Chat Thread 12/4-12/10 - Page 4

[cbeclipse]

I've been reading along, but haven't had time to post until now. Landon has taken to taking his naps in his carseat the two times a day we are dropping off/picking up from pre-school. 

Luckily things with DP have gotten a little better. 

Landon has been smiling for 2 weeks now! I can't believe he is 5 weeks old today!!! I will post a super cute pic of him later when I am home. I don't know how to post a pic of him from my phone, so I will have to upload it onto my laptop and then post it here. He sleeps well at night, but hasn't been going to bed until a little after 10, sleeping until 3 or 4, and than awake around 6. During the day he isn't so easy though. He did sleep in the beco two days for a nap, but than the last two days he just screamed and screamed until I took him out of it. I don't know what other carrier I should try. I have a moby, but can't seem to figure it out yet. I need to try some more. 

I've been trying to figure out how to dress this guy for when we go out. It's starting to get cold here. I put a hat on him, and he has an infant carseat, but I know that you aren't supposed to put coats/layers on them when they are in their carseats. Plus, sometimes I put him in his beco when we get to where we are going. I have a sweatshirt that I can zip up over both of us, but it's not that warm/thick. Doesn't help that I have yet to find socks that will stay on him. 

Landon loves to be swaddled. I put him in a Woombie, and he loves it! We used them here (I'm a nanny) for Eliza when she was a baby, and she loved them. He looks so cute when he is in them 

He has been leaking through his diapers lately. Not sure why. We use Seventh Generation. Everyone tells me to use a different kind to see if they help, but I want to use the natural ones. I would do cloth if I had a washer/dryer. 

I'm so tired. I haven't been able to fall asleep after Landon gets up for his 3 or 4am eating. Makes for a super long day for me. 

Gotta run! 

[saoirse2007]

not knit, but you can sew longie from fleece

Originally Posted by Trinket90 

Time for Christmas decorations! I keep putting it off thinking I want to get the room cleaned better before I decorate but I've come to realize if I wait for it to be clean as I want it, it'll NEVER happen. So it's gonna get decorated today, mess and all.

Do any of you have experience with cloth diapering and wool allergies? I have a friend who's pregnant and is planning on cloth diapering. She's buying mostly gdiapers (used) but she really likes the idea of wool longies and such--but because of a wool allergy they can't use anything wool. Is there any other fiber (especially knit) that's absorbent enough to make a diaper cover out of that could be used for longies? I feel bad for her. There's something so charming about a baby in a wool cover.

[saoirse2007]

. I would do cloth if I had a washer/dryer. 

I'm so tired. I haven't been able to fall asleep after Landon gets up for his 3 or 4am eating. Makes for a super long day for me. 

Gotta run! 

we did not have a washer dryer either so we  made flats from flannel sheets - washed in bath tub and hang to dry

[lifeguard]

Steph - sometimes those breakdown conversations are the best ones. I always feel so much better afterwards. So glad you got things sorted out & I think it is fabulous that your dh feels it is important for you to do things for you - so many mama's don't have that kind of support & taking care of you is soooo important. I hope your hearing goes well.

chelsea - there are other brands that are more "natural" as well. Around here there is even a storebrand at one of the grocery chains that carries unbleached disposables. Might be worth looking around.

afm - we did the dtap vax yesterday (I always feel sick with uneasiness after vaxing even though we do lots of reading & discussing about each one & are careful to only do one at a time & only those we feel are worthwhile) & dd is soooo fussy today. She just is not very content (I say as she sits quietly in her swing - but it's the first time all day she's been ok).

My cloth diapers are not making me very unhappy. I am using the dipes we had for ds - I made the prefolds out of flannel & the covers are pul that I realllly liked (some are newer than others) but they pretty consistently leak with dd. She is definitely a heavier wetter than ds was (I doubled her dipe last night which I didn't need to do until ds was over 1 year & it still leaked) but this is ridiculous. It's really discouraging for me. I seem to have no luck with wool - I now have 6 different wool covers (all handmade) & they just don't seem to do the job or fit right. Sigh. We're going through a lot more disposables than I would like.

[RosemaryS-F]

Steph, your troubles with your ex seem awful. Do you think he cares about ds?

saoirse, you must be very strong to wear 2 kiddos.

