Jan/Feb 05 chat - Thread #3

[Daniel's mummy]

These babies certainly seem to try to coincide with their 'loopy' times don't they.  Daniel has had a very strange 24 hours to say the least.  (It's my own fault - Monday eve I decided to change my signature thing from 'our textbook/angel baby' to just 'our angel baby'. It was like he knew I had fiddled with it and decided to teach me a leson :shock:  :lol:

Yesterday we had planned to go to a mother and baby group for the first time with my next door neighbour and her baby.  Wouldn't you just know it Daniel refused to take any kind of morning nap so when we left at 10am he was already tired.  He grabbed about 15 mins in the car on the way there.  The group was VERY loud and VERY busy.  By 11.30am Daniel was not impressed.  Once we got home though he was fine.  I'm like panicking thinking this kid has barely slept since 7am :shock: But he was all smile and laughs etc...  (seem to remember others saying their los behave like this when overtired)  Gave him his dinner and put him down at 1pm.  Again he refused to sleep :evil:   So by about 3pm I decided to take him out for a walk coz that would surely get him to sleep.  After an hour and half in pram he was still wide awake :? The bizarre thing was though he seemed really happy.
Anyway, long story short, he had 15 mins sleep from 7am til 6.30pm  :shock:  :roll:   Please let this never happen again (at least not til he's 3!)  I was shattered by the end of the day.  The nap times become precious don't they in reviving yourself before it starts all over again.

He woke at 7am (2nd day in a row ) and has just gone back down to sleep now.  He was really tired again, but thankfully he's gone straight off to sleep this time.  I'm just praying he does the same this afternoon.

Frustration - Daniel seems to be getting really frustrated now that he can't get around.  He just doesn't seem to try though.  Actually maybe it's me getting more frustrated.  He lies on his tummy stretching for something but just won't do anything to try to move.  It's like he just doesn't 'get it' that he can actually wiggle and squirm his way there.Instead he just whines and then screams.  I  know I should just leave him to figure it out but after a bit I just give in and pass the toy to him.  He seems to be throwing more mini tantrums now too.  Kicking and throwing his head back :shock:  and again I don't know if this is just because he's frustrated.  I hope it sorts itself out soon though.

HUGS to everyone who needs them (there seem to be a lot at the moment).  Have a good day / night.

PS Where is Nikki?

[Deb_in_oz]

ugh - we had a rainstorm today with extreme winds and our street lost power for a few hours (unfortunately was during entire naptime so no Oprah or computer for me  :evil: )

good to see you Vidya - it sounds like you and Diya are doing wel! i cannot believe it did not occur to me that we were in a growth spurt  :oops:  she has been feeding better in the day the past 3 days (whereas she had been refusing her 3-4pm bottle she was now draining the 7oz i was offering  :oops:  i was so happy with that it did not occur to me to offer 8-9oz)

so today i offered full bottle (8 1/2 + oz) and she took and average of 7 1/2 - 8 oz per feed (except 3:30pm which was more like 5 oz  :roll:  buit i snuck extra in her dinner to make up for it  :lol: ) and at bedtime bottle she took some before bath and more after = took 300ml = 10+ oz!!!  :shock:  so i say we are defnitely in a GS.  i focused on cereal at dinner and she at about 4TBS of cereal/prunes/formula and a little fish and crackers and lots of watermelon. we are going to offer DF tonight and see if that helps until the GS passes.


PROBLEM: our sound machine died at the end of her nap this afternoon so we have had to go cold turkey without it tonight. i am so scared!!! Dh thinks it died because alex plays with it turning it on and off all the time  :roll:  so he is going to try to take it apart and fix it  :lol:  :shock:  we'll see  In the meantime i am pretty sure i have never seen them here (mine is one i bought in the states that i had been using for me to sleep through Dh's breathing/snoring even before the kids joined us and took my noise machine away)  I knew i shoul dhave had my mom bring another one out  :evil:  wish us luck!

