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

[thitz]

Hi Everyone,

I'm sooo glad everyone is still sharing their stories .

We went on our second overnight trip last week and it went very well until the drive home.  We left just before her bedtime and she slept for an hour until we had to stop for gas.  And the dog barked really really loud when the gas attendant came over.  Of course Emily started crying :evil: .  And she cried basically for over an hour and just started falling asleep when we were 5 mins. from home. :cry:   I switched places with the dog and sat in the back seat and patted her chest and talked to her while she cried.  We stopped the car 3 times so I could pick her up out of the car seat, but each time I put her back she started crying hard.  It's impossible to do pu/pd when your driving.  I knew she just wanted to curl up and snuggle and go to sleep and she didn't understand why she couldn't.  Finally I put the swaddle blanket right on top of her face and she started to fall asleep :? .

On another note, Emily loves her jolly jumper a lot .  But the exersaucer is still too stimulating for her.

Her ezcema is getting worse everyday .  I stopped using the corisone.  Now I'm just using moisturizer and vaseline.  But now she's getting little bumps like a rash and some dry crusty skin at her elbow joint, and it's starting on her cheeks too.  I only bath every 3 days now and I'm using gentler soap for washing cloths.  Now I'm going to try a different formula as soon as the old can is finished.  Maybe that will help.  It definately runs in the family because dh had it bad when he was a child and still has it.  I'm hoping the doctor can recommend something at her 6 month check up.

Diyasmum,  I'm sorry your days aren't going well.  I had to do some pu/pd lately and I found that after her crying stops and I put her down that she still likes the rythmic patting but no shshing.  Also I find when I first put her down for a nap she's content and then 2 mins. later she cries and as soon as I open her door she stops and curls up to go to sleep.  I think this is the start of seperation anxiety.  Maybe that's starting with your baby?  I also am not sure what Emily's mantra cry is :? .  Also, looking at your schedule I noticed that some of the breast feeding is happening right before her napping.  This might be interfering with the E/A/S routine.  I haven't started solids yet but maybe bf before solids  after she wakes up so you have lots of A time before S.  I know it's really hard but even if you've had a hard night, I would wake Diya up around 7:00am to start your day.  You might find that she'll nap longer during the day and sleep better at night.  I do my best to keep within a half hour either way of the BW 3.5/4 hr routine and I find it really helps.  Here's my schedule right now.

7:00 Wake and Eat (6oz)
8:44  Nap for 2 hrs
10:30 Eat (5oz)
12:30 Nap for 1.5 hrs
2:30  Eat (6oz)
3:30  Nap for 1.5 hrs
5:00 bath
5:30 Eat (6oz)
6:45  Bedtime
9:30 DF (6.5 oz)

Does anyone have suggestions on where I should start to fit solids into Emily's routine :?:

Branwen, I think I understand your problem with the 4 hour routine and why it's frustrating.  It seems you want to go to 4 hours but can't maintain 5 bf's because you don't want to do a dreamfeed.  Maybe you can move to a 4 hour routine once you start solids so your supply can start to decrease?

Anyways I hoped I helped a little.

Have a good day everyone, Tarri

[HeatherC]

Tarri, if I haven't said so before, Emily is precious!!!
With the solids, could you try to offer a few spoonfuls right after or before her bottles?  That way you're not feeding all day, but within the same meal time.  She might not take much at first, until she develops more appetite.

[diyasmom]

I am so happy. I hope I don't jinx myself. Diya slept through last night. The only difference was I did 3 hrs from the afternoon yesterday and did a clusterfeed. I hope she continues to do that.
Tarri, thank you so much for the suggestions. Those 2 days were off days for us. I usually BF her after she wakes up. I try to start the day around 7. But Diya likes to go to bed only around 8 or 8.30. I will try to push it to7.30 and see if she will do that. Have u tried using aquaphor? I have heard a lot of good things about that.
Kelsey looks like a doll!
Will write soon
Vidya

[Schae]

Hello

Christine: YAY! On the tooth! How is Leah now? Is she still crabby?

Diya's Mom: I'm glad to hear your day went better... let's hope it stays that way

Heather: Have you found a solution to the nappy rash? I use corn flour mixed with water when Luka has nappy rash, it clears it up really quickly. I put the mixture on with my fingers, wait for it to dry a bit, then put the nappy on.

