***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[Kelly M]

Cookie, I'm with Chloe on this one. Sleep training for the last two days has done WONDERS for Carter's sleep. Sleep is healthy for the whole family, baby included and the healthiest sleep in uninterrupted sleep. Babies need to sleep solid chunks of uninterrupted rest in order to grow and develop their minds and bodies. I am doing me and my son a favor by teaching him how to fall asleep on his own. He has learned so quickly this time. Yes, he cried a little but he's such a happy baby and loves me no less in the morning. I have ppd and need to get good sleep in order to recover. I had insomnia during pregnancy and when C was born it got worse, compounded with him being a horrible sleeper and I literally went insane for a while. Yes, the 2 am cuddles will probably be missed in retrospect but seriously waking 10 times a night just makes me grumpy and I don't feel like cuddling or nursing or doing anything but sleeping. He just went down for his nap with ZERO crying and we've only started cc two days ago.

Two days into sleep training and this time we are seeing a huge improvement. Carter went to bed at 7:30 pm, woke ONCE last night at 11 pm and I think it was because his nose was stuffy. I cleaned it out and nursed him because my boobs were so full and he went right back to sleep and didn't wake until 6 am! This is a miracle for us! Seriously a heavenly miracle! I feel so much better today and he's been happy too!

Oh, and congrats to Joseph for gobbling his food tooth. That's so much fun!

 

[ttc_lolly]

Fantastic news tooth! I'm having the opposite with Millie at the moment, she's dropping her feeds so much I worry she's not getting enough milk she just wants food all the time! I'm giving her expressed bm or formula in a bottle too now just so I know she's getting more milk in her. Pffft babies!

Eeek let's not turn the thread sour ladies we all do and will parent differently, there is no right or wrong (well there is on some things obviously but I'm sure those things will never be up for discussion!), we all just try and do what's best for baby and our families. I know there's lots of debate about CC/CIO and the effects it has on baby, but lets be polite and kind to others even if we do not share the same parenting choices and views. I'm sure cookie didn't intend to offend

Well, same old here... Nothing new to report we recently got a puppy and I must have been out of my mind agreeing to that! It's all great fun though, he's great with the girls and they both adore him, it's just 100% more work for myself! Millie is getting into the crouching position now and just rocking backwards and forwards. I'm not getting overly excited as Amber did this and she still didn't crawl for another month or so but we'll have to baby proof soon. I don't plan on having her in the kitchen so we will just be putting a stairgate in the doorway, so I just need a fire guard and those rubber things you put on sharp/pointed table corners etc x

 

[sigh]

Cookie - I used to think that way too. When my cousin sleep trained her baby, I will admit... I was a little judgemental about it. Then my child started waking up 8-12 times a night for no reason. She didn't want to nurse, her diaper was clean, she just had gotten used to us rocking her between sleep cycles and would jolt awake anytime she was put down. It got so bad that we had to take turns holding her and walking (she wouldn't let us sit) around the house for hours at a time. After 2 + months of barely any sleep, we had to do something. We tried the no cry methods and they made her cry even more. We didn't leave her to scream herself to sleep, DH checked in and let her know we were here for her and we said we'd pick her up and calm her if she cried very hard. She cried LESS during the first night of sleep training than she did every night the 2+ months before that. The second night she whined on and off for a few minutes and the 3rd night for 30 seconds. Since then she nurses, I wake her up by burping her and then sing her a song and put her in the crib and she smiles and falls asleep. She still wakes atleast once to nurse, sometimes twice and I don't mind. It has done WONDERS for us... I finally enjoy nursing her in the middle of the night now because I'm not anxious about about getting her into the crib without waking her (it would take hours sometimes to get her down without waking her). It's not for everyone, but our goal was to help her remember how to settle if she didn't need us for something and it worked! It's crazy to think that just 2 weeks ago I was bouncing her on a yoga ball and doing some MacGuyver type stuff trying to get her in the crib without waking her.

