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

[Jayri]

HI all nice to see everyone on the chat last night, there were tons of us, nice to see most of us could make it. Judy you should pop on one of these weeks, it'd be a nice change for you at the end of your day, it's the most socializing I do all week, well I have more in common with all of you than I do to the ones near me.
Jo - If prunes don't work try glycerine supositories(??) we have them on hand for our two, thankfully haven't needed them in a couple of years, I found them in the pharmacy here, maybe they would be there in AUS too.
Micky - how are you feeling, my hat is off to you for going it alone while dh goes away to work
Well Riley's landmark is having her kness under her belly and swinging her bum, not sure if it is itnentional but it is cute all the same, also she can stick her tongue out a bit curl it up and make noises, quite cute, but a little cheecky at her 6:30 wake up this morning. I ma definitely going to have my hands more than full by xmas. Right now it is manageable.
Well must dash, bum duty awaits me, I really have to get off my lazy butt and potty train Jay, just too scared about it for now.
one last thing, traci, I hope cole is doing okay after his shots today.
I will talk to you all later, we should all coordinate and chat together sometime, all of us.
Anyhoo, TTFN

[sophieandhannah]

Morning ladies.  If only my dh knew i was on here AGAIN! Thank goodness he's off to work and is none the wiser

Hayley-I lve the soapy bum bubble thought...any catoonists out there?  That would make a great one.

Traci- I also can't belive COle is crawling already!  Sophie is getting her knees under her belly with some encouragment from dh (perhaps too much?)but that's all for now...life is really going to change when she is more mobile!

Erin- the teething biscuit thing--I know, I thought that was strange too.  No teething biscuits until they are ten   I think I am going to go ahead and look for some of those melt in the mouth finger food things, like the Hot Kid Baby mum mum's...although i'm not sure what we have in the states that might be similar.  Also, I too switched from the Baby Bjorn to the backpack recently and it is MUCH better.  The Bjorn just doesn't really do it for me anymore, though it was great for a little while.  It's pretty rainy here too.  I am currently using the stroller with the "rain fly" as we refer to it for runs and outings.
I can't believe they sent the teachers to jail!!!  How crazy!  In WA the teachers Union is the second highest funded and we are the group least likely to get what we want...go figure.

Kate- that is so cute that Ryan is clapping.  Sophie is absolutely fascinated with our hands, and her own...maybe she'll clap soon too.

Naomi- thanks again for leading me to this thread and the chat last night, that was the most fun I've had in weeks!  Lots of laughs...I was still chuckling long after I signed off.

I have sort of been avoiding talking too much about my lo because I feel like I have so many questions but yet the more I read the more I realize that it is different every day and I am probably never going to "figure it all out" and "get her squared away" she's a child not a stack of papers to grade
Thanks for the feedback on working.  Is anyone working full time...you part imers and SAHM's have it really good.  I am jealous  Part ime would really be perfect for me.  I have a lot of anxiety about going back in Dec. can you tell? (Ankie-why oh why wasn't I born in canada?)

In the bw, she talks about staying with your lo until they are almost asleep.  But it seems like you all talk about putting them down, then letting them babble etc. (not cry) to drift off.  Are you there with them?  What's your typical nap put down routine and time?  I am wondering if I am doing too much at nap times therefore becoming a prop.  In the night when she wakes, all I have to do is go in, give her the binky, pat her and she's back off to sleep...but why do I even have to do this?  With proper sleep training, shouldn't she be "learning" to help herself go back to sleep?  Any ideas?

Thanks. You are wonderful.
Hannah

[Colesmom]

Hi Girls,

Warning that this may turn out long.

