***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[sigh]

I feel like a bad mommy for trying it out now. But he took to it so well. If you watch the video he makes the cutest smacking noises!

Don't feel bad! Seems like he's ready! He is soooooo freakin cute!!!!! I wish Ellie was a chubster but my boobs can't keep up with her appetitie She does have super thunder thighs though

Ellie has been reaching for my plate and drooling (more than usual) when she sees me eat. I feel soo tempted to give her some because I feel bad and she always seems hungry after she's sucked me dry but I'm going to wait to see what the ped says. We'll probably end up giving it to close to 6 months.

Ellie is 4 months old today! I can't believe I no longer have a newborn She's been VERY VERY cranky and randomly screaming, esp after her bath, the last 2 days. I'm not sure if the mother's milk tea had something to do with it so I stopped drinking it yesterday but she's still cranky. My supply was high in the morning but has been super low since and I've had some cramps so I'm wondering if AF is coming. Her 4 month appointment is tomorrow and I'm really nervous about her weight check... I think she's only in the low 13s which would mean she's gained less than 2 lbs in the last 2 months. Blah hope everything goes well!

We've been keeping Ellie up for 2 hrs between naps even if she's tired and it seems to be working. She's taken 1 long nap (1-2+ hrs) a day almost every day since we started. We tried putting her in the crib and she can only last 20 minutes there so we are still having her nap in the swing.

Thank you all for the pumping advice btw! Ellie has been sleeping pretty well at night (knock on wood) so I've been able to pump one side and feed on the other each morning and have been able to freeze about 4 oz each day so I have 32 in the freezer right now. How much should I keep in the freezer incase of an emergency? How big is your freezer stash?

 

[Honey.Bee]

Hi Kelly, I don't think you should feel bad. He seemed to be enjoying it to me! I think that we all have to go with our Mummy instincts on this one. All of our babies are different and they will all want/need solids at different times. My plan is to try and include Ava is our mealtimes by sitting her with us as we eat. I'll let her play with food so she's not left out and if her interest is as sustained as it is now, then I'll probably try her on some first foods in the next few weeks. I'm certainly not going to force it and will obviously keep BF.

 

[bbygurl719]

I started my 16 month old on baby fruit when she was 3 months old. She always wanted our food tried grabbing it off our plates n everything. She did just fine and eats like a champ still. Now she eats everything we eat.. so if u feel he is ready than go ahead ur not a bad mommy. He's letting you know he's ready. Back when we were all babies our parents had us on rice at a month or so n eating baby food @ two or three months. I say if he was showing signs and enjoyed than he is ready. But don't ever think ur a bad mommy everyone has different opinions.

 

[sigh]

I just made these: https://www.drmomma.org/2010/08/major-milk-makin-lactation-cookies.html

They are yum! Will let you know if I see results! DH keeps eating them. lol

 

[daydream]

Kelly - don't feel like a bad mommy! And I hope what I said didn't contribute to that, if so I'm so sorry didn't mean to. Some babies are ready early! My cousin's baby was wolfing down food whenever they fed him and I think he was just a little over four months. They couldn't refill the spoon fast enough! The video was hilarious to watch. Who knows, maybe my son will end up like that since that's how our relatives were. I think my mom said my brother was like that too.

 

[daydream]

Kelly - just watched your video, so cute! Def think he knew what he was doing. Our ped said we would know he wasn't ready if we tried and he pushed it back out with his tongue. He likes avocado! Smart boy

 

[Kelly M]

Thanks for making me feel better ladies. I just had a moment of regret. I think the whole thing is getting to me emotionally because my baby is growing up so fast! I love bfding so much even though I have at least another year of it I feel like this is the beginning of the end you know?

 

[cococobain]

scooby - congrats on camden hitting the grabbing milestone! LO only just did this today on her hanging chime toy and she couldn't 'ungrab' it so she was just thrashing it about chiming away with the widest eyes of surprise. it really is a lot of fun to watch, but does it ever feel little bittersweet at times? they just grow up so fast...

toothfairy - naptimes have become a struggle for us too. whats the room where joseph sleeps in like? OH had the thought to totally black out the window in our bedroom and it seems to have helped stretch nap times a little, though gone are the days of the two hours nap !

bbrgurl - bless her the sweet thing! that picture tugged at my heart. i hope the treatments are getting easier for you i know it can't be easy if shes fighting it xx

chloe - specialists are scary indeed! try not to worry too much though, if the Dr thinks its nothing its probably nothing (going through all the other possibilities will just drive you insane) do you already have an appointment set up? sorry i don't have experience with this myself just wanted to offer my support xx

sigh - thanks for the recipe! just being yummy is a good enough reason for me to make them, any help with supply is just an added bonus hehe.

How exciting we are fast approaching the weaning ages (some sooner than others, but every baby is different!) we'll probably hold off until 6 months though i know i'll get a lot of slack from my SIL for that i might be tempted to start earlier if LO shows all the signs of readiness (though i wish she could be my little baby forever!)

This evening I heard my baby have her very first laugh. I was cleaning up and OH was giving her a tickle and I heard the most beautiful sound in the world! I dropped whatever was in my hand and ran to the room but she stopped as soon as I came in. I hope this means she'll start laughing more now! God it melts my heart.

edit: ps Kelly M - what a cutie pie! such gorgeous eyes. he seemed to really enjoy that too xx

 

[Chloe597]

What is everyone putting their lo's in for sleeping now that the weather is getting warmer? I don't want to overheat her but I feel like just a cotton sleeper isn't enough??

 

[sigh]

What is everyone putting their lo's in for sleeping now that the weather is getting warmer? I don't want to overheat her but I feel like just a cotton sleeper isn't enough??

Ellie still gets so cold at night! We had her in cotton pjs with socks and a long sleeve sleep sack but tonight we put her in a sleeveless sleepsack. Hopefully she doesn't get too cold! Her room seems to be chilly.

 

[daydream]

I've been turning the AC on during the day because of that same problem. We're still swaddling (meh efforts to break it have not been good), so I turn it on to prevent him from overheating.

I think H went through a growth spurt.. 3-6 month outfits are getting close to being too small. Time to rotate his clothes again.

Did someone ask earlier about freezer milk? I think I'm up to or over 400 oz.... I have no idea when I will ever be able to use it! My supply in the morning is ridiculous. I pump between 8-10 oz after feeding him. It keeps going up too.. This morning was 13 oz. I'm sure once I go back to work we will use a lot more, at least I hope so.. We're running out of space in our freezer

 

[daydream]

Coco - yay for a first laugh! We've gotten a couple random giggles but nothing regular. I can't wait to have baby laughs in our house

 

[bbygurl719]

Treatments are okay sometimes she doesn't mind , sometimes she fussies a little and sometime she screams. It breaks my heart that I have to go thru this with her. She's still coughing and wheezing. As for sleeping angel sleeps in a onesie as I live in Florida and I Co sleep with her n have her in her blanket as well as my comforter on her. It's easier for me to Co sleplep asmy one year old still sleeps in our room in crib still. So once she gets better n I start sleeping in our room again she doesn't wake her sister up. Plus I Co slept with my one year old for a very short time qnd now she barely sits or cuddles us let alone lay in our bed. So I'm sucking it up for as long as I can this time. It goes by way to fast. I sill feel like I just had Ella n I've already gone thru another pregnancy and she's almost four months lol. But with Ella we only put her in light sleepers or onesies. My babies got there daddies sweating and hot habits at night. Sorry if I'm rambling on now.

 

[bbygurl719]

Oh n angel has been trying to laugh for weeks now but her poor cough interrupts her. She starts laughing and instead she coughs. My poor lil baby.and she's alsostarted ggrabbing her toys on her bouncer in turn past two weeks. N when people say every baby is different it is very true. Dd1 started eating baby food @ 3 months and I tried letting angel have a taste tonight and she wasn't having it. And than dd1 didn't start cooing baby talking until she was five months old but angel has been for a month now. Sorry I just love talking about my babies and when I get going I can't stop unless I make myself lol.

 

[sigh]

daydream - wow you are so lucky to have such an awesome supply!

bbygurl - so sorry you and angel are going through this. i hope the treatments are helping and she has a speedy recovery!


Ellie has been laughing since early Feb but its picked up in the last few weeks. She has a weird laugh like her daddy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI0B4pUPmHA&feature=youtu.be

 

[daydream]

Ahhhh! So sweet!!

 

[Kelly M]

Oh my gosh sigh she's soooooo cute!!! Love it! Carter has been laughing for about a month or so but it takes a lot to make him laugh. He smiles all day long though.

 

[Chloe597]

baby laughs are the cutest thing ever! When i kiss gabby on her cheek and she is laying down she laughs every time. love love love it!

So cute, sigh!

Scheduled her cardiologist appt for next friday, so I have to spend the next 2 weeks worrying, hopefully for no good reason!

 

[sigh]

Chloe - Good luck, hope everything goes well!

So Ellie had her 4 month appointment today and she has only gained 1 lb 14 oz in the last 2 months and is 13 lbs 7 oz Considering I'm constantly feeding her, it has to be my supply that is the issue. Dr recommended starting solids around 5 months if she's ready but told me I can try now if I think she's ready. I feel really sad like I've let her down or something. Not sure what else I can do... the good news is her height is on track (25 1/4 inches).

 

[scoobydrlp]

Chloe, good luck with the cardiologist. I know how nerve wracking it is to have to wait so long for an appointment like that. I worried so much about our hip ultrasound, but everything turned out just fine. Hope the same is true for you!

Daydream - I also have a crapload of milk in my freezer, around 500oz I think. The only time we've used it so far is when we leave her overnight at my parents house when OH and I both have to work on saturdays, but I pump for each meal she's taking from a bottle. Be careful when using it for going back to work. You should be pumping enough while you're at work to be able to feed your baby while you're away the next day. If you're not, and you supplement with the frozen milk, then your supply will drop.

Camden's great grandparents are in town visiting from Ohio, this is their first time meeting her. They are both in their mid-80's, so we feel very lucky to still have them around. Lots of picture taking going on!