Hazel - at least he was in a good mood - imagine if he was crying or needed to be held the entire day!! sounds like you held it together well though - i woudl have been crying and a basketcase  :oops:

also - frustration is what forces them to start crawling etc to finally go get what they want so let him struggle for at least a few minutes - maybe move the item closer before actually giving in and handing it to him.  Liv never seemed to have the instinct to try to get toys until recently - i was really worried about this as she woudl reach once and give up, whereas alex woudl spend ages trying to get things (and subsequently crawled from 5 mo).  when Liv started crawling but not forwards what finally got her to make the move was her favourite doll - i saw her trying to get it and i just moved it a little bit from her and she crawled forward a tiny bit, so i praised her but moved it further - she did this for 3 paces and then i gave it to her and clapped lots etc.  that was her turning point.  ~ if you don't think he "gets it" about moving have you tried showing him by physically moving him along, also try putting your hands behind his feet so he has something to push off against... just a few ideas.  he will get there in the end - trust me when they are frustrated enough, if they are physically capable of it, they will move.  It has not occurred to Liv to try to stand or pull up and i think i might try putting her doll on the sofa and see if she even tries to move towards it 

[klt]

Oh Deb, it does make sense now doesn't it?  Ciara's GS have all been like clockwork and I never spotted them for what they were at the time  :roll: - it's hard to think straight when you are in the midst of it.

Deborah - sending my best thoughts for some good news soon... you could do with it I'm sure.  I have also heard that around this age they start to refuse bf - Ciara is very reluctant these days, I think she thinks she is too grown up for that now....

Christine- Leah is hilarious with those crackers!  She must be a generous spirit!  Ciara won't even give the dog his own biscuit, let alone any of her food!   I love seeing the videos, it does make it seem like I know your los.  (I should do one too...)

Pasta - she has mini macaroni which I also mash up by hand, I don't see much chewing going on with it, she just sucks on them and then down they go....

She is another reluctant cuddler though sometimes she comes over and gives me a kiss - touches her mouth to my face - it's very cute!  Also she won't let me clap her hands together - and as for cutting nails these days, forget it!  She has a fit!  Does anyone have any tips on that?

[Leah's Mom]

Deb - Do you have a humidifier? Leah's sound machine broke once and I used the humidifier to make noise until we could get a new one. What kind do you have? Leah is very dependent on hers. She was still sleeping this morning at 7 and I needed her to get up, had to leave for work!!! So I shut off the sound machine and bing! Her eyes opened right up!

[thitz]

Jamie,  yes it's Emily with eczema.  I think I've heard of Eurcerin before but I haven't tried it.  But I will, cause the store doesn't stock the kind I used to use.  Thanks for the tip !  Emily's cheek is the worst part of her! 

Debra, definately sounds like a growth spurt.  I think Emily's starting one too.  Try to stuff her up with solids as best you can at night.  I give Emily all the oats with apple she'll eat.  And stick with your early df, that's what I'm doing.   I'm also sick of getting woken early.  This morning she was sleeping and dh had to go to the bathroom at 5:30am and woke me and her up, boy was I mad :evil:  :evil: !  So that's 2 days in a row with a 5:30wake up.  She had a really good day but I had to put her to bed at 6:00 cause she just crashed and couldn't cope anymore.

Hazel, good for you on making it thru a 15min nap day .  It's amazing what you can do when you have too!  I hope Daniel naps for you today .

Us, I can see Emily's gaining some strength.  She now slowly turns in circle when on her tummy or sitting while she plays (but she doesn't realize what she's doing).  Also she's doing the odd mini bum lift while on her tummy, but still her first reaction is to cry when I put her on her tummy :? .

Have a good day/night everyone!   Lots of HUGS  

[thitz]

It's me again!  Just wanted to share my good news...I have a lead on a babysitter   .  She's 14, taken the babysitter course and has looked after a 10 month old.  She's coming over Saturday to meet us!  I hope she's good!

