May 09 - Falling into September!

[~Katie~]

Fall is almost here! Hope everyone has a lovely labor day weekend!

[lotus.blossom]

I can't wait to do this : Its been hovering around 100 degrees here the past few days and its been AWEFUL! School even let out early today becasue of the heat. Its not normal here in Maine.

Katie are you anywhere near where the Hurricane might hit? Our anniversary is Sunday and we have Labor day plans as well and now I am wondering if we'll be able to do anything because we are in the projected path of the hurricane. Also very random for Maine.

Griffin has been uber cute lately. It makes it quite hard to enjoy the 4 year old. I need some serious parenting help regarding ds1. He is under my skin big time right now. (sigh) Its always something!

Oh and congrats to Kelly and Comtessa! New babies and pregnancies already! I can hardly imagine it!

[Comtessa]

Originally Posted by lotus.blossom

New babies and pregnancies already! I can hardly imagine it!

Make that two of us!!! DH and I keep looking at each other and going, "oh boy, here we go again...!"

It's bittersweet, actually, because I keep looking at my precious little girl and thinking, soon you won't be my little baby anymore, though that's crazy, she'll always be my little baby. But she won't be the littlest anymore. And I'm sad for her that she won't have her mama all to herself anymore. Does everyone feel like this when they're pregnant with #2? Olive just seems so awfully little to be a big sister already.

I wish I were going camping this weekend too!!! DH's version of camping is a Mariott without a pool. Can't wait to hear how little Luke does with it!

[Novus]

Originally Posted by Comtessa

I wish I were going camping this weekend too!!! DH's version of camping is a Mariott without a pool. Can't wait to hear how little Luke does with it!

That would be my version of camping too! But that might just be because I've never been before. I'm hoping that I end up enjoying it because DH loves it so much & he never gets to go.

Lotus, I'd love to be too, but I don't expect that to happen here until November, probably. But! It's supposed to get pretty cool where we're camping this weekend, so at least we'll get a preview. That reminds me: must pack warm clothes!

So what's the toddler attraction with rocks? Between Luke and my friend's 1-year-old who stays with us during the day, we have at least 20 rocks scattered around the apartment. They bring them in every time we go out. In fact, the quickest way to get them both down the 2 flights of stairs is to remind them that there are rocks to be had at the bottom.

[cheryllynn]

CONGRATULATIONS !! To Kelly and Comtessa!!

How exciting for both of you.

Novus - My guess with the rocks is that they fit in their hands and easy to pick up. My Olivia loves to put them in her mouth. I'm not sure about that. She hasn't swallowed any as far as we know.

Olivia still has just a few words, but he said Hi Baby yesterday when she picked up her doll. She understands A LOT but not much coming out that is understandable. She has add FOOD as well as an occasional MORE sign.
We're also going for Outside and Book, but I forget a lot of the time.

I find myself looking at her newborn and early baby pictures wondering where my baby has gone. She is of course still completely adorable.

Anyone looking for new car seats? Or have you gotten them already? We still have Olivia in our Graco SnugRide 32.

[j_p_i]

Add my congrats to Kelly & Comtessa too!!

We've been busy here lately, DH is working a new schedule (3pm-11pm) which means we have him around during the day, which is great! Does mean I'm online less though (for better or worse ) We've also begun the process of getting approved for a mortgage, which is exciting

Olivia just had her 15mo pedi appt a couple days ago. She went from 28 inches to 30.75 in just two months! So much for them saying she was petite, she's back in the 90th percentile for weight and 70th for height. She's also started sleeping a lot better, and she enjoys being in her own mattress in our room now. She's been waking up only once for the past 3-4 nights, and I've slept more than I have... well in the past 15 months

We have the Graco (something)65... I can't remember it's exact name at the moment, but it's rearfacing until 45lbs which is nice (forward until 65lbs). Our Olivia has been in that for awhile now. We like it pretty well, and she seems comfortable in it.

April - we've been beyond hot here too, it's awful. I am so ready to see snow on the forecast! Looks like the hurricane won't be as bad as they originally expected, but I think your area is potentially going to get hit a bit harder than ours. Oh and happy early anniversary!

[OceansEve]

Hey ladies!! Hope everyone is doing well!

Yeah! for the new babies coming!

Lotus - maybe we should start a 4 year old support group. I was ready to take mine to grandma's this week and just say "Keep her for a week or two, or more" (Not really, but it felt that way) She is driving me CRAZY!

My life has been nuts, busy and exhausting so I've not had much time to get on, but wanted to check in and say hey! and see how everyone is!

[Peppermint Poppies]

Originally Posted by OceansEve

Lotus - maybe we should start a 4 year old support group. I was ready to take mine to grandma's this week and just say "Keep her for a week or two, or more" (Not really, but it felt that way) She is driving me CRAZY!

Can I join with my 3.5yo? He's driving me NUTS. I just told him that I don't want to hear the word 'Mummy' for at least another hour Darcy amuses herself and plays more imaginatively at 16 months old than he does!

