The Official New Mom Thread

[Tasha+Scott]

Tamie~ I was just wondering the same thing about first photos. Kylie will be 3 weeks tomorrow but I don't think she is nearly ready to have it done. I was hoping by 2-3 months. Sounds like that is a good time to do it from what everyone is saying on this thread. For now I am just sticking to my own pics and developing those.

Well, things are much better since last time I posted. Yesterday after I got off of here I put Kylie in her baby swing and she was fine at first. But after a few min. she started crying and having a tantrum. I decided to let her cry while I made lunch. She cried for about 10 min. and then fell asleep. I was able to eat lunch and then she woke up a min. or so afterwards crying and screaming again. I picked her up and held her after that. It was just such a treat to be able to eat lunch! And you know what? I let her cry and she was just fine! Then, I actually got her to lay down for a nap for an hour and a half a couple of hours later. I also slept. Mommy was much happier after a nap! It was wonderful and she even slept in her bassinet. Then, last night Dh and I took her grocery shopping with us. She had only had one nap all day and usually she sleeps for a few hours in the evening so she was CRANKY! When we were getting ready to check out I gave the checkbook to Dh and told him I would be up front sitting on a bench. I fed Kylie and waited on him. When we got home we put her in her swing so we could eat dinner. Well, she cried for about 10 min. and then calmed down long enough for us to finish dinner. Then I got her and rocked her to sleep. She finally went to bed around 8:45. She had not had her usual evening nap so she was really tired. I expected her to wake up a few hours later but she didn't. And of course I have a "mommy alarm clock" now so I woke up a few hours later to check on her. She was sleeping so I went back to sleep too. I woke up again at 2 a.m. and she still was sleeping so I went back to sleep. At 4 a.m. she still hadn't waken up and I started to panic so I woke her up so I could change her and feed her. She drank 5 oz. (She hadn't eaten in almost 9 hours by this point!) and went right back to sleep until I woke her up at 7:45 to get ready for her 2 week check up appt. this morning.

Her checkup went great. Two weeks ago at her dr.'s appt. she weighed 9 lbs 6.2 oz. She now weighs 10 lbs. 5.5 oz. Everything was fine with her and he told me that it was okay that she slept all night, she was just tired since she skipped her nap. He laughed at me and told me next time to take advantage of it b/c who knows how long it will be before she sleeps through the night again?! Oh, well, I'll know better next time. She is sleeping now in her bassinet. So I am hoping that maybe her phase of wanting to be held constantly has ended! KNOCK ON WOOD!!!

Okay, the one thing at her check up that I am not sure about is whether DD has thrush or not. Her pediatrician checked everything including her mouth and didn't seem concerned. But he left the room for a few min. and while he was gone Kylie was acting hungry so I gave her a bottle. Well, the pedi. came back in with another dr. who I guess also wanted to have a look at her and she saw her tongue was coated white and thought it might be thrush. But then she noticed I was in the process of feeding her formula and asked if her tongue is always white like that. I said yes, but not as dark when she hasn't just eaten but I assumed it was just from the formula. The dr. that examined her said that when he checked her mouth a few min. before it was clear. So anyway, they told me if I notice it doesn't go away to call and they will write me a prescription. But now I am confused. I thought it always looked a little white but assumed it was normal but the dr. said it was clear so now I am not sure what I am supposed to look for. Anyone dealt with thrush who can give me some info. on what to look for??? Hmmm...if she has thrush maybe that's why she has been so fussy lately?!

 

[katerkat]

We got photos done at four weeks old, and they were tough. BR was a little too little to do the poses.

This is what we ended up with (edited better, of course!)

 

[justhat]

He looks so adorable!!

 

[Alice28]

BR is a cutie! Look at those big eyes!

 

[lissawynn]

BRU Stroller Coupon
Do any of you moms have the BRU stroller coupon that was in the mailer they sent out a few months ago? If you do have one and it hasn't expired, would you mind sending it my way if you're not using it?
I am buying the Maclaren stroller and can use every $$$ I can possibly save.

Tonight was my first attempt at feeding Jimmy some food. He spit out most of the bananas, but I think some of it stuck. He did really like the taste. He just didn't know what to do with it.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Awww! Katerkat, those pics of BR are sooo adorable!

Well, I looked up thrush on babycenter.com and I don't think I have anything to worry about. I don't think Kylie has it and even if she does it says it will clear up on it's own within 2 weeks so unless she stops eating or something I am not going to worry about it.

Well, she slept ALL night last night and ALL day today...except when she woke up long enough to eat...so I fear we are in for a long night tonight. Yes, she is awake right now. Dh is rocking her. I told him I would relieve him so he could go to bed at 11 which is 15 min. from now. Hopefully she won't get her days and nights mixed up. We haven't had a problem with that yet but this is the longest she has slept before too. And she has been awake for an hour now so I am worried that she might be up a while. Hopefully I can get her to sleep within the next couple hours and we won't have a problem with her mixing up day and night. Wish me luck!

P.S. It's times like these I admire you working moms! I don't know how I could operate on so little sleep and work too! But I would still do it all over again. Kylie and Dh are definitely the loves of my life!

 

[justhat]

Tasha, she may be getting ready for a growth spurt. I think they're at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 3 months, from what I remember reading when Madison was that age. Madison slept wonderfully from 6 weeks - 4 months so maybe that had something to do with it. So far tonight she has gotten up once wanting to nurse.

Okay, so here's my big question. I'm currently weaning Madison off nursing (doesn't use bottles or sippy cups by her choice, just straw cups, so none of that is an issue). She sorta day-weaned herself around 11 months, only wanting to nurse at naptime, bedtime, during the night, and sometimes when she wakes up. I cut out the naptime nursing session when we were on vacation last month since she'd usually nap in her stroller or in the car so she sorta forgot about it so I kept it up when we got home. So right now, it's just at bedtime and then once or twice during the night. I had totally cut out the nighttime feedings before our vacation, but then she started having night terrors so I went back to them for lack of knowing what else to do. Lately (past week or 2) she doesn't even seem too interested in nursing before bed, just a few minutes or so, and in fact DH put her to bed on Monday by himself, so no nursing at all. It's really just the middle of the night stuff now, generally around midnight and sometimes again between 2 and 4 (she "sleeps" 8:30-8:30). So I'm thinking that if I stop nursing her then she'll stop waking up at night (the only time she slept through the night was during the 3 weeks I wasn't nursing her at night). I'm pretty desparate for sleep after 15 months!

But here's my fear: that's basically the only time she nurses now so if I cut it out, I'm guessing that will be the end of my milk supply. I'm not opposed to that as I'm weaning her anyway and kinda ready to be done with it, but I'm afraid that if I do stop making milk, then when she gets up during the night wanting milk that I'll have nothing to give her and then she'll scream for hours. No, she will not cry herself to sleep, never has, probably never will. I think I posted this recently, but she has cried for as long as 3 hours straight everynight for over 3 weeks in a row (on previous attempts at nighttime weaning). After 3 hours I would give in cause I was exhausted from hearing her cry all that time, and after 3.5 weeks I gave up entirely since it obviously was not changing/working.

So what do you think? Anyone with older kids have any experience with frequent night wakers? I really have to avoid crying as much as possible as we live in a condo so I can't keep the whole building up. Plus my husband is one of those people who really need a lot of sleep, but dur to his schedule he only gets about 6 hours a night, so if Madison is up crying all night, that's no good for him either. We're going to the dr tomorrow for her 15 month checkup, so I'll be asking her about it too, but since she doesn't have any kids I thought you guys would be more helpful!

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

We had the same problem w/ our Caroline. I was used to my good sleeper Tristan, and then we had Caroline. She would awaken several times thru the night crying for milk. I, too, let her cry for an hour at a time and she just kept going. After an hour to an hour and a half, I'd go get her because my son was being awakened by her cries and blood curdling screams. She would almost lose her voice from crying for so long. She never let up and it exhausted me because I had to be up w/ the kids all the next day. We tried many many things and NOTHING worked for her. I even tried a family bed, but she was restless and kicked me all night. I would wake her and feed her at midnight to "top her off" so she could get thru to the next day. My friends were telling me she should be able to get thru the night w/o waking, and I agreed, but she never did. They assured me I must be doing something wrong. My DH and I would get into heated discussions as to how to get her to sleep.

Finally, at around 11 mos. I put her to bed in her crib and she slept til 6 AM. I woke up several times and checked on her to make sure she was o.k. because it was so unlike her. She was sleeping like a baby. From that day on, she slept thru the night. I did nothing differently, she just clicked like a light switch. Go figure. I wish I could give you better advice, but I have none. All I can say is it will end and your baby will sleep thru the night at some point. I hope for you sanity, it happens soon. Your pediatrician may have some advice. Good luck.

 

[KirstenB]

Justthat, at 15 mths, I don't think she should need the milk at night because she's hungry. If I had to guess, it's become a comfort issue with her. If you want to stop it altogether, and you're totally done nursing, I'd suggest your husband giving her a sippy cup of warm water next time she cries, then leave her be. It can't be you, or you'll never solve this, and you'll not be able to wean her. I know you said she doesn't do sippys, and your dh needs his sleep. I'm picturing this being a 2 week thing, before she decides it's not worth it. Good luck.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

justthat-I highly recommend Dr. Jay Gordon's method of weaning. http://www.drjaygordon.com/ap/sleep.htm I used this with Avery (adapted to fit our needs) and it worked really well. She never woke up in the night wanting to nurse or wanting anything else to drink after she was weaned. Any questions please feel free to PM me.

edited to add-I weaned Avery myself with her sleeping right next to me. We had no problems. She was weaned around 20 months.

