The new "New Moms" thread!

[Tiggerlover91]

Blech. More naptime screaming from Owen. I can't figure out how to help this kid sleep lately. He did fine last night, but now today he's spent most of his nap time screaming instead of sleeping. If this keeps up I may have to just shut him in his room and go work in the garage where I can't hear him and just let him cry. It's getting really stressful for me and I'm starting to feel like I'm at the end of my rope with him. I'm trying to be a good mom, but there's only so many hours of screaming I can take and I'm about at my limit.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

thanks, Denise. He finally fell asleep, but it was almost an hour and a half of mostly screaming. I just feel fried after all that. I have a ton of housework to get done, but I'm not feeling up for it right now. Hopefully Owen will cooperate for "date night" tonight. We try to do some sort of "date" every friday night. We swap childcare with friends twice a month (we go out Fri. night and they watch Owen, and then they go out Sat. night and we watch their DD), and then on the non-childcare weeks we do something with Owen.

Tonight is an Owen night, and we're going to walk downtown to see the 01SJ art festival and the "First Fridays" block party that they do on the 1st friday of every month. A bunch of art galleries stay open late and have free admission on First Fridays, and this month they are going to have street vendors and musicians out as well. We're hoping that Owen will be happy and cooperative since he'll be in his stroller, but if he's being a pill we'll just hop a bus back home. We only live about a mile from the heart of downtown, so it's a nice walk and a short bus ride if things get nasty with Owen.

We'll see how it goes...I sure feel like I could use a fun night to relax after the insanity of nap time this morning. Hopefully the afternoon nap will go better, but I'm not crossing my fingers or holding my breath.

 

[beckmrk04]

Oh, Bethany... I remember the screaming. It is so intense. V wasn't too bad about naps, but oh my- put her in the car and she would SCREAM the entire time. I used to cry with her.

One time, Dh was like, "She's ok, there's nothing you can do." Ok- logically, I know that, but my body responded!! It's like intense instinct to respond when your baby cries- I could literally feel my pulse quicken, my heartrate go up, like a total "fight or flight" response.

I don't think men get that.

It'll be ok, though.

I hope you have a fun date night together.

 

[beckmrk04]

And I know how you all feel about money. We are constantly living paycheck to paycheck, and I just opened a new checking acct here & sent in the direct deposit information to my job. Can you believe that they actually miscoded the account #, so instead of receiving an EFT last Friday like everyone else, I just received a paper check by DHL yesterday. AND on top of that, when I first reported the problem to HR, they assumed that the money had been deposited to my old account, which it hadn't. Both accounts are at Chase, and both are still open, so that wouldn't have been a problem. They deposited the money in some random person's account that is one # different than mine, then wanted to wait to make sure they were able to get the money back out of that account before issuing me a new check. It is NOT my fault that someone in payroll or HR made a keying error that nobody else caught - I worked for my money, and I need it now! And I work for a very large company with offices across the country. I was so frustrated! As I'm sure you can tell from my use of all the angry smilies!

I would FREAK OUT!!! Man, I count days and minutes until it's payday!!!

But on a good note, my mom and I just went to a local mom's group consignment sale, and got some really good deals on more toys for Alex that he doesn't need. It wasn't as big as the one I had gone to back where I used to live, and didn't have as much a variety of big ticket items, like strollers, furniture, etc. But we still got some great deals!

This sounds awesome. I'm a total yard sale junkie. I love to find "great" deals. I figure if anyone is at all like me, a lot of times they are selling good stuff they just don't need or want. My husband thinks I'm a goof, but a few weeks ago I bought a Boppy (AND cover!!!) for $2. I already own two others. But I told him, this way, with the next baby, I can keep one in the bedroom, one in the living room, and one in the car. I mean, TWO DOLLARS!! That's a freakin' steal.

And yesterday was my b-day, so hubby & I went to Melting Pot for dinner, which was delicious! We were going to see a movie afterwards, but we were way too full and afraid we would fall asleep in the dark theater. So we went mini-golfing instead, which was lots of fun!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Mmmmm- Melting Pot!! I'd be jealous, but I just went two weeks ago. Still- that cheddar fondue. I think I might dream about it!


OT- V is running a fever tonight. When she woke up from her nap, she was at 102.3, but we've got it down to around 99 now. Whew. She's not acting sick anymore, and she's drinking and eating ok, so we're just keeping an eye on her. I really hope she isn't getting sick. (But on a happier note, she can now find her OWN nose!)

