Jan/Feb 05 chat - Thread #3

[HeatherC]

Julie-my mom told me they were washable, but I didn't believe her  :oops: .  Guess I owe her an apology and now I'll get them in the wash. 
Do you lo's eat their shoes and socks?  Gag, I'm constantly reaching around in the car and taking them out of her mouth.  She's like a billy-goat!!!  Eats everything.  Sometimes I'll look back and her sock is hanging out of her mouth, she's sucking on it, but playing with something else.

[Leah's Mom]

Driving me a little nuts because he's putting toys in other toys that aren't supposed to go together and things are getting stuck!

How about in his crazy ball popper? Leah has that toy too and the other day I pushed it and it started, but nothing came out. I looked in and there were a few balls, a pacifier and some of her fisher price shapes in there!  :lol:

[Leah's Mom]

We posted together Heather!  :wink: Leah also eats her shoes! Funny story - the other night she took her shoe off while eating supper and I looked over and she was filling it up with mac-n-cheese.  :lol:

[HeatherC]

Pretty soon we'll be finding stuff in the toilet  :shock: !
I'm going to get one of those ball poppers for birthday.

[julieb]

Heather & Christine, you two are cracking me up!!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

I'm relieved to hear Asher isn't the only billy goat on this list!  I keep wondering when this oral fixation stage ends!  :shock:

I find FP balls stuck in the small stacking cup (that I pry out with the pliers), little people in the ball blast and ball popper, the toy cell phone sitting in the top of the popper, the list goes on....  :roll:

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Hi to one and all, and welcome to the new additions!  I can't seem to find the time to keep up and write on this thread as much as I used to.   :oops:

First I have to say that I am so surprised at all the stuff your kiddos can do!  Congrats to all the walkers!  Ethan is cruising around the furniture, and trying to occasionally stand on his own, but that's it.  We'll see how long the walking takes to start! 

And wow on all the stuff that you kids understand!  I feel like they are leaps and bounds ahead of my ds!  Ethan doesn't really get the sorting toys yet.  He just loves to pull everything out, but he hasn't gotten the part where you sort the toys to put them back in!  Honestly, his favorite activity is to take out toys or parts of toys, crawl around with them, and then pull up on something (anything!!) and bang on it with the toys, or eat the toys while standing there, etc. 

Ethan is definitely a billy goat too!  He is constantly pulling on his socks or robeez and trying to get them in his mouth when he's in his carseat.  And he eats every single toy that we have.  Oh, and did I mention he also loves to go over to our bookcases and pull all our books off (these are mommy's books!)?  I call him mr. destructo. 

Ethan got an outdoor climb castle thing for christmas, but we have it up in the playroom.  Looks like this:  http://www.littletikes.com/Toys/Toys-Detail.aspx?Product_ID=2362&Description=SwingAlong%e2%84%a2+Castle.  I made dh take off the swing though, cause he's not into sitting in the swing, and just kept hitting his head on it trying to crawl under it.  Does anyone else's lo love to crawl under and over stuff like chair rungs, etc.?  Ethan loves that!  Anyway, so he's been infatuated with the rungs and slide lately.  He can't climb up it, but we help him and help him slide down too.  Otherwise he likes to climb over and under it, and stand on the side and throw his toys down the slide!   :lol:

julieb - I wanted to say that Ethan also has many, many poopy diapers a day.  It's a tad ridiculous, I think!  I woud say some days it's 4 diapers!  Other days it's just 1 or 2, those are good days for mommy!   :wink:

switching to milk - is anyone else nervous about this?  I definitely am.   Ethan currently takes 4 bottles a day.  I have only given him water in his Nuby sippy, which he literally sips with his meals, but no real "drinking" yet, which is fine, I suppose.  But I'm afraid that he won't want to give up the bottle.  Do any of you have plans to switch to milk first in the bottles, and then work on bottles to sippys?  I guess I just don't know how to go about starting the process.  I have tried 3 other sippy cups before using the soft-spout Nuby one with no handles.  All the other ones he would just gnaw on the spout, but not drink.  Not until the soft spout did he try to suck out of it.  And he doesn't get the concept of the straw cups, again, he just tries to chew on the straw, not suck from it! 

car seats - I can't wait to turn Ethan around at one year.  I am hoping he'll be happier when he can see more around him.  He occasionally gets quite vocal back there!  He too has his feet touching the back of the seat, but he's not cramped yet.

