PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Skippy123]

The boys had their shots yesterday and the Pediatrician was talking adjusted age so by accident (and due to a bit ofsleep deprivation I used the wrong month). haha At least it dawned on me that they ARE really 5 months even though their adjusted age is 3 months. Poor babies had enough w/the picture taking!

great pics mommas!!! I am sooooo HAPPY to see some new mommas join us!!!!

super busy 2 days so I will catch up later!

 

[Kunzite]

LV, you're in serious trouble lady (or am I?), since putting the idea of eBay in my head I've bought 11 rompers and 2 pairs of pajamas! I think DH is going to threaten to take my phone away soon!!

So many adorable pictures in here

 

[basil]

Hi all!

Skippy - too funny with the photo! It will be a funny memory to look back on someday. What are you going to do with the photos? Do you have a frame or anything? I have been looking for something recently, but I can't find anything I love.

Noel - yeay for Skye crawling, and that you got it on video! I bet she will start doing it more and more now that she did it the once. That pink sweater is just too cute!

Moxie - Oh I'm jealous of you getting out and about by yourself! But so not jealous of all that pumping - you are a superstar! I hate pumping already and I only do it occasionally to build up a little freezer supply. Do you have a daycare picked out already? How did you find your sitter? Lucy is such a cutie!

DCG - OMG, I love the tutu! I might have to get one for Hayden You're right - finding a nanny is a pain but finding a good daycare is a pain too. And we have been doing both I'm jealous that you were able to get Sophia on such a predictable schedule. Hayden is still eating every 2-3 hours during the day. Or about 20 minutes short of the length of any errand I try to do, whichever comes first...

LV - Wow, what a scary nanny story! I can't believe that! I told the nanny we just met that we would definitely be calling her references, and we will be doing a trial.

drk - thanks for your input on the nanny - Can I have your nanny? How did you find her? DH and I were talking yesterday and decided a good nanny was better than daycare, but daycare is better than a bad nanny. Problem is deciding ahead of time which is which! The daycare we are looking at is 6-6, so it will work with our schedules. I don't know of any backup - there is a daycare that will take mildly ill kids (i.e. ear infection) in a separate room on a day to day basis. My schedule is a bit flexible 2-3 days a week that I could call off...and I think DH's parters could cover for him in a real emergency. It's just if it ends up being several times a month or something it would be tough.

Lanie - yeah, that's what DH and I worry about a nanny too. Everyone gets sick sometimes. But more likely my 3 month old with a young immune system in a room of germy kids gets sick than the average adult?

Anyway, DH and I went out the other night to dinner and a play while my mom was in town. First night away from my baby! All in all, I really enjoyed dinner and the first act of the play, then I started to want to get home during the second act, even though my mom was texting me that everything was going just fine. I guess I will have to adjust.

We interviewed a nanny yesterday and liked her a lot. She currently works for a pediatric ICU doctor who is moving out of state. DH said that if a peds ICU doc (who sees the worst of the abuse/shaken baby/trauma) trusts her, than she is probably ok. The problem is that the current family doesn't leave til December, and I go back to work in November. So we have to figure out if she wants this position, will she leave early or will we have to find different arrangements? We have one more to interview and then going to revisit the daycare this week.

Next week we're braving the driving home (~10 hours) with the bub and the dog. My brother and SIL will be there from the UK and H will get to meet the whole extended family. Excited for it, except for the drive, since H hates hates hates his carseat

 

[Skippy123]

AFM Okay, I have a little time to post! Yesterday I spent the day cleeeeeaning after the in laws left. awww, the house is so quiet now; it is funny how busy a house gets when people are around. It was fun but also hectic. My SIL helped me take the babies for their shots. Miles weighs 13 lbs 1 oz and Evan 12 lbs 9 ozs and both are about 24 3/4 inch.

Oh and the my SIL and FIL babysat while we went to lunch. Hubby and I laughed at lunch because we kept saying how dang tired we were; there was no movie since we rather spend the time catching up on sleep!!! We just went home after lunch!

Oh and Miles discovered he has a voice so now he makes sounds SUPER LOUD!!! Silly guy! Evan is playing with voice too! It is super cute! They were lots of fun but are becoming more so!!!

thanks about the pictures!!! Oh I hope I didn't miss anyone. OH and 1 more picture!!! Hubby took this so when I saw it I was ---->
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BASIL, I should frame the pictures or make a framed collage. The only problem was that Evan was in the NICU for the first 3 months and Miles was there for the first 7 weeks so I think I started the pic of them together at a little over 3 mo's. Oh one of my friends had to find a nanny and she actually asked if she could hire them for a day to see how it went? Maybe you could do that before you officially hire someone. Are there other doctors that had slightly older kids that no longer need a nanny that you could pick up? doh!!! I just read your post! sorry. I hope the nanny can come over and help you sooner!!!! fingers crossed. Also fingers crossed for your drive; how fun to see family!!!

