PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[ljmorgan]

drk I think "less BM for longer" might be the way to go. I say this because I saw your post, and later yesterday I was on kellymom.com and saw something that seemed to support that position.

From kellymom

"From birth until somewhere between four and six months of age, babies possess what is often referred to as an "open gut." This means that the spaces between the cells of the small intestines will readily allow intact macromolecules, including whole proteins and pathogens, to pass directly into the bloodstream.This is great for your breastfed baby as it allows beneficial antibodies in breastmilk to pass more directly into baby's bloodstream, but it also means that large proteins from other foods (which may predispose baby to allergies) and disease-causing pathogens can pass right through, too. During baby's first 4-6 months, while the gut is still "open," antibodies (sIgA) from breastmilk coat baby's digestive tract and provide passive immunity, reducing the likelihood of illness and allergic reactions before gut closure occurs. Baby starts producing these antibodies on his own at around 6 months, and gut closure should have occurred by this time also."

So if that is true, it makes sense that passing her those antibodies for as long as possible until those digestive changes happen, may be in her best interest.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

ooh, kellymom is a great site! i've been all about reading up on how to up my supply and it's been a great resource

Burk- sorry I have no advice, hope that you're doing better.

drk- K is too cute in her football jersey! she's totally into the game.

Mara- wow, that's quite a walker! cutie J looks like he's super-fascinated by it

Sabine- yay for exploring your new surroundings with water baby!

QT- happy, drooling baby! such cuteness

we had a bit of a rough night- Nico woke about an 1hr or so after his middle of the night feeding and was super fussy. i finally offered him a boob and then began a feeding cycle. but he still wouldn't go down afterwards, so DH put him in the swing and that's where he slept- 1st time that's happened. dunno what to think about him " totally sleeping" in the swing- I hope it doesn't become a habit. I hope to get a nap in before MIL arrives later today.

couple of quick questions:

PACIFIER- do you use one? when did you introduce it?
SIDE SLEEPING- we swaddle N for most of his daytime naps and definitely at night. he sometimes ends up finding a way to roll over to one side. i used to try to move him back, but it's short-lived. i constantly check up on him to make sure that his mouth/nose are free & clear. do any of your LO's sleep on their side?

 

[Mara]

re: pacifier: J didn't like one at all for ... i vaguely remember maybe the first 6-8 weeks? he would take it for just really short periods of time, like 5 min then spit it out. and he wouldn't really take it at night. after he started getting more into it, now he takes it at night for bedtime and sometimes when he is fussy, the sucking soothes him. i said this in a prev post but i never had a paci and so i don't really believe in them but G had one and totally believes in them... also most people say don't stress about it being a habit as most kids grow out of needing it...so i try not to worry about it. sometimes he will try to keep it in for hours after sleeping (i go in and take it out then) and other times he spits it out before even falling asleep. he doesn't have an issue sleeping without it, so i figure i'm not going to stress.

re: side sleeping... i think MP's Micah might have been a side or tummy sleeper pretty early on? i would prob suggest if N is side sleeping that way at night, maybe he shouldn't be swaddled? i would fear that he'd roll totally over onto his belly and then have no arms or legs to really help him maneuver out of it.. and i am not sure how his head control is but at a few weeks old J would not have been able to know to turn his head i don't think.

re: swing sleeping...we had a few of those nights too esp in the first 5 weeks. i was always like 'i don't want him to pick up a habit' but sometimes you just have to do what you need to do to get the baby to sleep. J spent his first week sleeping swaddled in his bouncer because the rythym put him to sleep and he was refluxy and we were paranoid he'd choke on his back. one night nothing would soothe him, we wheeled him into the bathroom and put the fan on and he slept in the bathroom with door open to our master with the totally loud fan going. another night we had to wheel his bassinet into the KITCHEN to put him near the stove fan to get him to fall asleep. one night he slept in the swing. and another he slept on greg's legs as he laid on the couch. none of them became habits (well except white noise, he loves it)... so don't worry, just do what you guys need to do to make sure you all get sleep right now!

