~ JULY 2010 Oct-Dec Thread ~ - Page 3

[lrgs]

Well.......I'm having trouble with the new format, I'm like an old dinosaur who doesn't like change and I'm a bit techonologically illiterate. Twice now I've posted and had my posts vanish.....so I'll keep this short and sweet. I think I can blame this on sleep deprivation. Ainsley isn't sleeping great and I'm just so tired. She comes into bed with us every morning when she wakes up and sleeps even worse.......if she's in bed with us she won't sleep unless she is latched onto me so I can't move and get cramped up very quickly. My back has been acting up because of it. She's 3 months and 3 weeks now and I've heard a lot about a 4 month sleep regression.....she may be teething, I think I can see some teeth under the gums and her cheeks are red. She also just learned how to roll from back to front (tonight!) she's been rolling front to back for a couple months. She's getting so big. Hopefully it's just a combination of things affecting her sleep and hopefully it gets better soon..........I don't function well on no sleep......depression seems to creep up when I need sleep. Aside from that she is doing awesome, she's still a chunky monkey........she's about 16 pounds now so doubled her birth weight now. She just loves to eat and is a pretty happy little baby.   

[SeattleRain]

Wow MJB, your babe looks so sturdy sitting up on her own! I'm jealous, my LO is still looking very tripod-like and often cn't get his head perpendicular to the floor very often. How did you help him sit so nicely?

[Terrilein]

Hmm, well, ds still isn't rolling much. He did roll front to back for me twice, but hasn't since then. He can't sit independently either, but I think that's still pretty much par for the course. It's really early to be doing either. Still, I really wish he could sit properly so that he can really sit at the table with us and eat! He's acting like he's not getting enough from my milk even though I'm producing a ton. He's biting everything to death and we're still waiting for a tooth. He'll be 4 months on Wednesday and it's going to be REALLY hard for me not to break down and offer him a banana or something before Christmas.

In other news, yesterday I actually sewed an inlet for my winter coat so that I can close the darn thing while wearing ds. It looks better than I thought it'd turn out even though it's probably not long enough. But it's got a hood with a drawstring-rubber-cord-thingy so it'll still cover him up. I didn't have a pattern to work with so I was just improvising and fixing mistakes as I went along. I'm so proud of myself!

[SpuglyRoo]

Terrilein that coat inlet looks awesome! Way to go, what a great idea.  I zip Phaedra into her coat when I'm wearing her, but that only works with my hoodie.  Now that it's getting colder I'll need to wear a heavier coat and it won't accommodate her inside it also. 

No sitting on our own here either.  She has begun to get really giggly when her brother starts smlovering her instead of getting upset, which is a welcome change.  She likes to watch him and laughs when he interacts with her, unless she is tired or eating, then he just considers him annoying.  I'm glad that DS still loves her so much, I wasn't sure what to expect as time passed.

No teeth yet, just massive amounts of drool and lots of hand and toy gnawing.  I don't even feel any bumps in the gums yet but I'm sure that they have begun to bother her.  Fun times with teething ahead!

[Love Wins]

Originally Posted by Noah's mommy 

At four months Stella is 13 lbs. 4 oz and 26 inches long.  She was born at 9 lbs. and 20 inches.  They don't typically give me the percentages at her appts, but I know she is no longer the chunker she once was.  My ped wasn't concerned at all though-she's meeting all the milestones, happy, and when you undress her you do see she has some rolls.  He actually called her some Portuguese word that means "false thin".  She looks long and thin (and while she is to some degree) but she isn't "skinny".  I wouldn't worry if everything else is a-okay. 

Thanks for the reassurance!!
 

Originally Posted by SeattleRain 

Originally Posted by Love Wins 

 She is a tiny, skinny little girl at 13lb 4oz, 24 in long.  In her newborn stage she was around 75th percentile on length but has now dropped to the 40th percentile on height and weight. Did anyone else' LO's sprout up really fast, then slow down?  It just has me a little worried, because DH & I are both tall and we were both off the charts as infants.

.

