***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[ImSoTired]

Chloe awesome costume. Adorable and funny too. Great idea.

As for milk we plan on adding some to her formula gradually after her birthday. But I also hope to have her on all solids by then because she won't be getting any vitamins from formula anymore. So we're working towards it. The sippy cup will come as she learns that it takes the place of the bottle. Right now she just thinks of it as more of a toy than anything and makes a mess with it. I plan on giving her more formula in the sippy cup (she gets mostly water now) after a year in hopes that she'll get the message.

Sigh and kelly teething sounds like a nightmare for you ladies. I'm so not looking forward to it but I am getting a little anxious to see signs of teeth. I know that my brother and I , and my mother got our teeth late so it runs in the family, but I kinda want to get the terror over with. I have a feeling Cait will be a force to be reckoned with as she teethes. She's so stubborn and strong as it is.

Coco I have yet to catch Cait 'on the phone' with the camera. She is so quick I haven't been getting good pics since about July. She also learned how to press the button on the cable box and turn the tv on and off.

bean so glad to hear Amber has a play date.

bbygrl I'm happy to hear that your daughter with the broken arm is feeling better. I hope that your 2 year olds surgery goes well and she recovers quickly.

I hope that everyone is well.

 

[scoobydrlp]

At our last doctors visit I asked when/how to go about starting on cows milk. She said we could start the process as early as 11 months, and could choose to go cold turkey, or slowly replace an ounce at a time of her breast milk bottles with cows milk (mix it in), until she's completely on cows milk. I plan to start the slow transition at 11 months, mainly because I just can't handle pumping at work anymore. It's making me crazy and I just don't want to do it anymore. I want to try to keep nursing first thing in the morning, and right before bed for as long as my supply will keep up. We'll see how that goes.

Anybody watching the World Series tonight? Hope the Sox can wrap it up, it's looking good so far!

 

[Chloe597]

sigh and kelly, teething does sound like a nightmare. So far Gabby has been better with her sleep and has actually been the happiest i have ever seen her during the day. She laughs all the time now, and loves to get chased around the floor, and then i will grab her legs and pull her back, and she goes forward again and will actually only go a foot in front and she stops, waiting for me to grab her legs and pull her back. Its hilarious!

Scooby, you just described my situation to a T! I HATE pumping at work, and am looking forward to stopping. I started giving Gabby cows milk in her bottle yesterday, just 1/2 oz in each bottle. I think tomorrow i'll up it to 1 oz. I also hope to keep up the morning/night nursing. Gabby only ever feeds off of one side in the mornings, so i'll have to get her to drain both, otherwise i'll still have to pump in the mornings. Not gonna happen!

Happy Halloween everyone!

 

[ImSoTired]

I hope everyone who celebrated had a nice Halloween.

Chloe Cait does the exact thing that Gabby does! She loves to get chased around the floor and she squeals and laughs and wants to be caught. It's just so cute.

What I don't find so cute are the fits Cait throws. Today she tried to grab a book from my hand and threw herself on the floor when I wouldn't give it to her. And she screamed and rolled half way across the floor. I couldn't help but laugh because it was ridiculous but I'm a bit worried that she has an awful temper.

I hope everyone is well

 

[scoobydrlp]

Chloe, I'm jealous that Gabby is old enough to start on cows milk, I still have almost a month left. I'll be interested to hear how your supply holds up when you stop pumping. Keep me updated!

IST- Camden has been having occasional mini tantrums also, it's quite annoying. The other day we were playing on the floor and I tried to hand her a toy which apparently she didn't want. The first time she sort of swatted it away, then I tried again and she threw herself backwards arching her back and hit her head really hard on the hardwood floor. Then of course she cried her eyes out. She sure is becoming opinionated!

We went trick or treating with some friends who have young boys, and Camden enjoyed being out and about. She wore her giraffe costume the whole time and didn't mind it a bit. I'll post some pictures when I'm on my computer again.

 

[sigh]

Hi ladies!! I can't believe its November already!!

Ellie has another bottom tooth coming up and is still fighting off a mild ear infection so she was cranky pants on halloween. We did stop by a few houses in her costume but ended up having to come home since she was tired. Here's a pic of her costume - she was an "elliephant"

 

[Beanonorder]

Sigh that is such a cute outfit!
Halloween isn't really a holiday we celebrate in South Africa so we didn't do anything.

Amber also loves it when I chase her round. And we most definitely have the temper tantrums too! If I take something away that Amber wants she screams this awful high pitched scream and then cries. And she often throws herself back.

So last night I had a very sick little babba. She woke up at about 2am crying so I got up to try settle her and when I got there I found she had vomited everywhere! I woke dh up and he changed her bedding while I cleaned her up and changed her. I eventually got her settled and back into bed at about 3am. She woke up again at 4am and I got her settled and back to sleep but unfortunately she threw up again about 15 minutes later. So we changed things all over again. I got her settled and finally asleep in her bed at 5am and she slept til 7:30am. She's been a lot better today but still not 100%. She's barely eaten any food and only finished one of her four bottles and only one bottle of water. Hopefully tonight is a better night.

 

[ImSoTired]

Sigh awesome pic. Elliephant is so cute. Is the costume from Carters? Cait had the owl one.

bean I'm sorry to hear that Amber was ill last night. Poor little girl. I feel her pain because I've got some sort of stomach bug that is just awful.

I'm glad Cait isn't the only one who's been throwing fits. Some days it's just terrible.

I finally got in touch with my friends who have a daughter around Cait's age. They said they would love to have a play date soon. I can't wait for Cait to have someone to play with. We talked about the babies for quite a while and they seem to have a lot in common. I guess most babies do. lol

I hope everyone is well.

 

[Chloe597]

I hope amber is feeling better! Breaks my heart seeing/hearing about sick babies.

Sigh, such a cute elliephant! lol. And I love the image. I have a DSLR from Canon, and only one lens that will give me that type of image, its a 55 mm F 1.8. What was your F-stop/shutter speed for that image? Sounds like you do photography for a living, so I'm sure you have much nicer camera equipment than me. I would also like to get a flash that is less harsh. I only have the standard flash that just pops up with the camera.

Gabby wasn't constipated over the weekend, but her poo was defintely harder. I wonder if it is from the cow's milk I have started giving her? So far that is the only potential negative i have noticed during the transition. Later this week I am going to be sneaking 1.5oz into each bottle, and then next week when DH is in charge and I'm out of town, he will put in 2 oz to help my frozen stash last the whole 4 days.

IST and Scooby, the temper tantrums don't sound fun! Gabby will groan/scream if she doesnt like something that i do, but as soon as i distract her, she is ok. She hasn't given me the all out back arching fall on the floor tantrum yet. I dread that tho, as I feel like she is on a short fuse some days and it is bound to come. I have read a lot about how it is good to put words to their emotions when they do get upset, like 'i know you are mad that you can't have that, but you can play with this instead' and its supposed to somehow make it better in the long run. Not sure how, but I'm trying it in hopes of preventing meltdowns in the future!

I weighed gabby this morning...22.5 lbs! And her birthday party is in 20 days. yikes!!!!!

 

[Kelly M]

Sigh, SO CUTE! I love this pic. Elliephant, cracks me up!

Carter has started little mini tantrums here too. He cries and stamps his feet when I shut doors to rooms he can't go in, cabinets, etc. Not looking forward to the two's and threes....

I ordered Carter's bday decorations and present today. We are doing a sock monkey theme and having his party on the 30th even though his bday isn't for another two days after that. I can't believe he'll be 1 in just over three weeks!

We took C trick-or-treating for Halloween and he had so much fun. We mostly went because his older cousins went and we wanted to go with them. He looked cute in his costume though. Here are a couple pics.

https://i40.tinypic.com/nwzbyx.jpg
https://i42.tinypic.com/119xopc.jpg

 

[Beanonorder]

So it looks like Amber had a tummy bug because I now have it! I wasn't feeling 100% this morning but I went to work. I came home early so dh could go to the bank without dragging Amber along and I started vomiting while he was gone. Now I feel absolutely awful! And of course tonight was supposed to be date night! I'm so bummed out.