Appt. was at 10:15.  I got there 10 min. late because I always have to wait.  As I arrive at 10:25 the secretary was just showing up and Dr. didn't show up until 10:45!  So, long story short we were seen at something crazy like 11:25.  Thankfully my textbook son has turned angel on me and was quiet as a mouse the whole time, sitting contendedly in my lap while we waited, charming all the other moms and babies.  He might have even waved hi...but I think he was just moving his arm :wink: Dr. wanted to discuss sleep routine LOL    I told her he was taking 3 naps a day, sleeping 6-6 with 2 wakings for feeding.  She wanted to discuss making him soothe himself!  again LOL, got that covered thanks.  Told her I started that at 4.5 months. She wanted to know how I knew to do that and I touted BW! Don't think she'd heard of it.
Cole cried for about 2 min. after his shots then babbled happily all the way home.  I couldn't believe it, it was 1 hour past his nap time.  I brought him in the house, put him in his grobag and he was out after 10 min. of babbling!

It is crazy that he's crawling.  He's wanted to be a mover from day one.  I can't even remember when we first stood him up and he beared (sp?) his own weight.  OH YA, he did the CUTEST thing at the dr.  He rolled on the exam table and I had left his socks on.  He held his bum in the air and was trying to crawl but because of the paper his feet just kept going forward and back, forward and back.  The dr. thought it was hilarious!

okay, enough about us.

Erin and anyone else that is curious about a carrier.  I bought a Baby Trekker  http://www.babytrekker.com/ at a garage sale and it's really good.  The straps are a bit cumbersome so I only use it to go for walks in the neighbourhood (don't take it to the mall).  My other carrier is a sling and I love it.  Was great when he was really little and it's still good now and will be up to something like 35 lbs.  Very versatile.  Here is the link for it:
http://www.newnativebaby.com/orders/prodtype.asp?cookiecheck=yes&strPageHistory=cat&PT_ID=70

Kate-so cool about the clapping.  I haven't even tried to teach Cole that.  Thanks for the idea!

Hannah- Where to begin?  Let me start with the finger foods.  In the US you can get really cool finger foods by Gerber.  That's how we got on the topic yesterday...we can't get those in Canada.

As for naps and bedtime.  Well, I think most of us used to be with our little ones longer around the 4-5 month mark.  I think that's when many of us taught them to sleep independantly.  The biggest thing for you might be to get rid of the binky.  It will be HARD, but worth it in the end.  If she wakes and you have to give it back for her to settle then it's become a prop for her.  I spent about 4-5 weeks with Cole getting his naps and night sleep in place.  I didn't know about New Orleans until the Friday after it happened.  I was either holed up in his room or on here asking questions! 

I do the same routine for naps and bedtime and fortunately have learned recently that my routine doesn't need to be as long as I thought.  I used to carry him around in the sling etc for a while first and do just quiet activities...but I realized that as long as I sing to him (you are my sunshine) for a few minutes, then sit in the glider for about 30 seconds in the dark he knows it's time for sleep.  Whatever routine you choose, if it is consistent then she will know it's time for sleep at the end of it.  He will take anywhere from 2-10 minutes to settle.  sometimes he just babbles, sometimes he cries.  I only go in and comfort if it takes him longer than 10 minutes.  Some babies need to cry and as long as it's a settling cry and not a hysterical need me cry then that's okay.  It's okay too if your bedtime routine is a bit different from you nap routine...but keep each consistent KWIM?

The key to sleep training is consistency, patience...and one more but I can't remember.  Someone help me out!  LOL

okay, time for lunch.  i'll be back later, you can pretty much count on it!

Traci

[Arwyn's mom]

Hello... it was great to see some of you on the chat last night! I won't be there next week... it's my anniversary!!! My sister has volunteered to babysit (brave, considering the last episode was really rough) and we are going out for dinner.

Traci... Go, Cole, go! Can't believe he can crawl already!! Baby gates, here I come! (cuz you know, he'll only crawl where he isn't allowed  ) Hope Cole feels okay after his shots. Let me know how solids work out!

Erin... I have looked into teething biscuits. Most of them have wheat or sugar or something in them that isn't recommended until one year. I gave Arwyn an Arrowroot before I read the ingredients  :roll: and she seemed fine but??? Does anybody know?

Hannah... Each day is a little different with Arwyn in terms of sleeping. This week started out great, Monday and Tuesday, she went to bed, no problems, independently. I just put her in the bed, gave her a kiss, told her I would see her when she woke up and within seconds, she was asleep.