Tarri: Sorry about Emily's eczema. Have you guys got rooibos tea over there? If you do, then put a couple of rooibos teabags into her bath water when you bathe her, it reduces the itchiness. That's the remedy that we use this side of the world.

Luka isn't a fan of veggies. He wolfs down his rice cereal, but butternut and carrots make him pull the most disgusted face lol!

And last night he slept through from 9.30pm till 6.30am. He normally wakes for his 'dreamfeed' at 11pm, last night he didnt and we decided to see what would happen if he didn't have the dreamfeed, the result was sleeping through! :shock:
Ususally he wakes at least once a night to be sung back to sleep :roll:

Wonder what will happen tonight? :lol:

[julieb]

Hi!  Vidya told me about this thread (we were paci weaning buddies a few months ago!).  I never check this forum usually!  So glad to see all of you here!  I belong to a yahoo group of moms of babies this age, but I am practically the only on a routine and certainly the only baby whisperer there!  :?

Asher just turned 6 months and is 18 lbs 5 oz. and 28 inches as of today.  He's on 4 hour EASY and we EBF 5x a day (4x day/1x night).  We haven't started solids yet because of other digestional issues he's had, so I'm paranoid about food allergies.  I think he's REALLY ready though, but the pediatrician said to hold off as long as we can.  I think he's getting about 40-50 oz a day though.  I'm very tempted to start now because I secretly hope he'll sleep better at night (or I can at least start to work on his night wakings).

He scoots/crawls and almost sits unassisted.  He's a very busy boy and started taking good naps most of the time around 4.5 months (first 4.5 months were hellish  :shock: ).  We still have the catnap but I think he may drop it when we start solids (he skips it sometimes).  Just got his first tooth 2 weeks ago and the second broke through today.

Look forward to getting to know all of you and your LOs!

Deb: What is the clinic that everyone mentions?  Is that like a sleep clinic?  Where was your original post?  I'm interested to read it.

Deborah: We just got a Britax Marathon.  Love it because its one of the few that can be tethered rear facing as well.  It got great reviews.  It's also one of the few that goes up to 65 lbs/49 inches.  A cheaper seat that got great reviews (our 2nd choice) is the Evenflo triumph.

Heather: We've had problems with diaper rash since Asher was 5 days old.  I've tried everything but Aquaphor Triple Paste (that and Bordeaux Butte Paste are most recommended).  But the BEST thing I found was ACTUALLY a homeopathic remedy called Calendula gel.  It is clear, non-greasy, no smell, and quickly absorbs.  It clears up diaper rash faster than anything I've used.  I use a bit at every diaper change for prevention and lather it on when he actually gets a rash.  You can get it at most health food stores.  It can also be used on many other things from sunburn to cradle cap to ecxema, I believe!  I can't say enough good things about it. 

[HeatherC]

Julie, nice to meet you.  Thanks for the suggestion, because I'm also trying to clear up cradle cap.  It's bad, too, but all her hair really covers it up.
Vidya, congrats on a good night's sleep!  By the way, what is aquaphor?
Who else's los have teeth, or a tooth?

[sedona314]

HI again:

Im so tired that I have to reread everyone's posts in order to make some constructive comments   :roll:   I just didnt want to wait so long to post again.  Matthew turned six months on Sunday and we had our first real food today!  Sweet potatoe with a little formula mixed in.  He loved it and he was absolutely adorable.  On the down side, teh breastfeeding is not going well at all, and despite all my best efforts, he really prefers the bottle now and I can only get him to feed at night, its the only time he is patient enough.  The problem is that since he is only feeding at night my supply is dwindling, and I think Im going to have to call it quits    finally.

Oh well, we gave it a good run.  Its not like he's undernourished at 21 lbs!!!! Do I have the biggest guy here?  What does everyone else's lo's weigh?

Thats great about the tooth Christine.  And I cant remember who went back to work, but wtg, its scary at first.  Ive been back for two months but fortunately only have to work part time.  Its hard to keep up with all the paperwork and I do miss Matty when Im at the office.

Heather thanks for the offer of help for the picture.



Keep posting everyone;

Oh yes, one more question, which I know I have asked before

How do we stop swaddling?  We've tried leaving his arms out but he keeps knocking the paci out and waking himself up.

