The new "New Moms" thread!

[kellyf2626]

Will is really standing up a lot now. He is so tall too and his crib has been on the last notch for months now, but he still looks so tall standing in it. he also started taking steps holding on to a walking toy.

Michelle - I feel the same way about our crib! We have had it on the lowest setting for a while now, but I still feel like Brady looks so tall when he is standing up, holding-on to the sides. Like, if he grows anymore, he will be able to fling himself over! I know I need to take the bumpers off....but he always ends up near the side of the crib cuddled-up against them. I don't have the heart to take them out....and let him cuddle with the bars? But....I foresee him figuring out he can use them as a launching mechanism out of the crib. Just watching him stand and bounce and jump while holding on to the side....yikes....it's like an accident waiting to happen!

Oh - and a crib question for you ladies... when do you start putting actual blankets or a pillow in the crib? Brady just sleeps in his sleepsack and his small Winnie-the-Pooh blankie and that's it. When do you introduce more? I feel like when it starts to get cold, he might like to be under a blanket....but I don't want to put anything in that could harm him, YKWIM?

 

[DMickey28]

Meredith, those worked!! I love the standing on his head!!

Alexander sleeps with a big stuffed elmo, a small elmo, a med. blue bear and a large nappy bear from brookstones AND his blanket! Yup, it's a lot I know. The big bears line the top like a bumper. Oj he also has a monkey he sleeps with. He has been sleeping with the big elmo and little elmo since he was 8-9 months old along with his blanket. The others have been added along the way. I am going to start taking someone out and seeing if he deals with it. He doesn't have a sleep sack but I think I am going to order him the toddler one this week!! He never keeps himself covered with his blankie so it's pointless but he has just recently started to get attached to it over the last few months. Today he threw a fit when I wouldn't let him walk out of the house to go to the grocery store with it.

He has never had the bumpers in his crib.

 

[Villain-lover]

Meredith, those worked!! I love the standing on his head!!

Alexander sleeps with a big stuffed elmo, a small elmo, a med. blue bear and a large nappy bear from brookstones AND his blanket! Yup, it's a lot I know. The big bears line the top like a bumper. Oj he also has a monkey he sleeps with. He has been sleeping with the big elmo and little elmo since he was 8-9 months old along with his blanket. The others have been added along the way. I am going to start taking someone out and seeing if he deals with it. He doesn't have a sleep sack but I think I am going to order him the toddler one this week!! He never keeps himself covered with his blankie so it's pointless but he has just recently started to get attached to it over the last few months. Today he threw a fit when I wouldn't let him walk out of the house to go to the grocery store with it.

He has never had the bumpers in his crib.

Thanks! I am glad they worked! Yeah, the boy uses his head (literally) to pull up and voila, you have a headstand!

Denise..We dropped the twins cribs to to lowest setting yesterday due to the pulling up. Zoe is not as confident about pulling up but gets it sometimes!

These babies are giving me a run for my money! Sam is getting where he wants every toy Zoe has then proceeds to have a temper tantrum over it! I asked him today if the tantrum he was having was working for him because he was NOT getting Zoe's toy!

Zoe likes to grab her brother in the eye and make him mad! They are all over the place, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[Pollito916]

I swear we somehow conceived twins. I just have no explanation for it.

So true! Almost everytime you write something about Vaylie I think how much it reminds me of Alex!

Will I ever sleep again???
This is the question.
My baby is 3 weeks old and I've never felt this horrible in my entire life. Please tell me it gets better... AND SOON!!!

It WILL get better! Our ped told us most babies start sleeping through the night around 12 lbs, which was pretty close to accurate for DS at 7 weeks. Thankfully that was 1 whole week before I returned to work, so I was able to get a full night's sleep before going back to the office. It's almost like DS knew I couldn't take anymore!

I also agree with Becky's suggestion to sleep when the baby sleeps, and even if you can get someone like a parent to come over for a few hours so you can nap, that can really help.

Vaylie and Alex are 17ish month right? Alexander just turned 15 months a week or so ago. He is barely talking. He does repeat sometimes and will say words on his own sometimes but I think we miss it a lot. We spoke with the ped about it last Monday and he said if he doesn't have more vocab by 18 months we will do EI and hearing tests. He understands very well so I don't think it's anything serious. Maybe he will just starting talking a few weeks.

So I think we are going to adopt our dog out to another family. He is too mouthy and nippy with Alexander. It's not fair to the dog or the baby.

Alex is a little over 17 months, and I think he learns a new word every day lately. Around 15 months I think he probably had around 10 words down, mostly basics, like "mama," "dada," "ball," "doggy," etc. Since then, I have lost track since he tries to parrot almost everything we say. Right now his favorite word is "poo-poo."

I think the repeating is a good sign because it means he can hear you guys and is trying to talk. I think boys are often slower than girls at speech too. I'm sure Alexander will start talking more soon, and then you'll wish he wasn't!

And sorry to hear about your dog, I know how hard that can be. At least you found her a good home! We had to give a dog away a year ago, and gave her to a no-kill shelter. I wish we could have found someone we knew to keep her so I would know she was loved and taken care of, but unfortunately she had some bad habits and I didn't want to give that to anyone we knew.

Oh - and a crib question for you ladies... when do you start putting actual blankets or a pillow in the crib? Brady just sleeps in his sleepsack and his small Winnie-the-Pooh blankie and that's it. When do you introduce more? I feel like when it starts to get cold, he might like to be under a blanket....but I don't want to put anything in that could harm him, YKWIM?

We started at a little over a year letting him keep a stuffed monkey and a lovey with him. Now, he has:

pillow
2 blankets
1-3 loveys (ALWAYS the beloved Rupert)
monkey pillow
stuffed monkey
stuffed dog
2 monkeys hanging off the sides that sometimes get pulled in

While the blankets are in there, it's just b/c he likes to cuddle with them. I always cover him with one, but when I go check on him, he is usually on top of it. It's still so hot here that I don't really worry, though. Once it cools down I will go back to a sleepsack. I swore by those back in Chicago!

Thanks! I am glad they worked! Yeah, the boy uses his head (literally) to pull up and voila, you have a headstand!

Zoe likes to grab her brother in the eye and make him mad! They are all over the place, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Awww, that sounds so cute, and the pictures are adorable! I always wanted B/G twins!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Sorry - long vent ahead...it's been a tough evening. Just a warning!

Sigh. Another little spat with DH tonight. We really don't have too many disagreements, but it certainly seems like we've been having more since Owen was born. I guess we're both more tired than usual, and it's hard to keep adapting with life constantly changing, plus we can't do everything we used to. We of course love each other and are committed to making it work, but it certainly takes a lot more effort these days and we don't seem to have as much patience with each other as we used to.

So here's the saga from today...

DH is diabetic, and when he is hungry he's like an uber cranky bear. The problem is that he also doesn't think clearly when he's hungry, and doesn't make good choices. But he's also the one who does 95% of the cooking, since he has stronger opinions about his food than I do.

This afternoon we had a napping house when Owen went to sleep. I got up with Owen at 4:30 when he woke up, but DH stayed in bed. At 6pm DH got up, and by that time he had low blood sugar and was starving. I told him that I'd be happy with just eating a bowl of the fresh blueberries we picked up at Trader Joes' today, and so he should just get a quick snack and then we'd talk about dinner, but instead he decided to make: a salad, orzo, blueberry cobbler, baked brie, "remake" the moroccan leftovers (he can't just reheat them - he has to "doctor" them up), and slices up bread to boot. But he's not thinking clearly, so he's doing dumb stuff in the kitchen like grabbing a hot lid without a pot holder, using the strainer for the blueberries without thinking about where he's draining the water and then slipping and falling in the spilled water...all kinds of stuff like that.

So he's yelling for me to come and help him, and Owen by this point is getting tired and needs my attention, but I go to help DH anyway. Owen is screaming in his bedroom, and DH is shouting at me to "just move it!" but doesn't tell me what to move, so I moved the wrong thing and he totally flipped out. It was insane! And I'd like to say that I was mature and recognized that it was the low blood sugar that was making him yell, but I was so irritated that he didn't just get a snack that I yelled back.

By the time dinner was ready, Owen was super tired and need to just be nursed and go to bed, or at least sit out on the porch and read books for a bit to keep him distracted. And this of course made DH even more frustrated because the reason he made all this big dinner was for me so we could eat together instead of one of us eating while the other takes care of Owen and then switching (which is what we did at lunch). So I did my best to distract Owen for a couple minutes, eat quickly, then distract Owen again and grab a few more bites, but it bothered DH. So he ate quickly, then took Owen for a walk, but he wasn't happy about it.

I nursed Owen when they got back, and we put him in bed, but now he's not going to sleep, and Dh is still mad that I yelled at him, and I'm not mad about Dh yelling at me, but I am frustrated that he doesn't recognize how cranky and irrational he gets when he's hungry. So it's still tense between DH and I, and Owen is crying and having a hard time falling asleep.

Blech. Thanks for letting me vent. I know it will get better, and we'll work it out, but it's still hard.

 

[Pollito916]

Sigh. Another little spat with DH tonight. We really don't have too many disagreements, but it certainly seems like we've been having more since Owen was born. I guess we're both more tired than usual, and it's hard to keep adapting with life constantly changing, plus we can't do everything we used to. We of course love each other and are committed to making it work, but it certainly takes a lot more effort these days and we don't seem to have as much patience with each other as we used to.

Blech. Thanks for letting me vent. I know it will get better, and we'll work it out, but it's still hard.

Bethany! You are so right that it gets harder with kids, but at least you recognize it and you guys are committed to working together! That was really nice of your DH to make a big dinner for you two. It will get better! And don't apologize about venting here - that's what we're here for!

 

[beckmrk04]

Sigh. Another little spat with DH tonight. We really don't have too many disagreements, but it certainly seems like we've been having more since Owen was born. I guess we're both more tired than usual, and it's hard to keep adapting with life constantly changing, plus we can't do everything we used to. We of course love each other and are committed to making it work, but it certainly takes a lot more effort these days and we don't seem to have as much patience with each other as we used to.

We argue WAY more since Vaylie was born, no doubt about it. We hardly EVER fought before, and now- somedays everything we do drives the other insane. I'm much worse than DH- everything rubs me the wrong way some days. I do have to say, though, that as Vaylie gets older and more independent, it has created much less strain on us.

But, feel free to vent away!


And now I am going to vent.


It is 2:07 am. I have to work tomorrow. And my kid has been up and SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER for, oh, 2 hours. I'm so tired, agitated, and crabby that I'm considering running away. (Ok, fantasizing, really- in my fantasy I leave the house and go to a hotel and SLEEP.)

But, since I can't really do that, she's watching Elmo (it's the only thing that shut her up and at this point, I don't care), and I'm on here. My Dh is being super-duper-helpful by laying in the recliner sleeping.

I gave her Tylenol in case it was a tooth or other pain issue. She doesn't have a fever. She can't tell me what's wrong. The dog is whining to go out- which is pissing me off. Every time I take V near her room, she FREAKS.

I'm so tired I could cry. I did, in fact. Vaylie wouldn't stop, so I joined her. Now she's telling me "eat, eat!" NO, child, we don't eat meals in the middle of the night. Maybe she's going through a growth spurt. She has been eating like a horse. But, I'm not about to start a 2 am meal time.

Tomorrow should be awesome.

Thanks for listening to my crankiness ladies.

 

[Villain-lover]

Awww..hughs to you guys having a tough night

It is a fact...most marriages are "happier" bafore kids and happier after children leave home. Not that we don't want our children by any means, but it's just hard to balance a family! Robert and I are definitley more tense with the twins, but at least since I am home with them all day, he will mainly defer to me for twin decision making...mostly!

 

[TiggerStac]

Anyone in MA or NH know of a pediatric ear nose and throat MD that you would recommend??

Brady is on his way to get tubes...just like his big brother. While I love the one that my oldest saw, he's getting up there in age and they actually chipped one of his teeth when they took out his tonsils/adnoids, so I'm going with someone else now. He is the recommended one in the area (or he was a couple of years ago.). I can go whereever I want, don't need referrals or anything. I'm going to ask his pedi next week and he'll give me some names of others out there. Just didn't know if anyone had any that they knew of.

