January Baby Bears 2017 ~ 48 Momma Bears: 21 Blue, 17 Pink

[Literati_Love]

Ally - wow, 18 hours of fasting per day sounds really hard. You must feel so weak and crappy for looking after Isa! Hope you can get through it.

That will be hard going back to work soon. I am glad your parents can watch Isa! Do you work full time? Are your parents retired? I hope they stick to your routine!

Slammer - thanks. I found the book much later that day, hidden in the pantry. I had already looked in the pantry, but not in that exact spot. Oh, children!

Wow, that sounds like an absolutely horrible night for you! I don't blame you for losing it! I am so glad your DH took them both and let you sleep a while, even if you woke up engorged because of it!

Pompey - ah, sorry you can relate on the husband working a lot. It is no fun!
Sounds like Jamie is doing great with his speech! Also sounds like he's gaining weight and growing well! Violet has her check-up and vaccines tomorrow, so I am curious how close her weight/height will be to his!

Newbie - oh dear, it sure sounds like Z had a rough time with his vaccines! That's terrible for both you and him! I hope he is back to his normal self now. You are making me nervous for Violet's vaccines tomorrow!

That is too bad some kids were teasing the non-fasting kids at school! I am glad the teachers have stayed on top of it.

VRogers - yay for L rolling so much! Does she roll both ways now, or is she just doing back to front? Sounds like she's gotten very active suddenly! Yay, that must have felt great giving her 4 oz of breastmilk the other day!!

Yay for using the Ergo now too! I find it way easier than the wrap as well! Does L have just as short of naps if they are in the Ergo? Or do you only carry her when she is awake?
Even though it's great L STTN, I am sorry she has such short naps. That would make your days feel extremely long, I'm sure!
V is the same with showing a bit of stranger anxiety already. She doesn't always do it, but sometimes if someone else holds her she just freaks out until I take her back. You can't blame them for wanting their mamas!

AFM - still feeling kind of blah/down this week, but oh well. I find it hard doing very many 'fun' summer activities with dd1 with V along. V is just not very flexible when out and it's hard to take her out anywhere. Oh well. Today we did manage to go in the backyard for a bit which is only the second time I've attempted that since V was born. Then after that we went for a walk to the park, so not a bad day.
I thought V was doing a lot better, but I think she's just normal but does pretty well when she's home all day in her normal routine and environment. When we went to my parents' house on Sunday she had another scream-a-thon. She also officially hates car rides now and cries the whole way most of the time, which sure does a number on my nerves! She does seem a tiny bit more chill though.
Her vaccines are tomorrow so I will update with her weight and length.

 

[Ally2015]

newbie- your fast length sounds much more resonable and its great you dont need to fast due to BF'ing. Poor baby Z and his shots...

vrogers-no stranger anxiety from Isa, he just loves people, he goes to anyone and everyone so happily. Cute about L rolling.

lit- honestly, it's much easier than you think, i feel absolutely fine, quite full of energy.Parents aren;t retired but mum has flexi hours and my dad works mainly from home. Yeah full time for me, but i can start off by just going in a couple days at first. I think dh is off work next week, so i might go that week to catch up .
Its good you managed to get out for a walk in the park. I think most babies cope better at home in the environment they know. I certainly don't like taking Isa out for too long, and definitely not in the evening time when it's close to bed time.]
Hope shots go ok.

AFM- it was my wedding anniversary yesterday, dh surprised me with flowers and some little gifts. Isa has been doing really well, the last couple of days he has started napping longer, a 45 min nap in morning and 1.5 in afternoon, then a couple of 30 min ones. I hope he keeps this up- but i am not expecting him too.
I sold some things on ebay, so have a bit of extra cash which has been handy x

 

[Literati_Love]

Ally - oh, good. I'm glad you still have a lot of energy! That's great!
Oh yes, it's really hard to take babies out, especially in the evening! Seems to be a fussy time for lots of babies. It is just an adjustment for me because I absolutely love summer and outdoor activities, so to be restricted in doing them makes me feel kind of down.

That is great your parents have flexible hours to help you out! And nice you can transition by starting out only working a couple days at first! Yay!
That's great about Isa's naps improving. That is similar to V's naps, but it has had the unfortunate side effect of making her only sleep 10 total hours at night instead of 12. I wish I could get her to drop a nap somehow so she would go to bed earlier!

AFM - violet's vaccines went ok. She cried a lot for the second shot which stings more. However, after about 10 minutes she was fine. She is 15 lb 10 oz (~80th percentile?) and 24.2" long, or 61.5 cm (~40th percentile). She seems so tiny to me because of my dd1 being SO long! The doctor's visit was chaotic with all the crying and then after dragging both kids all the way downstairs, across the parking lot and to the vehicle, I realized I forgot violet's swaddling blanket at the doctor's office, so had to drag the kids all the way back inside to get it, then back to the vehicle again! My arm is quite sore now (from carrying the car seat)! I still feel frazzled an hour later.
Going to be scorching hot today. I wish the spray parks were open already! And also that I had friends to hang out with...
Oh, as a side note, I found out my thyroid levels from the last time I got bloodwork. They are within normal range so don't need adjusting, but I honestly wish I could get adjusted to a lower dose, as even though my levels are normal, they are closer to the overactive side of things...and I think that is probably the reason for my obsessive thoughts/anxieties lately which have been causing me to feel depressed. If i keep feeling this way, I may ask for a lower dose just so I can feel more normal When Violet has her 6 month appointment. I am not sure if she would say yes or not, so we'll see...

