They're half a year old! Feb 08 babies, August thread - Page 9

[PlayaMama]

Originally Posted by noordinaryspider

THEN they tell me he has just been vaxed against tetanus AND diphtheria.

humboldt is, unfortunately, known for the poor quality of doctors and dentists it attracts; most people who can go down to sf for medical care usually do.

if it makes you feel any better i just read that the mulit-use bottle of the tetanus only vax still contains mercury so you may have prevented him from getting any mercury by getting both

nevada isn't really at the top of the list for care providers either.

Originally Posted by eilonwy

I've finally gotten to the point where I think I want an actual boyfriend or two, though, rather than random folks around... and that's kind of nice and scary all at once. :

the thought of a boyfriend right now makes me feel : maybe a girlfriend but that's because i'd expect a her to help with the kids and the house... maybe that cult with the multiple wives isn't all bad. : i'm just kidding of course (about the cult!). my mate and i don't have an open relationship and while he'd probably be cool with it i'd be atrocious at it

Originally Posted by echoecho1528

I have read NCSS and tried her program to no avail.

Her doctor told me that the only thing that is going to make her a better sleeper is to let her CIO and I am not willing to do that.

hey mama!

ncss didn't work at ALL for me with my first either. he'd wake up every time i pulled the nipple out and i was so tired that i just couldn't deal with trying to get him back to sleep. i finally night-weaned at 1-1/2 and it worked for us.

you can make it through this. and i'd tell your doctor to shove off. since when do they study how to help a baby sleep at night in medical school?

Originally Posted by noordinaryspider

Sleep issues--ah, yes, we have those too even though they are Terran-sized sleep issues so I don't like to talk about it in too much detail. I have been over and over why he is the way he is and whether there's anything I could have done differently with his siblings to make things easier, but the fact is that there are many variations on normal and I have no more right to pat myself on the back because one of my children is "easy" than I do to hate myself because another one of my children is "difficult".

linnaea is still a stellar sleeper. usually 10-12 hours only stirring to have me roll her over and nurse the other side : but of course, lazlo still wakes up two to three times a night so it evens out to not much sleep

Originally Posted by AislinCarys

Children can be rear-faced until about age 5 in the right car seats,

oh my gosh!! the only thing that saved me was finally being able to turn lazlo around at 1. it made driving SO much easier!! i'm not sure how he'd handle it now...

not much personal right now, we are baby sitting a little girl and i'm trying not to go crazy with the ca baby co-op

[eilonwy]

The only luck I've had with thrush was with gentian violet, probiotics, and a carb-limited diet. By some miracle I managed to avoid it during/after the month and a half of hardcore antibiotics that I was on for the MRSA, and for me... well, that's just incredible. I mean, I'm crawling with fungi at the best of times.

Originally Posted by flapjack

There are no rear-facing car seats for children past 30lbs available in the UK, Europe and several other countries. I can't find the comparative mortality rates online, though.

Huh. Well, I've got tiny kids for the most part; BeanBean only went forward facing because when Bella was born, he was moved to the back row of the minivan and it seemed ridiculous to put him in there rear-facing. Likewise BooBah, who only moved when we put the carseat in for Bear. Bella weighs 28 pounds fully clothed with a soaked cloth diaper on my crappy scale; I'd be willing to bet money that she's still hovering around 25. In other words... they make infant seats that would hold her. She and Bear are both in convertibles, though; I'm just too lazy to bother with a bucket for bigger children, or in the summer when it's hot and sticky. The winter babies always stayed in the buckets longer because it was easier to move them from the car to wherever without waking them if I could cover them in blankets, you know? But in warm weather... sheesh. I don't think BooBah was removed from the car in her infant seat more than half a dozen times.

NOS, I have come to the conclusion that if you have enough kids, one of them is bound to be one of those children the baby books talk about which sleep and eat and giggle and all in the right proportion. It's the law of averages, y'know? I still can't get over my shock at River's temperament myself, so I get where you're coming from.

Bella's my nearly-average baby... she was far and away the "worst" sleeper, and is still the loudest kiddo. Of course, she's in her two-year-old lovies right now... so she's easily distracted with kisses and snuggles.

I had a bad day yesterday. We had the family eye test: Alex's eyes are still resolutely, 100% fine. Isaac's prescription has increased by almost two full points in one eye and I nearly cried during it: even with his glasses on, he couldn't read down to the 3.0 line : My poor brave baby. His squint is heading out of control as well, so we're back to patching and he's being referred to the orthoptic clinic with a view to supervised patching and perhaps surgery . I know he drives me insane, but he really is one of the bravest people I know- he was so excited about getting his new glasses, excited about the possibility of the surgery because he might be able to wear contacts in the future, excited about everything. He's so, so, freaking cool. EVEN if he did lose both his inhalers again yesterday and we had to spend two hours looking for them :

s

Originally Posted by Dea

NOS you said something that rang true to me. You said that you can't take credit for having an easy baby, just the same as you can't beat yourself up for having a difficult baby. (I've totally paraphrased.) I feel the same. I get fustrated when people ask if Trixie is good. While she is considered beyond good, I feel bad for babies who might have difficulties and be branded as "bad" even though they can't control their colic, or other issues that make them "bad". To that end, whenever someone asks that I make a thinly veiled joke about how bad Trixie is with her all night partying, drinking and punk rock boyfriends.
It's a really silly thing to think of babies as good or bad.

Whenever someone tells me what a good baby I have, I tell them that all babies are good. The few who try to argue with me get, "Some are easier than others, but they're all good," and that's pretty much a conversation killer. When I was feeling like a real smartass when the older three were tiny, I'd say, "Yeah, s/he's so perfect her/his sh** doesn't stink!" which was true and hilarious... but Bear is just as perfect, and his reeks to high heaven. Anyhow, it's another conversation killer.

Now that being said she is a dream to parent for, she is making parenting so easy for me that, as you all know, I'm ready for another, and another and another! I also make that clear when people ask, it's all her, I don't feel that I've done anything to make her so easy going. I just follow her cues and she is who she is!

I make crass jokes about "why" my children are so well behaved. I spent my entire childhood with people asking if my mother beat us because we were so well behaved in public. We were just four of the world's easiest children that way, never made trouble or a scene or a fuss about anything that wasn't REALLY important (as in, blood was flowing freely). Apparently it's impossible for a single parent of four stairstep children to have such well behaved kiddos if they're not having the tar beaten out of them regularly. We just didn't see the point in making a ruckus; It would serve no purpose, so we couldn't be compelled to do it. We made plenty of trouble and did loads of insane things, but they were all of a quieter sort (like the time I decided to find out just how hot a fire i could make in my bedroom... controlled experiment, mind, I didn't burn the house down, but it was a crazy thing to do). Most of the time, my kids appear obviously healthy and active, but sometimes all four of them are calm and collected and reasonable, and of course I'm more likely to attempt something silly like taking them all to the grocery store when they are.

2. Starting solids.... I know I linked to a self feeding article last month, but what has me worried is that it made a point about it being for breast fed babies. It did have a line about needing to give formula fed ones more water to make up for less liquids. So now I am still anxious to start with real food, skipping purees and such, but do you think it's a good idea since she's not breast fed? Parts of me think that going along with the mainstream ideal would be easier, but I just don't think that it's the best for her. I'm worried to start her on the path of overly processed foods full of synthetic crap which will lead to obesity, which scared the bejezuz out of me.

Of course it's still a good idea; Just offer her a sippy/cup/bottle of water as well. If she's thirsty, she'll let you know... trust me. Watch the diapers, and as always watch the baby. Bear is just starting solids (yeah, I give him overprocessed crap sometimes... bad mommy! ), and he will occasionally take as much as four ounces of water during a meal. Sometimes he doesn't want any, but if he does want it it's there for him. No big deal.

Sometimes I feel the weight of being a parent is so heavy, I'm responsible for a small person! I need to make the right choices!

It's deep, huh? Every milestone, and I still feel that way. What really blows my mind is the idea that BeanBean and BooBah, at least, will *remember* the things that happen now when they're adults. : I'm making *memories*. Childhood memories! I'm not worthy!!

Originally Posted by noordinaryspider

Thanks bunches, eilonwy! I have some very pretty brown lightweight fleece ($1.99 at Grocery Outlet for a clearanced throw) that I was going to give up on, but I'll try a double layer of that as soon as I get caught up a bit. These T shirts are going to be outgrown before they're made if I don't get on it and I have to pin the pattern pieces so carefully to make them fit.

Fun stuff! Yeah, as long as it's been washed once before you sew (so the knap fluffs up) it should be good to go.

I'm pretty sure I have a copy of Rosetta Stone Spanish floating around here somewhere. It came bundled with Middle School Advantage and isn't being used right now since I don't have any homeschoolers at all.

Really?! If you find it, send me a PM? :

I also had an introductory disc that gave the first few lessons in several different languages, including Portugese, but I'm not sure whether it got left behind in Philly or not when dd needed to come home right away. If your sibs don't come through, I'll see what I can dig up since they're just gathering dust right now and could do with some love.

Yeah, you can play with those on their website as well. I just desperately want to finish them. Given my druthers, I'd learn them all. I'm such a dork for languages.

I'm just so grateful that he wasn't my first. He seems to take after my older sister that way and I spent an entire childhood hearing, "What is the matter with you?!?!" whenever my mother's patience wore thin and believing it: that there was something inherently "wrong" or "broken" about myself that caused problems and that my family and the world would have been better off if I had never been born.

Bear's a lot like my first... so he gets the same treatment as Bean, only without the frantic searches through books of milestones trying to find out what I need to do to support his healthy growth and development. I also find myself occasionally bummed that he has so few toys, but I don't insist on going out and buying things for him... and he's entertained a lot more, because he's got three people around who are happy to put on a show for him at any given time.

I don't always feel as though I can handle having four children, but the four of them are such a cohesive group that I feel like they'd be really unhappy without one another. I'm also finding that while I have NO desire intellectually or even emotionally to have another baby, my spirit seems to be calling to another. It's quite disturbing to me... I don't really know what to make of it. I mean, four is more than enough to be getting on with. Ugh. This is turning into a blog post. I'll do that there, then.

Oh! The homeschool blog is going again as well. I'm pretty sure I still have that linked in my signature, if you click on the I :heart homeschool icon. Also... all of you ladies need to get on Facebook. It's so much easier to look at than MySpace, especially for those of us who are old and easily overwhelmed. (I say this as someone who is entirely smiley obsessed-- MySpace is visually overstimulating! Tis back to the grind with me, then.

[eilonwy]

Gah. My sister just called to tell me she'd taken BooBah to the doctor. See, I dropped her off yesterday, and her eye was all red. BeanBean had hit her (she bit him first... they do love one another, honestly, but they can really go at it , and I didn't think much of the redness or the black circle under her eye, but apparently she woke up this morning with half of her face swollen. She was also complaining about her ear (I knew this, and had actually purchased some mullein oil because I was pretty sure she had an ear infection). Anyhow, she's got a staph infection-- in both eyes, her ears, her nose and on her face. More likely than not, it's MRSA. : Yay life. She's very excited, though, because she gets to take medicine. My kids love taking medicine. Mike says it's because medicine has sweet, candy-like flavors and our kids so rarely get candy of any description... I think that they're just odd little ducks. Anyway... think un-MRSA-ish, healthy BooBah thoughts if you are so inclined.

[flapjack]

Oh. You know I think that MRSA is generally safe enough for normal people to be around, but here's hoping that it isn't that and that she gets better soon. And, obviously, get her on a course of probiotics right now this instant: MRSA doesn't scare me, but c.diff really does.
I will sort my facebook account out, I promise. When I do, I'll add you too, Rynna.

[nolonger]

Apparently it's impossible for a single parent of four stairstep children to have such well behaved kiddos if they're not having the tar beaten out of them regularly.

you're lucky to be young enough to come from a "single parent household"l; i was "the product of a broken home", a phrase that always brought on nodding and the condescending comment, "well, that explains a lot."

my poor mother! i want so much to love her but all i can manage is admiration and respect.

i'm way too defensive about being a smc; except for a few notable exceptions, people have been very supportive and positive about it.

I also find myself occasionally bummed that he has so few toys, but I don't insist on going out and buying things for him... and he's entertained a lot more, because he's got three people around who are happy to put on a show for him at any given time.

Please don't feel bummed. Terran has no toys and that's on purpose and I intend to keep it tha way as long as possible--would love to see the results if anyone ever suceeded at "indefinitely".

I don't know if that's even possible, but I have a lot of company on the life.toy free tribe and need to post an update there soon about the wonderful results of my little "social experiment" so far.

he is very people-oriented and not underestimulated or neglected at all, although he may be a more difficult consumer to market to and lack brand loyalty and "nagging skills" in later life.

EVen if you think I'm a complete : nutcase from Humboldt County or a no fun 43 year old meanie, it still seems to be normal for kids to have fewer toys the more siblings they have because toys just plain aren't as necessary.

Hey, since you're a fellow language nut, what do you think about Greek and Latin? Latin has totally lost its shock value (I used to get so much mileage out of ds1 babbling away in Latin whenever anyone questioned homeschooling or the subjects he was "behind" in) but Hey, Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek might be right up Bean's alley if you can get past the xtianity...or not! Holy, marketing, Batman! I can't believe the new shiny cover art! I'm holding on tight to my older editions for Terran!

[eilonwy]

I love Latin and Greek; They're ridiculously helpful when it comes to English. Even if you get nothing else out of the Latin-to-English process, it can teach you to look at big words as collections of smaller ones, rather than the products of big brains. (Sorry-- have you seen Akeelah and the Bee? One of my favorite movies, it's darling, you really must rent it.) Medical terms are mostly from Greek, so while I've found a lot of people who recognize Latin roots, my own knowledge of Greek roots is related to my fascination with medical journals.

Ah, my inner dork is showing. I've got to stop or I'm going to need to shell out for Clearasil and a retainer. (Sorry about that, too. For some reason, I got my shorts all in a twist in a discussion about whether or not prevailing US culture is anti-intellectual. What was I thinking?

In any case: Bean wants to learn French, Spanish, Japanese and Hebrew. ChibiChibi wants to learn French and Japanese as well, but is very excited to be learning some Spanish with her mom's boyfriend. This, though, is why I think my sister might be willing to go in with me on some Rosetta Stone discs; She's not quite as language-obsessed as I am, but she does enjoy it and I know that her girls would. Well, BizzyBug just slurps up things she can memorize with a spoon (it's an autistic thing ), and it seems a shame to deny her the opportunity to learn more. Chibi's interest... well, I have no idea why she wants to learn French, but I'm sure that her interest in Japanese comes from my slight anime obsession. I love little things like this; They make me feel important. :

[applecore]

Juise, I agree with Helen on finding a homeopath. I don't know if there are any in your neck of the woods, but I know one in G.R. If you want her info, just let me know.

Originally Posted by PlayaMama

the thought of a boyfriend right now makes me feel : maybe a girlfriend but that's because i'd expect a her to help with the kids and the house... maybe that cult with the multiple wives isn't all bad. : i'm just kidding of course (about the cult!). my mate and i don't have an open relationship and while he'd probably be cool with it i'd be atrocious at it

: My friends and I always talk about how awesome it would be if we all lived together with only one man. We theoretically discuss which one it should be. Although a female relationship on the side (with NO man involved) sounds pretty good most of the time, too! I'd never be with another man, but..... I'm not down with having an open marriage though- I'd never be cool with sharing him!

Originally Posted by eilonwy

I also find myself occasionally bummed that he has so few toys, but I don't insist on going out and buying things for him... and he's entertained a lot more, because he's got three people around who are happy to put on a show for him at any given time.

They always like to play with things that aren't toys more, anyhow! Twyla was having a ball with a tea strainer today while I showered! And my older ones- they play with everything except toys. I am putting my foot down this year at the holidays. NO TOYS!!!! I'm telling everyone that the kids both want to continue doing Ninjutsu, and that we can't afford it. So they will be getting something VERY useful if they slide us some cash for that. I'm going to take back any toys we get, too. It's just ridiculous, the amount of crap we end up with.

Tomorrow I head out to Weed Dance Weekend for some chica time! Woo hoo! : I'm going to be performing an improv. bellydance routine. I'm excited and nervous. Rumor has it there's going to be some smokin' hot African drummer chick there. What was I saying about open marriages? Unfortunately, a 6 month old baby on your hip is usually a dead giveaway, though.

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by applecore

Rumor has it there's going to be some smokin' hot African drummer chick there. What was I saying about open marriages? Unfortunately, a 6 month old baby on your hip is usually a dead giveaway, though.

Thinking of making a run for the title of Official DDC Jammy Git?


: The baby is a dead giveaway... that you have a baby. That means that, you know, you've probably dtd in the past and you're likely to do it again.

[nolonger]

Originally Posted by eilonwy

The baby is a dead giveaway... that you have a baby. That means that, you know, you've probably dtd in the past and you're likely to do it again.

hey, i have a baby...and a cup and a syringe i'll probably keep forever....but if i told you how long it's been since i dtd you wouldn't believe it even if it wasn't true!

[eilonwy]

: You did tell us, remember? :

But I said "probably," in deference to you. I give you mad props, because I was absolutely climbing the walls after 10 months.

[flapjack]

Did she? I'd forgotten... I'm giving you props too, I managed celibacy while I was still married, but I jumped Steve less than a month after my ex finally went for good : :

Raina, have fun. I'm strictly Steve-sexual these days (and not even that, unless I get more sleep) but the whole bellydance/ female space thing sounds cool.

Rynna, thanks for the movie link. Alex is learning Latin (slowly- that's what you get for sending your child to a state school) and I think he'd love it. Ditto NOS and the book link. My modern languages were never much cop- my German's passable, French less so- but I'm one of only three people I know who reads Norse.

I signed up for some history courses with the Open University today, so that should be fun. God knows how I'll find the time, but still. It should be fun.

[accountclosed2]

Rear-facing carseats in Europe: Look for something Swedish! The general recommendation there has been rear-facing until at least 3 years. And if it is a problem that the child can't see you, put him/her in the front passenger seat (have the air bag disabled first!). This is actually in practice safer anyway, if the driver is the only adult in the car - the reason being that you as the driver get less distracted if you can see that your child is ok. Swedish studies do show this. Also, I thought the EU had just change their recommendation for longer rear-facing? The first rear-faced carseat here in NZ arrived a few months ago, and yes, it is Swedish.

[Jezzy]

Thanks Firecat!

It was really nice there. we were on the island of KRK Very hot and a few creepy animals. We had a scorpion on our porch! Glad that it was the only one we saw!! Ash loved the ocean

It was about 100 when we left and in germany it was only 50 i hate summers here

Ash is really learning things fast. Sitting all by herself standing and walking around things! I wish that time would just slow down a bit. She got her first tooth on vacation.

I also let her go without clothes a lot because it was so warm to see how good we would be at ec'ing. Well we weren't good at all. She gives no ques that I can pick up on. Oh well it was worth the try

here are a few pic

ash on the patio

Ash

playing

[salt_phoenix]

@ you guys and your hot african drummer chicks and reverse harems & open marriages & ... Getting me all worked up... and stuff.
I've been in open marriages, had girlfriends, boyfriends, one of each and combinations thereof... I keep hoping that someday there will be a good way to do it without SOMEBODY getting mad... alas I have yet to master the art of polyamory... I'm too insecure for my own good... It's something that I WILL have someday. In my idealistic world, I'd have a female or two, and a male or two... and we would all live together or CLOSE in a community and everyone would be happy. Well, a girl can dream, right?
It's funny though, nothing like getting pg. and having that baby on the hip that hot sexy singles (or doubles ) find wholly UNsexy. All those that chased me 2 years ago, don't even acknowledge my presence now. Crapp for the self esteem, to be sure. There must be something biological about that... Keeps our young safe and cared for... since no one else is taking our attentions away. "but look at these MILK JUGS!" yep, even that has some bit of taboo involved I guess to assure they are used for leh behbehs and not leh lovers.
I do tell dh, "when the situation and time is right... it will happen. to push it before then is asking for disaster."
He just thinks I'm making excuses.

on another more baby related note, lol...
I drove from salt lake city to denver two days ago... by myself, a 10 yo, a 4 yo. and Ember the 6mo. old. An 8 hr. drive only took me 12 hrs. and Ember doesn't hate me yet... I feel blessed. And to think I get to turn around on Monday and drive back.
I'm a masochist, I admit.

Hi mamas... I love you all!

[eilonwy]

Wow. Having the babies with me has done nothing to deter my... err.. proponants? It's like, "Ooooh, she's fertile! Fertility is HAWT!! I gotta get me some of that." There's only a thin layer of, "I don't really want to have a baby right now;" Thank goodness it's thick enough for a condom. :

Yeah. I'm having fun. It's about bloody time, too. I think I freaking deserve it, and I'm sure as hell gonna live it up while I'm young enough to enjoy it. Does wonders for my self-esteem, and it's played a huge role in my bodily acceptance. Yay fun! : Still want a keeper or two, though. I think I may ultimately need four men and whatever other women it takes to keep them happy (I mean I just don't think it's fair to say, I expect you to share but I won't let you do the same). I could totally go for a very small commune.

[Teenytoona]

Woo! You lot are killin' me! With your wild and crazy lives! And here I am just a vicarious jammy git. Live it up women!

[flapjack]

Yeah. That. What Teeny said.

River ate a sandcastle today. And then we built another one, and then he ate that one too. And the next. And the next. See, I can be wild and crazy too

[nolonger]

wonderful baby pants

They're reversable, so i needed to make them big enough to have cuffs; one side is $3 worth of reclaimed thrift store fabric and the other side is $21/yard specialty fabric and I'm giggling that everyone thinks they know which is which but they're wrong because Arcata is like that.

first ride in the bike trailer back and forth on the sidewalk in front of my house slower than your effing stroller; no flames, please.

first imperfect back carry in a wrap; yes, it's a Storch; no, I don't need intervention because I'm done buying carriers..unless I find a Girasol Earthy Rainbow dirt cheap...

[applecore]

Okay, I must clarify- the smokin' hot African drummer chick is safe from me- I am definitely monogamous. Those glory days are over. I was just thinking about the temptation..... I'm leaving now. I'll take some pics to share.

[Teenytoona]

Heather, I couldn't wait to see those pants, just so I could see that sweet little boy of yours. My goddess is he cute.

Applecore have a great time. Drool for those of us who aren't doing such a fun thing!!

Helen, DSD-6 used to mow on sand constantly. Must be something about it.

In other news, I hate day care hunting.