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

ooo, I love finding good deals! And Becky, we have two boppies - one for Owen, and one for DH! DH discovered that he liked using Owen's boppy as a pillow when he lays on the couch and watches TV, and he decided he needed one for himself. I hunted around and found a boppy plus 3 covers for $12! So now they each have their own boppy...

Date night was fun. Owen cooperated, and we went to the Brittish pub for "pub grub" - fish and chips for me, yum! They have a nice patio so we could sit outside and Owen would be less disruptive if he had a fit. But he was great, and all the servers tried to get him to smile. He observes everything very intently, and then he decides if he's going to interact, and tonight I don't think he was quite feeling up for flirting with strangers. But he only fussed a little, and he really seemed to like being out in the stroller. We wandered around downtown and saw some of the art exhibits. I think we walked at least 3 miles, and boy am I feeling it! But it's good to get the exercise...

Hope Vaylie's fever goes down.

Man, I just can not get used to the intensity of these mommy emotions - isn't it crazy? I tell you, even hearing something on the news about a baby being hurt overwhelms me and I want to hold Owen and never let him go.

 

[beckmrk04]

But he was great, and all the servers tried to get him to smile. He observes everything very intently, and then he decides if he's going to interact, and tonight I don't think he was quite feeling up for flirting with strangers.

Vaylie does that! To the point that it's kind of embarrassing. Like, she just stares at people like they are stupid when they try to make her smile or laugh. And sometimes she just stares at people she finds.. interesting, I guess? I don't know. Some days, she's a total ham and smiling and laughing.

Other days, she looks at you, intensely, like you're an idiot.

Glad you had a good evening though!! You needed it.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Bethany - sounds like date night was fun. Christopher does almost the same thing with stranger. He has to stare for a minute, then decide if they;re worth his timeto smile. It cracks me up.

So I'm all excited today - he figured out how to crawl on his hands and knees. Boy, for a kid thats only done this for a day, is he ever fast!

 

[beckmrk04]

Jen- Watch out now!!! They crawl fast, but they walk and run even faster. I sort of miss the days when V was just a little lump of love and stayed put wherever I set her. Those days are looooong gone.

Last night we were still battling the fever.

She made me cry. She is, generally speaking, not a "cuddly" kid. She doesn't like to be held when she could be up and playing. And even when she's tired, she'll let you hold her a minute, but then she wants to go to her crib to go to sleep.

But yesterday. She crawled up in my lap, and laid her head on my chest and put her arm around my neck and said, "Ma ma." And she just felt miserable. And my heart actually hurt for her. I would have given anything to make my little girl feel better. We laid in the recliner for an hour watching "Melmo." I offered her ice cream (which she loves) and she refused it. It was awful.

It made me think of all the parents out there who have little ones in the hospital or who have children with serious illnesses. I mean, V just had a fever and didn't feel good, but my heart was breaking for her. I can't even imagine what those parents go through on a daily basis.

Luckily, today she has no fever, and is almost back to normal. Her nose is runny and she's drooling like crazy, so I'm starting to wonder if she's working on molars or something? I hear those are harder to cut than other teeth. Not sure.

 

[Pollito916]

Jen- Watch out now!!! They crawl fast, but they walk and run even faster. I sort of miss the days when V was just a little lump of love and stayed put wherever I set her. Those days are looooong gone.

Last night we were still battling the fever.

She made me cry. She is, generally speaking, not a "cuddly" kid. She doesn't like to be held when she could be up and playing. And even when she's tired, she'll let you hold her a minute, but then she wants to go to her crib to go to sleep.

But yesterday. She crawled up in my lap, and laid her head on my chest and put her arm around my neck and said, "Ma ma." And she just felt miserable. And my heart actually hurt for her. I would have given anything to make my little girl feel better. We laid in the recliner for an hour watching "Melmo." I offered her ice cream (which she loves) and she refused it. It was awful.

It made me think of all the parents out there who have little ones in the hospital or who have children with serious illnesses. I mean, V just had a fever and didn't feel good, but my heart was breaking for her. I can't even imagine what those parents go through on a daily basis.

Luckily, today she has no fever, and is almost back to normal. Her nose is runny and she's drooling like crazy, so I'm starting to wonder if she's working on molars or something? I hear those are harder to cut than other teeth. Not sure.

Becky, I miss the days when Alex was a little "lump" too! And he is just like Vaylie in not being a cuddly kid b/c he's too busy playing and prefers sleeping in his bed. Unless he's sick or hurt, then he wants mommy. I am such a sap, that just reading your post brought a little tear to my eye. And all those commercials for St Jude really get to me I'm glad V is feeling better though. Alex was the same way last week when he was cutting molars, but he also had just gotten his MMR vaccine, so I wasn't sure which one was causing the problem, or if it was both. If only they could tell us exactly what was wrong.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Bethany - sounds like date night was fun. Christopher does almost the same thing with stranger. He has to stare for a minute, then decide if they;re worth his timeto smile. It cracks me up.

So I'm all excited today - he figured out how to crawl on his hands and knees. Boy, for a kid thats only done this for a day, is he ever fast!

Hooray for Christopher! I love celebrating all those milestones. Isn't it amazing to watch a baby discover the world?

Last night we were still battling the fever.

She made me cry. She is, generally speaking, not a "cuddly" kid. She doesn't like to be held when she could be up and playing. And even when she's tired, she'll let you hold her a minute, but then she wants to go to her crib to go to sleep.

But yesterday. She crawled up in my lap, and laid her head on my chest and put her arm around my neck and said, "Ma ma." And she just felt miserable. And my heart actually hurt for her. I would have given anything to make my little girl feel better. We laid in the recliner for an hour watching "Melmo." I offered her ice cream (which she loves) and she refused it. It was awful.

It made me think of all the parents out there who have little ones in the hospital or who have children with serious illnesses. I mean, V just had a fever and didn't feel good, but my heart was breaking for her. I can't even imagine what those parents go through on a daily basis.

Luckily, today she has no fever, and is almost back to normal. Her nose is runny and she's drooling like crazy, so I'm starting to wonder if she's working on molars or something? I hear those are harder to cut than other teeth. Not sure.

Glad she's feeling better today. And I know just what you're talking about with your heart breaking, and not being able to imagine what parents of seriously ill children go through. I had to stop watching and reading the news coverage of the typhoon in Burma and the earthquakes in China. Everytime I'd see or hear about the parents losing their children, or children orphaned by these disasters, I'd just get so emotional! I cannot even begin to imagine the grief of having this happen, and I'd just be all teary thinking about it.



And our big news of the day....

Owen slept through the night!!


I heard him whimper over the monitor and opened my eyes...and it was light out! I looked at the clock, and it said 5:45. So I was already excited that he'd gone from 9pm to 5:45am, and then he fell back asleep before I'd even gotten out of bed, and didn't wake up until 7am!

 

[Pollito916]

And our big news of the day....

Owen slept through the night!!


I heard him whimper over the monitor and opened my eyes...and it was light out! I looked at the clock, and it said 5:45. So I was already excited that he'd gone from 9pm to 5:45am, and then he fell back asleep before I'd even gotten out of bed, and didn't wake up until 7am!

YAY Owen! And an even bigger YAY for Bethany!

 

[Villain-lover]

YAY!!! Go Owen, Go Owen, Go Owen..

Isn't it wonderful!!!!

I have addd a second solids meal for Sam and Zoe...Sam really seems to like eating, but Zoe could care less sometimes..she will eat, but I also have to be careful about how much food and how much formula because she has always been such a puker. I can not wait for this to stop. She has a strong gag reflex, so that doesnt help either. For example, she burps, which causes a tiny spitup, which sets off the gag reflex, which sends up half her meal. She is going to need her food finely pureed for quite a while..sam can handle some texture now, but she can't...I cannot believe they will be 7 months on Wednesday...I guess since they were early she still eats like a 5 1/2 month old...but they have caught up for basically everything else..still can't situp on their own quite yet, but Zoe will be crawling soon..she gets up on er elbows and knees and kinda pushes herself around..very cute! Thanks for letting me ramble!

 

[beckmrk04]

Yay Bethany and Owen!



That deserves cake and a party!


We went to a co-ed baby shower today. It was cute. V and my nephew Landon were all types of cranked up though. If they are happy, they are happy together. If they are cranky, they are cranky together, and watch out.

I told V, "Shhh, you have to stop crying because Lori and Ryan (the parents-to-be) have no idea what they are in for, and I don't want you tellin' them!"

