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PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

ok im really scared of this vommiting...jackie keeps vomiting ..its not everyday or every feeding but the last 2 days it has been once a day....and she is fussy and uncomfortable...i will go to pedi today but im so worried .,...maybe its reflux or need soy milk>? ugh
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NYC I know we have asked you this before, but when you say "vomiting" what do you mean? Hunter pretty much spits up all day long and it is a lot. For example, if he is laying on his back and spits up, it soaks his hair and leaves a wet patch on the bed that is about the size of his head. If I am holding him, it will soak the front of his shirt, or mine
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. If he is nrusing in bed it again soaks a wet spot on the sheets that is often bigger than his head! In other words, the volume of liquid is large. Many babies just spit up and it is nothing to worry about! And babies are also often fussy. The two may not be related at all! Also, around the twinks age -- actually a month less adjusting for their prematurity -- Hunter was still learning how to digest his food and he was gassy a lot and uncomfotable. He outgrew that stage gradually between 2 and 3 months, which is around 3 to 4 months for your two! I''m only pointing this stuff out because you have been to the ped a bunch of times and he keeps saying things are fine... your babes are growing well right? Unfortunately, sometimes we just have to comfort and nurse our babies through their developmental hurdles! Obv. check with the ped if you are really worried, but I just wanted you to know that it is completely possible that it is normal!
 
Love the baby pics!

NYC, my girl spit up a TON between 3-7 months. Yes, 4 months of that crap. I stunk for 4 months. And it was a lot too, but it wasn''t really vomiting...just spit up. It just came back up a couple of feedings a day. All of the sudden at 7 months, it stopped.
 
nys - Kyle also spits up a lot. If she''s only doing it once a day, then it probably is normal. The constant formula changing may also be upsetting her tummy. At their adjusted age Kyle was also fussy, it''s just something they go through. As long as she''s gaining weight, then she''s probably fine.
 
Date: 7/2/2009 1:52:14 PM
Author: MustangGal
nys - Kyle also spits up a lot. If she''s only doing it once a day, then it probably is normal. The constant formula changing may also be upsetting her tummy. At their adjusted age Kyle was also fussy, it''s just something they go through. As long as she''s gaining weight, then she''s probably fine.
I thought this too! I think you need to try sticking to one for as long as possible. Babies digestion is very underdeveloped and it takes a lot of time to adjust to something new I am sure.
 
Hi Mommies!
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***Minor thread jack****

Nycbkgirl, can you check out my post over in the preggos thread?

Thank you!
 
hey mommies!

Had another choking episode last night!! It''s awful! So scary, but I''m trying to remain calm (my DH worries enough for the both of us). We have our appt Monday at the gastric pedi. Yesterday was the WORST day ever, Lex cried from 2:00am - 5:00pm....no joke! I hadn''t slept more than 2 hours all day and seriously was loosing my mind. When DH got home, I handed him Lex and told him to leave me alone until midnight.....I REALLY needed that sleep, I feel so much better today. Lex is also doing much better today, I think he just had an upset stomach yesterday, he was extra gassy.

I know I''m only 4 weeks pp, but my weight is NOT budging!!! And I''m not even breastfeeding! I lost 20 right away, but this last 15-20 is going to take a LOT of work to get off, I just know it! I''ve been taking Lex for a long walk every morning, but doesn''t seem to be helping at all. Sucks! It''s summer, and I literally have NOTHING to wear. Well, I can fit into my tops, but my pants I''m afraid will NEVER fit again. I have HUGE thunder thighs and a bubble butt........so gross
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Courtney - Regarding staying home, I say do it if you can. I agree w/ DD that they are only babies once. I''m staying home until December. I was lucky enough that my bosses are willing to "hold" my job for me (temp there now). I don''t get paid, but I still have a job to go back to...can''t ask for more than that (at least in the US....hehehe).

And if you think your little one weighs a lot, Lex already weighs 10 lbs!!!!!!!! He''s a month old only! He weighed 7 lb 8 oz at birth. This kid eats like a maniac and if he had his way would eat all the time! He just never seems satisfied. My DH and I really have to make him stop eating....nuts!

Hope everyone else is doing well!
 

Thanks for the link DD, very interesting!


