Parenting Check-In (1/5/15)

Jazibel · January 2015

Good Morning Everyone,

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

QOTD: Do you remember the moment you saw your child(ren) for the first time? Can you describe how you felt, or what you were thinking?

QOTD #2: Are you passing on any songs, stories, etc. to your kids that were your childhood favorites?

Parenting Roster:

(Please let me know if you would like to be added or have your information changed)

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

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

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

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

@Trisholio and @trisholiosboi – Proud foster parents to M born 2/6/12 and K born 8/22/13; baby Adalyn born 8/29/14

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

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

@CageyMack – W born 3/16/13

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

@Stringy813 – M born May 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

@Sarahtrpt – C born February 2014

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

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

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

@Filmfanatic82 – Charley born 3/15/14

@2momsinCA‌ - B & O born 5/27/14

@KH826 – Will born 6/4/14

@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

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

@2MamazInSeattle‌ - S born 8/21/14

@rkbo‌ - Amelia born 9/22/14

@pauljl - Callie born 11/5/14

@doodah1013 & @firstcomeslove2013 – Hayden born 12/20/2014

@RobertJane33 – Twins born 12/24/14

@Andstilltrying – Mathew and Andrew born 12/26/14

Jazibel · January 2015

BTW - if you have a good QOTD or two feel free to PM or post them on the thread. Today I had to google "good questions for parents". Sleep deprivation has addled my brains!! ;-)

ball.and.chain · January 2015

B is 6m.

OK, here's a sleep-related question for all of you. B gets up once during the night, has a bottle, and generally goes right back to sleep -- like he is falling asleep as he is finishing it. It doesn't take long to feed and change him and I don't mind doing it -- I'm honestly so grateful it's only once and so happy to have him in his crib. I think someone here said that some babies can't actually sleep through the night for a while, and given that he is small and therefore has a little tummy, I don't want to push it.

He usually sleeps approximately 7pm-7am. It's really ideal if he wakes around 1-2, but sometimes (like last night) he doesn't wake up until after 3, occasionally 4. When he wakes after 3, he tends to wake up too much -- it's like his body thinks it's morning. Last night we put him back in his crib and he babbled to himself for a while before falling asleep. While this is way better than crying, it sometimes keeps us up. Even if he goes right back to sleep, my wife and I have more trouble falling back asleep the closer it gets to morning.

So...it occurred to me that we could go in and wake him up at 1 am. We'd probably be able to change and feed him, put him back down and all sleep until morning. But it seems wrong to wake him, and as he does develop the ability to STTN, he's never going to do it if we are waking him at 1 and we're never going to know he's capable. Has anyone had experience with this?

OK, on to non-sleep stuff...

We have a scoocher. No army-crawling yet, but somehow he manages to move himself around. He's been flipping over and moving around in his crib, sometimes sleeping on his stomach (not my favorite, but why flip him if he's going to flip back), and sometimes sleeping up in the corner of the crib. Once he fell asleep on his side with his stomach against the crib bars, holding on to the bars. Weirdo. He still can't sit on his own for more than a few seconds, but usually only needs one hand on the ground to support himself. He's close.

We've now tried applesauce, oatmeal, sweet potato, avocado and peas on B (all in puree form). He spit out the avocado, but I think it was textural since he also spit out the sweet potato when I hadn't thinned it out enough (but liked it otherwise). And the oatmeal, when prepared according to the instructions on the box, was TOO thin and hard to get in him. It was like trying to feed him formula with a spoon. So we're going to revisit those two, but everything else has been a hit. Banana and squash are up next.

Other stuff: I tried to play peek-a-boo with him and he got terrified and started crying. I felt awful. He has a huge jumper seat with lots of activities around it and he's finally at the point where he gets how to play with them -- how to press the buttons to make music, how to guide blocks on a track, how to grab and pull the rings to him, etc. He also gets how to "jump" in it which he wasn't getting before.

His 6m pedi appointment is tomorrow so we'll know his stats then. He is wearing 6-9 or sometimes 6-12m clothes and starting to look just a teeny bit chunkier in the face. We are up to 6 oz bottles and right now he only gets an ounce of food a day.

QOTD #1: Shock. After all we'd been through to get pregnant, I still couldn't believe we were actually getting a baby. After all we'd done to try to get my body to go into labor and then to push B out, it was hard to believe I'd actually done it. And since I had an epidural, it didn't hurt and that was kind of mind-boggling, that I could push out a baby without pain (even though duh, epidural, that's the point). So I was just kind of like, whoa, that's him! I also had prepared myself for the fact that he might be funny-looking and was surprised that he was actually quite beautiful and perfect.

QOTD #2: If there was any doubt in your mind about whether or not I am a mega-nerd, I am now about to dispel it: the first cassette tape I owned as a kid was the music from The Nutcracker. I also went to see it as a kid and loved it. I do want to take B to see it in Boston when he's old enough, and I am also hoping to instill in him at least a respect for, if not an appreciation or love for, classical music, as it was a big part of my life growing up (I played the viola for ten years). I can't say I was ever that into any kids' music, but I do love children's books. So far I have bought B Ferdinand, Corduroy and Bread and Jam for Frances (he has tons of books, but those were favorites of mine). I am also hoping to start a tradition of reading A Child's Christmas in Wales on Christmas, which my dad did with me, but B is a little young for it now.

JGY · January 2015

@shameless370087‌? I've been thinking about her a lot and wondering how things are going for them.

G is 21 months.

Whoa, seriously trying week and weekend and I'm glad it's over. S traveled a lot for work and I've been battling morning sickness and fatigue bigtime, so G's constant boundry pushing and hitting left me at my wits' end.

sarahtrpt brought up weaning in an effort to start TTC (in the TTC check-in) and I wanted to bring that conversation over here. I know I've read many comments about people here in this parenting group who are planning to wean in advance of TTC and I'm curious as to why. Is this a standard suggestion from peoples' OBs and REs?

