***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[ImSoTired]

I did read everything but I haven't had proper time to reply.

I hope everyone is doing well!

 

[bbygurl719]

I don't know if any of u seen this on one of my post but I'm proud to say my angel is now walking..

 

[sigh]

Bbygurl - yay congrats! that's great! another one to chase after now


Sooo out of nowhere yesterday, Ellie pulled herself up from the ground and stood AND took her 1st steps. Today she took several steps in a row so I guess my baby is walking now. proud but I miss my toothless bald unable to roll chubby lil munchkin. This walking/talking business is happening too fast.

 

[Beanonorder]

Chloe lovely pictures! Looks like it was great fun!

Congrats to all the new walkers! What fun! I'm quite fine with Amber still crawling and cruising for now!!!

Seeing as its Thursday here already - Happy Thanksgiving to the American gals on here!
Happy Birthday to Gabby! Its also my moms birthday today.

And Amber was 11 months yesterday! And Happy Birthday to Millie and Kevin for yesterday too!

Oh well, I guess I had better go do some intelligent work now...

 

[ImSoTired]

bbygrl and sigh congrats on your walking babies. Cait is still only doing about 5 steps at a time but she's doing it frequently and steadily. I think the 5 steps has just become habit. I'm sure she can go further if she tried. Silly babies!

Been so busy and stressed I haven't had much time at all. Hope everyone is well (and had a great Thanksgiving (US ladies, everyone not in the US I hope you had an awesome few days anyway))

 

[Kelly M]

Bbygurl, wow potty training already? Good luck! Carter is nowhere near potty training. He's way too young still and boys are harder I hear. My dh didn't potty train until 3 and a half!

Bean, snowflake theme is so adorable! I wish I would have thought of that, so cute! I hope Amber is feeling better now.

Chloe, pics are adorable. Go Gabby! So big. I'm glad her party went off without a hitch.

Scooby hope the drive went ok with Camden. I vowed to never do a road trip with Carter again after we did 18 hours to Austin when he was 5 months old. He pooped in his car seat, it leaked all down into the seat, the base, everywhere! We had to pull over in the middle of nowhere and change him on the side of the road while trying to wipe out his seat and change his outfit. Nightmare!

Coco, so sorry you have that infestation! What a horrible thing. Sound terrible and a pain in the butt. I hope you guys get it for good this time.

Well, Carter's birthday party was supposed to be yesterday but we had to cancel last minute because both dh and I came down with a very, very nasty stomach bug. I woke at 3 am puking, shivers, chills, fever, body ache, the works and dh was in the same boat. Luckily, we live with my parents so my mom took care of Carter while we died slowly on the couch. I'm so bummed we had to postpone his party. Now our good friends and their baby (Carter's best friend, seriously he loves her) can't come next weekend. We are planning on rescheduling for next Saturday. I stayed up baking cupcakes and making appetizers and making decorations and all for it to be postponed while I puked my guts out! I'm feeling much better today but still laying around in my pajamas and feeling weak and light headed. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal by tomorrow so we can take C swimming on his actual birthday.

Also, I am weaning of my zoloft. I don't know if you ladies remember but I had a horrible episode of ppd when C was about 8 weeks and I was put on zoloft. That's when we had to move in with my parents so they could help because I was having a really hard time. Well, I've decided to try to get off of it again after I had an unsuccessful attempt a couple of months ago. C still wakes every 2-3 hours at night and I always wanted to get off the med when he was sttn so that I could be rested because that is a huge part of what triggers my anxiety is not getting good sleep. But that's probably never going to happen so I'm just going to try it out now and see. I've been on half the dose for a couple weeks now and so far so good. I think I'll be able to do it this time.

 

[Kelly M]

Oh, and go Ellie! So cool that she took her first steps, it's so exciting! Big girl!! It's bittersweet though, I know how you feel. C took his at 9.5 months so I feel sort of cheated out of that small baby time. Ever since he could crawl at 7 months he didn't want to be held anymore. If I didn't nurse I never get any cuddles at all! He's always on the go. I hope Ellie's party goes well. Sounds like quite the bash. I'd go nuts trying to plan a party that big. I thought our list was too much with the few friends and family we invited, about 5 kids, 5 babies and 18 adults. Of course, I think less people will make it next weekend since we postponed.

