PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[vizsla]

approx the same on the weekend... except we spend more time getting him to sleep longer. he''s super duper inconsistent with naps... sometimes he will nap for 2 hours 2x a day at daycare, other times it''s those little 30-45min cat naps. daycare always takes the entire hour to feed him, and so do we... if he stops eating after 4 oz we will try (and so do they) to get him to eat that last pesky ounce.. that''s why i say between 4-5oz.

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

:::CRY:::

I guess talking about it made it happen. One of the project managers told me this morning that one of our clients wants 3 training sessions -- two are supposed to be in April and the last is in the summer. They''re all 2 day sessions, and one of the ones in April is 2 hours from here, so I could conceivably drive back and forth so I''d be home in the evenings. The other April one, though, is in NJ, so I''d have no choice but to be gone for two full days.

I know I can totally trust SO to take care of the boys, but I hate the idea of leaving Ben when he''s so little! There are 2 other people who could take the training for me, but one is my boss, who has just spent an entire week away from his 9 week old daughter (and wife and sons) and is probably going to be gone all next week, too.

And as I was writing, the PM told me that the closer site wants training April 8 and 9. The only good thing is that I have enough of a freezer stash already to cover being gone for 2 full days, so going back and forth would be do-able.

It still sucks balls, though.

 

[kennedy]

I'm normally a lurker, but as the mother of a toddler who didn't start sleeping through the night until 24 months, I thought I would share with you all some of the research I found helpful when I felt like I might lose my mind from sleep deprivation. I found it reassuring to know that there is a very wide range of normal when it comes to infant sleep. It took some of the pressure off me to somehow fix it. That said, it was still quite horrible at times, but, almost like magic, she started sleeping through the night suddenly at around 2 -- we didn't do anything to make it happen; she was just ready. Anyway, here are some interesting facts and a link to the study:


The study below is the definitive work on sleeping habits of (Australian) children to 38 months. The researchers surveyed 3269 parents, with a 96.5% response rate, over a one week period. The parents had to report on their child's sleeping habits over the past 24 hours, plus answer a few questions related to their perceptions of their child's sleep behavior.

What did they find?

There is a wide range of normal childhood sleep behavior.
Circadian rhythm is not well established until four months of age.
Daytime sleep becomes less regular with increasing age, the most marked reduction in length occurs around 3 months of age. However, a surprising 11% under 3 months of age don't have a daytime sleep every day.
Frequent night waking that disturbs parents is common from 4-12 months (12.7% disturb their parents 3 or more times every night).
Night time settling requires more parental input from 18 months.
Nearly a third of parents have a significant problem with their child's sleep behavior.
Sleeping through the night: 71.4% did this on at least one occasion by 3 months of age, but many of these relapse into more frequent waking in the 4 to 12 month period. It is not until after 24 months that regular night waking (requiring attention) becomes much less common.
Although this study did not address breastfeeding, it is relevant because a lack of understanding of "normal" sleep patterns can lead to supplementing, early solids, belief there is not enough milk, etc. The authors claim it also leads to misdiagnosis of gastro-esophageal reflux (GER) and overuse of sedative medication. A worrying 31% of 25-38 month-old children were disciplined (mostly smacking) to get them to settle. 27% of parents let their children cry, 11% at less than one month.


Study

 

[mtjoya]

Mara-Thanks for the tips/advice! Man, last night we fed her formula and I breastfed and guess what she slept 5 hours STRAIGHT!!!!

I swear she has a big tank and eats like I have her starved or something! She grabs at my nipple and snags at it so hard! But I will def try to do the other stuff! I am hoping that this little pitbull can sleep more!

 

[Mara]

there is a huge range of sleep habits out there. Parents should do what feels right for them and their household and family, nothing is right or wrong if you are ok with it. in the ''world'' many averages are different than the US... from what i have read a lot of it has to do with the rest of the world co-sleeping whereas in the US it''s not ''as'' common, and also in the US we have crazy maternity leave schedules which require mom to head back way earlier than ROW so it makes sense to TRY and get the kid on some type of schedule if you need to return to work. if i didn''t have to work then i might not be as interested in a schedule. actually who am i kidding? i friggin NEED and love my sleep. it''s one of the things i value the most in life. if i don''t get sleep i am a veritable CRAB to be around, i don''t feel good so therefore NO ONE FEELS GOOD. food and sleep are the two things i need the most in life, i don''t make any apologies about it. sorry kid, i will let you suck on my boob til the nipples fall off and make the rest of my life all about you but i need some structure around my sleep!