Goodnight again, Tarri

[Deb_in_oz]

ok here is our update - thanks everyone
NOISE MACHINE - amazingly she slept fine without it    it is creepy though because i am used to hearing it through the monitor all day and night except when she is awake - so it is eerie how quiet it is without it.  and now i can actually know that if i don't hear anything on the monitor and the lights are not blinking it means it is silent in there  :lol:  Christine - i will look into humidifiers as we need one anyway for her - not sure what to get thoug has things like that are expensive here  :roll:  but it is less likely that i will find a noise machine...

i just put her down for nap and i think she is having to adjust to no noise machine still - she is tired but making noises.. and i do worry about days when it is noisy outside, etc

GS - last night she woke at 9:40 making sucking noises but resettled so i thought we would leave her a bit so it woudl be a true DF.  Dh was watching Australia play world cup soccer  :roll:  and i was on here so i left him unil he was going to do it - she woke looking for food at 10:40 before he could get in there anyway and she took almost 7 oz.  i heard her wake at 5:50am and was about to get upset, but then i heard her babbling "bababa" so i thought - hey if you are just chatty you can justgo back to sleep and i think she did (i know i did) until almost 7    she was at daycare this mornign and woudl not settle for her nap - they finally rocked her in pram and she slept from 10:10-11am (i had put her down there at 9:10 and gave up and left at 9:30) and she has not eaten solids well today - all about finger foods now  :roll:

good news - i forgot to say that olivia said dada the other day (not repeated since but said it 3 times on the weekend) and last nigth and today she used "mama" discriminitely - she called for me when Dh had her gettig ready for bed and then today for comfort when i was trying to get her ready for nap.  she has been so vocal this past week it is obviously her current focus - giving me a bloody headache actually  :lol:  2 kids makng noise is hard on the head

tarri - sorry about your early starts too - and i really hope the babysitter works out!

[julieb]

Well, I was gonna get on this morning and say we had the best 24 hours ever and was hoping to repeat it!   :lol:   So much for that!   :roll:

Anyway, despite Asher's awful night and early morning yesterday, he took a good 1.5 hr morning nap and was back in swing.  Then he followed it with a 2 hour afternoon nap!  Still put him to bed at 7 pm and not a peep out of him until he woke at 6:30 happy!     That was seriously the best night he's had in more that two months!!  :shock:  Don't know what the trick was though.  Took a normal morning nap (1.25 hr) this morning, then went grocery shopping and he was pooped when we got home.  It wasn't quite nap time, but I SHOULD have put him down anyway.  I unloaded the car first.  It took him 30 minutes to fall asleep (talking to himself), slept 1.25 hr.  Not the best, but better than the usual 45 minute naps.  Put him to bed at 7:00 and he woke crying one sleep cycle later (as usual).  Usually we pick him up and try to settle and often end up rocking lately.  I wondered if this was making it all worse.  So since I had nothing to watch on TV tonight, decided to stand my ground and do some variatins on PU/PD.  Cried for a good hour and he's been asleep for about 45 min.  We'll see.

Vidya, good to hear from you!!

Hazel, I agree with Deb and I think it's okay (and good) to let Daniel get a bit frustrated.  If he really starts to yell, help him out, but sometimes a little anger gives them just the strength to do it!

Deb, so are you gonna give up on the sound machine?   :shock:   It would scare me too!!  I know what you mean about the monitor sound/lights/etc.   :lol:   It's the same here!!  What about a white noise CD on repeat (ocean waves, babbling brook, etc).  That's what we did until we found a sound machine we liked better.  Got mine at Target (homedics sound spa).  Do they have those there?  Can you order online?  Can your mom mail you one?  Oh, and the first time Asher pulled up was on me while I was laying on the floor.  He always thinks it's funny when I lay on the floor with him (especially when doing pilates!  :lol: )

Kate: I trim Asher's nails while BFing.  Not sure what I'm gonna do when I wean!   :lol:   The toenails are the hardest.  Sometimes I do them while he's in the high chair.

[Deb_in_oz]

julieb - the one i have is homedics - it has 6 soinds including the creepy tell-tale heart  :lol:  I will have a look around and see if i can find one in Sydney otherwise will see how it goes.  to send form US would be a bit of money (although am sure my mom woudl do it as she sends me tings fo rthe girls semi-regularly).  we have friends visiting form UK later in the month so i am oging to see how much they are there as they will be with us on the 28th/30th Nov so quicker than buying and mailing out.

hope your night was ok!