KUNZITE, hehe about having fun on ebay!! How is sweet Oliver? Hope everyone is feeling better!

NOEL, yay for Skye crawling!!! super cute!!!

HOUIE, yay for you popping in!!!

MOXIE, oh I remember all the pumping and cleaning. Have you tried the mothers milk tincture? or the mother's milk tea; that helped my supply for a little while. Your baby is beautiful!!! hang in there momma, I remember the 1st month was the toughest! hugs, you are doing great!!!

LV, yay for ebay shopping! I should do that!!! I think I might list clothes on ebay since everyone bought us 3 months and we only used about 1/4 of the clothes!! Or maybe I will list them later as I can't see myself going to the post office any time soon! I want to know how to keep socks on too!!!! Miles and Evan kick theirs off from lots of kicking! happy 8 mos!

DCG, she is beautiful!!! Yay for 6 weeks! aw, yay for baby smiles! Oh and the mother's milk tea and tincture helped w/producing more milk, just as an fyi if you want to try something to up your milk supply.

LANIE, thanks!!! How are you? How is A? We need some A pics please!!

PUPP, love the pics!!!

 

[noelwr]

the above photo is so freakin' cute

 

[Skippy123]

the above photo is so freakin' cute

thank you NOEL!!! How are you and Skye doing today? how is the crawling? I think it is so funny once the babies get the hang of crawling that they are crazy fast doing it! I guess their chubby little knees help w/all the crawling, or at least my nephews did. hehe

 

[charbie]

Hi again! Lemme try to catch up...
Skippy: that pic is too cute. I was just telling DH that Aubrey found a new set of lungs. Isn't as cute as baby babble, but her screams hhave some uuumph now!
Basil: good luck on the nanny search. We are so lucky that DH's cousin will be watching A, even moreso now with her impending surgery. Any illness will really set her back, so we have to do in home care. It'll be so nice for H to see the family, and I commend you for making that trip! Hope it goes well! And thank you for sharing re: your college friend. Ms. A has huge hands and feet...we say she's gonna play volleyball or basketball.
Noel: yay for crawling! Sorry S is now wanting another bottle at night....its no fun to get used to a sleep pattern of your own again, only to get it disrupted. Hope she ends this is new habit soon!
Moxie: what a cutie! Sorry you also had a cardiac health scare! Thank you for the tidbit about your DH being a part of these surgeries. Everything positive helps. Im thinking of exclusively pumping once I go back to work but not sure yet what the plan will be.
DCG: look at little miss Sophia in her tutu! Love it! She look so big! Thanks for the info, I may ask some questions as things move forward.. how's Florida treating you all?
Lanie: that's exactly it....you never think these things will affect your family. And when it does, your at a loss. I just wonder to myself, 'why her? Why does my daughter have to go through this?" Im glad your friend's story is positive...I know it will all work out for Aubrey.
LV: any resolution on the crazy lady with the cell phone? Id be livid as well. Not sure what they can do....but its worth it to mention something.

Hope I haven't missed too many mommies...trying to catch up from my phone between nursing sessions...we are on a streak of cluster feedings today....yippee!
AFU: Aubrey had a follow up with her pedi today...she gained back all of her birthweight plus 7 oz! So 12 oz in 1 week. He doesn't think its fluid from her lungs yet, so we are very happy with her growth. And he said we can scale back night feeding now...every 4-5 hrs instead of 3-4 if she doesn't wake up. Tommorrow is a trip to the cardiologist which will hopefully give us some sort of a plan of attack. Ivee done dons of research on VSDs, and also looked up her cardiologist. Lemme just say he rocks. And our pedi knows him from his cardio rotation in med school...the pedi did an extra rotation in cardio...he said that if his kids ever had a cardiac issue, this doc is who he would want. He said he is the most caring doc he knows, and one of the smartest men as well. He said it doesn't get better than him, and he has been named to Americas Best Doctors multiple times. So gives me a huge boost of confidence that they will manage Aubreys health and all will be ok.

 

[somethingshiny]

Hello, all! Just wanted to say I'm following along even if I can't keep up with postings! All the bebes are too cute!

 

[Puppmom]

I was just staring at my little bug while I was putting him to bed and got all sentimental. He's such a big boy! So...here are some pics of my man. My has he grown!

 

[Puppmom]

the last few...

