March/April 05 Thread #2

[Taylor's Mommy]

my last post for today too! :oops:

I forgot to tell you all I found this great site for nursery rhymes (I couldn't remember all the verses to the ants go marching so did a google search)

http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/index.asp

[Judy]

Naomi!!!!  That picture is too funny!!!

[Judy]

Judy, great pic.  They're just adorable!  BTW, are the twins identical?

Nikki to be honest I don't know.  One dr. told me there was a 15% chance they are identical (being as they were in sep sacs with sep placentas) and another dr. told me there was a 5% chance.  They have the same blood type which is all they tested/told me of after delivery.  The one dr. assumed not since he felt the chance to only be 5% BUT there was only a 1-3% chance of us conceiving twins in the first place!  I guess if we wanted to know for sure we'd have to have dna testing done and we'd have to pay for it -which is about $500-800.

So far we're finding that they look a lot alike.  Each has their own birthmark which is how we tell them apart for certain.  There have been times I've been bathing one, calling her Kaia, only to discover at the end that it was Hannah.  Their cries are even the same.  I cannot tell you who is crying if I'm not in the room.  Kaia will sometimes wake up chatting so then I can guess that the chatting baby in the nursery is Kaia.

[jay&danny'smummy]

Hello!

Thank you for the warm welcome Naomi, Traci, Nikki & Andrea!

I just know it wont be long before Jay will be pulling at his bits...boys!!
At the moment he is more interested in sucking his toes!! :lol:

I have been giving Jay water since he has been fully on formula (from 8 weeks). He has it when he wakes from naps & with his solids. Im using one of those bottles that is in between a bottle & sippy cup. He is just managing to use it when laying back slightly. Think I will try to introduce a sippy cup soon as they are easier to handle.

Naomi I love the photos of Jayson there great!

Emi

jaysmummy

DOB 24/04/05

[solnme]

Thanks so much for the welcome ladies!

I've also started Sol on a sippy cup.  We started solids about 2 1/2 weeks ago @ 5 mnths cause he was waking up frequently during the night. His night wakings stopped but he promptly went on a bottle stike.  (I mostly breastfeed but pump bottles for DH when i'm out w/ the girls or at school)

I went to a Moms' group in our community and asked what I could do about the strike and the nurse there suggested a sippy cup but excusively.  I had my doubts but offered it to him.  He mainly likes to chew on the end when he holds it himself but will drink from it if I tip it for him.
I'm happy to say he did take the bottle again.  I didn't see how he could get a full BM feed from a sippy cup!?!

My little guy likes to pull at his peeber too.  Usually when he first gets into the tub.  i'm always checking if the water is too warm and he's protecting his valueables! 

[Richelle]

Hi everyone

Welcome Emi and Roz!  Peeber - what a great 'term'.

Naomi and Judy great pics - way too cute. 

traci - I bought Sophie a sippy cup and she plays with it more than drinks out of it but I also got her detachable handles for her bottles so she is getting the idea.

Because it is so hot here I have been giving Sophie water from the get go - breastmilk and all.

Sorry if I am forgetting anyone but I am sitting here fighting tears.  I am soo exhausted with work and had a huge fight with dh; last night after I had been at work for 11.5 hours on 4 hours sleep and had just bathed, got Sophie to bed ect... he lookes at me and asked me what was up with dinner ( i had not got around to it duh...) :twisted: , not to mention I feel like Sophie takes a minute to get to know me lately and today reached for the nanny when I was holding her :cry:

Ok, i am now crying not fighting the tears - thanks for listening and i should pull myself together for bath time

Richelle

[solnme]

Big hugs to u Richelle!

Sometimes the DHs just don't get it!...   :x

I can't tell you how to feel about the nanny, but  try not to feel guilty. 
It's so hard for Moms cause they get to feel inadequate if they stay home and give up a career AND if they go back to work and leave their los.

