***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[Beanonorder]

Hugs Kelly! I am also frustrated that sleep isn't going as well as it used to. I have to admit that there was a slight improvement last night though. I just have to come to terms with the fact that my day is going to start at 5:30am whether I like it or not. And as for the house cleaning - the only reason my house is reasonably clean is because I have someone come and do it for me! Otherwise it would be a total disaster area!

IST I meant to say Amber has also started crying in her sleep. I wonder what makes them do that. Thankfully it doesn't seem to disturb her so she stays asleep.

We took Amber to the doctor yesterday. I saw something in her ear and was a bit worried. The ENT doctor insists its dirt and that I should be using earbuds to clean her ears. Which is weird for me because I've always been told not to go stick anything small in their ears. My mom said when she was training the ENT doctor told them that you never use anything smaller than an elbow when it comes to babies ears. So I'm not going to really listen. I'll clean with a wet facecloth but thats it. Amber has also had a stuffy nose for over two weeks but the doctor said its because of changing from hot to cold all the time. There's not much I can do about that. I try to keep Amber inside as much as possible and I try to keep the AC set to a reasonable temperature. Just have to hope that this heat subsides soon!!

 

[Chloe597]

Kelly and IST. I hope sleep improves soon! Rant all you want on here, we have all been there at some point. I too have a house that I never clean, and like bean pay someone to come clean it for me. DH suggested if I ever decide to become a SAHM, we could get rid of the cleaning lady. I laughed at that thought...having more time at home with gabby would not give me more free time to clean and shop. Silly men!

Bean, that is odd that they would suggest to clean her ears out like that. I have used a q tip but only to get pieces out that I can also reach with my finger. Definitely not sticking it in her ear. I hope she feels better soon and great to hear that she is more talkative. Isn't that too cute?

All is the same with G. She really looks close to crawling, so I expect that soon. And she has been going to sleep on her own now, now boob required. She flips herself onto her tummy almost immediately after putting her in the crib, which took some getting used to but now I think it's cute. And it definitely makes her sleep longer. Only one nap today, 50 min, but she wasn't cranky really. Babies sleep habits are so variable!

 

[expatttc]

Kelly and imsotired, i'm with you. Hardly time or energy to write this, using one hand while holding rosa whose new favorite habit is pulling my hair and trying to bite my nose...???...and we are also in an almost empty house after packing crew came today. LOL about not having time to shave -- ME TOO, and DH comes home and asks 'whats wrong' when Rosa is fussing...like it was something that perhaps I could have controlled...she doesnt like to go down easy for naps, and has missed her last one of the day 3 days in a row now, making her tirrrred, and when shes tired, shes nutty hyper. Augh!
kudos to moms who donated.

 

[expatttc]

chloe, rosa is also tummy flipping. Really freaks me out, I find myself constantly checking to make sure shes breathing!

 

[sigh]

ugh I am with you ladies. (deleted my rant...) to all of you who are going through tough times too. I thought it was jus me but hearing that you guys are having a tough time too makes me feel a little less alone.

 

[verona]

I know this will have been mentioned before but how is everyone managing teething pain? Amelia-Rose has been teething for months now and she seems to get an ear infection everytime it flares up she's already had anti biotics twice, her last course finished 3 weeks ago but once again she is fussing like crazy and grabbing her ears so I will have to take her to the doctors again. Also, does anyone else have a baby that shows no interest in crawling? Amelia-rose much prefers to be on her feet so I'm thinking she might skip crawling all together! X

 

[Kelly M]

Sigh, I wish you would have left your longer post up. I hope you don't feel bad about saying how you feel. I'm so tired and getting quite busy with my photography business as of late so I'm stretched extra thin. I'm feeling overwhelmed lately and C has been so cranky, it's miserable at times. I know how you feel! I love being a mom but right now it's really hard. I don't know if I can ever have another baby. I feel my plate is already quite full with just one. I don't know how other moms do it with 2+. My sister has four! She's going nuts with them home all summer btw. I think a lot of moms appear to have it under control but when we say how we really feel, we can admit that it's not as easy as it looks.

Verona, C hasn't had ear infections but I'm with you on the teething front. He's such a mess and his teeth take weeks to come in. He's up every hour at night and it's killing me. I use hyland's teething gel and tablets, let him chew on frozen bananas in a mesh bag to contain the mess, cold teething rings, a teething pacifier (the raspberry shaped pacies), and when we are desperate we use tylenol. I'm going to pick up ibuprofen though because the tylenol doesn't seem to help that much and someone recommended it to me. It always works better for me than tylenol too.