 

[AliJo]

Just going to pop in and update real quick on my phone. I'll try to catch up properly later. I have been mostly reading along.

I just worked the last two days and I'm exhausted. I don't feel right. Zero energy and I feel a bit weak and dizzy at times. It's not just from work but I don't know what it is. Hoping some "time off" helps. As if I get to actually rest.

So, I mentioned before how I had found someone that does weekends and I was going to try her out for childcare. I had been given full time hours in June and starting tomorrow I was going to start using her. Well.. Tuesday I heard some stuff from her sister who works for me and another coworker. Well that freaked me out so I message her saying I no longer needed her for personal reasons. So I'm kind of in a sticky situation. I have tomorrow covered and Sunday may be kind of figured out at my DHs expense. Then I don't work again till Friday but I need to get Friday and Saturday figured out. Bleh. I'm looking around but I don't want to post any where that I need child care because I don't want this lady to see.

What I heard is that her children are horrible (from her sister and of course kids can be naughty) then that she beats her children. Okay, so maybe spanking? Trying to be optimistic but I'm not for spanking, but if done controlled I won't judge someone for it. What made me really freak is another coworker flipped when I told her what was going on and she said that she had seen her backhand her daughter who kept asking her for something to drink. I was completely done by that point. I wasn't even going to risk two days.

I just want to cry. I can't find childcare that will work at all. It's one thing or another. I would love to use the center but it doesn't help for weekends plus I lose what extra I make to it. I really need full time but I simply can't do weekends without a good childcare system in place. I'm losing more and more faith in people. I really just want to keep them home.

T is doing well. He's starting to reach for us and it's heart melting! He still does well in the crib. I still end up bringing him to bed at 5-6 o'clock because I assume hell be up soon. Then he doesn't wake up till 9.

O is well also. Testing my patience non stop. I think I'm going to try something to see if it helps. I saw a thing on FB going around about wearing 5 black hair bands on your wrist and every time you lose your patience with your child you lose a band. The only way to get it back is to do 5 activities with them. I'll probably go negative.. ha..

Anyways I need to get off and get to bed. I finally fell asleep so I need to check laundry and hopefully get some sleep.

 

[Ally2015]

lit- baby V, awww the little chub! Yes, hope you can get thyroid levels adjusted and that will hopefully make you feel better. I know V seems small to you, but she seems so big compared to my tiny baby. Hes on 25th percentile for height and weight haha.

ali-sorry you are not feeling so well. That sounds so stressful about the child care! i would be the same as you, i wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my kids with someone like that. Hope you get something sorted soon. Glad T is doing well in crib , i also do that - i bring isa into the bed in the early hours so he sleeps later haha. doesn't always work.

afm- not much to update, Isa has been napping a bit longer which is great but naps are still a bit all over the place. He had a 30 min one today but i could tell he was tired still so i put him back down and he slept for another 30 mins. Last night he was crying, i checked the crib and he was holding his foot and trying to put it near his mouth lol. so funny x

 

[slammerkin]

Pompey - oh my, 6:00-6:15 6 days/week on your own? I'd lose it. You're a supermum!

Way to go Jamie on doubling his birth weight! I think you're right not to worry.

Ally - it's good you're not struggling too much with the fasting. I don't know how people do it! I hope things go well when you go back to work. It will be nice that Isa's with your parents. I wish I had family close enough/engaged enough to leave my babies with.

Happy anniversary! That's nice that DH got you flowers and gifts. Longer naps are awesome...I hope they are here to stay!

Newbie - how interesting that the kids compete with fasting! Glad the teachers are on top of any teasing though.

Sorry to hear about Z having a tough time after his shots! It really does do a number on them sometimes! Glad he was back to normal the next day.

Vrogers - aww that's sad that L won't latch anymore. But still, you are awesome for putting so much effort into pumping!

It's awesome when they get more mobile! I remember why DD started rolling a lot and I was so impressed with how far she could get away from where I put her down.

I don't think Jack has stranger anxiety yet - maybe a bit. Several people held him at my BF's wedding and he would be good for a few mins, but get sad after that. So maybe it's starting. My DD's kicked in around 5 months and let me tell you, it was horrible! At least she wasn't in daycare, so it wasn't a big deal most of the time, but she never really grew out of it! When we took a trip to visit DH's family when she was 10 months old it was SO HARD because she was scared of everyone. DH ended up in the hospital for a few days and I had to take care of her all by myself because she wouldn't go to anyone! She's still a shy thing now. I'm really hoping Jack is a little more social.

