The Official New Mom Thread

[joats]

Hey Ladies!
Thanks for all the well wishes for Jace. He is still tugging at his ears, but thankfully has been sleeping well again. We go for a follow up this tues to see how he did w/out meds getting rid of the ear infection.

Val: Hope DH's vasectomy went well.
Lissawyn: Hope you are feeling better. LOL Star Jones comment - she's a freak. I can't stand her.
Minnesota: Poor Lucas. My fingers are crossed for you and #2.
J&D: We have a lot of Usborne books as my SIL is a consultant. Your DD is beautiful!
DisKim: you are amazing taking on Thanksgiving dinner. Hope you get some YOU time over the weekend too. Jace doesnt bang his head, but scratches himself all over his face and head. I sometimes have to hold his hands to keep him from doing it.
Tykes:Sorry to hear Tyler's rash is still around -poor thing!
SL: hope the pics of Lucas come out well.
Tasha: how did your haircut come out?
Alice: Hope the train was fun.
Justhat: hope you had a great time in Hawaii.
Hillbeans:have a great trip!
Gems: So far, I'll only leave Jace w/DH or my parents. But with all of them i feel 100% ok with it. I've had other offers, but I'm just not ready for that yet.

Thanksgiving: Ick the dreaded trip to VT to see the In-laws. It normally takes 4.5 hours (prebaby). This will be our first trip up with Jace. I dread it. I have a feeling it will take a long time to get there.

My side of the family is only getting gifts for kids 18 and under. Phew, what a relief! I am hoping DH's will agree to that too. Money is tight this year after 8 weeks of unpaid leave.

000000000 - that was Jace's type. LOL.
He just woke up from his nap so I need to go. Sorry if I missed anyone!!
Enjoy the rest of your sunday. We are off to my nephews 2nd bday party.

 

[2sweetangels]

good afternoon, well we had pretty nice weather here in chicago this weekend, not to cold. I got a little upset last night because DH went out and got drunk then he tells me that his mom called him and asked him if she could take Hayley (my 3 month old DD) to Iowa with her for a week, I told him him she was crazy to even consider that, so I am waiting for a big problem to arise from me saying NO, DH's family always loves to make drama. Anyway its Sunday which means laundry day (FUN!)

 

[T16GEM]

good afternoon, well we had pretty nice weather here in chicago this weekend, not to cold. I got a little upset last night because DH went out and got drunk then he tells me that his mom called him and asked him if she could take Hayley (my 3 month old DD) to Iowa with her for a week, I told him him she was crazy to even consider that, so I am waiting for a big problem to arise from me saying NO, DH's family always loves to make drama. Anyway its Sunday which means laundry day (FUN!)

Amy - I don't blame you. Your DD probably wouldn't want to be away from you for a whole week anyway - regardless of who she was with. Family in law are there to cause drama!! Just keep your cool and don't let them get to you.

 

[Alice28]

Gems---hmmm....I'm trying to think back of when I had my first (regarding feeling comfortable leaving him)...DH wasn't too comfortable with a newborn, but he was fine. I worked a split shift at the time- was gone from 6:45AM-8:30AM and then again from 1:30PM til 6PM. DH was always with him in the AM and I was grateful for it- I wasn't worried. Then he went to a babysitter in the PM, and again, not really worried. Of course I missed him, but I knew other people were capable of caring for him besides myself. But I have a lot of friends who felt the way you do. It's just something you will slowly get over.

I am so tired again. Molly and I were up from 1-3AM. She was just so upset...I finally put her in her crib because I was getting soooo frustrated I just wanted to scream curses and run away!!!!!! So I put her in her crib for 10 minutes and whined to DH in an email, took a deep breath and tried consoling her again. Tried nursing, a bottle (she threw it & formula spilled all over my carpet so I had to wipe it up cause nothing stinks worse than milk product rotting), tylenol, decongestant, ambesol....rocking, singing, patting....she just got more and more po'ed. So guess what I did....found a bottle of rum in the cupboard, poured the tiniest amount in a shallow bowl, stuck my finger in it and rubber it on her sore gums. She fell asleep 15 minutes later. I don't know if it was just a coincidence, but I always remember my gramma saying to rub bourbon on a baby's sore gums when they're teething.

I took her to the doctor this morning and she has the beginning's of an ear infection, so he prescribed antibiotic. Her first sick. I'm exhausted. I'm going to go lay down I think. AND she's over 21#!!!!!!!