I had to pick up our car from one shop today in the freezing wind (on foot, 2 kids) across town, drive it to another town to get the repairs (because they quoted me $500 less), drop it off, walk to the train, take the train and walk home.

[not_telling]

saorise - that photo is just awesome...on many levels.

steph - agree with lifeguard that it's very cool that your DH wants you to do something just for you and something for you and babe that you've wanted to do.  sending lots of good luck vibes for your hearing - i hope the judge "gets it."  do you have testimonies/info/whatever from professionals that will clearly illustrate what is entailed in supporting your DS...and how your DH is ignorant about all this?

vaxes - DD's 2 month appt is a week from today and I gotta decide what we're getting for her.  we pretty much do 1 at a time, too.  with DS we only did DTaP and HiB in his first year, just alternating back and forth...so it'll be one of those for DD...just gotta figure out which.

dipes - we're doing ok with seventh generation (at night or when we're out n' about)...i'd imagine that most of the more "natural" sposies probably perform similarly, but you never know.  now, these leaks we're getting with our cloth are driving me a bit bonkers...but i'm remembering that, in terms of diaper supply, they say to assume about 10 diapers a day...so we really ought to be changing every 2-2.5 hours...it's usually when we try to push it that we have a leak...though sometimes we've had leaks pretty quickly from wicking waistbands or leg gussets.

dressing babe for carseat - thus far, i've been using this adorable knitted sweater (made by a friend) as DD's outerwear, but today it was pretty cold out, so she was wearing a short-sleeve onesie under a sweater, and then i put a fleece jacket on top.  once she's in her carseat we tuck a receiving blanket around her legs and feet.  fleece is great for wearing safely in a carseat.

afm - we finally rejoined our weekly playgroup this evening.  we actually hosted.   the one little boy who has always engaged in the most inappropriate physical stuff wasn't here, thankfully, but the other boy who often makes me grit my teeth was and i'm just praying (!!) that DS does not decide to emulate the behavior he saw tonight (i.e. constantly telling his mom and friends "i hate you," saying people are stupid and things are stupid, grabbing people's clothes and pulling/pushing  - oy!).  i have a bad feeling, though...

on the plus side, we had a tasty playgroup dinner...i made a noodle kugel with apples and cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in, and another mommy made a delish salad with raddichio and baby arugula and roasted pears and parmesan and dried cranberries...and another mommy brought wine . 

[dollyanna]

not telling YUM

Steph good luck with the court date. It sounds like your DS' dad is pretty clueless about what is "best" for his son. 

I can empathize on the medical bills, though thankfully ours aren't as high. DH is the non-custodial parent for my DSS, but DSS is on his medical insurance and trying to get his mom to pay her half of the medical bills is like pulling teeth.  She also chose a Dr who is not in DH's plan, so bills that *could* be just a copay end up costing a lot more. 

Our child support situation sucks.  They went to a mediator back when DSS was in a very expensive aftercare, so the support amount is based in part on that.  DH hasn't taken DSS' mom back to get it adjusted even though he hasn't been in aftercare for years (he's 16) just to avoid the drama.  But now that I'm losing my job, we kinda think we have to do it.  I just don't want DSS to feel like his sisters are more important to DH than he is.  Plus his mom is a real drama queen so I'm not looking forward to that.  She clearly has means, though, so I don't think it will impact his life much.

smiling - I am totally paranoid about this baby. She has *maybe* smiled a few times, but I'm totally not convinced it's not gas. She's not super into faces. I just feel like DD1 was way more social by this point (7 weeks) and it's making me worry. If she would just give me one good, really obvious smile I'd feel soooo much better!

weight - DD is gaining v-e-r-y slowly.  I emailed the Dr and she's OK with it, or at least with not seeing us until the 2 month appt.  DD recently cut what she's taking in formula back down again which makes me nervous. I've been on domperidone for a few weeks now, though, so maybe I was able to increase my supply by a few ounces . I guess by this age they're supposed to really let you know if they're hungry?