Weaning is not something that ever came up in conversations with my RE. I did not wean, and I was successful in TTC #2. Now, I was on unmedicated IUI cycles and I know many of you are looking down an IVF path and perhaps there is a major difference there. But here is why I selfishly bring this topic over here ... lately while nursing G (only at night right before bed), I get uterine cramps and it makes me nervous. I've read that it's normal and not dangerous to the fetus, blah blah blah, but it still has me considering beginning the weaning process. Which, in turn, will start a whole new going-to-bed routine and that terrifies me.

For those of you who have successfully weaned a child/ren, do you have any tips? I know this has been discussed in the past, but a refresher would be lovely.

TIA!

QOTD: The first time I saw G, was while I was still in surgery for the c-section. My blood pressure had just crashed, and I was completely out of it. I remember seeing him and thinking "I know I'm supposed to care about this, like, a lot. But I don't." Then I spoke a few words to him and he stopped crying immediately and that actually helped me to dial in a little bit.

QOTD #2: I have a Pete Seeger CD that I play for G in the car a lot. It's a recording of a live performance in front of an audience full of kids. It's great and contains lots of the songs we sang as a family growing up. G loves it and at times it's the only thing that will keep in calm in the car.

ATXmommas · January 2015

@JGY - I've discussed weaning prior to TTC for a couple of reasons. First, I took Letrazole (Femara) while TTC and I suppose I'll use it again, and I think (though am not 100% sure) that it is contraindicated while BF-ing. Second, I'm down to nursing 2-3 times a day (usually 3) and I still don't have my cycle back. I actually was going to pose that question today - particularly for those that BF, when did your cycle start? I really though that I would start after I stopped pumping, but it's been 6 weeks and nothing. ETA: I think I might HAVE to fully wean in order to start cycling again.

I'm very interested in having a weaning discussion. Not that I'm ready to wean today or tomorrow, but do think I need to start in the next couple months and the thought TERRIFIES me. I feel like it is the only tool in my tool belt sometimes. I am working on teaching Ash that we don't always nurse on demand and I have at times limited the amount of time he nurses. For instance, this morning he just wanted to lounge and nurse forever. I get it - I love to lounge in bed and sip my coffee when I have time. But, we needed to get up and get ready, so I eventually pulled my shirt down and told him we were all done while he promptly threw a fit. I held my ground and it only took a couple minutes to get him interested in something else.

Now I'm rambling… Will check in later.

JGY · January 2015

@ATXmommas - My cycle returned exactly 28 days after I stopped pumping, however I was already down to nursing 1xday at that point and it was a short right-before-bed session.

I absolutely hear you on it being a coveted tool in my toolbox. Losing that terrifies me as well. In addition, and this is of course how things would go with us because we're backwards and crazy, but G has JUST started asking to nurse. He never did before, he just accepted it when offered. But just this weekend he started asking to nurse at odd times (not right before bed), and even lifted up my shirt yesterday to try to gain access. Ugh. I don't want things to go in the wrong direction here. Though I'm a huge supporter for those who want to tandem nurse, I have absolutely ZERO desire to do that myself. No way, no how.

Jazibel · January 2015

@JGY & @ATXMommas - I started the weaning process when Kaden was around 11-12 months old by cutting out nap time nursing and introducing more solids at meal times. I also didn't get my first cycle until I started nursing less. I think I had 1 cycle before the cycle I got pregnant and it was a wonky one. I was down to nursing Kaden at night (to bed) and anytime he woke up in early August 2013 (he had turned 12 months 3 weeks before). I got pregnant with Owen, but bled from 10 days dpo until 6 weeks-ish. I actually stopped nursing cold turkey and started offering bottles of warmed cow or coconut milk (usually 1/2 & 1/2) instead. I attributed the bleeding and cramping to uterine agitation while BFing. Online research and my midwife agreed that the two were likely connected. It seemed that I'd likely continue a healthy pregnancy and that the bleeding might subside but I wasn't able to relax at all. As soon as I stopped nursing the bleeding stopped.

Thankfully Kaden seemed really ready to transition away from nursing and didn't resist me at all. He was already nursing in a distracted (pulling away, wiggling, etc) fashion. As long as I offered a bottle instead during key nursing times (naps, bedtime and middle of the night) he was happy. We offered a lot of bottles the first couple/few weeks but because we didn't want him drinking that much milk we eventually cut out some of the bottles (nap time and middle of the night) and lo and behold he started napping like a champ and STTN for the FIRST time in a year. :-) I think he was also just ready at that point. He was very active during the day and was able to get nice and tired combined with eat healthy food based meals just lent its-self to more/better sleep.

Owen I have no idea. He's still only somewhat interested in food, and he loves nursing. I plan on nursing until 12 months at least so we'll see.

KH826 · January 2015

Will turned 7 months old yesterday!

The last 2-3 weeks have been totally crazy town. I have been off from work since December 19th, and we did lots of traveling for the holidays to see family, as well as had lots of crazy life stuff to deal with (car, roof, stress!)... anyway, today I am back to work and we are all back in our usual routine. I am not going to lie, it feels good. I miss my family for sure, and leaving this morning was tough, but I am glad to be back in the groove. I have lots of other life stuff to talk about, but I guess most of it isn't really directly parenting related per se, so I will save it for my TTT tomorrow...

As for Mr. William, here is a high-level run down:

*Loving solids! We have tried sliced apple, fresh avocado, bananas (whole/pieces), sliced pear, pureed green beans, pureed sweet potato, some pureed mixed berries, steamed carrots, steamed cauliflower... I might be forgetting an item or two, but those are the noteworthy ones. He pretty much loves everything. He struggled with the texture of the avocado and the cauliflower a bit, but kept going back for more anyway. His favorite whole foods seem to be banana and apple slices, and his favorite purees are green beans and sweet potato. He loves the spoon, and seems to really get the whole concept of putting food on the spoon and putting the spoon in his mouth (obviously with lots of assistance at this point). He gets excited and kicks his feet and bounces up and down when he sees the food coming.

