April 2010 Mamas, through October 16th - Page 4

[jenfl]

Originally Posted by Peace+Hope

jenfl, i'm jealous that you have a baby that can be put down when he's sleepy.... charlie hasn't done that since he was an early 4 months! glad for you though

After DD, I was pretty convinced kids like that didn't exist. I don't think she put herself to sleep until 18 months. On the down side, I'm pretty sure Sprout's ability to go to sleep without nursing is due to the tongue tie; for many months, nursing wasn't relaxing. Now, though, I can knock him out like nobody's business!

[triony]

Originally Posted by Peace+Hope

i think charlie may be transitioning to two naps, but it's not easy for him. he's been refusing the middle of the day nap, or just putting it off, or yesterday being a sleepy, fussy lump after waking up from being asleep for 10 minutes til he finally went to sleep for #3.

today we tried to go out to lunch, and i thought we had time since he's not been going down as soon for nap #2. weeeelllll, it didn't work out so well. we ended up getting our food to go and he went down as soon as we got home. .

We transitioned to 2 naps almost a month ago, but this week T has been kind of regressing back. I think it may be part of this phase he's going through. He's really working hard on some new skills. He's finally showing interest in trying to sit up. He now rolls with abandon. He's suddenly noticed that things can be taken away from him. He's also sleeping really well at night (for him).
It's been lovely and fall-ish here which is great! Back up to the 70s the rest of hte week which will be nice for putting out the Halloween decorations. I think maybe I should go peruse the children's costumes. I'm going to a big consignment sale this weekend to try to stock up on winter clothes and pjs. Maybe I'll find a jogging stroller, a high chair and a costume. I think that may be asking a little too much! I'm trying to talk myself into making and canning apple pie filling from the last of the neighbor's apples.

[sew_crafty_girl]

We've regressed to less naps and certainly no naps out of my arms sans nipple. This too shall pass.

We've got a clingy mamas girl who screams rather than cries a lot of the time and plays strange. This too shall pass.

On the plus side, she's really liking solids and we Got some rubbermaid straw drink boxes and she can drink from them. Also, less napping seems to be making bedtime easier and earlier, yay.
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[braidmama]

Hey all...I try so hard to keep up with the thread each month but it is just impossible!

Things haven't changed too much since the last time I posted. Max has now added sweet potato (he ate it but not with gusto) and applesauce (scarfed that right down!) to his solids repertoire. We haven't been super gungho on the solids, just a little here and there.

He still isn't crawling or anything and can hardly push up on his arms :/ I keep reading about all of these scootin' babies who are also 6 mos. and I get sort of worried-can't help it!- but I know he'll get there eventually. He did roll over a few times this week but its been a couple of days since I've seen him do it. Everyone keeps telling me "More tummy time!" but if I put him on the floor-we have hardwoods- on a blanket, he'll eventually bash his head down onto it and starts to cry (obviously)...so the alternative is to hang out with him on my bed and have him on his tummy there...but mostly he just puts his head down to the side and looks at me, its also not a very stable surface so I don't know if this is a good idea or not. Gahh! I'm out of ideas! He holds his head up great, can sit with assistance and LOVES to be in standing position. We just picked up an exersaucer we found on craigslist and for the most part he seems to dig it.

His sleeping has been a nightmare...napping is a project and usually I'll plan to get some chores done while he's asleep but by the time he passes out I am so exhausted that I sit down to rest a minute...next thing I know, he;s up again. He's also up a ton during the night now which I think is in large part to him teething (no teeth have cut through yet but they're on their way!). He is such a fussy baby, I get soo stressed. It takes all of my patience and energy every afternoon and night! I feel really bad about this but lately the only way to get him to calm down or sleep is to buckle him into the swing. I feel like sticking him in their all of the time is terrible but I don't know what else to do! I'm trying so hard to continue with attachment parenting because I really do believe in it and I feel in my heart that its the right thing to do for him and for me, but sometimes I just don't know if I have it in me to constantly hold him and calm him (I DO want to, I just get so stressed out that sometimes I need to put him down and walk away for a minute). Sigh...

Dp has been working crazy hours and with getting way less sleep and getting up for work at 4:45 am (ds wakes me around 4 to nurse now so I'm pretty much up at 4 for the rest of the day) I feel like I'm sinking into a black hole. Wow, that sounds so dramatic, but honestly, its been tough. Speaking of which, its 10:30 so I should be getting to sleep myself!

[waiting2bemommy]

try putting something up just like 3 or 4inches above his eye level, requiring him to hld his head up to look at it. that might encourage him to exercise those muscles a little! also I remember with ds they sold this little blow up roly poly thing that was supposed to help them in the pre-crawling phase. I think it was like 5 bucks. it was like this:http://www.geniusbabies.com/rollwithitbaby.html except cheaper, and infaltable so it didn't have to take up lots of space

[ivymae]

Jess - re: email, OMG how horrible. DH has been dealing with weird work politics lately (don't be too good at your job, or someone higher up will take it as a threat!) and I hate that fear that someone is out to get him. I hope your DH is able to work with his new boss, and get back on her good side.

