The Official New Mom Thread Part 2

[nucpharm29]

Morning all! Just a quick moment to post before my babysitting starts today. Emma and I had fun at the concert last night. It really brought back a lot of memories for me, as I was in the band forever. I saw my old band director and his wife, who taught me to play clarinet in the 6th grade. We had a nice talk--and I got to make them feel really old when they saw my 3 year old daughter!

Alice--the pic of Molly is adorable!

gina--great to hear from you, although it does make me a little jealous!

J&D--the pic of Jenna is adorable! I love those kind of pics!

nyprincess--how scary for your DH! Hope the dr's can figure out what's wrong and treat it accordingly!

val--glad you are feeling a little better-hope the cough subsides quickly

jill--good luck getting John to his appt. today. Sorry Megan has had such a rough year at school, girls can be so cruel sometimes. Hope her legs are feeling better this morning.

hillbeans--in WI we had the Santa on the firetruck as well. It was really fun for Emma (okay, yeah, for the parents too!) Sort of miss it here--they don't do that sort of thing here.

glt--sending lots of prayers and positive vibes your way! The pic of your kids is adorable! I think signing "The Thompson's" is perfect!

tamie--love the new siggie pic of Tyler! The tree is so beautiful--love the idea of being able to go out back and ice skate!

bnb--going to check out the recipe for the Santa's trail mix--sounds yummy and something that would be great for our trip next week! Sorry the candy got botched--but actually the fudge sounds heavenly!!!

diskim--Wow on all the Elmos!

WEll, Ibetter go get the kids dressed and my hair dried! Nothing big on the agenda today, but watching the baby. I didn't get to make my newest cookies last night, so I guess I'll get started on those tonight. Have a great Tues. all (it is tues. isn't it?????)

 

[llij]

Good morning moms!

John's appointment went well. We were in and out in 10 minutes since they just wanted to do a tube check. He needs a hearing screening too, so I need to go back for that after the 1st of the year. Ugh. This afternoon, Meagan has an eye exam so I need to pull her out early from school. She is feeling better this morning which is good. She's always had the muscle pain since she was a baby, but it was associated with her hypotonia and being active. Now she gets the pain for no reason so that is the reason why her ped. wants it checked out. I'm going to make sure to bring lots of Motrin and heating pads on our trip.

Nyprincess - How scary for you and dh! I'll say some prayers that he is ok.

Val - I'm glad that you liked the Secret Santa gifts! I totally forgot about leaving clues as to who your secret santa was but I figured the return address from Virginia might be a good hint.

Nucpharm - You are going to have to share your new recipe with us! Enjoy the babysitting today!

Ginamarie - I'm glad to hear that you are having a great trip! How does Olivia like everything so far? How's the weather?

J&D - I'll pm you my cell phone. We've got dinner reservations at Kona Cafe for the 26th, but I'm sure I can swing by DTD once we are finished.

Well, I better go put John down for a much needed nap! I also need to start figuring out what we are going to bring on the trip. We need to squeeze 7 people and all of our luggage in our minivan so I need to be a light packer!

Everyone have a wonderful day!

 

[justhat]

I can't think to post right now cause Henry is crying in his bed. I just don't know what to do cause the kid just won't nap well, like 10-30 minutes at a time, then he's grouchy and wants to nap again in 15 minutes and is an absolute bear and won't/can't go back to sleep. Well he cried for 20 minutes and just stopped, but now he's sniffling. And great timing cause we have to leave within 30 minutes to pick up Madison. I'm so not made for CIO though cause I was down here crying along with him cause I felt like the devil. But I know he needs to sleep and I keep telling myself that I'm helping him but the fact is that I don't believe it cause I feel like he's up there thinking I abandoned him and don't love him. So what do I do? Is he too young to have any sort of set nap schedule or nap longer than 20 minutes? Part of my guilt I think comes from feeling like I'm forcing him to sleep independently despite his readiness cause of Madison's poor sleep habits, even though I've come to the realization that her "sleep style" had nothing to do with me and was just a reflection on her personality cause Henry's the opposite and I didn't do anything differently. The mommy guilt is just too much today. I'm gonna go check on him now that he's quiet cause of course I have a fear that something's wrong with him and it will be my fault.

