35+ TTC 1st Graduates!!! Come on Over!

[Junebug_CJ]

Carole I'm so happy to hear your news You must feel soooo relieved!!!

Jules that necklace is stunning!!!! Happy birthday!!! LOL I had the same thought as MA, very reminiscent of the romantic necklace from "The Titanic"!

Viv sounds like you have som much on the go, I don't know how you do it!

I just want to add my experience with reflux. Zoë had it very severe (no weight gain for almost 2 months because she was vomiting everything). We added Prevacid as her prescription med when she was about 2.5 months old. I continued on breast feeding without a problem, and with the medication plus holding her up for 30-40 minutes after each feed, things got better in less than one week. This is the ONE issue I truly hope little Z doesn't have, as it lead to really long night time feeds and a very exhausted mommy. But I would do it all over again if he does. I have a bit of left over Prevacid since Zoë took it until 12 months of age, ready to go just in case!!!

Angela, thinking of you and !!! Keep us posted!

I had my 32 week apt yesterday with BPP, 8/8, and estimated weight is already 4lbs That's at the 50th for a mommy who's at the 5th for final adult weight. Most interestingly, it seems the blood in my urine has cleared up. Of course now the urologist is calling to book an apt with me (I have been waiting to see him for 6 weeks). Next apt is March 20th at 34 weeks, then another at 36 weeks, and 38 weeks, then the C-section. I can't believe how fast it went!!!

 

[newmarriedgal]

Hi Ladies,

Poppy is swaddled and laying in the playpen chilling out.....giving mommy a break!

Thank you to all who replied about the reflux....so comforting to know it's not just me. We had a meltdown last night, both of us, but are doing better today. The ped appt:
Poppy is a healthy 9lbs 14 oz...quite a chunk! And 22 1/2" long. So he is definitely gaining weight, and having enough wet diapers, but after we told the doc everything, from the arching, coughing, discomfort he is constantly in, he did end up putting him on zantac to see how that will go. phew. I was afraid I would be told it is normal and to tough it out. But the doc said that even though he is gaining weight, there is no need for him or us to be miserable and it would only be for a short time. So it is 2x a day (1ml). We started last night and we will see. We have to follow up with the doc in a week or two to tell him if it is helping. Pray God it will. He slept fantastic last night, only woke to feed at midnight, 4 and 7:45! Charlie, bless him, used a bottle of my expressed milk and fed him at 4 so I could sleep straight through. I woke up on my own about 7:30 and had to pump some off before the next feeding as I was sooooo engorged I was leaking and in pain, but the sleep was worth it! Pumped 4 oz from one side alone....Thankfully the doc was on board with it as I told him we keep him upright for 30-45 mins after every feeding and at night, changing the diaper, feeding, then the quiet upright time takes about an hour and 15 mins at the least, then we put him down (spits up, of course) and then he is ready to feed in 45 mins as he eats every 2 hours! I hope the zantac works!

MA - the doc mentioned that formula as a last resort - to be covered by insurance, I would have to go off dairy for 2 weeks to see if Poppy had a milk allergy to anything I was eating....because he isn't showing any other issue that would normally get it covered: such as no weight gain, bloody stools and other things I can't remember! And obviously the ped wants moms to continue bf'ing, but honestly, while I would miss the closeness, I wouldn't mind too much, we could still snuggle while formula feeding (since we have done the bottle with expressed milk a few times). One one side, Poppy literally ATTACKS my nipple like a pitbull with a chewtoy, (really, it's kinda funny, his little head goes crazy from side to side trying to latch on - painful at times so I have to re-adjust him, but funny)....we call him the velociraptor as you would think he hadn't fed in 3 days rather than 2 hours! (or every hour like last night when we were having a meltdown). Of course after he attacks, the letdown starts and I get a stream of milk that hits him in his face until I can get him to latch properly....then he just lays there not sucking, letting the milk fill his little mouth before he swallows...such a lazy man already!

CJ - I feel so bad for Zoe! Thankfully, I don't have the weight issue or I'd probably be in tears everyday! Here's hoping little Z is not the same!!! Well, you can call me in the middle of the night to chat, since we both will be up anyways!

Nikki - happy birthday to you!!!!!