Diapers - sometimes leaking from disposables just means it's the wrong size -- maybe you just need to size up?  I was going to suggest fleece as a wool alternative as well.  I don't know if anyone makes a longie equivalent, but we got some of these (diff color) used, They're still too big, so I've only used a few times, but they seem a good breathable alternative to PUL.  I already sold the newborn diapers I bought cheap from another mom.  Kind of awesome to get 5 weeks use out of something and be able to sell it for the same price you paid

friends - I've been trying to make some, but it's a little weird because they're FTMs and I have another kid.  I just had too much going on the 1st time around to make friends.  Now knowing that I'll be home for a while, especially, I am trying to be friendly and meet people, which is not my natural inclination. 

cleaning - I've been hanging out a little with a friend who has a kid at DD's school.  Something about seeing her house made me realize how hoarder-like mine has become.  Like, she lives in a grown up house. I live in a... house full of crap?  I owe her kid a playdate, and now I find my house embarrassing so I'm on a mission to purge.  I've managed to clear a couple of areas of clutter so far, I've freecycled a few things, thrown stuff out. But I can tell it's going to take dedication. It's really amazing how quickly the week flies by.  Every day I have these grand plans for what I'm going to get done, and then by the time I start it's time to pick DD1 up from school & by the time she's in bed & DD2 is done fussing I am just freaking done.

[RosemaryS-F]

Dollyanna, when my ds was a baby I had a friend who was almost 10 years younger than me (and I was only 30), had a baby the same age, and whose house (ok, apartment) was IMMACULATE. It totally embarrassed me when she would come over. It also inspired me to purge and gain better habits, which thankfully I now have, though I still go over there and cannot understand how she does it (she's since divorced, has the 2 kids and works). I had to develop "System and Maintenance"! It took a whole summer to find a place for everything, and know where that place is, and put it FREAKING THERE when it's done being used. And since our laundry is upstairs, we put all dirty laundry on the stairs, and anything that needs to go to the bedrooms on the stairs, so that we see it when we're going up, but don't necessarily have to take it right to its final destination right away. I could go on and on. Good luck in your purge, in other words.

AFM: We are in the process of changing preschools for DS. He is in a small, privately-run, independent preschool now that I thought was going to be perfect, but now that he is there, he's coming home with all these things that I really don't like--such as the concept of Santa and his elves watching him to make sure he's not bad, and the "elf on the shelf" will tell Santa if he's bad (lame), he came home with all of these horrible and frankly creepy crafts during October and songs that I thought were really inappropriate, and then there's this new development of his little friend who happens to be our neighbor 2 doors down who he LOVES but whose parents I have a really hard time with. It's not just the spoiling, it's their own cliquishness and gossipy tendencies which she of course has, and now DS, who idolizes her, is in a clique against this other little girl who is super sweet and wants to play with him, but the neighbor girl doesn't like her for whatever reason, so she has DS excluding her. Ugh. And the teachers don't really seem to care (plus, I've found that they have horrible grammar!) So I'm disappointed--but our other neighbor, who is very cool, recommended the local Montessori to me; I hadn't even visited it because the tuition is pretty crazy, but she encouraged me to try it out and hinted that I might get a break. So I went there, LOVED it, DS loved it, and the director agreed to match the tuition we currently pay. So he'll be starting there in January!

[cbeclipse]

Dipes- we had more leaks. Looks like I will be trying a new brand. Landon is still in newborn dipes, and they are actually still big on him. So, I don't think it's a size issue.

Vaxes- I dread Landons 2 month appt. I am pretty sure that we are just going to do rotovirus and dtap. Not hib at that appt. I know my dr is going to question why. Oh well.

I spoke too soon about things being better with dp. We had a bad night last night. He left this morning without even saying goodbye.

I'm off to go grocery shopping for the family I'm a nanny for. Hope Landon doesn't scream the whole time

[emmaegbert]

6 weeks today, yay! DTD yesterday and while I didn't exactly love it, it wasn't awful. Baby girl is smiling and starting to coo at us, so sweet. She is still pretty sleepy but has longer stretches of alert time, and also longer stretches of sleep.

