The Official New Mom Thread

[Jenn Lynn]

I need advice!

The past 4 nights DS gets extremely fussy. You cannot sit down and rock him (which used to put him right out). You have to stand and walk him. While you are doing this he is sucking/gnawing on your shirt. This only happens at night. He wants to latch on to me and just comfort nurse, but his latch has gotten hard so it is uncomfortable. We tried a pacifier, but he won't go to sleep with it.

Am I right to assume it is teething? I also thought he could be overstimulated???

Has anyone else gone through this? It thought we were home free for the night time fussiness.

 

[justhat]

Okay, I'm running to bed, but I just had to say that those pictures of Molly (and your boys too) and so adorable!! Madison has a similar outfit! We went to the pumpkin patch today too and Madison loved it. Very different pumpkin patch than I've ever been to-you had to pay $11/person over 2 for admission and there were pony rides, slides, hayrides, face painting, petting farms, cow milking, free food, uh, gosh, so much more too. And of course pumpkins, 1 free per paid admission. We've never been to a patch down here (this one was in VA actually, none in DC itself) and every patch I went to in NJ was just that, pumpkins on the ground.

And the new photos of Jace are very cute too. I especially love the one of him with the hat on, sleeping. It's so adorable! Coincidentally, my nephew has the croup right now too. In fact, SIL is on her way to the hospital with him as I type this. He went to the ped on Friday but has not gotten better so she called my husband (who everyone now thinks is their medical source) and he said to call her dr if he got worse. Well, she is panicky so she called her dr right after she talked to my husband and so they're on their way to the hospital. He turned 2 in September and has gotten the croup practically once a month. First time he was just about Jace's age. Problem was he had lung problems when he was born and spent 8 days in the NICU. Then around 4 months or so, right after the croup, he got RSV and was hospitalized again. The RSV did him in and a few months later they found out he has asthma, and asthmatic croup is very common in the younger crowd. So his croup is actually different in that it's not contagious. Gosh, rereading this I hope I don't scare you. If it makes you feel any better, my cousin's baby had the croup at 6 months old and has never had another illness since then and she's in daycare too. And Madison has been sick (with colds) about every week since she started her preschool. The good news is though that he'll get all those illnesses over with and you won't have to worry about him missing school later on!

Jenn, while Eli could be teething, he might just be fussy. I say this because Madison had many a time when she would only do standing and walking. She'd cry as soon as I sat down. It wasn't an all the time thing, sorta went in phases, and I would say it was totally outgrown by about 4-5 months. Gosh, I can remember 1 day when she was about, hmm, 7 or 8 weeks old and we invited a friend over, someone I used to work with in the daycare. I had to stand and walk/rock Madison the entire time he was here. Even my friend was amazed and he worked in childcare. Oh, and I had to do all of this in the kitchen with the sink on full blast cause the sound of the water was the only thing that settled her that particular day. And she didn't get any teeth till 10 months so definitely not a teething issue for her.

Hillbeans, I wish I could help about getting Liam to sleep like Madison did at night, but if I did then you might have the same bad luck of him turning into a very bad sleeper later on like Madison did. She put herself on that schedule around 6 weeks. First she'd cry about an hour (and that was no matter what we did, and we tried everything!) then she'd calm down, I'd swaddle her, and she'd start closing her eyes as soon as I was finishing up the wrap. I'd lay her in her bed and she'd be asleep within a couple of minutes. Then she'd sleep till around 7am, though sometimes she'd wake around 3am for a feeding, which I didn't mind cause it was just once a night. Things changed around 4.5 months though and she started waking up twice a night, then random times, then she was on an every 2 hours schedule by about 6-7 months. 5 months was the worst when she'd wake up and scream from about 3am-6am unless I continually rocked her, so we'd both sleep on the rocking chair for hours each night. So, so glad that she has passed that stage now. Of course, she still gets up around once each night, when I usually let her come in my bed. She has a toddler bed so she's 'free' to sleep where she wants so most of the night it's on the floor next to my bed and then around 4:30am she climbs into my bed. Sometimes I put her back on the ground, which is usually met with a few minutes of crying, but sometimes I just leave her in the bed, where she goes back to sleep by herself.

Okay, so much longer than I planned! I wanted to go to bed early tonight, but I got wrapped up in a book, then my cousin called to tell me her son is on TLC tomorrow night, so I had to call my mom to tell her. Oh, and if anyone is interested, it's Untold Stories of the ER and it's on TLC Monday night at 9pm Eastern time. My cousin is one of the ER docs, Anthony Cardillo.

 

[Alice28]

Joats- so sorry Jace has croup! not fun at all! I hope he's tons better by tomorrow.

Jenn Lynn, my guess is that your DS is starting to teeth, but sometimes they are just fussy!?!?! It drives me nuts when I have to do the stand and rock thing with Molly. For the first 4-5 months, she was the EASIEST baby to get to sleep & sooth. Then she seemed to hit a rough patch the last couple months where she isn't so easy some of the time. I've just been letting her cry it out at her initial nap/bed time cause I don't know what else to do. She did sprout two teeth around 6 months, and really started teething about a month before that. Sometimes I think it's overstimulation too- that's why I have just been lying her down on her own at bedtime- she gets overwrought sometimes with all the rocking, trying to nurse her, etc.

 

[vald1977]

Poor little Jace. I'm sending some PD his way for a quick recovery . The new pictures in your siggie are SO cute, Joats .

Love the pics of Molly in the pumpkin pactch. Fall pictures are my absolute favorite (and her outfit is too precious). I wish they had a place like Justthat went to around here. We just have regular pumpkin patches/apple orchards.

JennLynn:
We go through spurts where we have to do the walking thing with Katie. It's usually for about 4-5 days in a row and then she's fine for a few weeks. Then the same thing again. I've tried orajel with her a couple of times and that doesn't seem to work so I don't think it's teeth with her. I think it may be related to her growth spurts.

 

[lissawynn]

Today is Jimmy's 9 mo. b-day! I can't believe how big he has gotten. I took some pics this morning before he went to his Pop-Pop's, and I'll try to post them later.

Alice28 - Molly and your boys are cuties! I love the Gymboree girls' clothes but not enough to want one any time soon!

joats - I hope your DS is feeling better! Jimmy hasn't really had much more than a few colds, but when he was 3 weeks old and got sick, that was worrisome to me. I spent almost the whole night awake with him to make sure he could breathe. Not a fun time.

JennLynn - My DS has never tried to chew our clothes. He did like to gnaw on our wrists a while back. He has a fascination with the tags on his bibs and likes to chew on them.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Good moring mommies!!!!

I get to be a mom to 5 this week!

My brother is away on a confrence for work and he is a single dad (DW died due to breast cancer 7 years ago.) We are all fitting in the house fine (thanks to the addtion,) but the hardest part is getting them all out of the house in the morning for shcool. There should be a hour or so this afternoon that I have the whole house to myself. (All kids at school and Lily sleeping.) Making pot roast in crock pot for dinner tonight.

Lily is mostly sleeping all night, or will fall back asleep after 10 min crying (most of the time, she woke last night at 1:30 and would not go back to sleep). I didn't want to let her scream too long since the house was full of kids that had to go to school in the morning. When you get her she now signs more to eat. So there we are in the dark with her signgin "more" like crazy. Hello mommy feed me, how much more clear can I make it?

Tasha, sorry about the trip, but that does sound like the best plan. The extra pocket of money is a good thing. Your SIL sounds like a trip. I have one of those too. However she has kids the same age as mine and we do get together for the sake of the kids. (They love each other) and that is a good thing really. It has made us closer, but still stressful.


joats, so sorry about the croup. Anna had that a few times and those steroids sure help.

Alice28, great picks, what cuties!

Hillbeans, around 6 weeks is a growth spurt for babies and many just want to eat or nurse the whole time. He might just be a bit early for that.

 

[zalansky]

Those pics of Molly are great...and the outfit is too cute. Gymboree? Are those shoes she has on Robeez? I am thinking about getting some for Cameryn and want to know how people like them. I can't tell from the pic if they are or aren't. She is very flipping adorable, you're right!

justthat - I live on TLC all day long, I will definitely be watching that show tonight. That is cool your cousin will be on the show.

disneyphd - good luck! we'll see you hanging out here alot more very soon I see!