*He has been really loving a lot of his new toys that he got for Christmas, but a favorite seems to be the zany zoo. This is it: https://www.target.com/p/b-zany-zoo-wooden-activity-cube/-/A-12025312#prodSlot=medium_1_1&tempterm=zany+zoo+toys He sits in front of it for up to 30 mins just playing solo with it and laughing, it is totally awesome.

*One of his top teeth finally broke through the gums! It hasn't come all the way down yet, but you can see it when he lets you look in there, and you can most certainly feel it! So that makes three teeth in total, and he has too more up top that he is still working on, but they haven't made an official appearance yet. We only had 2 rough days of acute teething with that top tooth, so I was thankful for that!

*Yesterday he rode in the cart at the grocery store for the first time, and he loved it! We got a cart cover/high chair cover, and ended up using it twice yesterday. We went out to lunch with my in-laws and put Will in a high chair at the table and gave him apple slices to eat while we ate our meals. He did great and stayed in the high chair the whole time (about 45 mins) without any fussing, and he happily sucked on his apple slices for most of the meal. Then we went to the grocery store on the way home and we stuck him in the shopping cart and his little legs were kicking like crazy and he was grinning from ear to ear. It was awesome. He stayed in there for the whole time we were in the grocery store (about an hour), and I was super impressed! On the way home, J and I agreed that yesterday was the first time that he really felt like a little boy and less of a baby. He is growing up so darn fast!

*He is working on starting to wave (which I LOVE!!!!). If we look at him and say "Hi, William" or "Bye Bye, William" and we wave at him, about 50% of the time he will put his arm up in the air and twice now he has opened and closed his fist a few times. The first time he did it I did not think it was intentional, but then he did it again yesterday when we were out to lunch with my in-laws, and my MIL just about lost it with excitement that he waved at her HAHA. He only does it about 1/2 the time though... so I am not ready to call him a full-on waver just yet.

*He is still babbling "Mamamama" all the time. J thinks he is doing it intentionally, but I tend to think it is too early for that and it is just a sound he likes to make.

*Still no actual crawling, but lots of scooting, rapid rolling, and a TON of wiggling. This boy does not like to sit still. We are going to be in trouble! He will also stand for 15-20 seconds with assistance, and that little bugger is strong!

*He is still loving bath time. He enjoys getting us soaking wet by kicking his legs super hard in the water. Bath time usually necessitates a shirt change for at least 1 mom, if not both!

*So, after 1 week of rough sleep with a hard time going down and a few wake ups during the night (about the first week of December), he is now back to sleeping through the night again, and usually goes down between 8-8:30pm and will sleep until 7-8am depending on the day. We are back to putting him down partially awake, and he has been just fine with that. He is back in the gosh darn lounger (RNP) b/c we reverted back to that during his rough sleep week, and then with the holidays and sleeping at other people's houses, we didn't want to mess things up too much by introducing a new "bed." This child is WAY too large for that thing, so we need to talk this week about moving him again. I want to move him to his crib, but J says she is still not ready. Ugh!

*Speaking of how big he is... he is now totally in 12 month clothes, with a handful of 18 month things thrown in (mostly pants that run "slim" or jammies). We have officially packed away all 6 month and 9 month clothes. The 9 month stuff he wore for like 3 weeks. It was a joke. I told J that from now on we are only buying him a handful of things at a time until we know he is staying a certain size for a while. I know the time has to come where he will be a size for a good long stretch, but we definitely are not there yet, and if he isn't going to stay 1 size for a long time until he hits 24m or 2T, then I am not going to run out and buy him a bunch of 12m and 18m stuff. Like a weed this boy!!! Also, we have been holding off transitioning him into the convertible car seat, but we can't wait any longer. J is going to get it out from the basement this week and install it in her car. We will be shopping for a good deal on a 2nd convertible seat for my car in the coming weeks. I was loading him into the car in the bucket seat on Saturday, and I twisted my knee just the right way and seem to have sprained it or pulled a muscle. So now I am limping and it hurts to sleep b/c I can't seem to get comfortable. Great. I can't really blame it all on the darn bucket seat... it was the way I turned, and it was pouring rain out, and I am a klutz, and it was just a comedy of errors type of moment... but the boy it too big for that thing! So it is time to graduate.... which means graduating him to the stroller without the bucket. Which means I'm back to wanting a new stroller. Oy.

OK, I think that is it for the moment, but I reserve the right to come back! It has been too long since I posted a legit update!

QOTD#1: Well, to be honest... and I have mixed emotions about this... the first moment I saw Will I was confused, shocked, and a little worried. As most all of you know, we were told that we were having a girl. We had a name picked out, and had referred to our baby/my belly as that name since I was 20wks pregnant. When a little boy came out, it was complete and utter shock. When my wife first exclaimed "It's a boy"... I thought she was joking. The moment is kind of a blur, and I wish we actually had that exact moment on video tape (but nothing else!!! HAHA), but we don't. It took me at least 5 minutes to have the "this is my baby and I love him more than life" feeling, but after the first 5 minutes there was no going back, and I was head over heels for that boy. I just didn't know what to make of the surprise, and felt a disconnect like "This isn't my baby... I was having a girl. Her name is Lucie. Please check again." ... I feel badly about that, but it was honest and authentic, and I can't say that I should have expected something different from myself given the circumstances. The worry part of what I first felt was (and this is going to sound awful) genuine worry/fear that J would be upset that he was a boy. After the initial "oh my god, he's a boy" hit me, the next feeling was that since J was soooooo very attached and connected to Lucie (even though Lucie never existed -- or she is still waiting for us in the freezer as J likes to say), that she would be upset and have a hard time connecting to Will. I think it took J 12 hours to feel connected, and after 24 hours she loved that boy more than life itself. The first little bit was hard though, if I am being honest. We were just in total shock.

