Week of June 25

[Mushe]

What’s up, friends?

I am 29w tomorrow, and finally starting to feel really pregnant. DS was all up in my ribs, and this baby is way lower, but that’s putting pressure on my c-section scar. I have to keep changing positions from sitting to standing. 😆 I dropped DS off with my parents yesterday, to watch him for two days as we go to SoCal on Wednesday, so this saves us a week of camp cost ($250 🤢), and they get alone time, which they’re always asking for. My feet were a bit swollen, so my mom was worried, but it’s gone down now. 🤷‍♀️

[Mushe]

mpc, how was the wedding, really? Lol. You all looked great! I hope you’re settling in on figuring out a low sodium diet, and that your home BP readings aren’t too bad.

shauni27, how about you? How was the wedding? You and G and S looked so adorable.

[oneslybookworm]

hey ladies! not a ton going on here...today is my first day back at work after knee surgery last week, so that's been fun. Recovery isn't going as quickly as I'd like, but then again it never does. I'm in full party planning mode for G's birthday...less than 2 weeks until the party! I can't believe he's less than 2 weeks from being a year old...I'm dying! He's off formula, he's off bottles, and I'm just looking at my tiny toddler every time I see him. My heart can't handle it!

[shauni27]

Jun 25, 2018 10:27:13 GMT -5 Mushe said:

mpc, how was the wedding, really? Lol. You all looked great! I hope you’re settling in on figuring out a low sodium diet, and that your home BP readings aren’t too bad.

shauni27, how about you? How was the wedding? You and G and S looked so adorable.

It was so fun!! Thank you. I’m exhausted though and eating nothing but salads for a month lol

[mpc]

Jun 25, 2018 10:27:13 GMT -5 Mushe said:

mpc , how was the wedding, really? Lol. You all looked great! I hope you’re settling in on figuring out a low sodium diet, and that your home BP readings aren’t too bad. 

It was an exhausting weekend, that's for sure! The downfall to all our planning that I did not consider was the rehearsal dinner. We were out so late with the kids Friday night that everyone was super grumpy by Sat night. I finally got the baby to nap (after DH failed and then gave up on trying) but my 5 year old probably really needed one too. They both did great walking down the aisle. We sent DD back to the hotel with my parents after the ceremony was done. We took DS to the reception because we thought he would have fun, but he was miserable and begging to leave the whole time. I ended up leaving with him in the middle of dinner, partly because I was really stressed out too. We stopped for ice cream, then I dropped him at the hotel with my parents and I went back. Thank goodness my parents were there. It helped a lot to have the extra help. 

I'm really happy for BIL and SIL. They are so happy and seem really perfect for each other. I hope they had a great day/weekend. But I was seriously questioning why we agreed to the kids being part of it. I think this whole preeclampsia thing really got into my head and had me anxious all weekend. And everyone kept telling me to relax and they would take care of things but not following through. So probably without that I would've had a better time. My BP Sunday after everything was over was perfectly normal, lol. I would say the whole thing was a stress-induced fluke if it weren't for the protein in my urine. 

ETA: Here's the photo I shared on FB. Note the brown shoes, lol. Also, the only reason DS is actually standing up and smiling is because I promised him McDonalds. Desperate times, ya know. PDQ

[Mushe]

mpc, you are an absolute trooper! One and five year olds in a wedding is a TON of work for the parents, something that I think the bride and groom often have little understanding about. So glad your BP is looking good, and you had the extra help.

[King26]

J is freaking 10 months old today. Where has my baby gone? He's crawling and in to everything and pulling to stand. It's crazy how fast they grow up!

Mushe how are you that far along already???

[Mushe]

King26, I know! It’s suddenly getting so close to go time. I realized that I haven’t even told my two old friends from law school. Keeping it a secret until 20 weeks was so different for me.

