Jan/Feb 05 Babies chat!

[HeatherC]

Tammy-that's neat that Stacie is your SIL.  It's good to share similar parenting techniques, especially with family.  Oh, and I'm right there with you on the teething.  This has been going on for a while for Kelsey, too.  I've heard that it can take weeks at first.  I swear it looks like her whole bottom gum is ready to bust out with teeth.  I give her tylenol in the morning, and it helps somewhat.  She's still just not interested in playing much, but still eating and sleeping well.  I got 2 hour naps x2 today.  Good thing b/c I'm not feeling well with sinus troubles.

Does anyone else seem to notice that their lo is no longer interested in the same toys that they used to love?  I think Julieb posted somewhere about alternating toys every day or so, and I'm going to have to do this.  I've never been good at knowing what a baby or child would like to play with, but I don't suppose it's too hard to please them as long as it's different and it makes noise.  What I need to do is pretend it's something she's not supposed to have, then she'll really want it.  I'm going to break out some tupperware or something until I can get some new toys.  Oh, and she's bored with her exersaucer which has been my life saver for 3 months.  But, she has a leap frog learning table that she adores and it's helping her learn to balance while standing.  She's always been able to keep weight on her legs well, but since I don't think she'll crawl maybe this will get her closer to cruising.  By the way, congrats to Asher on cruising.  Of course, Julie can tell us if this is a good thing or not.

Christine-I thought about volunteering to moderate, but I didn't know for what.  There's so much I have to learn.  I like your idea, though.

Jaime-I turned 27 in July.  Here's some more for fun if anyone would like to respond:
Married/how long: yes, 5 years
College:  yes, BS in Business Admin., Univ. of Tenn
Brothers or Sisters:  one of each

[Leah's Mom]

Jaime- That's too weird! I was just thinking the same thing about the age thing!  I'm 26.... and a half, I guess! My B-day is January 25th. For awhile I thought DD would come on my b-day, but she decided to be late!

Tammy - Leah "teethed" for a LONG time too. When the teeth were finally coming thru, she started to really want to chomp down on things. Not just chew, like she does all the time. Really CHOMP! That's about the only for sure sign I got from her. Teething is so hard to read sometimes!

Alright, so I posted at the same time as Heather!  :wink: So I am going to edit this post.

Married/how long: yes, 5 years
College: yes, BS in Elementary Education Masters in Reading, Univeristy of Wisconsin - River Falls
Brothers or Sisters: two sisters

[Jaime]

this is too funny - are we leading some strange parallel lives??? 

Married/how long: yes, 5 years this october
College: yes, BS Forensic Science, University of Central Florida
Brothers or Sisters: one sister (i'm the oldest)

christine - luke's bday is right before yours on the 23rd!  and eirwen too on the 22nd!! 

heather - it's not so bad moderating - can even be fun!.  i've actually been doing it a couple months now - and picked the photo gallery for similar reasons!!!!  yeah, i rotate luke's toys when i think of it - longer shelf life that way.

julieg - i live in orlando.  ILs live in the ft. lauderdale area.  they had lots of flooding too.

[julieb]

Tammy: I though Asher was teething for MONTHS, then we had an especially crabby day, and the next day, the corner of a tooth started popping through!  Took a whole week for it to make its entrance.  Have you tried Hylands teething tablets?  They work really well and are homeopathic so you don't have to worry about giving them to him a lot.  Ethan could be not interesting in solids because of teething, or I read (and hear) that a lot of babies make the jump to more table foods and refuse the pureed baby stuff.  Just a thought?

Deb: We have the same mid-nap pooping problems often.  I just wait it out a few days until the cycle changes again.  He hasn't had a dependable pooping schedule since he was about 4.5-5 months old.   :roll:  I'm also having similar problems at dinner.  I've tried cutting back lunch time solids so he'll be more hungry to BF after his afternoon nap.  It's just so close together!  BFing is often at 4:00, solids at 5:00, and BF again at 6:30!

