Week of Oct 9

[thoseareradishes]

Hi everyone

E had her hearing test today and it went better than I expected, considering she had to be asleep for it.   She passed  I had no idea if I would be able to get her to sleep, we took her kitty pacifier and swaddle sack and did our whole routine, the lady doing the test probably thought we were so goofy.  But it worked, she was asleep within 15 minutes.  

Also, she has decided she will go to sleep in her crib by herself on her belly now, and Mommy holding services are no longer needed.  I really hope this continues, since we could be getting into the 4 month regression any time now.  

[kellikans]

That's wonderful news, thoseareradishes!

I'm just chugging along. 13w3d, in that in between stage where I don't look or feel pregnant, and it's too early to feel any movement (and I have an anterior placenta). Just hoping things are still moving along alright. We told a bunch of our friends last night. People seem to be pretty excited. I'm starting to get nervous about the surgery I need to have. I'm scheduling it for the day I turn 15 weeks. I just hope everything goes well and nothing happens to the baby. My next appointment will be 5 days after that. I'm considering asking if they can do an ultrasound after surgery to confirm that he's okay.

[cherryvalance]

thoseareradishes, yay for a good test!

kellikans, good luck with the surgery. I think asking for an ultrasound is more than reasonable.

I'm getting sad that I have to go back to work in a few weeks and a little scared. DS is being difficult at night time. We do our whole routine, he starts to fall asleep, and then loses his damn mind. He'll quiet down pretty quickly, but I'm scared this is going to get worse. Ugh.

But we're trying Mommy and Me yoga tomorrow, so that should be fun!

[starryfish]

thoseareradishes so awesome about her test!

S is almost 10mo!!! Omg how is that possible? She is crawling, pulling up, claps and waved for the first time today! She is such a happy baby!!!

[pandora89]

Thinking of konapoppy - I think her induction was this weekend or yesterday!

thoseareradishes - glad the hearing test went well!

Back at work today after the long weekend. My sister spend the weekend with us. Did not want to get up this morning. I took our social media "announcement" photo this weekend but obviously waiting a few more weeks before posting it.

[starryfish]

Oct 10, 2017 9:05:32 GMT -5 @daylily said:

I had to take DS to Kohls yesterday for a few things and he insisted on picking out something from the baby section for his little sister. I haven't really bought anything for her yet--too scared--but he was so excited I couldn't say no. He picked out a set of Eric Carle rattles, some socks with faces on them, and two little outfits with flowers on them. It felt good.

Someone on GP posted an Amazon deal on Rock n Plays this morning, so I bought another one for our second floor.

Ahhh it feels like a bad omen to buy this stuff! Am I going to jinx it? But I can't help but feel excited. So I guess that is an improvement, since until now I haven't even been able to get excited.

I felt that way too, but then I read a blog by someone who dealt with IF and she said that IF something bad happens, it is going to SUCK regardless if you bought stuff or not. So try to enjoy buying stuff. Worst case-you throw it in a closet or donate it. I bought stuff all through my pregnancy and I have no regrets. So excited for you! Enjoy it 

[knx9211]

P had his four month appointment yesterday. 13lb, 11oz (14%), 25.28" (68 or something percentile, I forget), and his head was 60th percentile. I forget the exact measurement. I was pretty scarred by the shots. It was SO SAD. He ran a low grade fever last night, but seems to feel better although quite sleepy today. I got my flu shot so we can be sad together.

He's the best baby in the world. He's still sleeping well at night (hope I didn't jinx it), although last night he rolled onto his stomach and slept that way for a while which freaked me out. I was a scaredy cat and rolled him over before I went to bed. Stinker rolled right back. But then he woke up and started crying right before I fell asleep because he wanted to be on his back but was tired and couldn't figure out how to get back there. Poor poodle.

[thoseareradishes]

knx9211, E is sleeping on her belly now too. She's been sleeping on her side for a while now, but now that she can roll both ways she's on her tummy. I was super nervous at first too, but she sleeps so much better now. Really helps keep her pacifier in too.

