Babies of Oct-Dec /04

[zayandme]

Oh, you know, that's true with balls. I forgot we got a hold of some tennis balls and wiffle (sp?) balls a couple months ago. He started to learn to roll them, but over the weeks I think they went by the wayside. I'll have to pull those out again. Thanks for the suggestion.

[lil'monkey]

Sarah - a great buy is the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Phone.  It teaches letters, numbers and phrases.  I bought one for dd and she loves it.  For some reason, she loves pressing the number 5 and the ABC button.  I hope that she will forget about our phone and remote as they do not have any flashing lights.  I agree with the balls, we play lawn bowling with them.  Here are some household items I play with dd:
 - socks puppets.  I put her socks on her hands and she make hand gestures with them.  Sometimes I would mix the pairs and see if she notices the difference. 
 - hats/caps.  She sits in front of the mirror and tries them on.  She likes the red baseball cap.
 -  plastic membership cards.  She would try to put them in/out of the wallet.  Although i don't think this is a great way of teaching her the value of money!
 - binoculars
 - fidge magnets.

I think that there's a jinx fairy out there.  Everytime I mentioned dd is sleeping great, the very next day it sours!   :roll:

[MorganLeigh]

Shhhhh, I dont wanna jinx it, but DD is sound asleep for nap number 2! its been 45 mins so far! Thats great for this past week or two, she is having a hard time with this cold.

BALLS! Sounds great, Ill have to get some. Yes, she loves hats too and she hasall my cards from my wallett, even my insurance I also gave her my old keyboard, I bring that out when its really bad. Oh and nothing I let her play with when supervised, beads, like mardi gra beads..she loves them..but I dont let her out of my site of course bc she can strangle herself. She also has her "own" diaper bag now she can play with and put things in an out, so if anything is missing...its in there!

Well ladies its Tues, lets keep the week strong and sleep wonderful!

[NKmommy]

Hi!  Its so hard to keep up with this thread - so many posts and good ideas!  Nathan just had his 9 mos appt today.  He is doing sooo well with solids (eats anything in sight) but the doc is still worried about his fluid intake.  He absolutely hates his bottle (he is a recovering refluxer), and even though the 20 or so ounces of formula he gets a day is fine, doc says he needs a total of 30 ounces of fluid a day.   :shock:   I have to sing "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" over and over just to get the formula down!  How will I get 10 more ounces of water or juice down???  Right now he drinks from a sippy, but only a few sips a meal.  I think I will just go with the flow, and maybe I will try to give him more fruit/yogurt to get more fluid in him.  Hmmmm

He is doing so great at night, sleeping from around 7 - 6 or so.  But naptimes are a different story!  He has always had two naps of 1.5 hrs each.  But recently, he refuses to sleep.  Just sits in the crib and talks and plays for about an hour, then cries (I'm sure he's exhausted) but won't sleep.  Then it is time for a feeding, so he eats, plays for a bit until cranky.  So I try to get him to nap again, and it is the same thing.  I am going nuts!  Could a 9 mos old be ready for just one nap this young???  I hope not - I LIVE for naptime.   

Anyways, good chatting with you all...

[pdb]

Kathy - We're in the same boat with the birthday since Susana has the same birthday as Jadyn.  Let me know if you have any great ideas on making it special.  I thought when Susana is older and wants to have parties with friends, we can have an unbirthday six months from her actual one.  That's how I celebrate my students' bithdays at school when they have summer birthdays.

I wish we could try that cheese but the doctor said we won't try dairy for another few months because of dd's protein intolerance.

caljaccol-My dd lives with her tongue sticking out.  It's so cute.

Susana did the screaming thing at 4:44 again this morning.  I didn't go in this time and she didn't make any more noise so I assume she went back to sleep.  She was up at 5:45 though with a poopy diaper again.  I sure wish we could do something about that.  If we didn't have to get up so early I would try feeding her later and putting her to bed a little later since it seems to happen 12 hrs after her last meal.  We leave the house about 6:30 though so I don't want to keep her up too late.  Oh well, as they say, this too shall pass...

I'm afraid we're working on ear infection #3.  She has scratched her ear to the bleeding point again. 
 :shock:

Anyone's lo making a fish face?  That's the new thing here.  It's so funny.

[jillybeansmith]

Sarah - Connor is fascinated with hats, any tupperware out of the cupboard, and I find the greatest amusement for him is something as simple as watching us wiggle our feet...The other night, he got laughing hysterically because my husband was moving his toes and feet (you know how people just diddle or fidget...that's all he was doing..)...he got laughing so hard that he couldn't catch his breath...last night, he got hysterically because I stretched and started waving my arms...

His favourite thing to do is have his dad and mom lay on the floor on a blanket with Con in between us so he can roll around and pick at us and play with us and he can't really go anywhere, and he loves the closeness...I find that he gets board of his toys as well...I guess we are his favourite toys...and it doesn't cost a thing.

He also likes fabric pant belts (supervised of course), that can fascinate him for an evening. 

As for faces...Connor does the fish face, the rat face, and the 'eyes wide open, bottom teeth jutting out...almost horror-movie face'..

[hannah'smom]

I love some of the idea's that I get from this thread. It seems to be saving us some money in the toy department. I love the idea of giving them there own diaper bag and playing with a wallet.
Has anyone tried play doe? We did finger and feet painting it seem to go over pretty well.

Well DD has started cruising. Last week I gave her a laundry basket which I turned upside down to let her stand against with some toys on it (she is short, couch and stool are too high for her) and she started pushing it around the house. It's quite funny to watch-it's like a giant walker, the fischer price walker we have she can walk with but it seem her upper body goes faster then her lower body when she is behind it. The laundry basket seem to work better because it covers a larger surface area and doesn't move as fast.