Your LO sounds like mine. He was 8lbs9oz at birth (16 days overdue) and has rapidly found his way to the bottom of the charts. He's now 13lbs4oz and 25 inches. My ped isn't particularly concerned but she really seemed to be concerned that we were going to start sleep training him and that he'd miss a nighttime feeding and start losing weight. I told her we weren't interested in CIO or sleep training and she seemed relieved.

It is a little concerning when you've set it up in your mind they they are "ahead" size wise. Then, when they start slowing, you start to quesiton everything, at least I did!  Hope things get settled with Daniel's sleep!

MJB -  Your daughter is so grown up looking!  It sure does sound like she is ready for some real food!
 

Terrilein - Great job sewing!  I never was much of a sewer, but it's amazing how much a I sew now to keep my baby warm, or make little accessories for her.

[MJB]

Originally Posted by SeattleRain 

Wow MJB, your babe looks so sturdy sitting up on her own! I'm jealous, my LO is still looking very tripod-like and often cn't get his head perpendicular to the floor very often. How did you help him sit so nicely?

I don't think we really did much; she just insists on being vertical (sitting or standing) most of the time. She pretty much only lays down to nurse and sleep! The Boppy really helps me to not worry about her falling over.

[Terrilein]

Is anyone running into a sleeping/perma-nursing brick wall at the moment? My baby WON'T sleep/nap. He's cluster feeding ALL day. Nasty green poopy diapers. It may be teething, but he's only complaining when I put him down to do something banale like using the bathroom or feeding myself.   I've tried giving him teething tablets, but nothing's changing except for his short little moment of glee when he gets to suck on the tablets and swish them around his mouth. Altogether, it feels like a growth spurt, but looks like a cross between massive teething and wanting a steak and potato for dinner. He's biting everything to death! I'm tired and want a break so badly.

[a-sorta-fairytale]

Originally Posted by Terrilein 

Is anyone running into a sleeping/perma-nursing brick wall at the moment? My baby WON'T sleep/nap. He's cluster feeding ALL day. Nasty green poopy diapers. It may be teething, but he's only complaining when I put him down to do something banale like using the bathroom or feeding myself.   I've tried giving him teething tablets, but nothing's changing except for his short little moment of glee when he gets to suck on the tablets and swish them around his mouth. Altogether, it feels like a growth spurt, but looks like a cross between massive teething and wanting a steak and potato for dinner. He's biting everything to death! I'm tired and want a break so badly.

we are in the same lovely form of hell right now :(

He isn't quite 4 months yet.  He has gone from sleeping 6-8 hour chunks a month ago, to now waking to nurse ever 1-3 hours all.night.long.  All 3 of my kids did this and i remember 3-9 months being the worst for all of them.  My house was messier during those 6 months then during the newborn stage.  For mine it was a combo of constant milestones (rolling, crawling etc), teething, and just being plain interested in all this cool new stuff.

[Surfacing]

Originally Posted by Terrilein 

Is anyone running into a sleeping/perma-nursing brick wall at the moment? My baby WON'T sleep/nap. He's cluster feeding ALL day. Nasty green poopy diapers. It may be teething, but he's only complaining when I put him down to do something banale like using the bathroom or feeding myself.   I've tried giving him teething tablets, but nothing's changing except for his short little moment of glee when he gets to suck on the tablets and swish them around his mouth. Altogether, it feels like a growth spurt, but looks like a cross between massive teething and wanting a steak and potato for dinner. He's biting everything to death! I'm tired and want a break so badly.

Yes yes yes. This is here too. Wants to nurse a lot, not sleeping much. Lots of drooling, chomping on things, teething. Mama is pooped. The girls make ds laugh though - a LOT - and it's such a pleasure to watch.

[Surfacing]

MJB your baby is so cute! I can't believe she's sitting up so well already. I've gotta get my little guy up more... he's in the Boppy and bouncy chair and Exersaucer. These days I haven't done much tummy time because I just so ding-dong-dang busy with the three kids!!! Gotta get on it though.

Beautiful children!
 

Originally Posted by MJB 

Edie's a few days shy of 4 mos. Last weigh-in, she was 14 1/2 lbs. and 25" long. She's probably closer to 15 lbs. now. She is sitting independently and rolling over occasionally. 