Literati - glad you found your book! I still haven't found my shoes....

That is hard that you don't feel you can do a lot of outside summer activities because of V. I used to be so good about getting DD outside all the time, but it is definitely harder now with a baby in tow. I have managed to get Jack into a stroller a few times for short walks, but he won't stay there if he's tired or anything, so I always have a carrier as a backup.

Ughhh that she's hating the car seat! I know how stressful that is! I actually haven't been in the car with Jack much lately. I think he's doing better though. Still some crying, and he has a hard time staying asleep if he does fall asleep. Maybe when his startle reflex goes away he will be able to sleep better. He's just very sensitive to bumps in the road!

Sorry the doctor's visit was stressful! I'd hate to have to do it with two kids by myself!

AliJo - oh, man, I'm so sorry that lady is not going to work out for childcare! I can understand your decision totally though. But girl, if you need to post somewhere looking for care, do it - that lady be damned! You don't owe her anything.

AFM - Jack's 4-month appt is today. Can't wait to see how much he has grown. I know he's over 16 lbs, not sure how long. Anxious about the shots of course! And I want to try to run out tonight to buy a bumbo seat. The bouncy seat is really not working anymore...he's just so strong and squirmy that I am afraid he's going to vault himself out of it when I turn my back. But I NEED somewhere to put him down in the kitchen. Even in the living room he's not a big fan of laying down. He just wants to be upright. I never had a bumbo with DD, but she was so light and easy to carry around. I tire with Jack pretty quick! My back/neck is still a mess.

He did start rolling this week! Excited for that. Maybe he can entertain himself sometimes now by rolling about. Just can't wait for him to sit unassisted. I am sure he'll be earlier with that than DD.

STILL pooping about every other night. When is this going to stop??? I haven't taken any supplements in like a week!

And I'm still sick! Still stuffy nose and lots of nose-blowing. UGHH.

But good news...we DTD for the second time on Tues. That was nice, hehe.

Doing some more planning for our Ireland trip in two weeks. Ordered a cheap car seat to bring for Jack. DD will have her own seat, but Jack won't, and I don't want to bring one of our more expensive seats for him to gate check. Need to get this cheap one and practice installing it. Seriously anxious about the long car rides we'll be facing, and the flight home. The flight there should be fine because it's overnight.

 

[Literati_Love]

Slammer - oh wow, I didn't realize you were going to Ireland! That's amazing! I don't think I would attempt a big trip like that with 2 kids as I would find it too stressful. So, good for you! Hopefully all goes smoothly. I could see not wanting Jack's good car seat to get wrecked!

We have borrowed a bumbo this time for V and it is nice. Never used one with dd1 because she was actually too chubby to fit in it! I haven't used it all that much with V but it is kind of fun sometimes.
Yeah, I do manage to get out for some short walks as well but I am used to going outside ALL the time with dd1 so it is a bit of a bummer. I hope Jack will get better and better with his car seat and stroller. How long is the flight to Ireland?
Yay for Jack rolling. So sorry he is still pooping at night. I would go crazy.

Ali - that is stressful about your childcare situation. I hope you can find someone asap. It is so hard when you don't know them personally and know you can trust them. Even with knowing my daycare person, I had anxiety for weeks about it. Hope you find someone you feel comfortable with.
Haha...let me know if the elastic band thing works. I would definitely end up with none left!

Ally - yes, sounds like Isa is very itty bitty. I make big babies!

AFM - I could NOT sleep last night as my anxiety was through the roof. Now I'm so tired because it was such a crappy night. I haven't really seen DH since Monday night except for maybe 20 minutes last night. He got home after 10 pm. He is gone again tonight, and then out of town for work on Sunday. So if I'm lucky we will get a couple hours on Fri night and then hopefully Saturday together. I am getting so sick of week after week being crappy. I feel so isolated lately and like I don't have any friends. The one good mom friend I have is in her third trimester and hasn't felt up to hanging out as much, plus my sister was too tired this week, so I haven't seen ANYONE except my brief fitness class this morning (during which I got an unfriendly partner and didn't get any adult interaction). I feel so lonely and blah. I am trying so hard not to snap at dd1, but she pushes my patience constantly and it is so hard never getting a break.

 

[vrogers]

Literati- that's the weird part, she started rolling stomach to back around 3ish months, but when she rolls from her back to stomach she just stays there.
I haven't used the ergo other than when walking outside, but I am hoping she'll sleep in it for sure! Maybe I'll see if we can brave a target trip this weekend and if it does happen to be nap time maybe she'll fall asleep, that would be amazing haha
I'm glad L isn't the only one with a little stranger anxiety! I had read it starts when they learn object permanence which I thought was around 6 months, but just read it can be between 4-7 months.
We are exactly the same when it comes to routines and getting out! I keep hoping this summer when she's 6+ months it'll be easier but who knows.
Our babies are about the same length, L was 24.1 in. I also wish I had friends to hang out with! I have one close bf but she doesn't have a kid yet so it makes it harder to get together.
You are a rockstar for doing all that on your own, I still make dh come to all her appointments with me, I'm much too frazzled to go alone yet!
I'm sorry you're feeling so lonely! I feel pretty isolated myself as my one friend doesn't have a kid but works full time. It's hard enough barely interacting with my dh, I can't imagine hardly seeing him too. Are there any moms groups around that you know of, or maybe a group at the library? I actually downloaded that peanut app for moms to meet, and actually found a few moms I felt like I could get along with but I'm too chicken to pursue anything!