We've been dealing with nightwakings again.  Usually just once a night, but last night it was twice.  He is teething his top front teeth, so I'm hoping that's the issue.  Some nights he'll sleep all night, but lately it's been once a night. 

I also think Ethan may be going thru a growth spurt.  He's been downing his entire bottles, which he doesn't usually do, and he's eating way more solids lately.  Oh, and ladies, be proud, he has taken to eating a lot more finger foods!  I was beginning to think I'd be buying baby food forever!  I still use the baby food fruit to use in his cereal in the mornings, but I'm trying to cut back on the purees and give more finger foods at his meals.  Which reminds me - how long do you guys plan to give them the baby cereals?  I currently use the rice cereal and the oatmeal cereal mixed with fruit in the mornings.  He loves it, but I wasn't sure when I should stop that, or if I even should!  I feel like his finger foods are limited during mealtimes (not necessarily breakfast) because he only has two teeth! 

first birthday - we don't have plans yet, but probably will just have my parents and dh's parents over.  We don't have any super close friends that we would invite, and I figure it's more for us anyway.  Ethan doesn't know what's going on!  I would invite my sil's family, but she is scheduled for a c-section this coming tuesday! 

which reminds me, thanks for all the suggestions for the care basket for her.  I bought some nice body lotion, hand lotion, a couple of bath products, some lanolin cream for breastfeeding, breastfeeding pads, and some snacks.  I want to go get some fun slipper socks too, and then I'll be done.  Please pray for her on the tuesday, the 10th, that everything goes well!  she was the one who got me onto this site in the first place! 

well, hopefully I didn't go on too terribly long.  have a nice night / day!

[branwen]

You ladies are having too much fun! :wink: I'm not getting my notifications :cry: boo hoo

Anyway, Julie- Asher's cognitive skills are so impressive.  Eirwen isn't even close to all of that  :oops: WOW!  That is great! My gosh!!

Sippy cup- I use the avent sippy inserts in the bottles and we also have the soft spout Nuby ones.  She does well with the avent insert but the Nuby ones are very tall so she has problems lifting them, but today she did okay.  They also backwash really bad GROSS, so I'm not sure what we will do.  I think I am still searching for that perfect one you know??

Weaning- Julie and Deborah and those of you still nursing. Are you going to start weaning at 12 months?  How are you planning to drop feeds?  Will you just give whole milk in a cup at the previous nursing times.  I also feel so emotional about this.  I start crying every time I think of. Am I crazy? :cry:  Tomorrow we start.  I'm going to pump for her two daytime feeds and start giving them to her in a cup. I will do this for two weeks and the replace with whole milk, and try to get the morning and night ones worked out by 14 months.  My ped told me not to give whole milk until after the first birthday, but I'm sure she would be fine with it as she has had dairy since 7 months (yogurt, cheese, etc).

Well, got to go, dh is being a pain tonight. :x

[julieb]

Tammy, that's the same set I have my eye on for Asher.  Haven't seen it in person though.  I'm concerned that he'll be too tall for the slide (feet touch the bottom before he even slides down much?) and wonder how the swing really "swings."  It just seems so short online.  What do you think of it's size in relation to Ethan?  BTW, Ethan's activities sound exactly how Asher was until recently.  It's like they're too focused on mobility to work on anything else.  :roll:   I don't use infant cereal, just plain oatmeal and millet, but I plan to continue the cereal (until he can take over himself) because it's a good source of whole grains.