[kellikans]

Today is my last day of maternity leave. Waaaaahhh! I don't want to go back. I'm trying to get in as many baby cuddles as I possibly can. I really wish the US did a year long maternity leave. The in-laws will be coming up once or twice a week to watch L until he gets in to my work daycare mid-July. I'm glad they're able to do it, but I'm also not looking forward to them staying overnight in our tiny little house. This will be the first time they've ever stayed the night with us. Glad it's only for a couple weeks.

L has been doing great. He's growing right along his own growth curve and is up to 11 lbs now. His little personality is starting to come through and he loooooves smiling at his daddy. I'm really looking forward to his first belly laugh. He's overall a happy baby.

[starryfish]

Hey all!

Glad the wedding went well mpc! You looked beautiful!!!

S learned the word “no” or more specifically “no no” this weekend. It’s equal parts cute (she points at the dog and says “no no”) and bad (when she tells you “no”).

We had a good mommy and me weekend while my DH was OOT. Had a play date at the splash pad on Saturday with two of her friends and then Sunday we had breakfast with my girl friends.

[thoseareradishes]

I'm starting to transition E from formula to whole milk. If your kid liked warmed up bottles, how did you transition? Today I did one ounce milk to 6 formula, and I still warmed it up. But I'd like her to drink it out of the fridge eventually, and also from a cup. She's fussy about change and notices EVERYTHING (e.g. she lets us know when the gate is open or her closet door isn't closed!) so I know she will not go for cold milk easily.

[loira]

thoseareradishes, A still gets her bottles of milk warmed slightly. She'll drink it out of a regular cup cold, but for some reason the bottle can't be too chilled. #spoiled

My brother brought home a bad cold and now we all have it. This is the worst time for me. I have a gala to attend on Wednesday (I never get to do anything fancy anymore) and then I'm flying out to visit my uncle this weekend. Waaah! Hope I'm better tomorrow.

[shauni27]

mpc, you guys all looked GREAT! Love the brown shoes
Mushe, dude. You are so close! This was around the time that I was the most happy when I was pregnant.
oneslybookworm, Can you talk to me about transitioning from bottles or more specifically formula? Does he do milk now? Our pedi said not until his first birthday, but it is something I am thinking about. S is still very reliant on bottles for feedings--he maybe still does around 20-25 ounces of formula in bottles in 24 hours. Any tips would be appreciated!
kellikans, good luck today back at work!!

[mpc]

thoseareradishes, I slowly stopped warming formula bottles at the end, so she got used to cold formula before switching to cold milk. I wonder if you gave her cold milk in a cup if she would go for it. Make it a whole different thing than formula. So not a replacement but a new thing for her to try. Just a little at first, maybe when you give her food. See how she does?

[King26]

shauni27 J still eats a good 20-25 oz. In a bottle per day too and I worry about weaning him from them and formula as well. So if anyone has tips I would like them too! I've just weaned him from taking a bottle before nap but we still do first thing in the morning, after both naps, and before bed as well as once during the night. My goal is to get rid of the motn bottle before he is 11 months then work on the ones after naps.

[shauni27]

King26, our bottle schedule is similar--6 ounces when he wakes up, 6 ounces after dinner (sometimes we split it so half is before and half is after dinner). Then the other smaller ones (3-4 ounce) are after he wakes from his naps. He eats real food all day as well.

Is it considered a problem for babies to keep using bottles for milk after they turn one? Or should it just be sippy cups?

thoseareradishes, we moved S to cold formula pretty soon--maybe at like 2-3 months? It was just easier. I am trying to remember how we did it--I think I just slowly went from warm water mixed in to cooler and cooler. Then we started putting it in the fridge over night for his morning bottle so we would not need to rush to make one when he woke up. I would say the entire transition was about a week, really. But if you do not like that idea, I love the idea that mpc had!

