Jan/Feb 05 Babies chat!

[julieb]

Woot Woot!     Asher slept through the night again!  7:30 pm until we woke him up at 7 am!  And I practically slept through myself!  Almost 7 hours straight!  I haven't slept in that long of a stretch since before I was PG!   :lol:   Thank you all for giving me the courage to hold off his night feedings!

Julie: Good to hear from you!  Glad your family is safe!  The cream (it also comes as lotions and gels) is calendula and yes, it's homeopathic.  I'm still feeding breast first, and plan to continue until I wean him.

Heather: what's your jusspress.com/?? website?

Jaime/Branwen: I keep hearing about the antibodies thing, but I've never actually READ it anywhere yet.  And since I'm BFing and we DO go out to the grocery store and such, wouldn't he be getting my antibodies and building immunities of his own all the time?  I always hear and read about BF babies getting sick less often and that's why we should BF, blah, blah, blah -- so you'd think *not* getting sick is the point, whether now or later.  Well, I plan to homeschool anyway, so I guess it won't matter much!   :wink:

Branwen: re: vaccinating...I recommend a good book called "What your Doctor may not tell you about children's vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave, MD.  She is not pro or against, she says to vaccinate or not to vaccinate is individual, based on the particular child and/or vaccine.  She gives a lot of good info about the vaccines, how to vaccinate safer, and posts her recommended delayed schedule that she uses in her own office.  We decided not to vaccinate because the current risks outweigh the current benefits in our case.  Because there may be a link between ADHD and vaccinations, and my DH has adult ADHD, we have no way of knowing how Asher may react to the vaccines.  We can control his enviroment and exposure to these diseases, but we cannot control how his body will react.
And YAY on the rolling!! 

[HeatherC]

Our jusspress is http://www.jusspress.com/campbell0520
I have Julieb and Michelle and Tarri on my friends list

Branwen-every baby I've ever seen (including mine) tends to jump on one leg in the jumpster.  The twins across the street from me both jump on their left and they're 11 months old.  My nephew jumped on his right.  I wouldn't worry about it.  Any yay for rolling!  She's going to be just fine!!!   
Kelsey was born with "positional deformity" of her right foot from it being crammed in a funny position in my belly.  Her toes could almost touch her shin and it was "positioned" that way for a long time.  I had to work on streching the tendons, and eventually it straightened itself out.  (My brother was the same when he was born)  Anyway, point of the story, I was worried that she only put weight on her left leg, but she is totally fine.  We worry ourselves to death, don't we?
 Julieb-congrats on another great night!  And bf babies do get a ton of antibodies.

[Schae]

Heya again!  Thanks for the compliments on the new avatar... they were taken just before his bath (favourite time of the day for him) 

Nikki: lovely photo of your family.

Julieb: Fantastic that Asher is sleeping through. I also wouldn't knowingly take Luka where I know a sick person is going to be and I vaccinate. It is awful when babies are ill. I've read up on vaccinating and delaying etc, it's amazing how where you live has such a big impact. Please forgive my ignorance but what is adult ADHD?

Julie (sedona): So glad to hear you and your family are okay.
Well done Matty on sleeping through!!  I also do bf first then solids, usually an hour or an hour and a half after milk he'll have solids.

Tarri: Isn't this new 'talking' phase just too cute?!

Jaime: Congrats on the christening. Looking forward to the pic. We're also looking for a jumper...

Branwen: Yay on the rolling!! Don't feel bad, you cannot know everything (even though as mom's we feel we're meant to) and if Eirwen has a difficulty with her hips, it has been noticed very early and I'm sure it will only get better. Hope the teething ends already!

Us:Went to the doctor and it turns out it's Luka's eczema flaring up again. He gave us some cream that should get rid of it quickly. I think I'll go and buy some calendula. It's the first flare up in months, we're heading towards summer here so I'm blaming the change of season.