Ally- that's great he doesn't have stranger anxiety!
Happy belated anniversary! I hope you enjoyed.
Yay for longer naps! I need your secret haha

Ali- I don't blame you at all for not going with that lady for childcare and listening to word of mouth and your gut. You definitely want to completely trust the person who will be watching your babies. I really hope you're able to figure it out asap! That must be stressful.
Glad T is doing well in the crib! The reaching thing really is heart melting!

Slammer- thank you so much!
Maybe the stranger anxiety is just setting in a little early here. It isn't a big deal because I'll be staying home with her, but it makes me feel bad when other family members think she doesn't like them. Oh, well.
Can't wait to see how much he's grown! We've had the same problem with the bouncy seat situation! L lifts her head and pushes forward like she's trying to sit up and even though she's strapped in it freaks me out. I hope the bumbo seat works for you!
I'm sorry you're not feeling well, but yay for dtd haha
Ireland sounds fun, do you have family there or is it just for fun?

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Hello all. I do find babies a bit of a struggle in the summer usually but touch wood vi seems ok so far. I understand though as having to stay out sun etc just makes life awkward at times! We try and keep busy as much as possible but my OH wears me out all weekend that I am a home girl during the week. I like crafty things!

Still not weaned Vi but my goodness she is a hungry girl and nearly too long for her 6-9th clothes! I am only 5ft 1 so she is not like me!

 

[Ally2015]

slammer- ireland will be lovely! where abouts will you be going there? Hope J's shots go ok. I was thinking about a bumbo seat! then he can sit up, and look around him. Hope his pooping lessens soon! sorry you are still not feeling so well.
And yah on dtd!

lit- i am sorry you are feeling lonely and anxious and hardly getting time with dh. Must be so hard! could you arrange to see your sister next week? sending big hugs!

vrogers- well the longer naps only lasted like 2 days haha, back to 30 mins now, but i know he can nap longer when he wants to. sigh. Hoping he'll get to a stage they stay longer. does L sleep well at night though?

midnight- nice to hear from you! i am short like you too, i am just 5ft

afm- nearly the weekend, yah! what are all your plans? dh is off so we are going to get isa some sort of chair /bumbo type thing as he has outgrown the chair he has now. Maybe a high chair too if we see a good deal.

 

[newbie2013]

Just a quick note to say that Z had his first food! Carrots! Semi- successful!

 

[slammerkin]

Literati - I wouldn't really be attempting a trip like this right now were it not for DH's childhood friend getting married. I hope everything goes smoothly too! The flight over should be 6.5-7 hours. It's a little longer coming back because you end up flying into the wind instead of having it behind you. Then it's a 2.5 hour drive from Dublin to DH's parents' house.

Didn't manage to get out yesterday for the bumbo, but DH said he'd get it today.

I'm sorry about the bad night and your anxiety! It is so hard when your DH works so much! I am lonely too, but yet not really motivated to get out there. Blah. I lose my patience with poor DD so much. It's really hard, isn't it?

vrogers - My DH is from Ireland, so all his family is there. One of his friends is getting married, so we are making a big trip of it. We'll be there 10 days. Nothing too exciting planned - just the wedding and spending time with his family.

Midnight - I'm only 5'2"! I feel like Jack is half the size of me already, lol.

Ally - We'll be in the west mostly (not far from Limerick), since that's where his family is. I think the wedding is in the south east though (maybe Wexford?). Sightseeing will probably be limited with two kids in tow!

AFM - Jack's appt was OK. He weighed in at 16 lbs exactly. I thought he'd be more to be honest. Still, 3 lbs gained in two months! He was 25.5". I can't remember the exact percentages, but they were something like 55th percentile for both, so above average, but not extreme. He was good until the vaccines. There was an oral one, and two shots, and they always do the oral one first because it's usually not a big deal since they make it sweet. Well, Jack was having none of it! We tried with him laying down and but he ended up spitting some out, and then threw up twice when we did manage to get a good bit in. So basically the whole dose was wasted. We had to try again with a new dose, and that time DH held him the way he does to give him bottles, and bounced him in between sips. He still hated it, but it all went down and he didn't throw it up. He cried for the shots but calmed fairly easily. Wasn't fussy or anything for the evening, so that's good.

DH is closing tonight and then I might only see him an hour or two on Sat before he works the whole day (not closing though, but won't be home til 10 prob). He'll be home most of Sunday though, so maybe we can do something fun then.

I decided to try a hip carry with my Beco carrier yesterday, and OMG it was so much easier on my back. Gonna try doing that most of the time now. Jack was still able to sleep in that position, so that was good.

