~* Feb '08 Mommies Staying Cool in the Summer June-September*~

[smokeylo]

Thought it was time to roll over a new thread, considering we're a quarter through June!!

It's wonderful to hear about all the new babies and exciting changes in everyone's lives.

Robin is doing great. She has slept through the night 3 times this week, a first for her (yes... the first time in her LIFE she's done this in any kind of pattern). I'm trying not to get too excited. Of course, she does this just as Holly's 4 month sleep regression hits, so I'm still not exactly sleeping.

Robin has ZERO interest in potty learning. We've had a bjorn potty seat for over 6 months with no interest. I'm thinking about getting one that fits in our regular potty so she can use the "big" potty (since she has also rejected her "little" toddler bed in favor of the "big" bed for 6 months). What do you think? I am hoping this will happen over the summer, but I'm also patient and not in any hurry. Just be glad to have only 1 in diapers!!!

Holly is doing well -- 4 months, long and chubby, rolling and playing with toys, such a delight. I feel like I'm finally hitting my stride as Mom to more than 1. At the same time, I just made an appt to talk to a doc about getting an IUD. Feeling pretty certain that no more babies are in our future. REALLY THRILLED not to be nauseous and throwing up this summer!

Sarah N, how are you holding up?

[nolonger]

Yay on the sleep, Robin! My super easy good sleeper became nocturnal in toddlerhood and we still struggle with getting enough sleep and being out of sync with the rest of the world. He went through a phase where he would go down at 10 or 11














for a nice little nap, get up an hour or two later, and finally get down for the "night" as his big brother's alarm went off for school.

<cringe >

I hope Holly's sleep improves too and that you're able to get enough help that you can take care of your own needs, Lauren. s:

Terran is 100% pee accident free at home and has been for a long time, but the catch is no clothes. He was using the potty, including sitting on public toilets if I forgot to bring a tupperware or mason jar, and frequently returning from a day out and about with a dry diaper or only one change, but we've had a setback from my last job (phonebanking, so I couldn't always respond to him immediately) and it just seems easier to go back to dipes for awhile. Also not having a car makes it a lot harder to find public bathrooms, which aten't exactly plentiful around here, and the bike trailer doesn't give you the privacy that a car does.

I'm cool with it; the diapers are just more convenient right now. There's nothing socially unacceptable about a 2 1/2 year old wearing dipes in public .

[lovetobemama]

Smokey, major hugs to you on the sleep!! My DS didn't sleep fully through the night until 25 mos old, so not too far ahead of Robin. Thankfully, Molly wasn't born till DS was 27 mos old, so I got almost 8 weeks of good sleep between baby # 1 and baby #2. It was awesome, if short-lived!

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Both kids sleep all night most nights now, and I feel like I am starting to become a normal person again (for the first time in 4 yrs!)

Good luck to everyone on potty issues. Thankfully that is one thing that Molly happily directed at 18 mos. It is so strange to me that it was so long ago now...when they decide they are going to do it...they really can put their minds to things, these little ones

[smokeylo]

Well, she woke up twice last night so... we'll see. It really made me want to nightwean, though, having a taste of freedom!!!!

[Mommy2Austin]

Howdy ya'll

Things are going well here. I've been promoted (in class only LOL) to Platoon Leader. Means I'm second in command under the Company Commander. Not my cup of tea, but I'm "supermom" so they know I can do it

NOS- Sorry about the pox. I'm hoping we'll find them here in the next few years.

As for sleep. The boys are doing pretty well. Most nights even if they get up, they go potty and go back to bed.

Tristyn has me baffled. 80% of the time she sleeps through the night. And the other 20% she goes down around 10 pm and won't wake until 3-4am. Which is nearly through the night. So I'm pumping like a mad woman trying to keep up with her daytime demand.

Things are going well around here. We're looking to move soon I hope to get closer to work/school. Right now its 80 miles round trip everyday to school. The compound is closer to 95-100 miles round trip. And since all we have is the mini van its costing us an arm and a leg in gas. I guarentee we could save over $100 a month just in gas if we were closer to work. Now to find a place to rent on the cheap.

DH gets his retirement withdraw next month. We actually looking to purchase some land in TN to eventually move to.

When does life get simpler?

[Teenytoona]

As for pox, well I've not yet decided. DH is pretty certain he has been exposed since he remembers helping take care of his other siblings. So maybe he's just immune? IDK. maybe he had it and it was so mild it escapes his memory? I will probably still do a few other select vaccines. Need to get on that.

Ah well...

DD has invented a new game: alien and rainbow. You take a cord, rope, string, whatever and make shapes - an arc for rainbow and an alien head shape for alien - you can make other things too, but alien and rainbow are the preferred shapes. heh.

[eilonwy]

The potty clock will be coming out next month (this month is too insanely busy). Bear's still waking up dry a lot, and of course he's got five people who are all willing to stand around and applaud every time he uses the potty or toilet (a cheering section helps with a lot of things ).

I would like the kids to get the chicken pox soon. Now would be a good time for all of them, I think. Mike's dad drives Amish people, so he spends a lot of time with that community. I might ask Mike to ask him to keep an ear out for chicken pox so that we can infect the kiddos reasonably soon. That's probably the best way to do it around here. I'm not fond of the shared lollipop method, but an undershirt should work just fine. In fact, I can't understand why people don't do it that way more often, it's far less disgusting than sharing lollipops. That said, I have a hilarious video of Bear and Bella doing just that (two, actually ). I posted it to my Facebook page. Kids are so gross sometimes, but I don't even flinch anymore I just giggle and cringe a bit on the inside.

[FelixMom]

The pottying is going well, at 1 accident per day (mainly pees, but sometimes stealth poos ).

Wanted you mamas to give me some advice. DS2 is a biter. I have never had to deal with this type of child before. He's left bruises on DD because of this terrible habit. Most of the time, it's just me with the two kiddies, and all my energy and time is immediately consumed by consoling DD who is crying hysterics, and belatedly I tell DS2 in a stern brief message that biting is not acceptable.

DS2 will bite when he's angry, upset, and even when he's over the top cheerful and enthusiastic... He is an equal opportunity guy, so all 4 members of the family have been subjected to his bites, to varying degrees. DD is getting the brunt of it, especially when I am distracted by daily minutae (dishes, a phone call, tending to the kitchen, going to the bathroom )

- The pediatrician, herself a mom of 4, tells me this is a common phase. Please give me suggestions and advice to get me through!!!

[slgt]

Wow, this thread has gotten quiet! FelixMom, I have no advice for you on the biting - just lots of hugs. I hope it's a short-lived phase.

DD is maybe finally ok with peeing on the potty, but we basically have to get her laughing/surprise her to get her to actually pee. Otherwise, she'll hold it until she has a diaper on. Sigh. We're not pushing it, since any progress would be shot to hell (by our own inattentiveness if nothing else) once the baby comes.

I'm 37 weeks, looking forward to meeting our new little bean! I never felt this impatient when I was pg with DD, but I am soooo ready not to be pregnant any more. As most of you know, it's much hard to keep up with a 2+ year old when you have a belly in the way! Even when I think about the pending sleep deprivation, I think, "But at least I won't be pregnant any more!"

My two best friends are also pregnant - one due a week before me, one due 5 weeks after me. I'm very excited for them!

Otherwise...pretty much status quo here. Work is insane, which is hard for me - I have no focus. DH seems to be doing very well with the summer weather. He gets to spend a lot of time gardening, has a lot of fun outside with DD, and has recently taken up mountain biking. I"m soooo happy that he has a hobby that's just for fun! Hope it sticks.

DD is...27? 28 months? She has her days, like any kid this age. It's a funny thing - when DH is with her consistently during the day, she starts to give up napping. When I'm with her for a stretch of time - boom, the naps come right back. Weird. It's hard for me to believe that she has been talking for almost a year! She has started "reading" stories a lot - she will go through and either recite from memory or talk her way through the pictures - it's great.

What else...we're trying to hatch some chicks, but the mama hen keeps smashing eggs so we'll see. We've been eating from our garden which is great!

And did I mention that I am so looking forward to meeting our new little bean? Hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks? Please?

[eilonwy]

So soon! Babies are neat little people.

I'm having mixed feelings about Wickerman this year. I also found out that a friend of mine has a ticket to Burning Man this year but nobody to go with, so it got me thinking about it... but I think tickets may be sold out entirely or I'm completely oblivious, because I can't seem to find that part of the website. And obviously if I can't look at numbers I can't begin to consider going.

I've got an appointment with a dentist this afternoon. I'm hoping she'll do a root canal, I"m very much in need of one.

Bear is probably the most polite of my children. He asks nicely out of habit most of the time. It's absolutely fantastic. While Boobah walks in and whines "I'm huuuuuuuuuungry!" Bear just looks up at me and says, "Could I have a cookie please? Please have a cookie?" It's just too adorable.

[Dea]

hello!
I went skating with Trixie today and she was so good at it. Also the adorable was pretty high!

Hudson's well baby visit was the other day and I asked the ped about his constant spitting up, with every bottle, several times after each bottle. He says that it's reflux, but Hudson's not in pain, but he says that there isn't always pain. Soooo... I can either start him on zantac or start him on solids. I'm not keen on either, but I don't want to do nothing because I'm worried what it could be doing to his esophagus.
he's 5 mos, so close to the 6 mos window to eat, but I don't want to spoon feed him. I did baby lead solids with Trixie and it worked out well. The thought of buying rice cereal kinda icks me out.

What would any of you do?

[accountclosed2]

But would you have to do rice cereal? Couldn't you just mash up the food you would have given him to feed himself? DD self fed, some of her first food was banana, potato and carrot. I mean, just mashing that food. Maybe he could even feed himself a bit? Either with half a banana, if you help him hold it, or by letting him help with the spoon. DD was so underweight the ped wanted her to start early solids. We tried with oatmeal porridge around 5 months, and she happily grabbed the spoon from me (sometimes I had to help guide it a bit), and put it in her mouth herself. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep the food in there, it just all fell out. So we ended up waiting another month, in the end.

[smokeylo]

Originally Posted by Dea

I'm not keen on either, but I don't want to do nothing because I'm worried what it could be doing to his esophagus.
he's 5 mos, so close to the 6 mos window to eat, but I don't want to spoon feed him. I did baby lead solids with Trixie and it worked out well. The thought of buying rice cereal kinda icks me out.

What would any of you do?

I didn't do BLW with Robin -- she divebombed my oatmeal spoon at 5.5 months so we did cereals and purees with her for awhile. I am sure I will start Holly on solids at 6 months on the nose since she won't take a bottle anymore .

If I were in your shoes, I would probably try the Zantac first, just because the idea of giving a baby solids while they still have a "leaky gut" weirds me out, and it would probably let you know if he really does have reflux or is just a spitty kid. Plus I wonder if throwing more food into the mix might make tummy troubles worse instead of better. But that's just me. We're not too far off from being safely in the solids zone, I can't quite believe it!

Robin is sleeping through the night most nights now. I guess it really was a matter of time... we do nothing differently, but she is often sleeping straight through until 5:30 or 6:30. Not every night but most.

[Mommy2Austin]

Well AF has finally arrived. 51 days since my last. Of course its my husband's birthday tomorrow and he has strep throat We can't win for losing.

I've finally decided that I just can't handle all the pumping during the day. I've started nursing her again at night (she'll sleep straight through if I didn't wake her up to nurse) 3-4 times from 11pm-6am and then usually 2 times more before I leave for school at 11:30a. I may try hand expressing over the sink just to have a little stimulation during the day, but otherwise I just can't handle it.

Maybe she'll reverse cycle, but if not at least mom and baby will be happy.

Only about 6 weeks left in the academy. I can barely stand to be there anymore with all the drama. We actually had someone get themselves fired for conduct unbecoming an officer. Its craziness all around.

[nolonger]

I had a very spitty kid in the late '80s before Reflux was a common diagnosis. I have no idea whether she had it or not, but she doesn't have any digestive issues as an adult. It was considered more of a laundry problem back then and out doctor did not recommend early solids.

Sarah Lynne, I'm glad you've just about survived the academy, sorry about all the drama. s:

ds1 graduated from high school and is living with his father again. It just didn't work out to have him here. I have another (private) caregiver position starting in early July so I am trying to enjoy some summer days (even some weekends!) when I don't have to work so I can spend time at the beach, hiking, maybe even a trip down to Southern Humboldt to see my favourite grove of redwoods, where "Endor" was filmed in the Star Wars movies.

A lot of folks in SoHum are very gloomy about the economic implications of legalizing cannabis in California. Personally, I think the overall good for the state as a whole will outweigh the bad, but I do want to see the area one last time before the change takes place just in case I am incredibly naive and all the small businesses are actually funded by grow houses and wind up being replaced by Wal Marts and Colonel McMarijuana chain dispensaries before I have another summer weekend off with a functioning car.

I had a nice visit with Terran's father and am in the very last 2ww of my life--not overly optimistic about conceiving, much less carrying to term, but more at peace with letting go and moving on. Fostering is a possibility in a few years and I have two "honorary grandchildren" now.

I'll be cleaning out some closets in the next little bit and probably offering to give some of you things I don't need any more. Don't be shy about hurting my feelings if you don't need my "treasures" because I'm sure there are freecyclers in this economically depressed area who do.

Terran is becoming more and more his own person. He hates to show off for strangers, but his impeccably polite "company manners" and quiet, shy demeanor are a bit of a hypocritical act in their own way: when he's home and relaxed, he's chattery, sassy, and every bit as opinionated as any other two year old.

Skating sounds fun. Our homeschooling group isn't doing it any more, but maybe I'll see about going to a rink in a few months for a play date or something.

slgt, i'm sending you elvs and wishing you a happy babymoon in case I don't "see" you again before the birth.

[eilonwy]

Well, the dentist did begin a root canal. She also did something to one of the nerves in my jaw I think; Part of my face/lips have been itchy, painful, and numb by turns ever since, and that didn't go away when the anesthesia wore off. She also couldn't put the filling in because I had this huge abscess that needed to drain first. She was writing me scripts for penicillin and vicodin when the hygienist who was cleaning up knocked over a bottle of formocresol. I, of course, was standing closest to this broken bottle of formaldehyde-based goodness. The entire floor had to be evacuated, and those of us in the room when the bottle had broken had to be checked out in the clinic downstairs. I was totally fine, just a slight cough and that horrible taste in my mouth, but that still took several hours out of my day.

My mom is in the hospital again; I found out on Tuesday that she had been admitted Monday morning because she had been having precipitous drops in blood pressure which were causing her to faint whenever she stood. She was waiting for a cardiac cath when last we spoke; It had been pushed back twice and when they finally got her in her bloodwork was off and it had to be postponed again. I'll call her in the morning to find out what's going on with that.

The kids are amazing, and I miss them. Mike actually had the nerve to tell me that the thing that would motivate him the most [to get off his ass and get a job and such] would be for me to leave him and the kids. I couldn't believe he even suggested it. Apparently he believes that the reason I haven't taken the kids and left him physically is that I can't do it. Me, of all people! He seems to have forgotten that my mother left my father with four children under the age of five! As much as it would suck, as terrible as it would be, I could absolutely *do* it. I could probably do it with less trauma than my mother did, too.

I've pretty much given up on expecting anything from Mike. I gave him until 30 June to do something useful but I haven't really seen it. He's probably forgotten the issued ultimatum, or he didn't take it seriously (actually, probably both) so... I don't know. I really don't want to cut him any more slack, though. I know that much.

I'm also having some complications with my new lover, and trying not to think about it. Actually my life is just full of suck on damn near every front. I mean I haven't even gotten to Friday yet. Oh! The kombucha I made turned out really decent. My next batch will be even better. I didn't realize just how much weaker the tea would become as it fermented (seems pretty obvious in retrospect :doh) so it's a little less tea-flavored than I would like. It's quite bubbly, but not super tangy either. I think that next time I will a) let the tea steep longer and b) try to find a warmer spot for the jar. The kids are going to LOVE it, so I'm going to have to find more sun tea jars.

Sorry this is so disjointed, I'm just in a rotten place, like I said.

[smokeylo]

sorry eilonwy, that sounds like a nightmare!! i hate bad dentist experiences, awful awful.

[slgt]

Dea , if Hudson isn't in any discomfort, do you really need to do anything? DD spit up CONSTANTLY until about 6 months, when the frequency went down remarkably, and she had pretty much stopped by about 7 months. Our pediatrician said just what NOS said - "It's a laundry problem, not a health problem." All of our early pictures of her include a cloth diaper under her head! If he's getting adequate calories, seems otherwise healthy & happy - maybe just try giving it a few more months? Apparently it's common for the spitting up to improve around 6 months, when their little esophagi mature.

Smokeylo, hooray for sleeping mostly through the night! Go Robin go!

Sarah Lynne, Hang in there, 6 more weeks you can do it! Glad the end is in sight.

Heather, thanks for the ELV! I have nightly menstrual-style cramps & backache, but they don't seem to mean anything much this time around. Still waiting - which is fine, I'm only 38 weeks! Hmm, I'll try to remember to post a belly pic here. Sounds like you are at a peaceful place for this 2ww - keep us posted!

Rynna, Sorry to hear about the Glut of Suck in your life. I hope that they are able to figure out what's going on with your Mom, scary.

I'm a few days away from feeling at peace with where things are at work and at our house. There are not enough hours in the day! But I kind of feel like I may be mentally blocking this baby from coming if it's ready, so I want to get past that place and move onto, "Ok, ready now!"

My Dad is so far doing great now that they have a course of treatment for his prostate cancer. At age 71, he has started going to the gym & lifting weights (to counter the osteoporosis & muscle atrophy from hormone therapy). His mindset is great, he's doing as much as is within his power to be strong & healthy, they better to fight cancer with. Mom is holding her own and then some - she's a strong woman.

DD is doing great, but is definitely a terrible 2! Her logic skills are improving faster than we are ready for, and she is pushing every limit that we know of right now. But she's a lot of fun the rest of the time. It will be interesting to see how she does with the new baby. Um.

[eilonwy]

Baby logic is so much fun, though. I must confess, I don't fully grok "the terrible twos". In my experience, two year olds are some of the most loving human beings on the planet. I've always really liked two... but I'm one of those weird parents who really likes all of the phases and stages the kids have gone/are going through.

I figure it's something like my love of weather. It's not that I particularly love days at 96 degrees with 98% humidity, but I love looking out the window or standing on the sidewalk and feeling the heat radiate from all around and thinking, "Six months ago, this was all covered in snow. Six months from now, it could be covered in snow again... but right now, a snowball could potentially sublime if I dropped it on the asphalt." I mean seriously, how cool is that?

Of course, I've never had multiples and I haven't experienced the teen years yet. Chibi is 13, though, and if she's any indication I'll still think my kids are cool then, too.

So I put Bear on the potty this morning, as usual, and he peed a ton which was great... but it occurred to me that the BBLP is really too small for him. I thought at first that it was just because I was holding him at a funny angle or something, but it finally dawned on me this morning that all of my other kids were much smaller than this when they used the BBLP. You'd think I'd have realized that sooner. In any case, is there anything out there that's like a BBLP (one piece, inexpensive, easy to find) but a bit bigger? Bear really needs a bit more space to aim while sitting than the BBLP provides him, especially first thing in the morning if you know what I mean. He's also got long skinny legs that he kind of has to fold up like a froggy in order to put his tush down. He's not big enough to be comfortable on the regular toilet, though. Any suggestions, please?

[Teenytoona]

Rynna, sorry it's so tough...

Has Bear tried the big toilet? Because DSD and DSS used that nearly from the get-go with potty training and they were little mini-kids.

Not alot going on, aside from DSD recovering from a helium-balloon inspired eye-injury.

Really want to take a vacation, but there's not moolah - not even for a staycation. Ah well. Maybe I just need a few days off work.