The new "New Moms" thread!

[Pollito916]

Oh, I almost forgot. Alex fell while running again today and split the other side of his bottom lip open. What is with this kid? At least there wasn't as much blood this time, but he also scratched his chin, so now there is more of a mark. The boy is going to be one giant scar by the time he's 2!

 

[exwdwcm]

Poor Alex- at least he will be one tough kid! and i am glad to hear i am not only obsessive compulsive trip planner. lol- we are doing a monthly newsletter (like 12 pages long each time) for my family until our trip. My sister and I write it, add pics and lay it out and distribute to our family, since there are 14 of us going. a close family friend is going this dec and she asked to get copies too. that is how crazy we are about planning. we even have had a planning meeting already and our trip is a year and 4 months away. lol- my mom and sisters get into it too.

Beck- how sweet- i need to pick up that book too. I can't wait to hear when you will plan your trip.

well Will did his first swim class today- waterbabies. he loved it. we've been to the waterpark a few times and the beach and he loves the water. so i went to this trial class. there were 4 babies- one was 6 months and the other 2 were at least a year since they were walking. one of the 1yo was screaming the entire the time. the others looked disinterested. but Will, had the time of his life. he was dunking his head under, and splashing and kicking like a mad man. he would lay on his belly like he was swimming too. i have a feeling he is going to be a great swimmer. so we are signing up- my mom offered to pay. i wouldn't be able to do it otherwise (ouch- $350!). it's once a week for 6 months though (indoors). so it should be fun and a good way for us to keep bonding. anyone else do the baby swim stuff?

anyone else watching the Olympics? I love gymnastics! and swimming. well everything really. time to catch some sleep since i know he will wake up with his teeth. poor guy. gotta go address my sister's wedding invites tomorrow- apparently i have the best handwriting.......what did i get myself into-----i think she is inviting like 200-300 people too. ouch. carpel tunnel, here i come.

 

[beckmrk04]

Sara- Poor Alex! I know what you mean though. Vaylie's going to have scarred up knees. She runs back and forth on our sidewalks and falls at least once a day- it doesn't bother her, she gets back up and keeps going, but she forever has skinned knees. And I'm a trip-planning nazi too! I love planning my ADR's the most! And then, I have to plan on when we'll be in what parks based on where we want to eat and what time the different shows and parades and fireworks start.... I already feel behind!

Michelle- at the family newsletter! That's too funny. My SIL is going in Sept. and she has a crazy Disney Binder: it's full of word documents, spreadsheets, all kinds of stuff- it's a total hoot! I'm totally going to borrow it. I'm hoping they'll go with us next year too, but since they're going this year she said it may not be in the budget. We'll see. It'd be fun.

The baby swim class sounds fun. They have them at the YMCA (but that's 25 miles away from us and I don't know when I'd have the time to go.) I do know that it doesn't cost $350!!! That's awesome that your mom is paying for it though- how nice!! And it'll be a fun thing for you guys to do.

And I do not envy you addressing all those invites!

 

[7beasley]

Hi All.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Bec - What a wonderful DH - so glad you are planning another trip for next year. I agree that the planning is the most fun!!

Michelle - yeah about Will's swimming lessons - that sounds great. I think its important to teach them to swim young. And your newsletter sounds cool!

Kelly -- was the big 1st Birthday party this weekend? How did it go? Did you avoid the thunderstorms that we had in MA?

Politio -- sorry to hear about Alex -- poor little guy. I am sure they are walking cuts and bruises at that age!!

Tiggersac -- hi -- does he make Monkey noises? That is cute. Have you been to Southwicks Zoo or Roger Williams zoo...those are good zoos and not to far from you!

-Nicole

 

[7beasley]

Great news!

QUESS WHO IS CRAWLING????

Yup - you guessed it -- my Izzy is crawling.

After seeing her doctor last Wednesday and him showing concern for the fact that she was not crawling yet and partially blaming me and DH for her lack of crawling because we weren't challenging her and putting stuff out of her reach and letting her cry...my DH and I were kind of freaked out and not thrilled about the Physical Therapy early intervention or the need to see an orthopedic doctor....so we started to work with Izzy and teach her.

