PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[Tuckins1]

Hi all! Sorry i've been MIA for a while... After having my son 6 weeks early, and a week with him in the NICU, we found out that he had an intestinal malrotation and needed emergency surgery. He made it through, and was able to come home yesterday for Mother's Day. This has been the hardest 3 weeks of my entire life! Seeing my son on a ventilator and in a Fentanyl haze was terrible! He is home now and I am thrilled! I have gotten maybe 2 hours of sleep collectively, but I would gladly go without sleep to have him home and to be able to see him and hold him whenever I want!!! I hope all the other PS mommies and mommies to be had a great mothers day!

 

[Tuckins1]

Sorry, double post.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Tuckins, so sorry to hear about LO's surgery, but I hope he's on the mend!

So Aidan and I have had a rough night so far. He was doing fine and playing on the floor and then started coughing and gagging and then he started choking. I had to pull up my ancient CPR knowledge and do baby heimlich to get him to start breathing again. I checked his mouth but didn't see anything that he was choking on so I think it was just phlegm he coughed up? He's fine. He was fine as soon as I thumped him between the shoulder blades. Me on the other hand...well, I'm having a stiff drink as soon as DH gets home!

I haven't taken an updated infant CPR course yet (bad mom, I know) so now I'm definitely motivated to do it. It was so scary!

 

[Puppmom]

Tuckins, wow, what a rough go! I'm so glad your LO is home with you now. What a great Mother's Day gift!

HH, how scary! We had our first accident this weekend. DH was snapping one of the toys back into to N's exersaucer and snapped N's finger in with it. It was awful to see N throw himself back in pain. His finger looked like a pulsating, cartoon finger (through my eyes anyway!). He cried for a while and DH felt so awful. If he were alone, I think he would have cried. The finger looked significantly better within minutes and now just has a small bruise and doesn't seem to be bothering him. Anywho, have a drink for me too! It's been way too long...

Noel, looking forward to daycare does not make you a bad momma! You have to take care of yourself. I don't blame you for not wanting your mom to stay with you. That would NEVER work for me either!

LV, the DC did say they were cool with cloth and have a few kids in cloth. I did like it - it's a chain. One of the *fancy* ones. I DID like it but it's still going to be hard for me. The other issue is that it's really expensive (you know cause it's *fancy* ) so, if we ever had to go full time, we couldn't afford it. So, if something happens to MIL or she decide she wants her retirement back some time in the next four years, we would have to move him somewhere else. Of course now she can't imagine not wanting to be with him all the time but chasing around a 4 year old boy at almost 70 might be a bit tricky and exhausting!

ETA - LV, good luck interpreting my response. It doesn't make any sense to me either! I'm sitting here trying to pump out a clogged duct so I'm a bit distracted.

 

[Lanie]

Oh Tuckins...that sounds so scary. So glad he's home with momma. What a wonderful Mother's Day present.

HH -- that is scary! I was wondering if babies could choke on phlegm (why don't they just spell that word easier, like flem). I guess they can choke on it. Good thing he's okay.

 

[somethingshiny]

Tuckins~ So glad your little one is home with Mama!

HH~ JT had to be heimliched all the time. That was one of the first symptoms of his enlarged tonsils (which ended in tonsillectomy at 2.5 yrs old). I hope this was just a one time thing with A, but if it becomes recurring, make sure he gets his throat checked out.

Hi to all of you!

 

[turtledazzle]

Tuckins -- So glad your LO is home with you now.

HH -- How scary! I'd need a drink, too!

Pupp -- T is in daycare full-time and, like others have said, it really is a lot harder on us than it is on them. Other than the illnesses, I really do not have any complaints. And, as far as the illnesses go, my friend that is a pediatrician says that the kids either get sick when they're little in daycare or once they start school -- but the point is that they will get sick ... it is just a matter of time (somehow that makes me feel slightly better.)
His teachers are fabulous -- all of the kids paint and do other crafts every day. They go outside multiple times per day. They are teaching him how to use a sippy cup and how to feed himself. They teach them how to properly interact and play with each other. One of his teachers regularly emails me pics which I love. Your situation really sounds great -- part-time at daycare and part-time with family.

Lanie -- We were really lucky. However, teething has screwed up his sleeping so he sometimes wakes up 1 or 2 times per night now. A pacifier usually does the trick ... but sometimes we do have to rock him as well, but he hasn't needed to be fed in a number of months.

*******
AFM -- The doctor didn't have any idea what caused the high fever, other than that it was likely viral as he was already on antibiotics (we already knew that!). But he was fever-free today, thank goodness. In the past 3 weeks T has had pneumonia (first course of antibiotics), eye infection (second course of antibiotics), some viral thing with high fever, and now diaper rash (from the dang antibiotics!!!) that we're treating with Lotrimin. Poor little guy cannot catch a break.

 

[Deelight]

How cute are the baby pics PS has the cutest babies - LOL look at that little Mo' made me giggle out loud

Tuckins sorry about your LO's surgery but YAY for him being home

HH glad Aiden is okay that would scare the beegeebus out of me

Turtle hope your LO gets better soon

Happy mothers day to all the pretty PS mummas hope you all had a fantastic day

I have to be quick as someone is squriming but I thought I would post a couple of pics - hopefully this works can't believe on Friday she will be 2months old - OMG where does the time fly my poor dad has not even seen her yet he can't fly but we are heading down to visit him in the next few weeks so excited to introduce little L to her dedo

Nothing much to add here except that someone still does not like napping but we went out today and she actually slept granted an hour was on my chest but still can't complain sleep is sleep mind you I like sleep as well - ordered the miracle blanket today going to see if that helps any it is getting really cold here at night and she breaks free of her swaddle and gets cold and wakes up

I think she is heading for another growth spurt looked at her today and she looks so chunky - makes me think she will shoot up again - man she is growing quick

Hope all you ladies are well

Now for some pics


ETA: Discovered this the other day when normal creasms would not work - if you have ultra dry cracked and bleeding hands (I have been since having her) Lanisoh works WONDERS like after one application they look a million times better great way to use it up if you have it leftover

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Tuckins~ So glad your little one is home with Mama!

HH~ JT had to be heimliched all the time. That was one of the first symptoms of his enlarged tonsils (which ended in tonsillectomy at 2.5 yrs old). I hope this was just a one time thing with A, but if it becomes recurring, make sure he gets his throat checked out.

Hi to all of you!

SS very interesting. I have remarkably large tonsils (yes, they are huge. Dentists and doctors are always commenting on their size) but they've never caused issues for me. But who knows about Aidan. If he got my golf balls then he might have issues. I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[noelwr]

Tuckins - wow, the first week's of your son's life have been rough. yay to coming home and being together at last.

Deelight - aw, lil L is so sweet. she's got lots of hair! the photo of her sleeping, reminds me of my little girl in her first weeks... looks like they are trying to keep their eyes closed tight. my hands are dry from the constant washing before making a bottle, cleaning the bottle, preparing food, washing blender and all stuff, before changing, after changing, etc.

turtledazzle - glad the fever finally broke. I would have been worried about meningitis because DH had that as a child which left him with epilepsy wow, I didn't know antibiotics can cause diaper rash.

shiny - Hi back!

HH - that's freakin' scary! at least coughing is still a good sign. no noise and turning blue would have been really bad.

puppmom - yeow, poor N's finger! I'm glad he quickly forgot about it.

LV - I think by about 12 weeks, Skye was sleeping from 11pm - 5am. I can't remember exactly, I'd have to go back and check my posts. (it's funny how when you're going through it, it seems like it's taking forever... but once you pass it, you easily forget.) so it shouldn't be long for you now. can we see some more pics of S?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Yea the coughing turned into gagging and then into an open mouthed fish face with panic in the eyes and no sound or air coming out of his mouth or nose. He was definitely choking. It's true though. If LO is coughing then they're not choking.

 

[AllieLuv83]

HH How scary. We took a infant CPR class but I hope I never have to use it!!!!

 

[Tuckins1]

HH- how terrifying! I'm glad he's ok!

Thanks all for the kind thoughts!

 

[somethingshiny]

HH~ Remarkably large, made me laugh. JT's dr said that due to the size of his tonsils, there was more area to harbor bacteria. IDK if it's accurate, but it makes sense. Did you ever have issues with tonsillitis??

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I had a few issues as a kid but scarlet fever was a bigger problem for me (though oddly not strep throat ).

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Any idea why a child who has slept in a crib since 8 weeks and has never had a problem putting himself to sleep is suddenly freaking out at bedtime and fighting the process? What do I do? Progressive waiting doesn't seem to be working, if anything it makes it worse...

He's also kind of clingy, rejecting solids all together (though taking a bottle with no problem) and is in the tail end of a cold.

 

[noelwr]

HH - (this is what I read and obviously haven't experienced it yet, but I am already dreading it.) he's probably made the connection that bed time means Mommy & Daddy won't be there with him (somewhere between 8 & 9 months). I read that you should make sure to keep to the same bed time routine every night (like say good night to each stuffed toy by name), lay him down and then get the heck out of there. if you hang around, it just prolongs the inevitable. it will look bad because he's also figured out that when he cries, you will come, and he will try and test you. and it looks dramatically worse if he can stand up in his crib and is looking at his door with big tears rolling down his face even though it seems progressive waiting isn't working, just try and keep it up. and the loss of interest in solids also happens at this age, and once the sleeping gets better, then most likely the eating will, too. if you aren't getting any sleep, try letting him spend the night with family or a friend. good luck and let us know what really worked in the end so we other moms know what to do when we get there.

 

[noelwr]

well, we went to visit the day care yesterday and the people seem nice enough. we visited the group Skye will be in and all the kids looked drowsy and none of them were smiling, but I think it's because it was 4pm and they were shy with strangers in the room. I will be sure to scout out smiles next time! one thing that did strike me is that it looked a bit messy (I'm a bit of a neat freak), but then again, with so many kids between 0-4 I guess that is to be expected and the ladies can't be picking up after each kid constantly. at least it wasn't dirty.

so Skye starts next Wed for a few hours and we'll take it from there. they said if she's really unhappy, then we need to take it slowly. I don't want to imagine my kid unhappy! anyway, there's another little girl in her group who is 6 months, so hopefully they'll be friends for the next 3.5 years (they start school here at 4).

ETA - I realized a while ago I was doing this, but it just dawned on me that it might be irritating that I don't use caps at the start of my sentences? I don't do it in e-mails or letters or anything, just on here. let me know if it's annoying and I'll stop.

 

[Puppmom]

HH, no advice here. I still rock N to sleep. I no longer wait till he’s passed out but he’s definitely at least dozing. N always slept in his crib but reverted not too long ago and ended up in our bed almost every night around 2. Operation “get N out of our bed” was a great success until he got sick two days ago. I just think they go through phases so hopefully this will pass! I remember when DD was around 9 months, she would stand in her crib and shake the rails until the screws came loose!

Noel, I’m glad you liked the daycare. I might expect toys to be thrown about etc. but the place should be clean. DH and I talked last night and he really DOESN’T want to do daycare at all. I think the reality of it is making him nervous. He says he wants DS to stay with his Grandma until she says she can’t take it anymore!

Turtle, I hope T is feeling better. Thanks for your encouragement re: daycare. Those are exactly the reasons I want N to experience it! Now if I can only stop projecting my nervousness on to him, we'll be good!

So N is sick – just seems like a cold because he has no fever, boogies are clear and he’s happy as a clam during the day. Poor thing can’t sleep thanks to his stuffy nose. DH and I took turns holding him last night so it was a long one! I’m hopped up on coffee right but will probably crash shortly!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Well it turns out it's not separation anxiety (thank you God!), and my little man has his first ear infection. He's also rocking a bad case of bronchiolitis. He finally fell asleep last night around 9 (I put him to bed around 6:15) after he had tylenol and ibuprophen and I brought him into bed with me. He fell asleep on my chest. *sigh* I was in mommy heaven. I think having his head propped up was what did it, maybe the pressure wasn't as bad? Anyway, I took him in this morning and that was the dx. He had a nebulizer treatment at the pedi's office but the albuterol didn't do much for him, he's just so so congested right now. So luckily we didn't have to take it home for more treatments. We're just on a 10 day course of amoxicillin now. So fingers crossed that it clears up quickly with few to no side effects!

Any suggestions for baby-safe probiotics other than yogurt?

ETA: he now weighs 18 lbs 10 oz!

 

[somethingshiny]

hh~Glad you figured out the ear infection. I was going to suggest it too. JT did the same thing all the time. I tipped the head of his crib so he always had some drainage. Helped reduce the ear infections that seemed to tail his tonsillitis. I am really hoping that A doesn't end up that route!

pupp~Sorry N is sick. Hope you're figuring out a way to get some rest. Have you tried the baby vicks on his feet?

noel~ Glad you had a good view of the daycare before S starts. The toys wouldn't bother me. I'd be suspicious if everything looked perfect. 4 is naptime for lots of little ones so you may be right about the lack of smiling. Hope you see lots of happy babies when you go in again!

This is what's going on here: Playing outside, eating grass, pulling the cat's tail, pushing across the room on tummy and cramming self under furniture, figuring out the fake cry, and first tantrum quickly followed by second. JT has decided he doesn't love Lily and wants nothing to do with her. I know his reasons why so I'm just trying to give him space and lovin. He saw a program on tv that had a little baby with heart problems. He started crying and talking about Lily. Then he said he doesn't love her. I'm pretty sure he's trying to protect himself by putting up a wall. He was scared that she would die the first night she came home and off and on since then. I thought since Lily went off her meds he was totally fine with it, but now I'm not so sure. I might see about him talking to someone.

 

[lliang_chi]

SS, aw, your JT sounds like such an angel! I just want to give the little guy a hug. I hope you or your DH or someone can talk to him about his fears. He sounds like the sweetest big brother ever.


~LC

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

SS, aw, your JT sounds like such an angel! I just want to give the little guy a hug. I hope you or your DH or someone can talk to him about his fears. He sounds like the sweetest big brother ever.


~LC

Ditto. I just got weepy. So sweet.

So last night was a mess in a half. Late yesterday afternoon Aidan's babysitter called/emailed to say he woke up with a major rash from his diaper all the way up to behind his ears. Yep, we have an amoxicilin allergy on our hands...and of course it was too late in the day to get him in to see the pediatrician, but they were willing to take my word for it (I have allergies to meds to I'm very familiar with hives and other rash-like reactions). Anyway, they switched him onto zithromax instead. I'm actually not upset about it. I know it's a stronger AB, which isn't fantastic, but the course is only 5 days vs the 10 he was supposed to have with the amox. Last night I gave him some benadryl for the rash and (thank you god) he's the kind of kid who gets sleepy with benadryl vs hyper. So he passed out and slept through the night. The other good news is because he's 8 months and has to have his ears checked in 2 weeks we get to move up his 9 mo well baby. YAY for not having to go to the doc's more than necessary!! And he weighs a solid 18 lbs 10 oz!

 

[somethingshiny]

lisa~ JT is very sweet. I'm so blessed to have both of my kids.

hh~ Hope A's rash is better. And yay for the benadryl induced sttn!

 

[AllieLuv83]

HH so weird about the rash. I am giving Charlie amox and noticed a rash on his face where he spits out some of the meds. I forgot to mention that we have had bronchiolitis that we were giving him xopenex for 2-3 times a day every day for a month, and the wheeze came back so we had to give him pomacort to bring down the inflammation. Well I went back to the doctor because I am battling an infection and he has a virus in his throat and eat infection too. How do you give A the amox or zpak? I fight him every time because he spits it out and cries the entire time. But he is finally feeling better, we are on day 4 of the 10 day treatment so only 6 more to go

I wonder if it is a reaction.

Where are all the pictures ladies?

Here is my guy, many of you have seen it on FB. He was 7 months yesterday.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Allie I don't know if a localized irritation would be considered a reaction. Are you sure it's not just pink from the liquid? I'd run it by the doc just in case. A still takes Zantac twice a day and he hates it so we have this little dispenser with a bottle nipple on one end and a cup on the other. We've been putting his meds in that and sort of tricking him with it. I'll give him the bottle, pull it away and then quickly swap the medicine dispenser in before he realizes it. Sometimes he'll take it without a fight though, just depends on his moods. He actually liked the taste of the amox (heck, even I like the taste!) but the zithromax is nasty cherry flavored stuff and he was NOT a fan!

 

[noelwr]

just a fly-by post to share a pic.

my kid's got a big mouth.

 

[AllieLuv83]

They look like little pimples under his chin, and in the folds of his neck. I will give the ped a call.

 

[noelwr]

Allie - S had that too for weeks. we put cortisone on it and it was gone the next day.

 

[taovandel]

Drive by post with pictures of Violet....5 weeks old!

One is of her after a night of waaaay too much partying! Getting ready for college early I guess!

Another one is of Big Brother Evan kissing her leg as I secretly took pictures.