***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[puravida]

I'm in a VERY blended family and we're not very religious, one way or the other, but we celebrated Passover and Easter this past week with baby girl and can't wait until next year when she can actually enjoy some of these festivities. We certainly had fun dressing her up and letting her participate with us though

In response to my original post about her 3 month growth spurt: lasted about a week and then she just went back to sleep! It was like a Christmas miracle haha. Thankful for my nights back again...I noticed that a "dreamfeed" definitely helps though. I've been considering anytime after 7/8 her bedtime so if she eats after that time frame and is tired I just let her pass out then wake her up 2-3 hours later, change/feed her again then put her down for the night. I try to wake her up by 7/7:15am for the first feeding of the day.

Maya will be 4 months on the 9th and she starts her first day of daycare tomorrow! Time is flying by. Hoping this new transition goes ok!

 

[puravida]

friends and are always talking about when is the best time to start trying for a 2nd baby...if you want one, that is! Every parent has a different opinion on this...I've heard that if they're a little less than 2 years apart you don't have to deal with jealousy issues but if you wait til the first one is over 2 it won't feel like you have two babies in the house.

Just curious what other people have experienced. I'm one of three and we're all just about 2 years apart, which is nice because we're all pretty close, relationship wise. I would love my kids to have that with their siblings.

If any of you out there are trying for baby #2 and so on, good luck and I'd love to hear how you decided it was "time"

 

[ImSoTired]

We had such a busy few days with the holidays. I was so tired but last night Cait and I slept fantastically! Unfortunately, today, she won't let me get much done so it looks like Easter exploded all over my house

coco Cait is pretty small just about 12 lbs and just starting to get chubbier cheeks and legs. We've only just moved her to her 3-6 month clothing and she still eats like a bird.Beautiful pic by the way!

We all have such beautiful babies I love all of the Easter pics and everything. SO cute!

I have no idea how much breast milk I'm producing anymore as it isn't Cait's main source of food and I quit pumping.She just has a few sips before every bottle and sometimes when she's really upset. I've felt a little guilty about it now and then because I do love to breastfeed her and I know it is best for her but it is what is best for us as a family if it she isn't exclusively BF. I still know I will miss it when I am totally done with it but I am thinking of ending it soon because my allergies are just terrible and I don't want to take anything until she is finished BF. I am just happy I've been able to breastfeed a little, and proud she's still getting something from me.

Purvida I sometimes feel a bit broody but I'm usually way too busy to really want another baby. It also keeps DH and I from dtd much anyway. I'm thinking late 2014 or 2015 I will try again.

I still haven't gotten my period yet. Is it from breastfeeding maybe or what? I'm not really complaining, just wondering when it will return. Seems odd to me.

Hope you are all well and had a nice holiday if you celebrated

 

[ttc_lolly]

What a gorgeous photo coco

There are 2yrs & 2 mths exactly between my girls and its a good age gap there have been zero jealousy issues from DD1 and she isn't all that bothered about Millie actually (as in hardly acknowledges she's there ), so I haven't had to worry about her accidentally or unintentionally hurting her, trying to pick her up, etc. We were lucky that DD1 was fully potty trained by 2 though as I imagine 2 in nappies and then toilet training whilst have a young baby to take care of would be a handful. I'm a little broody but not terribly, if I can talk my OH round to having another I think I'd have a bigger age gap next time though. Not ready to have 3 kids all too close in age!

 

[Honey.Bee]

Wow! So much to catch up on. Lovely photos! I reckon Cait and Camden could easily be mistaken for sisters - so cute.

Kelly - I read that at 4 months it is normal for an EBF baby to be waking up to 3 times in a 12 hour night. As Ava takes a full feed when she wakes I guess she must need it. My challenge now is to get her to self-soothe. I'm kinda hoping when she starts to eat solids she might sleep longer, although I know that isn't necessarily the case.

Lolly - I'm going to ask my HV about weaning tomorrow. I like the idea of BLW but I'm wondering if Ava might need to go down the purée route as she has dropped off her centile, despite her vigorous appetite?