I went to the OB for the weekly check on the incision...still gaping but slowly closing. Few more weeks of packing it they said. sigh. Poor Charlie has to come with me each time as while they said I could drive, they said not to pick up Poppy in the carseat yet, so what's the point of driving if I can't go with him? Charlie has to either stay home and I drive myself or just take us both. We like about 3 mins away from the dr, so he just comes. But Charlie is getting better regarding me and not making me feel so insecure so hopefully I got through to him, or he's afraid of saying it lest I bite his head off again....

Poppy is stirring, must dash off....hope everyone is doing well. Sending

beth

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Awww great news Beth, your doc sounds amazing!!! Yup, it makes for long feeding sessions, the nursing when Z was so young would take about 45 minutes, then holding upright, then catching 30-40 minutes of zzzzz's until the next feed I sympathize!!! It WILL get better! Great weight gain Charlie!!!

 

[animalcracker]

Hi ladies!

How is everyone doing? I am absolutely exhausted LOL. Tony and I take turns on night duty with Gabriella and - isn't it funny - she sleeps through the night when it's his turn, but with me, she is a cranky little fuss pot!

I think she might have a little cold though - her nose seems stuffy and she's grunting a little here and there - I've pushed up our pediatrician's appointment from Friday to tomorrow morning. While I am at the pediatrician, I'm going to mention the hiccups again. A few times she's been sound asleep in my arms and will wake up crying with the hiccups, especially after eating, and her face goes all red. I feel so bad for her

Beth, when I was BF'ing Gabriella, she would do the same as Poppy - shake her head from side to side frantically trying to find the nipple and then attack it like a pitbull! LOL

Rebekah - like you, I feel very guilty about moving to formula. I tried pumping again today and I got a measly half an ounce. It's so depressing. I've been drinking red raspberry leaf tea to try and up the milk production, but no luck so far.

She's definitely gaining weight and filling out her clothes more now though - I can't wait to hear what she weighs tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if she weighs in at around 8lbs at this point.

Ok ladies, I am off to make some dinner - I started my diet yesterday as I have 50lbs of baby weight to lose! Gabriella's Christening is locked in for Sunday, August 5th in Newport, RI which is the same weekend as our wedding anniversary. (We got married in Newport also) so we're going to spend 4 days there and have a mini vacation. I really want to drop 30lbs by then, so I need to stick to the plan! I'm not ready to work out yet as I'm still a little sore, but I'll incorporate exercise in about another 2 weeks. Wish me luck LOL

Love to all!!

 

[Nikki Leigh]

For those BF'ing--has anyone tried coconut oil? I understand it can help with milk production. It's become an all-purpose ingredient in our household (we use it for oiling our skin, I eat it in place of butter sometimes, etc.). Just wondering if anyone had used it successfully to get more milk production.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Everything is going great. It's sort of a bummer that I can't announce my best birthday gift until after the NT results next Monday, but that's OK.

 

[animalcracker]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI!​

 

[Junebug_CJ]

When I went back to work after 7 months and was pumping 4 times daily to provide Zoë with sufficient breast milk, I used this:
https://evymama.ca/collections/incr...ove-more-milk-plus-alcohol-free-4-oz-tincture
Worked great for me!!!

Interesting Nikki, I never had heard that coconut oil can boost milk supply. We use it as a basic staple in our house, we've cut out all chemicals including commercial shampoos and conditioner and are a no'pooing household (use baking soda, apple cider vinegar to wash hair, coconut oil as conditioner). I'll definitely look that up!!! Happy birthday to you!

 

[pablo797]

Evening ladies!! Sorry I've been out of the loop. So the flu bug that hit the baby hit the rest of the family last weekend. DH got it Friday and I got hit Saturday. Saturday night I nearly crawled to the lichen to make bottles as I was so nauseous!! It was horrible!! Happy to say we are all on the mend.

MA, in answer to several of your questions... Most babies hat tummy time. And Amelia sounds like a typical baby with a short attention span. For the most part a long attention span is learned so give her time I do not think she has ADD. Jo is exactly the same. As for exercise, still snowing here. I take her on walks in the bjorn, in the stroller is no snow on streets, or sometimes cross country skiing. I have a Chariot, a sled like thing with skis I can drag behind me on a ski. She loves it and it's totally covered in plastic so she stays warm. We also go to the rec center and go swimming, but she only lasts about 15-20min before she's cold or over it. I want to start running with her outside soon. Just signed up for a 5K in may. Has anyone ever done a color run???

Animal and Nikki Happy birthday!!!!

Vivienne!!! So good to hear from you. Glad Cal is doing so well!!! We're you the one who asked about baby food?? Sorry I usually take notes. I have a baby food book I was going to tell Steph about. It's called Top 100 Baby Food Recipes". By Christine bailey. Bronson of recipes and I really like that it breaks down the stages of development and what babies should be eating at what age so you don't feed them anything they can't handle. So far Jo loves everything. Her favorites are pears and parsnips and apple sauce with spirulina. Just an idea.

Animal beautiful necklace!!!

Beth, hang in there sister. I just have to give my two cents here. About the reflux which I know all too well. My DH kept blamingy breasting for everything. Turns out reflux had nothing to do with it and in the end it caused huge issues with my production at a time when Jo needed it most. Truth is you can read a ton of research out there that says what the mother does or doesn't eat affects reflux, and you can read a ton of research that says what you eat has no proven effect. My advice, try a few dietary changes but don't beat yourself up or blame yourself. Your breast milk is the best thing for him right now so don't give up on it unless you absolutely have to. I too found relief from prevacid like CJ did and could keep breast feeding. Good luck!!!

Carole!!! I am so glad everything worked out!!!! I wonder if some docs realize what they can put us through??? Hope the rest is smooth sailing.

Ok I think that's everyone. Bi'm sure I forgot someone, sorry. Sleep deprivation getting to me. Jo hasn't slept well in months really. I am at whits end and going to try some cry it out tonight. On a sad note and just to get it off my chest I am worried that my marriage is over. We are broken and I don't know how to fix us. I am going to try a counselor but am doubtful DH will agree to go. Perhaps it will help in the mean time trying to see myself as a single mother at 40 with a 6 month old baby. Too sad really to think about but may ver well be my reality.

Ahhhh life. So sorry to end in a bummer you all seem to have such wonderful DHs. Count your blessings.

Ok sleep well and wish me luck with sleep training.

Anna.

 

[rottpaw]

Super quick post girls and I am sonsorry, I know I promised a proper update this weekend and then i came down with Ethan's cold and have been dragging through the days since. Topped off with trying to prepare for his party this weekend and I'm running on empty yet still with such a crazy to do list.

But truly I will update and respond in more detail shortly, just wanted to say ANNA - I am SO sorry to hear of what is happening with you and your dh. I had no idea and will keep you guys in my prayers! The first year after a baby can be a huge obstacle for many marriages and I pray you guys can get everything worked out. I am so sorry honey and you vent away here anytime you need to! Hugs, hugs, hugs!

hugs and love to all ladies and promise, I will update better soon.

 

[animalcracker]

Oh Anna - I am so sorry to hear about your marriage. I really do hope that your husband will agree to counselling and that things work out. If you don't mind me asking - do you feel that having a baby added stress to your marriage and/or caused it to 'break?' I know a few women this has happened to, as having a child can sometimes be a HUGE strain to some couples. Especially if baby is a little fussy and doesn't sleep well. You guys are in my thoughts and I really hope things get better. Hang in there honey.

Nikki - I haven't heard about coconut oil helping with BF'ing? I am willing to try it though - I'll try anything! JuneBug - Motherlove sounds interesting too - I have their nipple ointment which really helped me when I first started BF'ing and got chapped nipples. I've also heard that Fenugreek can help too which is one of the ingredients in the Motherlove product. I'm going to put an order in for some.

So we took 'Ella to the Dr. today. She doesn't have a cold apparently and checked out fine. She is now up to 7lbs 9oz, but to our complete surprise, the Dr. said her weight gain was on the low side.

She did say her weight gain thus far isn't terrible, but that she could be gaining more. She wants to see us in another 2 weeks for another check up. She said to ensure Ella gets approx. 20 oz a day.

I have been tracking 'Ella's feedings since she was born (using an iPhone app) and following the appointment, checked back on past logs. She already is on 20oz + a day! Actually, the other day she had 30 oz in 24 hours!! The child eats like a horse, so we were a bit perplexed to hear she should have gained more.

I guess we will keep chugging along with it and keep on 'free-feeding' her like we have been doing. I was fully expecting to hear she was up to about 8 lbs by now so it was a little upsetting to hear she's not doing as well with the weight gain as she should be. If anyone has any advice, please let me know.

I also mentioned the hiccups to the Dr. again. The Dr asked us many questions about her habits before, during, after feeding to determine if she should switch formula and/or be on any meds.

Based on our answers she was very hesitant to make any changes to her formula or to give her meds. She suggested that in addition to the colic calm (which does work) we can also give her 1oz of warm Chamomile tea to help with an upset tummy.

Tony is on night duty tonight so he said he was going to give her 1 oz of Chamomile tea tonight if she fusses instead of the Colic Calm. She doesn't fuss every night or after every feed, but when those hiccups hit - boy does she scream! I was on night duty last night and I didn't get much sleep at all! Dr. was very impressed that Ella has (on occasion) slept 5 hours through the night - which usually happens when it's Tony's turn for night duty. She likes keeping mom awake when it's her turn! LOL!!

We are having a relaxing afternoon today - Ella is asleep in my arms right now and I have a beef stew in the crock-pot which smells amazing. I am watching the Golden Girls on TV but I am going to take a nap in a little while. Knowing my luck as soon as I put my head down, Gabriella will cry LOL!!

Hope everyone is doing well!!

 

[MissMuffet08]

Ahh I have been away too long!


Angela – HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!!!!!! Did you have a party? How was it? Did he eat cake?

Carole – So happy to hear your good news.

Jules – Katelyn gets the hiccups a lot as well. Although she did have reflux and was on medication until about 6 months (actually, I think most of us here had babies with reflux issues!), her Dr. didn’t say that the two were related when I would asked about it. But if she tends to be in pain with them, I would definitely ask the Dr about it again. Oh and Happy Birthday to you too!!!! I LOVE the necklace your hubby got you. Just beautiful.

Viv – Yay for Cal crawling backwards…

CJ – Glad that the blood in your urine has cleared up! You are almost there!

Nikki – Happy Birthday to you as well. So many bdays!!! Keep us posted on the NT results! Also, someone at my church was just talking about all the benefits of coconut oil (and coconuts!), the one in particular was helping with Alzhemiers (or memory), but I hadn’t heard about milk production. Hmmm.

Beth – Glad your incision is healing. Sorry that Charlie has reflux. Katelyn started out on Zantac, but wasn’t successful. She was then switched over to I think Prevacid? Can’t remember now, but it worked great. I would mix it with her breastmilk otherwise she wouldn’t take it. Unfortunately, even with the medicine, you will still need to keep him upright. However, they do sell foam inserts that you can use in the bassinet so that he is sleeping at an angle instead of flat on his back. I hope that the Zantac works for you! I just remember it being awful though, because I just brought her home from the NICU and on top of the reflux she wasn’t gaining weight like she should. Most of the mommies on the this thread were still pregnant, so I felt like my baby was the only one with reflux. Then Angela and CJ told me their stories and I started to feel better. As for your DH, he probably very concerned about your incision and not having you over do it and just being over protective about you and the baby. Men don’t always express things correctly. Glad that is getting better and if need be, bite his head off again LOL.

Anna – Sorry that not only Jo had the flu, but both you and DH!!! That stinks. Glad that you are all feeling better! BTW, when you take Jo swimming, do you put anything in her ears? On the Hubby front, I am sorry that you and he are going through a hard time. It is a big adjustment and challenge to have a new baby. Hopefully, he will go to counseling with you. Or, if not, go by yourself. As Angela said, please vent here anytime. I know that most of the fights my DH and I have had in the past 5-6 months have been about the baby or having something to do with the baby. I will pray for you both.

Purple lou – Congrats and welcome when you are ready.

AFM – Katelyn is 11 months old today. We had a very active weekend. Saturday was the last day for the Baby and Me group. There is another session starting, but I think I am going to do Gymboree. Has anyone else done that? Is it fun? On Sunday, Katelyn rolled off the couch and hit her head on our hardwood floor. My hubby was watching her so that I could pump and he put her on the couch and ran to get his lunch. This was after we had a slight argument over me feeding her the MumMum rusks (more on that in a sec). I then hear “Katelyn…no”, then running down stairs (we have tri-level townhouse and the dining room looks down on the family room and my hubby was up in the dining room and I was in the kitchen). I run out of the kitchen in time to see her falling. My hubby was right there and grabbed her. It was all I could do from screaming at him for leaving her on the couch! He said, I told you to sit still. I am thinking she is a baby like she is going to understand that. I also knew that my hubby felt really bad about it, so I didn’t yell or fuss at him. Then on Monday, she was climbing and playing on stuff in our bedroom (She likes to pull herself up and stand and then bounce up and down like she is dancing.) and banged her eye and now has a black eye! My poor baby.

On the upside, she has cut her two bottom teeth! On the downside, she is not eating like she should and I am getting concerned again about her weight gain. She is still kinda small for her adjusted age in terms of weight. Yesterday, my DH ran out of milk during the day, and tried to give Katelyn Formula, but she absolutely refused to drink it. She also wouldn’t really eat dinner. She takes 2 bites and then shakes her head no and refuses to open her mouth. I don’t want to force feed her, but am worried that she isn’t eating enough.
I sent her Dr an email as I am starting to really stress. I think the stress is affecting my milk production, because I am not producing as much as I used to. I don’t know what to do. In addition to that, I went to feed her the MumMum rusks and I got freaked out because it always seems like it is too big and she is going to choke. I know they dissolve, but it didn’t seem like they were dissolving fast enough, I went to try and take it from her and she threw a fit, then my hubby started to yell telling me to stop being freaked out. Yeah, yelling at me is going to help! Anyone else starting to feed their babies food other than purees? I need to find something that I can start with that won’t freak me out.

On top of that Katelyn has been waking up two or three times in the night. The other night she woke up at 1:45am, I nursed her then tried to put her down at 2am and the minute she felt her crib she cried. This went on for about 1 hour. I then put her down and let her cry, the whole time I patted her back and stroked her forehead. No luck. I then turned on some lullaby’s that are on a little doggie she can cuddle with. She laid down for a minute. I then laid on the floor next to the crib. After about 2 minutes. She pulled herself up on the side of the crib and peered over at me with a big smile as if to say “hi mommy, whatchya doing?” At 4:45am I finally gave up and brought her into our bed. I declared to my husband that she would just have to sleep with us forever because I was too tired and had to get up and go to work. His response was “whatever you need to do to help you sleep” For some reason that angered me because I was thinking, what would be great is if you got your butt up in the middle of the night to sit with her once in a while instead of me. That would help me get my sleep! But did not say that. I did tell him that I wanted to sleep in on Saturday and if he could make that happen, that would be great. He rolled over in the bed.

I put a little oatmeal cereal in her bottle last night, since she didn’t eat dinner (and I thought it might help with the sleeping longer – no such luck). I am thinking that perhaps I may need to go back to adding a little cereal to at least 2 of her bottles a day to get her weight up. I am waiting to hear back from the dr though before I move forward with that plan. Well I actually need to do some work now. Sorry this post is so long.

Hi to anyone I may have missed.

Best,
Steph

 

[rottpaw]

Hey steph I am so sorry, I remember you asked about the puffs a while back. Ethan plays with them but doesn't try to eat them (he does this with anything I give him, for the most part). I've been giving him the plum baby organic ones, But solids I've offered him include sweet potatoes and white potatoes in chunks, spaghetti noodles in pieces, bananas in quarter rounds, etc. he mashes and throws everything but rarely tries to eat any I plan to discuss his continuing texture aversion with his doc next week when we see her, because this feeding him every.signle.bottle. And every.signle.spoonful of food, at over 1 year old, is getting old lol! I mean, he knows how to hold a bottle (not a fan of sippys yet) and knows how to put cookies in his mouth (just gums then spits them out), but shows zero interest in feeding himself. Like you I am worried a bit about his size and weight, but he is just not a big eater. We will see what the doc has to say and I will let you know if I hear anything helpful!

 

[animalcracker]

I declared to my husband that she would just have to sleep with us forever because I was too tired and had to get up and go to work. His response was “whatever you need to do to help you sleep” For some reason that angered me because I was thinking, what would be great is if you got your butt up in the middle of the night to sit with her once in a while instead of me. That would help me get my sleep!

Steph - when we first bought Gabriella home, Tony and I had two sleepless nights with her and then after that, I was the one up all night, every night with her. This was because I was on maternity leave and Tony was back to work.

After doing that for about 2 weeks I had a meltdown due to lack of sleep. I actually hadn't slept properly since I was 30 weeks pregnant due to the fibroid pain so it had been going on for a while.

So now Gabriella was home and I was up at all hours doing it on my own, the lack of sleep continued and it got to boiling point, so I gave Tony a choice: he could help me with night feedings OR his wife was going to go batshit crazy. His choice! After that he agreed that we would take turns to be on 'night duty' with Gabriella. He does one night, I do the next night and so on. It works out really well - this way we BOTH get to catch up on lost sleep when it's our night off.

Steph, you should try and talk to hubby and get him to help you if you can because it is absolutely exhausting doing it on your own. You really do need your rest, especially considering you are breast feeding. Perhaps you can pump a few bottles full and talk hubby into taking care of night duty a few times a week.

I am so sorry to hear that Katelyn fell off the couch. OMG I would have lost it!! Poor little thing, I hope she is feeling okay!

So as for taking a nap this afternoon. HAH! Every time I put my head down, the phone rings, the doorbell rings or Gabriella wakes up. I give up LOL

 

[MissMuffet08]

Thanks Angela - Her Dr responded saying that I could start her on cow's milk to help with the weight gain as he would like to see it pick up a bit. Katelyn will put food into her mouth if I give it to her, I just get scared that she won't chew and try and to swallow it whole. When do they start doing the chew motion.

Jules - When I was on Maternity leave, Steve (my hubby) would get up in the middle of the night ( he had the 3am - 7am shift) to feed her. I was mainly pumping back then and not really nursing so I always had bottles for her eat. Unfortunately, I would always wake up and ask if she ate or did she need to get changed, etc. This would result in him telling me to go to sleep and thus an argument would take place. I then decided I would just do the entire night shift and then around 7am get him up. He would take the baby downstairs so that I could sleep until about 11 or 12 uninterupted (except to pump). She did start sleeping through the night for a minute. Then she would only wake up 1x or 2x at night and I would be able to put her back down. Unfortunately, the past week or so, whenver she wakes up, she doesn't want to go back to sleep in her crib. I end up bringing her to be with me and Steve. I think if I asked him to get her he would, but then I feel bad doing that because he takes care of Katelyn all day while I am at work. So, I feel like I need to give him a break. Which I guess means I shouldn't be angry. But sleep deprivation makes a mommy insane!

 

[animalcracker]

Jules - When I was on Maternity leave, Steve (my hubby) would get up in the middle of the night ( he had the 3am - 7am shift) to feed her. I was mainly pumping back then and not really nursing so I always had bottles for her eat. Unfortunately, I would always wake up and ask if she ate or did she need to get changed, etc. This would result in him telling me to go to sleep and thus an argument would take place. I then decided I would just do the entire night shift and then around 7am get him up. He would take the baby downstairs so that I could sleep until about 11 or 12 uninterupted (except to pump). She did start sleeping through the night for a minute. Then she would only wake up 1x or 2x at night and I would be able to put her back down. Unfortunately, the past week or so, whenver she wakes up, she doesn't want to go back to sleep in her crib. I end up bringing her to be with me and Steve. I think if I asked him to get her he would, but then I feel bad doing that because he takes care of Katelyn all day while I am at work. So, I feel like I need to give him a break. Which I guess means I shouldn't be angry. But sleep deprivation makes a mommy insane!

Hey Steph!

It's great to hear that Steve helps you! It really is tough doing it alone and YES sleep deprivation does make a mommy insane LOL.

Gabriella's new thing this week is to cry when we are about to eat dinner - that's always fun. I either end up wolfing my food down and not enjoying it one whit or not eating at all because the food is cold and I'm not hungry anymore LOL. An effective diet plan!

 

[MissMuffet08]

I just signed up for Weight Watchers online...I need to lose at least 15lbs by June so that I can look good for my Bday. I know all too well about eating cold food or wolfing it down (which is normally what I do) hee hee.

 

[svetayasofiya]

Hi girls!! Sorry I have been a crap poster lately but I have been keeping up to date here! I just updated my journal (finally) and will repost below. Sorry to just talk about me but baby woke up so gotta run! I promise to post more and will reply later in regards to you all! One thing at a time with a baby!! Love you all!!! xoxoxo

Let's see.... I don't even know what I wrote last! Well Sophie turned 6 months old! I can't believe how big she is getting. I really find six months to be a magical age full of new discoveries and daily milestones. Just amazing.

