March/April '05 Thread #4

[Colesmom]

Traci, yay for Cole's sleep. FYI Daniel is awake 3 hours from when he first wakes for the day to first nap. Then 3.5h for the next awake time. Mostly now he sleeps 1.5h each nap. This makes his naps a lot later, 9.30am for first and he doesn't go down until 2.30pm for his 2nd nap. Waking around 4pm. He goes to sleep for the night at 7pm

This sounded very much like our day today.  Slept 9:45-11:30 :shock:  :shock:  then 2:30-3:30.  I actually had DH wake him (wanted him woken at 3:45 but DH got mixed up) because I want to maintain a 6:30 bedtime if I can.  We'll see how bedtime goes...this is new territory for me with a 3:30 wakeup.  I have to say I really really like it!

Cathy-glad to see DH got in on the action, including putting Carter to sleep.  I think that is so important and even though my DH doesn't do it perfectly...at least it's not always ME doing it.  You're right though...his memory will be very short about how hard it is what we do.

Naomi-have you tried to approach it from a health standpoint as opposed to a weight standpoint?  something about a healthy heart or something like that?  Of course, you could say that you can't have the stuff around for yourself either...as your resolution is to drop the remainder of your baby weight and you'd like his support.  Make it about you, not him.  HTH

Our food-I forgot I had Annabel Karmel.  DUH, gotta get that out tomorrow!

morning-fruit and oatmeal
lunch-fruit and veg with cereal or 2 vegs with cereal and recently yoghurt
dinner-2 vegs and cereal.  have only tried jarred chicken (yuk).  want to introduce eggs, other meats and tofu soon.

so I haven't been very adventurous either.  Fed him sweet potatoe from my plate yesterday that had a touch of butter and salt and pepper.  he ate it.

gave him broccoli/cheese/potatoe casserole (jar) yesterday and today and today he spat up a bit.  i'm not sure dairy is going to go well for him as he had issues with egg a while back. I was hoping it wasn't related to the eggs but now maybe it is.  *sigh*  who said their lo has a dairy allergy?  I so hope cole doesn't....

okay, got a guest over and we have other friends coming over for a game night sooooooooo gotta run!

[Arwyn's mom]

Janet... welcome! Thanks for the intro... looking forward to getting to know you and Kay!

Naomi... we struggle here with "easy" snacking foods here. The only way we can avoid it is to not have it in the house at all. I don't know if your DH is a snacker because he is... or because the food is around. DH and I find that our snacking is caused by the presence of the food, not us.

Nancy... {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to you. I hope Liv settles her night sleep soon. I soooooo know what you are talking about... sleep deprivation is no fun. Glad to know you guys had a wonderful visit though!

Cathy... I know what you mean about wondering why your lo who has sleeping through the night for the last 5 months, suddenly doesn't. I am STILL wondering. :wink:

Okay... I can't remember specific people anymore but general areas of discussion... separation anxiety & food.

SA... DH and I have noticed that Arwyn "requests" one or the other of us to put her to sleep sometimes. She usually takes 20 minutes to settle down for night sleep and if it takes more than that and she is "calling" DH, I let DH put her down. We are worried it is turning into a prop but so far, it is intermittent and we also think that it is because DH has been home for the last 2 weeks. Tomorrow, though... he is back to work and we'll see what tomorrow night brings. :roll:

During the day, Arwyn needs to be close to us... she is not super clingy, but she needs to be within "reachable" distance and in sight. We can no longer put on BE and leave the room. She keeps checking for where we are. I too, have had days where I had to carry her around while doing stuff (or not doing stuff) but they are few and far between.

Food... Arwyn is a terrible eater  :? but... she loves to feed herself. I can no longer feed her by spoon very much. I cut up fruit (cantaloupe, honeydew, orange, asian pears so far.) and cheese, pasta, cooked veggies and she feeds herself at every meal while I try to get the "main" meal in. Sometimes, when we are eating something appropriate for her also, I feed her from our food. She LOVES that.

Breakfast... 4 tbsp cereal & fruit
Lunch... pasta in soup with veggies
4 pm snack... cheese and cookies or Cheerios or Baby Mum mums
Dinner... 4 tbsp congee w/ veggies & meat

Oh... mustn't forget those Cheerios. I let her have Cheerios throughout the entire meal. Otherwise, she is fussy, whine-y and a general grouch, refusing to eat. My mother says that I should withhold them but then, it would turn into a power struggle to feed her and I would rather not. Besides, she only gets 4 tbsps (maybe) of cereal for brekkie.

Arwyn also, doesn't like my food as much as the jarred foods. I don't often give her the jarred stuff but when I do, she just gobbles it up. Sometimes it makes me sad... :cry:

Anyhow... I am sure I will be checking in more often now that DH will be going back to work tomorrow. "See" y'all later!

[hayes]

Happy New Year to everyone.
Nikki-glad to hear that you have an expert shaver in your house as well.  I will allow Dh to do it sometimes but I am afraid he is going to shave everything off.
Hayley-Ben on solids is a roller coaster for us.  Currently he is into accepting a lot of different foods but squishing it out of his mouth.  Don't give up on your foods though.  When we went on vacation I used jarred food and it took a while to get him back on home made. 
wake bf
8-yogurt/fruit sometimes cereal
11bf
12:30 veggies/meat/cheerios
3bf
5 veggies/meat
6:30bf
lots of advocado and some tofu
Hannah-I have been using aquafor on the most recent rash and a warm bath and some nakkie time
Naomi-thanks for asking about the flooding.  We are doing good so much rain though and tons of sirens all of the time.  We went outside yesterday for "storm watch" and videoed the storm.  People in CA think it is such a big deal when it rains for more than a day and more than a few inches!!!
Bec-thinking about you... I too want more kids but don't know if my mind can handle it.  I know down the road I will feel better and less stressed
Naomi-I agree with the idea of throwing you into the eating healthy theme
also, talk about how soon it is going to be important to show Ri and everyone in the house how to eat good.  DH and I ate a bag of Fritos yesterday in the morning!!!  He said I guess we won't be able to do this soon!
Nancy-glad that you made it back safe and sound.  Hope the waking decrease rapidly
Lots of wakings here as well.  Yesterday had a terrible diareah(Sp?) day.  Ben went poop 5 times and the stench was out of this world.  Today it is still runny but not as stinky.  Doc is out of the office until tomorrow.  I had a really cheesy appetizer two days ago with melted asiago cheese... do you think that was it?  The babysitter's mom our neighbor who is so nice also happened to feed him some of her home made soup :evil:  :twisted:  she is a lovely lady but her cooking is very imaginative... can't believe she did that.
His mood is normal and he is napping well, hoping that it gets better soon.
after the chat I went in the kitchen and DH told me that I had to pay for being on the computer for so long!!! 
hope you are all doing well.  Talk again soon.
macaire

[becca24]

Hi Girls

Thanks so much for all the hugs    I know you all are needing them too. I wish we could get together and have a big group hug    Then  party time  :lol:

Traci - I am imagining you doing your stretches in the middle of the night  :lol:  :lol: IT's cracking me up !! Talk about multi-tasking LOL

Nikki - I bet that feels great to have both kids sleep through  Halle slept through last night from 7.30ish to 5.30ish and just went down without a peep for her first nap, so I am thinking today is going to be a good day 

Jo & Nancy Welcome back! And also welcome to Janet & Kay 

Naomi - I would do what others have suggested and not have the junk food in the house. I was thinking maybe you could all go for a walk as a family or something but not sure what happens with the snow  :?

Karen - I give Halle snacks while we are out. I don't think it matters how much she snacks as long as it's healthy stuff. She sometimes gets chips but they keep her quiet while I eat my meal  :wink:

Hayley - don't you mean to say you DH eats 'Fush & Chups'  :lol: JK!!

Erin - I am still pretty simple with the food. Cereal & Fruit for breakfast. Yogurt & Fruit for lunch. Veges for tea. Some snacks in between of toast or cheese or chopped up fruit or spriral pasta.

I got a little recipe book from my Mother & Child health nurse. She is not suppose to hand them out because they have an advertisement for formula in them but she snuck me one!! It's called 'The Yummy Scrummy in your Tummy Cookbook" It has some really great recipe's in it.  Here's one called "Bambino Bolognese" I am going to be adventurous try it out on Halle for her first taste of meat. (as soon as I can find those tiny star pasta things)

2 tbsp tiny star pasta (stelline)
60g lean minced beef or veal
1 tsp butter
1 skinned, finely diced tomato
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp water
1 tsp grated cheese
1 tsp garlic

Cook the pasta in boiling water. Drain and mix with butter. Saute beef or veal for 2-3 mins in butter and garlic, add the chopped tomato, tomato paste, water and cover. Simmer until meat is tender (about 15 mins). Pour over pasta and garnish with a little grated cheese.

[Jayri]

becca thank you for that.....I had a chuckle at what to do in the snow....it is amazing at how different places can be...you are hot and sunny and we are cold and snowy.
Thank you for the suggestions girls..dh and I know we have to do somethig about our eating, but ankie I think you hit the nail on the head with eating cuz it is there.
I am doing good, my goal weight is 120lbs, but I will settle for anything 140 or below right now.....hope fully by the summer most of it will be gone...we have a water fountain at work, so that is all I drink there, and also I walk to work and back....so that is 45mins each way......
I bettter get off to bed girls.....the kids are back at their sitters in the morning...

[kate585]

You all have been busy.  Had to wait til I dropped my mom off at the airport as she made the comment that I am "on that computer all the time."   :evil:   She was watching a movie, so I took that time to catch up here, post some pictures, and do some other stuff.  I told her that she hurt my feelings and I way over-reacted...guess I'm a little sensitive about anyone thinking I spend too much time here.   :oops:   
Anyway, down to business...and yes, I took notes this time!    :lol:

Cathy, DH is lactose intollerant so I know a bit about it.  Look for words like dairy, calcium, and milk (duh) but also whey.  That's the tricky one.

Bec, (((hugs))) to you.  I know what you mean about being at your wit's end.  I'm nervous about tomorrow as DH is back to work and my mom is gone now.  It'll be just the two of us.   :shock:   How will I go to the bathroom or eat?  It'll be like I am teaching again where you can't go to the bathroom for hours at a time.  And they wonder why teachers have a high rate of kidney issues.   :lol:

Nancy, (((hugs))) to you, too.  Give yourself a few days at home to adjust and I'm sure Miss Liv will swing back into routine.  After one trip, it took Ryan nearly a week to get back to normal and that was without any teeth issues.  Good luck!!!

Naomi, ditto what the other girls said about dh.  If it's around, I eat it...as is evidenced by the grotesque amount of Christmas cookies I've consumed over the last 2 weeks!   :?

Janet, welcome.  My full name is Kathleen and I think Kay is a great way to shorten it.   

Karen, we give Ryan Cheerios or Puffs when we are out, if it is not time for his meal.  We also give him bits of our food, if appropriate.  It's always funny to see his reaction to spices and sauces.   :lol:  :oops:   The best food we've found is white, sticky rice at Chinese/Japanese places.  It keeps him really busy and it's not bad for him. 

Here is our food life in a nutshell:
8-wake and bf
9-4 Tbsp. oatmeal and 4 oz. fruit
12-bf
1-4 oz. fruit (or yogurt) and 4 oz. veggie and a slice of cheese if no yogurt
4-bf
5:30- 4 Tbsp. oatmeal and 4 oz. veggie, maybe toast or a biter biscuit
7-bf top off
I also give him some Cheerios or puffs when I am getting his food ready or when I am eating.  Just a few, but usually it's at every meal.  No snack yet, except for the 4 o'clock bf.  Must start transitioning to food first for lunch, but it's hard to decide when to do something that seems that major...I know it's not at all, but it's still a bit scary to me.   :?

Had a lovely day today.  Took Ryan and my mom to the zoo as it was in the 50's.  Got there early enough that the Children's Zoo was free!  Hooray!  (Usually $4/person...not that bad, but we don't usually go in).  He LOVED petting the goats and the guinea pigs and seeing the meerkats and hedgehogs up close.  (Don't worry we cleaned his hands after touching the animals!)  Thought of my friends down South when we saw Tree Kangaroos and other exotic animals.   No kookaburras, though. 

[Olivia's Mommy]

Thanks for all the hugs and support, ladies! After I posted my huge ranting vent session, I stopped to think, you know, we've only been home 2 days...perhaps she just needs time to adjust. I think I'm just so worn out from the exhausting trip and lack of sleep that I'm over anxious to get back to a regular routine! And now DH is sick...he's been in the bathroom puking all night (sorry, TMI?), so I've got the lone watch on Liv tonight. I've been in there 4 times already in the last hour. The good news is, it's taking less time to settle her each time I go in...only 5 min last time. So, here's to a not-so-grueling night!

I feel really selfish just coming on here and blabbing about my problems without commenting on any of your issues or successes...I'm just too tired to catch up at the moment. Please know I do miss you all and will catch up soon. (Hopefully, you'll realize I'm not always this self-absorbed!)

Well, off to get some sleep. Hitting the hay early tonight as I'm sure it will be a long one.

G'night all...I'll check in tomorrow.

[sophieandhannah]

Wow girls.  So muhc to read about.
Hugs to all of the ladies experiencing sleep issues.  I am a total wreck when that happens.  Actually I just noticed that Sophie has FOUR! teeth coming in up top at the same time.  They have all broken through (WTF..how did that happen)  I was thinking maybe we got through it with nothing big....but we'll see....
The teeth plus the diaper rash could make for an interesting night.  I broke down and used Desitin (zinc) last night and tonight thinking it might help, instead of aquaphor.  It has helped some...but I don't know.  I was reading in "What to Expect..." and they said to call your doc if the rash lasts more than tw -three days...really?  What do you all think...that seems a little alarmist to me... but hey what do I know?

Welcome home to Jo and Cathy and Nancy.  Good to hear a little update about Holly.  Looking forward to having her back. 

Traci...so cool about the marathon.  I ran one also, in 2004.  I was planning for it to be the first of possibly many but I think I am going to have to settle for the half this year.  The training and recovery is just too time consuming for the whole marathon...too much with the lo for now at least.

I cooked a fish recipe out of the Annabvel Karmel book and Sophie really liked it...although now I am wondering if that's the culprit for the diaper rash.

Bec...hugs to you too.  Don't be too hard on yourself...it's hard to "chill out" when your lo is whining in your ear all day long.  I hope it passes soon for you!

Naomi...dh and I have soooo many food issues and we kind of get each other going unfortunately.  I find that we really both make a commitment to eating well and then one of us will have a craving and the other will give in and then all of a sudden I am at the grocery store at 10pm buying ice cream.(So much for the if it's not around we won't eat it theory...we need to move farther away from the grocery store )  Ugh.  The hardest part is that I have lost most of my baby weight but he hasn't really lost any of his.  I do agree to talk to him about it in terms of a health issue...and a role modeling issue.  Dh and I are much more cautious when Brendan is around and we know we have to start soon being careful for Sophie's sake.  Also, I think that focusing on getting more excersize...or any kind of movement into your day is probably the best place to put your energies...instead of laboring too much over the food thing as long as the majority of your choices are ok.

Well, it's back to work for me tomorrow...sniff...sniff
    I'll be checking in every chance I get...You know you're addicted when you are saddened more by the fact that you won't be able to check the thread then by the fact that you won't see your lo for hours!! :roll:

Hannah

[solnme]

Hi Everybody! 
Just finished the last 12 pages.  Must admit DH thinks I got a little too excited when I saw the new thread but it's been great to sit back and catch up with a lot of 'ahhs' and laughs.

Micky - can't wait to hear more stories about your sister come Feb. 

Bec - any more camping with Wilnilligopers and Handlehorns on your next vacation?  :wink: Saw King Kong over the holidays and laughed out loud at one part thinking about your previous camping story!

Naomi - Yay Riley!

Welcome back Jo and Hi to you Janet!

Hugs to everyone dealing with the 'clingy baby'.  We've got it bad here too. The vacation was great, much more relaxing than I expected.  My nieces had a few days to settle in with my bro and their step-mom before we arrived and that made a huge difference.  That transition stage can be tough.
For the most part Sol did really well.  Always took an am nap but skipped all the afternoons.  He started night waking on the 3rd night and by the last night it took me almost 2 hours to get him to sleep and he woke at least 3 times that night. 
We got back at midnight Fri. then on Sat. went to an open house, (put in an offer) shopped to re-stock the fridge then I cooked for our NYs guests.  I don't know what I was thinking. I was so tired I fell asleep on our guests before 12.
 
Today was the first day we actually did nothing and I can't believe the change in Sol. He went down for both naps with no fuss and slipped to sleep at 6:30 without a peep.  I think we pushed the poor little pup too far.  I'm just praying it sticks.

Ran out of pre-cooked food and tried feeding some jarred food on the trip.  Lo went on a hunger strike. Yesterday I made a huge pot of Spaghetti Bol and Beef Strogonoff.  He seems to like it.
Thanks for the food ideas.  I feel like I'm getting into a rut and need more ideas.  Cheerios have become a food group in this house.  Now he eats:
Wake up-BF
Breakfast - cereal/fruit
Lunch - veggi/ meat&rice
Snack- bottle
Dinner - veggie/ protein
Bedtime - BF

I'm like Kate? and feed Sol food if we go out even if he's already eaten.  Might become a snacking problem but I think it's good for him to try the foods that I would probably never make.

I want to make potatos with broc&cheese but don;t know if I should mush  it or leave it in chunks for him? 

Ok, my eyes are glazing over. night

[albertasweetpea]

Welcome to Janet and little Kay - another Canadian joins us!!  I was so happy to hear that your little one has no teeth either yet! I was beginning to feel like an outsider. LOL  :lol:

Becca - So sad you are feeling down. You are totally entitled to feel touchy/stressed/upset/frustrated or just plain sad - I can totally relate - more on that later. Glad that you feel you can come here to lean on us and hope that some virtual {{{{{{{{{{ HUGS }}}}}}}}}} will make you feel a wee bit better.

Traci/Hayley - We too are struggling with chunkier foods. DH keeps telling me not to give them to her as she just gags and chokes but I know we have to keep trying things or she won't ever want the chunkier stuff!! Then tonight, just to prove a point, she gagged on her rice and proceeded to puke up the green beans she had eaten!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr talk about frustrating!!  :evil:

Naomi - Huge {{{{{{{{{{ HUGS }}}}}}}}}} for you trying to help your DH with his unhealthy eating habits. It is hard to watch someone who is overweight and know that they are doing bad things to their body but you are helpless to stop it. Just keep healthy snacks in the house and keep yourself and the kids healthy. Maybe he will see it and want to join in?? I have some good Weight Watchers recipes that are for cakes, muffins etc. that are healthy and yet very "treat like" if you are interested?? :roll:

Erin - our food routine (keep in mind we have NO TEETH in the house yet!!)

7 am - bottle - 8 oz. as well as some cereal with fruit mixed in (jarred baby food)
11 am - cereal + 1/2 jar veggies + 1/2 jar fruit (or 1/2 jar more chunkier textured Heinz foods mixed with cereal) + 6 oz bottle
2 pm - same as above, trying to get her to eat more "food" at this feeding and less bottle.
6 pm - same as above + 6 oz bottle
** sometimes will give a Minigo (yoghurt/soft cheese) instead of cereal.

Often after her afternoon nap I will give a "snack" of puffed wheat or cheerios and water, or sometimes a rice rusk (rarely as they have alot of sugar in them) or a Farley's biscuit.

Cathy - was LMAO at your DH's comment about being "babied out"!! Men are such babies arent' they?? Gosh what would we do if they had to stay home every day and do it all like we do???  Also, love the new avatar of Carter - I'm a big fan of black and white pics.

Nancy -  welcome back!! Sorry to hear of your many sleepless nights on your vacation. Poor things! Hopefully being back home Liv will settle back into the old routine. Never feel selfish for just coming on and venting about you and Liv (same goes out to you Jody!!) sometimes you just need a safe place to "talk" and glad we can be it!!  :wink:

OK now our update...Molly is starting daycare tomorrow :cry:  :cry:  :cry:. Aaron and I have both been so cranky and emotional all day today it is unbelievable. I did not anticipate this and am so surprised that it has been affecting me this way. I know the daycare we are putting her in is very good (Mason went there 5 years ago - started when he was 6 months old and went until he was 5) and they still have many of the same staff. I also know that she is such a happy, social little girl that she will thrive on daycare much like Mason did. I think the main thing that is bothering me is that I think this is my last baby and now I feel that the baby stage is over...IFKWIM?? Gosh, I am gulping down tears typing this. Can't really say anything more but will post tomorrow about how she (and us) did. Thanks for listening.   :cry:  :cry:

[mickymuscles]

hi girls!

Michelle - good luck tomorrow and I'll be thinking of you! 

Hannah- Jack has a sensitive bum too.  He often gets a bad diaper rash when he is teething.....tends to have more poops too.  Also, if he is in a poopy diaper for any length of time he'll end up getting a raw bum.  He had a really bad bum once....the ped said to leave him bare bummed as much as possible, use wet towels instead of wipes, let him bum dry thoroughly before using a good barrier cream (zinc based)....especially important to put a thick coat of cream on their bums at night.  If I follow all of these steps his bum usually clears up within a day or two.  If he has a poopy bum we still use the wipes then wipe his bum after with a wet towel to get any residue from the wipe off him. HTH.

Nancy, Bec, Naomi and Jody (and everyone else)....feel free to come and vent on here as much as you want...that's what makes us all such good friends!  :wink:   There is always someone here to listen! And most likely relate!  :roll:

[Little Bear's Mum]

Hi, this will be quick as i'm watching tv about a 2 people who disappeared 4 years ago. I was always interested in the case, just cos it was so sad, NY eve disappearance/murder, and then I found out a friend of mine was very good friends with the girl, they grew up together. So now it seems even more interesting. Terrible awful thing to happen. Anyway......

Hi to everyone who's come back. Michelle, I hope yours and Molly's day goes well tomorrow. I am going back to work in April and I'm sure I'll be going thru just what you are now. I get flittery in my tummy just thinkingn about it. But as you said, I'm sure you will find everything goes fine.

After a few stressful days of Daniel not eating my food finally today we've hada break thru. I tried a recipe from Karen, kumara custard, and he ate it! Yay! Then I thought I'd try some kumara and apple for dinner and while I was getting it ready DH had some cottage cheese on a cracker. Daniel looked interested so we gave him some c-cheese. He liked it. Then I remembered I'd given him some once before, so I mixed his pureed kumara into the cottage cheese. Again success. Phew. I finished off with 2 cubes of apple of which he ate most of that too. So I think it's the texture, he was needing more pureed food again. We had a roast chicken tonight, so I've saved some veges from that. I'll puree them up tomorrow and hope we have more luck again. I also read somewhere that at this age he may like to suck/chew on a slice of roast vege, so we'll try that too.

Thanks for all your comments about food and what your LO are eating. Very interesting. When they have cereal with their veges, are you mixing the two together or having separate? Also, do you just add the powder to the food or make up with formula/milk and then add to veges?

Last food question, what are cherios, and for us kiwi's who can't get them, what other food is similar that I could use as a substitute?

Ok, this was meant to be short. Gotta go now. Bye.

[Jayri]

hey girls, I wanted to pop in and say hi before I start work today.
Michelle I know what you are talking about. we are still not sure if Riley is the last for us, most probably not, but still, it is hard letting her go each day. I know that she is going to be fine, and is in good hands, but still it just sucks that she is not with me. Good luck with today ( tuesday)...it does get easier each day.
Roz, so nice to see you again.
Janet, welcome to our craziness, it can get real busy around here at times but it is always fun.
Righty ho girls, I need to start my work day here....take care everyone.

[Carter'sMama]

I am a freakin' zombie today!!!  We had a pretty bad night last night ... well actually I should say I had a pretty bad night last night!  Dh had a sore throat/headache combo so went to bed early and didn't wake up all night     I on the other hand was up 4 times totalling well over 2 hours.  Carter wasn't crying or upset (except the one time where he had peed through his diaper AGAIN and I had to change him while breastfeeding) he was actually PLAYING!!!  WTH???  It's 2:00am and he wants to play ... I don't think so!!  :evil:   To top it off, yesterday was my first day back at the gym in a few months and I was soooo sore last night.  It is even worse today.  I can barely lift my arms.  I always tend to over due it with the weights  :roll:  :oops:

Anyone else's lo peeing through the diaper?  We have tried many different brands (usually stick with Pampers even though DH would rather not shell out the extra money for them).  We even went up a size and it didn't seem to help.  He usually does it atleast once a day (usually night time but sometimes at nap time).  I have a feeling that now that he sleeps on his side it helps the pee to run right out the side and up his back and it is so frustrating!  Also, my other thought is maybe his diapers are too full.  He gets a diaper change before bed at 8:00ish and then not another one until 7:00am and then they are sooo full and heavy.  Maybe it interferes with absorption???  He never has rashes though so I don't think it bothers him to wait that long.  WHo knows??

Traci:  LOL about the stretching at night!  I started doing yoga using his crib railings about a month ago during night wakings.  I agree ... might as well do something while up!!! 

Macaire:  Hope you don't get to much rain and everyone stays safe!

Naomi:  We are horrible for snacking here!!  DH likes to eat potato chips before dinner because he is so hungry.  He also loves McDOnalds, Burger King etc.  Problem is ... HE can handle it!  He's 6ft2in and like 180lbs soaking wet (tall toothpick!!).  I have to try and get him to eat healthy for his body not for weight issues.  I want/need to have him around for a long time!!! 

Food issues!!!  Carter actually eats my food better than the jarred food (except for sweet potatoes!!).  He  refuses to eat carrots and squash and peaches out of jars.  Weird!!!

Have a good day everyone!  Here's hoping that tonight is MUCH better than last night and that my poor aching muscles heal quickly!!

[Richelle]

Hello Ladies,

Well, it seems as though things are busy busy around here again!  Aothough I have noticed a lack of Judy yesterday and hope you are feeling OK - STREP, YIKES!!

As for food here, Sophie had lost interest in pureed meals, it is all finger foods here except breakfast.  I am still managing to get a jar of veg in a day which is good.  The problem with finger foods is that it takes her about 9 hours to eat a meal  :roll: !  Our food day yesterday

7AM - Cereal mixed with formula and fruit puree, followed by a 6 oz bottle
11AM - Cheesy penne noodles, roast chicken breast (cut in strips), toast 1/2 jar of squash and 1/2 a banana.  Followed by a 6oz bottle
3PM - 6oz bottle
5PM - egg (cut into strips), toast with cheese, other 1/2 of squash jar, mardarin orange segments and 1/2 banana
7PM 8 oz bottle before bed

We also feed Sophie snacks when we are out.  Suction bottom bowls with cheerios or veggie puffs.  She also tries whatever we are having.  She is getting better at feeding herself anf it doesn't quite take 9 hours but it was so much simpler when I could just shovel it in.  I also have started making things aat the beginning of the week, ie:  made a pot of penne, roast some veggies and roast some chicken breasts to use for the week.  I reheat the noodles in hot water and then use the hot water as a "double boiler" to mix in cheese and milk to make cheesy noodles.  also I have been buying canned fruit in water (mandarin oranges) ect.  I will also cut up fresh fruits days in advance which DH and I snack on too  !

As for SA, Sophie has good days and bad days, less bad days now that the teething has slowed down but...

YES BEC it can be so exhausting, namely emotionally.  You get on here and unload all ya want.  PS even your rants are funny and make me giggle! 

When my SIL and MIL came to visit ages ago they brought a walker for my nephew and left it with us.  I had forgotten about it until we moved.  One day Sophie would not let me leave her side, water works and screaming and she didn;t like her exersaucer anymore.  I busted out the walker and she loves it!  It took a few days to learn how to "drive" but now she follows me around when she wants or explores the house, we have no stairs so I don;t have to really watch her in it either.  I try not to put her in it too often so she can keep figuring out the crawling but it sure does come in handy!

DH is back to work today phewww...  Love hime to bits and it was nice having him home but talk about a mess!  Anyone else find this - I have spent the last week cleaning non stop and finally put 2 and 2 together yesterday and told him he was a slob  :shock:  :lol: .

Naomi - I agree that out of site out of mind is a good strategy, I do not buy junk food and it seems to help.  I don't think nagging will work, it never does but a serious sit down objective conversation on the benfits of eating healthy as a family might.  I know how you feel, my DH smokes, ughhhhh!  I am an ex smoker so know how hard it is to quit but hey if I can do it so can he!  I refuse to nag him about it but will say something if he goes around Sophie smelling like smoke ect... I tell him his habits are his but I don't want Sophie smelling like an ashtray and he needs to have a wash and brush his teeth.  The only thing I asked him for for Xmas was for him to quit smoking, hmm didn;t get it but he didn;t smoke at home the last week so that is a huge step.  I have once sat him down and had a 'chat' with him about it.  I told him I wanted Sophie to have her dad to walk her down the aisle and that I needed him to be here for me when we retire, that I want to travel and be active when our kids are grown so we can fun together, not be dead or sickly.  I know, probably laid it on a bit thick but it is how I felt and he didn;t get defensive or anything, he said he understood and would try his hardest to quit.

Hannah  - I don't know what to tell you about the bum rash.  Maybe naked time?  I usually do with Sophie everyday - we did an hour yesterday, waiting to go on the potty but nothing - she loves it though!

Nancy - I am sure Liv will get back into her routine!

I should have taken notes.. I got nuthin' else.