 

[Lanie]

pupp -- can you repost the milk coma picture you posted a looooong time ago? It's the cutest photo! He has really grown up! And a side note -- I love the color in your living room (the blue). Do you happen to know what color that is? I want to paint our bedroom and that's exactly the color I want!!! Hahaha!

charbie -- hope your visit with your cardio is good!

 

[Puppmom]

just for you Lanie...I love his little Pocket T. Oh, and my living room paint actually isn't blue, it's beige. Burmese Beige to be exact. We were SO conservative when we painted. The dining room is Basic Beige and our bedroom is Sand. The kids' rooms are the only ones with any color.

ETA - how is it that my kid squeezes himself into the 6 inch strip in his crib that I can't see on the monitor? Does he giggle to himself that I'm downstairs panicking when I turn on the monitor and see an empty crib?

 

[noelwr]

pupp - N's photos are too cute! thanks for sharing those.

- - -

we went to my office yesterday so that my colleagues could see Skye, and she was shy at first, but then realized she was the center of attention and had a blast. she only crawls properly on the carpet now. on the wooden floor she still swim-crawls. her new game is to close the living room door and shout at me through the glass. I skipped the extra bottle last night to see how it would go, but she woke up hungry at 4am. don't know what I should do to get her to STTN again.

and now for some pics...

baby legs!


obsessed with washing machine...

 

[somethingshiny]

Pupp~ Nolan is so cute! I love that you called him your bug. I've called JT Bug since he was teensy and I still do.

Noel~ Skye in the washer is hilarious! Lily has never been able to give up her bedtime bottle yet. She always wakes if she doesn't have it, but sleeps through if she does.

 

[lliang_chi]

Noel, is that how Skye stays so squeaky clean? LOL! I love the little baby feet picture too!!!

 

[noelwr]

shiny - what time is Lily's bedtime bottle? S has one at 7:15, before she goes to sleep... and then used to STTN til at least 7am the next day. for a couple of days I have been waking her up at 11pm to suck down another bottle (which she does auto-pilot with her eyes closed) so she wouldn't wake me up in the middle of the night. it worked, but I'm afraid of over-feeding. the last 2 nights we didn't do the extra bottle, and today she woke up at 5:30am. I think it's okay because she goes right back to sleep after, but ideally would like her to go back to her old schedule.

lliang_chi - saw your bump pic in the preggo thread. looking good, Momma! can't wait to see a couple of cute Asian babies on here. I'm part Asian, but you can't see it in Skye.

 

[Skippy123]

Pupp, awww, he has grown so much!!!

NOEL, Skye is too cute in the washer!

great pics

 

[somethingshiny]

Noel~ Lily's bedtime bottle is between 7 and 8 depending on how her naps went during the day. Then she sleeps until I wake her up at 7:30 when I have to get JT off to school. On weekends, she'll sleep until 9. We cut out the 10 pm bottle at around 7-8 months I think. As soon as she was weaned off her meds, I switched from a supper with bottle and 10pm bottle to supper without bottle and bedtime bottle. The first few nights, she'd wake early in the morning but wasn't really hungry. She started sleeping the 12 hrs within a week or two of the new schedule.

 

[basil]

Hi all!

Noel - super cute pics of Skye in the washer! Actually, Hayden is half Chinese (his dad) too! I think it's hard to tell if you don't know though, but I can see it in his eyes and his nose is exactly like his dad's. Unfortunately for him, he has my pale white skin tone instead of daddy's nice tan!

Pupp - I love the sequence! Amazing how they grow so fast!

Charbie - glad A is gaining so well and doing great! Scaling back the night feedings is nice, I hope A is cooperating with that...I would trust your ped about the cardio referral. I'm sure A is in great hands.

Skippy - that headphone pic is so cute! You capture the cutest expressions on your little guys.

Anyway, I visited the daycare again and it seems adequate. I'm sure Hayden would be fine there. We met another nanny and weren't very impressed at all - showed up in ripped jeans, smelling of smoke, is 21 and just moved in with her boyfriend of 6 months. Nice girl, just not what I envisioned. We decided to offer the position to the one we met last week and we'll see if she accepts. If not, we may just settle for the daycare.

I can't believe Hayden is 8 weeks today! Some photos..he's really getting his facial expressions going, and I think maybe a little more hair?

 

[Lanie]

pupp -- YAY!!! That's the one! I LOVE that photo! And I swear your living room looks light blue in that photo. Darn it! I was hoping you'd enlighten me on a good color.

noel -- love the dryer pics! That's hilarious! Is that a pic of Skye "unpacking" her toy crate? We have one for Anderson in the main room he roams around in and he unpacks it about 3 times a day. It's so funny! And Anderson army crawls on our wooden floors, but once he hits carpet or our travertine floors in the bathrooms, he does the normal crawl too, like Skye.

basil -- love those pics! Especially that first one. Hope your nanny works out for you!

