Any March & April 05 mums/moms want to chat?

[Jayri]

Richelle thanks for the info on sophie's bedtime routine, we also found pupd to be too much for her , patting works, but the shh is a little too stimulating for her as she wakes up once we stop.
 I think I might try to work things a little like what you do once she feels better and see how she goes!!

[Richelle]

Hi,

I was just reading my post and what I meant was that I was making a mistake by reacting to her crying and picking her up, just FYI.

[Colesmom]

Q ladies.  Does teething come and go?  I thought Cole was teething when he was hysterical with DH on Saturday...but he's been fine since.  It must have been that DH was shushing him.  I told him not to shush anymore!  He must not have heard me.  Either that or it bothers him more at some times than others(the teething, not the shushing).  He poops at every feed too and very runny so I'm assuming it's diarrhea associated with it too.  I can't see or feel them coming in though.  Guess it might just take a bit.

Do you guys go to play groups?  I was just reading Tracy's book last night and I want to take Cole in order to get him used to socializing but I'm having trouble finding a place that works with his naps.  Maybe I'll post a note at the community centre or something.

He slept 1:20 this morning and woke and played for 15 minutes!  Okay, I know I said I was going to wake him...I'll do it for nap 2 and/or just be sure catnap is short.  It likely will be as that good nap really pushed our day forward.

Oh-not sure who asked about catnap and early bedtime.  As you can see Cole still has catnap and 6:00 bed!  Obviously I have to work on getting him to bed at 6:30 so that when catnap goes out the window he's not going to bed at 5:30. The one day he skipped catnap I put him down at 5:45!

[Erin M]

Hi all 
This week I'm saying it too ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - this too shall pass, this too shall pass....Why are babies born without teeth and why do they have to (painfully) get them in the middle of the night for nights on end?  OK, I'm guessing if they had teeth to start with breastfeeding would be tons harder than it already is.  I try not to complain since I know some of you ladies have been dealing with much worse in the way of night wakings for a long time now, but the past week or so, Katie's been up pretty much every night at all sorts of different times - not interested in eating, not a growth spurt, just wants cuddles and hugs and not to sleep.  Poor sweetie, I'll pick her up and she'll fall asleep on me, but then I'll put her down, she'll sleep for a minute and then wake right back up.  So after she wakes up, I'll pick her up (as she's usually crying pretty hard) comfort her, put her down, and then try and reassure her in her crib, as that seems to work the best.  More often than not, I'll think she's asleep, go back to bed, and then she'll be crying again 15 minutes later.  It ends up taking an hour or more to get her back to sleep most nights.  I do feel badly for her poor thing.  And DH is NO help these days - last night I had gone to bed and she cried around 11:30 - he was up reading his book and didn't get up, so I got up and gave her some Tylenol - thought she went back to sleep, of course she was up again - and he comes up with - "Why don't you just bring her back here?"  We never co-slept, just not comfortable with it - DH is a thrasher in his sleep - rolls all over, talks, sleepwalks - I'd be afraid of what would happen to her as he rolls over on me on occassion and I have to wake him up to get him off.  Though I have brought her back to bed a few mornings when she's up too early and she'll fall back to sleep - but trying really hard not to make a habit of that as tempting as it is at 5:30 in the morning.  *sigh* - but this too shall pass...anyway, enough of my rant, just needed to get it out

Naomi - I LOVE the image of Jay running around as a superhero - made me smile 

Lisa - glad to hear that you got James to bed more easily - Katie is a bit spirited and I find that sometimes if I throw a toy in her crib with her to play with, she sometimes falls asleep with less fuss.  I generally clock watch when I feel like we're having a bad day, but Katie seems to be lengthening her awake time these days, so I have no idea what to even watch the clock for these days. 

Traci - Katie used to have a 7PM bedtime - we've lengthened it a bit just because she's better able to stay up for longer periods of time I think.  It goes seem to help her sleep longer in the morning.  5:30-6 AM is a rough time to start your day!

