Babies of Oct-Dec /04

[lil'monkey]

Jennifer,
 Go into your profile and insert a picture from your file into the avatar field.  As your lo's ticker, click on mine and it will take you there to the website and you can customize your own.  Once that is done, paste the ticker code into the signature field.  There are other sites to making a ticker.  Just click on any one of the ones you see in the signature and it will take you directly to that website.  Have fun wiht the tickers!

[Jakes_mom]

well i think i got the ticker working but our photos are too big. might have dh fix it for me. have a good weekend all. :wink:

[Jadynsmom]

Sharon, that is awesome that she can go back to sleep!! I'm making myself do things & keep from going in while that 45min is happening.  :oops:

Today her 1st nap was an hour (weird) with not a peep at 45mins, and then she slept 1.45min for her second nap.  Here's the wild thing though.  She was up 3hrs for her wake time.  I had to pickup her big sissy from summer camp so I just didn't put her down and she did ok.  The very last 10min was tough and she fussed in the car and almost fell asleep.  Anyway I was convinced since she was soooo tired she would wake at 45min, but, no, 1hr45mins.  Wow.  So she got up at 3pm, ok, we went to Home Depot to get some things to do our stairscase and she would not go to sleep in the Baby Bjorn!! She kept on smiling everytime I looked to see if she's getting sleepy.  So finally gave up at 5:30pm.  We went out to eat after that and I gave her cereal, which she gobbled up fast.  The child does not know how to savor her food.  She just swallows it whole.  How can she even taste it and enjoy it? :lol: So now she's been up for 3hr wake and she's not fussy, just wiggly wiggly!!  We get home at 7pm and I went straight to nurse her and man it was like bfing an octopus.  Her arms were grabbing at me, herself, flailing all over the place, trying to situp while boob is still in her mouth :? , pushing away, all at the same time.  She only nursed about 6mins and I put her down at 7:20.  That's 4 1/2hr wake time!!! :shock:  :shock:  :shock:  I was prepared for the worst!! She babbled for a couple of mins and started to fuss, so I went in and, of course, she was sideways, stuck.  I put her back in the middle, paci back in and she was out in 10mins.  Okay, so what the heck is that 4 1/2 hr wake time?  What am I supposed to do if she does this daily?  I guess in a month, she would be losing that catnap.  Oh well I will just go along with what she wants to do.  What choice do I have anyway?  It's not like I'm the one who's running this show anyway.  We all know who's the boss in this household. :wink:

Mimi, yes Matthew's Mommy has been wonderful.  I started to pm her when Jadyn was going through her crazy screaming at 10wks and Jane has called and talked things through over the phone.  She's awesome.

Jennifer, yeah, in having your angel back!! That teething business is torture, isn't it?  I know Jadyn's top will probably come out sooner than later and not looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend, ladies, and lots & lots of sleep to you all!!!

p.s. I just noticed that my posts are always so long!!  Sorry, I guess I don't know how to make it nice & short. :oops:

[Mum to Ella Rose]

Mimi... that's too funny about Barney! I always sing that song to dd and dh walks around gagging behind our backs.  :lol:  And I know what you mean about SIL.  All our family thinks we try to do too much with dd.  They're very into the "port-a-baby" thing and my BIL and his wife have a baby they take to Granny's every day, let the kids sleep whenever they pass out, etc. and everyone thinks they are just relaxed and dh and I are too uptight not letting "babies be babies." Kwim? They say all babies cry for sleep and all babies cry at naps, etc. "It's just the way it is." Of course they're usually surprised when they are over and see how easily dd goes to sleep!  :wink: Some of our friends too (childless ones) don't understand why we don't want to go out at 7 at night and just let dd sleep wherever we are.  We don't bother to explain anymore. It's too hard. We know what we're trying to do and all we want is what's best for dd. Teaching her good habits and all that. What did Tracy say? Start as you mean to go on!" 

Jennifer that's awesome you have your angel back! So happy to hear it. When you create your ticker at lilypie, you have to cut and paste the 2nd option out of the three "codes" they give you. Don't know if that helps as I see you've tried but it's not working yet.