 

[dcgator]

Hey mamas,

I hope all is going well in baby land. Things are moving along here, and it looks like I have a lot to catch up on with you all.

LV - I actually got it from a local vendor. The name of the maker is called Onesie Tutusie. The lady has a Facebook page if you want to check it out. As for the pumping, it can be a pain, but at least she is getting some of my milk. And thanks for the advice on the milk production. I might have to try some of those.

Moxie - OMG, I feel you girl with the pumping and feeding. But the breastfeeding definitely caused more problems for her than the bottle, so I am going to do whatever makes her feel better. S also has the slight reflux issues, but we keep them at bay with bottle. I am a big fan of the swing and also riding in the car. I can't say I have any magic bullets, although Baby Mozart will keep her attention for about 20 minutes or so. I can't complain too much though b/c otherwise S is a really happy baby and pretty well behaved. It's just the gas.reflux issues we need to work on...Btw, cute pics of Lucy

Noel - Sorry about the feeding issues, but hopefully they are getting better. She is getting very big though, and what a pretty girl!

Skippy - The boys are too cute, I all the pics!

Kunzite - I hope all is well with you and O.

Basil - Yes, the daycare vs nanny thing can be tricky, but hopefully it will work out for you. My mom HATES the "d" word, but I am actually think it will be better for her in the long run. The colds/sickness is going to suck at first, but I guess she needs to get used to it sooner rather than later. As for the going out, it's good to get a break, but it's lovely to get back home to the little one when you are done. Ugh on the car trip but good luck making it. All I can say it try to do it when he sleeps best. Btw, the latest pics of him are sooo precious!

Charbie - I am glad to hear that Aubrey is doing well and I hope she continues her positive progress. Thanks for asking about our move. FL is treating us very well. Life is much less hectic (in the non-baby sense) and we love having more room in a house now. My DH also loves his job, so that's great. My family is about a 3.5 drive away, so that is a big help too. All in all, I give this move an A.

Pupp - He is too cute, and I just want to pinch those cheeks!

AFU - We are doing pretty well. S will be 7 weeks tomorrow and I can't even believe how fast the time is moving. We are trying to push her feedings longer and increase the last late night one to see if we can get her to STTN, but we will see how that goes. Otherwise, she loves her room, but doesn't really like to be in her crib b/c she needs vibrations and/or movement to get to sleep most times. I did read that there is a vibrating thing you can get to put in their beds though, so I am going to look into that. AFM, I got the all clear from the doc to get back to normal which was good. I started to run on Monday and although I was sore, it felt good. I went for a very light jog with S this morning and of course, stepped on a nut thingie from a tree and rolled my foot. I was feeling ok earlier, but now the pain is rediculous and I can barely walk. Oh joy Ren. I am hoping that it feels better tomorrow, but we shall see. Anywho, time to feed and pump now, so I will talk to you all soon. Till then, take care of you all!

 

[noelwr]

basil - I can't believe Hayden is half-Chinese!

- - -

Skye is now crawling on hands and knees everywhere and isn't just saving it for the carpet. she woke up at 3:30 last night for her bottle. think I will go back to giving her a bottle before I go to bed as SIL is arriving today and I don't want us all up at crazy hours.

ETA - I also introduced her to a new toy which is an electronic ball which has music, lights and rolls on its own. she liked it fine until it attacked her (kept banging into her side)! so now she's frightened and comes crying to Mommy. she'll only touch it if it's off, I'm holding her in one arm and holding the ball in the other hand. I know it's not nice for her, but I love that she feels safe with her Mom!

yesterday I bought her some new awesome earrings with real (tiny chip of) diamonds! and as this is PS, thought I'd share...

 

[somethingshiny]

Noel~ Skye's earrings are really cute. Do they have teeny tiny posts? Are they made for babies? Do you mind if I ask why you chose to get her ears pierced at such an early age? Is it common there? Is it a tradition in your family? Is it something you always knew you'd want to do when you had a daughter? Okay, question time over.
Do you give her cereal in her last bottle? That may help her get through the night too.

 

[drk]

Basil - the nanny you offered to sounds nice. I'd have considered daycare if there were one with 7am-6pm hours, so 6-6 sounds pretty good if this nanny doesn't work out. We found ours by putting up an ad on ca.nadiannanny.ca. Got about 60 responses to the ad, made a huge spreadsheet of all of them, called what seemed like the best 16, offered 3 of them an interview, and just really hit it off with the one. We paid her to come spend a few hours with us one evening so she could hang with K and we could see them interact, and then we offered her the job. Apart from her asking us for more money when we'd just given her a raise at the 6 month mark, we've been very happy. She just seemed like she'd fit in well with us. Hope things work out for you!