MESSY HOUSE: My house is always messy. Its just so hard for me to keep up with it. Its not AWFUL but DH is a hoarder and I have many other excuses (5 people living in under 600 square feet with no garage or basement for storage, for example). But the thing is, I am just not a tidy person. When I work full time (which I will eventually), I will definitely hire someone to come clean and do laundry- probably 2x per week at least. I also fantasize about being able to afford a professional organizer- to set up my apartment and then come back every 6 months for maintanence.

Rosemary- its weird about preschools. We had a similar experience with DS, the place sounded just right but it wasn't at all. I wish I'd made a change sooner. Good for you for making the switch. In the end, the teachers themselves and the dynamics of the particular class your kids are in matter a lot. (as do, of course, the priorities of the administration). One thing I really like about Montessori or Waldorf or Reggio, is that even if you aren't 100% into the philosophy, what you know is that the teachers and the administration have all thought very deeply about what they are doing and why... I find they tend to be very "intentional" in their approaches, and very respectful of the kids. Obviously a particular school might not be, but from the places I've visited and heard about. 

leaky dipes: we do EC so there is rarely more than one pee in a diaper, except at night. We generally have about 3-4 pee diapers (one pee each) per day. I have found that covers do deteriorate and start leaking, and also I found certain covers just seemed to wick the moisture out- yuck.

carbs: they are my downfall. I try to eat other things first (fat and protein, fiber) but it is very hard. Especially if they are around! I am thinking its time to go on a stricter low-carb diet but I just don't want to yet. Sigh. Its not hard, just takes me making up my mind. I am on a good "maintenance" diet right now, but really since I have 20 lbs to lose, I shouldn't be maintaining. UGH.

ALRIGHT. Speaking of messy house. I have to tidy up and put away masses of laundry. And I have to then try and do some work this morning while I have some childcare for the 2yo. Well, at least sit down and THINK about doing some work. Sigh. My self-imposed maternity leave is over as of Monday...

 

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by cbeclipse 

I've been trying to figure out how to dress this guy for when we go out. It's starting to get cold here. I put a hat on him, and he has an infant carseat, but I know that you aren't supposed to put coats/layers on them when they are in their carseats. Plus, sometimes I put him in his beco when we get to where we are going. I have a sweatshirt that I can zip up over both of us, but it's not that warm/thick. Doesn't help that I have yet to find socks that will stay on him.

For Kai I dress him in a long sleeve onesie undershirt, an outfit (just a regular outfit, whatever he's wearing that day) with socks (if they are socks that won't stay on then I'll also put a pair of robeez on him) and a hat. Then he goes into the carseat (bucket seat) with a folded blanket over him. Then I have another blanket that I drape over the carseat to keep the wind out when we're walking to the car. When we get to the destination I go to the backseat (baby is in the middle of the backseat so the seat next to him is open for me to sit in), get him out of the carseat, pop him into the moby or ergo (whichever I'm using that day) and wrap a blanket around him (the one I use to drape over the seat to keep the wind out). Yesterday was the coldest day so far, so when I went to target I took the whole carseat in then when we got inside I took ds out and put him in the moby.

Originally Posted by lifeguard 

Steph - sometimes those breakdown conversations are the best ones. I always feel so much better afterwards. So glad you got things sorted out & I think it is fabulous that your dh feels it is important for you to do things for you - so many mama's don't have that kind of support & taking care of you is soooo important. I hope your hearing goes well.

My dh really is fabulous. I am a lucky woman for sure
 

Originally Posted by RosemaryS-F 

Steph, your troubles with your ex seem awful. Do you think he cares about ds?

Not really, no. He disappeared from ds's life for years (2 months after we got the autism diagnosis he disappeared, stopped showing up for visits, stopped calling, refused to answer the phone when I called, etc). We basically didn't hear from him for years, even though we lived like 15 minutes away. Then ds and I moved out of the state (ex didn't show up in court to stop us when I petitioned to be allowed to move) and ex didn't see him for 4 more years (even though I brought ds back to ex's town 6-8 times a year- I think one of those years he saw ds for about 4 hours, all supervised by me and in 1-2 hour chunks). Then ex got married and his new wife is forcing him to be a part of ds's life. I think her original plan was for ex to get more visitation on paper (even if he doesn't use it) so that it lowers his child support. I don't think she realized that I would fight back with everything I have before I let that happen. So the past 1 1/2 years it's been a long, expensive battle. Ex filed with the Judge in the summer of 2010. Then he decided that he didn't really want to show up in court so it was held on the Judge's desk until ex refiled early this year. We went to court in the spring where the Judge ordered a temp visitation schedule (1 weekend a month for 4 hours Saturday and 4 hours Sunday). Now we have to go back in front of the Judge to see what he wants the new visitation schedule to be. Ex should have filed something with the Judge, asking for whatever visitation schedule he wants, but he hasn't. So now we have no idea what ex actually wants and we have no idea what the Judge will order.