@daylily, I didn't buy much for E either then opps, she was here, heh. The nurses kept asking me to bring stuff in for her so I finally bought some things. I think it's great your DS wanted to get her some things, that's so sweet. I bet he will be a great big brother!

[cactuscookie]

Oct 10, 2017 9:05:32 GMT -5 @daylily said:

Ahhh it feels like a bad omen to buy this stuff! Am I going to jinx it? But I can't help but feel excited. So I guess that is an improvement, since until now I haven't even been able to get excited.

I still feel this way when someone gives us hand-me-down clothes for H that are a couple sizes too big.
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[King26]

J has had several good nights of sleep. Not STTN but only waking up 2 or 3 times with 2 decent stretches. I feel like a new woman after getting 2 decent stretches of sleep. Only problem is he is a total crank in the morning now for several hours. I guess the trade off is worth it, I would totally rather have the nighttime sleep. It's helped both DH and I.

My parents are coming back down in 2 1/2 weeks and are staying at a resort nearby. They are going to take J for a few hours while DH and I go to dinner. J will be 9 weeks then and it'll be our first time out without him. I'm sad but we definitely need the break.

I've extended my work leave through Thanksgiving and will probably end up extending it through Christmas. I HAVE to go back in January though. It's just going to be hard to leave him.

Glad the test went well thoseareradishes,
Good luck with the surgery kellikans, Let us know how it goes and I don't blame you wanting an u/s afterwards.
I hope nights get better cherryvalance, Is he at least sleeping at night for you?
I didn't buy anything for baby until I was like 6 months pregnant because I was scared @daylily, but my mom starting buying things when I told her at 12 weeks. Just do what is comfortable for you.
knx9211, I am dreading J getting his shots in 2 weeks. He screamed when he got 1 at his 1 month appointment and this time he gets 2 and some liquid crap.

[knx9211]

King26, Yay for sleep! P has had random stretches when he naps like garbage and is kind of cranky, but I'll take it so long as he continues sleeping at night. Totally worth it.

I made my husband hold his hands during the 2 month appointment, but this time I had to do it. I HATED IT. He did the oral medication really easily (other than smiling halfway through and drooling it down his face), but the shots (3 of them!! ) suuuuucked. Once I picked him up, he stopped crying really quickly though and he was his usual chipper self by the time we got home. Sleepy and a little cranky once he got a fever later, but overall he bounced back well - hopefully J will be the same!!

[loira]

Oct 10, 2017 11:28:10 GMT -5 cactuscookie said:

Oct 10, 2017 9:05:32 GMT -5 @daylily said:

Ahhh it feels like a bad omen to buy this stuff! Am I going to jinx it? But I can't help but feel excited. So I guess that is an improvement, since until now I haven't even been able to get excited.

I still feel this way when someone gives us hand-me-down clothes for H that are a couple sizes too big.
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Me too. I hate that I feel this way, but I don't think it's ever going to go away. I try to remind myself to enjoy A every day, but some days it's exhausting being grateful all the time especially since...

A is REALLY testing her boundaries. I think she inherited my (non)respect for authority. The other day she climbed onto a tiny end table and when I told her to get down, she said "no." Not having any immediate natural consequences that weren't dangerous, I was forced to put her in a corner. At first she didn't like it, but then quickly figured out that it lost its impact quickly if she randomly kept going there during the day. Now she raises one eyebrow and says "stand in corner" every time she does something she KNOWS is naughty. I.am.losing.it.

[cactuscookie]

Oct 10, 2017 14:02:40 GMT -5 loira said:

A is REALLY testing her boundaries. I think she inherited my (non)respect for authority. The other day she climbed onto a tiny end table and when I told her to get down, she said "no." Not having any immediate natural consequences that weren't dangerous, I was forced to put her in a corner. At first she didn't like it, but then quickly figured out that it lost its impact quickly if she randomly kept going there during the day. Now she raises one eyebrow and says "stand in corner" every time she does something she KNOWS is naughty. I.am.losing.it.

Omg, H is in a really bad phase too. I feel like last week was our worst week of parenting since the colicky newborn phase. Every single damn meal, she's throwing food, spoons, cups, whatever. She gets pissed off and screams at any stupid thing, like not being able to get a lid onto a container she's playing with. Sometimes you can see her get this look in her eye right before she pulls the cats' tails or throws a book at them. I feel like life with her is a constant fight right now.

However, I'm always impressed by how smart A is. The 'stand in corner' thing is obnoxious, but it's an example of some pretty complex problem-solving.

[loira]

Oct 10, 2017 14:57:15 GMT -5 cactuscookie said:

Oct 10, 2017 14:02:40 GMT -5 loira said:

A is REALLY testing her boundaries. I think she inherited my (non)respect for authority. The other day she climbed onto a tiny end table and when I told her to get down, she said "no." Not having any immediate natural consequences that weren't dangerous, I was forced to put her in a corner. At first she didn't like it, but then quickly figured out that it lost its impact quickly if she randomly kept going there during the day. Now she raises one eyebrow and says "stand in corner" every time she does something she KNOWS is naughty. I.am.losing.it.

Omg, H is in a really bad phase too. I feel like last week was our worst week of parenting since the colicky newborn phase. Every single damn meal, she's throwing food, spoons, cups, whatever. She gets pissed off and screams at any stupid thing, like not being able to get a lid onto a container she's playing with. Sometimes you can see her get this look in her eye right before she pulls the cats' tails or throws a book at them. I feel like life with her is a constant fight right now.

Yes, this look must be universal. Sometimes A smiles, too. I call it "gleevil" (combination of glee and evil). How do they know exactly how to push our buttons?

The lids onto containers frustrates A, too. She's taken to putting them on the ground and stepping on them as punishment. I'm going to have to buy my parents new tupperware soon because all the lids are breaking.

[cherryvalance]

King26 , glad he's making progress at night! DS sleeps in 3-4 hour stretches at night; one time he slept 7 hours, but that was just one, magical night . He's been eating every four hours today, so I'm hoping that means 4-5 hour sleep stretches tonight, but we'll see.

You're so lucky you get to extend your leave! I only have 3 weeks left and I'm dreading going back.

ETA: The two month shots weren't too bad for us, and the nurse was a little worried because he's pretty skinny and she had to do one shot per leg. She saved the worst for last and once I picked up him and spoke to him, he stopped crying. He was a total champ, so there's definitely hope it won't suck. 

[mpc]

my baby is going through a phase (god I hope it is a phase) of waking up every time I put her in the crib. We spent hours last night trying to get her to bed. Between H and I we made 8 attempts of feeding/rocking/getting her to sleep, but then as soon as we put her down she'd wake up and flip out. Finally I got her down around midnight. Then she woke up at 4, then my alarm went off at 6 and I just cried. I feel like I'm hung over from lack of sleep every day.

In the past few weeks we've introduced solid foods, moved her from rock n play to the crib, and taken away the swaddle. It's a lot of change for her. But I know I'm only pumping 3 oz for every 5 oz bottle she gets and I'm starting to worry that it is all my fault and I'm starving her when she nurses. I've got a friend and my H both reinforcing that idea, saying maybe I should just start giving her all bottles, maybe I should just give it up. I don't know what to do.

[thoseareradishes]

Hugs mpc, that's a lot to deal with all at once, for all of you. Could you try giving her bottles for a couple of days, while still pumping, to see if it makes a difference?

As for sleep, can she sleep on her belly? Would you be okay with trying to put her down awake, and letting her fuss a little and help her as needed?

[mpc]

Oct 11, 2017 11:26:32 GMT -5 thoseareradishes said:

Hugs mpc , that's a lot to deal with all at once, for all of you. Could you try giving her bottles for a couple of days, while still pumping, to see if it makes a difference?

As for sleep, can she sleep on her belly? Would you be okay with trying to put her down awake, and letting her fuss a little and help her as needed?

Ever since we put her in the crib she's been rolling onto her belly to sleep and I just let her do it. I've tried laying her down directly onto her belly but she fights me on that. of course, right, lol. I don't really know how to do the awake/fuss/help her thing effectively. When she wakes up when I put her down I try to just pat her or whisper or do whatever but she keeps fussing and eventually it turns into crying. 

Around 11:30 last night I gave her tylenol in a 'I don't know what the heck is going on' kind of move. don't know if it helped or if we finally just exhausted her so much that she eventually slept. 

[thoseareradishes]

Of course she fights you! Stinkin' babies Sleep is so hard. It's the thing I worry over the most. I know there are a few methods like shush pat and pick up/ put down, but I have no idea if they work. Sometimes E just needs to cry a bit before sleep - I can tell it's not a distress cry, it's more of a pissy I don't wanna sleep cry. It's really hard to listen to, and I go to her if she does it more than a couple minutes. But once she gets it out, she goes to sleep.

Is she getting teeth?

[thoseareradishes]

And yeah, I have no idea what I'm doing, heh. I'm just throwing out some stuff that I've tried. This parenting thing is tough!

I have a question about feedings. E eats 5 times during the day and twice at night. I'd love to drop a day bottle sometime soon, but I don't know how to do it. She still spits up quite a bit, and hates being burped. She also really really hates cold bottles - she will fuss like crazy once her bottle starts to cool down. So I don't know how adding another ounce to her bottle will go. How did you know when your kid was ready to drop a bottle/nursing session?

[loira]

thoseareradishes, past 2 months old my kid never dropped daytime bottles. And she never drank more than 5oz at once. She did start dropping them at night more and more, especially once we introduced solids. She still gets about 4 bottles a day of homo milk, although that's going to be reduced now that she's in daycare. I obsessed over her weight, so I never fought her on it.

Sorry to all who are in sleep hell. I shall send caffeinated vibes your way!

[konapoppy]

Thanks for thinking of us pandora89!

The girls arrived yesterday morning after a failed induction. Baby B has been in the NICU for a bit, keeping her blood sugar levels up. I am hoping they come by in a few hours to tell us she is all ours.

Baby A bas been awesome. H and I are loving them. Even my baby-hating sister was so smitten that she spent the whole day with us at the hospital!

I will post more on MM and GotP once I have cute pictures of them together

[kellikans]

Congrats konapoppy! Can't wait to see pictures!

[thoseareradishes]

Congrats konapoppy!!

[kristind3]

Congratulations konapoppy!!

[King26]

Congrats konapoppy,
thoseareradishes, I'd love to know too. J eats about 10 times a day. He takes 6 or 7 bottles during the day and 3 during the night. He takes 2 or 3 ounces at a time and I'd love to up it but we've tried 4 oz. twice and he has spit up so badly both times I'm afraid to try again.

[knx9211]

konapoppy, congrats!!! I feel like we JUST found out you were pregnant. Time flies!

[cherryvalance]

Congrats, konapoppy!!

[pandora89]

Oct 12, 2017 11:19:13 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

konapoppy , congrats!!! I feel like we JUST found out you were pregnant. Time flies!

Seriously, I was thinking the same thing too!

Cant wait to see pictures konapoppy, congrats!

[thoseareradishes]

Oct 12, 2017 11:19:07 GMT -5 King26 said:

Congrats konapoppy ,
thoseareradishes , I'd love to know too. J eats about 10 times a day. He takes 6 or 7 bottles during the day and 3 during the night. He takes 2 or 3 ounces at a time and I'd love to up it but we've tried 4 oz. twice and he has spit up so badly both times I'm afraid to try again.

We feed E based on mL rather than oz, because that's how she was fed in the NICU.  When we want to increase how much she's eating, we can add 5 or 10mL to her bottle rather than a whole ounce, which is about 30mL.  

Also, and this is likely unpopular, but we feed E on more or less a schedule; again, because this is how she was fed in the NICU and it was working for her, and it also helped when dealing with all her appointments.  She eats about every 3 hours; since she takes a full bottle, she won't want to or need to eat again for about 3 hours, +/- a half hour.   Obviously, if she is hungry, we feed her (this happened a lot during her witching hour weeks).  But because she doesn't snack, she is always ready to eat when it's time and usually finishes her bottle.  Overnight we feed her when she wakes up, so she has dropped one bottle, from 8 to 7.