Jan/Feb 05 Babies chat!

[julieb]

Tarri, I just read that ear pulling can also be a sign of teething or just that they discovered their ears!  LOL!  I'm not too worried anymore.

  I heard it gives them ADD because they get used to the fast changing images.

 :lol:  ADD is a disorder from a chemical imbalance in the brain.  So no worries, TV will not give you ADD.  For ADD adults and children, it will, however, emphasize the symptoms because it does not teach or promote impulse control.  It's like giving crack to a druggie.  :wink:   BTW, my DH has adult ADHD.

On baby einstien, at the beginning of their old videos, they give you specific instructions to watch and play with your child during the video, it was not meant as a temporary parent break, although that's what they've become for millions of parents!  :lol:

And congrats on the naps, Tarri & Emily!!!        

Heather, it's a Pelican bib I got at USA Baby.  I was actually looking for a Baby Bjorn or Tommee Tippee bib but they didn't have any more.  Though the Pelican bib is the same shape (with an open pocket at the bottom to catch food), it is made of harder plastic.  The Baby Bjorn and Tommee Tippee's are soft rubber or something.  I'm gonna have to order them online.

[Leah's Mom]

Alright. I have time now!

Branwen - Happy birthday Eirwen! Wow 7 months already!?!?! The picture is to cute! She looks like such a little lady.

Deb - Keep us posted on the chicken pox.

Deborah - I usually feed at 5 am if Leah is frantic for it. Then she goes back to sleep and I feed her at her normal time 6:30, though she'll usually only take a couple ounces, it keeps us on schedule.

Michelle - I go back to work next week.    Leah will be at an in-home day care. There are three other kids there. I thought about a nanny also. It would be nice because Leah could sleep in her own bed etc., but I also worry about her not being involved with other kids and worry about her becoming too dependent on home. For you, it may be nice because then you could see her all the time. BUT, it may also affect your work because if your like me, I would want to know what she is doing all the time! And if she is right there to go and check, you may do so more often than you should!

JulieB - We use the Halo sleep sack, size medium. There is lots of room to grow and it works great. Right now, it is hot so like Heather, DD sleep in footed PJ's, but in the fall/winter I will put her in footed PJ"s and the sack. In the winter we keep the temp at 68-70, summer is around 72. When Leah is tired, she rubs her eyes and buries her head in my shoulder - she doesn't tug on her ears, altough she did do this when she got her teeth?

Nikki - Vent anytime you want to. Just reading your stories makes my blood boil. My in-laws are the same way, but they just don't come over anymore. MIL works till 6:30 or 7 so she just doesn't see the point. At least she doesn't interupt us! Doesn't bother me or DH.

Vidya - I am missing my LO and school hasn't even started yet! Leah is very hard to get to sleep on the go. She will sleep in the car though, so I plan trips around that. Sleep there, two hours there, sleep home etc.

Michelle - Leah won't watch TV, not interested. I tried a baby Einstein video once and she looked at it for a few seconds and then went on with playing with something else. I guess that's good!

US - Besides our bed incident today..... We are going camping Thursday through Sunday! So I will be missing for awhile. I know I am going to have tons to catch up on when I get back!  :wink: Anyone have any advice for taking the LO camping? We go all the time, but this is the first time since we have the baby!!!! Anyone else gone camping with thier LO?

[Deb_in_oz]

ok - have got both kids down for midday nap within 10 min of each other and am eating a sandwich, writing here and then jumping in the shower!!
Nikki -

My DH had a sudden panic attack the other day when we started talking about boyfriends etc. I don't think he ever really thought about it! He was so cute!

Dh and i discussed this many times before and now that we have 2 girls we are joking that they are not allowed to date until they are 20!! we are so not looking forward to the hormones and the attitudes that will prbably be crazy by the time they hot their teens (just look at how 9 year old girls act these days - what will it be like in 10-15 years time?)

also - that comment your FIL made is so passive agressive i cannot believe it - it is something my grandmother would say although she is not so subtle  :evil:

Michelle - I personally would jump at the chance to leave the kids with a family member.  we are rying to convince my mom to come back out in October (when Liv is 8 mo) so we can get away.  we would enlist the couple who looked after alex when liv was born and that way with 2-3 adults they shoudl manage for 48 hours!!  I htink he kids are fine - it is prov=bably easier to be apart for 2 days at that age rather than the constant coming and going... and as long as the carer is familiar i don't think there are any problems (it is more about reluctance to go to strangers...)