But, as far as does ex care about ds.... no. I truely believe he doesn't. If he did, then he would be speaking to the school, therapists, doctors, ME, about ds. Ex refuses to even speak to me (via email, phone, text, anything) about anything having to do with ds. DS had his 3 year review at school this fall (he has to have a new evaluation every 3 years to make sure he still qualifies for special education and then every year in the fall he has to have his IEP re-written with new goals). I told ex when this meeting would be so he could call into the school and participate in the meeting. He refused to. Not only that, but he never asked me how it went, what the evaluation says, what the new IEP goals are, etc. He has NO IDEA what ds is working on in school. He has no idea if ds is failing or thriving. He's refusing to let me get therapy for ds that his therapist is suggesting, but at the same time he won't talk to me (or the therapist) about why we want to get it for ds and what we expect it will help with. He just sent me one email that said he doesn't agree with me getting ds therapy. What kind of parent does that?? Most parents will do whatever it takes to get their child the help he/she needs to succeed in life.
 

Originally Posted by not_telling 

steph - agree with lifeguard that it's very cool that your DH wants you to do something just for you and something for you and babe that you've wanted to do.  sending lots of good luck vibes for your hearing - i hope the judge "gets it."  do you have testimonies/info/whatever from professionals that will clearly illustrate what is entailed in supporting your DS...and how your DH is ignorant about all this?

Right now we're doing a hearing, not a trial, so basically we can give things to the Judge before the hearing (my lawyer should be getting it to him today) for him to look over. Then at the hearing he'll ask a couple questions and then give his ruling (which he likely will already know what he's going to say before I ever step foot in the courtroom, basing it on what we and ex file with him before the hearing). But the trick to this is, we have to get all the relevant information to him, but not overload him. If we give him tons of pages to read, he likely won't read all of it. So we have to pick and choose what to present to him now, versus what we would use if it went to a trial. I don't want to say any more about what we are filing, just in case ex reads this, but I feel confident that we are giving him a good picture of ds's needs without overwhelming him at the same time. If the Judge were to make some crazy ruling that were completely detrimental to ds then my lawyer would file to have a trial and that's where we would pull out all the guns. Thankfully the Judge has always ruled in ds's best interest (we've seen the same Judge 4 times now in 7 years) so we've never had to bring it to a trial.

Originally Posted by dollyanna 

smiling - I am totally paranoid about this baby. She has *maybe* smiled a few times, but I'm totally not convinced it's not gas. She's not super into faces. I just feel like DD1 was way more social by this point (7 weeks) and it's making me worry. If she would just give me one good, really obvious smile I'd feel soooo much better!

I know I shouldn't do it, but I constantly find myself comparing the baby with my older ds. My older ds has autism and, at the time, I didn't realize anything was amiss when he was a baby. Then as he started getting into the toddler years and we realized something was different, I started looking back and realizing so many things from his early infant days that should have clued us in that he wasn't typical. So now I find myself comparing the baby too, to see if he's following in ds's footsteps (he's not, so far, he seems very much a typical baby).

[livacreature]

Comparisons: I'm struggling with this.  My former coworker has a DD who is two weeks older than Aurora.  She's a lot bigger, around 11 or 12 pounds, starting to grow out of her 0-3 months, and we're still in preemie/newborn stuff.  I thought I put away her preemie stuff because I felt better putting her in the newborn stuff.  I put her in a sleeper today and realized it was preemie...and still fit perfectly.  I'm nervous about her 2 month appointment/where her weight is.  She eats all the freaking time.  I nurse whenever she cries, it is the first line of defense.  Aurora is also still cross-eyed a lot...is that typical?