 

[noelwr]

shiny - I actually think Skye's earrings aren't special baby ones, but are just small. I was thinking of borrowing them... no, it's not common to get ears pierced as a baby here. Dutch jewelers won't even pierce ears younger than 6. you have to find a jeweler owned by another nationality. anyway, the reason I chose to pierce her ears so young is because I can clearly remember getting mine at 6 years of age (because my dad wouldn't let my mom pierce my ears as a baby) and it hurt like hell! so I thought one less bad memory for my little girl. she already forgot about it after 15 minutes of getting them in and it didn't even keep her up at night. yes, it's something I always wanted for a girl. in some Mediterranean countries, they pierce the girls' ears in the hospital the day after birth. an Italian friend of mine said that even though her girl was all dressed up in pink, everyone would think she was a boy because she didn't have earrings.
regarding her last bottle, she gets a thicker formula that has biscuit added so it is thicker. she is still waking up in the middle of the night for a drink, and then is awake for at least an hour afterwards talking to herself very loudly. so I think we will go back to waking her up at 11pm for half-a-bottle so that she "talks" until midnight instead of keeping us up from 3 to 4am. I've had to resort to ear plugs.

Lanie - yes, Skye loves unpacking her toy crate! we are making it part of the routine that before bed time we take each toy that it is out and put it back in while saying "The ball goes... in the box!" "The bunny goes... in the box!" etc.

 

[somethingshiny]

noel~ Thanks for answering my questions. I used to live in TX and I was the ONLY girl who didn't have earrings in Kindergarten. All of the girls there got their ears pierced as infants. I started piercing all my dolls' ears then. lol. By the time I as in the second grade, I had talked my parents into letting me get my ears pierced. All of the other girls were wearing huge hoops and I had my tiny little pink studs. I couldn't wait to wear big girl earrings. Lucky for Skye, her mama will have a collection of sparklies for her! AFA the bottle, I'd continue to wake her too. Sounds like she needs it. Try to wean it out again in a couple months.

craziness here, center-stage is Lily. lol

 

[Lanie]

Love Skye's little earrings! I love earrings on baby girls as well. I remember it more growing up, and now I think it's more prevalent in different cultures. So cute! I want a little girl now! Anderson travels everywhere with some sort of "stick", spatula, spoon, you name it, and I wonder if that's the boy in him.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi PS Mamas!

Catching up today! I read all the time, but find it hard to post.

Moxie, Oh, Lucy is just a little darling! I LOVE the smiley photo! Her nose is just the cutest! And, her eyes are so warm and lovely. You must be one proud mama. How have you been doing? Able to get a little more sleep?

Noel, I like when you post stories about Skye. I find it so adorable when babies squeal when they see animals. So cute that she yells at the ducks (and at the other moms when she gets to daycare! Haha.) It's nice to hear how much she enjoys it there. Oh, I think you said they have mixed ages in each room. It's completely the opposite here, but I could see how it would provide a nice balance of other kids to interact with. It's so cute that the older kids greet Skye when she gets there. Oh, and it sounds like she was delighted to visit your office. She sounds so out-going!!

Skippy, The boys are so cute with their big teddy bear!

Kunzite, Yay for ebay shopping!!! Just remind your DH about all of the money you're saving by not buying all of O's clothes new! You should post pics of what you got! I think we're set for a while, but I do want to get more of the gap skirted pants because I am OBSESSED with how cute they are! I actually bought some new things this week at Kohl's. Do you have a Kohl's near you? They have a really big baby department and a toy section too! I have no idea how I didn't realize they had toys there.

Basil, How'd it go with the nanny? It does sound like a nanny would probably work out best with your situation. My DH and I both have a lot of flexibility with work. I'm working a PT schedule now (thanks for my very very nice boss and my willingness to check-in at all hours of the day and night), and DH can work from home if S needs to stay home due to illness. But, if the daycare is at your DH's hospital, then other drs are using it too, so I'm sure it's manageable. Are you still considering moving to the east coast? I think you mentioned CT at one point, which stuck in my memory because that's where I am! Hope your drive goes well and H settles into his carseat like a pro! Oh, just saw the photos you posted. H looks so sweet!

Charbie, How'd it go at the cardio appointment? You seem to be handling all of this newborn business in stride. You're a natural! Are you posting pics of A? We'd love to see her! I haven't addressed crazy cell phone lady with anyone yet. I actually saw her coming out of the daycare with a slew of kids. One of them was showing me some picture she drew, which was so cute, so there was no way I could say anything to the mom. I'm way too nice. I have talking to the director on my list of things to do.