[trauerweidchen]

Just checking in and subbing! It's been a challenging week. We just got back from MA, where we'll be moving in the next couple of months (from MN). The top agenda for the trip was to find an apartment, and luckily we did. Now the hard part starts--getting the rest of our house in MN ready to rent (it's a tri-plex, so it's partially rented already), and the actual move. I'm vacillating between OK with all of this and uncertain. DH is thrilled with his new job and really excited. I'm trying to be a good sport, but it isn't always easy.

Jules finally has a molar poking through! He's been super cute lately; he loves to wave at cars and people and say "dye, dye!" He has quite the sense of humor already, and is mostly a very sweet toddler. He has his moments of frustration, as do I. The stress level in the house has been too high lately, and it's obviously impacting him. Hopefully that'll decrease once we move and get established in our new place.

Hope you lovely ladies are all doing well!

[Kelly1101]

Sub...

Originally Posted by Comtessa

It's bittersweet, actually, because I keep looking at my precious little girl and thinking, soon you won't be my little baby anymore, though that's crazy, she'll always be my little baby. But she won't be the littlest anymore. And I'm sad for her that she won't have her mama all to herself anymore. Does everyone feel like this when they're pregnant with #2? Olive just seems so awfully little to be a big sister already.

Definitely felt this way...

Em has been so good with everything so far, though, so that helps... and she's still my little girl.

[cheryllynn]

Hi All - Hope your Labor Day is full of fun. Right now it's about 65 and raining in MN. It is our Mom & Daughter day as DH is working. We were able to go to the park for about 30 minutes before it started raining. She's been in her crib for about an hour playing and talking. I think she finally settled down and it's 2:30. I hope she sleeps for at least two hours.

She had her first bad fall last night. It sounded horrible. I heard her hit and it seemed like forever when she finally inhaled. She fell right in front of DH so he quickly picked her up and held her. She let out a terrible scream. She was bleeding somewhere in her mouth and would not let us look. I kept wiping away the blood as dh held her and she cried. When she finally calmed down I took her into her room to see if I could get a look. She sat on her changing table and fell backward like she does when she's on the bed, but this time, on the changing table, she fell right into the wall! Oh I felt so bad for her with such a clunk on the head. Her screaming and crying started all over again. Poor thing. The bleeding stopped and she was calm but did not want to finish her bottle. Then she slept the whole night. This morning I was able to get a better look and looks like she split the inside of her upper lip, probably on a tooth.

I look forward to her growing up and saying Mom all the time. She stopped saying both mama and dada. Now everything is Hi and baby.

I'm putting away her summer clothes and I have to say I started to cry. I miss my little baby already and she's only 16 months old. Why am I so attached to her cute clothes?

We did get a Graco Julia style 3-in-1 car seat.

Now, back to studying.

Trauerweidchen - good luck with your move and settling in to your new place. I hope it all goes well though I know you'll miss your friends and family.

[Novus]

Cheryl--I HATE putting away clothes at the end of a season. In fact, the first time we did that, Luke was just about 2 months old & as I was folding & putting stuff up, I told DH that we needed another baby. DH looked at me like I was crazy b/c Luke was a really angry newborn who cried non-stop from the time he was 12 hours old until he was about 8-9 weeks, so we were still on the tail end of the non-stop screaming at the time. Even now, every time I put away clothes he's outgrown, I start wanting a new baby so I can pull all those things back out.

Carseat--Luke has been in a convertible (rear-facing, of course) since he was about 5 mos old because he hated the bucket seat. The convertible really fixed a lot of the carseat crying for us and he's always done really well in it.

Camping was awesome! Luke had such a great time & DH loved hanging out in the woods with him. Plus, DH's dad & stepmom were there, so there were lots of helping hands and I got to just hang out and read when we were at the campsite, which is exactly how I like to spend my vacations I've actually loved all the vacations we've taken since Luke has been born & I'm so glad he travels well & enjoys being in new situations

[Blessed_Mom]

Congratulations on the pregnancies and good luck with the big moves!

My DD started walking at around 12 and 1/2 months but she would only take a few steps at a time until last months when she has started properly walking all over the place.

She is crazy about books and I might have to get a job to fund her hobby, LOL. She has so many books. She recognizes most all books and gesticulates appropriately before I have read her part. She is a riot that way yet is a most well-behaved kid.

She sleeps well, plays well and behaves well....my only problem is she doesn't eat well at all....in fact not at ALL. At 15 months (she was born 5/31) she is 19 lbs and is very petite. Hasn't taken to solids well at all and making her eat wee bites of anything is a big chore. She also has allergies (dairy being the biggest) that rules out yogurt, cheese and milk.
My milk isn't what it could have been and thus I am constantly worried about her nutrition.
How many of you are still nursing? How many times do you nurse and what portion of her food comes from you? My MIL is encouraging me to wean. Says that will make her eat better. But I won't wean.......sigh. Not until she is ready!

[Sadie Lake]

Mamas, how I've missed you all!!!