Thanks for any input

Julie

[Deb_in_oz]

hi all - busy little thread eh??

we are doing better for the most part - it seems we have the first nap of the day sorted - she is now going to sleep around 9/9:15 and sleeps for 1hr 45 + It is the second feed and nap that throws me off. i am hoping we are still settling in - she fed well at first feed and then at 2nd only took 4 oz and has been in bed for 45 min with no luck yet - she is really hyper and kicking up the blanket, etc.  i am binging on dark chocolate trying to distract myself  :roll:

Christine - that is great that Leah hasd a tooth and that you were right about what was happening.

Schae - good to hear from you - i was wondering where you were.  good news about the crawling as well - will probably quickly suss out going forward too.

Julie B - welcome along!  i wrote about my clinic visit on a thread in the lounge - "thanks and goodbye" or something like that.  Basically the first 7 weeks of Olivia's life we could not implement EASY no matter what because i could not tell when she was tired (never / rarely yawns) so was overtired and not napping, she was unsettled, had feeding problems (so i started stressing about breast feeding...) and i was becoming a wreck.  we have a facility (3 actually) here called Tresillian - it is a gov't funded facility for helping parents cope better with under 2's (deals with everything from BF to routines, night wakings, etc) I went and did a residential stay for 4 1/2 days.  it was booked for 2 1/2 months (very hard to get referred in for this program so you have to wait a while) and i almost did not go because we are so much better now and just needed some tweaking... and i finally got a chance to spend time alone with her whcih was good.

Julie - Olivia's weight at 5 1/2 months is 18 + pounds (8.3 kg).  with the swaddling we spent one day with a loose (very loose) wrap at the clinic and then the second night i left her unswaddled and have not looked back since.  during the day i wrap something around her waist sometimes becasue it is winter here.  at night she is now in a sleeping bag.

[Deb_in_oz]

me again - if anyone besides Tarri saw my post on the crying board you know that yesterday Olivia had a lot of unexplained crying at nap times and a little during mat playtime....  I think it was developmentally related as there was no crying today and she seems to have started moving backwards (?assume it is crawling backwards) - twice when i left the room with her on her tummy playing I returned to find her at the opther end of her mat about arm's length from the toys i put down.  could this be why she was so upset yesterday??

[dkjokisch]

JulieB - Welcome!  Our daughter had some serious digestional woes as well, but she has tolerated the rice cereal quite well.  We started at 6-1/2mos, but she only gets about 1TBS twice a day (mixed with ebm).  If you think he's ready (and 40-50oz a day sounds like alot), you might want to go ahead and start trying.  It has taken Maya awhile to get used to the spoon.  At this point we consider the rice cereal to be for practice, not nutrition.

We tried out the Roundabout at Target yesterday (they didn't have the Marathon).  The hip straps didn't fit so well.  They kind of wrapped around her thighs.  Anyone else have that problem?  And to answer the other Julie's question, Maya will be 7mos next week, and she is 26-1/2" and 15lbs 9oz as of her doctor's appt last Monday.

Heather - For the cradle cap, coat her head with baby oil 10 minutes before her bath (or if she enjoys bathtime, just put her in the tub and  play for five or ten minutes).  After it has soaked in well, comb through her hair with a fine-tooth baby comb.  The oil will loosen everything up, and the comb will pull it away.  It may take a couple baths to clear it up completely.  Maya tolerated this pretty well (I had dh amuse her for me).  She had a nasty case of cradle cap when she was ~2mos (even in her eyebrows!), and this took care of it in 2 or 3 baths.

Aquaphor is made by the same people as Eucerin.  It feels like Vaseline and is super gentle on their skin.  It's not prescription, but in our drustore they carry it behind the counter.  I use it when Maya's neck folds get red.  I've never used the triple paste though.

And though Maya chews on anything she can fit in her mouth and slobbers all over everything, she still has no sign of a tooth.

Got to go - plumber is here early.

[branwen]

OH, gosh so much to catch up on!   I love it though!!! It makes my day sometimes- REALLY!

First, I got to take an uninterrupted shower this morning :shock:  - it's been months and months, usually I have to wait for dh to be home.  At least with my touchy lo, noise is an issue and bathroom is right across from her room.  I have resorted to timing the sleep cycles- I went up 15 min into a cycle and she is still asleep! YAY!  Also do this at night...count 45 min intervals to time when dh and I can go up the stairs (they are so loud) without waking her.  Am I crazy!!!???

