BUMPIN' 08 - Fall Mommies

[kbear4211]

Hi everyone,

Boy, all the little ones seem to be getting so big and doing so much. It is so much fun to hear all of your stories and see the wonderful pictures on Photobucket. We have some adorable kids.

Katie is currently trying her darndest to sit up on her own. She grabs her feet and sits there for a few seconds, but she then starts to fall to the side. I know it is not far away. I did get a tummy time mat to help her get tummy time, as she hates being on her tummy. She likes that a lot better, so she stays longer. She is rolling from her tummy to her back. I don't think she will ever roll from her back to her tummy, because she hates being on her tummy. LOL. She loves to grab at everything. I remember worrying she would never use her hands, now my hair gets pulled and she touches everything.

Katie is teething big time. She started a little more than a week ago. She drools, chews on everything, rubs her ears (I didn't know this was a symptom of teething, but I read that it was in an article), fusses somewhat (which she never did previously). I can see the bottom eye teeth through her gums, but the bottom front will probably come first. If she is really uncomfortable, I have been putting Baby Orajel on her gums. She looks at me like, "What was that?", but then she seems better.

Katie has said Dadadadadada and Mamamamama and Hi. I know she has no idea what they mean, but at least she is saying consonants. When she is in her crib, she loves to raise both of her legs and slam them down on the mattress to make noise. Sometimes in the middle of the night, when she stirs, I hear her do it on the monitor.

As for food, Katie isn't all that thrilled w/ baby food. She hates peas, is okay with apple sauce and squash. She does not like rice cereal very much at all. I have been putting it in her formula at night. I know there are mixed feelings about putting cereal in the bottle, but my Mom did it with all of us, so I guess it isn't all that bad.

We have been dealing with constipation. Sometimes Katie produces a golf ball size movement that is hard as a rock. She cries for 20 minutes before she goes. She is on a stool softener from the doctor and now we have also added prune juice. We are doing some better. I just feel so bad because it would hurt me to produce such hard movements.

I am having a hectic week, as I have to work all week, and we are flying out of Baltimore on Friday to Oxnard California where my brother lives. I have been reading all the helpful tips about flying with an infant, and I hope it goes well. I do not want to have a screaming baby the whole flight. I will pack tomorrow night. That worries me because I overpack for me, let alone for her.

Loopie - Yes, we will get together soon. Thank goodness the sun comes out a little more now. I was about to start building an ark.

Gecko, Katie and Michele: I wish you luck on your cycles. I am praying for all of your BFP's!!!!!

Suga - Mackenzie crawling is awesome. I am sure that Brooke will soon, then it will be babies everywhere in your house. I admire you, I can't even imagine two at once.

RIO - Thanks for the cafepress.com idea, I was trying to figure out what Katie should get for her Daddy.

Well, I better get back to work (yuck!). If anyone has helpful hints on traveling w/ an infant, I am more than glad to accept your advice.

Take care everyone!!

Kris

[CT_Michele]

kbear- ella does the matress slamming thing too, it is so loud, she usually does it when I put her down for a nap. She also likes to use her feet to lift up her aquarium on the side rails so it comes slamming down. Ella also did not like many foods at katies age, but they grew on her, some of them took many tries. Have you tried gerber oatmeal instead of the rice cereal? Ella had some major constipation issues too, so dr told us no rice cereal or bananas because they are binding foods, and to feed her prunes and pears. She loves the oatmeal. She never liked the prune juice in her bottle, but got used to the baby food prunes pretty quick. For a while I was feeding them to her almost everyday, but it does help with the constipation. Good luck on your trip, hope she is good on the plane for you, and have fun in Cali!

[riogirl71]

Seems like we are all so busy! My boy is going through a crazy mommy phase plus separation anxiety and stranger danger which means no mommy time for myself! Even with DH he screams and cries and only wants to be with me, my heart breaks for DH because I would feel terrible if he only wanted DH and not me. Daycare has been hard also. So I really don't know what to do , hopefully he just grows out of it. He wants to play with me and that means pulling my hair a ton and biting! Gosh he is an animal! I think he is my third puppy! He is also pixking up cheerios with a pincer grasp, very cute. No crawling yet but loves to get up on everything, he has his two bottom teeth out.
What other kind of finger foods are you girls using?

kbear- my little one hated rice cereal, but loves the oatmeal. When bean was 6 mos old we took him on a long plane trip, take books and news toys she hasn't seen yet. Poor thing with the constipation

Gecko - wow Declan is doing great! And you are going for #2! I am so excited for you, my bean is trying to be an only child since he won't allow me to wean him!

Loopie- how cool you went camping, he sounds like such a trooper!

CT - you are brave with the idea of 3, I couldn't imagine having twins and a toddler...

Tina- leaving them at daycare is super hard and I cried, but they will get used to it and it is good to socialize them, get ready for colds and illnesses now! Mine just got the first cold after being in daycare for 1 week!

Katie- good luck on your cycle! I am very excited for you - keep us posted!

Suga - it must be so cute to watch the girls trying to imitate one another!

Been busy with work and house projects and don't seem to get much time on the computer lately Don't know when we go for #2 since he doesn't want to be weaned, refuses the bottle so I figure at this point I will wait a few more months...

[loopie]

Hi all!

Kbear- we skipped the rice cereal and went straight to oatmeal at 4months- he still loves it and we mix it in most all of his food- either stuff i mashed up in the food mill, or jars of baby food- i make it thick as it's easier to get on the spoon- we're pretty lucky all around- Pulman loves almost anything we give him, and if he sees us eating something, he wants it- so i give him little pieces of table food to eat- even meat- though he mostly pulverizes it in his toothless mouth until it is mush.
try mixing some cinnamon into the cereal- sometimes i think it is just too bland and if it tastes different from milk/ formula, she may be encouraged to try it.
Kbear- have you ever been to Artscape in Baltimore?
there is a great group of women( and a fella- if he ever shows up) that have babies 2mos to 2 yrs- we meet on Tuesdays- if you can make it- if not- we can try a weekend get together really soon!

Rio- is it stranger anxiety already? wow!


Pulman is standing up all the time! he holds onto the edge of his playpen and walks around it- or if he's on the floor, he grabs onto stuff and stands up- he topples over, of course, but he doesn't seem to mind- only drag is he has a few bumps here and there- somehow, he manages to fall off the rug and onto the wood floor-good thing we opted for doing a wood floor last summer and not the concrete we were thinking about! he also really loves the soldier crawl and tumbling around and is really into sitting up

he doesn't say very much- but still squeaks like a champ- no mama or dada stuff- it stands to reason that he's a more tactile guy- both dh and i are visual artists

girls good luck with your upcoming cycles! it is so exciting-
i don't know if we'll do another cycle- we didn't have any frosties if we do, it will be next may- when i'm finishing up grad school if at all- adoption is still something for us to think about for sure. Dh seems quite happy with our singleton, but i think 2 would be magic- however it works out

Rio- don't sweat it- even though you want to get started on another cycle- i think it is wonderful that you've been able to bf exclusively- he's only 8 month old- so i wouldn't be worried about weaning him yet, though the biting i'm sure you could do without.
Pulman still doesn't have any teeth- but they've been threatening to come in for about 3 months now!

Tina- i'm sure Noah will do great at the new school- he'll adjust to their schedule in time.

gecko- it's crazy- one minute they're just sitting there, next thing you know, they are crawling all over the house! I'm fending off P right now- he's after the laptop cord!- all these toys, and what does he want? paper and extension cords.

ct- what a drag about the family stuff- it's unfortunate that while you are trying to do a nice thing, others feel slighted or offended- I hope you'll not take it to heart, and that they'll remember that they are adults and should let that stuff go - family or not, they are guests in your home - you have way more important things to spend your time on! hugs!!!!

weezie? Tammy? Jomae?? you out there? it's been ages

suga- wonderful news about M- I'm sure once B hits the turf, you will be running from one end of your house to the other after those 2 dears!

whew- it's a lot of changes right now-
we went to the Walters Art Museum yesterday- he really love to look at stuff and was pretty mad when there was glass between him and the shiny stuff

hope you are all well

[CT_Michele]

Hey girls,

It's been quiet on this thread...I bet everyone is busy busy with the active little ones!

I got crummy news about my cycle today. I went again for bw today and estrogen went way up, so I am no where ready for an FET on the 24th of this month, looks like if they can get me back on track, I am shooting for around July 22nd now. I am aggravated, I don;t know why the lupron is not suppressing properly. I have to continue lupron for 2 weeks and then go for u/s and bw to check again. This is so annoying.

But I guess everything happens for a reason. My bro's out of state wedding that dh and I are in the wedding party is on July 11, so that stressor will be out of the way before my transfer. I am going next weekend to the bridal shower, and then 3 weeks after that is the wedding. Of course I am not looking forward to making that 8 hr drive 4 times in the next 5 weeks with a 10 month old in the car...ugh. I will be glad when it is over.

Also, my new potential transfer date will give me a due date very close to mine and my mom's b-day, so maybe it is good luck. It will also make it where I can finish my masters degree next semester and not feel super uncomfortable for finals. If I get a bfp, I will only be about 4/5 months pregnant by the end of the semester. I registered for 3 classes, I feel like I should just finish while I have the chance and be done with school for a while...of course until I decide I want my 6 year and my phd...I will be paying student loans for the rest of my life!

Ella is so active now. She is crawling all over the place, still mostly on belly, but she has more recently been trying to stand up, like pull up on the bottom stair, or pull up on daddy. She loves to stand and walk. If I hold her hands, she will walk all day. I am getting on a pretty good routine with her as far as feeding and naps go. She is really down to about one nap a day, but sleeps a long time at night. I am ok with one nap as long as she doesn't get too cranky. Of course I think our 2 long road trips coming up are gonna throw her schedule way out of whack.

I have to post some new pics. Ella makes this face I call the "scrunchy face." It is soooo funny. I think that she thinks she is smiling, or I think it is her determination face, because she makes it when she is trying to do something, like jump or crawl across the couch.

Oh yeah...we got a swing set for Ella the other day. I had been thinking about getting one ever since I took her to the park and she enjoyed the swings. So as I was looking, my mom said that she was planning on getting Ella one for her first birthday, and that I had $400 I could spend...sweet! So we got a nice wooden one...but of course now we have to assemble it. The instructions said 6-12 hours, online reviews said it takes days to do, so by my calculations, dh and I might be lucky to finish by the end of the summer! We are not really the handy type, more of the techie type. I will keep you all posted on how it goes...I have a feeling that if a marriage can make it through building a wooden swing set, then it can make it through anything...lol

So what are you guys planning for father's day? We are going to be on one of the weekend trips for the bridal shower, so I have to come up with something special. I would love to hear your ideas.

Ok, off to bed, we have a playdate in the morning with a bunch of babies in my parents group...talk to you all soon, I will check out photobucket tomorrow if I remember and post a couple pics

[CT_Michele]

oh...I forgot...one question for everyone

I think Ella is teething for real now. She seems to want to put her fingers in her mouth more than normal, especially during feeding time. I will give her a spoon of something and she almost immediately sticks her hand in her mouth. It is so messy. Did anyone else's babies do this before they got a tooth?

Thanks...

[riogirl71]

CT - I am sorry your cycle got delayed but it looks like it will work out better for you timing wise. My guy drooled a lot when teething and wanted to bite my finger all the time. Cool on the swing set!!!

Loopie- looks like he will walk before crawling! Mine is the same way gets up on everything. No interest in crawling. Post some pics of your camping trip!

We still have some daycare drama and most days I come back to work crying. I feed him up there at 11 am since he doesn't take a bottle, when I leave he just loses it and so do I! I do a quick goodbye, always say the same thing and takes everything I got to walk away. He is climbing everywhere and no interest in crawling. He is doing great with finger foods.

What kind of foods are you feeding now? Is meat ok now? I know eggs, corn, nuts, milk etc are not but is yogurt ok? Cheese?

I went to cafepress and got some cute bibs and onesies made for DH for father's day. Father's day for us is this weekend since we have Skid next weekend. I know it is sad but she is just such a party pooper and has such a bad attitude that she manages to ruin every weekend or day that we have her. It breaks DH's heart and it is hard on me to see him this way. He tries so hard to be a good dad, I am just glad we have our little boy who I know will think his dad is the greatest!

Hope you girls have a great weekend!

[loopie]

hey rio- corn is not ok? I give him baby food that is a corn casserole thing, i can't imagine why they say no if it's mashed up- and we are coming up on really great fresh corn season!!!
- and i give him cheese as well- yogurt is fine as well- just not cow milk.
theory on the egg is - only the yolk until 1 year- this is merely due to salmonella - for some reason it is either only found in the whites or something like that

Pulman is so busy with trying to walk- he holds onto furniture, his activity table thingy, or his bumbo chair and pushes it across the floor using it as a walker- and getting into everything-

Kbear- hope the trip to CA was easy for you and that you had a wonderful time.

CT- whew- that's a lot of car travel- I'm sure you and Ella will work it out- but couldn't you just bow out of the shower as it's so far?

I went to Boston Fri and Sat for a girls getaway- fun fun fun! but happy to be back with my fellas
ok- gotta run- Pulman is on the move

best to all!

xxloopie

[CT_Michele]

loopie- I originally totally bowed out of the shower. That is why we held a shower here at my house a couple of weeks ago, because we knew a lot of people couldn't make that trip twice, including myself. Even though I knew they would be disappointed if we weren't there (because dh and I are in the wedding party) I knew they would understand with us having the baby and the events only being 3 weeks apart. But then my family went crazy and all those problems happened with my aunt and grandma who are now not going to the wedding. Even though the family fighting had nothing to do with the wedding, it was just started by wedding travel plans, I think my bro and his fiance feel really bad about the whole situation, and feel like their wedding was part to blame, and that maybe people don't really care that much about them and their wedding. Of course I think it is ridiculous for them to think that way, but they are young and I remember when I was planning my wedding, that was all that mattered in the world at that time. So, I decided we needed to make that extra effort to make sure they know there are people that care about them and love them a lot. If doing this trip twice in 3 weeks doesn't prove that, then nothing will!

It really stinks though, because every weekend we have nothing to do, and of course this weekend when we will be gone, my parents group is having their annual potluck dinner, one of our friends is doing a b-day bbq and its fathers day. Instead of doing all that fun stuff at home, we will be driving over 16 hours this weekend, we are going to drive up on friday, stay sat and sun and drive home on monday. Dh took vacation for this weekend and the wedding weekend, so he will be off the few days before and after each weekend, which is nice.

so I did a couple of things so far for fathers day. We will be away, so I wanted to make it special. Th last bridal shower that was at my house was the weekend of dh's b-day, and his b-day kinda got overlooked with all the comotion, so I want to make fathers day extra special. First, I found out the best bakery in all of Rochester NY, and called and put in an order for what looks like the best cheesecake dh will ever have. It is called over the top chocolate pb cup cheesecake. I don't eat cheesecake myself, but dh will love it! I also ordered some brownies, other desserts and some muffins and danishes for breakfast. My brother is going to pick up the order for me on Friday. Then we are going to eat at a restauraunt in Rochester that has over 100 beers on tap. Again, I don't drink beer myself, but dh loves it, so he will be able to try any beer he dreams of and have a nice steak to go with it. For his gift, I am buying 4 mets vs braves tickets today. The game is in august, and my brother who lives here in ct is a braves fan, so me, dh, my bro and his wife are going to go to the new mets stadium to see that game. I know he will love to see the new stadium. Of course, I will probably do a special card and book from ella, maybe a youtube slideshow for dh like he did for me for mom's day...but overall, I hope he really enjoys his day!

loopie- pulman does sound very active, and like a healthy eater too! Ella is getting close to pulling up on things, but just not there yet. I got her a walker the other day to help with her balance and leg strength, she is just not interested in her jumper anymore because it is stationary, but it was well worth it for the 4 months she loved it.

rio- sorry about the daycare drama. I would lose it too if I was in the same situation. I even hate leaving the room if she is sad to see me go. I am still pretty conservative with what I feed her. I am sticking to mostly jarred baby foods, I went to stage 3. I am sure my pediatrician will give us new feeding instructions when we see him in a week. I do give little bits of what I deem as safe table food, like bread or potatoes.

Ok, can you believe ella is still sleeping, it's after 9:30. I wish she would be more consistent. Sometimes she is up by 7:30, other times, not till 10...oh and there she is now...gotta run, talk to you all soon!

[geckogirl]

Michele - I hope this weekend turns out great for you all! I sure sounds busy but I know Dh will love the cheescake and dinner plans. My Dh would love baseball tickets too (I got him some for Christmas). It is such a dad thing! Sorry about all the infighting about the wedding. I hope all turns out well for the bride and groom, because it really is about them. It sure sounds like Ella is teething. Declan started drooling buckets, and chewing on anything and then his bottom teeth came in. Can you feel anything? Sorry about your FET cycle getting delayed. Did they have you on birth control pills before the lupron? That's a bummer that they can't get your ovaries suppressed. What's next?

loopie - I would love a weekend get away with the girls! I should plan one.

Rio - Declan is crawling/dragging and love it when we stand him up but he can't pull himself up on his own yet. I'm sorry you are having daycare issues. It sounds like you are doing the right thing though with your routine for leaving him. He will get used to it eventually. What kinds of finger foods are you giving him?

We are giving Declan yogurt, stage two foods (which include corn), cereal, cottage cheese, avocados, and I have started giving him tastes of my food that I think he can eat. So far he has had mashed potatoes, mac and cheese (didn't like it!), chicken salad (loved it) and bread. I also give him the yogurt melts by Gerber. He loves those!

I saw my RE and had my water u/s and trial transfer and all went well. I also had to meet with a high risk perinatologist which also went fine. I had my EKG last Friday and was cleared to get pregnant again. I paid the FET cycle bill today and we are off!!! I started birth control pills already, and will start lupron in July. My transfer is scheduled for August 14th. I have 4 really great blasts and we are hoping to transfer only one if it looks good, two if they don't thaw well. I really hope this works for us. I am excited and scared all at the same time. We aren't telling many people this time around so there will be less pressure.

Today Dek is at daycare and I have the day to myself! Horray! I am on summer vacation but got sick on day one and have been sick for a whole week. Sucks. I am teaching summer school but only for two weeks in July. I am really hoping to get caught up on - well - everything this summer - and get pregnant!

Talk to you all later.

[cornybaby]

Hi Ladies! Man it's been a long time since I've been over here and I suck for that...I know. I want to go back and catch up on everyone, and I will, but for now I wanted to tell you all something...

I AM PREGNANT!!!! Holy crap! I can't EVEN believe it after all we have been through. There were no drugs, no needles, no ultrasounds...nothing...we did it the old fashioned way! I guess my body just needed to learn how to do it. Mind you I am only 4 weeks along, but it was confirmed today with a blood test and my beta was 604. My ultrasound will be in 2 weeks. I can't even begin to describe what it was like to POAS and completely unexpectedly have it be positive. I know we have a long way to go and we won't be telling anyone or announcing it on the blog until we are out of the woods and in the 2nd trimester, but I couldn't help coming and telling you all. If for no other reason than to let you all know that it can happen. And it does happen.

Now...I am going to go get caught up on how you all are doing!

[loopie]

OMG! Corny- CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am shedding tears of joy!!! that is wonderful - and we'll keep your secret- for now!!! congrats to you and dh and abby- what a blessing- truly wonderful news

HUGS!!!
loopie

[KatieG]

Corny---I'm so happy for you. Weird thing is I noticed we have not heard from you in a while and I went to you webpage yesterday!! CONGRATS!! We are all rooting for you and your beta is good!!!

[geckogirl]

Corny - That is SO COOL!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you and Brian and Abby! Can you believe she will be a big sister?!!!!!! How blessed you all are. Keep us posted

[kbear4211]

Just a quick note today:

CORNY: How wonderful!!! I am so happy for you. Your beta sounds great. What a miracle and a blessing.



Our trip was great, Katie was a wonderful traveler. We had people on our flights telling us what a good baby she is.

Will post again soon.

Kris