Parenting Check-In (October 6th)

Jazibel · October 2014

Good Morning Everyone!

How was your weekend? Any new successes, challenges or milestones to report?

QOTD: What does your bedtime routine look like? and/orQOTD #2: Do you listen to music in the car/house? Does your LO(s) share your musical taste or like something completely different?
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

Jazibel · October 2014

Kaden is 2 years and almost 3 months old

Owen is 5 months old

Sitting in the kitchen drinking tea while Owen sleeps and Kaden destroys the playroom.

Kaden is feeling better and Owen may have the fringes of a cold - we'll see. The stress of the move, and getting sick definitely turned my sweet little two year old into someone else's kid. I swear EV and I would look at each other like WTH? It seems like things are going back to normal which is a relief.

We are having days where Kaden is in underwear most of the day and they stay dry. We purchased a kid seat to go over the toilet seat in his bathroom. I also stopped giving treats (raisins or stickers) when he started going on the toilet.

One annoying and dangerous habit he has is taking off to run into the street. For example yesterday we were leaving the store and he climbed into his car seat. A book fell out of the van and as I bent to pick it up he slipped out of the car seat and took off into the parking lot. Argh - such a heart attack. I caught him (while wearing Owen in the Ergo, they should have Mom Olympic events). I try to be firm but not make to much of the situation but really I wish there was something I could do to get him to stop this habit. Any ideas?

Owen is great. I feel badly because I have no idea how many weeks old he is, or what he +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++should be doing developmentally. But I love him so much. He's everyone's favorite baby because he's just a little, fat, happy dumpling. He sits pretty well on his own, plays for extended periods on his own and does extended tummy time. Last night he slept pretty poorly but maybe he's fighting the cold Kaden and I had. He's vocalizing more, and Kaden and I will mimic him, which Owen this is Hilarious.

The weekend was pretty mellow. Friday and Saturday we were home most of the time and Sunday afternoon we went to our friends for a BBQ by their community pool. There were three 2 year olds and they got along really well. Kaden had a great time.

QOTD: Kaden's routine starts around 7 (or 7:30), we do bath time, then he runs around naked with is towel cape and gives good night kisses. Then PJs and bed. He crawls in and gets tucked in. We used to do more including a special song, but I found now (at this age) the pared down version of a bedtime routine works best. Owen nurses and gets placed in the swing after Kaden goes to sleep. I wake him around 11 or 12 and bring him to my bed. Later this week we'll transition Kaden to a new big boy bed and Owen to the crib. I can't wait to have my room back! :-)

QOTD 2: I usually have Spotify on all day. Right now we're listen to relaxing spa music. I like world music, folk, classical and eclectic playlists (including kid show tunes, like the songs from Labyrinth). EV's even made me playlists with my favorite pop songs. Kaden loves pop music from the radio. The more "bubble gum" the better. Since I only have radio in the minivan he gets to listen to his favorites often. If we try to change the station to say classic rock, he says "Music! Music, change music" Sometimes we accommodate him. I love it that he dances to it - so cute!

KH826 · October 2014

Will turned 4 months on Saturday!

We had a fun and busy weekend! On Saturday we went out to lunch, then went shopping for a bit and bought a few new pieces of Fall clothing for each other (it was our 10 yr dating anniversary, and we decided to do that in lieu of gifts since we both needed a few things and we are on a budget). Will also got a new book and some socks. Since we can never NOT buy him something when we are shopping! Then we did grocery shopping and went home and took Will's 4 month photos (I will PIP them on Thursday). Yesterday we went to a Farm/Pumpkin Patch with my Mother-in-Law, and it was fun. Weather was beautiful - perfect fall day! We walked around and Will napped in the stroller in the fresh air. Then we picked pumpkins and took some photos when he woke up. We got some good pics - I was excited!