 

[Beanonorder]

Happy Birthday to Carter and Hayden! The first of the December babies!

Wow Kelly I'm so sorry you guys had to cancel the party at the last minute! There seems to be tummy bugs going round all over the place. Glad you are feeling a bit better though and also that Carter didn't get it! I hope all goes well with you going off the zoloft. I know its not easy but it sounds like it working out for you this time.

So Amber did her first photo modelling shoot on Saturday! It was so much fun and I can't believe how awesome she was! She happily let them change her clothes and she smiled and laughed at the photographers. They got some great shots of her. And they liked her so much they've asked for her to go back again today. I'm sad I have to work and don't get to go this time. They pay really well but its not even about the money. In a month or two we'll get the photo's so its worth it just for that. I can't wait to get them!!!

Amber isn't walking yet but she's cruising really well adn gets around pretty quickly. She's trying to say words too. Still not sure what 'dutton' is but she's trying cat and bye bye. She's also great at following commands - she claps, puts 'arms up', waves and points to her nose. I'm going to teach her a few more body parts now. She also loves nursery rhymes on TV.

This weekend we are going to a childrens Christmas party. She's a bit young to appreciate it but we're going with some friends as a kind of farewell Christmas do before they head home for the holidays. And this weekend holds all kinds of Christmas markets which I'm really excited for!

Have a good week everyone!

 

[Chloe597]

Happy Birthday to Carter! And good luck getting off the zoloft! So sorry you were ill! So much going on with you this week! Postponing the party is too bad....but better that than be miserable through it and get all your guests sick. C sure won't know the difference if its this weekend or next!

Sigh, that is a HUGE party! OMG. Good luck!! The mere thought of that after I only had 25 people here makes me cringe. Are you cooking or getting it catered?

Bean, I didn't know Amber was modeling! How cute! What is she modeling for? I hope you post pics! And I am so jealous that she smiles for others. I have tried to get gabby professional pictures twice now and she refuses to smile for photographers. When i get my pics next week i'll post them. They are cute, but she still wasn't smiling.

I officially have a walking, talking one year old! IST, Gabby is a lot like Cait with her 5 steps, but I know she can do more. As soon as she reaches me she basically falls forward into my arms. And she says so many 'words' now. none are perfect, but she will say button, birdy, bottle, daddy, mama, kitty, no, dog, and a few others. Her new favorite thing is to point to EVERYTHING in the house while i am holding her so we can walk up to it and i tell her what it is. She is such an active baby!

Hope everyone had a great weekend/holiday!

 

[Kelly M]

Am I the only who's baby isn't talking yet? C has said a couple of words only once so I don't count them because I consider it a fluke. He does understand a couple of things though. He isn't pointing at anything yet either. I know all babies progress differently so not really concerned at this point. Just curious if anyone else's lo isn't talking or pointing yet.

Chloe, congrats to Gabby on saying so many words and taking steps. Our babies are toddlers already! What happened?!?!

Bean, I can't wait to see pics. I hope you share here. I wanted C to model but the agency is 8 hours away. The said they loved him and wanted him to come up but dh and I decided it was too far to drive for. He would have done great at it a few months ago but now he's too busy and moves around way to much.

 

[Beanonorder]

I will definitely share the photo's as soon as I get them! (I hope everyone isn't going to just disappear off here now that our LOs are turning/turned one!) Chloe she was modeling for a clothing brand called GoodBaby. We got the shoot through an agent after I applied for a disney shoot. They only chose younger babies for that one but its opened the door. I kind of did it for fun but she's really enjoyed it. And with this being an agent maybe a few other opportunities will come up.

Kelly Amber has only recently started saying a couple of things. She says dadadadada alot but never mama! And cat (taTTT) and bye bye has only happened about twice!! I wondered briefly if she was the only one who didn't have a collection of words going on. But I'm not concerned either. Like her teeth, it'll come with time!!!