At the doctors office, a 2 and a half year old managed to hit Luka on the head with a toy. My poor pumpkin cried so much  We held him after that, and when we finally got up the courage to allow him to sit on the floor next to dh's feet. playing with his OWN toy another little boy aged 20 months came and yanked it out of his hands. In slow motion we tried to stop Luka from falling, but he ended up on his back crying.  :cry: Took him to the feeding room and gave him a bit of boob for comfort and he stopped crying and smiled again. But it really broke my heart, I know it's going to happen as they get older, but I really don't know how I'm going to deal with it.  :?

Does anyone mind sharing their solids plan? We haven't really moved past veggies and fruit. What meal combos have you come up with?

 

[HeatherC]

Schae, I only do veggies and fruit right now.  I do fruit mixed with a cereal for breakfast, and fruit and veggie for lunch and dinner.  I plan to add meats and meat dinners (chicken/rice, etc) next month.  HTH

I'm working on the sippy cup.  I think she got turned off at first because she didn't like the water.  I tried half water and half applejuice and she still didn't care for it much.  So today, after holding off a few days, I put her formula in it, and when she realized this she wanted it, but could figure out the different spout.  She's get a bit and want more, but is trying to suckle it like a bottle nipple.  Any advice?  She's doing better on the veggie puffs, but what other finger foods should I try?

[Jaime]

And since I'm BFing and we DO go out to the grocery store and such, wouldn't he be getting my antibodies and building immunities of his own all the time?  I always hear and read about BF babies getting sick less often and that's why we should BF, blah, blah, blah -- so you'd think *not* getting sick is the point, whether now or later. 

to a certain extent, yes.  and the bfing does help them be healthier in the long run - less likely to get sick.  however, most of the bugs passing around in schools are things like colds - and there are no vaccinations for those!  exposure to them as younger children will help them build antibodies so they don't necessarily get sick with the same ones when they're in school.

like i said, i don't go out of my way to get my kids sick.  and i try not to let them come in contact with sick people.  i won't go on a playdate with sick kids.  but i do take them lots of places (i guess along the same lines as you do), and you just never know....hope that makes a little more sense.      and YAY on sleeping through again!!!!!!


branwen - yay on the rolling!!!

heather - cute site.  kelsey has some great smiles!

[thitz]

JulieB, Heather, Michelle, I love watching your videos!  They're awesome!!!

Branwen,  Does Eirwen have his doctor's appointment soon?  It'll be good for you to hopefully get some answers about Eirwen's legs.  It must be worrying you.  Our naps are also all over the place.  I do consistently get 1.5hr nap1 and 45min nap2.  I keep increasing Emily's wake time between the naps hoping to get nap2 later and longer, so far we're at 2hrs & 45mins.

JulieB, Emily is vaccinated and if we go to family outings or shoppings we steer clear of sick people and I ask them outright if they're sick and if they are we change rooms!  Any luck with your avacados?  I gave Emily green beans this morning and got an 'ooh ick' response.

Heather, I give Emily just water out of the sippy.  She doesn't really hold it yet, but I let her play with it and help her sip when we come in from a hot walk outside or while eating solids.  I think it'll be awhile before she holds it on her own, but I think she's got lots of time to learn.  Oh and I'm going to try and set-up my camera for the riverdance shot.

Us, we're doing very well.  I'm just trying to get nap2 working well, no luck with that so far, but every few days I'm upping the wake time about 15mins so hopefully we'll get there.

Have a good night/day everyone!  Tarri

[julieb]

Schae: ADHD -- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- It's a really popular and over diagnosed disorder in the US.  The rates of autism and ADHD have dramatically increased in the US over the last 20 years (hence the thought connection between these disorders and vaccines).

Heather: Maybe that's why Asher did well with the sippy cup?  I put EBM in it the first few times when he was learning.  Now I'm lazy and just put water in it.  I'm getting better at pumping (and have an abundant supply in the mornings when Asher sleeps through  :lol: ), so maybe I'll put some more EBM in there.  Kelsey will get better the more she practices.  Asher used to only get a little bit, now he seems to go for more.