AFM...J was a crazy sleeper last nite...he slept 8pm to 8:45am this morning. i fed him and put him back down where he will usually catnap another 30-45min (i do this because he will always fall back asleep this way and it lets me get ready for work in the mornings), but he slept an additional almost 3 hours til 12:15pm! then he had a 45 min nap at 3:30pm and went down for bed at 8pm. i figured maybe he's growing AGAIN.

we also tried oatmeal mixed with peach for dinner tonite and he just LOVED it, ate about 2+oz. i need to break the habit of giving him oatmeal in his bottle (long standing from his reflux days...) and have been hesitant because i feel like it really fills him up, so i am going to see if i can replace it with some solids and a bit of extra liquid so he still is full for sleep. i also fed him sweet potatoes mixed with zucchini for lunch today--a combo he really likes and i am happy because he gets 2 veggies in him. he def is starting to like eating more than 'drinking'..so trying to keep a good mix and not give him both at once so he doesn't think he can 'deny' the bottles.

i also notice the last 2 nights we put him down at 8pm and he fell asleep within 5 min and hardly any fussing. wondering if he wants a later bedtime than 7:30. not sure when their bedtimes start moving later though.

 

[MonkeyPie]

PACIFIER- do you use one? when did you introduce it?
SIDE SLEEPING- we swaddle N for most of his daytime naps and definitely at night. he sometimes ends up finding a way to roll over to one side. i used to try to move him back, but it's short-lived. i constantly check up on him to make sure that his mouth/nose are free & clear. do any of your LO's sleep on their side?

Paci - Micah only takes it when he's sleepy now. We gave him one in the hospital because I was BFing but so sick I was having a hard time, and it relaxed him. He spits it out if you try to give it to him when he isn't tired, though.

Side sleeping - Mara is right, my Micah side slept from two days old. We got a sleep positioner but he hated it - if N will tolerate it, I would look into that if you want to keep him swaddled. Side sleeping while swaddled is really only ok if you are awake and can watch him closely, but it depends on your comfort level. I let him sleep on his tummy and side from very early on so I may be the wrong one to ask lol.

Micah often ends up sleeping with his face mushed into a blanky or pillow, but he's had the head control of a 6 month old since he was born so it is different for every baby. Does N NEED the swaddle, or sleep ok without it? I used to swaddle Micah every night, then when he started breaking out of it in his sleep I just stopped cold turkey and we never had a problem. Once N is out of the swaddle you will worry less.

 

[Mara]

Julian 5m 2w

ditto MP re: the swaddle. J totally needed the swaddle since he was a CRAZY FLAILER and would not stay asleep unless arms were tightly bound to his body, even til almost 4 months old his arms would still foil his sleeping plans hehe. but some babies don't necessarily need it..if that is the case for N, I wouldn't even do it given the side sleeping tendency... or maybe just swaddle one arm or legs. or you can do sleep sack if you want him to feel cozy but not restricted.

i also would do things for naps i wouldn't do for nighttime...since i was right there.

so we put J's walker together and he just loves it. the look in his eyes is like constantly amazed, it's hilarious. we put him on a thick rug so he can't actually 'walk' even if he wanted to, but i am so happy we have a ranch style house so no stairs to worry about! and i am hoping we don't have to baby proof too soon.

for anyone interested we got the Jeep one... it's best for taller babies, when we put J in on the smallest level it's perfect right now but the two other ones we tried were too short for him, he was already flat feet on the highest level. plus the Jeep one is not primary colors so it actually isn't too offensive on the eyes hehe.

 

[ljmorgan]

QT I love using the Mother's Milk tea -- I definitely saw changes in my production when I drank it as directed (3-5 cups a day.) What I did was drink two double strength cups a day, easier for me -- one in the morning, and one at night. I would notice a bump in my supply the next day. Now that I have BFing ironed out, I drink one double strength cup per day and since we're feeding from the breast I can't see how much I'm pumping anymore. I go back to work next month and will have to pump at work, so I think I'll bump up my intake of the tea to protect my supply and hopefully help with pumping. Let us know if the tea makes a difference for you.

