PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Pandora II]

Yay I knew someone had to have had the same idea - off to get one. Thanks!

DD - I only know what the advice is from the BLW people, but they say to breastfeed and then offer the baby solids - expect them to not eat much at first but just experiment with the feel of food in their mouths and different tastes and textures. Gradually they should be eating more and will take less breastmilk - they should self-regulate. That''s the theory anyway - have yet to put into practice.

With water, breastfed babies don''t need extra water but it can be a good idea to get them used to drinking from a cup. There''s a lot of debate on the sippy cup v regular cup. Mainly because a lot of kids seem to have a sippy cup attached to them like it''s part of their anatomy and that is really bad for their teeth whilst they can''t do that with a normal cup.

I do let Daisy have a bit of water from my glass when I''m drinking - she mainly just sticks her tongue in it... I think she likes the feeling of bubbles (London water tastes so yuck that I always drink sparkling mineral water) and trying to copy me.

 

[softly softly]

I can understand your concern about the sippy cup, and certainly agree that kids need to learn to drink from regular cups as soon as possible, but I just wanted to add that sippy cups are very handy for preventing endless spillage once kids are mobile as well as for when you are out and about. I used them with my kids in the early toddler years because I wanted to encourage them to drink more water but lacked the time and inclination to be either constantly mopping up spills or standing over them while they were drinking. Neither kid showed any particular inclination to become attached to them, but seemed to see it as a badge of honour to graduate to a 'grown up' cup. They are a PITA to keep clean though.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 9/2/2009 7:24:41 AM
Author: softly softly
I can understand your concern about the sippy cup, and certainly agree that kids need to learn to drink from regular cups as soon as possible, but I just wanted to add that sippy cups are very handy for preventing endless spillage once kids are mobile as well as for when you are out and about. I used them with my kids in the early toddler years because I wanted to encourage them to drink more water but lacked the time and inclination to be either constantly mopping up spills or standing over them while they were drinking. Neither kid showed any particular inclination to become attached to them, but seemed to see it as a badge of honour to graduate to a ''grown up'' cup. They are a PITA to keep clean though.

Yeah we are all about the sippy cups too for right now. I think the idea of weaning right onto a regular cup is nice on paper but in practice who has time to clean up all those spills or constantly monitor the cup usage? I know I don''t!

We use sippies AND a regular cup and they seem to enjoy both so far.

Pandora We did just what you said with the solid feedings and it''s worked like a charm for us. They''ve been eating solids for a few months now and at first they barely ate anything and now they are eating everything in sight including puffs, cheerios, pieces of fruit, etc. It does help that both of them have 4 teeth already (and 2 more each on the way) so they have the chewing motion down pretty well now.

They did purees at first but very quickly gravitated towards the more chunky solids. They don''t seem to have a problem gumming them so I am just going with the flow. Plus it''s easier for me.

 

[Pandora II]

Oh don''t worry, sippy cups will definitely be on my shopping list just for the convenience factor!

Neat - good to know that it works from someone I ''know'' rather than random websites... IYKWIM...

I''ve bought THIS for the shower - £10 new on eBay

 

[fieryred33143]

NYC-I hope things get better for you and the twinks. It gets overwhelming with just one, I can''t even imagine two or more.

Ebree-She''s dong a little bit better but she''s still a little off. Our 10pm-3am sleep schedule is pretty much out the window now. Don''t know much about the holding up the head question but Sophia is the same way. She does her 10 minutes of tummy time before she decides she''s had enough.

Blen-I''m sorry if I missed this somewhere but are you going to be a SAHM now? That''s wonderful if you are!!

Neat-That picture is so adorable!

Pandora-I love the idea of a shower sling too! I''m going to look it up.

MG-Good luck this weekend with your nephew! I''m sure he''ll have a lot of fun with Kyle.

Mrs-Any beach pictures of Sage

?

~~

I have a couple of questions if you ladies don''t mind:

1. Sophia spends hours trying to push and crying with no luck. Then when she finally poops, it''s a complete watery blowout. This morning I was rubbing her tummy, bouncing her, and pedeling her legs for an hour trying to help her poop. When she finally did, it went all over her diaper, pjs, and my bed

. This has happened every day for the past 4 or 5 days. After that blowout, she doesn''t poop for the rest of the day. Any thoughts?

