The Official New Mom Thread

[SnowWitch]

thought I would post even though I found this thread very late in my pregnancy. Delivered a healthy 6lb 9 oz girl on the 25th 3 weeks early due to hypertension. All went well!!!

 

[katerkat]

Congrats SnowWitch!

Has anyone cruised with a young baby? DH wants to hop on an Alaska cruise this summer, and while I'd enjoy relaxing and eating, I've had this terrible vision of BR falling overboard ever since he suggested it. Plus, going to Alaska, there's not too many excursions BR can go on... Plus all the ships up there are not as kid-friendly as the Disney cruise!!

 

[desiab]

SnowWitch, Congrats on the new little girl!

 

[becka]

Congrats SnowWitch!!!!

OK all you bottle feeding Moms...when did you switch over to a faster flow nipple? I have been using the slow flow nipples with DD since she was born and I cannot remember when we switched Nathan over. I could have sworn they made a medium flow but I went to the playtex nurser site and they don't have them listed. I had DH buy 2 of the fast flow just to try them out but I don't want to drown the poor girl either!

I went back to work today for the first time since I hurt my back. Thankfully my back is feeling better although still kind of achy. I am just glad to be back out of the house. I hated being home all day without the kids.

On the positive side Nathan FINALLY pooped in the potty!!!! YAY! He has been about 95% trained with #1 but he was always scared to #2 on the potty so a little over a week ago we just calmly mentioned that if he would poop in the potty he could go to the toy store and pick out a new toy. I was hoping that would encourage him to get over his fear. I figured that once he did it once it would not be so scary. Well when DH picked him up from daycare today the teacher mentioned that he went this morning!!!! I was so excited! (Isn't it insane what we now get so excited about? ) He was also really proud of himself so hopefully this is the last hurdle in potty training. I really feel like a couple of more weeks and we should be 99% done!!!! DH took him to TRU and he picked out a Animal Safari playset although he had a hard time deciding between that and the two foot long toy shark! Maybe the shark will make an appearance at his birthday party in 2 weeks.... I am so proud of my big boy...hopefully it will continue!!!

 

[justhat]

Congrats SnowWitch!!

KaterKat, part of the Disney trip we took when Madison was 3 months old was a Disney cruise. She was 15 weeks, so just above the minimum age of 12 weeks (she got a certificate that said she was the youngest cruiser!). We had the trip planned about 6 months before we found out about her, so we were really, really hoping she'd be born on time or we'd have to cancel (luckily she was 2 weeks early).

Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and really pretty easy for us since everything was right there-food, pool, room, etc. Easier than Disney was because there was lots to do without walking around in the heat all day.

We also went on a cruise when she was 10 months old, on Princess cruise line, also to the Caribbean. Also a great trip. We had to visit the ship dr for her then cause she had this nasty cold that would not die, and she'd cough so hard she'd vomit everynight. Her own dr said it would go away on its own before we left, but it seemed to be getting worse. They didn't really have much medication for infants, and we called her dr to check on what they gave us and they said don't use it, so just a piece of advice if you happen to need the ship dr for your little guy.

On both we found enough shore excursions she could participate in (though, yeah, the really cool ones didn't allow babies) and both ships had tons of kids on board.

We did an Alaskan cruise on Celebrity when I was pregnant and it was beautiful so if you can, definitely go. I'd love to go back when I can experience it without the morning sickness. They were the best cruise line, in our opinion.

 

[katerkat]

Thanks for the advice! I've cruised Alaska twice, but my DH has never been, so I'm looking forward to it...minus the fears of my poor boy going overboard!

Another question - what's the going rate for babysitting? My neighbor is watching BR for an hour this morning while I take the kitties to the vet.

 

[justhat]

Here is DC it's about $12/hour, about $10/hour if it's a high school student. But I think that's very high compared to other states, so maybe don't use that as a base.

 

[MommyPoppins]

Here is DC it's about $12/hour, about $10/hour if it's a high school student. But I think that's very high compared to other states, so maybe don't use that as a base.

Back in highschool when I babysat I got paid around $2.50 -$3.00 for one child....I can't believe how bad its gotten. I'm glad I have family here.

 

[lissawynn]

becka I use the Avent bottles and switched Jimmy to the #2 nipples at three months. I just took an old #1 nipple and made the hole a little bigger so I can put cereal in his bottle at night. When we first brought him home, I tried about five different kinds of bottles and nipples. They were so fast that he was literally spitting out the formula as fast as he was getting it in his mouth. The Avent bottles have worked out very well so far.