Charger Nico is beautiful! He is so young, I would not worry about the occasional sleeping in the swing (or anywhere else!) at night. You have weeks to go before he gets into any sort of routine, and at this point sleep is so precious for you that you should go with what works. As for side sleeping, my son got hooked on it in the NICU -- they routinely placed him on his side or stomach to sleep (while at times wearing a standard hospital issued t-shirt with "BACK to sleep" blazed across the front which I thought was funny.) If he sleeps better on his side, by all means let him. I would try side sleeping without the swaddle though and see if he will accept that, just so you won't be running around worrying about his blanket working its way up to his face. If not, use a light breathable swaddle blanket and call it a day.

Speaking of swaddles, where did you get the cute muslin blanket with the lions printed on it? I LOVE the Aiden + Anais blankets... we have so many receiving blankets but we pretty much rotate through the Aden + Anais blankets exclusively. So nice and light for a summer baby.

AFM Speaking of the Aden + Anais blankets, I was so thrilled to find out they've expanded their line to sleep sacks (in their same muslin fabric) and breathable muslin loveys. The sleep sacks come in their one layer muslin like the blankets, or a four layer muslin for cooler weather. I was happy to find these because at some point, swaddling blankets will need to come out of the bassinet/crib and we'll have to sleep sack the kiddo, and I was so sad about giving up the Aden + Anais blankets for that. I just don't love the thicker fleecy sleep sacks.

Andrew is doing well, he will be 7 weeks this Thursday! I placed him on his infant scale this morning and he weighed in at 10 lbs. 11 oz. His birth weight was 7 lbs but he got down to 6 lbs. 2 oz. in the NICU when he got to come home. I realized I never posted his birth story here or any of that, I was scheduled for a cordocentesis and his results showed us that he was in distress, so I delivered him that day at 35w6d. He was in the NICU for 10 days, and we're still dealing with him needing blood transfusions because of my antibodies. Hopefully things will clear up for him soon. I am a nervous wreck all of the time, because the signs I am supposed to watch out for when his anemia can start hurting him is "lethargy, more fussiness, slowing down at eating." I have a 7 week old baby... how do I know when he's fussing because hello, he's 7 weeks old, or because he is severely anemic? Quite nerve wracking! His hemoglobin was 8.5 last Tuesday and it tends to drop about 2 a week... which means it could be in the 6's when we get him tested tomorrow. Which means he'll be admitted to the hospital again and we'll have an overnight transfusion. I will be happy when this is behind us for sure!

 

[icekid]

A quick question for the experienced mommies...

We're planning on the Graco snugride as our infant carseat. Why is there such price disparity among them, though? Is there something different? Aside from the weight (some go up to 22 lbs and some 35 lbs) difference, I cannot figure it out. Some patterns can be found for $65 and some up to $140 all for the 22 lb version. Am I missing something?

(and a quick note about baby pic friday... Love all of your cuties. They make me so excited for the arrival of our little guy.)

 

[split_shank]

A quick question for the experienced mommies...

We're planning on the Graco snugride as our infant carseat. Why is there such price disparity among them, though? Is there something different? Aside from the weight (some go up to 22 lbs and some 35 lbs) difference, I cannot figure it out. Some patterns can be found for $65 and some up to $140 all for the 22 lb version. Am I missing something?

(and a quick note about baby pic friday... Love all of your cuties. They make me so excited for the arrival of our little guy.)

I JUST asked my sister this same question this morning!! Unfortunately I haven't gotten a response back, she must have her phone off. I was wondering the same thing, and also if it is worth the extra $$ for a 32lb 'capacity' vs the 22 lb infant seat, which can get us by a litttttttle bit longer without disrupting sleeping baby?

 

[anchor31]

A quick question for the experienced mommies...

We're planning on the Graco snugride as our infant carseat. Why is there such price disparity among them, though? Is there something different? Aside from the weight (some go up to 22 lbs and some 35 lbs) difference, I cannot figure it out. Some patterns can be found for $65 and some up to $140 all for the 22 lb version. Am I missing something?

(and a quick note about baby pic friday... Love all of your cuties. They make me so excited for the arrival of our little guy.)

