The new "New Moms" thread!

[ImarriedGrumpy]

DH has taken Owen to a friends' house to watch the game, taking a couple bottles with him and leaving me home alone to enjoy some down time all by myself! I'm torn between watching the game (and the commercials! ) or taking a nap...it's not often that I get to sleep for more than 90min or so at a stretch these days. Owen is going through a growth spurt and wants to eat every 2.5 hours. I've tried stretching him to 3 hours, but he gets so cranky that I'm just resigning myself to nursing him more often until he's through this stage.

Anyone have any good tips on cleaning baby fingernails? Owen's fingernails are always dirty, and I can't get them clean with my fingernail brush. His little nails are so tiny! I've been able to trim his nails just fine, but they still get dirty and I'm stumped on how to get them clean.

 

[helenabear]

OMG, I love seeing all these pics!! I really do!!!!

Bethany, have you tried taking angled tweezers beneath to kind of scrape out? Usually if Dom's nails are dirty I do that or just cut them and then wash his hands. They never stay dirty for long so I have no idea what others do. I'm just lucky on that I think

Today has been "one of those days" here. Dom has been super cranky in general. I think he's going through some sort of growth spurt since he's eating a ton and sleeping a lot more. We'll see tomorrow if it is physical or developmental since I took his weight on Friday so I could tell family how big he was

Yesterday we didn't watch any of the Super Bowl because we were simply tired as all get out. Dom was baptized yesterday so we had a busy day.

Here are a few pics. Right now both Luis and I are shocked that his eyes are still blue. We still think they'll turn green or hazel in a month or so.

The other baby in the pics belongs to Dom's Godparents... she's a cutie and we joke saying these two are going to marry each other since we say so. That way their DD won't have to worry about dating until they are ready for her to marry

 

[kellyf2626]

Elaine - Great pics!! Dom looks so handsome and you look FANTASTIC!!


Well...I was out to lunch today with my mother, my grandfather, and Brady and the people across the table from us were like "oh...what a cute baby...what's his name?". I told them Brady and they were like "Oh...not a good day to be named Brady!". Dang Patriots!!! Watching the game last night was not fun!!

 

[ashjohnson80]

Okay, what do you do when your baby hates being on their stomach? I want to make sure that Ellery gets enough "tummy time" but everytime I put her down on her tummy she starts crying. I've tried to put out things for her to look at, but she's just like 'i don't care, get me off my tummy!'.

 

[kellyf2626]

Okay, what do you do when your baby hates being on their stomach? I want to make sure that Ellery gets enough "tummy time" but everytime I put her down on her tummy she starts crying. I've tried to put out things for her to look at, but she's just like 'i don't care, get me off my tummy!'.

Ok...so I know this isn't what people are probably telling you....but for me, it just wasn't worth the screaming. I totally didn't do really any tummy time with Brady. He just hated it - it didn't matter if I used the Boppy, put toys down, put him on my tummy, used a mirror, etc, etc... He would just scream. So...I didn't do it. ( I know...horror of horror's! ) But ya know what....Brady is fine. He rolls both ways, supports himself on his arms now, and tolerates tummy time much better now that he can roll himself back and forth and can push up on his arms. He actually plays with toys on his tummy...which is something I would have never predicted!!

Honestly...I know your ped will tell you to make sure to do it a certain amount of time a day and she will get used to it. IMHO, I wouldn't stress about it. Do things Ellery enjoys and has fun with. When she is ready for more floor time, she will let you know!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Christopher hated being on his belly for the longest time. I'd do it for about 10 minutes a day. But he was fine if he was laying on my belly, so I figured that must be the same idea. After all, he's still on his belly

 

[Pollito916]

Elaine - nice baptism pictures - such a handsome family! I wish we had done Alex's when he was younger, b/c he "talked" through the entire ceremony and was the loudest baby there.

Ash - I didn't really force Alex to stay on his belly either. If he started screaming, I picked him up or rolled him onto his back, then tried again later or the next day. It also helped once he started rolling over, b/c then he could decide which position he wanted to be in. When Ellery is ready, she'll stop screaming and realize how much more she can do on her tummy than on her back.

 

[RadioNate]

Can I play? lol

Maggie just turned 2 months on 2/1. She is a pretty good baby. She is exclusively on formula now and we are still figuring out a routine.

She had her 2 month appointment (10lbs, 8oz, 22.5 inches) and first set of shots on Monday. That was horrible!

She likes to hold her head up a lot but is kind of a bobblehead and accedently head butts us a lot.

Since she was breech she has hip dysplasia. We see the orthopedic dr tomorrow. I'm hoping that a soft brace is all she will need. I guess that is the most common treatment. I feel bad for her because she loves to kick so I'm sure she will hate the brace. I also am worried about the logistics of car seats and all that with her hip braced.

I'll have to get a picture online soon.

We are also finishing her room today so hopefully I'll have photos of that soon. We hope to get her down to 1 middle of the night feeding and then put her in her own room.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Can I play? lol

Maggie just turned 2 months on 2/1. She is a pretty good baby. She is exclusively on formula now and we are still figuring out a routine.