 So no matter what the situation, there will always be an oppurtunity for you to feel badly.  :wink:

[hayes]

Richelle-Hugs to you.  My dh says that to me, I am a SAHM get plenty of sleep and lose it all of the time.  Hope you are feeling better.
My name is Macaire and I have been a lurker for some time now.  I posted a while ago about constipation and didn't get a response so feeling strange I decided just to read!  I have a 6 1/2 month old, Ben who is a textbook/angel.  I had a terrible time with breastfeeding for the first 7 weeks along with some PPD.  Didn't really realize it until my DH stated that he was concerned about my frequent sobbing on the toilet.  I read BW while I was pregnant and we implemented it at around 5 weeks although we are lax.  I have been married for 3 1/2 years and we were together for 3 years before that.  I am working 1 day a week as a mentor teacher to two elementary teachers and I tutor inside my home a few days a week.  I am going to do my best to stop the lurking and contribute.  You guys have given me tons of support and laughs.  I have been trying the sippie cup for a few weeks.  He sucked once at the beginning and now just plays with it, the doc said to keep trying and eventually he will get it.  Maybe I will take out the flow device.  Ben started solids 2 weeks ago and went from poops 2-3 times a day to 1 every 2 days.  The doc said it was fine as long as it isn't hard.  The poor fella gets red in the face with lots of grunts.  I look forward to getting to know you all.
Macaire

[Arwyn's mom]

Welcome Emi, Roz and Macaire!

Traci... Arwyn is EBF and would not take a bottle. So, we started training her to take a cup from when she was 4 months. The one we have has thin handles so she can grab it and she has got the hang of drinking now... there is little spillage and she recognizes her cup and what is in it. I gave EBM exclusively until she learned how to use it and now, once in a while when I don't have any EBM, I put in water.

I wouldn't recommend starting both solids and a sippy cup at once though. It is so very foreign to eat something new and then drink something new. IMHO, do one thing at a time so that Cole can get used to it.

We also have a collection of "real" sippy cups but Arwyn just gums them. She doesn't take a bottle so she has no idea that she has to suck (or doesn't know how from a strange object). Also, have you tried to suck liquid from one of those sippy cups with a valve? Both DH and I tried before giving one to Arwyn... it is HARD to do!

Richelle... {{{{Hugs}}}} to you. DHs just don't get it and you are not alone. My DH does stuff like that all the time... makes you want to throw a full on tantrum and then leave. Too bad we can't huh? :roll:

Naomi... love the picture. Isn't that just so cool that they can do uninhibited things like that? Us grown ups on the other hand, can be way to practical. :wink:

Judy... great picture! I love the matching outfits! I can sort of picture how you feed both your girls but to accommodate Sarah on your knees too? I would just give up and let her have the chair!

Roz... you are right. It would take FOREVER to give a full feed via a cup or sippy cup. I think Arwyn is pretty good at it and it still takes us forever to give 2 oz. Where in Vancouver are you? We should meet up one day!

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

[Arwyn's mom]

Ugh... forgot who asked about the playing when supposed to be napping thing.

Arwyn can distract herself and "play" with whatever is in her crib. Her lovey, her sleeping blanket, her quilt... her hands, etc. What we now have to do is put her in her sleeping position on her tummy which makes her cry immediately... HOLD her down firmly...  and then pat/shush. If I then stop, she will cry, roll over, and proceed to amuse herself with something and then smile at me. I feel so bad, forcing her to cry before going to sleep but this is the only way she can sleep now. I used to have an independent sleeper who could put herself to bed from awake in 5 minutes. Now, I need to help her. I think she is more able to fight sleep now that she is older and has more control (and will). I need to do this for every nap and every evening. I hope this too, will pass but for now, I just accept that this is the way she needs to go to sleep.

[Colesmom]

(((Hugs))) Richelle.  DHs are clueless on the best of days...but to make a comment like that after a long day of work and little sleep the night before  :evil:   When I was pregnant my DH thought he'd be getting a gourmet meal every night once we had the baby.  You know, in all my spare time. Boy, has he changed his tune!

I was the one who asked about what to do when your little one wants to play.  It's not during naps but nighttime.  Well, it DID happen for nap today because DH put him down for the first time without me here and it just didn't work.  He missed the last crucial step of wind down though...but I digress.  It happens if he wakes to feed at 3:30am...he'll stay up until 5.  Or last night he woke after the first 45 minutes screaming...then didn't settle for another hour or so.  I was so stressed tonight hoping he wouldn't wake at the 45 min. mark and he didn't. phew.

Starting cereal tomorrow.  I gave him a spoon today to try out while in his high chair and he seemed to like putting it in his mouth.  I'll give a full report with possible photo in the morning.

Thanks for all the sippy cup reports.  I think I will wait a little while.  At least a couple of weeks to see how he takes to the solids first.  If he jumps right in without issues then I'll try the cup.

I'm going to watch Nip/Tuck.  Anyone watch?  I love this show

Traci

[busymom]

Hi Everyone,

I thought I'd introduce myself since I've spent the last ten minutes reading this thread. 

My name is Lori.  I live in Toronto, Canada with my dh and 2 girls.  We have been married for 4 years, and together for 12.  My beautiful daughters are 24 months old, and 4.5 months old.  Sarah was born in September 2004, and Hailey at the end of May.  I am at home until June.  My lo has been a difficult baby- touchy/grumpy with terrible reflux.  Had to hold her to get any sleep for the first 3 months.  She would not sleep in her crib, and would not sleep or nap unless held, which I swore I would never do.  Tried everything Tracy suggested, but could not get her to do it.  Eventually moved her into an amby hammock, where she sleeps at night (requring a lot of soothing to sleep), but she does not sleep well and will not nap unless held and toted around the house all day.  We are trying to sort out her reflux meds, and hope that things will improve from there. 

Anyhow,  just wanted to say hi and introduce myself.  I stumbled across this site by accident when I was trying to find answers for why my baby would not eat- prior to her being diagnosed with reflux.  Since then it has been such a huge source of support for me, and a break from the daily stresses of being a SAHM.

Take care,
Lori

[Judy]

Big welcomes to all the new gals!!   

Richelle big hugs!  On the nanny thing - I know it really breaks your heart that your lo reached out for the nanny.  I remember my oldest putting up a huge fuss when we had to leave the babysitter's when I was working before the twins were born.  BUT I kept reminding myself that that was a whole lot better than leaving them there hysterical.  It would be more heartwrenching to have them heartbroken that you were leaving them everyday.  On the bright side she likes her nanny and that is really good.  No one can replace mommy!  Just not possible. 

As for dh and his dinner comment  :evil:   I say have making dinner a real hit or miss so he learns to stop expecting it.  :lol:   THEN he'll be more appreciative on the nights you do make it. 

Ankie the cup you give Arwyn - is it an open cup?  I gave Zoe a sippy with water in it when we started solids.  Took a long time before she started really using it (a good month or more) but just put water in it everyday for her to play with or drink.  Sarah I gave bottles till well after a year because I wasn't sure how I felt about the sippy cup - have read it has some negative potential in the way it works the mouth/tongue muscles and speech (actually my niece has a speech problem and her therapsit suggested it was from the sippy building the tongue muscles while flat - but she used them for a long time too).  My older girls were both using regular open cups by - hmmm, I don't know, Sarah just turned two... it's been a LONG time - can't remember when we started but it took a while to be less messy   She did eventually use sippies too though for morning milk.  Sarah was such (was?  IS) a scavenger that she took to the sippy very easily since it was someone else's

[Little Bear's Mum]

Hi everyone. Welcome to the 'newbys', and those who have observed but not posted. Sorry, this could be long.....

I've been a bit busy the last couple of days, and haven't been able to catch up with everyone until now. Wow, it's busy busy busy here!

I'm Hayley, will be 34 yrs old in 2 days time  :cry: have one son, Daniel who was born 11 April 2005. I think he's textbook with a bit of Angel and Touchy, which if I recall correctly is Cole too. I've noticed that Cole & D often go through similar things, so perhaps it's due to their personalities.

I live on an airforce base in New Zealand. Hubby is in the airforce. We've been married 20 months and together about 6 years. Prior to becoming a SAHM I worked as an executive assistant for the CEO of an investment company. I plan on going back about 10hours per week in March/April next year but not working exclusively for him, just doing whatever is needed, possibly even looking after the marketing side of things which I'd really enjoy.

I've got to share my great news with you in regards to Daniel. As you all know we've had lots of sleeping dramas with him. Well, we've now had 3 nights sleeping from about 6.30pm - 6am without feeding/waking. Last night he did wake for a quick feed, but we'd had a really messy day as we were out so he didn't feed properly. I"m so happy he's now sleeping thru, mostly.

Also Daniel's naps have sorted themselves out. He's onto his 2nd 2 hour nap for the day. I'm thinking I should go and wake him so he doesn't sleep too much! Although a lot of mums find that solids don't help their LO's, for us it has definitely made a difference. Daniel's now eating 3 good sized meals and b/feeding well too. I think it was dropping the cluster bf at 5pm and making that his dinner time meant he is now taking a much bigger feed right before bed, and that's why he's sleeping thru, I"m sure of it.

Now, what was it I wanted to comment on......

Richelle, hang in there, cry as much as you need to, we're here for you.

Tracy, how's the crawling going? Have you had to child proof the house yet?

Emi, Daniel prefers his toes to anything else right now too! Makes for great photos don't you think!?!