Will's two little bottom teeth seem to be poking through the gum more and more every day. It is crazy that he has teeth already. Now when he chomps on our fingers, it hurts! But, now that the teeth are through the gum he seems to be MUCH happier than he was at the height of his teething discomfort the last 2 weeks, so that is awesome! Until he gets another tooth... but let's hope he sticks with just two for a while!

He is now also officially holding his own bottle. It is like a little power struggle when one of us try to hold it for him now. He pushes our hands off! We still try to hold it with him, because he holds it too low, but he is making it known that he is a big boy! HAHA

He also can sit up unassisted pretty well for several seconds, and can sit for a prolonged period with just minimal support. He has now started pulling himself into a sitting position on our laps if we try to hold him laying in our arms and he decides he want to see what's going on. He is a curious little bugger and is always looking around with this look of wonder on his face. It's pretty cute. He has been fighting sleep for daytime naps more and more though mainly because he doesn't want to miss anything, I think.

Tomorrow is his 4 month appointment with the pedi. I will be super anxious to see what his height and weight are at now. My wife and I have a little bet going on his weight. She thinks he is heavier than I do. We shall see.... maybe I will update tomorrow night after the appointment and let you know his stats and who won the bet!

Mostly, Will is just so much fun. He is such a good baby. We are so ridiculously lucky. He is really happy most of the time, he sleeps like a champ, he is a snuggle bug when he is tired, he responds to his name and loves to smile and laugh. He has this amazing personality that seems so big for him! Sorry, I am gushing... life is obviously not all rainbows and butterflies, but life with this kiddo is pretty darn awesome. We just love it!

QOTW #1: So, bedtime is usually between 9 and 9:30 for us right now. He usually falls asleep on one of us around 7:30 or 8 and sleeps for 1.5-2 hours laying on us while we hang out on the couch and watch some TV, then he wakes up between 9 and 9:30 and we give him his last bottle. We change him into Feetie PJs and then we go upstairs. One of us will sit with him in the reclining chair in our bedroom and feed him his bottle, and usually he is starting to drift off by the time he finishes. We put him down in his little lounger in our room when he finishes eating, and he stays there until sometime between 6:30am-7:30am.

QOTW#2: We love music! We assume Will does too (because, why not!), but right now his favorite jam is my rendition of "You are My Sunshine" HAHA... My wife and I have eclectic music taste, and really like a little bit of everything. I hope that Will does too. We have frequent dance parties and sing alongs... so he will either love it or hate it. We shall see!

ATXmommas · October 2014

Ash is 10.5 months. Woah.

I had a really great weekend and need to brag on my wife a little bit. She definitely won Wife of the Year on Saturday. My birthday was last Wednesday, so as a surprise she planned a pedicure party for me and invited several of my good friends. When I woke up on Saturday, she told me that I needed to be ready to leave the house by 10:30 because she was going to drop me off somewhere for some adult-only time while she took Ash to play. She planned this party at a pedicure place that we've never been to, but was super adorable. We were in a private room and drank mimosas and ate snacks while we had our toes done. THEN, during the afternoon, Z dropped Ash and I off at a friend's house while she went home to clean! And we had dinner out that night. Her birthday is in February. I need to start thinking about how I will measure up! It was awesome.

As far as my little one goes, he is getting closer to walking. He's taking 2-3 steps at a time. It's so adorable. Won't be long before he's running around everywhere. Nothing else huge going on developmentally (as if walking isn't enough!). He still doesn't wave, so I'm trying to encourage him more in that department. I did manage to get him to at least lift his hand up, but he hasn't figure out that he needs to move his fingers yet. Once when he lifted his hand up, I have him a high 5 and he thought that was hysterical. Ah, the cuteness!