I JUST asked my sister this same question this morning!! Unfortunately I haven't gotten a response back, she must have her phone off. I was wondering the same thing, and also if it is worth the extra $$ for a 32lb 'capacity' vs the 22 lb infant seat, which can get us by a litttttttle bit longer without disrupting sleeping baby?

J is 17.5lbs now and is getting pretty heavy to carry around in his carseat, so my opinion would be no, the extra $$$ is not worth the extra lbs capacity.

Love everyone's pics!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

THANKS all for the paci/side sleeping suggestions!

We swaddle Nico almost always, except for the occasional daytime nap. I've noticed that he sleeps much better when swaddled- he's not exactly a flailer, but he does LOVE his hands. they either soothe or distract him which is why we keep him swaddled, especially at night. he can go for as long as 4 hours if it's a good, tight swaddle. otherwise he breaks out and his hands shoot up to his face (he's mitted during the day). We use the lightweight A+A blankies, so at least they're nice and thin. Lindsey, they're the ones from Target: https://www.target.com/gp/detail.html?a ... ckreg=baby

I'll just continue to keep an eye on him since that's the way he likes to sleep, and the swaddle doesn't work it's way up- he pushes it down if anything when he breaks out of it. I also try to make it more of a v-neck so there's no extra fabric up near his chin.

Re: pacifiers- N is not the best napper. He goes down a bit more easily at night, probably because we incorporate more into that routine (dim lights, white noise, swaddling always) so that he gets the hang of day vs. night. he usually falls asleep at the end of nursing time, but then wakes when i have to burp him and he gets agitated. I offer him a boob for comfort - he falls asleep again and thus it's a vicious cycle! So I'm thinking that I could offer him a pacifier for comfort instead.

yeah, me thinks i need to get over the sleeping in a swing or any other alternate place! if it's going to lull him to sleep, then so be it.

Lindsey, Nico was almost 7 lbs at birth (6/14), and he got down to 6/4 during our hospital stay. That alarmed the nurses/docs so we had to begin supplementing him. He's now around 7lbs, so gaining (but slowly!). I too drink the mother's milk, but also take the motherlove special blend capsules, so who knows what has helped my milk supply increase. Oh yeah, also just started taking Reglan.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

A quick question for the experienced mommies...

We're planning on the Graco snugride as our infant carseat. Why is there such price disparity among them, though? Is there something different? Aside from the weight (some go up to 22 lbs and some 35 lbs) difference, I cannot figure it out. Some patterns can be found for $65 and some up to $140 all for the 22 lb version. Am I missing something?

(and a quick note about baby pic friday... Love all of your cuties. They make me so excited for the arrival of our little guy.)

I JUST asked my sister this same question this morning!! Unfortunately I haven't gotten a response back, she must have her phone off. I was wondering the same thing, and also if it is worth the extra $$ for a 32lb 'capacity' vs the 22 lb infant seat, which can get us by a litttttttle bit longer without disrupting sleeping baby?

J is 17.5lbs now and is getting pretty heavy to carry around in his carseat, so my opinion would be no, the extra $$$ is not worth the extra lbs capacity.

Love everyone's pics!

Ditto Anchor- N is wee (almost 4 weeks), and I cannot imagine carrying him in a 32lb seat! we're glad we got the 22lb snugride. As far as the price disparity, must be that some patterns are just older or exclusive to a particular retailer? Ours was about $90 from Target, but some ran to $125.

 

[miraclesrule]

This probably won't work, but I am going to try to post a picture. I am not having luck on the new PS platform. I've been reading all your updates and will have time to address them, but I'm mimosa'ing right now...and well, yanno. All the kids are adorable and I feel for Chargergirl and the BF'ing and all the new Momma's. It's so much more fun to be a Gramma.