 

[Kelly M]

I definitely was not a fan of the cc or cio methods either until I got desperate and tried it and it is working like a miracle so far. I always check in on him so he knows I'm not abandoning him and I wait outside his door until he falls asleep or calms down. I'm not trying to turn this thread sour, just expressing that people's opinions might change if they were up a billion times a night for hours on end for months and months. Hope all you ladies had a great week!

 

[sigh]

Chloe - Thanks for understanding. I did feel a little bad reading cookie's comment but I know people won't understand unless they're put in the situation. Wow bitten at a daycare?!?! That's crazy! Something bad happened to the baby of a family at my temple last year (so horrible that I dont' want to post it here) and since then I'm super paranoid about who is going to take care of her. I feel more comfortable with a daycare because I feel like it's more secure but am scared since Ellie's ear problem could get worse. Decisions decisions...

KellyM - Go C!!!! Glad you're finally getting some well deserved rest. Are you going to pump at night? I started pumping at night after she goes to bed and right before I sleep (now that I'm not terrified of waking her) to empty so I'm more comfortable and to build a freezer stash.

Tooth - Yay Joseph! That kitten comment made me smile... I can just picture it We finally gave Ellie fruit and (I couldn't believe it) she didn't seem to like it!!! My mom kept telling me all kids like bananas and she made the funniest "yuck" face when we gave it to her. Same with the pears! Right now she seems to prefer carrots and sweet potatos.

Lolly- wow a puppy now? You're brave! Millie must be having a blast with the puppy. We have a dog and Ellie is fascinated by him.

Daydream - thanks for the suggestion! It would be so GREAT if I could find someone like that in my neighborhood so that I could just walk over and feed her, then come home and work.

 

[Chloe597]

I'm happy Joseph ate his food! Now think of all the fun new things you can give him!

To those anchoring dressers to walls, is it all dressers or just the tall ones? G has one that I use as a changing table. It's long and just over waist high. Seems stable enough to not anchor but I'm on the fence. Will definitely anchor the taller skinny heavy one in my bedroom, as its also quite unstable and doesn't sit flat.

 

[sigh]

I'm happy Joseph ate his food! Now think of all the fun new things you can give him!

To those anchoring dressers to walls, is it all dressers or just the tall ones? G has one that I use as a changing table. It's long and just over waist high. Seems stable enough to not anchor but I'm on the fence. Will definitely anchor the taller skinny heavy one in my bedroom, as its also quite unstable and doesn't sit flat.

I have the Hemnes dresser from Ikea that we use as a changing table and it seems stable but I'm going to anchor it anyways (Ikea recommended doing it).

 

[ttc_lolly]

Millie is very interested in the puppy but its give or take at the minute! My eldest is madly in love with him though, definitely best buds already!

I think it's just a case of parenting choices on the sleep training. Cookie may not have had it easy either, but if she chooses to not do any training at all then that's cool too we're all trying to do the best and that's all anyone could ask for. These babies certainly aren't easy that's for sure. Millie has been a terrible sleeper, especially in comparison to DD1 but I think she's over the worst now.

Oh crap, Millie was 7 months old yesterday and I've only just realised bad mum alert!

 

[Kelly M]

Yep, I agree with Sigh- super brave taking on a puppy too lolly. My ds is fascinated with our dog. He laughs at him every time he walks by. My dh says C thinks the dog is always smiling (since he has this dumb open mouth panting face) so C smiles back.

Sigh, I'm terrified of leaving C with anyone too. I watch another little 4 month old girl and I had only met her parents once. It must have been hard for the mom to leave her with me. Of course, I know I'll take good care of her and never hurt her or anything but if I were her mom I couldn't leave her with a stranger. lol Her mom is awesome though and we are becoming friends so it's work out well.

I've been pumping lately as my boobs have been super full but sometimes I'll give him a dream feed before I go to sleep around 10 or 11. I wouldn't mind building up a stash though, so pumping is good. I just hate it, it's time consuming, a pain in the butt and all around annoying. I do use a lot of bm when I make his food though. And it would be nice to have a lot stored up in case my milk were to ever dry up, like if I got sick or my cycle returned.