I did realize over the weekend that he can fit into 12-month pajamas. I've had a few 12-month footed pjs hanging in the closet and I kept thinking that they looked way too big for him. They looked so long and I've kept waiting for him to grow into them. Well, Friday night comes and I can't find any other pjs, so I grab one of the 12-month pjs. Lo and behold, they fit! Only a teensy bit long and very snug on his body. It's just so funny how perception is. I saw these awfully long pjs hanging and could not wrap my head around the fact that he's that size now! Caught me by surprise - in a good way. My good friend IRL is having trouble with her baby getting older - feeling nostalgia and sadness that her daughter will never be that tiny baby again. I haven't felt any nostalgia or sadness about him growing up. I'm quite the opposite, actually. I'm always anticipating the next milestone with excitement. I love seeing his personality come out more and more each day and I'm so curious as to what type of little human is going to be. The best is yet to come!

I have a couple current obsessions. 1) We're getting mighty close to the 1 year mark and I'm completely clueless at how to transition him to plant-based milk. Do I wait until he actually turns a year before offering him milk or do I start ahead of time? I'm so confused and his one year checkup isn't until 12/2 - more than a week after his birthday. I'm desperate to figure it out before then because I'm adamant about starting to wean from the pump by 12 months. Right now he is getting three 3oz bottles while at day care for approximately 10 hours (down from three 3.5oz bottles up until 9-10 months or so). Sometimes, one of his bottles might be 2-2.5oz just depending on how much milk I have. I'm thinking about reducing his BM intake again at 11 months. Maybe two 3oz bottles and one 2oz bottle or three 2.5oz bottles. I know everybody does this a little differently, so if any of you BTDT moms have any suggestions, I'm all ears! 2) Planning his first birthday party! This part is fun. I've decided that we are going to have a photo "booth" with fun props. I went to the dollar store yesterday and got all sorts of crazy beads, glasses, hats, etc. Plan to order invitations this week and finalize my Amazon/Etsy orders soon as well. I'm trying to save money most places, but have a couple things I want to splurge on (cake/cupcakes & an adorable t-shirt from Etsy that has Uno on it - for his Hispanic roots!).

I do have another question for y'all - I want to get Ash some type of rocking toy. Any suggestions? I'm considering the Rody (which is more of a bouncing toy than a rocking toy) or this Little Tykes rocking horse. Any suggestions?

QOTW #1: We all arrive home around 5:45-6:00pm. I nurse him and then we all eat dinner around 6:15pm or so. After dinner, one of us cleans up while the other bathes him - we switch off. After bath time, I usually hang out in his room with him until he's ready to nurse to sleep, which is usually 7 or 7:15pm. Depending on what time bath time ends, we might play a little bit in his room. I try to follow his lead and wait for him to show me that he's ready to sleep. If I try to nurse him too soon, he just fights it and we start all over. After we play a little bit, I sit in the glider and let him free-play. When he's ready to nurse, he comes to me. I nurse him to sleep and usually sit with him for 30-45 minutes. He's typically in his crib by 7:45 or 8:00pm.

QOTW #2: Z is in charge of the music. She listens to all sorts of stuff. I keep reminding her that as he's getting ready to talk, she needs to make sure the music is appropriate! Z is always dancing around and acting silly, and I hope she encourages all that in him. I’m just not a huge music person. I like music, of course, but I don't typically play music unless I'm in the car and it just doesn't get me going the way it does for Z. I hope he likes "real" music so that we don't have to start listening to toddler pop music, but I'll deal with it if the time comes.

JGY · October 2014

Gabe is 18 months of sass!

We had a pretty good weekend, though the change in weather has me bumming a little bit. We are hitting a point in S's work year where she will no longer be home at a decent time and won't be able to start/finish dinners on the weeknights, so our weekend was kind of taken over with food planning and prep.

On Saturday morning we went to the playground, but it was really cold out and we ended up coming home fairly quickly. We made our meal plan for the week, and when G napped I ran to Costco, Target, and another grocery store. In the afternoon I made my favorite cold-weather soup, while S played with G and Duncan the dog outside.

On Sunday, S had to work for a while so G and I hit the new Clifford exhibit at the Children's Museum. We had a pretty good time. The rest of the day was filled with more cooking (I prepped most of the dinners for the week and made sure Monday's and Tuesday's were completely done), a pile of laundry, and a little bit of football.