Michelle - hope Payton is feeling better.  Rough night!

Hayley - It sometimes seems to me that if Katie takes a lot of solids, she's less interested in her milk.  She seems to vary by the day with the amount of everything she's taking in though. 

Judy - I used to feed Katie before her bath and all that, but I've gotten into the habit of doing it right before bed.  Wonder if it's part of the problems we've been having the past week?  I keep meaning to switch it, but it's just so much easier the way it is now. 

Ugh - it is so rainy here today.  Hope eveyone has a good day.
-Erin

[Colesmom]

Oh, I should mention i've been feeding Cole before bed for a while now.  It's just the way the day works out.  He's up at 5:30 but I don't feed until 6...so I can't have his last feed at 6 and get him down for 6 so he feeds at 5:30.  Doesn't seem to be an issue, he's always wide awake going down.

OMG, I almost forgot to mention.  You will never believe what he did today. He is creeping/crawling around really fast.  We have two steps from our LR to DR/kitchen.  Last week he pulled himself up on the step.  Today he climbed it!  Of course I was there holding his bum...but I didn't show him at all how to bring his knees up or anything.  This is craziness.  I've got to get our gate today!

[Jayri]

Just wanted to let you ladies know of a book, the baby book by Dr Sears, it does advocate for attachment parenting, but I got it as a reference guide for my 2. They have an extensive section on teething, and traci, the runs is a sign of teething, I guess it is a way of them dealing with all of the extra saliva.
Well had to pop on and write that, it is double nap time here at the mo, I try to put them both down at the same time, usually it works....

[sophieandhannah]

Hello all. Finally feeling better here today after two days of being down with stomach flu(?)  DH stayed home from work yesterday to help with Sophie, thank goodness.  I begged him.  I didn't know how else I would manage.  Now I am just praying that she doesn't get what I had..and that dh doesn't get it either.
Have I mentioned yet that I am sooo looking forward to the chat tonight? :lol:
I am just hoping that lo and dh cooperate as it is at 5pm my time and this is usually dinner time/wind down bed time etc.  Hopefully I will get a few minutes with you all.  How long does it usually last?
dh helped me with the lillypie ticker and the avatar last night.  He was very cute-proud papa-ish about it...he wanted Sophie to have her picture on the site as well.  This is such an improvement considering he wanted nothing to do with the baby whisperer info at all when I first got hooked!  He can still be very skeptical, but getting better and more on board all the time.
Naomi- thanks for your help with the ticker and avatar.  Sorry to hear about your sick family..hope they are well soon...hope you have a "good" sick husband, some can be such a pain when they are down    I too had to laugh when I read about the superman thing.  I love it.
Erin- I hear you about the teething and the this too shall pass mantra.  It always seems like just when things are settling into some kind of routine/schedule, something happens to flub it all up.  I can't remember who posted that their child slept through for 17 straight nights..I dream of that time.
Someone else said they have to sleep through when they are ten right?  Can I wait that long? ten years of interrupted sleep?  I keep telling my dh that I don't know what I was thinking having a child...that I have the wrong personality for this...I value sleep and regularity way too much.
I am learning to go with the flow much more as mom.  I suppose that's a good thing.
Hayley-  I noticed too that Sophie's bm intake went all wacky when she started solids.   It seems like it is starting to get more regular now.  I have been considering cutting out a feeding in the daytime, but she is still up so early to feed.  I guess this isn't too helpful, just wanted you to know that yes, I had experienced the same thing.
Richelle-  I too am wondering about the finger foods..I keep wanting to give Sophie a teething biscuit, but every time I get ready to buy them I read the box which says they are not to have them until they are crawling.  She is not fully crawling yet, but getting close...Does anyone know what the deal is with finger foods?  Has anyone been giving them before crawling? 
Ankie-  How's the strike going?  Washington teachers NEVER strike, though we definately should.  We never get what we want...we pay more for health care each year and get no raise..not even a cost of living!