Jaime: I'm 28 for the third time.  You do the math.  I don't acknowledge any numbers beyond 28.   :wink:

Heather: Yeah, rotate the toys!  Works really well.  Also break out some old tubberware bowls and lids (various sizes), measuring cups/spoons, the big wipes box from costco with the pretty colors ( :lol: )...  Cruising, well, it's exciting to watch him learn and grow, but sad at the same time.  And INCONVENIENT!  I've had to clear off the end tables and baby proof so much more.   :roll:
Me:
Married/how long: yes, 8.5 years
College: some, fine arts, ended up in new product and graphic design jobwise though
Brothers or Sisters: 1 older brother, 2 younger sisters

Okay, so it's WAAAYYY past Asher's bedtime and he's still awake.   :roll:   He spit up a bunch in bed, so I just put a matress pad over it.  I moved the crib a bit today because he can reach the vertical blinds (and plays with them in the morning - ARGH!), so I don't know if the change is throwing him off.  Hrrmmm....   :?

Oh, and we tried sweet potatos this morning.  I liked them, but he didn't.   :roll:   He now does this thing, if he doesn't want what I put in his mouth, he'll just open his mouth, gaping for a bite of pears or banana to wash it down.  It's like he won't even TRY the new foods and swallow them down.   :?   Am I doomed to buying a boat load of pears every week?

[Schae]

Congrats on becoming moderators!

Deb:I'm not sure how to help you with the solids since we're just as confused over here too :roll:  :lol: I'm glad you're on your way to feeling better.

Jaime: Feeling chipper? Great!

Tammy: Luka's tooth STILL hasn't popped. So, who knows how long the grumpiness lasts?

Heather: Yeah, tupperware sounds good. I put a bit of rice into a cooldrink bottle and we have a rattle. Luka also loves the box of tissues and any newspaper. He also has his own remote control which he loves.

Julieb, lol at 28 for the third time  :lol:

I'm 24, will be 25 at the end of this year (31/12)
Married/how long: Nope (not sure if I want to), we've been together for 4 years this month.
College: Yes, BCom (Bachelor of Commerce) in Economics and Human Resource Management. What's a BS?
Brothers/Sisters: Two sisters, one older (passed away) and one younger.

[dkjokisch]

Heather - Fishing for three days?  I would go nuts.  Maya does get bored with some of her toys, but between hand-me-downs and gifts, we have plenty to cycle through.

Jaime - Sorry to hear the kids aren't feeling well.

Christine - Glad to hear Leah's appt went well.  I'm sure it's a relief.

Welcome Tammy! I've seen you around, and I remember thinking Ethan was about the same age.  Glad you joined us.  I was also born in DE, but my family lived up in Newark.

At least for us, teething (and the inconsolable-grumpy-cranky-crying-all-day mood) comes and goes.  Maya's been like that off and on for three months, and we have yet to see a tooth.  Hang in there.

JulieB - Yeah(?) on the cruising.  I dread the thought of babyproofing.

Schae - When it got warm here, we started dressing Maya in just footed cotton sleeper for bed.

Deb - I think someone may have said the same thing, but I would give her what you feel is an appropriate amount of solids, and if she's still hungry, offer a bottle.  Do you mix her cereal with formula?  That would be one way to get more in her.  As far as quantities of solids go, we have been referring to a guide I printed from babycenter.com (though Maya doesn't eat anywhere near what they say is ok).  I'll try and find the link.  I think I saw it on the solids foods page.

As for the mid-nap poo issue, I don't know what to tell you.  Maya often poos mid-nap, but it doesn't seem to bother her.  So other than some pre-emptive diaper-creaming, I leave her be.

As for us, we've had an ok weekend.  We went downtown to the Riverwalk yesterday afternoon.  We went for a walk and dinner out.  It was nice to get out.  Maya has also slept in the last two days (7am on Sat and 8am today), so we are catching up on some much needed sleep.  Dh and I tried to watch movie Friday night, and I kept falling asleep.  I wound up going ot bed at 9pm. 

As for me...