Deb- Eirwen was SO fussy and crying for three days!  I was like what is going on!!! No naps, everything was a problem.  And then yesterday she woke up laughing- literally!  Then making weeeee sounds...and wiggling her whole body around excited!!  It was so funny.  I'm not sure she physically did something new but her awareness jumped!  It's like I have a whole new baby.  I think this is what was going on with her.  Everything with her just became super animated.  It's like she KNOWS stuff now...does this make sense?  She's also more deliberate with everything...I really have to watch her because she's started grabbing stuff out of my hands- she wants everything now, esp her diaper!!!  Anyway, I'm glad things are getting better for you!

Julie- sent you 2 private messages about pictures?  They are still sitting in my outbox?  I'm not sure if you've picked them up yet.  Maybe you're not getting notifications?

Schae- Roobois tea is yummy...I got addicted to it in Holland Thanks for the tip...I will keep that in the back of my mind.  Congrats on the crawling so adorable!!!

Heather- diaper rash...I usually let Eirwen roll around naked for 10 min on an absorbant pad if it is bad, so she gets aired out a bit.  Seemed to really help a lot!  I also started changing her diaper more frequently...(big pee-er :wink: ) The diapers now are so absorbant that they don't leak through but their skin is still sitting in all of that moisture.  Are you sure it isn't an allergy?

Tarri- sorry about Emily's eczema.  Cortizone for us too made it horribly worse so I just stopped using it.  GRRR doc won't call/write me back about it either.  You might try 8:00am or 11:30 for solids.  I read it's best to start in the morning in case something bothers them it won't mess up the night too bad.  Eirwen likes her jumper too...although hasn't quite figured out the jumping part of it yet :wink:

JulieB- Welcome to the forum.  Yes, it's good to be with other baby whisperers. 

We don't have teeth and Eirwen is 17 lbs 28 inches   We also don't have much phsyical activity going on.  Well she is sitting but she will get so aggressive reaching for something that she will topple over...scary!! (Are you having this problem Heather?) No rolling, no crawling, no pushing up, no rocking...I'm trying not to be worried or start comparing but it's so hard...

[Deb_in_oz]

Deb- Eirwen was SO fussy and crying for three days!  I was like what is going on!!! No naps, everything was a problem.  And then yesterday she woke up laughing- literally!  Then making weeeee sounds...and wiggling her whole body around excited!!  It was so funny.  I'm not sure she physically did something new but her awareness jumped!  It's like I have a whole new baby.  I think this is what was going on with her.  Everything with her just became super animated.  It's like she KNOWS stuff now...does this make sense?  She's also more deliberate with everything...I really have to watch her because she's started grabbing stuff out of my hands- she wants everything now, esp her diaper!!!  Anyway, I'm glad things are getting better for you!

How funny.  this is exactly what we have gone through - i thought it had something to do with our stay at Tresillian.  my sister and I were just talking about it this evening - today she seemed so much more "deliberate"  she was really kicking at the wind chimes on her gymini and she was specifically grabbing toys, etc. since i returned last Friday she has become super animated - i thought it was just because of the "wider variety of toys" that i mentioned including her now beloved exersaucer. she is also fascinated with my face and hair and keeps reaching out and touching me and grabbing my lips and nose and laughing... We have really been bonding this week and i have so enjoyed my time with both girls - dare i say i am feeling happy again     

i hadn't written about my trip to the zoo on Tuesday, but it was  a good morning in spite of hiccups - it was a great day because i handled it well and did not freak out or anything so now i know the meds/therapy are really working.  We got stuck in traffic so Olivia fell asleep 20 min from the zoo and of course woke up on arrival and refused to nap again - she was up the entire morning  (and happy) and finally slept 10-20 min from home (around 12:40pm!!!) and then i failed at transferring her into the house so she refused to nap further.  finally took a nap at 4pm!!!!!  i never got crazy! i just said let's enjoy the zoo and the gorgeous weather (it has been like an early spring)  yeah me!!