G is incredibly headstrong and is really letting his opinions on EVERYTHING be known. @Jazibel I know exactly what you mean when you wonder where your kid went. Adding teething and now a runny nose/cough to the mix has thrown G into a whole new behavior pattern. I'm so incredibly grateful that his daycare runs him ragged during the week and he can expend all that energy. Yikes.

Lately I've had some concerns about G's social development, and I was made more nervous by the Autism screening that we completed at his 18-month appointment. Much of that was wiped away this weekend, when he did something I'd never have predicted. He wanted my attention and I wasn't looking at him (he often doesn't make a lot of eye contact). He reached up and guided my face around so that I was looking him squarely in the eyes, and then he verbalized what he wanted. I was floored, and happy (and relieved). FTR, the Dr. didn't find any risk of Autism based on the screening, but when I fill it out online I get results showing "Moderate Risk." Hmmmmm.

What else? My in-laws are coming to visit next week and I'm pretty stoked about that. And I need to help my parents book tickets to come out here over Thanksgiving. That will be fun. Then we just need to figure Christmas out. I can't believe how fast this world turns when you're not paying attention. Sheesh!

QOTW #1: I finally feel comfortable declaring that G is a STTN sleeper. Finally! Those of you who are still struggling with sleep, I hear you and I send you all my love and support and hope that this comes your way soon as well. It will happen!!!

His routine starts pretty much the minute we get home from daycare. He eats dinner at about 5:45 and then after that gets a bit of playtime. Then bath at 6:30, followed by a little bit of naked run-around time. After that he gets diaper and jammies, and a few books. Then around 7 or 7:10 we brush teeth and say night-night to Mama, Duncan, and Nigel and head upstairs. He nurses for about 5 -10 minutes while we listen to music, then I say "All done," and he takes himself off the boob (!!!!). I tell him I love him, put him in his crib and cover him up. 4 out of 5 nights that's the last we hear from him. On the rare night, he'll protest by crying for a few minutes (just a few), then he settles down and sings/plays himself to sleep.

QOTW #2: Gabe is pretentious (hah) and really prefers classical music. Always has. In particular he likes horns, so we have a whole bunch of trumpet voluntaries and fanfares on S's phone and we play those for him quite a bit. He also really likes Pete Seeger, and the Spanish songs that he hears at daycare. And he readily sings La Bamba. It's kind of hilarious.

Karlamo · October 2014

Good Morning.

R is 7months.

This past week, R got his first cold/ear infection. I know we're lucky that at 7 months this is the first time he got sick but boy does it suck for everyone involved! My wife and I have become one with the nose frida. He never lost his energy while sick. Like not even for a day. We have a wild man on our hands. I had visions of cuddling a sweet sick baby in my arms. Not R, he was crawling all over the house and playing in the cat dishes.

Tomorrow we are San Fransico bound. My wife has a board meeting and R and I are joining her. I'm very nervous about the long flight. It's 6 hours from Boston. I'm not so worried about the ear pain since he's been on meds for days, but the fact he can't burn off his energy. Wish us luck. We flew in July and he did great so let's hope he does even better this time.

@KH826, I'm intrigued by this 9pm bedtime. I wonder if we pushed his back if it would help?

@jazibel, I hope you're enjoying your new space! It takes so long to get settled in.

QOTW: Bedtime is between 7-8pm. We start off with a bath if needed, followed by 20 min of trying to wrestle him into a diaper/pj's. We then read a story. We've been alternating which one of the 3 of us gets to pick the book for that night. It's a fun family thing we do. After storytime, one of us or sometimes both, breastfeeds to sleep. The other mom heads downstairs to finish making our dinner, cleaning, and preping for the next day. We tag team if it's a rough night. The routine we have down, it's the staying asleep we struggle with.