Age: 30, but I have made my peace with it
Married/how long: yes, 5 years
College: yes, BS in Civil Engineering - North Carolina State, MS in Civil Engineering - Texas A&M
Brothers or Sisters: 2 sisters - one older and one younger, and one younger brother

And I found the solid food link on babycenter.com...

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyfeeding/1400680.html

[HeatherC]

Deborah-I refer to the Babycenter food guide, also.  They have some good info on that site, but I don't much care for their chat groups.

Julie-we're well stocked on pears over here, too.

Schae-BS is a Bachelor of Science.

Sorry for any goofs on here, I don't have my "eyes" in yet and I'm battling a sinus infection.  At least dh was here so I could pop back in to bed a bit.  Yeah, he's going to be fishing, but it won't be much different from the "singlmomdom" I used to anyway.  :wink:

Oh, and Debra, I still battle the mid-nap poops.  It's not every day now, but when it happens, the nap is over.

[Kinlagh's Folks]

Hi girls,
I still read your posts every now and then, so I haven't forgotten about you.  Sorry I don't have any advice for anyone as I'm trying to battle my own "issues" at the moment.  We've added a new one to the list - Kinlagh is teething again but the tooth poked through today so hope the pain subsides a little.  Poor thing took 1.5 hours to put to sleep last night and woke a few times through the night.  What a house we have these days!!

Anyway, saw this going around and thought I'd play along.
I'm 30 and I too have accepted it!  (What a young group we have)
Married/how long: Very happily / 4 years on October 6th
College: Yes, BSc in Forensic Science (me too Jaime!!) and Biology, University of Toronto
Brothers/Sisters: Older sister, younger brother

Hope to talk to you again soon!

[Jaime]

College: Yes, BSc in Forensic Science (me too Jaime!!) and Biology, University of Toronto

that is too cool!!!   good luck with everything going on at your house.

julieb

I'm 28 for the third time. You do the math. I don't acknowledge any numbers beyond 28

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  sometimes i don't remember i've gone past 25...think that's cause i turned 25 shortly after jaina was born & i haven't been able to remember anything else since!!!

have a great week everyone!

[Deb_in_oz]

sorry to hear about the troubles some of you are having - teething still seems to be a major one! i don't know when we will see a tooth (alex got her first one at 7 mo so i am using that as a guide)

I'm 33 years old - Feb 23 - just days afetr Olivia was born so everyone blew off my bday   :cry:  figure it will be like that next year too as all the fuss will be on her 1st bday (as it should)
Married/how long: married 6 years next month (same anniversary as Jaime - Oct 14) - been together almost 11 years
College: Yes, BA in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College in MA
Brothers/Sisters: one older sister (3 1/2 yrs older) - the reason i wanted my kids close together 

deborah - i will check out that llink thanks.

us: good news - yesterday olivia had a 1 1/2 hr am nap (first one in forever) and 1 1/2 hr pm nap and did great the whole day.  she was up from 2:45 - 7:15 and was ok.  she can stay awake 3 hrs from am nap to pm nap so the longer am nap helped push everything out as expected.  i was going to put her down at 1pm but Dh and i both felt she was not tired yet (had been up since 10:20am) and put her down at 1:15 or so and went to sleep within 10 min or less     we'll see how today goes.  because of the drop off for alex she was up from 6:40 - 09:15 and fell asleep again in 5 min.
good news 2: little TMI, but i got my period finally on Sunday which means i can now see if my meds start working again or decide on things with doc on wed.  also means i started birth control pills - so i can stress a little less abot getting pregnaant again as Dh and i have had a chat and disagree on how we would handle that if it happened  :cry:

i always mix formula in her solids and count that so it is not like she is eating a bowlful of fruit instead of milk, but i am wondering when we eliminate the 11am bottle and just do lunch?? i figured then she could eat a big lunch and then she would want a big bottle at 3pm so they are more separate.

OK - before i could even hit submit she is making noises in her cot - i think that was 40 min  :roll:  i am so leaving her to chatter and she can just chill out or go back to sleep. grr - why are they such teases - was yesterday a fluke??