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Debra - sounds like Olivia is definitely in a growth spurt!  And sounds like dh needs to pull himself away from the soccer at the appropriate time to beat Olivia waking up!   :lol:   At least you know what the deal is though - that's always a relief to me.  Hang in there!  We don't have a sound machine for Ethan, but we do have a humidifier.  I bought it a few weeks ago with the onset of his cold.  I just bought the Vicks Humidifier from Target.  I think it was $20 or so, works great!  He's not dependent on it for sleep, but when we travel in a couple of weeks, I'm going to bring it with us for background noise.  I figure it can't hurt in a hotel!

Julie - sounds like you had a great nap day, followed by a tough hour of pu/pd.  That always stinks.  Don't you wish they could wake up and tell us what they are thinking?  Like, mom, I'm cold, I'm hungry, my gums hurt, or whatever?   :roll: 

Tarri - good luck on the sitter!  I have never even looked at one, cause grandma and grandpa are about 5 minutes away (my parents)!  My mom looks after Ethan (while asleep) one night a month while I go to dinner with some neighbor friends.  And she's willing any other time too, which is nice for things like dentist appts, haircut appts, etc.  So good luck - hope you find someone you like, and seems capable!

Hazel - I agree with everyone else to let Daniel get a bit frustrated when trying to get to something.  That is initially what got Ethan crawling, although his legs and feet are nonstop since conception!  BTW, like the new avatar!  His cheeks, I just want to squeeze them!   :lol:

Vidya - good to hear from you!

Us - well, like Julie, we had such a super duper day yesterday, it's what you think mommy-hood will be like!   :wink:   Ethan woke up early, about 6, but went back to sleep until after 7!  I was sooo happy!  He took a 2 hour morning nap!  Miracle.  Had a good afternoon, and then put him down for his pm nap - took 1.75 hours!  That truly is a miracle - lately the pm naps are getting very short, one sleep cycle at 30 minutes!  Then we ran errands to Target and Kohl's.  Total angel!  Sat in his stroller and played with his toy, looked at other kids and laughed, etc.  We came home, and went for our evening walk, had dinner, and played a bit before bathtime.  And no meltdowns (due to the lovely pm nap, I'm sure).  So, everything is good right?  Wakes up at 11 crying.  No idea why.  I go in, rock him for about 3 minutes, he keeps touching my face, so I put him back in his crib and leave.  This is usually where the crying starts again.  Nope - went right back to sleep.  Weird huh?  And I waited before going in the first time to see if he would resettle, but he kept crying, so up I go!  Anyway, then he slept until about 6:30 this morning, but I dozed while he babbled until around 7.  So, let's hope today is like yesterday (minus the 11 pm wakeup call!). 

Oh, yeah, Ethan is 9 months old today!  I can't believe how fast time flies.  I never though I'd make it this far!   :oops: 

[Leah's Mom]

Happy 9 months Ethan!!!!     

We are teething like mad and having horrible, naps, night sleep and not eating well! I totally understand though. She cut her lower right eye tooth and her upper left central tooth on the same day! And now she is getting the other lower eye tooth and the other upper tooth.  :shock: Poor kid! Didn't someone else get all of their teeth closer together too?

John and Zoe's Mom emailed me this wonderful list of foods that she offered her daughter Zoe at 9 months. Zoe would not touch the purrees, and I'm beginning to think that Leah only wants finger foods too.  :roll: Hope the list helps you all out!

Scrambled eggs (we do use the whites)
Waffles
Wheat Bread
Pasta
Ham
Salmon
Cottage Cheese
Regular Cheese
Beans (green and brown)
Peas
Carrots
Broccoli
Spinach
Kiwi
Canteloupe
Peaches
Banana
Blueberries
Cheerios

[thitz]

Christine, Poor Leah.  Maybe it's good to get them all at once, so you get thru all the bad sleeping.  Hmmm...not sure if I'd be saying that if it was happening to Emily. :wink: I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't give salmon, but I think canned tuna is okay.

Tammy, Happy 9 months to Ethan!!!  I WISH my mom lived close.  I don't know how I'm going to ever see the dentist!  I figure I can sit her on my lap for eye appointments though.

Deb, our furnace fan makes great white noise.  We have it on continuous mode in the summer for the a/c and in winter to distribute heat from our woodstove. 