 

[llij]

Awwww......Justhat, hang in there! First, you are not a bad mom at all. It is tough when our babies cry so I feel your pain, but know that you are a great mom. As far as getting into a nap schedule, I found with all of my kids that they really didn't get into a good nap schedule until they were at least 6 months old. They pretty much either 'cat napped' or slept at odd times until they got into their own routines. All babies are different though as you noticed with Madison's and Henry's different sleeping habits so just keep doing what you are doing. Trust your instincts and if you feel like he shouldn't CIO then try to put him down at a later time. It is hard though since you are on a schedule with Madison. Hang in there. Hopefully someone will have better advice for you on what to do.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

I'm dragging today. I don't feel like I'm coming down with anything, but I'm cold and I really tired. I guess I didn't sleep well last night. My computer at home is acting up - last night I didn't get any internet service and this morning (DH told me) the color is all messed up on my screen. I think Lucas bangs on it (it's a laptop in the living room) when I'm not looking. I know, I should move it.

I have to get my Christmas cards done tonight and wrap a few more gifts. Now my mom talked me into making a cheesecake in a pie crust for fake Christmas Eve and even gave me half the ingredients. Maybe nucpharm can come over and make it for me!!

llij - Glad to hear John's appointment went well. I hope Meagan continues to feel better.

tkyes - I love the new picture of Tyler! He looks like a little man!

glt - I love the picture of the kids! Signing your cards "The Thompsons" is a good way to go.

nucpharm - Have fun babysitting today.

justhat - Hang in there!

val - Hope that cold clears up soon. I hate getting sick this time of the year. My new fear is that my sister and her family will bring back some sort of WDW/airplane virus and infect me and Lucas just in time for Christmas.

alice28 - Aw! Molly is such a sweetheart. I love that big grin of hers.

ginamarie - Sounds like you're having a great time!

J&D - That's a great picture of Jenna (even though you can't see her face). I love those "thoughtful", non-traditional pictures.

nyprincess - P&PD for your DH!

joats - Hope you enjoyed your steaks!

Sorry if I missed anyone. I was going by memory.

 

[Hillbeans]

I can't think to post right now cause Henry is crying in his bed. I just don't know what to do cause the kid just won't nap well, like 10-30 minutes at a time, then he's grouchy and wants to nap again in 15 minutes and is an absolute bear and won't/can't go back to sleep. Well he cried for 20 minutes and just stopped, but now he's sniffling. And great timing cause we have to leave within 30 minutes to pick up Madison. I'm so not made for CIO though cause I was down here crying along with him cause I felt like the devil. But I know he needs to sleep and I keep telling myself that I'm helping him but the fact is that I don't believe it cause I feel like he's up there thinking I abandoned him and don't love him. So what do I do? Is he too young to have any sort of set nap schedule or nap longer than 20 minutes? Part of my guilt I think comes from feeling like I'm forcing him to sleep independently despite his readiness cause of Madison's poor sleep habits, even though I've come to the realization that her "sleep style" had nothing to do with me and was just a reflection on her personality cause Henry's the opposite and I didn't do anything differently. The mommy guilt is just too much today. I'm gonna go check on him now that he's quiet cause of course I have a fear that something's wrong with him and it will be my fault.

Oh Justine - I really feel your pain because Liam was a terrible sleeper from the start. He would do just like Henry did, wake up after 20 minutes and scream. I tried and tried to get him on some kind of schedule and found that just like Jill said, it wasn't until about 6 months that a pattern emerged. In all of the books i've read, they say a baby of Henry's age shouldn't be awake for more than 3 hours without going back down for a nap. Say he woke up at 6 am, he should be put down for his first nap at around 9 am. I think I often let Liam get overtired and overstimulated and he wouldn't nap well. I also used to walk him around the cul-de-sac and let him sleep in the stroller reclined and then bring the stroller in the house through the garage while he was still sleeping. I also tried to use "white noise" to help with naps like a humidifier set on low. Liam is overly sensitive to noise and would wake up from the phone ringing or if I stepped on a floor board too loud in the hallway.

I am far from any expert on sleeping because my Liam just started sleeping all the way through the night at 13.5 months.

I do know though that you are a FANTASTIC mother and you will get through this. Hang in there sweetie!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

double post

 

[Alice28]

I voted for your dress SL! Very pretty! What do you win if you are voted #1?

J&D- glad your package arrived safely. I hope that's what you had in mind for Jenna. It's harder than I thought to find just plain tops.

Z- how is your dad doing lately?

Justhat- I feel for you- CIO is SO HARD. How old is Henry now? About 4 months? I want to say my kids all developed decent sleep patterns between 3-4 months (not perfect, but predictable anyway of a 1-2 hour nap in the AM and 2-3 hour nap in PM). I hope he gives you a break soon!

NY- Keeping your DH in my thoughts- hope he is OK!

GM- sounds like you are having a blast! Lunch in Italy- sigh- I wish I were there!

Jill- That was a short appt for such a drive! I hope Meagan's pains don't cause her much trouble in WDW- that would be miserable.

Kim- you have a plethora of Elmos coming your way! Your wish came true! I'm glad Aidan will be getting one....Joats got one too, didn't she?

Nuc- hope you have an easy going day- what's on the baking agenda?

I need to bake this morning, as soon as I can get to the store to buy some oil and flour. But of course, Comcast is here AGAIN- this is the 4th time they've been here since Friday trying to fix our problem. Needless to say, I wrote a letter to customer service asking for at least a one month's refund- we haven't had properly working cable for a few weeks now (about 15-20 channels are out, but the rest came in, then it completely went out over the weekend AFTER we got all new cables, lines, and a new box installed. ). We've had Comcast for years and this is getting a bit silly.

Anyway, I need to bake today and tomorrow, as the new wasabi game will be up tonight and if we make it, I was voted team leader for the next round. So I may be doing several drive by posts tomorrow thru Sunday. I told DH that if we keep advancing, this game goes on til February- he just about died. It would help if one of our team members actually showed up!

 

[nucpharm29]

SL--voted for your dress--I'm a sucker for anything Audrey Hepburn! Not too good with the cheesecakes, sorry!

Alice--hope your next challenge isn't too difficult! On the baking agenda today, Barefoot Contessa's jam thumbprints (if I can get to the store for raspberry jam) and maybe some more pumpkin or banana bread. My freezer is getting overloaded! good thing my parents are giving up their deep freeze!

justhat--I so feel your pain with the non-napping boy! Matthew was like that for months, and then all of a sudden he turned a corner and is now a great sleeper (except for last night--bad night for us!) Keep up whatever you're doing and he'll get there eventually!

Well, haven't actually started babysitting yet today. I had a message last night that the dad would be dropping off hte baby late b/c he didn't have to be at work until lunch time. Well, the dad called around 8 to tell me that he took the day off, but would drop the baby off around noon b/c he had to check on the fitness club they own. Then I'm sure he'll pick the baby up before 4 to beat traffic--but it was nice to be home today--got the house cleaned up--our bathroom was so dirty--I'm amazed I can live in such filth sometimes! Chat later!

 

[justhat]

We're back but on our way to the post office (joy!) in a minute. Thanks for the support. What I don't get (and don't want to mess with) is that at night Henry is more than eager to get to bed. He nurses and goes down in his bed between 6 and 6:30 every night and then sleeps till 5:45am. Then begins our problem.

Sometimes I can take him in our bed and nurse him and he'll sleep till 7, but about 90% of the time time he's up for the day. It's when he stays up that it's a problem cause then he's ready for a nap around 7:30, but unfortunately that's when we're leaving for Madison's school. Sometimes he'll fall asleep on the way there or back, though not often. So we don't get back till about 8:15 and by then he's hungry, exhausted, and miserable. Then he'll fall asleep around 8:45, sleep 20 minutes or so and then be up and hysterical cause he needs more sleep. This pattern repeats itself on and off till bedtime.

I wouldn't mind if he catnapped and was fine with it (Madison did that and seemed okay) but he acts like he needs more sleep. He never wakes up happy after a nap, but he's so happy in the morning after he sleeps 11 hours, so I can only think that he's grouchy after his naps cause he's still tired.

Of course after he finally fell asleep at 10:40 today I had to wake him up at 11:10 to go pick up Madison, so then he was super grouchy at her school (we went in to look at her new class and the library) and fell asleep in the car on the way home and is still sleeping. Once she moves up to the 3yo class her hours are different and I think that will help a bit in terms of when he can sleep, but that's not till mid-late January so we've got a long wait.

Okay, definitely time for the post office as I have to mail something I should have mailed 2 weeks ago, plus get some more stamps for my Christmas cards. Thanks again everyone and I promise I'll be back later to catch up with everyone!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Good afternoon all! I'm taking a little break from wrapping and other Christmas crafts. My house looks like Sanata threw up!

I sent out my exchange package, but I forgot to include the "clues" to my identity! So, I'll 'fess up when the recipeint reports that she got her package.

I have to tell you about the GS party last night--my Oreo fudge was such a huge hit, I can't even tell you! Lynn, the leader, snuck one piece, and from there on out, the moms were going "Psst! You have to try this!" to each other. They actually stood there and debated if the fudge was better than ! Well, now we know who the Troop 407 nymphos are. And the real; funny part came later, when all the moms were on a chocolate high and were doing YMCA, much to the chagrin of all the daughters! I'm quite confident that Robin and I on a "funnel cake high" would have been much more mature and dignified. I'm betting every single mom has a chocolate hangover today. Everyone wants my recipe, but they couldn't even ask for it without moaning and sighing over the fudge. I tried to pull the whole "secret family recipe" thing on them, but it was getting ugly in there.

Meanwhile, I don't know what I ate at the party, but my stomach has been queasy all morning. Luke is fussy, too, but I think that's just overload from yesterday.

justthat--I remember Robert sleeping real well at night, but not having a daily schedule until close to a year. Some kids just don't. You also might want to look and see if there's something you're eating that could be setting him off, but that's pretty doubtful since he sleeps so well at night. But, the lot of the younger child is to be schlepped all over creation for the older one--poor Luke, he was so ready for a nap by the time we dropped Robert off at school this morning!

Oh--add me to the list of people who scored a TMX Elmo! I didn't say anything when people were reporting "extras", since we have a ton of Elmos, and my SIL works at Target. I had figured (correctly, as it turns out) that if they were showing up at TRU and so forth, that she might have them there as well. I'm sure Celeste will love it--I have to call SIL back to see if they want to give it to her, or want us to reimburse, either way works for me.

I'm going to go lie down--I still feel yucky. "Hi" to everyone I missed!

 

[gottalovethem]

SL - I voted for you! I didn't read the rules, can we vote as often as we like, or just once?

Justhat - I'm so sorry about your frustrations with henry's CIO. If you go back to some of my first posts on this thread I know I was right there with you. CIO is sooooooo difficult and hasn't gotten any easier for me, but does seem to work for him. Hang in there. I read a sleep book sometime back that was very good, can't remember the exact name but something like healthy sleep for happy babies, or something like that. I'll look into it again and let you know. It really did help me.

nucpharm - your cooking has inspired me, I am baking a cake as we speak.

Jill - I recieved your package and it brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so very much.

GM - I can't wait to hear all about the party on Thursday! I want to live vicariously through you! Thank you, for your very generous gift. I plan to check out Toys R Us online tonight!!

Robin - sorry comcast is such a PITA

BNb - I'll have to catch up more later....

Leif is up, DS messed up the timer and I think the cake is done. Gotta run

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Thanks for the votes, ladies! So far, I'm holding a small lead. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what the winner gets. A tag, I think? I just thought it would be fun to participate in something without going all-out wpasadi. I think you can only vote once since everytime I go into the thread it says I've already voted.

alice28 - good luck with being team leader in the next game. Does anyone besides the team members get to see what the submissions are?

nucpharm - Enjoy your day! Did the father ever drop the baby off?

justhat -

BnB - Hope you feel better soon. Glad your fudge was such a hit!

glt - Good luck with the cake! Sounds yummy.