The train thing was ok- nothing I would do again necessarily for the price it was. But it was fun. I think I'm over Disney-fied. If something just doesn't WOW me, I think it's lame. But it just didn't quite gel-the speakers were staticky to hear the story....we couldn't see a thing outside the train....the North Pole turned out to be a lumber yard with lights strung everywhere and Santa did board the train but since we were in the caboose, it was a LONG time til we saw him (we got very tired of singing caroles). And being in the caboose was kind of a rip- all the other train cars were very pretty and ornate on the inside (made circa 1910)...the caboose was made in 1948- quite stark and boring post WW2 era plain. Oh well...the boys thought it was exciting to be in the caboose and that's all that really mattered.

I'm off to rest.....

 

[emmoms]

throw

 

[T16GEM]

Alice - thanks I think it's just me being over protective , I know deep down that she is fine and I will get over it probably when she is a bit bigger - DH isn't comfortable with new borns, this is his first experience as nobody in his family has had a new baby whereas I have 7 neices and nephews that I have been with since they were newborn, he is getting there though and hes the best dad!

Well winter is here in the UK!! In Birmingham (about 150 miles from London) the weather is foggy and cold, we have had freezing temps for the last week and they are talking about snow at the end of the week!! Shelby and I are staying in the warm today - my mom is coming round for lunch in a minute so that will be nice.

It's been a hectic morning DH's car is broken so I had to organise for the repair guy to come and then a neighbour came to offer us her car if we needed it or if we needed to go anywhere that she would take us, she is so sweet, she is about 75 years old and lost her husband at the beginning of this year each week she brings us her newspapers over and she bought Shelby some lovely gifts when she was born, the most useful that she could have actually ......Pampers and wipes!!

I'm just going to finish typing this then I'm off to make the bottles and hang up the laundry! Oh life as a mom! It's fab!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

I think I'm pretty easygoing when it comes to leaving DS. I left him with my parents as early as a couple weeks and overnight with them at maybe 2 months.

My family plays a Christmas gift exchange game. I'm sure it's called something, but I don't know what. We all buy a $25 gift and draw numbers to choose which gift we want. The first person picks from all the gifts and unwraps it, the second person can choose the first person's gift or from the pile, the third can choose from the first two open gifts or the pile, and so on. We are all adults or teenagers so everyone plays. Lucas and my sister's boys are the only babies so we don't have to worry about buying for any kids besides each other's which we would do anyway. Other than that, we buy for our parents, my grandmother, my sister & BIL, and DH's sister and her fiance.

Alice28 - Hope Molly is feeling better.
Joats - Glad Jace is feeling better.
T16GEM - Hope your household is feeling better also!
Justhat - Welcome back! Glad you had a nice trip.

We had Lucas's pictures done at Target this weekend. I think they came out really well. He was in a good mood and really liked the photographer. The only thing I didn't care for were a few shots where she had him sitting up (propped up by DH). He can't sit up on his own yet so he looks kind of slumped over. The cutest ones were on his tummy anyway, so it wasn't too big a deal.

I should be mailing out my exchange package tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

 

[justhat]

GEM, hmm, I think I was pretty easygoing leaving Madison as a baby. I think it's much harder for me to leave her now in a way. As an infant I knew that as long as there was someone there to hold her, change her, etc. then she was okay, but now it's more of an "I need Mommy and only Mommy will do" phase so that makes it tougher. I mean I still know she'll be fine, otherwise I wouldn't drop her off at school everyday, but she definitely knows she's being left and isn't always thrilled about it.

With that said though, I could count the number of times I left her with anyone (including my husband) as an infant (or sadly even now!). All of those times were with our family or my husband, and then once in Flounder's Reef on the Disney cruise ship when she was 3.5 months old. The main reason for that though is that we don't live near any family members and all of our friends I trust have 2 or 3 young kids of their own so it wouldn't really be fair to ask them to watch another young one while we go out. There was some talk about a kid swap among our group where you'd take one weekend night a month to watch everyone's kids-that way you'd get 3 weekends free each month and we wouldn't have to pay for childcare. The problem we had was that we live in a super small place, so if we had 8 kids plus Madison it would be very tight in here, not to mention that if it happens to be a night my husband is on call then I'd be alone with 9 kids under the age of 6. Not that he'd be a huge help anyway, but the extra set of hands would be good. That was a problem for everyone since their husbands are all in school with mine so I think that kinda scared the idea away. Oh well, maybe one day I'll meet someone who babysits (a huge problem here in DC where everyone has a nanny).

