Jan/Feb 05 Babies chat!

[Deb_in_oz]

Schae - i am with you - we have reached our broadband limit but instead of capping, our plan slows us down to almost dial up speed (or worse i think) - i can read a bit but am limiting my time on the site until the 1st

will try to write at naptime this midday

[HeatherC]

Vidya-so sorry about Diya's arm.  I'm glad that she's okay and that you are now aware of something to watch for. 

Nikki-swimming, how fun!  I plan to take Kelsey to a pool next summer.  How's wake to sleep going?

Michelle-so good to hear from you.  Crawling and pulling up, yay!

JulieG-yay for crawling.

JulieB-sorry for your rough night and not so good naps.  I can't feel teeth either, but they have to be working their way through.  After I posted about waking earlier from morning nap, she hasn't done it since, but that's another issue I'll write about in a minute.

Branwen-oh, dear.  I'm so sorry for your hard times.  I'm with you on the Motrin.  After a week or so or 2 doses a day, I'm stopping because the teeth have not appeared, and I plan to only give it for real bad pain, or as best I can tell.  I'm using the teething tablets, and they do help.  As for your schedule, just do your best.  It's not going to be perfect, it isn't for any of us.  You know Eirwen better than anyone, and you know what will work for her.  All you can do is try, nothing is set in stone.  And we tip-toe around Kelsey's naps and night sleep.  I'm not sure to what extreme we really need to go to, but I'm not taking any chances.  Her sleep is too precious to all of us.  People say to go on about life so that they get used to noise, but that doesn't always work, especially for touchy babies.

Michelle-you probably are thinking of the same walker.  I don't know that they are "illegal", but possibly not highly recommended anymore.  They are extremely dangerous in a home with stairs.  I use mine in the kitchen so that I don't have to move the exersaucer from room to room all the time when I need a place to put her.  I bought mine at Babies R Us, and I've seen them many places.  In fact, most exersaucers convert into a walker.   And how sweet that she's saying "mama".  It must really melt your heart.  I totally empathize about being on your own.  5 out of 7 days I have Kelsey by myself (he leaves before awake, home after bedtime).  The days he's off I feel like are days for me to have a bit of a break, but it's also his time for resting.  We try to take turns on those days and get things done independently, and then he can have time with Kelsey.

Tammy-I'm with you about worrying about accidental parenting.  Kelsey had an extremely off night last night.  Her nose is running and so stopped up, that it woke her an hour after going to bed.  Of course, this never happens, and caught us totally off guard.  She was so hysterical, and having to suction her nose made it worse.  I had to keep rocking her to calm her down, but as soon as I put her back down, she'd scream, making the snot situation all the worse.  I spent 2 hours doing this, with one 10 minute break of taking her out of the room.  Dh thought we should take turns holding her all night.   :shock:   I knew that would never work.  She'd never sleep.  So, after 2 hours, I put her down to take a break.  Well, lo and behold, after about 10 minutes of decelarated crying, she fell right asleep and slept all night.  I'm sure I should have given her that chance long before I did, but I was so concerned about her stuffy nose that I second-guessed myself.  The ped ok'd Pediacare, so she's had 2 doses of that.  I'm just praying for a restful night tonight.  I feel so bad for her.  I realize that many of you are suffering much worse circumstances than this right now, and I pray for you and your babies.  I guess I'm used to the whining all day and irregular naps, but I haven't had to deal with off nights yet.  I just got so worked up by being afraid that this would change her nights for good.  This is truly the hardest job in the world.

[Leah's Mom]

Sending Good Sleep Vibes your way Heather!!!!! Hmm, maybe you could send some right back at me too!  :wink:

I agree with Heather, this is the hardest job on earth, but I believe that all of us are doing the best we can. I'm so proud of everyone! Remember when we started this link and the babies were only about 4 months old? Now we are working on 8- 9 months!!!!! I'm so glad you started this thread Deb. I feel like I have a whole new family! Hmm, getting a little emotional (it's my time of the month!  ) Take care all! Will post when I have more time. School is insane right now!