2. We are successfully getting her to bed at 7PM. However, by the time she wakes for her next feed (usually around 11:30), she is fussy the rest of the night. She''s sleeping (as in her eyes are closed) but she''s grunting a lot, cries a little, and makes a lot of movement. I have to wake up at least once every hour to soothe her back to sleep She never falls back into a deep sleep. Then around 3:30-4AM, she''s awake for at least an hour. I''ve tried to do a dreamfeed before she wakes up at 11:30 but she isn''t taking it anymore. I think she thinks she''s eating because she moves her mouth and makes swallowing noises but the breast isn''t in her mouth (it''s actually kind of funny and makes me laugh...I know, mean mommy

). On the rare occassion that she does take the dreamfeed, she still does not go back to a deep sleep. I also know that she can go up to 6 hours now without eating at night because she did so the other night but lately she wants to feed at 2:30 and then again at 4. Any thoughts on what I could be doing wrong? I''m thinking maybe its our bedtime routine. I usually bathe/lotion massage/pjs then feed. Maybe I should feed then do the activity? I haven''t done this because sometimes it seems that the bath wakes her up rather than put her to sleep whereas she falls into a nice sleep after her feed.

Other than that everything is good here. I visited my job yesterday to show her off and as I was walking out my Director walked out with me. She mentioned that there is a manager position available in our Department now that will be posted in the next week. She wants me to look at it and if I''m interested, give her a call to chat about it. I''m keeping my fingers crossed. My competition is my coworker who I believe is better qualified for it (she''s a CPA, I''m not). I''m not sure if our Director approached her about it although I would imagine that she did. So we''ll see how it goes.

 

[Sabine]

NYC, I honestly can''t imagine how those with 2 do it on their own. I feel like I''m losing it half the time with just one. But if you need help and your family isn''t able/willing to as much as you need, I would definitely look into hiring someone. DH has to go away for a week early next month, and I''m thinking of trying to find a babysitter to just come help out sometime during the evening so I can do stuff like take the dog out and get a little break if Jacks is still not sleeping well and being really fussy. Hang in there!

Ebree, no idea about holding head up. Jacks has been slamming his head around when we hold him up on our shoulder, but when we do tummy time I can''t even get him to try to turn his head.

Blen, good luck with all your upcoming stuff!

Neat, love that pic! So cute!

Pandora, keep us updated if you try a shower sling...seems like such a good idea to me.

Mustang, have fun this weekend! Hopefully it will go well!

Mrs., so glad Sage at least enjoyed hanging out at the beach!

Dreamer, you should totally post some of your favorite homemade baby foods. I love the idea of making my own, but we''ll have to see if I cave to convenience at that time. My friend makes her own and she has something called the Magic Bullet (a tv infomercial blender type thing) that she says she uses a TON!

Fiery, that sounds a lot like what Jacks does, but his problem is usually that he either has gas or is refluxing and spitting up. As for needing to poop, you can try taking her temperature rectally, and jiggle the thermometer a bit, and that can sometimes stimulate a poop. I had to do that a few times last week, and the dr. just okayed us to give Jacks 1 oz prune juice with 1 oz water if he goes more than a day or 2 without pooping.

As for us, the pooping has gotten a bit better, after going over 2 days the other day, he''s been going once a day since. They are still HUGE massive poops that would probably be blowouts if I didn''t take him to change him as soon as he starts (TMI alert, but once he starts, he usually keeps going a few more times while I''m changing him). But his reflux has gotten a lot worse. It used to be that he would have problems after a few of his bottles, but now it seems that no matter what, after every bottle, we hold him upright for a half hour to an hour, then when he''s asleep we put him down on his elevated crib mattress, but within a half hour he is up again crying and spitting up. This actually just happened and I went in and he had milk coming out his nose. Poor guy! It is killing me to see him in so much pain. And now the only sleep I get is when dh is watching him from 9-12 each night with an odd half hour - 45 minutes here and there. The dr. has us on Zantac and said we can try something stronger if it doesn''t work. But yeah, this really has me pretty down because each feeding is such a struggle and I''m so tired all the time. I know being tired comes with the territory, but I can''t help being frustrated that I can''t sleep not because he won''t sleep, but because he''s trying to sleep but his body won''t let him stay asleep for long periods of time. We''ve tried having him sleep other places, but the same thing happens. Sometimes when I''m desperate I''ll just lay on the couch with him asleep on my shoulder in the burping position (being on his stomach definitely helps with the reflux!) but even then I tend to have trouble sleeping. The thing that really gets me is that instead of being able to enjoy this time with him, I feel like I''m just waiting for it to go by because I know babies usually outgrow reflux and I''m pretty sure he''ll be able to sleep better once he is able to roll over and therefore sleep on his stomach safely. I feel like I''m just trying to make it through each day until we get to these far-seeming goals...

