Babies of Oct-Dec /04

[Gigismom]

jill-it sounds like you have a really good, observant sitter if she noticed the food thing.  i hope you continue to see improvement.  i think i posted about this several pages back, but my cousin has a little girl who is super sensitive to various foods...she put her on the "feingold diet" and since has seen tons of improvement in her behavior and sleep.  so if you are interested in more info on it, you can google feingold + diet and it may be able to give you more advice/info to help you guys.

hope everyone survived their holidays...

[pdb]

jill- Glad to hear you've found a way to improve sleep.  Can you tell me some of the specific foods you took out of his diet that helped?  We are still having problems here and I'm wondering if any of it might be diet related.  I knwo how you feel about being overwhelmed.  It just seems like I can never do well at anything because I'm being pulled in so many directions.

We had Susana's birthday party yesterday.  It went great!  I'll try to post a picture after I get them off my camera. 

Sleep was terrible the past two nights though.  Christmas Eve she woke up about three times with a tummyache and then was up for the day at 4:30. Guess she was excited about Santa.    Then Christmas night after trying for 2 hours to get her to sleep, I finally resorted to driving her around in the car.  Then last night I got her down but after 45 minutes she woke up screaming and got more hysterical than I have ever seen her.  We drove in the car again but she still didn't fall asleep after 30 minutes of driving!  At one point she was reenacting eating her cake.   :shock: I thought she might be asleep with her eyes open or something.  I knew overstimulated children could have trouble falling asleep but I never knew it could be this bad.  Have any of you ever had this much trouble?  I'm starting to think she has some kind of sleep disorder or something.  We go for her year visit tomorrow so I'll talk to the pediatrician then, but if any of you have info or suggestions let me know.

[jillybeansmith]

Well...a lot of stuff with hidden sugar and modified starches..

No 'no name brand' or 'Presidents choice' replicas of any sort...For example, Petite Danon's, but NOT other brands because of the sugar content.  A lot of no name brands can be sold for less because they are filled with modified starches and sugar and other additives.

Becel or Butter, no other margarines because of the crap that is in them.

Flax seed toast for fibre..apple sauce daily (sugarless)

If you buy for example, hientz baby food, check the sugar content on the fruits, not all are equal....no arrowroot or baby crackers/biscuits or snacks, he eats wheat thins and the mini brettons...

Finding balance....knowing what foods have higher starch content and balance them out with a more fiber-ous food like squash, beans, etc...

Connor is on whole milk exclusively...the formula had way too much iron in it, causing constipation...

In a nutshell, he was reacting to sugar and salt with his behaviour (wicked tantrums), and secondly, some things were causing severe constipation one day, then then next he would have diahreaha....

Seems his sleeping problems were at least somewhat related to not feeling well...he's sleeping better, and eating better, and he's a completely different little boy...

[MomtoRee]

Jill - that is so great that you figured out what Connor's problem was.  I'm sure that will be a great help to you if you can start getting a good nights sleep. 

Phoebe - I hope that Susana's sleep gets better.  I would say that it might be that she is overstimulated.  If she is not napping well that is probably part of the problem.  I would say that as easy as it is to put her to sleep in the car I wouldn't make a habit of it.  Makes it harder in the long run.  I would know  :oops: . 

Lindsey - love the pictures!  We can't even do the ponytail on top of the head anymore b/c her hair is to long!  It looks so cute on her! 

We have hade to bite the bullet and try to get Reegan to sleep all night in her own crib.  Dh spent over 2 hours going in and laying her down and leaving every 5 minutes or so.  Then last night she woke up at 2 went back to sleep without me going in and then slept until 6:45  :shock: I hope that tonight goes as well.  She was just used to getting up and coming into bed with me.  Started getting to be more like at 3 and then she would bite me if she didn't want to go back to sleep  :evil:  Friday before Christmas I thought I was going to loose it when she wouldn't go back to sleep and would bite me anywhere she could get her teeth! 

Christmas was good, but stressful.  We went to my parents for the weekend, my Grandma's on Christmas morning, and then IL's 2 1/2 hours away Christmas early evening.  MIL just fixed a small meal b/c we had the big traditional thing at lunch but only had strawberries and crackers for Reegan.  Really.  She fixed corn chowder and jalapeno bread for us, neither Reegan will eat.  I asked for something else and the only things she offered were string cheese and peanut butter!  This is after she watched Reegan try to poop for 10 minutes.  So, cheese was a great idea!  It was after her dinner time so I just told dh that I was leaving because there was nothing for Reegan to eat.  I know she was mad but how would she like strawberries and crackers for dinner?  I know that is not enough to satisfy Reegan!  On top of that my DB called and his 6 month old that they had taken to the hospital b/c he was having trouble breathing had RSV.  Reegan had been with him and had his toys in her mouth so I am worried that she is going to get it. 

The good thing about being at my parents is that Reegan go to where she wasn't so clingy.  She would crawl to the windows (they have the 6 foot ones) and bang on them at the horses, mooing.  She still thinks everything moos or barks.  She would crawl to another one to find the dogs.  There was so much for her to do and look at that she didn't care about what I was doing.  She was so happy the whole time. 

We got so many more toys.  I put some up to get out in a few months.  I think that I am going to start rotating them we have so many.  We now have enough books to last a lifetime.  I even bought a new wooden storage unit to store the toys.  I saw it in the Target ad and went out and got it!  What we had wasn't enough any more. 