viz you asked about WHY c is waking up. who knows! honestly i think the same thing when it has to do with J''s naps during the day. like WHY WHY WHY? but one of the things you mentioned did catch my eye, the whole ''is he waking up alone in his crib''... i have read this in no-cry about trying to learn to put them down when they are drowsy but not yet totally asleep. it noted that if the baby gets used to being in arms/carried/rocked/looking at you while they are drifting off, then that''s their wakeup association too. since they cycle through deep and light sleep, if they were to open their eyes during light sleep and have a lucid moment, they will go HOLY CRAP mom is gone and i''m in the crib not in arms! and could startle themselves totally out of a cycle. kind of like the paci, it''s interesting though that he notes the paci is gone in deep sleep... J won''t easily wake out of deep sleep, we have to touch his chest to make sure he''s breathing sometimes!

anyway i am not sure how you guys typically put C down but if it''s soothing totally to sleep then crib, maybe start trying to work on that too so he can go in drowsy, and see if that helps his night wakings? though fiery mentioned the 4 month wakeful and it might be that, honestly when moms talk about the 4 month wakeful i cringe in abject terror anticipating it rocking our household. it sounds horrible and like no one is exempt!!

AND honestly your schedule where you are able to soothe and put him down looks good to me. if you can continue to push out that feeding and he lets you i really think ''does he need it?''..yanno? and wow 38oz is what he is eating..and he''s 14lbs? do you know why he''s not gaining more weight? J is about 10.5lbs and he eats like 22-24oz a day and i feel like he''s turning into a little chubbo, rolls all over!

re: J''s sleep...so he''s totally not napping during the day at all except for 2-3 30 min cat naps. yesterday i went for a 2 hour walk with our neighbor and her twins and he napped the whole time but it was rocking napping so it doesn''t REALLY count for ''restful'' sleep...it just kept him occupied. so last nite he was exhausted, his eyes were a little puffy and red. we bathed him and fed him and he was just totally zonked out. he slept from 9:30pm to 6:15am and probably only woke up because greg was getting ready for work so we opened his door to see if he''d wake up so greg could feed him before he left. i was curious to see how long he would have slept, aka 7 or 7:30 if we hadn''t opened his door and made all the household noise around it. anyway, he went back down at 7 and is now stirring slowly. confession: i friggin love watching him on the video monitor fight at his swaddle like a mad man about 4-5 times with catnaps in between before finally crying out like 45 min after the whole thing starts. he does it every morning.

oh and my neighbor said her kids never really napped either but have always had good night habits. reminds me kind of like J... greg says well we''d rather he sleeps at night right..yup.

we cut back J''s early morning bottle one ounce last nite and he still went down in less than 10 min so that was good. i just don''t want to be overfeeding him if his body doesn''t require it.

RPS re AF...yeah the bleeding has now STOPPED so i dont know what it was, maybe a precursor or just a light AF? i figure not much going on in the uterus right about now right??? and i hear you on the lazy nurser. i nursed J a lot yesterday but some days i give him more bottles than boob because i just don''t feel like sitting there for 45 min with him looking around rather than eating. in the mornings he will eat vigorously so even if i just keep one feeding and pump the rest of the time i will do that morning one since it''s his most motivated. but as long as i can i will keep up with the boob.

i am jazzed since i just put milk into a freezer bag for the first time at 6am this morning to start my ''stash'' for hawaii.

RPS sorry you have to travel so soon, i definitely am not ready for travel and plan to tell them i am not going anywhere til at least fall. typically i only travel to europe anyway for work, and i am DEFINITELY not doing that til later if at all this year.

mtj...yay for 5 hours!!! i swear J has a huge tank at night too. we do the combo of formula and BM and it seems to work great. we started adding rice cereal into his bottle in the last week on the advice of our pedi, and it''s been helping his reflux but not sure if it helps him sleep longer. the amt we add in doesn''t really seem to affect his bottle consistency all that much, it''s still liquid.

amber...sorry about the migraine, ugh!!

mandarine, hope things are getting better with the boys and you are NOT getting sick. ugh, take some extra vitamins and airborne and whatever else you can. btw i was talking with my neighbor who has twins since we walked for 2 hours yesterday and it sounded like her boys were pretty challenging too. now they are a year old and seem so good natured and hardly make a squeak. hope it''s like that for you too.

tao...have you guys used the sleep sack before? we have them for J but i am unsure how to intro them. it''s really warm here, 78 today and our old house gets hot in late afternoon. J has been hanging out in a tshirt and diaper since it''s been warmer so i don''t want to sleep sack then swaddle him...but i dont want to leave his arms out either or he won''t nap. how did you guys intro the sack to E?

i am taking J to visit my Grandma today, she is getting up there in age (i can never remember exactly how old, about 90 maybe? grandmas always seem ageless.) and her memory is totally leaving her. she told my mom she forgot what J looks like, its so sad...so i told her i''d bring him over today and also bringing her some of the professional photos we had done. i''m waiting for him to wake so i can feed him then take him over when he is good-natured. she hates when he cries.

oh and whoever was talking about bathing...we are horrible too, we only bathe J like once a week. but he''s pretty sterile. however thanks to the rice cereal his poops have become a little explosive and dark brown lately, kinda icky...so we thought we might need to start bathing him more...heading towards the eventual ''daily'' bath. he seems to like it and just stares at us and coos...so it hopefully will help the bedtime routine.

one last thing, that sleep training handout noted that exposure to sunlight and light rooms helps babies develop their circadian rythyms to distinguish night from day. thought that was interesting.