She definitely wants food, and I'm probably going to give in at Xmas. We do baby-led weaning and she's showing pretty much every readiness sign already. She doesn't have teeth yet but they are definitely close-- she has started biting my nipple and seems to be in pain/upset a lot, which is totally out of character. Everything goes in her mouth these days and she drools buckets. My last babe had 2 teeth at 5 months and she's clearly going to follow in his footsteps (which makes sense since they look exactly alike!) Here's a picture of her from yesterday:

Edited by Surfacing - 12/4/10 at 8:33pm

[Terrilein]

Ladies! Talk me down from the ledge here. I am SO ready to give DS solids if it will get him to mellow out. He did nothing but fuss all day yesterday, nursed non-stop, and then kept us up screaming all.last.night (dd slept with me since dp is away on business). I've got enough milk. But he seems so unhappy with just that. And he won't sleep. I was wanting to wait for him to sit up on his own - he sits in his chair just fine - and have better eye-hand coordination (he eventually gets things in his mouth). But at the moment I'm seriously considering introducing solids now at 4 months just to satisfy him and get some sleep.

[Redheaded_Momma]

subbing. More time to post later. DD is growing like a weed too! She's over 15 pounds and was so at her 2 month check up.

[aphel]

How have I just found you ladies???

I'm (relatively) new to MDC, DD is a late July baby. Hoping to join in the chatter!

[expat-mama]

I have 4 words for you ladies: Four Month Sleep Regression! Welcome to my hell.

I was beginning to think something was seriously wrong with DS until I stopped scratching my head and pulling out my hair and googled "4-month-old baby tossing and turning all night" or something to that effect. For the past couple of weeks Konrad has been sleeping terribly, not napping, fussing, crying, tossing and turning, grunting and babbling all night- and he is usually a pretty "easy" baby. Dr Google led me to lots of other mamas going through the same thing- the 4-mos sleep regression. Now that I have read about it, it all makes sense. Konrad has been furiously working on rolling over (he rolled from back to front a week or so ago and just today he rolled from front to back for the first time!) and apparently all the tossing and turning is him working on this skill in his sleep! Duh, of course. He is also distracted by the tiniest things when nursing during the day so he is needing to nurse more at night when it is quiet and dark and he can't be so distracted. It's just a crazy time for our LOs apparently and they work through it all at night. BUT the good news is that once they get over this hump, it's supposed to be smooth sailing for a couple of weeks while they play catch-up on their sleep and are happy to explore using the new skills they've acquired.

[mamakaikai]

hello Mamas!!

Well we're finally back from the hospital with our little girl. She has bronchiolitis and could not breath on her own and was hospitalized in isolation for 3 full days. It was really scary and I did not sleep for the first 48 hours -at all- so I was extremely exhausted. But we're all better now. It's basically that she got a cold, but it effects babies so severely that they need a lot of supportive care (oxygen, suctioning, IV etc). The hospital staff were actually really good about out non-vax status, but this episode has def given me some food for thought. This was not something we could have vaxed for, but I am now revisiting what we want to do about vaccinating our kids.

Stella is doing really well otherwise. She well over 18lbs and 27 inches tall, everyone thinks she's so much older, but no...she's just a sweet little 4 month old baby! She is starting to babble 'words' mamama and dadada, she has stranger anxiety and definite ideas on who she wants to play with, she no longer stays in one spot on the play mats, so we need to be cautious about this (she rolls over and over and pulls herself around).

As for the sleep regression, knock on wood, I haven't experienced this. Here are two tricks that may or may not be helpful: Swaddle your baby so they can't practice rolling over etc in their sleep. Also, I tend to wake my baby up around midnight when I go to sleep. I feed her, change her and let her play a little bit. Sounds crazy, but then they are fed, don't stir because of a wet diaper, and the little bit of play time gets them tuckered out for the night, I find. It works for me and I find it helps me to not be woken up in the night.

I would love to hear what everyone is doing for holiday traditions and gifts! gtg, but would love to chat about it with you!!

xoxoxomamakaikai

[MJB]

Originally Posted by mamakaikai 

hello Mamas!!