 

[AliJo]

Slammer - The hip carry sounds nice. I should look into different carriers. The one I have is pretty pricey. I did decide to forward face T in it and he enjoyed it! He chewed on it the entire time he was in it and had himself and it soaked. O enjoyed it as well because we were out shopping and when I was pushing the cart O and T were facing each other. It does do a number on my back, though. Even holding T on my bad days hurts it. Need to get insurance so I can go get adjusted or at least make some extra money to throw at it. It'll take several trips.

Let us know how the bumbo goes! Glad he did alright with the shots. T choked on it some when he got the oral vaccine.

Newbie - Glad the carrots went well! T wasn't too sure on carrots. He loves his sweet potatoes, banana, and pears. Going to attempt carrots again soon. I want to give peas and green beans but the store bought baby food ones taste gross. Yes I taste them so I know what I'm feeding my child haha. I think I'm going to buy some fresh peas and green beans and do it myself.

Midnight - T is out growing his 6-9 month clothes as well. I'm getting the 12 month ones washed up and going to see how those fit. I wish they would make sleep and play jammies in bigger sizes.

Vrogers - Super stressful. Sunday isn't really figured out. What is going to happen is Saturday night DH works. He will leave early to come home and hopefully get a couple of hours of sleep before the boys wake up. Hopefully. Then he has to watch them till I get off at 6 pm. I'm going to do my best to get out right at 6 so I can get home for him to maybe get 1 more hour of sleep before he goes back to work for 11 hours. It's such a mess. Then I work Friday and Saturday next week so I need to figure those days out.

Lite - I get feeling lonely. I haven't seen my DH very much lately either. He had to go out of town yesterday and today for work. They're driving and it's almost 2 hours away so he leaves super early and gets back super late. I mean he should be back by 7 but the person he road with wanted to do shopping. She wants to again today so won't be seeing him till super late. I do get some more adult interaction. Not that it's any kind of quality interaction since it's all work related, but it does make a difference. I just can't bring myself to become friends with any of them outside of work. I've seen too much drama and back stabbing between "friends" there. Not going to get in the middle of that crap. Plus I literally get thrown in the middle of everyone's drama all the time. I will have one person come to me complain about another then that person will say something as well and I'm just in the middle twitching, trying to play middle neutral ground. What really sucks is when someone comes up to me and is all "Was that person over here saying crap about me?" Because I don't want to completely lie, because they often hear part of it, but I don't want to talk about it because then I make enemies. I usually just say I'm not getting in the middle of it. I usually tell the people saying things to me that if they have a problem they should go talk to them about it, but yeah right.. like that happens. Sorry rant over lol

Also, I totally understand having a hard time keeping patient with your eldest. I haven't tried the hair band thing yet, but I'll let you know how I feel about it. Even if it helps me be more aware, might be worth a try. Especially on hard days.

Ally - I love when babies eat their feet! T has been doing it for awhile.

AFM - No weekend plans here. Well, I lie. One of my nieces has a birthday party. Then hoping to get my garden tilled. Running behind on it. The party will be out at the lake so should be plenty of space for O to run around and I won't have to worry too much. Hoping. There will be other children there that are mean. Mean as in grab hair and pull randomly and viciously. Will scratch. Bite.. you name it.

The childcare situation is no better. I'm hitting dead ends constantly. I have no one to help Sunday so DH is going to suffer. It's such a bad time to look because kids are out of school. I may have to back out of full time until August.

T is currently taking a long nap. We got up early to go look at a table. Ended up buying it. It's a solid oak pedestal table with 6 chairs for 125 dollars. It's in really good condition. Complete steal. Not the table I want in the long run, but it's much better than what we had. That's why T is taking such a long nap, though.

T did awesome last night. He slept in the crib from 12 to 6:30 when I got him up to change him. He would have slept longer if I didn't have to get him up. He had rolled to his belly at some point I'm really thinking that was part of it. Plus he ate a whole 2.5 oz container of baby food last night. He has started to get mad if we eat in front of him because he wants the food. If I set the plate down and walk away he gets super angry. Usually I have to nurse him or feed him at that point. We were feeding him like every other day or so, but I'm going to start feeding him once a day from now on for a couple of weeks then up to twice a day. He's showing a lot of interest and is opening his mouth for it now.

T is also 5 months today!! Going by so fast.. I hate being busy. Makes it so much faster.

 

[AliJo]

Had to come in real quick to say this.. somehow the stars aligned and I got a 2 hour nap in!!! T is still sleeping. Woke up and nursed then fell back asleep. So, second nap for him and it's pushing for 3 hours. Both of them have been long.

Not sure if I feel refreshed but it was amazing!