QOTD#2: We hope to teach Will to play the piano (well, I hope that J will teach him), and there are a lot of songs that I want to play and sing with him. J was very into piano growing up, and I was VERY into singing/choir/theater. So, I hope to share some of that with him. I also hope he loves to read all the books. In particular, I plan to introduce him to the Harry Potter series when he gets a little older. My MIL bought him a Harry Potter hat, scarf and wand for Christmas. I will have to include a pic of that adorableness on PIP Thursday!

Jazibel · January 2015

Kaden is 2.5 years (29 months) old

Owen is 8 months old

We had a great and very busy weekend. We went to the Oakland Zoo to something called Zoo lights where the Zoo is decorated in Christmas lights all over. We rode the train and Kaden and I went on a small roller-coaster. The roller-coaster had some whip to it, and I was a little worried Kaden would freak out but he held onto the bar and stoically rode the coaster next to me. I told EV afterward that I think we was 1/2 asleep by that time.

Yesterday we went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum which is located in green space right below the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito. The views are amazing, and the museum itself is perfect for the kids, lots of hands on opportunities for exploration for Owen and Kaden both. Our in-laws bought us a membership and I'm thrilled.

Kaden - somehow he grew 2" in a couple of weeks. We measured him before Christmas and again over the weekend. He's now 36" tall. We've had some better luck with his behavior as we reinforce the idea of accountability.

Owen's top two teeth are coming in which has left him with super red cheeks, and struggling to sleep at night or during nap time. Last night between 1am - 3:30am they woke 5 times between the two of them. Seriously this morning I lay under the covers listening to them both wake up and start yammering away and I couldn't move...

Owen pulls himself up on everything now and is into everything. Kaden and Owen playing though - is the best. Even as the whole house falls down around us.... It looks like a hundred kids live here based on the finger prints all over the glass patio doors.

QOTD: With Kaden I was surprised how human and cute he looked. I too expected a very wrinkly creature, but he was beautiful to me. I was in shock, and since I birthed in water one of my first thoughts was about his being warm. I also remember thinking how still he was, he moved but it was in that slow, barely moving newborn way. Finally I really wanted by wife to hold him. I wanted a few minutes to collect myself and the responsibility of holding him out of the water while kind of supporting myself was just too much after the ordeal of labor.. ;-)

With Owen the feeling of exhaustion and shock was even deeper. My whole body was so drained my brother in law had to pull me into a sitting position (I couldn't get my muscles to move). So before that when they laid Owen on my chest, I marveled at his face and then wished EV could hold and nurture him (pour love into him) while I just caught my breath. Alas his cord pulsed for forever so I hung in there :-)

QOTD #2: I love Ferdinand, Where the Wild Things Are and the Runnaway Bunny. I also hope that Kaden one day develops a love for Playmobile because I used to build whole villages with Playmobile.

Mystjava · January 2015

Wow... I am still in shock that we've been in our home for a total of two weeks now. LB has his bunk bed, but he still won't sleep alone. I am still working on that, but this weekend, he got a fever (it went up as high as 103.6) and just could not be comfortable. I believe the fever finally worked it's way out of his system this morning, but I haven't had a chance to double check recently.

We're waiting on obtaining a new queen bed since my partner cannot have a bed on the floor (two back surgeries and arthritis) makes it difficult for her. So, until that time, she's on the couch while I am trying to "wean" LB from co-sleeping with me. I know I might regret it, but it is something I have to work on.

As for the QOTW - #1 - I still remember my partner jumping up and down when LB was being born, considering that I had a c-section. I had tears in my eyes as he was being checked out. But the actual feeling of Mikhail being here and being born - I don't remember physically, but when I look at him, I feel comfortable and content that I have my child.

As for QOTW #2 - I want my son to develop a love of reading, something that I've always enjoy as a child. But most importantly, I am hoping that he'll develop into a wonderful and kind person that cares for others. I know that my partner is hoping that he'll get the music kick and "jam" with her when he can. He is already showing an interest in her wood work that she does/did, so that's a good thing!

2brides · January 2015

It was a good weekend. Trampoline park, hanging out with friends, and lots of resting/reading for all of us. It ended with C being sick all night...

QOTD: Gray was born first and my first thought was, "That came out of me!?!?" And when C was born, I don't remember seeing him, but thinking, "this is the first time I have been able to breathe in months!" LOL.

QOTD: You are My Sunshine is a big hit - and still is. We read a lot of Robert McCloskey books (about Maine where my family is from and those books were a big part of my childhood.) There were several Golden Books that were from L's childhood (original copies!) that we read. Thankfully, we passed down our love of reading and both kids are voracious readers. I've tried to get them into some of the chapter books that I loved growing up (Judy Blume/Beverly Cleary/etc) but they aren't interested.

CageyMack · January 2015

Hi, all!

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

QOTD: Do you remember the moment you saw your child(ren) for the first time? Can you describe how you felt, or what you were thinking?

Yep, both times as they were born and were placed on my tummy/chest. It was love at first sight, truly. My 12 year old had her eyes open and looked right at me and make a little noise like a newborn puppy, with which I had a lot of experience. She had lots of red hair and I was so amazed at how alert she was. She could hold her head up. I was blown away.

W was born and the moment I first saw him was when he was hoisted straight up and all his limbs flew out. It was pretty awesome. He had a triple nuchal cord, so there was kind of a big "he's free!" moment. I was amazed at his realness. I just loved him so much, and I'd been worried I wouldn't because he was my second. Silly me.

