Parenting Check In (9/29)

ATXmommas

Happy Monday, everyone!
How is/was your weekend? Any new accomplishments, challenges or successes?

@ball.and.chain - hope you have a great first day back at work!

QOTW: One thing you hope you pass on to your kiddos and, if you have a partner, one thing you hope they pass on.

Parenting Roster:

(Please let me know if you would like to be added)

@KH826 – Will born 6/4/14

@ATXmommas – Sebastian (“Ash”) born 11/21/13, other Momma is Z

@Wallace323 – J and L born 8/8/13, surviving triplets born at 31 weeks

@Trisholio and @trisholiosboi – Proud foster parents to M born 2/6/12 and K born 8/22/13; baby Adalyn born 8/29

@JGY – Gabe born 3/24/13, other Mama is S.

@Stringy813 – M born May 2013

@Filmfanatic82 – Charley born 3/15/14

@Mamosey‌ & @Karlamo‌ – R born 2/25/14

@2brides – G & C born 5/18/06, other Mom is L

@Jrtmom – Henry born 8/15/13, other mama is L

@Sarahtrpt – C born February 2014

@CageyMack – W born 3/16/13

@Themommymonster – C (DS) born 2/18/09

@Clairmeij – Alarico born 6/28/13, other mama is V

@Mystjava – Little Bear (LB) born 3/31/10, other Mummum is Shawn

@winstan1 – J (DS) born 9/10 (currently 3.5 years old)

@newmompeanut – N (DD) born 2/12/13, other Momma is B

@herbabymama‌ – C (DD) born 12/10/13, other Mama is K

@AmandaG47 – Twin girls born 2/22/14, other Mommy is J

@mwagner25 – Oliver born 11/27/13, other parent is L

@jazibel – Kaden born 7/13/12 and Owen born 5/2/14, other parent (Aya) is EV

@2momsinCA‌ - B & O born 5/27/14

@redrockmama – M born 6/19/14, other Mama is J

@ball.and.chain – B born 6/28/14

@Flygirl1228 – Twins 7/25/14

@KLeigh1‌ - S born 7/25/14

@2MamazInSeattle‌ - S born 8/21/14

@shameless370087‌ - Anthony and Sati, born 3/9/2014, Other mom is S

@shelly2314 - Elise and Olivia, born 8/19/14, wife is M

@rkbo‌ - Amelia born 9/22/14

herbunmyoven

We had a busy weekend. A's parents were in town from Thursday to Sunday so we got some desperately needed couple time. We were able to sneak away for a couple of dinners alone together which was nice, and Nana took on the 6:30 wake ups which let us catch up on a little bit of sleep. 

They all went apple/pumpkin picking with out me on Friday. We were able to make some amazing slow cooker apple butter! Saturday we all went to this really cool outdoor children's museum called Ecotarium. Yesterday we played catchup with cleaning, shopping, and cooking. We head out to Long Island on Thursday to go see her whole family for their Octoberfest celebration, so it will be a quick and busy week. 

M is awesome. He has been learning how to do forward rolls at baby gym. Last night he was playing in our bed and just did a forward roll like it was no big deal. I think he also just passed a major wonder week. He is starting to finally understand puzzles, other fine motor play, and going through a language explosion. We are still trying to track down the peanut allergy issue and the poor guy has had a cold for about a month. Overall he is pretty laid back and easy going. 

QOTW- I hope M gets A's problem solving ability and my business/people skills. I hope he gets empathy from both of us and hope that he never feels entitiled. 

2MamazInSeattle

Simone is 5w4d old today, 9/29/14!

@ball.and.chain - hope the first day back is going great!!!

QOTW: I hope we can pass on an understanding of how to work through hard stuff in life. J and I have both done a lot of therapy to undo a lot of childhood stuff, and while I hope Simone doesn't have any 'childhood stuff' I suppose we all do. As far as skills and things like that, it'd be fun if she was creative/crafty, liked cooking and food, and enjoyed traveling and meeting people! We are not athletic but if she is, great!


I totally missed last week so I'm excited to be early today! S is sleeping and I have a good 30 minutes until feeding time, if she stays true to her self-directed schedule.

Overall, things are going well! She is nearly 10 pounds as of yesterday (9 lbs, 15.3 oz). My app says that puts her at the 61st percentile which seems just fine to us.