Everyone-I am so curious about who is working and how it's going...what kind of child care do you have etc.  How is your energy level with night wakings and work? How do your mornings go?  Just a FEW questions :roll:
Talk to you all tonight.
Hannah

[kate585]

Hi, ladies! 
Just on to check up before going for my massage this afternoon.          I can't wait! 

Lisa, so glad it went better with James.  It seems like you may have cracked that nut. 
Hannah, I think the chat might be at 6 pm your time.  (I might be wrong, though).  I think it starts at 8 pm Central, and I know this b/c it's the same time as "Lost" is on.      When I checked in after the show 2 weeks ago, people were still chatting at 9:45-ish, so at least 2 hours later.  Some of the other moms were there longer, so they might know.  Hope to "see" some of you NA moms there!!!  (Duh:  Where is the chat link again?   :oops: )
Regarding work:  I work at mil's preschool two mornings a week.  (I am taking a year (at least) off of full-time teaching).  She watches Ryan at her house, then drives him to school so she can work the afternoons.  It is SO easy for us. She went and bought all the same stuff we have so I only have to bring his bmilk and blanket each morning.  And, she does all the BW stuff and lets me know when he went to sleep, how long, what he ate, etc.  It's the best of both words...a bit of interaction and $$$$ and a good, safe place for Ryan...and his grandma is LOVING this!
 :evil:   The 45's have hit today for some reason...the only drawback of working in the morning is he is sometimes thrown off in the afternoon.  Gotta run!
Oh, yeah...not sure who asked...Lisa, I think.  When I did pu/pd with Ryan I did it over 30 times the first night!   :shock:  3 times is GREAT!!!  In the new book, Tracy talked about when is a good time to stop pu/pd as it is too stimulating and just do the pd part.  Not sure if you're there yet.  I can look it up for you if you don't have the book yet.
Okay, really gotta go.  Little man is not too pleased with me!

[Jayri]

I just thought of something, I know there has been talk of finger food, like bicuits etc, here we have baby mum mum's. They are a rice cracker made by a company called Hot Kid, they are in the baby food section. They disolve in the mouth and are good from 4mths.
I have attached a pic in case you have to go looking for them, the yellow is plain and the green is vegetable. They are a little messy, but it is a good starting point for finger foods!

[kq]

Gosh! You have all been busy! I am going to launch right in as baby brain does not allow retention of info for long!
TRACI-when you clock watch, do you do it for naps as well ie if he awake at 7 instead on 6, do you still put him down for naps at the same time? I must say that the only clock watching I do is for bedtimes and Sam goes to bed at 6.45 except if he is overtired then it is 15 minutes earlier. I also feed right before bedtime and after his bath or his feeds will be too close together.
HAYLEY-when do you give dinner? We are on 2 meals at the mo and I am worried that if I give dinner before the milk feed before bed, he will not drink as much at bedtime.
We do not do night feeds so I do not want to jinx it!
LISA-big hugs and I am pleased that you worked it out! Well done!
JUDY-hang in there, this too shall pass.
NAOMI-the vision of supehero Jay made me laugh!
Q-when do you give fingerfoods?
Anyway, must dash. Take care all.
Karen

PS: Avatar still has me stumped. Will have to PM Gareth!

[mickymuscles]

hi all,
i can't catch up with all the posts!!!  i haven't posted for almost 2 weeks....DH got to stay home a little longer than expected!! YIPPY!!!!    But now that he is gone....i've gotta get caught up with my BW addiction!  We just started biscuits as a finger food....SOOOO MESSY !!!  but jack loves them.

