??? Weekly Check-in ???

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes. 

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still suck y

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still suck you

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first,

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least it

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least it comes

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least some

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least some of it

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least some of it comes

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least some of it comes back

vanilla15

SanHawaii08:

lelekay:

I do worry about daycare though, it's soooooo expensive!  That'll by far be the biggest expense when the time comes (not until October).

tell me about it.  One of the things I've been stressing about is how we're "behind" in getting onto waitlists.  the daycares around here are 20k/year    i found one near our house that my friend likes which is a little cheaper - "only" $1350/mo, but they don't take kids under 1. 

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here

& there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least some of it comes back to y

SanHawaii08

vanilla15:

I completely agree.  I can't get over how exensive daycare is!  Though it is only about 10k/year here.  I can't even imagine if it was 20k...though I guess our cost of living is quite different b/t here & there.  From what I hear though, you get a lot of the day care/school fees back in taxes.  Still sucks you have to come up with it first, but at least some of it comes back to y

hrm...i know you can set up a dependent care account - it's like a flexible spending account, where you put pre-tax dollars into an account to use for a specific purpose - in this case dependent care.  However, there are 2 caveats - there's a max to how much you can put in (I think it's $5k/year), and there are income limits - so if you make too much money, you don't qualify (or maybe the contribution limit is much, much lower).  

is that what you're thinking of?

MauiWedding08

do you mean the child care tax credit? It's 35% of your expenses, up to 3k per child.  More info here (because I'm sure there are more caveats and exceptions):

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=106189,00.html

like Sandra said - some people can set up a dependent care fund tax free (like a health savings account).

 

MauiWedding08

(1) What week are you in/how old is your LO? 4mo, 5 days old

(2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share? Jack is 27" long and 15lb 11oz as of yesterday.  That does explain why he has outgrown 6mo and 6-9mo clothes.  haha.

(3) Next appointment date?  Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up? monthly shots, next check up in 2mo.

(4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week? he has reverted back to needing another night feeding.  I'm ok with it because with DH's cousin providing daytime care he has been eating an amount I would consider to be a little more normal than when MIL tried to stuff his face as much as possible so he gets an average of 5 BF feeds when I'm at home plus 3 4oz bottles during the day but he seems happier so that is what is important.

Glad he is still in our room b/c it's pretty easy and we both fall right back asleep.  I would be a walking zombie if not.

(5) How did/will you decide on a pediatrician? When did/will you start looking for one? Do you have any interview questions to share? just went with the same practice I went to as a kid.  Selected a ped based upon recommendation of friends  and didn't want one that might retire soon.  I also figured if it didn't work out no biggie - we would go somewhere else.  (we didn't do their "meet and greet" session)

(6) What do you do when someone offers you unsolicited or bad advice? if they are close to me (i.e. MIL) I try to explain why we have decided to do ____.  Usually I finish it off by saying something like, he is meeting all milestones early, STTN, growing perfectly, never had diaper rash (for CDs) etc.  That kind of ends the conversation b/c if the way we do things is "bad" why is it working so well?  If it's not someone I know well (but another parent who I don't want to offend) I just brush it off with a general we do what works for us.

(7) Since having a baby or becoming pregnant, how have you changed your spending/saving habits (if at all)? What budgeting tips have worked for you? not really.  we recently refinanced out house.  We know we plan to stay there for a while so it made sense and immediately frees up some $ each month (but we do understand how it's not exactly instant savings in the immediate years given OOP and interest already paid...)

Mamas: How "expensive" is caring for a baby? Is it more or less expensive than you thought it would be?  glad CD and BFing works so well - J hasn't increased our monthly expenses yet since we pre-bought the CDs over a number of months and the pump was purchased through insurance. 

Daycare starts next month so that will be a big blow but we did over budget in that arena so we are prepared.  He is the first grandchild/great grandchild/nephew on my side so we don't ever really buy him toys, books, or clothes - everyone else does.