Tarri: Be careful on the awake time.  It goes both ways!  Too little = short naps and too much = short naps!   :roll:   As if it wasn't hard enough!   :lol:  Avocadoes are getting better.  A friend said her DD only tolerated them watered down.  So I dilute them with EBM and make them quite creamy and watery.  I still only give him a small amount and follow each bite with a pear or banana chaser!   :wink:   But at least he's not gagging as much!   :lol:

[sedona314]

Nikki, I forgot to comment on your beautiful photo of Lise and the family

Branwen, thank you for the warm welcome back.  its good to "see" you.
I also recommend the book that JulieB told you to read.  I am also choosing not to vaccinate, at least not until he is much older and then I will decide what and when.  I have done a great deal of research on this and I also work with so many kids with PDD (pervasive developmental disorders - Im a kid/family psychotherapist) so I have many concerns about adhd as Julie mentioned, PDD, autism, and autoimmune disorders and the possible link to some of the vaccines.

Schae, that is so upsetting about Luka's experience with the other kids at the doctors office.  I guess we'll all have to get used to things like that.

Jaina &  Luke's Mom:  Where in Florida are you?  We're in Fort Lauderdale

Sending hugs to everyone.  I get to sleep in tomorrow, I'm so excited!! lol


JulieG

ps - Matty has been teething a lot too.  He also kicks down on his mattress very often and I can hear him on the monitor at night.  Glad to know he's not the only horizontal riverdancer.

[Deb_in_oz]

will come back on later - trying to get livvy to nap (only took a 30 min am nap and a 1hr 15 midday and now trying to get out of catnap  :roll: )

can't remember who (?Deborah)  i was telling abou the plastic photo album thathey can chew...but was on babycenter and saw they have the sassy version quite cheap (they are about $12 US here)

here's the link
http://store.babycenter.com/product/books_music_video/baby_toddler_books/soft_books_baby_toddler/2196?stage=all&lnprev=toys%2Ftoys_612months%2F&lnunfurl=toys%2Ftoys_612months%2F

[dkjokisch]

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend.  I don't have much time, but I wanted to share what we learned from the pediatric PT.  He said that she is only lacking about 10 degrees in rotation and 5 degrees in tilt.  He showed us how to do several different stretches, and we'll have to go back once a week for a few weeks, then once a month until she's about 1.

He gave us some background info on torticollis and what causes it as well as a printout of the recommended stretches.  I think it came from a website.  If I can find the URL, I'll post it.

He also warned us that the neurosurgeon we're seeing on Friday is not a proponent of helmut therapy, so we will probably not get a very objective opinion on whether or not it would be appropriate in Maya's case.  He also said there is now a center in Orlando (you used to have to go to Miami or Atlanta) that does the helmuts if we decide we want to pursue it.

Deb - Thanks for the info on the Sassy photo album.  It was me who was interested.  I found it at Target.

On illness and vaccinations - Whether your kids are vaccinated or not, it takes alot longer sometimes for them to fight off illness, so we are very careful who and what we expose her to.  When Maya was 3mos, MIL and SILs came for a visit.  The first night they were here, SIL came down with a violent stomach flu.  She kept insisting that it was "something she ate", even though we were all eating the same stuff.  Despite my request that she keep her distance from Maya, she kept picking her up, playing with her, etc.  Sure enough, Maya and I both came down with it the following week.  In adults, it lasted about 48 hours.  Maya had it for three weeks, and it was miserable for all of us.

More later...

[Leah's Mom]

Wow! Do I feel far behind!!!!! That must be what happens when you go back to work. We had a faboulous weekend and I hope everyone else did too! Thanks for all the well wishes on Leah's doc appointment Thursday. Will let you all know what the urologist says. Pretty sure it is something she will eventually grow out of. I plan to check out everyones pics and videos on justpress.com today! I promise!!!!!!

 :?: Do you all have digital video cams? We don’t have one, but plan to get one soon. Anyone have a favorite? We love our digital picture camera.

Deb -

so i have decided i would rather have the day go 45 / 1hr 30 / 45 so i get the girls overlapping better.

This is how our day usually goes. It seems like she gets a short nap, then a long one, then the catnap. Of course if I plan on doing something right after her 45 min morning nap, she will sleep for 2 hours!  :x

Nikki - Your Christening pics are beautiful! You look wonderful!!! Lise is sooo very cute!  I hope the new nanny works out well for you!

Julieb- Congrats on Asher sleeping thru again! Leah seems to be in the routine of sleepign thru one night and getting up the next and on and on. Oh well, at least she does sleep thru sometimes!!!!

Schae and Tarri- Love your new avatar pics!!!!!

Schae - Sorry to hear about the mean kids at the docs office. We are lucky our doctor's office is a small clinic. We are usually the only ones in the waiting room!

Tarri - I'm glad your visit went well with your parents.

Julie #2 - So glad to hear that you are OK after the hurricane. What a horrible tragedy. I have dropped the dream feed, but I did it cold turkey. We went away camping for the weekend and we just stayed up too late by the fire and I forgot to go back to the camper at 10 to feed her!  :shock: But she didn't wake till 5 for a feed, so after that I decided she didn't need to eat at 10. She does still wake in the night, but I don't feed her before 5.

Jaime - Thanks for the advice on early wakings. I hope we can get Leah to sleep in on the weekends soon! 

Branwen - Congrats on the rolling! I hope all turns out well with the hip thing.

Heather - Leah is struggling with the sippy cup right now too! I haven't tried juice or fomula in it yet. We did do the veggie puffs this weekend. She did great, well she liked them but stuggled to get them in her mouth!  :lol: We have also done the bitter biscuits. I am at odds too about what to try for finger foods. Someone said they can start cottage cheese at 7 months. I haven't a clue. Let me know when you start new things since the girls are the same age and we're both first timers at this!

US - We are doing well. Leah is very happy at the new sitter’s house. She is taking OK naps. Some days are better than others! So, about dropping the catnap. Leah wakes from her 2nd nap at 2 or 2:30. Is it feasible for her to go till 7:00 without a nap? Also, if anyone has any opinions on digital video cams I would appreciate it. I’ve been looking around but want to get a good one. I am going to check out everyone’s justpress sites at lunch today!!!!!

[HeatherC]

Christine-what is Leah like from 2:30 till 7?  Kelsey wakes from her second nap around 4 and is up till 8, and I usually struggle with her after 6.  Actually her morning nap is shortening, which my mom says is very normal and some other gals have too, but her afternoon is lengthening.  She goes down at 2, and yesterday I had to wake her at 4:30.  I might have to readjust the start time since she's getting up earlier from the first nap.  But you are so right when you said they sleep long when you have something to do, but short when you're trying to rest or clean.  At least in my case.  I'm going to look for Yobaby yogurt and offer it in a few weeks.  I don't know if it necessary or not, but she might enjoy it.  I'm trying to figure out some soft foods to offer her, but I wonder if I'm jumping the gun on this finger food thing.

[Leah's Mom]

Heather - She's fine till about 5:00, then she gets crabby. I haven't tried to go without yet for fear of what might happen!!! But she has been waking at 4:30 in the morning acting like she is ready to start the day. So I worry the catnap is causing this. I also worry that I am rushing the finger foods, but she seems to really like them, but more than baby food. So I think I'm going to keep at them. Will keep you updated on what we try! 

[julieb]

Re: finger foods...I've been giving Asher chopped bananas and pears.  He has a hard time grabbing them (as do I) though.  I figure he'll get better with practice though.  I usually end up picking them up and putting them in his mouth so he can at least get used to chewing and chunkier foods.  He's pretty good at it now.  I think if he could hold them better, he'd put them in his mouth.  He's tried a couple times, but they fall out of his hands.

Christine: We have a digital camcorder, but the videos I put on jusspress are from our digital still camera.  I haven't figured out how to transfer from the camcorder (that's DH's department).  And Asher seems to be doing the every other night thing as well -- he woke a couple times last night.  Oh well, he at least has stopped expecting to be fed, just wants his luvie and goes back to sleep.  I would never be able to get Asher to last from 2:30 to 7:00 without another nap.  You may need to keep the catnap or move bedtime up until she starts sleeping longer in the afternoon.  How long are your awake times before the first and second naps?  Can you extend those so there isn't such a long haul until bedtime?

[HeatherC]

Christine-ditto what Julie said.