It was nap time!

Being 3 months apart, Vaylie and Landon really are like twins at times. Except he goes to his house and we go to ours, and I don't have to chase two around ALL the time!! SIL has decided not to get his hair cut until September because they are going to WDW and she's going to have it cut at the Magic Kingdom. I think thatis so cute, but I don't think she'll be able to last until September!! We'll see.


I want to go to WDW sooooo badly. SO badly.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Ah, the party was nice while it lasted... Owen is back to weirdness in his sleeping habits (or lack of habits!). He slept great from 8:00pm to 3:15am, I nursed him and put him back to bed and he fell asleep by 4am. Then he woke up again at 4:30, then again at 5:15. I changed his diaper and nursed him again, and got him to go back to sleep at 6am, and he slept until 8. Oh well. We decided to just throw out anything we thought we knew about his sleep schedule, and start over from scratch this week. We'll see what happens.


But we got enough of our remodelling stuff done that we moved the last of DH's stuff out of Owen's room, and our boy finally has a room all to himself! (Well, except we still have to move some stuff out of his closet, but it's close enough! ) I'm pleased with how our castle/frog prince/knight theme has worked out. We wanted something that was sort of "boy's fairy tale", and at first we didn't think we could find enough stuff to pull it together. There's still a few more things to be put on the walls, and I found a castle growth chart that I want to get. Here's a link to pictures of the room: http://photobucket.com/ImarriedGrumpy click on the "Owen's room" album, and if they ask for a password, it's "Disney" (of course!).

Vaylie and Landon sound like quite a pair! My niece is 3 months older than Owen, but they haven't met yet. They live in Maryland, and it's a bit of trek to meet up! We'll finally get to see everyone in August and I can't wait!


And I can't believe Sam and Zoe are so big! Seems like just a few weeks ago that you were announcing their birth.

 

[Villain-lover]

Bethany, Owen's room is gorgeous! Wow!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Bethany, Owen's room is gorgeous! Wow!

Thanks, we had a lot of help with it! DMIL quilts, so she made the banner and the curtain. I love the curtain fabric so much that I bought some more and I'm spending my "fun money" from the tax return on having it made into a KozyPals shopping cart cover. And we bought the coordinating dragon fabric and the knight fabric, and we're going to cover a lampshade with one of them and make pillow covers out of the rest for when he's got a bigger bed. DMIL says she's making him a twin quilt to match, so he's really going to have a castle themed room someday!

A friend found the castle/dragon/knight wallies and sent them to me as a baby gift, and I found the "A prince sleeps here" sign at a garage sale for $2! I love bargains!!! And all kinds of people have been giving us dragon and castle toys now, and I've been surprised to discover that there's more out there than I thought.

I'm just so happy to have it clean and organized and (almost) done after a year of trying to get it there!!!

 

[Villain-lover]

Bethany, you're not in the SCA are you?

 

[beckmrk04]

Bethany- Owen's room is adorable! I love it!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Bethany, you're not in the SCA are you?

Unfortunately for my love of Disney, alas, I am not. We're in NorCal - in the San Fran area. So that means that even though I moved to CA 4.5 years ago, I have yet to visit DLR!!! Boo and hiss...but it's a heck of a drive to get down there, and hard to find the time and $$ to make a good trip of it. (Not to mention that my DH, Captain Grumpy Pants, doesn't like DLR... )

 

[DisneyDreamer8]

Bethany I love Owen's room!!! Very nice

Living in Oregon I know all about the long drive to DLR. We are headed there in October for Chase's first trip!!! We are driving but instead of doing it all in one day we are driving to Santa Nella and spending the night then on to DLR. We will drive to Redding or Weed on the way home to crash and let Chase out of the car. Wish us luck

Well I put together Chase's highchair today. Tried to rip off my thumb nail in the process but it is together and ready for him.

I gave him some cereal with a spoon this afternoon and he loved it I know he is not quite 4 months yet but he is so interested in watching us eat and he is starting to not like his bottle. He gave up his paci a week ago. He tries so hard to sit up by himself when we lay him down. You give him your thumbs and he lifts himself up!!!! He sits well propped up but when he gets tired he slumps forward. So I threw caution to the wind. He sees the Dr. on the 26th so I will make sure it is OK and I won't give it to him everyday but he was so excited to eat with the spoon...it was so cute!!!