 

[nycbkgirl]

Fiery/Sabine: thanks guys for your support!!! thats really all i need right now and im glad some realize that taking care of 1 baby is NOTHING like taking care of 2 allll by yourself

..its possible when there''s no other choice but sometimes its just impossible literally. everyone that i know who has twins has always had nannies and baby nurses etc but i just dont have the space for a live in help and i still havent found someone good for part time help. having bff in town is a big help...she actually just saved my sanity...putting jon to sleep was taking 2 hrs!!!...she made me tough it out and let him cio...i did go in there a few times to check for spit up and sure enough he did spit up but once that was cleaned..he cio and fell asleep!! boy was that hard

.........
so sorry about the pooping issues, i have a friend who always had those issues and she did water enimas ..dont know much about them but they are safe and after 2 or 3 days of no poop she just stuck it in a pinch and baby pooped it all out. i did a baby enima for jackie one time and worked like a charm but thankfully she didnt need any after that one time. Sabine..which formula are u using??

MRS: thanks! i wanna see more pics of cutie pie! ...i find that my kiddos dont nap in crib too well either..duno what it is...outside in the snap n go ..jon can sleep for hrs at a time and even in bassinett maybe an hr...in crib 30 mins! dunno what it is

Neat- i didnt go out before bc of the weather here and the few nice days there were we did go out but it was never on my own with 2 babies..its just not smthg i wanna do yet...i dont feel comfortable with that bc they are always so cranky ...when they get a bit older ..like sitting age then i would try..but now they are just too hard to handle and i dont wanna end up stuck in the middle of a store with the 2 screaming at the top of their lungs...dont think it will make my situation better.
cuuuuute cuuute pic!!

sorry cant get to all but nowwww is sleep time..cant waste a minute of that

 

[Dreamer_D]

Sabine I know this is a no no, but if he sleeps better on his belly, then I would let him sleep on his belly. Maybe place a cot in your room next to your bed for piece of mind? But honestly, the true odds of SIDs are very very very low in absense of other predictors (e.g., smoking in the home) and you and he both need sleep! Just a suggestion, I think in your shoes that''s what I would do. Also, have you tried smaller amounts at each feeding and more frequent? I mention this because some babies when BF will be snackers, and I wonder if perhaps some babies with reflux who are FF would also benefit from snacking?

Fiery How old is Sophia? Less than 12 weeks, right? Hunter did that loud grunty thing too until he figured out how to poop properly. Apparently coordinating the muscles to poop take practice-- who knew

-- and he used to grunt and strain a tonne while sleeping. I thought he was sick he did it so much! He outgrew it and it is normal and doesn''t cause them distress. So maybe it is the same for Sophia. As for the night feeding, jst because a baby can go 6 hours one night doesn''t mean they are comfortable/able/willing on a regular basis. I find that hunter wakes 1x a night or 2x per night, and there is little rhyme or reason. I firmly believe now that the notion that all babies can and should sleep through the night at a very young age is a strange myth that is supported by the baby self-help book industry

Yup, lots of babies do, but MOST do not. In fact, over 50% don''t sleep 12 hours at 1 year old. So I have decided not to worry about it and just do my best to have a routine and I just go with the flow in terms of wakups. Although my sleep is still interrupted, the attitude about it and not sweating it makes SUCH a huge difference to how I feel on a daily basis. My stress is lower, and my daily anxiety. All my experimenting and trying different methods -- feed him, don''t feed him, CIO -- didn''t seem to have much impact. I think his growth patterns affect his sleep more than anything, and I can''t control those. Anyways, it sounds to me like you are doing the right things in trying to create a routine for Sophia, and otherwise you my just have to wait until he gets older for her to sleep longer consistently.

