Weekly thread, June 27 - July 4

[jenfl]

March DDC is closing on Monday.

[silverspook]

But something tells me this group will have the most active thread over in LWAB.

[crazyeight]

i don't think i'll ever really be able to keep up! and i found lalala on FB. i can't find riverbeauty though.

anyone else think their babe grows every time they sleep? i swear sometimes he just looks bigger when he wakes up even sometimes after naps! darn weeds just keep growing!

[GreenTeaGinger61]

I can't believe the closing of the forum is coming up This really has been the best DDC ever! I will be checking on LWAB regularly even if I can't always post.

Anyone have plans for the fourth? We actually got invited somewhere! We'll be heading to one of new homeschooling friend's place. She has a pool so I'm hoping R will be okay. She hasn't been dealing with the heat well so we've been limited to in building activities.

Today we have a ton of people coming over and I had an awful night. I really just want to sleep but nope I'll be entertaining. Sigh.

R is doing good. I was looking in the Dr.Sear's book and she's right on target for what he lists as developments. He says nothing about rolling over or reaching out for toys! I told H that first we were pushing kids to learn faster and more in K and now we're doing it to babies too. I was shocked that some of your drs expected babies this young to be rolling over and reaching for stuff as I know that this was never the expectation for my other kids.

[Carita]

i don't think m son rolled over for 6 mo!

we have our changing table across from the bathroom, so the light makes a shadow on the wall, she's been reaching for the shadow. but not for toys.

[jenfl]

For those who are having trouble with baby sleeping on their own.... I know this is considered a terrible thing to suggest these days, but... have you thought about trying to let them sleep on their tummy? Both of my kids could not sleep on their backs. The littlest thing woke them up, they slept fitfully, etc. We put DD on her tummy around 4 months. DS went on his tummy at around a month.

It's totally a personal decision. I did a bunch of research and determined we have almost no risk factors other than stomach sleeping. I leave a fan on because there's some research to indicate that helps. Their risk is something like 1.5 in 1000 instead of .75 in 1000.

Like I said, totally personal. And I understand that it might make YOU sleep worse, even if baby sleeps better. But I know with DD I thought stomach sleeping was absolutely the worst decision, only terrible parents did it, that she was nearly certain to die if I did, etc. Hearing a more balanced discussion and doing my own research let me be comfortable giving it a shot. And it's helped both my kids sleep so much better.

[jenfl]

OMG! I got Sprout down for a nap and convinced Nugget that afternoon quiet time was a good idea (convinced = bought her a Toy Story 3 audiobook).

Now the house is quiet and no one needs me.

What do I do now, again??

ETA -- okay, that lasted not even 5 minutes. By the time I'd found an appropriately light book and settled in, DD peed in her potty. Then needed a snack. Then Sprout needed his 30 minute resettling. Then more snack. Then nursing. And now Sprout's reflux has him up for good.

[jsh7809]

Originally Posted by dhinderliter

i don't think i'll ever really be able to keep up! and i found lalala on FB. i can't find riverbeauty though.

anyone else think their babe grows every time they sleep? i swear sometimes he just looks bigger when he wakes up even sometimes after naps! darn weeds just keep growing!

I have that feeling every morning! Like, WHOA, who is this bigger baby?

I would definitely let S sleep on her stomach by now if she didn't HATE it because she never did it as a tiny baby. Arggggh.

[jenfl]

Originally Posted by jsh7809

I would definitely let S sleep on her stomach by now if she didn't HATE it because she never did it as a tiny baby. Arggggh.

She's probably just not a tummy sleeper. DD didn't go onto her stomach until 4 months and she took to it right away, even though she'd never done it as a tiny baby.

[silverspook]

Originally Posted by jenfl

OMG! I got Sprout down for a nap and convinced Nugget that afternoon quiet time was a good idea (convinced = bought her a Toy Story 3 audiobook).

Now the house is quiet and no one needs me.

What do I do now, again??

ETA -- okay, that lasted not even 5 minutes. By the time I'd found an appropriately light book and settled in, DD peed in her potty. Then needed a snack. Then Sprout needed his 30 minute resettling. Then more snack. Then nursing. And now Sprout's reflux has him up for good.

Isn't that how it always goes? At least that's how it is when I'm home alone with the kids during the week. It's quiet here currently though. DH and DS1 are snuggling on the couch watching a movie and DS2 is snoozing in his rocker chair not far away. I'm going to pick up my knitting project and enjoy it while it lasts!

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia's daytime sleeping pattern is all wacky these days. Used to be she'd go down for a nap half an hour to an hour after she got up at 5-6 am, and sleep for 2.5-3 hours. These days she either nurses and naps basically all day (yesterday) and I eat like a freaking horse, or it's a day like today-- she napped after getting up as usual, but it only lasted 30 minutes, so by 7:30 she was awake again. Then she didn't nap again until almost noon, and that lasted for 30 minutes, and then she went back down at 12:45-ish and is sleeping now (1:45). No discernable patterns that I can see as to why one day is so different from the next.

[rhiOrion]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

Cecilia's daytime sleeping pattern is all wacky these days. Used to be she'd go down for a nap half an hour to an hour after she got up at 5-6 am, and sleep for 2.5-3 hours. These days she either nurses and naps basically all day (yesterday) and I eat like a freaking horse, or it's a day like today-- she napped after getting up as usual, but it only lasted 30 minutes, so by 7:30 she was awake again. Then she didn't nap again until almost noon, and that lasted for 30 minutes, and then she went back down at 12:45-ish and is sleeping now (1:45). No discernable patterns that I can see as to why one day is so different from the next.

We're having the same issues here. She's ditched her 3 hour morning swing nap in favor of a short nap and then fussy time. But, she's in the swing right now, and has taken another short swing nap today, so she's just doing things in little chunks. I don't get it. No pattern here, either.

[Knitting Mama]

Interesting, our babies are only 2 days apart in age, so maybe there's something with this age? I know that a lot of the 4 month sleep regression people talk about is thought to be caused by new developmental growth (look at the gallons of drool suddenly appearing, for example). Maybe our girlies are just advanced.

ETA: Cool blog post!

[ivymae]

Moxie is wonderful. She's not as active lately (divorce, working more) but when DD2 was born i read her blog daily. She has great PPD articles and resources as well. She's level headed, unaffiliated, and obviously passionate about empowering parents to trust themselves.

It's a sunny sunny day here, and I'm soaking up the sun, getting my vitamin D boost. A friend is studying to be a IBCLC right now, and recommends 20 minutes a week of sunshine for pasty white people like me (more for darker skin) so i have enough to pass on to Becky. Rickets is on the rise for the first time in generations, because we are so vitamin D deficient, and now, when their bones are growing so rapidly, is a crucial time. Four months is right around when symptoms can show up, so get outside and soak up some sunshine! (But take some water. I was stupid and got dehydrated yesterday because I forgot to drink. )

[Knitting Mama]

I'm too afraid to get sun right now-- it's 108 here and I'm sheet-of-paper white! I am this close to getting D supplements so I can pass it on to Cecilia.

[ivymae]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

I'm too afraid to get sun right now-- it's 108 here and I'm sheet-of-paper white! I am this close to getting D supplements so I can pass it on to Cecilia.

2000 iu of D3 is good for maintaining a healthy vitamin d level, but if you are deficient you'll want to start a bit higher to build it up in your liver.

I visited my sister in Casa Grande in August, two years in a row (you'd think i would have learned the first time...) and it was miserable. I'm glad she lives in CO now so I can visit her without fearing being baked alive.

[Pepper44]

They only recommend 20 minutes of sun a week? I think I spend 20 minutes a day tending to the garden and chickens in the blazing sun. Then the daily walk(s) with DD1 (and DD2) during which I sweat like a nasty horse in the mid day heat....I'd better not be vitamin D deficient!

I'll subscribe to the thread over in LWAB! I'll miss our forum though.

[Peace+Hope]

tummy sleeping: charlie sleeps great at night on his back, but naps are way better on his tummy. i've been putting him down on his back for at least a week, because i want to use the kanoe (baby hammock) more, and there's no tummy sleeping in there! today i relented and put him on his tummy so i could do some painting, and ta-da, he slept from 3-6:30pm! good grief, i hope he goes down for the night at a reasonable hr.

daytime schedules: totally different from one day to the next! some kind of morning nap is inevitable, but length and timing vary, and the rest of the day may be a sleep-a-thon or he may nap once for 30 minutes. so weird!

greentea, i don't have anything to compare it to, but this DDC has been the best support. i never anticipated how much i would benefit!

july 4th: we have friends coming into town. they say they don't care that we don't have AC, but they even have an airconditioned camper. heh, we shall see. we have a great view of city fireworks from our porch/yard, so some other friends and family might stop by.

mpp, thanks for the encouragement to post on the photo thread. i need to figure out how to use my flikr acct (thanks, rhi!).

[jenfl]

Another fan of Moxie! I found "Wonder Weeks" through her. Popped over to that site yesterday, actually, and discovered they now have an iPhone app! Put in your LO's due date, and it tells you if they're going through any developmental leaps.

The English is a bit.... spotty, but it's a lot of information for just $2.

[jenfl]

Oh, anyone with experience with finger feeding? Since Sprout won't take a bottle but loves to suck on DH's finger, we thought an SNS might be something to let DH feed him while I'm away. I have no idea if that's a reasonable idea, though. Is there enough flow for a 3-month old to be happy eating that way? Or is it just for supplementing?