House: Mine is a wreck.  I'm trying to get caught up on the laundry today before I start working again, but all I want to do is have snuggle time because I'm going back to work....

Chelsea: We're still in disposables and have had good luck with Earth's Best Baby.  We didn't try Seventh Generation, but we like them a lot better than the huggies pure and natural.  They are cheaper where we live as well.

[emmaegbert]

comparisons: someone told me something I really liked... she said it was great to have a third child because she finally stopped comparing the first two to eachother. I think its really hard not to do. You have so much knowledge of your own kids.

livacreature I hope that you can let go of comparing Aurora to the other baby. My first was a giant kid. He still is. I certainly hope I didn't inadvertently make anyone feel badly about their baby if I blathered on about his size. It was honestly a little overwhelming how fast he was growing those first 6 months. For instance... it made babywearing hard. He was really heavy! And, he grew out of everything before he was the right age for it. I doubt that as a first time mom I was at all sensitive to people who have a different kind of kid. I hope I've learned some by now. But what I've seen as the kids grow up is... they are, for the most part, all just fine. They are still different sizes. And different temperaments. And different in many ways. And my giant 4mo is still the tallest kid in his grade. Whatever! He is likely to be a tall person all his life. Though as he points out-- he is still small compared to adults.

[Katico]

Saoirse:  That picture is amazing.  You are a superwoman!!!

Vacc: Ugh,  I'm dreading this too. I just hate how miserable and fussy they are after getting  them  :(

Diapers:  " expect 10 diapers a day"??   Oh my goodness! DD is a little peeing machine or something, because she soaks a diaper often twice an hour during the day! And holy hannah, FORGET about letting her sit in it for more than 3.5 seconds!  No sir, she will scream herself silly over a wet diaper.  Sigh.   Lots of laundry here!  She soaks the infant size prefolds and the larger prefolds are just way too huge for her (she can barely move in one) so I'm thinking of getting some hemp doublers.  Not that I think it will make her any happier to wait for a diaper change but it might make the whole thing less drippy!  I'm using the flip snap covers and we haven't had a leak yet though!

I know breastfed babies have less poop after awhile - do they also have less pee?  I'm thinking they need to eat less volume to meet their needs so they have less pee output?  She is a big baby so she's eating SO MUCH, too!   Between the constant bottles and diapers she is keeping me hopping.

not_telling:  ugh, ugh, ugh to bad playdate behaviour!  so awkward!!!!!!  DD1 is going through a bit of normal 2yo stuff (ocasionally not wanting to share a toy, or taking a toy from someone else, very mild stuff that I can gently talk to her and she'll usually stop) and it STILL mortifies me-  I can't imagine being the mom of the kid who is saying he hates people, etc.  

One of my oldest childhood friends has a little boy who is 3 and he is......um....overindulged and then threatened and punished with crazy timeouts and "good boy/bad boy" talk  and forced sharing and apologies and confusing wierdness like that.  And when we play together (which isn't often, because I avoid it), he runs around talking about cutting people's eyes out (!!!!!) and pretending to shoot and fight, etc.  So, the last time they were over he was doing all this crazy stuff (i.e. taking a play knife from our  play kitchen and telling me he was going to stab me.. "I cut you!  I stab you!" ) and his mother doesn't even BLINK.  I go to the bathroom for a couple of minutes and while I was gone, DD knocked over a block tower her son had built (this is how we always play with her blocks - I build the tower and she knocks it down) and he was upset.  My friend  had this serious look on her face when I walked back in and she says "Beth, Lila just knocked over C's tower and I thought you needed to know about it." (like, "what was I going to do about this serious infraction?")  Ummmm. Ok.....  I just told Lila that C wanted to keep his towers and please don't knock them down, Mommy would build her one to knock down if she wanted.  And she agreed.  And that was that. And I could tell my friend was miffed because I hadn't punished DD....... Yikes.  

messy houses:  ok, I fall on the opposite end of things.  If you were coming to visit you would find my house spotless and everything in it's place, even toys.  The kids would be adorably dressed (often in something I knit or sewed) and clean.  And there would probably be fresh baked goods waiting for you.   Here's a secret - all of that is just my social anxiety manifesting itself!! I probably stayed up late and/or got up early to make it happen.  and it certainly doesn't look like that every moment of the day!!!! I have a toddler, a newborn and a  husband who doesn't know HOW  to clean- it DEFINITELY doesn't always look like that.   I get really edgy when the house is a mess and can't bear to have anyone see things be less than perfect.  It's not healthy.  So just assume that all those with "perfect" houses are probably just a bit crazy, haha  

Rosemary -  awesome preschool news!!!, also....