 

[nycbkgirl]

love this pic

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 9/2/2009 10:33:50 PM
Author: nycbkgirl
Neat- i didnt go out before bc of the weather here and the few nice days there were we did go out but it was never on my own with 2 babies..its just not smthg i wanna do yet...i dont feel comfortable with that bc they are always so cranky ...when they get a bit older ..like sitting age then i would try..but now they are just too hard to handle and i dont wanna end up stuck in the middle of a store with the 2 screaming at the top of their lungs...dont think it will make my situation better.

cuuuuute cuuute pic!!


sorry cant get to all but nowwww is sleep time..cant waste a minute of that

Cute pic to you too! But I really promise promise promise that it would make EVERYONE feel better to get out a little bit. Even if you take a stroll around the block-you don''t need to go shopping or anything. Just go spend a bit of time outside and stay close by so you can head home if someone has a fit. It always makes my babies happy to be outside even when they are at their crankiest.

Hang in there-it''ll get better!

 

[cdt1101]

hey ladies!!

Neat - LOVE the pic!!! so cute.

NYC - sorry to hear you're feeling down! I agree w/ Neat, to take a walk at least to get out. The weather has been gorgeous in the NYC area! Try to enjoy this weather before the winter comes!! I know it's a pain to go out w/ the kids (I complain w/ just one!), but it really will do you good! I'm actually taking Lex to the city today for the first time...we're meeting my DH for lunch! SHould be interesting taking the PATH w/ a stroller! Love the pic!!

Sabine - We had Lex sleeping on his stomach since he was like 4 weeks, maybe even 3 weeks old. I know it's a no-no, but he NEVER likes being on his back or being swaddled. I don't know, I really believe we need to do what works, not what dr's tell us (within reason of course). How's Jacks doing on the formula? We did what Dreamer mentioned because of reflux, Lex still eats only about 4 oz, but eats every 2 - 2 1/2 hours normally, sometimes he goes 3 hours..not at night, because he STTN now, but we do smaller frequent feeds because of the reflux issues.

As usual, I'm missing people...bad poster

Lex is 3 months today! Can't believe it....time is flying...i'm trying to soak up every minute of him. He's just so yummy...hehehe..

Here's a fairly new pic of the little guy..taken a couple of weeks ago at the beach w/ family....

 

[nycbkgirl]

CDT- lol what a cutie and funny pic!!

i do go out lol..im not confining myself to the home bc i am incapable..i mentioned i was stuck in house bc the weather here has been terrible! in nyc is just started to get nice right at the end of august and we have been going for walks in the daytime...i havent taken them on my own in the car tho anywhere ...yet...but in due time..in due time.

so i have become a CIO fan..never thought i could do it but i am and its working..jackie takes a few minutes ..jon just started so a bit longer but its working!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 9/3/2009 11:25:32 AM
Author: nycbkgirl
CDT- lol what a cutie and funny pic!!


i do go out lol..im not confining myself to the home bc i am incapable..i mentioned i was stuck in house bc the weather here has been terrible! in nyc is just started to get nice right at the end of august and we have been going for walks in the daytime...i havent taken them on my own in the car tho anywhere ...yet...but in due time..in due time.


so i have become a CIO fan..never thought i could do it but i am and its working..jackie takes a few minutes ..jon just started so a bit longer but its working!

So glad you found something that is working for you! Stay consistent-I have found that is the key with anything baby related. They''ll be sleeping champs in no time.

I''m glad you are getting out with them-I know that really brightens my mood and seems to make the babies calmer for sure. Have you thought about talking to your RE, local twins group, whatever and trying to get together a "play" group with other twin moms with babies the same age?

As you know only twin moms know what you are going through and I have found it so wonderful to have a group of other twin moms to commiserate with! Gives you something to look forward to as well if the babies are giving you a hard time some days.