SCG: This too shall pass!

Ericka - Did you get a weight check on him? Remember that two scales can be drastically different, as well as clothes/diaper if he wasn't naked both times, and even if he had a big feed in him once and not the other.


As For Us: Becky is eating anything and everything, and maybe it's the "third child syndrome" but i have given up trying to introduce one thing at a time. Today she tried scrambled eggs, pears with yogurt, and apple juice (this one was all DD2, sneaking becky the sippy cup at breakfast). Then at lunch it was toast, and at dinner it was cabbage. So far nothing bothers her belly, but I have a feeling one of these days she is going to get hives/yak all over, and we're going to be slapping our foreheads.

She did take ONE nap today, so maybe tonight will be one of the awesome sleep nights. she went right to sleep at bedtime, so maybe i should too.

I'm dealing with some stupid health stuff, which is OT, but like Jess said, what isn't? I just have all these strange things going on, which may or may not be related, but have been raising red flags. My hands swell/bruise randomly; my lung capacity is 1/2 to 3/4 what it should be, on my best day; my vision has changed significantly; I have a (long standing) stomach issue that no one can figure out...
Each on their own is annoying, but together they have my GP worried, so I've been seeing a series of specialists, getting chest x-rays, hand biopsies, blood work and paying co-pays out the wazoo. Everyone seems to agree it is something autoimmune, but until we get test results back/we find someone who knows something, it's all up in the air. I'm trying not to be stressed out by it all, and am staying the heck away from Dr. Google.

[sew_crafty_girl]

Ivory, I hope it's not too long before they figure it out. I do know that it took 7 yrs for them to figure out the myriad of auto-immune diseases my aunt has been diagnosed with, including lupus and Sjogrens Syndrome. My best friend is also working towards a lupus diagnosis but she's in denial.

I've totally got the third child thing going on here too. I've offered her a couple different new foods in a day. The other day when she started screaming a while after eating a friend's rice puffs, I started worrying.

I've been wondering about yogurt. Need to dig up my lists of acceptable foods I have from the health nurse.

I'm also hating the extra baths that comes with eating solids. I still prefer to bathe with her, but that's a hassle and leaning over the tub when she lays in her baby daphne bath seat also sucks. I guess it will get easier when she sits up reliably?

I won a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding at our community breastfeeding celebration today. I've been thinking about becoming a "breastfeeding phone buddy" or la leche league volunteer, but not sure I should commit to that yet. I also signed out Wonder Weeks from the library. Time to get reading!

[Knitting Mama]

Today, the sweetest, goofiest, most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life is 6 months old. There are so many cute photos in her 6 month photoshoot that I decided to link the whole album instead of individual shots.

http://aimeeandchris.com/Cecilia/A%2...006/index.html

Happy half-birthday, my Boobah!

[OneWithTwo]

i haven't...honestly I am scared to?

if I call the LC then they freak out and call nephrologist
Ped is laid back, nephrologist is not
Ped records things though and we still have an open case against us
i know what they are going to say....
I am just giving him straight sodium chloride though now through a dropper...before it was mixed into bottles with pumped breastmilk..so he is getting a good amount of sodium, hopefully I see a gain? we have to go to stupid WIC the beginning of Nov again.
He poops once a day...wet diapers are good, soft spot feels fine, he is active and alert and socializes, color is good...
the last time his sodium level was low he was pale, lethargic, sunken soft spot...so I am thinking everything is ok. I mean, C weighed 12lbs on her first birthday

[jenfl]

Liz -- Don't worry about the not scooting! Sprout isn't, either. And, yeah, AP can be hard through some spots. But so is parenting. And the fussy-holding stage does end. My fussy DD now would rather do anything than sit and snuggle with me.

Ivy -- I hope they can figure something out for you! That sounds really rough.

Ericka -- If you're feeling like something is wrong, please do go see someone. Having him checked out if you're a little concerned is much better than brushing it off.

[rhiOrion]

Liz- I don't think there's anything wrong with putting him in the swing and letting him sleep, if he'll sleep there. Pretty much all of L's naps that aren't on one of us are in the swing. You wouldn't feel bad about putting him down in your bed to take a nap, would you? Think of the swing as a small, moving bed. Also, as far as tummy time goes- we have hardwood also. We bought this thing: http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?SKU=119747&
If you have a buybuybaby near you you could use one of the 20% off bed bath and beyond coupons and then it's only about $16. She still gets mad if she hits her head too hard, because it can't make the ground but so soft, but it's definitely better.

Ivy- I hope they figure out what's wrong! I often wonder if all my random symptoms are coincedental, or if they're actually indicative of one bigger thing. But, the GP that I went to to talk about it was a resident and very confused. She sent me to: the neurologist, who only looked at my brain; the ophthalmologist, who only looked at my eyes; and the cardiologist, who only looked at my heart. So, none of them were really looking at the whole picture.

Aimee- cece is just so freakin' adorable! L will be 6 months tomorrow. I just can't believe it.

Now, a question. For those of you who are still doing one food at a time (out of those of you who are doing food), when do you stop that? I've done three days of banana, 2.5 days of watermelon, 2 days of sweet potato, and three days of carrot. Tonight I'll do some butternut squash. I'm thinking after that maybe some mushed up peas. But, eventually I'd like to just give her stuff off our plate, as long as we're eating something acceptable.

[jsh7809]

Ivy, so sorry to hear about all of the health stuff that's going on. I hope you get answers soon! And maybe the PPD stuff you've been experiencing is tied into that as well?
I know it's probably an additional pain and expense, but I've heard naturopaths and chinese medicine practitioners can be good at looking at the holistic view. In any case, good luck!

Liz, you definitely deserve breaks! I've been using the swing sometimes (she'll take a short nap in it once a day or so), getting babysitting help from my mom, and asking DH for lots of help when he's home, because I got way too burnt out and came crashing down with PPD when she was about 2 months old. So take care of yourself and do what you need to do! Your babe is still getting lots of love and attention from you.

AFM - sleep, OH the sleep. Sigh. Well, we're definitely onto some funky 6 month old stuff lately (thank you to sew_crafty for posting Wonder Weeks highlights on your blog!) and now the sleep is getting worse again, the baby is getting a little more nervous around loud noises and new situations, and is clingy with me in the daytime. Last night it took over an hour to get her asleep enough that I could sneak away. Then she cried every hour or so until I got in bed with her, which is just how it's going lately. I don't even know if she nursed last night, I think she just needed comforting and resettling but didn't even want the boob.
So... I need to get over to the nighttime parenting forum. But I started worrying last night - is this normal? She never really fully awakens, she just cries and cries in her sleep but can get totally hysterical if I don't comfort her enough. Last night she got really worked up and I wasn't sure why, so finally I turned on the light. And, sure enough, she was fast asleep - the light made her kind of open her eyes and she instantly mellowed out, but she really was sleeping and just crying and screaming in her sleep. I know all babies can make noises/ cry out in their sleep, but we're talking about crying like she's awake...
In fact, she rarely DOES cry this much when she's awake. And it's been going on for months. I can't figure out what the issue is!
At this point, she cries while falling asleep if I don't have my finger in her mouth the whole time (and it can take 30-40 minutes each night or nap, easily). She doesn't want her own fingers. She cries at each light sleep cycle if I"m not there with her. Then even when I AM there with her, sometimes she does.
She seems to sleep relatively well between 11pm and 5am, which is when I come to bed with her and then about 2 hours before she wakes up. She still wakes up during those hours but can be settled pretty quickly or just wants to nurse. Otherwise, the rest of the time she is wiggling and crying and just confusing the heck out of me. She sleeps for 12 hours each night, almost like clock work - but at least half of that is spent with many many many interruptions and crying in her sleep.
Is this normal??

My big fear is that it's not normal sleep issue stuff, that it could be the Paxil I'm taking . It's not supposed to pass along to her but they just never know. As much as I'd love to quit taking it, I think that would probably set me back in a huge way... so our other option is trying formula to see if that makes a difference.

I'm trying to be patient but I just can't help feeling like something's not right, I'm doing something wrong, she'll never sleep quietly (since she is asleep but crying loudly in her sleep), I'll always have to sleep with her on my chest or with my finger in her mouth.

Bummer of a night!

[rhiOrion]

P&H P&H P&HP&HP&HP&H!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.hippobargains.com/

Check that out (today, because tomorrow it'll be gone). Bib shirts. Awesome.

[OneWithTwo]

No, I don't want to make it seem as if something is wrong. There is nothing wrong other than he hates to sleep.
Society puts babies on graphs and charts and if they fall off those they make a big stink.
No one else is worried. I fear that they will one day and make a HUGE stink and report me or make me stop breastfeeding.
It's a fear of mine that stems back to C being a baby. She was 12lbs and they said I was starving her and turned me into CPS. Well nothing came of it, other than learning she had major allergies.
It's shitty that when kids don't match other kids they are quick to call CPS. It's just my own fear. He isn't gaining fast, he is growing in length..I think they said 10th percentile for his age? I just have that fear that they will turn and freak and report me or something. Once you've been reported to CPS, you kinda have that fear it could happen again. They seem to have tons of free time and go after good parents.
i just keep second guessing things and over worry about weight

[OneWithTwo]

Jess- J isn't sleeping either. Up.all.night.crying.
is this what you're doing? http://www.drmomma.org/2009/09/no-cr...e-ways-to.html

he has to nurse all night. I kinda get nursed/touched out. I am at my wits end. He just screams and screams for everyone else too.