QOTD #2: Are you passing on any songs, stories, etc. to your kids that were your childhood favorites?

Just So Stories, lots of horse books, Winnie The Pooh, Maurice Sendak, Pippi Longstocking, Richard Scary. Also lots of little, old cowboy/old-time songs that I've always known.

One I really like goes:

Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken --

lay a little egg for me.

Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken --

I want one for my tea.

I haven't had an egg since Easter,

and now it's half-past three, so . . .

Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken --

Lay a little egg for me.

I . want an omm-lette -

- lay a little egg for me!

Also the song that I call the "gack-gung" song:

"Gack-gung went the little green frog one day,

Gack-gung went the little green frog.

Gack-gung went the green frog one day,

And his eyes went gack-gack-goo.

But we all know frogs go "leddle-leddle-la, leddle-leddle-la, leddle-leddle-la"

we all know frogs go "leddle-leddle-la"

They don't go gack-gack-gung!

Oh, and a ton of Raffi!

Such fun!

2MamazInSeattle · January 2015

YAY! I'm back to work so this will be a little easier to keep up on!

Simone is 4.5 months old, 20 weeks on Thursday!

Well, she is knee-deep in the 19-week "Wonder Week" which of course, is everything BUT 'wonderful.' Definitely more sensitive, and a few just out-of-nowhere desperate crying jags have occurred which was a bit shocking since she's not much of a crier for no reason. It's ok though, I mean, the kids brain is exploding right now and it's all good stuff, plus, change is hard - harder when no one can really explain it to you.

The best right now is her 'storytelling' - she wakes up sometimes and will just babble away with so many intonations and pauses, it really does feel like she is imparting an epic tale to us! We just laugh and sometimes (if it's not the middle of the night) we "converse" back to her. Super. Cute. Also, she has attached to two books - one of which is Goodnight Moon (is that laced with baby crack? What's the deal?) - anyhow, now J reads her a page and says "your turn" and she babbles back and starts reaching for the right side when she's ready to have J turn the page. Shocking how smart and aware and all those things this behavior seems!

We are still bf'ing at night and in the morning, but my supply is so low I'm not sure the point, except that I like it. She downs a good 30 oz of formula a day. Sigh. But she's thriving! We plan to start solids around 6 months so we have 6 weeks to go to that! We figure on doing a combo (ala ball.and.chain) of purees and BLW. We'll see how it goes.

QOTD: Do you remember the moment you saw your child(ren) for the first time? Can you describe how you felt, or what you were thinking?

I remember after she flew out into the doctors hands thinking two things. First was "Whoa, that is a BIG BABY!" and 2) "Phew, she looks normal." Seeing that we used two donors we had no idea what we were getting!

QOTD #2: Are you passing on any songs, stories, etc. to your kids that were your childhood favorites?

Well I was a big Dr. Suess fan so we will have those. And otherwise, nothing really stands out...

doodah1013 · January 2015

Hola!
We are doing well. Hayden is an amazing baby! She loves snuggles so much... And doesn't want to be put down, which is awesome right now! She loves bein swaddled, and is a hungry little monster!
We started cloth diapers this week and so far so good! And she lost her cord stump last night.
She is gaining weight, and is still exclusively getting breast milk. I am pumping to supplement, but A is getting her latched and they are doing great! I was worried about how pumping would make me feel emotionally, but after giving birth, and seeing her little face, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her! If I can contribute to her stash I am happy (or at least not opposed) to do it.

QOTD: i just wrote my birth story and posted it and it answered this question exactly!

QOTD #2: I have been listening to a special playlist for H since about 35 weeks. It includes a lot of my favorite songs and cat Stevens, which my Mom played for us on vinyl since we were little bitty! When she fusses, she will calm down if I sing those songs to her.... So sweet

JGY · January 2015

2MamazInSeattle said:

YAY! I'm back to work so this will be a little easier to keep up on!

*** Stuck in box ***

Happy first day back at work!!! I know you were ready for this day, but you'll be just as ready to run home as soon as it's done, I'm sure.

JGY · January 2015

RobertJane33 said:

QOTW #2: So many books I'm excited to share, but one of my favorites is the Oz books - I have an old set from my aunt that we've put in the kids room, and I can wait until they are old enough for me to read them to them.

Me too, me too! My Dad read the Oz books to me one at a time, and he likely had about 25 of them. Original hard-cover canvas versions. Most of them are still back at my parents' house, but I have a few of them in G's nursery, just awaitin' for him to be ready!!

Karlamo · January 2015

I haven't update in a few weeks.

R is 10 months.

He has taken his first steps!! It was very spontaneous and caught him off guard. Mamosey let go of her hands and he "walked" towards me....before falling on his face. We now have bets as to when he will be walking for real. I say Feb but she's saying this month.

We had another sucessful flight to TX over Christmas. While the trip was a nightmare, he did amazing on the flight. I think he's ready for a trip to Ireland. We've been saving that country for when we had kids and I happy to see that I think R could handle the trip. Just need to get baby #2 on board.

He has been battling a nasty fever since Sat. His temps have been in the 103 range which is scary. My sister is an ER nurse and has been coaching/keeping us sane till we could get him into the dr yesterday. The flu test came back negative but they said we needed to return if he was still running one today.

In other news my 10 month old has temper tantrums. I thought we had until 1 before dealing with these but nope. R has meltdowns when: the cat leaves the room, we won't let him play with knives, he can't lick the trash can, when I put him down after him wanting me to put him down,.. the list goes on and on. They are not cute and I can only imagine how much worse they will get as he gets older.

QOTW #1: We were team green so when he came out both my mother in law and I looked at the bed and were stunned that there was actually a baby on it. I felt like 5 min went by before I told mamosey we had a boy.