I'm ok going to Boston, UMASS in Worcester, NH....

Anyone??

Not only does he have his 3rd double ear infection in 3 months, he has hand/foot/mouth. I could have sent him to daycare today, but I decided to stay home w/him and go to work tonight. Hubby is going to be home by 4ish and I'll go in til like 9. I need some Brady time, plus my house is a mess and this will give me time to clean it w/out the other one around. All I have to do is mention elmo and brady is infront of the tv. I have 13 episodes tivo'd right now. He needs to rest anyways, so I'm good...if it's nice we'll go outside on the swings later, but for now...it's all ELMO.

 

[beckmrk04]

All I have to do is mention elmo and brady is infront of the tv. I have 13 episodes tivo'd right now. He needs to rest anyways, so I'm good...if it's nice we'll go outside on the swings later, but for now...it's all ELMO.

That's us! Vaylie is an Elmo fanatic. Addict is more accurate, really. She taps the tv and starts singing. "Doo, doo, doo" (That's her version of the "la la la la, la la la la, Elmo's World" tune). Then she'll say, "Melmo, peas?"


UGH- last night was awful. As if you couldn't tell from my previous post. I was so frustrated. Mostly because she is SUCH a good sleeper, that when she has a night like that I'm worried that something major is wrong. But, at 2:30 am (after being up for 2 1/2 hours), I said sorry kid- I have to sleep. So, I put her back in her bed and closed her door, closed MY bedroom door (which I never do), and just let her wail while I wrapped a pillow around my head. She finally did go to sleep around 15-20 min. later. But, I am going to feel that today. Yikes.

 

[TiggerStac]

That's us! Vaylie is an Elmo fanatic. Addict is more accurate, really. She taps the tv and starts singing. "Doo, doo, doo" (That's her version of the "la la la la, la la la la, Elmo's World" tune). Then she'll say, "Melmo, peas?" .

Oh yes...brady says ELMO quite clearly. He grabs the remote and points it to the TV and says, ELMO, ELMO.

He can't do the La la la la part...but he tries. He sticks his tongue out and moves it side to side, but he does get the ELMO's world part.

He does...ernie, cookie monster, too. Addict is definately the most accurate word.

 

[exwdwcm]

Michelle - I feel the same way about our crib! We have had it on the lowest setting for a while now, but I still feel like Brady looks so tall when he is standing up, holding-on to the sides. Like, if he grows anymore, he will be able to fling himself over! I know I need to take the bumpers off....but he always ends up near the side of the crib cuddled-up against them. I don't have the heart to take them out....and let him cuddle with the bars? But....I foresee him figuring out he can use them as a launching mechanism out of the crib. Just watching him stand and bounce and jump while holding on to the side....yikes....it's like an accident waiting to happen!

Oh - and a crib question for you ladies... when do you start putting actual blankets or a pillow in the crib? Brady just sleeps in his sleepsack and his small Winnie-the-Pooh blankie and that's it. When do you introduce more? I feel like when it starts to get cold, he might like to be under a blanket....but I don't want to put anything in that could harm him, YKWIM?

Kelly, that is too funny- i was having the same exact issues- i just took his bumper out earlier this week. He also sleeps curled up in the corners with his head flush against the bumper. So now with the bumper gone, he still does that, but now his poor little head is up against the hard bars. the other day during his nap, i got him up and he had an indention in his head from pushing his head against the bar in his sleep. It went away- but it still isn't good for him to do that. I don't want to put the bumper back in though, because I fear him standing on it and slipping and then choking himself on it. I might just curl up some small lightweight blankets in those corners as a little barrier. He sleeps with a blanket now, so i am not worried about suffocation or anything.

he has a convertible crib, so i think maybe that is why it seems higher to me. he is 30 inches tall already at 9 months (90th percentile). so i worry he will figure out how to get out. I really need to find a baby gate solution for the top of the stairs then, since his room is right at the top.

