Parenting Check-In

Jazibel · April 2014

Good Morning :-)

How was your weekend? Any new updates with your LO(s), challenges, accomplishments, successes?

QOTD: Do you (or have you) read any parenting books, blogs, magazines, websites, etc? Any that you'd recommend?

JGY · April 2014

Good Morning!

Our weekend was pretty awesome. G is just exploding with new things that he does. It's hilarious to see him putting things together and he's developing a real sense of humor. And the words, oh the words! They are just tumbling out! I love it.

I have a parenting question/challenge, but I'm going to throw it out to the whole board because I think it's a good topic for discussion and hopefully some people who don't already have LO's might have plans that they want to throw out there for this.

QOTD: I'm trying to get through The No Cry Sleep Solution right now. I read a lot of blogs from posts that go around Facebook. Some of them I agree with/learn from. Some I don't really agree with. I actually learn a lot from lurking on the Parenting and Attachment Parenting boards here on TB. I also have a local API egroup that is pretty active and I read everything that is posted there.

Have a great week, everyone! I'm looking forward to reading this week's updates.

mwagner25 · April 2014

We are doing well over here! We took Oliver to the car show for Easter. He was wonderful and enjoyed looking at all the bright colored cars and people. He was even in a good mood long enough for us to go out to eat with L's family after the show. We are really enjoying playing outside with him now that the weather is nice and he loves being outdoors. He is sleeping well now which has changed the mood of our whole house for the better. He loves sitting up at the table with us and is eating puréed solid veggies and fruits really well. He is just a lot of fun right now.

QOTD: Most advice books/blogs have been more frustrating than helpful. We have just learned to trust our instincts, ask our pediatrician when we have questions, and accept that all babies are different and there is no single

@JGY we tried the No Cry Sleep Solution. It was a great read and sounded good in theory. Unfortunately, there are six phases to get to STTN and we couldn't get past phase 1 despite implementing the strategies for 3 weeks. Maybe it was just the strong willed nature of our LO but we have had to let him cry some at night to get him sleeping. It broke our hearts when we first tried it, but he now sleeps 10-12 hours at night without waking and is napping well. When we started sleep training he nursed every 2 hours at night and rarely napped more than 30 minutes at a time. I hope the no cry solution works for Gabe, you will have to let me know how it goes.

PIP: L and Oliver ready for the car show.

mwagner25 · April 2014

The darn photo wouldn't attach to my other post. So here it is...

ATXmommas · April 2014

Hello all. 5 months today!

Well, Ash has another ear infection. Or the same ear infection that has never completely gone away??? So, we're on round 3 of antibiotics. The NP we saw this morning says that if he has another one, we will need to see an ENT and that he is likely a good candidate for tubes. Sigh. I made an appointment at a naturopathic wellness center this afternoon, so I'm hoping we can find some alternative treatments as well.

Overall, he is doing well, but I could tell his infection was coming back because his congestion worsened, his eye was runny, and his poop turned green. And, he has been a little cranky during the day, which is a tell-tale sign because he is always a super happy little guy. Nights are definitely worse than the day. He is waking and crying a bunch and nursing is the only thing that seems to help. I'm happy to oblige, of course, it's just leaving me really exhausted.

In other news… Although Ash has been grabbing toys and bringing things to his mouth for a while, I feel like he is doing things with more intent and better aim lately. If that makes any sense. For example, he was sitting on my lap while I was eating the other day and reached out and grabbed my fork. He also has quite the grasp. Lately he has been grabbing my boob when he is nursing and it kinda hurts! I have a teething necklace that I keep trying to remember to wear while nursing to give him something else to hold on to.

QOTD: Kellymom is my go-to BF resource. I don't use the site a whole lot anymore, but I used it a ton in the beginning. I am a member of the KM BF Support Group on FB. Besides BF questions, the moderators also answer a lot of sleep-related questions. Other than that, I'm reading the BLW book. Mostly, I'm like @mwagner25 - I don't feel it necessary to read a whole lot of parenting books/sites (at least not yet). Because I faced some struggles with supply/low weight gain with LO was just born, KM proved to be a great resource and really helped empower me to make some of the choices I have. And, since BLW is a new concept to me and not something I've seen in practice, I do feel like i need to read up a bit. Other than that, I feel like my instincts are serving me well.

2brides · April 2014

We told the kids about the new school last week and as expected, they were shocked and sad. We are still doing a lot of processing with them...which we expect to do well into the new school year. It is sad for all of us...but we are excited and to stop paying tuition will be a incredibly welcome!

I don't really read parenting stuff anymore. I used to read Kellymom when I was BFing and I read a ton of sleep books when the kids were babies and not sleeping (we ended up doing this sleeplady.com and it worked for us.) I was on babycenter and some other LGBT parenting blogs. I've picked up some books about the emotional intelligence of boys, but haven't bought/downloaded them. I feel like the older they get, the more we trust our instincts and feel like we know what is best for the kids.....now ask me that when they are teenagers.