 

[vizsla]

we do put c down when he's not totally asleep. we are trying to wean him off the swaddle (yep, might as well pile it on) and need to hold down his arm until the morrow reflex stop.. once that happens we put him down. when we check on him later on he's flung his arm over his head and it doesn't wake him up.

i also found this little nugget of information that made me feel better...
________________________
"Your baby will begin to comfort herself and to sleep for longer stretches at her own developmental pace. If your baby wants to eat at night, it is because she DOES need this, whether it's because she is hungry or because she wants to be close to mom. Sleeping through the night is a developmental milestone (like walking or toilet training) that your baby will reach when she is ready to. Trying to force or coax baby to reach this before her time may result in other problems later on.

Probably one of the main reasons that night-waking babies are such a big issue is that parents don't have realistic expectations of the sleep patterns of babies. We are bombarded with magazine articles and books that perpetuate the myth that babies should not have nighttime needs. Babies were designed to wake up often at night to feed and cuddle, and keep in mind that many adults wake during the night, too. If our expectations for babies were not so different from our babies' expectations for themselves, much of this "problem" might disappear."
_____________________

i'm so torn... what to DO?? it's obvious i need some sleep.. so, i HAVE to come up with a solution.. but i've always felt that c will sleep longer when he's ready and i hate to rush it. GAH!!!!! i'm driving myself nuts-o. how do we come to a happy middle ground?? i don't think that co-sleeping is a real option for us. and i do think that c waking up 1.5-2hrs after being put down.. and then every 1.5-2hrs after that... sometimes taking about 30mins to an hour to go back to sleep is no good either... bleh.. my head hurts.

ETA: sorry for the selfish posts today...

EETTAA: kennedy you are probably saying "gurrrl i've got 20 months on you" reading your post almost made me cry.. i don't know if i could go 2 years without a good night's sleep. what did you and your DH do as far as nighttime wakings? did you work out a system?

 

[Mara]

i think someone can find anything to support any type of thinking or reasoning. the internet is a blessing and a curse. really it comes down to you guys. do you want to do something about lack of sleep?? if so, work at it, know it won't be easy. if not, dont and keep going. you need to feel right about whatever course of action you take. in the end it will be you and your hub doing this, not anyone else so you need to be 100000% on board. i'm not saying this with an eye towards yes or no, i just feel like you are so torn, so if you aren't totally on board with YES THIS IS THE THING TO DO then i think it will be harder to succeed, kwim?

i *personally* don't believe things like 'babies will sleep when they are ready and nothing you can do helps'. and i know not everyone agrees but you train a puppy... i feel like working with kids is similar. nothing is foolproof and nothing works for everyone. you just keep trying. consistency and routine is key. there will be failures before success.

viz what i would try in your position since C is formula fed is tank him up at night. keep the kid eating til he absolutely won't eat more. even if J is falling asleep halfway through his pre-bed bottle, we keep waking him up til he finishes it. i don't want him falling asleep halfway thru and waking up 4 hours later. and i would try adding a bit more during the day and have daycare try like heck to get him to take it (and i agree, make them work!!!).

also our pedi recommended to kind of 'double' what the formula mixing is. aka 2oz of water (we use tea) for one scoop of formula. is what the container calls for. we put in 1.5 scoops. so its like superpowered formula i guess.

omg i cannot imagine going 2 years before a child sleeps through the night. i don't think any of us would make it!!!

 

[mtjoya]

Question Re: baby blues- Did anyone here go thru this? I feel that I am STILL going thru this. I have been feeling sad ever since I got home from the hospital. I don''t have a reason why. I am having relationship problems with my husband as well. We have been constantly fighting. We fight over stupid stuff and I feel that sometimes he doesn''t understand. I am going to see my OB for my 6 week appt today and I feel like I should discuss this but I am embarrased. I feel like I am being a whiner but it''s really bugging me. I hate feeling this way, I think that it might be the lack of sleep and getting cabin fever because I really don''t get out of the house much. What do you ladies suggest? I really don''t want to confide in anyone "in real life." I don''t feel comfortable. Thanks!

 

[fieryred33143]

Viz-I''m one that agrees wholeheartedly with what you quoted. Sophia spent her entire third month awake. Like, just awake (I think that''s why we never went through the 4 month wakeful because by then she was exhausted lol). We lowered our expectations and changed our routine in order to adjust all the while sticking with a consistent bedtime routine for her. Every night we did our original bedtime routine of a warm bath, lotion, pjs, nurse, rock a little, bed even though we knew that in an hour she would be awake. I was already doing everything I could/wanted to do at that point. I didn''t want to CIO her because she was too young. I already fed her enough so I knew her tummy was full. There was nothing I was doing wrong and the few times I did try something, it failed which would leave me frustrated. She just wanted to be awake until she didn''t want to anymore. As for STTN, I didn''t do anything at all. I tried no methods. The only thing we did do was the eliminating of a bottle but that was mainly because I''m afraid of overfeeding her so I didn''t want to feed her out of habit and as soon as I noticed she was eating for comfort, I cut out the bottle.

Mtjoya-I went through a really bad case of baby blues, borderline PPD. I kept it bottled inside for a long time until one day my mom called to check up on me and I bawled on the phone. She showed up that same night to help me out and the next day I made an appointment to see a therapist.

I had a lot of anxiety. For example, when we would go places I would think of all of the horrible things that could happen to Sophia and would freeze. There was a time we were in Lowes to buy a new toilet and we were about to walk down an aisle with bathtubs that were propped up against a wall. I thought to myself, what if one of those tubs come loose while I''m walking down the aisle and crushes Sophia? Then I just froze and could not walk anymore. We had to leave the store. I also never wanted anyone to help me with Sophia because I thought they would get so frustrated with her that they would want to hurt her and the only way to protect her was to keep her close to me. I cried, a lot. I cried because she wasn''t sleeping enough. I cried because she was sleeping too much. I felt like everything I was doing was wrong.

Going to the therapist changed my whole attitude. I only needed one session. It was comforting hearing from someone "official" that what I was going through was normal. She gave me techniques to get over my anxiety. I still have a bit of anxiety issues now (I check Sophia at night at least once even though she STTN and I have to make her move, touching her belly or seeing her belly move is not enough to convince me she''s still breathing) but I''m much better.

I highly suggest confiding in your DH, a close relative, or a friend the issues you are having. I also suggest seeing a therapist just as a sanity check because it can really make you feel better. GL. We''re all here if you need to chat.

 

[Mandarine]

zoombie mama over here.

I don''t think I''m getting sick..and if I am is VERY very mild (like just a bit of a stuffy nose!0...so the vibes worked!!!

Boys were up at all hours of the night. They wanted to be rocked, soothed, fed, etc, etc, etc...you name it. I was up at 11pm, 12am, then at 2am until 3:30am (courtesy of Alex) then at 5:30am and then at 6:30am woke up DH and said "wake me up when you have to go to work!!. He let me sleep in until 8am...THANK GOD!

Oh boy...I feel like I have two newborns!!!

I have worked so hard to break habits: rocking, swaddling, night feedings...and it''s ALL going down the drain. I know they are sick so obviously I''m going to do whatever they need to feel comforted....but this is definitly going to mess them (me) up! Now Lucas is back to being swaddled (only way he sleeps) and they both want to be rocked for naps and bedtime. Which we haven''t done in a LONG time! (we stopped when they were like 2 months...I think?)

Anyway...this may just be exhaustion talking...but when they are back to feeling 100% better....there will be NO MERCY!. Sorry fellas, but I can''t go back to all the newborn habits again...so they will have to cry it out a bit. Hopefully it won''t be as hard as it was the first time around (or as long!)

Mara Maybe you answered this already...but why do you use tea? I have never heard that but sounds interesting!

Ok, Lucas is waking up from his swing nap (first nap of the day...at 2pm!, but it was 2 hours long!)

 

[mtjoya]

Fiery-Thank you for your insight. I appreciate you explaining your experience. I "tried" to confide in my DH but he doesn''t understand. He is being a total ass. He says that I should change my attitude and that it''s something that will eventually pass. I am very angry at him. I feel so alone. I confide in my mother only because she comforts me and tells me to cool down and stay calm. I also don''t trust anyone with my daughter. I will only let my mom take care of her and I also freak out that something might happen to her. Arghh! I hate this!

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Mara, you are so right that if you look hard enough on the internet, you can find info to support your thinking. I''m going to get off here and look for something that supports an all chocolate diet!!

I can''t imagine having to travel to Europe, although it would be cool. So far, I''ve dodged the bullet because other people are more than happy to take the overseas training sessions. Most of the time I like travelling for work because I get plenty of free time to check out the city I''m in and I won''t lie, it''s sort of nice not to have to take care of anyone but me for a couple of days!

So, it looks like I''ll be here in VA (2 hours from home) for 2 days one week and in NJ for 2 days the following week. The only thing that makes me feel better is that I can drive back and forth to the first site so I won''t be away overnight. I made sure the PM knows that he has to tell the client ahead of time that I need an office to use for 30 minutes in the morning and afternoon. Thank heavens for working with guys that are bf friendly!

MTJ, yeah, I deal with the baby blues still, although I''m not absolutely sure it''s not PPD. I have a history of depression and usually breastfeeding keeps it at bay, but not so much this time. I was actually quite well for several weeks and then it sort of hit because things got rough with SO. I just get so ticked off about stupid stuff that he does! And normally, it wouldn''t bother me at all, so I know it''s the hormones. Any time we have drama with his ex, it puts me in a funk.