QOTW#2: We have the most ridiculous songs that we make up for R. His current fav is sung by the tune on Michelle my bell by the Beatles. We subbed out Michelle for Rudy and he always calms down when we sing it to him.

@doodah1013, glad to hear pumping and supplementing are going so well. I've been thinking of A and wondering how her supply was doing. Tell her she can email me with any questions. I also used a SNS with mamosey's pumped milk for R. It will take awhile but I'm sure her milk supply will increase over these next few months. Using an SNS definately caused me to have a love/hate relationship with it. If she needs any tips on how to make using one easier, I'm here.

Karlamo · January 2015

@sarahtrpt, Mamosey and I had to sync up our cycles for her pregnancy. We were both regular so it was no big deal. Around the time we were getting ready to cycle, I started my period first and then went on birth control right away. When she got hers, she started taking lupron while I was stimming. I got very lucky and stimmed all of 6 days. The syncing up took all of 3 weeks.

My "weaning" situation is a little than yours but I had to wean before my recent FET. About 3 weeks before I was planning on starting any meds I weaned. If you are not having regular periods like I was while breastfeeding, then you may have to wean sooner to get the ol' AF back on track. Weaning is VERY emotional for mom and baby. Go easy on yourself.

ATXmommas · January 2015

Ash is 13 months old.

Ash and I are back in Austin after spending about 10 days in Mississippi with my family. Glad to be back! Z had to return before us, so I traveled solo with Ash on Saturday. It was challenging and I was soooo relieved to be done traveling, but it wasn't too bad even though we experienced two flight delays. When we arrived at the Jackson airport - small, not-busy - I let him roam around a bit to get some wiggles out. He ended up sleeping for most of the flight from Jackson to Dallas The flight from Dallas to Austin was a bit more challenging. He was cranky (don't blame him) and I did my best to keep him entertained and calm… which meant a little screen time. Sigh. My mom has an app on her phone called Baa Baa Black Sheep, which I did not object to her exposing him to, so I downloaded it to my phone and pulled it out when nothing else would keep his attention. I did read recently that the AAP recently revised their stance on screen time, still saying that it should be used minimally and with an adult (as exposed to just letting them watch on their own, the adult should participate and discuss what's going on). Eh, whatever. Do what you gotta do, amiright?

In other news, he's teething again. I've mentioned before that my weird kid's telltale teething symptom is projectile vomit. That occurred on Friday night and sure enough, one of his bottom teeth had poked through by morning. He threw up again this morning, so I think the bottom tooth on the other side is working its way out. That will make 8 total.

Sleep is a bit crazy lately. While in MS, he started off every night in a portable crib, but ended in bed with me every single night. While I'm happy not to co-sleep any longer, it was fun for a few days. The past couple nights at home haven't been great, but I'm not sure if it's because he was out of his routine for a while or because he's teething. I had a really difficult getting him in his crib last night. At one point, I went into his room and sat by his crib while he reached his arms up towards me and attempted to climb out of the crib to get to me. Made me so sad. Once he settles down, he's okay for several hours - still waking 1-2x - but trying to get him down for the night has been really difficult the last few nights.

As for nap times - his 12-18 month classroom at day care only naps once per day from 12:30-2:30pm, but I noticed in MS that he does better with 2 naps per day. My mom and stepdad were both able to get him to sleep easily and he would nap for 1-2 hours at a time two times a day. I still can't get him to nap for me unless he's nursing the ENTIRE time. Ugh. I was so desperate to get him to nap yesterday that I sat with him for 1.5 hours. I attempted to unlatch him and put him in crib twice and he pitched a fit both times - hence my hesitation about weaning, but I know I can't (and don't want to) nurse for much longer. Ugh.

Other fun things about Ash that I think I forgot to mention last week - he loves to dance. He's so cute. When certain music comes on, including the music that Scout plays, he immediately starts swaying and bopping his head. ADORABLE. He also loves to brush his teeth. I bought him a big boy toothbrush for Christmas and whenever he sees us brush his teeth, he asks for his toothbrush. He mostly sucks on it, but will brush some if we mimic it for him. His play is becoming more complex. He gets the concept of his stacker, will take off/put on the rings and find other things that can slide onto the stick. He enjoys taking things in/out of containers and attempting to put lids on containers.

On a negative note, he is more routinely hitting when he is upset. Mini tantrums started earlier for those of you who mentioned your 10 months old with tantrums, but the hitting recently started. For example, when I wouldn't let him continue nursing this morning, he attempted to repeatedly hit me. I know this is normal, but not entirely sure what to do. I held his hands and told him not to hit mommy. Not sure what else to do at this point. Suggestions?

QOTD: Do you remember the moment you saw your child(ren) for the first time? Can you describe how you felt, or what you were thinking?

I really have such a bad memory - thus why I like to write lengthy updates here. Otherwise, I feel like I would forget everything! I remember when Ash came out, they immediately put him on my chest, but I had a hard time getting a super good look at him because his cord was short and since we delayed clamping, he sat more on my abdomen than my chest. I remember rubbing his little head and while I don't remember any specific thoughts, I recall the general feeling of amazement, relief, and happiness. What I do remember very specifically is this - Not long after he was born, while he was still on my chest, I cried and mourned for our first boy, Daniel. Daniel's loss suddenly had meaning because both his presence and loss brought us our Sebastian. It was a really important moment for me and that memory is ingrained in my head.

QOTD #2: Are you passing on any songs, stories, etc. to your kids that were your childhood favorites?

Nothing is coming to mind. I really don't have a lot of very specific memories about my childhood. Sad, I know!