Veda: She's 9 1/2 months now. She has broken through her top four teeth in the last month and two more have broken through on the bottom. She is not a happy camper. She is biting her lower lip to help with the teething pain. I am trying to find something for her Mom to give her because "Bugs" has two abrasions on her lower lip from biting it with her top teeth. Poor baby.... Other than that, it's hard to believe that she is only at the 60th percentile for weight. She's a chunker!! I mean, that girl has rolls everywhere. My daughter was skinny as hell compared to my granddaughter. She has also refused to eat. Just doesn't like food, only breast milk. Recently she has finally eaten the rice puff thingees and some applesauce. I can't believe that she isn't macking down the food like my daughter was at 6 months. Veda is her own personality, that is for sure. Let's see if I can post a pic or two...

 

[ChinaCat]

Miracles- So cute, that Miss Veda! And NO WAY are you a grandma! You're a hottie.

 

[Burk]

Thank you Mara, China, DRK, Kim!

China~Your post scared me...mastitis 3 times when weaning!?!?!? It's not hot and I feel fine but this week would not be a good week for me to get sick. at all. The thing is, he weaned himself at 4ish months but I was just pumping and bottle feeding after that but thought I was pretty much getting out of milk so thought I kind of "naturally weaned" Apparently my bbs didn't agree!

So the clog is better but still there. I am not pumping because I made the decision to be done and have eaten a lot of foods that wouldn't agree w/ K since I stopped pumping so I wouldn't be able to feed him the milk anyway. Hopefully my body will figure it out soon!

re car seat~I don't think the higher weight limit is necessary. We ended up moving T to convertible car seat around 6 months due to length and she wasn't even close to 20 lbs at that time. I'm guessing we'll have to do the same with K (who is currently close to 17 lbs and is getting heavy to carry!)

side sleeping-K was a side sleeper (and now at 5 months is again). I used a positioner that seemed to help keep him on his side but he did wiggle onto his stomach a few times and it scared the crap out of me!

swing sleep-First few months are all about survival. I say do what you need-really not going to make "habits" at that age anyway. T took almost all her naps in her swing until 5 months because of her reflux (swing kept her upright) and we had no problems transitioning her to crib naps so I say don't worry about it and enjoy the sleep!

I think K is going through a growth spurt because he has woken to eat at 3am the past two nights and devoured 6.5 ozes both times! Luckily he has gone back to sleep until 8 or 9 both days so I've been able to sleep in too! I have volleyball camp all week so my MIL will be watching kids tomorrow and then my mom the rest of the week. I know my mom will do what I want her to but I have a sneaky suspicion MIL will ignore! Thank goodness she's only with K a day!

 

[Mara]

re: the A&A muslin blankets...funny because my friend got hers at Target...and I got mine elsewhere, and she liked my animals better and I liked hers! I guess Target has exclusive A&A animal patterns you can't get at other retailers and you can't get the other A&A patterns at Target. the Target ones are animals that look rough-hewn like the Lion. so cute!

A&A's sleep sacks are GREAT. We have a one layer one so far for J and it is PERFECT for hot summer nights with a tshirt. They also have the 4 layer ones which I plan to get for winter. If you like BabySteals you can usually get the 4 layer ones at 1/2 off a lot of times...but I just asked them to please have the 1 layer ones for 1/2 off too!

Also apparently some other company does muslin sheets which I think would be really cool but I was too late to get them on sale and they are normally like $30 each, no thanks! BIG Fan of muslin here... it's so light and breathable. And J loves the fabric.

re: Snugride..I would not pay the extra...Imagine carrying that around!! J is about 17lb now and he is sooo heavy in the carseat, I can barely carry it for more than a few minutes with one arm. But it is still invaluable to have him in there at restaurants and stuff since he can't totally sit up in a chair yet. I am hoping he makes it another 2 months in the carseat, but he might outgrow it by length, yikes. Oh and I also was confused as to the price diff, some of them I figured it was just the patterns. We got the Broadstreet at Target for $89 I think and some were up to like $130 for what seemed like the EXACT same thing just diff pattern.

miracles that is the best pic ever, the applesauce one!! and you are a total hottie g'ma!

so J projectile barfed on me twice today and once yesterday. yesterday he got my whole chest and down my top, i had to SHOWER. today he just got my skirt as we had brunch with friends. thanks kiddo!

 

[KimberlyH]

Charger, try a rolled up blanket placed behind Nico's back from ribcage down to prop him up. Jane would only sleep on her side as a newborn and that's how we kept her in place. Now she sleeps flat on her back, she grew out of side sleeping at about 1.5 months.

Carseat: We have the Graco 22 lb. Jane hates her carseat and as a result spends no more time then necessary in it. When she didn't hate it so much we still never left her in it as it's awkward to carry around, I either hold her or put her in the bjorn, it's a thousand times easier than lugging the seat around for us. She rarely sleeps in it and as soon as the car stops on the rare occasion when she does fall asleep she wakes up, so leaving her in it to sleep has only happened once. It will last us quite a while, past the one year mark at the very least, in fact I may purchase a convertible before she outgrows it to see if the change of position makes car rides easier for her.

 

[Sabine]

I love the A&A blankets too, and keep meaning to get some of the sleep sacks when they're on babysteals.com, but keep missing them. We need to stop with the sleep sacks soon anyway I think, but I'm not ready to give them up yet. When we do, I think we'll go to giving him one of the A&A blankies as his blankie to cover him during the summer at least.

Lindsey, as much as I loved the A&A swaddlers, ds definitely needed something heavier in the winter, so you may need some heavier sleep sacks depending on your climate. For a while he was in fleece pjs and a fleece sleep sack, and other times fleece pjs and a cotton sleep sack or cotton pjs and a fleece sleep sack.

I have the snugride that goes up to 32 lbs. We started Jacks in the convertible in my car way before he reached the weight limit (he probably still isn't close to the weight limit at 11.5 months!), but the only reason I can think that you may want it is if you have a secondary car and don't want to invest in a secondary convertible seat right away. We left the base for the snugride in dh's car with the car seat in it, and used that for a WHILE after he was in the convertible in my car. We never carried him anywhere in it because it was just too heavy, but it was nice to have some time to decide which secondary convertible we wanted. As for the price difference, it's probably just pattern, and I'd definitely go for the cheapest!

I'm excited because I found a babysitter today! Tomorrow is dh's and my 2nd wedding anniversary, so she's going to come over after Jacks is asleep for the night (at the oh so late hour of 6:30) and we're going to go out! I'm super excited even if it'll just be dinner and a movie Unfortunately, she's not available the next time I need her (an afternoon where I'm flying home for my friend's bridal shower, and I need to leave for my flight before dh will be home from work), so I need to keep searching for someone else for that.

 

[split_shank]

Yep, sounds like the 32 lb choice is a big one, literally. My sister called me back and said 'Are you crazy? Thats like carrying S around in a car seat and he's not even 32 lbs yet!!" I had to imagine my 9 month old nephew to realize, holy crap that would be insane in a carseat. I couldn't get a perspective on weight until I thought of that 'little' ham. She also said the sleeping baby issue isn't as big of a deal as when they are a month or two old. She's on #3 so I guess I should take some of her advice Sticking with the infant seat! Thanks for the additional input!

 

[qtiekiki]

drk
I would do less BM for longer in your situation. Some antibodies got to be better than none, right?
Look like K is enjoying the avocado.

Burk
Hope you work out the clogged duct soon.
How was your housewarming party and guacamole?
I think J is also going through a growth spurt too. He woke up the last few nights. At first, DH just gave him the paci, but he kept spitting it out and whining. So I nursed him, and he went back to sleep 'til next morning.

PG
Comfort nursing is fine as you as you are fine with it. I don't think it's a bad thing. I do it.

CG
Yay for help from MIL.
Hang in there with the BFing and pumping. I didn't pump until I needed to (after I went back to work) because I do not like pumping.
J use a paci. We introduced it early on, like a couple days after we got home. He took it right away. With M, we introduced the paci around two weeks. She didn't take it at first, but did eventually.

Sabine
Jacks is so handsome. He has beautiful eyes.
Hope you find something to do closer to home. Any parks or trails?
Happy 2nd anniversary. Enjoy your date night tomorrow.

Mara
Love Julian's expression. Glad he likes his walker.
I added the picture by attachment because I uploaded the picture a few times and couldn't find it.

Lindsey
I will find out tomorrow to see if Mother's Milk tea ups my supply when I pump at work. But to really see if it's the tea, I'll wait to see if I get AF back. With M, my supply always dipped for a few days a week or so before I got AF, then it goes back to normal.
Hope your antibodies get out of Andrew's system soon and he wouldn't need to be hospitalized and get blood transfusions any more.

miracle
You are a HOT grandma. Veda is adorable.

A&A swaddling blankets
Another FAN here. I barely used them for swaddling because I am just not good at it and both kids broke out of swaddle like they are Houdini. But I am now using them for naps/bedtime, in carseat and stroller. Love them.

 

[miraclesrule]

Has anyone had to deal with herpangina? :::heavy sigh::::::

I went over to see Veda tonight and I looked at the two abrasions under her lip, but it didn't look like they were from biting her lip. Then I noticed she felt warm as though she had a fever. Then after about 30 minutes, I noticed that she had two canker sores on her tongue and that her upper gums were horribly swollen and red. Whereas I could her top two teeth last week, I couldn't see them tonight due to severe red swelling. I told my daughter something wasn't right. I told her she needed to be seen in case it got worse.

So my daughter took her to Children's Hospital tonight and Veda was diagnosed with herpangina at 9 1/2 months. Apparently it is very common right now and Children's hospital is seeing a lot of cases in infants although it's usually 1-3 years old. They can only treat her with Tylenol. Thank goodness Veda can drink from a straw and that helps with feeding her mother's milk instead of suckling, which hurts more. We can't take her to the sitter because there are two other infants and it is highly contagious. It breaks my heart to see her suffering from something that is so painful on the gums and in the mouth, while she is teething. Ugh. Oh well, I'm glad they took her in and that I wasn't being the crazy Gramma who cursed the thermometer as being totally worthless when it read 96.7. I know a damn fever when I feel it.

Odd thing was that the doctor said that the two little "fang marks" below her lip were a part of the condition and not from biting her lip. It's a good excuse to get a few off work this week to take care of her. Gramma is sad.

 

[jcrow]

3 months

mara - oops! i meant she rolled from tummy to back.

charger - nico is SO cute!! i wouldn't worry about where he's sleeping right now. one of the things i learned is that newborns aren't into routines like a baby 3-4 months is. e slept in a swing the first few months of her life too, for naps and for night time sleep. she sleeps in a crib now and we're working with her to go down for naps in her crib and it's going well.

a+a blankets - i have the solid white ones and LOVE them. i want to get the sleep sacks they make as well.

car seats - when we were checking out car seats, we noticed that some car seats in one pattern had more cushion than the car seat in another fabric.

 

[Sha]

awww miracules, I'm so sorry to hear of your daughter's sickness.... I've never heard of it. It's a good thing your intuition led you to checking it out - better to be safe than sorry. Sounds like you're a really caring Gramma. Veda is lucky to have you.

 

[ChinaCat]

Miracles- No, never heard of it, poor Veda. But will know to look out for it now. Can I just say I having the Grandma input on this thread?

Burk- I know, it was weird as I didn't get any clogged ducts or mastitis at all until I started weaning. For some reason weaning was really really painful for me so I don't know if it's because I didn't wait to naturally let the milk wean on its own??? But yours sounds fine, you can definitely tell when it's mastitis. You feel like you have the flu and the knot is hot and really painful to touch. I seem to recall Tacori getting clogged ducts a lot and she swore by nursing on all fours? But if you are trying to wean, don't pump, just try to massage it out. Just FYI, if you do feel like it might be turning into mastitis, call your dr ASAP and get on antibiotics. You will feel better within 24 hours, so it you catch it early, not that big of a deal.

Car Seat- O is nowhere near 32 lbs and we NEVER carry him in his seat anymore. Stays in the car.

Sabine- Happy Anniversary! Babysitters make my life livable since we have no family around.

Charger- Nico is such a cute and alert looking baby! As for sleep- I totally worried about this and now it's one of those things that I laugh at myself for. Your job right now is to survive and to let the baby sleep wherever he will sleep so YOU can sleep. I really don't think you can develop bad habits when they are that young. O slept in his swing A LOT as an infant and has never had sleep issues, and easily started sleeping in his moses basket/crib when necessary.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

 

[Mara]

5m 2w

hey moms i posted this in the 'things' thread but any good recs for 6-12mo toys that could be double or triple duty for J? we don't have a lot of space but i want to get him a few new things to play with...ideally something that is like teething, developmental, musical maybe all in one? or minus the musical... at least teethable, developmental? right now his fave toys are ones that have things like a teething ring, a crinkly leaf, a soft textured something or other, all in one and has to have bits he can stick into his mouth. if he can't put it in his mouth right now he gets mad.

i just bought him a haba toy online last nite, we'll see if he likes it. my friend recommends the Winkle which i think we might try but maybe one more rec. did your LO's use building blocks or ring stackers or anything like that? if so which recommend? i am TRYING to stick with more 'green' or not-made-in-China toys but that is almost impossible for everything so.

 

[qtiekiki]

Mara
I just posted in the other thread, but I suggested the leapfrog learn and groove table, vtech sit-to-stand learning walker for things with lights and sounds. Also bead maze cube, but that might not get used until closer to 1 yr old. As far as building blocks, we got M the Fisher Price Peek A Blocks Shape Sorter, Fisher Price Peek A Block Alphabet Blocks, and Mega Bloks. In the beginning, it's all about knocking them down.

 

[qtiekiki]

Miracle
I've never heard of herpangina. Hope your granddaughter feels better soon.

 

[ChinaCat]

Mara-
Posted in the other thread, but the musical table is great. Does colors, numbers, ABC's, music, off/on, up/down (depending on what buttons you push or slide) and you can do it all in Spanish.

There is a wooden walker/push toy made by Parenting Magazine, but think J might be too young for that.

We have stackers but they are plastic. We have wooden blocks but he ignores them right now. The stacker thing that I have is great because he likes to stack and then knock things down, but it comes in a plastic bucket that also has a top with shaped holes so he can learn his shapes- you put the square in the square, round in round, etc. I will look and see what it's called.

I LOVE this company, and I'm pretty sure everything is "green". We have the soft toy cars and the balls, which are great since he mostly throws them still rather than plays with them. But they have tons of other great toys. Now I want the soft tools and the big letters.

http://www.rubbabu.com/

Also- google "Plan Toys" or just do a search on Amazon. They have a ton of products, and most are wooden and all are non-toxic. Just found a cool looking stacker set. Doing some birthday shopping for O!!!!

 

[anchor31]

Re: 5m 2w

hey moms i posted this in the 'things' thread but any good recs for 6-12mo toys that could be double or triple duty for J? we don't have a lot of space but i want to get him a few new things to play with...ideally something that is like teething, developmental, musical maybe all in one? or minus the musical... at least teethable, developmental? right now his fave toys are ones that have things like a teething ring, a crinkly leaf, a soft textured something or other, all in one and has to have bits he can stick into his mouth. if he can't put it in his mouth right now he gets mad.

i just bought him a haba toy online last nite, we'll see if he likes it. my friend recommends the Winkle which i think we might try but maybe one more rec. did your LO's use building blocks or ring stackers or anything like that? if so which recommend? i am TRYING to stick with more 'green' or not-made-in-China toys but that is almost impossible for everything so.

My little J loves Freddie the Firefly (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.js ... Id=2574131). It has rings for teething, crinkly wings, a non-glass mirror, different textures, ect.

 

[anchor31]

Charger - Congrats on the birth of your little Nico! I'm sorry to hear about your BFing issues. So many of us have been through this here, don't hesitate to ask for help!

Oops, I was going to post more, but someone's awake and cranky!

 

[AmberWaves]

Real quick: Piper is still having poop issues, even with us giving her water a few times a day. Her poops are hard and really dark, like a blackish green, and she grunts and stresses really hard to get a tiny poop out. I have heard too much iron can turn poop colors. I'm going to stop giving her cereal for a few days and see what happens, but I wanted to check to see if anyone had any advice? She's EBF, so no formula issues.