 

[Burk]

Sabine, just wanted to pop in as a fellow mother or a reflux baby!! Poor Jacks and poor you! My two cents, take it or leave it: Zantac did not work for Tayva. At all. If you feel like it's not helping, ask for something else. Prilosec worked well for us. Also, what formula do you have him on? In the research I did I found that most times reflux is triggered by babies insensitivity/intolerance to a food or protein. Most times that protein is the milk protein. I Bfed first and tried to eliminate foods and then we went on to try 9 or 10 different formulas before finding one that actually worked. Similac alimentum was our savior. We got the ready-serve because it is the only formula without corn and Tayva was intolerant to corn as well as dairy. The same formula won't work for every baby, but alimentum breaks down those milk proteins to a level not many other formulas do. And lastly, does he like his swing? We used the swing for naps until T was probably 5 months old because she was upright and slept sound in it. Whatever it takes to get your little guy some sleep, I say do it! If you have any questions, we've been through it all with T's reflux so let me know. Good luck!!

Hello everyone else!!!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Date: 9/3/2009 12:05:45 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 9/3/2009 11:25:32 AM
Author: nycbkgirl
CDT- lol what a cutie and funny pic!!


i do go out lol..im not confining myself to the home bc i am incapable..i mentioned i was stuck in house bc the weather here has been terrible! in nyc is just started to get nice right at the end of august and we have been going for walks in the daytime...i havent taken them on my own in the car tho anywhere ...yet...but in due time..in due time.


so i have become a CIO fan..never thought i could do it but i am and its working..jackie takes a few minutes ..jon just started so a bit longer but its working!

So glad you found something that is working for you! Stay consistent-I have found that is the key with anything baby related. They''ll be sleeping champs in no time.

I''m glad you are getting out with them-I know that really brightens my mood and seems to make the babies calmer for sure. Have you thought about talking to your RE, local twins group, whatever and trying to get together a ''play'' group with other twin moms with babies the same age?

As you know only twin moms know what you are going through and I have found it so wonderful to have a group of other twin moms to commiserate with! Gives you something to look forward to as well if the babies are giving you a hard time some days.

thanks Neat..yeh cio has really been an answer for me...jon woke at 7am to feed (he was all ready and on his back when i came in lol) after that we played in his crib and at 830 he was tired so i picked him up to try to rock for a minute and he wanted no part of it so i put him back in crib on his belly and he worked himself out and was asleep in minutes

..so basically they dont want the help anymore..they want to sleep on their own and thats great...not sure if he had a middle of the night feeding bc dh is still sleeping to ask but those were really getting me upset bc he used to never do that and i was worried that our sttn days were numbered..so crossin my fingers that he didnt have a feed then. jackie wasnt great..she had 2 middle of the night feedings...pedi today so will see what he says..i have a whole list of ?''s for him!

as for play groups etc..i always loved that about small town places and suburban areas but here in nyc im sure they have one but probably a ways to travel (in traffic

) and everything is just so different here ...aaahhh thoughts of living somewhere quiet where ppl can just get together (like...maybe..wisteria lane

) not a nyc fan anymore...one day will move somewhere peaceful and family oriented (IYKWIM). but yeh we do get out and hopefully today we can go somewhere after pedi (if dh ever wakes up..bc he wants to go too lol)

 

[Sabine]

NYC, great pic! So glad cio is working for you! How old are the twinks now? We''re using Enfamil Gentlease, which is partially broken down, but I''m wondering if we should try nutramigen or alimentum.

Dreamer,cdt and Burk, so glad to hear that letting them sleep on their stomach isn''t the craziest idea. Things have gotten a bit better, but if I get desperate I might resort to that. Although he is starting to like sitting in his bouncy seat and swing more and more, he does not like napping in them. I think they are just too stimulating for him.

We''ve tried giving him less more frequently, but he is not a happy camper if he doesn''t eat enough. I even asked the dr. about it because I know overfeeding can cause reflux to get worse, but she basically said to just follow his cues, and his cues are that he wants 3-4 oz every 2.5-3 hours during the day. But luckily, for the past 2 nights, he''s been going 4 to even 5 hours at night without waking!!!

Such a great pic too cdt! What a happy baby!