PLEASE don''t be embarrassed to talk to your OB! He''s seen it a million times before. I know that when I was first diagnosed with depression, it was *really* hard for me to admit to my doctor, but he was great about it. The stigma has slowly been going away and the only way that people accept depression as a real problem is if more people admit they have it, thereby normalizing it. It''s so hard when your DH doesn''t understand -- my ex used to tell me to snap out of it! PLEASE! That does not work. I hope that your DH can develop some empathy. Perhaps if you talk to your OB and he talks to your DH, your DH might get it?

If you haven''t had problems with depression before, I wouldn''t suggest that you jump into an anti-depressant because it can be hard to find the one that works for you, it takes 4-6 weeks for them to really work and kicking them can be a b*tch. Some things you can try are making sure you get enough exposure to sunshine, getting some exercise and eating healthy foods. You can also keep talking it out here if you''re comfortable with that. You don''t need to go into details -- sometimes posting that you feel like crap is enough to help you get through a little bit. I like Fiery''s suggestion about seeing a counselor -- if you have a good one, they can be a godsend.

Hang in there! I hope you''ll feel better soon once the hormones calm down!

Fiery, I have that same anxiety. It''s ridiculous -- I feel like by #6, I should realize that it''s unlikely something will happen to Ben, but it''s there. Every night, I wake up a couple of times to check on him. I usually relax when the kids get a bit older, but this week, I had the panic over what was wrong with my daughter and then I got an email from my oldest son''s biodad''s wife saying that they haven''t seen or talked to him in a couple of weeks. They cut off his cell phone, so I have no way to get in touch with him. I just have to have faith that he''s ok. It would be nice to not have to worry about your kids every single waking moment.

Mandarine,

for not getting sick. Now, we''ll have to send you some get some rest vibes!

 

[Mara]

Mandarine... the chamomile was recommended by the pedi for his gas and I guess reflux too. It is supposed to help aid digestion. We use it instead of water to mix his formula. I really do think it helps a little plus I like that it''s natural and I''d rather use something like that than plain water. And girl I can''t wait to see how no mercy works out, I hope the boys snap to it!! Hang in there.

RPS... yep I learned a long time ago you can pretty much google ANYTHING and find something to support what you are thinking and/or line of reasoning. It''s why you really have to take things with a grain of salt and go with your gut. Even books and talking to other people will typically produce different results. My pedi told me something I like to think about because I think she''s a wise old-school kinda woman. Anyway she said..don''t pay attn to ''everyone''...it will get too overwhelming. Find one or two Moms who you really respect and whose kids you enjoy...and then listen to their advice.

MTJ...so sorry about the baby blues...I second the other gals who say talk to someone. Don''t be embarassed at all!! It happens to tons of Moms and sometimes it can stick around longer than you might imagine. I am sure your Dr wants to know how you are really feeling and has options for help, our hospital has all sorts of questionnaires and stuff we have to fill out. I had to do it for each visit after having the baby (with the baby) and then I did it at 6w appt too. Yours might have something similar. Also about DH...honestly I feel like a lot of times the men just don''t understand no matter how hard they can try. They don''t have crazy hormones coursing through their bodies.

We just got back from grandmas and thankfully the fuss behaved very well. He fell asleep in the car but now he is stirring, darn 30 min nap!! The cleaning ladies will be here soon, so we''ll have to go outside and enjoy the sun for a while, where hopefully he won''t terrorize the neighbors.

 

[Blenheim]

I''m not able to catch up, sorry in advance to everyone who I miss!

George is mostly feeling better but still has some lingering head-cold type things and a cough. He is in a much much better mood though.

Follow-up visit with the ped ophthamologist tomorrow... I hope that''s it for the patching! I''ve read accounts online of years of patching though. The patching itself isn''t too horrible, but it''s supposed to be on for 4 waking hours and I am super bad at keeping track of time and when it went on and how long his naps were (must be subtracted from the time it''s been on) etc.

From Kennedy: "Sleeping through the night: 71.4% did this on at least one occasion by 3 months of age, but many of these relapse into more frequent waking in the 4 to 12 month period. It is not until after 24 months that regular night waking (requiring attention) becomes much less common."

This is interesting... G was STTN on a semi-regular basis (like every other night) and now... not so much. He''s probably up something like 2-3 times per night. We''re not going to be able to convince him to sleep in the crib with this room arrangement, and I''m not sure if he''s going to be able to STTN while he''s sleeping next to me and smelling milk. I just tell myself that I sincerely doubt that one day he will be 18 yo and going off to college and wanting nighttime nursings and unable to sleep in his own bed. This too shall pass.

RPS - Sorry about the upcoming travel. That''s rough.

Mandarine - I have my fingers crossed that you''re not getting sick as well.

