April/May 2008 MOMS (all others are welcomed too)

[Vlada]

Oh my Gosh,
What do you guys do to make your babies sleep through the night????
Tesa can wake up 5 or 6 time per night!!!! AND she doens't go back to sleep right away. I have started her on solid food , she is now eating one pack of oatmeal a day, mixed with formula, i know that it can have traces of wheat , but she HATES rice cereal. I am thinking about starting baby food from the jar next week, may be it will help her sleep better. She can easily last 6 hours without eating at night. Last night she went to bed at 7 30 pm, i fed her at 1 am and a little bit at 6 am, but she woke up soooo many times in between though!!!! I took away the pacifier 2 days ago, because she kept loosing it at night, now she sucks on her hands and i guess when she realizes that hands are not in her mouth, then she wakes up. Also, i am afraid that she will get addicted to sucking her thumb, which she started doing now, since there is no paci to suck on.
Any advise????? I am desperate, what am i doing wrong?????
Vlada.
I do let her cry when she wakes up, but she gets so worked up that can't quiet down for a while...

[woodcliff]

Oh, Vlada, you are not doing anything 'wrong'!!! Your wee one just might not be 'there' yet to sleep through the night...I forgot, what's her b-day?
I hear you re: not letting her cry if she gets too worked up...my boy used to do that, and then he'd have a tough time catching his breath from crying so hard and THAT would freak him out more...so we always made sure to hold him once he started going.

He no longer does that, if that gives you hope ... he stopped doing it around 3 months...12 weeks or so..

Your daughter will get there...hang tight!
Did you pick up that book "Healthy sleep habits, healthy baby?" It's a wonderfully written book. Really, REALLY stresses the need for daytime naps...mine nap a lot during the day (although my boy has a tough time turning it off, but does do at least one 2-3 hour nap per day, the others are 30 minutes or so, with lotsa hanging out in the crib!)

best to you...hang tight!
xxxoo

[Vlada]

Woodcliff,
Thank you for the words of encouragment. I do put her to bed 3 times a day for naps, but unfortunately she doens't sleep longer then 45 to 50 min per nap, although during the walk she can sleep for 2 hours or more.
Cocoa,'i got your pics, your babies are so cute!!!! I will send you mine as soon as get a chance
Vlada
Ps Tesa is 4 months and almost 2 weeks now

[Cocoa]

Hi Girls... WHERE ARE YOU ALL!!???!! I miss seeing your posts. I am getting on well. I have been back to work for three weeks now and the babies have adjusted well to the schedule (they are early birds anyway as most babies/children are). I just take everything one day, one moment at a time and I don't feel anxious. I am so happy with my babies that I have been learning to take my tiredness and any thing else in stride. I feel so very blessed and these babies certainly are God's victory.

Love to you all...

Hey Michelle! How ARE you !?? Come back to us! LisaPa - what about you???

xxxCocoa

[robinsonpr]

It's been really quiet on the board hasn't it...I know we've all got our hands full so it's difficult to post now!

I'm doing OK. Jack and Charlie are getting so big now, it's going so quick! They are getting really good at standing up, I can just hold their hands and they stand there happily, grinning at me! They hate being on their tummy, it's looking like they won't be crawlers but I guess once they can roll over on their own things may change!

Sleeping has been going great...put them down at 6.30pm now and don't hear a peep until 6.30am next day. It's been like that for a good few weeks now, but last few nights Jack has woken up lots during the night. He's got a cold and a runny nose so I think it's that. I gave him paracetamol last night and he was better, only woke up once.

They are actually 5 months old today!!! No teeth yet, but plenty of dribbling and chewing anything they can get into their mouths. Has anyone had a tooth come through yet!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

The proper swimming lessons started last week. The teacher actually had us submerge our babies completely under the water. It was tough to do but wasn't too bad really. They didn't scream or anything, just a bit bewildered. Since then I've not been careful about avoiding getting water in their eyes at bathtime, and they don't seem too bothered if I wash their hair and water runs down their face.

They are so cute though, I don't want them to grow up!!!!!

Love, Hayley xx

[woodcliff]

Ladies!
The site has not allowed me to post for some stupid reason...
yes, quiet site...we all must be way too busy

Cocoa, so happy all is well with you! I will email you photos. Promise...I was out of town 3.5 weeks and now am SANS babysitter (happily) but that puts me behind...

Hayley..oh gosh. How do you manage swim lessons with 2? Does someone go with you? Do tell.
so happy your babies are sleeping, it makes suuuuuch a difference, doesn't it?

My girl is rolling. Onto her belly.
It is her life! She is sooo proud of herself it is cute.

I moved everyone down to our back study. Freaked my hubby out...all of the toyes, etc.
Bought a Jumperoo...and an exersaucer...my old babysitter put it together tonight so I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow when my son gets into the jumperoo!

