Babies of Oct-Dec /04

[jillybeansmith]

By the way, Yes, my arms are very strong...many backaches though!!!

[MomtoRee]

Kathy- that is so horrible.  My heart goes out to you and her.  I can't believe that they didn't catch it the first time. 

Alli - you have a really great sleeper!  As for teh daytime sleep here we get 2 naps between 1 hour 15 min and 2  1/2 hours.  Then she is sleeping about 11 1/2 hours at night with one early morning wake up to eat.  We have the occasional short nap now but not like we used to have. 

I think that Reegan had an upset stomach or something last night because she was up from 11-1 fussing.  I didn't know what to do for her.  On top of that she was up at 6:15, an hour before her usual time to get up! 

I hope that she does better this weekend since we are having friends in to stay to go to that wedding with me.  I am still scared to let DH put her to bed without me.  I'm not even going to be here if it doesn't go well to step in and take over.  I am so nervous that I have him nervous about it! 

DH has an interview today for a new job.  I am really wanting it because the insurance would be way better than what we have now. 

Before your lo started crawling did they get on their hands and knees and go into the sitting position a lot?  Reegan is doing that all the time now and I am wondering if it a step towards crawling.  I know that she will get it in her own time but she is 10 months old!  It's killing me that she is not crawling yet and there is nothing I can do to help her get there.  I know I need to get over it but I hate telling people no, she's not crawling. 

Hope everyone has great weekends!

[lil'monkey]

Kathy - sorry to hear about the rupture.  It must have been very painful for your dd1.  I hope that she is feeling better now. 

jillybeansmith - you say that Connor's fat, well dh and I think that dd has thunder tighs!  Her arms arm skinny but the thighs!!! :roll: I have to keep reminding myself that I shouldn't call her such as I'm sooo afraid that it becomes self-prophecy!  Hmmm... maybe I should start telling dd that she's a good baby that sleeps through the night.  Think it would work???

Momtoree - hope dh gets the job!  Before dd started to crawl, she would be in a sitting position first.  Don't worry it will happen soon.

Caroline - I have read that book too.  I makes me really wonder if dd in on her way to just one nap.  Yesterday, she was awake for 4 hrs before nap 1 and would have slept for 2.5 hrs if I hadn't woken her up by mistake.  Her pm nap is either getting harder or getting shorter (30-45 min.)  I've been reading the toddler's sleep forum to get a idea as to transitioning.  And it appears to take anywhere from a few days to several weeks for babies to adjust. 

Sharon - ahhh, soooo envious of you!!!

I read this book "Look Who's Talking" and it suggested that ways to encourage babies/toddlers to talk.  It goes in detail of each stage of the babies/toddlers development.  One of them is to encorage drinking from a cup (not sippy) or using a straw as this works the tongue/mouth muscles required for speech.  Anybody using the cup or straw?

[Noelle]

Oh Kathy...that's scary, I hope she feels better soon!!!! 

We used a straw cup with John and we use one with Zoe too.  I preferred them as that way they didn't have to learn how to tip them in addition to how to drink from them  :oops:  :wink:   Good to know there are other benefits too!! 

jillybeansmith...does the bunny go to the bathroom like cats? In kitty litter? Are they pretty easy pets?  Do they shed?  What do you do when you go on vacation?  Just wondering as I might want to get another pet when our dog dies, he's getting old     But we have two cats too, think they'll get along? 

Momtoree - good luck with job!!  Fingers crossed 

[jillybeansmith]

Bunnies as pets:  Our's will not go to the bathroom outside his cage, he will hop back in to do his business, but many can be kitty-litter box trained.  We didn't train ours, we just got lucky...The main issue is bunny-proofing.  We have entrances to behind the couches blocked off, and behind the tv.  Try to keep wires out of site or covered...Try to provide things for them to chew, because they love to chew...our's has left his mark on tv remote buttons, baseboard and the edge of the coffee table. 
They love affection and attention.  I would suggest letting them out of the cage, ours is out at least a couple hours a day...(supervised...or else the chewing happens)...They do shed, but they only have certain places that they go...for instance, ours doesn't realize that there is a world beyond  the coffee table area rug and the corner that his cage is in...he only inhabits 1/4 of the room, and doesn't venture away from that area, so the shedding is in a controlled area..and it's only twice a year.  Healthy, however, I suggest natural food (vegetables, fruit and yard trimmings with some vitamin supplements), ours didn't do well on the commercial pellats....We only take him to the vet to get his nails trimmed every 4-6 months...you can do it on your own, but we aren't that brave.