ATXmommas · January 2015

ball.and.chain said:

B is 6m. OK, here's a sleep-related question for all of you. B gets up once during the night, has a bottle, and generally goes right back to sleep -- like he is falling asleep as he is finishing it. It doesn't take long to feed and change him and I don't mind doing it -- I'm honestly so grateful it's only once and so happy to have him in his crib. I think someone here said that some babies can't actually sleep through the night for a while, and given that he is small and therefore has a little tummy, I don't want to push it. He usually sleeps approximately 7pm-7am. It's really ideal if he wakes around 1-2, but sometimes (like last night) he doesn't wake up until after 3, occasionally 4. When he wakes after 3, he tends to wake up too much -- it's like his body thinks it's morning. Last night we put him back in his crib and he babbled to himself for a while before falling asleep. While this is way better than crying, it sometimes keeps us up. Even if he goes right back to sleep, my wife and I have more trouble falling back asleep the closer it gets to morning. So...it occurred to me that we could go in and wake him up at 1 am. We'd probably be able to change and feed him, put him back down and all sleep until morning. But it seems wrong to wake him, and as he does develop the ability to STTN, he's never going to do it if we are waking him at 1 and we're never going to know he's capable. Has anyone had experience with this?

Tough call, but I wouldn't wake him. Do you hear him babble through a monitor? I ask because we've never used a monitor because our bedroom is right next door and we can hear him crying. We don't hear babble, but then again, Ash doesn't typically stay in his crib awake and babbling. He's either asleep or crying! Anyway, perhaps you could turn the monitor down so that you could still hear crying, but the babbling isn't so apparent?

ball.and.chain · January 2015

@ATXMommas, yes it's through a monitor. Our room isn't close enough to reliably hear crying while asleep without one, and we also sleep with a white noise machine on. I like to have the monitor on the lowest setting, but my wife is convinced she won't hear him crying in her sleep if it's on that low. 8-|

I wonder if we could just learn to sleep through the babble...

ball.and.chain · January 2015

ATXmommas said:

I actually was going to pose that question today - particularly for those that BF, when did your cycle start?

I don't know if this is as relevant since it wasn't that long post-partum, but I got my period 7 weeks after I stopped any kind of pumping/bfing. I had gone down to just pumping twice a day and not bfing at all 4w before that, so I thought I might get it then, but it took its time. So at about 8 or 9w post-partum I went from bfing to just pumping twice a day and no bfing, and then at about 12w post-partum I stopped everything, and at 19w post-partum I got my period. My cycle has been fairly regular since then.

ball.and.chain · January 2015

Karlamo said:
In other news my 10 month old has temper tantrums. I thought we had until 1 before dealing with these but nope. R has meltdowns when: the cat leaves the room, we won't let him play with knives, he can't lick the trash can, when I put him down after him wanting me to put him down,.. the list goes on and on. They are not cute and I can only imagine how much worse they will get as he gets older.

I assume you are familiar with Reasons My Son Is Crying...but that's what I thought of when I read this! I'm sorry!! I'm not looking forward to that.
%-(

ATXmommas · January 2015

ball.and.chain said:

ATXmommas said:

I actually was going to pose that question today - particularly for those that BF, when did your cycle start?

I don't know if this is as relevant since it wasn't that long post-partum, but I got my period 7 weeks after I stopped any kind of pumping/bfing. I had gone down to just pumping twice a day and not bfing at all 4w before that, so I thought I might get it then, but it took its time. So at about 8 or 9w post-partum I went from bfing to just pumping twice a day and no bfing, and then at about 12w post-partum I stopped everything, and at 19w post-partum I got my period. My cycle has been fairly regular since then.

This is interesting. It took 7 weeks of no BF/pumping to get your first PP period, so the fact that mine still hasn't returned when I'm nursing 3x a day isn't too strange even though it's a little surprising to me. My IRL friend whose daughter is 2 days older than Ash got her first period last month and she probably nurses more than I do since she SAH with her daughter.

ATXmommas · January 2015

@2MamazinSeattle - Keep us posted on how your first day back at work was! I know leaving S is hard, but I hope you settle into a routine soon!

2MamazInSeattle · January 2015

Thanks for asking @ATXMommas and for all the well wishes from everyone. Long and short: I survived! Today Simone was home with J which made it easier than if she was in daycare (that's tomorrow!). I usually bf in the a.m. but S was fast asleep and so I decided to pump and hardly anything came out!! I finally hand expressed what I could (nothing stellar) and wonder if that is just my actual supply (why bother!?) or if it was 'leaving my baby' no milk reaction. I don't make enough milk to have to pump during the day which is *awesome* for me, I mean, if one has to find a silver lining!

Otherwise, just on my bus home waiting to hug S. I am going to the office on the days J has her at home, otherwise I will be work from home (I could stay home every day - but figure on going in when they are home as they would be a distraction and I actually do have to work!)

Lots has changed in my work world and I'll be in a new role or looking for one (likely w/in the company) by July 1st. Hopefully I can find something with the awesome flexibility I have now!

Thanks again for all the support! I'm sure in time it'll normalize, but I still want to win the lottery and be a SAHM!

ball.and.chain · January 2015

ATXmommas said:

ball.and.chain said:

ATXmommas said:

I actually was going to pose that question today - particularly for those that BF, when did your cycle start?

I don't know if this is as relevant since it wasn't that long post-partum, but I got my period 7 weeks after I stopped any kind of pumping/bfing. I had gone down to just pumping twice a day and not bfing at all 4w before that, so I thought I might get it then, but it took its time. So at about 8 or 9w post-partum I went from bfing to just pumping twice a day and no bfing, and then at about 12w post-partum I stopped everything, and at 19w post-partum I got my period. My cycle has been fairly regular since then.

This is interesting. It took 7 weeks of no BF/pumping to get your first PP period, so the fact that mine still hasn't returned when I'm nursing 3x a day isn't too strange even though it's a little surprising to me. My IRL friend whose daughter is 2 days older than Ash got her first period last month and she probably nurses more than I do since she SAH with her daughter.