Branwen, I think you short-change Eirwen!!   :wink:   She has amazed me in her videos!  Feeding herself with the spoon, wiping the tray, are just a few that come to mind.  And I'm always so intrigued with how she examines her toys and surroundings (even eating her finger foods).  She's so precise and deliberate.  I can literally see the wheels turning.  She is one clever girl and I think she probably understands much more than we think!  :lol:
And I'm with you on searching for the "perfect sippy."  I have 5-6 different ones and just bought a new style today.  Though Asher drinks out of all just fine (except Nuby, and backwash, ewww!), I'm not satisfied.  I'm adding that to the list of baby items I should invent.  :lol:
Weaning: BIG HUGS!  I'm kinda in denial.  I get very emotional sometimes, but then I think it's still so far away.  I know it will make me sad as it's his last "baby" thing.  You could always just start with one day session, so you have a little time to "break in" to the idea.
I had thought about continueing, but I feel really chewed on lately with all these teeth, so we're gonna start around 12 mths.  Haven't decided on "Whole Milk Day" yet, but I will introduce milk first, wait for a reaction, then try a whole serving in a sippy.  If he takes the serving fine, I'll cut one nursing session a week.  I'm not sure if I'll give the milk at meals or nursing sessions yet.  I don't think he'll notice the dropping because they aren't part of any wind down routine.  And he rarely asks, only if he sees me sit in "the chair" at "that time."  I may try a sippy first thing in the morning since it takes me a bit to prepare breakfast.  But if he spits up (as he currently does between nursing and breakfast), I'll just have to go straight to breakfast.  And I figure I'll give a sippy before bed to help that long haul through the night.  Whew, that said, I think bedtime nursing will be the first to go, then afternoon, then morning (in order of his least interested).   Good luck tomorrow, let us know how it goes!

[Deb_in_oz]

First I have to say that I am so surprised at all the stuff your kiddos can do! Congrats to all the walkers! Ethan is cruising around the furniture, and trying to occasionally stand on his own, but that's it. We'll see how long the walking takes to start!

And wow on all the stuff that you kids understand! I feel like they are leaps and bounds ahead of my ds! Ethan doesn't really get the sorting toys yet. He just loves to pull everything out, but he hasn't gotten the part where you sort the toys to put them back in! Honestly, his favorite activity is to take out toys or parts of toys, crawl around with them, and then pull up on something (anything!!) and bang on it with the toys, or eat the toys while standing there, etc.

Tammy - i think Ethan and Olivia are twins separated  by many miles and 2 days  :wink:  these are exact descriptions of her and thanks for sharing.  not that anyone else should feel "bad" because their kiddos are doing well, but for me, with the PPD, i suffer extreme guilt because i feel i have slighted olivia this past year and worry with every thing she doesn't do that alex did do... that it is a direct result of some failing on my part. alex had not only figured out her shape sorter by 10 months but had it mastered by 10 1/2 mo old  :shock:  she was also playing with the blocks from it - setting herself challenges trying to hold as many in one hand as possible (4 was her best effort) and starting to try to stack things. but i look at alex now at 2 1/2 yo and she has always excelled at puzzles and logic type stuff - she figures things out!  Olivia just bashes, crashes, crawls etc she is much more PHYSICAL (although she has been saying "bird" for a few weeks both in sign language and word) and because we have so many toys and things around i think she flits about and gets so sidetracked etc WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH OF THIS STUFF IS INGRAINED IN THEM FROM THE START AND HOW MUCH IS DOWN TO WHAT EXPOSURE THEY HAVE my early childhood nurse told me many many months ago (when she was trying to get me help) that all i really need to provoide are food, shelter and love and the rest will happen on its own. she reminded me that 30-40 years ago people did not raise their kids with so much stuff and with an agenda... and they all walked, talked, etc fine

[Schae]

I'm also amazed at how well all the babies are doing. They're so grown up it's amazing!

Weaning: I've decided that we will bf till Luka is between 18 months and 2 years old. He only has one tooth and a second top one coming through (causing nightwakings) so maybe I'll change my mind once he has more? We'll see. I was going to replace the daytime BF with a sippy cup of milk (we have the Nuby and he loves it. The Avent one is hard and he isn't keen on it.)

We'd dropped to one daytime BF, but he began waking at night, so last night we tried a second daytime BF and he only woke at midnight due to his teeth. So, I guess it'll be 2 sippy cups of whole milk during the day and a morning bf and a nighttime bf. We're going cold turkey with the cow's milk in the cups when he turns one. Since he turned 10 months I've been putting cow's milk in his cereal. I boil it first and then add it to the cereal, apparently the boiling makes the enzymes easier to digest.

Car Seat: there are no laws here about rearfacing etc. The reccomendation is 9months/9kg. But from what I've read, the later the better. That said, Luka has reached the very top of his rearfacing one, and we're going to buy a forward facing car seat next month and he'll probably be forward facing from his first birthday.

must go, Luka is 'shouting' at me.