[branwen]

How funny.  this is exactly what we have gone through - i thought it had something to do with our stay at Tresillian.  my sister and I were just talking about it this evening - today she seemed so much more "deliberate"  she was really kicking at the wind chimes on her gymini and she was specifically grabbing toys, etc. since i returned last Friday she has become super animated - i thought it was just because of the "wider variety of toys" that i mentioned including her now beloved exersaucer. she is also fascinated with my face and hair and keeps reaching out and touching me and grabbing my lips and nose and laughing... We have really been bonding this week and i have so enjoyed my time with both girls - dare i say i am feeling happy again 

Yes that is EXACTLY what Eirwen is doing!!    She also loves pulling at my face, batting towards me (ouchy sometimes :wink: ).  She is so specific too about the toys she likes last few days...and she reaches to touch the cats as they walk by, etc.  If she hears papa somewhere no matter what she is doing she will whip around to see where he is and start wiggling around!  It's crazy but so fun!  It's like she's really "awake" for the first time as a little person and can really see the world. 

I am so happy you're feeling happy! That is the best news ever!

[Jaime]

so much to catch up on!  amazing what happens after just a couple days...

Vidya - glad to hear your lo is sleeping better!  hope she keeps it up!

Julieb - welcome to the boards!  i agree, it is hard when you don't know many other BW (especially when they complain that their lo's don't sleep all night, etc.)

Julie - luke is 6mths, around 19.5 lbs, 27.5 inches.  as far as the swaddling, have you tried just leaving one arm out?  or maybe cold turkey, like deb said. 

Deb - glad to hear that she's moving around!  hope she keeps it up.  she sounds like quite the determined gal

Heather - my dr suggested trying a mild dandruff shampoo on luke's hair for the cradle cap.  never did it cause we ended up being able to clear it up with regular washing & combing, but it might be worth a shot.

Branwen - don't worry about your lo not crawling or anything.  luke doesn't seem very interested in rolling or crawling either.  he is getting better on sitting, but that's about it.  isn't it neat how they seem to be 'awake' all of a sudden?  they're just so much more fun.

after a rough couple of days, luke seems to be settling in at the sitter's.  yay!  yesterday he actually took a decent morning & afternoon nap so i got to pick up a happy baby instead of a cranky tired one.      she's also had success at giving him rice cereal, so we may be back on the path to solids.  we shall see.

anyhow, better get back to work.  just wanted to say HI!!!

[julieb]

What a night!   :shock:  I was up 6+ times and then he woke up early and couldn't seem to go back to sleep (I was in and out until almost 7 am).  I think, well, I HOPE, it was just the tooth that broke through yesterday.  :?

I talked to DH about starting solids this weekend and since we're both inbetween, we decided to wait until one of us is more in favor than not.   Hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot as far as night sleep is concerned.   :roll:   On the other hand, I started feeding him from both sides in an effort to get more in him to sustain as well as to HOPE he might sleeping through at night.  Fat chance, I know.  :roll:

Heather: What are you doing for the cradle cap?  Deborah's suggestions are basically what we did as well.  But if you BF, you can also take an evening primrose oil supplement and/or break open a capsule(s) to use as the oil on their head.

Julie: Can Matthew reinsert his paci himself yet?  You may just need to rough it and let him figure it out a few nights.  Otherwise, I don't know how to keep the paci in without a swaddle -- which is why we weaned the paci!   :lol:  For weaning the swaddle, we just gradually left arms out, made it looser, and scooted it down until it's just around his waist/legs.  I've left that as is because he likes to use the blanket as a luvie when he can't find his others.

Deborah: Thanks for the info about Maya's solids.  He JUST turned 6 months, so I'm sure it'll be better to wait just that much longer as well.  Our pediatrician also told us to go very slow when we do start.

Branwen:  I can TOTALLY relate to timing the sleep cycles.  I do that ALL the time!   :lol:   My LO is ALL touchy when it comes to his sleep!  I have a VERY loud noise machine in his room that covers most bathroom noises, but I also do it right at the beginning of his nap -- never the middle near that fragile transition point!   :wink:   And don't be worried about Eirwen's lack of interest in crawling.  I know plenty of babies that aren't even close.  We always knew Asher would crawl quickly, he was one frustrated little guy before then.  I think he gets tired of looking at my goofy face all day.  I'm sure he'll learn to walk early too.  He'll get up one day and say, "I'm outta here!"   :lol:  This is probably why he's had a hard time learning to sit up.  No time to sit still!