we do let Olivia watch TV/DVDs mostly because alex already has them on and also becuase she really likes it.  she gets really calm and relaxed watching most of the time.  We have Baby E, Bear in the big blue house (great music) and wiggles or spot most of the time.

i am personally a huge fan of BE videos. i watched them WITH alex from 6-8mo and always did it as an activity together (never on her own) and would just do a commentary with it - telling her what things were, descdribing things, as she got older i asked her questions.  she had/has an enormous vocab thanks to this and all the books we read.  an example: my mom brought out the Baby Monet one recently - all about the seasons - alex watched it 2-3 times before she suddenly had a new range of vocabulary that  i had not had good enough graphics/books to teach her.  now 1 month later she walks around describing the seasons, weather, associates green with Spring, etc and when i say it is raining she wonders aloud if there is a rainbow!

Tarri - we are doing whatever EASY Liv needs in any part of the day. basically during this spurt she has had many cycles where she  has gotten tired by 1hr 30 at the latest (rather than 1h 45 - 2h 10 that we had built up to).  so i put her down and then when she gets to 45 min she comes into the light sleep and realises she is hungry and starts crying out for food. so sometimes it is 3 - 3.5 hrs between feeds but based on hunger not nap times.  I hope things continue to improve for you - is she wetting her nappy so much because of taking more food???.

Julie b - sorry things are going crazy and that wake to sleep has not worked for you.  can't think of a suggestion just yet  :?

we use gro bags (sleeveless) for alex and are going to switch to them for liv soon.  inthe meantime i have been using a cheaper one we had fom earlier with alex (has arms, made of fleece/cotton).  the gro bags are quite long so they last for an entire season or 2 The cheaper ones i have are truer to the baby's size (so this winter bag is just for this winter etc)

Tired signs now - rubbing eyes seems to be the big one, twisting to the side when lying down (subtle difference that only i can see so far), i am starting to see some reduction in her coordination now that she is sitting up and there is something to really watch (ie - playing well with a toy and then starts droppping it more or weakly playing with it)

Vidya - olivia still needs to be fed in the quiet - shge cannot handle any distractions.  even her own room distracts her - she twists to look at the wall or up at the light... It has also been a while since oi took her out apart from awake time, but we recently had some outings and she slept finein the pram as long as i got her out of the car before she fell asleep  i always completely cover the pram so she cannot see out and then i pray that the motion will do the trick - usually works fine!

Christie - don't feel too bad about her falling off the bed - i did it twice when alex was young  :oops:  and when she was 1 yo my father in law was supposed to watch her for 2 min while my MIL and i left the room - he turned his back completely and she smashed backwards on the ground - he said he thought we were watching her  :evil:

no advice on the camping - let us know how it goes though as i have agreed to go when the weather warms up (i never went with alex - kept telling Dh it was too hard) i am trying to be more relaxed this time and give it a chance before i dismiss the idea.

US - alex's spots are less today - they were just red not raised or anything.

olivia has (a probable) burst eardrum!!! i found dried blood all in her left ear this morning. the audiologist was on my to do list for days  :oops:  I called andshe is booked in for the 8th - he said it is actually a good thing as it is the body's way of healing and not to freak myself out.

olivia is waking and crying must dash - no shower  :oops:  and no time to re-read all of this -sorry for any yucky writing

[julieb]

Christine, never fear!  My brother rolled off the changing table at 9 months and landed on a wooden floor on his head.  He was Valdictorian, double major in college, and is now the CIO of a major bank making 6 figures!  Now, his sense of humor is a little odd, but other than that he's perfectly normal!   :wink:

As for my own stupid mommy mistakes...I once forgot to buckle Asher up in the car seat on my way to a store.  I actually had to pull over on the freeway.  The poor guy was all slumped over!  :oops:   He also rolled off the changing table, feet over his head.  I was changing the diaper pail below and something made me look up, I actually caught him mid-air, by his shoulders, completely upside down!  :shock:  That was a close call!  :oops:  You're not alone!

[Kinlagh's Folks]

I once forgot to buckle Asher up in the car seat

Me too!  I felt sick the rest of the day when I found out.  What a terrible feeling huh?