Entertaining little pet for kids......but let them come to the kids, not the other way around...very timid, but very curious, so it's best until they get used to you to have initial interaction on their terms...

If we are gone for days, we have somebody stop in and feed him, or we take him to the in-laws...

[jillybeansmith]

Oh...I don't know about bunnies & cats getting along...Jack gets along with some dogs that are quiet, but others scare the poor thing to death...
I don't know if cats would think of him as prey or not...I'm just not sure about that one.....


Oh yeah...Con & I went to the police station today to get them to make sure his carseat is installed properly...it was pretty good, a few adjustments and tightening though.  He may have to go forward-facing next month because he is tall, and his legs look like they may start getting cramped.  When we go forward-facing, the cop said to come back in and they will help us get it installed properly...

Not a bad idea though, if you have any concerns about proper installations...the cops here like you to do that, they've seen enough terrible wrecks here on our highways lately, where the parents are injured or don't survive, but the baby is unharmed because the seat installation was perfect....

[Pete's Mom]

Okay, I am not sure if I am going to remember every question that has been posed on her since my last look, but here goes....

Kathy - Sorry to hear about dd1, hope she is on the mend.  Was she suppose to start school now as well?

Mom to Ree - send good luck vibes your way for dh's job.

Jill - my goodness Connor is a big boy, although it sounds like he is tall too.  Peter is in the 80th percentile for weight but only the 50th for height (doc said they like to see the height percentile higher than the weight  :roll: )

I am also wondering about the one nap issue this week Peter has been sleeping till 7 am  :shock: instead of his usual 6 - 6:30 wake up call.  Today he slept till 7:30 and doesn't show any signs of tiredness yet, I have no idea at what time he will finally crash, but I think we are going to end up with just one nap today....  He normally naps 1 1/2 - 2 hours in the am and 40 minutes if I am lucky in the pm.

Mimi - interesting info on the sippy cups, figures now that ds will take one it is not the straw type.  I do try to give him his water with meals out of a regular plastic cup, some days he does well, some days not.... We also can't believe the size of Peter's thighs and keep commenting that it is a good thing he is a boy as he certainly got his father's thighs :wink: .

Our biggest challenge these days is finger foods, Peter will only eat cheerios or puffed cereal or toast, no veggies etc... I have tried to give him his favourite veggies and fruit but it is a no go.  I have even put them on his table in among the cheerios and if he happens to touch them he immediately flicks them out of his hand and looks for his beloved cheerios :roll:.  Oh well at least he is not on a spoon strike yet.

Have a great weekend everyone!  I am off to pick up my MIL for babysitting duty.  Dh and I are head out for date night tonight.

[zayandme]

So hard to keep up with us! Such a busy thread! 

Kathy- how is your daughter doing?

Jill- I thought that we had to keep them rear facing til their a year? what is the "rule" there?

Guys, I'm going crazy. Still no AF, and another negative pregnancy test this morning. As each day passes I realize I should just be coming to grips with the fact that must be pregnant but its not coming up on the HPT's.  Jeesh, it seems like DH just looks at me funny and we get pregnant... What on earth am I going to do with an 18 month old and a newborn...?

[alligirl]

Sarah, forgive me if I'm asking questions you've already answered, but I'm just wonderign....are you breastfeeding at all?  Have you had any "normal" cycles since having Isaiah?  Are you sure you know when you ovulated?  Have you had any stress or something different going on in your life??  Just curious....there must be something behind no AF.  If I remember correctly, arent you around 40ish DPO?

And what would do with an 18 month old and a newborn?  Get lots of ideas and support from here of course!!  Lots of moms have done it!

[pdb]

MomtoRee- Good luck with dh's job.  My lo crawled before she could push up to sitting.  Maybe yours will just skip crawling and go right to walking?

jillybeansmith- Does Connor try to grab your bunny?  We have 3 cats and a dog.  My lo is constantly trying to grab them.  She thinks it's hilarious.  2 of our cats stay out of her way, but the other lets her grab him.  I'm afraid one day it'll be too much and he'll scratch her.  He's a very patient cat though.  I just have to really watch.  The dog is a German Shepherd.  He just gets up and moves when she starts bothering him.  Once she grabbed his tail and he got up with her still holding on and drug her across the room.  :shock: She got a little upset, but I have to admit it was kind of funny. 