 

[Apple111]

Hi ladies sorry it's been a while. Ive been really busy with school holidays. I have been thinking of you all and have been trying to read through best I can but its just been difficult to post.
It's 1.45 am here so I'll try my best. Just waiting for O to wake he is definately due a feed soon. Oh fast asleep

Apologies in advance if I miss anyone. I'll try and catch up properly over weekend. I do miss coming on here just hard at the min

Lit/ sorry u have not been good lately. I hope for you it's just a phase and your anxieties pass quickly, and your mood lifts. xx hugs x

Ally, hope the fasting going ok.. And happy belated anniversary. Your DH sounds very sweet buying you little gifts. My oh isn't the most romantic, he does try at times. Does annoy me lol.. I love flowers but he thinks they are a waste of money and hardly ever buys them..he has a little more in recent years but I ly because ive nagged how miserable l thought he was lol x

Slammer, cool that you are going to Ireland. It's a loverly place. My ex was from the north and we used to go couple of tmes a year. Really nice people. Don't miss him but miss the place lol x really hope the flight goes ok for you, I can understand you feeling anxious about it with two little ones. I'm sure you will be fine though. My friend went to Australia from uk with her baby on her own ! She was fine I have a Bumbo gor ollie. There was lots of hype over here about them because some people were putting babies in them on kitchen units !! As if ha.. Why would anyone even do that .. Bonkers .!! I have a playpen set up in front room with his baby gym with his toys and Bumbo in front of it. It's his little space away from his big bro ha . He loves it for the whole of 5mins until he gets bored !! Ha.. I just find it handy to pop him in whilst i potter around doing housework. My toddler can be a little boystrous at times so it helps keep him away from him legging it round !

Ali/ sorry about the childcare sutuation. My mum was suppose to be having ollie when I go back to work for one of the days but she has just told me she Prob won't be able to due to her own work 😖..I hope you get something sorted soon that you feel comfortable with. I def think u made right decision though x

Midnight what kind of crafts do u like doing ? I nagged my oh last year for sewing machine at christmas as I liked the idea of making cusion covers ect.. Some of the girls at work have them .. It's still in box unopened !! I keep telling myself I'm going to get it out whilst on Mat leave ! Ha x glad vi doing ok x

Vrogers / happy belated birthday hon, glad u had nice morning x

Newbie/ yay for first solids !! .. So cute when they start ollie pulls some really funny faces xx

Pomp/ glad Jamie's 4month check went ok, sounds like he is doing great. Little babbler .. lol what a cutie Xx ollie just makes gurgling noises ha.. That get louder the more he wants to make his point !

Bit of an update / me and oh are better after our words last week even though we still havnt discussed it properly. Ive kind of put it down to him being stressed at work. He has snapped a couple of times since when tired but ive bitten my tongue. I won't let it carry on though if it continues.

Teenager seems to be settling a bit, it's a really hard work to get him to do anything which is really annoying but typical teenage stuff. I talk with his dad and we are ok most of time but having bit of hassle trying to get him to put his hand in pocket lately. I don't get much money from him and don't normally ask but my son is costing so much more lately and it's all falling on me, clothes uniforms trainers, days out ect.. My ex can't afford to give me any more yet drives around in new car .. Ahh don't get me going lol ! X

Ollie is doing ok. Just has porridge for breakfast and milk rest of day. Going to increase over next couple of weeks..he is def getting a little chunk lol.. I couldn't lift him out of Bumbo today as legs got stuck.. Shame we r not nearer slammer you could have it lol x ollie still not rolling. Don't think he can he bothered.. He is never down long enough to have time to practice. He tends to kick off or I have to lift him as ds legging it round !

Ollie laughs loads at ds, it's really cute, he laughed so hard today when ds was legging it round with a balloon that he nearly choked himself I had to calm him down from chucking lol x

Personally , well to be honest ive found last couple of weeks quite challenging. In fairness it's not really ollie, it's a combination of demands of older children and feeling like there is not enough hours in the day. It doesn't help having fall out with oh. It wasn't even a fall out just words really but I hate there being n elephant in room 😖.. Oh job is really stressful and its tiring him out mentally.

I won't go on about it too much but oh does struggle at times he is fab dad and partner but sadly his younger brother committed suicided a few years ago and it hit oh bad, understandably, they were very close as children. We actually found his brother so it's harder for him than his other siblings. I just feel it's always there in the background. Sorry to be depressing it's just a big part of our situation. We are trying out best to move forward and since have two beautiful little boys but oh does still struggle. This is why I allow for things at times.. ..Anyway on a brighter note 😖😖 as predicted ollie has woke so better get off, sorry i havnt replied to everyone I'll get back on later x hope u all have a nice weekend if I don't manage to x

 

[Literati_Love]

VRogers - that's cool that V and L are pretty much the same length! That sounds about right with object permanence. I guess our babies just figured it out on the early side of things!
There aren't really any mom groups for moms with two kids that I have seen...besides my exercise class which is nice but like you I haven't been brave enough to ask anyone to hang out outside of it! I am going to try taking the girls to storytime at the library on Mondays. I have taken them before and no one was that friendly but at least it is an outing.
I think that is normal that L doesn't really roll back from her tummy now. Once my dd1 could roll back to front, she started hanging out on her tummy ALL the time so that she could work up the strength to crawl! She was still ABLE to roll the other way but didn't feel the need to do it all the time.
Ah, glad/sorry you can relate on the summer activity difficulties! I am hoping that about the 6 month+ thing as well. Things will most likely get easier as we get further into the summer! They're still so young yet.

