Jan/Feb 05 chat - Thread #3

[Kinlagh's Folks]

Feeling better today - I'm on my own so I have to.  So far so good.  However, please keep us in your thoughts now too.  Hurricane Wilma is headed our way.  We're expecting the storm tomorrow although it should be a tropical storm by then.  100 km/hr winds + 70mm rain expected.  Not the best so I too will probably be without power for a day or two.  Wish us luck! 

Sorry, I'm all take take take lately!  I promise to give back when things are back on track.  Pfew!

[Leah's Mom]

Michelle, Julie G, and Jaime -
Please stay safe in this storm!!!!!! It looks horrible on the TV!  I'm praying for you all.

[Jaime]

hi - we're okay. 

keep praying for JulieG though.  she lives in Ft. Lauderdale, and after talking to my ILs (who live there too) that area was pretty badly hit (though i don't know what specifically may have happened to her).  they don't have power yet, but hopefully will within the next couple of days.

hold tight Michelle!!!

[julieb]

Asher's other top tooth finally popped through!         Now maybe we can have some peace and quiet for a while?  He's been practicing his walking like a man on mission!  That's all he wants to do!  Doesn't touch his toys anymore except to stop, pick one up, and carry it along his walk around the family room!  He goes about 3-5 feet before falling or grabbing on to something now.  It's crazy how fast this all happened!   :shock:

Glad all the Floridians are safe (and hopefully Julie and Michelle as well?), good to hear the new milestones (yay Liv!) and job progress for everyone.  My DH is still looking.   :roll:

Schae:  I'm thinking either something with his morning A time or a milestone (teething again??).  Wanna post your current schedule?  Though, I have HEARD of babies trying to drop a nap this early, but it is certainly in the minority (less than 10%), so don't assume quite yet.

Here's a couple photos at the pumpkin patch.  No smiles from Asher.  It was way too hot!!

[Deb_in_oz]

welcome sarah - your daughter is gorgeous!!!

Tarri - are you planning on weaning the Df?  we are down to about 3-4 oz but stopped pushing it back and have stayed at 9:30pm because she is just not adding to her daytime food at all so we were sick of the earlier wakings and chickened out - we will discuss it again later in the week.  Dh is happy at least that it is early enough that if he is knackered he can get to bed by 10.

Schae - i don't think it is a case of dropping a nap (definitely too young) but we go through this too at some naps - on Sunday it took me an hour and today an hour and 20 min for first naps (thankfully it never seems to happen at bedtime - knock on wood).  i think sometimes they just can't let go - they partly think hey this is fun, and partly it is like they can't get their limbs to suddenly lay still.  what i do if she is all over the place and noisy... (and not getting any quieter) is ito go in and hold her lower body down with one arm while i pat and shh to get her to calm and focus on that and usually in 2-10 min she is asleep - the trick is getting her DOWN - if she is wriggling or getting around me it takes longer, or if i leave before asleep sometimes after i am gone she revs up again. i figure just as TRacy explained that they can't cry and listen to shh/pat (3 things is too many) i figure if i can get her focused on the patting and loud shhing she will start getting relaxed and let go and give in to her tiredness since she can't get anywhere KWIM?  sorry so long just my theory. HTH.

he seems to be trying to learn how to stand on his own. Keeps lifting his bum in the air instead of just crawling properly

  Olivia is doing this as well - very frustrating for her - that's one reason why she was not going forward - could not decide if wanted to crawl or stand.  :roll:

Us - well we have had a yucky 24 hours.  olivia has had fevers up and down and today she did not eat either breakfast or dinner. she ate lunch thankfully because the fever meds broke it long enough for that and then it started climbing again.  it took 1hr 20 to get her down for morning nap (which i did not handle well  :oops: ) and then she woke crying after 25 min - another 10 min pat/shh and got her down for another 40.  2nd nap was  just shy of 1hr 30 and she was so tired afterwards that in spite of wakng at 2:50pm she was back in bed just after 4:15pm and slept from 4:30-5:30  :cry: would not eat dinner and was very hot (temp was 39.1 C even 1 1/2 hrs after dosing her with nurofen)  thankfully it had come down to 37.3 by bedtime and she took a lot of milk (340ml = 12 oz  :shock: ) and another 100 at DF. i hope she wakes up better in the morning

[Leah's Mom]

Deb- Poor Liv!!!!!!! I hope she is feeling better soon. Do you think it is just a cold? Leah has had a hacking cough for about two weeks now. But no fever so I've just learned to live with it  :roll:. Hopefully she'll kick it soon.

Julieb- OMG! Asher is walking!!!!  :shock: I know early walkers walk about 9 months of age. But it's just so hard to believe that they are that old already! Leah doesn't even pull herself up yet, although she did manage to tear the border off her wall by sitting up in her crib. Time to lower the matress!  :wink:   She is still only army crawling, not up on all fours yet. That's fine with me though, she's growing up too fast as is!