**We had the funeral for the one 17 year old girl that died today. The other girl is still critical, but looks like she will pull through.  **

[HeatherC]

We need a sleep emoticon!

SLEEP VIBES!  SLEEP VIBES!  SLEEP VIBES!!  To everyone!!!!!

I agree with Christine, so good to have this thread of friends.   

[sedona314]

Hi all.  Finally caught up with all the posts.  Nice to hear from everyone.  It seems a lot of us here are tall parents.  Im 5'10" and dh is 6'3".  SO the question is for those of you with TALL babies, are your lo's starting to get too tall for the exersaucer?  And if so what are you planning on using? Are the walkers able to accommodate taller babies? Cause so far the ones I've looked at are the same height as the exersaucers.


also, only one person posted favorite music CD's (thank you!).  I really would appreciate it if more of you would let me know favorite CD's for your lo's.

Thanks

Julie

[julieb]

We had a roller coaster day.  Started at 4:00 when Asher woke crying.  Couldn't figure it out.  DH even tried as I was loosing my patience.  Finally got him back to bed after 45 minutes by nursing.  Then he slept in till 6:45.     We were both SO tired so I took a nap during his morning nap and he slept for TWO hours for the first time in a while!  Things went well until I accidentally made eye contact with him during our wind down for the afternoon nap.  Big mistake!  I engaged him as I was laying him in the crib and he reached up to touch my face.  Started crying as soon as I headed out!  This NEVER happens, he ALWAYS goes down easy.  I tried PU/PD a couple times but I figured starting over would be faster than doing PU/PD, so I re-rocked/sang to him and put him down again.  Thought all was well until he started crying  a mintue after I was out of the room.  So I actually got him completely up, went in the living room for 5 minutes and went through the WHOLE nap routine again (like hitting "restart"  :lol: ), but he cried after I left again!  He was SO tired and my only option left was PU/PD.  We did it for 30 minutes before he finally went to sleep.  :shock:   I thought for sure I'd have to give up (if I hit the 40 minute mark), but it FINALLY worked.  He slept for 1:20 hrs, which is good, but put the afternoon nap way late so I wasn't able to try an early bedtime tonight.  We'll see how the morning goes.

Branwen: Sorry abour your tough day.  I have the same problem with DH and PU/PD, he gives up after 10 minutes or doesn't do it right.  :?  He's so impatient. 
I worried about the sleep sack and his feet with Asher as well, but he still throws his feet into the air and plays with them through the sack.  It doesn't seem to bother or affect him at all. 
I struggle with the temperature as well.  People tell me to go by how you feel or dress one layer warmer than how you feel.  Right now Asher is in a cotton sleeveless sack and a onesie.  Our house is about 73-77 during various times of the day.  Even at 77, I still like a sheet on me, so I figure he's okay.
I had to laugh about the sleep cycle contraption!  He should patent it!   :lol:   We could have used it when Asher was younger.  Since getting a continuous (and very loud) white noise machine, the outside noise has been rarely a problem for Asher.  Do you use any noise things in her room?  I don't know if they grow out of it, they're touchies.  I'm a light sleeper as well.  :roll:

Michelle:  Asher doesn't seem to choke.  Well, maybe he does but it's not so bad or we're really used to it since he's been such a spitter.  :?:   He handles it remarkably well.  I find no difference in the food consistency or mobility.  I had hoped we would, but we've never been able to figure out any pattern to it at all.  :roll:
We don't have a traditional walker for Asher, but I call this FP push toy he has a "walker".  Not sure what it's supposed to be called.
I have the same problem with waistbands in pants!  Why is that?  It's not like Asher even has a belly either.
Congrats on the mama!

Tammy:  Ethan's night wakings sound just like Asher's and I'm also at a loss!  Sorry I can't help since I need it too!  :roll:

[Kinlagh's Folks]

Heather - Maybe walkers are only no longer available in Canada.  I haven't seen them anywhere and have heard that they're no longer sold here.  Different countries, different rules I guess.  Hope Kelsey feels better and you have better nights very soon.

