The Official New Mom Thread

[Alice28]

I may have mentioned this before, but I'll be a shopping enabler again. I read somewhere that Stride Rite shoes is having a buy one get one half off sale this week (starts the 27th). Now, if I only had Molly I highly doubt I would be going because I think babies do perfectly fine in socks or soft booties and don't need shoes (although I did see some cute Mary Jane soft crawlers..... ). But I do plan on buying 2 pairs each for the boys as I think Stride Rites are totally worth the extra $$$.....I swear to you know who, every time I try and be a "savvy" shopper and get them shoes at Target, Sears or Payless, the shoes fall apart long before they are outgrown.

Just a head's up.

 

[justhat]

DisneyPhD, I did everything 'right' with Madison in terms of sleeping too and she's still a horrible sleeper. She stopped night nursing about 2 weeks ago (day weaned herself around 11 months) but still wakes up every night at least twice. Oh well, one day she'll sleep!

Alice28, thanks for the heads up on the Stride Rite sale. I was just thinking about going there Monday, but I'll wait a few more days now. I bought Madison new sneakers 2 weeks ago, but she needs a new dress shoe (very important since we're having a 60th birthday party for my mom in Sept.) and a casual-type shoe. I might even spring for another sandal too if the sale is good. She fits in the ones she has now, or so it appears by looking at them, but they're a 5W and according to Stride Rite last week when we got the sneakers she wears a 6W. She seems to get decent use out of each pair so I don't mind spending the money on them either. And I completely agree that their shoes are great. I got Madison some really cute shoes at Target a few months ago, but they hardly bent at all, so not great for a new walker.

Question for moms of more than one kid though, do you save shoes for the next kid? I had planned on doing that since I keep Madison's shoes very clean and she only wears each pair for a couple of months before she outgrows them, but then someone told me you shouldn't 'recycle' shoes cause they wear down to your foot and it can damage another kid to wear them.

In other shopping news, I used my 6 Gymbucks and $25 enrollment bonus from the Gymbo Visa today. I ended up paying $155 for $365 worth of stuff! Madison got some of the Aloha Wahine line for next summer (and one outfit from it for our trip to Hawaii in November, which I also got some Little Keiki stuff for in May) and some fall stuff-practically all of the petting zoo line, and some stuff from Best in Show, It's a Girl Thing, and Romantic Garden. I couldn't buy everything I wanted so I'll have to wait till it goes on sale cause I too have spent way too much on Madison's clothing in the past couple of months. I'm really not that bad though, I tend to buy all at once then not again for a long time, and I buy her lots of stuff at Target too so that keeps the costs down.

 

[Alice28]

I did not let Josh wear Sam's shoes....for pre-walker shoes I don't see a problem, but I was worried that for the walker shoes that they may be uncomfortable for him because they would have Sam's foot mold in them, KWIM?

Sounds like you made out well at Gymboree! I have a lot of Little Keiki and Aloha Wahini for next year too! And of course a lot of the PZ for this fall. Fun! I don't plan on buying anything else until a Fishing line for boys I heard is rumored for late August....since Grandpa is an avid fisherman, I think the grandson's need a shirt or two to be grandpa's boys.

I like the new pics Justhat!

 

[gwcollins71]

DisPhD --

That is a hoot!! When I came onto the new moms board I read one of your posts where you were talking about your youngest. Before Lily came along we didn't know anyone named Lillian except for hubby's great aunt who she's named after. Suddenly, there are Lily's all over the place.

There was a little girl in our subdivision born 2 days after Lily who was also named Lillian Grace. What stinks is they will be in the same class at the same school together... Too wierd. One of the things I liked about the name was that it was "normal." People have heard of the name and could pronounce it and spell it right. However, no one seemed to have the name that we knew. Now I'm finding out more and more people have the name than I thought.

Gretchen

P.S. We call her Lily Pie too. I'm wondering if its subconsious because of the counter though.

 

[gwcollins71]

Everyone,

Thanks so much for your help with the "crying it out" question. Now I feel awful that I let her cry that whole time. I laid on the floor by her crib the whole time crying myself.

We moved the rocker from the nursery to my room so I'm at least in a state of half sleep when I'm feeding her at night. I don't wake up too much. Rocking with her seems to help her fall back asleep faster and I'm all for that.

I'm glad that it seems to be normal for her to be awake all evening. I couldn't figure out why this was happening. I have a sling and a snugli. I have been using both so I could get stuff done around the house. She loves the sling but isnt so sure about the snugli.

Anyway, I hope everyone and their families are doing well and that everyone's weekends were great.

Gretchen

 

[DisneyPhD]

When we named Lily the only one we knew was my hubby's parents neighbor (an older lady he knew all his life) Since naming her Lily's have popped up all over. We call her Lily pie so much I find myself calling her "Pie-pie" Her big siter called her Lily-cream-pie the other day! We also call her little lil and Lily-my.

As far as shoes goes, I started a thread about how I bought my older DD a pair of crocs and it is all she will wear now. They are really cute, but cost as much as my adult size. She LOVES them.

