***December Snowflakes 2012 Parenting***

[scoobydrlp]

KellyM - how frightening! I hope everything turns out ok. Camden also does a weird trembling thing sometimes when she gets excited and it kind of scares me, but she is always awake and responsive.

We're taking a trip to the beach this weekend to visit with OH's family. It will be Camden's first time both in a pool and in the ocean. Hope she likes water! I'm a little nervous about the sun and sand and stuff with a baby, I think it could end up being a disaster. But I guess we'll find out soon enough! It's only a 3.5 hr drive this time, which is nothing compared to our 11 hour drive to Ohio a few weeks ago, so I expect that part to go smoothly. Anybody have anything planned for Father's Day? I'm not sure what to do!

 

[Honey.Bee]

Kelly - I'm sure it's just a precaution. Don't worry about the bloods - it's always more traumatic for Mummy than baby xxx

Scooby - hope your trip goes well. We live on the coast and Ava loves the beach. It does get a bit wild if you let them get sand on their hands though! Enjoy! For Father's Day Ava has painted her Daddy a card and my step-son has adopted him a lobster! (from our national hatchery) which has been named "Ultimate Dad". I haven't got any further than that though!

Tooth - here's some pictures of our nursery.
https://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/2012HoneyBee/6F367061-83CF-4007-8689-4EFF507FBA4F-12574-00000C60F61FFD58.jpg

https://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/2012HoneyBee/DCA2C3DA-ED56-4F8C-9178-26B76430526F-12574-00000C6119EDA81B.jpg

https://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s418/2012HoneyBee/DAA1D437-AE0B-4A04-A633-8D0E15F0666B-12574-00000C6144AE6C11.jpg

 

[cococobain]

Kelly - Hope it all works out xx Getting blood drawn doesn't hurt as much as getting jabbed, so hopefully he shouldn't be too distressed about it (but it still sucks having needles go anywhere near our bubs)

Chloe - Thanks for the article! I didn't realize white noise had to be so loud to be the most effective, but it completely makes sense.

To who asked, we have the Ikea cheapie too (the antilop) but I only just bought it yesterday so we haven't tried it out yet! There was a thread in Babyclub, Highchairs if you want to take a look

scooby - How fun! I wanted to have taken Mia swimming by now, but I haven't had the chance. Post cute swimming pictures when you get back! PS - If you sprinkle a little baby powder on sandy feet, it's so much easier to get the sand off I also saw once on pinterest a mother brought those little inflatable bathtubs (the cheapy ducky one) and filled it with water at the beach, so her bubs could cool off in the shade xx

Father's day was a few months ago here. Can't say we did a whole lot as he worked until 20h. Made him a card from Mia, put together a movie compilation of videos of the two of them together (him bathing her, rocking her, feeding, falling asleep together and all that cheesy goodness) and I made him his fav. dinner xx

 

[expatttc]

Kelly, they had to do a heel prick for Rosa to check her blood type for her UN id...it hurt me more than her! I hope all goes okay; keep us posted x

A few photos of Rosa -- the ones outdoor are from here in Brisbane, the one of the bucket was me figuring out where to put her before / after her bath when I was on my own. She LOVED it!!

 

[Honey.Bee]

Good tip about the baby powder/sand, Coco - will definitely try that.

Expat - love the bucket shot especially. I used to put Ava in the washing basket when she was little when I had too much to carry down the stairs. DH caught me once and went mad, but she loved it!

 

[toothfairy29]

Kelly hopefully they'll put some numbing gel on his skin first so he won't feel the needle. Think they'll be very good at distracting him too! Let us know how it goes xx

I also put Joseph in the washing basket from time to time! Padded out with a couple of towels! It supports him really well!!

 

[ImSoTired]

Kelly, big ! I would be very nervous in your situation too. I hope you are both ok now. I have seen children have seizures before and I know how scary it can be. As for blood drawn, it all depends on the phlebotomist. Cait had hers drawn twice after we left the hospital for jaundice and the first woman was awful, the poor baby cried, and the second woman was amazing! Cait was 4 or 5 days old and she only just whimpered. I was so thankful to that woman because I fully expected for both of us to be crying our eyes out again. I think most mothers are the same. I don't know how they draw blood now? Do they still prick their heels? But I hope Carter is just fine.

We have the graco simple switch high chair. It's small and light and turns into a chair booster. That will be great because we have a pretty small house and we don't have to room to spare.

Honey bee, the nursery is so cute. Love the very hungry caterpillar!