Santa and good vs bad - yikes!  so hard to avoid!!! It's all so contrary to the way we parent.  I try so hard not to say good or bad, we've had absolutely no need for "punishments"or time outs (natural consequences like leaving somewhere during a tantrum, yes) and toys are never rewards;  This whole "he's WATCHING and if you're BAD, no toys for you!" is  so harsh for little people!  no thank you! Yuck.  Our Santa isn't about all that, i hope I can keep other people from planting those ideas in their heads

Chelsea: hugs!

cross-eyes = neither of my girls ever had much beyond the first week or so, but most of the babies we know have had them happening easily for 5-6 weeks, definitely

afm -Dh has been away 2 days and won't be home until late tonight.  I am so ready for a tiny break tomorrow

I just looked at the baby and she had a glob of glitter glue on her face.  ummmm.....new rule - "we don't glue the baby's face". Actually, make that "no glue on the baby, period" - it will work better for the very literal minded toddler 

[AKislandgirl]

Originally Posted by Trinket90 

Time for Christmas decorations! I keep putting it off thinking I want to get the room cleaned better before I decorate but I've come to realize if I wait for it to be clean as I want it, it'll NEVER happen. So it's gonna get decorated today, mess and all.

Do any of you have experience with cloth diapering and wool allergies? I have a friend who's pregnant and is planning on cloth diapering. She's buying mostly gdiapers (used) but she really likes the idea of wool longies and such--but because of a wool allergy they can't use anything wool. Is there any other fiber (especially knit) that's absorbent enough to make a diaper cover out of that could be used for longies? I feel bad for her. There's something so charming about a baby in a wool cover.

Fleece longies are cute. Also, way cheeper then wool. You can add lots of fun appliques onto them too! Not as cute as wool but they will work. But if she is using gdiapers then she doesn't need the wool as a "cover" and she could do cotton knits.

Dressing baby in the cold: It's been pretty cold around here since last month. Maeve is always in wool longies and almost always in a long sleeve wool shirt as well. Sometimes I'll add a fleece or wool sweater when we go out but mostly just tuck a blanket around her in the carseat and then use a carseat cover. She hates wearing hats so i only put one on her for walks. I can zip my coat around her while babywearing too when we do walks. it's just an oversized fleece jacket I was given when I was pregnant. Not super thick so I'm eyeing those kindercoats! Love the picture Saoirse! She should be able to fit into her fleece snowsuit now too which will help.

I took her to her 2 month well baby visit yesterday! 2 months!! She's doing great. 10 lbs 11 oz and 23 inches long. 50th % for weight and 75th% for height. So different then my first baby who was so tiny and never made the charts at all!

Time for us to get out of the house for the day...
 

[lifeguard]

comparisons - soooooo hard not to do. I think maybe after the tenth you might stop comparing?!

diapers - I never knew what people meant by heavy wetters before. We are doubling dd's dipes now the way we did when ds was a year! I have been folding the extra bulk behind her instead of in front & that seems to help.

messiness - good point Katico. I can rarely get my house to a point where I am ok with visitors ('cause, you know, we live here) so mostly I don't invite people over & when I do I can make myself sick with anxiety about it. In fact my dad is coming on Monday for a week & I'm totally stressed about it. The thing I miss the most about living in Costa Rica is having a maid.

I'm trying to clear out the space for the treadmill but can literally only work in 5 minute chunks. I really need to figure out how to back carry dd.

[Trinket90]

Originally Posted by lifeguard 

I'm trying to clear out the space for the treadmill but can literally only work in 5 minute chunks. I really need to figure out how to back carry dd.