Burk, when you realized Tayva had an intolerance, was she having problems at every feeding? We can''t tell if the Zantac is really working, because for the past 2 days, we''ll have both good feedings and bad ones. There were maybe 3 in the past 2 days where he would scream during the feeding and immediately afterwards with all the reflux signs and had major spit up. This is a definite improvement, but if a formula like alimentum would help even more, I''d like to try it. But I wonder if the formula was the problem if he''d be having issues each time he ate. But then again, although the spit up and painful crying has decreased, he''s had more painful gas lately...so I''m kinda torn. I''d like to see if a change of formula would help, but it''s also much more expensive and the last time we changed, he had a rough adjustment, so I don''t want to put him through that if I don''t have to.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful labor day weekend! Dh and I took Jacks to his first Navy function (an icecream social) last night, and it was really nice to get out and socialize. We were invited to a bbq tonight, but dh doesn''t want to go, so I might just go myself. He''s on call again Monday, but this has already been a nice weekend here!

 

[Sabine]

Whoops, wanted to add a pic of my guy too. He always looks so deep in thought to me! This is him hanging out over my shoulder (in should burp position).

 

[cdt1101]

Sabine- Lex is also on the Alimentum Ready made....like burk suggested..I don't know that Lex had an intolerance, but we tried the powder first (alimentum), but he still had HORRIBLE gas and would cry and cry..once we switched to the ready made, and waited the 14 days, Lex got SO much better....and I used to think he was a grumpy baby, but now he is soooooo giggly most of the time...it's great! Baby smiles and giggles are the BEST! Jacks is a CUTIE!!!

ETA - The swing/bouncy was also WAY too stimulating for Lex...eventually I just kept trying the naps in the crib and he got used to it...at 3 months he still does not really like the swing or anything he is 'strapped' into. He like his stroller though, but not the carseat

 

[Burk]

Sabine~Cute pic of the little man!

Tayva did not necessarily have a problem during or directly after every feeding. She could sometimes down 5 oz. and do pretty much fine for a while and other times within the same day would refuse to take an ounce and would scream like crazy.

It's so heart breaking because there really was no rhyme or reason sometimes (that we could figure out). The thing is, if there are reflux signs at all, even if not at every feeding, the problem is still present so something has to be up. Ya know? I found this to be very interesting when I was researching the whole reflux thing (scroll down a ways until it starts to talk about reflux). Alimentum is more expensive. It sucks. But it's expensive for a reason. It's so much easier on babies bellies because of the way the proteins are broken down. What is he currently on? You could try the alimentum for a week or two and see. I started buying the alimentum on Ebay in bulk once we knew that was what worked for Tayva and you could always do that if you find it is something you want to stick with. Keep us posted!

cdt~

I'm so glad to read that Lex is doing better and that the alimentum worked for him!! He's such a cutie!!

 

[nycbkgirl]

Sabine- I ditto switching formula ! I tried the gentlease and it was terrible for us too...I also ditto switching to alimentum/nutramigen...im on enfamil nutramigen...its $8.79 per can here at bru (faints bc I need about 2 cans a day!) its the ready feed and I feel that is better than powder for us personally. Alimentum is the same thing just similac brand and it comes in a cap bottle....nutramig is a can and it isn''t very convienent but it works for us very well...they poop 2 to 3 x per day..its liquidy but that''s good. They give good burps..they do have a good amt of wet burps at times and at tend to have this clear liquid spit up even hrs after they eat (always wondered what that was but pedi said its all fine as long as they gaining well)..we have our moments of screaming after feeds and when putting on back but its gas not reflux for us...good luck...keep us posted! Cutie cutie jacks
(Twinks are 5mos on sep16)

Went to pedi ystdy..he said everything is great jon weights 11.8lbs and 21 1/4 in and jak 11 even and 21"...so they have tripled their birthweight practically (which non premies usually do by 1 yo? ) he said they are very strong and keep goin as I am and just have to tolerate the nights for now. I was hoping we would get the go to start rice cereal and some water but nope ..he said..I tell u when (sighh).

Bff has left after a week stay

(( ...she helped out A Lot and even stayed 2 nights over my house and dealt with both babies during night feedings to give us some rest! I must say tho she doesn''t have kids yet and after this week....she may be thinking about not having kids at all :-/

I have also gained 10 lbs already! And feel like $h!t..and need to drop them fast!

 

[fieryred33143]

CDT and Sabine-The boys are so adorable!!! I love them

Sabine-That''s great that you are getting 4 hours out of him!

NYC-I bet the twinks made BFF want children even more! They are so adorable. Those are great stats!!