Expatt Rosa is gorgeous! Her hair reminds me so much of Cait's as it parts in the same spot and everything. Love the bucket pic too.

Coco, Cait did sleep better with the white noise, though I didn't play it as loud as I should apparently. It worked for her though. The night before last she slept from 10pm to 8am without waking. Last night she went down at 930, woke for a bottle at 430, and then slept until 8am again. I'm thankful she didn't wake more but wish she'd stop waking for a night feeding completely. Maybe some day...

Scooby I hope Camden has fun at the beach. I'm not very fond of the beach myself because of the sun and sand but we will take Cait there in a few years. I can't wait to see pics! We will be taking Cait swimming here in pools and ponds/ lakes as soon as it gets nice. The weather is yo-yo'ing here so badly. Hopefully soon.

We aren't sure what to do for father's day. For mothers day DH bought me a card and some candles and we went out to eat the day before, the 3 of us. I never know what to get DH, he's tricky. Maybe Cait will make a card?

Below is a pic of Cait's room (before she was born, before we moved her tub to the bathroom), and a recent pic of her.

 

[cococobain]

expatttc - *gasp* she's beautiful! I love her name too (first time I've read it) xx

IST - That's great! Mia goes to sleep around 6pm, wakes up at 3am then sleeps until 6.30am. It's nice having the evenings to myself, but that early morning wake up is sooooo hard. I try and bring her to bed with me in the morning and use jedi mind tricks to get her to fall back to sleep, but more often than not she just squirms and babbles and hits me til I drag my butt out and admit defeat.

Cait is too precious btw (ps that quilt is so cute, I'm obsessed with owls and the like)

A couple of Mia. Excuse the poor quality, not on my home computer so I snagged these off of OH's fb. First is with her nana and second with her daddy.

 

[expatttc]

coco, LOL, just read lo's shirt in the photo with Daddy! Cuuuute!
Love all the babies, IST, Cait's hair looks almost long enough to put in little pig tails! So sweet!!
The nursery photos are so inspiring; i'm going to take up a new project while down here and design Rosa's future room for Sri Lanka! That should keep me busy!
AND today we are getting a jumperoo. I found one online, secondhand but brand new as the woman bought two for her twins but only one twin liked them. Can't WAIT, I hope it will be useful to have Rosa enjoy herself for 10 minutes here and there so I can sit down and read / cook / just SIT, but let's face it...i'll probably spend most of the time she's in it taking videos...

Oh -- no change regarding sleep...thanks so much to tooth and sigh for PMing me notes, I have realized that the nights that hare more difficult (i.e. waking 1.5 hours instead of 2, and more fussing when she wakes) are those when she doesn't nap well during the day. The finger under the chin or lip hasn't worked yet...but we will persevere! Thank GOD for coffee!

 

[Kelly M]

Thanks for the warm thoughts everyone. Carter's blood tests won't be in until Monday probably. The dr. called today and said part of the results came back and his liver test showed elevated levels of something but that can be common since he had a cold last week so she's not worried about that. We'll know more later.

C is definitely getting a tooth! The little tooth is making him pretty cranky too. He has an amber teething necklace (not sure if it actually works) and I've been giving him hyland's teething tablets which do seem to help. I can feel a tiny bump where it's coming in. I can't wait to see what he looks like with little teefies! Sleep is still horrible here, up every 2 hours. I'm not nursing at night I've decided. His dr. says he doesn't need to eat and I'm tired of getting up so much, hoping that it helps him sttn. If not it will all be for nothing as we are losing a lot of sleep with me not nursing him at night, he refuses to settle without booby.

coco, love the pic and the shirt! So cute.

Ist and honey, lovely nurseries! Can't wait for C to have his own room.

Rosa is beautiful expat! What a doll!

Will keep you guys posted on our blood test results. Hate having to wait all weekend. I read up on infantile sleep-induced tremors and it sounds similar to what C had so that makes me feel better because those are harmless. It's probably nothing but still I can't help but worry!

 

[ImSoTired]

Coco Mia is so cute. love the onesie! She looks just like you in your avatar. I'm obsessed with owls as well.

Expatt I do put little pigtails in Cait's hair. Below is a pic, though not so great of one.

Kelly great news that the doctor isn't too concerned. Also great that you've researched it and it sounds like something harmless. I hope that it what it is. I hope Carter's tooth breaks through and he gets some relief! What is an amber teething necklace? I'm not sure I've ever heard of it!

We had sort of an up and down night so I am rather sleepy.

I hope you are all well and have a great weekend!

 

[Kelly M]

Carter does yoga!
https://i44.tinypic.com/2ut52jp.jpg

 

[Honey.Bee]

OMG Kelly - he is phenomenal!

 

[scoobydrlp]

Carter is hilarious!!

Jus wanted to drop in to say Camden loved the pool today! The water was pretty cold but she didn't mind at all. She kicked and kicked her feet like she was really swimming, and she even let me dunk her head under several times. So fun! She wasn't especially thrilled with the ocean, although it was super windy and the waves were huge. She still had fun at the beach though. Pictures when we get home!

 

[Chloe597]

Gorgeous pics, girls! I can't believe how much hair everyone has! Carter, Rosa, Mia, Cait, all gorgeous. And Kelly, what a strong little guy, doing the plank!

I will try to post a pic of gabbys nursery soon. It's pink, purple, and full of butterflies.

Kelly, glad the docs don't seem too concerned.

I'm still under the weather, but DH has returned, so that is a relief. Gabby has learned how to spit and make razzing noises. It's quite funny, but now she is even more drooly, which I didn't even think possible! We also discovered that she loves sweet potatoes. BLW is going ok, but I'm preferring the purees so far. Less stressful without worrying about choking

 

[sigh]

wow such cute babies! I'm so jealous of their hair!! adorable!

KellyM - C is amazing!! wow!!!

Chloe - feel better soon!

Scooby - awesome!! Can't wait to see pics!

IST - love her room!!

Expat - np! We seem to be having the opposite effect here. Ellie seems to be sleeping better at night when she cat naps during the day! weird.

My cousin came to visit this week and her son who just turned 18 months is taller than his 3 year old cousin (who is above the 50th percentile for her age)! Its so strange because he looks like he could be a 3 or 4 year old kid, but then he walks and babbles like a baby. Anyways, her son slept similar to Ellie and she never sleep trained and now she is STILL having to rock and bounce him to sleep everytime he wakes, which seems crazy considering she is tiny and he is huge. It just gave me another nudge that now is the time to help her learn how to fall asleep without nursing/rocking.

some good news - milk supply is up! I've been eating oatmeal every day, drinking at least 100 ounces of water (crazy, right?), drinking gatorade, and power pumping at night (10 mins pumping on and off for 1 hour). I'm not sure what is helping but something is because she seems more satisfied.

We went to my friend's wedding this weekend and Ellie wore a cute little indian outfit. Here's a pic! Can't believe she's 6 months already!

 

[Baby Bell]

Ellie is beautiful, what a gorgeous photo! Bet she stole the show a the wedding!

Lewis has about 3 days ago started this horrendous ear splitting screeching/scream. It's awful. We are trying to ignore it so he will stop it, but he uses it when he's crying, when he's playing, when he's happy, frustrated everything. I honestly am getting to the end of my tether with it. That combined with not sleeping for longer than an hour is getting me really down!

 

[toothfairy29]

Sigh you little lady is beautiful!!

I can't believe how strong carter is Kelly! That's amazing!!

Baby bell. Is he in pain? Teething or just finding his voice do you think? I feel for you. It's hard when you're running on no sleep xxxx

 

[Baby Bell]

I thought he was in pain to begin with just because of the noise, but he not showing any other signs, he seems to be out of a teething cycle at the moment. I really think it is him finding his voice.

 

[sigh]

Thanks ladies!

Baby bell - have you tried touching around his ears? This sounds like Ellie when she had her ear infection(s). I could tell it was bothering her if I touched and lightly pushed around the inside of her ear (near the hole).

So out of nowhere on Friday, Ellie lost her stranger anxiety and has become friendly and happy and is able to stay up for 3-4 hours (she is back to cat napping though). It was like a light switch went off and she's suddenly a happy baby. She loved all the noise of the wedding and didn't cry at all!!! I have to vent though... the bride was my friend and I was a bridesmaid and wasn't able to help her with wedding stuff much because Ellie stopped sleeping and I was exhausted. I think she told people that I have a fussy baby because so many people came up to me and told me, "Your baby is so good! She isn't fussy at all. You should be thankful and not complain about it." I've NEVER talked to any of these people about it and so I felt like the crappy mother who complains about her angel baby the whole wedding. Ugh.

The best part. 8 hours in her crib straight last night of course I didn't sleep until midnight so I got around 5 1/2 hours but 5 1/2 hours straight is AWESOME. She's getting her 6 month shots today so we probably won't see sleep like this tonight but hang in there ladies! I finally see the light at the end of the 2 month long tunnel!!