QOTW #2: We have pandora on a lot. We play our music which ranges from Beatles to Indigo girls. For R we use the children's stations, like jewel kids music and rock a bye baby music which is awesome if you haven't used it. It's adult music like Tom Petty put to baby tunes without the words.

2brides · October 2014

It was a good weekend. Highlight was taking the kids to a bike riding class. They have had NO interest in learning to ride their bikes, but we want to buy bikes and ride as a family. We've been trying to teach them off and on for years, but they weren't interested. We finally took them to a class and I think the teaching method and peer pressure helped. C was riding okay by the time we left and G was on the way. L was sick most of the weekend, so it was just the kids and me yesterday.

Bedtime is pretty simple these days - kids shower themselves, put on jammies, brush teeth, cuddle in our bed for a few minutes and talk, they get in their bed and read for 15-30 minutes depending on what time it is. Lights out it at 8. I would have never thought I'd say this when they were babies/toddlers, but they actually ask to go to bed.

Music is on in the car sometimes. Carter has taken a liking to contemporary pop music and will play it on his iPod in the car sometimes. On the weekends, we listen to NPR. They love Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and Prairie Home Companion. LOL. We don't have music on at home all that often. When I do, it is either iTunes Radio or Amazon Prime music (either current pos (kids' choice), 70s (L's choice), or classical (mine.)

KH826 · October 2014

@Karlamo - I know Will's bed time is considered late for a baby, but we let him sort of make his own schedule early on, and this was the routine that we got into. Since he has been STTN since 6 weeks old, we just don't want to do anything to screw it up. So if he wants to stay up until 9 or 9:30, but then will sleep for 8-10 hours, I am totally cool with that. Since he stays at home with my wife during the day, he can sleep until he wants to in the morning also, and we don't have to worry about getting him up at a certain time. Today, I left for work at 7am, and he was still sleeping. We have been pretty consistent about letting him guide us in terms of what routine works best for him, and so far it has paid off, so I don't plan to try to move his bedtime up earlier unless what we are doing now stops working... with all of that being said, I have no idea if this little routine we have would work for any other baby other than Will HAHA... it's just trial and error in my opinion!

redrockmama · October 2014

M is 15 weeks

We woke up to find out we are legally married (again). We are so excited! We are going to file for an amended birth certificate right away so that we can both be on it.im still in shock, I was certain SCOTUS would take the case.

We had a great weekend. I told J I needed more support from her. She really stepped up and took care of most of the stuff around the house, which many we had time to spend together during the weekend.

Saturday, J had to work, but later we went for a long walk at a park we don't usually go to. Our friends and their 8 week old came with. It was nice and relaxing.

Yesterday we took M for his first hike. The hike we planned was closed, but we improvised and had a great time. It was so nice to get up in the mountains. M slept the entire time (3+ hours) in the carrier. He woke up when we got back to the car so we took some pics, that I'll share on Thursday.

M is doing great, he is smiley all the time. The things he thinks are funny crack me up. He is still rolling tummy to back like a champ. He is really fast at it and does it both ways. No full on laughing yet, but closer everyday. Sleeping is still a. Work in process, I'm really tired today because he just refuses to stay asleep after I unlatch him or lay him down. We are going to try having him sleep in his crib, probably tonight. The crib is side-carred, so just attached to our bed with one side of the crib taken off.

QOTW 1: We get hum ready for bed between 7:30-9:30. Which is just changing him and putting on his fleece pj's. Then I nurse him and he falls asleep. The tricky part is transitioning from nursing to laying down, I haven't figured it out yet. He wakes up once or twice to nurse and get a diaper change.

