The new "New Moms" thread!

[Villain-lover]

Denise..love the pics of Mo!!! Too cute..yeah I caught Sam standing in his crib today..we will be moving it to the final notch today too!!! They are both all overthe place these days! Zoe is trying to pull herself all the way up. I give it a week and she'll have it completely! Not too shabby for my "preemie" babes!

 

[kellyf2626]

Wow Denise! Brady wasn't crawling or pulling-up to standing like that until he was over 10 months old!!!! You have one active little guy on your hands!!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Wow Denise! Brady wasn't crawling or pulling-up to standing like that until he was over 10 months old!!!! You have one active little guy on your hands!!

Now...if I can just get him to hold a sippy cup....the right way.... and his bottle we'll be good to go!!!!!

 

[TiggerStac]

I joined an athletic club that sponsors a "workfit" program at my work.

I just went and did a little bit, as I'm nursing a foot injury and I feel so good!! I needed a kick in the butt to get moving and them coming and offering this program at my work is just what I needed!

It's great $9/week for me (hubby can get the same rate, too)
$5/week for each of the kids. They have special kids programing and a "kids club" their $5 week covers them in the club for up to 2.5 hours a day while I work out!! The only day kids club isn't open is on Sunday, but that's ok. It comes right out of my paycheck every week.

I'm so excited!! I walked about 1.5 miles and swam 12 laps. For me, that's a great start. I really haven't exercised (other than walking pushing a stroller) since dancing and cheering in High School. Name I just need to get hubby there. I plan on adding 2 laps on the track and 2 laps in the pool everyday.
I want to try yoga, but I think I'm scared to just go in, I'll need to ease my way in...I have no clue. Then once my foot is better, I can do other things.

They have an outdoor pool w/a waterslide for the kids and the indoor pool has family time so they can use that. YEAH!!

 

[TiggerStac]

Denise...

The pictures of Mo are adorable!!

He is too cute.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Denise, Mo is such a cutie! What an active little guy he is!

Ash, I had a similar problem with Owen. He would scream and scream any time we laid him down and would get himself so sick he'd throw up, so for the first 4 months he slept either on me or in my arms and no where else. DH was very uncomfortable with it because he was afraid Owen would get squished, and I was starting to realize that I wasn't getting any sleep because of it, so we had to make a change. It took us about 3-4 weeks, and it was very, very stressful, but life is much easier now.

The first thing we did was make a schedule for Owen and do our best to stick to it every day for a week or two. We didn't go out, we were always home at the same times for naps and bedtime, and we did everything possible to make that schedule stick. We also started doing a specific nap and bedtime routine. Our routine for naps is nurse, then cuddle time and sing a lullaby, then say a little prayer and lay him down. For bedtime we do a book before the lullaby, but it's otherwise the same.

We used a modified CIO much like Becky suggested, but we have found that we have to let Owen cry for a little longer than 20 min. as the max. One night I finally just turned the monitor off and buried my head in my pillow and cried with Owen. I felt like such a horrible, wretchedly terrible mother. And you know what, the next morning Owen was fine, and he gave me a big smile and just laughed like nothing had happened!

And honestly, the thing that really helped us was the Amby bed. I think that since Owen was used to being held, the curved shape and the motion of the hammock helped him feel secure and eased the transition from being held to sleep to sleeping by himself. Our next challenge (starting this next week! ) is to get Owen to sleep on a flat mattress so we can transition him to a regular crib. I'm guessing that it's going to feel a lot like that transition to get him to sleeping in the Amby bed.

But I know several people who have been able to get their babies used to sleeping in a regular crib after being held all the time, and they all told me the same thing: it will work; it just takes time, being consistent, and ear plugs!

 

[Pollito916]

It could be Ellery's teeth. She hasn't gotten any teeth yet, but her gums do seem a little more swollen than they have been.

Last night after she threw up, I had her on the bed in only a diaper and she was laughing and slapping the pillows and "singing". She looked so proud of herself. So it doesn't really seem like she was feeling bad. If I have another bad night with her tonight I might call her ped in the morning.

I think I've done a really bad thing by never laying her down for naps. It started when she was a newborn and every time I would lay her down she would cry. and so I would just let her sleep on me so that I could have a break. And now she's not napping and isn't wanting to go to sleep at night either.

I wish I had more people around here who could help me out, but everyone is either in bad health, or just has their own stuff going on.

I'm going to agree with the other ladies that Ellery needs to learn to sleep on her own. It will be hard for both of you, but I think modifying the cio so she doesn't throw up from working herself up would help.

Also, if her teeth are bothering her, I bought these gentle naturals teething drops at Target (has Winnie the Pooh on the box ) which have chamomile in them for DS when he first started teething b/c he didn't like orajel. He loved those drops though, and would even suck on the dropper hoping to get more out. And the best part is that the chamomile is calming, so he would often go to sleep right after I gave them to him.

Denise - cute pics of Mo - he is definitely an active little boy!

Alex's new skill for this week is his first 3-word phrase. He says, "where is it?" whenever he is looking for something and will turn a room upside down until he finds it. It's so cute. I wasn't sure he was really saying it at first, but he just keeps repeating it!

Ladies - a friend of mine from back home e-mailed today. She is 27 weeks pregnant with triplets and was rushed to a high-risk hospital yesterday after her doctor's appt with early contractions. They were able to stop the contractions and dilation, but she will be staying there until the babies are born, hopefully at least 7 more weeks. Please keep her in your thoughts & prayers.

 

[beckmrk04]

sara- I'll be thinking of your friend! How scary.

Ash- I hope things are going ok.

Denise- Mo is getting so big! He's gonna be all OVER the place before long! You'll get a workout, for sure.

Bethany- I think we've all had moments where we feel like the worst parent on the planet, but then you realize that your kid won't remember it and loves you anyway. That's always a big relief!

Stacy- that club membership sounds awesome!!! I wish we had something closer.

So, Vaylie is really into hugs and kisses right now. Mostly for inanimate objects. I don't know. She like, hugs my necklace, her toys, the rubber duckies in the bathtub... And she'll put things against her cheek and say, "Awwwww" when she does it. It's adorable. But, it reached a new weirdness level last night.

DH and I went out to eat at Red Lobster, and my mom kept V, and they went out to the Pasta House. So, they got there and my mom ordered some sort of shrimp pasta with spaghetti noodles. Vaylie kept wanting "Bite, bite" of my mom's food (even thought she had her own). So, mom put some on her plate, and Vaylie proceeds to lay her whole head in the plate, wrap her arms around it, and say "Aaawwwwww."



She loved her spaghetti so much.

Mom said people all around the table were dying laughing.

 

[Pollito916]

sara- I'll be thinking of your friend! How scary.

Vaylie proceeds to lay her whole head in the plate, wrap her arms around it, and say "Aaawwwwww."

Thanks, Becky. And that is too cute with Vaylie! I'm sure everyone around her was dying. DS has been the same way with hugging and kissing lately, and he hugged a bottle of ketchup the other day. He loves ketchup so much that I'm thinking of carrying around little packets of it for whenever he starts acting up to quiet him down.

 

[beckmrk04]

Thanks, Becky. And that is too cute with Vaylie! I'm sure everyone around her was dying. DS has been the same way with hugging and kissing lately, and he hugged a bottle of ketchup the other day. He loves ketchup so much that I'm thinking of carrying around little packets of it for whenever he starts acting up to quiet him down.

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

Hugged the ketchup! These kids just keep getting funnier.

 

[kellyf2626]

Love the stories about Vaylie and Alex hugging everything!!! How cute! I can't wait until Brady gets to that stage!

So DH and I went to a Bruce Springstein concert last night. DH got tickets from a company he works with to be in a luxuary box at Gillette Stadium (where the Patriots play). We aren't really Springstein fans, but figured a night out would be fun regardless. It was a fun night - the food in the box was amazing. But, I came to realize that I really don't know ANY Bruce Sprinstein songs (short of Born in the USA)....and that there are MANY die-hard fans of him out there!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Thanks, Becky. And that is too cute with Vaylie! I'm sure everyone around her was dying. DS has been the same way with hugging and kissing lately, and he hugged a bottle of ketchup the other day. He loves ketchup so much that I'm thinking of carrying around little packets of it for whenever he starts acting up to quiet him down.