How soon can you back carry a baby? I never had the need to before with foster babies but it would be SO convenient now. He just seems so little to do a back carry with (he's only 7.5 weeks) but I'm not sure when I could try it with him.

I LOVE the idea of fleece covers. They seem easier to clean than the wool, too. I think I might get or make one for DS--I'm thinking about starting CDing with DS soon. We still have the old flat fold diapers, and some cute wool covers, I just need a couple more because a lot of them were used for my sister and are pretty girly. I'm just not looking forward to the uptick in laundry. Good idea about the appliques and using cotton knits since she doesn't need "covers".

[Leiahs]

Comparisons:  Hard to avoid.  Malcolm is my 4th baby, and I tend to *want* to compare him to his older siblings... but the truth is I've forgotten so many details, lol!  I remember generally how quickly they all grew out of their NB/0-3 sizes, and it seems like maybe he's going a tiny bit slower.  (Well, significantly slower than my 3rd, but he started out 10lb 10oz, so not a good benchmark!)  The thing that gets me most is that while he does smile, and he's finally cooing, he's really not incredibly interactive.  I have videos of my older kids when they were Mal's age, and they go on and on and on with the little babbling coos, and I've got such fun videos with giggles and laughing... And Malcolm smiles and I can tell he's content and happy, and every now and then he'll look at me and start making some talking noises... but he's always done after about a minute, and turns his head to take a break.  I have yet to get him to laugh.  He has so many serious-looking faces... I just have to think he's just going to be a more quiet kid than some of my others have been.  And that's okay.  It's just hard to get used to.  10 weeks old and no laughs yet.  :(

Winter baby:  Stood outside in the 20's today with Malcolm in my double-layer cotton sling, while my kids went sledding.  He was dressed in a fairly normal-to-thin weight cotton footed sleeper, and then I put him a sort of fleecy footed/hooded sleeper on top of that.  Put on the double-layer repurposed cashmere gloves I made for him, too.  And then wrapped a chenille blanket over the top of the sling, and kept my coat closed on the sides as well as I could.  We were out for about an hour and 15 minutes, long enough for me to get uncomfortably cold, and my oldest to start complaining that her toes were completely frozen.  Got home, and Malcolm was still comfortably warm.  Hooray for success!!  :)

Wish I had time to comment on everything else.  Reading every single time I get a chance, though!  Love this group.  :) :)

[lifeguard]

trinket - there are several videos on youtube showing rucksack or tibetan carries with a woven wrap that I am going to try. I made a wrap last night but I haven't had success at getting dd there yet - I think I need some help the first few times.

[saoirse2007]

Originally Posted by lifeguard 

comparisons - soooooo hard not to do. I think maybe after the tenth you might stop comparing?!

diapers - I never knew what people meant by heavy wetters before. We are doubling dd's dipes now the way we did when ds was a year! I have been folding the extra bulk behind her instead of in front & that seems to help.

messiness - good point Katico. I can rarely get my house to a point where I am ok with visitors ('cause, you know, we live here) so mostly I don't invite people over & when I do I can make myself sick with anxiety about it. In fact my dad is coming on Monday for a week & I'm totally stressed about it. The thing I miss the most about living in Costa Rica is having a maid.

I'm trying to clear out the space for the treadmill but can literally only work in 5 minute chunks. I really need to figure out how to back carry dd.

Originally Posted by Trinket90 

How soon can you back carry a baby? I never had the need to before with foster babies but it would be SO convenient now. He just seems so little to do a back carry with (he's only 7.5 weeks) but I'm not sure when I could try it with him.

I LOVE the idea of fleece covers. They seem easier to clean than the wool, too. I think I might get or make one for DS--I'm thinking about starting CDing with DS soon. We still have the old flat fold diapers, and some cute wool covers, I just need a couple more because a lot of them were used for my sister and are pretty girly. I'm just not looking forward to the uptick in laundry. Good idea about the appliques and using cotton knits since she doesn't need "covers".

Originally Posted by lifeguard 

trinket - there are several videos on youtube showing rucksack or tibetan carries with a woven wrap that I am going to try. I made a wrap last night but I haven't had success at getting dd there yet - I think I need some help the first few times.

my pic is me with dd in a back carry - she was 9 days old - i needed to make muffins with ds - tibetan