Julie - There are a few tall ones aren't there.  Kinlagh doens't have an exersaucer, she has an Intellitainer.  It's a little different in style and she's far from outgrown it.  She's on the 1st height due to move up to the 2nd very soon and there's still a 3rd to go.  So don't know how the exersaucers differ.

JulieB - Kinlagh had a week like that where she cried every time when I was walking out of her room at nap/bedtime (very unlike her).  It was about 2-3 weeks ago now and I attributed it to separation anxiety.  She did get over it and we're back to quiet & happy exits again.  Hang in there!

US - I'm so excited today.  Kinlagh had a couple of short naps yesterday, one of her own doing and the other was cause dh went in to say goodbye (leaving for 5 days so understandable and forgivable).  So decided to get her to bed earlier 6:35 and I think she was asleep by 6:45 - SLEEPY GIRL!  And I didn't hear a peep until 6:45 this am when she started stirring and then started cooing at 7:10am, right on her normal schedule.  What a girl!  Best night sleep in a while. 
And then to top it off, she was in her high chair playing after breakfast while I cleaned up and she dropped her toy.  She looked on the floor where it had fallen, then looked up and yelled a very distinctive "Ma-Ma" while looking at me.  Aaahhhh!!!! 
Now we're off to a "mommy and me" movie for the first time.  Hope she makes me proud. 

Wishing you all a good day with good naps and happy babies!!!     

[HeatherC]

JulieG-I have to admit that we don't play music.  If any, I turn the tv on a music channel and turn off the picture, but it's not children's music.   :oops:   I should really think about that.  It's just that I'm very sensitive to alot of noise, so I try to keep the house quiet when I can. 

JulieB-wow, rough day.  I've also gone through a few nap cycles that nothing seemed to go right.  We're exactly like you on the eye contact.  If she starts to fidgit while going down, I do not look at her, and she'll kick her legs and then turn her head.  Pu/pd is very trying, and I commend you for giving it a go.  Branwen, too.  I think the FP "walker" you have is called a "walk behind" and they are very useful for babies very close to walking independently and even after that.  My 21 mo nephew stills pushes his for play.

Michelle-congrats on the great nights sleep.  Hope things go well while your dh is gone, and hope he's safe in his travels.

Us-I think Kelsey is already improving from her cold or whatever it is.  She slept all night, and seems much better this morning.  After her first dose of Pediacare, the snot seemed to break up and her nose started running, but it's better to get it out.  This might affect naps, but at least she slept last night.  Here's a  :?: :  I assume most lo's are doing this; dropping their toys intentionally like from the highchair.  I understand that this is a way of learning cause/effect, but what are you doing to prevent it from becoming a nuisance?  I just simply hand the toy back without making a fuss.  Is this correct?  I don't want a child that throws her toys around, although I understand that this may be unavoidable.

[StrawberryAnnie2]

Haven't been around here for a while, the house is on the market, sold after two days, then the deal fell through Now we are showing the house again - I'm wiped.

Anyone else's lo decide to stop breastfeeding? Hannah will nurse for five min then wriggle off of my lap to go crawl, or pull herself up on things. She just started the pulling up on chairs, etc, so I'm thinking that she'll be interested in nursing again once the novelty of being mobile wears off. I'm just worried about her not getting enough to eat, though she eats three meals of solids a day, 8 oz of jarred food at each meal, so I know she won't starve

Branwen:

I know how it goes with having to show the house and it affecting sleep, and routine! My DH isn't totally on the same page with me as far as settling to sleep as well, he rocks too!! We have dropped Hannah's evening nap now, she wasn't settling at bedtime, I think she was getting too much daytime sleep. Gotta run she's awake now

Joanne

[thitz]

Christine, I don't know what to do about your sitting dilemna.  It makes me kind of thankful that Emily isn't doing to much physically yet.

Us, well, the dog is out of diapers and is back to her old self again.  Which is really nice cause she really entertains Emily when we play fetch.

We went shopping in Ottawa yeseterday.  And got dh a backpack for Emily to sit in so we can go hiking and me a hip hugger cause I have to hold emily for the last 1/2 hour or so of A time or more in the evening cause of no catnap.  So far I think the hip hugger is okay but I'm not totally sold yet.