Judy, you must be looking forward to the games the girls are going to play, like pretending they're each other!  :lol:  :roll:  :lol:

As for the sippy cup, I've tried Daniel on one with a valve, but might take the valve out and see if we have more luck.

Enough from me, I'll have to keep up so I don't have 5 pages to read next time!

Thanks again everyone for your stories, suggestions and help. It's always great to come on here and find out what you and your LO's are up to.

[sophieandhannah]

Welcome to everyone new.  I am relatively new myself, so it's good to have company. 

Andrea-thanks for the link to the nursery rhymes.  I JUST said to dh the other day...I am so sick of the itsy bitsy spider and the wheels on the bus...I need new material.  This is great.  I am going to go check it out as soon as I am done posting.

Naomi- that picture was hysterical! I love it. It reminded me that we are always telling Brendan to stay OUT of the puddles when it rains...how awful of us, we need to let him let loose!

Judy- fun to see a pic of you too and your two.  I have been wishing that I had a hands free pumping set up so that I could type while pumping, since I do it sooo much, but at least I can read...

Speaking of pics, did anyone see the pic of the little girl who fell asleep on the coffee table?  I wish I could tell you which forum it was in, but I cannot remember.  Maybe someone else who's seen it can lead the others there.  It is pure comedy. lol.

Ankie- I am wondering also, was it an open cup that you taught Arwyn to use?  wow.  I would really like to do that!  It just seems that they have to lean so far back to take anything from a cup.  I like the idea of taking the valve out...I too have tried to suck from one of those and it is NOT easy..some are however easier than others.

Richelle richelle richelle!!!!  I am so sorry.  I have been seriously wanting to vent the last few days about my dh...They really don't get it sometimes.  I don't want to appear to be a basher but...maybe this will make you feel better.  Here is a snapshot of my house today.  We are gone all afternoon taking Brendan to his indoor soccer game (useless!).  Sophie has had no afternoon nap because she basically won't sleep anywhere anymore EXCEPT her crib (be careful what you wish for ladies)  She also is about an hour or more late for her late aft. feeding and fed horribly during her first two feedings of the day, so I know she's hungry...and mommy dearest (that would be me) forgot her bottle of EBM!!!!  So we stop at Babies R us pick up formula, pears and bottles.  Well, dh doesn't want to buy bottles, he wants to buy another sippy cup..."we can just feed her the formula with that"  right!  Uh, hello...have you EVER seen her drink more than a drop from a sippy cup?  (I wanted to say) well she's not going to start now...but I held my tongue, not wanting to make him feel disrespected in the whole baby rearing process and just made a case for having the bottles for an emergency. 
So anyhow, we are on our way home, after she had refused the formula, ate a ton of pears and didn't sleep a wink.  She was so obviously exhausted and overstim. All I can think about is of course getting home so that she can eat and sleep. Plus I am starving having not eaten lunch and only a couple of pieces of toast for breakfast.    So I suggest that we stop and I run in and get a few bagels etc, knowing there's not much a home....he kind of shrugs and says oh that's ok, WE can make something when WE get home....well, as you ladies probably understand, WE, meaning ME was going to be very busy when we got home trying to feed and nap a very tired very hungry baby, not to mention i needed to pump badly having not done so since morning....so WE were not going to just get around to making something for at least an hour or two!  And I was starving.  So, it feels really good to vent.  Sophie, thankfully ate and went down easy.  I pumped (and had to beg for a little computer time to read while I did it) then I went to the grocery store and made dinner.  Which he scarfed down in seconds and announced that WE could clean up later!!!!!! (he did actually just clean up...I have to give him a little credit) but it's just that they just don't GET it, and you just can;t keep educating them, they take it too personally. Ugh.  DIdn't realize how badly I needed to get that off of my chest.  I am usually so good at communicating these things to him, but I lately feel like I just don;t know where to start!  I think he's a little jealous of me coming here.  BTW
Anyhow, Richelle, don't know if that helped you, but it helped me. thanks

 
I can't remeber who said it but it is so true, you are the mom, there is no substitute. Not now, not ever.  She loves you above all else.  You have the most primal bond.  She was Inside of your body!!! No one can trump that wild card baby!

Oh, and by the way, I loved your joke in your intro..Hi my name is Hannah and I am a Baby whisperer...I really feel like I need to do that now!!

As always.  This is wonderful. 
BTW---so glad I have a girl...no peeber (?) to keep track of  :lol: