The new "New Moms" thread!

[hotveggy]

Can I join? I have previously been on the "Moms to Be" Thread, but since I am a mom now, I guess I need to move over here!

I gave birth to our first baby almost 3 weeks ago. We are adjusting pretty well to parenting though I definitely miss my sleep! (i am sure you all can relate)

The weird thing is that she sleeps great downstairs in her pack and play but won't sleep more than an hour or two upstairs in her bassinet. We even bought another pack n play for upstairs but she only lasted 2 hours. Last night I slept downstairs on the couch and she slept for 8.5 hours in the pack n play!

Anyone else have these issues about where your baby prefers to sleep???

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

DMickey28- I am very sorry for your loss. It is a difficult time. I had 2 miscarriages before conceiving DD. Sometimes there is just no reason for it.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Nicole, I'm so sorry you're going through all this family drama. Just keep reminding yourself that you aren't responsible for their choices or for fixing their problems. Hope things work out and the stress settles down soon.

Welcome, hotveggy! Little babies are almost all crazy in their sleep habits - I'm amazed you got 8.5 hours at all when your DD! My little guy, Owen, was only sleeping for 2-3 hrs at a time when he was that age (and that's not unusual), and even then he had to be held all the time. It wasn't until he was around 4m that he settled into a regular sleep schedule in his own bed.

~~~~~
Yesterday I finally got to babysit my friends' 2m DD, and it was nice snuggling her, but wow, I'd forgotten how much work those new babies are! I told DH it was fun to get a little baby fix, but I'm soooo glad Owen is past that stage. He seemed so much easier to take care of after watching the baby for 2 hrs in the morning!

And in a surprising new twist, Owen has started walking! He now will walk with us holding just one of his hands, and yesterday he took 4 or 5 steps on his own not once or twice, but three different times! He's also trying to get up to a stand without pulling up on anything, and he's almost got it. DH is very relieved. Meanwhile, I'm having Owen get used to wearing his monkey harness/backpack, since I'm sure he'll be off and ignoring me soon! So far he loves the monkey, and he'll ask me to put it on him - it's very funny when he asks, because he makes the monkey sounds since he can't say "monkey" yet. So it goes something like this: "ooh ooh aah aaah backpack? please?" as he's dragging it across the floor. Just cracks me up!

 

[DMickey28]

hotveggy - My DS was very similar. he would sleep in one place great for a few nights and then suddenly that wouldn't work anymore. It took a good 3-4 months to get a solid sleeping pattern down. Congrats!! I love the name Allison.

Bethany - Yeah for Owen walking!! Does he really talk that much too? Please, backpack? I am starting to get worried (again) about Alexander's speech but I can't make a EI appointment since we are going to be moving soon. I don't know what to do ... he is picking up words all the time but he just doesn't use them on his own. He will repeat most of the time but he doesn't use the words to convey what he wants.

 

[k_reile]

yeah for owen walking!!

Hotveggy---Welcome. Now I don;t have the youngest anymore! My Caleb is 6 mos. I too was on the moms to be thread and occasionally go back to see new babies but for the most part feel wierd there anymore.

Have you tried swaddeling Allison?? We bought the velcro swaddlers at babies r us and Caleb slept awesome in them. Those will be my standard baby shower gift from now on.

Caleb slept through the night last night! Course I woke up this morning and realized I never heard a peep out of him and was worried that he was not breathing anymore! When I went into his room to check on him this Am...I woke him up...so he was fine...just sleeping. LOL!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

Bethany - Yeah for Owen walking!! Does he really talk that much too? Please, backpack? I am starting to get worried (again) about Alexander's speech but I can't make a EI appointment since we are going to be moving soon. I don't know what to do ... he is picking up words all the time but he just doesn't use them on his own. He will repeat most of the time but he doesn't use the words to convey what he wants.

I'm sure Alexander will get there...kids do these things on their own schedule. Owen seems to be flipped from most of the boys - he's ahead of the curve on teeth and talking, but behind on his large motor skills. We joke that he's going to be the kid who can talk like a book but is uncoordinated in sports...doomed to be a geek, I'm afraid! (DH and I both have some decidedly geeky traits, so the poor kid has little chance of escaping it! )

He's got over 45 words that he consistently uses without prompting, and more and more he'll use words to communicate what he wants. He says the words with his few signs now, and in the last couple weeks has started putting words together. It's really crazy, and since he's so small and hasn't been walking, it startles people when we're out in public and he suddenly starts talking.

I'd say he's got a solid vocabulary of around 20 words that everyone understands, and another 20+ that only DH and I can understand, but they get clearer every day. Last week only we could understand him when he said "tractor", and now almost everyone knows that's what he's saying. Of course, he calls everything with wheels "tractor", so it's a little confusing when he's pointing at a bus and yelling "tractor! tractor!" And I have no idea why this city kid picked up "tractor" - it's not like we see tractors regularly! I don't know if he's ever seen a tractor IRL - just in one or two of his books. But everything is a tractor - buses, trucks, cars, trains, vans...all tractors.

 

[jennyL]

Wow thats alot of words. Noah only has a handful that everyone can understand. He says mom, mama, dad, dada, hey, bye, more, dog, kittie, snack, dink (drink), gin (for again), bah bah (for bottle), grandad (which seems crazy but its plain as day), he has said grandma but its not all the time. He keeps saying what sounds like Ah boo and I have no idea what it is. He says it all the time and it doesn't appear to be at anything inparticular so I'm stumped.

He is good with walking and now close to running. He's also catching up on the teeth. He started late and got the front four but in the last couple of weeks with all of his illnesses he's gotten his top two molars and the bottom two have just broken through. It also looks like he's about to get two more on top so he'll have a mouth full soon.

I just love watching him figure things out. He has the cookie jar that you put shapes in and he's starting to figure out how to get the shapes to go int he right slots. If he's holding it right he'll try one and then another till he gets what he wants. Of course sometimes if he's not holding it right it will never work and you can see him get frustrated and take the top off and slam the piece in the jar. LOL DH thinks this is hysterical.

 

[DMickey28]

I'm sure Alexander will get there...kids do these things on their own schedule. Owen seems to be flipped from most of the boys - he's ahead of the curve on teeth and talking, but behind on his large motor skills. We joke that he's going to be the kid who can talk like a book but is uncoordinated in sports...doomed to be a geek, I'm afraid! (DH and I both have some decidedly geeky traits, so the poor kid has little chance of escaping it! )

He's got over 45 words that he consistently uses without prompting, and more and more he'll use words to communicate what he wants. He says the words with his few signs now, and in the last couple weeks has started putting words together. It's really crazy, and since he's so small and hasn't been walking, it startles people when we're out in public and he suddenly starts talking.

I'd say he's got a solid vocabulary of around 20 words that everyone understands, and another 20+ that only DH and I can understand, but they get clearer every day. Last week only we could understand him when he said "tractor", and now almost everyone knows that's what he's saying. Of course, he calls everything with wheels "tractor", so it's a little confusing when he's pointing at a bus and yelling "tractor! tractor!" And I have no idea why this city kid picked up "tractor" - it's not like we see tractors regularly! I don't know if he's ever seen a tractor IRL - just in one or two of his books. But everything is a tractor - buses, trucks, cars, trains, vans...all tractors.

That's great!! With Alexander it's "truck". Everything that is not a car is a TRUCK. Planes, trains, trucks, tractors ... he says Tractor when prompted but he will call it a truck first.

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

Hi,
I was hoping to join your thread. I'm an 'old mom' to a 17 month old and have one on the way. It would be nice to share info and stories about little ones DS1 age.

 

[DMickey28]

Welcome ShootingStar!!

 

[clgwli]

That's great!! With Alexander it's "truck". Everything that is not a car is a TRUCK. Planes, trains, trucks, tractors ... he says Tractor when prompted but he will call it a truck first.

LOL my son is younger than yours but it used to be car for us. Now it is bus. Truck is still hard for him but he's finally getting that one out. For the longest time though everything was "car"... even the furnace when he heard it kick in

Good luck with Caleb and Rusty. I hope that it was just a mood that Rusty was in and that things will be better.

Aww Poor Ella Ash, our ped warned us that about this age they would start fearing the doctor even if they didn't need to. We switched for the 15 month check up so I am hoping he won't equate too bad with the place now. He only has a few shots left between now and 2.

Nicole we used a friend for a realtor but he worked for us full time. I would give them an ultimatum. Either they work with you like they would work with non-family or you leave. There is no way I'd pay someone full price for the commission if they didn't work for it. Even in their case I wouldn't. our friend even gave us a half off his commission since we were friend and he was awesome!!!

Welcome hotveggy & shootingstar!

Hotveggy, we had sleep issues as well at first. It just totally varied, but by the time he was 12 weeks we had more of a good routine at night. Then when we switched him to his crib we had no more issues.

Bethany woo hoo for Owen walking! It sounds like he has one heck of a vocab though. I was told that those who talk well and early usually walk late. Happened to a good friend of mine.

Probably why my DS is a little on the slower side for chatting. He has maybe 20-30 words he knows (still well above the 4 they want at 15 months, but way below what I want ) and only about 5-6 he will use all the time. The others will be rare.
Right now we have hi, kitty, tickle, bus, daddy and wow on a daily basis. I think he's "screwed" though because he learned high five (and the motions for it) and touchdown before he learned mama! He does fine, but I wish he'd do more. It bothers me sometimes too knowning that he will say a word and then I won't hear it for months. I am told it is totally normal though for a kid to say a word and you not hear it for a long time.

On the plus side he is doing very well with fine and gross motor skills. He is working on jumping but usually falls. Compared to a lot of babies his age (tons of babies in my group of friends) he is way ahead on that so I just hope that means he will get that down great and then work on words soon.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Welcome newbies!

Nicole, I am sorry you are going through this.

Bethany, congrats to Owen!!! That is awesome! I'm and amazed at his vocabulary. Spencer tries really hard to talk, but still doesn't have many words. His just turned 13 months today and can say around 7 words. He won't repeat them if you ask though.

Kara, that's great he slept through the night! It's a rare occasion Spencer will sleep through. He hates to sleep, but apparently both DH and myself were the same way, so I guess he had no chance.

 

[beckmrk04]

Christina- I'm so sorry. I wish I could give you a real-life hug. But, I am glad you get to move back to Boston- maybe things will just be better there.

Nicole- what a sad situation. I know so many people are struggling right now, and to mix business with family- it can cause so much stress and resentment. I wish I had some sort of amazing miracle advice, but I don't.

Bethany- of course Owen starts walking right after his EI appt! That's fantastic!!

Welcome to all the new ladies!!

Pollito- Vaylie is SUPER into farting and burp jokes. The other night she farted and said "No pooped. Just fawted." Good to know, kid. And then she kept farting and I called her a sicko, and from then forward, every time she poots she does this crazy little dance and sings, "Silly silly SICK-O"

I am super addicted to Facebook people. It's stupid.

 

[kellyf2626]

Nicole - I am so sorry that you have to deal with all of that. Family problems are so stressful. All I can say is that I think you and DH are doing the right thing by not compromsing your lives in order to *possibly* help your brother and SIL. Sounds like they have a lot of crap to deal with...and as you said...the comission from selling your house would not even put a dent into their financial woes. You need to do what is best for your immediate family first, while also being there as a support system for your brother. Keep us posted and vent whenever you need to!

hotveggy - Welcome! Congratulations on your new little one!! Hmmmm....I would just continue to be consistent with your sleep routine. Maybe take the "downstairs" pnp and move it upstairs (if for some reason she can sense a difference?). I'm sure it's just a funky stage...keep us posted on how things go!

Bethany - That is AWESOME that Owen is walking!! Yay!!!! Sounds like he has an awesome vocabulary....can he come teach Brady some new words? We are at a standstill in the whole language-thing.

Kara - Nice that Caleb slept through the night!! I remember those first mornings when Brady did that...I would be so worried that something was wrong with him. But, nope...just sleepiing!

Jenny - We have the same shape-sorter for Brady, and he used to do the same thing. If the shape didn't fit...screw it...he would just open the top and slam it in!! Too funny!!!

Shootingstar - Welcome! When are you due??

clgwli - Brady sounds very similar to your DS. He had about the same amount of words at 15 months. He now has about 30, but some sound alike and I am the only one that can tell them apart. Still waiting for that huge language explosion!

Becky - HI! I feel like I haven't seen you on here in a while. Ya...FB is super addicting!!!!!

 

[mrs.explorer1977]

Hey Ladies!

Who else is on facebook??? You need to find me!! Because I'm WAY addicted to it!

Things are good here...except for the diaper rash from H-e-double-L! We've tried two different prescription creams, and Monday it looked like it was almost gone and then today it's all red again. I think our next step is to try a different diaper brand and/or go off dairy for 3 weeks and see if it's that.... Does anyone have any other suggestions? We're also giving probiotics on the advice of another mom from daycare who just happens to be a naturopathic doctor...

Colin's adding new words all the time, which is awesome and amazing and so darn cute!! It melts my heart every time he calls me "Mommy" or says "I you" (his version of I love you). I him!!

We went looking at cars tonight -- the lease is up on my Torrent in August, so we're starting to think about it. I think we're going with a bigger crossover or a minivan. We'll see though -- lots of time! But, the whole thing came about because we've decided to hit Disney at the end of August for Free Dining and will potentially be gone the day our lease is up, so I was calling around on Monday to see if we could turn it in a week or so early and then when DH talked to the sales guy we leased from, he suggested we switch sooner than later, because they'll pay out the rest of our lease. The only problem is that we MUCH prefer the Grand Caravan to the Pontiac van...so I don't know! Bah. So much to consider!

Hope everyone's doing well! Sorry I'm not good at remembering who's doing what and personalizing my responses! I'll work on it!

 

[kellyf2626]

Mel - DH and I's leases are also up soon...June to be exact. I am probably going to get a minivan (still can't really believe it! ). I really like the Toyota Sienna - especially since it has an all-wheel-drive version which would be great up here in NH! Hope Colin's diaper rash clears-up soon!!

 

[k_reile]

well Caleb only slept through the night monday night. Tuesday night not so much. I only had to get up once around midnight and then he woke up a little b4 6am this morning. The last two days he has not really taken any naps mil says. He actually fell asleep taking his bottle tonight he was soo tired. Don;t know why but this kid just does not nap.

Mel...we end up getting the Chysler town and country (08). We have the limited version (i think...what ever one is the highest catgory) it has satelite tv with 3 kids channels (the only channels it has) a tv in each row and in the front console. Stow and go storage, folding table, automatic lift gate and powered 3rd row seating that can go back into the floor for more back space, the middle seats can swivel and lock backwards, automatic dual sliding doors. The only thing we got gipped out of is the gps...we thought it had it when we bought it but turns out this vehicle did not have it on it. My inlaws liked our van so much they bought the same version (only they got the gps)

WE seriously considered the honda oddessy b4 this van but just couldn;t commit and we found this one...it has more options than the highest category honda oddessy especially for a little bit of a price break though not much. We love the van and we know Caleb will once he is older. My niece gets in my MIL van and has the tv turned on...keeps her entertained when they go somewhere.

I'm addicated to facebook too! Especially mobwars now!

 

[mrs.explorer1977]

Mel - DH and I's leases are also up soon...June to be exact. I am probably going to get a minivan (still can't really believe it! ). I really like the Toyota Sienna - especially since it has an all-wheel-drive version which would be great up here in NH! Hope Colin's diaper rash clears-up soon!!

I know! I never thought I'd love the minivan, but I LOVE the minivan! And it's just so practical! And would be great for the drive down to Disney from Ontario -- 22 hours! I'm sure it would be 22 hours of non-stop NEMO, but whatever!

Which brings me to another point....Colin is OBSESSED with Finding Nemo. If you ask him what he wants to watch, it's ALWAYS "Meemo". And he'll bring the remote over and be all "Meemo. Meemo. MEEMO!!" It's adorable, but I now know that movie practically inside and out!

Kel -- I think I found you on Facebook. Also, looks like we'll be down at Disney at the same time. Are you staying on points? I think we're going to value resort it this go around. We have 5 day tickets that we didn't pay for (from our January '08 trip when Disney practically paid US to stay there) and only have 10 points left for the year. Plus, FREE DINING!

k_reile -- I'm in love with the Grand Caravan...and the stow-n-go...and the DVD...and I really want the navigation, but someon (DH) doesn't think that's a "necessity"....obviously, he's still getting to know me, because I have NO sense of direction!

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

Hi,
I thought I would give you all a little bit about my family since I just joined your thread. DH and I have been married for 5 years this July. We had our first born son in October 2007 and his name is Brycen. We have a second son on the way, Cameron, who is due in June 12th. DH is a firefighter and mechanic for our family shop. He loves both of his jobs. I'm a SAHM since January 2008.

Brycen is a busy, sweet, and caring little boy. The only time he sits still is to eat and sleep. He has been busy adding words a few at a time. He's really into "If you're happy and you know it" and will clap his hands and stomp his feet. He's got a few colors down, red and purple, and has started combining words like all done, I did it, hop down, and thank you. There are also the words that could be anything, but we just agree to what we think he's talking about. I'm so excited about all the talking he does recently. I was reading a site online where the mom was bragging about how her 17 month old knows all her shapes, colors, numbers, ABC's and started to read. I felt so far behind until one mom poked in and said with much sarcasm that her daugher the same age just wrote her first French novella.

For the diaper rash, we did an oatmeal bath recently that seemed to help with the redness right away. We just did about 2 cups of oatmeal with hot water and let it cool to a warm temp. DS played in it for about 15 minutes and we used the hairdryer to completely dry him off. It's a little dangerous for the carpets but we let him go with out a diaper for a while because the air is good for it. Rashes suck, don't they?

We're thinking about getting a mini-van but just started looking. There are so many nice features but way too many to test drive. I'd just really like the auto-sliding doors and back gate. DH wants the DVD player. I'm always getting lost too, so the GPS would be nice!

Hope to chat with you again soon.

Jen

 

[k_reile]

Jen...nice to "meet" you! So we have another 5 yr anniversary coming up too. There are a bunch of us who are celebrating our 5 yr this year. Dh and I will be in Aug this year.

Trust me...I never thought i would want a mini van but we love ours. IT has a lot of features that we are not even using yet but we know in time we will. My inlaws loved our van so much they went out and got the same one. Plus much nicer on gas mileage and easier to get a kid in and out of than a car or suv!

 

[k_reile]

Mel...where are you at in Ontatio?? My grandparents own some cabins up there in Whitefish Falls (about a half hour away from Esponola and about an hr away from Sudbury) We're on the back waters of Lake Huron. I spent every summer growing up going to Canada. I love it there. Course the funny thing is I come from a small town here in Ohio (like 6,000 people) and there are 5 or 6 cabins there that people from our town own...small world it is! And this is 12 hrs away from home!
My DH's family also goes camping at Horwood Lake which is about an hour away from Timons. We'll be taking DS for his first Canada trip this July when we go to Horwood Lake. He'll be like his daddy and I...going ever summer of his life, since he always has a place to visit.

P.S> I have no idea if I am spelling any of these cities right.