QOTW 2: I love music and played it all the time while was pregnant, so M seems to live it too. He seems.to like country, which is weird because I rarely listen to it. He has only hated one song so far, somebody that I used to know by gotye.

mwagner25 · October 2014

@ATXmommas‌ do you have Ash using a sippy cup? We started water in a sippy cup around 6/7 months I think it was. But just since he turned 10 months I put 6-8 ounces of plant based milk in a sippy cup in the morning and give it with meals. What he doesn't drink it we put in the fridge and at the end of the day we get rid of what's left. Once he turns a year, I will likely take the "leftover" milk at the end of the day, warm it up, and use that for a bedtime bottle. But for now he still nurses at night. We also still have a water sippy cup out all day long for him to drink from, he actually prefers the water over the milk right now. For now we still do 4 nursing sessions or bottles per day, at wake up, before morning, before afternoon nap, and at bedtime. Not sure if we are doing it "right" but that's where we are at if it helps at all.

JGY · October 2014

@atxmommas ... what @stringy813 said.

For us things were a little bit easier, because Gabe was already combo fed (formula and breastmilk) in every bottle. So we just started replacing the formula portion with milk, either cow or almond or goat, but the total amount stayed the same. I'd suggest mixing milk (get a ped's recommendation on the best plant based milk to use) and breastmilk for a while. As always, let Ash be as much of a guide as possible in terms of total intake. You may find that he wants more now.

We started the transition right around 12 months, and when we saw he took that first combo bottle no problem, we never looked back. I agree that you'll want to start using a sippy cup around that time as well.

Good luck!

ATXmommas · October 2014

Thanks @stringy813‌, @mwagner25‌, and @JGY‌ for the tips. Ash does take water in a sippy with every meal and other times during the day. I think I will try what you suggested (mixing BM with plant milk in a sippy) at around 11 months. I'm planning on trying almond, coconut, or hemp (or a combination of the three). I'm still planning on nursing in the morning and evening for a while longer if he wants. I've read that babies older than a year don't really "need" milk as long as they are getting enough calories, fat, etc from the food they are eating and he is a really good eater (in terms of both quantity and variety), but I do want to offer in case he does need/want it. Will keep you posted.

@stringy813‌ - bummer about the Rody and rocker! I have a feeling that might happen with us too. I bought him an activity stand, a walker, and a few other toys that he barely pays attention to. He would rather find something to shake or bang. I had the idea when Z sent me a video of him rocking in a wooden boat at a gym class they went to this weekend. He frequently loses interest in things after the novelty has worn off. Hmmm. I need to think about this some more. Thanks for the feedback!

Karlamo · October 2014

@KH826, hope you don't think I was judging you.

We have always wondered if R needs a later bedtime because of our sleep issues. He's ready to sleep at 7ish but he gets up after only a few hours down. Sometimes when we put him to bed later he's easier to go down. Though he doesn't stay asleep any longer than normal. We have been trying to be patient with him and let him lead us, but when R leads it means sleeping in our bed and nursing off of mom and mama all night long. One night we counted that we together fed him 8 times! That's crazy. The Breastaraunt needs to close down a bit.

Don't get me wrong we're obessesed with him but other than the 2 days he's at daycare, we don't spend more than a few hours apart. It would be nice to get a break at bedtime

KH826 · October 2014

Karlamo said:

@KH826, hope you don't think I was judging you.

We have always wondered if R needs a later bedtime because of our sleep issues. He's ready to sleep at 7ish but he gets up after only a few hours down. Sometimes when we put him to bed later he's easier to go down. Though he doesn't stay asleep any longer than normal. We have been trying to be patient with him and let him lead us, but when R leads it means sleeping in our bed and nursing off of mom and mama all night long. One night we counted that we together fed him 8 times! That's crazy. The Breastaraunt needs to close down a bit.

Don't get me wrong we're obessesed with him but other than the 2 days he's at daycare, we don't spend more than a few hours apart. It would be nice to get a break at bedtime

So, I need to apologize, because I was totally defensive in my last post and I didn't mean to be! I know you weren't judging. We have received some unsolicited feedback from family members or acquaintances that we are keeping him up too late. It bugs me because he is such a good, happy baby, he sleeps great, and his moms are happy. WHY do people feel the need to find something to criticize?!

So yea, I got ready to defend our parenting choices for no reason. Sorry about that!