Mtjoya - Don''t feel embarassed to bring it up at your 6wk visit - that''s part of the doc''s job! I think that some degree of bickering and anxiety is very normal as you figure out parenting and division of labor, etc. We''ve had similar issues at times and one thing that helps with the bickering is to try to fight the "right" way - no personal attacks, "I'' statements and not "you'' statements, etc. Then it''s more constructive "let''s figure this out together" and less "what is wrong with you?", you know? With the caveat that I didn''t have PPD and that I know that it''s not always this simple, it really helps me if I make sure to get out of the house every day, to dress decently-ish (flattering clean jeans and not just PJ pants all day), to make sure to shower every day, to work in some regular kind of adult interaction, and to exercise regularly. I feel more human and less like a bum, plus exercise and fresh air helps to regulate my mood some. Other people will care for your baby differently than you do, but it''s very unlikely that anything truly bad will happen to them if you leave them with someone for a bit while you take some time for yourself. DH is a bit more lackadaisical than I am about diaper changing, for example, but really what''s the worst that would come from leaving him in a wet diaper for longer than I''d like.

 

[taovandel]

Just a super quick post...

Mara: We used the sleep sack early on with Evan until we finally got a swaddle...now we are back in the sleep sack (Successfully!!!). His room is crazy cold all the time, so the sleep sack is great for right now....Not sure how it''ll be in the summer...I''m thinking he won''t be in the sleep sack by then.


Back later on for a real post...Evan is up from his nap.

 

[taovandel]

Evan slept through the night for the first time since turning 4 months old! Hopefully he will keep it up.

Here is what we did, incase anyone else wants to try to see if it works for their LO''s.

7:30-7:40 ....Started our new feeding process for night---2 oz of formula
7:40-7:50 ish...1 Tbsp of Oatmeal mixed with formula until consistency was what he likes. This was only his second day of eating it and he ate a bit more then the day before...maybe half of the mixture.
7:50-8:15--4 oz of formula....still wanted more. Sleep sacked him
8:15-8:20 ish...2 more oz of formula.

He was completely knocked out.

Put him down in his crib...didn''t hear from him again until 6:40 this morning.

 

[cdt1101]

wow...way too behind to catch up!

Mandy - I hope the boys are feeling better!!

Hope the little ones are sleeping better for everyone

As for us, well last night was the 1st night in months that Lex slept straight thru

Bed at 6:30 last night, he did wake at 5:00am, but I didn''t rush in and he played in his crib until 6:00, fell back asleep and I had to wake him up at 6:45 this morning

So proud of my little man.

I think a lot of it has to do w/ him finally breathing better though. Haven''t mentioned it here, but Lex was diagnosed w/ Reactive Airway Disease

So he''s on inhalers now (much quicker than nebulizer) and has been on an oral steriod for a couple of weeks to finally kick out the chest congestion that just won''t go away. He''s FINALLY turning a corner. It''s scary though because there have been times (last Saturday actually) we debated going to the ER because his breathing was so bad, but we just did consecutive treatments w/ inhaler and it pulled him thru (thank goodness). I just hope he outgrows this and it doesn''t become asthma (which really is what he has now, they just don''t call it that at his age). Only time will tell.

Here''s my handsome guy, happy as usual

 

[steph72276]

Good morning! Here is our smiley, happy guy today! Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Tao, yea for STTN!! How exciting!

CDT, Great pic!

 

[natalina]

Steph- E looks so cute and I love his onesie!!! Isn't he young to be giving such a fantastic smile? Little ham!

CDT- Lex is such a little man now! Very handsome! Sorry about his breathing issues, hopefully he will outgrow it. YAY for an excellent night's sleep!!!!

Tao- that's some serious tanking up!!! Sounds like it worked like a charm!! Congrats!

Here's Ellie's contribution to BPF (yay- we finally made one on an actual Friday

):

 

[Mara]

happy friday all!!

tao...thanks for the note on the sleep sack. we might experiment with it but it's a good idea to use it in leiu of the swaddle when they get older. our house has been warmer this week and i am already thinking that it will be hard for us to keep him cool...it's an old house and it gets warm very quickly. J tends to overheat easily and gets little heat rashes on the back of his neck..it might be time to get AC!! and yay for a good night's sleep, that is some serious tanking up but hey it works!

viz...hope that you guys were able to get more sleep somehow last nite!

steph ...that pic of E is precious, i love his onesie!! where did you get it??

so maybe someone can help me...(RPS?)... in the last few days my right boob just will not cooperate with my breast pump. no matter what i do or how i futz with it, i cannot get the same 'pull' on the boob as my left...which is resulting in me sitting there for 40 min instead of 25 trying to empty the boob. and in the end i still have to hand express out about an extra oz to get MOST of it out. what could be happening? do i need to replace something on the pump or is my nipple shape changing? greg thinks its something to do with my nipple itself as he has 'tested' the pressure/pull from the pump and feels like it's the same. i have switched up the 'equipment' on the pump from left to right to see if that makes a diff but it doesn't, so it MUST be my boob? what could be happening and how can i fix it? i am afraid this will affect my supply and this is my mass production boob so it has to keep going...also i don't want to get blocked ducts or anything from the non-emptying. i am only feeding J about 1-2x a day on the boob now since he's SO lazy, this morning i had to continuously bother him for 35 min to get him to empty the left and eat partially on the right...and i know he still had stomach room but was just zoning out looking around.