[jsh7809]

Ericka, so sorry to hear about your worries and frustrations . Is there anyone you could see that you trust not to go the CPS-blame route? Maybe J has some more undetected allergies and things like C did?

I have tried and tried the NCSS, to no avail. We can't get past step one - she just WILL.NOT. sleep unless I am giving her my fingers to suck on. Sigh. And she's not actually waking up - that's the weird part - she's crying IN HER SLEEP. When I finally wake her up sometimes (by turning the light on) she's like, "why did you do that? I was deep deep asleep?". And she cries even with me holding her, if my fingers aren't in the mouth. Or something - who knows what's going on with that little brain!

I'm still trying to be patient and hope that some of it is developmental... but I'm feeling more and more that we're not going to be able to get some sleep improvement without some crying . Not CIO, but me putting her to sleep without letting her suck (albeit comforting in other ways - rocking, patting, etc etc). I think she needs to figure out that she can suck her own fingers, or find other things to self soothe. Not right now, but in the next month or so, I'm going to give it a shot.

I keep envisioning a 3 year old with my finger in her mouth . But mostly I just need a change SOON.

[jenfl]

So DH and I had a talk last night and we've come to the conclusion that Sprout is our last. It's a sign of how much of an easier baby he is than DD was that I was even THINKING about a #3. He's so snuggly and smootchable and giggly.

But I'm ready for the baby phase of life to be done. I'm ready to stop having to schedule outings around naps, of not being able to go anywhere far because the baby doesn't like the car ride. And then there's the chance of another high-needs baby!

There's a real nice, contented feeling to look at DH, Nugget, and Sprout and know that this is my family.

[rhiOrion]

Originally Posted by jsh7809

Ericka, so sorry to hear about your worries and frustrations . Is there anyone you could see that you trust not to go the CPS-blame route? Maybe J has some more undetected allergies and things like C did?

I have tried and tried the NCSS, to no avail. We can't get past step one - she just WILL.NOT. sleep unless I am giving her my fingers to suck on. Sigh. And she's not actually waking up - that's the weird part - she's crying IN HER SLEEP. When I finally wake her up sometimes (by turning the light on) she's like, "why did you do that? I was deep deep asleep?". And she cries even with me holding her, if my fingers aren't in the mouth. Or something - who knows what's going on with that little brain!

I'm still trying to be patient and hope that some of it is developmental... but I'm feeling more and more that we're not going to be able to get some sleep improvement without some crying . Not CIO, but me putting her to sleep without letting her suck (albeit comforting in other ways - rocking, patting, etc etc). I think she needs to figure out that she can suck her own fingers, or find other things to self soothe. Not right now, but in the next month or so, I'm going to give it a shot.

I keep envisioning a 3 year old with my finger in her mouth . But mostly I just need a change SOON.

I know you've tried lots of pacifiers to no avail, but have you tried sticking a pacifier in just as she's getting really sleepy? That's what I've been having luck with recently, as L is a nurse-to-sleep kid. The last two nights DH has even managed to lay her down in the crib and she's stayed asleep! (for ten minutes each night, but still)

Speaking of which. It turns out that as much as I complain about the fact that L needs to sleep ON me, it turns out that I think I've gotten used to it, as well. I've had a HORRIBLE time getting to sleep the past couple of nights. I can't tell if it's because it just feels wrong not to have her on me, or if it's because I know she's going to wake up any second.

[braidmama]

Thanks ladies! I'm thinking I am either going to make hima playmat or purchase one similar to the one posted here! Thanks again! Today has been a bit of a better day...work went smoothly by and when I got home Max nursed a ton and we went for a walk- this is a BIG deal...I live smack dab in front of a big, beautiful park but am a bit of an agoraphobe and usually don't leave the house evereverever unless to work or buy groceries- both of which are done reluctantly. Sigh...I really want to work on that so Max can grow up with a fun, loves-to-do-stuff mama.

[momto4plus4]

!!

DD2 had surgery Mon (tonsils, adenoids, ear tubes) so I just caught up on posts.

Jess: have you considered Lexapro? I was on Paxil years ago. When I tried going off it I had a really scary episode. The dr switched me to Prozac & weaned me off it. BUT, I ended up with bad ppd, went on Lexapro & have done great on it, have ebf 3 babes on it & done fine. Just a thought...

JR still isn't rolling back to front, rarely rolls the other way, can't sit. Does push up on arms but hates tummy time. No teeth. So far he's right on target with my other 3!!!