Hope our hurricane victams are doing OK. Julie G - I know where you live was hit hard. Let us know how you are as soon as you're back!

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Hope everyone is okay that the hurricane has affected!

Deb - I'm so sorry to hear that Olivia has been running a fever.  I know you are stressed about her eating.  I have no advice, just my sympathy!

Julieb - great pictures of Asher!

Jaime - I am wishing you all the luck in the world regarding your job.  Doesn't it just make you boiling mad when you find out what you are paid in regards to others?  And in your situation, it sounds like the school is being kind of shady in regards to it's pay policies.  Good luck!

Michelle - hope your week is going well, and that your back is okay now that you're on your own with Kinlagh during the day again!

Schae - I would think Luka is too young to go to one nap a day yet, although never say never!  I have no advice, but just wanted to say I know how frustrating it is.  Hang in there!

Welcome to all the new additions! Love all these pictures!

Us - My sis and nephew came to visit for the weekend.  We had a great time, even if it disrupted the routine a bit.  I thought yesterday we would get back on track.  We did, sort of, but his nights are still a nightmare!  Sunday night, and last night, Ethan has started his screaming fits in the middle of the night.  This happened probably 6 or more weeks ago for a day or two, then quit.  Well, it's back!  I don't know what on earth the problem is.  Sunday night I thought perhaps it was because he was so worn out from the weekend, and he had gone to bed later than usual.  So, yesterday was all about routine.  I had him in bed (and out like a light) by 7:15 pm.  11:15 he screams to beat the band.  Nothing is helping.  I finally pick him up and rock him in the chair until he calms down.  After about 5 minutes of this, I am able to lay him back down, and rolls over and goes to sleep.  Great, right?  Until 4:15!  Then he's at it again!  Same deal, no idea what the problem is.  I gave him some motrin in case those top teeth are bugging him (we saw one tooth come and go for the past week or so).  He seems to settle after I give him his paci, so I leave room.  20 minutes later I'm back as he's screaming again.  Finally he falls asleep, and sleep until 7:30 (about 30 min later than usual).  I have no idea what is going on with him.  I thought perhaps he was gassy - as he seemed moreso Sunday night and last night than usual.  But I have given him nothing new.  What are the fruits or veggies that cause the most gas?  He has a small repertoire right now  :roll:  that consists of applesauce, peaches, pears, pear w/pineapple, bananas, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and prunes.  (He refuses to eat anything green!   :x  :roll: )  Anyway, I put gas drops in his bottles at every meal anyway, so maybe I should give him some more before bedtime?  I don't know, it's got me so confused!  And after him sleeping peacefully through the night, it's horrible when they start to wake up again - but not just wake up, scream bloody murder!

Thanks for the vent!

I'm going to attach a couple of pics that we took over the weekend!

[Daniel's mummy]

Just time to write a quick post.  Not really much happening here.  It's funny how many others seem to have just bought a car.  We have too!  Picking it up tomorrow and can't wait.  We are going away for a week's holiday with my parents and my inlaws (thankfully we all get on really well!) on Sat so the car has come at just the right time.  We wouldn't be able to fit everything into the boot of our old car.  Life has been very busy here over the last week or so, so the break is really needed.  (I really feel for you Julie, having to miss your holiday due to the huricane    So sorry.)

Welcome Sarah (we found out on another thread that we went to school together  :shock:  - different year groups though.  Small world eh?)  Samantha looks totally adorable.  Such big blue eyes. 

Julieb - I can hardly believe Asher is nearly walking.  That is amazing.  Daniel still isn't even crawling yet!!  I know I shouldn't worry but it does get to me sometimes.  So many people seem to presume he's crawling and pulling up and then seem shocked when I say he's not.  Like they ask how old he is and then say 'oh I bet he's crawling all over the place isn't he?'  And I'm like 'no, not at all'! 
He's not even 9 months so I KNOW it's not a problem but it's hard to keep on reminding yourself of that isn't it?  I keep trying to remind myself I need to make the most of these pre-crawling days.  He is always just sooooo happy to just sit and play.  Most days he'll quite happily sit for about an hour at a time and just amuse himself.  Then I start feeling guilty coz I feel like I neglect him but occasionally when I try to play with him he gets upset and just wants me to leave him alone :lol:  :oops:   I guess he's not 'needing' to crawl just yet.  He's happy to just stay where he is and play.  It's amazing the things we find to worry about isn't it?

Debra - Don't think I mentioned it but I LOVE your new avatar.  Your girls look so sweet together.  That is amazing that Olivia took 12 oz before bed.  I thought my ds could eat a lot, but looks like she could give him a good run for his money! 