Lily's feet are so small she doesn't fit in shoes, execpt those leather Robee ones. (even then size 0 to 6 months.) They are short and fat (her feet that is.) I have let her big sister wear her older cousins old shoes. If they are in good shape I save her old shoes, but mostly the dress ones. The shoes she wears daily are in too bad of shape.

Last night was a bad sleeping night. How can such a sweet cute happy baby during the day turn into such a monster? I swear there is a banshee yelling in her crib in the middle of the night. Then in the morning that sweet child of mine is back. If we let her sleep in bed with us it is much better, but I don't want to get in that habbit. At least we just got a king size bed, so it isn't as bad. She wouldn't sleep in her pack and play at all on vacation, so it was our bed the whole trip. I am detrimined to get her back in her own room now that we are home (or at least the room she shares with big sister.)

 

[ahutton]

On recycling shoes... I did keep some of my first DDs shoes for DD2. The oldest is 5, the other 3. I have tossed the shoes that were worn, but a few times I got shoes that Caitlyn never wore more than twice, those I saved. And things like pool shoes and flip flops too. I have kept a couple pairs here and there of playground shoes, using those for rainy days or muddy stuff. I hate to have either of them wear good shoes in yucky weather.

 

[lissawynn]

Today is Jimmy's 6 month b-day or his half birthday!

gwcollins Jimmy slept in a bassinette next to our bed for the first 3 1/2 months. It was nice b/c if he got fussy in the middle of the night, I would just reach in and calm him down or put his nuk back in his mouth. It was kind of hard for his transition to the crib, though. It took a couple of weeks before he was sleeping soundly for an extended period of time. Btw, Jimmy ALWAYS slept in his bouncy seat during the day. Do whatever works best for your baby and you!

For those of you who have taken a baby to WDW... what did you take that made your trip easier. I am going to begin packing tomorrow and know I will probably forget some stuff. What is a "must take" when travelling with a little guy?

 

[DisneyPhD]

Today is Jimmy's 6 month b-day or his half birthday!

gwcollins Jimmy slept in a bassinette next to our bed for the first 3 1/2 months. It was nice b/c if he got fussy in the middle of the night, I would just reach in and calm him down or put his nuk back in his mouth. It was kind of hard for his transition to the crib, though. It took a couple of weeks before he was sleeping soundly for an extended period of time. Btw, Jimmy ALWAYS slept in his bouncy seat during the day. Do whatever works best for your baby and you!

For those of you who have taken a baby to WDW... what did you take that made your trip easier. I am going to begin packing tomorrow and know I will probably forget some stuff. What is a "must take" when travelling with a little guy?

We took Lily when she was 7 months old, and then again at 9 months. Both are really great ages to take them. She was sitting up and eating some soilds by the 1st trip so that made life much easier. Her big sister when for the 1st time at 8 1/2 months. All such fun ages.

As far as what to bring I wouldn't go with out.

Your own stroller. A good one that folds down nicely, but is comfortable for you and baby.
A rain cover for the stroller
Baby bjiorn. I got a really nice leather one from a friend for only $20 what a steal. Much better then a sunglie since you need to get them in and out easily.
Good sun screen. I am not as sure for babies, but we found the new arosal spray kind (banna boat and copertone) works great and so much eaiser to apply. I didn't use it on baby though, just her sister, us and everyone else.
A few baby toys, they don't sell as much for babies, and what they do you can get cheaper somewhere else.

Lots of blankets for the pack and play to pad it and make it softer, also to drap over to keep light out or so they can't see you. I found the quilted sheet they sell doesn't actually work since it cover the velco to hold it to the frame.

As far as sippy cups goes, I found a new kind NUBBY that works really well, Lily loves them and they don't leak. I might as well toss all others. (she never has taken a bottle well.

2 things I didn't bring but others say is good is.....
If Jimmy is still falling over when he sits for long times bring a boppy to prop him up on the floor (we just got back from vacation with my family and my 7 month old nephew kept falling over.
A blow up little tub for baths. We just get in and hold her, or at least did until a few weeks ago since she is big enough now to do it own her own.

Good luck, next trip Lily Pie will be 18 months old. It will be a very different trip.

 

[vald1977]

Hi everyone!

Happy 1/2 Birthday to Jimmy ! I can't believe he's already six months.

We tried switching Katrina's formula to the Walmart brand but it made her poops really hard (sorry tmi) and the poor little girl screamed in pain every time she had to pass one. So she is back on Similac. Does anyone have any tips on how to save money on the brand name formula? We signed up for their welcome club but I really can't think of any other ways to save.

One more question. Katrina has patches of flakey dry skin on her (mostly on her feet). I've put lotion on her but it hasn't seemed to help. Anything else I can do for it or should I just leave it alone?

 

[DisneyPhD]

I was told to just leave the skin alone and it would get better (by a few doctors, I didn't ask they told me.) It was true. It bugged me much more then it ever did the babbies. With my 2nd child it didn't bother me as much since I knew it didn't bother the baby and I knew that time would take care of it. I almost miss that wrinkly old person skin now. Hers is so smoth and sweet. Time takes care of a lot of things.

