Jan/Feb 05 chat - Thread #3

[julieb]

Yes, I must add that Asher did quite well considering.  But, like Disneyland, I think it was a bit disappointing for me & DH.  No big hoopla or reactions.  Oh well, next year!  He is only 10.5 months after all!!  I have to keep reminding myself of that.

Oh, one of the most surprising things was he received a toy telephone (though it resembles nothing like a real phone) and as we were dialing and saying hello, he lifted the reciever up to his ear to listen with no prompting from us!  I thought, "What a clever boy!!"  I can still hardly believe it.  It's amazing the little things they catch on to us and copy, like simply talking on the phone!

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Hello all!  Christmas was a bit crazy around here, but not too bad.  We had Christmas with dh's family at our house (which was nice to be at home) on Friday.  Ethan did pretty well, but doesn't care much for opening the presents.  We did give him one that made noise and music, so he was interested in that for a good little while, while daddy opened the rest of Ethan's presents!  Ethan went down for his pm nap while we were still opening presents, so once he was down, dh and I were able to unwrap and oogle a bit ourselves.

We had Christmas with my family yesterday (on Christmas).  Ethan was a bit overwhelmed, and not terribly happy yesterday.  It wasn't the activity, I think he was just a tad cranky yesterday.   :?   Oh well.  Was able to put him down for his pm nap in his pack n play in my parents bedroom, and he at least took his usual 1 hour pm nap, so it could've been worse!  It was fun watching my nephew open his presents - he's so one-track minded (he's 2 weeks shy of turning 2), you can't get him to even look at the next item, cause he's still playing with the first thing he opened!  Cute.

So, I'm trying to bury this question in a post where my SIL won't read it...

She is probably going to have a scheduled c-section on Jan. 9.  I'd like to make her a "mommy" gift basket, stuff just for her, not for the baby.  It can be bath things, slippers, snacks, etc.  So, I was wanting to get some ideas from you guys as what you would have loved to receive after your delivery.  She is also planning to breastfeed this time around (didn't work out well with her first), so anything in that arena that I could put in would work too.

Thanks!

[Deb_in_oz]

Tammy I gave my SIL thiings like that when she had her 1st and included bath bombs, an eye mask from Body Shop that you chill in the fridge (the kind that you wear to ease tension headaches, relax etc NOT the kind to clean your face KWIM), nice smelling soaps and hand lotion. I also threw in a bottle of wine for BIL (and her when she was drinking)

[HeatherC]

I will post about Christmas later, but thought I'd chime in to Tammy for a sec.  For bfing, you could give her the nipple cream (lansinoh I think or something similar), nursing pads, definitely hand lotion, a comfy cotton shirt, breath mints or some other hard candy, packs of peanut butter crackers, extra soft socks.  HTH

[sedona314]

Deborah:  I am in awe that Maya said duck AND pointed at the object. That is wonderful.

Christine, Heather, love the Christmas avatars.  Heather, how did you just get her to sit there AND smile???

Branwen, how are you and Eirwen doing in your new home?

Hazel, Daniel's pics made me laugh out loud, what a character.

Tammy, I agree with what Heather listed for your gift to your SIL.  I too had a C-section and all I could think of is Motrin, I would have wanted that right away, and maybe some tylenol     I lived in my nightgown after mine so that would be another suggestion from me.

Matty is trying to walk and so far is able to go about ten steps before falling.  Its exciting and a bit nerve wracking.  He was not in the greatest mood this weekend so we only got a few pics.   Even so, we had a great time this Christmas and are still celebrating Chanukah.

Happy Holidays everyone

Julie

[Daniel's mummy]

Tammy - I'll give some thought to what I needed/wanted after my section.  The only thing that springs to mind at the moment though is breast pads for breast feeding.  (I used so much that I went through 300 in less than 5 days :shock:  :shock:  :shock: )  I'm not suggesting you should buy her that many though - could be a little over-facing :lol:

[Daniel's mummy]

2 more piccies to make you laugh :lol:

[sedona314]

Hazel, he is too cute.  How many teeth does he have?
Matty weighed 26 lbs at his 9 month checkup.  I'm afraid to weigh him again, as I know he is bigger now!

Julie

[sedona314]

Recent Matty pic:

[julieb]

Julie, I just LOVE that photo of Matty!  Darling!

Tammy, are you giving it after she gets home or at the hospital?  For BF, a purple tube of lansinoh cream (kind that you don't have to wash off before BFing), and Soothies gel pads (helps with the soreness and such).  For hospital, antibacterial hand gel (too hard to get up all the time) and brush ups (? those disposable finger toothbrushes).  Also some peppermint essential oil to help go pee afterward (put some on a cottonball in a cup and hold it under you for a few minutes, the fumes help those muscles relax and open up).  For home, various quick, easy, and healthy snacks that she can grab in a pinch while sitting to BF or on the go. 