Carter is always wanting that late third nap but then he wakes up from it super cranky. Anyone else's baby wake up really cranky when they have a late nap (5 or 6 pm)?

 

[expatttc]

Kelly, I was JUST going to write about third naps! Rosa's not even taking hers, she's resisting now, going from about 2.30 all the way to her bedtime routine at 6 and sleep at 7 -- if we get there. She's super fussy from 4pm onwards, but wiiiiiill noooooooooooooooooot sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Still going nutty over here.

 

[Chloe597]

Sorry you felt you had to delete your rant, sigh. Don't feel bad about it! I don't know how anyone can possibly have 2 + kids. Gabby keeps me on my toes, and I think I shave my legs once a month now. I went out and bought a tankini because I don't feel attractive enough for a bikini anymore, and DH and i DTD maybe once a month now. I am hoping it is breastfeeding that is just killing my desire. I feel bad, but i pretty much have to force myself to get in the mood, even tho I love my DH. And gabby sleeps beautifully, she just requires a lot of work and attention when she is awake, so all i want to do when she is asleep is enjoy 'me' time. whether its watch tv or surf the internet, usually it just ends up with me cleaning the kitchen or doing dishes/laundry. DH says he helps out by taking her to daycare and picking her up, but really, its 5 min from his work and does not require much effort. I have no groceries, and DH is now outo f the country for 7 days, so I think I will be grocery shopping with Gabby for the first time in MONTHS. I hope she enjoys sitting in the cart now!

Verona, G LOVES to stand! I have one of those sit and stand activity walkers and she used to be happy sitting in front of it, pushign buttons, but now she is only happy if she is standing up pushing buttons. I put her on her tummy and try to get her to crawl, and she will flop around for a bit, but she is so much happier on her feet (or should i say, toes, since she still doesn't understand that the entire foot can be used for standing). Sorry about your ear/teething issues. G still has no teeth, so I haven't experienced the fun that goes with teething!

 

[ImSoTired]

Sigh no need to delete rants. I'm sure we have all experienced some of your complaints.

I was just thinking over the weekend what it would be like to have two kids because I feel like such a wreck with just the one. DH and I have definitely decided to TTC next summer and it got me thinking. I hope I don't chicken out! I know it'll be hard with 2 but other women can do it so surely I can too? I'll always have BnB to come and complain, anyway if I have a minute, lol.

Verona and Kelly, sorry about the painful teething. I hope your Lo's feel better and you all get a little relief. Cait doesn't have any teeth yet but I've been wanting it to happen just to get it over with. I hope you can both find something that works for the pain.

Caitlyn is a wild woman today. I've gotten up a dozen times to stop her from wrecking the place/injuring herself just as I've been typing this. I had better go and follow her around or detain her in some way. She'll be due for a nap soon anyway.

I hope everyone is well

 

[ttc_lolly]

Sigh, never feel you should delete anything from this thread it was started purposely for all us mums to rant, rave, share our ups and downs and everything else in between! Sorry to hear there's a few of you at the moment not getting much sleep, hopefully it passes soon I know there's a growth spurt at 8 months and I'm sure there's a wonder week around the same time too.

Bean, how strange for your doctor to advise that. Adults aren't even supposed to stick cotton buds in their ears (although I do, I love it!) so why he'd advise to do it to a baby I have no idea I don't usually advise someone to go against a medical professional's advice but on this occasion I feel I have too! Don't do it!

Not a lot to update from us. Sleep is going surprisingly well, and has been for a little while now. I don't get my hopes up though because I know all to well that this means nothing and things can change quickly Millie is a super quick crawler and climber, she's pulling herself up on everything now and can also navigate up and down the step we have into our back garden so more baby proofing is required from me I think! We are off on holiday in just over 4 weeks and I can't wait. It'll be Millie's first time on a plane and abroad but I'm not worried. The flight is only 2 and a bit hours and all the swimming and lovely weather should do well to tire her out to sleep through at nights.

Happy National Breastfeeding week to the nursing mamas x

 

[scoobydrlp]

We're back! We had a lovely vacation, wish we could just live there and never work! But we would run out of money very quickly that way. We got home saturday, and I am sad to say Camden's sleeping habits have not yet returned to normal. She is still up 2-3 times each night, which wasn't that horrible when I didn't have to get up and go to work, but is going to get old reaaaal fast now!

We're struggling with diaper rash right now, I think it's partly due to all the swimming she's been doing every day. I almost had it cleared up by the last day or two that we were away, but then she went in my parents hot tub yesterday (the water is only 91F, more of a "cool pool" right now), and today she swam with DH in our pool, and back came the rash. I think we'll take a break for a few days and see what happens. I let her hang out without a diaper on twice this evening for about 30 minutes each which is supposed to help, and also using Boudreaux (sp?) butt paste which is high in zinc oxide. Hope things improve quickly, it looks owie.

For those thinking of TTC, or wondering how the heck it could ever work to have another, I'm right there with you! I feel like I would love to have a tiny baby around again, but then wonder how the heck I could possibly do a good job caring for Camden and another baby?! Seems impossible. Also on that note, AF came for the first time about 6 weeks ago (I think? Forgot to write it down) and haven't seen her back since. I don't know if my cycle will be off because I'm breast feeding, or if it's just weird because it hasn't been regular in years - had to use clomid to conceive in the first place. But also I've had some cramping today, kept expecting to see other signs of AF, but nothing so far. Now I'm a little nervous? Honestly it's a long shot as DH and I only DTD 1-2x/month because my drive is non-existant, and we've been using protection, for the end portion anyway. I really don't want to be pregnant right now, but then a little part of me is sort of excited at the possibility. I guess we'll see!

Here are a few pictures of my happy girl at the beach!

With big sister (my step-daughter)
https://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o725/scoobydrlp/emandcambeach_zps4eda999f.jpg

https://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o725/scoobydrlp/pool2_zps4da1bb21.jpg

https://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o725/scoobydrlp/polkadots2_zps3be1c87b.jpg

https://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/o725/scoobydrlp/beachduck2_zps7c5e2724.jpg

 

[sigh]

Thanks ladies. I just kind of blurted everything out so I decided to delete it. I always tend to put myself last and have totally let myself go but now I'm putting an end to it and am going to make sure I have some me time every few days. I took a zumba class on Saturday and everyone was sooo much younger than me and I had no idea what I was doing but it was fun! I'm still sore though lol

IST - i think you mentioned Cait waking up and making noise every few hrs? Ellie did/does this and we figured out it was because either 1- she slept too much during the day, 2- she didn't sleep enough or 3- too much space between her last nap and bedtime.

Kelly - I hope things get better for you soon! Ellie's teeth are coming in and I've been massaging her gums and it seems to help with the pain. She also likes to chew on cool wet wash cloths.

Scooby - SO SO cute!!! did she like the beach? love the little swim suits

Verona - Ellie had a 2 month ear infection that went back and forth. After the first round of antibiotics it came back, but my dr and I decided to wait it out and see if it got better and she beat it on her own. I had an overactive letdown and used to feed her lying down and although my dr said it probably wasn't the cause, I think it was. I stopped feeding her while lying down (for atleast the initial let down) and she stopped getting them. She has no interest in crawling either! She does this lunge crawl butt scooting thing. It's quite funny

Lolly - Yay for sleep! What type of baby proofing are you doing? We are just starting and I have no idea what to do!

So updates here... in the last week, Ellie has changed her tone of talking. It sounds like she's talking (getting excited, whispering, sounding like she's asking questions) but it's all gibberish. I've been letting her sit on the floor of her room while I fold laundry and put things away. She was near her crib and about 2 minutes later I turned to find her a couple of feet away from where she was sitting. She has started this weird butt scooting thing. She shifts her weight from one side to the other and moves along slowly. She also started clapping today! and we have 2 teeth on the bottom and her top ones look like they're about to come in too. I feel like she suddenly looks like a little girl and no longer like a little baby.

She woke at 5:40 am to feed today and wouldn't go back down even though she was exhausted. She is phasing out her night feeding and trying to go from 3 to 2 naps so everything is floopy here. She keeps trying to take a 5-6 pm nap, which messes with her bedtime. Everything I read says to put her to bed earlier but there's no way... i'd have to start her bedtime routine at like 4. I can't wait until she's settled on 2 naps! I don't know if I'm ready to give up night feeding though... It's one of the only times she eats without being distracted!

