The new "New Moms" thread!

[k_reile]

Alex is finally learning to share and I am so proud of him, I have to share this story. Being an only child with no other young kids in the family, he has pretty much had everything to himself since he was born.

I took Alex to get his hair cut on Sunday, and it's a kids' haircut place that has one of those thomas the train table sets in the waiting area, which Alex absolutely loves playing with. As soon as he was done getting his haircut (watched Cars during the cut), he ran back to the table, and apparently grabbed a train from another little boy before I got there because when I turned the corner Alex had a train in his hand and the other boy was crying.

I told Alex to give the other boy the train back, and he actually did without putting up a fuss! Normally that would start Alex crying too, but he didn't. Then he took another train off the table that nobody was using and gave it to the other little boy that was still crying. He's finally learning to share and that other people have feelings too!

I also stubbed my toe the other day and started complaining that it hurt, so he ran to his room and got his lovey and brought it to me and said, "Mommy want Bupert?" Bupert is what he calls the lovey, and it was so sweet of him to share it with mommy when she got hurt!

I just read a thread where they took their kid to get a haircut and it was a place like that. Looked too cool! We don;t have that here! Too rural of an area!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Quick question, ladies - has anyone used zwaggle.com or know anyone who does? It's a swap site for baby/kids stuff. I'm thinking about joining, but I'd like to hear from someone who's tried it first.

 

[beckmrk04]

Holy cannoli, Batman- the DIS got rid of all political/religious threads!! Why couldn't that have happened before the elections? I would have saved myself a lot of stress.
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Bethany- I have never heard of it. Sounds cool though. Of course, now I'll have to go check it out.

Pollito- That is so sweet that Alex is learning about sharing and feelings. Vaylie is starting to be more empathetic too. And I love Old Navy for Vaylie's pants too!! The sizing is just right for her (she's wearing 18-24M jeans and clothes) and I love that the waistbands adjust in the jeans! Plus, I can usually get them pretty cheap. Bonus!

Dmickey- the 2ww again, huh? It seems like it's a popular time to get pregnant, so I'll wish some of that super-fertile-ness to you!

k_reile- I wish we had a haircut place close by like that too! But, Vaylie likes the girl at my salon who cuts her hair (Lizzie). So, it works. She needs a haircut too....

 

[Pollito916]

Christina - Scary on the oven! Just curious, how did you set it on fire? I'm a really bad cook, and even I've never managed to do that!
Alex has been taking really long naps lately too, like over 3 hours many days. I keep wondering if he's getting sick or something, but it doesn't seem like it. He has had his hand in his mouth a lot though, so maybe a molar is coming in. I don't dare stick my finger in there to check anymore!

Bethany - never heard of zwaggle, sorry. Let us know if you find anyone who has tried it.

Holy cannoli, Batman- the DIS got rid of all political/religious threads!! Why couldn't that have happened before the elections? I would have saved myself a lot of stress.

Wow, I'd like to say I'm kind of shocked, but I guess I'm not really.

*****************

Has anyone sent clothes back to Carters yet besides Kelly? I just went through Alex's old stuff and found 6 pairs of pj's, 6 one piece romper-type pants outfits, and 10 onesies. I'm just curious how much stuff anyone sent in and how much $$$ they got in to see if it's worth it. I really like some of the clothes that have those tag-less stamps, but I do recall Alex having a pretty bad rash on his neck, so they're probably not worth keeping for the next baby (which is going to be a girl anyway ).

Kelly - how much did you send to Carters? Did you have any receipts? I don't think I have any from that far back.

 

[DMickey28]

Pollito- The scary thing is that I am actually a pretty good cook. I used to manage a resturant and went to culinary school!! There was some grease burned on the bottom of the oven and I was making pizza for dinner. I decided to up the temp. higher than I usually use and it was hot enough to catch the grease on fire!! Nice huh?