Kathy as you can see from some of my recent posts we're kind of struggling with that third late awake time too as dd won't cat nap anymore unless it's under extreme circumstances. (such as NO afternoon nap!) I tried my theory about dd's kitty cat naps in the stroller today... she started to fall asleep again doing errands right before lunch so I gently kept her awake on the way home. She became more awake and we had lunch and then I put her down for her afternoon nap and she slept two hours. Yeah!

And now for our big news..... ELLA HAS A TOOTH!!        Yippeeee!
Okay so it's only up a bit but it's through the gum and sharp and white so in my mind it's officially here! Soooo exciting. .....though I'm still thinking our long nights of uninterupted sleep are a thing of the past....  :lol:
I bought some other homeopathic teething stuff with the same ingredients as the Hylands... apparently the main ingredient is Chamomile. a natural analgesic.  I swear by it!! If you all want to try if need be.

You can see Kathy you're not the only one with long posts... In fact I worry I post too much!  :oops:

You all have a great weekend too.

Sharon

[Jakes_mom]

Congrats to ella!!! Sharon, i know exactly what you mean about friends and family.   i have attempted to go over friends houses in the evening and they always tell me to put him in the pack-n-play in the back room so he can sleep (no way when there are a lot of people there)  sometimes jake falls asleep but most of the time he doesnt and we leave early.  i had a friend tell me that "i'm not the same person anymore" :roll:
kathy, i vagualy remember hearing that around six months is when you can switch from 3 naps to 2.  something like 3hours before 1st and 3hr before 2nd and then 4hr before bedtime.  maybe jadyn is changing her schedule.   well gotta run

[Jakes_mom]

trying the ticker again :roll:

[Jadynsmom]

YEAH, Ella Rose!!!     I know you are so happy too,Sharon!   And btw, I enjoy all your long posts. :lol: And, no, you don't post too many. I would have to admist I post too many as well, then.

Jennifer, of course you're not the same person any more.  You are now a mother.  I'm glad to be someone different.  And, yes, I don't go anywhere after 7pm either, Sharon.  For me, I'm very happy to accomodate my baby's needs while she's a baby.  And, no, I don't want her to 'fit' into our lives.  She's a person and I want her to have her say so and her time into our lives.

Thanks for the info on going to 2 naps.  So how do you get them to nap 2hrs on that schedule?  It only gives them an hour to nap if you keep them awake 3hrs.  I don't understand. Let me post my sched for 4hr routine.  Can you tell me how you or other moms do it, if they are on 2naps a day?

7 E (bf)
8 Breakfast
10 S (1hr?) (Should I keep this wake time at 21/2hr so she can sleep for 1hr30min?)

11 E (bf)
12 Lunch (This will start in a couple of weeks)
2   S (1hr?)

3 E (bf)
5 Dinner
6:30 Bedtime routine (bath, massage, jammies, 2 stories)
7 E (bf)
7:15 To bed (she does sleep in til 7 or 7:30 am.  So is that enough naptime (2hrs a day?) if she gets 12hrs at night?

Jadyn is sitting in her highchair next to me doing leg raises while holding it with her hands & she's babbling & blowing rasberries at me :lol: She just smiles & laughs when I look over at her!!  Gosh, sometimes I just can't believe she's all mine to love & hold and just to look at... What did I ever do to deserve her?

[Mum to Ella Rose]

Blargh.... dd was up ALL night again and we started the day at 5.  eep. I had hoped with the tooth we were on the upswing but... it appears their may be another that hasn't poked through the skin yet.  I can't believe my tiny wee baby (okay so she was never that tiny... :lol: ) is growing teeth, babbling rolling around... it's true what they say isn't it about how quickly it goes! Ella will be seven months in one week!!!

Okay. The schedule thing. I'm actually in the process of tweaking this right now (hopefully with some help from the infamous Matthew's Mommy) but I'll tell you where we are at and what we are trying to do. I think the EASY becomes less stringent as they grow, it's to set guidlines and good habits in the beginning. Such as learning how to not need to feed to sleep, etc.

Ella wakes on average at 6:30 which makes it a bit easier "schedule" wise.
And I've read there is usually less awake time between the am wakeup and am nap, and the am nap wakeup to the next pm nap. Kwim? So 2 1/2 hours between am wakeup and 1st nap and 3 hours between am nap wakeup and 2nd pm nap.  Though I'm still trying to find more info on that long evening stretch it leaves. I have heard it gets easier as they get older to stay awake for longer periods as the day goes on so... maybe that evening stretch is okay at this age. Or just starting to be.