(8) Since having a baby or becoming pregnant, how have your social life and relationships (husband/friends/family/work) changed? we don't get to see our friends as often and I miss doing some things together - until Jack is walking we can't utilize the gym's childcare so we have to stagger our gym workouts and we often stagger happy hour GTGs with friends.  Other than that not much has changed, we take Jack with us everywhere.

Mamas: When did you start a bedtime routine with your LO? not yet.  He goes to sleep easily around 9-10 so I just make sure he is in his night diaper by 9 and put on his sleeper and then wait for the tell tale yawns or ear/eye rubbing and let him decide.

mrspresley

redshoegirl:

Mamas: When did you start a bedtime routine with your LO? This is my question, so I'm interested in what others have to say! I want to get into a bath-bottle-book-bed routine, but I'm not sure when to start (especially since they don't really need daily baths right now).

i think if you're able to hold their attention for a few minutes to do the book then they're probably ready for a bedtime routine.  it took me longer to get A into a routine just b/c bath time always seemed like it would take so long to me...at the end of the day the last thing i would want to do is undress her, start the bath, redress her etc b/c when you're tired late at night it seems like it takes longer than it does - plus she cries when i change her clothes (i was often super lazy and instead of changing her into PJs at night i'd just put her in a sleep sack wearing whatever she was already in during the day)

that said, once i actually started the routine i quickly realized that it really doesn't take that long to do the bath... between undressing her, bathing her and re-dressing her it takes maybe 10-15 minutes depending on how long i decide to let her stay in the bath.  like you said, they don't need a bath every day but what i usually do is just let her play around in the water and she loves it.  i wash her hands, feet, and diaper area every day and then do the full body wash every 3 days or so (and since starting solids i wash around her mouth/neck area daily too since she makes a mess LOL).  so even though they don't need a bath daily you could consider starting a routine w/the boys whenever you feel ready to do so (I realize it's a bigger deal since you have 2 to contend with)

vanilla15

MauiWedding08:

do you mean the child care tax credit? It's 35% of your expenses, up to 3k per child.  More info here (because I'm sure there are more caveats and exceptions):

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=106189,00.html

like Sandra said - some people can set up a dependent care fund tax free (like a health savings account).

Okay hopefully the crazy reposts don't start again!  Sorry about that - hopefully Lisa can delete them!

Taxes - I think you can deduct tuition or childcare just like you can deduct your own tuition.  Plus with baby, you now have a dependent.  From my friends that became parents before me, they said with all of the kid-related deductions they are eligible for, they pay tuition/daycare costs each year with the returns.  I haven't looked into it personally, but if this sounds completely foreign, maybe it is Louisiana law & not fed.  Hopefully yall can find something that applies & get more back, even if not what equals the full amount.

sanae78

(1) What week are you in/how old is your LO?

4 1/2 months

(2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share?

She rolled from back to tummy yesterday for the first time!  I didn't think she was even close to doing it and she just did it out of the blue.  Too bad I missed it because I was at lunch with my girlfriends.  But I came home and put her down and she did it for me.    Now she won't stop rolling all over the place!  And she's trying to get up on her knees and sticks her butt up in the air - I think she really wants to crawl.

Also, she's squeeling/squawking like crazy.  Nonstop.  She's super loud, too.  Geez.  I think she's gonna be a nonstop talker and drive me crazy some day.

(3) Next appointment date?  Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up?

Shots only visit at 5 months.

(4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week?

She had another horrible sleep night where she was up every 1-2 hours.  She's so inconsistent/unpredictable.  I guess I should just accept it.  Last night she slept from 10:40 till almost 5.  

(5) How did/will you decide on a pediatrician? When did/will you start looking for one? Do you have any interview questions to share?

I got a rec from the nurse who taught our childbirth class.  Interviewed her and liked her well enough so we just went with her.

(6) What do you do when someone offers you unsolicited or bad advice?

Mmmhmm.