Alexander has had his hand in his mouth a TON lately. Chewy and sucking on it. I mentioned it to the ped a few weeks ago and he said that it was probably just a comfort thing. He does it when he is upset, in a new situation or something ... like sucking his thumb but he only does that when he is tried or upset. The hand chewing he tends to do when he is anxious or something. He has all his molars/teeth so that's the only thing we can think of. He's starting to do this clicking thing with his mouth though, randomly and he seem to be proud of doing and knows exactly what he is doing. I think some place back someone mentioned something about that and speech delays. However he is really starting to talk a lot more ... adding new words all the time. I can't understand some of them but he seems to know what he is talking about.

I also have a package to send back to Carters. I am going to try and drop it off today. I don't have any recipets or anything. I don't know anyone who does.

We have one of those haircut places nearby. We are actually going at 10AM to get Alex's haircut. They give a discount for going during the week while schools in session and it ends up cost about $15 so the same as a regular place!! I actually haven't been toooo happy the last few times or Alex's hair is growing too fast for my taste!

Bethany - I signed up for Zwaggle.com a long time ago but never did anything with it. I thnk there are just so many people on their fighting for the same "good" stuff and then there is a ton of "normal" stuff that no one wants!!

**********
Slept like junk last night. Our power went off again at 4:30 just as DS was dozing back to sleep after talking to himself and playing for over 2 hours. Woke him up and scared the crap out of him because of his night light and sound machine. Luckily it came right back on and I was able to sooth him back to sleep. I couldn't get back to sleep though and I had already been up listening to him for a few hours. Ick ...

DH has the third step interview on Thursday for a HUGE company. Then the last step is a face to face. He's pretty excited. He could live anywhere in the SE and we are thinking of moving up to Orlando when our lease if up in June if it worked out. Maybe Amber and I could get the boys together at WDW!!!

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Well unemployment decided NOT to pay me because "according to Ruby Tuesday"...I was fired for "poor attitude" and that doesn't justify payment. Oh well. I don't go in to Sears til the 31st but that only starts paperwork. I probably won't go on the clock til later that week. Wow. A month and a half no pay. Plenty of families do it quite regularly I suppose, but it's just weird. I want to buy the JD Robb Series SO BAD! Amazon sells three of her books at a time for $27 but I just won't do it til I have an income again. Was going to go out for ice cream with a friend to say thanks for all her help, but won't do that either you know. Every little bit matters now. And with Passover coming up and there being about 3 days I can't work, I have to hang tight until the income is steadier. The end of this month is going to be really hard. Rent, electric bill, phone bill and insurance are all due. $1000 in bills and hubby only gets paid about $800. I'm still holding the last $133 I made at Ruby's and it'll be there if we need it, but I'm just going to have delay some bills again til hubby's paycheck on the 10th of April He gets paid this Friday, but again, that's gone to rent. I've lost $1000 a month in pay...what a difference that makes. I won't make close to that at Sears after taxes, but anything is better than nothing right? If I can bring home at least $700 a month, it'll cover the small bills.

Thanks for all the support and kind words.

To all of you with sick sweeties~~I hope they are all feeling better.

Welcome to all our new mommies!

Nicole~~YEA! CONGRATS!

Everyone else~~Many blessings and I hope you are well!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Nicole, that’s so great! Congratulations!

Jen, I love Christopher laughing at the shark! I can’t wait to take Owen back to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He was there when he was 3 or 4 months old, and I think he’ll enjoy it a little more this time! J

DMickey, I’m sorry your DH’s job has been so wretched. I hope the new job search goes well! And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your 2ww…

Michelle, sounds like Disney on Ice was very fun! I’m glad everyone was well behaved – that makes all the difference in the world.

Becky, thanks for the heads up on future questions…guess I’ll start Owen on stringing beads and turning a small, clear bottle upside down to dump out a cheerio! Never to early to practice, after all, I’m sure if he’s advanced on these skills at 2 we can get him into Stanford by 10.

Polito, that’s so sweet that Alex is learning to share! How cute!

