Valentines Babies, 2013!

[wamommy]

Max loves to feed himself finger foods (squares of cheese, cheerios, peas) but only about half makes it into his mouth. His favorite thing on earth is plain oatmeal right now, though. I think he likes that it has a little bit of texture? Second place is probably banana pieces, but small enough that he can just shovel them in.

Sierra, I'm glad to hear Camden is happy to sit and relax like Max! I have heard that boys are slower. I'm not too worried about it, because very few kindergarteners go to school not knowing how to walk! He'll get it eventually. In the mean time, it's kind of nice having him immobile for the moment.

 

[SierraJourney]

I wish Camden would at least *try* to feed himself. I'm not quite sure what to do. . .he has baby apple puffs to eat, but just plays with them and never puts them in his mouth---but he will whine and whine until *I* put them in his mouth! It's so frustrating because I think he'd be much happier if he could do it himself.

Sometimes I think Camden THINKS he's crawling. . .he'll be on his belly and kick his legs---looks just like he thinks he's cruising along! lol. He hasn't gotten the concept that his legs need to be bent underneath him!

We are 99% cloth diapers now (except for night time diaper, which hopefully will be switched to cloth this week). I absolutely LOVE it---it's already starting to save us money and it just makes so much sense to me. DH likes it except when Camden has a poop and he has to change it---then he curses cloth diapers! (We have liners, so it's basically you just throw the poop in the toilet or trash, but he still doesn't like that part).

So, my contractor didn't show up the other day. . .so he's planning on showing up today. Which is awful because Camden is refusing a nap this morning. . .and he definitely won't nap when the contractor is here making noise. . .so this should be interesting. .

wamommy--have you told your mom and family about this pregnancy yet? If so, how'd it go? How's the bump looking?

 

[wamommy]

wamommy--have you told your mom and family about this pregnancy yet? If so, how'd it go? How's the bump looking?

I haven't told them yet!! DH wants to wait until Thanksgiving, but I think it might be extra shocking if I tell them when I'm 18-19 weeks along! I just need to suck it up and call my Mom. Part of the problem is that I don't see my Mom that often, because she's so incredibly busy with her job. I'm lucky to see her once every 3 months, even though she lives 1 hour away. It probably will end up being Thanksgiving... yikes!

My bump is growing a little bit. I'm WAY smaller than I was with Max. Weird, huh? Maybe it's another girl? I'm at that awkward "fat? stage where the tummy hasn't rounded out yet and no one can tell I"m pregnant. I just look chubby!

The first pic was 10 weeks, the second was this morning at 15+1!

 

[DragonflyWing]

Wow, wamommy, you look absolutely amazing! I can not BELIEVE you have three kids and are 15 weeks pregnant with your fourth, you look positively svelte!

I'm honestly really jealous...I didn't even look that good before I had kids

 

[Kellen]

Wamommy - You look amazing! I certainly wouldn't think that you are chubby at all and certainly wouldn't expect you to be 15 weeks pregnant.

Sierra - Teagen loves to feed herself. My mom bought her this spoon and fork set that are self-righting so when she uses utensils she can't spill everything on the floor and herself. We are pretty exploratory with foods. Tonight we had pot roast, potatoes, carrots and pears for dessert. Teagen got to sample everything but the potatoes. For breakfast this morning she ate a slice of toast, a cup of strawberry oatmeal and part of a banana. For lunch she snacked on avocado and sweet potato.

On a non-baby note I really dislike my professor this quarter. I have had him before and he has a HUGE ego and it annoys the heck out of me. He is a non-native English speaker and he fraking nitpicks everything. We have to listen to weekly summaries, read his reviews of other people's papers and respond to his every post or we don't get credit. Listening to him drives me insane! Honestly, this grown man's voice is higher pitched than mine.

In other news DH is coming home for good next week. He has finished his studies and now just needs 90 days out at sea so he can take license. He has been offered a nice sea-going job, but it doesn't start until the end of January. But he doesn't have to go back to the same store he was working at as another nearby store has offered him a management position that he is going to take.

To those who have non-self-mobile babies: Enjoy. Today while fixing lunch I left Teagen's fork and a couple pieces of avocado on the couch. She was happily playing on the floor. When I turned around she had stood herself up on her tip-toes on the couch and was trying to stab the avocado with the fork.

Oooh... 9 month update. She is 30 inches tall and 20lb 6.5oz. So 95% for height and 75% for weight. The pediatricians says that not only are her two top teeth about ready to poke through, but her molars are near the surface too which is why she has been complaining about her ears hurting.

 

[SierraJourney]

wamommy--I agree with the others--there is nothing "fat" about that---I barely see a bump there! You look terrific! If you don't decide to tell people until Thanksgiving, you'd be able to hide it, I think! But, yes, it's hard because you would be so far along. . . but ultimately, it's your and DH's choice. ..so if you decide to wait until Thanksgiving, that's okay!

Kellen---I admire how diverse Teagen's food choices are! That's great that she can feed herself! I might have to look into the self-righting spoons.. . Camden is very interested in spoons, so maybe that would help!

I'm sorry about your professor---thank doesn't sound fun at all! It makes school that much harder when the professor is hard like that. . . .argh. . .hopefully this class flies by quickly for you!

I really can't imagine life with a mobile baby right now. It's just SO easy to sit him down and know he won't move! How do you go to the bathroom without her running away!? lol I plop Camden down on the bathroom rug while I'm going to the bathroom. . . (is that weird?!). . .so I can watch him and know he's not going to cry!

Aww poor Teagen--getting molars already?! Oh my gosh. . . what is the "normal" age to get molars?! I thought it was like 18 months or something. . .such a fast-paced child, that Teagen---what a cutie! And TALL--I tink Camden was 23inches last time we got him measured. . .I'm not expecing that much taller this time. lol

 

[Kellen]

tip of the day. use coconut oil to clean shower doors. wipe on and then removewih a papertowel. super easy and your doors will sparkle while smelling delicious as well.

teagen is fascinated by people using the bathroom. she has no shame and will purposefully crawl after people to listen to them use the potty. because i dontlike cleaning poopy clothdiapers i simply sit her on the toliet when i know she needs to poop. she loves it and loves to watvh as it flushes away.

last night whenever she woke up she didnt cry. she would sit up lokk around and then stand up and peer over the edge of her crib all the while saying mama. how could i deny that?

 

[Kellen]

tip of the day. use coconut oil to clean shower doors. wipe on and then removewih a papertowel. super easy and your doors will sparkle while smelling delicious as well.

teagen is fascinated by people using the bathroom. she has no shame and will purposefully crawl after people to listen to them use the potty. because i dontlike cleaning poopy clothdiapers i simply sit her on the toliet when i know she needs to poop. she loves it and loves to watvh as it flushes away.

last night whenever she woke up she didnt cry. she would sit up lokk around and then stand up and peer over the edge of her crib all the while saying mama. how could i deny that?

 

[SierraJourney]

Definitely just wrote coconut oil on my grocery list! Thanks for the tip! I've also heard it's a good natural diaper rash cream. . . might try it for that too!

Sooo cute about Teagen last night---what a sweetie!

 

[Kellen]

i swaer by coconut oil. we use it as diaper rash cream nipple soother and in a lot of our foods. instead of butter when i cook for teagen i use coconut oil. also it really makes cakes a whatnot really fluffy if you bakewith it.we buy a huge jar of it at coastco andit lasts about a month. today we sauteed chicken with garlic and pepper for lunch and substituted coconut oil for the normal oliveoil. teagen used her razor sharp bottom teeth to shred almost half of a piece of chicken.

in other news i wil be getting up around 3m and driving to portland to retrieve my husband. so excited to see him!and our laptop is ready for pick up tonight.

 

[SierraJourney]

YAY for DH coming home and the laptop getting fixed!

 

[wamommy]

Thank you so much ladies for the kind comments! I think any day now I'll absolutely explode (I have gained 10 pounds in a random second tri month each time) so I'll enjoy being on the small side for now! At least it will help me keep it a secret until Thanksgiving.

I can't believe how big Teagen is! What a tall girl! I can't believe how mobile she is, and that so many teeth are coming in. Thanks for the coconut oil info, too. I've been looking for a more natural solution for the shower, since I can't breathe fumes. I'll try it!

I just got home from an obgyn appointment. It was just a basic physical. I got the flu shot (thimerasol free) and they did the Verifi test, which is some new test that can detect all of the trisomy abnormalities (down syndrome, edwards and patau). I'm a bit nervous about the results, but it's a heck of a lot better than an amnio. I was ordered this test because of "advanced maternal age." yay... At least it will put my mind at ease (I hope!). The baby's heartbeat was 157, and my uterus is measuring 17 weeks, so I have no idea where it's hiding. Thank you Dad for the tall genes.

I hope you all have exciting weekend plans! Kellen, I'll bet you're SO excited to have your DH home. Do you all have plans for Thanksgiving already?

 

[DragonflyWing]

Kellen, that's so cool that you sit her on the toilet to poop...I bet she'll potty train really early!

Sierra- when I have to bring a baby in the bathroom with me, I put them in the bathtub! I set the baby tub on the floor, and they sit in it and play with their bath toys while they wait for me. They love it! So far I haven't had to bring both of them in the bathroom with me, but if I did I'd probably put one of them in the walker, because they don't both fit in the baby tub at the same time.

The twins haven't started crawling yet, but they are both very mobile anyway! They scootch, roll, and army crawl anywhere they want to go. We have hardwood floors, and Lily likes to push with her hands and slide backward on her belly all around the living room it's so funny to watch. They're both sitting up on their own very well now, and almost never fall over. For a few days after they started sitting, they didn't know how to lay down without just falling backward, so we had a lot of bumped heads at first. Now they've learned how to slither onto their bellies from a sitting position...but I still put a pillow or blanket behind Lily because she occasionally throws herself backward and smacks her head on the floor.

Gunnar is a total daredevil! He has no fear at all, and is very rough-and-tumble...he tends to lead with his head so he has several bumps and bruises on his noggin from bouncing off the floor, chairs, tables, etc. He even threw himself off the couch when DH had his back turned for one second. He never seems to care and rarely cries when he crashes. We found out he was too big for the boucy seat when he flipped it over on top of himself, and we figured out he needs the 5 point restraint when he wiggled out of his high chair onto the floor (thank goodness we had it lowered close to the floor, or he would have fallen 3 feet rather than 10 inches).

Lily still only has her two bottom teeth in the front, but Gunnar has 5 teeth now! Both front teeth on the top and bottom, and one incisor on top. He's been pretty miserable with it...we've had to give him Tylenol or ibuprofen several times over the past two weeks. Three of those teeth came in within about 5 days, poor little guy.

Can't believe they're going to be 11 months in a week!

 

[helena]

wamommy--have you told your mom and family about this pregnancy yet? If so, how'd it go? How's the bump looking?

I haven't told them yet!! DH wants to wait until Thanksgiving, but I think it might be extra shocking if I tell them when I'm 18-19 weeks along! I just need to suck it up and call my Mom. Part of the problem is that I don't see my Mom that often, because she's so incredibly busy with her job. I'm lucky to see her once every 3 months, even though she lives 1 hour away. It probably will end up being Thanksgiving... yikes!

My bump is growing a little bit. I'm WAY smaller than I was with Max. Weird, huh? Maybe it's another girl? I'm at that awkward "fat? stage where the tummy hasn't rounded out yet and no one can tell I"m pregnant. I just look chubby!

The first pic was 10 weeks, the second was this morning at 15+1!

How can you have a baby measuring 17 weeks in there!? Amazing! Xx

Two more top teeth (3rd and 4th top ones) coming in here, its not much fun.

Lovely thing happened yesterday..Kiara started properly playing games with her brother. It was mostly a game of chase with Kiara giggling and crawling away like mad and her smallest big brother crawling after her. Loved it!

Yay to fixed computers

 

[SierraJourney]

That's so cute helena! Makes me want a sibling for Camden. . .

wamommy--Thanksgiving is at my house this year. It's usually at my folks' house, but long-story-short, they got a divorce last year and my mum moved into a really tiny house. . .so it doesn't fit the family anymore. So, Thanksgiving will be at my house this year. There will be 9 adults, and 3 kids here total. I think it'll be fun, but busy! How do you all handle naptimes when it's a holiday and/or you're out? We try to stick to a proper schedule here, but I know it won't be able to happen on Thanksgiving with all of the commotion. I doubt Camden will sleep at all during the day. .so am kind of gearing myself up for a crabby baby. I feel bad, but he's not one to sleep when he hears other stuff going on. . . What do you do?