Well we're finally back from the hospital with our little girl. She has bronchiolitis and could not breath on her own and was hospitalized in isolation for 3 full days. It was really scary and I did not sleep for the first 48 hours -at all- so I was extremely exhausted. But we're all better now. It's basically that she got a cold, but it effects babies so severely that they need a lot of supportive care (oxygen, suctioning, IV etc). The hospital staff were actually really good about out non-vax status, but this episode has def given me some food for thought. This was not something we could have vaxed for, but I am now revisiting what we want to do about vaccinating our kids.

Oh my gosh! That sounds terrifying! I'm glad to hear she's okay. 

Terrilein, I've been posting on a couple threads about starting solids, and researching it heavily for the past week. I waited until 6 mos. with my last babe (who was crawling at 5 mos. and obviously ready), but will be offering them to Edie any day now. She is sitting independently and is very interested in our food. She seems unsatisfied after nursing. Many studies over the past couple years have shown that starting solids between 4 and 6 mos. leads to fewer food and inhalant allergies, asthma, and some autoimmune problems. Apparently, the 6 mos. recommendation was from a 2001 WHO statement which was aimed at preventing diarrheal disease in the developing world. In the US, allergies, asthma, and autoimmune disorders are more of a concern than gastrointestinal tract infections, so it makes sense to start solids earlier. We will probably offer Edie solids sometime this week. 

We haven't had any nighttime sleep problems but she hasn't been napping much. She literally did not nap all weekend. It's a little better during the week but not much. I think she's about to get a tooth. Also, it might be time to accept a twice-a-day nap schedule rather than trying to get 3-4 out of her when she just fights it. 

[SeattleRain]

OMG, you read my mind! My LO has been sleeping through the night from 7:30-7:00 since 8 weeks. And then 3.5 months hit and now he's waking up at least twice a night. Sometimes he wants to eat, sometimes not. He's tightly swaddled and somehow still wants to try rolling aroung. He's been really into this pilates move where he lifts up his head and feet at the same time which he can still do in his swaddle. I also hear you about the distraction. I used to be able to feed Daniel with the tv on, no longer. He loves to watch tv, I think its all the faces.

[aphel]

Four month sleep regression . . . . AHA! I was up late last night trying to catch up on this thread and there may actually have been a visible, for real light bulb that went off next to my head (whilst DD tossed and turned and snorted and chortled next to me). This goes away, right?

Mamakaikai - so sorry you guys ended up in the hospital! I hear you on the vax stuff, I'm constantly trying to figure out what scares me more . . . . vaccines or infectious disease. As yet, I haven't decided.

Seattlerain - I am sadly giving up the short stretches of TV  time i used to get during nursing. S just twists around and around until she can see the screen and then just zones.completely.out. Like, completely. Sigh.

Interesting stuff on weaning . . . . S is almost 4 months, and while she's not sitting yet, she does seem very interested in our food, and has reached for it on several occasions. Something tells me she's not going to want to wait until 6 months!

[welsh]

Well Mamas it's taken me forever but I'm finally posting! I've enjoyed reading all your updates and seeing the gorgeous babes born in July 2010!

AFM, I have found it quite a struggle going from 1 to 2 children. DD is mellow and I can actually put her down which is great because her brother demands alot of attention. I feel bad for her though because I know that she isn't getting the attention that DS had from me as an infant.

We have struggled with nursing from Day 1. You may remember me crying over my nipple trauma. Well it took a month for DD to regain her birth weight. Fortunately I was in the UK where they are very hands-off and pro-breastfeeding (at least my health visitor and midwives were). I started pumping  but could rarely get more than 1.5-2 oz.

 By the time we took DD to the ped here in Moscow she was only gaining on average 3-4 oz a week and  I couldn't take the stress. She was really small. We are now supplementing with about 4 oz of breastmilk and 5 oz of formula a day. It breaks my heart a little but she's now gaining well and really happy and smiley. I love her to pieces....swoon!