On the manual pumping, I find that I need to do a bit and then come back 5 minutes later, so I do both sides and alternate back and forth until the bottle is done - normally takes about 20 minutes for 100ml. Doing compressions can help as well.


Courtney - sorry you''re feeling down about the weight thing. You looked so amazing in the last bump photos that I can''t believe you don''t look pretty great now - you certainly didn''t seem to have an ounce of fat that I could see. I do have a metabolism that makes losing weight easier and I don''t have bread/cake/biscuits in the house so I''m eating a low carb. diet most of the time, however the real test is what the mirror says not the scales!


NYC - Daisy sleeps through any noise (I''ve always put her to sleep in the sitting room except at night so she gets used to noise) as long as it''s not in those two vital minutes when it''s a case of will she, won''t she go to sleep... at that point any noise will send her straight back to wide awake and I have to start all over again (have nearly murdered DH a couple of times...)

 
cdt - at 4 weeks pp your body still thinks it needs to hold onto the extra weight. For the 2 months I stayed home with the baby I walked over 45 minutes every day, and only lost 3 pounds.
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. Give your body a little more time to remember what it should be like. I didn''t think my rib cage and hip bones would ever go back, but they have. I switched to a lower carb diet last month and that helped a ton.
 
DD - 2 oz per side isn''t bad at all! I usually get about 3 oz per side during the day, which means that George isn''t around feeding as well.

NYC- George spits up a ton, too. It seems that a lot of babies do, and if your ped isn''t worried it''s probably fine. George can sleep through a bit of noise, but if the dogs start all out barking he''s up.

MustangGal - wow! The pics are amazing!


I feel like work is just getting harder and harder for me by the week. I was basically in tears by the time I got home today because I just missed George so much. Thankfully I have a 3 day weekend.
 
just a drive-by here...

mustang gal - ADORABLE pics! congrats on the new model of baby haha

dd - wanted to pipe in on the electric pump. i''m home for the full yr with J too but am using the electric pump pretty regularly because he has his cereal mixed with breast milk rather than water or formula. if you''re planning on doing that it might make it worthwhile to invest in an electric one. also, i second what someone else said about pumping in the mornings. like you, i also only pump from one side because he feeds from the other one, and what i''ve found helps is when you wake up in the middle of the night for a feeding, drink a full glass of water (i keep my bottle next to the bed) and so by the time we wake up for the morning i get about 4-5 oz when i pump. since J only wakes up once @ night to feed, the side that he didn''t feed from @ night is the one i pump. hope this helps!

hope all the mommies are doing well!
 
I''m starting a thread on my conflict with staying home vs. returning to work. I''d love everyone''s feedback.
 
Courtney, I really feel your situation re: going back to work or not. I went through the same feelings. Eventually after weighing the pros and cons, costs and benefits, we decided that for now I am going to be a SAHM. I did offer (to my boss) to work part time through the fall to finish up the project I have been working on. I'm working 15 hours a week from home right now. It's hard - have to work after my baby goes to bed at night, when I want to be sleeping - but I'm glad not to have to go to the office and put him in daycare. Even though I know this is the best for our family at this time, I do still have a lot of anxiety about it. Will I be able to get a new job when I want to? Will I still get the respect of my friends and colleagues (most of whom are working moms)? Will I keep my mind sharp? It is not easy to be at home all day with a little one, but I am glad that I am doing it. Anyway, just rambling on about my feelings on the subject. It's a hard decision because whatever you choose, you are giving up something very important - and you just can't be everywhere at once.
 
Date: 7/2/2009 10:07:32 PM
Author: TanDogMom
Courtney, I really feel your situation re: going back to work or not. I went through the same feelings. Eventually after weighing the pros and cons, costs and benefits, we decided that for now I am going to be a SAHM. I did offer (to my boss) to work part time through the fall to finish up the project I have been working on. I''m working 15 hours a week from home right now. It''s hard - have to work after my baby goes to bed at night, when I want to be sleeping - but I''m glad not to have to go to the office and put him in daycare. Even though I know this is the best for our family at this time, I do still have a lot of anxiety about it. Will I be able to get a new job when I want to? Will I still get the respect of my friends and colleagues (most of whom are working moms)? Will I keep my mind sharp? It is not easy to be at home all day with a little one, but I am glad that I am doing it. Anyway, just rambling on about my feelings on the subject. It''s a hard decision because whatever you choose, you are giving up something very important - and you just can''t be everywhere at once.
Thanks, TanDog. I just posted that thread about my situation. You reminded me to mention something else there.
 
