The new "New Moms" thread!

[Jen_in_NH]

Christina - How scary. Is he doing OK?

Hotveggy - Christopher always likes to be rocked to sleep, but about 2 months old, we just tried laying him down after rocking a few minutes, and it worked. Now he likes to be rocked before his nap (if he's not wicked tired), but at bedtime, just wants to be put down.

 

[ashjohnson80]

I don't know if you saw my post or my FB. Please keep my DH in your prayers and thoughts and send us pixie dust and anything else. My DH had a mild heart attack last night. He is going to be 34 at the end of this month. He is doing well now and he will be fine. Major life changes coming up for us and we are going to do an overhaul.

Thank you.

I didn't see your post on fb, but how scary! I'll keep you guys in my thoughts and prayers!!!!


..................
About when did I start letting Ellery to go to sleep by herself... Yeah we've never been able to do that. I still have to rock her or go lay down with her. And she's 17 months old. But we have sleep issues, obviously.

 

[hotveggy]

DMickey28 - your DH is in my thoughts.
_________-----

Thanks for all the input- I know she is still young, but I am trying not to have too many bad habits ( I am a neurotic new mom I guess).

I really can't complain though bc she naps well during the day and then has been sleeping from about 11:30pm-6am! I'll take that!

 

[DMickey28]

Thanks you. He is doing well. His BP is still a bit high and he is having trouble keeping it down on his own but otherwise he is doing very well. He has his tests today so we will know more after that. We don't know when he will be coming.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

DMickey, I hope your DH makes a fast and complete recovery. I can't imagine how scary this must be.


Spencer usually takes one nap a day. However, most nights he doesn't fall asleep until 10 or 11 (he usually wakes up around 8). He is starting to fall asleep on his own, but it's sporadic. Apparently, both DH and I were like this, so I guess it's genetic.

 

[Pollito916]

Christina - I'm so sorry to hear about your DH, I hope his recovery is going well. Your family is in our t&p. That's so young for a heart attack - do you know if he has much family history of heart problems?

Bethany - Lucky you having chicken pox twice! I had a pretty light case too, and my mom told me she always feared I might get it again, but so far, I've been lucky. Funny on Owen's attempts to get you off the computer. Now when we go outside, he asks me to leave my cell phone in the house. They are definitely used to being the center of attention and don't like anything that diverts our attention from them.

Ash - sorry you're still having problems with Ellery sleeping, I would think it would start to get better by now. As for us, Alex is 26 months old, and still almost always takes an afternoon nap, usually from 1.5-3 hours, average 2.

hotveggy - We let Alex put himself to sleep from the day we brought him home from the hospital. He has always been a good sleeper, and would frequently fall asleep in other places, like playing on his floor mat, even in his high chair while eating. Now, he likes to sit in my bed with me reading books before bed, but when he is ready to go to sleep he says, "I want go sleep in my room." And picks up his lovey and blankie and walks off to his room. I really think that part of the reason he is such a good sleeper is because we have always put him to sleep in his crib (unless we were out and he fell asleep in his car seat or stroller), and he finds comfort in his crib. He still sleeps in his crib even though he is over 2 years old, and doesn't try to get out. He just likes his bed.

 

[Villain-lover]

Christina- Hope all is calming down for you and that DH makes a speedy recovery!

As for naps, Welcome to my world! Sam is doing great on one nap, an Zoe still needs at least a little catnap in the morning. I have been giving her a 10-15 minute catnap in my arms so that she can make it through lunch, which just ain't gonna work (she has started getting a little whiney when she is put down in her bed...I have never had a problem with naps or bedtime before). Then I put them down at like noon,and sleep for like 3 hours. WELLLLL>>>>>>>> I had a real "no Brainer" moment today.....Since she needs a short morning nap, I can put her down at like 10:15 or so and let her sleep like 30 min. Meanwhile, I get some one-on-one time with Sam to do a quiet activity. I get her up, fix lunch so they can eat at like 11:30. Then, he goes down for nap at noon, and Zoe stays up with me until like 1245 or so for one-on-one time and quiet activity. Both up at three! Sounds to me like it just might work, and that way Zoe is happy and alert throught lunch so she will eat! The only downside it that it does keep us tied to the house for a litle longer each day than I like, but we end up getting like an hour or so of free time in the morning after we get done at the gym, and a couple hours in the afternoon befor I have to start dinner!

 

[TiggerStac]

Christina: My thoughts are with you. My DH had a heart attack at 22 and that's how he found out he had high Blood Pressure. He was never really good about taking his meds until recently. He does have some mild damage from it now....17 years later they found it, but he's great. Just needs to remember to take his meds! We've had a couple of scares in the years we've been together..but he needs to learn to take it easy!

 

[Maggimus]

Hey everyone!

Just popping in from the Moms to Be thread

Some of us on that thread wanted some advice on Strollers, do you mind helping us since you are more experienced?

I know that the stroller systems (stroller and car seat combo) are more expensive, but I hear they are often times bulky and heavy.

I hear great things about individual lightweight strollers and buying a car seat seperate.

What do you advise? Also, Id love if you could, link the stroller you have and let us know if you love or hate it.

I don't want to have to buy another stroller when my child turns a year or 2 old, ya know? But then again, I want one that will work for an infant as well. Any ideas, suggestions?

 

[hotveggy]

Hey everyone!

Just popping in from the Moms to Be thread

Some of us on that thread wanted some advice on Strollers, do you mind helping us since you are more experienced?

I know that the stroller systems (stroller and car seat combo) are more expensive, but I hear they are often times bulky and heavy.

I hear great things about individual lightweight strollers and buying a car seat seperate.

What do you advise? Also, Id love if you could, link the stroller you have and let us know if you love or hate it.

I don't want to have to buy another stroller when my child turns a year or 2 old, ya know? But then again, I want one that will work for an infant as well. Any ideas, suggestions?

I have the Graco Catalina travel system (which apparently has been discontinued bc it is no longer on the BRU website or the Graco website. Anyway, the stroller is big and bulky (it takes up my whole trunk in my Toyota Corolla), but it is very sturdy and manuevers well. The carseat DOES NOT fit well in a shopping cart as I found the other day (though I think most of them don't or aren't supposed to be in there). We had also looke at this one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3224013, but it didn't have a wipeable surface and I was afraid it would get stained very easily. Hope this helps. Maybe some of the more seasoned mom's have more input on other stroller ideas.

 

[kellyf2626]

Hey everyone!

Just popping in from the Moms to Be thread

Some of us on that thread wanted some advice on Strollers, do you mind helping us since you are more experienced?

I know that the stroller systems (stroller and car seat combo) are more expensive, but I hear they are often times bulky and heavy.

I hear great things about individual lightweight strollers and buying a car seat seperate.

What do you advise? Also, Id love if you could, link the stroller you have and let us know if you love or hate it.

I don't want to have to buy another stroller when my child turns a year or 2 old, ya know? But then again, I want one that will work for an infant as well. Any ideas, suggestions?

I had the Chicco Travel System - http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3156651. I LOVED the infant carseat, but the stroller itself was really bulky and big. We purchased a Peg Perego Pliko P3 once our son was old enough to sit in the stroller without the infant seat, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this stroller. So, if I had to do it all again...I would....

*buy the Chicco Keyfit 30 infant carseat by itself - http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3155366 It is super lightweight, much more narrow than the big Graco seats, and fits in/out of the car great.

*only buy the Snap n Go to use as a "stroller" with the Chicco infant seat. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2327597 Nice and compact, easy to use, and fits easily in a trunk.

*buy the Peg Perego Pliko P3 as my regular stroller to use once the baby was old enough to sit in a stroller. This stroller is FANTASTIC. It is light, folds-up like an umbrella, huge sunshade, full recline, awesome harness that lets the child move around without being pinned to the back of the stroller...I could go on and on. Overall my BEST baby buy! (and a dream to use in Disney!) http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2964709

Hope that helps!!!

 

[k_reile]

I have the Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Travel System in Bermuda which also I could not find it on the Babies R Us website anymore so it must be discountinued (the Bermuda style anyways)

Here is the same stroller and car seat but different pattern obviously!
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3224013

We love this system! We have used the car seat all the time just not for the car! DS has acid reflux so for the first couple of months of his life he slept in it since he had to be upright all the time! Sometimes when he is sick and needs to be upright to breathe easier he still sleeps well in it.

The stroller we used a couple of times with the car seat put into it. I still use the car seat with it because I am afraid he might fall asleep while we are in the store and that way I can easily put him back into the van. This stroller is easy to set up....easy to take down (each time with one move) It pushes great and is a a nice height so you are not bending over (and DH is 6'4" too and does not have a problem) Its a smooth ride if I have to say so myself! It fits great in the back of my van so I just keep it there and its ready for whenever we need it. We are planning on taking it to WDW with us when we go in Feb. We are a little concerned about it being a little heavy but it will only be for getting on and off the buses real quick and DH said he will be fine with it! I thought about getting an umbrella stroller for WDW but we really want the drink holders for us so we decided to keep the one we have.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Hey everyone!

Just popping in from the Moms to Be thread

Some of us on that thread wanted some advice on Strollers, do you mind helping us since you are more experienced?

I know that the stroller systems (stroller and car seat combo) are more expensive, but I hear they are often times bulky and heavy.

I hear great things about individual lightweight strollers and buying a car seat seperate.

What do you advise? Also, Id love if you could, link the stroller you have and let us know if you love or hate it.

I don't want to have to buy another stroller when my child turns a year or 2 old, ya know? But then again, I want one that will work for an infant as well. Any ideas, suggestions?

The best advice on strollers that I wish I'd taken was to try out as many as you can before you buy. And not just pushing it around the store (which does help, even if you feel weird doing it), but borrow someone's (and maybe their kid, too ) and take it for a test drive wherever you usually walk. Practice folding it up and putting it in your car, then getting it out again. And then figure out which features are most important to you and go with the stroller that has those things you need most.

Since we were borrowing a friend's Graco infant carseat, we wanted to get a stroller that worked with that carseat. I'm a foot shorter than DH, so we also wanted a stroller with adjustable height handles that would be comfortable for both of us. And since we live in an urban area and I spend a lot of time walking around on the sidewalks (sometimes as much as 5 miles of walking in a day), and I do a lot of shopping that way, I wanted something with a big basket and would work with a rain shield. In the end, we went with the Graco Metrolite, and I really like it. We also bought an inexpensive umbrella stroller at a garage sale for taking on the bus, and an all-terrain stroller for hiking trails.

I think if I could do it over, I would do more testing of strollers before getting ours. I really like ours, and most strollers have handles too high for uber short me or baskets too small, but there are other strollers that I think handle better than ours. Of course, I'm also something of a stroller addict, and if unleased with unlimited funds, I'd probably have a dozen or so!

 

[DMickey28]

Christina: My thoughts are with you. My DH had a heart attack at 22 and that's how he found out he had high Blood Pressure. He was never really good about taking his meds until recently. He does have some mild damage from it now....17 years later they found it, but he's great. Just needs to remember to take his meds! We've had a couple of scares in the years we've been together..but he needs to learn to take it easy!

Stacy - Thank you. I am going to reach out to you over PM sometime in the not too distant future if you don't mind.

THank you everyone again. We are good. Derek is out of the hospital now with strict instructions to follow up tomorrow with his cardiologist and primary doctor. His echo and stress test were fine. They didn't find any blockage in his heart. We don't know exactly what happened or why or how. His EKG was fine when he went into the ER and fine during the stress test. He had some sort of infection last week which he had a fever and went to his primary for and he put him on blood pressure meds and an antibiotic. At this point the cardiologist is thinking he had a reaction to either the antibiotic raising his blood pressure causing a mild heart attack or the infection got into his heart causing inflamation of his heart and causing the leakage of the Trophone (<--- or whatever that enzyme is called!) It's very unsettling not knowing exactly. BUT we have the diagnosis for High Blood Pressure with meds and beta blockers. We have boardline high cholestrol and borderline diabetes so we have a lot of dietary changes to make.

Thank you for the well wishes. I am sorry of the types and spelling errors. I can't believe the last 48 hours. My MIL is here now and my dad came over from Tampa tonight just to see me and DH. He is flying back home tomorrow. Honestly, I don't know how I did it yesterday alone. I am so happy to be moving home to family soon.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Stacy - Thank you. I am going to reach out to you over PM sometime in the not too distant future if you don't mind.

THank you everyone again. We are good. Derek is out of the hospital now with strict instructions to follow up tomorrow with his cardiologist and primary doctor. His echo and stress test were fine. They didn't find any blockage in his heart. We don't know exactly what happened or why or how. His EKG was fine when he went into the ER and fine during the stress test. He had some sort of infection last week which he had a fever and went to his primary for and he put him on blood pressure meds and an antibiotic. At this point the cardiologist is thinking he had a reaction to either the antibiotic raising his blood pressure causing a mild heart attack or the infection got into his heart causing inflamation of his heart and causing the leakage of the Trophone (<--- or whatever that enzyme is called!) It's very unsettling not knowing exactly. BUT we have the diagnosis for High Blood Pressure with meds and beta blockers. We have boardline high cholestrol and borderline diabetes so we have a lot of dietary changes to make.

Thank you for the well wishes. I am sorry of the types and spelling errors. I can't believe the last 48 hours. My MIL is here now and my dad came over from Tampa tonight just to see me and DH. He is flying back home tomorrow. Honestly, I don't know how I did it yesterday alone. I am so happy to be moving home to family soon.

Hang in there, Christina! My DH is diabetic with high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and he's on constant watch for a heart attack. Every year he has to take a "heart health" class through our HMO where they evaluate his lifestyle and meds and come up with a plan to try and get him healthy/keep him healthy. We've made all kinds of changes with diet, exercise, meds, etc. to try and prevent a heart attack, but I always worry about it. It kind of sounds like his dr. has said that it's not so much a matter of "if" he'll have a heart attack, but "when".

So my heart goes out to you and I'm really thinking of you with all the changes...hang in there, and I'm glad your DH is doing okay.

 

[bkreitzel]

strollers...we started w/ a system and it was way to big and bulky...heavy...and took up way to much room in the trunk!

we bought the maclaren version of the snap and go and really like it.

Then we were tackling DisneyWorld for 10 days w/ our three kids and not sure which stroller to take for the 2 month old. our zooper or the snap-n-go...love out zooper b/c the baby can recline or be upright but we needed the carseat for dining...

My SIL told me to use their zooper...it has a bar you can attach to use w/ any infant carseat. it is an AWESOME stroller. it has all the wonderful features of a nice single stroller AND i can dump the car seat in if I need to use it that way. plus it comes w/ a uv protectant sun screen you snap on.

we borrowed it and i swear, she has the perfect stoller! i am not sure of the make/model but check the zooper website.

 

[Pollito916]

Christina - glad to hear your DH is doing better and has some meds, and it's good that some family was able to come by and help out! My DH has had high blood pressure since he was 24, but luckily no other problems associated with it so far. His oldest brother had complete kidney failure at age 30 due to untreated hbp, so we are lucky DH's was caught early and controlled with meds.

Meredith - that sounds like a good plan with the naps

Stacy - wow, another young heart attack! It's good that your DH is doing better with his meds.

Maggimus - I would give almost the exact same stroller advice as Kelly, some combination of an infant seat and stroller frame for the first 6-12 months (however long the kid fits in the infant seat), followed by a better stroller for when the baby is a little older. The stroller frames are so cheap and convenient that it was worth it to me. The biggest advantage of this combo is that when the baby falls asleep in the carrier (as they often will), you don't have to take them out of the seat to bring them in and out of the house, stores, etc. And we all know that a sleeping baby is a happy baby.

We originally bought the Graco Snugride infant carseat: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3330193 and the Snap n Go stroller (same as Kelly posted). The Snap n Go stroller is super-light, easy to fold, and has a really big basket. I was very happy with this combo. The Chicco keyfit is a bit smaller than the snugride, but I had no problem fitting the Snugride in my Honda Civic. It's also quite a bit cheaper. Not that that should always be the deciding factor, but it is often a big concern.

For a light weight stroller, we first bought the Combi Cosmo Ex, similar to this one: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3375006, but I didn't like it for long. For one thing, the basket is almost useless. It is hard to access because there is a bar in the way, and if you can manage to get something in it, it either drags on the ground or against the back wheels. Also, I am only 5'2", but my feet were constantly kicking the wheels as I walked, and it got very hard to push the bigger my son got.

So around the time he turned one, we went for the Peg Perego Aria OH, similar to this one, http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3417039. I was deciding between this one and the Pliko P3, but found an unbelievable deal on the prior year Aria that I could not pass up, so that was how the decision was made. So far we love it, especially the "freedom of movement" straps and the huge basket. It doesn't fold up quite as small as the Pliko, but other than that, I can't think of a single complaint.

My SIL has a son the same age as mine, and they got an Evenflo travel system, similar to this: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3069587 and she absolutely hated it. I don't think there was anything she liked about it except maybe the large basket. The infant carrier was heavy and hard to use, the stroller was even heavier, did not fold up small or easily, and it was not easy to push. As soon as her son could sit up on his own, she got a cheapo umbrella stroller (under $20) instead.

There are quite a few moms on this thread that are stroller obsessed and have bought a lot more strollers (you all know who you are! ) and can probably offer a lot more opinions.

 

[clgwli]

I'm on vacation but I had to stop in and say to Christina that you all are in my thoughts.

 

[harleyquinn]

Hi from the Moms to be thread!!

I just wanted to thank you all for the advice! Keep it coming!

 

[Maggimus]

You all are so much help. A friend of mine has this one... does anyone know what kind this is? I do believe it has the one wheel in the front (if that helps). Is this a snap and go or whatever? ETA: Nevermind its a baby trend expedition and it has terrible reviews- lol (bulky and heavy- what i want away from)