Hope you all are doing well

 

[ttc_lolly]

Ahhh scooby what fantastic pictures Camden is such a gorgeous, smiley baby! She looks like she has caught the sun on that last pic... you can see her tan line in her cute little baby chub rolls sorry about the nappy rash, I remember Amber having it as a young baby and it was just awful. Try to have as much nappy off time as possible, and change her nappy as soon as she's pooped because its apparently when urine & poo mix together that causes the really bad reaction. If it doesn't clear up after a week you can take her to the docs and they'll probably prescribe some steroid topical cream to help

Sigh, we haven't gone too crazy but I have door gates to the kitchen and stairs. I've got rubber corner guards for our table and the stone slab that sits beneath our fire. We never use the fire in our front room but as its gas and looks very interesting to curious baby's, we've put a fire guard up. That's about it! I've got some of those plug socket covers too but we haven't really got any on show but I'll use them when she's a little older and is more inquisitive. That's about it!

 

[scoobydrlp]

Sigh, Camden does the butt scoot too, and she also just started clapping a few days ago. It's the cutest thing ever! She did enjoy the beach this time around, wasn't scared of the water at all.

Lolly - Camden definitely has some tan lines, I think it's hilarious that the fat role show it. We used SPF 50 all week, but the sun still found her some.

 

[ImSoTired]

Sigh the fussing in her sleep can be any of the things you mentioned, because even though I try to put her down to sleep at the same time she chooses how long she sleeps. Some days I'm lucky if I can get an hour or an hour and a half worth of naps out of her and others She'll easily sleep four hours and still be tired. Unpredictable! She also should probably go to sleep a bit earlier because the time between her last nap and her bedtime is stretching it. I have moved her bedtime up about a half an hour just recently and it's working ok. She still wakes for the occasional bottle and still fusses here and there in her sleep. Last night she fussed for about a half hour from 230-3. Shortly after she stopped the dog started because a bear had gotten into our trash . I woke up DH (which he was NOT happy about) so he could get the trash out of the road and I could settle the dog down so she wouldn't wake Cait. I guess he would have preferred I did it all myself, as usual PITA! So I'm rather tired On top of it, he didn't let the dog out this AM so I had to do it before feeding the baby. Rant over...sorry

Scooby...Great pics! Camden is such a cutie pie! Sorry about the rash. Cait tends to get a minor rash whenever she has carrots. I give her some bare butt time and slap on the balmex and constantly check her diaper so she isn't sitting in anything. I hope she gets better soon.

For new skills Cait loves to dance! It's very cute. We were trying to get her to clap but she dances when we clap instead of clapping back
She's also getting much better at walking along the furniture and she's gotten much better at picking up small pieces of food.

I hope you are all well

 

[scoobydrlp]

So cute that Cait dances! Camden does sort of a bouncing dance type thing whenever she hits the right button on her leapfrog thingy that plays music. So adorable!

Anyone's LO have a favorite song yet? Camden LOVES Elmo's Song, from Sesame Street. I played it on YouTube one day when she was fussing while I was trying to pump, and she has loved it ever since.

 

[ImSoTired]

So cute that Cait dances! Camden does sort of a bouncing dance type thing whenever she hits the right button on her leapfrog thingy that plays music. So adorable!

Anyone's LO have a favorite song yet? Camden LOVES Elmo's Song, from Sesame Street. I played it on YouTube one day when she was fussing while I was trying to pump, and she has loved it ever since.

Cait loves ALL music. Just like mommy and daddy. She dances to almost anything we put on. She bobs and bounces and shakes her butt and her hands. She likes when I say/sing 'pease porridge hot' the nursery rhyme. I think it's her favorite, though she smiles, laughs, and bobs to anything I really sing or rhyme.

 

[Beanonorder]

Scooby - very cute pictures! I hope we get to take Amber to the beach sometime soon!
At the moment we are keeping her inside as much as possible. Today is 41 degrees C (105 degrees F) and it is just awful! We are getting no relief from the heat. Ambers rash has come back full force but thankfully doesn't seem to worry her too much.

Amber is still talking up a storm here! And she is up on her hands and knees! She occasionally goes backwards but no forwards motion. She mostly just gets up and rocks back and forth - its adorable!

I started the 30 day shred on Monday. I am determined to lose my 'Amber rolls!' Its pretty tough going but I'm persevering. I measured myself this morning and I've already lost 1cm around my top waist, belly button, hips and thighs! Yay for me!! I'm still walking with Amber every morning and I've been swimming a few times too.

Tomorrow I'm going to hear whether I've got a new job or not. If I get it, it means we will have to pack up and move by the 12th August!!! Its a fantastic opportunity for me career wise and us as a family. But the major downside is that I will have to work 7:30 to 4:30, Monday to Friday. But on the upside I do get a lot of holidays.

 

[scoobydrlp]

Bean- finger crossed that you get the job!