Got another question for you ladies.
I will be travelling by plane with Kinlagh when she is almost 10 months (in November). I'm wondering what you think would be the "better" time to fly? It's only a 2 hour flight but with the hour waiting for the plane, and the hour waiting for bags and ride home, we're looking at 3-4 hours awake and/or cranky.   Our flight options are 7am, 10:30am, 6pm & 8pm. Thanks again for your suggestions!!!

And as for the TV/DVDs, I've heard of the ADD thing, but I'm happy to hear it's an unlikely link.  Kinlagh doesn't watch TV (I too found her disturbingly too interested in it) but I do let her watch the occasional DVD.  She's not a fan of the one BE we've shown her (nor am I), but we do have Baby Brainworks which is teaching her letters, numbers, shapes, etc.  They are approved for 3 months and up.  And what I like most about them, when I'm in the room, she'll actually stop watching to play with me.  (which she didn't do when the TV only is on).  Anyway, I was just curious.  Thanks for your thoughts.

[dkjokisch]

Ok, so I had every intent of getting Maya up at the first peep this morning and feeding her, but would you believe I slept through the first peep (and the second and the third) and only heard her when she started fussing?  I'm beginning to think this is becoming a habitual waking.  The time has become very consistent, and I would think if she were truly hungry, she wouldn't be content to play in the crib for 45 minutes before calling out for us.

She's become more cranky throughout the day too, even in the early AM, when she's usually super happy to see us.  Teething again, perhaps?  She has also started arching her back and fussing, particularly around feeding times.  She hardly took any solids yesterday, and was fussy about bfing, even after a dose of ibuprofen.  She also seems super-tired - she woke from her last nap around 4pm (which is great for us), but was still falling asleep while eating.  She has fallen asleep during her bedtime feed for the last four nights, despite our moving it a bit earlier.  I'm about ready to give up.

But dh and I have vowed to get to bed early tonight, so we have the energy to mount a coordinated attack tomorrow morning.  At 5am, it's too tempting to take the easy way out.

Sleep sacks - Did someone say they make lightweight ones?  Maya sleeps in just a sleeper now (we keep the house at 78), but we'll need to start layering when it cools off here.  I have only seen the fleecy ones in the store here and was going to have MIL's seamstress make some jersey cotton ones.

Tired signs - Maya grabs at her eyes then smushes the back of her hand into her face.

TV - We don't let Maya watch TV, but then we were never big TV watchers ourselves.  We actually own the entire Baby Einstein set (gift from MIL), but have never put them in. 

Nikki - What he said was v. passive aggressive and way out of line.  It may be time for dh to have a quiet chat with him about respecting your style of parenting whether he agrees with it or not.  We have the same issue with my FIL (MIL too, actually).  On his first visit (Maya was about 3 wks), if he was holding her and I said it was time to eat or to nap, he would insist she wasn't hungry/tired/whatever and wouldn't give her back to me!  Apparently, if she can be distracted, she's ok.  It would take 20 minutes of coaxing to get my daughter back!  Last time he came, dh called him at his hotel the first morning he was here, and told him that he was not to challenge me on anything regarding Maya, period.

Christine - Someone posted recently on one of the other boards about camping - check the Activity board.

Deb - A burst eardrum??? sounds painful.  I hope she's doing ok.

Michelle - I recently booked tickets for us to travel to El Salvador (that's where my ILs live).  We'll be travelling 10-12 hours, but our thought was to book the flights such that we would be there in plenty of time to do her normal bedtime routine at the normal time.  I'd rather get up early, knowing that the day we travel is going to be rough either way.  If we mess with her bedtime routine/time, the crankiness is likely to last into the next day as she tries to catch up on her sleep.  Since you have some flexibility, I'd go for the 10:30 flight so you don't have to get up too early either.

Got to go and get in the shower, so I can get Maya up for the day.

[branwen]

Heather- re: diaper soaking.  We had this issue for awhile when we started bringing the last two feeds closer together.  The first two nights she leaked through.  We bought different diapers and that seemed to help and then also made sure she got a new one right before bed.

Tarri- thanks for the A suggestions .  I put Eirwen down for her first nap at 7:40 so she had been up for at least 2 hrs (probably more because dh heard her cooing at 5:30) so we'll see how long the nap lasts. I'll let you know!  I detailed out her last few days on a sheet to see if I can see what is happening.  I am pretty sure it is teeth, esp how she was holding her head and ear yesterday wailing (poor honey).  And yes, I was told ear pulling is also a sign of teeth but I am taking her in just to be sure too.  I am so happy you're having better luck!  Are you still feeding her more?