 

[tkyes]

sl - I voted for you - great dress!!

jill - glad John's appt. went ok!

justthat - Oh, I'm so sorry! Please don't feel like a bad mommy. You aren't abandoning him by trying to get him to fall asleep on his own, I promise!

nucpharm -Have you made the thumbprints before? They are sooo good!!

glt - Enjoy your cake!

bnb - Glad the fudge was a hit! Too funny about the "debate"

robin - I can't believe you are still dealing with comcast. I hope they refund you part of your bill.

nyprincess - How scary! Sending good thoughts for your husband!

ok - gotta run, I think Tyler finally fell asleep upstairs and I need to work on Christmas cards. I think this is the latest I've ever sent out cards!

tamie

 

[J&D]

Thanks for the compliments on Jenna's picture.

SL- I just voted for you. You are currently leading by 8 votes. I think you get a $25 Disney GC. Good luck!

Robin- The shirt is perfect! Thanks again!

Jill- Got your PM. Glad to hear the appt went well.

GLT, Hillbeans, cabmom, and nyprincess- Thanks for offering to send cards to the soldiers. I know they will appreciate the support!

You can also leave a virtual holiday greeting here:
http://www.hooah.com/card.php

nyprincess- I was so busy playing WPASADI that I never officially welcomed you to our thread! Welcome! Prayers for your DH.

I need to run. DH has a home basketball game tonight, and I still need to shower while Jenna is napping.

TTFN!

 

[DisKim]

FF - I'm SO GLAD to hear that Kona does not need surgery. I'm glad everything turned out okay!

SL - What a gorgeous dress! I voted for you .

Robin - Molly looks so cute and grown up!

GLT - Great pictures of the kids!

Well, I'm going to kick myself off the computer. I have so much laundry to do and I have about a million errands to run. I'm seriously ready to bring my gifts to class and have the kids wrap them. I wish I could do that!

 

[zalansky]

Hi all...

Just wanted to check in with not much time as always.

SL - I voted for your dress and you're still in the lead! Good luck.

FF - Great news about Kona's appt!

Jill - glad to hear Johns appt went well also and I hope your DD is feeling better before you head to WDW. You must be excited for the trip though! It is 78 degrees here right now.

GM - I've never eaten in Italy at Epcot....glad to see how much you enjoyed it!

J&D - I love that picture of Jenna too! That outfit is too cute.

GLT - yous picture of your little ones is also adorable. Lief is soooo cute.

tkyes - speaking of pics, I like your new siggie pic of Tyler. Is that from your Xmas cards?

BNB - way to go on the Elmo! I "got" one on TRU's website the other day but I am expecting them to cancel my order any time now.

justhat - sorry to hear about the sleeping troubles. I recall going through it with Cameryn and she didn't sleep solidly through the night until she was 7-8 months old. As far as napping this will probably sound nuts but we swaddled Cameryn until she was like 5-6 months old. And I was a nap-nazi about putting her down for naps....I would put her down about 1.5-2 hours after waking and after a few weeks she fell right into the routine. Good luck with Henry.

Vald - sorry to hear you're sick and I hope you feel better soon.

nyprincess - sorry to hear about your DH too.

I am going off memory too so I apologize for those I missed.

About my Dad - he is being released from rehab Thursday and going home, mostly because that is where he wants to be. He cannot be on his own so one of us will always be there, over the next few weeks....and nurses in and out. We don't know whether or not he will be a candidate for treatment yet, he still need to meet with an oncologist (cancer doctor) and even if he gets treatment, it is purely for palliative care only. Not to cure him. It has been super stressful and upsetting as you can imagine. I am trying not to talk about it much anymore because I talk about it daily with family because we have to. Plus its depressing and who needs that at this time of year? Thank goodness I have my wonderful kids to keep my mind occupied!

Anyway thats all for now. Have a good day everyone!

 

[Alice28]

BNB- can you post the recipe for your better than fudge? Yum! That was funny about the nympho moms! LOL!

Yes, we would be MUCH more dignified when we're eating our funnel cakes. Maybe.

SL- Hey, a $25 Disney GC would rock! I'm hoping to just win something like that with Wasabi, although I want the dang trip!

