Knee-deep in June - May 09 Mama's - Page 5

[Comtessa]

I love the wholesomebabyfood.com website! Great stuff.

Originally Posted by cheryllynn

What are your latest unique foods you've given your toddler?

Olive's really into pickled things lately. I should probably watch her salt intake with all the pickled stuff, but she loves it and it's been pretty difficult to get her to eat anything else lately. (She has sprouted about half a dozen teeth in a month, she is NOT interested in putting anything but mama milk in her hurting mouth. ) She especially likes kosher dill pickles, pickled turnips from the Lebanese market down the street, and my homemade pickled eggs.

She loves falafel, but heaven help you if you get hummus anywhere near her, it's like Superman with Kryptonite. She'll usually nibble on any kind of cheese we give her, even really strong, smelly cheeses. She'll eat most fruits. No vegetables except spinach, unless we hide them in something. I'm hoping she'll grow out of that!

As far as other "unique" foods go - we eat a lot of really spicy Indian curries and dals, and she loves them. The spicier the better. I made a red-lentil dal last week and put it in a teacup with a toddler spoon, and I've never seen that child happier about food. She was up to her eyebrows (literally) in lentils. She also loves Greek yogurt mixed with a bit of honey and a handful of the tiny wild strawberries that grow in our front yard.

Novus, I'm so sorry about your purse!!! Good grief, what a nightmare! That's happened to me a couple of times. It's the worst!

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom

Do you mamas brush your LOs' teeth? If yes what toothbrush do you use and what toothpaste and where do you get them and what's your routine? thanks.

We just use a little toddler toothbrush. No toothpaste. DH is convinced that she "needs" toothpaste, but the toddler toothpaste somebody gave us is all just glycerin and flavorings, so it can't possibly have any real benefit beyond encouraging her to brush, and since she enjoys brushing her teeth with plain water, I don't think there's any need to add flavors and fake sugars to the mix. Right?

[Kelly1101]

Originally Posted by Comtessa

We just use a little toddler toothbrush. No toothpaste. DH is convinced that she "needs" toothpaste, but the toddler toothpaste somebody gave us is all just glycerin and flavorings, so it can't possibly have any real benefit beyond encouraging her to brush, and since she enjoys brushing her teeth with plain water, I don't think there's any need to add flavors and fake sugars to the mix. Right?

My ped said just to use water. As soon as she got teeth, we've been just wetting a little piece of gauze and wiping the teeth down before she goes to sleep, per the dr's rec. I may go out and get an actual brush soon, so that she'll eventually learn to brush them herself.

[cheryllynn]

No tooth brushing yet as Olivia has just two bottom teeth about 1/4" through. I was thinking about it though and wondered if we should get her a toothbrush and have her chew on it - maybe it might feel good while teething.

Olivia's had the pickled ginger you get when out for sushi. She's not sure what to think of that.

I made a curry dish and that's the only food she's had trouble keeping down.

If I had more time to be at home, I'd love to make more lentils.

[Auraji]

Sophia likes curry a lot, we introduced it early. She seems to enjoy spicy food, since she eats habanero cheese like there's no tomorrow.

She also had some avocado sushi roll. And another of her favorite things to eat is either pinto or kidney beans with tomatoes, green chiles, a bit of cheese and sometimes corn too. She goes crazy for that. She's lately been insisting on using a fork and a spoon and has it almost figured out.

She for awhile now also always grabs my phone and walks around holding it to her ear and talking then she hands it over for me to talk haha. She grabs my necklaces and puts them on, grabs her clothes and tries to put them on. It's so cute.

Also another "unconvential food" for non-Dominicans. I boil her plantains or yuca (I don't know the name of that in English) and I mash them, to the plantains I add a bit of the water and olive oil and that's what's called a mangu in DR. The yuca I usually put a bit of butter on top.

[Peppermint Poppies]

Originally Posted by Auraji

She also had some avocado sushi roll.

Darcy loves these too. I buy her a box of the tiny baby ones and she just goes to town. DS chews on them and spits out the nori, but Darcy eats the lot.

We've been having huge sleep issues lately. So huge I've been worrying that my marriage won't survive. Darcy takes 3-4 hrs to go to sleep each night. It goes something like this: breastfeed - Darcy deeply asleep in my arms - I stand up to transfer her to the cot - she wakes up instantly and thrashes and screams and cries - I pick her up - we breastfeed again (switching sides multiple times) - and repeat until around 11.30pm when she'll stay asleep (for 40 mins) as I lay her down. It's torture. She's not getting enough sleep, I'm definitely not getting enough sleep, DH isn't getting enough sleep and I'm feeling angry about it. It's been going on for months now. With DS, I used to rely on having some me-time or time with DH after DS went to bed. Now I don't get a single minute to myself, DH and I don't get to talk at all, except to argue about Darcy's sleeping. He wants to try CIO and whilst I am adamantly opposed to it, I totally understand where he is coming from. He is exhausted and at the end of his tether. And so am I.

I used to love our sleeptime routine - we'd sit on my bed and breastfeed and have the most beautiful cuddle and stare into each other's eyes, then DH would take her from me, and rock her to sleep. It took maybe 30-45 mins total. Her sleep has just gotten steadily worse since she was a newborn. I'm amazed at you ladies who can lie down with your LO awake. Darcy would throw a fit if I tried anything like that. And she's started pinching me or scratching my face if I don't nurse her as soon as she asks. Toddler behaviour isn't always very loveable, is it

Anyway, sleep issues aside, I've got a few concerns. Darcy still isn't walking (at 14 months), she hasn't gained any weight in 3 months (she's lost a tiny bit), she doesn't even hold herself on my hip when I carry her. She just slowly slips down further and further down my leg. I have to keep hitching her up, because she doesn't squeeze her legs or arms to keep herself attached to me. She's not talking a lot either - she does the sign for milk, and says "ba" (for ta/thank you). She says mama and dada, but not necessarily to refer to DH and I. We've got a ped appointment on August 25th, so I guess we'll just wait and see until then.

On a more positive note, she love dancing! It's the cutest thing ever. She bops up and down on her knees, and flings her arms side to side while she twists her torso.
She's also helping me dress her by holding out her feet and hands.
She has started putting shapes in holes.
She has started drawing with a crayon (and sometimes eating the crayon too!)
She loves climbing up the stairs at the playground and sliding down the slippery slide by herself (head first). She'll let herself be pushed on the swing for hours and even fell asleep in there one day.

[Auraji]

Peppermint Poppies, sorry to hear about the sleeping problems, ours come and go. Is she eating plenty during the day? Maybe teething? Sophia lately has gotten better about it, but I don't think it was because of any of the things I tried. All I can say it's patience and maybe try the nightweaning that others mamas here have tried sucesffuly.

I think Darcy sounds fine, I mean Sophia doesn't do the putting shapes in holes. I just think different babes learn different things at different times and maybe wait until your next pedi appoinment and see what happens until then and bring up your concerns to him?

I'm thinking of starting a home based daycare. I posted an ad on Craigslist and someone contacted me. I've actually met her before and one of the kid's I'd be watching, because I bought some toys from her, she's super nice and the boy seemed pretty mellowed for the time we met. I'd be watching a newborn and a 3.5 year old. She emailed me saying how much I'd charge for the two of them, it's perfect because I'd only feel comfortable watching two other kids, but I don't know how much to ask for both of them. It'd be from Mon-Fri and I'm assuming regular work hours. I know where dss goes to she charges 150 a week per child, but then again she also parks him in front of the tv and all she feeds him is hot dog, pb&j and easy mac. I think that's a reasonable price to ask though, but since it's for 2 kids from the same family I feel like I should give a discount, I just dont know how big of a discount. I'd provide all the food, except for the newborn.

[Blessed_Mom]

I haven't read all the posts - forgive me but have a question:

My LO likes to be read - a lot. She points to various objects in the books when we ask about them. There is a alphabet picture book with many pictures for each alphabet, e.g., Airplane, Ant, Ball, Balloons etc. She points to most pictures. So in all I would say atleast 35 pictures in that one book itself. And other pictures in other books.

In all.... she points to atleast 50 pictures accurately when we ask.... "Where is the ball? Where is the Lion?" etc.

Is this normal for all your LOs? I am a bit amazed by her

[j_p_i]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom

I haven't read all the posts - forgive me but have a question:

My LO likes to be read - a lot. She points to various objects in the books when we ask about them. There is a alphabet picture book with many pictures for each alphabet, e.g., Airplane, Ant, Ball, Balloons etc. She points to most pictures. So in all I would say atleast 35 pictures in that one book itself. And other pictures in other books.

In all.... she points to atleast 50 pictures accurately when we ask.... "Where is the ball? Where is the Lion?" etc.

Is this normal for all your LOs? I am a bit amazed by her

Olivia does this too. I am always amazed at home many things she is able to remember, and she is beginning to try to say a couple things when she points to them ("bug" for ladybug or butterfly, "da" for dog, etc.).

Peppermint Poppies - so sorry to hear about the sleep routine! I agree, it may be teething?? I know our nights are quite long when Olivia is teething. I hope you get some relief soon...

[~Katie~]

Originally Posted by Blessed_Mom

I haven't read all the posts - forgive me but have a question:

My LO likes to be read - a lot. She points to various objects in the books when we ask about them. There is a alphabet picture book with many pictures for each alphabet, e.g., Airplane, Ant, Ball, Balloons etc. She points to most pictures. So in all I would say atleast 35 pictures in that one book itself. And other pictures in other books.

In all.... she points to atleast 50 pictures accurately when we ask.... "Where is the ball? Where is the Lion?" etc.