Date: 7/2/2009 10:18:20 PM
Author: Courtneylub
Date: 7/2/2009 10:07:32 PM

Author: TanDogMom

Courtney, I really feel your situation re: going back to work or not. I went through the same feelings. Eventually after weighing the pros and cons, costs and benefits, we decided that for now I am going to be a SAHM. I did offer (to my boss) to work part time through the fall to finish up the project I have been working on. I''m working 15 hours a week from home right now. It''s hard - have to work after my baby goes to bed at night, when I want to be sleeping - but I''m glad not to have to go to the office and put him in daycare. Even though I know this is the best for our family at this time, I do still have a lot of anxiety about it. Will I be able to get a new job when I want to? Will I still get the respect of my friends and colleagues (most of whom are working moms)? Will I keep my mind sharp? It is not easy to be at home all day with a little one, but I am glad that I am doing it. Anyway, just rambling on about my feelings on the subject. It''s a hard decision because whatever you choose, you are giving up something very important - and you just can''t be everywhere at once.

Thanks, TanDog. I just posted that thread about my situation. You reminded me to mention something else there.

I wish you luck - it is a very hard decision. When I looked at all the costs including commuting, parking, and taxes (looking at the bracket my earnings puts us in when stacked with DH''s salary, since we file jointly), then minus the cost of daycare, I still came out ahead by working but it was an amount that we felt we could really live without and still be fine. As a household, we can cut back on some of our non-essential spending too. (Not like we are doing a lot of fine dining or travel with a baby anyway, so those are easy to cut!) So it made sense for us financially as well as just feeling like the right thing for now. My biggest concern is just whether I will be able to get a good job again when I am ready, whenever that is! We hope to have another baby in a few years which will make it even less cost effective for me to continue working when they would both be daycare age.
 
Hey mommies!

Last night wasn't so bad...we made it thru anyway
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Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!! We're going to a picnic w/ family, can't wait for Lex to meet his Great-Grandparents for the first time!!

Courtney - I here you on the struggle to stay home vs work. I think i'll be a wreck when I have to go back. But I have a 4 more months so I'm trying not to think about it now
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Good luck w/ whatever you decide!!

NYC - Lex also spits up a LOT at times. Like it seems like the whole bottle. It just started for us this past week. Something else I'll bring up to the gastic doc monday. My DH and I have decided though, no more switching formula. We're sticking w/ the Alimentum. He still has gas, but he seems better other than all the other issues (choking in sleep & vomiting
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). But this is his 4th formula and he's only a month old. It can't be good to switch so much. So i'll agree w/ the others and say just stick it out w/ whatever you choose. Thinking of you and hope the little ones get better soon
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Lex is 1 month old today!! I can't believe it! It went so fast. Definitely hardest month of my life though!

Here he is, weighing a whopping 10 lbs!!! Best shot I could get w/ a wobbly 1 month old....

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Awww, love all the photos!

Cdt, sorry about the scares you have been having with Lex, fingers crossed it sorts itself out for you soon!

Courtney - I so feel for you on the SAH/work dilemma. I am just so horrified at the maternity arrangements that you guys have. My own feeling would be to try and stay at home if finances permit. You only get this time once in your life. I'm in the position where I will have to find a new job at the end of my maternity leave - and it will have to be in a different sector, which is rather scary. However, I've been in that situation before when I came back from Italy and if you do decide to take the time out you will find something else and you'll probably like it better!


I am about to tempt the wrath of the sleep gods here, but I think I might just have cracked it...

I read The Baby Whisperer cover to cover - this time with a real life baby to practice on (it sounds so simple before they turn up!) - and started to really look at what Daisy was doing in the daytime. She doesn't often give the tired signals (yawning etc), but I've worked out that the fussing an hour or so after feeding is actually tiredness - even though she doesn't look in the least bit tired. I had been thinking that she was hungry or bored - it's easy to forget that they are so little and need lots of sleep. I do have to put her on my knee once she starts the cough, cough, cough crying thing and hold her really tightly with a hand under her chin and then she calms right down and starts to drop off at which point I can stick her into her cot.