We are visiting my mom this weekend. She lives 4 hours away. We have realized that we can never leave home without the swing. DD doesn''t like to nap in her PNP and has been in arms the entire weekend. We''ve resorted to having her nap in her carseat which I absolutely hate. Luckily she does sleep in the PNP at night. My mom made us stop swaddling. The first night I was nervous about it but she slept much better. Every time she wanted to stretch, it wasn''t so dramatic and she didn''t wake herself up as a result. We may not go back to swaddling when we get home. She''s also giving us 4 hour stretches in between feeds.

I felt really bad though because on Friday we had a ton of visitors and poor Sophia couldn''t take a nap. As soon as she would fall asleep, someone would show up. She was so frustrated as was I. I started to put her to bed at 9PM and it took 1.5 hours to get her to sleep because she was so restless. When she did, I fell asleep with her and the next time she woke up it was 5:40! And the fact that I slept for 7 hours straight means that she didn''t make a single peep all night. Definitely a fluke but I couldn''t believe we had slept for 7 hours. She''s back to napping though. Last night she went to bed around 11PM because we were out of the house. She woke up at 1:58am, 6:45, and 10:30 to feed.

We have also officially moved into 3-6/6-9 PJs

. She is in the 34th percentile for her weight but in the 95th percentile for her height

So her poor footie pjs don''t fit her anymore

 

[Pandora II]

Today at 3pm, 10 months after initiating and a year to the day of finding out I was pregnant with Daisy, I withdrew my case against my employer! I should receive the official paperwork for the agreement in the next couple of days.

I can''t believe how exhausted I suddenly feel by it all - and yet hugely relieved that it is all over. I can''t tell you how grateful I am to you guys for the huge amount of support that you all gave during the black time last winter - it really helped and made an enormous difference to me. So THANK YOU all!

Oh, and now I get a new kitchen and some bling! Yay!

 

[fieryred33143]

Just checking that I can use ps on blackberry

 

[Steel]

Date: 9/7/2009 11:58:15 AM
Author: Pandora II
Today at 3pm, 10 months after initiating and a year to the day of finding out I was pregnant with Daisy, I withdrew my case against my employer! I should receive the official paperwork for the agreement in the next couple of days.

I can''t believe how exhausted I suddenly feel by it all - and yet hugely relieved that it is all over. I can''t tell you how grateful I am to you guys for the huge amount of support that you all gave during the black time last winter - it really helped and made an enormous difference to me. So THANK YOU all!

Oh, and now I get a new kitchen and some bling! Yay!

Pandora, it is obvious you and your DH have had a tough time with this case. Good luck wrapping the loose ends up very soon.

 

[MustangGal]

Cute pics of the babies!!!

fiery - blow-outs are now fun

, if she doesn''t seem in pain, it might not be much of an issue though, other than being a huge mess! Call the doc if you''re worried. Good luck on the manager position.

sabine - Maybe it''s time for a formula switch again? And as burke suggested, if the zantec doesn''t seem to help, maybe a different medication? I hope Jacks is feeling better soon!

cdt - I can''t believe it''s been 3 months already! Happy to hear Lex is doing better!

Pandora - Woohoo for the end of the fight! Do you agree with the resolution? And have fun shopping!

Sorry it''s been a week since I''ve been on. I was at a conference 3 days last week, then had BIL, SIL and nephew staying in the guest room all weekend (where the computer is). The weekend was very full but fun! We had a BBQ Saturday with 20-25 people invading the house. It went great and we had a lot of fun. Somehow Kyle managed to take a nap even with all the noise! Saturday night was horrible though. Kyle''s first tooth just broke out, and it must have been bothering him that night. We tried Tylenol, rocking, cold teething rings, etc., and he still cried from 12-1:30am and 3:30-4:30am. I got about 4 hours of sleep, and worried that he was waking up the other people in the house. They slept through the whole ordeal (including DH sleeping on the bed next to me holding a crying baby

), so I guess he wasn''t crying too loud. He''s been better since, so I think it was just tooth pain. Now that the first tooth is out, he started pulling his ear on the other side, so I think tooth #2 is on it''s way up also.

Kyle is almost there with crawling. He just figured out how to sit up from laying down, and he gets up on his hands and knees, and is starting to move backwards a bit. You can tell he''s trying to work out how to move, but just doesn''t quite get it yet. I can''t believe he''ll be 7 months old this week! It''s going by sooo fast! I''ll get some pics up from the weekend tomorrow

 

[ChinaCat]

Hey all!