Tammy - Lovely photos.  As for the night wakings and screamings, I can sympathise.  Daniel has weeks like this where he just keeps waking up and crying. In fact he did it this morning. I put him down for his nap at 9am (as usual) and he fell asleep with no problems then woke up 20 mins later and screamed solidly for an hour and 15 mins :evil: )  He was so tired (could barely keep his eyes open) but just would not sleep.  Eventually I took him back downstairs, read a book for 10 mins and then put him back down in his cot.  He went off in about 20 mins.  We think it's often due to overtiredness when he wakes up screamin in the night.  Not really sure why that should happen but that's all we can put it down to.  He always goes to sleep ok initially.  It's only when he wakes up later that the problems start.

Schae - You poor thing.  I hope he gets his sleeping sorted out quickly.  I am dreading what learning to crawl is gonna do to Daniel's sleeping!  Another reason I should enjoy these pre-crawling days while they last 

So I started this by saying 'just time for a quick post' and here I am 35 mins later :oops:   Really must go and get on with making dinner.  Just time to attach a recent photo

[Leah's Mom]

Hazel- Don't worry. Leah doesn't pull herself up and she just started to army crawl a week or so ago. She just doesn't have the balance to stand holding onto something. She will also play by herself well for a long time. I feel guilty too! Like I should play with her, but when I try she just starts to play with something else. 

Tammy - I have no idea!   :roll: I can tell you that applesauce causes MAJOR gas in Leah. Also, if you use the Gerber Fruits and Veges, there is a carrot sweet pea that Leah loves. It's orange, but it has peas in it. Leah will also not touch the green peas! LOVE your pics. You look awesome!

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Oh guys!  Most of my "playing" with Ethan consists of following him around as he tries to pull up on things.  Things that I don't want him to fall off of and bump his head (which he winds up doing sometimes anyway!).  Ethan was army crawling for a long time before true crawling.  And the pulling up was literally a few days after crawling!  I don't think there is any timetable for when they "should" crawl or pull up or whatever.  Babies do it in their own time.  I know it's hard not to worry, but don't stress!  Then you'll wonder where the time went when they're tottering around!   :lol:

[julieb]

Deb:  Poor Liv!  Do you think it's a sickness or teething?  The time Asher was sick, all he wanted to do was sleep, it was SO easy!   :lol:   Much easier than how he normally is and I secretly hoped he'd be sick longer!   :oops:

Re: JulieG: I heard that Ft. Lauderdale was hit the hardest and may be without power for a couple weeks!   :shock:   I hope Julie got out and went elsewhere!  Can't imagine no power with a baby!

Christine:  I hear ya!  The walking makes me so sad sometimes!  I really wish he would've waited longer.  But we honestly knew from the first couple weeks he was born, Asher would not stop until he was running around (and away from us!!).  :shock:  :cry:   I miss the crawling/rocking stage.  It was so cute!  And as a friend of mine said, enjoy it while it lasts because out of their entire lives, they'll only be crawling those couple months, but walking the rest of their lives!

Tammy:  Great pumpkin patch photos!!  I feel for your night wakings!  Asher does the same thing often and I don't know what it is either!  :?   It's as if he's doing it in his sleep or something.

Hazel:  What a fun photo!  Daniel looks like he's having so much fun!  And you're right, crawling is nothing to worry about, but it's normal to feel that way!  I belong to another list of ladies with babies the same age and several are not crawling at all.  I think it's just the different temperments!  I also can't seem to play with Asher much these days.  He acts far too busy to be bothered with Mama!   :lol:   They're just getting into and discovering their world!  Kinda a nice break from those early months where everything revolved around Mama!  :wink:

Food pickiness: For those with picky eaters, I discovered if I could make something into a finger food, Asher develops a taste for it (and I can spoon feed it later as well!).  Just a trick that may work for others?  Seemed to work with green beans, broccoli, peas, rice, and avocado.

Us, well, early wakings (6:00) seemed to get even earlier now (5:30).  Don't know what goes through his head because it's still completely dark!  :shock:   I think I need to get back to a solid 6:30 bedtime.  I've been lax lately, 6:45 and 7:00, maybe that's the problem.  :roll:

[Deb_in_oz]

Thanks guys for the sympathy - Liv was still sick today - barely ate bkfst, gorged at lunch, ate no dinner. luckily i had my PPD check up at 4pm so just had the doctor check her out too (cheeky i know - sorry to make the next patient wait-  hee hee).  she said it is a virus and just to give her panadol for fevers and make sure her fluids are up (nothing too bad wth ear, throat, breathing...)  naps were terrible so she was tired.  again took lots of milk before bed [Hazel, usually she takes about 7 1/2 - 8 oz, this is just because no dinner solids] she also checked her mouth out and saw no signs of teeth (Liv still has NO TEETH  :shock: )

Hazel - we have the same pool and balls form ELC - i keep meaning to get it out now that it has warmed up here.  it has been in our laundry since last summer.  where are you going on holiday?