Dh and I are planning on having our first night away while C stays with my parents at the end of July. It will be our 6 year wedding anniversary and we want to drive to this little mountain town and ride the gondolas and stay at a bed n breakfast. I'm nervous about C not nursing for almost two days and one night. Has anyone done this yet while bfding? He takes a bottle now but I'm scared he won't want to nurse when I get back or something. Or he'll start refusing bottles again. Lol I worry too much, I know. At least now he can eat some solids if he's hungry instead.

 

[Chloe597]

Kelly, how have you mentally prepared yourself to leave C? I really want to go on a weekend trip but I can't bring myself to leave G. I keep thinking if she was a crier or an awful sleeper I would probably welcome the break more and be more willing to part with her for a night. Although I haven't left her, I have, however, gone 24 hours without breastfeeding, and she has been totally fine. I'm sure an extra 12 hours would not have done anything to her ability or desire to take the boob back.

Holy crap, Gabby is also 7 months! My how time flies! Happy 7 months, Millie!

 

[cococobain]

Uh, anyone else here have a humpy baby? This just happened today. Both times while settling her for her nap, as I cradled her in my arms she started to hump me to sleep. She has also begun the somersaults in the crib, I keep having to rescue her from a jammed limb in the bars or find her with her head wedged in the corner. I can't help but laugh every time.

Early congrats Kelly M on your anniversary I would be nervous too! Hopefully someone else here has done something similar and can offer some insight xx

Late congrats ttc_lolly - 7 months already! Wow! STOP GROWING UP, BABIES!

Big hugs for the mums still struggling with sleep and good luck with the ongoing sleep training. I am of the train of thought "never say never" when it comes to parenting, sometimes the very tip, trick or method you looked down on might just be the only thing that works for your baby xx

In regards to anchoring furniture - I think it's best to play it safe and anchor everything in baby's room at least. I'm so paranoid about when they learn to climb out of their cribs at night and how long she might totter about before I realize she's out that I want to make sure her room is totally mia-proof!

 

[Kelly M]

Thanks coco!

Chloe, I am not prepared at all. But I generally welcome time away from C as I am with him 24/7.

 

[ttc_lolly]

And happy 7 months Gabby! They'll be 1 in just 5 months time

Ahhh I dream of the day I can leave Millie she's drinking from bottles fine now but she is so anxious and clingy that she can barely be left out of mine & OH's sight. It's getting slightly better as the weeks go by, so hoping in a couple of months she may be better. Friends come over to ours once or twice a month so we can all catch up over a meal and some drinks but OH & I haven't had anytime alone together yet.

 

[ttc_lolly]

Coco, I too have a humper well, I think Millie's is more like body popping! She just pops away like its nobody's business! she always has her arms held out to the sides too, like she's about to take off. Strange little thing!

 

[sigh]

Aww congrats Millie and Gabby on being 7 months! Ellie will join you in a little over a week... I'm sad She's growing so fast.

KellyM- Happy early anniversary!!! The more I find out about you, the more I find we have in common (our 6 yr was last month). I'm too afraid to leave Ellie for that long but it's more because we had issues when she was a month old... she forgot how to latch out of no where one day and i had to pump and bottle feed her for 2 weeks. Then a few weeks after she stopped taking a bottle. I know she's older now and that probably won't happen but I'm paranoid about it. I get super anxious when I'm away from her for a long time too. I keep thinking she'll get mad at me for leaving her or something (I know it sounds crazy but I keep feeling that way for some reason).

BTW - a friend told me this awesome tip and it's making pumping so much easier. Take an old sports bra and cut a small X where your nipples are and voila - hands free pumping. I've been doing this while photo editing at night and it goes by a little faster.

