! For those that don't read the preggo thread, my little Oliver was born a week and a half ago at 31 weeks. He's still in the ISCU (moved from the NICU on Monday... yahoo!) and doing really well.

Obviously at that age I can't BF so I've been pumping. My question is about freezing BM. I have the Medela freezer bags and they seem to get milk under the seal when I lay them flat to freeze (they don't actually leak it just sits under the seal). Is this a normal thing with freezer bags? I've started freezing them upright to get rid of this problem, but obviously the bags take up a ton more space in the freezer when they're not frozen flat. Am I just being paranoid or do these bags just suck?

congrats!!!! and welcome :]

i use those medela freezer bags and they do the same for me. i don't worry about it. i do make really sure they are sealed though. i also like the lansinoh bags because they lay flatter, but i LOVE that you can attached the medela ones to the pump, so i use those.

 

[jcrow]

hh - we used apple juice cut with water and it worked just fine. good luck.

 

[somethingshiny]

So my daughter has started screaming for no obvious reason that last few days. Someone will be holding her and she'll start fussing and then end up screaming and no one has known what the problem was. Today, I figured it out. She wants to hold someone's hand! As soon as I give her my hand she quiets down. Sometimes she'll just play with my fingers, sometimes she'll put my hand in her hair and sometimes she just hold it. She's also started humming when she wants me to hum to her! I was rocking her trying to get her to sleep and she'd hum for a minute and then stop, then fuss and hum again, then stop, etc. Finally I started humming to her and she smiled and went to sleep. Demanding much?? lol My girl knows what she wants!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

well we didn't have any luck with the apple juice. He's still pooping play dough. So we've graduated to prune juice....

 

[MonkeyPie]

well we didn't have any luck with the apple juice. He's still pooping play dough. So we've graduated to prune juice....

Sometimes it takes awhile. Micah is usually pretty fast but he is very reactive, and I am pretty sure A has some of mama's digestive issues so it may take him a bit longer. The prune juice does work better, though. Fingers crossed!

 

[Puppmom]

Poor A. Hopefully he gets a good poop soon. It's a good sign that he's still going...even if it's hard. Being backed up is no fun!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Poor baby is squirming and crying out in his sleep I guess the prune juice must be working. I did 1 oz in 2 ozs of formula and an extra oz of water for 4 oz total. It's gross stuff, I didn't think he'd take it if there wasn't formula mixed in.

 

[somethingshiny]

HH~ Have you tried bicycling his legs or a warm bath? I hate it when the babies get constipated. So uncomfortable and nothing you can do to relieve it immediately. Hope he feels better soon!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Poor baby is squirming and crying out in his sleep I guess the prune juice must be working. I did 1 oz in 2 ozs of formula and an extra oz of water for 4 oz total. It's gross stuff, I didn't think he'd take it if there wasn't formula mixed in.

Poor baby. I bet it is working, and that's why he's so uncomfortable. But it was probably a good idea to use so much to get him going. I second SS in the bicycling of his legs. Also bend them at the knee and curl them toward his belly for a second or two, release, and do it again. You may not have to do it for very long!