JGY · October 2014

@kh826 - I drool when I think of how much sleep you guys are getting (or how much you're not missing)! Absolutely, if it's working for you, don't change it!

@karlamo - Of course every baby and every family is different, but the 2 things that made the biggest changes for us in terms of Gabe's sleep were:

1. Earlier bedtime (seems counterintuitive, but many times babies are restless sleepers because they are overtired). We had been waiting until G gave concrete signs of sleepiness before putting him down. Turns out that for him, that meant he was past the point of being ready for bed.

2. Breaking the reliance on nursing to sleep.

So, #2 was the really big one. It was a challenge, and I'll admit that it involved more crying than I was initially comfortable with. But it took a relatively small amount of time, and when I was able to understand that G wasn't crying out of fear or pain, it was a lot easier to handle. Yes, he was crying out of a bit of confusion and frustration, but once we set a new pattern and lived to it religiously, it reset his expectations. I will say that from day 1, the way he fell asleep initially at night made a huge difference in how he fell back to sleep at night wakings. I had been told this would be the case, but didn't believe it until I saw it.

We were not comfortable with total CIO at all (I wasn't really comfortable with any crying, but got some serious nudges from S). We actually strung things along a bit longer than it might normally take. We initially stayed in the room with him while he fell asleep, I often lay down next to his crib until he fell asleep (he wasn't crying the whole time, but if I left while he was awake he would start again).

These days, as I said above, the putting-to-bed process is really simple. And I think the thing that I most like is that I am able to nurse him to sleep on occasion with no bad outcome. He decides if he wants to fall alseep at the breast or in the crib.

I totally understand that our approach is not for everyone. But we got to a point where I was not able to parent effectively (nor work effectively) due to lack of sleep. I HAD to be healthier, and he needed more sleep too. This is what worked for us.

Also, "Breataurant" made me legit LOL.

Reading back I see that you weren't necessarily looking for advice, but now I've typed all of that out so there it is. Please know that I'm only offering our experience to be helpful. Good luck!

Karlamo · October 2014

@KH826, I would be bragging if I was in your shoes

@JGY, Thanks for the advice. I'll take any and all ideas. I think our kiddos seem to have a lot in common when it comes to sleep habits and energy level. I think it's time to do some training.

ATXmommas · October 2014

@Karlamo‌ - Brestaurant is now in my repertoire. Classic. Thanks!

@jrtmom‌ - glad to hear H likes his Rody and rocking horse. At what age did he really start using them? And they have giant Rodys?!?!

@winstan1‌ - I have lied to my pediatrician too! Ha! As far as my pediatrician knows, we never bedshared.

I've heard that some kiddos won't drink milk out of a sippy. I'm going to gear up to try in a couple weeks. Thanks for the feedback!

@KH826‌ - if ain't broke, don't fix it! I sometimes wish Ash would stay up a little later because unless we have a babysitter, I'm a stickler at being home by 6:15 to start our routine! Fair warning - lots of babies have a 4 month sleep regression, which sucks. But, I hope it passes up your champion sleeper!

Jazibel · October 2014

@jrtmom - now I want a "giant" rody so badly. Kaden has a Rody and he loves it. I was ahead of the game and bought it for him when he was about 5 months old. He didn't start hoping on it until he was Henry's age and he still plays with it all the time.

@KH826 - I would totally be bragging in every post if my kid were that kind of champion sleeper. I'd offer any critics the position of a night nanny if they want to try and rock the boat on Will's schedule ;-)

@ATXmommas - I think we started Kaden around 10.5-11 months on milk in a bottle. We used 1/2 cows milk and 1/2 coconut milk. We cut out the nap nursing session(s) first one at a time and offered a bottle instead. Kaden still nursed a ton so I wasn't worried about him missing the important nutrients from BM. He was also eating at every meal, with snacks in between. We were a little more aggressive because I was trying to get my cycle to start and gain regularity again.