Joats, glad to hear that Jace is on his way to recovery. I forgot to mention to you earlier that Madison had a reaction to the amoxicillin when she had an ear infection too. Not as bad as Jace, but she got a rash all over.

Tamie, I hope you guys get an answer to what's causing Tyler's rash soon. It must be so hard to watch him be itchy all the time and not know what's causing it. Poor little guy, hopefully he'll feel better soon!

 

[justhat]

Okay, I have a strange question that hopefully some of you with older kids will have an answer too. Last year I bought Madison this red plaid pjs for Christmas this year. They're from the Disney Store and have Mickey and Minnie on them. They're sort of a light flannel-y material. Well a couple of weeks ago I washed them and put them in her dresser and everytime I've tried to put them on her she's screams "no no" and starts to cry. So obviously I'm not going to force her to wear them so I just put them back in the dresser and get another pair of pjs and she's always fine with whatever else I pick out. She has never reacted like that to any clothing so it's kinda weird to me, but have any of your kids ever just not liked an outfit? I really can't figure it out as she likes characters and wears other clothing with them on it, she also wears other red items, and has worn other flannel items. She's never even gotten to the point of wearing these pjs so it's not that she knows they're not comfortable or something. It's just bizarre to me!

 

[DisneyPhD]

Okay, I have a strange question that hopefully some of you with older kids will have an answer too. Last year I bought Madison this red plaid pjs for Christmas this year. They're from the Disney Store and have Mickey and Minnie on them. They're sort of a light flannel-y material. Well a couple of weeks ago I washed them and put them in her dresser and everytime I've tried to put them on her she's screams "no no" and starts to cry. So obviously I'm not going to force her to wear them so I just put them back in the dresser and get another pair of pjs and she's always fine with whatever else I pick out. She has never reacted like that to any clothing so it's kinda weird to me, but have any of your kids ever just not liked an outfit? I really can't figure it out as she likes characters and wears other clothing with them on it, she also wears other red items, and has worn other flannel items. She's never even gotten to the point of wearing these pjs so it's not that she knows they're not comfortable or something. It's just bizarre to me!

Anna did the same thing, about that age. For no apparent reason. Infact later when they were a little too small she would wear them.

Lily hasn't gone through that phase yet. So I think most of the babies on here hasn't yet either. Looking forward to that one (not!)

 

[vald1977]

Gems,
I had a very hard time leaving my DS with anyone. I think the reason was that he was such a high maintenence baby that I knew no one else would have the patience I did with him. The thought that someone would be frustrated with him made me sad if that makes sense?? I hate to tell you but it wasn't until he was about 4 that I felt more comfortable leaving him and I still don't like to leave him overnight. The only sitter we have is my MIL and a handful of times one of DH's brothers. We don't go out often but the times we do go, I make sure that I make myself go and have fun. It's important for me and my kids to have time away I think. Now with Katie, I am much more comfortable leaving her because she is such an easy baby. Once she starts moving around and getting into things I'm sure I'll be nervous again as I have a thing about nobody watching them as closely as I do !

Justthat,
My DS certainly has preferences about his clothing but I can't remember him having them that young. Maybe that pj has an itchy tag in the back or something?

SL,
I'm glad you got some good photos . At JC Penney, they had this hard plastic seat for the baby to sit in and then they covered it with fabric. That worked really well.

Joats,
Ugh! 4.5 hours in the car with a baby who is having ear problems doesn't sound fun. Sending some that all goes well.

Robin,
I'm so sorry you had such a rough night with Molly. I hope that the meds will help her sleep better tonight. We have a train thing sort of similar here but I haven't done it before. It's $20 for adults and $15 for kids so pretty pricey, imo. I hadn't even thought about the fact that you wouldn't be able to see anything out the train windows since it's at night time! I was thinking of maybe doing it next year but after your report I don't know. Like you said I think I'm jaded by Disney. It takes a lot to impress me now ... .

Tamie,
Good luck with trying some new foods .



I have to tell you all I'm excited to read about what you all get for your exchanges . I couldn't participate but I wish I could have. Maybe next time around.

I had DH get up this morning with Katie since she was up all night. When I got up a few hours later, I noticed he had her high chair booster seat out (we just bought one of those instead of a high chair since we have no room for a high chair in our dining room). He tried giving her cereal . He said it didn't go too well. I guess she's just not ready. He also had her all dressed which I found cute since he never picks out her clothes. He will dress her if I lay something out for him but that's it.

