It's 2007, November '05 Mamas!!! - Page 3

[Queen of Cups]

What is average for kiddos: a few words at one year (1-5), and at least 50 words and occasional two word combinations by 2 years, and a few thousand words by 3 years old with simple sentences of 3-4 words.

Just google "verbal milestones in children" or "speech development in infants" or similar terms and you'll get a ton of checklists, charts, and article and you'll find that only a few words at 13 months is absolutely normal!

[*Amy*]

Helen, Brynn is soooooooooo picky and always has been. Despite her little foray into eating with gust a few weeks ago, she's back to refusing almost everything I offer. Yesterday she ate two grape tomotoes while I cooked dinner, and maybe 5 black-eye peas at lunch. And that's it. Sigh. Hey, did you ever get the thrush cleared up, by the way?

I can't believe all of the babies with mouth-fulls of teeth!! Brynn still has just 5, but I think #6 is going to cut through the gums at any moment. I have heard of several babes this age getting molars already, but I don't think she is yet - though if she were, I'd hardly know, since she absolutely will not let me put my finger in her mouth!

I agree with the other mamas who posted about ambivalent feelings toward nursing. I am feeling the exact same way! Some days (or hours, I guess I should say), I really feel like I am ready to wean this child, but then we have these incredibly tender or funny moments that fill my heart so completely. Also, even if I really wanted to wean, Brynn isn't eating nearly enough in the solid food department to compensate!

As for the sleep issue, I'm glad to know we aren't the only ones still struggling in that department. Last night Brynn woke up every hour. : It's partially just her habit, but I think it could also be that tooth coming in. One really interesting thing we've discovered though is that she sleeps MUCH better if I am not in the bed with her. For the past few nights I have been sleeping in the spare room and leaving Brynn in the bed with Daddy, and she has been sleeping 3 to 4 hours at a stretch, versus 1-2 hours with me. If I'm not in the bed, she is much more likely to just cuddle with Jason and go back to sleep. So we are going to try to make this transition and get her used to sleeping for longer periods of time, but with our trip coming up next week...I don't have really high aspirations right now. But it's good information to know for when we get back into our usual routine.

Someone asked about DH's job search (can't find the post again now), but the short answer is that we're not sure when we will know where we're moving. He is going to be going to these hiring conferences at the end of the month, and he's also got his resume in with FEMA and another private company, so we are *hoping* that we will know something by mid-February. It's really exciting to think about all of the cool places we *might* end up, but I just hate being in suspense! I want to be able to find out what our lives will be like wherever we go. Right now, some possible cities are: Atlanta (which I would love, because I'd be near my best friend again!), somewhere in Nebraska (yawn), Austin (that would be cool!), Toledo (no thanks), Denton TX (near Dallas, so I'm not really thrilled about that since that's where my ANNOYING mother-in-law lives)...and some others I can't remember right off the top of my head.

barcelona, I *was* in Austin (or just south of Austin, to be more precise) in October!! Wish I had known you were there, because I would have loved to have met you and Finley! Well, next time.

Oh, Mel, I laughed when you said that Neela says Melanie. For the past few days, Brynn has been calling me "Mimi" off and on. I have no idea if it's just a fun variation on Mama, or if she hears people calling me Amy and is trying to mimic. Either way, it's really funny.

Spughy, yay on the sugar purging and working out!!

Christy, good to see you again, Mama!!

[spughy]

*#$*!*#$^#!

I have mastitis again.

But Rowan slept a solid 3-hour stretch in her crib last night.

But I have mastitis again. WHY WHY WHY???? The ONLY possible explanation I have is that I wore a shirt with a horizontal seam across the chest to bed last night. How can my breast possibly be that sensitive? Stupid boob. I hate it.

[*Amy*]

Spughy, that really bites! A friend of mine had mastistis 3 times in a period of about 3 months, and she attributed it to the fact that she was over-tired and wasn't getting enough support around the house from her hubby. I'm not suggesting this is the case with you, but maybe since you are back at work, your energy level isn't as high, or maybe your immune system isn't 100%? Just something to think about. I hope you recover soon, and kick it for good.

Well, my news of the day is that I finally took some time (like 3+ hours) to get some video online! Just pop over to our blog, and you can link from there.

[MelW]

Originally Posted by flapjack

I am so jealous of all you mamas meeting up. I'm not flying anywhere next summer now, so unless Zjande decides to come to the UK on her honeymoon, (hee-hee, she's getting MARRIED!) I'm never going to meet any of you.

Summer 08, UK meetup? We're planning a trip to Europe after Matt graduates- including a mandatory stalking of Irish and English poets and a visit to my cousin in London. I want to hear you say "good maude" in person

We're still card-carrying members of the sleepless club, but Neela makes up for it with new cute baby tricks. Today she lifted her shirt, rubbed her tummy and said "tickle, tickle, tickle", then collapsed into a pile of giggles on the floor.