Mimi - Thunder thighs here too.   My stepdad calls dd the "Michelin girl" because of all her rolls.  DD uses a sippy cup at the sitter's, but at home I giver her water from a regular cup.  I bought some plastic juice glasses.  They are a nice size for her to hold.  Better than the sippy cups actually.  I hold it for her some and let her tip it over and play with it some so she can learn how to do it.  She can drink when I hold it, but still hasn't figured it out on her own.  She actually seems to prefer drinking from a regualr cup.

Sarah - Hope you find out for sure soon. 

Gotta go, dd is crying.  We have gone back to this waking up an hour or so after she goes down for the night.  Ugh.. just when you think you have it all figured out. :?

[jillybeansmith]

Sarah...the rule is to keep them rear facing until they are a year...The cop said that this is a rule of thumb because at a year, they generally have the neck strength to handle a rear-ender.  In our case, Connor is such a big boy, and a tall boy..our car seat is about as big as you can go rear-facing, and he is okay weight-wise, but his height is such that he is sort of getting frog-legged against the back-seat.  The cop almost suggested forward-facing, but unless Con is strong enough, he has so much mass behind him in an accident with his own body weight that he could hurt himself...but he could also hurt his legs and hips rear-facing.  The cop suggested that maybe in a month or so, Con will start crawling or standing, thus indicating that his neck is stronger, enough to get us forward-facing...and he will 10 1/2 months old.

Phoebe...luckily (but unfortunately), Con isn't crawling yet, so I have the ability to control him around Jack Rabbit...when I hold Jack up to him, he first touches Jacks fur, then attempts to grab it...Bunnies are delicate, so it'll be interesting once Con is mobile.

[Gigismom]

I have had NO time this week, but just wanted to check in real quick.

alli-i am so jealous of z's sleeping.  want to have a "kid swap" for a week??!!

kathy-hope your dd is feeling better soon.

momtoree-gianna is still not crawling either although she gets on her hands and knees and rocks.  so we're getting closer i think.  and also, i wanted to tell you that the last family i nannied for had a dd with a blocked tear duct also.  she was a little over 1 year when they did the surgery.  everything went perfectly and she is totally fine now.  the hardest part was not being able to feed her breakfast the day of surgery.

[jillybeansmith]

I think I'm out of options.  I finally broke down last night and tried to let him cry it out.  It was a disaster.  The other thing is my husband cannot stand letting him cry...I don't think that that is a good option for us (or Connor)...we let it go on for 1/2 hr...I would check in on him a couple times...DH ended up going and getting him.  It then took me a full hour of rocking.  I tried several times to put him in his crib, but he would wake up after a minute and look for me.  Even while rocking, he would fall asleep, jerk awake, feel my face or hand, then fall back to sleep...I finally got him into his crib, but he awoke a couple hours later, screaming, then wouldn't let me put him down, so I ended up bring him to bed with me, and he would still wake up every so often (at least 5 or 6 times...so once an hour), crying and wanting to touch me to make sure I was there...

[jillybeansmith]

Well...now I'm sad...

Got a call from Connor's sitter when I go back to work.  He starts 1/2 day on October 3, then another 1/2 day, a full day one week, then 2 full days, then another 2 full days...then I'm back at work...

I didn't expect this to bother me much, but now it seems so final, like our time together is coming to an end...I'm kinda weepy today...is this normal???  I can't even talk about going back to work and daycare without getting weepy!!!!

[MomtoRee]

Reegan crawled today  :shock: !  Just when I was thinking that it would never happen she is off and going.  She is all over the place already.  Took her a long time to get it but I don't think that it is going to take long to master! 

Jill - it is totally normal to have those feelings.  I think that everyone I know had a hard time going back to work.  The only good thing is that you were able to stay home for so long wtih him.  I know that I cried like a baby when I had to leave Reegan the first time.  Hopefully you will still be able to spend lots of time with him. 

So DH put Reegan to bed Sat when I was at a wedding and she went down without crying!  She then slept all night long  I was so happy that it went well for him.  I was so nervous about it but know I know that if I have something he can do it and Reegan is ok with it.  Besides that we had a rough weekend with naps.  She only took 1 nap on Sat and Sun!  Didn't help me being nervous about Sat night!  I think that she wanted to stay up to see the people that were staying with us.  I was very happy that she went back to taking two goods naps today!  I was scared that she was down to one for good! 

Sarah - Just to let you know I did have a cycle and nothing since.  That was about 4 months ago so even if you had one and haven't had another it doesn't mean you are pregnant.  Lots of people have babies that are 18months apart.  We know a family that has 8 kids that are all 18 months apart! 

Also, DH got an offer for the job today, but he doesn't know if he wants it now!  At least he has the option.

Hope you all had a great weekend.