Puppmom, Love the photos. I intend to frame all of S's monthly photos in a 12 month frame. It is so amazing to look back at them and see how they've grown.

DCG, Sorry to hear about your foot. I hope you are feeling better. I am impressed that you are jogging so soon!! Good for you!

Lanie, Hi there! We'll need some new photos of A soon!!

***********

So, STTN was WONDERFUL, but unfortunately short-lived. She STTN for a solid week, and then started waking around 11 and 3. She wants to eat both times. I've tried putting the pacifier back in her mouth, and she may fall asleep again for a short while, but then she's up again. So, we'll stick with our routine and continue to hope for sleep! She had another cold last weekend. Had a note from daycare that one of the babies was diagnosed with croup. I guess some babies won't develop croup, but will have cold-like symptoms. Sigh. And, she's really moving around, still mostly backwards. She doesn't get up on her knees, just pushes herself back. She pivots too, but does not move forward. Crawling will be here soon enough. Sounds like we need to get a rug for our family room. She deconstructs the playmat (with the squares that go together), so I need to get something that she can't take apart!

 

[Bliss]

Inspired by Skippy to post, even though I have been woefully MIA!

HELLO LOVELY AMAZING PS MAMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been admiring all of your beautiful babies whenever I can log in! It is so fun to cheer you on as you celebrate new milestones and share stories about your new lives. It is incredible, isn't it?

Noel! Been LOVING the photos of Skye!!!!!!! She is sooooo beautiful and I love the earrings!!!!! Love ALL your pics. You capture the essence of Skye so well. So happy your chemo is over, too! SO much to celebrate! After seeing Skye's new earrings, I now want to pierce M's ears!

Kunzite!!!! How have you been??? Your baby has the cuuuuutest little duds!!!!!!!! Hehehehehe...precious!

Congrats to Basil!!!!!!! So glad you two had a night out. That is huge!!!

SKIPPY!!!! Your twins!!!!!! So precious!!!!! So HANDSOME!!!!! Such intelligence in their eyes! Just beautiful!!!! Ohhhhhh, so happy for you and your DH. Wow, wow and wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My dream was always to have twins! Maybe the next time around???? Miles and Evan are just...SPECTACULAR! You can see how loved they are. Angels!

CHARBIE, congrats! You're doing GREAT!!!!! I was drowning my first 3 months and you are doing sooooo amazingly well! Way to go! And yay for our little spunky fighter Aubrey! Love the name!

Puppmom, your little man is... SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!! I love how you dress him! So stinking cute!!! Love the milk coma pics, too. I am laughing at your caption of tractor pic!!!!!

lliang_chi - CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many more blessings to come for you!!!!

Somethingshiny - hello!!!! How is your pretty little doll baby? Lily is sooooo cute.

Lanie!!!! Old friend...how art thou? Missed you a lot! So much going on!!

dcgator!!!! S is 7 weeks??? TIME FLIES!!!!! Hugs and congrats, beautiful mama!

LOVES VINTAGE! How is your bundle of joy??? Gosh, it is just so nice to see your updates and amazing photos.

moxiemoo...your little angel is a tiny MIRACLE...soooooo beautiful! How can a newborn be THAT gorgeous?????????? Precious!!!

Sorry if I forgot anyone!!!!

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So things are great! (Most of the time, haha!) M is a little over 8 months and she is dying to walk! I quake in fear yet also rejoice at the idea. I quake in fear of her walking because I just know I will be chasing her around 24/7. I rejoice at the idea because maybe this means my arms will get a break? M wants to be held by mommy almost 24/7! Daddy has to bring her into the bathroom when I shower so she can...Watch. Me. Shower. Yep, as Vince Vaughn said in the movie Wedding Crashers, "We have a Stage 5 Clinger!"

It's been amazing but also there have been times of struggle. M is just so active! She literally is like Boing! Boing! Boing! all day long. Never stops. Truly! Never stops moving, crawling, standing up... creeping around the couch with one hand trying to walk. And she just wants to be held all the time. It got so bad at one point that I developed de Quervain's syndrome - a type of tendonitis - in my wrists. I had to go to a HAND SURGEON and get SPLINTS to wear at night!!!! This is how much I carried her! And she is HEAVY! 18 pounds now! I think at last check up, she is 93% for height and 53% for weight. I am convinced that if she didn't jump, crawl and go-go-go all day, she would be obese. Heehee. Her thighs are still chunkamonk. LOVE LOVE LOVE her mochi-ness! She is like a soft Japanese mochi dumpling - all pillowy softness on the outside and sweetness inside!