I am on a baking frenzy today....baking used to be so enjoyable to me; now I always feel like I'm in a rush cause of Molly (or used to be Joshie). So far the gingerbread dough is chilling in the fridge, the magic cookies bars are cooling in the pan, and my first round of spritz is in the oven. I FINALLY found a recipe my spritz maker 'likes'. I have fought with that thing the last 2 years, and this recipe I tried today- well, it works like a charm! Yay! AFter that's done, I just have my anise and almond biscotti to do, and I'm done. The kids can help me roll out the gingerbread when Molly naps.

OK, Comcast- guess what the problem was. Our upstairs cable was loose!! BOTH of the technicians who were here on F and M asked if I had a TV upstairs and I said, "Yes, but it's not hooked up to a digital box- just a regular cable." And they never went up to look at it! So this guy today goes upstairs and says, "Oh....your cable is loose.....so the transmission is 'leaking' out of here and taking away from your reception downstairs." I was so POed at the two other clowns who were here for 4.5 hours total and never thought to look at that! Oh well- I am still writing and hopefully won't have to pay my cable bill next month, which will save me $63. I do have a new cable box and all new wiring throughout the house and leading to the cable pole because of it.

J&D- thanks for thinking of the soldiers! That's awesome- I have already done something, but I may go ahead and go to that link you provided, if I can remember to do it! Glad the shirt was what you wanted.

I like that pic of Jenna; she looks like she's waiting for Santa!

Molly has been a fart since we got home from the store. I finally bribed her with a Wiggles DVD. She's been grumpy the last day or so, and still has that snotty nose, but is sleeping GREAT, so I don't think it's an infection of any sort. Not yet anyway.

OK, off to check on my cookies!

 

[dizagain]

Ladies, I have a second....even though Carson is screaming. He's been yelling at me all day and unless he's asleep, holding him doesn't make him happy so I'm letting him cry a minute cause I'm tense!

I've been reading, sorry no posting time!

FF - glad Kona is ok!

sl - love the dress...I'll go vote!

zalansky - you have such a good attitude! Stay strong!

nyprincess - prayers for you DH - how scary!

glt - gotta give you extra ! You are so strong!

robin, ginamarie, j&d - good luck with the game!

Great new pics from some of you! Love them!!

justhat - I so feel your pain. Carson hasn't napped since birth. He sleeps well on errands usually and other than that he takes 20-30 minute naps all day. He is sleeping 9-7 at night though, so that's good. I am also at my wits end some days and don't know what to do...CIO doesn't work...he never goes "out"!!!! We go for his 4-month checkup next week. I'm interested to see what the doctor says about all of his activity - maybe it's causing pain in his legs or something. He is scooting around when he's on his tummy and also standing so much of the time. If you hold his hands he'll pull up from a laying down position by himself, etc. HE WANTS TO GO< GO< GO!!!!

Ok, choir and band concerts tonight and then we're "done" with the holiday requirements since no family is coming up. Well, except for my aunt who's visiting my cousin in Milwaukee but I haven't told DH that yet...

DH is looking at houses on Thursday when he goes down on business. Looks like we can probably get one a little bigger/newer than our current house for the same $$ or less...the taxes alone will shave off $200 a month!!!! I'm getting excited! We're listing our house this weekend - haven't quite figured out how to keep it clean yet especially if Carson keeps up his crabiness.

Well, I'll go pick him up I guess. Lucky he's so darn cute! Have a great day and hello to everyone of the wonderful mommies!!!

 

[lissawynn]

Hi all. My plan to catch up went nowhere today. I spent most of my free time doing pages for this year's yearbook and lost the last three I did when the program went all wonky. If DH didn't have to do work on the addition tonight, I would so go to school and redo those pages. That's the OCD in me talking. Note to self: Save each page as it's finished.

I wanted to let J&D know that I mailed my package today. It's going a pretty far ways away, so it might take a few days to arrive. Was that a hint?

zalansky - I'm sorry you have to deal with all of these issues right before the holiday. I hope you dad will be comfortable at his home and can enjoy Christmas with his family. to you! Btw, if you need to relax, nothing beats some Seagrams ginger ale and a shot (or two) of Crown Royal wiskey. I can't wait until I can have one. The last one I drank was the night before I took my pg test!

I have a meatloaf in the oven and I need to make up a test on complements for my students. Jimmy is napping, so time is precious. TTYL!