I have found it so weird that I can nurse DS for 26 months and then fail (kind of) second time round. I have lots of milk at night it seems and she nurses 2-3 times. By the time her morning nap comes around at 9am, I can tell that there isn't as much milk there. BIg bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, water, teas etc.

So, not getting much sleep. DS is waking at night and sometimes finding his way into bed with me and DD. DH is in the guest room. Urgh. But...this soon shall pass and I'm trying to savour the snuggles!

Going home to Wales for Christmas in 4 weeks! Cannot wait. I'll be buying a mountain of organic baby food as I'm not sure we'll be doing as much self-feeding as we did with DS while she's very little. Russian fruit and veg = nasties in abundance.

Oh and anyone else comfort eating?!!! Eeek. I was hoping the weight would be dropping off but I'm really inactive, tired and eating waaaaay too much sugar :(

mamakaikai....sorry to hear about the hospital visit!! Hope all's well very soon

[chattyprincess]

Originally Posted by welsh 

Well Mamas it's taken me forever but I'm finally posting! I've enjoyed reading all your updates and seeing the gorgeous babes born in July 2010!

AFM, I have found it quite a struggle going from 1 to 2 children. DD is mellow and I can actually put her down which is great because her brother demands alot of attention. I feel bad for her though because I know that she isn't getting the attention that DS had from me as an infant.

We have struggled with nursing from Day 1. You may remember me crying over my nipple trauma. Well it took a month for DD to regain her birth weight. Fortunately I was in the UK where they are very hands-off and pro-breastfeeding (at least my health visitor and midwives were). I started pumping  but could rarely get more than 1.5-2 oz.

 By the time we took DD to the ped here in Moscow she was only gaining on average 3-4 oz a week and  I couldn't take the stress. She was really small. We are now supplementing with about 4 oz of breastmilk and 5 oz of formula a day. It breaks my heart a little but she's now gaining well and really happy and smiley. I love her to pieces....swoon!

I have found it so weird that I can nurse DS for 26 months and then fail (kind of) second time round. I have lots of milk at night it seems and she nurses 2-3 times. By the time her morning nap comes around at 9am, I can tell that there isn't as much milk there. BIg bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, water, teas etc.

So, not getting much sleep. DS is waking at night and sometimes finding his way into bed with me and DD. DH is in the guest room. Urgh. But...this soon shall pass and I'm trying to savour the snuggles!

Going home to Wales for Christmas in 4 weeks! Cannot wait. I'll be buying a mountain of organic baby food as I'm not sure we'll be doing as much self-feeding as we did with DS while she's very little. Russian fruit and veg = nasties in abundance.

Oh and anyone else comfort eating?!!! Eeek. I was hoping the weight would be dropping off but I'm really inactive, tired and eating waaaaay too much sugar :(

mamakaikai....sorry to hear about the hospital visit!! Hope all's well very soon

 :) :) HI!!! YES, comfort eating abounds in moutains here. Not to sound braggy but I didn't gain much this pregnancy (gained 70 my first and never lost all of it...had 30 extra hanging around still lol) I was prepreganancy weight within a week or so but am still needing to loose that 30lbs. Plus all my muscle tone is gone and has been replaced by comfy gushy flubby fat. lol. I am trying really hard not to beat myself up over this and am going to commit myself to the gym in full force in January. I have no time between american thanksgiving next week, travle to see fam in the beginning of dec and then xmas so yeah...

I am also struggling with the 1 to 2 kid thing...A dear friend had the same problem and said it was all much better after they settled into a routine  and life was more normal and less newborn hecticness. lol I HOPE SO. I really miss my old time of just the three of us, it seems so sweet and innocent...now its just crazy business!!

Have you tried the nursing cookie recipe?? I have heard a few success stories from it,  I know there must be a recipe if you google for it. Sorry your having such a hard time of it, I am glad it is evening out a bit though, that must feel good!

Mamakai! How scary/sad about your dd. I am so happy she is doing well and the hospital was respectful about her vax status. When something like this happens it really scares the daylights into you about how quickly a simple virus can wreak havoc on thier little systems. It is quite terrifying really. I hope you come to a descion about thier vaxs that you feel good about.