 

[ImSoTired]

Kelly Carter makes a perfect superman! How cute, lol.

Bean I feel your pain. I've been battling this stomach bug since Saturday morning and I still don't feel 100%. I even took another pregnancy test- which was negative- because I have no clue what's going on with me. Just wish I could feel better already.

Cait is well. Eating tons of solid foods and eating lunch now. Moving her to a transition formula and will start adding whole milk in about 2 weeks or so. We're back to 2 naps most days. Nothing new here except my awful stomach bug. I haven't been able to follow my diet or exercise because of it. I basically eat whatever I can keep down and when I move around too much I get stomach pain and it makes me get sick. I can't wait until this is over so that I can just feel normal again.

I hope everyone is well.

 

[cococobain]

Bean and IST I hope you both feel better soon! Nothing worse than feeling ill when you have to take care of a baby or get things done :/ *mails you both some chicken noodle soup*

Elliephant is sooooo cute! I love the photo! And omg, those two supermen. How adorable.

This talk of cows milk has me wondering how I'm going to go about it since I don't pump or bottle feed I guess I could start by using it in recipes just to see how she reacts? Like mashed in with banana or something? Crap I have no idea...

I forgot to mention a few weeks back she finally started army crawling! I guess I didn't make a big deal out of it since everyone here has babies walking or pulling to stand or at least properly crawling on their knees She also waves hello or goodbye and kisses on command (my personal favourite hehe) She doesn't open mouth kiss, she pouts and sticks her tongue out and plants a slobbery wet one on ya. I love it!

https://i1325.photobucket.com/albums/u632/cococobain/9f2447cd-b08c-472c-be3d-ae246abef2b9_zpsee1a0d70.jpg

Mummy was baking and baby making a fuss so I filled her tray with flour and let her go to town. Of course OH takes this photo and inserts inappropriate caption about cocaine addiction. Classy!

https://i1325.photobucket.com/albums/u632/cococobain/0a1e33b9-aa38-4fb5-aa5c-94841fbffdc9_zpsde552939.jpg

Anyone elses baby do this? I swear once she was reading her baby book with the darn thing up by her head. I reposition her back into place, but it pops out like it's on a spring. How is this comfortable?

 

[Chloe597]

coco, the picture are great! And congrats for the little crawler! Crawling is such a fun milestone Please continue to share them, even if other babies have already reached them. its great to hear about everyone's progress. The bottle certainly makes the cows milk transition logistically convenient for me. I'm not sure what other moms who only breast feed do then. Maybe just introducing small amounts in a sippy, not mixed with anything? One awful thing about introducing dairy is how bad gabby smells when she gets home from daycare! I don't think they give her bibs, and she is a messy drinker/eater, so she comes home every day now reeking of spoiled milk. I may have to get DH to have a talk with daycare about proper bib use.

Kelly, love the supermen! adorable!

Bean and IST, feel better soon! Sick mommy caring for sick baby is AWFUL! I hope your DH's are being extra helpful.

Gabby's party is officially in 2.5 weeks! And i still haven't picked a party time, menu, or officially invited everyone. I can't believe how fast its all coming up. And I have a week long business trip next week, so it will be here before I know it. So sad to leave my baby for 4 days!

 

[ImSoTired]

Thanks coco and Chloe. I'm feeling a lot better today so far. I hope it stays that way.

coco Lovely pictures. Cait does the same thing with her foot. It's always up on a table or something. Cait has zero manners, lol. Awesome about the army crawl I'm sure she's really getting around now!

Chloe I can't believe Gabby's birthday is so soon! It's amazing how fast these babies have grown!

I hope everyone is well.

 

[Kelly M]

Bean so sorry you and Amber are ill! Poor mamma and baby.

Ist, glad you are feeling better. Hope you are on the mend for good. It's so hard being sick and taking care of a baby. When Carter and I first moved back home in February, before my husband came to join us, I got extremely ill and was bed ridden. All I could do was nurse Carter and hand him back off to my dad. It was so rough! I don't think I could have managed on my own.

Coco, she's so gorgeous. I'll say it again, those eyes are amazing! I love the husband's take on the flour, something my dh would have done. lol
That's so exciting about Mia crawling! Just because other babies are ahead doesn't mean you shouldn't be proud. I love hearing about everyone's milestones. It gets really fun when they become mobile. And the kisses are so cute too. Carter now understand the word kiss and will often do it on command. He open mouths my cheek and it's super slobbery but I love it. He makes this "aaaahhhh" sound when he does it.

About the milk transition: Carter still nurses often and doesn't take bottles but he does drink plenty of water from his sippy cup. I think we won't introduce cow's milk because I've been reading about how humans aren't really meant to drink it and he has a bit of an intolerance to it anyway, or at least he did before and I had to cut it out of my diet. He seems ok with it now but I'm still weary. Babies don't NEED cow's milk so you could always just do water or soy, almond or coconut milk. I drink almond milk so that's probably what I will offer him. I think it's healthier. Not trying to bash anyone for drinking milk but here is an interesting take on the subject: https://health.howstuffworks.com/we.../facts/environmental-health-reasons-dairy.htm

I wouldn't stress too much about the whole thing ladies. I think water is just fine if they don't take to cow's milk.

 

[Chloe597]

Kelly, thanks for the link. I think a lot of that applies to the big box dairy farms more than the smaller local farming outfits (unclean conditions, hormones and pesticides in milk, etc). I'm curious, are you vegan, or did you switch away from it because of carter's sensitivity? I have struggled with both the pros and cons of cow's milk consumption. It definitely seems unnatural to drink the milk of another animal, but its just so darn tasty, i couldn't give up dairy! I have converted to organic, pasture raised milk, which is like 2-3x the cost of the standard grocery store milk, but I know then that the cows aren't eating pesticides or being given hormones. I have made the same switch with my meat, whenever practical too, and only get hormone free chicken and grass fed beef, assuming i am the one purchasing. If i go somewhere i will not question the source of the meat, but if I am the one purchasing, I make an effort to go organic and pastured. I found this article too that lists the obvious pros (inexpensive protein and calcium source, and tasty), and also the cons and who shouldn't be drinking cows milk. https://www.summitmedicalgroup.com/library/pediatric_health/hhg_cows_milk/ Most humans have evolved to be able to digest dairy, but there is still a small percentage who can't. I would be interested to see who else on this forum is opting for a different source of calcium/protein/calories aside from cows milk. Always looking for new ideas over here!

 

[cococobain]

Chloe - Wow only 2.5 weeks?? That's nothing! I have to remember to keep an eye on the birth dates so I don't miss anyone when their LO turns one I can't believe it!

IST - Glad you are feeling better Also, haha yes, our babies have no shame.

Kelly - thanks for the link! I've always wanted to try almond milk. It's good to know that cows milk isn't "necessary" - I've been feeling a lot of outside pressure from people asking me when I'm gonna stop breastfeeding/just give her cows milk. (also, unrelated but its weird, I used to get commended for BFing when she was a newborn, but now people give me funny looks and I've even been asked "she's still breastfeeding? isnt it time you...you know...stopped?" jesus you'd think she was five years old or something)

I wonder what's the caloric intake like with the other milks in comparison to whole cows milk? My baby is a little on the lean side of the scale and I do worry about weaning and weight loss.

 

[ImSoTired]

Kelly and Chloe thanks for the links. It's got me thinking and I'll be mulling it over. I must do more research now.

 

[Chloe597]

My favorite non dairy milk is soy milk, but I would imagine that is not good for babies, given the estrogen-like properties of it. Nuts tend to have a lot of fat, so the nut milks are probably pretty calorie rich (total guess), and i think many are fortified with calcium. They also tend to be pretty expensive, often more expensive than organic cows milk. Hemp milk is super expensive. I think of the nut milks, almond may be the most reasonably priced.