I still have message boards I go to, but not specifically for parenting.

trisholio · April 2014

We had a wonderful weekend!! Friday night I went out with a friend while my wife watched the girls. I missed them being away from them for just over two hours. Saturday we drove almost two hours to see my wife's family. I was stressed out planning and packing for the road trip for the girls, but it all turned out great. Her family really embraced them and even had Easter baskets and did an Easter egg hunt. Sunday we went to church with my mom, her husband and Aunt and Uncle. We brought the girls in at the end of church and they got a 'blessing' during communion. It was so cute to see M mimick my wife and I during the service. She would close her eyes and 'pray' and said "Amen!" really loud after everyone else said it. She even tried to sing, my wife and I both teared up watching her. She is such a little person, I can't believe how much she picks up on and how she is growing up too. After church we went to my mom's for a little bit, where my mom laid down and took a nap with both girls. It was absolutely adorable! Then we went over to my Aunt's for Easter dinner. This particular Aunt has never had children and isn't the first one to be gaga over babies. But she planned an Easter egg hunt just for M and she sat with me at the kitchen table and M to eat, everyone else just sat in the living room or outside. It was super endearing and meant a lot to me. Baby K is always a hit and is a happy baby and makes everyone smile. She is crawling everywhere, holding her own bottle and is talking a lot more.

QOTD: I should read more parenting books or blogs and I just don't have time right now. I read up on here and I follow a few pages on facebook, but that is about it. I just kind of google stuff and look it up as it goes.

JGY · April 2014

@2brides good luck working through the school transition with the boys. I'm sure it won't be easy, but it's great that you have a school that you're excited about and won't have the tuition any longer.

2brides · April 2014

JGY said:

@2brides good luck working through the school transition with the boys. I'm sure it won't be easy, but it's great that you have a school that you're excited about and won't have the tuition any longer.

thanks! we are excited! I think once the sadness of leaving dissapates, they will enjoy it. It is going to be a brand new school and they are doing to a lot to engage kids/families before the school year begins (school tours/class meetups/etc.) YAY!

Jazibel · April 2014

We had a fun weekend and EV ended up taking a personal day today which was much needed. We've all be pretty exhausted so it was nice to be mellow at home together today.

Kaden is doing great learning new words and mini-sentences. He loves communicating, we'll read books together (as in AT LEAST 30 a day) and he'll just repeat the words I point out. It's really fun to participate in this type of active learning. Physically he's getting more confident too - the other day at the park he climbed a 6-7ft ladder (plastic with small oddly spaced squares). I had to call EV over so I could climb up after him. Let me say the almost 2 year old was a lot more nimble then his 9.5 month pregnant mom! ;-) It's scary but exciting to see him be daring, and trust his body more.

On the challenging side he just started screaming last night and today when he wants something. Its a loud, screechy - terrible - terrible scream... Ugh!! EV and I just stare at each other and shrug. We're trying to ask him to communicate and say "please" to let us know what he wants. This evening's episode the screaming was to ask "to get out of the bath". Totally reasonable request - just not in screaming tones. Gotta love toddlerhood.

QOTD: I used Google search A LOT for any questions that come up. Then I try to pick the most reasonable site/ forum/ etc. as a reference.
Aside from the Bump, I joined a "Raising Natural Kids" page on Facebook, and a few other Facebook pages that mostly focus on crafts, etc. I like Mothering, and Green Child websites, I think both are associated with magazines that I don't subscribe too. I read more about infants than I have about toddlers. I have the What to Expect: Toddler edition. It's pretty formulaic but has helpful insights. I love Pinterest, but that too for craft and game ideas.

Mystjava · April 2014

@Jazibel -- you might want to tell Kaden "that is not how to talk to your moms" and demonstrate/model the correct way. You'll be surprised how he picks it up. My LO picked it up quickly and he often has to stop and think about it. It's amazing!
We had (well, my partner) overheard a mother telling her son that somewhere, so we began to do/use the same idea ourselves.
As for us .. it has been a roller coaster of a weekend.... communication is still a "hit and miss" for some odd reason -- I'm not sure why, but my partner, whom is home majority of the time, feels offended when our lo doesn't greet her when we come home. He just walks past her into the other rooms. Sigh! (There are times when he gets super excited to see her when we get home. So this "event" is making a huge stink in our home right now.)
A plus for me? Our lo signs more when he's sick! He doesn't like to talk when he doesn't feel well. I learned that on Sunday. Just amazed me.....

Jazibel · April 2014

@mystjava - thank you that's a great idea!! I'll start right away and let you know how it turns out. :-)

Jazibel · April 2014

@wallace323 - enjoy the rest of your vacation!!

Want a personalized experience?

Parenting Check-In

Re: Parenting Check-In

Choose Another Board

Search Boards