***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[Fifipots]

My 2 sleepy little girls

 

[Beanonorder]

Such cute pictures Fifi! Wow into 3-6 month stuff already. Amber isn't even out of NB stuff yet She fits into about 4 of her 0-3 month stuff. I really want her grow a bit more now!

Amber is two months today! Yay!!

Another feeding question - how many times a day are you feeding you LO? When we started combi feeding Amber was feeding 7 to 8 times. At least 10 min each side & then a 65ml bottle. In about the last week she's dropped to 6 times. Still at least ten minutes each side but now she's drinking a 100ml bottle. Is this OK?

 

[scoobydrlp]

Happy 2 months to Amber!! I have no idea how many times I feed Camden daily, she is fed on demand and I haven't kept track since the first week or so after she was born. I think I'll start tracking again though because she'll be starting daycare mid march and I'll need to know how many bottles to send with her. Sooooo dreading going back to work

 

[Beanonorder]

Happy happy to Camden too!
I have to admit that right now with the thrush I am so glad not to be feeding as frequently as I was when ebf. My left nipple is in agony and I don't think I could have handled it!

Today is so exciting!
First off - we have a baby sitter coming tonight so we can go out for dinner! Looking forward to some dh time!
Second - I weighed Amber this morning and she has finally hit 4kgs! Lots of yayness there.
And thirdly (and most importantly!) - her passport is FINALLY on its way to us! So provided all goes to plan with her resident permit, the two of us will be off to South Africa next weekend!!! I am so excited I don't know what to do with myself!

 

[ttc_lolly]

Millie is 3 months old today! Happy 2 months to Amber & Camden

She seems fine after her jabs yesterday, thankfully. I forgot to add she was weighed and checked etc and is now 14lbs 8oz. So proud her heart, lungs and hips are all good too. My DD1 Amber is 27 months old today too so double celebrations here.

Bean, we just feed on demand. Millie's cut down her feeding sesh's but they are a little longer sometimes... I'd say she feeds anywhere between 5-9 times a day. As long as Amber is gaining and having plenty of wet nappies I wouldn't worry yourself

Millie has just started doing big belly laughs over the past few days, so bloody cute!!

 

[juless]

So glad to hear all of your little ones are growing and developing so well! What cuties!!
Tess is doing great, growing like a weed! She's wearing 6 month right now, still in some 3-6 though, but mostly due to her length. I hate when her sleepers are tight on her toes so like them a bit baggy. So amazing to see her start doing new things all the time, like trying to grab things and interacting with her toys.
As for me, I feel awful the last few days. A few weeks ago when I took Tess for her checkup I had the doctor check me again to see if the UTI I had previously was completely gone. They checked my sample and there were still signs of an infection. He gave me a prescription and told me to get the antibiotics if my symptoms became worse. I was feeling okay until a few days ago I started having a lot of muscle weekness and aches in my joints. Now I'm on day 2 of the meds and am super nauseaus and my muscles are so tired! Hard to get anything done.. just hoping these pills take care of the infection!

 

[Honey.Bee]

Oh no, Jules. Hope you feel better soon but should you really be trying to 'get things done?'. Naughty mama. Rest up.

Happy 2 month birthdays Camden and Amber and happy 3 month birthday, Millie! Our babies are growing up fast.

Bean - great news all round. You deserve a bit of a good break. Ava feeds on demand but I've no idea how many times in a day. It is variable, for example, if we are out she'll probably eat less frequently but with more in a feed. Also if she naps a lot she tends to feed more too because she likes to eat as soon as she wakes up. I think she's a bit like a goldfish and the sleep makes her forget she's eaten relatively recently! I reckon maybe 6-10 feeds in 24 hours.

 

[cookielucylou]

Hayden had his 2nd injections yesterday, he cried at the time but seemed ok once they were done. He also seems to have grown out of always having a gunky eye finally!