We went to my friend's daughter's baptism yesterday. It was really nice and got me thinking we need to get on the ball and baptise Katrina. I'm Catholic because I was baptised but I am not a practicing Catholic. I actually have quite a few moral issues with the church so for awhile I was debating having her christianed at all. We had DS baptised when he was born though so I think we should have his sister baptised as well.

Well, I guess I need to go and clean the kitchen. Dh also made breakfast this morning. I guess he is feeling better . Unfortunately he made a huge mess so I need to go and take care of it.

Have a good day everyone !

 

[llij]

Hello Ladies!

This thread moves way too fast for me to keep up! I just wanted to pop in and say "Hi!" I finally feel normal again and am up and running around. The girls and my DH are glad to have "Mom" back.

Justhat - Welcome back from Hawaii! I don't live too far from DC and I was actually hoping to go to the DIS meet yesterday, but I'm trying not to overdo it so soon after the baby. I hope the meet went well and I will definitely go to another one. That is great that your DH did a rotation at Fairfax Hospital. They are great there! I have a good friend who is a nurse at Fairfax. I had my baby at Reston Hospital and they were great too!

About the clothes thing....when my dd's were little they would get particular about some clothes. If something felt a little funny to them then that outfit was "out". They are fine now, but then they pick out their clothes. I love little girl clothes, but once they get up to size 7 then the clothes are all very adult looking. Eeek! It's too bad that my girls have outgrown Gymboree b/c they are great clothes. My oldest loves Limited Too now. I'm not a huge fan of them. Anyways, I digress......

Gems - I hope that you are feeling better! John Paul is my third baby and I still feel funny about leaving my young baby with someone. I don't know why, but I do. It does get easier when they get bigger to leave them.

Alice28 - I hope Molly feels better soon so you can get some rest! My oldest dd had chronic ear infections. We had many sleepless nights b/c of them. Thankfully, she ended up with tubes and that was the end of the ear infections. (At least the end of them when the tubes were in. She is 9 now and is getting over an ear infection.)

2sweetangels - Good luck with your in-laws. I hope that it all works out without too much drama. I don't blame you for not wanting your little one away from you for a week. to you!

Joats - I hope that Jace is all better!

Minnesota - Good luck TTC. I know how you feel about not wanting to be heartbroken again. I had a lot of m/c and everytime we got pregnant it was like I was constantly on pins and needles. I'll say some prayers for you that everything works out well!

Zalansky - Good luck with whatever happens with the gift exchange with your family. My DH and I decided this year to stop exchanging with siblings and kids. It was just too crazy and the kids don't really need anything. I think everyone is ok with it, but then again, they might not tell me if they are mad.

Lisawynn - I hope that you are feeling better soon!

Valerie - I hope that your DH is all better now!

John Paul had another weight check last Friday and he is finally up to 6 lbs. Yea! He is on high calorie formula to help him "chunk up." Newborn clothes still swim on him though. So far he is a great baby. He loves to be held all the time though which makes getting work done around the house a little tough. Once he is big enough, I'll definitely be pulling out the Baby Bjorn.

I'm sorry if I missed anyone! Everyone have a great Thanksgiving!

 

[lissawynn]

Hi everyone. Today is my last sick day at home. I decided I wasn't going to head back to school until I was pretty much back to normal. I just don't want to be tired the rest of this week. My dad took Jimmy this morning, so I got to sleep extra long. I feel better, but I'm still really congested for some reason.

Wait until I tell you all about the gift exchange fiasco! On Saturday night, DH was taking Jimmy to his parents for a visit. His youngest sister was home from RI and they were having b-day cake for her since we won't be seeing her for Turkey Day or Christmas. Anyway, another of his sisters calls to make sure he's coming and says that they're picking names for the gift exchange. So I'm kind of wondering if his mom didn't tell his sisters we weren't doing that this year. I asked her if her mom had told her we weren't participating this year. DEAD SILENCE on the other end of the phone. So I tried to explain that we had told his mom TWICE that we just wanted to buy for the kids this year. Again, akward silence.
So DH takes Jimmy to visit and I took nightime cold medicine and curled up to watch Harry Potter. When DH gets home he tells me he picked names anyway! I can't tell you how angry I was with him (and his mother). I tried to explain to him that his mom really doens't respect any of the decisions we (I) make, and that I really don't want to participate. If his sisters feel they need to buy their brother a gift, fine. I don't want anyone to feel obligated to do the same for me. As it so happens, I "picked" DH's name and he got one of his sisters. He asked me if I would help him buy her gift, and I told him no. He got suckered into this, he can figure out what to get for her. I can't wait for Thanksgiving so I can feel super uncomfortable around his family.