Yesterday and today is a different story... first, I think it is teething and a growth spurt happening simultaneously. She wants to eat every 2 hours (I know because she is screaming and when I ask her if she wants milk, she stops) and as a result, has been nursing to sleep due to the timing.

As for staying in the room until they are asleep, I think the book recommends this when you are starting or when your lo will wake up during a nap, only to be patted back to sleep. I tried this once - I stayed in the room until Arwyn was fully asleep and she slept for 1 hr 30 minutes after I put her back down during a nap (needed 45 min of pu/pd). I also have friends who have done that and it worked for them too. But, I have never tried it with night sleep.

As for night wakings, by putting her soother back in for her and patting, you are teaching Sophie how to self-soothe. She will eventually be able to do it independently. Keep it up. 

Hannah, you can move up here for your second child! Maternity leave is one year and you can apply for unpaid parental leave, which will guarantee you a job with your employer but not your position. I know I am fortunate to benefit from this relatively new one year mat leave. My friends who had children earlier only had 6 months and before that, 3 months. I believe this changed only in the last 7 or 8 years? Any fellow Canucks out there that can confirm this?

Kate... so cute about Ryan clapping! It must be so rewarding to know he can understand what you are talking about!

Hmm... constipation. Can't say that Arwyn has been for over 1 day or so. I just breastfed more often the next day after she didn't poop and there it was. I also avoided rice cereal that day.

Update on the teachers' strike... yes, the courts are threatening jail time for the executives of the union. There is also talk of jail time for individual teachers. Sad really... the government says we are breaking the law. They neglect to say, they created this law and rammed it through to legislation on the day we went on strike. (They debated it through the night so that it would be in effect when we started out walkout. :shock: ) So, therefore, we are breaking the law. Before they passed it, we were acting within the law, one they themselves created 4 years ago... making us an essential service -- therefore limiting our ability to strike but not making it illegal. It is a long story... the seeds to this confrontation were sown 4 years ago... it has been a struggle since then to get the government to listen. Not that it was easy before, just that they would at least be open to having a meeting. Now, they blatantly refuse to meet with us at all. BTW, the premier of this province keeps lecturing the teachers about obeying the law but he was charged with Drunk Driving in Hawaii. (Don't know if the Hawaiian government stayed up all night to ram legislation through just to charge him?)

Anyhow, I don't think we are being unreasonable but the government does. There are many arguments out there but overall, there seems to be public support. Once it goes on though, we may lose this support as parents want their children in school, not daycare.

[herbst99]

Hallo all - well I haven't posted since 29 Sept!!! cannot believe it ... Things with us are going well - latest news is Lise's cut both her bottom teeth in 1 go!! so was super cranky baby. Back to "normal" now!! I will try and keep up a little better from now on. goodnight for now! NikkiH

[Colesmom]

OMG, hooray for you Judy!  congratulations on your outing.  and good for the girls for staying close by.  What on earth do you drive?  MUST be a minivan or some crazy huge SUV!!!

what type of sling did you order?

I am happy as I think the rain might hold off here and Cole and I can go walking.  His nap after his shots was only 45 min. (he woke at regular time) but he went down early for catnap and I'm going to let him sleep until 4.  Would you guys believe he pretty much climbed that darn step by himself today...i barely even held his bum.  Going to walmart tomorrow to pick up a gate and cereal!

tata ladies

Traci

[Colesmom]

Hey judy,
we posted at the same time!  i do love my carrier.  I hope you can carry both of them once they are this big.  13 lbs isn't too bad though...cole is over 16 so I have to have him facing forward now, not in the cradle position.

I have had so many people ask me where I bought my sling that I called them and received a wholesale application.  I might actually send it in.  Doesn't seem like they are too fussy.  I just have to have a min. order of $100...and the slings are 50% of retail.  I've often thought of running my own business so maybe this could be a start.