Coles mom (sorry forgot your name :oops: ): I'm amazed at how much he is moving!!!  Jack isn't even rolling yet.  He HATES being on his belly.  He will roll from his belly to his back sometimes.  He forgets that he needs to bring his arms infront of him so then he'll just lie there SCREAMING hysterically!!  He definitely won't go on his belly on his own...so I'll be surprised if he ever crawls!!!

I went to the Dr. yesterday to find out why I haven't been sleeping and she decided to put me on meds for PPD.  My rational half of my brain says its a good thing but the other half of my brain thinks I dumb for having to go on them.  But I think the lack of sleep is starting to get to me...I've never been so teary (not since baby blues) and I hate myself when I get frustrated with Jack and my dogs.  I'm just looking forward to having a good sleep soon!! :shock:

[Arwyn's mom]

Hello everybody,

I woke up today with an uber-cranky baby. Don't know why, just that she screamed her head off at 3:30 in the morning and took 35 minutes of pu/pd and patting to get back to sleep. The shushing makes her mad now, and scream even louder. She is still getting into the all fours position when trying to settle down to sleep and getting all worked up about it.

Also, today is definately a "growth spurt, I need to eat and I'm also teething" kind of day. It is now almost 2 pm here and she has had 4 BF and 2 solids since 6:30 am. Keeping me insanely busy as I am feeding her around the clock. Of course, with the timing, I have also nursed her for both her naps as she was inconsolable both times.

Yes, everybody, I too, am repeating "this too, shall pass, this too, shall pass" over and over again. We went from no wakings through the night to multiple wakings now. Can't wait for that part to pass!

Some of you have been discussing early bedtimes... Arwyn used to have an 8 pm bedtime. We gradually moved it back and now it is between 6:30 and 6:45. Even 7 is too late for her now. She just gets so cranky and the difference of 15 minutes means up to an hour of settling time if I miss her window. She generally sleeps through until 6:30 am. If she wakes at 5:30, I will put her back to sleep. She will fall asleep again until 6:30. It is a lot of work  :roll: and I don't generally like to do it but I keep thinking, I don't want her to make it a habit so... now, she doesn't wake-up at 5 very often anymore.

Hmmm... just woke from a 45 min nap screaming and putting her hands in her mouth. I want my textbook/angel baby back... I demand that the teething gremlin bring her back!!! Yes, this too, shall pass.  :roll: 

Update on the teacher strike out here... apparently there seems to be no end in sight. Day 3 today and our union goes to court tomorrow to find out how much we will be fined for everyday we are out.  :roll: We are in contempt of court so... will probably be steep.

Kate... you have a great thing going there with Grandma!

[Little Bear's Mum]

Micky - hang in there. If meds is what you need then you take them! Remember, what matters is that you and Jack are happy, and if you're tired then how can you be happy? Also, having a hubby who goes away is not easy, speaking from experience (I'm an 'airforce wife') so life isn't always as easy as it is for an 'always there' two parent family. When it's just you and bub with no-one else to turn to for a big hug emotions can run high. Just ask my hubby when he walks in the door from being away for a few days! :oops:

Karen - I tried something new with Daniel last night and I'm hoping it worked (ie helped him sleep longer). Normally he'd feed about 7am, 11am, 3pm, 5pm, 6.15pm  bed at 6.30pm. Solids at 8am, 12noon, 5.30pm. But last night I changed the 5pm b/feed to his solids then he took a bigger b/feed at 6.15pm. So basically I dropped a b/feed, but he increased his last feed right on bedtime. He slept from 6.30pm - 4.30pm! Yay! Huge improvement, then back to sleep until 7.15am. Because he had an hour between solids and b/milk I think he was okay. So, not sure if that will work for you, and there is the chance it could muck up your nights, but I guess you can give it a go and see what happens. Also, whether having the bath after the solids uses up a bit of energy I'm not sure. At least there were no tears while getting dressed.

Naomi - it's moments like those you need your camera ready!