Milk supply is improving a bit but I'm now seeking some domperidone. I added a Mother's Blend that has goats rue and milk thistle and honestly it does seem to have upped me by a few ounces a day! I had 14 oz yesterday, up from 10-12, and supplied 70% of her intake! And some of her feeds are getting close to 3 oz at a time (we still weigh before/after each feed). Progress!!

Also, J ran into a friend who said "oh my gosh, I have like 100 oz frozen milk I need to get rid of..." YAY! So we got that last night and plan to do straight breastmilk for a few days to see if that regulates some of our gastro issues. One woman's trash is another woman's treasure .Sadly she's weaning but said she'd do a few pumping sessions for us if we wanted. So nice!

However, we are battling some serious gas and constipation issues now. Sigh. Poor baby went on a 3 (nearly 4) day poop strike! Yesterday evening she finally unloaded (profound, lemme tell ya - a 6 shart event). We've added gas drops which have offered her a ton of relief (how do I know? toots galore!) and lastly, took advice @ball.and.chain had read to give her some prune juice. We added 1 tbsp. to her bottle and within hours we were in dookieville. Now we're giving her a couple tablespoons of it a day. I also ordered a protein isolate formula (no milk or soy, presumably meat based) as it has zero allergens and we're going to try that. I myself haven't given up dairy yet, but we are being methodical to try to uncover what the issue is so one thing at a time. Sorry for the long poop ramble, but it is our biggest thing right now.

Otherwise, I've been trying to meet up with a mom friend or two each week and that has been great. We luckily met 3 couples at our childbirth ed class, and one gay male couple at our PEPS intro session who we are in touch with. Sometimes it's me and the mom/baby; and sometimes it's all 4 parents and babies. This weekend we went to the Arboretum for a long walk with another couple followed by a late lunch out/early dinner ("linner") and all went well! It was a beautiful day and just nice to be with others who 'get it' and want to talk about, ya know, poop, feeding, sleeping and stuff.  It's so funny in that their daughter has no food or poop issues, but mega sleep and awakeness issues. Simone is a great sleeper and we don't ever even think about sleep!! It's funny how different kids are.

I'm loving my time at home with her, but now and then have a stir-crazy day but am too tired or unmotivated (or waiting for a poop explosion) to leave the house. That can be frustrating but luckily friends are ok to come to me, so I try to arrange visits when I can. J is back to 4 days of work plus other meetings and she does go to boxing or the gym every day. I am finally up for walking and am getting to yoga on a schedule now! (Aside: @ATXMommas, thanks for your reply last time on my uh, down there issues. Turned out I had an angry stitch! I went in and they took it out, and also found I had mild yeast so we treated that. Now things are ok again! That was a little exercise setback...but is ok now.)

Other tidbits:
- Simone weighs almost 10 lbs!
- She is wearing some 3-6 month items already, but still mostly 0-3
- She's lost some hair, including most of her long elvis sideburns, which I think she will likely be happy about later in life.
- J is very, very concerned her belly button will end up an "outie"- I am not sure why this matter but J is very traumatized by outies...
- We are going to try a sleep sack and not a swaddle soon. She seems to like having her arms out when she naps.
- We had our first roll-down-the-cheek tears after she had a gagging episode on some spit up and it took a while for her to 'recover' - heartbreaking and scary, I used the snotsucker and cleared out her mouth and nose. Gross but it helped.
- She has alert periods in the evening and late morning usually. It's so much fun to have her awake and interactive without crying or being in (gas) pain. Lots of big eye contact! This was a little bit ago....

KH826

Will is 16.5 weeks old -- he will be 4 months on Saturday! Where is the time going?!?!

We had a good, but busy weekend! I am also having a busy work day, so I don't have time to get into tons of details, but if I wait until later I am afraid I won't update at all, sooo.....two big updates from this weekend:

*We have a baby who rolls over! Woohooo!

*We also have a baby with a tooth, and the second tooth is now starting to poke through the gum!

Those are our big milestones for the moment. Will continues to be ridiculously awesome, and we love him more each day. At least once a day my wife and I look at each other and say "How did we get so lucky?!?!"

I might do some more general updates tomorrow in my TTT. I suspect I will have more time to Bump tomorrow!

QOTW: I hope our kids get J's goofy sense of humor, her creativity and her attention to detail. I hope they get my business sense, my ability to stay calm under pressure when it counts and my loyalty. I know that is more than one thing. I couldn't pick one. Woops!