Eating is going very well. She loves whole wheat waffles cut up, macaroni (cut up) and tomato sauce and watermelon. I think I will try giving her some whole peas tonight to see if she can get them in her mouth.

The babbling mamamama and dadada and babababa has stopped. Now she  just screams all the time. Has this happened to anyone else? It's like she has forgotten how to babble.

caljaccol-no tounges out of there house around here.
Nathan'sMommy-have you tried a day with one nap how was his sleep and temperament? I know we aren't going there any time soon. Hannah just went from 3 naps to 2 in the last month. 

Well Hannah is down for a nap I should go and get some housework done
HOpe everyone has a good day
Ange

[MorganLeigh]

Just had to post this. Now when ya see "Peek a boo" Morgan puts her hands up to her ears, think she is giong for the eyes..close enough for me. Its so cute!

[zayandme]

Noticing that all the moms who suggested playing with diaper bags and wallets (i think...) have girls! Coincidence???

Yeah, we just started whole wheat waffles- he totally scarfed them!
Connor's mom- what do you mean fabric pant belts? I know you were just making a comment but for the life of me I just can't figure out what you mean!  :?  :lol:

Isaiah hasn't figured out how to open cabinets so i've been ignoring the whole tupperware option, but I think its time. i'm sure he'll love it. He loves making noise.

(I had too much coffee today and I'mhaving such a hard time typing!!!)

And ange- I've noticed they seem to "forget" things like babbling (waving, peek a boo, etc) just before they start doinnng (doh! Caffeine!) something new- so let us know if she just up and starts conversing now thhat she's given up that babbling stuff!
Sarah

[jillybeansmith]

zayandme - I have a couple pairs of jeans that came with belts that are fabric, and have stripes (and of course the metal ends)..one has brown and green colours the other the colours of the rainbow...they are soft, and I don't know whether he likes them because of the pattern or because it's basically a giant string, but one evening, he just sat in his exersaucer and played with it running it though his hands for hours...it was great!

Connor is finally starting to take in a little texture...mum-mum rice rusks, and toddler biscuits....What a mess!!!!  Not big on cheerios yet..still gags.

[jillybeansmith]

Never mind...somethings with texture, I ruined it by giving him some baby pastina....he puked....

[dixiedutch]

Hello all,

It is good to know that there are other lizzards out there, tasting the world by flicking their tongues out...  :lol:

Hannah's Mom....Ouch on the bite!!! I'd be dropping feedings to if I were getting bit! Luckily, Lana's teeth are bottom ones...

Phoebe, can you say a bit more about the "Good Night Sleep Tight" book? I looked it up after reading your post. Does she have some good things to say? PU/PD seemed to make Lana angrier, the method she describes on her website seemed to be close to what worked for us. I just wondered if she had anything worthwhile to say about nap schedules, etc.

Kathy, I think I remember reading somewhere that you plan to nurse Jadyn past past one year. What is that like? Can you say more about when you dropped feedings as you reached the one year point?

Right now, Lana is nursing at night and it just feels right to me to let her continue to co-sleep half the night with us -- at least until one year. She just seems to need that extra cuddle at night. However, I argue with myself in my head all the time.... am I doing the right thing? I want to step back and give her her independance when she is ready. This parenting is a fine balance, when to hold back and when to give....

caroline

[lil'monkey]

Kathy & Caroline - I think that it's great you continue to bf as I sorely miss the cuddles I have with dd while feeding her.  Lately, I can't seem to hold onto her for more than 5-10 min.   :cry: I often have to feed her facing out or lying on a pillow beside me.  Even our evening cuddles are slowly diminishing.  She really wants her independence unless she wants something then she'll crawl to me.   

That's funny about the lizzards! 

Dh and i joked that we can tell where dd has been as there is always the telltale signs of drools and spits everywhere.  Once the drool faucet stops, we are giving the carpet/furniture a thorough cleaning.  Any babies out there love tilting their head all the way back? 

gotta go...she's up early from her nap!

[Mum to Ella Rose]

Well we finally have tooth #5 out! With #6 just showing...   Sleep is still okay around here though we are a tad liberal with the motrin... :lol: 

I know what you mean about the falling and bumps. Dd has new ones everyday though she's getting a bit better. She also has bruises on her legs from crawling!  :shock: (we have tile and laminate wood with rugs in the living room only)

Dd too finds feet very interesting... no lizzard faces here or anything like that but yes Mimi she loves to have us hold her and she'll hang her head upside down. If I do it too she laughs a great deal.

I also have to hold her in my lap facing outwards when feeding. It's with such mixed emotions we watch them grow, hey? oh have to run, dd is up now too...

Sharon

[Gigismom]

i am a bit embarrassed to admit we have amassed a plethora of toys... well beyond dd's ability to ever play with them all.  it started with generous baby shower attendees, add to that spoiling grandparents, aunties, and uncles...and ok, ok i have to admit i have bought many too.  but it is 115 degrees outside all summer.  we haven't gone outside since june, so i feel i should at least provide stimulating activities inside.  with all the toys however, she still prefers cell phones and keys.  (btw, i was one of those who SWORE i would never buy toys, only giving dd a rock and a stick to play with to encourage imagination....ha)

caroline-i also read "good night sleep tight" and would highly recommend it although i have never used her "shuffle" technique but phoebe has.  if the need arises though, i will try that instead of pu/pd as that just angered my dd.  it is an interesting read and gives some good info on infant sleep.  also, (don't get me wrong because i love tracy) but kim west's book gives a little more "permission" to engage in accidental parenting as we all do sometimes.  it is a bit more realistic.  as for the co-sleeping, if it feels right and you are sll getting sleep, just do it!!  they are only small for so long.  don't feel guilty!!