Traci - just go for it! Playgroup/coffee group outings that is. We have one day a week that naps go out the window and Daniel is fine. He usually gets his first morning nap in and the rest is in the car or buggy. He's become quite accustomed to sleeping while I'm having lunch with my work colleagues in a cafe! We have our antenatal coffee group morning tea at someones house where there's all the other bubs around the same age, which he WILL NOT miss out on, stays awake no matter how tired. Then I ususally go out for lunch or a bit of shopping. This is when Daniel takes his nap. He doesn't get grumpy because there's different stimulation and when he's in his buggy he can go to sleep if he wants to. I like to think he enjoys these days. And he LOVES being with the other bubs. They are starting to really interact and watch each other. And well done Cole!!!! Wow, stairs!!! Great stuff.

[Colesmom]

Hi Everyone,

Lets see how my night goes tonight.  He had naps of 1:20, 1:15 (or 1 hour, not sure when exactly he settled as I heard some extra noises) and 30 min. catnap in stroller.  The 30 min. made him cranky coming home from mall-oh well.

Hannah-hope you're feeling better soon.  Sophie is so cute in her Bumbo. I'm a SAHM right now and don't even ask about my work.  I hate it and don't want to go back but I have 5 weeks vaca and get paid pretty well.  It will be hard to get home to pick Cole up though and that's why I need to leave.

Kate- massage-you go girl.  aren't they wonderful!  I get one almost every week right now (covered by work benefits)  here is the chat link.  It's in the lounge I think for future ref.

http://www.thebabywhisperer.com/chat/phpMyChat.php3

Naomi-thanks for the tip on the Mum mums

Micky-hope you get some rest.  Good news you got extra time with hubby

Ankie - hugs to you...sounds like a rough day over there.

Karen-I'm starting to clock watch more and more.  Cole typically gets up at 5:30 and plays until 5:45-6:00 in his crib. I was putting him down around 7:45 or so based on A time and getting 45 min. naps. Today I put him down at 8:15 (was aiming for 8:30) and he slept 1:20.  So yes, I'm aiming for the clock most of the day now.  I think the biggest thing with naps is that if you get a 45 min. nap, try to stretch your lo as close as possible to the next normal nap time.  Their biorythms cause them to have wakeful and sleepy periods and if you try to put them down during a wakeful period (due to short nap or whatever) then they may sleep but it won't be as restful.  Cole did sleep in the other day until 6:45 and he was still ready to go down at 8:15 (I was planning on waiting until 8:45).  I'd have to go back and check how long he slept.

I'd better go make dinner so I can be ready to chat later!

Traci

[james030405]

Hi Everyone,  thanks for the wordsof encouragement - they really mean a lot    Well James was asleep at 7pm as I said and didn't wake till 4:30am which was only because he was at thetop of the cot.  I went and rescued him, put the sheet over him and patted a couple of times and he slept till 6:45pm    

We have just gone down for nap #1 at 9am and after a little play in the cot, he cried so i did pu/pd for about 5mins and when he was keeping his head on the mattress, I did a bit of pat/sh and he settled himself (is it okay to pat/sh after pu/pd?). I think i said it before, it gets frustrating because I know he can do it himself.   :shock:

I am not sure who asked (sorry :oops: ) about playgroups?  James and I do swimming one day which he loves but we also do Kindyroo which is a baby gym of sorts.  We do baby massage/exercises, dancing and singing and there is also play equipment which he can use ie trampolines, swings slides etc.  Hereally enjoys it and he also just go promoted to the "mobile babies" group as he was everywhere yesterday.  In regards to that he is all over the floor now lookinglike a worm - hasn't quite got the arms there but he can go from lying on his stomach to the sitting position as well.  yesterday when I went to get him up from his nap he was on his knees holding onto the top of the cot :shock:  :shock: I wish he would slow down - he is only 6.5mths old.  Talk about spirited!!!

Well must go, talk tonight at chat.

Lisa mum to James (I think it will drop the textbook) spirited koala bear