JulieB-My baby's first tired signs are sighs- they are so cute, then a very high-pitched cooing "eeeeeeeee" followed by fussing.  If I let her go longer she will rub her eyes and sratch her face.

Nikki- you make me grateful that my MIL lives in Europe and that my own parents are currently 2000 miles away :wink: I don't know how you put up with it.  I would so loose it (I am pretty confrontational at times :oops: )  My mom is bad enough on the phone about my choices- for example is currently trying to convince me that my dd's lag in breastfeeding is that she is trying to self wean, which I know is not the case since she is ebf and the earliest window for self weaining is 9 to 12 months and ususally 12 to 18.  GRRRRRR  she also thinks that Eirwen is an angel and that I am just making all this **** up, and I know I have said this before, but Eirwen is only that way because I am trying to be so true to BW and understanding her temperament.  it is sooo frustrating...but when I can take my dd out to a loud restaurant and she will play happily for an hr (during A) without even making a peep I know I'm doing the best thing for her.  My non-BW friends however...well, see my other posts re: them :evil:

Vidya- I have the same weekend problems but it is because Eirwen is so excited to see her papa!  She just wants to be up and interacting with him.  I don't blame her as sometimes he misses seeing her for entire days due to his work schedule.

Michelle- Eirwen used to be fascinated with TV, esp as a newborn but now she looks away from it most of the time to play with her toys.  I always have her in her infant chair faced away from it too.  sometimes I leave the sound on but turn off the picture...so we listen to music or the news- more like a radio that way.  For the very brief time I had a nanny (long story) she brought her son with her and he watched baby einstien.  it was so creepy too me how he would just become entranced- but she used it as a baby sitter and to get him to take a nap. Not what I would do.  I think I will show her one now that she is older.

Because of my own PPD issues I simply must have the tv on sometimes (another adult voice) it keeps me sane, and the news keeps me in the world.  I have felt bad about this but as I said I don't really let her watch it- if we do we do it together so it is a mommy and me thing.  I also read the stats...and there is some true data about it causing ADD and disrupted sleep esp if pre-disposed.  ADD is NOT ADHD though...that is about control.  My understanding of ADD (my husband suffered this as a child and later OCD as adult) is that it is a learning disability re: focusing.  They need input to be very fast.  That was my dh's problem in school- things moved too slow so he would focus on something else rather than what he was being asked to concentrate on.  Because TV images move very fast it affects the way a baby develops concentration.  At least this is what I have read and from dealing with my husband's issues for years.

Plane travel- go at your dd's best A time during the day- make that the majority of the trip.  We stupidly did an overnight flight because of bad advice to fly during night so they could sleep...worst mistake I ever made.  She totally couldn't sleep on the plane.  I have never seen her so hysterically tired before. 

Christine- It so happens all the time.  One of my many mommy mistakes was cutting her nails too close and she bled- boy she cried :cry: me too!  I felt sooo bad. I also didn't buckle her in once and had to pull over.  The most recent mistake I made which I am so mortified about is that I was outside with dh working on landscaping with the monitor, well it had run out of juice and sounds very much the same as it does on due to her air conditioner.  I went in the house and she was crying...her face was all red and splotchy. I have no idea how long she was crying either...I don't want to think about it!!! Oh god...:oops:  :cry:   There is a camping post somewhere that I remember too!

Deb- so sorry about Olivia's ear...poor baby!  you sound like you're really handling all of this well! I'm not sure I would be!

Well, she's awake at the 45 min mark .  doesn't sound upset so I'm going to give her 15 min to resettle- wish me luck.  Yesterday we did 2 hrs total of pupd- my back is killing me!! :roll:

[julieb]

Well, I didn't do wake-to-sleep last night.  He woke at 5:15 and 5:30, snoozing inbetween I guess.  Then I heard him again at 5:40 so I fed him (second time) and put him back to bed.  He played a bit, but he did go back to sleep until 6:50.     I'll take what I can get!

How many oz. or tbsp do you feed your LOs at each meal?  I'm not sure if I should feed Asher as much as he wants or limit it.  He ate 3/4 of a banana before he was full this morning.  Yesterday, he ate 2 oz. at both breakfast and lunch, and still wanted more (loves those pears!).  He's still drinking a good 40-50 oz from me a day.

