March 2005 Mamas--It's November! - Page 8

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by jocmtl

Jonah is sleeping better, but Bubbles, I hear you about the early wake up time. He usually wakes up any time between 4:00 and 6:00, and if it's closer to 5:00, he usually can't be nursed back to sleep. And he does this regardless of what time he went to bed at (people have told us to put him to bed later).

Speaking of the little rabbit, he is losing patience of being left alone to play! Later mamas!

It seems that Jonah and Quinten are so alike in many ways. They really seem to be on the same page w/ their sleep. Very interesting...
We can always commiserate!
Aprildawn I hope Keira is on the mend. I know it is very stressful and scary. I am thinking of you.

Dh was so wonderful with the kids this weekend. I was able to sleep in a bit and get some rest. As per Hawkfeather's recommendation I had a nice bath last night .
Tomorrow I am back on duty for two nights w/ my mom so I hope Quinten has good nights .
Good to check in and connect w/ you mamas.

[Bennifer]

Ben ate solids!! He had some asparagus last night...how's that for a first food? He had actually eaten some carrot about a month ago, but hadn't been interested since. Today he had some banana and was going to town! He acted like he had been starving for 8 months...hardly a possibility when I'm feeding the little guy every hour at night!
He also is pulling up to stand, it's his new favorite thing to do. He gets the cutest "I'm so proud of myself" look when he stands up.
We took some photos of him the other day just in his fuzzi bunz and a big santa hat for our christmas cards...turned out really cute. This week or next we are going to get our first family photo taken.
I've been reading and keeping up with what's been going on with everyone...I hope there are healthier, sleepier nights ahead and less family battles...Jo, sorry to hear about your time in Florida. The holidays can be so lovely for that!
Better get back to sewing...making lavender-smelling rice packs for almost everyone, using scrap fabric and a bulk bag of rice. We cannot afford to buy everyone gifts...dh's family is especially nuts with the gift-giving!

[welldone]

aprildawn, I hope your babe is getting better. Keep us posted. As much as we like it when they sleep, isn't it scary when they won't get up?

And he does this regardless of what time he went to bed at (people have told us to put him to bed later).

Nooooo. Sleep research (and my personal experience) always says put them to bed earlier for better sleep. I'm sure you've read this. There are always exceptions, but I think this principle really works!

Countdown to Moving Day #43249: Two days left. I painted some trim today in the girls' room; we're working hard to make their bedroom finished, safe, and clean, so they have a place to play and get used to the place while the rest of the house is in total chaos. We painted their room a pale green (rainforest something--or was it Pale Avocado?--from Benjamin Moore) and plan to accent with flowers and lots of pinks and reds. Maya loves pink. Ellery likes pink if she can chew it.

[eminer]

Originally Posted by Bennifer

Ben ate solids!! He had some asparagus last night...how's that for a first food?

That's awesome! What a great tidbit to be able to tell him some day.

Originally Posted by welldone

We painted their room a pale green (rainforest something--or was it Pale Avocado?--from Benjamin Moore) and plan to accent with flowers and lots of pinks and reds. Maya loves pink. Ellery likes pink if she can chew it.

That sounds beautiful. I can't wait to see pictures as you continue working on your house.

...

Eve is into eating art spplies lately. Yesterday I found two of Grace's beads in her poop! Today I had laid newspapers out for Grace to paint on the floor, which was a bad idea. Tired of alternating between distracting, restraining, and washing off Eve's hands, I made her a bowl of flour-and-water paste colored with a couple of shades of food dye, and put her in the bathtub with a big paintbrush. That looked like so much fun that Grace decided to get in too, and they both played with "paint" for awhile (Grace mostly painted Eve; Eve mostly smeared and sucked paint off the brush) then played with water as they were getting cleaned off. It was a blast. Grace was pleased to wash Eve off with a rag. She kept saying, "I love my sister. She's so much fun."

[muse]

Hi everyone...sorry i've disappeared a bit, we're having a rough time here. Lila has been sick for 3 weeks, awful cough, stuffed up, low grade fever. now DS has it, and Dh and I too. So we have not slept in a few weeks, it seems. Which inevitably leads to a lot of crankiness and fights : (
I'm also not getting any time alone or time with DD because Ds is off school, but I'm kind of enjoying being with him and slowing down.

Sorry to hear of other sick babes; hope Lydia is doing okay.

