Feb/March 03 babies and mamas check-in!

[boobykinmamma]

Hi, mamas! I think it's been around a month since our last update, so I thought I'd start a new thread so we can brag about our growing sweeties!

Leela is 5.5 months, and this has been an amazing time in terms of physical milestones and personality development. Since learning to roll over back to front a few weeks ago, she is nonstop motion when she's awake. She really, really wants to crawl and gets around by rolling and by "scootching" and dragging her fat little body around. She pushes off with her head, sticks her butt in the air, pushes with her feet, scootches a few inches, then rolls, then does the whole sequence again. She covers a lot of floor this way! She screeches and grunts the whole time this is going on, and it's great entertainment. I think she'll be crawling within a month. I guess I'll have to vacuum and sweep more often, and babyproof a little better in anticipation of having a mobile baby.

Leela is in that grab-everything-in sight stage, and she gets MAD and screams and cries when I take away anything she can't safely play with--plastic grocery bags and magazines, books, and newspapers are favorites. She's also teething, but nothing has come through yet. She's doing pretty well with it--seems to get sudden attacks of pain, screaming and crying out of the blue, and then it's over and she's her sunny, joyful self again. Leela has finally become ticklish, and giggles when we tickle her ribs and tummy.

Leela continues to be a little chubstress, around 17 lbs, but only 24.5 inches, so she's pretty roly-poly. With all her moving around now, though, I think she's going to start slowing down her weight gain and slimming down as she gets some length. I hope not too fast, though, as I love her rolls. We call her the "jam pot girl,"-she has this cute little romper with jars of jam all over it, and she's built like a chunky little jar of jam.

I'd love to hear how the other feb/march babes are doing!

[lexbeach]

Hi Mamas!

I can't believe my babies will be six months old in a little over a week! It's gone by soooo fast, although I also feel as though Lukas and Jasper have been here forever. I think this past month was really exciting. Luke is now crawling and TROUBLE, and both of the guys . . .

Gotta go, crying baby. More later.

Lex

[Staceyhsmom1]

Hi! My Maegan Rian is 5 months today! And she too was scooting or trying to scoot across the floor! I think this is so young, but she is so determined and mad! Tonight I placed her on the floor and there was a stacking cup about 18" away from her and she reached for it, and then screamed at it! But then she squirmed a got it! I was in awe!
She is also reaching for everything she can't have! Like the hanging vine over our couch and any book or paper, she gets all excited when she sees a book or paper! lol.
She has been sipping water from my cup and likes to make noises in it
She is not sitting up by herself yet, plenty of time for that!
She loves the outdoors, loves looking at the leaves swaying near or far away. She also loves watching cars go by! Loves to go for slinged walks.
She has been eating mashed potatoes or banana off my fingers, I was feeding her some pureed peaches, but have slowed down with that, she is bf....and that is becoming so fun, she is so cute to feed, she is now getting distracted easily, will pop off breast, smile at whomever is there, then return to feed, again and again
She sleeps thru the night with me, waking to feed 2-3 times, but sleeping thur it mainly.
She is very fun and is finding her voice, loves peek a boo, oh I could go on!
This week she has been very needy of me, I have posted how tired I am I think she is teething!
Can't wait to hear about other babes!

[samsara]

gawd, i haven't posted here in ages!

fergus will be five months on 8/13 and he's leaping and bounding (not literally, of course) . He loves to be outside, taking in the traffic, the sunshine and the birds; he seems to love walks in the cemetary early morning (there's conveniently a big old one right across the street). He loves the sling and hates the stroller; we're still suffering with carseat issues -- makes him miserable to be away from us -- but it's getting better.

he's had a few solids, mostly rice/barley cereal that we get with WIC and some pureed fruits; we got one of those mesh feeders with the plastic handle and he can feed himself banana with that. he was showing tremendous interest in food so i offer him a few teaspoons a couple times a week, not really a dietary staple but enough to satisfy his groping hands. he grabs EVERYTHING! no more hot beverages around this boy.