So the last couple of days she has been going down for a sleep every 2-3 hours for a good 2 hours at a time. Hooray! And...she is still sleeping really well at night.

For those who are/have tried EASY - I still find I have to hold her and rock her a little bit either on the glider or on my knee until she's starting to drift off. I can put her down when she's drowsy and she'll go off to sleep on her own, but if I just try and put her straight down she just starts to cry and fight it. I know that the book says not to use things like feeding, walking, rocking etc to get them to sleep, but I can't see how you can't use something that gets them in the right mind-set to sleep.

Is it reasonable to continue doing what I am doing or am I heading for problems later? I'm very careful not to do anything that I can't do when she's heavier.
 
Thanks everyone for chiming in...

Ystdy was a crazzzy day....she actually vomits ..its not spit up...it was projectile the other day..really scary too!...
Went to pedi it was very nonchalant about it ...he said it wasn''t acid reflux or stenosis or anything..he said she is very gassy and can''t poop that''s the issue bc she''s eating and its all building up and tummy can''t handle it.
He said to keep them on nutramig...
She cried and cried all nite so we decided to give her the baby enima and she pooped it all out and felt better!


Cdt- omg im so sorry about the choking..so scary plz let us know what the doc says! I will def be stickin with the nutramig...

Will get back to everyone lata..
 
Pandora Yippee! I knew you would crack it! It just seemed unbelievable that she really wasn''t tired all day, and an hour is about how long Hunter would stay awake at that age. Now that you have told us she will regress for a day or so
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but I have noticed with Hunter that once we discover a "key" then it seems to mark a real permanent change for him! So good for you mama for sticking it out and finding the solution!

I actually made a similarly important discovery around these parts. Naps had been getting really short to the point where Hunter was only sleeping for about 45 minutes, then was up for 1.5 hours, then napping for 45 minutes... needless to say this was really exhausting! I discovered, though, that I was making the opposite mistake to you, Pandora, in that I was putting him down when he got fussy about an hour or so after waking, when in fact he was hungry! LOL! Of course, he was getting really cranky when I tried to put him down at that time, rolling aorund and crying. Some days it was taking 30 minutes to calm him down to nap! Well, he wasn''t tired!
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I have discovered that when Hunter is actually tired and ready for a nap, he goes down without a peep! Just falls right to sleep when I put him down.

Hunter is at the age where he is easily distracted, so when he wakes from a nap he is really happy to see me and wants to play not eat. So he gets hungry again after about an hour. So I now feed him again about an hour after we wakes.

For the last 3-4 days this has results in a wonderful schedule: wake at 7am, nap from 9 to 11, nap from 1 to 3, final nap from 5 to 6, then down for the night at 7:30!
 
Thanks MRS! No it''s not too stressful. Kind of exciting times as we are going to look for a house soon. Plus I feel good getting rid of a bunch of stuff! Whew! How liberating. And I am looking forward to starting part time work soon. Actually I did a half day on Thursday and it was fun. Hope you have a great weekend. How are you and Sage doing?
 
cdt happy 1 month to lex!! he is so cute!
 
so, im pretty excited...jon ate at 8pm ..didnt sleep...i played and bathed him at 1030, ate at11, sleep by 1130pm -6am!

not bad at all..plzzzz let this last..
but out of all nites that he sleeps good, i got maybe 1 hr...i couldnt sleep bc i was all wound up about MIL...i am def getting a nanny...1 is coming tom for an interview and hopefully we like eachother...bc MIL has overstayed her welcome
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Quiiiiick post - we''re baptizing Romeo tomorrow and I have lots to do...

DD - great schedule. That is exactly what schedule the book "Baby Sleep Solution" suggests.

which seques into my next question:

Courtney - how is Baby Boot Camp going? Details please. We''re going to do the same program (from Baby Sleep Solution) too, starting at 8 weeks. Would love your experience.

Pandora - amazing discovery! Don''t you feel so much more confident the more you get to know Daisy? I do with Romy when I "discover" something.