The blanket he has now is a lightweight, small one that just is barely long enough to cover him head to toe. He sleeps on his tummy and likes me to put it on his back, just at his chest height, then he pulls it under his arms. it is really cute. I have so many great nice blankets, but this is the only good lightweight one I have. An old friend/coworker made it for me and it has disney characters on it (she worked at TDS and is a huge nut too!). So for now, that is his blankie. He only uses it in his crib. He has a separate one he uses and we keep at day care. I started using the blanket a few months ago. I was nervous at first, but he likes it and even though he moves a lot, he always manages to pull it back on him and never has it on his head.

 

[exwdwcm]

It's freaking HOT!!

can i just say it was 107 in Plano/Dallas yesterday and 110 today with the heat index (humidity etc.). Poor DH said yesterday he wants to move, he is tired of having 2 months of summer where we can barely even go outside.

our brand new AC unit upstairs wouldn't get below 83 for a few hours yesterday. i had it set on 78 and it jsut couldn't get it there. it is so hot up there in the middle of the day on days like that.

Beck- sorry to hear about your long night.

Bethany, sorry about DH's blow out. it is hard adjusting to this new life. DH and I rarely fight, but we don't spend as much time together. of course part of that is his world of warcraft addiction. lol....he disappears upstairs to the computer for hours. but it is better than the car/drag racing hobby he used to have, and he is home all the time, so i don't complain too much. he helps out with the baby a lot. i just need to ASK for more help around the house- he does it if i ask, he just doesn't think to offer. at least you have DH cooking some!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I added to Mo's nursery wall....I LOVE IT!!!! Fits PERFECTLY with the Noah's Arc theme where I have the painting!

And can you believe THIS:

Is now THIS ADORABLE little man?!!!!!

 

[TiggerStac]

Denise..

The picture of Mo makes me laugh, he looks like such a happy baby. I love his expression!!

 

[Villain-lover]

Denise...congrats on 8 months!!! Can't believe mine will be 9 months next week! check out the pics in my link if ya get a chance!

 

[jennyL]

We are back from the allergist. They did a skin test for milk, egg, peanut, soy and wheat. The doctor will have to get the official results but he did have a reaction to the milk so we are on to step two which will be a more extensive blood workup. Now just to wait until they can get that scheduled. He's doing good though and we'll just keep him on his current formula and go from there.

He's doing good with his real food too. So far we've done the cereal and bananas. I think we may move to something else this week to. We have figured out that we can't wait until he's realy hungry since then its too late and he only wants a bottle and thats it. We've been trying to feed him when we have dinner which is about an hour before his last bottle and that works pretty well.

So before I could finish and send the doctors office called and we have an appointment next tuesday to go over the results and see whats next. He'll also have some blood work then too.

 

[DMickey28]

Michelle - We have a convertible crib as well. Alexander has been on the lowest setting since last Christmas I think. He is just under 35 inches and still not close to being able to climb out of it. He can get his toes of one foot up to the bar but has no strength or know-how to get himself up higher. Of course now that i said that he will figure out how to stand on Elmo and that might be the inch or two that he needs. Anywho ... I thnk you have time!!

Oh ... Alexander has figured out how to open up the bedroom door. He goes and plays in his room sometimes and will close the door. He was playing in there today when I was vacuuming the living room. I turned around and he was standing in the dinning room!!! At least now when he learns how to climb out of the crib he'll be able to get out of the room ... yikes, need to put a lock on that!!!

I figure around Christmas we will convert the crib to a toddler bed and put a door knobby thingy on his bedroom door!!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Denise...congrats on 8 months!!! Can't believe mine will be 9 months next week! check out the pics in my link if ya get a chance!

Love Sam on his head!!!! They are both such cuties!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

MO WON'T TAKE HIS NAPS!!!!!!!!! He only sleeps for about 5-15 minutes at a time....what's going on???? At our friend's house on Sat, he slept nearly 2 hours for one of his naps...HUH??!! I don't get it..I can't hold him while he sleeps...I'll NEVER get anything done! Could his two teeth just bug him sometimes....but then, wouldn't it also at bedtime which he does go down for. It's getting later to put him down...nearly 8:30 now and he still wakes up between 12 and 1, but stays down again til about 6 or 7. When he woke up at 6 today he fell asleep around 6:30 and slept til 8:30!! WOW!! I don't get it girls...I just don't get it.