 

[lissawynn]

It's Gymbucks Time!!!
I just bought the cutest stuff form Jimmy. I also bought two bathing suits w/matching t-shirts for next summer. I earned two gymbucks and had to stop myself from going for three. I called my DS and told her. My DN wanted all of the accessories from the camping line. Wait until he sees the canteen, dop kit, and headlamp. He's going to freak.

 

[copper68]

anybody have any ideas for trimming nails? dd is 16 months old and lately has decided she doesn't want her nails trimmed.. i've tried everything from giving her things she isn't supposed to play with (remote control, cell phone etc) to try and keep her busy.. i put in a video and she's glued to it, so i tried to sneak over and do it.. i got 2 cut before she realized it and had one more fit.. anyway, just wondering if any of you have any tips..

T&S- if it was thrush, her mouth would be white an patchy on the roof of her mouth and tongue.. just keep a check on it.. check it right before she eats.. just be careful, because it is contagious and can be passed back and forth from whatever she puts in her mouth, like a pacy, bottle, or breast...

have a good day!!

 

[Alice28]

It's Gymbucks Time!!!
I just bought the cutest stuff form Jimmy. I also bought two bathing suits w/matching t-shirts for next summer. I earned two gymbucks and had to stop myself from going for three. I called my DS and told her. My DN wanted all of the accessories from the camping line. Wait until he sees the canteen, dop kit, and headlamp. He's going to freak.

Oh boy, guess where I'm going in an hour! I wish we could go NOW cause Molly is crying and she falls asleep immediately in the car. It's one of those, she's fed/dry/clean and I can't even eat breakfast cause she won't stop crying unless I'm holding her....

 

[justhat]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm pretty sure she's not hungry either, that it's just the way she's learned to go back to sleep. I've been telling my husband for about 10 months that if he gets up with her during the night she'll stop waking up, but that simply won't happen so it's up to me. He has gotten up with her once since she was born, about a month ago during a night terror, and that was only after I had been up with her for about 40 minutes. Well, that's not entirely true. He often tries to get her back to sleep before he goes to bed (when he's home, which is not that often, she goes to bed at 8ish and he's in bed by 11). The thing is though she screams hysterically when he does. I think it's cause sometimes she won't see him for days at a time due to his schedule, so she's not expecting to see him since he hasn't been around in days. I don't go in to 'rescue' her, I let him deal with it, but after say an hour he gives up and brings her out to me or calls me to come in. Yes, I know it's horrible, but there's really nothing I can do to change that.

The thing is, she used to be a good sleeper, until around 4 months. She'd go to sleep in her own bed by herself (I put her down awake everynight). She never really slept all night, but she'd only wake once for milk, and go back to sleep again on her own after she had her drink. She never fell asleep nursing. Around 3 months she started sleeping with us because we were out of town for about 5 or 6 weeks and didn't have a crib. After that she wouldn't go back in the crib all night, she'd stay till maybe 2am, then scream nonstop till you got her out. So she slept with us cause we all got more sleep that way. By 6 months she was waking every 2 hours for milk, and that continued till around 8 months. At this point though, it's not every x hours, which I could handle better, it's totally random, which is more exhausting than the every 2 hours was.

We'll try the Jay Gordon method again. It's actually what we used when I nightweaned her 2 months ago and she did actually sleep all night once so I guess it kinda worked. The only thing that sorta ruined it was the night terror business and going on vacation.

Oh, the thing with the sippys is that she doesn't know how to use them, which is why we don't. She doesn't realize that you have to tip the cup way back to get anything out, she holds it like a regular cup and then gets angry when she only gets air. She won't let me tip the cup back for her (she pulls my hands off the cup and insists on doing it herself) so we just gave up with them and went to straw cups, which she loves. Bottles she just refused to use after about 9 months.

Thanks again everyone. I'm so sick right now too that sleep is even more important to me!

 

[justhat]

anybody have any ideas for trimming nails? dd is 16 months old and lately has decided she doesn't want her nails trimmed.. i've tried everything from giving her things she isn't supposed to play with (remote control, cell phone etc) to try and keep her busy.. i put in a video and she's glued to it, so i tried to sneak over and do it.. i got 2 cut before she realized it and had one more fit.. anyway, just wondering if any of you have any tips..