 

[copper68]

hi vald..

just leave it alone.. it will clear up on it's on.. some babies get that all over their body.. they just look all scaly.. but, really it will go away..

Leah

 

[vald1977]

Thanks guys. That's what I figured .

 

[peigirl]

Hi Everyone

Sorry it has taken me so long to post but here goes. James Albert (Jimmy) was born on July 4th weighing 7lb 2oz. He is amazing. So good. We were totally shocked that he was a boy.

I am just getting back on my feet. Developed an infection in my cesearean incision so the doctor has a nurse come in every day to clean it. It is taking me so long to recover but then again, I am 10 years older than the last time. lol

I was in the hospital til July 8th. My incision pocket burst on July 13th so I had been in alot of pain til then but did not know why. I also developed anxiety in that I would wake up and hyperventilate but that stopped last week. I was afraid to go to sleep. We also had to put our older dog down because he had cancer. Just seemed like one thing after another but things are looking better.

Hope everyone has been fine. I likely won't get to post too much during the summer as DH takes me to the campground to relax as often as possible.

Paula

 

[castlegazer]

For those of you who have taken a baby to WDW... what did you take that made your trip easier. I am going to begin packing tomorrow and know I will probably forget some stuff. What is a "must take" when travelling with a little guy?

We contaced www.abbf.com - that made our lives three thousand times eaiser. We rented a full sized crib that was delivere to our room and they came back and got it when we checked out. We also rented toys - but my son was more like 1 when we first travelled to WDW. There is also a web site called jet set babies - I think that's it. They provide all the things you need while travelling with babies so you don't have to lug so many diapers in your suitcases. We went to the grocery store when we were down there to get this stuff instead of using them, but by calling them you don't have to make a special trip.

I packed small containers and used them throughout the trip to fill with little foods from either restaurant leftovers or food from the grocery store for in the park snacks.

We fell in love with and now can't stop using Babie Blanket Sun Blankies - they are big moist towlettes of sun screen. It is an awesome way to put on the sun screen with out weeping a gnashing of teeth. They also make really wonderful sunglasses that wrap around the baby's head with a strap - like sports glasses do.

Those were the truly essential things we did - in addition to the sun shade idea I gave a few pages back for the stroller.

 

[lissawynn]

Val - I've been using the Wal-Mart brand formula since Jimmy was a few weeks old. We've never had a problem with his stool being too hard. If the formula is comparable to Enfamil, I can't justify the extra $$$. The Wal-Mart stuff costs less than $15 for several more ounces than the Enfamil.

Congratulations Paula and welcome to Jimmy!

The packing for WDW will begin today. I'm going downstairs right now to get the washer all fired up.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Lissawynn - happy half birthday to Jimmy!

Peigirl - congratulations to you and Jimmy!

I love the name Jimmy - If I didn't have an uncle Jimmy, Lucas may not have been a Lucas.

Vald - Lucas's skin was flaking all over for a little while too. I ended up using Eucerin cream to help. It wasn't bothering him, but it was bothering me - it just felt so dry. It was flaking on his face and head too (I didn't put any lotion on him there) and it cleared up on its own.

 

[J&D]

I have fallen behind again. Will need to catch up later.

lil mermaid- I see that you are from The Woodlands. My DD was born at St. Luke's. I am from Willis. We are practically neighbors. Just wondering- do you belong to any of the MOPS groups in that area? I am looking for a local group to join.

 

[justhat]

Congrats on baby Jimmy, Paula!!

And Happy 1/2 Birthday to Jimmy, Lissawynn. Madison was in DL for her 1/2 birthday and my mom bought her this Pooh Bear with a birthday hat and cake and it plays Happy Birthday when you squeeze the cake. She loved it!

Thanks Alice28 about the new photos. Madison had lots of fun at the beach.

Madison just got up from her nap so I need to go play with her. She does not do too well when Mommy is on the computer, cause she likes to play on the keyboard too!

 

[joats]

It's been too many days since I last checked in.

justhat: love your new pics of Madison!

Gretchen: I went thru the same fussy period with Jace. For us the crankiness was his vitamins making him extra gassy - so we stopped them. But as far as the sleeping - Alice28 suggested swaddling. Since we started swaddling at every nap/sleep he's been doing really well. I'm happy to report that he slept of 8 hours (YES, 8!!) on saturday night. I think it was a fluke, but he's starting to get into a routine of 4-6 hours at a time at night now. I think it's just that he's getting older and that the swaddling works.

Lissawyn: Happy Belated 6 mos bday to Jimmy!

Paula: Congratulations to you! I'm so glad to see your post - I was wondering how things went for you. Sorry it is/was so rough for you but glad to hear about Jimmy. Hang in there.

I am so jealous of all of you going to/coming back from WDW! Sadly, I don't think our next trip will be until Fall 2007...I don't know if I am going to make it! I stopped in the Disney Store today at the mall for a withdrawal fix - somehow, it's just not the same. LOL!