I guess I should be happy with my ped as there aren't many around here and she was hard to find.  I wish I could have stayed with my delivering doc who is a GP but she's too far away.  She was amazing.  There is no other word for it.  She is compassionate, concerned, caring, takes as much time as you need and brilliant all rolled into one.  She left OBGYN in June though so I have to find a new one for number two :cry:

okay, gotta go get the stroller out and get ready for our walk.  it's been a few days of rain so i can't wait to get some fresh air.

[james030405]

HI everyone,  sorry for my little "meltdown" the other day.  Feeling much better especially after our chat last night.   

I am glad  Cole was okaywith his injections.  No more for another 6months.  YAY!!.  Iam not sure who was asking, but I give James the teething rusks (he has his two bottom teeth) and they don't break off he just sucks on them. 

Just a quick question in regards to A time - how long is everyone at the moment?  I had J up for 3hrs today (between 10:30am - 1:30pm) not intentionally, and when I put him down he did mantra cry for about 5-10mins and went to sleep by himself.  Is anyone else up for 3hrs yet?  Other naps/sleeps have been getting better.  I have been using a combination of PU/PD and Pat/sh.  I only seem to need to pick up about 3-5times and then a little patting and he goes to sleep, I even managed to resettle after a 45min wake with pu/pd.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I know what you mean about crawling, james is now everywhere.  have you noticed that now they are crawling around and eating solids you have to actually wash them in the bath now!!! :lol: James is also starting to pull himself up.  I caught him theother day on his knees holding onto the top of the cot!.  In regards to the slings, I use the baby bjorn and J loves it. 

Once again, sorry for my meltdown on Wednesday.  have a good weekend.

Lisa mum to James my spirited koala bear :wink:  :wink:

[Richelle]

Hi everyone,

I am tryingt to fit in a post before I go to bed as I am back to work in another 6.5 hours - I believe they are trying to break me.  Lisa I am very close to a meltdown and have no one to turn to at the moment on my end so don;t feel bad!

Naomi - what a great picture I have in my head of Riley swinging her butt in the air, lol - thanks it perked up my night!

Kate - Wow, that is great about the clapping!! 

Traci - It must be so exciting / scary to watch Cole be mobile but wow - good for him, Sophie has always been a mover and shaker from the get go and is not far off from crawling - yikes!!

Hannah - I think that Sophie will catch on to whatever you set up as a routine (these lo's are very clever) and I don;t think that lenght matters unless she is really tired.  I have different routines for bed and naps for my Sophie.  She gave up her paci in favour of her fingers as I stopped giving it to her except bedtime and 3 weeks ago I chucked them altogether but like I say I think I was lucky as she started sucking her fingers.

Judy - Well done!!  As much as these lo's neep to nap and have consistency, i think your peace of mind is way more important.

Our big news here is Sophie will mimic me if I say dadadad and babababa, it is very exciting and I am secretly pleased that she does it only with me ( not dh or the nanny!) - bad mommy!  It actually is so nice as I have this guilt that I am away from her working and now am no longer breastfeeding so I am glad she still knows mommy...

Wow - i must get to bed, talk to you all soon...

Richelle

[Little Bear's Mum]

Hi everyone

So much going on as per usual. We are busy mums and LO's aren't we. Cole crawling up stairs, Sophie mimicing words, Ryan clapping, Judy going shopping with all four, Lise with bottom teeth! Sorry if I've missed anyone. Well all I can say is well done all mums and LO's!

Nothing too exciting in our day today, although I mucked Daniel's naps up firstly by putting him down too early so he only napped 40mins. Then I went in to cover him up as his sheets had been kicked off and I woke him up accidently!!!OOOPs  :oops:  :cry:  :oops:  :cry: It then took another 45mins and big feeds to get him back to sleep for only 40 mins. So, we went for a drive in the car to the shops after he woke. A very messy nap day resulted. Oh well, he ended up with about the same length in nap time, so hopefully it won't muck him up tonight too much.

Solids are going well and it's time for me to make some more pureed veges for him. Mmmm what next, we've had pumpkin, kumara (sweet potato) and tinned pureed carrots. I think I'll make some more kumara and do my own carrots. I might try some avocado soon. What are some other good foods to cook yourself?

I'm off for an early night as I'm rather tired. So goodnight to you all.

[sophieandhannah]

Just a thought: wouldn't it be fun for our lo's to be able to read this thread when they are older? (if they have any desire!)  It is such a telling saga of the trials and tribulations of being parents, and a great "journal" of their in and outs.  This might sound crazy but I wonder if there is any way to print out a hard copy of these posts...I am so bad at scrap booking/journaling etc. for my lo, this might be an interesting alternative.  It is so fun and cathartic to WRITE. You are all such good writers too, it's so fun to read!  I have to say, Judy your stories are especially entertaining.  Your writing has such good "voice".  I feel like I can really see your days.

Back to the lo's!
Thanks for the feedback about Sophie's night wakings and my staying in the room.  I have been now leaving WAY before she is asleep and she has been fine, falling asleep without me after about ten minutes of babbling, looking at her hands, taking her soother in and out etc. (I spy on her from the hallway of course). 
She is still waking in the night unfortunately.  Although I am starting to think (once again---I go back and forth) that they are habitual wakings and I need to try wake to sleep.  Traci-have you been doing that still?

I KNOW I need to get away from the paci sooner or later.  We have at least limited paci use to sleep times only...actually she has really done that herself.  She just doesn't want it any other time.  However, she is definately dependant on it to help go to sleep. At one point she was sucking her fingers.  I should have probably taken it away slowly then, but now she seems less interested in the fingers.

So...the experiment continues.  There are so many possibilities..like I said, I am wondering if it is habitual waking,(Or dependence on the prop of the paci) but then again it could be hunger.  I am still doing the dream feed but lately she has been waking early like 5am and I have had to hold her off to eat until 6.and she is definately HUNGRY...this is new.  She used to sleep until 7 and be fine to wait to eat until 7:30 or so. 

Orrrrrr, what about the possiblity of too much sleep during the day?  I know that the idea is that the better they nap the better they sleep at night.  She is a really good napper (maybe too good?)  she usually takes a solid two hour morning nap, a 1.5hr-2hr afternoon nap and a 45 min cat nap.  Sometimes I let her sleep longer than 2 in the morning if she had a partciualry bad night's sleep. Is that too much napping? Maybe her A time is too short...like Lisa was saying, I have kept her up for 3 hrs of A time and she is definately tired, but  will still go down easily for a nap.

I have unleashed the beast of all of my questions on all of you!!!  Thank for listening.  I would love o hear any and all ideas...sorry to be the newcomer hijacking the thread :oops:

Richelle, I love that Sophie is babbling syllables! How absolutely adorable.  I completely understand the enjoyment of the fact that she only does it for you.  I too fear my Sophie not "knowing" mommy as well when I am back to work.  We need those little (or big) afirmations. 

Hayley, we have only tried the orange vegges...really fun for the mess created.  Sophie is not a very lady like eater.  We have done winter squash...which I think is butternut. That might be another one to try.  I want to try avocado too.  Tell me how Daniel likes it.

[Arwyn's mom]

Arwyn fell over from sitting while naked on her bath towel and whacked her head on the faucet. We were in the hospital waiting for 2 hours and then it took like 30 seconds for the doctor to glue her cut closed.

I am having a bad mommy moment. I can't believe it happened. Both DH and I were there. I was even holding her and it happened so fast. Needless to say, I became very distraught when I saw blood. My DH was very calm (thank goodness) and he stopped the bleeding, then somehow got us both ready and to the hospital.

[sophieandhannah]

Oh Ankie!!! I am sending you lots of hugs right now.  I am so sorry that happened!
Thank goodness it wasn't any worse and that doc. could fix it up so quickly.  The wait must have been really hard though.
It's bound to happen to all of us at one time or another. I don't know, maybe you can be somewhat relieved that yours has now happened and you probably won't have any more accidents/injuries for quite a while now (you've filled your quota).  Accidents happen, don't beat yourself up for it!
Hey...here's a thought  I am probably causing Sophie more long term damage by feeding her Gerber baby foods (as opposed to cooking her food like you do) then that one little accident could ever cause Arwyn.
It's a trade off.
Hope your day goes well today. 
Hannah

[mickymuscles]

hi all...well day 3 of meds...feeling better but still not sleeping worth a hill of beans.  I woke last night at 1 am then tossed and turned until 3:30.  I finally got up and went to try a different spot to sleep...the floor of Jack's room  :oops: ...and fell asleep within minutes!!!   What's with that? :?

Well, on other news-we heard from the OR yesterday.  Jack is scheduled to have foot surgery on Nov. 9th.  He has a very mild case of arthogryposis and the bone that connects the ankle to the foot formed pointing to his arch rather than toward his toes so it makes it impossible for him to point his toes.  Sooooo, in order for him to learn to walk properly he needs his feet operated on. :cry:   Poor guy!!  We've been waiting a long time to get booked into the OR so I hope it doesn't get postponed!  He is to be in casts for 6-8 weeks after...taking us right to Christmas!!    We are going to California to visit my sisters and I'm not sure if my DH will be able to come with us.  It would be nice to have the casts off before then so that he isn't so heavy and he could go swimming.  But on the other hand if he gets the casts off before we go he might be miserable because I'm sure his ankles will be sore.    

I'm sure the stress of waiting for this surgery has something to do with me not sleeping :shock: !!!  I'll be very glad when it's done!  I'm also glad that DH has already booked himself to come home for the surgery to help me and Jack cope!!! :shock:  :cry:  :shock:  :cry:

Just curious.....anyone else brushing their LO's teeth/gums???  We do it just before he goes to sleep as part of our ritual (naps and bedtime).  Jack loves it and he is starting to grab the toothbrush and rub his gums with it.

I can't remeber who suggested tummy time on my lap or my belly....(I think Judy??)  anywhoo...we tried it yesterday....he's happy a little longer but still doen't like it and starts to complain shortly !!!

Sorry for my long ramble....had to get a few things off my chest!

Oh yeah solids...Jack is almost agreeable on everything that we've tried so far except pumpkin.  He hated that and homemade carrots! :roll:   We have tried Squash, sweet potato, green beans, peas, wax beans, avocado, pumpkin, carrots, banana, apple, pear, peaches, creamed corn, beef and turkey.  He wasn't a fan of the beef either...but I don't blame him!!!  I gave him the jarred baby food stuff....YUCK!!!  it smelled like dog food to me!  He gobbled down turkey!  (leftovers from thanksgiving).
Those are some smelly poops!!!  Meat poops! :shock:

Talk to you all later!
Micky

[Erin M]

Ankie - many, many (((hugs))) to you - that must have been super scary.  Katie has whacked her head on things so many times by now I'm surprised we haven't made it to the hospital yet ourselves.  She'll be fine though, and don't beat up yourself over it.  It's so hard with all the moving around all our LOs are starting to do to keep them totally safe all the time - it was so much easier when they just used to lay there!

Judy and Traci - Thanks for the carrier feedback - I just got one of those great backpack things so I can go out hiking again (yay!), but I definitely want to get a sling whenever #2 comes along.  Will keep that one in mind.  Traci - too bad you're in Canada - I'd contribute to your wholesale thing, but I think by the time we worked out the currency difference and the postage it wouldn't be any cheaper! 

Hannah - My guess is if you took the paci, she'd definitely become more interested in her fingers, but I don't speak from experience since Katie always refused the paci and has sucked her thumb since she was able to get it in her mouth.  I'm not sure about your nap time - seems like a lot, but Katie has always been a good night sleeper and a terrible napper (I'm not complaining about that) so maybe cut back and see what happens?

Hayley - we have tried winter squash too, which Katie likes - so far we've done squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, pears, prunes, and peaches.  She seems to like it all except for the peaches.  I think we're on to some green veggies tomorrow!

Lisa - our awake time is around 2.5 - 3 hours at the moment.  Glad you're feeling better!

Richelle - almost the weekend!  Hang in there (and feel free to vent if you need to).

Have a good weekend all - the in-laws are headed our way as we speak. 

-Erin