May 09 Mamas - Hopping closer and closer to one year old! - Page 12

[OceansEve]

yes, I warn our cats often, enough in fact that now my 2 year old and 3 year old will warn the cat "Watch out! Watch out! Here comes Nana!" and taps on them till they get up It's so cute.

[j_p_i]

Olivia has started hugging too! It's very cute - she walks up to the cats or dog and basically throws herself on them, and then lays her head down and pets them! So cute!! One of the cats and the dog tolerate it very well, the other cat runs away from her. I left her with my mom for an hour yesterday when I we grocery shopping, and when I walked in the door she shrieked and threw herself around my legs! I totally melted

Her newest thing is turning things on and off, pushing buttons. The TV, direct tv box, etc. I don't have the tv on much during the day, but somehow she's figured out which button turns it on and off. She could care less to *watch* it, just seems to like on, off, on, off, on, off...

I suspect she may have an ear infection. The past few nights have been terrible, compared to my relatively good sleeper. She's not up crying/screaming, but she is clearly uncomfortable and grunts/cries out in her sleep nearly all night. Seemed like I nursed her the entire night, she would sleep for a few minutes and then get uncomfortable. She's also been tugging at her ears... I thought it was teething but the tooth broke through a few days ago. We only have one car now so I have to wait until tomorrow to bring her in. DH had terrible ear infections as a kid so I'm hoping she didn't inherit that.

[Kelly1101]

As I said in another thread in the sub-forum, Em is obsessed with putting things into containers, then taking them back out, repeat. If she has a stack of blocks and a tupperware container she is in heaven.

She's been standing on her own a lot more often, but it's usually accidentally (she doesn't realize that she's not holding on to anything, and then when she realizes she promptly sits down).

A little stressed over what we're going to do the next couple weekends-- my husband got a big side-job (yay money, we need it desperately) way out in the country, kind of near my hometown, like a two-hour drive. Of course we only have one vehicle (his work-van has GPS on it and he can't drive it except for to and from work, so that doesn't count). I'm thinking about having him drop me off at my mom's house to hang out with family while he's off working. But we're not sure how we're going to deal with Saturday night.

Plan is, drive down early Saturday morning. Drop me off at my mom's (she has a van, too, and we'll just switch over the carseat so that we can go around town if we need to), then he drives across the river to the job (about another 30 minute drive). But then in the evening, well, we have a few options:

1) Drive back home, then do it again on Sunday. Great because we like home, but not great because it's a lot of gas and kind of takes away from the "profit" of doing this side-job.
2) Stay at my mom's house. Great because my mom has a great house and loves visitors and will cook huge amounts of food for us and we'll have a good time. Not great because her house is packed (my grown brother and my grown sister and her boyfriend all live there, plus my step-dad's elderly father) and there are no open rooms, thinking we'll end up sleeping in the living room on the air mattress and putting Em in the pack-n-play. Will disturb Em's bedtime because we've been getting her down at like 7 pm and being very quiet and she's been sleeping great through the night, and that will NOT be possible in the living room of my mom's house.
3) Stay at Jason's mom's weekend house on the other side of the county. Great because they won't be there so we'll have the whole house to ourselves. Not great for a couple reasons: It's about a 30-45 minute drive from my mom's house. So he'd have to get off work, go pick me up at my mom's, THEN drive all the way to his mom's house to sleep. A lot of driving. Also the house creeps me out. Don't know why. But it's not used very often and it's like this weird construction and the rooms are all really odd shapes. I guess we'd bring the pack n play up (it's at my mom's) because I wouldn't feel good co-sleeping there, at home our mattress is on the floor because Em crawls off the bed. Plus there is this huge open staircase that goes down to the basement/ground area, it's not a very kid-friendly place.


I'm kind of pulling for 2, my husband is kind of pulling for 3, so we're not sure.

[OceansEve]

jpi - Anna has not been sleeping the last few nights as well. But I think she's having a growth spurt. I swear she's taller!

Kelly - Could he drop you off at the creepy house in the morning instead and you just stay there all weekend? I know it's less than ideal when you are used to having help parenting on the weekend. I guess you just have to ask yourself if the lost profit is worth it ?

[Comtessa]

Olive is chasing the cat nonstop, too, these days. She's not a hugger, though, thank heaven - I think the cat would have a breakdown.

Kelly, I thought of your little Emma yesterday when Olive and I were outside hanging diapers on the clothesline - I have a flowerpot full of clothespins in the laundry basket, and she was fascinated with them. She would take one out of the pot, set it on the ground carefully, grunt, point at it, repeat. When all the clothespins were in a pile on the ground, she reversed direction, putting them back in the pot one by one. She did this like four or five times, with intense focus. So, I guess it's true what the folks in the other thread said -- it's developmentally appropriate.

As for the work dilemma, I'd say that having help with parenting would sway my vote any day. I always leap at the chance to spend the day with my parents or in-laws, because I get a bit of a break from being the only adult attending to the baby. Sometimes I even get a shower! I'd think that for you this could be especially valuable, since your physical resources for parenting are probably a bit strained by the pregnancy. If I were you, I'd vote for staying at your mom's house. (I am generally horrified by unnecessary driving.) Couldn't you put Emma down at 7 in the pack-n-play in an empty bedroom with a monitor on her, then bring her into the living room when whoever's bedroom you borrow goes to bed? It might mean waking her up, but perhaps not - some babies can be moved pretty easily when they're asleep.

Oh goodness, the child's figured out how to get into the cabinet under the sink and she's trying to eat the onions...

[Kelly1101]

Originally Posted by OceansEve

Kelly - Could he drop you off at the creepy house in the morning instead and you just stay there all weekend? I know it's less than ideal when you are used to having help parenting on the weekend. I guess you just have to ask yourself if the lost profit is worth it ?

It's not as much the help parenting as that there would be nothing at all to do there. Not much of a yard, and no transportation, and very non-baby-proofed house = bored out of our minds.

Originally Posted by Comtessa

As for the work dilemma, I'd say that having help with parenting would sway my vote any day. I always leap at the chance to spend the day with my parents or in-laws, because I get a bit of a break from being the only adult attending to the baby. Sometimes I even get a shower! I'd think that for you this could be especially valuable, since your physical resources for parenting are probably a bit strained by the pregnancy. If I were you, I'd vote for staying at your mom's house. (I am generally horrified by unnecessary driving.) Couldn't you put Emma down at 7 in the pack-n-play in an empty bedroom with a monitor on her, then bring her into the living room when whoever's bedroom you borrow goes to bed? It might mean waking her up, but perhaps not - some babies can be moved pretty easily when they're asleep.

I thought about doing that with the empty bedroom... will probably give it a shot, although normally she does NOT move easy. But mabye if she's tired enough she'll sleep through it.

[Comtessa]

Mother of the Year strikes again...
I should have just taken the onions away, but I just couldn't help myself:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...pictureid=1491

[Miasmamma]

My cat doesn't run near as much as she should, so Lily likes to rub her tail on her cheek. I bought her a stuffed cat and was doing that to her so now she does it, but with the real cat.

And as for Mother of the Year, in one week, I let Lily fall off a table onto a brick floor, and then last night she fell off the bed, while I was right there. I told my DH that she's a very slippery baby! Luckily for us, she's also very resilient. Neither one of those falls hurt her other than a momentary startle.

[Auraji]

Hey ladies!

I've been reading here, but everytime I try to post something Sophia wakes or starts attacking me/the computer.

Katie, SO HAPPY FOR YOU!