Tammy - i agree with Hazel that overtiredness (and overstimulation) woudl be causing the multiple screams in the night.  it's like they get so wired they can't get into nice deep sleep.  If it was just one waking i would think it could be something else but with multiples i am guessing he is just winding down from all that excitement.

ugh - it took Liv a half hour to get tto sleep tonight and she has just woken crying after 45 min  - gotta go  :cry:

[Kinlagh's Folks]

Hello everyone.  First off, the storm missed us.  We had some wind and rain, but nothing major and no power loss.  Yay!  My back is not at 100% today but getting through it. 

On another note, I want to start by thanking you for all your advice, laughs, support and stories, but I think it's time for me to sign off for a while.  I feel that I've started to doubt my parenting skills again and need to stop reading what is "supposed" to be happening and just focus on what "is" happening.  Naps have been an issue lately and I just want to start reading Kinlagh instead of reading books/websites.  As we all know, no two babies are alike and I feel like I may be expecting perfection out of her.  So much pressure for such a little baby.  I'm just going to start going with the flow and see if we can't get things back on track.  I'll probably still post questions on other boards, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by everyday messages on this one.

So feel free to PM/email me anytime.  I'll probably even stop by now and then to read up on how you are all doing.

Take care and have fun!!!

[thitz]

I couldn't reply the other day, the post reply wouldn't work.  Eeesh.

Deb,  about 2 months ago Emily started weaning herself from the df (ie she woke up crying earlier and drinking less) so that we've been at 8:30pm and 3oz for several weeks.  I don't have plans to wean further because the time is easy (like your dh says) for me to give it and Emily doesn't like a late evening bottle cause she's too tired to drink properly.  As it is, she only drinks about 2oz after dinner.  She's drinking only about 20oz a day and seems quite happy with that.

Deb, I feel so bad for Olivia, I hope she gets over her cold quickly.  It must be draining for all of you.  Hang in there:)  Also she's proved again that she drinks when she really needs to...12oz!

Schae, I also do the same thing.  If I can't get Emily to nap, I just get us out of her room and move on with the day.  Otherwise if we do 20 mins of pu/pd and get nowhere I'm crusty for the rest of the day and so is Emily.  So far this tactic works well because only occasionaly she doesn't nap at least a little bit.

Tammy, could it be nightmares or night terrors?  There's a section in the book about it.  Maybe have a look and see if that's the problem.

Hazel, that's great that Daniel can play on his own like that.  And Emily isn't crawling yet either.  She's not even close.  I'm not worried cause my mom said that I didn't crawl till 10 months.  But I think she is gaining leg muscle strength cause I lean her up standing against the couch a lot and she loves that:)  Have fun with your new car:)

JulieB, I hope the jusspress site is up again soon, I can't wait to see new vids of Asher walking!  I've got a couple more to add, one is of Emily almost standing and another of her eating puffs.

Us, we're now shifted 30mins later!!! Yeah!  She seems to need about 3 days to get used to each 15mins shift.

Also I wanted to share that Emily often wakes early, and her naps are not always consistent but I find that watching the clock for feedings and the next sleep time keeps us on track and fairly happy.  At least that's how we survive from day to day.  And thank goodness for our little dog, she's worth endless amounts of entertainment.  I've started getting them to play together.  Emily holds one end of the dog toy and the dog pulls the other.  This afternoon Emily held on sooo good that she toppled over onto her tummy from a sitting position and then did a huge giggle.  very cute stuff!

Tarri

[Tammy: Ethan & Kaden's Mom]

Just a quick moment to respond...

Thanks to all who offered advice.  I think I may know the problem now... he has a terrible cold!  He is alternating being runny-nosed, or stuffy.  Poor guy, looks so sad.  Keeps rubbing his nose and eyes all day long.

He woke up again last night at 3 am screaming.  I think it may be a combination of him not being able to breath well, coupled with the fact that he can't suck his paci when he's not able to breath through his nose! 

Anyway, so today his naps were amazing.  1.5 hours this morning, and nearly 3 hours this afternoon.  He must have been tuckered out (of course he did get up at 6 this morning!)

Anyway, he's off in bed right now, having been given Motrin and Pediacare.  Let's hope tonight is better, but at least I have some semblance of what the issue is.  It's a lot easier to NOT get frustrated when you figure out that your lo is sick, you know?  Otherwise, the not knowing what the deal is... that's so irritating to me!

Well, night everyone!