Samj - glad the drip is out x

 

[ttc_lolly]

Has she dropped a lot, enough to be concerned about? Definitely speak to your HV but I wouldn't worry too much to start with as they take in so little from TW and BLW that its mostly just to get them used to different flavours and textures etc. Milk is still their primary food source at that stage. You could always combine TW & BLW too... Amber had a lot of puréed fruits and sometimes meats & veg when we were in a rush/eating out. At the end of the day it's choosing what works for you both

 

[samj732]

Coco, we will have her normal 4 month visit with shots with her pediatrician, and a follow up visit and an ultrasound with the surgeon in 4 weeks. Then I'm sure another follow up in 6 months, but for now things are looking good

I don't want any more babies. This might sound selfish but I only ever wanted a girl (on the rare moments I wanted a baby at all ) and 36 hours of labor will haunt me for the rest of my life. Plus I'm a single mom... Iz's dad is involved in her life I don't want to be one of those "ten baby daddy" women

 

[cococobain]

Thanks ladies I don't have facebook or anything so I rarely get to show off my baby. Yup yup, looks like we all got some pretty darn good lookin' kids.

I still haven't gotten my period yet. Is it from breastfeeding maybe or what? I'm not really complaining, just wondering when it will return. Seems odd to me.

Yeah it has to do with breastfeeding, that's why some people say they use BF as a contraceptive, if you're weaning her off the boob then you'll probably get yours soon enough. It's also another reason why most of us don't get the "loving feelin'" until the periods returns. No ovulation, no sexy-time hormones. I knew mine was coming when I suddenly realized I had a sexy man in my house.

Samj - Aw yay, no more invasive procedures then. Glad to see that nightmare is behind you both!

Puravida - I know what you mean, my sister and I are just over 2 years apart. Whilst I love having a sister so close in age to myself, I honestly can't imagine myself pregnant with a very young toddler. Sounds exhausting! I think I'd like to wait at least until the 1st is at least done with potty-training and teething.

 

[juless]

Any of you guys thinking about when to start LO's on solids? With DD1 I started just about 6 months, as 6 months was what seemed to be recommended. Then this weekend my stepmom tells me about how there's a new study that shows that it shouldn't be done until a year as baby can develop digestion and allergy issues. So confusing on what to do! I think I might try to wait till a year, we'll see! It's hard when they seem like they are getting soooo hungry!
*edit* Just started reading back on pages I missed and realized this was already discussed! oops! hehe*

 

[scoobydrlp]

Beautiful pictures everyone!

 

[bbygurl719]

Hey all I forget who was talking about baby number two. But my girls r 13 months n 3 days apart. I absolutely love the age gap. If I could I words ls have another gap like that. I say if u really want to have them close do it. It is not as bad as everyone makes it out to b.

 

[joeliza24]

My aunt flo must not have gotten the memo about not appearing while breastfeeding; the witch has already made 3 appearances! And that's with me EBF.

My LO was waking up every 2 hours most of last week - it was like having a newborn for sure. He slept better last night tho. Hopefully whatever he was going through (regression/spurt) is over!

 

[ttc_lolly]

Julees, we started around 5.5 months with DD1 as she was showing all the signs of being ready and she took to it well. I'm waiting for the signs again, Millie seems to be a little more advanced, but I'm in no rush and will hold off until she's close to 6 months, over if necessary. Do you have any links on this new info your stepmum told you about? I'd be interested to read it I think I'll stick to the WHO guidelines for now though, unless it changes x

joeliza, sorry AF came for you early. What a b*tch!! Unfortunately bf'ing doesn't delay ovulation for everybody, I think you need to be feeding every 3-4hrs around the clock in order for it to do so, but sometimes even then it won't work. I've had light spotting for a day at a time on 3 seperate occasions now and I have no idea if I can even class it as AF or if its my body gearing up to O and then changing its mind!? odd!

 

[daydream]

To add to the next baby discussion, we want another and ideally I'd want them three years apart, but as we had fertility issues, I think we will ditch the condoms when H is 1.5 years old and see what happens. Then once we NTNP for a year, we will investigate if we need AC again.

We had such a good bedtime going for a while, but the past two nights he's been fussy in the evening again. It's so draining, I hope this is just a phase.

 

[ocean_pearl]

I cannot wait to blw! If you ask your hv they run classes for more info. I think we'll definitely wait until 5.5-6 months but like Millie, Oliver is showing a lot of interest in our food already!

When he's sticking his tongue out I touched a piece of banana on it and his face as a picture! Then he tried to nom down on it so I took it away - bad mummy teasing him

I've heard wrt pumping its not a great indicator of supply sometimes. I could hardly get any out when I tried but when O sucks loads comes out so keep going sigh.

With regards to next baby, my OH wants another one soon but it's me who's saying we should wait at least 3 years. I want to concentrate on Oliver until he's in preschool. I would feel bad if I couldn't look after him well with another newborn around. But then part of me wants another one sooner, who knows!

 

[juless]

Hmm... not sure where I could find the info online, but she saw it on a news show or something? Something about some new study. Couldn't find anything about it online, but did find that some say it can do harm to wait too long? Such conflicting info out there! I plan on doing like I did for DD1, let Tess show me she's ready.

 

[puravida]

We had such a busy few days with the holidays. I was so tired but last night Cait and I slept fantastically! Unfortunately, today, she won't let me get much done so it looks like Easter exploded all over my house

coco Cait is pretty small just about 12 lbs and just starting to get chubbier cheeks and legs. We've only just moved her to her 3-6 month clothing and she still eats like a bird.Beautiful pic by the way!

We all have such beautiful babies I love all of the Easter pics and everything. SO cute!

I have no idea how much breast milk I'm producing anymore as it isn't Cait's main source of food and I quit pumping.She just has a few sips before every bottle and sometimes when she's really upset. I've felt a little guilty about it now and then because I do love to breastfeed her and I know it is best for her but it is what is best for us as a family if it she isn't exclusively BF. I still know I will miss it when I am totally done with it but I am thinking of ending it soon because my allergies are just terrible and I don't want to take anything until she is finished BF. I am just happy I've been able to breastfeed a little, and proud she's still getting something from me.

Purvida I sometimes feel a bit broody but I'm usually way too busy to really want another baby. It also keeps DH and I from dtd much anyway. I'm thinking late 2014 or 2015 I will try again.

I still haven't gotten my period yet. Is it from breastfeeding maybe or what? I'm not really complaining, just wondering when it will return. Seems odd to me.

Hope you are all well and had a nice holiday if you celebrated

Thanks so much for the note! my supply isn't that great so pumping while at work has been a little bit stressful...luckily Maya has been getting formula for awhile so we're ok.

good luck with your allergies...that stinks! I'm only allergic to cats, dogs, and dust.

 

[puravida]

Hey all I forget who was talking about baby number two. But my girls r 13 months n 3 days apart. I absolutely love the age gap. If I could I words ls have another gap like that. I say if u really want to have them close do it. It is not as bad as everyone makes it out to b.

That's really sweet...you must have good babies haha.

 

[puravida]

Today is Maya's first day of daycare...

all the grandmas went home and it's just me, hubby, and baby again. I was definitely sad leaving her at daycare this morning but I knew if I hung around and lingered I would cry.

She seems to be in good hands and my husband called to check in for me...so far so good except she's not a fan of napping in the crib haha but hey we warned them!

My baby girl turns 4 months on the 9th...crazy. Good luck to any other mommies going through the daycare transition!

 

[Honey.Bee]

OK, finally got round to taking some updated photos of Ava - here we go x

https://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/2012HoneyBee/F9BF4A17-9148-4E7C-8E2D-013F291DA1BB-8852-000006BC184A8E4B.jpg

https://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/2012HoneyBee/F91C6E5E-4258-40BE-B849-592519411373-8852-000006BC24119E17.jpg

https://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/2012HoneyBee/71C6F777-21DA-47D1-B7A4-6E8AE5D648B4-8852-000006BD8897E469.jpg