Romeo wakes up, eats, and then I basically do a quick "Activity" (one of these: diaper change, mobile, walk about the house, bath, etc) and then back to bed. The whole process is no longer than 1.5 hrs. This seems to be working for us. At night, I just feed and change diaper and then back to bed - all in the pitch black - in silence. He basically never wakes
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So I had a very interesting night last night!

DH was on duty with bottles of milk, so I "slept" all night! But clearly my circadiam rhythms are all messed up because I kept waking every 2-3 hours
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Still, I feel a lot better this morning that I have for a while.

We also learned something really interesting: Hunter is not actually hungry at his first wake up around 1:30, but is starving at his 5:00am wakeup! Tacori you suggested that we try giving him a bottle to test if he was just waking for comfort or if he was waking for food, and clearly that first wake up is for comfort. I introduced a "dream feed" at around 10:30pm this week, so maybe in the past he was hungry at 1:30 but not more! DH said that Hunter ate about 1oz but pushed the bottle away. But at 5:30 he guzzled 6oz of milk and even held the bottle for himself he wasso starving!LOL!

So my question is: What method should we use to phase out the first wake-up? I''m not sure cold turkey is right because he seems to get more and more worked up when that happens. We are thinking of sending DH in with a bottle for about 2-3 nights and see what happens, then a couple nights sending him in with a binky. If weaning him off that way doesn''t work then we may try CIO.

Any suggestions??

PS: I pumped 5oz this morning from one breast using my manual pump
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! I am trying to collect a freezer stash so I can have more nights off and also so I can have an afternoon away from Hunter once in a while.
 
Mela, it''s going good so far. We are pretty successful at the day feeding - every 4 hours. Only occasionally do we have to give her 1-2 ounces in between. She''s getting much better at going to bed by 9pm and we only have one night feeding to wean. We just went from 4 oz down to 3.5 oz last night. (We give her formula during the night feeding, by the way.) She normally wakes up at 3am like clock work, but she woke at 6am this time! I think that messed some things up because when I woke at 9am, she was sleeping. I had to get her up and it was a struggle to have her feed like normal for that first feeding of the day. Naps have been the most challenging. This is also because we''re trying to transition her into her crib. Is Romeo still in your room? Oh and it''s also difficult sometimes to keep her awake between the 3rd and final feeding!

Pandora, that is wonderful. I love figuring these things out! I really like knowing Alila''s different cries. She really gets bored a lot! Like mother AND father I suppose.

CDT - I hope yor appointment goes well and that it''s nothing too serious. Just remember that it won''t last, whatever it is! And your pants WILL fit you again. I understand exactly how you feel though. Ugh.

Dreamer - That''s great you''ve got the naps figured out! For that night feeding I would suggest starting with 2 ounces for 3 days, then 1.5 for 3 days, etc. Then use the paci and comforting technique without picking him up. Question for you, when did you move Hunter into his crib and how easy was it to do?

NYC - Congrats on a good night! Fingers crossed that it becomes a pattern!

Well, I''m pretty sure I will stay home with Alila. I posted all about it in my other thread.

For the nursing mommies who enjoy the occasional cocktail, have you heard of milkscreen strips? DH bought some at Walgreens last night and I tested my pumped milk from a couple of nights ago. I''m going to buy a big box from the website!
 
Date: 7/4/2009 11:16:55 AM
Author: Courtneylub

Dreamer - That''s great you''ve got the naps figured out! For that night feeding I would suggest starting with 2 ounces for 3 days, then 1.5 for 3 days, etc. Then use the paci and comforting technique without picking him up. Question for you, when did you move Hunter into his crib and how easy was it to do?
Apparently he didn''t even eat 1oz at that feed last night
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I''m thinking maybe it is more a habit for comfort than food. But I like the idea of "weaning" him off of it so we will see if DH ca ntake that wake up for the next few nights offering the bottle for a few then the paci like you suggested.