Jimmy and I are sick today. He's super congested today, and I've been using the horrible boogie sucker for the last two days. My throat is so sore that I used my last sick day to stay home and rest. I can't wait until the school year is over! The kids are getting out of hand and don't seem to care much about anything. The days are getting very long.

We've started to make our PSs for our trip in July/August. So far we have the CG and CP for b-fast. I have more to make this week and am very excited about taking Jimmy!

 

[Alice28]

Katerkat---I pay $5 an hour for babysitting & that always seems fine with the girls who have done it (that was for 2 young boys or 1 infant...)

 

[vald1977]

Katerkat,
I do baby-sitting for a number of people and charge $3.00 an hour for one child, $5.00 an hour for two. A lot of times people will round up a bit ($10 for a couple of hours with one child) just to make it worth my time .

 

[lissawynn]

Snowwitch - I forgot to congratulate you! Your baby was born the day before my b-day!

 

[Alice28]

Yes, CONGRATULATIONS to Snowwitch!!!

 

[lissawynn]

Hey ladies! Just thought I'd share Jimmy's latest fascination. He can now suck on three of his fingers at the same time. This doesn't make me especially happy, but what can I do? I'm betting he'll manage to get his entire fist in there soon. He'll probably be able to drink for free when he's in college if he can master that trick.
I was hoping the binkey would stop the finger sucking, but it didn't.

 

[lissawynn]

bump

 

[Alice28]

Horrible night for me--- oldest DS has a stomach virus....first he threw up and had diarrhea in his bed; then he did the later in mine. Poor boy! Molly got up only twice (although the 2nd time I had to come downstairs & make a bottle cause I wasn't cutting it), but now I have LOTS o' bedding to wash & PRAY my other two don't get this bug...(or me!!!!!!!!!!)

 

[katerkat]

I hope your son gets better Robin!

We survived our flight across the country yesterday. BR did great - everyone around me said they couldn't even tell he was there! My black cat, who usually ignores BR, has been marking him since we got to my parents' house. Guess he wants my parents' cats to know this is HIS baby! The white cat is still a bit freaked out from the flight.

 

[lissawynn]

Alice28 Hope your son is feeling better!

Jimmy's congestion is going away, but I spent much of yesterday in the bathroom. Swallowing nasal drip does nothing but make your tummy angry! DH really stepped up last night while I was a useless ball on the couch. He bathed, fed, and got Jimmy to bed. He also did the 2 A.M. feeding this morning. I'm so thankful I didn't have to get up. Having used all my sick days, I needed all the sleep I could get.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

 

[MommyPoppins]

Sorry to hear about all these sick little babies. Kaleb has been congested again for about a week. He is still the best. He is really turning into a easy baby. He likes to lay on the floor now and play with his gym and his hands. He also likes to suck his fingers, but I am thankful for it. He doesn't take his pacifier anymore and ever since he started sucking his fingers he's been sleeping through the night. My 2 year old threw up Tuesday night at a friends house. Then Wednesday he ran about 100 temp..but today he seems better. He just been cranky and clingy. I think it's his 2 year molers. He gets snotty and runs a fever with diarrhea with every tooth he gets. This week seems to be dragging on and on for some reason. It must be because DH is working so much. (I don't know how you ladies do it with your husbands in the military. But I am so thankful for familes like you. ) He is working 10 hour days this week and going to work 8 on Sat. Trying to save up for a day trip to WDW May 14 and a weekend trip May 20-22 before our seasonal APs are in black out time. Plus I owe my DM over $100 from our last trip to SAMS.

 

[Alice28]

DS seems to be back to normal...must have either been something he ate or just a 24 hour thing. Thank God. He wanted to eat and eat last night and I had to get creative with bland things that he would like....everything stayed down and "in" so he went off to school this morning. Younger DS is going to daycare for a few hours so I can do some shopping with just baby Molly (who sleeps the whole time- no nagging for candy or toys! ).

So, I'm off to Target, the grocery store and I think I *have* to stop at the mall. Ihave a gift certificate for the best candy in the world- Sees, and I got an email that Gymboree slashed their stuff already on sale another 20%. I think Molly *needs* some sandals I've been eyeing. (for next summer).

Hope everyone has a great day- I feel much better after only get up once in the middle of the night with Molly and again at 6. She's such a good baby!