Two weeks before her six month bday I started feeding her cereals. Began with the brown rice, barely, and oat. Then slowly added some veg and fruit. She currently eats squash, sweet potato, carrot, green beans, banana, apple and the three cereals. I just introduced apple today so in three days I'll give her some chicken. So far she is a really good eater! She usually gags whenever we give her something new for the first time. Green beans were the worst, I thought she was going to projectile vomit all over me... apples this morning didn't go over well, but she is so trusting and still takes spoonful after spoonful She is learning to drink from a sippy cup and usually has an ounce of water with every meal. I gave up on the bottle... my doctor said just keep with the sippy cup as it can be hard to wean them off a bottle later. Well I had to step out Wednesday afternoon for a couple hours and left her in my MIL's care. She gulped down a 4oz bottle! Good to know. She is also eating three meals a day now on top of 6-7 boob feedings. Little piggy.

She cut her first tooth on Valentine's Day and was a total champ about it. Fussed the day before and woke at 5:30am for a feed but that's it. Unfortunately the 5:30am has been consistant since (although she'll usually go back down until 7am after). She cut her 2nd tooth exactly 13 days later. That one is coming up with gusto and seems to be bothering her. She has been teething mad the last couple days. She slept only one hour yesterday (daytime) and not much the day before. She seems to be making up for it today though. I hear her stirring after a 2.5 hr morning nap!

I had the scare of my life last night! We have the Angel care monitor... well the motion sensor alarm went off at 2:15am!!!!! You can imagine the horror. False alarm of course THANKFULLY. She was tucked up at the head of the crib sleeping on her belly. I flipped her over and moved her back to the middle. She never woke, lol Until 3am.... she was ravenous. I only gave her two solid feeds yesterday so wonder if it was because of that or the teeth? She woke at 5:45am but I left her in her crib. She wined on and off but never fully woke until 6:30am.

I really regret not having gotten newborn photos done so I arranged for a photosession to mark her 6 month. My friend's husband is a photographer and they came over Sunday for the shoot. It was sooooo much fun!!! She was a realy star. Can't wait to see the pictures.

What else?? I found a daycare. We decided to go with a family home daycare instead of waiting to see if we'd get into one of the larger business ones. I really like the lady and she lives just down the street. She's very lovely and has two kids of her own. She is only taking three kids (all girls) and they are all within 3 months of the same age. I hope it works out. Thinking of going back to work is a little less stressful now that I can picture where she'll be.

Speaking of going back to work. I have decided to look for a new job. It's a long story, but I just can't stomach going back to the same boss. Toxic toxic toxic. I have felt such anxiety over it I actually started seeing a therapist. I've had one session (we're doing it over the phone) and it's really helped already. My meeting Tuesday was to meet with a recruiter regarding finding new employment. It was very encouraging and it sounds like there will be plenty of offers. It left me more stressed however... thinking about the reality of returning to work. Chances are I'll have to cut my maternity leave short too if I start a new job. We'll see. I just have to keep telling myself that it's my decision at the end of the day and don't have to take anything that isn't fitting my criteria... I also don't have to take any job that will have me start sooner than I am ready. If it means going back to my existing job than so be it.

I better go fetch my baby. Here are some recent pictures for those who aren't on facebook:

 

[animalcracker]

Chris, Sophie is GORGEOUS!! Love those big blue eyes of hers!

You mentioned you are on Facebook? Can I add you too? If so, PM me your name

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Sophie is BEAUTIFUL! Love her expressions. lol

 

[rottpaw]

Gorgeous Chris!

Okay girls, wish me luck and pray for me. I've had Ethan's HORRID cold -that-if-I-didn't-know-better-I'd-swear-it-was-the-flu ALL week. I'm still zero energy and coughing like every two seconds. I've lost my voice to the point I can only croak like a frog. So of COURSE tomorrow would be Ethan's party and I've got 20+ people coming to the house at lunchtime. Lord HELP ME, I've never had a week quite like this one in my life. of course I am thrilled for his party, I just wish it was next week!

Anyway, I'm sure it will be fine but your prayers are appreciated. I so want everyone -and Ethan! - to have a great time, I just wish I felt better than walking zombie. Sigh...

Anyway, love and hugs to all and pics to come as soon as I'm back on my feet!