Denise, sorry money is so tight right now. It is hard to have to give things up, but at least you have your job at Sears to look forward to.



DMIL is upset that our dr. referred us into the CAEI program. She insists it’s just for disabled, low income, or immigrant children and Owen will be labeled for the rest of his life if we get into the program. She also says that now the county social services will be all over us and we’ll be under constant scrutiny. Oh well. I’m not worried about it, but I wish she wouldn’t feel like it’s a negative thing to get help.

 

[k_reile]

So I was on my lunch driving through the downtown where I work looking for a thrift shop or some type of store. I want a filing cabinet that it two wide but I have not found them much for under $200. Its insane! I also wanted to see if I could find some cheap storage or bookshelfs for Caleb when I put together his toy room. Well found a thrift shop but it was all junky and not what I was looking for. Driving by I saw a childrens cosignment shop! I didn;t know that this town had one.

Well I had been looking for this toy that Caleb plays with at my MIL's house. He loves it and it keeps him so entertained. My MIL probbaly bought over 8 yrs ago when my newphew was born. And apparently they must not make them like this anymore bc I have not been able to find one around here. Well I go into this cosignment shop and they have the exact same one my MIL has! I was too excited...so now Caleb will have one at home!
This is the one at MIL's so you can see what I am talking about. Picture is blurry bc it was taken on my phone! He lays under it and kicks it contstantly....the music never has a chance to shut off. She also puts him in his carseat if they are eating and pulls it up so he can hit the keys.

Neverdid find a filing cabinet but I think I found one at office max online that I can get for under $60. And I can buy it under my mypoints account and get points for it too!

 

[kellyf2626]

Good evening ladies!

Wow...lots to read and catch-up on! Busy, busy here!!

Today my mother and I took Brady to get his haircut at Snip-its...a local hair salon for kids. It's Brady's zillionth haircut, but we had to endure the usual hysterics for the first 5 min, and then he finally calmed down. I put some pics on Facebook if you want to check them out!

Oh.....and this is my find for the week....AWESOME, AWESOME birthday cakes for Brady's 2nd birthday party. Yes, his party is still 5 months away...but I found this local lady who does cakes and she is booked-up until November. I begged her to squeeze Brady in!! Check-out these cakes!!! I can't decide which one I want to get...they are both so nice!!!

 

[k_reile]

if I have to choose...I like the 1st one better. But I think you should get him both

 

[DMickey28]

Kelly - I LOVE those cakes. Is your theme just Mickey Mouse or the Clubhouse? If you are going just Mickey or even WDW then I would go with the second one. If you are getting stuff with the Clubhouse theme then I would go with the first one. LOVE THEM BOTH!!

 

[7beasley]

Kelly -- awesome cakes!! I like the 1st one better - its more festive and has more going on with it. But they are both outstanding!

-Nicole

 

[kellyf2626]

So I decided on the first cake...the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse one! I agree, Nicole, that it is more festive and looked more kid-ish (if that makes sense?). DH was kinda in shock when I told him it would cost $100. I honestly didn't think it was too bad, considering I think I spent $65 for his cake last year from Shaw's. I know it's just a cake, but I am so excited and can't wait to have it for his birthday!!!

Pollito - So cute about the Bupert story....don't you love when they finally catch-on to something? I have similar sharing issues with Brady, for the exact same reasons (only kid, only grandchild, etc...). Glad to hear he will finally get it at some point!

Christina - That is crazy about the oven! Glad to hear everyone was ok! Good luck to DH tomorrow...KUP!

Bethany - I have never used zwaggle...off to go check it out! And that is CRAZY what your DMIL is saying about the early intervention program!! It's unfortunate that some people have a stereotype in their heads about who needs early intervention, etc... In the school I used to work at, the special education kids could be involved with Special Olympics. What many people don't know is that Special Olympics is for all kids with disabilities...not just mentally ******** children, or children with down syndrome (as it's most often protrayed). When it was brought-up at a meeting that one of my students may enjoy participating, the parent actually said, "What - you think my kid is ********?" So sad and ignorant. It's too bad that stigma's like this exist in our society. At any rate...good for you for getting the help Owen needs! Better to help now while he could probably have 6 months of OT/PT and be done!