[oneslybookworm]

shauni27 and King26, we didn't really do much, honestly...he sort of weaned himself. So, we started around 7 months or so with straw cups for water...he was doing really well with those...took to it super quick. He was still drinking MASSIVE amounts of formula out of a bottle during that time, but around 8 or 9 months we started putting some formula in the straw cup to see how he'd do with it. Then, around 10.5 months, J and I decided to transition him off bottles, so J just started giving him his day bottles in the straw cup, and he didn't protest in the least. We did a week or so of that, then started to see if he'd take his night bottle (before bed) in a straw cup. He was fine there too. Then, a few weeks ago, we tried using a bottle for his bedtime feed (all the straw cups were dirty) and he just pushed it away and wanted his straw cup. So...that was that. We pitched the bottles the next day.

As for transitioning to WCM, around 10.5 months or so, his formula intake started going down (and by "going down" i mean he was finally down to around 30-36 oz of formula, which was great compared to the 50+oz he would take!). At 11 months, we started transitioning to WCM, so each week we'd up the ratio.

so:

11 months: 1/4 of a bottle WCM to 3/4 of a bottle formula
11.25 months 1/2 bottle WCM to 1/2 bottle formula
11.5 months - he was fine, we gave up, and now his bottles are full on WCM.

So, TL;DR: G is a laid back baby that just goes with whatever you give him. We didn't have to really DO anything to transition him (other than what I described), he sort of just did it himself. Sorry if that isn't much help!!

[oneslybookworm]

Jun 26, 2018 9:19:59 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

King26 , our bottle schedule is similar--6 ounces when he wakes up, 6 ounces after dinner (sometimes we split it so half is before and half is after dinner). Then the other smaller ones (3-4 ounce) are after he wakes from his naps. He eats real food all day as well.

Is it considered a problem for babies to keep using bottles for milk after they turn one? Or should it just be sippy cups?

thoseareradishes , we moved S to cold formula pretty soon--maybe at like 2-3 months? It was just easier. I am trying to remember how we did it--I think I just slowly went from warm water mixed in to cooler and cooler. Then we started putting it in the fridge over night for his morning bottle so we would not need to rush to make one when he woke up. I would say the entire transition was about a week, really. But if you do not like that idea, I love the idea that mpc had!

"They" (whoever "they" are) say bottles after 1 aren't good for their teeth, but in reality, I doubt it matters much.  We hadn't planned on pushing it, we were going to let G take the lead on what he wanted and when.  We just lucked out that he weaned himself and wasn't interested.  I'm sure as long as you brush his teeth well, it'll be fine if he's still using a bottle!

[mpc]

I've said it before and I'll say it again - my first drank milk out of a bottle til almost 18 months and it was no big deal. We tried to switch earlier and it was a disaster. Once he was ready it was super easy. My DD was much more easy going and switched to straw cups at 12 months. Each kid reacts differently and I personally think it's fine if it takes a little longer to transition. You guys are doing great. Try not to stress!

[thoseareradishes]

Great idea mpc. I think I'll try that at lunch today. She is a bit of a stinker about her cup though - she likes to blow bubbles and make a huge mess with her straw cup. The 360 is a little less messy, so maybe I'll try that.

shauni27, she REALLY loves her formula warm - it took me a while to figure it out. We'd go to feeding therapy and she would be awful, and then I'd get her home and she would slurp down her bottle. Finally dawned on me that she wants it really warm, and I wasn't warming it enough at therapy. I'll try warming it less and less and see if she notices.

Also, when we went to her preemie follow-up appt, I asked about switching to milk. Doctor said she looks for a few things (if I remember correctly) - eating 3 meals a day, drinking only about 18-22 oz of formula, and being a year old (1 year adjusted for preemies). At that point it's fine to start to transition. She also said there is no rush to stop using bottles, which I was surprised to hear. I'm planning on dropping her lunch bottle soon (replacing with a cup) but keeping the morning and before bed bottle for now.

[shauni27]

mpc, I love that constant reminder. Thank you.

[oneslybookworm]

thoseareradishes, it amazes me how different doctors...our doc had no issue with us transitioning G during the 11th month (unadjusted) and never said anything regarding his preemie status. I’m assuming it’s fine but now I’m worried!