[Leah's Mom]

College: yes, BS in Civil Engineering - North Carolina State, MS in Civil Engineering - Texas A&M

Wow! I can't remember, are you a SAHM right now? That's quite the degree!  Good for you!

[HeatherC]

Debra-it seems like Kelsey never does the same thing with naps more than a day or two in a row.  Glad things health-wise are getting better for you.  Also, I considered that we would be dropping to 3 bottles around 9 months.  Does this sound correct everyone?

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Thanks everyone for the welcomes!  It's nice to feel wanted!   :wink:

I'm 29, will be 30 in November.  I can't believe that!   :shock: 
Married/how long: Yes, 6 years, working on 7! 
College: Yes, BA (Bach of Arts) in English, minor in Curriculum & Instruction at University of Texas
Brothers/Sisters: One sister, 3 years and 364 days older than me!  Yep, our birthdays are one day apart!

Glad to hear I'm not the only one with a cranky teething (I hope) baby!  Today was another bad day, but the only thing I can't complain about (yet  :wink: ) is his napping and nighttime sleep.  Still taking good naps, and sleeping from 7:30 or 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.  This afternoon he napped from 2 until 4:45!   :shock:   Of course, I figure that is because I put him down, then left him with dh while I went and helped my parents unpack some stuff in their new house.  He always sleeps great when I'm not home!  :roll:     Good news is that he ate like a champ today, so perhaps yesterday was an "I'm not so hungry day".

Great suggestion on rotating toys and using things around the house as toys. 

Also, Ethan is not crawling yet, but i have not babyproofed a darn thing in our house.  Am I the only guilty one?   :oops:

[julieb]

Anyone have any ideas for Halloween costumes yet?  We can't decide for Asher.  I don't want to spend a fortune.  DH wants something cute and cuddly (another excuse to squeeze him!).  I want something funny, but still cute.  I originally thought of a bat, because our last name is Batt.  Then I saw some frog costumes -- we've got this whole frog theme/joke going on with Asher and our family.  Asher also loves the winne the pooh song, so I thought of pooh.  Finally, one of his favorite toys is a Care Bear (Bedtime Bear), and I saw one of those costumes!  Oi!!  I didn't think our first Halloween would be this difficult!!   :shock:  :wink:

I also got Joseph Garcia's Sign with your Baby book and read it today.  It was very interesting and I hope to start using more signs with Asher tomorrow.  I already use the "more" and "all done" signs with him.  Anyone else signing with their baby?  I read that boys are later talkers than girls.  I figured this would be the case with Asher, especially since he hasn't really started babbling yet (well, maybe he started today).  I thought the signing would really help all of us in the interim.  I've read in a couple places that some babies sign back as soon as 8 months!  That is so exciting to me!

BTW, I feel so impressed/honored to be surrounded by so many college graduates!  That's actually the only regret of my life -- that I never finished college.  Oh well, doesn't matter to me now that I'm at home.   :wink:

Deborah: I have the same problem watching TV or reading.  My eyes are closed within seconds!  Sometimes I even have a problem at the theaters!  :roll:

Tammy:  I didn't start to baby proof until Asher started scooting.  And I've done a bit more with every new mode of transporation he adds.   :roll:   I figure I'll be putting locks on all the cabinets once he can walk.  Right now I use a lot of gates.   :lol:

[Schae]

Julieb, I'm signing with Luka. We only do a sign for food and for all gone. But I hope to add more later.

TammyI haven't babyproofed either, and today Luka discovered that he can crawl very fast, and everything he shouldn't touch is what he wanted to touch  :roll: So, we're about to start with the proofing.

Michelle: You sound tired, hope you're doing alright. I hope everything goes well at home.

Heather, thanks... a bachelor of science is a BSc here.

Debra: Hope the meds gets sorted out. Good luck with the doctors appointment. It's nice to hear you sounding upbeat. Luka has also been stretching his awake times to 3 hours, we are on two naps a day now.