Becky - Your responses always crack me up! (espeically the one about the 2-year old questionnaire at the ped's office!) Funny...I got the notice in my email that someone had responded to the thread. So I scrolled down to read it, and knew it was you before even seeing the author. Why did the DIS get rid of all those threads? Too much conflict?

Denise - Good luck at Sears when you start! Sounds like it will be a nice change and while you may not make quite as much, it may be worth it in the long-run.

To all I missed....hope all is well!

 

[kellyf2626]

Oh - and about the Carter's stuff! I didn't have any receipts - so don't worry about that. I think I sent-in about 50-60 pieces of clothing. So Pollito, I would say you would get back at least $200-$300. A lot of mine were 2-piece onsie/pant sets, pj's, and onsies. I think it's worth it to send it back!! I also liked a lot of the stuff I sent back....but I also rationalized that I am aboslutely having a girl next, so I wouldn't need it!

 

[Pollito916]

DMickey - my husband is a cook too and catches stuff on fire all the time, luckily not at home, though! Interesting to know about the hand chewing, Alex is a thumb sucker, but he doesn't usually chew on his hands except when he's teething. Sorry to hear you're not sleeping well. Good luck to your DH!

Denise - that's too bad about unemployment. When my DH was laid off in December, he was denied payment because we had only been in AZ for 9 months and you needed at least a year's worth of income to qualify. They are supposed to contact the prior state to verify employment but it wasn't done. Luckily he was only out of work for 3 weeks so we stopped pursuing it.

Bethany - good luck on Stanford! And no offense to your MIL, but I think her comments are ignorant. So we shouldn't take our kids for help because they will be "labeled" for the rest of their lives? How will anyone even know for the rest of their lives? And what does she suggest you do instead - nothing? Sit around worrying about your child's development and possibly watching him get further behind then eventually failing in school. Oh, that sounds like a much better plan!

Kara - good find, I love finding something like that when you don't expect it!

Kelly - those are really awesome cakes!

 

[k_reile]

Today Caleb is 6 mos old! I can't believe it has been 6 mos already!

Caleb at birth!

Caleb "sunbathing" due to the juandice!

Caleb in his buckeyes hat that daddy found in the hospital gift shop and it barely fit his head!

Caleb leaving the hospital!

Caleb at one month!

1 Month again (he was a dalmation for Halloween and my newphew was the firefighter)

2 Months!

3 Months, Sporting the cool new kicks that Great Uncle Don got him for Xmas!

4 Months with his great grandma (my grandma!)

4 Months again!

5 months wearing Daddy's nasty hat!

Today at 6 months!

 

[7beasley]

What a cutie!!

Time flies. I think all of us look at our kids now and go - how did that happen - he/she is walking, talking, eating, playing...OMG!!

Enjoy it -- I miss these "baby" months now that I have a kid old enough to throw temper tantraums and tell me no!!

Caleb really is adorable!

-Nicole

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Those are such cute pictures of Caleb!

Christopher has picked up a new favorite thing to do at dinner. Take a mouthful, chew it up, and then spit it out for the dog. YUCK! He's also discovered that you can put things on food, like ketchup and mayo and stuff. I don't let him have it on his plate, because he makes an enormous mess. He'll get something on his fork, hand it to me, and ask for "dunk-dunk?" It's cute

I'm so excited! I just paid the first part of our DVC rental for December! I also got great airfare out of Boston for all of us, so I bought the plane tickets tonight. It might have been cheaper if I'd waited for Southwest, but Murphy's Law was written just for me YAY Vacation is coming!!!