[scm1011]

Jun 26, 2018 10:42:05 GMT -5 mpc said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again - my first drank milk out of a bottle til almost 18 months and it was no big deal. We tried to switch earlier and it was a disaster. Once he was ready it was super easy. My DD was much more easy going and switched to straw cups at 12 months. Each kid reacts differently and I personally think it's fine if it takes a little longer to transition. You guys are doing great. Try not to stress!

My 19 month still drinks milk out of a bottle at home. He uses cups at school and when we're out, but at home we let him have his beloved baba. I'm not stressing it right now. 

[loira]

mpc is wise. People, my DD is almost 2.5 and still drinks milk from a bottle before bed. She drinks from either a regular cup or a straw cup during the day, but really (and I say this as an anxious mum about almost everything else) what's the big deal with weaning off bottles so soon? I mean, yeah, I guess if she was still drinking 5 bottles a day, or sucking on one to fall asleep I'd be worried about her teeth, but I think it's kind of sweet that she still wants a bottle. It's pretty much the only time my prickly kid will cuddle with me, so I'm going rogue on this one.

[oneslybookworm]

loira and thoseareradishes...we warm G’s milk too, even in the straw cup. Kid likes his milk room temp (disgusting, but whatever) so we still do it too. As long as he drinks it, that’s all I care about.

[oneslybookworm]

loira, I cried after G pushed away the bottle. I loved giving him his night bottle before bed and I felt like he just grew up overnight before my eyes. I wish he still took a bottle, but I won’t lie, the straw cups are easier to wash. But I was prepared to go the long haul with night bottles because it’s where I get my cuddles!

[scm1011]

mpc and shauni27, I loved seeing your family photos from the weddings this past weekend. You both looked absolutely beautiful!

Mushe, how are you almost 30 weeks pregnant?! So exciting! Do you guys have a name picked out?

Things are good with us. I brought DS to a farm over the weekend and for the first half hour he was very "WTF have you brought me to this place with loud smelly monsters??!", but eventually he warmed up to the sheep and goats. He wanted nothing to do with the cows, pigs, and horses though. He liked running around in the dirt and chasing the barn cat, so it was fun overall.

He's starting to put 2-word phrases together like "bye bye daddy" and "kitty sleep?" which is adorable. He's had a language explosion in general, which makes me feel better about ignoring our pedi's suggestion to maybe bring him to EI after his 15 month appt.

[thoseareradishes]

Jun 26, 2018 11:52:31 GMT -5 oneslybookworm said:

thoseareradishes , it amazes me how different doctors...our doc had no issue with us transitioning G during the 11th month (unadjusted) and never said anything regarding his preemie status. I’m assuming it’s fine but now I’m worried!

E really needed the extra vitamins and minerals to support her bone health.  If your pedi is fine with it, I wouldn't worry!

[oneslybookworm]

scm1011, when did he start even saying mama or dada? G is nearly a year and all we have are “b” sound babbles. Nothing else. I’m trying not to worry about it but sometimes I get concerned we should say something?

[scm1011]

Jun 26, 2018 14:08:31 GMT -5 oneslybookworm said:

scm1011 , when did he start even saying mama or dada? G is nearly a year and all we have are “b” sound babbles. Nothing else. I’m trying not to worry about it but sometimes I get concerned we should say something?

Cal had MAYBE 1-2 words at his 15 month appt. He definitely wasn't saying mama. I think the only words he said were "ball" and "this?" at 15 months, and I don't think he was saying anything at a year. I'd have to go back and look at my records to be sure (I can look when I get home), but I wouldn't stress it at this point. 

When my pedi initially said to take him to an EI eval at 15 months the first step was a hearing test, which I felt was useless because I KNEW he could hear us. He responded to commands like "bring me a book" or "where is your ball?". The only audiologist my insurance covered was far away and I just wasn't about to take a day off work for a test whose result I already knew. 

I talked to daycare about it, and they said that kids often have a language explosion right around that time, especially when they move up to toddlers where there are a lot more kids talking. That's exactly what happened for us; once he moved classrooms he picked up more and more.