I have been meaning to jump onto this thread, introduce my little one, comment on others, you know, like a normal, polite poster should do.

Of course, I''ve been too exhausted to actually do this, and now I have a quick question. So forgive me for the self-centered post, I promise to come back and post pictures and get more involved soon.

Oliver is 3 weeks today. BF is going okay, and in spite of the exhaustion, he has been actually pretty decent with the sleeping and feedings. Week 2 was great, but now he''s fighting his naps during the day.

Either he fights sleep like crazy- either screaming bloody murder until we pick him up or let him fall asleep in the swing. OR he goes down awake, falls asleep, but then wakes up 45 minutes into his nap, again not just fussing but full on crying.

He pretty much eats on a consistent 3 hour schedule (sometimes it''s 2.5 hours). I TRY to put him down for his nap about 1.5 hours in. So say I feed him at 10 am, he eats for about 30 minutes, I have waketime with him, then I start trying to put him down around 11:15 or 11:30. Ideally he''d sleep until his next feeding at 1 pm. But instead he fights and either sleeps for 1/2 hour or 45 minutes, or he fights and finally falls asleep closer to 1 pm, and then I have to decide to either wake him up or feed him.

I know he''s a newborn and this happening occasionally would just seem normal to me. But this is getting pretty consistent, and I can tell he''s overtired and not getting enough sleep.

Any thoughts?????? And yes, I check his diapers and change him if he''s wet, but once he''s up, then he''s up and that doesn''t seem to help.

Thanks in advance!

 

[neatfreak]

China-No need to apologize! We''ve all been there. Have you tried putting Oliver down earlier? Sounds like you might be keeping him up too long at his age-which results in him being overtired and fighting the naps. Try looking for the FIRST sign of sleep-rubbing eyes, a yawn, whatever and then put him down. It might only be an hour that he is awake in between naps-but it''s fine if it works.

 

[fieryred33143]

Ditto neat. It could also be part of his 3 week growth spurt. Maybe try increasing his feeds to every 2 hrs until he gets back on schedule?

 

[gailrmv]

China no need to apologize! Welcome and congrats! I found that feeding DS right before putting him down, and when he woke up (EAESY if you follow the baby whispere's abbreviations) helped him sleep a little longer. Also, some babies just need less sleep than others. Mine is one of them. It can be hard when they just don't nap much. we get *maybe* 2 naps of 1 hour each per day. That's it, and he naps more now than he did as a newborn believe it or not. I think I read everhything out there about naps and sleep and followed all kinds of different things, but as my pedi said, sometimes you get a baby who didn't read the instruction manual or just doesn't need as much sleep. You are doing all the right things if you just watch for his signs and give him the opportunity to nap when he seems like he might be tired, either by the clock or by his signs. I don't think 45 min is that short for a nap honestly.

I need some help! Anyone get blood blisters when nursing? We'd been doing great for months and months and then out of the blue - OUCH - a really painful blood blister

Any suggestions?

DS is 5.5 months.

 

[Pandora II]

Steel - Thanks, it has been rather an ordeal and I''m very relieved that there are only a few bits left and then I never have to deal with it again.

MustangGal - Because we have settled it means that they don''t accept any liability and I drop all the charges, so I don''t get my ''day in court'' or the satisfaction of them having to admit what happened. However, in exchange... lets just say that I won''t need to go back to work full time for a couple of years...

China - I''m with TDM here, Daisy didn''t read the manual either. She used to be up for 14 hours at a stretch at times...

When I started doing a ''forced'' routine I would do (for example):

10.00 am - Wake-up and feed
10.10 am - Play time (Daisy is a very fast eater)
12.15 pm - Naptime

Sometimes I would need to do EASEY as well - especially if she was on a growth spurt.

At the beginning naps could be for as little as 20 minutes or as much as 3 hours. You don''t need to wake a baby to feed them unless they go 5-6 hours without anything, they won''t starve and they''ll definitely let you know when they are hungry! I would let him sleep all he wants rather than waking him up.

Now I do a routine of EASY most of the time and she''s on a 4.5 to 5 hour rotation with about 2 hours nap and 2.5 hours awake.