J has been 'cat napping' all week during the day and last nite it caught up with him. he was SO overtired it was really hard to put him down for bed. since he was so tired we put him down at 9pm instead of 9:30...and he kept jerking himself awake. when we put him down after about 10 min of rocking and soothing he woke up and cried for 20 min (while i pumped)...then he was ROOTING even though i had fed him 5+ oz of formula+rice cereal+BM...normally more than enough to knock him out. AND he didn't finish the last 1/2 oz. sooo i got him up, changed him, checked for burps, put a short sleeve tshirt on him (figured he was hot)...then he had a big poo so we changed him again and i gave him 1.5oz extra. he tried to fight it again after that but he finally went down after rocking at 10:30 and slept til 4am. then he slept from 5 to 10am. i just don't know why he fights it!

so now today i am DETERMINED to get a few good naps out of him. i am going to overload him with food 3x today rather than feed on demand, and see if that helps. his little eyes get puffy towards the end of the day and it's just so sad to see him fighting it because the world is sooo darn interesting. now after his morning feed he is in the swing just sitting there looking comatose but EYES ARE OPEN. my little stubborn cuss.

LOVE all the shiny happy babies today!! in the smiley spirit we've got going so far...i sat in front of J this morning and babbled and made crazy noises after his morning feed til he gave me a grin...so here's his friday pic.

confession... i am looking fwd to returning to work in 7 weeks. i love spending this time with J but every day in and out at home with the baby is pretty taxing for me. i always wondered if i could be a SAHM and now i know i probably couldn't. if i could work PT or contract with a flex schedule it would be ideal because i could be aroud 1/2 the time and working 1/2 the time. the mornings are great with J but by around 3pm i am ready to head out into the real world for a break!! i am hoping to do 2x a week at home when i return (and still have care for him at home), but i will be happy to get out into the work environment for a few days.

and umm confession #2. i am a slack and have not even ordered J's announcements yet. i just can't decide and then i get distracted or baby cries and i have to run off and nothing gets done. i just want someone to do it for me! how late is too late to send them out? HAHA.

 

[so cal girl]

Work has been crazy, so I have in no way been keeping up, but just wanted to say HAPPY FRIDAY!

Mara, I totally agree with your first confession. I knew after being home for 12 weeks that I could probably not be a SAHM. I wish i could work part time, but we just can''t afford it.

As for your second confession, I took forever to get out E''s announcements. He was born September 30th, and I ended up getting them done over Thanksgiving, I think. So yeah, he was two full months old. I say you can send them out whenever you want. We didn''t get the announcement for my nephew (although they did end up putting together a video and sending out CDs) until the kid was over 3 months old.

 

[steph72276]

Nat, thank you! He is really smiley in the mornings. Your E is just SO pretty and happy!

Mara, J''s pic is too cute. The onesie was a gift...she got it online, here is the link:http://erinsexpressions.com/

I''m off to wake up E...he''s been sleeping all morning, wish he would do this at night. I was joking with Adam that he might not STTN yet, but he sleeps through the day! I probably won''t have a chance to check in for a few more days...my parents are coming for a long weekend to see the kids. Hope everyone has a great weekend

 

[AmberWaves]

Love the pics mommies!

We're chugging along here, Piper is awfully vocal. Right now she's in her swing talking (yelling) away. It's cute. The other night she did it in the middle of the night, a little squeal. Crazy baby.

So we're taking a one night trip to Santa Barbara/Solvang in the first week of April, while Paul is on spring break- which means we need to get her a bathing suit. Any good places for a bathing suit for a baby who fits into 6 month clothes? Also- no sunscreen, right? Just a hat and a cover up for her, right? I plan on looking for a place with a heated pool so we can take her in at night. I just can't wait to put her in the pool. Paul is a certified life guard and has been certified in infant CPR, so I'm not worried. Any ideas on swim diapers? We'll find out how much she weighs on Wednesday.

Still haven't left her with someone else, and still haven't pumped. I dunno, she's just too fun right now.

ETA: My hair is totally falling out. SO not cute.

 

[taovandel]

I agree with the confession on not wanting to be a SAHM: I think half and half would be nice. I need that time to myself to think and do something adult. Plus I''m super good at my job and I actually love my job. haha....that might be a factor.

No new pictures this week from me....I post way too many pictures anyways...I''m sure you want a break!

Steph: Where did you get that Evan onesie? I totally need to get one!