Jamie,  that's sooo nice about the hug.  I can't wait till Emily can kiss and hug me back!

JulieB, pu/pd doesn't seem to work too well with Emily either.  Tweaking the routine works best for her.  I find if she's tired enough she'll sleep.    I would try extending Asher's A time before his afternoon nap and hopefully with a better afternoon nap he'll go down easier for bed?  Also, how about adding some more solids before the afternoon nap and bed?  I hope you figure it out soon.

Hazel, Emily is rolling a little bit more but still only 2 or 3 times a day.

Heather, I did experiment with shortening Emily's first nap to lengthen the 2nd nap.  But I don't think it got me anywhere.  The key was extending her A time before the second nap.  At least about 2/3 times she's getting a 1.5 hr second nap now.

Emily's waking I'll reply to more later.  Tarri

[branwen]

Hi everyone- I've been writing this all day, responding to everyone- so it is LONG!  sorry in advance!!! :oops:

Music- well I'm currently addicted to a couple of my Tori Amos CD's so that is what we listen to in the car :oops: .  We also listen to the TV music like Heather- various- I think she likes the Soundscapes (new age) and Light Classical the most.  This is our wake up music and then later in the day we listen to the Swing channel and I dance around with her  I just got us a CD for the car because I was feeling so guilty playing my music so it has a bunch of kids songs like Old MacDonald, If You're Happy and You Know it, etc.  I think she will like it!  she likes them when I sing them!

Walkers- most of the walkers are now those that the child walks behind and pushes, but unfortunately they do sell the old type of walkers in the US.  I heard there is a lot of controversy over why they are still allowed to make them.  They are the ones with a seat in the middle and 4 rolling wheels that baby can "walk" with.  As Heather mentioned they are supposed to be exteremly dangerous if you have stairs.  My ped told me they also inhibit walking because it doesn't allow the muscles to develop properly because the child is actually sitting in a seat that spreads out the hips. However, I did have a friend that bought one of those though and her son walked fine at 14 months.  I really want to buy something like an exersauscer for Eirwen but she was 28 inches a month ago when I looked and now is 29 inches she is already too tall for most of their height limits- does anyone have one that goes over 29 inches?  I already had to modify her jumper because she was getting too tall for it.

Toys- Eirwen is really unhappy with her toys :-(  I just got her this fisher price spinning top and twirl toy and she loves it!  I am really open to ideas for touchy babies that get easily over stimulated.  Most electronic toys seem to annoy her?

Heather re: throwing toys- I do the three limit rule.  I will pick it up three times and give it back and that is it- then I give her something else.  If she throws what i replaced it with down she doesn't get anymore toys- I am trying to send a message that playtime is over and that mama will play that game a little bit but as you said I don't want to encourage it.  It works for Eirwen- likely because she doesn't want her toys anyway  :?  Oh, I'm glad Kelsey is better with her nose!

Also- I don't give her toys in the high chair anymore.  I give her a spoon or the sippy cup until her food is ready.  I guess I found giving her toys to be really distracting from the eating process.  She would want the toy back etc.

JulieB- Eirwen does the eye contact thing too.  It is so hard to get out of the room sometimes.  I didn't give in and nurse Eirwen last night when she woke at 3:45.  It took me about 15 to get her back with PU/PD.  I was so proud of myself!  I guess I'm telling you that in case you're getting nervous about feeding at all and want to try not "giving in to the boob" as I say :wink:  When I give in and nurse I get so terrified the next day I'm creating habits.  RESTART BUTTON!  I say this too! It never works for Eirwen when I try to do that again.  She won't restart

What noise machine do you have?  right now we have a fan for Eirwen.  I lectured my dh on the PU/PD and he understands now I think about how I am the one that is with her the most so he gets to do it my way :wink: And about how he can't come get me (esp on Ambien) to try to bail him out. :x

Michelle- yay on the sleep! That is great!  I think you were right about the max time for sleep thing.  Eirwen is now waking up at 4am wide awake!  Has been for the last 2 days.  I think she is just sleeping too much in total- so I'm going to try to put her to bed later tonight.  you so deserve mommy time!  even though they are our angels and such a gift you are still an individual and need that time on your own.  I think there is a balance with that.  Do you have a friend that can come over to spend an evening with you.  even though they don't really "help" when my dh was traveling in Europe on business and I was alone with a 3 month old I just had my girlfriends stop by a couple of times after Eirwen went to sleep.  The company made me feel a little less crazy and I got to spend time with them!