Oh! She is so naughty, though! She is constantly trying to grab lamps, wires, anything within reach. She tries to climb off the bed, off the couch...tumble here, roll there... The good thing is, we are now learning the word, "NO." Very, ahem... valuable word! Ha! So when she tries to do something dangerous - like stand up near the guardrail of the bed, I will say, "No!" Then she looks back in guilt and starts to try it again...then I go, "EH!!!" And she sits her cute tushie down and crawls away. It is too cute. So now that I have confirmation that she is a smart bugger, I feel like she can surely understand that the world is not going to end if Mommy walks out of the room. Right?

We've been lucky to have never had anyone outside our immediate families watch her yet. I work part time now and DH can watch her when I'm at work. If I need to work more, we just fly in my mom or DH's mom for a week or so to help out. So far, it's been working out great! I feel blessed to be able to spend time with her her 5 days a week and regain my sanity the other two days when I'm working. It is NICE. I don't think I ever want to give that up. But if I had to choose between a fulltime job or being a SAHM, I would pick SAHM, I think. But I really really love my job and they created this situation just for me so it's tough to let go of such a sweet situation.

I'm jealous of all you ladies who have awesome nannies. Because I may soon need one to help out while I'm at home. We are thinking (MERCY ME!!!) of TTC again once M turns 1. I know I will need a nanny to be my extra pair of hands around the house. It's so hard for me to trust someone I don't know, though! I walk around NYC every day, several times a day to many baby places - Central Park, playgrounds and baby music class. The nannies here are either very good (rare) or do atrocious things, which frightens me. I see them wolfing down food while the baby is parked in a stroller facing a blank wall screaming. Most of them are always on the phone having long conversations while the baby's brain turns to mush sitting silently strapped inside a stroller - no interaction at all. Or they are eating terrible fried foods and poking bits of it into the baby's mouth with a dirty finger. Fried dough or whatever awful thing they are munching on... from their mouth to the baby's mouth! Hello. Scares me!!!! Some grab the baby and I feel handle them roughly...oh, the list goes on and on. Those poor babies just look like zombies to me. They don't smile, they don't coo, they aren't curious...they just lie there. My neighbor's baby is M's age but can barely even sit up because she is lying down all the time and gets no exercise. The nanny is always putting her in the carseat or stroller while she watches TV, runs errands or is on the phone...or she's lying down so she has a flat head. I can't tell you how many nannies I see out SHOPPING with the babies just sitting in the strollers zombie-fied. There is a new upscale Century 21 (not like the downtown one) on the UWS that just opened and it is FULL of nannies shopping while their babies just sit there, probably in a dirty diaper. They just look like they gave up or something from being so ignored - or maybe that's my perception???

But then, there are amaaazing nannies who seem to LOVE the baby like their own. So adorable how they interact. Rare and beautiful when I see that but they are all taken and I have only seen this kind of bond twice so far! The hundreds of others I want to post online so somewhere, their horrified moms can see how they treat their kids. But the good nannies...they are GOLD. Intelligent, kind and sweet. So rare!!! I feel stuck sometimes because I can't find anyone I can truly trust not to just hand my baby a pear from a street vendor and let them eat it unwashed. (Yes, I have seen this as well!)

Yikes! Anyway, there are definitely days when I would love love love a nanny! Like today! It would be nice to have someone to watch her and entertain her for tiny bits of time so I can relax a bit. DH does all the housework but I think pretty soon we're going to need to hire help for that, too. It's like fighting an epic impossible battle every day against the mountain of dishes, bottle parts and baby spoons! And the laundry!!!! OMG!!! If we didn't have a washer/dryer in our apartment, we would be in a sore state, indeed! Everything I own has dried crusted food on it in less than 5 seconds after I put it on. How in the world do you feed a baby and keep a clean home when half of what you fed the baby ends up on the floor and the furniture? Oh, and I LOOOOVE how they store like half the feeding in the back of their adorable chubby cheeks - only to let it ooze out in increments once they're on the couch. So clever! LOL!!! I also love how they reach into their mouths with their little dimpled hands (so cute!) and fling it everywhere (not cute!)... The sneezes full of food are awesome. No, really. Those, I love because they are HILARIOUS! I love having oatmeal in my eyelashes. I do!

M is also teething! She has 2 bottom teeth, which are ADORABLE! Her laugh is worth a million dollars, as we like to say. I would pay a million dollars to see her laugh. Over and over again. She is just...so cute! Her teeth are serrated and adorable - DH says they look like a gerbil's. Ha! Oh...and is there ANYTHING better than a baby's butt? I LOVE HER BUTT!!!!!! It is just the cutest thing I have ever seen! Even when I'm diapering her and she's scrambling to get away, the sight of her little butt makes it all worthwhile. I could just die of mushiness when I see that butt! So cute! Socutesocutesocute nom nom nom. So cute!!!!!!!!!!!