And I think @2MamazinSeattle got hers before I got mine, even though S is like 6w younger than B AND she was still bfing. Conclusion: anything goes.

ATXmommas · January 2015

@2MamazInSeattle‌ - do you normally pump anymore? Pumping was easier for me when it became routine, but I can also assure you that I've had really frustrating moments with the pump too. Argh. The amount from pumping is NOT reflective of your actual supply, but I totally get the frustration and not wanting to wake her to nurse before you leave. Does she normally sleep past the time you leave? Anyhow, I do hope you find a routine that you are comfortable with, whatever that looks like. And yay for no pumping at work! Silver lining indeed!

jennicole85 · January 2015

D is 18 months old.

A day late and a dollar short

Not a lot to update this week. I'm starting to think about weaning. We want to bf until D is 2 but I'm not sure when to start the process - at 2 years or a month or so before so he's almost weaned by 2? I guess it's all going to depend on how the next few months go. Also, nap time and bedtime will turn into a nightmare without breastfeeding, I'm sure of it. My boobs are this kid's security blanket lol.

Will his eye teeth ever come in??? I'm so tired if the numerous middle if the night wake ups from the pain. I hate seeing him hurt, not to mention the exhaustion I'm feeling from it.

I feel like toys have exploded in our house since Christmas. We bought quite a bit for him this year to make up for the only two toys he got last year. However, everyone came out of the woodwork this year with a toy for him! Every room in the house has some sort of toy, it's insane!

QOTD:
As soon as he was out, the doctor placed him on me and I bawled. He wasn't crying, just looking at his surroundings. Shortly after they had to take him because I started fainting and J was shoving the oxygen mask in my face. His birth was extremely traumatic and looked like something out of a horror movie, but I was so happy. I totally had that feeling of euphoria after he was born. We both cried and I just stared at him while the doctors finished *ahem* fixing me up. Shortly after we were moved to recovery J and I were like 'Now what do we do? Holy crap, we're parents!'

QOTD 2: there aren't really any songs that I'll be sure to share with him, unless you count a few Disney movie soundtracks lol. Books, on the other hand, we've already started. We have the whole Berenstain Bears collection (which I loved!) and another favorite If You Give a Mouse a Cookie that we read (or just look at the pictures lol) often. Once he gets a little older we'll definitely read the Harry Potter series together as well as some of Roald Dahl's works.

redrockmama · January 2015

M is 6 1/2 months old

He is sitting up like a champ these days, still no back to belly rolling yet though. I'm 100% certain he is physically capable, just doesn't care to do it. He might be a little stubborn like his mommy. He can stand up holding onto something, but doesn't really understand that he can do it yet. He'll be so happy once he figures it out. I tried to teach him how to roll to get around, but he wasn't a fan. He is tolerating being on his belly a little more these days, but gets really frustrated that he can't crawl. He is making more and more noises and "talking" all the time. Well actually, most of the time he is yelling haha. We have a loud one on our hands.

We went to J's hometown this last weekend for a funeral and it totally screwed him up. I didn't realize how much, but it was/is hard. On saturday (the day of the funeral) he didn't nap at all. He was an overtired mess on the 3 hour drive home. I told J I didn't think we should go back until her sister's wedding, which is in two months. She was disappointed, but really, they can come visit us too. None of them have babies who need sleep and dogs who need sitters.

QOTD 1: I don't remember a specific feeling, but I was surprised that he didn't have much hair haha. I had lots of hair as a baby so I was expecting him to as well. I was just so happy that he was okay and shocked at how big he was 7 lbs 2 oz at just over 3 weeks early. I'm sure a lot of that was all the fluids they pumped me with, but still. After they explained that every time I bled it was his blood, not mine, that was coming out I was terrified that he wasn't going to be okay. I was just happy that he was out of my crazy, stupid, uterus and on my chest.

QOTD 2: Nothing specifically yet. Lots of songs and books, but no favorites yet. I want to share our love of camping and the outdoors with him, and so far he loves being outside. I also want to share my love of music and the arts with him. I am in the process of researching some good paint to buy for his first painting experience

shelly2314 · January 2015

The weeked was nice. It was my last weekend before I start back to work full-time. It is rough, but I am glad that M gets to take her maternity leave now and can stay with the girls for a bit. Milestones- Olivia is finally sitting up well (not on her own, but holding her body up well. Elise still tends to hunch her back but I have noticed she does it a lot more when she is tired. Elise has also "seen" her sister for the first time and loves smiling at her. Olivia could care less LOL. Challenges are late afternoon nap times. They have decided to fight it with a passion making them VERY grouchy. I know part of the problem was that I spoiled Olivia and let her nap on my chest so she is having to learn how to do it differently. Elise never really liked to sleep while being held and would cry for about 3 minutes and then fall asleep. Olivia can cry for over 20 minutes straight and not go to sleep. I am at such a loss at what to do about it

QOTD: Do you remember the moment you saw your child(ren) for the first time? Can you describe how you felt, or what you were thinking?

I think I was in shock. I went in for a routine check up and 7 hours later have two babies! I remember this feeling of disbelief that they were actually here and then crying from being so overwhelmed. They were so perfect and strangely mine

QOTD #2: Are you passing on any songs, stories, etc. to your kids that were your childhood favorites?

I plan on reading "The Giving Tree" to my kids b/c I loved it so much. I also loved all of the other books by Shel Silverstein and can't wait to share those. My mom has been singing songs that she sang to me as a kid and that is very sweet. M loves anything Dr. Suess and we have a million of those books!

shelly2314 · January 2015

I agree @winstan1. I loved that book as a child but my wife had never read it before now. So we read it to the girls while I was pregnant. She looked at me horrified and said this is a horrible story with a selfish child. As an adult, I can see how she got that from the story. As a child, all I could think of was how great a friend the tree was and see happiness in giving.

Funny how perspectives are all over the place

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