Tammy- I think you're good to go , but this is what I say to posters on the sleep board.  Always think about how long you're actually willing to do it and what you will do to undo it with the rocking, etc.  I am saying this esp because we were doing that with Eirwen when this whole teething bit started up 3 weeks ago, and now I am reaching my limit going back to more "hard core" methods.  I was happy I rocked and cuddled and nursed the first week, but I think for next time I will greatly shorten the amount of time I spent consoling because I did end up creating and undoing some things, esp with naps.

Schae- we miss you!  Hope to hear from you soon!

Vidya- you must choose the one on the first page- top right hand corner- my personal favorite- you are all glowing   how often does Diya take a nap?  Eirwen's max in the am is about 1.5 now and 2 during the day.  I am trying to relax on the routine but am having a hard mommy time right now and the only thing that makes it somewhat better is getting a break during the day.  Plus when Eirwen is tired and grumpy I tend to be as well! :wink:

Deb- we miss you!  Also- on the very first page of this thread you talk about a special drink you gave Alex for teething? can you tell me more about it? the name?  maybe I can try getting it online?

Joanne- oh the house stuff sucks- I'm sorry your deal fell through.    The worst for us right now is when people don't come to the showings they schedule and you get everything so nice and keep your baby up way to long and then NOTHING!  Do you have a notice or are you just letting people come whenever?  Eirwen usually only nurses from one side now- both breasts- just only seems to want one and she is full?  I'm confused by this but hopefully it will even out.  I worry too that she is weaning...

Us-No motrin! YAY!  I think that is going good but my redesign is failing so I'm going to relax, if I can :roll:, and track her for a week and try offering a nap every 2 hrs with trying to get bedtime towards 7pm. Her morning nap was 2.5 hrs yesterday but only 45 min today because of poop! :evil:

Happy Eirwen News- Although she woke screaming at 4 am, this is the first time she reached with her arms stretched out for me to pick her up.  she does this in the carseat but never from the crib.  She was reaching with her whole body shoulder off the matress.  I felt so needed.

[StrawberryAnnie2]

Branwen:

Yep,house stuff sucks- the house was only on the market for 2 days and after the FIRST showing it was sold, we were shocked. The buyers loved the house,  had a loan approval letter, and the down payment, but there was some other glitch. SO we are back to square one again. We are set up that people have to call before a showing. Last night we had one scheduled for 6pm, and yep, they bailed. We kept Hannah up for NOTHING, and she was wiped. 

Gotta go grocery shopping now, oh JOY!!

Joanne

PS to the rest of you mommies.......I'm trying to learn each of your screen names, and lo's, there are quite a few Jan/Feb babes

[Jaime]

we are with all of you in the goofy nap stage.  seems like i finally get luke going in a rhythm and BAM!!!  short afternoon nap again.   :roll:  i think a lot of it has to do with his frustration at not being able to move.  he just wants to be mobile so badly!! 

i know it's normal for them to start crawling at all different ages, and i think it's genetic to a certain point as well.  dh & i were both late crawlers, so i'm sure that's why jaina was too (at 11 mo!).  but she never seemed to care.  i only feel bad because luke does!  and he's mad that he can't.  oh well.

julieg - we don't really listen to much kids music (i hate listening to kids sing)... the kids listen to whatever dh plays.  typically lots of classic rock, & oldies.  though i will toss on some classical or showtunes every so often to make things interesting.  regarding the condo, i'd invest in one near disney, probably in the kissimmee area, but that's just me.  those i'm sure would be very expensive, but i'd bet they'd be easier to rent to tourists.  it really depends on what you want.  we live on the east side of orlando, so we're closer to the east coast beaches - and there are lots of options over there too.  my parents live on clearwater beach, and their condo has tripled in value since they bought it.  real estate is just soooo expensive right now!!!