Alice28 - Sorry to hear the train ride wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I went on a 3 hour train ride once to see the fall foliage, and I never want to do it again.

Val - Good to hear your DH is feeling better. I love when DH cooks and I have to clean up after him.

Gems - I think the first time we left Jimmy was when he was about 8 weeks old and we helped our friends move. He was with my mom, but I was just a little nervous. He's such an easy going kid that he's pretty much happy whereever he is.

I'm taking Jimmy for his 9 mo. check-up this afternoon. I think he's getting 4 shots, so he won't be the happiest of babies when we're done.

 

[T16GEM]

I ordered the gifts for my exchange yesterday - I have to have them delivered to me and then I will forward them on as the store that I got them from doesn't ship to the US. I am looking forward to seeing if my exchangee likes them!

lissawynn - Let us know how you get on with Jimmy's check up. sending Pixie dust to the little one so that his shots don't upset him too much.

lliJ- I'm glad you are feeling better - it sure takes a lot out of you doesn't - good news that John Paul is gaining weight. What weight was he when he was born?

 

[cabmom]

Hi everyone!

Dean Alan Ross was born on November 14th at 10:06pm weighing 8 lbs 2oz, 21 inches long.

We've had quite a week getting to learn the best latching technique for him. It's been stressful to say the least. The midwives have been coming everyday to weigh him. He lost one lb over the week, but is on the upswing again! I did supplement him to help him out and that seemed to work. My milk has now come in as well.

When I have some more time I'll read back and try and get familiar with everyone. I do know a few of you who most recently had babies from the mommies to be thread.

Best to everyone!

Marilynn

 

[J&D]

Congratulations, Marilynn! Dean is a cutie! Welcome to the New Mom Thread!

 

[tkyes]

Welcome Cabmom and baby Dean. He's just adorable!! I'm happy to hear that he is gaining weight!

lisawynn - Sorry to hear about the gift exchange. No fun. Good luck with Jimmy's checkup. Glad you are feeling better.

Gems - we left Tyler with my parents pretty early since we had show tickets that we purchased before I was pregnant. He sleeps over at the grandma's house a couple of times a month I would say. It's tough, but it gets easier and it's so nice to have some time away. My personal opinion is that I want him used to other people so when we do have a wedding or something to go to when he's older, or want to go out of town, he'll be more comfortable with it.

lilij - That's great that John Paul is gaining weight and doing so well!


I did a little photo session in my kitchen this morning for Tyler's Christmas pictures. Two of the three that I am going to use for my card are in my signature. Now I just need to go the paper store and buy my paper!

Tamie

 

[J&D]

Those are great pictures, Tamie. They look like they were taken by a professional.

 

[llij]

Congratulations, Cabmom! Dean is a cutie!!

Gems - John Paul was 5 lbs. 6 oz. at birth which is actually a great size for a baby that was a month early. He would have been huge if he went full term.

Tykes - I love the pictures of Tyler! Those pictures look professional!

Lisawynn - I'm sorry to hear that the gift exchange with your in-laws didn't go as you had hoped.

 

[justhat]

Welcome Marilynn and baby Dean! Your other little boys look very happy to have a new little brother. Good to hear that he's gaining weight again too. Madison lost a pound after she was born and we supplemented too and it was a great thing for her.

Tamie, those photos are gorgeous. Do you have any experience in photography, or is it just a natural talent. I try very hard to take good, creative photos, but very rarely have any success, so send some of your skills this way!

I'll be attempting the Christmas photo sometime over the Thanksgiving break while we're in Phoenix. I thought a nice sunny photo would brighten up the cold, rainy atmosphere we've got here. We'll see how it goes.

Llij, we would have loved to have ou at the meet, but I totally understand your skipping out. No way would I have made it to a meet so soon after Madison was born, and I didn't have a c-section or any complications. Glad to hear that John Paul is up to 6 pounds already though-that's great for him!

Lissawynn, I would have been so annoyed if my husband drew names for the exchange like yours did. At least you only have 2 names though, my husband's family gives us 3 names cause Madison gets one too, and last year she was just about Jimmy's age now at Christmas. So clearly she had no say in the gift, nor did she care to get one of her own, just meant 1 more for us to buy.