My babies are soooo freakin easy I am sure they were swapped in the night at 7 weeks or so.
No crying. Ever. Unless someone is hungry. They are talking instead to communicate. God knows what they are saying.
love to all
me

[robinsonpr]

Woodcliff good to hear from you! Wow rolling over!!!! How cute!!!!!

My DH comes swimming, he's managed to get 1 day a week "working from home" so comes to the pool with us! It would be impossible otherwise!!!

[Vlada]

Hello Ladies,
I am so glad to hear that everyone is doing great!!!!
Tesa has been rolling over for about 2 weeks now, from back to her tummy and from her tummy to her back. Also she is sleeping through the night finally ( don't want to jinx it ), from about 7 pm to 7 am.
She stands up as well, but still a little shaky.
Woodcliff, Tesa has been using exesaucer for about 2 weeks now, she likes it, but doesn't stay there longer than 20 min, which is OK with me. I have also ordered Jumperoo online, it should be arriving soon.
Another funny thing is that when i come to her room in the morning she is completely turned around!!!! Her head is where her feet were and vice versa, i don't know how she does it, because i put her in the sleeping sack
I woud love to exchange pics with you guys, so if you want, you can PM me your e mails , so we can do that.
Vlada

[robinsonpr]

Vlada that's great news to hear Tesa is sleeping well now!

And rolling over both ways too...that's great!

Neither Jack or Charlie can roll yet, but they both HATE being on their tummy so maybe that's why they don't roll over. They both stand really well though, to the point where I don't have to hold their body anymore, I can just hold both hands (or sometimes even just 1 hand if their balance is good!).

It's looking like they may not bother crawling but we'll see!

Let's all exchange emails so we can send pics around. I'm dying to see everybody else's little ones!

Hayley xx

[Babyb]

Sorry I haven't posted. Read the posts and am happy to hear everyone is doing well.

I started back to work 3 weeks ago and it has been so overwhelmingly exhausting. I feel like I'm racing around all the time, with hardly any time to just sit, relax and breathe. As soon as I get home from work (still pumping at work, but trying to stop my milk production now), I race to see the boys, either feed them while my hubby cooks (or cook while my hubby feeds), get in a quick dinner, prepare for bath time and then another feed. By that time, it is about 10:00 and I clean the kitchen, then pump and get ready for bed (around midnight). It never stops!

We have had some horrible luck with nannies -- fired about 3 or 4 so far and interviewed so many I can't even begin to count. We finally have a young girl working for us. She doesn't have all the experience in the world (1 year with twins), but she seems to have a good attitude and loves children. We shall see. It was really rough with the bad nannies, though. I had no peace of mind for the longest time.

The boys JUST started sleeping for longer periods (they are now 5 mos). We put them down about 10 (yes, very late I know, but at least it allows us a restful night), squirm around 3 or 4 am -- at which point, we pull them into bed with us with crib wedges and give them a binky -- and then they wake about 7:30 or so for food.

Let's see . . . The boys are talking up a storm. They are also starting to roll from side to side on their backs-- but not real fans of tummy time. They do baby crunches as well in an effort to sit up on their own. No standing yet (are your babies actually standing on their own or are you really just holding them up in the standing position?). Have no idea when they will start to crawl.

Started to supplement with some formula about 2 wks ago so now they get about 1/2 breast milk and 1/2 formula. Thinking about starting rice cereal in a few weeks. Where is everyone else on the solid food?

Anyone giving the flu vaccine? I just received notice from my pediatrician that it is recommended. Not sure whether I want to do it -- they aren't in day care so i feel their risk is a bit reduced.

[woodcliff]

wow! sorry to be so out of touch.
Vlada, my twins do the same, turn around in the night! But now only the girl rolls (LOVES to roll!)...my son does it only from tummy to back...she does it back to tummy...
I created a room in the back study for them. ha sooo much baby-izing to do!
BabyB: I understand the nanny woes...
there is no way to tell until they are 'on' and from your gut. I've found the college or younger girls to be great...
sorry you had a tough time with the nannies.

I just started rice cereal last week (week 24? 25?) and the nurse said to stick with just the rice for 2 more weeks until my next appt...very little is put 'in' ... I do it twice a day...