 

[exwdwcm]

Hey guys! only 45 days til my podcast cruise with Pete and the DIS team! can't wait. we are doing the KTTK tour on the saturday before the cruise. here's our plan:

friday 5/8- arrive at 11, rent car, do disney outlets and DTD, maybe do the new balloon ride! check in Dolphin, dinner at AKL at Boma

Sat 5/9- KTTK tour at 8:30am- MK all day- meet up wtih other DISers for WISHES at the poly

Sun 5/10- breakfast at Cape May with group, board party bus with Dreams Unlimited to port! board ship!

Mon-Thurs- cruise on the Wonder!!!

Michelle - How long was the Disney on Ice show? It sounds like fun, but I don't know if Alex would sit still more than 10 minutes! Did you have to buy Will his own ticket or could he just sit on your lap?

my mom bought the tickets, so she bought one for him, but he was in my lap the whole time, not sure the policy there- i would think you could just buy yourself a ticket and hold him in yoru lap? he won't sit still for even 2 minutes at home to watch tv or anything, so i was suprised he did so well. it was dark in there and he slept the last third, but he was good. i was shocked!

Politto: Caleb still sounds horrible.

hope he feels better and happy 6 months! what a cutie!

Holy cannoli, Batman- the DIS got rid of all political/religious threads!! Why couldn't that have happened before the elections? I would have saved myself a lot of stress.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...

yeah, i saw that on the podcast boards, where i spend most of my time. crazy, but a good thing. at the same time, it is a little sad as some people do have some good discussions. a few rotten eggs ruin for all. i stayed far away from those threads though.

**********
Slept like junk last night. Our power went off again at 4:30 just as DS was dozing back to sleep after talking to himself and playing for over 2 hours. Woke him up and scared the crap out of him because of his night light and sound machine. Luckily it came right back on and I was able to sooth him back to sleep. I couldn't get back to sleep though and I had already been up listening to him for a few hours. Ick ...

DH has the third step interview on Thursday for a HUGE company. Then the last step is a face to face. He's pretty excited. He could live anywhere in the SE and we are thinking of moving up to Orlando when our lease if up in June if it worked out. Maybe Amber and I could get the boys together at WDW!!!

good luck to DH! let us know how it goes today. we had our power go out the night before last and it kept me up/woke me up. then Will woke up too.

Well unemployment decided NOT to pay me because "according to Ruby Tuesday"...I was fired for "poor attitude" and that doesn't justify payment.

Denise- so sorry to hear the news on unemployment. i know many companies will let you delay payment or will work with you on payment arrangements on bills too. so hopefully you can do that, especially in these times, i am sure they are doing that a lot. hang in there- before you know it, you will be working again, and hopefully enjoying it.

Christopher has picked up a new favorite thing to do at dinner. Take a mouthful, chew it up, and then spit it out for the dog. YUCK! I'm so excited! I just paid the first part of our DVC rental for December! I also got great airfare out of Boston for all of us, so I bought the plane tickets tonight. It might have been cheaper if I'd waited for Southwest, but Murphy's Law was written just for me YAY Vacation is coming!!!

yeah for the Dec trip. we bought our tickets already too! just a little early, aren't we? we can do the countdown together! lol Will is doing the spitting out food thing too lately a lot. so annoying. then he gives stuff to the dogs to eat and then gets mad at them for eating it. he looks at them and just screams. it's pretty funny

 

[Pollito916]

Kara - cute pics of Caleb, can you believe how fast they grow!

He's also discovered that you can put things on food, like ketchup and mayo and stuff. I don't let him have it on his plate, because he makes an enormous mess. He'll get something on his fork, hand it to me, and ask for "dunk-dunk?" It's cute

"Dunk-dunk" - that's so cute!

Will is doing the spitting out food thing too lately a lot. so annoying. then he gives stuff to the dogs to eat and then gets mad at them for eating it. he looks at them and just screams. it's pretty funny

That sounds so funny - I can just picture him getting mad and screaming!