Coco- YES!!!!! She did this last week when DH was holding her and we were laughing about it. She looked like an inchworm haha. It's now morphed into her trying to climb us, sometimes sideways. She's also started some weird body movements while feeding... It almost looks like she's trying to do some contemporary dance with her arms and legs flailing and random jazz hands.

 

[Kelly M]

Sorry to those who dont get alone time. Me n dh try to have a date night once or twice a month.

So funny about the humping. C humped the ground when he was first learning to crawl.

Sigh I am laughing picturing you at your desk with your pump stuck to your boobs. I was pumping while cooking last night. Luckily no one saw. Must have looked hilarious.

 

[sigh]

LOL cooking?!?! wow you're a pro!! Haha no desk, just hunched over a laptop... like this woman. I look just as happy too. hahaha

https://www.medelaimages.com/product_images/lrg/MEE001-02.jpg

 

[sigh]

https://crappypictures.com/what-it-is-like-to-not-sleep-at-night-illustrated-with-crappy-pictures/

This gave me a good laugh

 

[scoobydrlp]

Sigh - I hated the idea of daycare at first, but I really like ours. Camden loves her teachers, and they love her! Right now she only has 3 other babies in her class, but the most there have ever been is 5 in addition to her. She's been going since she was 11 weeks old and has never been sick. It's at a church and from what I've seen most church daycares are a little less expensive than the big chains. Ours is very affordable, but I still feel she gets great care. We pay $31 a day, and she normally goes 3 days a week.

Forgot who asked about wet diapers, but Camden has been having fewer wet diapers too, although her overnight diaper is always super wet. We're pretty much doing BLW only and BF on demand, and she barely ingests any solid food, just gnaws on it and then spits it out, but her breast milk intake is waaay lower than it used to be. She was at daycare from 6:30am to 5:30pm today and only took 2 bottles, 4oz each. When she nurses she isn't staying latched nearly as long as she used to either, except for her first morning feed. I can tell she's not as chubby as she used to be, although still has plenty of meat on her bones so I'm really not worried, just surprised by how little she's taking in right now.

My mom is driving my absolutely crazy lately!! She knows we're trying to do BLW, yet yesterday she fed Camden a bowl of watermelon juice with a spoon?! I guess she thought it was alright because I had given her a small piece of watermelon to chew on...but seriously? Spoon fed a bowl of the juice? It's pure sugar! Then tonight we were eating spaghetti and she asked if she could give her a piece, and I said no we're just doing fruits and veggies. So we agreed we would give her a piece of lettuce, which she loved btw!! Then later when we were cleaning up she held up a piece of spaghetti and dangled it right in front of her face. So I said as nicely as possible in a Camden voice, "Grandma I'm not allowed to eat spaghetti"! So she stopped. But geez, how annoying! Also yesterday Camden was taking a nap after we had been out shopping for several hours, and after she had been asleep for about an hour my mom said, "I'm going to get the baby now". I looked at her like she was crazy and said she's sleeping, you can't just go wake her up. And she said, well I'll just go see if she's awake. And of course she came back holding the groggiest baby I've ever seen, but she swears she didn't wake her up. GAAAAHHH!! Why?! There was a point where I had felt badly that we had to put Camden in daycare instead of having my mom watch her because she just lives too far away to drive there every day, but now I realize how happy I am. She already acts like it's her own baby, and it would be so much worse if she was there every day. So frustrating!

Sorry, rant over. Anyway, yesterday was Camden's 6 month birthday. I just can't believe how fast time is going by. It makes me sad that she's not tiny anymore, but it's so fun watching her grow and learn and develop.

https://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o725/scoobydrlp/null_zpsd6c53a4d.jpg

 

[daydream]

I love Camden's shirt! Crabby outfits are my favorite

To add onto the pumping and multitasking conversation, I've done the same with cutting up a sports bra and I use it in the morning to pump while I blow dry and style my hair

And our 6 year anniversary was June 10th We went to Napa for the day to celebrate. I've never been away overnight yet. Good luck to those planning it soon.