[Deb_in_oz]

WE DEFINITELY HAVE A FIRST TOOTH POKING THROUGH ON THE BOTTOM!!  we are so excited for Olivia - 10 1/2 months old - i never woudl have guessed it woudl be this late!! so far it is just the white of the tooth that has broken the surface (not a whole tooth yet!)  Yay Livvy! 

[Deb_in_oz]

oh yeah - and i am never again writing about things going well on this site ... soon after posting that she has been nappng well etc she refused to go down for 2nd nap - took until 3:30 or so to get a nap out of her  :roll:

[klt]

Tammy and Deb - Ciara sounds just the same developmentally too!  She still doesn't clap hands palms together, she does one on the back of the other.  But she has recently doscovered that she can get attention from anybody by waving at them. 

Branwen - I agree that Eirwen looks super smart on the videos - so meticulous and careful.  She looks like she is really thinking about everything she does - it's all going in! 

Weaning - I am feeling really confused about it, I guess it's pretty normal.  On the one hand I am looking forward to buying some new underwear  but then I think we'll be moving and it will be a big upheaval for her to deal with so maybe she will need to continue a while longer?  Sippy cups - she uses Avent but only for water or juice, she has had formula or EBM in a bottle but wouldn't accept it out of the sippy.  I might give it in a normal (small) cup, she likes to drink out of a cup at mealtimes. 

Am confused about the whole vs semi skimmed milk issue now too!  Not sure what to do.....!

[HeatherC]

Tammy-I'm totally nervous of getting rid of the bottle.  I posted a thread under either bottle feeding or weaning.  My plan based on all the advice I've gotten is to first offer the milk in the sippy at each meal, and depending on how much she takes, give the rest in a bottle.  However, I will still probably only give a bottle in the morning and before bed, and hopefully only the bedtime one if still necessary after 13 months, but not much longer.  She's good to take 4-6 oz of watered down juice in her sippy throughout the day.  All I can say is offer the sippy over and over.  Kelsey likes the Gerber sippy best.

Debra-I totally agree with the nurse.  Rather than toys many years ago, kids had to work!  Well, I know not under the age of 1, but still.  Even our parents are shocked by the toys offered these days.  Kelsey still prefers to bang things together, and she flits around, too.  She'd rather practice pulling up, squatting, and walking than play with mama  .   Congrats on the tooth!  Doesn't it just add to the "more grown-up look"?

[julieb]

alex had not only figured out her shape sorter by 10 months but had it mastered by 10 1/2 mo old  :shock:  she was also playing with the blocks from it - setting herself challenges trying to hold as many in one hand as possible (4 was her best effort) and starting to try to stack things. but i look at alex now at 2 1/2 yo and she has always excelled at puzzles and logic type stuff - she figures things out!  Olivia just bashes, crashes, crawls etc she is much more PHYSICAL (although she has been saying "bird" for a few weeks both in sign language and word) and because we have so many toys and things around i think she flits about and gets so sidetracked etc WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH OF THIS STUFF IS INGRAINED IN THEM FROM THE START AND HOW MUCH IS DOWN TO WHAT EXPOSURE THEY HAVE my early childhood nurse told me many many months ago (when she was trying to get me help) that all i really need to provoide are food, shelter and love and the rest will happen on its own. she reminded me that 30-40 years ago people did not raise their kids with so much stuff and with an agenda... and they all walked, talked, etc fine

I couldn't agree with your nurse more!  Keep in mind most of these babies are our firsts.  I'm sure we'll all be experiencing similar time contraints (and guilt) with our seconds.  Me & my DH are second born though, and we turned out just fine, if not better than our first born siblings (we're both more well-rounded)!  :lol:  And though Asher has begun shape-sorting, he was exactly like Ethan, Liv, and Ciara a few weeks ago!  He's a few weeks older than them though.  It sounds like everyone is right "on target" with each other.  I'm amazed at Alex though!  Mastered the sorter by 10.5 mths?!  Wow!!  I think it was all these ball/hole toys Asher got from Christmas that inspired the latest.  He has by no means come close to mastering any other shapes besides the balls and circles.  And really, I don't even think he understands that yet from all the little people we find stuck in everything!   :lol:   :wink: