looking for Jan/Feb 05 moms to chat...

[Deb_in_oz]

Hi Vidya - one of our blessings was that Olivia has been sleeping through the night for the past month and a half so that was one area we did not need any help (i was actually terrified the other babies would wake her with their crying but she did fine).  we just tried to stretch her out as long as possible towards 2 hours and for those days i was there she was able to  go 1h 45 on average and we put her in cot awake.  because she was also getting used to no swaddle quite often she took 20-40 min to get to sleep so that was a change as before she was going down in 10-20 min.

we are not doing too well since returning though and today has been a bust so far - woke early b/c did not feed well at DF, not napping well... i have just now added back in the noise machine b/c i think it was too quiet and she could hear every bird and her own movements... will see if that helps.

i am trusting that all will be well as the clinic reminds us that it takes 2-4 weeks for the average baby to make changes ... it is just annoying b/c when i was able to focus on her 100% she was more spirited/angel/textbook so obviously it is due to my inability to devote attention to her when looking after the 2 girls... URGG!!! PMS has not been helping the situation either!

[branwen]

Deb- sorry things are not going well at home...she'll get back into it.  Don't be hard on yourself about not being able to focus on her 100%...I mean I'm sure the "baby bubble" was nice, really nice :wink: , but this one woman told me that the baby needs to fit into our lives not the other way around.  Your situation reminds me of every weekend around here.  No matter how touchy perfect she is during the week for me, when dh is home she is my little touchy :x ...and I think like you it is because my attention is divided on the weekends with dh, yard work, shopping, etc.  They will have to learn to share us...easier said than done I'm sure...gosh esp with sep. anxiety phase approaching....ahhhhh...hang in there!

Christine- yes, with Eirwen not loving the bath so much lately I'm kind of afraid of big bodies of water :wink: I miss the carrier too!!  I can maybe almost put her in the carts...but not for a couple of weeks yet I think.  I still have to watch her so carefully with the sitting- she's doing really well unsupported but when she looses it she comes crashing down poor thing...I would hate for her to be in a cart and hit her head on the side bar etc.

Heather- Kelsey is soooo cute.  I love that picture!

Vidya- sounds so similiar!! Esp the dh part. :wink:   A time is a mess...nothing consistant...and sometimes I'm trying for a nap for an hr and just give up take her out and then fifteen minutes later she is ready!  I miss my signs...there don't seem to be hardly any anymore! AHHH...anyway, she does still sleep at night.  She has woken recently but I think it is because of our squeaky stairs and she is coming out of a sleep cycle.  Anyway, we've been more careful lately...ugh touchy babies :wink:

I am so hesitant to do the 4 hr feeds because I would drop to only 4 breast feeds.  I am not sure I am comfortable with that.  We are doing pretty good with 5 one is a cluster before bed.  The 3 1/2 she is pretty good at.  4 hrs would end the cluster.  I just don't know.  My yields are around 6 to 7 oz.  which is great!  I can't imagine her little stomach being able to take in more of that at one time?? :?   

Jaime- that is so great on the meds...and yay a tooth!  What time is he going to bed now!?

Oh, and to all you mom's going back to work- wow! I can't imagine!  I'm kind of jealous...I left my job in non-profit. Mostly a financial decision as I would be paying to work with daycare costs...anyway, that's great!

[Deb_in_oz]

Branwen - thanks for the support.  i know i am too hard on myself - and too hard on the girls with my expectations  :oops:  (sigh)

the nurses at the clinic said at this age 5 feeds is right (i do 10:30 DF) so I think you are right to keep at 5 feeds - 3.5 hrs seems ok if that works for you.

we had a hard day today but i am optimistic - i added back in the noise machine (too late for 2nd nap to be more than 45 min) and she slept for 1hr 30 instead of a catnap this afternoon.  i think it was definitely too quiet - even at the clinic they played loud music right outside her door.

i am being bold tomorrow and taking the girls to the zoo for the morning - my sister has just under 2 weeks left and she has spent much of her time taking care of Alex and supporting me.  it means trying to get to the zoo before first nap  :roll: so i can put her to sleep in the pram rather than doing a transfer mid-nap from the car to pram (which i hate to even try).  wish me luck.  i just feel i have nothing to lose since there are no guarantees at home - i just hope i can stay calm no matter what happens and just enjoy the day - we are having an early spring and the weather  this past few days is absolutely beautiful and sunny blue skies (22 C / 70F) gotta love Sydney winter!!.

[Leah's Mom]

Deb - Sorry to hear the transition is taking time, but I'm sure it will all work out. Hard to belive that someday we will have to wake our teenagers up so they don't sleep till noon!  :wink: Have fun at the zoo. We took Leah to an animal park yesterday. It was an hour drive so she took an hour afternoon nap, we stayed for two hours and then she took her catnap on the way home. It was soo much fun! I will post pictures. It was a little hot though - 90 F. So she did get a little crabby when it was time to go!

A question about teething. I looked in Leah's mouth today and saw one tiny white dot on her bottom gum. Is this the sign of a tooth? She isn't acting any differently - chewing and drooling alot, but she's been doing this FOREVER! I have no idea what it looks like when they get teeth. Anyone?

[dkjokisch]

Ok, so my post about Maya sleeping in until 7:30am was premature.  We're back to the 5:30-6am wakeup, and this morning, it was 3:30am!  Naps aren't going so well either.  She goes down well, but then doesn't sleep very long.  An hour is now a great nap. 

Branwen - I have similar concerns about switching to a four-hour routine with Maya.  On the three-hour cycle, she gets five bfs a day.  A four-hour cycle would mean only four feeds.  We've started on solids, but we're still in the practicing with the spoon phase.  She's not getting any serious nutrition from it.

Also, you mentioned the length issue with the carseat.  Did your ped happen to day what was the max length for the infant carrier?  I think Maya's getting close lengthwise, though she is only 15lbs.

And she's up!

[HeatherC]

For those of you bf, I have read in several places that 5-6 feedings is necessary to maintain your supply.  I'm sure that once solids are established, then you can drop to 4.
Also, since our los are all around 6 months now, do you think that changes in sleep patterns are due to growth spurts?  Kelsey's naps are still longer, but not the same length each day.  Some days she just seems more tired than others from different activities.  I've been home more than in the past lately, so she's getting more opportunity to sleep in her crib.
I'd like to hear what you all are feeding and how much as far as solids.  Kelsey doesn't take too much, maybe 2 tbsp at breakfast, and 3-4 at lunch, then 6 oz give or take of formula x4 feedings.  Sometimes I offer solids with dinner bottle, and she'll take 2-3 tbsp.

[Jaime]

well (sniff, sniff) i made it through my first day of work.  i couldn't believe it - i actually felt a little bad when i dropped them off.  luke looked very confused.  i had no problem when jaina started at the sitter's, and she was only 3 months old!  then of course, the little paranoid bird in the back of my head is screaming 'you're gonna make him a mama's boy!'  :roll:  :lol:

but they did well.  luke didn't seem to mind the new place, but he sure didn't want to nap there!  i have to work all day every day this week, so no good naps i think will mean a temporary institution of the catnap.  darn!!! we finally dropped it.  but discussed some strategies with the sitter so i'm hopeful that the rest of the week might be better sleepwise.

Heather - i think the changes in naps are more developmentally related.  they are so much bigger now & can handle more.  JMHO.  luke eats 4x a day, for a total of approx. 30-32 oz.  have tried solids but he is definitely not interested yet.  will probably try again in another couple weeks.

Christine - luke pretty much helped me tweak his own schedule.  he dropped the catnap last week, so his bedtime turned into an hour earlier (8pm)  it will probably stay around 7:30-8pm from now on.  i could tell he was ready to drop it because he was getting ridiculously happy afterwards & didn't want to go to sleep until well after 9pm!  regarding new schedules, i've found that if i just get them up early the day they need to start they do fine.  this week he'll be getting up around 7am; next week it'll be a little earlier.  what ends up happening is they make up for any lost time in the afternoon nap (and i get a nice break!). also, the little white spot could very well mean a tooth...and it might not.  i never seem to know when they're coming until they're already through!

Vidya - i think the schedule that gets no nightwakings is the best - whatever that ends up being for you.   :wink:  like heather mentioned, bf babies sometimes need to eat more often to help maintain supply & get enough calories in the day.

Deb - hope things get better soon.  totally empathize on having to deal with 2 kids!  makes it much harder. 

Deborah - the height limit on most infant carriers is 26 inches.

[sedona314]

HI everyone!

Sorry its been so long since I posted.  Love all the pics.  I still cant get mine up cause I have no idea how to shrink the size in order to post.  says they're too big when I try.

Branwen, have you ruled out dairy products (for you) as a cause of the eczema?

Deb, sounds like you learned a lot. Just hang in there as you sort it all out now that you're home.

we are having the nap from hell right now so I'll have to post later.  He's crying again

Julie

[Leah's Mom]

Just an update - pretty sure the white spot is a tooth, it has grown into a BIG white spot and Leah is CRABBY! If I put my finger on the spot and press down she gives me this pouty look, then starts to scream. Right now she is chewing on a wet washcloth, it seems to be appealing to her!  :wink:

Jaime- Yah for you to get thru your first day. I am dreading the day I have to leave Leah at the sitters house.  She'll probobly be fine, but I will cry!

Take care all!

[branwen]

Thanks everyone for the info on the breast feeds!  I wrote the moderator for breastfeeding here too and she said it is a bit young to go to four feeds. She said 4 plus df but for me that is 4 plus cluster...so I guess we are right to keep the 5th feed.

She also said that she never made it to 4 hrs with her dd, so that made me feel a bit better.  I think I've decided to throw the 4 hr thing out the window for awhile.  I mean I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to do this how Tracy says in the book but I just don't think it's healthy for me right now...too stressful...plus when she does do it occassionally then quits I feel like we're "slipping" again and that is no good.  I start getting anxious and unhappy when really lo is fine and I'm fine and she sleeps through, etc.  Why mess with a good thing?  Anyway, trying to chill a bit...

Deborah- Yes 26" on the carseat. Eirwen really loves her new one, and the best thing about it is she looks so little- like a tiny baby again!!!

Heather- About solids- Eirwen eats 1 solid meal a day right now around 9:30 or 10.  It is 1 oz breastmilk with 1.5 oz oatmeal and 1.25 oz (1/2 jar) of fruit, bananas or pears.  Sometimes she doesn't make it to the fruit or only does a little...I think next week I'm going to start offering a lunch but I can't decide how much- I don't want her to accidentially wean, at least not before 9 months.

Julie- so sorry still having problems with pictures.  Did you try out the instructions I sent you about Paint?  Glad to hear from you though!  I don't think it is dairy, when a newborn that was definitely an issue but I think it might be heat rash instead since the hydrocortizone was making it worse.

Christine- yay on tooth- I read a frozen wet washcloth can also feel nice.  No teeth here yet!  Except her gums look swollen, much larger than they used to.  Is this a sign?

Okay- must go get cleaning done before she wakes!

[Schae]

Hello ladies!

I have been checking up on you, but just have not had time to post. I cannot believe how quickly our babies have grown. It's actually quite scary.

Deb: I'm glad to hear that it went well at the clinic. You have very good resources in Australia. I'm sorry that it is taking time to adjust to being at home. Perhaps your confidence is dipping? Don't let it, you are a great mom and you did well at the clinic, it'll just take a little time at home. Good luck, and I'm thinking of you. :wink:

Jaime: oh well done on handling your first day back at work. you are a brave lady, and very soon I will be asking your advice as I'm going back some time in September.

Christine: I love the pics of Leah swimming. It's still winter here in South Africa, so we'll probably start swimming in October.

Julie and Vidya seems like you  guys and I are the strangers.. will definately make the effort to post some more.

We're going okay. He's on a mostly 4 hourly routine, and we started solids. He loves them. We're on 3 tablespoons of cereal in the morning and yesterday we started on dinner of 2 tablespoons of carrot. Despite the solids, we're still on 5 feedings a day. I'm glad, especially since I read your posts on how many are neccesary to keep up supply.

Luka is crawling!! Well, backwards! lol!!! :lol: He's trying to go forward, but keeps falling coz he doesn't move his arms, only his little knees. hehehehe!!

Here's a pic of Luka's first meal.

[dkjokisch]

Yup, I found the manual for the infant carrier and 26" is the max.  I guess I need to start shopping for a convertible seat.  Does anyone have any recommendations (something I can find in the US)?

[Leah's Mom]

We have a tooth!  This morning I fed Leah at 6, brought her back to my bed and we fell asleep till 7. (I know, bad habit  :oops: ) When we woke, my pillow was soaked with her drool. I turned on the light to have a look and there is just a little tooth poking thru! Not all the way thru yet, but definitley coming! I'd get a picture, but she won't hardly let me open her mouth, she clamps it shut the minute I try to open it!

Deborah - We have the Britax Roundabout carseat. It is on the more expensive side of convertible carseats, but it is very cozy and one of the highest ranked for safety. I had posted a question about carseats in the Hogwatch product reccommendation board, check it out. Lots of mom's gave thier opinions on carseats.

Schae - We have missed you! Yah Luka! Crawling backwards? Too cute!!!!

Branwen - I have stopped worrying about a four hour schedule also. Heck, I figure in another 6 months there will be no more bottles!  :wink: Hopefully......

[diyasmom]

It was a rought night for us. Because of her short naps, we ended up doing 3.5 hrs instead of 3/4 hrs and I stuffed her with solids 3 times instead of 2. She takes about half a plastic tub of gerber. I was dreaming about this long stretch of sleep for myself and boom Diya wakes up at 10.30. She went to bed at 8.30 after 10 mins of mantra crying. I pick her up and pat her and she went to sleep. Again at 11.50p.m, she woke up. I tried doing the same and when I put her in the crib, she woke up. Then I had to do it twice before she started her mantra cry. I let her be for 10 mins. Then I tried PU/PD. after 10 times, I didn't know if I had to PU since I wasn't sure if it was a mantra or a real cry. It is hard to decipher when you are very close by. Then I just put my head very close to her in the crib and was pat/shing her for 10 mins and she slept. While I was still pat/shing her, she woke up and then after 10 mins I gave up. She is cooing because I had stopped and she wants me to make sounds. Silly girl:) Trying to play with me at 1.40a.m Then I gave her a paci(we stopped it 3 months ago). Took it away after a min and came to my room because DH turned on the light in her room and she started smiling. She goes to sleep and then she woke up again at 2.20a.m. I just fed her:(
Again, she woke up at 5. I didn't go to her because she was cooing and then she woke up for the day at 9.25 a.m.
This was our day yesterday:
9.30 W & E
10.30 S(45 mins)
11.30 Eat solids(1/2 tub of 4 oz gerber with 2 tblsp of cereal)
1p.m BF
1.15 S(45 mins)
3p.m Eat solids(1/2 tub of 4 oz gerber with 2 tblsp of cereal)
4.15 BF
4.45 S(45 mins)
6.45 Eat solids(1/2 tub of 4 oz gerber with 2 tblsp of cereal)
8.30 BF
2.20 a.m BF

From what I read, they need 5 BF sessions until solids are established. Do you think Diya's solid intake is not enough for 4 BF sessions. If so, how do I introduce the 5th one because she doesn't take BF and she didn't want to nurse at 7 p.m last evening.
Branwen, just like what you said this 4 Hr is taking a toll on me. When I do 3 hr EASY, she sleeps till 5 in the morning atleast. Only problem for us is her naps. Since it is all over the place and I want to give her solids too, BF became 3.5 hrs apart y'day. I am going to try 3 hr today and see what happens. Regarding toys, I got this blocks from Fisher price and DD is enjoying it. Also I let her on the blanket without any toys yesterday so that she can practise rolling and she enjoyed that. Diya was having a hard time with her A time 2 weeks ago too. Now, I put her in the swing, blanket with toys, exersaucer. She might be mastering a new skill now and that is why she maybe whiny.
Deborah, we have the Britax marathon and got it from little folks on a very good deal. It is really nice and since DD is on the taller side, she could use it till she is 49 inches tall. Sorry about the early wakings and short naps. When are they ever going to take long naps?
Deb, don't stress yourself too much. When I wasn't stressing about naps and feedings during my trip, I was able to enjoy DD better. DH always tells me that to no avail:) It wil take a little longer for you to adjust to the new schedule at home.
Leah, DD cut her first tooth when she was 4.5 months old! I was shocked too when I saw that on the first day. She was fussy 2 weeks before that though and wanted to chew on something all the time
Schae, Diya wants to crawl backwards too. She wants to get up on all fours but still hasn't mastered that.
Jaime, it would be hard for you than the kids:) Yay for the good first day!

[HeatherC]

Wow, it's hard to keep up with everyone.  Our little post sure has grown!

Jaime, good luck with work.  I hope everything continues to go well with the children and the sitter.  Out-of-the-house-working moms should be very proud of themselves, and that includes all of you.
Julie, what kind of computer do you have?  If it's a hewlett packard I might could help you with shrinking the pic.  Otherwise you can email it to me at campbell0520@comcast.net and I'll fix it for you.
Christine, yey on Leah's tooth.  Is she feeling any better yet, or is it still real sore?  Kelsey doesn't have any signs of teeth yet.
Branwen, I think it's best for you to quit worrying about a 4 hour schedule.  It's not a rule, just a guideline.  Feel confident in your decisions about what's best for you and Eirwen.  It's obvious that we all have different schedules, but if we were supposed to follow something set in stone we'd sure be in trouble.  You are doing great, especially to stick with the bf. 
Schae, good to hear from you.  Congrats on Luka's crawling, even if it is backwards.  How cute!!  And what an adorable picture. 
diyasmom, sorry I don't know your name, but I'm sorry you had a rough night.  Kelsey started to have nights where she would cry when I put her down for bed.  This was totally unlike her, so I freaked.  The first 2 nights I went in immediately and sat back down with her.  She would go to sleep in a matter of seconds, pretty much as soon as I picked her up.  Well, I didn't want to create a dependency, so the 3rd night I didn't go back in, and she cried for about 5 minutes, but she fell asleep, and hasn't done it again since.  Maybe you could give her a few more minutes if she does it again before going in to her.  Just a thought.  I know it's so hard to tell what to do, and every baby is so different.  But a few minutes won't hurt her while you're trying to decifer her cry.

As for Kelsey, she weighed 15 lbs, 12.5 oz, and is 25 1/2 inches at her 6 mo. checkup.  He said her solid intake is good as long as it doesn't interfere with formula intake.  I'm giving 2-4 tbsp for 2, and sometimes a 3rd, meals.
 :?: Is anyone else's lo having trouble with diaper rash?  Is it normal to have to use cream all of the time?  She gets it so badly that she cries hard when I have to wipe her, and the bath water and her peeing in the tub  :oops:  really hurt her.  I feel awful.  I guess it's not related to a new solid because I have introduced anything new, but is it related to solids in general?  How long is too long to have diaper rash?  When could it be serious?