Tanking up: He definitely tanked himself up. I was ready to stop at his normal 6 oz bottle...but he was showing all his hunger cues so I asked my husband to make one more ounce...he wound up making two and E ate it all! I''m not mad at it! haha.

 

[fieryred33143]

Lex is adorable! Love that face he is making!
Evan's smile is precious!
Ellie is beautiful!
That is a really funny pic of Julian. So much personality and so adorable! Love it!
Piper is beautiful! I haven't decided if she looks like you or DH. Sometimes I see a lot of you, other times a lot of DH. Hmmm

Love the babies

Tao-I'm never tired of seeing Evan. If it were up to me, we'd do DAILY baby pics

lol

This morning Sophia randomly woke up crying and I made the dumb mistake of bringing her into my bed because I figured she was awake. Well, as soon as she got into bed with us she woke up. Doy! She was asleep. So she poked Rich in the face a couple of times, pulled his hair, kicked him in the gut, smaked him in the arm, and eventually snuggled with me to go to sleep. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA *boys drool, girls rule! Mommy for the win!

I felt really bad though because not 10 minutes after she fell asleep, the alarms started going off and we were making a lot of noise so her sleep was disturbed. Hopefully she napped well today.

Confessions: I'm the opposite! I always said that I would never, ever be a SAHM because I liked working too much. Now I'd give anything to stay home.

My confession: yesterday I picked up Sophia from ILs. When FIL is there, he does not let her go so I spend the rest of the time trying to take her away from him so that we can leave (because hello...it's almost her bed time and I'm tired too

). Well yesterday she took one look at me, laughed, and when he kept holding her she started crying! And she wouldn't stop crying until I grabbed her. Then she instantly went back to smiles. It made me feel G R E A T

Sophia's picture is from behind lol. It's her fake standing!

 

[qtiekiki]

Lex, Ellie, and Julian - all are sticking out their tongues, so cute.
Evan has such an adorable smile.
I love Piper''s pinchable cheeks.
LOL on Sophia fake standing. I remember that stage, and I think Meena has that same onesie.

 

[NovemberBride]

Amber,

I got a couple of cute swimsuits at Target, Gymboree and Old Navy for Olivia. They used to say no sunscreen on babies under 6 months, but the American Academy of Pediatrics recently reversed that stance because there''s no evidence of any harm, but there is increasing evidence that sunburns at a very early age are a high risk factor for skin cancer. We''re going to Florida when Olivia is 5 months and our pedi said to use sunscreen.

 

[Mara]

Amber...I saw swimsuits at Target and I think Kohls and also BRU I think. I was tempted to get J some swim trunks when I saw them at Marshalls but then I thought who knows when he''ll actually be in water! cute pic!

Fiery...I used to think I''d love staying at home and actually I DO love being at home in general, I love our house and I always feel cozy and warm when I am home. But I tend to get bored easily and while I know right now J is not that interactive and when he is older we can ''do more'' with him that would prob keep me more occupied, the whole daily at home daily with the baby thing is kind of driving me bonkers. I do like sleeping in though.

However I def don''t want to miss out on J''s milestones and be gone all the time so that''s why I''m hoping to do a 1/2 thing or work something out where I can ''be around'' a little more than typical. So we''ll see!! lol re: sophia loving mommy!! so cute.

Steph...I am totally getting J a onesie, so cute.

CDT...sorry to hear about L''s respiratory issues...ugh!! i hope he gets better and it doesn''t continue for him. LOVE his tongue btw... J totally does that all the time and his tongue is so big and fat. we just laugh.

So J is on his third nap of the day. YAY. First one was in the swing for about an hour but that was ''movement'' so it doesn''t totally count as good sleep. The second was in the crib for about 50 minutes and the third is right now in the crib, and so far it''s been about 15 min so we''ll see. I was hoping to get 3 hours of naps out of him today which would be like 1.5 hours more than he got yesterday...the cat napper! So we''re close. Hopefully it will help him tonite.

re: sun on babies... it''s 75 here now and is supposed to be nice for a while...does J have to be TOTALLY shaded all the time? i need to get him a sun hat too...right now i don''t have anything. i''m going to put my mom on it.

 

[Mandarine]

Hi guys!!!!

Super quick drive by...as I need to get back to my fussy babies!

Took them to the Dr and they don''t have RSV (thank God!!) but their cough is so nasty! Lucas even lost his voice! poor guy

DH left to Vegas today for a bachelor party, so I''m solo with the babies...but I''m ok with that...I guess I''ve gotten comfortable handling them by myself!

I''m taking Zycam so hopefully I won''t get sick! My throat did hurt last night!

Anyway, confession:

Nothing you guys don''t know: I''M READY TO GET RID OF THESE CRANKY BABIES AND GET MY OLD BABIES BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, now pictures!!!

5 month shots, a week later (between the shots and the colds I didn''t get around to it!)

 

[Mandarine]

and a photo from my Easter shoot

Lucas left, Alex right

In the previous picture it was Alex left and Lucas right!