It's a tough time of year, I think. I'm extremely homesick for the bay area right now where I never ever got sick and could be outdoors every day of the year. Here in the Uk it gets dark so early and it's been cold (snow last week!) so it's been really hard to get out at all. does not help at all with the general isolation and loneliness of motherhood (I hear you on the loneliness thing, Jo).

On top of it all we're trying to look at buying a house but really can't afford anything in the areas we want to be or near the decent schools. I'm always pushing to head back to CA but Dh is not so keen. One day, one day, I'll feel settled.....

[ladybugchild77]

Muse-
I too understand the lonliness thing. ALL of my family other than dh and dd are all the way across the country in AZ. All of my good friends are there too. I actually met a few Mamas her in IL recently and they have been my saving grace! When I was pregnant and on bed rest I had NO ONE to talk to all day when my dh was at work for three months so I did a lot of talking to my cat! . After I had Kiera no one came to visit me in the hospital either. How's that for a bummer? Is there any way you can meet more Mamas? Is the UK listed in the "finding your tribe fourms"? That's how I met one of my wonderful Mama friends and I NEVER thought that there would be another MDC Mama in Dekalb, Illinois of all places!!! The holidays make me lonely for my family as well - I can handle it for the remainder of the year but when Christmas approaches...it's just different. I am also sorry to hear that you and your family have been sick. My BEST advice to you is to eat some chocolate - that cures most things, even if it's just for a little while! Take care and know you have lots of Mamas here that love you!

[aprildawn]

well, we had a chest x-ray yesterday to rule out pneumonia. her lungs were clear, but her tummy is full of air indicating a tummy bug. i was wondering how it could be possible that a tummy bug would make her so sick w/o any real indication of it being there (one vomited once during a coughing fit and one diarrhea diaper).

she woke up this morning with a rash which means it's roseola. i think she got hit hard with a few things. roseola, a tummy buy, maybe a bronchial thing too because she's coughing a lot. she's still not feeling 100%, but she seems better. just ate a little apple sauce with rice cereal. trying to plug her up before there's another poo-splosion.

hope your babies are doing better. sorry to hear you're all sick too, muse. no fun if it's been going on for three weeks! and in such yucky weather.

[Kindermama]

Hi everyone! I haven't joined a March thread for a couple of months. We just moved and things were crazy there for a bit.
Ellery is such a love!!! She's crawling (as of the day before Turkey Day) and getting into EVERYTHING! She has also learned this mindblowing screech. It's not really all that cute, if ykwim. I just ordered some baby signing books to move this stage along! She's got two teeth and four coming through on top. She's babbling DADA and mimics noises that her sister makes. She is also trying to pull herself up..so far only into a kneeling position.

here's a pic from a couple of weeks ago
http://tinypic.com/i1ea06.jpg


Also, this morning I found out we are having another baby in August!!!! We're thrilled but nervous nonetheless. We just hired a mother's helper (again) because I was feeling overwhelmed...good thing she's sticking around for awhile cause I'll really need the help next summer! I feel blessed above all else.

Anyone else pregnant again!?

[eminer]

Originally Posted by Kindermama

Also, this morning I found out we are having another baby in August!!!!

OMG, congratulations!!! How exciting that Ellery is becoming a big sister. And she is adorable.

[ladybugchild77]

Aprildawn - Glad to hear it is nothing serious - just a bunch of little stuff at once! I hope she feels better really soon and you all get more sleep!!!!!!!!!

Kindermama - Good to see you on the thread again! Ellery is beautiful!!! And CONGRATULATIONS on the next baby!!!

By the way - it's my turn for sleep issues!!! Kiera W-I-L-L N-O-T take a nap and is exhausting herself (and me! ) She is sooooo into everything that sleeping is just not a priority for her right now!!! She was up for about 11 hours straight today except for a brief ten minute "power nap" on the bus ride home from school. It has been like this all week! And my final exams are next week so I am up til about 3 or 4am these days...Ugh...thanks for letting me vent. Off to go write a huge paper - anyone want to write one of my other ones for me???

[aprildawn]

kindermama -- congrats! you're a brave woman!!

stephanie -- i LOVE writing papers. really, i do. i'm a total geek that way. if i could, i would definitely write one for you. of course, that wouldn't help you actually internalize the information, now would it? good luck, though. you're disciplined.

lydia is still sleepy, but she ate a little bit today and nursed like crazy to get my supply back up after her total lack of nursing over the weekend. a friend's baby broke out in a rash today too. she had a low-grade fever all weekend. sounds like the two babies caught something together.

[welldone]

Eve is into eating art spplies lately. Yesterday I found two of Grace's beads in her poop!

Funny! And slightly scary (at least it would be for me). And the painting in the bathtub thing? Great idea. It's so great that your girls are enjoying each other. We're starting to notice that sibling love blooming, and it's really fun.

Kindermama - congrats! You're one busy lady. I hope you can find some time to rest. And your Ellery is just a little doll! She doesn't look so much like mine anymore, but I still see a resemblance.

Moving is half done. Tomorrow's the big finish day. Then, it's months of unpacking. How do I do that with two small children? Anyone? There are, quite literally, boxes everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. We're lucky the bathroom's small, because that means there wasn't enough room to put boxes in it. So we can still go! But we can't do much of anything else. My #1 goal tomorrow is to make sure the girls' room is homey feeling, settled, unpacked, haven-like. Then at least there's one place to go.

I bough a wool rug at IKEA tonight for the girls' room. It's so soft. I've always had wall-to-wall carpet, much to my chagrin, and am so excited about this house full of hardwoods. But honestly? I've never taken care of a rug. I hope that treating it like carpet works. And, because I was raised in carpet, hardwood seems so cold to me (even though I wanted hardwood and know the health benefits of hard floors). It'll take some getting used to.

[LoveChild421]

I'm glad Lydia is doing better aprildawn!

wow Kindermama- congrats! (but I just have to say- better you than me ) I'm glad you are able to get a mother's helper- you have a lot on your plate right now so I'm glad you're getting help! Ellery is a doll by the way- she has the little wrist rolls like Grey

stephanie I feel for you with the papers- next week will be like that for me...urg..already dreading it

Muse I hope you can find some mamas to get together with. I convinced my best friend to move here (well he was considering moving anyway) because I left all of my friends behind when we moved. Feeling lonely sucks. I hope you find some cool people to hang out with.

[eminer]

You women who are writing papers, I feel so deeply for you. My last few months of school were painful, and I always found it very hard it is to be nursing AND staying up all night to write a paper.

Originally Posted by welldone

Then, it's months of unpacking. How do I do that with two small children? Anyone?

Ugh, I feel deeply for you, too. I'd suggest keeping Maya busy helping. I've never had to do it with two, though!

[MamaSpruce]

Hi there mamas,

Milo has the sniffles so sleep went downhill (though there wasn't that far for it to go...) This morning he decided he just couldn't sleep past 4. Oh, until we were good and up at about 5:30. He's been very clingy too, which is kind of sweet since he's more cuddly. He's usually so busy he barely has time for cuddles. It's not too bad though. Speaking of sick babes, I sure hope Lydia is doing better! And your family too, muse. Of course, the early rising is not so unusual, he's right there with Jonah and Quinten on that one.

Welcome back, kindermama, and WOW! Congrats on the new babe on the way. I wondered who would be the first to announce a pregnancy. We're doing our best to put that off for a little while. Ellery looks great too!

Congrats on being in your house finally and good luck unpacking, Serina!

Good luck on the exams and papers student mamas!

[zak]

Is there a December thread? Didn't see it, if yes, will you post link?

Thanks, Mommas!

[bubbles]

Congratulations Kindermama! I have been thinking lately that someone would be pregnant soon.

I told my major professor that I was going to take an incomplete this semester and take the next two off. It was really difficult. I had decided over a week ago to do an and basically have not worked on school since. I felt good about my decision but it was really hard making it official today. I had a pretty rough morning. It did not help that I had NO sleep last night. Both kids kept me up and then were up at 4:45 am. Of course, this is part of the reason I am giving up on school for awhile. The sleep deprivation has me completely bonkers. I don't know if I can take much more of it. Every time things improve, it is only temporary. If I don't get some sleep soon I am going to fall apart. It is so tough to have family stress and sleep issues together. I remind myself constantly that I am so lucky to have my healthy kids, but it just gets so difficult sometimes.
Lately I have not been able to get together w/ my mama friends so I haven't been able to get the support I need. I hope to connect w/ them again so I can commiserate and gets some hugs IRL. .
Speaking of no sleep, Quinten decided it is not time yet, so off to try more nursing.

[eminer]

Bubbles, I wish you peace with your decision to take time off. I hope you get your sleep ASAP!

Just started a December thread .