 

[Chloe597]

I used the term 'talking' fairly loosely. When she had her first encounter with a real dog, she just kept pointing and saying 'do' and she is really good with her 'b' sound, so birdy, button and bottle all sound similar, but she says them just a tiny bit different and with conviction when she is actually looking at the buttons on my shirt/bird on the painting on the wall/or bottle sitting on the counter. and they sound more like 'bi-T' 'but-n' and 'ba-to' she knows daddy means DH, but she still says mama all the time and hasn't directed it towards me. Kelly, the pointing will come soon, and when it does, it wont stop! Gabby finds it hilarious when i pretend to bite her finger because its always extended. And all of this talking happened within the last couple weeks. Gabby is one of the older babies on here. Still only 2 teeth tho! It really is amazing how everyone progresses differently with each stage. Gabby was such a late roller and teether. but she was sitting up pretty early, and now has a rapidly expanding vocabulary.

Bean, I don't plan on going anywhere. I love the support on here, and hearing about everyone elses' LO! I hope people stick around.

 

[ImSoTired]

Kelly I hope you're feeling better. I had an awful stomach bug in the beginning of November. Sorry you had to cancel the party, I'm sure it'll go great no matter when it is. Happy birthday to Carter and all the snowflakes who've had birthday's so far!

Bean that's great about Amber modeling I'm sure the pics will be amazing.

Chloe Cait is very similar to Gabby. She's walking fine but always dives toward me at the end and overall she still prefers crawling. I'm sure she'll catch on soon and only walk (or run) then I'll really be busy. Also Cait was doing a lot of pointing a few weeks ago and now she is waving and playing peek a boo. She still points sometimes but not nearly as often. She claps her hands if I say 'yay' and she puts her hand over her mouth to blow a kiss but hasn't quite figured out the blow part quite yet. She is saying, mama, dada, hi, hey, baba, ball, and tries to repeat things we say though she isn't always successful. Still not a tooth yet. I'm sure it'll be within a month or two though most likely. I can't believe she will be one in one week! Time has absolutely flown by!

I hope everyone is well!

 

[scoobydrlp]

Sooooo sorry I never get to respond to anyones posts!! My computer still won't connect to my wi-fi, so I have to connect with a cord in the kitchen, and there's no way I can watch Camden in here. So I get no computer time basically. Anyway, I do still read posts on my phone, it's just too hard to reply. I miss you guys!

Congrats on all the walkers, talkers, and one year olds! Camden is not yet walking, but is cruising like crazy. I don't think it will be very long for us. She does say a few words and tries to sing along with music. When we play Elmo's Song she says "lalalalalalalalala", it's so cute!

Our trip to Ohio went pretty well after a very rocky start. She woke up that morning at 4am puking, and I mean really puking real kid puke, not baby puke. It was chunks of dinner from the night before, all over her, me, her crib, and her bedroom rug. I woke DH up and he helped clean her bed and the rug while I cleaned her and myself up. Then I gave her some time to settle down and she seemed fine, she was happy and smiling and talking, so I thought maybe it was just a fluke. I let her nurse around 5:30 and she fell back to sleep, seemed fine, so I put her in her crib. By the time I got back to my own room just down the hall I saw her in the baby monitor puking again. Such a mess!! Of course I ran and picked her up and got it all over me again. HORRIBLE start to a long day of travel! Luckily after I got her all bathed and we got on the road she was back to normal again. She cried for about 15 minutes when we started I think just because she was hungry. But other than that she did great on what ended up being a 9 or so hour drive. Never had any other issues after that.

We've been having a horrible time with constipation lately. She flaps her arms and cries and seems to be in such pain when she has a BM, and her stools are super hard and big. I feel horrible for her. I've been feeding her foods with more fiber but I think the problem is she doesn't take in enough fluids to push things through. We started prune juice yesterday so we'll see what happens.

 

[Beanonorder]

Scooby we had (and sometimes still have) the same problem with constipation and it was also due to low fluids. Amber didn't like the taste of the prune juice too much so I used apple juice instead. It worked wonders! Now I make sure she has some every day.

 

[Chloe597]

Scooby, sorry about the pukey baby! That is such a horrible feeling! i'm impressed she was fine right as your trip started, however!

Just wanted to take a moment to celebrate the end of my breast pumping (at least until baby #2) I went all day at work yesterday without pumping, only giving gabby boob in the morning and before bed. I will not miss that pump one bit! Now to see how my supply holds up for just the morning/night feedings. I can feel my hormones getting back in sync too. I am breaking out on my chin (like i always used to do when not on B/C and not pregnant), and am noticing that my lady parts are not as dry as they have been for the last year.

 

[scoobydrlp]

Congrats on graduating from pumping, Chloe! I also stopped pumping a few weeks ago. It's so nice not to have to worry about it anymore. I've been nursing still in the morning and at night and my supply has held up well so far. Camden stayed at my parents house overnight last friday so I had to pump saturday morning and got enough for a full feeding. I hope to be able to keep this up for quite a while.

 

[sigh]

Hi ladies! I'm having a fun week. Ellie tripped and her lip caught on the ottoman in her room and she tore the flap of skin between her upper lip and gums. There was so much blood and we had no idea where it was coming from but she is ok, just sore. Really scary! She is not nursing well because of that and the teeth that are coming in and its caused another bout of mastitis, milk blisters and plugged ducts. My boobs feel like they did when she was a newborn ack. My supply is tanking AGAIN because of this but my fever is gone. The timing couldn't have been worse, since I was supposed to do all this stuff for her bday party. ahhh ok back to planning stuff, just wanted to say hi!

 

[Kelly M]

Sigh, so sorry you are having such a rough week! Mastitis sounds so awful. You are such an amazing momma for keeping up with breastfeeding through all of that. And poor Ellie! The mouth must bleed a lot because when C bit his tongue off it was super bloody! It's hard not to freak out when you see your baby bleeding like that.

Chloe and Scooby, so happy for you ladies that you don't have to pump anymore. I would have had a rough time if I'd had to pump all that much! I admire you pumping and working mommas.

Scooby, glad your trip was well despite the rough start. Big kid puke is the worst! I'm not looking forward to that.

I have to share this with you all. I posted a blog about Carter's first year. I did a session with him every month and have compiled my faves plus some photos of his "firsts". I think my favorites are his four months photos and his 1 year session at the end.

https://www.kellymirandaphotography.com/?p=2019

 

[ImSoTired]

Kelly I love the pictures! Carter is such a handsome boy! I love the curls!

Chloe and scooby congrats on being done with the pump! I only pumped for about 4 months but it was so annoying. I much prefered to actually breastfeed but I have the laziest eater on the planet so neither really worked for us unfortunately. Oh well, there's always next time for me. Kudos to the both of you for keeping it up so long!

Sigh I hope Ellie's mouth is better. The poor girl! I know it must have been scary. Working at the daycare I saw plenty of bloody mouths and it's a shock even when it's not your own child. I hope she gets back to feeding normally so you can have a little relief.

Not much new here. Cait has gone on a walking strike and insists on crawling except with her walker and along the furniture. I catch her doing it when she thinks I'm not looking but when I stand her up and prompt her to she won't walk. I guess it'll be a little while before she decides it's the best way to go. I've started putting a little milk in her bottles and she's doing great. No constipation, no eczema, no reaction. She's had cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and some icing before so I think we're in the clear. In a few weeks time it'll be nice not to have to buy expensive formula. Oh why couldn't breastfeeding have worked out for us!? She's doing fantastically on all solids and I still worry if she's getting enough but she seems satisfied and she seems to be growing well. Still no teeth and her birthday is on Monday. I can't believe it! Below are her Christmas/ 1 year pics. That's my dress that I wore at 6 months (but it was big on me) I don't have a pic right now but if I find one I'll post it. ETA I had my mom send me the pic of me. I was 6 months old in Nov of 1987. Cait is so much cuter than I ever was...lol

I hope all is well!