We spent about an hour on the floor Wed night with her - 2 sessions of an hour each on Thursday and 2 sessions on Friday of about 1 hour each. After a while on Friday - she started moving.

Then yesterday, she was crawling pretty good and fairly fast. She was moving all over our living room. Today I ran out to do some errands and when I got home I stood at the entrance of our living room (Izzy was on the floor) talking to DH and she crawled over to me and then sat and put her arms up wanting to be picked up!!!

So my girl is crawling. She has also started to try to pull herself up - but has not quite figured that out yet. Yesterday she crawled over to the stairs and used the bottom stair to try to stand - she also used her walker and tried to pull herself up on that. So I think pulling to standing should be another week or so!

But she is crawling now - and that is all that matters to me!! I am SO happy!!! And I can't believe how fast she picked it up. There were *alot* of tears on Wed, Thurs and Fri when she was getting fustrated wanting a toy but we held strong and she finally did it herself.

I am one proud mommy this weekend!

We are definately going to cancel the orthopedic appointment. I am on the fence about whether or not to cancel the PT appt -- I am leaning towards keeping it but I don't know.

Anyway - that is my great weekend news!

Hope your weekend was great as well!

-Nicole

 

[kellyf2626]

Kelly -- was the big 1st Birthday party this weekend? How did it go? Did you avoid the thunderstorms that we had in MA?

Nicole...first off....YAY FOR IZZY!!!! That is awesome that she is crawling. I would TOTALLY cancel her PT appointment. Honestly...if there was a serious issue, she wouldn't be able to crawl. Period. Since she has shown she is able to do it, I wouldn't worry at all. I know...easier said that done. But, Brady was a late crawler (and a late clapper at that....he just started clapping, and his ped wanted to do an MRI at his 9 month!!! I declined!!) yet I knew he was fine. Just a little slow on some things!

Yes, today was Brady's big party. Of course while we were setting up and deocrating, it was beautiful outside. His party was at 2pm, and as of 3pm it was pouring outside and thundering until about 15 minutes ago (it's 11:00 here now!) Regardless, we had a great day and I will post pics later. Brady had a fun time and enjoyed the people, cake, and presents. It really was fun. I am exhausted, though.....so off to bed! Will post more tomorrow.....

 

[beckmrk04]

Nicole- Hooray for Izzy!! Maybe she just needed a little motivation- I agree with Kelly; I'd cancel the other appointment too. If she were older I think I'd be more concerned, but she's totally within the normal time to crawl (if there is such a thing, since some babies decide never to crawl). And if she can crawl, then I can't really see the need for PT. As she continues to crawl and pull-up, she'll strengthen all those muscles. Before you know it, she'll be running all over the house. THAT'S when you gotta watch out. Oh, mygoodness.

Kelly- I'm glad Brady's party went well despite the storms! I'm kinda sad that since Vaylie's birthday is in February we'll never be able to have a big outdoor party. I'm just going to have to get creative with it, I guess. Although, I don't plan on going all out like I did with the first birthday party.

 

[Villain-lover]

Yay for Izzy!!!!! You do have to watch out now! Once Sam & Zoe got the crawling thing down, they are all over the place now..we had to gate off the living room to contain them...now we get all kinds of bumps on our heads from puling up and attempting to cruise!

What a long week ladies! I had jury duty last week, sat for 2 days on an arrmed robbery case (wed and thurs), DH stayed home withthe babies, and we went to myrtle beach on Friday! Yesterday we were supposed to have pictures taked with all 8 grandchildren on DH side. It rained, so we will try again before thursday when on of S & Z's cousins goes back to Florida.

Sam & Zoe are 9 months today..wow! We go to the Dr. today. I can't believe it..I just don't know anymore what life was like before the twins...a lot less interesting thats for sure!!!!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Meredith - Happy 9 month birthday! Good luck with the doctor appointments.

Nicole - Go Izzy!!! Just wait, in a few weeks you'll be wishing she couldn't crawl away from you I might just keep the PT appointment - not so much that anything is wrong, but more for the EI services, you know? If she needs something now or later, then the eval is already there.