[dkjokisch]

JulieB - Maya gets between 2-4TBS at ech meal.  She had been scarfing down down close to 4TBS, but the last few days, she hasn't had much interest in solids or BF.

Branwen - We get second guessed all the time.  In one breath my Mom is telling me how she doesn't believe Maya is all that difficult, and in the next, she's saying we "push Maya to sleep too much".  We just avoid the subject now.  More on that, but a big storm just came up, and I better turn the computer off.

[HeatherC]

It must be difficult to judge solid amounts while bf.  I guess the only way you'd know if your lo is cutting back on bf is the time they spend bf.  :?:

Sorry to all of you having night waking troubles.  I hope it gets better for you soon.

To all other non-crawlers, I've checked the Oct-Dec chat group and some of their's are not crawling yet, so I'm not going to worry.  I'll take it all in stride.

Here's a  :?: :  When do we start offering finger food snacks between meals?  I've heard that rice cripies are great to give because they dissolve quickly, but I don't know when to start.  Should she being doing better on the sippy cup first, or is that unrelated?

[branwen]

Heather- I was told by my ped finger foods around 8 months or whenever pincer grip is good enough to pick up a cherrio!  Thanks for the info on crawling- I'm not too worried about that- but the ped said the non-rolling is of issue, so he just wants to check her...also something about her fat rolls not being symetrical? hmmmm :?: My baby is getting sooo chubby :lol:

JulieB- I give Eirwen 2 oz bm mixed with about 2 oz cereal.  she'll eat all of that and also about 2 oz veggie or fruit depending on what meal we're doing.  I am now doing 3 solid meals.  I know she could eat more, but I don't want to push the solids too much.  At around 9 months though maybe I'll let her decide.  Right now I think that is a lot? yes? :?:

Us- first nap was short but the next two were 1.5, so that is better.  I think mostly teething but also part of it is developmental.  She is babbling up a storm! Blowing raspberries and clapping today and also asking questions (the raised inflection). She stares at the cat and then says "ehh" with a ?.  She also started really jumping in her jumper today for the first time!! Oh, my gosh she was a busy girl.  She lunges as well for the cats with both arms extended with her whole body and for her toys that she drops on the floor. It's crazy cute how she now leans over from the waist in her chair to see where they have all gone. She also rejected my cluster feed tonight- I usually do 4 and then top off at 5:30 and tonight we just did the 5:30.  Her last feed was at 1:30 so that was exactly 4 hrs.  She did the 2 hrs awake time the whole day today.  I'm so proud of her!  I think just enforcing the 4 hr schedule might get us back on track.  Today I got a new baby :lol:  :wink:   

[Leah's Mom]

[...also something about her fat rolls not being symetrical? hmmmm :?: My baby is getting sooo chubby :lol:

I was commenting on my DD's rolls at the last appointment and my doc said we like the rolls, as long as they have the same amount on each leg? What would the issue be if her rolls are not symmetrical?

Thanks for all of the encouraging words about our little accident.  :roll: DD is just fine today, no after effects. I will check out the camping post in the activity forum, thanks for letting me know about it.

[HeatherC]

Branwen, I hope you didn't think I was being negative when I commented about not worrying over the crawling.  I certainly agree that any concern should be addressed.  I would never want to offend you, or anyone for that matter.  I just fear that I worry myself too much and I found comfort in the fact that not all babies are crawling at 6 months.  Please let us know what you find out, as all information is good information to be shared.

[branwen]

Heather- oh, no...not negative! I was not offended at all! No worries   I too find lots of reassurance in that other babies aren't crawling just yet!  I just wanted to distinguish the rolling issue v. the crawling one because the rolling "window" has apparently past us by.  I guess the crawl window is so large because some babies never crawl and walk just fine.  So the whole milestone re: rolling is why my ped wants to check her out (he has said she is probably ok but will do a more careful check).  The thing is now she doesn't at all try.  She can spend 20 min on her tummy playing without fussing, but no attempts to roll. :? 

Christine- yes, her fat rolls are not the same on both sides.  I am not sure what this means as yet.  He said something about her joints, but I will know more after our apt.  They are definitely different as one leg has an extra one or one is missing from the other side.  again  :?

Okay, must get in some zzzz's, didn't sleep at all last night because of our cats of all things!

[HeatherC]

I got Kelsey's 6 month portraits back today, and they are precious if I may say so myself.  Will I get in trouble if I scan them to show you all?