One thing I wish I'd done was sign up for a food delivery system...the neighborhood man now has a wait list. His meals cost less, at times, from the ones I cook (and spend 2 hours in the kitchen, plus clean up, doing). Well worth it...
wish I'd done it.
love to all more later

[carolina1girl1]

i hope you ladies don't mind me jumping in. it seems that all my june 2008 buddies have all disappeared. i have a question for anyone that can help me out. when did you baby or babies start reaching for things, holding head up while on tummy, holding bottle? my daughter born 6-11-08 had alot of problems when she was born, (which is a whole page in itself she is truely a miracle.) but all that she went through she had to go for a follow up appointment to rehab to make sure she was on target. she is reaching for things, wanting to pull herself up when you hold her hands, smiling, laughing, sometimes touching the bottle, and holding her head up for a minute while on her tummy. but they want to see her doing more (she just turned 3 months) so we have to go every week. they said they are worried about her keeping her hands clenched in a ball, and her tounge sticking out often. she will open her hands to play with rattles, reach for things they don't saty clinched all the time. and i have noticed her tounge hangs out more when she is trying to babble, and she is starting to teeth. ( my son was 3 months when he got his first tooth) they have just made me scared that something might be wrong. but all babies do things at different times so i don't know how they can say she might be delayed.. any comments will be so helpful!!!!

thanks
melanie

[Babyb]

Not knowing the back story re: your daughter, my instincts are that you shouldn't be overly concerned at this age. My twin boys are now 5 months and I would say they just started grabbing things a couple of weeks ago (if that). One of my boys still has wobbly head too and while he can hold it up for the most part, his stamina isn't that of my other son.

I can't comment on the tongue -- I don't see this with my children, but as you properly note, all babies are different. Both boys are experimenting with their voice and both move their mouth differently (perhaps yours is simply having a little extra fascination with her tongue?).

What is it that your doctors would like to see more of? The things you mention seem to be the things my sons are doing at 5 mos. (and they really aren't doing much more). I think they stopped clenching at around 4, maybe 4.5 mos.

[robinsonpr]

CarolinaGirl, I'd echo Babyb's comments...I really don't think you should be concerned. At only 3 months I think the "experts" are expecting too much! My twins are also 5 months now and one can grab things while the other one doesn't really. He will hold things in his hand but he doesn't really reach out as such. He also keeps his hands clenched in a ball a lot of the time, and has started sticking his tongue out A LOT! (we try not to laugh as it might encourage him to do it, but it does look hilarious!). When we put them on their tummies the grabber won't hold his head up at all, whereas the other little guy will happily hold it up like a turtle for a good few minutes until he gets bored or tired. I'd say that you should take what the experts say with a pinch of salt until you have a real reason to be concerned. It's all very well for them to have their lists of "your baby must do X by X weeks", but of course every one is different.

Babyb - both my boys are standing really well pretty much unsupported. I can just hold their hands and they stand there holding all their own weight. Jack even took a step the other day (though I think it was a fluke because he was about to fall over!) They seem to love being on their feet to the point that they sometimes cry if I make them sit down. I've been putting them in a baby walker (you know the ones with a seat sitting in a frame with wheels) and a bouncer (seat on a little bungi rope that hangs in a door frame) which holds them up so I don't know if this is encouraging them to stand. I certainly think they'll be early walkers. But they still show no signs at all of rolling over, and they hate being on their tummies!!!

[Cocoa]

Hey BabyB!!! It was so good to read a post from you! I miss you!!! I have such baby brain so forgive me but do I have your email address?

So girls I see our baby docs have such differing info re: baby development... Carolina girl I remember when you were in your 2ww and when you got your first beta! I did read you have a baby girl!!! CONGRATS!!! and welcome to our little thread - you are most welcomed... Well, I will try to help you here... my babies were in NICU for 5 days and the neonates predicted 10 days to 2 weeks! Well... NOT! I was the one worried when my baby girl kept presenting with weak neck muscles. I went to children's hospital and the old curmudginy (sp? ) pediatric neuologist said - "don't compare her to her brother or any other baby - she's developing just fine" and THIS is my baby who sometimes at 5 1/2 mo STILL keeps her fists clenched and LOVES to stick out her tongue (to the point where I WAS worried)!!! Well, I am an early childhood development specialist at work and we have been taught that the ONLY time to be concerned is if you see no progress at all in these early years where development is most quick - my ped even said that to me about my baby girl. Well, my baby girl is now rolling over both ways, holding things and bringing them to her mouth (its ALL about eating and tasting anymore) and cans spitfire her head any way she wants! All you need my dear is a NEW doctor!

BTW Ladies... did I tell you all that we are the most beautiful moms on the board?!?! Yeah, but don't tell anyone - all the babies told me!

Girls I am doing great but a little frustrated with the weakness in my core muscles. I have been doing sit ups but its crazy because before I got pregnant I could do 100 sit ups in a minute - now I am lucky if I do 25!!! I really feel/see the diff in my body strength. I KNOW it takes a year but I really want to get rid of this pooch yet I am so exhausted after work that I don't want to power walk... anyone back to "normal"? Anyone care to share their exercise?

Miss you, love you and WC send those new pics!!!

xxxCocoa