We moved Hunter at 4 weeks. We started off with a nap and it went so well we decided to just try it out for the nights and that was fine too. Between 4 and 6 weeks or so getting him to go to sleep at night or for naps was sometimes a real trial. That''s when we were doing the pick-up-put-down and it took occassionally 20 mintes to 40 minutes! I think that was a period of real "sleep training" in that he learned to fall asleep on his own at that time. Prior to that babies are so sleepy all the time that they fall asleep anywhere and anyhow. But we were having the same experience in our room too -- he often took a while to put him down at that time -- so the transition was pretty seamless. That said, sleep training is an ongoing thing. I think there is always something to deal with. When they hit about 4 mo there is a big change in their attention and night wakeups actually increase apparently! Anyways, if you are ready to transition, then just prepare for some regression in sleep for a week or so then it should get better.

That''s great you are going to stay home, it sounded like that was what you really wanted to do. I will admit completely that being home is really hard at times and seems to get more challenging as time goes by. But I''m glad I am doing it.
 
Date: 7/4/2009 11:16:55 AM
Author: Courtneylub
Mela, it''s going good so far. We are pretty successful at the day feeding - every 4 hours. Only occasionally do we have to give her 1-2 ounces in between. She''s getting much better at going to bed by 9pm and we only have one night feeding to wean. We just went from 4 oz down to 3.5 oz last night. (We give her formula during the night feeding, by the way.) She normally wakes up at 3am like clock work, but she woke at 6am this time! I think that messed some things up because when I woke at 9am, she was sleeping. I had to get her up and it was a struggle to have her feed like normal for that first feeding of the day. Naps have been the most challenging. This is also because we''re trying to transition her into her crib. Is Romeo still in your room? Oh and it''s also difficult sometimes to keep her awake between the 3rd and final feeding!

Pandora, that is wonderful. I love figuring these things out! I really like knowing Alila''s different cries. She really gets bored a lot! Like mother AND father I suppose.

CDT - I hope yor appointment goes well and that it''s nothing too serious. Just remember that it won''t last, whatever it is! And your pants WILL fit you again. I understand exactly how you feel though. Ugh.

Dreamer - That''s great you''ve got the naps figured out! For that night feeding I would suggest starting with 2 ounces for 3 days, then 1.5 for 3 days, etc. Then use the paci and comforting technique without picking him up. Question for you, when did you move Hunter into his crib and how easy was it to do?

NYC - Congrats on a good night! Fingers crossed that it becomes a pattern!

Well, I''m pretty sure I will stay home with Alila. I posted all about it in my other thread.

For the nursing mommies who enjoy the occasional cocktail, have you heard of milkscreen strips? DH bought some at Walgreens last night and I tested my pumped milk from a couple of nights ago. I''m going to buy a big box from the website!
glad u made the decision that is right for u and ur family.
 
Happy 4th!

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Pandora - Wow, naps finally! Congrats!


Courtney - She''s cute! And have fun staying home while you can.


DD - When we stopped the 1:30am feeding with Kyle we started with just a pacifier and patting, and he stopped waking up after a few nights. If he only ate 1oz then he''s not hungry, just used to waking then. It shouldn''t take too long to stop him waking at that time.


And Hi to the other mommies!


We went to a BBQ yesterday, and another baby was there. I haven''t really seen many other babies around Kyle, so it was interesting to compare him to this little girl. She was only 5 weeks old, and seeing her parents trying to deal with her sure made us feel like we''re doing pretty good! We were there about 4 hours, and everytime the baby fussed they shoved a bottle at her. To me the poor thing just needed a nap, she only slept like 20 minutes that entire time, while the mom was bouncing her like crazy in her arms. And they never put her down the whole time we were there, just handed her off to the other parent for a while. I didn''t want to butt in, but they seemed so clueless!


So here''s a pic of Kyle next to her, she''s about the same size Kyle was at birth, so you can see how much he''s grown!





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Pandora-

I am so happy for you that you got naps figured out - now can you help me!?!?! :) I have skimmed one of the baby whisperer books but must have missed the part that helped you so much. Can you please advise on these things:

how do you know exactly when to put her down?

What happens if she seems drowsy, you put her down, then she is almost immediately wide awake and crying? (That is what has been happening to me ALL THE TIME lately - we haven''t had a good nap in at least a week)

Say she has a super short nap like 10-20 min then starts crying - do you go in to soothe her, or do you give her some time to see if she''ll go back to sleep and if so how long?

Thanks in advance!
 
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