he doesn't enjoy tummy time at all, i'm worried about crawling and scooting. he only wants to stand -- all the time! -- so we give him lots of exersaucer time because he can only stand so long in my lap before we're both bored. he also has a tantrum (hate to use that word, but it's the best way to describe it) when he's playing with his toys and can't get whatever it is that he wants out of it -- eat it? i don't know, he gets really frustrated and needs immediate attention. happy to give it!

he's up many times a night (well, not up -- mainly over [to my side] to nurse but it's becoming very mechanical for him -- he can easily roll over and latch himself on without assistance. i love when his little hands are holding my boob, seeming to "milk" me for whatever he can get! he's very kicky and punchy at night, though, but i'm slowly adjusting to the activity. we've been very sleepless lately but i'm sure it's just a phase. all in all, we're very happy and content.

[darkpear]

Hello!

Amalie is about 4 1/2 months now. She was supposed to be an April baby but showed up a couple weeks early

She is changing so fast these days! She loves to babble and have long 'conversations' with her daddy and me. I'm not positive, but often it really seems as if she is mimicking our words, especially when we talk about her favorite objects.

She is fascinated by everything she sees and loves going places, even if it's just a walk to the mailbox or the grocery store in her Snugli. We took her to the beach for the first time the other day and she loved it even though the weather was uncooperative. (Cold and foggy... on a Florida beach, in August! And people actually believe we're not changing the climate : ) I try to take her someplace every day even if it's just a short walk, but it's tough this time of year what with the heat and humidity and I come home feeling quite drained; also I haven't got a license and don't really like to take her on public transportation... have run into lots of trouble with people on the bus grabbing at her arms and legs, which really bothers me. I don't know which is worse, adults doing it, or kids doing it while their parents act like it's so cute So most of our longer outings are on dp's days off.

She's also well into the 'grabby' stage herself; she's got very good control of her hands now, separately and together, and anything within reach is fair game. This can be rather painful as dp and I both have looong hair, almost waist-length (which means his is actually longer, since he's a foot taller than me), and it's high on her list of fun things to grab and yank! Our cat Byron is a popular target as well; fortunately he's a mellow, laid-back soul and actually seems to enjoy the attention...

We haven't attempted to start solids yet; going to wait for her to let us know when she's ready. Sometimes she does get a little taste of this or that on a fingertip; she was indifferent to my orange spice herbal tea but seemed very intrigued by seawater! And she really seems to enjoy Tylenol drops (that stuff is SO full of sugar! Yuck!) on the rare occasions she's needed them, mostly after vaxes... I don't much care for the idea of all those vaccinations, but unfortunately DP manages a comic shop and is exposed to more children than most teachers or childcare workers, so the chances of his bringing a nasty bug home are high He actually came down with measles a couple of years ago at age 25, and is pretty sure he's not immune to chicken pox either. I am trying to get him to eat a healthier diet and get vaxed himself, for his own sake as much as Amalie's, since so many of those illnesses that are mild in children are brutal in adults. But, it's an uphill struggle

[heytootsy]

Maya is a little over 5 months and is getting so big! She weighs close to 16 pounds and is rolling up a storm. She does not sit up yet, nor does she stand (even supported which is making me a little nervous.) She is discovering all the new sounds she can make and is "talking" all the time. She loves to go for walks and watching herself in the mirror. She hasn't had any solids yet, but BF'ing is going great! She still has no teeth but I think one will be coming in soon. I cannot believe how fast time is going. Seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital giving birth!

[Justice2]

Kaeleb is just over 6 months old and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. He weighs about 16 lbs, but we will know for certain on Wednesday, at his 6 month check up. His hair is getting thicker...you can actually see it now and his mullet has completely grown out . He scoots around on his back and it's getting harder and harder to change him, thang god for snappis! When he lays on his tummy, his legs go, go, go but he refuses to put his arms underneath him. He sits up for a few seconds to minutes at a time but then...plop, right on his side! Kaeleb is extemely ticklish..everywhere. On his back and belly and chest and feet..even in the palms of his hands! He laughs out loud so much and it is the most incredible sound! Teething like crazy, but nothing through yet. We are struggling to nurse, but I have no doubt that he will...one day. The Domperidone has worked miracles and I think I am finally actually building a supply (I shot myself in the eye yesterday with my milk!) He constantly babbles...especially dadadadadadada...which makes my hubby happy as hell! Oh well, gotta go and play with that miracle of mine

[jessikate]

Well, Gracie's about 5 1/2 months now, and just a delight! She's been sitting unsupported for about 5-6 weeks now, and only tips over backwards when she's on a hard surface, never on something soft like the bed, or if I've put a pillow behind her. She has such good balance and is so strong! She was sitting on DH's leg earlier, leaned down to taste his leg :LOL and sat back up without using her hands!

She loves to stand, and has since about 2 months. Now we get the little butt wiggle because she's trying to move her legs but not succeeding. We call it "dancing"

She hates tummy time, but knows that if she's really unhappy all she has to do is roll onto her back. She hasn't rolled from back to front yet, but she's getting close. She'll roll from her back to her side and reach for something above her head, but her butt needs a little more momentum to overcome gravity, LOL.

Talking up a storm here, too. Lots of "blablablabla", "dadadada", etc. Loves shreiking, especially when one of the cats walks into the room. Only a couple of them will come close enough for her to grab, but I try to keep her from grabbing handfuls of fur or ears like she want to. She actually grabbed one of the cats with both hands and put her mouth on his back. You'd think he'd have the sense to run, but he just sat down and gave me the martyr look. :

Every day I am just amazed at how different she is from just a couple weeks before. A child is such a blessing, and I am so thankful for my daughter. Nothing could make me happier than just watching her.

[thinkingcapp]

Jack will be 5 months on August 16th (born 3/16/03.) He is a baby who loves to stand! I got him a doorway bouncer and he loves it. We call him Bouncy McBounce. He also loves sucking his feet. He got his two bottom front teeth on the 4th of July (or at least that is when we noticed them for the first time!) He is a good natured guy.... he recently has grown out of a crying from 7 to 10 pm for no apparent reason stage which has made his parents much more good natured. He has the best giggle: he giggles when you help him to 'dance' and sing to him. He hasn't really shown an interest in toys yet... he likes to hold and chew on a chain of plastic links. He intently listens to us when we read him books and likes to look at the pictures. He is a big roller: both ways. We've recently been having 'sitting-up time' which starts out well but then leans to the left or right ending up on the floor. My favorite part of Jack's day is when I go to get him up and he looks at me with a huge smile on his face as if he were saying, "Fancy meeting you here!" I love that little boy. He's a joy.

[I Fly]

Well, Oscar is 5.5 months now. I can hardly believe it. This week, we are working on another tooth (he has two already) and we are sick (he AND I) with colds. Uhg. It breaks my heart to hear his hacking cough. At least I know how he feels!

He is sitting unsupported now, and rarely falling over. He rolls some, but not much. He loves to stand up! I'm trying to teach him to hold onto the coffee table so that my poor self can get a break. His favorite activities inside are riding around on my hip and looking at the dog. When the dog licks his hands, he laughs and laughs. He is also ticklish on his belly; "chewing" his little ribs really gets him going. I love looking up at his toothless grin and laugh. Of course, he loves being outside, so going for a stroll is always entertaining. He seems to drink in the activities of the neighborhood in quiet wonder.

He is adorable, and I feel so grateful to have him in my life. Everything is different, and better now! I love being his mom.

[elfie]

Simon is 5 months and is a really sweet laid back guy. He is in love with his big sister and she gets him laughing the most these days. Still waking every 2 hours to nurse which is getting to me, as he seems to have an awake period from about 4-6 am.

Just started rolling from back to front today. He does not like any front carrier at all, but loves the backpack. No teeth, ususally flops when we sit him up and scootches across the bed. Likes to stand but only for a short time.

Totally different baby then my first and thats weird because it's like starting over again as a new parent .

We are moving next month so I feel I'm constantly frantic and we are changing over to a TV- free house which is hard at the moment!

But a feel so blessed that my children have come into my life that it just seems like fleeting complaints!!!

[Worldshakerz]

My lovey dovey Jakob

Jakob turned 6 months about a week ago...and he has grown. He has his 6 month check up on Monday but guessing I'd say he is 28inches long and about 23lbs! .....edited to say, went to pedi and he is 22 lbs and 28 1/2 inches long. Good guess ...
He looks like a Jack-o-lantern when he smiles, his two bottom teeth poked through 3 weeks ago, and he squishes his whole face when smiling so big.
He's a little Tigger, cause all he likes to do sometimes is bounce, bounce, bounce. He bounces in his jolly jumper, or exersaucer, or in laps. Bouncy boy!
He has been very clingy and fussy lately, and I think it may be some more teeth coming. I'm slinging him a lot, and that helps.
He rolls both ways, and scootches, so it looks like he'll be a crawler in a few weeks. He was able to retrieve a thrown toy today...it took a few minutes of rolling and scootching and reaching..he is so determined. I think part of his fussiness is aggravation at not yet being able to do all the wonderful things he wants to do.
He tries to eat everything. He grabs everything. He has some solids in his diet, but very little...avacado and banana mostly.
Since 4 months he has babbled: gaga, lala, baba....but for the last few weeks it has been dadadada. He's become very vocal! There is hardly a quiet moment during the day unless he is sleeping it seems...he is either babbling, squealing, laughing, or yelling for my attention.
We take walks daily, but lately they are short....I too live in Florida and it is so hot and humid. He really loves the sling and I still use it a lot. I do use the stroller sometimes too (like when I went to epcot, I would switch between the two, whatever he liked).
He is very ticklish...mostly on his back and sides and neck.
I'm thinking about transitioning him to the crib, but I just love co-sleeping way too much! He nurses less than he used to...about every 3 hours now with some 4 hour stretches. While nursing, sometimes he gently pats my other boob...but sometimes he uses it as a punching bag! I try to keep my hair back, he loves pulling it. I love waking up in the morning...to his smiley face. He has started to roll over onto me right in my face...it's adorable. I just can't stand the thought of putting him in his crib yet...we can wait......

[lexbeach]

I can't believe it took me over a week to get back on here! Luke and Jaz are keeping me really busy. They are six months old TODAY! Luke is crawling everywhere, going from sit to crawl and crawl to sit, and has just started pulling himself up to standing. I guess he's on the physical development fast-track or something. I wish he would slow down a little! Jasper is not crawling yet, but will be any day now. He gets on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He can roll to get where he wants to be, but he sees how much more efficient his brother's methods are.

It is so neat to watch the boys interacting with each other. Unfortunately, a lot of their interactions involve hair-pulling and cheek pinching, but there are also a lot of sweet, gentle touches and smiles. Jasper got his first tooth a week ago, and has since become a huge binky boy. He needs to suck! Luke will crawl over and pull Jaz's binky out and put it in his mouth, then take it out and hand it back to Jaz. Just has to make sure he's not missing out on something he would enjoy too!

Jasper loves chewing on cold cucumbers in the baby-safe feeder, and wet frozen washclothes. He is definitely bothered by the teething thing.

Luke eats solid food (mshed peaches, pears, avocado, potatoes, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash) every day. He was nusing every hour and still seeming hungry so he started solids a few weeks ago. jasper still seems satisfied just with nursing, so he doesn't really eat solids yet. Just a taste here and there.

Both babies are still waking up a few times a night to nurse, but they only need about 10 seconds worth, and then they're back to sleep. I really only have to wake up when they both want me at the same time.

Luke has started getting really clingy; I think because he's so suddenly so mobile. It's hard when he won't go to Dp and only wants me.

I am loving being a mama more and more!

Two crying baies!

Lex

[jessikate]

Happy half-birthday to Jasper and Lukas!

Gracie will be 6 months on Thursday (the 21st) and she is working on her first tooth. Dh was holding her at breakfast Fri. am and was getting chewed on. He discovered the razor-sharp tooth starting to peek through her gum. It's still not visible that I can tell (she doesn't like to let me look) but I can feel it now even when she isn't biting down on my finger. She's waking more at night, unfortunately she seems to be going straight from sound asleep to crying. Woke up for an hour last night, ended up coming downstairs to play for a bit. Set her on her tummy and she got her knees under her and started rocking! She was bracing her feet against my leg, and went back to her tummy when I moved my leg, but still!

She's having a hard time getting to sleep lately, and when she does finally crash, she doesn't sleep well. For a long time, I could lay her on the bed and she'd sleep for an hour or more. Now, it's 20-30 minutes and she's awake and crying. I'm testing a new theory - she's napping on the couch next to me as I'm typing this. She's been asleep almost 40 minutes (fingers crossed).

Despite the crankiness (on both our parts), Gracie is a delight. She's chatting up a storm these days, lots of "Ai ni ni ni ni" if she's unhappy, and "da da da da ba ba ba bla bla" if she's happy. Lots of bouncing when she's excited, and that's just fun to watch. We got a Jonny Jump-up a couple weeks ago, and she enjoys playing in it. We have to put a little platform under it because our doorways must be higher than the average nowadays, but she's safe and secure and always supervised.

No solids yet here. She's very interested in beverages (see here) but hasn't figured out how to drink from a cup. I keep meaning to get her a sippy cup but I apparently suffer greatly from Mommy Brain and forget half my shopping list anyhow. :

Let's keep this thread going - I love hearing how everyone is doing and enjoy bragging on my babe!

[boobykinmamma]

Jess--just wanted to let you know (in case you don't already--I just heard this myself recently) that the spill-proof sippy cups can cause a baby to have an improper latch and strong, painful suck while nursing, because they have to suck to hard to get anything out of the cup. Avent makes sippy cups with non-spill proof lids. DS developed a lazy latch around 2.5 y/o., and I'm pretty sure sippy cups were the culprit.

Just wanted to let you know. Just ignore me if I'm reiterating what you're already aware of.

[jessikate]

Huh. Interesting. You're suggesting that the Avent one would be less likely to cause latch problems? I'll have to look for one. Thanks for the tip!

It's hot and I have velcro baby. At least DH is home to make dinner!

[Justice2]

My baby is crawling!!!! kinda He pushes with his knees and feet and sorta slides around on his forehead...Yes, it looks as odd as it sounds. However he does it, he is MOBILE!!!

Oh, another milestone...For about a week now, whenever dh walks into the room where Kaeleb is Kaeleb says "Hi dada". A sentence, and refuses to say mama at all. I got the milk, I pushed him out with no narcotics and I get "Hi dada"...go figure!

[boobykinmamma]

jessikate--sorry for the belated reply. I haven't had computer access for a couple days. Yes, the avent cups aren't spill proof, and I think the shape less likely to cause latch problems.



Leela is so close to crawling! She did exactly what your ds did, justice, for a couple of weeks. Now she's starting to rock on her hands and knees, and then she gets up on her hands and feet with her whole body in the air. She gets pretty frustrated, but I think she'll get it soon. I can't believe I'm going to have a six month old crawler!

[Justice2]

Kaeleb said MAMA !!!!!!!!!!!! This morning!

[Worldshakerz]

How cool..

Jakob said MAMA today too!