Here's what is posted in the sleep issues thread about average times at this age. (can you believe the nap time decreases just when you figured out how to increase it!!)

 6 months old:
Night: 12 hours;
Day: 2.25 hours - 2 naps, 1 of 1 hour and 1 of 1.25 hours;
Total: 14.5 hours

Of course you'll notice that doesn't actually add up to 14.5 but 14.25.

So here's my theory so far.

7 milk
8 breakfast
9:30 nap until 10:30 (or if until 11 then 2-3 in p.m) so 1 or 1.5 hrs
11 milk
12 lunch
1:30 nap until 3 (or 2 nap until 3 depending on am) so 1 or 1.5 hrs
3 bottle
5 supper
6 (or 6:15 however long your routine is) bath
6:30 or 6:45 milk
7 bed

That's 14.5 hours.

I have to check as I think the next step in the land of napping is to drop the am nap and the next bottle or breast feed that is dropped is usually the 11. I think lunch gets bumped up to around 11 or 11:30.

As I said I'm just figuring it out now and I'm kind of thinking out loud here.
I'll keep you posted if Matthew's Mommy gets back to me. One other thing she said was they don't need as much of a wind down at around 6 months or they go through the stages of sleep too quickly then will wake at 45.min.

Does any of this make sense?  :shock: It's confusing...

Bye for now,

Sharon

[Jakes_mom]

hi ladies, need some advice.  i know they have a seperate board for this but i feel more comfortable chatting with you all.  my husband is in the military and is in training to become an officer, he has 18mths left of training before he is commissioned and they his salary about doubles.  but in the meantime we are living off of our savings.  until our son was born i always worked and we lived a lifestyle to reflect our income.  since ds was born i quit my job.  well, it is getting a little scary and we are not sure if we will make 18more months.  i have considered going back to work but the thought of leaving my son brings tears to my eyes.   we are considering selling our house in 6mths or so because our mortgage is high.  what do you all think. have any of you dealt with this issue or dealing with it currently.  sorry so personal but need some encouragement\advice. :cry:

[Jadynsmom]

Sharon, thanks so much for the schedule you posted.  It makes sense I guess, but I don't like the fact that I've worked so hard and now she will only take 1hr nap & 1 1/2hr nap? No more 2hr naps?  Oh, well. What are you gonna do?  So when do you actually drop the 11am bf or bottle?  I hate the idea of dropping a bf.  I think I will post it in the bf forum and see what the ladies there think.   I mean, I guess I should be glad that I don't have to worry about bfing so much and one less might give us more time to do other things (like actually going out & shopping!)
Ok.  So I've been giving Jadyn cereal for the last 4days and gave her a taste of pear that I had made myself this morning.  She is so busy looking about this morning I had a hard time feeding her.  Finally I just took the rest of the pears (1cube) and mixed it with cereal and ebm and she ate it all.  The book suggested I give her 3 teaspoon and I've been giving her 3tablespoon & 4tablespoon :oops: and she's been eating it all up & wanting more :shock: Is that normal?  Is it ok?  Is it too much to eat for this chunky girl?  She's 17lbs now.  And I didn't realize that just cereal could make her poo so much more explosive!! Man, she didn't have an inch on her diaper that wasn't soiled this morning.  She woke up at 5:45am and was starving.  So I nursed her and tried to put back to sleep and of course she wasn't having it.  Then about an hour later, she pooed all over her diaper.  Wow. She just smiled afterwards! :lol:

Jennifer, hmm, that's a tough call.  I was working part-time before I got pregnant, just so that my older daughter could go to a private pre-school. The tuition is crazy.  Don't even get me started on private school tuition... So when Jadyn was born, I just didn't work for 4mos and just recently went back to working only 1 day a week (I'm a freelance makeup artist for Chanel cosmetics) which is perfect since I mostly work Sat.  There are a couple of ocassions I do get my girlfriend to watch her if I have to work an odd day during week.  We prayed & prayed for a way that I could stay with her as much as possible and I worried alot about it.  We basically don't have a savings account and live paycheck to paycheck and have a debt equaling a carloan and I'm ok with that.  My husband works a regular job in sales 40+hrs and somehow have made ends meet.  I don't know how, but it just worked out.  There were a couple of things we thought about doing before this.  Him working some weekends, me working a couple of nights and maybe some weekends and daddy home with 2kids (he wasn't crazy about that).  The way I figured it, Jadyn is only going to be a baby one time for one year, and then after that I knew it would be easier to leave her when she's a little older.  I know it's bad to be in debt, but I personally will take that over not being with her any day!!  We also had to change the way we spend our money.  No more shopping and getting whatever I wanted, no more outfits that were just too cute to pass by, eating out less, cooking more (esp since we couldn't go out during Jadyn's nap),etc.  I don't really miss the things that much and you do get accostumed to a more thriftier way of living.  I love my coupons and Walmart's price matching.   That's just me.
Could you maybe get a small loan and pay it off as soon as you can, when your husband's salary gets doubled?  You said you're already selling your house, so your bills will be much smaller and yo won't need that big of a loan?  Maybe he could pick up a part-time on weekends?  I know that's a tough call.  I hope something will happen in the next couple of weeks, some extra money will come your way or that perfect schedule job that pays great.  :wink:  Keep us posted on what you decide.

[Mum to Ella Rose]

Aaawww Jennifer!  So sorry to hear you are going through a trying time!!
I haven't gone through anything exactly like that but I unexpectedly became pregnant on our honeymoon.  We had just scraped, borrowed and begged practically to buy an apartment. Plus we payed for our wedding ourselves. We bought small fancy apt. in a highrise that was NOT child friendly.  We ended up buying a much smaller ground level apartment that is not at all "fancy" and in an old building. But it's more child friendly and affordable.  It was tough to move again seven months pregnant, etc. But you do what you have to for the family.  I guess what I'm saying is there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you only have 18 months to go. When you consider returning to work...could it be part time? Do you have any family or close friends that could be the caregiver? Then you would know your lo is spending quality time with a loved one while you are away. If not and you'd have to pay for childcare...consider the expense of that offset with what you'd be making. May not be worth it. I only work here and there now but my job allows me that flexibility. Without my normal income our lifestyle sure has changed!  :lol:  But that's okay. It also may not be a bad idea to move to a more affordable place for awhile. The main thing would be keeping you all together as much as possible and that is more important than having a "nice" place or larger rooms. And you would have the comfort of knowing you will be able to get a larger home again later when dh settles into his new post.

Just some thoughts... Please keep us posted and know you can talk about it here anytime!!!!!  Prayers are with you. and BIG HUGS!

Sharon

[Jakes_mom]

thanks ladies for your advice and wisdom... update.  we have decided to sell our home and rent a smaller house since we only have a short time left here.  selling our house will relieve us of our debt and a smaller house will help us be more comfortable.  i am nervous about finding a house i am comfortable and that isn't too small since i spend all day there.   you would think i am used to moving since my husband is in the navy but not so, we are very lucky.  the bottem line is that all of this is worth me being able to raise my child.  sharon, kathy, you guys are lucky to have flexibilty in your work.   

thanks again, it is great to have a place to go when you feel so stressed.   

[Jadynsmom]

Jennifer - I am glad you guys have a decision made and you feel good about it.  That's the most important thing.  I'm sure you guys will probably get your house that you will love after your husband gets settled into his new income.

Sharon - Wow, pregnant on your honeymoon!!!  You guys didn't waste any time,did you? :lol: I wished we would have gotten pregnant so soon, cause we wouldn't be in our late 50's & early 60's (hubby) when our babies are going to be in their 20's. :wink:

Jadyn has been going down for naps & bedtime in less than 5mins.  I literally go in the room where it's dark and the music's already on, sing "you are my sunshine" 2times and dance.  Then I put her on tummy & give paci & lovey and she's down and I'm out the door.   I just can't believe it.  I had to write it down on my EASY form so that I can look at it when she's older.  She doesn't even do her moaning any more.  No fussing whatsoever.  Oh my gosh, I just can't believe it.  Hope I didn't jinx it.