She had her 2 month appointment (10lbs, 8oz, 22.5 inches) and first set of shots on Monday. That was horrible!

She likes to hold her head up a lot but is kind of a bobblehead and accedently head butts us a lot.

Since she was breech she has hip dysplasia. We see the orthopedic dr tomorrow. I'm hoping that a soft brace is all she will need. I guess that is the most common treatment. I feel bad for her because she loves to kick so I'm sure she will hate the brace. I also am worried about the logistics of car seats and all that with her hip braced.

I'll have to get a picture online soon.

We are also finishing her room today so hopefully I'll have photos of that soon. We hope to get her down to 1 middle of the night feeding and then put her in her own room.

Welcome, Allison!

We still don't have Owen's room finished. We have a small house, so the plan was to move DH's office out to the garage and turn the office into Owen's room. To make the move, we need to vent the dryer so it won't wreck the computer, only it turns out that we can't vent the dryer in its current location. We called in a contractor, and figured out that we can move the laundry area to a different part of the garage and put the office where the laundry is now. It's really a much better layout, but it's going to be more expensive than we'd planned, and take more time to get it finished, so in the meantime DH and Owen are sharing the room. It's VERY crowded!

I'm also hoping that when Owen gets down to one night feeding we can move him into his room, but I guess we'll have to see if DH can handle being without his office in the evenings when Owen is sleeping.

We're going to be travelling on the day of Owen's 2 month check up. UGH! We've tried to reschedule this trip, but it's one of those "must go visit the relatives" events. So we tried to reschedule the dr. appointment, but everything is booked for a month out. I've left a message with Owen's pediat. and asked if there's any way she could fit us in even the day before, and told her the situation, so we'll see. Poor little guy - I hate the thought of having to strap him into his car seat and drive for 3 hours after he's had shots and just wants to snuggle. At least he likes to ride in the car (as long as we're moving and not stopped at a light). He's made two long trips already, and is a very good road-trip baby, but making the trip right after his shots just doesn't seem fair.

 

[ashjohnson80]

I put the two month check up off since I thought Ellery was getting a cold. She's all better now so I guess I better call in the morning and reschedule. I'm really really really dreading the shots. I can't even hardly think about it.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I hated the idea of his shots, and was dreading his reactions to them. After his 2 month ones, he fell asleep, woke up 2 hours later, screamed bloody murder for 2 hours, then went back to sleep and woke up fine. After his 4 month ones, he was a bit cranky for a few hours, but pretty easily distracted. His 6 month ones went even easier.

I am, however, dreading his MMR. Most of the kids I've known didn't feel well after those.

 

[helenabear]

Elaine - nice baptism pictures - such a handsome family! I wish we had done Alex's when he was younger, b/c he "talked" through the entire ceremony and was the loudest baby there

We got Lucky with Dom. He is already a "chatty baby" and will talk through church. Last night I took him to the cry room because he was so loud. He slept most of church for his baptism though, which is abnormal, but I was happy

We had an opposite problem with Dom laying down. He absolutely *hated* being flat on his back (inclines were okay). We would try all methods and he would cry, fuss, and squirm so much he would find a way to roll around to his front. We tried side sleeping and even with a positioner, he'd manage to move himself in such a way that he'd be on his stomach. We quickly gave up on him. Only recently has he wanted to be on his back. Our ped just told us we should keep trying his back now and then and try to get him to sleep that way (he never did, even in the hospital all swaddled up tight). Now he enjoyes playing on his back, but hates to sleep that way still. I just tried it every now and then to see how he would be. I've gotten him to happily play with me for about 20-30 minutes now. So I'd try the same thing. Maybe try letting them play on your stomach and then try a minute or two here or there. I wouldn't push it too much until they are ready for it.

Bethany, sorry about the issue with the shots and traveling. Dom just got his done on Tuesday. He slept most of the afternoon after that and when he was awake was fussy, but easiliy distracted and consoled. It wasn't near as bad as I was expecting. He woke up a little fussy yesterday, but by afternoon he was back to normal. We gave him some Tylenol at first for the pain, and then made sure he didn't run any fevers after we stopped it. I wouldn't be happy if I had to travel with him, but he really did sleep a lot after the shots. I think that was his body's way of dealing with the discomfort. He just seemed a little groggy like I feel when I have a small cold.

 

[Disney Ron]

My DS did great with all his shots, no after effects. The worst thing was at his 1 year appointment they took blood for lead testing. He has had to have blood taken twice so far that was not fun for him or me.

I know as mom's we feel their pain just as much if not more!

Mrs. Disney Ron

 

[Pollito916]

We got Lucky with Dom. He is already a "chatty baby" and will talk through church. Last night I took him to the cry room because he was so loud. He slept most of church for his baptism though, which is abnormal, but I was happy

We don't even try to sit in the main part of church anymore, always straight to the cry room. Last night there was a little girl in there too, that was one month older than Alex, and she was just like him, running around and yelling the whole time. If we tried to make them sit down, they would just cry and scream. Her mom suggested we put a couple of the chairs to block the door of the cry room so they couldn't get out, and that made it a little easier. They were both running like little nuts through mass and at one time actually ran right into each other and conked heads. Luckily neither one cried, they just rubbed their heads then went right back to looking for trouble!

 

[Pollito916]

Oh yeah, DS also just slept after all his shots. It really wasn't as bad as I expected. I didn't watch the first time, though. DH held him, and he only cried for about 2 minutes tops. It was one of those silent screams, though, where he turns all red and opens his mouth but nothing comes out for the first 10-20 seconds. Poor baby, but at least that was it, then he always just slept all day, only waking up to eat.

We did give him tylenol, b/c he always seemed to get a fever for that day and sometimes part of the next day too, but once it was b/c he happened to come down with Roseola at the same time. Now THAT was miserable for both of us! He was so uncomfortable, he couldn't even sleep, except in his wonderful Rainforest swing. I love that thing! It was the only way we got through that illness.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Well, we're on a waitlist to change Owen's dr. appointment, but it doesn't look like we'll get a new time. His ped. said to bring the tylenol drops with us, and they'll have us give him the meds before the shots. She said that should help, and also said I should nurse him right after the appt. and that should also help him. She said you never know how a baby will respond to the shots, so we'll just cross our fingers that he'll be a "go to sleep" baby instead of a "scream and fuss for hours" baby.

The little goober decided to be wide awake after his early am feeding this morning. He was being a big flirt, trying to get me to play with him, and I was trying to get him to settle down and go back to sleep like he usually does. He was making all kinds of new babbles and noises, and showing off his biggest grin, and I was trying to rock him and swaddle him and sing to him and get the goofball to go back to sleep - mommy was tired!! It would have been much easier if he'd let me set him down, but every time I tried to lay him down he'd scream. FINALLY, almost 2 hours after we'd gotten up to nurse, and just as DH was leaving for work, the boy fell asleep again.

 

[kellyf2626]

Oh shots....I just hate bringing Brady! He really gets cranky and miserable for about 3-4 days after getting his shots. I am dreading his appointment in March! Jen - I have heard the same thing about the MMR. My practice has some combo shot of the MMR and Varicex (something like that - the chicken pox shot). I plan on telling my ped that I will decline the chicken pox one (I guess it has a ridiculously low rate of effectiveness...something like a 50% chance your LO will stay get the chx pox?!) So, hopefully they will be able to do that for me!!

 

[helenabear]

Kelly, the chicken pox vaccination is a lot more effective than that... however most forget to get the booster shots. You can get chicken pox after getting the vaccination but you can also get it after getting a mild case of it w/o it as well. I never had chicken pox as a kid so I've read up on the vaccination

Bethany I am laughing at the playing. This morning I was trying to feed Dom and he decided after only 5-10 minutes of it, he was done and wanted to play. Every time I put the bottle in his mouth, he would smile. He's such a goober

I admit I usually don't take Dom to the cry room. Since it was a more somber service (Ash Weds) I didn't think it was appropriate for him to babble on. He fortunately isn't moving yet, but I can't imagine what he will be like....

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Oh shots....I just hate bringing Brady! He really gets cranky and miserable for about 3-4 days after getting his shots. I am dreading his appointment in March! Jen - I have heard the same thing about the MMR. My practice has some combo shot of the MMR and Varicex (something like that - the chicken pox shot). I plan on telling my ped that I will decline the chicken pox one (I guess it has a ridiculously low rate of effectiveness...something like a 50% chance your LO will stay get the chx pox?!) So, hopefully they will be able to do that for me!!

Most offices still have the separate MMR and varivax. Occasionally, you'll have to come back another day for it if they have to order it. I'm also planning on just having the MMR and hoping he just gets the chicken pox.

Christopher is cutting his 4th tooth. He's usually a bit cranky the 2 days before it breaks through. You would know that those 2 days started tonight. DH is in FL for the weekend remodeling my parent's kitchen, so I have Sir CrankyPants all to myself Wish me luck (and sleep!)

Jen

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Hooray for good weather again! It's been cool and rainy for weeks, and today was finally sunny and warm. I figure, I moved here from MN/WI, so it better be "real" CA weather to make up for leaving my family and friends behind! We had our first family hike today at a county park. It was lovely to be able to walk a couple miles at a good pace again without being sore and needing pain medicine afterwards. It took a long time to heal up from that 3rd degree tear - longer than I expected.

It's also been a good ebay day today - I won an auction for a lot of nursing tops, and I also won an auction that had exactly the items I wanted for Owen - a hoodie sweatshirt, a sweater, and some sleepers. After having the boy here for a few weeks I'd discovered that I needed those things and I didn't want to spend $$$ on new stuff that he'll outgrow in a few more weeks. Good bargains on both auctions, and it was very satisfying!