 

[helena]

Sierra, we still have no strict schedule here. Nap time happens whenever she gets tired...she is naturally transitioning from 2 to 1 naps a day at the moment, depending on if we are out and about in the car (she can't resist a snooze in the car!) Our one constant is bedtime - 7pm, she can't stay up any longer or she screams and is literally dropping off, wherever we are.
If we are at someone's house etc and she needs to nap in the day she will do so easily in the baby carrier or sometimes her car seat. Even in a busy noisy environment she will doze off in the carrier. Especially on my back. (Ergo carrier).

Thanks giving with lots of family round sounds fun ..if a little stressful

 

[wamommy]

Dragonfly, the twins sound like they're doing so well! Isn't it funny how different they are already? It's amazing how quickly their first birthday is approaching!!

Helena, it's so cute that your boys play games with Kiara! I'll bet it's so fun to watch. My 5-year-old does SO well with Max, making him giggle with funny faces or jumping around. My 4-year-old is still a little unpredictable with him, and I'm not completely convinced he won't get hurt (even on accident through rough play) so I watch her really closely when she plays with him. Her new thing is bringing him bits of food, which makes me SO nervous, because she doesn't know what he's allowed to have!

Sierra, Thanksgiving is so much work! You're brave to put on the big show this year. I did it a few years back and haven't volunteered since... It's actually pretty fun, and totally rewarding, I just don't have the time or money this year. It's going to be at my Mom's house this time. I'm happy to show up, pies in hand, and help with the last-minute cooking. I also have the option of leaving when Max blows a gasket too. As for naps, we don't really work on a schedule either. Like Helena, Max has transitioned to 1 nap most days, and he sort of decides on his own when he takes it. The car is always a safe bet, so I plan long errands for when I know he's sleepy. As for holidays, all bets are off. We just wing it. He may completely skip his nap, be a fuss monster, and drive me insane, but that's all part of the holidays. Chances are high he'll sleep on the way up to my Mom's in the car so I won't have to worry about it.

Helena, I was going to buy an Ergo, since I HATE my Bjorn, but I figure it will be a waste of money now, since soon my tummy won't allow me to wear it. Should I buy one for the new baby? How do you like it??

 

[SierraJourney]

wamommy---well, I can't take all of the credit for Thanksgiving. . . my mum is actually coming down the day before and will be cooking the turkey. I'm a vegetarian and the thought of touching a raw turkey just is awful for me. . . lol. . . so my mommy is rescuing me!

I want an Ergo SO badly! DH says I can have one for when we go on vacation next summer. ..until then, I have the Bjorn, which has worked well be me, but Camden is getting rather large for it. . .

I just got back from Camden's 9 month appointment. . . slightly discouraged because the dr. says he should be pretty mobile by now. . . she kept talking about what to do when he's trying to climb stairs and stuff---and I'm like--he can't even SCOOT yet! She says he'll get there, but it's crazy that he "should" be doing so much by now, and he just sits in one spot! Also, she said that by this age, most babies are feeding themselves---which Camden won't do . . so I'm going to try to work on it more with him. . . but how can I force him?!

He is 28 inches long, and 18 pounds 2 ounces. A bit small, but he's been small all along, so she said that's fine. Altogether, very healthy little guy.

 

[wamommy]

I'm so glad Camden is doing well! I wouldn't worry too much about how immobile he is. Max is the same way. I read the emails that update you on babies your baby's age, and I always feel like, "Waahhh? He should be pulling up on furniture? He can't even crawl!" They'll get there. Max's appointment isn't until next week, so I'm sure I'll deal with the same questions!

I hear you on the turkey thing. I'm not even a vegetarian and it grosses me out. I worked in a fine dining restaurant in college where they used to serve rabbit. Now THAT'S gross when you walk in on them prepping the little guys.

I'm hoping DH surprises me with an Ergo for christmas, even though what I asked for is to have the carpets cleaned... lol. Fancy, huh?

 

[SierraJourney]

That's so funny because I thought about asking DH for an Ergo for Christmas, but knowing my DH, he would say "a present is something for YOU--not for Camden!" lol. . .but it's what I want!

Rabbit. . .that's just gross. . .