Is this normal for all your LOs? I am a bit amazed by her

This sounds like my son Liam. He was recognizing lots of pictures by this age and loves to read. He's starting to read now at almost three and can recognize several words, and has started spelling on his own. I have no idea if it leads to early reading when they do that, though. Laine kind of does the opposite where she points to things in books and wants us to read them.

[~Katie~]

We just spent the last week in Maine with over-night stop overs at my IL's in NY. Laine did well with the trip up north (about 11 hours) and then the 5 hour trip to Maine. The trip back wasn't so great but we survived. We stayed at DH's aunt's cabin by a lake, so lots of water sports and swimming. The kids had a great time visiting with everyone and it was a lot of fun, but I'm glad to be home again. DH went back to work today after over a month off. Liam is having a bit of a tough time but I don't think Laine notices much.

We were offered the opportunity to rent DH's grandparent's house in Feb. 2012 when he deploys again. They have a renter moving out then and would rather have family in the house. We either have the option of going there or staying in NY. The BAH will be higher in Maine, and the rent is an excellent price that will leave about $800 extra every month. I'm really leaning toward going, we just have the figure out the logistics of moving to NY next August and then to Maine before DH deploys. The house is really close to the beach which is a plus for taking the kids during the summer. April - Maybe we can get the boys into hockey together, Liam has been working on his slap shot

[j_p_i]

Katie - how exciting! I think BAH in Maine is around $1100 depending on where you live.

[~Katie~]

Originally Posted by j_p_i

Katie - how exciting! I think BAH in Maine is around $1100 depending on where you live.

We'll be in Saco, it's $1887 for a O2 with dependents. It NY it would be around $1200. If he makes captain during his deployment like he's supposed to it'll go up to $2175.

[j_p_i]

Originally Posted by ~Katie~

We'll be in Saco, it's $1887 for a O2 with dependents. It NY it would be around $1200. If he makes captain during his deployment like he's supposed to it'll go up to $2175.

Nice! Can you tell I was enlisted Saco is a great area, we're about 30 minutes north of there.

[~Katie~]

Originally Posted by j_p_i

Nice! Can you tell I was enlisted Saco is a great area, we're about 30 minutes north of there.

Woohooo! Can we do beach dates? I think it's going to be fun for the kids to live there, there's a Montessori school nearby that I'm going to see about putting them in one day a week since they'll both be starting pre-K and K at home. Just seems like a crunchier place to live than where we are now.

[j_p_i]

Originally Posted by ~Katie~

Woohooo! Can we do beach dates? I think it's going to be fun for the kids to live there, there's a Montessori school nearby that I'm going to see about putting them in one day a week since they'll both be starting pre-K and K at home. Just seems like a crunchier place to live than where we are now.

Definitely! We'd love that! It does seem like a relatively crunchy area, I think Maine/New England is that way to some degree. You remind me too that I need to start looking into the schools here - we are looking to buy a house within the next year and DH and I seem to have different ideas on Montessori schools...

[~Katie~]

Originally Posted by j_p_i

Definitely! We'd love that! It does seem like a relatively crunchy area, I think Maine/New England is that way to some degree. You remind me too that I need to start looking into the schools here - we are looking to buy a house within the next year and DH and I seem to have different ideas on Montessori schools...

My DH's aunt actually pointed it out to me while we were there. She works for another local school and said that all the teachers send their kids there because of how great it is. I think it'd be good to get them out of the house at least one day a week for some activities, it just depends on if they work with homeschoolers like that.

[Novus]

Whew! We finally got home on Sunday after being away for a week & I'm so glad to be home! It was a fun visit, but exhausting. As soon as we got home, Luke went to each room and pulled out ALL of his toys, as if to make sure they were all still there

He was nightweaned before we left and now, he's not. He nursed a lot at night while we were there, which I was okay with since it was a new place and all, but now, I just don't even want to start the whole process again. Especially since I got AF back (kind of...maybe...) while we were out of town, so now I'm starting to chart and I don't want to get out of bed to pat him back to sleep eight thousand times a night, so I just have DH bring him to bed so I can nurse him in my sleep. It's working fine right now though, so as long as we all continue to sleep well, maybe co-sleeping will finally work out for us!

[Auraji]

Today I went to the swim club with Sophia and my Sisters in law and my brother in law. They are age 13 to 9. Sophia had SO much fun in the baby pool with all the toddlers and the toys. She ate a bunch of fruit, had a couple spoonfuls of ice cream, some garlic knots, walked around everywhere, was trying to get people's towels and strollers and trying to go in the deeper, but not so deep pool. I was after her the whole time, but it was fun because she was enjoying herself a lot. I was scared because she didn't get a nap before we went, but she didn't even care.

My MIL said that I could take the kids again tomorrow. it's fun, because we're not members and it's her treat since the kids are out of school, she doesn't want them in the house watching tv all day while she's working.

[~Katie~]

New thread!