May '09 - It's August!

[~Katie~]

Happy August! I'm looking forward to the end of summer being closer and cooler weather.

We're starting to plan for Liam's birthday next month and have mostly everything ready to go. We're going to see The Wiggles in concert on the 15th this month as part of his gift. I managed to get 4th row tickets and he's going to flip because he's a huge fan, I hear the concerts are good so I'm looking forward to it as well

[RomanGoddess]

Can't write much now. We're off on vacation tomorrow in the south of France.. I hope DS will be okay during the car ride. He doesn't usually like the carseat for very long.

[kriket]

I can't keep up with this thread! whew!

I haven't talked to anyone from the May DDC in sooo long! I have the baby bug again Wanted to see who's all here and how the little ones are doing!

[~Katie~]

I remember you! Good to see you checking in

[Madalyn]

Maybe if I catch this from the beginning I can keep up haha. Yay for August. This should be the last full month of DH's deployment. My in law's took Jonas and I to the aquarium this weekend. He LOOOVED it. I love seeing how curious he is about things. He's talking so much more now it's crazy. His newest favorite word is car but he sounds like he's straight from Boston- caaahr. So cute.

[kriket]

I haven't talked to you guys in so long, Madelyn's post got me thinking,
How many words do your LOs say? They don't have to be perfect, but so you know what they are saying?

I'm not worried about DS, but he doesn't say much. He knows more signs then words. The only word he says is KeyKey (our cat's name) Hi, and bye (kinda) and Yeah.
If you ask him to get his truck or car he goes vrrroom, and if you ask him to potty, he signs and cues with "Shhh" if you say something about the dogs, he pants. but he doesn't even try to make the words

Normal? (probably, It's just language is very important to DH and I and I am anxious to share it with him )

[~Katie~]

Great news that you're reaching the end of the deployment, Madalyn!

That sounds normal to me, I think all kids progress differently between now and 18 months or so. The imitating of sounds is good. Laine's words all sound pretty similar right now. Just in the last two weeks she's started using words. Her main ones are ball, cat, dog, up, side (for outside), mom, dad, teeth, eyes, uh oh and a few others. She mimics dog barking and car noises. I remember Liam reaching a point where language just exploded and he picked up lots of words overnight it seemed.

[catilina]

Hey, I didn't know our DDC was all still around here! Guess I should spend more time in the Life with a Toddler forum!

Pixie is talking quite a bit, but not as much as DS was at this age. She says: Mommy, Dada, Work, Brother, Doggie, Grandpa, Uh-Oh, Water, Bye, Hello (Huh-oh), Bath, Hot, Hat, Book, Ball, Wow, Tickle, Rock, Bed, Owie, Shoe, Sit, Peekaboo, Ding-dong, Ear, Eye, Fishy, Bear, and Pray. I think that's everything. She's trying to say Watermelon lately, but it really just sounds like water so far... She also makes several animal noises: pig, duck, bunny, cow, dog, elephant, donkey, cat, bear, sheep, and a general "animal" sound (like 2 grunts). She loves to sign and signs: Nurse (milk), More, Eat, Sleep, Drink, Please, Fish, Diaper (toilet). She picks up signs very quickly, so I need to start learning some more and teaching them to her. It is so cute to see her sign. Personally, I wouldn't start to worry at all about language yet. Like someone already said, between 12-18 months, language development can vary quite a bit from one baby to another.

I am not getting any sleep lately and it is really starting to wear me down. Pixie has been waking up every 2 hours on the dot lately. Since she stopped cosleeping a few months ago, this means I am not sleeping really at all. She has also started waking at 6 am (so not acceptable!), and only taking 2 30-minute naps a day. I don't know what the deal is, but it is really getting old! I just cry every night when I have to get up and go sit in the chair in her room, over and over again... I nightweaned DS at 18 months, and I'm not ready to do that with DD yet, but I just don't know what to do... Anyone else out there dealing with sleep issues still?

DS is really trying me, too. He will be 4 in about 2 months, and this last year has just been so, so hard. Literally everything is a battle with him. Our days are so full of meltdowns and screaming tantrums, literally one after another, all day long. He is so out of control. I just don't know what to do with him. I have called EI but because it seems behavorial/emotional and he is not developmentally delayed in any other areas, it is really hard to get any kind of diagnosis. I can't even get an evaluation because he is so "advanced" in other areas... I think I need to take him to a behavioral therapist, but I just don't know how to go about doing that. But I guess that's a topic for a different thread, eh?

Katie, your post reminded me that I have to start planning DS's birthday party! His birthday is at the end of September. I don't know what we'll do this year. In year's past we have had a Dog Party, a Barn/Farm Party, and a Pirate Party (he chooses his own theme every year). The Wiggles concert sounds fun! Are you having a party for Liam's birthday as well? What are you doing for it?

My birthday's coming up in a few weeks and I'm trying to think of things I want (my family inevitably starts asking right about now, and I can never come up with anything on the spot!). Any ideas?

Well I just sent DS up to his "calm-down spot" to get over a tantrum, and DD is dancing to the Enya he has playing. It is too cute! I think I need to go grab the video camera!

[j_p_i]

Wow, can't believe it's August already!

I just wanted to check in and say hello quickly! And yay for nearing the end of deployment Madalyn!

Anyone in the process of transitioning from 2 naps to 1? I am finding it TOTALLY exhausting! Olivia has been quite the daddy's girl lately, so if DH is around it's difficult to get her to settle down. She seems to have dropped her morning nap, but has been a little cranky the past couple days because of it. Yet she tries her hardest to stay awake until the afternoon.

Anyway, all else is good here! Words... she says mama, dada, bye, dog, duck (any bird is a duck), ball, nah-nah (nursies I think, this is a new one), and she tries to say "Gordon" (the dogs name), uh-oh, water, and she says "moo" for cow and "baa" for sheep. I think there might be a couple more, I'm just not remembering them at the moment. She also has a few signs. Many of her words sound the same, so unless she is pointing or sees something specific (for example, dog and duck sound basically the same, but she points to a dog and says "dah", or points to a duck and says "dah", so I think she's trying for two different words) it's harder to determine what she means.

Sleep issues... here we are good for the first part of the night, and then she is extremely restless from about 2:30am on. We still cosleep so I do get some sleep in there, but it's tiring. She doesn't necessarily nurse back to sleep, and I can tell she keeps opening her eyes in the dark and I desperately don't want to get up Lately I've had to just lay there and cuddle her close, so she doesn't flail about as much. Eventually she settles back down, but then is up to nurse at 4, 5, 6, then sleeps til about 7:30. This is a completely different schedule then we were on a month ago! Just when you think you've figured it out, things change!

[~Katie~]

Catherine - I'm not sure if we're doing a big birthday party yet. In years past it's always been small with just us, last year we were visiting family while DH was home on R&R and came home the day before DS's birthday so we didn't do anything big. I've thought about inviting a few kids over but I don't want things to get crazy or overwhelming.

Laine started taking one nap a day around 12 months. She usually goes down for a nap around noon for 2 or 3 hours. Liam is dropping all naps now after being sporadic about it and it's difficult, if he doesn't nap he's really cranky starting around dinner time. If he does end up falling asleep it's usually around 4 and he won't go to bed until 10-11pm.

Sleep hasn't really been great with Laine. We go through periods where she'll sleep for 2 or 3 hours at a time but she's still awake a lot. She sleeps in a twin bed pushed against our bed, I figured that would be more comfy than her crib. I've started to actively night-wean her over the last two nights, at least cutting down to nursing after 4am when DH gets up. She's doing okay so far.

[Comtessa]

Words: Olive has only four. "Mama," "Dada," "hot," and "tickle." Sometimes I think she's saying "more." The other day she said, clear as a bell, "more tickle!" but it was a fluke, she hasn't done it since. She has a bunch of signs, though -- she consistently signs "light," "music," "cat," "book," "milk," "eat," "water," and will occasionally make signs that I think are attempts at "bird", "squirrel," and "tree." She also waves hi and bye.

I think language development really varies a lot depending on the baby. Olive is perfectly able to communicate with pointing and squawking (and shaking her head 'yes' or 'no' when I ask questions), so she doesn't do much with words though she understands a lot. Her cousin, on the other hand, is only 18 months old and has a vocabulary of probably over 100 words. It's astonishing. The other day she picked up SIL's purse and said, "Mama, heavy." I mean, honestly. Adjectives?! At 18 months old?! And she's using sentences too -- yesterday when Olive was nursing she came up and peered at her, then asked me, "Olive mama milk? Drink milk? Drink mama milk?" So yeah, it totally depends on the kid.

Anyone else's kid obsessed with shoes? It seems like every few minutes, Olive is bringing me shoes, and then she squawks and points insistently to the feet they're supposed to go on (mine, hers, or DH's, depending on whose shoes they are. She has an absolutely perfect record for telling which shoes are whose). Then once everybody has shoes on, she goes off looking for more and makes us change them. It's exhausting!!! I swear I change her shoes fourteen times before breakfast! But it's such a cute thing and harmless that I can't see the logic in telling her not to do it, just because it's repetitive and exhausting. So, we change a lot of shoes in our house these days, per the toddler's demand.

She is incredibly demanding about everything these days, especially when she decides she wants to go outside. She will not be redirected, either, and heaven help you if you try! This morning she was standing at my knee looking up with imploring eyes, pointing to the door and nodding emphatically. I gave in and took her outside. Who can say no to that face???? It's setting up a baaaaad precedent, I already know it.

Birthdays: Catilina, I have the same trouble with coming up with 'wish list' items for my birthday. So you know what I just started doing? I keep a little scrap of paper in my dresser drawer, and every time I think of something I'd like to have if only someone would get it for me, I scribble it down on the list. Then, when people ask what I want for my birthday or Christmas, I have the list all ready. It's also handy when I get gift cards to department stores.

If I had a birthday coming up, I'd ask for: gift certificates to get a massage/pedicure/chiropractic alignment/haircut, some new running shoes, a couple of nice bed pillows to replace our yucky old ones, a gift certificate to Amazon.com, a basket of gourmet food items and snacks, and bubble bath.

Some good gifts I've gotten recently that might also make nice ideas were: a nice bottle of organic red wine from my best friend, tickets to a Cleveland Orchestra outdoor summer concert, a ring sling from DH (he let me pick it out, too, bless his heart), and a GPS system for the car which has probably saved our marriage (I'm a bit of a haphazard navigator and it drives DH bonkers... we used to get lost All.The.Time.).

Sleeping: For the past few months, Olive is on the "flail around in bed from 2 am to 6 am" schedule. We cosleep, so it's not as disruptive as it would be if I were trying to get her down in a crib every time. I just shove a boob in her mouth and go back to sleep. But DH is a lighter sleeper and it's making him nuts. He's ready to get her out of our bed and is getting less and less subtle about it. (this morning, he said, "how are we ever going to have another baby if this baby's always in our bed?!") Perhaps it's time to nightwean -- especially because we really do want to start TTC now -- but it just breaks my heart to think about it. She nurses A LOT at night, and it will be a very difficult transition for her. Maybe I'll put DH in charge of her at night for a week or so and see what he thinks about cosleeping then.

As far as naps go, she's still on 2 naps a day, but they're pretty short - usually less than an hour. It's pretty exasperating 'cause I don't get much done while she's awake (changing shoes every ten minutes doesn't leave much time for anything else). I think moving to one nap a day would be nice, because it might be a longer stretch of time, but at least her two naps are predictable and fairly consistent for the time being.

Okay, I'm now sitting in a pile of shoes; I think she's spent the last half hour bringing me every shoe she could find. I'd better go start putting them on my feet...

[greenmamapagan]

Just noticed this
Can I jump back in too?
I remember you kriket I didn't remember you mentioning EC though, good for you
DS has far less language than his sister did at this age. I have to remind myself not to compare them She started combining words at 14 months (his birthday is the 29th) so he's only just that and to be fair to him he did combine a word and a sign the other day. He stopped nursing then said "muh" (milk) and signed finished His most common words are:
Muh - milk
Daya - Daddy
Yerda - his version of DD's name
Boo or Pee(ka)boo
Poke (poking is a new favourite game)
Too - Shoe (we are a shoes off house so he says this if he wants to go outside)
Chicka - chicken (we have 3)
Poo - he says this for number 1's though I don't mind. I love that he tells me he needs to go
and the almighty
Cah
Oh, we know all about the one word for many things here. We really do. This is most often cat (he loooooooooooooooooooooooooves cats!) but can also be car, card, candle, some random thing he really desperately wants but we can't figure out what on earth it could be I think I hear "Cah!" about a billion times a day at the moment. Oh & he also says "Tah-da!" Which is so cute but it comes out as "Cah-da!" So if you're a bit distracted it just adds to the general "Cah!"ness of the day...

[kriket]

greenmamapagan I remember you too! We're kinda a lax EC family. There is a BBLP, and he loooooves to sit on it. However, we haven't caught a pee in a while. Which is kind of a regression. I used to catch at least 3 or 4 pees a day!

Comtessa- Sirius is also MEGA obsessed with shoes! My grandma took us to get a pair for him and he was rearranging them, trying to run out of the store with them and just in love! Now he gets what they are for, and he will bring me my crocks and grab my toe to make me hold up my foot so he can try to put it on!

Also, the DR mentioned one of the milestones is he points to parts of his body. Which is something that didn't even occur to us to do! Since he is in love with shoes we started with "Where are your feet?" and now he points to them!

Anyone in tantrum-ville? We have more than a few meltdowns about everything each day. If you go out to dump compost, or something where you are just in and out he FREAKS because he wants to go outside. Like the whole nine yards, screaming, throwing himself on the floor, kicking, biting, hitting.
I can become a very angry person, and it really tests my patience. I feel like a horrible person and mother when my temper gets short. I just have no tools for dealing with this! I don't know if I should ignore it, or punish the behavior (which I have no idea how I would, and it would probably make it worse) I try to redirect, the cat is a wonderful distraction! I think I will have to pick up some books or visit the gentle discipline forum. It never pertained to me before, so I didn't really have a reason to go there!

Whew! That got long! It's nice to talk to others who have babies in the same stages!

[lotus.blossom]

Hi kriket! Long time no see! Tantrums- They were a MAJOR problem for my ds1. Unfortunately age 2 was the peak and it was really exhausting. I never actually found anything to remedy it, except letting them run their course. Sometimes I just had to step away, as redirection or trying to stop him would escalate. He is a very intense strong willed child. His frustration stemmed from his lack of verbal skills. He was a very late talker and as soon as his words started pouring out, the tantrums stopped.
Ds2 is a very easy going kid. Never had a tantrum really, yet. I mean he gets frustrated and screams a bit but is easily soothed and distracted. I feel very fortunate because I was gearing up for another difficult child and was blessed with an easy one!

Griffin is quite the charmer. He has a few words. Not as many as some of yours, but many more than I imagined possible at his age, compated to Lochlan. He says Mama, Dada, Bubbub, Nona & Dooda (grandparents) Olyvia (liiiya), dog, duck, hello, bubbye, night night, down, up, all done, get down, banana (nana), apple, but mostly any food item is a very loud NAAA! He has the signs for nurse, more, please, thank you, gentle, bath....

I had a chuckle about the shoes Comtessa. G loves to wear all of our shoes, which is less exhausting then us having to change shoes all day! His favorite thing in the whole wide world is to get under the covers and make a tent. He could be in the worst mood and you throw a blanket over his head and he snaps into this giggly happy baby. I wonder if it reminds him of being in the womb. I like to think that ) When I go out and leave him with DH he says- I'm off to the tent! Its the only place Griffin is happy when you are gone.His second favorite thing in the world is to squirt his brother and I with the hose. I get him all naked and put it in his hand and he becomes this terrifying water monster!! We've been doing this several times a day to beat the heat these last several weeks. He loved to take sips off the hose, and he has no problems with getting water in his face. It also makes bathing and going to the beach terrifying. He is always face planting on purpose. I think I will be getting him some swim lessons soon!

Sleeping is going well (knock on wood) After hardly EVER napping his whole first year he settled into a midday nap. I never expected it since he seemed to defy every baby book with his newborn wakefullness. But now he will sleep for about an hour after lunch. He goes to bed around 8:30 and make wake once or twice till 11ish when I go to bed. On a good night he'll only wake once to nurse and wakes for the day at about 8:00. We have all 4 molars in and are expecting the eye teeth soon. They seems to give him problems every few days. I will be glad when he is done teething for this year. I plan to wean him when these last 4 come through.

[catilina]

Katie, we've never done a BIG birthday party, with a lot of kids, either. We always just invite my family, and my son's best friend. Even with only that, it's a lot of people. I don't know what we'll do when he gets older and actually starts wanting to invite friends to his parties!

Comtessa, thanks for the birthday suggestions! I have a wishlist online, but for some reason I never remember to add to it until right before my birthday/Christmas, and then of course I can never think of things I want! I need to start keeping a paper list like you do!

Kriket, my daughter has a lot of tantrums, too. At this age I think the only thing you can really do is try to distract and/or redirect them. Tantrums at this age are mostly a result of not having the language/cognitive skills to communicate their desires. My son wasn't nearly as dramatic at this age as my daughter is, but WHOA is he now (he's almost 4)! My son was a dream at age 1, and age 2 was so much fun with him. But age 3 has seriously been hell. We have had a very challenging year. I think we avoided a lot of the early tantrums with him because he was very verbal from a very young age. He didn't need to scream or melt down because he would just tell us what he wanted. Now, though, I guess he has just decided he wants what he wants, and he melts down over literally everything. I would take my daughter's tantrums over my son's tantrums ANY day. Compared to his tantrums, her little one-year-old ones are almost comical to me. I just look at her and think, oh how sweet! I'm sure I wouldn't think that, though, if I didn't have my darling, tantruming son to compare her to!

April, I can't believe your son already has 4 molars! Did you notice, about how long did it take from the time the molars first broke through until they were all the way out? Two of my daughter's molars are just starting to poke through, but she is sleeping horribly and I am wondering if they're still bothering her because they are not all the way through? I am REALLY hoping that's the issue, because I really want to get a good night's sleep one of these days. Getting up twice a night was so much better than the million (or so it seems) times I am currently! I am dreaming about only getting up once a night. I can do once a night forever, but more than that just exhausts me...

April, I'm just curious, why are you planning to wean Griffin after the next 4 teeth come in?

[Novus]

Hi, May Mamas!

Words: I'm not going to list them all, but his newest one is "Croca" for crocodile. He refers to most animals by the sounds they make, rather than their actual names, except that he has very *interesting* interpretations of animal sounds. So instead of "Meow," it's "Ummmm" and instead of "Cheep, cheep," it's "gum, gum," and according to him, roosters say "Cockacaaa"

Sleeping: I still half-wake him and nurse him before I go to bed (about 11:30 pm) and then he sleeps until 5 or 6, at which point he comes to bed with us and nurses and usually goes back to sleep until about 8. The past few days, we got thrown off because he was sick and not eating, so he nursed a lot more, but as of last night, we seem to be settling back again. We just turned his crib into a toddler bed last weekend and the bedtime battles have gotten better, but it takes him waaaaay longer to fall asleep now because he spends a good 20 minutes trying to climb all over me first (I sit beside the bed until he's asleep.)

Shoes: yeah, he loves them. Every morning, at exactly 10 o'clock, he brings me his shoes & mine, and then stands there pointing to the door. Apparently, he's inherited my love of routine.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by Novus

and according to him, roosters say "Cockacaaa"

that reminds me of the Arrested Development running chicken gag here's a clip (G rated)

[catilina]

Originally Posted by kriket

that reminds me of the Arrested Development running chicken gag here's a clip (G rated)

Kriket, I totally thought of that too! Hilarious! I Arrested Development!

[JD5351]

Aj's growing like crazy. And he's so funny.

He loves to hide behind our sheer curtain where he thinks we can't see him. I'll say, "Oh no! Where is my baby? I can't find him!" and he'll walk out forward until the curtain slides over his head with the biggest smile on his face.

He also likes to chase me. I'll say, "You can't catch meee" and he'll toddle after me. I'll let him "catch" me, and I'll fall down and he'll tackle me. I'm sure we look ridiculous, but it's fun.

Not many words yet. He's a pro at Daddy, and Hi. (He actually says "Hi-ya!") When Sweetie comes down the steps he'll get all excited and say "Hi-ya Daddy!" It's so cute. He'll say "Momma" when he's whiny..lol But I'll take it. He'll also say, "Yeah" and "Ow!"

He's grown fond of screaming. Very high pitched. I try to keep him piped down in public. Last weekend though we were in PA, and went to visit Sweetie's Brother and SIL. We went out to eat, and the town we were in was getting ready to have fireworks. AJ kept screaming at the table, and the waitress said, "Oh, that was him! I thought they were starting the fireworks!" LOL I was kind of embarassed since it's a fairly loud place and he could be heard in the kitchen.


He's still sleeping awesome. He's in bed between 8:30 and 9..He falls asleep on his own. I put him in his crib, he grabs his blankie and he's sacked out in a minute. He still does 2 naps a day. One longer one in the morning and a shorter one in the afternoon. Even at the babysitter. She's my best friend, and she keeps him on our schedule.

The only time we have trouble with him sleeping is when we're in PA at Sweetie's dad's house. He will not sleep without me. The house there is big and old and kind of creepy, so I don't blame him. He'll lay on my chest until he falls asleep. I don't mind because as much as I love his dad, I don't really have much to talk about with him. I don't hunt or fly fish..lol So I like the time to get away and get my extra snuggles in.

[lotus.blossom]

Catherine- I think that the molars took about 1-2 months. He cut the first 3 within weeks of one another, and then cut the last one the week that we were on vacation at a lake. It was torture!! His personality was so different while he cut them. He did a lot of screaming. Not like crying, but just shrieking for no reason. Now that they are all through he is back to his happy mellow self!
About the weaning......I'm not an extended breastfeeder....I like to nurse for about 2 years (which to most is quite extended but not like child led weaning)
I like to wait till all the major teeth are in because nursing is such a comfort during that time. After that is over and they are getting most of their nourishment from food and the comfort period is over I feel like its an opportune time to mother led wean. I did this with my ds1 just before he turned 2 and it was just right for us. He started sleeping in his own bed and I got pregnant with ds2. I don't have any specific plans to get pregnant again but I do know that I want some space in my bed, and my body back to myself. I'm sure some would disagree with me, but thats what works for me!

ETA: Would you believe this little guy did this to me?