Midnight - thanks for understanding about it being difficult to do summer activities. I am glad so far Your Vi has been pretty good about them! Sorry your DH wears you out on the weekends. Does he like to do a lot of activities with you on the weekends? Or how does he wear you out? Hehe.


Newbie - yay for starting carrots!

Ally - thank you. Yes, I will most likely see my sister next week instead.
Our weekend plans include possibly checking out a festival for kids downtown tomorrow, and maybe even hitting a friend's pool (but I don't know how that would go since Violet can't stay awake long enough to do anything). No plans Sunday since DH will be gone. I hope you can find a bumbo and maybe a high chair!

Slammer - that is really cool that your DH's parents live in Ireland! It must be beautiful there. Hopefully it just goes amazingly. That is a LONG flight with a baby but hopefully it will go ok! We survived a similar length flight to Hawaii when dd1 was 18 months. Quite different age, but we did manage quite well. The worst part was being stuck unable to move for 6 hours while she slept on me (we traveled at night on the way there). I found it better when she was awake in a way...We also did a short flight when she was 9 months and it went well.

That is too bad your DH works tomorrow! I hope on Sunday you can do something fun as a family!
That sounds quite rough about how Jack took the oral dose of vaccines. Yikes! I am glad he finally got it down.
The percentiles must be really different for boys or something, since Jack weighs more than Violet but has a smaller percentile! Interesting... Haha. He sounds pretty tall, too!

Ali - so sorry you've having no luck with childcare. I hope you can find someone. It would be too bad to back out of full time until august, but then again maybe that would be nice as far as time with T goes? I know it would hurt a lot financially, though!

Apple - thanks for checking in. Sounds like you are crazy busy as always! I hope you managed to get some sleep after staying up so late!


AFM - thanks for all the support. I had a WAY better day today. After pouting all day yesterday and sort of losing it on my DH last night, telling him I couldn't handle doing this by myself so much anymore, I woke up feeling determined to stay more positive.
I took the girls for a walk to the library this morning and took out books for dd1 for the first time. We came home and Violet had a 2.5 hour nap in the Ergo while I made a huge fruit salad so that I can have easy, healthy snacks for the next several days. I also prepped a salad for supper and set up dd1 on a tablecloth on the floor playing with rice in containers with scoops and things. I would normally NOT have the patience for the mess, but I was in an oddly calm mood. She ended up playing happily for almost 2 hours! And the clean-up wasn't too horrible. I was in the kitchen with her the whole time so I was able to keep a close eye on her. Anyway, I am happy for a better day finally, and hopefully our ONE day weekend will be fun.

 

[Apple111]

Hi lit/ think I was editing my post while u were posting .. Glad you are having a better day .. No ive not slept yet lol it's 3 am now 😖.. Just one of those night ha .. I'll be shattered tomorrow. Glad u r having a nice day with the girls. I take mine to library, so nice to get them away from tv and tablets ! Saying that ive just given ds ( 4 Ur old) my teens old iPod he thinks it's amazing .. Keeps him off my phone. !! I will limit it though.. I looked on my Amazon account yesterday and realised ds had spent £50 on Amazon prime video !! I didn't even think he knew how. He always shows me when something comes up that costs.my fault for not setting the parental control. Wouldn't mind but he doesn't even watch Dora the explora ! Ha..
Ds has a little bowl that he plays with and his utensils whilst I'm cooking.. He normally has dried pasta, he has started to ask for eggs .. Lol don't think so .. He also legs it round with his Hoover when I do ..
Anyway better get some sleep night/ morning all x

 

[Ally2015]

newbie- yah for baby z!

slammer- lovely, i have been to ireland a few times, just dublin and belfast. I hope you will have a lovely trip! are you staying with family or hotel? Aw wee chunky Jack! Isa is 15 pounds and he is a few weeks older than Jack.

ali- i try the baby food too! Isa also loves pears, banana and sweet potato! all the sweet stuff haha. I dont think hes a fan of peas but will try again. Today he had parnsips, apple, pear and swedes, he loved it. I want to get my own blender, for now im just buying from the shop.
Yah for T's long nap and long time in the crib. enjoy nieces birthday! Hope you manage to get childcare sorted soon x


apple- i wouldn't call my dh romantic really, but getting flowers is lovely. You should continue nagging at ur oh! glad u and oh better and teenager more settled. Hope your ex gives more money, his son is more important than car! Sorry u have had a tough few weeks, i hope things get better. What does ur oh do? hope you managed a nice sleep.


lit- glad ur feeling better! sounds productive. fruit salad sounds great and a healthy snack too.

afm- went out shopping with dh to get Isa new walker, or bouncer type thing but didn't see any we liked, and the couple we did like were out of stock. Will go out again tomorrow. Isa always has a bottle about 7pm before bedtime and today he reufed it and just cried for ages, sounded like he was in pain. I didn't know what was up, or what to do except try to comfort him. He cried for like 10 mins until i laid him down on the changing mat and then he just stopped and started smiling. I picked him up and he stayed calm, and took the bottle and then fell asleep. weird!!!