 

[GenYsuperlady]

Glad all the first sets of shots have gone well for everyone!
Chloe - I was worried that Summer wasn't grabbing at things as well, but she has just started to really do it this week (3 1/2 mos). She's terribly uncoordinated, but can hold her plastic ball that has a lot of holes in it (looks like some complex geometric thing). She tries to bring it to her mouth but is only successful sometimes.
Fifi - look at those gorgeous chubby cheeks! I had to pack up all of Summers 0-3 month clothes a few weeks ago...but I combined it with packing up my maternity clothes, so it wasn't too sad of an occasion!
Bean - YAY for date night! So needed, I'm sure. DH and I are hoping to have one on Sunday, provided Summer stays well. She's got a runny nose which is causing a bit of a cough, but I think it's all due to teething to be honest. It's much different than when she was actually sick with a cold last month.
I can't believe it, but I need to get on the phone and schedule Summer's 4 month well-child check/shots! She is such a little human now!
I know this is a WAAAAY early question - but have any of you started saving for college for your LO? My DH is suddenly freaking out about getting savings together (which is wonderful, actually) but he calculated how much we need to save for Summer's college and I was shocked!

 

[cookielucylou]

I have put Hayden under his play gym this afternoon and its the first time he hasnt cried. He is reaching out for the toys and chewing the dangly bits on them

 

[Chloe597]

Juless, hope you're feeling better soon!

Lolly, happy 3 months to Millie! Her and gabby are just one day apart Can't wait to take her 3 month pictures!

fifi, cute pics!

Bean, so happy Amber is gaining, and that you are getting her passport in time!

Cookie, my Gabby also has a constantly gunky eye. Just one. I hope she outgrows it soon too!

GenY, I have started the college savings program. Opened an account at collegeadvantage, which is Ohio's 529 program. I haven't funded it yet, but I have money that I need to put in. I did some online calculator that said we need to save like $1,000/month for college for the next 18 years in order to have $500,000 for college. College BETTER not cost $500,000 in 18 years! I will tell Gabby she has no choice but to be smart and get scholarships cuz no way am i putting away $1,000 every month! I was thinking more along the lines of $200/month.

Gabby has had 3 days at daycare now, and she is doing really well! I struggled with how much milk to give her since I have no idea how much she drinks as I too fed on demand, and am EBF. But I think we are doing well, and daycare records her feedings and naps. Gabby is quite a cat napper! She takes about 3 30-45 min naps and one nap that is a bit over an hour in the afternoon. It makes for a fairly pleasant baby in the evenings and I can put her to bed at 9 and she wont wake up until 7. Heaven!! I just hope this lasts....

 

[GenYsuperlady]

Chloe - Summer just cat naps when she's at daycare too. I think she is too interested in what is going on to stay down for long! Glad things are going well

 

[scoobydrlp]

Bean - hooray for weight gain, you're doing great!

Happy 3 months to Millie!

Chloe, may I ask how much milk Gabby is taking at daycare? We will have to send pre-measured bottles. Camden has never drank much more than 3oz from a bottle at one time, so I suppose we'll start with that and see how it goes. I just hope we don't end up wasting a bunch of milk because the daycare will throw out any milk left after it's been out of the fridge for 1 hour. No re-refrigerating for next feed.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that Camden rolled over for the first time today! I think it was an accident, but it's still exciting. She was having tummy time and was grumpy about it as usual, and she kicked herself first onto her side, and then all the way over.

 

[joeliza24]

Gen-I started but not putting too much into it (like $100 a month - decided on this arbitrarily). Figured it's never too early!

 

[ocean_pearl]

Yay happy 3 months to Millie!

Glad everyone's babies are doing so well!

Took Oliver to a BabyCalm class yesterday, it was lovely to get some good tips and meet other mums going through v similar things like colic. Oliver must've enjoyed it and I used some of the calming holds in the evening. He slept from 9pm-5am, the had a feed and went back to sleep until 9.30am! Amazing! I'm sure it's a fluke though

 

[Chloe597]

scooby, I am still learning too...I have given them 5 bottles every day, with 3-4 oz per bottle, and she has drank 3 or 4 bottles every day. On day 1 i split it up with 2 3oz bottles and 3 4oz bottles, with the hope that they would give her the smaller amounts if she had gone less time between feedings, but i'm not sure if that was the case. yesterday and today i just went with the full 4 oz per bottle and she drank 3 yesterday. Just play around with it, and see if they can store frozen milk there so in case you dont give them enough in the beginning, they can defrost it and feed Camden some more. My daycare also has no re-refrigeration after 1 hour. Kinda sucks when you have no clue how much a baby needs! I've been lucky in that I am amble to pump what she needs for the day, and then some, so if some gets thrown out, I'm ok with that. I'm pretty much a milk factory, which becomes a nuisance if she goes to bed at 8, and i go to bed at 11,I have to pump then, and in the morning she only takes one boob because they are so full, so then i have to pump the other one. I've had to buy more breast pump bottles to keep up with it all. And can I also add, labeling bottles every day sucks! I bought a China pen (a grease pen?) that i can easily write and erase off of plastic, but i started with sticky labels and now i have adhesive on every bottle. Cleaning that off is a pain! Anyone have any clever bottle labeling techniques to share?

 

[toothfairy29]

Girls I don't know what happens with my subscription here sometimes. I don't always get emails to day there has been any posts so after a couple of days I log in thinking you've all been quiet and find I've missed loads!! Can't catch up properly yet as on iPhone!

2 quick questions. I got an original 2.5 tog grobag other day. It seemed so thin and I was combined my room was colder than 16degrees so I ordered their 3.5 winter one to try. Joseph has been in the 2.5 last couple of nights. He's warm when I get him up to feed but I wouldn't say cosy. I checked the paper thermometer that comes with the grobag and surprisingly it was glowing 18 degrees through the night. I know it's not accurate to the degree as it is marked 15, 18, 21 degrees so not to the degree. The 3.5 arrived today. It appears my room is in the ideal temp for the 2.5. But as I said he's not 'cosy' warm. Should I send it back? I don't want him to overheat obviously?! These bags are confusing the hell out of me! So easy to lay him back down in though!

2nd question what are your babies sitting in during the day? We have a padded bouncy chair reclined back but he's getting so he doesn't want to be laid like this. It does incline more but he sort of can slump sideways in it. He's holding himself upright well when on your knee. I get the feeling he wants to be sat upright sometimes but don't know what I'm going to sit him in over next few months?

 

[Honey.Bee]

Chloe - can you use milk storage bags? That's how I store any expressed milk and then transfer to a bottle as required.

Tooth - you are funny! According to the instructions, you should have a 2.5 tog. Has Joseph been sleeping ok? If so, I'd stick with the one you've got, especially as it should be getting warmer soon. I often think Ava is not 'cosy' but actually when you unzip her it's pretty warm inside. As for the seat - I've just bought a mamas and papas snug seat. She loves it plus it's easy to move between rooms. We switch between that when she's alert and the bouncer when she's more tired. I got mine in mothercare as they are on sale at the moment but you should also be able to pick up something similar e.g. Bumbo seat second hand x

 

[bbygurl719]

tooth have u heardof a bumbo seat? my dd1 always like to sit upright. she never laid down in anything. the swing in bouncer that i have pics of Angel in ella only sat in once cuz they laid back. once i started putting her in the bumbo sat @ 2months she was so happy in it!! AS for my girls i cant catch a break with them... Angel has a cold.. I have to watch her temp, breathing, and for dehydration.. if any of those happen i have to take her to the ER.. Ella has a double ear infection, yellow cruddy nose, and doctor said her throat is bright red. SO once again she is on antibiotics. my poor baby girls i feel so bad for them!!

 

[Fifipots]

I'd be lost without the bumbo as its so easy to move from room to room, plus it can have a tray so can be used as a feeding chair too,

Quick question on the subject of poo!! When Teddie poos, which she does at least 3 times a day, it's literally like an explosive rocket coming out of her, it's not got any solidity to it but also not liquid, more like yellow mushy peas? But it just all escapes out the top back of the nappy so 9 times out of 10 she's being changed after number 2's, anyone else suffering?