ATXmommas

My little guy is 10 months!

Just when I think we have this sleep thing figured out... His sleep had been pretty great lately, but over the past few nights he has woken twice, rather than once (or even better, none). Typically, if he wakes before 2-ish, Z can get him back to sleep easily. Not the case these past few nights. She tries, but then eventually calls out to me. I'm quite cranky when I have to get up before midnight these days. It's physically and emotionally draining. I may or may not have snapped at Z last night and said something to the effect of, "Fine, I'll just nurse him forever." ">

In other news, a Ash started shaking his head in this past week. He doesn't associate with no, but it's super cute. Probably won't be cute in a year when he's shaking it no with a purpose, but for now it is.

He has two new teeth - his top two incisors. Not exactly sure when they popped through, but I noticed this weekend. He didn't have any of his typical teething symptoms, so I was completely unaware! Let's hope the rest of them are this easy!

That's about it! I have a couple of cute stories to share, but I think I'll save them for TTT tomorrow.

QOTW: I hope Ash gets the best of both worlds from us - my sense of obligation and organization, but Z's propensity for fun and silliness, her ability to make and maintain friendships easily, and her resourcefulness.

PIP: Ash excited about his Old Navy shipment!

redrockmama

The check-in sure is slower today, usually by the time I post we are nearly to the 2nd page. Everyone must be having a busy Monday. 

M is 14 weeks. 

He rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time Saturday night and we amazingly happened to catch it on video, go us! We never do tummy time because he hates it so we were both shocked. He does back to tummy while he sleeps, but only did it awake once when he was super tiny. 

We went to my dad's house last night to can grape juice and he hated almost every second of it. It was so sad. We decided my stepmom is "haunting" the house and causing a ruckus about how much she hates my dad's new gf, but only M can hear/see her and since it's loud and scary he cries. He seriously cries every time we go over there and as soon as we leave he is as happy as can be. 

M started "talking" over the last few days. It's the cutest and I love it. He has soooo much to say. He also started grabbing things for the first time and drooling a ton. He's growing up so fast. 

J is home with him right now because I had to work on my normal day off. I hope things are going well. Last night she was with him alone for a few hours he screamed until I got home and she felt pretty terrible. He has definitely developed a preference for me lately. He cries if I give him to anyone else, even J. I love that I'm his "favorite" right now, but it's also exhausting too. I tried to get J to see that side of it, I haven't had a spare moment to myself in 14ish weeks. I don't think she'll get it until she is the breastfeeding mama to the baby she carries. 

Well back to work, have to finish up some reports in the next 20 minutes. 

CageyMack

W is 18 months old, DD is 11 and there is a baby-in-belly that is 23 weeks.

Wow, today has slammed me like a ton of bricks.  I'm going to go bullets on this one, because I have just about no energy left.

• Bought a Kia Sorrento this weekend!  Awesome car, 7 seats, can haul the kids, but doesn't feel like a house on wheels.  
• 11 year old was so slow getting up and ready that she didn't get breakfast.  Also, she didn't brush her teeth so she has a 15 minute earlier bedtime.  I gave her a granola bar in the car, but I didn't feel too bad for her.  We've been hand-holding a long time on her slow moving out the door.  She has to catch a carpool, so late isn't an option.
• Baby W is on his first week at the Montessori daycare.  He has been having a rough go of evenings, crying for no reason, kind of crazy and troublesome.  I think it is related to the change in care, and to his exploding language and social skills, but it sure is tough to live through.  Yesterday I had to just put him in his crib for a half-hour, for his own safety and mine.  He hollered for a little while and then just hung out calmly.  He also has started going to bed at 5:30, when he normally sleeps at 7:30.  Again, I think he is just way mind-blown from this new schedule, plus he is trying to talk a ton.
• I'm exhausted from moving kids around.
• We have great friends coming to visit us for a week.  They will go in the 11 year old's room, 11 year old will come sleep on a mat in our room.  Baby will stay in his own room because YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE BABY.  
• I'll let you know how this goes.
• Oh, we are also taking the 11 year old to an awesome sex ed class.  It is fantastic, teaches all kinds of wonderful acceptance, diversity, etc.  I'm stoked by it, and also amazed at how little other parents are able to talk to their kids about sex, puberty and relationships.

mallory4284

@CageyMack‌ does the Sorento really seat 7??? Does it come with third row seating? And, if it does have third row seating, does it still have a decent trunk space?

We're most likely going to be in the market for a smallish suv when we finally get pregnant.... Only because we plan on "caging" in the trunk so we can put the dog back there instead of in the back seat. She occasionally gets crazy in the car, and, craziness aside, I just don't want her in the backseat with a baby....

We currently have 2 Kia Fortes, and I've actually only owns Kias (my first car was a Sephia.... It's been Fortes ever since) so I'm really interested in the Sorento or something similar from Kia

ATXmommas

@CageyMack‌ - I'm interested in what you think about the Sorrento as well. Z is adamant that we get a vehicle with a third row. I'm trying to talk her into a minivan for the convenience factor (sliding and remote control doors), but she's not hearing it.

I hope W settles in soon. Big changes for him right now! Where did you find the sex ed class? I hope when the time comes, I find the right words to say!

StacyLH24

Just jumping in quick... I have a Kia Sorrento and love it! I didn't get third row seating because I thought you could add it in later. Turns out that you can't, so get it when you buy it if you want it. Even with third row there would still be adequate trunk space.

I bought mine in February, brand new, with less than 100 miles on it. It has over 20,000 now, sadly. I had a Sportage before this and C has one now. I think they are both excellent vehicles. I drive a lot, obviously, and have never had any problems.

ATXmommas

Thanks for the input, @StacyLH24‌! I'll bring it up to Z. We're going to wait until next summer to buy, but we're starting to research now.

mallory4284

StacyLH24 said:

Just jumping in quick... I have a Kia Sorrento and love it! I didn't get third row seating because I thought you could add it in later. Turns out that you can't, so get it when you buy it if you want it. Even with third row there would still be adequate trunk space.

I bought mine in February, brand new, with less than 100 miles on it. It has over 20,000 now, sadly. I had a Sportage before this and C has one now. I think they are both excellent vehicles. I drive a lot, obviously, and have never had any problems.

We've had mine for over two years? (It's a 2012 and we bought it brand new) and it has just under 19,000.... J's on the other hand is a 2013 and has over 60,000 (prob way more, I can't remember exactly) and my Sephia was a 2000 that I got in 2004ish that had about 55,000 when I bought it. I was able to pay it off and still drive it for a few years before we had to get rid of it (and though it was driving questionably when we finally got rid of it, the main reason we did is because J got in an accident and it was totaled.... Would have cost more to fix it than it was worth)

So I have no qualms recommending Kias to people. They are good cars and we never have had problems with them....

trisholio

I am late to the check in, but I actually have a few minutes on the actual computer and not trying to bump on my phone.

Adalyn is 1 month old today, time really does fly!  She is 9lbs 5oz as of today, her birth weight was 7lbs 11oz.  I am breastfeeding and she is eating like a champ.  (I feel a little guilty because I know so many have struggled to breast feed, but know that your struggles have given me so much information, I am grateful)  She sleeps in 2 to 3 hour segments at night, which isn't too bad right now.  We have somewhat of a sleeping schedule worked out so my wife and I both get sleep.  It is starting to feel real, like we get to keep her :-)  She is really our baby!!

M is 2.5 yrs old and is developing an attitude.  She doesn't seem to bothered by Adalyn except to give her kisses or shove a paci in her face.  I try and get her to keep her hands off right now, but that is only because Adalyn is so little and fragile.  I find myself getting very frustrated with her these days because she is testing a lot of boundaries, but then she does something really sweet and cute and I melt.

K is 13 months old and becoming a hand full!  She is starting to talk more and repeats a lot of things.  She is also throwing lots of tantrums when we take a toy away, or tell her no, or for any no good reason she will throw herself on the ground....it's been lots of fun, ugh.   We call her 'wack a mole' because she still likes to hit everything, including Adalyn.  It is not malicious, just her way of expressing herself I guess.  It is hard to explain why its wrong, especially when I am burping Adalyn and 'hitting' her on her back.

Caring for three little ones is no walk in the park, but then again I knew it wouldn't be.  Last week was my first week on my own and I survived and even managed to get out of the house once by myself with all three of them.  I was pretty sore the next day from over doing it, but at least I tried.  

We have been keeping up on weekly pictures of Adalyn, but forgot the 1 month today.  Well we tried to do something cute and it was so much more difficult than we expected.  I am going to leave the fancy pictures to the professionals.  I am not sure if you all are familiar with pinterest and the #nailedit pictures, they are of epic fails of stuff people try to do on pinterest.  This is our 'nailedit'  picture.....in other words epic fail!

Jazibel

It's almost 9pm and I"m finally getting around to the check-in.  It was so great to read everyone's post - I love "watching" the babies grow up.

Well our biggest accomplishment is that all (well... almost all) of our stuff has been moved to our new house.  This is quite the feat given the amount of craziness in the ensued, but more on that tomorrow.  

Kaden did struggle with the transition.  We saw a lot of toddler meltdowns and he became increasingly clingy toward me.  We talked him through what was going on, and visited the "new" house a few times over the last week to help ease the transition. I think all in all he was a champ. I'm so grateful that he really has a team players spirit.  But seeing what a big deal this was for him, and how much work it is to juggle kids and packing, moving, etc. I don't see myself doing this again until we find and buy our forever dream home.  Sigh... So that means getting settled in here. YAY!  It's a great place for us, and for our kids.

Kaden is now going potty on the grown up potty. Next step to go diaper-less out of the house.  

Owen is vocalizing a lot more. He also really plays now for long stretches of time.  I managed to pump 12 oz over the last week for our in laws that watched him on Sunday from 8am - 3pm. He basically nursed at 8am, and drank 4oz during the day and nursed again at 4pm.  So I still have some milk in the freezer. I was so nervous to not have pumped enough, but I'm glad to see it worked out. I think that wasn't quite enough but he seemed happy.  Thanks for all the great advice on pumping, and all of the posts in the past - I've learned so much.

QOTD:  I hope the boys get EV's creativity and love of all things nature.  From me I hope they get a tendency to look at the bright-side and a love of connecting with people.

ATXmommas

@trisholio‌ - I've seen the Pinterest fails and your photo doesn't come close to an epic fail. Second, I'm so happy BF-ing is going so well! No need to feel guilty! It's a wonderful thing! And as always, amazed at your ability to juggle three kiddos.

@Jazibel‌ - glad you are moved! And glad that the pumping is going well! 12oz is way more than enough for that time period, so it's great to have some to freeze - that's always a good feeling!

Karlamo

R is 7 months.

We had a fun, busy weekend.  On Sat we went to swim class.  R continues to be the busiest kid in the class.  He loves splashing in the water.

Sunday we went on our first family run. I was hesitating putting him in the jogging stroller before the recommended age but I thought at 7 months lets just see how he does. He did great. We went slow and the roads were smooth. My wife and I are both runners but running with a stroller is a whole new game. I'm still sore. I love that he can share a part in our favorite activity. I can't wait to sign up for races with him. Scratch that, I can't wait for my wife to race since I'll be prego :P Other than that we've got no sleep, no teeth. I've set a new rule no one in my family can ask me about sleep. We're still sleeping like a newborn, up every 2 hours. It's painful and we've hired a sleep consultant to get some ideas going. We're not at the end of our rope yet but we're getting there. It's hard being patient at night with him and each other. QOTW: we hope he gets our playfulness, love of travel, and giving back to the community. He better be a democrat!

ATXmommas

@Karlamo‌ - we're runners too! What is the recommended age for running with baby in the jogging stroller? The fact that I don't know is a good indication that we did not wait until said age. We did wait until he had really good head control and we felt comfortable with it - maybe 4 or 5 months. Also, we used the infant car seat adaptor with the jogging stroller up until a couple months ago. We actually ran our first 5K with him on Sunday! Z did all the pushing this time. Yes, totally different ball game running with a stroller. Can you imagine running with the double stroller?!?! Baby steps...

Karlamo

ATXmommas said:

@Karlamo‌ - we're runners too! What is the recommended age for running with baby in the jogging stroller? The fact that I don't know is a good indication that we did not wait until said age. We did wait until he had really good head control and we felt comfortable with it - maybe 4 or 5 months. Also, we used the infant car seat adaptor with the jogging stroller up until a couple months ago. We actually ran our first 5K with him on Sunday! Z did all the pushing this time. Yes, totally different ball game running with a stroller. Can you imagine running with the double stroller?!?! Baby steps...

We have a BOB and the reccomended age is 8 months! We talked to our dr and physical therapist around 5-6 months who both recommeded waiting it out a little longer.  Their issue isn't with neck control as much as that their little brains are being jostled around inside their heads.   I've heard of people running sooner than 8 months, like 2 months.   So I think it's just comes down to what you're comfortable with. 

I bet the race was fun for you all.  My wife asked if she could see us pushing him for a half.  I laughed.  The 5k we ran felt like a half to me!!

 

JGY

Day late, story of my life these days.

Gabe is 18 months.

Argh, so many things I want to respond to, but I'll get our update out there first and then see what I can do.

This has been a rough week for our little guy.  He's been teething something fierce, reminiscent of @lolabelle515's recent experience.  On Friday evening we tried to meet some friends out for dinner.  We chose a kid-friendly place, with lots of outdoor space to run around.  Our friends also have a kiddo, so they were kind of mentoring us on how to do the dining-out-with-child thing.  Well, it was a complete disaster.  We ended up having to get our food to go.  Daycare had warned me at pick up time that G had seems "A little off," but that was a massive understatement.

Anyway, we had a supremeley grumpy weekend. Lots of drooling and lots of crying, but by Sunday morning there were 4 little buds to greet my finger when I finally got it into his mouth.  Things have calmed down a little bit now, but we did have some added stress that G has also stopped willingly taking ibuprofin or teething tablets.  Sigh.  C'mon kid, you've gotta know it's going to make you feel better!!!

Since things were a bit better on Sunday we went to visit some friends that live on a farm outside of town.  G had a fantastic time chasing chickens (yelling "Bawk bawk bawk" the whole time) and petting horses.  He also got to pick a tomato (his favorite food of all time) and eat it right off the vine.  It was a really nice way to spend a ridiculously warm Septmeber Sunday.

What else?  We had G's 18 month checkup last week.  Boy weights 27 lbs.  No wonder I'm exhausted all the time!  He got 1 vaccine, and handled it MUCH better than past shots.  Apparently all the world's problems can be solved with a banana.  Oh, and word EXPLOSION!  @Cageymack, we could probably write each others' updates if necessary. 

The less interesting, but equally important, adult issues are weighing on us big-time right now.  S is exhausted at work.  She's getting to a point where she's not sure how much longer she can stay in her industry.  My company is going through some financial hard times as well, and layoffs are written on the wall (we just went through a round of them a few months back).  $$ is stressful and while we're doing okay now, we seem to be unable to cut our bills and spending to put additional amounts away for a "Just in case" scenario.  We have good retirement savings, and an emergency fund, but it would be a really good idea to have some other savings to dip into if necessary.  If I wasn't so exhausted at night after getting G to bed, I'd spend some time crunching numbers and making a plan.  If ...

I'll update in the TTC thread, but I have a procedure scheduled today to investigate whether my fibroids have grown back.  It's a step we need to take prior to any TTC efforts, but due to the work instability and $$ concerns, I don't know if we'll ever get there.  Too bad we waited so long to have our first, there's no option to just wait a while on #2.  It's either do it now, or don't do it at all.  Sigh.

QOTW:  I hope that Gabe gets S's ability to make everything/anything fun, and I REALLY hope he gets her work ethic (I believe both of those things can be learned). Genetically from me I hope he gets my athletic and musical abilities, and maybe a little bit of my bleeding heart (but not the whole thing).

ATXmommas

Karlamo said:

ATXmommas said:

@Karlamo‌ - we're runners too! What is the recommended age for running with baby in the jogging stroller? The fact that I don't know is a good indication that we did not wait until said age. We did wait until he had really good head control and we felt comfortable with it - maybe 4 or 5 months. Also, we used the infant car seat adaptor with the jogging stroller up until a couple months ago. We actually ran our first 5K with him on Sunday! Z did all the pushing this time. Yes, totally different ball game running with a stroller. Can you imagine running with the double stroller?!?! Baby steps...

We have a BOB and the reccomended age is 8 months! We talked to our dr and physical therapist around 5-6 months who both recommeded waiting it out a little longer.  Their issue isn't with neck control as much as that their little brains are being jostled around inside their heads.   I've heard of people running sooner than 8 months, like 2 months.   So I think it's just comes down to what you're comfortable with. 

I bet the race was fun for you all.  My wife asked if she could see us pushing him for a half.  I laughed.  The 5k we ran felt like a half to me!!

 

-----------------

Oh, great, now I have to worry about whether I jostled his little brain. #parentingfail

But, seriously, I'm not worried about it. We weren't off-roading with it. We have a BOB Ironman and it seems to be a smooth ride.

I definitely wouldn't push Ash for a half race, but we'll probably end up taking him on some long runs in the stroller if we ever want to get back to racing halfs or fulls, which I fully intend to.... someday!

Karlamo

ATXmommas said:

@Karlamo‌ - we're runners too! What is the recommended age for running with baby in the jogging stroller? The fact that I don't know is a good indication that we did not wait until said age. We did wait until he had really good head control and we felt comfortable with it - maybe 4 or 5 months. Also, we used the infant car seat adaptor with the jogging stroller up until a couple months ago. We actually ran our first 5K with him on Sunday! Z did all the pushing this time. Yes, totally different ball game running with a stroller. Can you imagine running with the double stroller?!?! Baby steps...

We have a BOB and the reccomended age is 8 months! We talked to our dr and physical therapist around 5-6 months who both recommeded waiting it out a little longer.  Their issue isn't with neck control as much as that their little brains are being jostled around inside their heads.   I've heard of people running sooner than 8 months, like 2 months.   So I think it's just comes down to what you're comfortable with. 

I bet the race was fun for you all.  My wife asked if she could see us pushing him for a half.  I laughed.  The 5k we ran felt like a half to me!!

 

----------------- Oh, great, now I have to worry about whether I jostled his little brain. #parentingfail But, seriously, I'm not worried about it. We weren't off-roading with it. We have a BOB Ironman and it seems to be a smooth ride. I definitely wouldn't push Ash for a half race, but we'll probably end up taking him on some long runs in the stroller if we ever want to get back to racing halfs or fulls, which I fully intend to.... someday!

I'm sure you're in the clear! I couldn't wait out the recommended age either. 8 months seems ridiculously old for waiting to go for a run. My guess is they're using a blanket age to cover all different types of terrain like you said. I couldn't believe how smooth the ride was. It's even smoother than a regular stroller.

Speaking of parenting fails, during a diaper change R started chewing on the electrical cord to the wipe warmer!  #friedbrain

CageyMack

mallory4284ATXmommas - so far, I love the Sorrento! The third row seats are exactly what I would expect for a third row in a cross-over: smallish, but I'm 5'8" and I sat back there and was totally comfy.  Mine are split in the back.  I will say that trunk space is greatly reduced when the third row is up.  But when it is down it is massive!  If I had a big dog, I'd flop one down and put a crate there, leave other up.  Unless you just have the third row as a "just in case" for the future.  

We couldn't imagine buying a new car that didn't seat more than 5.  With our family about to BE 5, we knew we wanted a couple "extra" seats for the few times a year when we have in-laws around, or even just a couple friends of the big kid's.  Plus, once the new baby gets here, we didn't want the 11 year old to have to sit in the same row as 2 babies in an Impreza.  We don't believe in fostering entitlement, but I, personally, could not think of a faster way to build resentment!  So we thought it was a good idea: new baby, new car.

I got worried for a few minutes when I thought the third row was a single unit, and I tried to imagine how we would go to the grocery store as a family.  But the split seat makes it totally do-able!  

Love the car!

Edit: sorry, copy/pasted the wrong name in there for a minute!  

CageyMack

@JGY: "G had seems "A little off," but that was a massive understatement."  DUDE!  What is with these poor boys?  W has been so out-of-sorts lately.  I'm totally ready for some new state of being other than where we are.

I hear you on being exhausted.  I'm a little better than I was about a month ago when I think W was teething, but still so, so, so tired.  I went to sleep at 8:30 night before last, and was in bed by then last night.  But the Dude is going to bed as early as 5:30pm!  What UP, man?!?!

Keep your chin up about the baby #2.  The world never goes as planned.  I know how frustrating it is to have the ticking clock problem, as evidenced by my DW's struggle to get a baby growing.  It is dumbfounding that it can be so hard, but thankfully we all have good, smart brains and a ton of tenacity and hopefully the financial liquidity of a small country to make it happen.   Anyway, I'm rooting for you.

ball.and.chain

Late as usual! As you know, yesterday was my first day at work and although it went well, I didn't really have time to check in. Work was busy and when I got home, I wanted to have quality time with B and S.

B is 3 months old!