I kindof stopped getting on here after Emory was born, but you were all so important to me during my pregnancy I can't believe it has been over a year!

I had a pregnancy scare back in June (turned out it was a luteal cyst) and was freaking out. But it was just this month that I said to dh, "Well, if we got pregnant, Emory would be 2, so it wouldn't be the end of my world". Some of you mamas are so brave!

April, sorry to hear about ds1, dd1 has been making me crazy too. Lately she has just been blatantly ignoring me when I ask her to/not to do something and it makes me want to come out of my skin!

Anyhow, I got on here to ask you all how many teeth your May 09 babes have? Mine still only has 4. She hasn't gotten any new teeth since February! For at least 2 months now I've been feeling around assuming they're going to break through any minute, but still nothing! Is this normal?

Also, is anybody else's babe a total tornado? DD#2 makes #1 seem like a sloth! She climbs everything and has the most exaggerated tantrums already! #1 didn't throw tantrums until almost 2! I'm in trouble...

Sadie

[Sadie Lake]

BlessedMom

I would guess that my babe still nurses for probably 70% of her total intake. We night weaned early this time (about 13mo, with dd#1 it was 22mo) but especially lately it seems like she wants to nurse all day long. Plus, she was super interested in food at first and since she turned a year, isn't so much.

And with dd#1 (now 4.25 yrs) she didn't even really start to eat solids until about 13 mo and they didn't outweigh nursing until about 20 mo (she nursed until she was one month shy of 4 yrs, which I know can seem weird if you're not used to that kind of thing, but don't let anybody else decide when you'll wean, that's between you and your babe!).

Sadie

[CookAMH]

Hi guys! I've been terrible with keeping up with our chat threads.

Kelly, congrats on your new LO!!! That is so exciting, I am glad the birth went well!

I am 9wks pg with #2 and very focused on hopefully having a vbac. I have found a midwife with a very good hospital setting, though who knows, maybe we'll have a homebirth after all.

For the teeth question...DS got some early, he had 8 by 8 months. Four molars are now through, and a canine, I think, is just about to poke through.

[Comtessa]

We're still nursing! And some days (and nights) it feels like she nurses All. The. Time. It could just be the pregnancy, though, that I have less milk now so she's nursing more often to compensate. It's making me want to climb out of my skin! I'm desperate to nightwean but can't figure out how to do it gently. I'm off to the Nighttime Parenting forum next to start searching for recommendations...

Alicia, how exciting, I think we're in the same DDC again! I wasn't very active in this DDC until after Olive was born, so I'm excited to be part of a DDC for the whole pregnancy this time.

Kelly, I read your birth story and I want to say WAY TO GO YOU!!! It sounds like it was totally amazing!!! Congrats on your new little boy!

[major_mama11]

Congrats on baby Ozzy Kelly! And congrats to CookAMH and Comtessa, and to anyone else I missed who is expecting!

I am often thinking about baby #3, but we'll likely wait another year or so d/t finances.

Teeth- DS has 14 and is working on 2 more canines. But I don't consider this to be a good thing that he got them so fast- DD was a super early teether too, and we have all sorts of cavity issues with her, starting before age 2. I almost wonder if the enamel wasn't developed enough when they came through. I'm super vigilant of DS's teeth as a result!

Comtessa- I felt that way about DD being an older sibling. When DS was a newborn, I briefly felt like I had ruined her life, bc I had so little time for her at first. But then, as DS got older, I saw the way they interacted and how much they loved each other. They both just light up when they see each other! I think about the relationships that DH and I have with our siblings, and I hope my kids will stay close as they grow up too.

Originally Posted by Sadie Lake

Also, is anybody else's babe a total tornado? DD#2 makes #1 seem like a sloth! She climbs everything and has the most exaggerated tantrums already! #1 didn't throw tantrums until almost 2! I'm in trouble...

Yes! I'm embarrassed to think back on how smug I was re: DD's laid back personality. DS opens doors, plays in toilets, pushes chairs up to the table to climb up onto it, esapes out the screen door and runs towards the road... SO different from DD!

[Blessed_Mom]

Gak - where did Kelly post about the birth of her second? I missed that.....

Congratulations Kelly

[Novus]

Teeth--Luke has 6. I think the last 2 came in about 2 months ago, maybe longer. I can see 2 more that seem like they should come through any day now, but they've looked that way for a few weeks

Nursing--He's still nursing, but I don't think he gets much from me anymore. He usually goes all day without and then nurses at bedtime, once or twice in the middle of the night, and then when he wakes up. Sometimes he'll want to if he wakes up too early from his nap, but not usually. Of course, if we go to a La Leche League meeting or something, he'll nurse more because he sees everyone else doing it He was nightweaned, but then had a series of illnesses and we did some traveling, so now he does nurse at night again, but I've found that I actually like that he's "daytime weaned" more than when he was nightweaned because I've started to feel really antsy when he nurses during the day. I hate feeling that way, but it's worked out well that he's transferred most of his nursing to the night now, when I'm more relaxed & can largely sleep through it.