Kelly - Glad the birthday went well! I wish the rain around here would stop. It's getting ridiculous..

Becky - WooHoo!!! Trip planning!!!

Michelle - the swimming lessons sound awesome! I'd love to sign Christopher up for them, but the closest place is about 30 minutes. He loves the water, and has no fear of putting his face in and blowing (or swallowing - who knew tubby water was so tasty?)


So Christopher has turned into a crawling machine. He's been trying to walk, and can go pretty far if we're holding his fingers. He been standing up really well and letting go of stuff, but hasn't taken the first few steps yet. But I'm thinking he'll do it pretty soon. He's also just started waving bye, and is waving at everything in sight If you leave the room, he waves. If the dog turns around, he waves. If you put him in his car seat, and go around to get in the car, he waves. It's pretty funny

Does anyone have any advice on hitting? He's decided it's really funny to hit me. Only me. Daddy gets hugs, I get smacked, and then a hug. I've been telling him no, and then putting him down. When I pick him back up, he does it again. Please tell me this is a stage he'll get over really quick.

Jen

 

[Villain-lover]

Jen, with the hitting, I would keep doing what you are already doing by putting him down when he does it. I would say "ouch" or tell him not nice and maybe not give him the chance to get to the hug part before you put him down. Ignore the bad behavior, and if he hugs you when you pick him back up, be lavish with the praise.

Dr appt went well. Zoe is still a peanut but a healthy one. She weighs 16 lb 5 oz and is 28 inches long. Sam is 19 lbs 4 oz and is 29 1/2 inches long. both doing great..Dr was proud of me

She said to begin to try more finger type foods since we are not having as many puke issues now and keep formula intake the same for now. She said the twins are both long and lean, so the calories from formula are good for now. We can transition to cows milk (or at least start) at 11 months, in sippys at mealtime with the hopes of dropping bottles completely by then. We will see. The do great with sippys of water right now. Maybe next month we can get to three bottles near mealtimes and go from there.

Soo...what are some tasty creative easy to chew finger food ideas to start with. They are good on cherios. I am going to make some alphabet pasta I found and put a little marinara with it. I thought about cheese shredds, goldfish, soft peas or carrot pieces.

 

[7beasley]

Hi guys - thanks for all the nice words!

Jen - sorry to hear about the hitting. I think you are doing the right thing. If you pick him up and he hits put him right back down and say "no" and "ouch" and "hurts" -- I am sure it is just a phase though!

Kelly - glad the party went well despite the rain!! We are having a huge cookout on Saturday for 50+ people outside at night and I am praying for good weather!!

Meredith -- 9 months already! Yay!! And what healthy little peanuts you have. They are doing so great. As far as finger food ideas - Izzy eats pretty much all finger foods since she refuses to eat jar baby food anymore. We do the following:

strawberries, canned pears, canned mandarian oranges, bananas, watermelon, canteloupe, blueberry waffles, french toast sticks, canned chicken, homemade meatballs, wheat rotini pasta, diced carrots, green beans, Gerber little ones pickup raviolis (they have all flavors like spinach and cheese, chix and carrots, cheese...), any meat we are eating (we cut up chicken, pork, steak, hamburger...), cottage cheese, pizza crust, small pieces of cheddar cheese, pieces of bagels, yogurt, gerber mashed potatoes side dishes (potatoes with veg mixed in), gerber crackers/biscuits, little pieces of bread, cucumbers (with the seedy middle cut out), summer squash, zucchini...

Those are the main things Izzy is eating. She loves everything and most of it she can pick up with her fingers. I have found that if she likes something (like the mashed potatoes) she will let me feed her with a spoon. I still try to slip in her jar food between finger food bites too. We usually do one spoon food and 2 finger foods for dinner and 1 spoon for and 1 finger food for breakfast and lunch!

Good luck and have fun!

Our Ped said that as long as we aren't giving her fried food, potato chips, greasy stuff, sweets, ice cream, cookies etc...(i.e. the really bad foods that taste so good)- she can eat anything and everything that we are eating!

-Nicole

 

[DMickey28]

Meredith - Happy 9 months. Glad the appointments went well.

Nicole - Yeah Izzy ...isn't that how it happens? As soon as you worry they up and do it!!!

Kelly - I am glad that Brady's party went well. Sorry about the weather. We get horrible storms every afternoon by around 3pm here now. The last few days have been really loud, i am surprised that Alexander is sleeping through them.

Jen - Christopher walking ... he'll be doing it on his own soon!! Yippy ... watch out though.

Michelle - That's great about the swim lessons. We really need to find a lesson to sign up for. We did one last winter/spring but it was more of a lifesaving techniques class and I didn't know that going in to it. It was free so that was good but it wasn't what I was looking for. I should check out our Y. That's one good thing about living down here is we have a bunch of swim schools ... I want to find one indoors though and that's more difficult.

GUESS WHAT I FOUND??? I was at our local bj's in Parkland and just strolling through the isles looking for meal ideas. I went to the ice cream section just for fun and they had a whole case of HOODSIE cups!!!! WAHOOOO I was so excited I called DH at work to tell him. We can home and DS had his first Hoodsie cups. They are just as good as I remember ... I am thinking about going back and getting another case (30) just in case this is a one time thing!!!

Alexander is starting to get more vocal but not really words yet. He says fish - "ish" for everything. At BJ's he was pointing at the Michelin tire man saying "ish".

I need menu ideas. What are you guys cooking? What are your weekly go to meals? I have made a list on word but need more ideas. Here's what I have so far -

• Caribbean Jerk Chicken, Coconut Rice and fruit
• Mexican marinated Flank Steak for Fajitas
• Roast Beef with mashed potatoes
• Chicken parm with pasta
• Chicken Milano
• Steak with baked potato
• Chicken Alfredo pizza
• Mexican style pork chops with rice
• Pot roast
• Zuppa Toscana with sandwiches
• French Onion Soup with sandwiches
• Hamburgers/hot dogs
• Chimichangas
• Chicken noodle casserole
• Beef stroganoff
• Chicken enchiladas/cheese enchiladas
• Pork tenderloin in teriyaki or bourbon sauce
• Baby backed ribs
• Chili with baked potatoes
• Spaghetti and meatballs
• Chicken fettuccini Alfredo
• Penne, chicken, broccoli and garlic

And here starts our rain for the afternoon ...

 

[DMickey28]

Argh ... DH just frustrated me. I was so excited that I was finally able to put down some ideas for meals on paper, which I posted above.

I was feeling culinarily motivated and excited to look up some new recipes to try. I am marinating jerk chicken breast and was going to make coconut rice, which i have made before. So being the nice wife that I was I called him and gave him the option of the chicken or hamburgers ... he said he didn't like that rice and wanted burgers.

DH eats the most meat and potatoes as he can. He is boring and doesn't try anything new. If he does try it, 90% of the time he doesn't like it. For someone that went to culinary school and wants to try new things, this is super frustrating for me. He also HATES anything to do remotely with seafood or veggies ...

Would anyone like to cook me dinner for them?

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Off the subject of babies.....I GOT A PELL GRANT!!!! It's going to be cut down drastically from what it shows I got because I only have one class, but anything is better than nothing if I don't have to pay!!! I paid $145 earlier and they are going to cut me a check back for that in September! I CAN'T STAND IT! Hubby and I need all the help we can get right now...our finances are low, but we need for nothing. Just wanted to share some good news. Hope everyone is well!

 

[jennyL]

Congratulations that is great news.

 

[beckmrk04]

Jen- Christopher will be walking in no time! And my kid drinks bath water too. I've tried telling her "no" or "yucky" and I even take her little cup things out of the tub, but she figures out a way top gulp it down. It's just sick. SIL says my nephew does it too. ANd Vaylie went through a hitting phase (it's better, but not really over). When she hit me- almost always in my face , I put her down, squatted down to her level, and said, "NO. We don't hit." Then walked away from her. It took a few times (quite a few), but it seems that she has gotten the message that if she hits Mommy, she is not being held, or paid attention to. And we've also been working on being nice (ie, giving hugs and kisses, petting the dog and cat nicely), and praising those things. It seems to be working. When she's mad though, you still gotta watch out!

Dmickey- You can come over here! I have Culinary Adventure day every Sunday. My sis and I started it a while back- we try something new, either a recipe or a restaurant, every Sunday. Two weeks ago we went out for Indian food. This past Sunday I made Hawaiin Chicken (chicken with a pineapple sauce). It was tasty- it'll be in the dinner rotation. My DH is very picky too, and I am a total foodie, so it's hard sometimes! But, I will say, he has made vast improvements since we met. He'll try almost anything now, and he has VASTLY expanded what he'll eat. Later tonight (when I have a little more time), I'll try to post my list of go-to dinners (so funny- I just made a list too!). Right now, I have no clue where it is.

Denise- for the Pell grant! We are still figuring out DH's financial aid stuff; he can't get a Grant because he already has a Bachelor's degree. Boo. But, we can at least get loans, and since it's his 2nd BA we shouldn't have to take out too much.

I am putting off getting ready for work. I don't want to go. I'm so tired all the time. And I am going on a float trip this weekend, and I want to go, but I don't. I'll be gone Friday, Saturday, and come home sunday morning. It's all girls, so I know once I get there I'll have fun. But, I'm going to miss my girl so badly! I've never been away from her for more than a night. But, I keep reminding myself how fun and relaxing it'll be to float down the river with a drink (or four).

 

[DMickey28]

Congrats Denise!

I got my P3 today and it's all put together. Too bad it's storming like crazy so we can't go for a walk. Seems pretty good. DS is sleeping but I am excited to put him in it and see how it moves with him because he's so big. The big this is easy one handed pushing for me.

HOWEVER ... Now i have been reading about the Baby Jogger City Mini ... anyone have that? They are fairly new but get great reviews and are apparently the new HOT item to have. They retail regular price at $219 which isn't too bad. Obviously i can't have both the P3 and the BJCM so I am at a crossroad!!!! Stupid me for reading the internet further.

Anyone else bored? I am in one of those moods the last day or two where I am just lazy, hot, bored, dehydrated and feel yucky.

 

[kellyf2626]

Off the subject of babies.....I GOT A PELL GRANT!!!! It's going to be cut down drastically from what it shows I got because I only have one class, but anything is better than nothing if I don't have to pay!!! I paid $145 earlier and they are going to cut me a check back for that in September! I CAN'T STAND IT! Hubby and I need all the help we can get right now...our finances are low, but we need for nothing. Just wanted to share some good news. Hope everyone is well!

Congrats Denise! That is great!!

I got my P3 today and it's all put together. Too bad it's storming like crazy so we can't go for a walk. Seems pretty good. DS is sleeping but I am excited to put him in it and see how it moves with him because he's so big. The big this is easy one handed pushing for me.

HOWEVER ... Now i have been reading about the Baby Jogger City Mini ... anyone have that? They are fairly new but get great reviews and are apparently the new HOT item to have. They retail regular price at $219 which isn't too bad. Obviously i can't have both the P3 and the BJCM so I am at a crossroad!!!! Stupid me for reading the internet further.

I am sure you will your P3. I also saw the Baby Jogger City Mini after I got my P3....but I haven't regretted having the P3 for a second, so that makes me feel better. I think I prefer the standard 4-wheel stroller as opposed to the 3 wheel jogger-types. My Phil and Ted Sport Buggy is nice, but big and hard to navigate through stores....I hardly ever use it.

Here are a few pics from Brady's party!!

There are lots more on my blog...just double-click on the slideshow at the top left.... http://nhbradyboy.blogspot.com

 

[DMickey28]

Kelly - Great pictures!! I LOVE the cakes and his birthday outfit. You are a beautiful family! The blog link didn't work for some reason.

 

[kellyf2626]

Kelly - Great pictures!! I LOVE the cakes and his birthday outfit. You are a beautiful family! The blog link didn't work for some reason.

Thanks!! I just fixed the link - it should work now.