Poor naps today.  Asher is officially teething again.  I can see the start of 4 more teeth.  :shock:  And I FINALLY added a few new videos to dropshots.

[Daniel's mummy]

Tammy - I thought of something useful (at least I could have done with some!).  When I was breast feeding I got TERRIBLY constipated.  So a pack of senokot (or some other laxative) could be useful :lol: Hopefully she won't need it but better safe than sorry I say!

We're off to my ILs tomorrow for 5 days :shock:   It's a 4 hour journey so I'm praying Daniel does well.  Packing up is always such a HUGE task these days.  Better get on with it.

Also think Daniel is teething again.  (Julie - he has 8 teeth)  He has been chomping so hard on everything in sight today.  Hardly took any milk today - just won't tolerate the bottle in his mouth.  Hopefully he'll have a good night sleep though to set him up for the next few days. 

Julieb - how can you tell Asher is working on 4 more teeth?  Can you see them coming through?  I can never seem to tell in advance with Daniel.  They just seem to suddenly appear (after lots of unsettled days and nights).  I forgot to say, I ordered that book, 'Grace-based parenting' from Amazon for Christmas.  I've only read the first chapter but it is brilliant.  So much to think about and talk about with dh.  Thanks for mentioning it.

[julieb]

Hazel -- Glad to hear you're getting the book!  I'm gonna make DH read it after we're finished in my bible study with it.  Re: teething, I have a hard time telling as well, especially since you can't see them so well anymore in the back of his mouth.  I've noticed him chewing more, drooling more, and gnawing on his index finger on one side of his mouth a lot lately.  I suspected, so when I had him up on the changing table (it's on a really high dresser, so I'm really close up), I started looking as he was opening his mouth to laugh.  His gums are puffy and you can see the shape of a tooth pushing through.  When I checked a few weeks ago, his gums were still round and hard.  I'm sure it will be a couple more weeks before a tip actually breaks through though.  Seems like they take forever these days.  It's also about time because it's been two months.  It seems like he gets a bunch, skips a couple months, then gets a bunch more, etc.  He currently has 8 teeth as well.  Good luck packing!  I couldn't believe how much we filled the SUV!  And we ran about 2 hours late setting out!   :lol:   Pack some benedryl in case you need to sedate him!  :wink:


Well Asher slept in longer than he ever has this morning!  He was going on 13 hours and I had to wake him!  I don't know what it was.  I put him to bed 30 minutes earlier last night because of his two short naps.  I also gave him advil at 1:30 am because he keep waking every two hours from teething pain, I think.  Could it be the bad naps, the earlier bedtime, or the advil?  Who knows!  :roll:   He keeps me guessing.

We went to the zoo this afternoon since we have a membership.  He is such a hoot.  I'm amazed at how much he's picking up.  I let him walk some and he's starting to understand the concept of "Follow Mama."  And when he takes off the other way, I often call out, "Okay, bye!  See you later!" and he'll start waving bye-bye (as he's walking away from me!)!  :lol:  Last night we were playing with his new peek-a-blocks and one has a little dial on the end you turn with your finger.  I showed him how I was turning it and then he tried to copy.  He couldn't do it very well, then he grabbed my finger and pulled it to the peek-a-block because he wanted me to to turn the dial again.  We repeated this a few times even.  I moved my hand away and he got up and put the peek-a-block on my hand because he wanted me to keep turning.  That's just amazing to me.  Sometimes I just can't believe how much these babies understand already.  I've always heard "they understand more than you think," etc, but to witness this learning and growing take place just puts me in awe of these little miracles! 

[HeatherC]

Julie-that's so cute about Asher.  It is amazing to watch them learn right before our eyes.  To see a neice or nephew every now and then and think "wow, look what they've learned," is one thing, but to watch it actually happen is another.

Just for my information, and this may be stupid, but what causes teeth to come in?  I just wonder why it happens so fast for some, and not for others, like Kelsey.  She still just has the bottom two, and no more in sight any time soon.  She is gnawing on her index finger a lot.  Is this a sign?  Shouldn't she get the top two before any in the back?  I guess it's just different for each child, like everything else.

I tried a stage 3 jar of vegetable, chicken dinner with Kelsey.  She gagged and carried on.  She was a tad distracted by my sister and took a few bites, but once she realized it, she was mad.  I know she's not the only child with texture adversion, and I know it won't go on forever, but good golly.  And she's still only eating a 4 oz jar at each meal, and doesn't want snacks.  She has sips of watered-down juice before each nap and with dinner, totally 4-6 oz a day.  Do we replace the formula with milk and larger food servings?  I'm getting nervous about that.  :oops:

[Diego's Mama]

Okay you silly people.  Seeing as this thread is nearly a year old, any thoughts of starting a new one?  7500 replies must be a record around here!

Heheheeeeeeeeee...............

[HeatherC]

Well, I'm sure something needs to be done, but what?  Prune the old ones and start a new one, again?