The love I have for her is pretty big. I know this because the other day, I had just washed my hands and realized they were cold from the water. I put them on my tummy to warm them up - but my frigid hands on my warm tummy made me hop hop hop around in agony squealing, "Ah! Ah! AH!!!" DH walks in and asks, "Ummmm...What are you doing, honey?" LOLOLOL I didn't even realize! Also, she cracked my nose the other day and I was all worried about her downy little duck fuzz covered noggin instead of my own nose. Yep, this is love! I don't care about anything except for this precious creature who thinks I am the greatest thing ever. I think about how HUGE my mom was in my life growing up - she was love, liquid sunshine, the moon and stars. To think that I am THAT to this little being...Wow. Just wow.

There are also days when I am SO freaking tired I want to crawl under a rock and never ever come out! It is SO tiring sometimes! Thankfully, DH knows this since he takes over 2 days a week. Ha! I honestly feel that if men didn't do this, they would NEVER know what moms do. It is a tough and sometimes lonely journey - without regular meals and breaks. Hey, moms should form a UNION! But in all seriousness, the partner is what makes this work. If I didn't have DH to lean on, this would not be possible. He is such an amazing father and husband. Having a baby definitely puts a strain on our marriage - we have less time for each other and we're both so tapped out! But it's OK because we both LOVE doing it...and know it's just for a short time. They're small for such a short time. And it becomes a labor of love...and it's FUN so much of the time, too. We just love love love it...except when we don't. Hahahahahaha! No, it's really a lesson in love.

The other day, when M cracked my nose... I was having the worst day. DH came home from work and set up a photo slideshow of M on TV set to "our" songs. His hobby is making videos and taking crazy awesome DSLR pics of M. He makes the best slideshows and we watch them on our TV - it's mindblowing! And then we hold hands and reminisce and talk about M. And we talk about life. I really love that time we share - and these are stolen moments, too! Well, he pulled out a pink box and a card - and told me that I was such an amazing mother and how he didn't think he could love me more but he does seeing me with M... just anything and everything to make a new mommy bawl. And pulled out the most gorgeous diamond hoop earrings to help me feel pretty and loved, even when I'm covered in clothing crusted over in dried yams and peas. I bawled! And they do help! Hahahaha! It just meant so much and now I wear awesome blingy big diamond hoops and feel pretty even though I'm wearing crazy regurgitated yams. Funny how diamonds can help a new mom feel glamorous and special. When I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror, as a sigh of exasperation escapes my lips, I notice their gleam and it instantly lifts my mood. I'm loved. It's OK. This is just one stage of life that will pass me by if I don't enjoy it.

We got her tons of toys, but she only seems to like unconventional things like the remote control! Funny baby! And she definitely is becoming a little human. The other day, she grabbed my Kindle and sent it crashing to the floor. Then when she caught our eye, she skeedaddled away like a little criminal fleeing the crime scene. So funny!!! She also does funny kung fu moves sometimes. Crazy funny!!!!!!! I love love love her little feet! I could kiss them all day. They are like little gummy bears!!!!!! I love walking around with her in the Ergo carrier cupping her little feet in my hands. If there is a heaven, there are lots and lots of tiny tushied babies running around in bare feet in my heaven. Too cute! Precious beyond precious. But her epic poos would not be in my heaven! OMG!!!!! Her poos are so epic that we have to give her a bath! We call her little area her "Cha Cha." So DH will be like, "What do you think? Do we have to wash her Cha Cha?" The answer is always a resounding YES. The way she crawls and "walks" with help - that poop is all up in her Cha Cha! Always washing her Cha Cha! She has got to have the cleanest Cha Cha around with all the epic poops she's been having! 3-4 a day sometimes! OMG! It seems that all I do these days is wash her Cha Cha after epic poops! HA!
Hmmmm...what else? So much to share!!! So little time! I miss the days when I could take endless pics of my bling! I have gotten so much since last time I was here and all I can manage are horrid cell phone pics. DH is the DSLR freak and I can't even bring myself to use my digital point and shoot! Ha. Sad, but true!!!!!!

Did I mention that the other reason why I'm tired is because I stare at M all night sometimes because she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen? Every curve of her little leg...her tiny fist...her long eyelashes...oh, her duck fuzz on her head... makes me praise God in my heart for all miracles big and small!

Sorry if I rambled! Love you all! Hugs and hugs and hugs!!!!!

 

[Kunzite]

Bliss! So good to hear from you!! I only have a second but wanted to tell you how adorable M is!! You're probably going to think I'm crazy, but I see so many of Ollie's features in her face, haha!!