Ok, something really funny happened and I gotta share.  She woke up at 7am and nursed really long (12mins) just on one side.  Daddy wakes up and starts to play with her while I go & pump the other side (I was full!!!)  I come back in and he's lying down and has Jadyn on his tummy picking her up over his head, back & forth.  You know what's coming. :wink:  So while I'm videotaping him playing with her, she just projectiles large amount of milk all over his face & head!! :lol:  :lol:  I put the video down & help clean him up.  She's just sitting there watching us, very content! :lol:  I laughed so hard!!  We watched the video afterwards and laughed so loud for a good 10mins watching it over & over.  I think I will definitely consider sending it to America's Funniest Video!  I guess daddy won't play so rough when she's just eaten. :wink:

Hope you all had a great weekend!

[Mum to Ella Rose]

Ha ha ha !!! We always wonder when the spit up on the head will happen!  :lol:  You should send it in... I think that's hysterical!

And as far as not wasting any time Kathy... I kind of did beforehand!  I turned 37 in February. 3 months after dd was born. Hubby and I wed Feb. 14, 2004 and I was pregnant two weeks later. (yes, okay too much info but I got the dreaded "monthly visitor" on our wedding day) It's funny.. I knew it was coming and I almost went on the birth control shot. Dh and I had talked about not having children due to my age, etc. And just look at the way things turned out! Meant to be. We could think whatever we wanted to but dd had other ideas!  :lol: I should also mention dh is 9 years younger than me.  :oops:  heh heh heh. One of my favorite sayings is man plans, God laughs. It's just so true! you never know what's in store...

Sounds great Kathy, what dd is eating. Believe me, she'll tell you what's too much or not enough. I know I've said it before but she just sounds like such a happy wee girl! Our dd is grumpy/spirited. My heart breaks some nights because all I want is for her to cuddle me and "want" me. Does that make sense? She's soooo independant. Even at this age. I love her for who she is but sometimes my heart breaks and I have to remind myself it's not about me.  She doesn't like to snuggle or cuddle. Never holds her arms out to me, can only handle me holding her for brief minutes.  Don't get me wrong, she's happy! Just happy doing her own thing.

Jennifer, I'm so glad you all have an action plan. It's always hard moving and especially somewhere smaller and maybe not as "nice" but it will be worth it. And it won't be forever. Hang in there! We're always here for you. (especially Kathy and I... the posting Queens... :wink: )

Must try and sleep now as dd has already been up 2x. (1 hr. &40 min after bed) Oh and Kathy isn't it great when they go down like that?! Love it!

Let me know about dropping a feed if you find anything else out. There is one post in the bottle forum about people having to drop a feed around 6, 7 months and even though Ella is teething I have a feeling that's where we're at...

Sharon[/i]

[Jadynsmom]

Sharon, I wish I could let you guys see the video footage of the 'mega spitup'.   :lol:
So you married a much younger man!  I dated much younger dark headed men but then ended up marrying 5yrs older man with light hair.  We dated forever. He had some committment issues at the beginning.  He was quite the ladie's man starting in high school.  He'd also married his highschool girlfriend whom he'd dated since 12yrs old and is absolutely drop dead georgous.  So when they divorced, he'd swore never again.  Oh, well, I guess I messed up those plans. :wink:  He's 44 & I'm turning 40 on July 27th.  Oh gosh.  Turning 30 was very distressful.  I can't imagine what this one is going to be.  I just gotta get used to saying I'm now in my 40's instead of 30's. :cry:  My consolation is I had given myself a deadline to have a baby up til I'm 40, then I was going to go for Invitro fertilerization which would have cost more than I can imagine.  :x  We tried for a couple of years & when I didn't get pregnant, we adoped Lexi from China (she was already 14mos).  Then after 4yrs of just given up, Jadyn came along.    I always tell people that God knew how long we waited and gave us the 'perfect' & sweet baby.  Her name btw means in Hebrew 'God heard'.  Isn't that perfect?

I gave Jadyn her 1oz of pear and I'm not sure if she likes it or not.  She kinda makes this face and then eats it.

Oh, on dropping the feeding, I posted it in bfing forum and a couple of them responded and said I can wait til 8 or 9mos.  I'll probably wait til 8mos to drop the df as well.  I can't imagine giving up that sweet cuddle feed time.  I still do the DF with bf and she's so sweet nursing in her sleep and the little sound she makes while she's feeding.  *sigh* I wish I could bottle that and sell it cause I'd be a millionaire....

Talk to you soon. 
p.s. I have all this time with Jadyn sleeping so well that I almost feel guilty just staying on the computer a lot.  Ok not that guilty. :wink: