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PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

Bella_mezzo

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MP-Your little ones are so adorable! I am so happy to hear that N is home and doing well. Hope that 2016 brings lots of growth and healing for her, and much rest, good health, and joy for all of you!
 

Laila619

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MP, gah, those twins are precious!!! Tooooo cute! :) Thank you for posting a picture, I know you must be so busy!
 

JGator

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MP, N and O are gorgeous! I am so happy to see that they are doing well. You are a super mommy. I'm sure N will really improve now that she's home and surrounded by your family.

April, Eliza is adorable. Love the blonde fuzz! You are a trooper for thinking of moving with a newborn. We moved when K was 10 months old. I don't want to move again for a LONG time! Can you come re-do my house? We have a long list of projects that never seem to get done. Thanks for the reassurance on the sleep front. I'm hoping N transitions to his crib well. He does like being swaddled. I wonder how long that will last!

AFU, N is 2 months old now as of Saturday. He weighs 12 lbs and is 23 inches long. We took him to the doctor for acid reflux and now he's on Zantac since he spits up constantly, and we were worried that nothing was staying down. He seems happy most of the time, but he has his crying moments when you can tell his tummy hurts so hopefully the Zantac will help with that. Does anyone have any tips for alleviating backpain while nursing? I have a lot of back and shoulder pain from holding N and also from nursing using the Brest Friend pillow. N also really likes being carried in the baby carrier. I had an Ergo, but got a Lillebaby for Christmas which I really like. Oh, and something funny one of K's preschool mom's sent me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxoHeh7qhMk - a way to get a baby to stop crying. It works - I swear. It's not permanent, but it will make them stop temporarily - I think they are in shock from the move. Let me know if it works for anyone else.
 

April20

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MP: those twins are the cutest thing ever! And how the heck do you get them to keep shoes on? They stay on Eliza for about 2.5 seconds.

The house down the road when contingent before we ever got to look at it. We're watching to see if it ends up back on the market but I've also found a couple others that could be contenders. I found one last night the would need an entire second story and the first floor reworked. But it has a daylight basement, which is slightly hard to find in our area and a driveway with parking around back. We could put $100K in it and still have $50-75K in equity when we were done. We are officially INSANE. I'm pretty sure we're going to move somewhere. Once we've decided we're done with a house, it's generally just a matter of finding the right "next" one. If for some reason we decide not to move, we will probably do a major overhaul to our house. Yep. Insane.
 

monkeyprincess

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April, those are the only shoes I have for the twins. I almost always have them in one piece sleepers because it's just so much easier than fussing over socks and/or shoes or putting things over their heads. But now that the twins are 6 months, I feel like I have to make more of an effort to dress them in real clothes :) Anyway, the shoes are Robeez boots, and they stay put pretty well because they are fitted and go up to their calves.

JGator, I hope you're checking in because I wanted to hear what you ended up doing for your new vehicle. Did you do a minivan? What do you think? I'm really torn on what to do about a new vehicle. I really didn't want a minivan, but after experiencing the craziness of trying to get all three kids buckled into our cars in the cold weather, I'm starting to soften to the idea, although I'm not sure I'd be able to back it into my parking spot at work....

Hope everyone's babies are doing well. The babies had their 6 month appointments this morning. I seriously don't know how they are already 6 months. I'm relieved they are getting older because it has been a very challenging several months, but I'm also sad because these might be my last babies. Bittersweet for sure. Within the past two weeks, O has become super clingy. Is it too early for separation anxiety? Anyway, I have had to start wearing him around the house all the time if I want to get anything done other than hold him. We hardly ever wore Ev when he was a baby, and Nora is a but too floppy to wear comfortably, but O loves it. At least I'm getting some use out of the Ergo I never used with Ev.

I am attaching a few funny pictures that illustrate our life with these twins. They had their baptism recently, and I attempted a photo shoot of them (I have no business even attempting!). Anyway, these were some of the outtakes. Perfectly illustrates their personalities. Little N is so chill and sweet, and O is just a one-man circus. Poor N is going have to be one tough cookie to defend herself from her two crazy brothers.

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monkeyprincess

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Here's one of my favorites, but of course N wouldn't smile as soon as she saw the phone :)

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Asscherhalo_lover

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They are so precious MP! I remember when my twin brothers were little what it was like to get a good picture of them together! It was rare and usually involved some type of food bribery!
 

Puppmom

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MP, those kiddos are adorable! I noticed you're on the fence about a vehicle. I only have two little ones (5 and almost 3). We had two Corollas up until recently when I totaled my beloved 2002 Corolla with 202k miles. :(sad We had to make a decision fast because we are not a one car family even though DH stays home with the kids at the moment. I narrowed it down pretty quickly to Honda CRV, Toyota RAV 4 and Toyota Sienna. I ruled out the CRV quickly because it's similar to the RAV4, I'm a Toyota girl and you cannot fit a third person between car seats in the back seat (at least the car seats we have). Then I checked out the RAV4 and the model I saw (not sure if they're all like this) didn't have a true bench. It was more like two bucket seats with a very narrow "middle seat". That left the Sienna. Test drove it and loved it. I never thought I would drive a minivan but I'm really happy. Getting the kids in an out is a piece of cake! No more bonking heads or breaking my back!

I'll caveat this by saying I would have considered the Pilot or 4 Runner but they're just out of our price range. MIL has a Pilot and I really do like it but you lose almost all of your cargo space when you put the third row up.
 

NewEnglandLady

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MP, I just had to tell you how absolutely adorable N and O are!!! I looooove those pictures! N is so stoic while O rolls around like a...well, like a 6-month-old! Sounds like N did well staying healthy through the holidays, which is great. I can't believe they're 6 months old--you've been through so much in the past 6 months. But I'm really hoping that things continue to improve for you, it sounds like you're already starting to turn a corner. How is work going? I remember when I went back to work after having C, I would dress her in her daycare clothes at night (just cotton pants and shirts, nothing fancy) and have her sleep in that so in the morning I wouldn't have to dress her. Just changer he diaper, feed her and go. She didn't wear pajamas until she was a year old.

Thinking of all of you lots and am always lurking!
 

JGator

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MP, we bought a Honda Odyssey minivan, and we really like it. We considered Toyota Sienna also which we thought was a better value for money car - ie, more included in the XLE vs EXL Honda. We went wih Honda because it had 3 latches in first row and when you take the middle seat out, there is no obstruction to get to the 2nd/back row - Toyota has a plastic cupholder tray on the floor. We have N in the middle and K on the outside of the first row, and i sit on the other side of N when we go places with DH too. We usually have the 2nd row flat and put groceries and strollers there. My inlaws are coming in a few weeks so we'll actually use that last row for people to sit in soon. Twins are gorgeous!!!
 

monkeyprincess

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Thanks all. I feel silly I posted so many pictures. But I am pretty much crazy in love with those two, and it kind of felt like we got jipped (is that a word?) out of the whole twin experience (not that it's such an enjoyable experience) when N was so sick and in the hospital and needed three surgeries. It's been pretty crazy, and I feel like we are just finally feeling what it is like to have twins and to be a family of five. We never got to do newborn shots or anything, and now I can't stop trying to get pictures of the two of them together.

NEL, thanks. Yes, it does feel like we have turned a corner. I try to stay realistic and not get my hopes up too high, knowing that if N gets sick again, she may very well end up in the hospital again. But with each month she is getting bigger and stronger. I really wish we could just skip ahead to April or May when flu season is over. Work is going pretty well. I work about 3 days a week right now. They've been very generous and flexible thus far. Too funny on the pajamas. I'm the opposite, and my kids pretty much live in pajamas.

AL, it's so true. Getting a picture of both at the same time is so hard. And when we try to get a picture of them with the three year old, it's a whole new level of crazy. But at least the outtakes are funny too :)

Pupp, thanks for the info. People who have minivans really seemed to like them. I guess I'll have to test drive a couple when we finally get around to getting time to do so. I'm looking at a Nissan Pathfinder which would allow us to move one of the second row seats forward even if it has a forward facing carseat in it. That way, I could keep all three in the second row and take out the third row for cargo space, but we'd still have access to the third row if we needed it. With N being as fragile as she is, if we are all in the car together, we try to have an adult next to her.

JGator, thanks for the info. It sounds like an Odyssey would be what we would need because we'd definitely want the unobstructed access to the third row. Do you think it would be easy enough for me to buckle one of the kiddos in the back or snap a carseat back there if we needed to?
 

Puppmom

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JGator, with only two kids who sit in the bucket seats that cup holder doesn't bother us much but what a hassle if you had to climb over that to the third row every time you got in the car! Either way, it is an odd place for the cup holder because it is not accessible to anyone who is belted in. My kids use it as a little stuffed animal *car seat*. :lol:

I think my favorite part is the built in sun shades on the sliding doors...especially with this winter sun glare.

JGator, I don't know if yours has automatic start or automatic back gate but, if I had to change anything it would be those. I'm average height (I think!) and have hard time reaching the gate to get it down (it doesn't have the strap like some SUVs/minivans). And the automatic start...what a pain to warm up my car while we're rushing around in the morning. This is all coming from someone who drove a 14 year old car with a cassette deck and 202k miles up until about a month ago.
 

Laila619

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We have a Toyota Sienna van and I like it, but it's a pain in the butt to have to climb into the back row and fasten the kids' car seats. I'm tall and it's just awkward! We have four kids in car seats, so out of necessity we have to use both rows.
 

JGator

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MP, there are an additional 2 latches in the 3rd row on the Honda. I think you could get back there if you left the middle open or one of the side seats - actually that might even be the easiest way for you. If you use the middle and side on the 2nd row with car seats - and take out the other side seat, you will have easy access to the 3rd row. You could also go through the middle depending on how you want to configure it. You do have the most options/flexibility with the Honda though. We also looked at the Chrysler, but our mechanic said not to get the Town & Country due to maintenance issues - he said either Toyota or Honda are both more reliable. There is also a feature where the 2nd row outside seats can go out or in to give more or less room to the middle seat which is nice. I think it's a couple inches in width you can play with. Good luck! We still have a Camry which I use when it's just me and one kid, but we take the minivan when it's all 4 of us and when the in laws come to visit.
 

Loves Vintage

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MP - Your babies are so sweet and adorable! Glad to hear that things are going better for you.

JG - You asked about back pain a while back. No tips on how to correct things while sitting up, but have you tried side-lying nursing? It might give your back a break.
 

monkeyprincess

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Thanks JGator, puppmom and Laila for your minivan thoughts! It sounds like once you have more than two kids, there really are no great solutions for cars. And its' going to be a pain to get them all buckled in their carseats no matter what. One thing I didn't realize until I did a little digging this weekend is that the Toyota Sienna is the only one that offers all wheel drive, which would be nice to have in the winter, but maybe that isn't such a huge issue?

Anyway, it turns out we've got more concerns than we did before because little N ended up in the hospital again with another respiratory bug, and this time, we knew there was a problem when she started getting really agitated and turning blue in her carseat. So now, she'll have to ride in a car bed, which takes up more room in the car. I think it either needs a captains chair or two bench seats, but I haven't confirmed this yet. DH and I never have time to look at cars together (I need his help because I'm pretty clueless when it comes to cars!), so I have no clue when we'll sort all of this out. In the meantime, neither of us has a good way to transport all three kids or the whole family at the same time.

I'm so ready for winter and respiratory season to be over and for N to be bigger and stronger. It's getting really disheartening to keep ending up in the hospital.
 

Loves Vintage

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I'm really sorry to read about little N. I hope she improves quickly. You are a strong mom, MP!!
 

Puppmom

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MP, I'm so sorry to hear N is back in the hospital. I can only imagine how difficult that must be for you emotionally. I hope she improves quickly. I know that the NICU does a car seat test on preemies before they head home because sometimes it is more difficult for them to maintain their breathing and heart rate properly while in the seat. If they can't, they go home in a car bed and stay in one until they can pass the car seat test. So...hopefully this too is short lived.

RE: the minivan. We don't have all wheel drive BUT my work commute is 4 miles round trip and our winters aren't usually terrible (southeast PA). I have a friend with the exact car I have and she said she wishes she had AWD because the van drives like a car in the snow. I personally just don't drive in the snow at all if I can avoid it! DH and I had no time to look at cars together either so we narrowed it down together and I went alone. Not ideal but it worked out.
 

JGator

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MP, good luck with N being in the hospital and figuring out driving arrangements. I hope N gets well quickly. I think you should look into the Honda Pilot too if you need AWD. It's simiar just smaller cargo area if you have both rows of seats up in the back. We had a hard time with test drives also and ended up doing it during the day while the nanny was with K mostly.

LV, I am doing the side lying nursing now - it has been a life saver the past few weeks. I do fall asleep though.
 

monkeyprincess

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Thanks guys, I appreciate the good thoughts for N. It really is just like living in the twilight zone. DH and I never spent a day in the hospital other than for the birth of our babies, and now we are regulars. We know so many doctors, specialists, therapists and have had pretty much every nurse on staff. I know this is a temporary phase, but I really feel like I'm living somebody's else's life right now. Makes me have so much more sympathy for families who's children are dealing with even more serious medical needs or terminal illnesses. It's awful.

Pupp, yeah, she's had a carseat test every time she's been discharged from the hospital, and she had passed all of them before. And they make her stay in it for 90 minutes. But I think the deal with her is that because her airway is so small and floppy, if she has any kind of congestion or inflammation, she can't handle being in the carseat position. The pulmonologist also suspects she may be refluxing when she's placed in the carseat, but I'm not sure about that. When she's healthy, the carseat doesn't seem to be a problem, but after having her turn blue and seem to stop breathing and me having to hold her in the backseat while DH drove to the ER last week (we live 2 minutes away from a hospital, so it's faster than calling 911, and my SIL was at the house to watch the boys), we are pretty nervous about putting her in a carseat unless we are both in the car.

JGator, we're seriously considering the Nissan Pathfinder over a Pilot or Highlander because you can pull one of the second row seats forward with a carseat installed in that car to get access to the back but still have a carseat in each seat in the second row. And yeah, we'll probably have to test drive cars on a week day when the boys are in daycare and when my SIL can watch N for a couple hours once she's home and stable.
 

April20

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MP: I'm sorry N has had continued issues. I hope she's doing better now.

I have to proclaim my pure excitement for a minute. I've had such a hard time getting E to sleep on her own. Like she basically wouldn't. At all. I thought we'd transitioned to the rock 'n play last month but then she went thru sleep regression and it all went south. By the time she was past that, she'd outgrown being able to sleep in the RnP. I had done some research on what might work for her since she hates sleeping on the flat surface of her crib (she kind of "turtles" with the cloth diapers and couldn't really get cozy enough to sleep). I ended up buying a DockATot. They're stupidly expensive. I hemmed and hawed for a month and finally said screw it. I bought the Grand size on Amazon (because free shipping for Prime and better return policy) since she's two months away from the recommended age limit on the deluxe. Guys, it's freaking MAGIC. I did sleep train her at the same time, but she will sleep on her own! The first night and first nap were rough, but now I can put her down awake, give her the paci, kiss her head and WALK AWAY. She turns her head to the side, sort of rolls on her side and just goes to sleep. It. Is. Glorious. Glorious! So if you have an infant that won't sleep, seriously, consider it. Amazon is sold out and I think they're on pre-order on the DockATot website. They do not stay in stock long.

Oh and for sleep training. I'm not a fan of CIO, but had to do a modified form because she's so stubborn. I read a forum post on another site that a mom chronicled where she only comforted while her baby wasn't crying, even if that was just when baby was taking a breath between cries. It reinforces crying =/= mom. Calm = mom. It really worked for us. She never cried for more than 2-3 mins at a time and now if she's fussing/crying I can literally just give her the paci back and she's good. It took one night / one nap of crying and lots of comfort but that was it.
 

tbaus

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Just quickly jumping in to say MP, I'm sorry to hear that little N is back in the hospital. And what a scary experience in the car...I can't even imagine :blackeye: I hope she makes a quick recovery and is back home with you all soon. You are such a strong woman. And your photos of them are beautiful.
 

April20

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MP: How's N doing?

Eliza turned 6 months on Tuesday. I've started her on some foods. We're doing baby lead weaning. She loves getting something, but her attention span for it is 2-3 minutes at most. Attaching a pic, which will of course be sideways since I took it with my phone.

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monkeyprincess

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April, what a cutie! We've been giving O baby food for a month, and he's obsessed. He cries because we can't get it in his mouth fast enough. I did more of a baby led weaning with my older son, but haven't the time this time around because of N being in the hospital. For what it's worth, Ev is a great eater.

AFU, N is still in the hospital. She contracted RSV while there, even though she was getting Synagis. Don't even get me started on how irritating that is. She's taking a while to get over it, but is slowly getting stronger and bigger. I suspect she won't be home for another week or so at the earliest. And Baby O is giving me a run for my money lately. I don't remember my older son being this way, so it may have something to do with him trying to imitate his older brother or else they just have very different personalities, but anyway, he gets SO frustrated by his limitations. He's not quite able to crawl yet; he only pushes himself backward when he tries. He also can't quite balance himself enough to stand while holding onto things. Both of these things infuriate him, and he seriously spends 75% of his time crying or whining about it. I love the kid, but this phase is definitely trying my patience. It's like nothing will make him happy until he finally figures out how to be mobile. And then when he is mobile, I'm going to be going crazy trying to keep him contained. My older son was much more of a verbal kid, and he was content to be in one place and play with his toys and he started talking really early, but didn't really require a lot of babyproofing. I think O is going to be more of a troublemaker and getting into things all the time. Oh and one other thing that I find really weird - DH and I both have pretty dark brown eyes. Our oldest has the darkest brown eyes, and N is definitely developing brown eyes. But O's eyes have stayed blue, and they don't look like they're going to turn. I know genetics can be weird, and DH and I both have one parent that doesn't have brown eyes, but it's crazy to me that we may end up with a blue-eyed child.
 

Puppmom

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MP, sounds like my youngest DS! We always say his default setting is "complaint mode". :lol: He really is the sweetest but man, does he have something to say about everything. No idea where he got that. :whistle: When he asks for something and we say no he responds with "Fine then." and then asks again in 5 seconds. Wash, Rinse and Repeat.

Sorry to hear N is still in the hospital. I can only imagine the challenges associated with being separated from her and her health being so up and down.

April, cute pic! I wish I had done BLW. My kids are absolutely terrible eaters and I have no one to blame but us.
 

Asscherhalo_lover

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Jumping in! Benjamin is 1 month old today, I can't believe it! He regained his birth weight by two weeks and has gained another 1.1 lbs and grown an inch since then. He has a bad tongue tie which is finally set to be clipped next week, in the meantime I've been pumping for him. I only pump about 20 oz per day despite taking every herb and eating every oatmeal, flax, and brewers yeast combo daily. I have pumped 12 times a day and currently pump 7-8 and get the same amount. I've tried powerpumping and still get the same. It is what it is. I supplement with about 4-8 oz of Honest formula and that's that. I'll be back to work in another week and hopefully I'll be able to maintain my 20 oz a day.

Our only real complication with Benjamin is his now calcified cephalohematoma. We will need it evaluated by a neurosurgeon after his 2 month visit to make sure it didn't also cause a skull fracture and see if a molded helmet can help bring it down. It should only be a cosmetic issue but we'll see! It's so nice to see the babies all on here!

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April20

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AHL, he is so handsome! He looks so alert. And look at that fluffy CD bum!

Are you going to try and get him to latch after his tongue tie is fixed? Baby is more efficient than a pump, so it maybe you can pump your 20 oz and then he can feed for the rest that he needs when he's with you. 20 oz is awesome though! I don't pump well at all, even on the days I've been away from her and had to pump while I was gone, I think I got 10.
 

Asscherhalo_lover

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Thanks April20! I hope to once he's clipped. We have some success with a breast shield but I still feed him a bottle after, just to make sure he's getting enough. I'll be pumping at work and hopefully bfing at home. I'm not even letting myself worry too much about his bump, one problem at a time!

So far the cloth diapering has been going well! He doesn't poop often, he'll go 2-3 days without pooping and then poop a few times in one day. We have a sprayer for when he does so clean up isn't bad. Let's hope he continues with his low poo schedule!

I hope all the Mommies and babies are doing well!
 

April20

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AHL- Before Eliza started solids a couple weeks ago she only pooped every 10-12 days! If you end up not needing to supplement and he's on BM only, don't be shocked if his pooping spaces out. Our ped said it's not unusual for an EBF baby to go 14 days between poops.

Eliza wants everyone to see what she can do!

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monkeyprincess

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Just checking in to see how everyone is doing? I haven't been in PS for awhile.

My babies just turned 8 months, and I have no idea how that happened? Baby boy is a man on a mission. He won't sit still for a minute, and is constantly army crawling and rolling to grab the nearest object that he is not allowed to play with. He is happiest when he is standing and bouncing, and he is so ready to start walking. He babbles constantly (da-da-da, ba-ba-ba, rarely ma-ma-ma), and likes to babble along with songs. Baby girl has spent most of 2016 in the hospital, and is still there recovering from RSV and weaning from the sedation drugs she was on while intubated. She is going to need significant physical therapy to work on head, neck and trunk strength. I've come to accept her timeline is just going to be a bit different, but I'm confident she'll catch up in the next couple years, and she's as cute and sweet as can be. She's such a blessing despite everything we've gone through.

April, how's your little girl doing?

JGator, been thinking about you and wondering how your two little ones are doing? Does K love being a big sister? Ev is still obsessed with the babies. I love it.

LV, are you still around? How are things going with the peanut allergy? Your little guy must be 9 or 10 months now, right? Hasn't the year flown by?

Hope everyone else is doing well. Even if you don't have time to write back, just wanted to say hi!
 
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