Tasha - I am sorry too to hear of your cancelled trip, but like others have said it is good of you to do that and not get into debt or more debt. Most people would go and just let the debt grow. Very responsible of you and disney isn't going anywhere.

We are going to WDW for two nights in December and going to the Candlelight Processional...my in-laws offered to watch Cameryn for those nights so we can just go with Connor and not have to worry about all the baby things that go with traveling with a baby. While it sounds very appealing I am not sure I can leave her for 2 nights! I am probaboy being ridiculous and we need to take Connor and just have a good time....but I will miss her like crazy. We'll be staying at the Swan, I can't wait.

Hope everyone has a good week....we got lucky in Tampa and only got rain from this hurricane, thank goodness!!

 

[Hillbeans]

Alice - I love the pictures of Molly and the pumpkins - also, the pics of your boys are adorable too!

JennLynn - It's hard to say exactly what may be wrong however it could be anything from a growth spurt to teething to just being fussy or overstimulated. I think that was part of my problem when my son was 2 weeks old, I kept moving him around and we had so many people visiting that I forgot babies of all ages sometimes just like to sit and look around sometimes with no stimulation - and sometimes cry for a few minutes (I never let Liam nor my older son cry it out, but sometimes they do just need a minute's cry). It's no fun when they're going through their fussy times, but hopefully things will be back to normal for you very soon.

Joats - so sorry to hear that Jace has the croup - hope he's feeling better today.

 

[Alice28]

Yep, Molly's outfit is from Gymboree. I have a "fondness" for the stuff. Not nearly as bad as some, but bad enough.

And the shoes are Robeez. I got recommendations from 2 close friends and they ARE great! They stay on for one thing! Even if they're a little too big at first. She has another pair of shoes from Stride Ride that are little soft Mary Janes and those are always slipping off- I'm definitely buying another pair of Robeez when she grows out of these...which will probably be soon. I just put most of her 6-12 month clothes on ebay because they are all already too small! Plus I don't want her closet to look so "Chock full" when DH comes home. If it just has the stuff in it that she can wear right now, and the stuff I bought on clearance for spring, it looks pretty normal.

Loretta, I don't think you're crazy for not wanting to be away from baby while you are gone for two nights. Even if it's Disney! How old will she be by then?? About 3 months? I think you would be able to make it without her, but I know the feeling of missing your baby every second. With Molly the age she is now, I think I could handle it, but I'm not sure at 3 months. DH and I are DEFINITELY going away for at least one night alone when he comes home in January.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Robeez, I got DD a pair on line since we didn't need much else for her (she could wear big sis's old cothes.)

She was 10 months old when I got them in size 6 to 12 months old. They were way to big. I ended up getting a 2nd pair size 0 to 6 months in sandels for DD at a local mall. She never wore then until she was a year old and we were camping, I thought I better put shoes on her it is cold out.

She loves them, she is actaully obessed about them. Crazy about them. Will find them around the house and follow you around yelling at you until you put them on her.

Well I still have the 6 to 12 month old pair, but they are way too big for her!

I don't want to buy another 0 to 6 month pair now, but the sandels aren't working as well now for us (chilly out.)

Oh well.
BTW I found targer sells some for 12 to 15 dollars a pair and they look just like Robeez, but they never seem to have the smaller size at the one near us. (in the infant sock section.)

 

[tkyes]

Hi everyone!!

Adorable new pictures - Molly and Jace are too cute!

Sorry to hear that Jace has croup - poor baby!

Jenn - sorry to hear that Eli is fussy.

Hillbeans - It could be a growth spurt. Go ahead and feed him whenever he wants, he may be full enough to sleep a little longer at night.

Happy 9 month birthday Jimmy!


Tyler had his 6 month checkup on Friday. 19 lbs, 27 inches long. He also got his first tooth on Saturday night! He hasn't let me see it yet, but I can feel it. The poor kid is covered in a rash from head to toes. His cheeks and chin are so red! Could this be from teething? We haven't switched any soap or laundry detergent recently so I don't know what is going on. I was going to get his 6 mo. pictures taken today but I need this rash to clear up first! He also started sweet pototoes this weekend and loved them.

have a good day everyone!

Tamie

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hi everyone!!
Tyler had his 6 month checkup on Friday. 19 lbs, 27 inches long. He also got his first tooth on Saturday night! He hasn't let me see it yet, but I can feel it. The poor kid is covered in a rash from head to toes. His cheeks and chin are so red! Could this be from teething? We haven't switched any soap or laundry detergent recently so I don't know what is going on. I was going to get his 6 mo. pictures taken today but I need this rash to clear up first! He also started sweet pototoes this weekend and loved them.

have a good day everyone!

Tamie

I would back off the sweet pototoes for a while, and see if that helps. If it clears up, you try it again in a few weeks and it happens again we know what it is.

Also I would call a Dr and ask, but for now hold off on new foods and no more sweet pototoes. (I rather doubt it, they aren't high reaction foods, but better safe then sorry.) Lily loved sweet potatoes too then, but she won't eat them as much now. (we still do, fresh not he baby food.)

 

[zalansky]

Alice28-
I am so glad you mentioned putting the old clothes on Ebay. I have been wanting to try this with DS's clothing and have been worried it will be hard or the things won't sell. Most of his clothing is Gymboree as well a friend of mine got me hooked and then when I found out I was having a girl this time - FORGET IT. The girls things are impossible to resist. They are opening a Gymboree outlet near us soon, I can't wait! Anyway, do you have any tips or advice on selling the things on Ebay? Should I sell them in lots or as outfits do you think? Any advice would be appreciated, I hate to just give the stuff away because it cost $ and is nice!

 

[tkyes]

actually, the rash started before the sweet potatoes. the only thing he had had before the rash was bananas. we held off on those for awhile and there is no change. the dr. didn't think it would be bananas since they are so mild. i'm hoping it's teething and nothing more. the dr. didn't seem very concerned about it. he told us to switch to unsented dove and try eucerin lotion. i just want it to go away so i can get his pictures taken!

 

[justhat]

Loretta, I'm a TLC addict too. Every morning I watch A Baby Story while I'm running at the gym. I know what you mean about leaving the baby too. I thought I'd be able to leave Madison when we went on a Disney cruise for our honeymoon when she was 3 months old, but we ended up taking her with us. Of course, part of that was that I was breastfeeding and worried about what would happen if I were gone 4 nights, not to mention I didn't want to have to pump all the time.

We also loved Robeez shoes. Madison still wears them sometimes (she's still in the 12-18 month size so I agree they run small-she wears a size 6-6.5 in regular shoes in case anyone is thinking about what size to buy). We keep our house shoe-free so when Madison has socks without the non-skid bottom we throw some Robeez on her so she doesn't slide all around.

Just wanted to update everyone that my nephew I posted about last night actually has pneumonia, not the croup this time. He got an antibiotic shot in the ER last night and he's on some oral antibiotic too. I finally told her today that she needs to take him to a pediatric pulmonologist because clearly his regular pediatrician isn't really helping him since he gets so sick so much. Hopefully once he sees a specialist he can get the right treatment and won't be sick as often.

 

[Alice28]

I'm not a professional ebayer by any means, but I did sell almost all of the boys' baby clothes 2 years ago (when I *thought* we were done----thank God we didn't have another boy or I would have been kicking myself). I think I made about $175 or $200 when all was said and done. That was ALL their 0-24 month stuff- I think I had 8 different lots.

I separated them into lots- first by size; 0-3, 3-6, 6-12 etc.
Then I separated them out by brand- basically Gymbo, Gap and nice Old Navy stuff in one pile; everything else (Carters, Little me, Target Brand, Osh kosh in another pile). I listed by lots because otherwise it's too time consuming to list by individual outfit; yes some things MIGHT sell for more individually, but I think used clothes sell better in lots.

Make sure there are NO rips, tears, stains, etc. One lady I sold to, I guess ONE of my items (of like a 35 piece lot) had a stain on it I hadn't noticed or thought was no big deal cause it was SO faint...she threw a fit and I had to refund her half her money. Anything that is slightly marginal I just give to Goodwill.

Take pictures- you can list one for free; the rest are .15 each. Pictures really seem to sell the product. List items exactly as they are- that way if someone complains you can say, "Items are as described...sorry!" I usually list about 3 pictures and say, "Email me if you would like pictures of a specific item up close."

I have learned that with lots I think ARE worth at least "x" amount of money, I put a reserve on them- that means they cannot sell for less than my reserve amount. For example, I just put up a lot yesterday of only Gymbo and Gap, just this last summer stuff that is still in very, very good shape. I put a reserve of $25 on it, but I started the bidding at 9.99. Start your bids low, or a lot of people won't bother to bid.

I'm hoping to make about $75 or so by next weekend. Gymbo just came out with a new line and while I am not dying over it, there is one outfit I really like and I just don't want to spend any "new" money. But if it's ebay money, that's ok, if that makes sense.

If you want to see what I put up, just PM me and I will give you my ebay ID. I don't think I can post it on the boards. You can get an idea of how I listed things, etc. I am not fancy by any means- some people do this professionally and do turbo lister and all that. I only sell on ebay a couple times a year, so this works for me. Hope this helps!

Oh- and it helps to accept paypal. If you don't have a paypal account, it's easy to set up. Ebay will walk you through it. Then you can just get money directly deposited to your checking account, with a small fee taken out of course.

 

[KirstenB]

Jenn Lynn, I'd guess Eli is growing and trying to get more food in him. Our 7 wk old dd often chews on my husband's shirt, when he's walking her at night. One night she stared straight at him, and grabbed the sleeve of his t-shirt and thrust it in her mouth! When she fusses, I try to nurse her first, just to see if she's hungry. If not, then I try other things. I'm sorry his latch is so tight, OWW!!! If possible, maybe you could give him a supplemental bottle, to see if it's hunger.

 

[lissawynn]

Hi everyone! I'm on my own tonight b/c DH is out of town for work. I am SO happy Jimmy is content in his pack n play. He is just to mobile for me to have him on his own in the house. Usually DH is daddy in charge while I'm dong my school stuff.

tykes - Tyler is a growing boy! Jimmy never had any food allergies. I hope the rash clears up soon. Jimmy also loved sweet potatoes. The only thing he never really enjoyed was green beans. Tonight he had chicken and wild rice. He really seemed to like that.

I've often thought about putting items on eBay, but I just don't have the time these days. Maybe in the future, but now is just too hectic.

 

[joats]

Thanks for all the well-wishes for Jace. He is feeling somewhat better but still not eating or napping well. He has been so cranky in the evenings the past two days. Poor little love.

justhat: how awful for your little nephew. I hope he is on the mend soon. How scary. Wow, he sure has been thru a lot.
Alice28: I see you posted more pics of all your kids. Too cute!
Lissawyn: Happy 9th month bday Jimmy!
DisneyPhD: I give you a lot of credit! I don't think I can handle 5! Glad Lily is sleeping better.
Zalansky: I think it would be rough to go without her - even though it's Disney. I don't know if I could leave Jace for two nights just yet.
Tykes: Congrats on your first tooth Tyler. I was just reading about getting rashes from teething but I think just they are rashes just on the face so it's probably something else.
Hillbeans: Yes, I remember at that point I wanted to give up bfeeding because I felt like he was attached to me 24/7. For the longest time Jace wanted to eat every 2 hours (he did nice long stretches at night though, luckily).

I'm finally getting a better routine for night time and getting to bed at a decent hour. It's been a hard adjustment. At least I had a real dinner tonight (I made a chicken casserole last night for tonight) instead of the usual cereal at 8:15pm I had everynight last week.
Have a great night!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Joats - I hope Jace feels better soon. Poor little guy.
Alice28 - I love your pumpkin patch pictures. Your kids are too cute.
Lissawynn - Happy belated 9 month birthday to Jimmy!!
Zalansky - I understand how you must feel. We have left Lucas overnight before with my mom, but it was tough.
Tkyes - Congrats on Tyler's first tooth! I hope his rash clears up soon
Hillbeans - I agree with those who suggested it may be a growth spurt. Lucas goes through periods of general fussiness and an insatiable appetite. It'll pass, so they say.
Justhat - I hope your nephew feels better soon.

Today's another yucky day of wind and rain. I have to go to the store today but I hate taking Lucas out in this weather.

Lucas has started fake coughing. I think he does it for attention (not like he doesn't get enough!). It's hilarious - he sticks his tongue out and everything. It's something new every day.