Sophia is not walking yet, she takes steps when she doesnt notice, but like Kelly said as soon as she notices she's not holding on to anything she sits down. I love when she holds onto my pants with her forefinger and thumb and just stands there, I always tell her "you know you could be doing the same without pretending to be holding on to something?". Sophia is a big hugger too, the other day I found dss on the floor and she over him hugging and dss was crying "I dont want a hug!", it was cute. She also gives us kisses and is always giving me her food and loves it when I take a bite. I got a cold, actually we all do, except her and I always got a handkerchief with me, well today she held it to my nose, it was sooo cute! She's been pointing at things when you say where's the gato (cat), where's daddy, where's the baby, but she only does it sometimes. She's crazy into the climbing, gets into dss's bed, tries to get onto the nightable and get the lamp. The one couch, she throws the pillow to the floor first so she can stand on them and THEN climb to the couch haha. She also lost interest for food a couple weeks, but it's back on track, we had some homemade falafels today and even dss ate them, i called them fun balls LOL

She also claps all the time now. Since we went to a bridal shower, she's been doing all the time, before she would only do it sometimes. It's funny because sometimes she's mad and she starts clapping. She's also working on her high fives, still figuring it out, but does it sometimes.

We went to my MIL's house for like 3 days in a row, Sophia loves it there because of the kids and the big yard and they have a trampoline and she was just cracking up and chasing bubbles and we went down to the creek. It was fun, we had dinner there and it was nice seeing her have so much fun and let Nana hold her and the kids. I like it, because spending time with family is very important to me. Also my dad offered to pay for all of our plane tickets to go to DR which is beyond amazing! We're planning on going on Sept. I need to get DP and Sophia's passports.

I also am going to The Little Gym on Tuesday for an interview, yaaaaaay

Also DP is very happy because his best friend came back from California. They were travelling together through the country when they were 15 and would go to rainbow gatherings, but his friend just never came back. I mean he would come every couple of years to visit, but he had a farm there and was growing medical marihuana for someone, but the whole thing ended in him getting ripped off for like $25,000. Him and his girlfriend are very cool and they're coming again tonight with their kids. There's a girl that's a couple months older than Sophia and a boy that's dss's age. I really really liked them and Sophia loved his girlfriend, I was holding her and she reached out for her and I've never seen her do that for anyone.

Ok, gotta go to the bookmobile. Is anyone doing anything for Mother's Day? Sophia's bday is the day before, so I think that will be it for us.

[cheryllynn]

Hi All -

Katie - I am very happy to read that DH is back!

We took a trip to Sedona, AZ and had a wonderful time. Olivia did really well. She thrives on being with other people. She loves being in restaurants and looking at others and flashing her big grin at them. She waves bye-bye by opening & closing her fist. She does this often. She also claps at lots of things, people, music, good mood. She also loves unstacking items and unloading any drawer left open and pulling CD's off the CD stand. She is finally starting to get interested in looking at books instead of just wanting to put them in her mouth. She walks very well while holding on to our hands. No independent steps yet.

Not much hair either. Her hair has steadily but very slowly grown. Not at all long enough to make pony tail/pig tails or even for ribbons with clips.

No teeth either.

I think I made a mistake on the party. I sent invites to about 26 people thinking that several people would not make it. So far ALL have said they could come. That's 20 people so far - egaads! I was also hoping it would be outside, but weather for May 8th looks like cool and cloudy, so not sure we can have it outside. We still haven't heard from the other six, so not sure if they'll be coming yet or not. OOPS.

Now what do I do with all these people? I probably can seat 10 - 12 people in the living room and another 8 in the dining room. If it's yucky outside, that's probably how it'll have to be.

Good thing I stopped sending invitations.

[Comtessa]

Originally Posted by cheryllynn

Now what do I do with all these people?

I know how you feel. Mom offered to have a big potluck at her house, so I just sent out e-vites to everyone I thought I might want there. It came to 89 invitations... and several of those are families with three or four children. I thought, like you, that most people wouldn't be able to come, but it seems that most of them will be there, after all. And I keep remembering people that I have to invite to avoid offense. So it could be a rather, um, crowded house that day. My mother keeps wondering aloud if there are fire codes about having that many people in the house, and asking questions like, "so how many people do you suppose can eat dinner on a queen size bed?"