@Flygirl1228 - sorry to here the babies were giving you a hard time today. I hope they grant you & A hours of consecutive sleep tonight to make up for it ;-)

@winstan1 - I'm on a "need to know" basis with our ped. too (crucial things aside of course).

@karlamo - OMG Breastaraunt!!! Of course I was nursing Owen down when I read this and I thought YES! I need to unplug that 24/7 sign.

@2brides - I'm glad to hear G & C had a great class and started riding their bikes. I hope my boys will cuddle with us before bedtime. I love that part of your routine - sounds like sometime I may just have to borrow from you when my kids get a little older.

ball.and.chain · October 2014

B is 3m and change. 14 weeks I think?

Don't have a lot of time to update but things are going well. Second week of daycare, first week of both moms working and so far so good. B seems a little bit out of sorts but adjustments are hard and I know things will get easier for everyone as we move forward. Still the handsomest kid ever.

His favorite thing right now is to "stand" while we hold him up.

QOTD: Our bedtime routine is similar to KH's in that he sleeps for a couple of hours on us while we watch TV (7-9 or so) and then gets a bottle and everyone goes to bed. In our case however he sleeps in our bed because that's the only way anyone gets any sleep. He gets up once around 2-3 and occasionally will STTN -- but ONLY if we let him sleep in the bed. Looking forward to him getting old enough to sleep train so we can have our bed back.

QOTD #2: B loves music -- doesn't seem partial to any particular kind, just likes anything with a melody. A friend gave us a Baby Einstein musical toy and he LOVES it, as well as his musical crib mobile (which just plays Brahm's Lullaby). I try to sing to him but can never remember words to many songs, so lately he's been getting made up crazy stuff, "Stille Nacht" ("Silent Night" in German), and the chorus only to "BoomClap." My poor kid, but he doesn't know any better -- he just loves it when we sing.

KH826 · October 2014

@ball.and.chain - I have started singing Christmas songs to Will too, because I was running low on lullaby-type songs that I could remember the words to. The other day I was singing "Sleigh Ride," "Silver Bells," and "White Christmas" to him, and I think my wife thought I had lost it. However, we are pretty big fans of Christmas music in our house, so I expect we will be breaking out those tunes for real by November 1st!

2brides · October 2014

Jazibel said:

@2brides - I'm glad to hear G & C had a great class and started riding their bikes. I hope my boys will cuddle with us before bedtime. I love that part of your routine - sounds like sometime I may just have to borrow from you when my kids get a little older.

It really is sweet. If we are running late and try to skip it, C protests loudly. :P He is such a cuddlebug and so tactile that he needs that 1:1 time to touch. It is also a nice time to turn everything off and connect..even for 10 minutes. We do it in our bed so we can all fit.

1blueridgemama · October 2014

I'd like to be added! Graduated from the pregnant check-in

M and C will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, still 2 weeks from their due date. Doing so well. 2 week ped appt and they both gained a hlaf lb in one week- ped was super impressed. M is exclusively breastfed and C is during the day and has a 22 cal supplement for small-for-gestational-age preemies added to breastmilk at night. So ready to be done pumping in the middle of the night. Blech. Hopefully just another 3 weeks or so til supplement is no longer needed. She is 4 lbs, 9 oz now. Getting to be a big girl lol

Bedtime routine: With our big kids, they brush teeth/pee, etc and then read in their beds and then we tuck them in and sing a song if they let us lol. Always been great sleepers. With the babies, they sleep much of the day still so bedtime is no different than the other 8 naps or so they take lol.

Music: As much as I love music, I haven't even thought to turn any on yet. Don't have great internet reception at our house so Pandora can be spotty... Might make a playlist on phone.

KH826 · October 2014

Update: just came from Will's 4 month pedi appointment. He is 17 lbs and 25 & 3/4 inches long! 73rd percentile overall. Pedi said "keep up the good work" and sent us on our way. We asked questions of course and he had his shots - took them like a pro! Overall a great visit!

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