And a total side conversation, inspired by Amy's note of Brynn saying "hiney"- how are you all naming "private" parts? I've been saying bum, penis, and vagina. I recently had a conversation with a friend who is being more technically correct and teaching vulva.

[SoulJourney]

Originally Posted by spiritmomma

stayed up too late knitting.... again.... must sleep.....

hehe me too, mama, me too.

[StrawberryFields]

Hi everyone. I don't remember if I posted on the November thread at all in December; it was a really busy month for us! Ds' birthday was November 25th and we threw a big (40-ish people) "One Fish, Two Fish" party, we threw a 75 person Christmas party 2 weeks later, and hosted an open house at our home on Christmas Day.

Anyway, Andrew is running, climbing, and talking! He hasn't had any new words for a long time, I guess he's content to stick with "That?" "Hot," "Hi!" "Nigh-night" "Mum-mum" and "Dada." He started signing milk this month and now he does it all the time. He's getting his top teeth and actually fried out dh's laptop with his drool! Dh is heartbroken, apparently he needs a new motherboard.

[MelW]

Originally Posted by StrawberryFields

He's getting his top teeth and actually fried out dh's laptop with his drool! Dh is heartbroken, apparently he needs a new motherboard.

[DucetteMama21842]

That is pretty humorous when you think about it.

[flapjack]

My dh is cringing.
Amy, the lack of food thing is good to know. We've taken to allowing Skye to stand however she wants in her highchair and offering food on a spoon, which is going down more: but I think it's all thrush-related, because she's craving carbs. We have a visit to the homoeopath next week (how cool is this? Because of the crappy area we live in, I get to see a homoeopath for free!) so hopefully she'll be able to balance Skye out a bit, and maybe even help with the crappy nausea.
Suddenly, I know I'm pregnant I'd forgotten this bit.

[DucetteMama21842]

You're pregnant?? Congrats!! THat is awesome!!

[Gunter]

i was over in life with a babe wondering where our due date club had disappeared to??? then, i realized that we have freakin toddlers! duh.

okay, i am going to read the posts and get back to you all. dh is with dd at some free gymboree class. he just called me from the parking lot saying that he didn't want to take her in b/c everyone was pulling up in suv's and wearing leotards. haa haa.

[Bex80]

Gunter !!!!

Spughy I hope you are on your way to feeling better soon!!

[flapjack]

Gunter
Danile, I'm due somewhere round the end of August/ start of September. suprgrl's up the duff too, and a few others And I'd forgotten just how bad m/s was, especially when I was p/g with Isaac.

[Bex80]

Helen, I smile each time I read that phrase "Up the Duff". When we do have #3, I will be saying that to people.

I hope the m/s lets up soon.

[Gunter]

spughy- ezra says "ball" all the time, too. usually when she sees one she points and says it. she and our dog play with balls together a lot and there is always a ball in the books we read, it seems. so funny that our babes with few words say ball of all things.

kaspirant- so sorry about your horrible trip to nc. it really is a great place to live, imho. i hate that your time here was stressful and your babe was sick. is he doing okay now?

*amy*- i read your blog! your babe is so precious; okay, you and your whole fam are precious! that hike looked like a place near me but i think that you are in oh, right?

spiritmama- ezra is getting some teeth, too...molars? not sure which ones as i can only feel them and not really see them. she has her top and bottom four teeth; she got those kinda early though.
and mel w and amy- i go back and forth about her nursing, too. sometimes i would be okay without the constant night nursing and other times i love her snuggling up for a nurse. when she fell and busted her lip yesterday at starsuck's i was soooo thankful that we are still nursing b/c it calmed her instantly. her mouth full of blood was washed away by breastmillk and it impressed the people at the coffee shop, for sure to see her quiet down so quickly. another mom there (who was bottle feeding her babe from her chair while the babe was on the floor in a carrier) told me she heard that breastfeeding calms babes after their shots (vaccines)and asked if i do it then. I just said, oh, she hasn't had to get any shots, yet. i called dh and told him to remind me of how great bfing is/this story whenever i am annoyed by my overworked tired boobies. plus, it's easy to feed her breastmilk when she won't eat anything else or when i am at a loss for making us something else to eat, you know?

strawberry fields- glad to know that i am not the only one with laptop trouble. though, it was me who broke it and not the babe. in a moment of rage b.c our craft project was going insane, i banged on the keyboard and the computer stopped working. yeah, great. when we were going to take it to the mac store to have them fix it, i told dh that i couldn't go in and tell them what had happened. "yeah, i was upset that my baby wouldn't put paper with glue on it on some other paper and was putting it on her legs, instead and crawling around and grabbing scissors...so, logically, i just slammed my hands on the keyboard." right. he put on a halo and said, "oh, honey, you don't have to tell them a thing. you can just go next door and browse and the bookstore." precious dh. it's fixed now!

New Years' Eve this year was my dh's 30th birthday. We hand-picked an indian food buffet for 25 of our friends and had the whole restaurant to ourselves. it was yummy and fun! our friends all chipped in and gave dh nice computer speakers. it was the only gift he wanted and he was sad to not get them from me on christmas day. but, i knew they were coming from friends; he was so happy and surprised. i gave him an i-pod, which he has been lusting over for months...or years, possibly? we listen to music/movies on our computer all the time and don't have a stereo/or a tv so these are super useful.

i miss you all tremendously!!!

[barcelona]

Helen, I hope you feel better! M/S is no fun. If I really think about it, I remember it well. Yuck. Eating little bits (of crackers, etc) all day long helped mine from getting out of control.

And spughy, UGH about the mastitis! So sorry. I really hope it's going away and that it'll go away for good.

Amy, thank you so much for posting those videos! How incredibly fun to see Brynn in action and to hear her little voice. Like with Rowan's video, it makes me feel like I know her (and y'all) a little better. By the way, Finley and Dh were also watching, and DH was like, is that our apartment? It looks just like our apartment! So yeah, the interiors of our homes are rather similar. Can't wait to hear where you guys end up moving...I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you that it's one of the cities you're wanting.

Gunter, that is Hilarious about the Gymboree class.

Strawberry Fields, sounds like the parties were fun.
Our update is that Finley has been sick, and now I'm sick with it (a bad cold and low fever). Thankfully he seems to be feeling better, and less snotty. We tried the humidifier which seems to help (thanks to the mom who recommended that, I can't find the post). We also gave him a warm bath, even though he Hates them, and that also seemed to help. And thankfully, DH is home so I'm able to rest rest, so hopefully I can be back to myself come Monday. I feel much better today than I did yesterday, so that is good.

As for Finley, this week he has been exploding with signs and words, which is so exciting. Especially the signs, which just thrills me. It's great when I see him doing a sign that I haven't even done for a while, knowing that it is in his brain, stored, and that it came out, and more will too! Some new signs include: sun, horse, pig (almost), baby (along with his verbal rendition, which is a high voice and squinting eyes, emphasizing their delicacy, it seems), come on (as in follow me).

Happy weekend everyone (and happy knitting, spiritmama and peacefulmommy)!

[StrawberryFields]

Originally Posted by Gunter

strawberry fields- glad to know that i am not the only one with laptop trouble. though, it was me who broke it and not the babe. in a moment of rage b.c our craft project was going insane, i banged on the keyboard and the computer stopped working. yeah, great. when we were going to take it to the mac store to have them fix it, i told dh that i couldn't go in and tell them what had happened. "yeah, i was upset that my baby wouldn't put paper with glue on it on some other paper and was putting it on her legs, instead and crawling around and grabbing scissors...so, logically, i just slammed my hands on the keyboard." right. he put on a halo and said, "oh, honey, you don't have to tell them a thing. you can just go next door and browse and the bookstore." precious dh. it's fixed now!

OMG! Glad that it is fixed now. Poor dh's is still broken. Although it makes a funny story. He was on the couch, uploading pictures from the digital camera to the laptop and ds was watching him. When he unplugged the camera, the open USB cable touched a spot of drool and WHAM! The computer immediately went black. We can make a claim on our homeowner's to get it fixed but we have to pay the $500 deductible...or get the new motherboard through Dell but we have to pay to have their certified tech install it. They won't let us do it ourselves. Dh works in IT so he knows his options, they all just SUCK.

Luckily my laptop was JUST fixed because my hard drive went right before dh's computer broke. We lost a few pics but when dh installed my new hard drive he copied his picture folder over to my laptop. If they had both gone at the same time it's possible we could have lost the entire folder of pictures of ds since he was born. Thank goodness it didn't happen that way and it is a reminder to back everything up!

[*Amy*]

Barcelona, that is crazy that the insides of our houses look so similar! We must have the same taste!

Hi Gunter!!!!!! Yep, we're in Ohio....but probably not for much longer now. It's good to see you pop up every now and again.

I'm just on for a short post. I have felt so crappy the past few days - unbearably tired and kind of overall icky, and then have had these episodes of vertigo, which kind of freaks me out. I can't decide if I should go to the doctor or not. We're leaving on Tuesday for Texas though, so I probably won't have time to go anyway.

I had a really great experience at the mall the other day: I was sitting on a bench nursing Brynnie when a woman came up to me. I had that split-second feeling of, "Oh god, is she going to try to bitch me out for nursing in public?" but no - she said, "I just wanted to come over here and give you a high-five for nursing your baby!" : We had a nice short conversation about how lame people are, etc., and it just made me feel really good! So, it does make a difference.

OK gotta go to bed. I feel like crap.

[flapjack]

Oh honey, I hope a good nights sleep makes you feel better.