[Novus]

Originally Posted by Comtessa

My mother keeps wondering aloud if there are fire codes about having that many people in the house, and asking questions like, "so how many people do you suppose can eat dinner on a queen size bed?"

We're having Luke's party at a park, but if the weather isn't nice, it'll be moved to our apartment, which is big enough, but the floorplan is such that we'd all be piled into 2 rooms plus the master bedroom, if needed...so we might be trying to figure out how many people can eat on a queen bed too!

Kelly--I'd definitely pick option 2. The creepy house sounds like it would be boring and stressful because of the lack of child-proofing. Plus, I'm a chicken when it comes to being alone in unfamiliar houses.

Luke's been putting things in and out of a box. I cut a hole in the top of it so that he could put his wooden balls in and he has been putting EVERYTHING in. Yesterday, my friend's baby was peeking into the hole and Luke tried to push his HEAD into the box.

He had his first in-store tantrum yesterday. We were in the toy aisle at Target because I needed a bday present for another baby and he wanted one of the things in there and he just started arching his back and kicking and yelling. Luckily, he's still easily distracted, but what's going to happen when he gets old enough to remember what he wants??? I know the common wisdom is to leave the store, but the store is far away (25ish minutes) from our apartment and I'd hate to make a wasted trip.

[lil_miss_understood]

well, I've managed to fall behind somehow.
Just popping in to say sounds like everyone has some really great parties planned. Still no plans here but, I think I said before, it'll probably be a combo party with DS2 so.

[Kelly1101]

Em woke up last night at 11 with a fever of 102 We got it down a touch to 101, then it finally dropped off around 3 am, got a few hours sleep, but it was still hovering between 99-100 this morning. Found some lymph nodes on the back of her head and some hives-like rashy patches here and there, so we went to the doctor. He took some blood because of the rash but says everything came out fine, just a little virus.

We're still going down tomorrow-- we need the money and I'm not staying home with a sick kid and no transportation. I'm getting dropped off at my mom's, so we'll probably end up staying there.

[OceansEve]

Kelly - that sound like the best choice, just in case she starts acting off and you need to get someplace. Hope she feels better and that tomorrow turns into a fun day!

be back to catch up on everyone else's posts later.

[cheryllynn]

Besides 1st birthday party, we're looking at DD's 12 month doctor visit. Her doc mentioned testing for lead and iron. What should we expect? I'm hoping this is just a heal prick test.

[j_p_i]

Originally Posted by cheryllynn

Besides 1st birthday party, we're looking at DD's 12 month doctor visit. Her doc mentioned testing for lead and iron. What should we expect? I'm hoping this is just a heal prick test.

They can do iron with a finger/heal prick (I *think*, anyway, I had my finger pricked to test my own Iron and assume it would be similar for a LO) but to do the lead test they had to draw blood from the arm. It's pretty much the worst thing ever, my regular ped is out on maternity leave and this test was ordered by the doc are seeing in the meantime. The nurse had me hold DD's arm while she drew blood. If I had known this was the type of test they did I would have asked more questions ahead of time, I just assumed it wasn't that invasive. This test was ordered earlier than normal for us for some reason, so I think Olivia was about 8 months or so. We haven't had the 12 month appointment yet.

I still have the whole month to plan DD's birthday, but I cannot believe it's May already! We are starting off the month with a sick baby, she has had a fever all last night and today accompanied with runny nose and fussiness. She is asleep now, thankfully, and the temp is down a bit. During the day it was normal (98.8) but last night it was 102. Now it's back up to 100.4. We JUST went to the doctor on Friday to check for an ear infection, which he suggested was teething and said everything looked great.

I love our regular ped, but we haven't seen her for some time and I am a little frustrated with the rest of the group.

Anyhow, after a long day I am going to pour myself a glass of wine and then head to bed myself! Hope everyone else is starting off the month well!!

[Comtessa]

Can you believe it's May already? We went to a May Day party today!
I've started a new thread for May -- Happy Birthday May babies!!!
http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?t=1220650