julieb -

We love Disney so we have several Disney Classics CDs as well as ABC's by They Might Be Giants, Muppet Show's Greatest Hits, various Animaniacs, Veggie Tales, and Laurie Berkner (kinda folksy kids songs).

you are a gal after my own heart!  love TMBG and the muppets & veggie tales!!  and i didn't think anyone but me remembered the animaniacs!  (i have their cd's too)
wish i knew what to tell you about the early wakings.  luke seems to be resetting his clock to 6:30 - and it's killing me!  last thing i need is to be getting him up while i'm still getting ready for work.   :roll:  chalking it up to developmental and solids for now... 

michelle - awwww.... mama!!  you must feel so loved!  good luck with being on your own - hope everything goes well and you stay sane.  at least you will have full use of your car???  maybe that will help with the cabin fever.

vidya - glad everything seems to be better now

tammy - ethan's nightwakings sound like luke's early nap wakings!  dunno what to do over here either.  have been trying to soothe him in the crib, but most of the time he waits me out until it's time to eat again!   :roll:  and i know he's not waking hungry cause he only barely eats when i do feed him at that time!  maybe this is some weird form of separation anxiety...

schae - look forward to 'seeing' you again!

heather-

This is truly the hardest job in the world

you are so right.

branwen - you get the longest response award!      whew!  i agree about electronic toys being annoying - and that's just how i feel!  luke seems to like things that he can bang against the table best - rings, jaina's kitchen toys, and the like.  he also like just taking things out of buckets.  i have a bunch of weird stuff in a bucket and he'll play happily for a while.

anyhow... guess that's about it.  see ya later! 

[julieb]

Well, our day started off really bad.  Won't go into detail, but basically he woke at 5:00 am and after trying various things, I threw in the towel at 6:15.  I was livid and totally lost my cool.  I was stomping around the house and everything.  :roll:  :oops:   I feel better now after some "me time" while DH watched Asher for a little bit before he went to work.  And the rest of the day has gone quite well, though Asher seems unusually mellow.  :?:   Hope it's not in reaction to my temper tantrum/pity party this morning.   :oops:   Looks like he'll be in for a early bedtime though, since the day started so early.  I've been tanking up the solids today too.

Heather:  Asher has just started dropping.  I can see it coming though.  I either don't react and/or leave it on the ground for a few minutes before picking it back up or I take it away just before I think he's gonna try dropping it.

Joanne: They become pretty efficient nursers at this point.  The mobility doesn't help either though.  Oh, and to remember people/posts as you're replying, right click "post reply" in order to "open in a new window" so you can flip flop back and forth as you're reading and replying.  Most of us do that because we all have "mommy brain."  :lol:

Branwen:  Have you tried basic things for toys like tupperware, link a doos, rock a stack, shape sorters, and stacking cups?  The noise machine is found at Target in the spa section by Homedics.  Here's a link to a similar one.  But mine is white without a clock and only $14.
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=2-1/qid=1127945183/ref=sr_2_1/602-8341898-5459044?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000050FF2

Jaime:   :lol:   I hardly had to go shopping for any kids music because I already owned all of this!  I'm such a nerd!   :wink:   Can't WAIT until Asher's old enough to appreciate all of my Animaniacs videos!  Hmmm, think he'd enjoy the sing-a-long video now though!  Maybe I'll break it out this afternoon!   :lol:

[julieb]

wow, after 2 hours and 15 min, Asher is STILL asleep for his afternoon nap.  :shock:   I just heard him go through a transition on the monitor so I guess he's going for another cycle.  Once upon a time, I'd wake him.  But not now, "never wake a sleeping baby."   :lol:   Oh, the things I'd do different if I could go back.  Whenever I watch old videos of Asher, I cringe at the ones where we're waking him up from a long nap, or letting family wake him at visits.  I've long since learned my lesson!   :wink:   Probably one of the few things I disagree with Tracy on!

 :?:  Hey, that would be a fun thread...if you could do something differently, what would it be?  Or what will you do differently with your next one?