So, what is everyone doing for New Year's?  I think that we might go out but not sure if we can find a sitter yet.  Just can't see taking her out that late and messing up what schedule we do have. 

Wow!  This got really long.  Wishing everyone a long wonderful night of dreams.

[pdb]

JIll- Thanks for all the info.  I thought I might be able to use some of it with Susana but I have never fed her stuff with any additives or preservatives so I don't think that's it with her.  I buy her all organic food and make most of it myself and she doesn't have added sugar or salt.  Oh well.

Valorie - Last night and the night before were the only two nights I have ever driven her around to get her to sleep.  Even when her reflux was awful and the pediatrician suggested letting her sleep in the car seat, I refused because I didn't want to start a bad habit.  I just knew with the overstimulation from Christmas and birthday combined with a very untimely switch to one nap a day nothing else was going to work. :?

Anyone else down to one nap a day?  Susana just refuses to take more than one for me.  I thought it would be more gradual and happen a few months down the road, but it was kind of all of a sudden.  I'll be interested to see if she continues with one when she goes back to the sitter next week or goes back to two.

[Diego's Mama]

Okay so I just posted that the Jan/Feb thread with 7500 posts must have been a record, until I scrolled down and realized this one is way older  :shock:

What'cha think of starting a new thread for 2006?

[Gigismom]

valorie-my only plans for new years include possibly staying up til midnight.  last year i was in bed at 8 pm.   :oops:  actually, this year i was invited for a girls' only sleepover.  i am still debating if i am going to go or not.  dh said he is fine to stay home alone with her overnight, (he managed just fine when i was in the hospital), but i guess i still feel bad leaving him alone on new years.  although there will be pomegranate martinis at the sleepover...

phoebe-sometimes gianna will fight me on 2 naps.  just when i start sweating bullets thinking she is going to go down to only one nap, she starts napping twice a day again...she is currently taking 2 naps of about 1-1.5 hours each. 

diego's mama-i am fine with starting a new thread...only if we can print this one out and have it turned into a book... :wink:   :lol:

[MomtoRee]

I'm good with starting a new thread. 

Reegan slept for almost 12 hours last night     :shock:    :shock: 
She woke up twice for less than a minute but I didn't have to go in!  I was so happy.  Then she took a 2 hour nap today!  If it will only last.  Tonight is my night to get up with her so I hope that it goes well. 

Is anyone having problems posting attachments?  I can't post any pictures when I try and I have before.

[pdb]

I haven't tried posting attachments in a while, but the last time I tried it didn't work and it had worked for me before too.  Congrats on the sleep with Reegan!

We're still struggling...feel like all I do is complain about it now, sorry.  Talked to the dr. today at year visit but he was no help, just acted like it was all normal.  I just feel like when I tell people about it, it doesn't sound that bad, but I just have a feeling something is not right.  I know this is my first kid, but  I've taken care of a lot of kids and I've never seen anything like this.  Tonight we had hysterics for an hour before finally going to sleep.  She was grouchy all afternoon, pitching fits about everything.  Maybe a reaction to her vaccines??  Oh well, I'll shut up now. 

I'm fine with a new thread too.

[Gigismom]

phoebe-don't feel bad "complaining".  that's what we're all here for...we all need to get it out sometimes.  i know you have struggled with susana for some time.  if you really feel that something is wrong, trust your instinct.  if your dr is not taking you seriously, find a new one!!  get second, third, fourth opinions.  however, gianna is a monster after her vaccines, so that may be susana's problem today. 

valorie-congrats on the sleep...hope you get more nights like that!  as for posting attachments, i will post one right now and write down all the steps as i do it because it always seems to work for me. 
1.  click "add an attachment".
2.  click "browse", choose photo and open it.
3.  click the "add attachment" button under the "browse" button.  (may take a minute.)
4.  click "posted attachments" to check and see if your file has been attached.  it should show up under the blue bar that reads "posted attachments" if it indeed has posted to your message.
5.  click "submit".

[hannah'smom]

ladies,
I just finished reading everyone's posts. So, much is going on it would be hard to comment on everything. I can't believe how I feel like I am living other people's lives when I read this thread. Hannah isn't sleeping at night or during the day. She is throwing temper tantrums, which she has never done before. She is refusing to drink and eat and on top of it she has officially joined the clingy club. she stands pulling at my knees saying one of the few words she know UP UP UP until I pick her up. SHE HAS BECOME THE DEVIL CHILD...Is anyone else having a problem with biting when LO get fustrated? huge issue here. SHe hasn't broken skin yet but has come close. We have been joking we may put her up for sale on ebay if this keeps up for much longer.

I will post this weekend when I have more time.. I just needed to vent. I promise to be more postive this weekend

[MomtoRee]

Phoebe - this is for complaining or that is what I think it is for.  No one else wants to listen to it, but we will because we are all there (or have been).  Keep it coming if you need to. 

We have biting problems here.  She has broken the skin several times, and broken the skin when nursing  :shock: That hurts! 

Ok I am going to try the attachment one more time!

[Noelle]

Hey girls!! Long time no talk     Zoe has become quite clingy too...and grumpier - though all four of her molars have come in this month  :shock:

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I'm going to go ahead and lock this thread and start a new one - hope to see everyone there!!!  And way to go!!! I think this is the longest thread yet,LOL