I don't have a huge problem with nails right now, but up until about 3 weeks ago it was a huge battle, so I'd do them during Madison's nap. She still wasn't thrilled about it even in her sleep, she'd move her hand and stuff, but you could still do it without much trouble.

 

[vald1977]

BRU Stroller Coupon
Do any of you moms have the BRU stroller coupon that was in the mailer they sent out a few months ago? If you do have one and it hasn't expired, would you mind sending it my way if you're not using it?
I am buying the Maclaren stroller and can use every $$$ I can possibly save.

Tonight was my first attempt at feeding Jimmy some food. He spit out most of the bananas, but I think some of it stuck. He did really like the taste. He just didn't know what to do with it.

Sent you a PM.

 

[lissawynn]

anybody have any ideas for trimming nails? dd is 16 months old and lately has decided she doesn't want her nails trimmed.. i've tried everything from giving her things she isn't supposed to play with (remote control, cell phone etc) to try and keep her busy.. i put in a video and she's glued to it, so i tried to sneak over and do it.. i got 2 cut before she realized it and had one more fit.. anyway, just wondering if any of you have any tips..

T&S- if it was thrush, her mouth would be white an patchy on the roof of her mouth and tongue.. just keep a check on it.. check it right before she eats.. just be careful, because it is contagious and can be passed back and forth from whatever she puts in her mouth, like a pacy, bottle, or breast...

have a good day!!

I know this may sound freakish, but I bite off Jimmy's nails, usually while he's eating or sleeping. I cut him a little the first time I tried to use the safety clippers, so I hate having to use them. I do use them on his toes, though.
My gramma says biting off their nails prevents them from stealing when they're bigger. Who knows?

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Well, just wanted to pop in and let you know that last night went okay afterall. I do think you may be right, justhat, I think Kylie is probably going through a growth spurt. I had read something about it too when I was preg. but I completely forgot about it. I got her to sleep around 1:15 last night. She did stay up from 9:45 until then but that was okay. I can handle staying up that late. She slept until 5:45 and woke up for a bottle. I changed her, fed her, and she went right back to sleep and slept till 11 this morning.

We had a lovely little "poopy" diaper explosion this morning all over her and me. So I bathed her and she went back to sleep shortly after that. She is sleeping now. As far as the whole diaper situation this is the 3rd Huggies diaper that has leaked. The other 2 were only wet diapers. This one was a DIRTY diaper so I will not buy any more Huggies! Thankfully we used the last one today. They are the only diapers that have leaked for us so far. I am sticking with Pampers and Luvs for now. Of course I have several packs of Dri Bottoms and White Clouds that I need to go through first that people gave us. But that has been our morning. I was able to take a shower, eat lunch, and wash clothes so it is nice that she is taking a nap. So much better than a few days ago when she wanted to be held all day!

justhat~ Good luck with weaning Madison! Can't offer any advice, of course, but just wanted to wish you luck.

Alice~ Good luck with Molly today. I know how it is to have one that wants to be held all day. It can be exhausting!

I hope everyone else is doing well today!

 

[Tasha+Scott]

T&S- if it was thrush, her mouth would be white an patchy on the roof of her mouth and tongue.. just keep a check on it.. check it right before she eats.. just be careful, because it is contagious and can be passed back and forth from whatever she puts in her mouth, like a pacy, bottle, or breast...

have a good day!!

Well, I am still not 100% if it is thrush or not so I am doing the "better safe than sorry" thing and acting as though it is either way. So since you are a nurse, do you have any advice on how to keep it from passing back and forth? I mean, I don't let her use the same bottle twice before it has been washed. Anything else I should do?

 

[Alice28]

Gymboree was so fun! I only spent $52, but I may go back and spend another $50 before the weekend is over. I got her two shorts and a onesie for this summer, and two nice shirts in the bonjour provence line and a pair of bike shorts And some hair clips for next summer.

Like I said I may go back and buy some of the Pool Party and Beach Fun. It's so cute! And then it will be fun to go on a spree in July....that's why I think I need the 2nd Gymbucks...so I can get $100 worth of stuff in July for only $50. I'm sure they will have all the darling Fall stuff out then. I swear she has more than half of the items in the whole Bonjour Provence line!

I went into Gap Kids cause I love their stuff for my boys and I did well there too- I got 3 graphic t-shirts (in fun sealife prints and 1 that says "More fun than a" and it has a graphic of a barrel of monkeys! Two boxer shorts for sleeping in on hot nights and some really nice khakis for my 7 year old for next school year for only $14.50! (normally $29!). Spent $49 there..

I wasn't going to do all this spending, but I was IMing DH yesterday and he was like, "Quit dithering about money and go shopping!" Didn't take much to talk me into it!