I feel a little guilty about it, but so far the transition back to work hasn't been that bad. Now my wife isn't working this week, so she's handling daycare pick-up/drop-off, whereas I will be doing most of it under normal circumstances. So obviously things aren't quite as hectic as they will be, but the actual leaving-the-kid-for-the-day-part is still happening and it's been OK for me. I miss his face when I am at work and I am excited to see him and play with him when I get home, but I don't feel overwhelming sadness or regret about any of it. In fact, when I got off the bus downtown yesterday, I had this moment of "YES! I'm back!" which was kind of nice (part of it is that I live in the suburbs and missed being in the city, but I also enjoy the feeling of independence and interaction with adults). I'm also thrilled to report that I have a new commute and it is 30 minutes shorter in the evening and much easier. I should be able to pull of daycare pick-up/drop-off just fine, and we may even save a little money.

Do you find that people in hetero relationships are surprised by your family's parenting arrangements? Example - for the last two nights, my wife has taken full nighttime baby duty and let me sleep in the guest room so that I can be rested for work (I did the same thing when she went back to work. We probably won't do it all week, and things will be 50-50 when we're both working, but I can see us doing it in the future if someone is sick or needs extra sleep for some other reason). Yep, I have had 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep for two nights in a row. I posted something about this on Facebook and all my mom friends were amazed -- they could not believe S was willing to do this and said they couldn't imagine their husbands doing the same thing. These are all 30-something, smart, educated, employed, assertive women with reasonably progressive husbands. I just don't get it -- B is not my baby that my wife helps me take care of; he is OUR son. Thus we split his care as evenly as we can (given that our jobs have different demands) and we do what we can to support each other -- that means sometimes one of us makes a sacrifice for the other, but it goes both ways. Is that really so surprising?

Anyway, we're doing well. B is only waking once during the night, and we've been slightly more successful lately at getting him to sleep in his bassinet for at least the first half of the night. He's super smiley and fun lately and is starting to get more interested in toys. A friend gave us a Baby Einstein music toy that he adores, and he's starting to hold on to the toys that hang from his activity gym. He's also rolled from tummy to back three times. We've transitioned him from swaddle to sleep sack and he seems fine with it. He is almost 12 lbs and just starting to outgrowing his 0-3 clothes, but I think his growth has picked up since we went all-formula and I'm eager to hear how things check out as his 4-month pedi appointment next month.

QOTW: S is not neurotic -- she doesn't usually get anxious about things, she doesn't obsess over things she can't control, and she doesn't compulsively over-analyze, all of which are things I do. I would love B to be more like S in that respect! I'd also like him to be as good at sports as she is. I would like him to do as well in school as I did, and to love reading and language the way I do. Who knows what we'll get!

ATXmommas

ball.and.chain said:

Do you find that people in hetero relationships are surprised by your family's parenting arrangements? Example - for the last two nights, my wife has taken full nighttime baby duty and let me sleep in the guest room so that I can be rested for work (I did the same thing when she went back to work. We probably won't do it all week, and things will be 50-50 when we're both working, but I can see us doing it in the future if someone is sick or needs extra sleep for some other reason). Yep, I have had 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep for two nights in a row. I posted something about this on Facebook and all my mom friends were amazed -- they could not believe S was willing to do this and said they couldn't imagine their husbands doing the same thing. These are all 30-something, smart, educated, employed, assertive women with reasonably progressive husbands. I just don't get it -- B is not my baby that my wife helps me take care of; he is OUR son. Thus we split his care as evenly as we can (given that our jobs have different demands) and we do what we can to support each other -- that means sometimes one of us makes a sacrifice for the other, but it goes both ways. Is that really so surprising?

Yes! Z recently put something on FB about her morning routine of washing pump parts, cleaning nipples, making bottles, etc. and many people commented about it - how another woman just "gets it" and that their husbands didn't do any of that. So strange to me. I don't think it takes another female to "get it."

And don't feel guilty about how good you feel returning back to work. The transition for me wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. And there are days now that I'm plum happy to drop him off! I love my time with him, but I'm not meant to be a SAHM.

rkbo

@atxmommas - can you please add us to the list? 

Amelia - born on 9/22

ATXmommas

rkbo said:

@atxmommas - can you please add us to the list? 

Amelia - born on 9/22

Gotcha, momma!

2momsinCA

@ATXmommas‌ can you add me to the list too- B & O born 5/27

ATXmommas

2momsinCA said:

@ATXmommas‌ can you add me to the list too- B & O born 5/27

Done!