 

[AliJo]

Ally - Sounds like he just had a fussy time. Hopefully you find a walker/bouncer you like tomorrow.

So far T has had apples, pears, carrots (kind of liked it), sweet potatoes, bananas, and squash. He likes them all except he carrots were iffy. I think I'll try peas just to try. If he doesn't take to it I may mix it with one of the sweeter vegetables. He scarfed down the apples tonight. I added oatmeal to it so hopefully it helps him sleep.

Lite - One day I let O "cook" with pastas and flour. Made a mess, but he was happy and played contently for quite awhile. Sometimes the messes are worth it. Keep up the positive attitude and determination!

Apple - That's really tough about your OH. I couldn't imagine. Hopefully things continue to get better between you two and things feel more normal soon.

That's funny about Ollie laughing so hard you had to calm him down. T hasn't laughed that hard yet.

AFM - Today went well. I just didn't even think about the whole fact that I was going to have to do running with two boys by myself. I just did it and it went fine. Hit the store for a gift then went to the lake. Getting two sleeping boys out was a challenge. Someone came to help, but by then O woke up and I had it handled. T did good the whole time there. Only fussed a little once when I left him in the stroller to play with some toys. He got tired of it. Other than that he was happy the whole time. Didn't eat for 3.5 hrs and was fine. Wish he would be like that at home!

I didn't really socialize while I was out there. I watched my children and that was it. Ah well.. it's an awkward situation for me. I really really really dislike my stepmom's daughter that is right at my age. She had two friends there that I dislike plus another friend of hers from work. I don't have any reason not to like the one from work, but she's not someone I could get along with in the long run I don't think. Plus she's a coworker. Then another coworker came and I didn't get the chance to talk to her at all because she was off talking with the person I really really really dislike. Of course I can't share with anyone why I don't like her and she's very fake in front of people a lot of the times. Oh well.

I work tomorrow and I'm by myself with the boys tonight. O is not seeming tired. Last night T was up until 11:30 and O 12. Ugh.. I need to start getting them up earlier or at least encouraging it so they go to bed earlier. T was in bed but then woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep. I have to be up by 5 am.

Well, better try to get this child to sleep. Ha..

 

[froggyfrog]

I'm really sorry that I haven't posted here in SOOOO long!!! I read along with you ladies every single day, but I'm always on my phone and never really find time to reply. I am definitely going to start trying to keep up with you all and post more.

I recently had a major dip in my supply!! Was very scary and so glad I had frozen milk. Gage was crying at my breast and I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I tried to just give him a bottle of frozen milk and pump, and I only got one oz out of both sides!!! I was getting much more before. I I spent two whole days just nursing and pumping and drinking milk maid tea along with foods to boost supply. I already eat oats every morning to maintain supply but added in an extra bowl in the afternoon. I finally have got my supply back up. I'm still pumping more often so that hopefully I can maintain where I am at. I know that if I had to give him formula I could and actually have six cans for back up just in case, but I have my heart set on bfing for one year at least and would be very sad if I couldn't do it. Gage had his 4 month check up and his weight percentile dropped and he is only 14LBS 9ozs, I asked his dr if I should be concerned, and she said no because is looks like all of his calories went to his length. He grew 3 inches in two months and is 91st percentile for length. I have started him on oatmeal cereal at night, and will start him on a bowl in the morning as well next week when we get back from visiting our family in Texas. Then I will start to introduce puréed foods. I'm very excited about that!! He can roll from back to front and front to back, but most of the time stops on his side lol, he still loves his bath, and I have started putting him in his exersaucer and he just started to get that it bounces with him, so he is loving it! He loves the dogs and just sits and stares at them! When I need him to be entertained for a few minutes I will call the dogs in and make them sit down in eyes view on Gage and he will be content for a min just staring at them haha. His sleep is still crap during the day, and his nights have regressed. His dr suggested the merlins magic sleep suit, so I ordered one for him. It doesn't really seem to help him stay asleep, but it does help him not jump and wake himself when I lay him down. Which means he will actually nap by himself now(most of the time they are short 30 minute naps but he has had a few that lasted a couple of hours) which lets me be baby free more often. He has added in two extra wake up during the night, the first one I can usually just rock him back to sleep and he is fine, but the second added in wake up in to eat. So we are at three night feedings again. Which I expected from the four month regression and it could be way worse. It was worse before the sleep suit because no matter how many times I would lay him down he would wake right back up. Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling about his Sleep ha. Other than that we are all doing great. I do wish that I knew anyone, even just one person around me. I literally don't know ONE SINGLE PERSON! I'm so lonely all of the time. The only time I get out is to go grocery shopping or clothes shopping. So I'm really looking forward to my trip to Texas to get to socialize a bit!