 

[DznyLvr2005]

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!!!

 

[kellyf2626]

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!!!

(((hugs))) Yes, you will sleep again. I think this is the *hush-hush* truth about bringing home a new baby. No one tells you that you get this new bundle-of-joy and will subsequently feel the WORST you have felt in your entire life. Amazing what lack of sleep, raging hormones, and the weight of a new baby on your shoulders can do to you. I remember thinking....OMGIOD...what have we done?!?! But yes....it gets better! I remember everything "turning the corner" around 12 weeks. I don't know if things just got easier, or I just was finally used to my new way of life with Brady. But I remember thinking...ok...this is manageable. And now....I just said this morning...I can't rememeber or imagine my life without him.

 

[beckmrk04]

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 does get better!!! And you probably have a month or two to go, until baby sleeps through the night.

Our DD started sleeping through the night at about 3 months.

In the meantime, sleep when your baby naps. Seriously. I know everyone has probably already told you to do this, and you're thinking, "No, that's when I get stuff done" but, just sleep. Laundry, dishes, whatever- it'll still be there.

Just rest as much as possible, and accept that your DD isn't going to sleep through the night right away. But, it'll go by so quickly, and soon enough you'll have a toddler and wonder where that teeny tiny baby went.

 

[DMickey28]

DznyLvr - You will sleep again. I echo what all the other ladies have said. I hit the wall around 5-6 weeks. Called my mom in a breakdown and had her fly down the next day to help me. I made it through and from that point on we got a lot better. I think Alexander was sleeping through by around 2.5-3 months consistantly. I did start supplementing with formula by 6 weeks because all he wanted to do was each and we started cereal around 3 months at night.

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.

I can't believe how big Mo and the twins are. It's going by so fast.

DH and I went to see Projekt Revolution on Friday night. We went to see Chris Cornell and Linkin Park. It was a work thing so there was a whole bunch of us. We stayed at an amazing hotel in Palm Beach and split a babysitting with one of the other couples from work. It was great ... I was surprised at how much fun I had. I have a Linkin Park CD in my car but never really thought much about it ... after seeing them live I realized I really like them. We had amazing seats ... about 10 rows back in the center. It was at the Cruzan Ampitheater which is set up exactly like Great Woods in Massachusetts. It was awesome ... Rascal Flatts in coming in a few weeks and I might see if I can still get some lawn tickets for it. We really need to step up and do stuff more!! We out for dinner last night for a belated birthday dinner for me and our friends watched alex for a few hours. Yummuy ... they got me a gift card for Houstons and another night of sitting for my birthday!! Can't wait!!!

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. We met a couple yesterday that I have been talking with for a week or so. They live on a acre farm and have a 2 year old Corgi girl that they are looking for a friend for. They are older with grown children ... they seemed really nice and cared for the dog. I am hoping it works out.

 

[Villain-lover]

I have updated my snapfish album with a few 8 month pics from the last month....I think the link takes you in the 7 month album, but just click on the 8 month album...there is a priceless picture of Sam standing on his head, which he just figured out yesterday! Too funny!

 

[DMickey28]

They are getting so big. It won't let me look at the 8 month ones, only the 7 month ones.

 

[Villain-lover]

They are getting so big. It won't let me look at the 8 month ones, only the 7 month ones.

try it now for me if you will...you should be in the 8 month album now

 

[exwdwcm]

It was really hard the first two months for me. it got better after that. that is when he started sleeping through the night in his own crib and i went back to work shortly after. so the first 2-3 months are hard, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, hang in there.

Mo is so cute Denise and getting so big!

Pollito- thinking of your friend. keep us posted.

Ash- hope Ellery is doing better. i do the exact same routine as Beck said she does with Vaylie- bath, lotion up, rocking/story, his music machine and bottle. then put him in his crib, either asleep or awake and done. Some nights he goes right to bed, others, he cries for 15 minutes. But we really want him to self soothe and not depend on us to get him to sleep. We've never let him sleep in our bed or anything. We did let him sleep in his car seat or bouncer the first few months because he had such bad reflux. I hope it gets better for you.

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.