JulieB, I didn't realize Asher was waking one sleep cycle after going to bed.  Emily does too and again at 10:00 but she doesn't cry out.  I think I'd be very careful with rocking him to sleep.  Stick with your pu/pd and hopefully he'll stop calling out eventually.

Us, I think I just have to except a 5:30am start to the day.  She seems to be an early to rise and early to bed girl.  The good thing though is I still hit her regular eat and nap times and lengths.  She's in good spirits until about 4:00pm, even if she wakes from her afternoon nap at 3:30pm.  Not sure what to do with her, she's not happy sitting with her toys, me walking her around, the exersaucer, playing in high chair nada!  I soooo wish I could bath her every day but I can't cause of her eczema.  Any suggestions for evening activities :?:  Is two strolls a day too much?

Good day/night everyone!  Tarri

[HeatherC]

Tammy-what a wonderful day you had!!!  Happy 9 months to Ethan!!!

Christine-gosh, makes me worry what Kelsey's teeth will do.  Her bottom 2 came in together 2 weeks ago, but I haven't seen any others yet.

Tarri-Is Emily teething?  I went through such a terrible time with Kelsey when she was.  She wasn't happy with anything, and we were both miserable.  I did bathe her every night just to pass the time and make her happy for a little while.

Good news on the finger/table food front--she ate all around the edge of a apple/cinnamon cereal bar.  I didn't give her the gooy (how do you spell that?) middle part, but she ate the rest and I was soooooooo proud.  Now she loves them.  She also ate tiny pieces of pasta and chicken from a chicken lasgna, and she's pretty much taking bites of anything I'm eating that is safe for her.  I'm such a proud mama.  I guess she just needed time.  She's even taking a few sips of her formula from the sippy cup, but I've decided to buy the Nuby to make her "milk cup" because they are suppose to have a spout similar to a bottle nipple.

Not much else new, that's why I haven't posted much lately.  Dh's work (my former company) is having their Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow, so Kelsey and I are going to visit, and EAT, of course!  I always stuff myself silly, but I love it!!!!  Then my sister is getting married on Saturday; I'm matron of honor!!  We'll be travelling out of town for Thanksgiving.  I'm nervous because the previous 2 out-of-town trips with Kelsey have not gone well.  Hopefully she'll adapt better being older this time.  I even plan to spend the night, so she'll be adjusting to a different bed.

[dkjokisch]

Thanks for all the input on food quantities and A times.  Most meals, I am lucky to get her to eat 4oz.  We went to the ped today.  She's gained 10oz since last month, but she's still on the bottom on the growth chart.  He said it was the minimum acceptable weight gain.

Also, after almost 48 hours of no nursing, she took a few feedings before boycotting again.  It's exhausting.  She takes almost an hour to finish a 4oz bottle, then I have to pump as well.  By the time we get through solids, it's time for her next nap.

Pasta - we have given her all shapes, just cut up to an appropriate size.  I have also given her ditalini, and I bought orzo (I think it's the same as what Debra was talking about, rice-shaped), pasta stars, and couscous to mix in her purees as we are trying to get her used to different textures.  Right now she eats puree and she eats finger food, but nothing in between.

For those who are still trying to get their lo's to crawl, I got some good tips from the pt the other day.  There is one posture in particular that is supposed to make it easier to go from a sit to a crawl.  I'll try to snap a picture of it later today.

White noise - We use a nature CD on shuffle-repeat for white noise during the day.  It blends in with the birds outside her window.  At night, it's new age music.

Nail clipping - I also used to clip while bfing, but I dare not now.  Someone told me that they keep the clippers in the car and clip fingers and toes when they fall asleep in the carseat.

Tarri - What time does Emily go to bed?

[Leah's Mom]

Heather - Have fun at the wedding!!!!! What will you do with Kelsey? My sister's wedding was the first time we had a "real" baby sitter. We took her to the wedding, then our fifteen year old neighbor watched her during the reception and dance. What kind of cereal bar did you give Kelsey? I'm always looking for ideas. Leah's two bottom teeth came thru at the same time too - 6 months. And now at nine months, ba boom!!!!!!! Teeth all over! 

Tarri - When I wasn't working this summer, I would go for two walks everyday. It's great exersize and Leah loved being outdoors.