(7) Since having a baby or becoming pregnant, how have you changed your spending/saving habits (if at all)? What budgeting tips have worked for you? Mamas: How "expensive" is caring for a baby? Is it more or less expensive than you thought it would be?

Haven't changed anything, really.  I'm only working part time now so I should be spending less but somehow I'm not.  But so far she's not that expensive, esp since I EBF and we CD.  And we don't need to pay for childcare since B stays home with her when I work.

(8) Since having a baby or becoming pregnant, how have your social life and relationships (husband/friends/family/work) changed?

B & I haven't had a date night yet.  I think our relationship has definitely changed because we don't have much time to spend together.  It's something we need to start working on.  

I have made it a point to get together with my friends every now and then.  We go out for happy hour or dinner or whatever.  Yesterday I had lunch with the girls and we shopped. 

Family - My dad and I haven't been close for a long time but he was just in town and we saw him 3x because he really wanted to see Kaya.  I'm kind of surprised how into her he is.  And it's kind of odd that FIL, who lives 15 minutes away, shows very little interest in her.  He'll ask about her but doesn't come see her or anything.  

Mamas: When did you start a bedtime routine with your LO?

We started it early to try to get her to sleep longer (which obviously didn't work).  Probably around 8 weeks.  She loves her bath so we bathe her every night.  Luckily she has beautiful skin and it hasn't dried her out or anything.  After she gets up from her last nap she eats, plays, bathes, we read a book (if she's in the mood), then I nurse her to top her off (or B gives her a bottle of only 2 oz).

Married2MrWright

(1) What week are you in/how old is your LO?

She'll be 5 months old

(2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share?

It's been a tough week personally but being a mother to Libby puts everything in perspective.

Libby is making HUGE strides...she sat unassisted by herself today!  No tripoding at all.  And she's reaching for EVERYTHING.  Pretty soon, she'll be ready for solids.

(3) Next appointment date?  Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up?

(4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week?

Being a strong and present mother when other things in my life are overwhelming and burdening me emotionally and mentally.

(5) How did/will you decide on a pediatrician? When did/will you start looking for one? Do you have any interview questions to share?

We had originally planned to use the family practitioner that is my PCP.  But we ended up loving the on-call pedi that saw Libby in the hospital when she was born so we went with her.  She's awesome and we really like her.

(6) What do you do when someone offers you unsolicited or bad advice?

Usually just say something like, "Hmm, interesting."

(7) Since having a baby or becoming pregnant, how have you changed your spending/saving habits (if at all)? What budgeting tips have worked for you? Mamas: How "expensive" is caring for a baby? Is it more or less expensive than you thought it would be?

We've always been frugal and in all honesty, it's cost us less to have a baby than I ever thought it might (make in the day, I was afraid to have kids because of the cost).

(8) Since having a baby or becoming pregnant, how have your social life and relationships (husband/friends/family/work) changed?

I don't have much of a social life here anyway but it's not due to being pg or a mom...it's due to being in a new state/town and not knowing anyway.

Mamas: When did you start a bedtime routine with your LO?

Ours is simple...night time diaper and into bed with the twillight turtle on and sound machine set to "ocean", nurse and sleep.

TTCers:  Which cycle are you on?  Where in the cycle are you?  What, if anything, are you doing/trying for TTC success?

myday1708

redshoegirl:

Mamas: When did you start a bedtime routine with your LO? This is my question, so I'm interested in what others have to say! I want to get into a bath-bottle-book-bed routine, but I'm not sure when to start (especially since they don't really need daily baths right now).

We started her bedtime routine around 3 months, then kept perfecting it. Now we've got it down to a well-oiled science!

I think I posted a while back what we do?

Solids for dinner, Bath, Diaper & diaper cream, Sleep clothes, sleep sack, brush hair, read book, kiss daddy goodnight, then he turns on sleep sheep and leaves the room, I nurse, give her a paci, kiss her goodnight and put her in crb. Then I get outta the room!