# Aug '05 Mamas, It's Pumpkin Season!



## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Well, I'll admit it, fall is my favorite season. I love it all, the weather, the colors, the food (yummy soups!) the coziness of dark evenings... I am having so much fun sharing fall with my little explorer. What are some fall activities that you all are doing with your kids?


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## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

Hi Amalia! What a beautifully written tribute. Thank you so much for sharing Livi with us. Owen is GOR! (that's our little online clan's word for gorgeous). He looks so joyful, and you are so beautiful! (I had to scroll quite a ways to find your picture!) You also take great photographs.

As for me, I'm getting more and more hit and miss with you all, which makes me sad. Life is crazy. Opening the new clinic has meant more time, money, and stress. I'm also having to travel more for my diplomate classes and study more. And then we've had recent visits from mom and MIL. And I've been truly cherishing my time with ds... for some reason I just can't get enough of him. He is growing up too quickly. I find myself wondering how I lived without him in my life. I just look at him and start to weep out of happiness and wonder and perfect love.

He is really starting to communicate now... signing milk, more... saying mama, data (daddy), wassat (what's that, or just "look at what I'm pointing to"), hey you, hi, hello (when playing with his cell phone), and even said pretty, plain as day, today. He took five steps last night. That boy just doesn't realize he can walk. He stopped, not because he fell or was tired, but just got distracted and so dropped down to play. He wants to be cuddled a lot, which is fine by my heart but it does make it difficult to work!

I mentioned to MIL that I wanted to do back carries with ds and mentioned the podegi to her (she's Korean). She went back home and bought one for me, so I'm anxious to try it out when she sends it! She says I'm a "good Asian wife" because I "serve my husband." (So I guess it's not a total loss that dh didn't marry an Asian like she wanted.) heh


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Hi hi! Ditto on fall being a favourite time of year-the trees are so beautiful right now, and it's finally not raining, so we were out and enjoying fall today for the first time in what seemed like weeks! The Ottawa valley (where we live) is kind of like the Vermont of Canada for "leaf peeping"-it's so pretty. One shop we were at (our washer broke, so we were out looking this morning) already has CHRISTMAS decs out-wtf??? How can they skip over Thanksgiving (next weekend, here in Canada) and Hallowe'en? That's crazy!
I was trying to get DD on board with EC-so we've been sitting her on her potty periodically and making a "ssss" kind of sound, hoping she'd start to get it. Now she just sits on the potty and says "sssss". Hee!
Other than that, E is still sick but mostly happy, cause she seems to be picking up more words daily, and is communicating her needs pretty well. New words for today were "water" (wa-da) and "more" (mo). Just looked at the clock and realized it's almost bedtime, should run!
Have a great night and happy October, mamas! Anyone doing anything for Hwe'en?


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

subbing...

Halloween is big here because I have a nine year old too!







She always coordinates her costume with her bf and this year they are going as Laura and Mary Ingalls. Guess who gets to sew the costumes????

Anyway, no Trick or Treating or costumes for A yet. Don't want to get her into the whole candy thing too soon.

I love this time of year here too and we are having GOR weather. A wants to walk everywhere and I am loving slowing down a lot in order to just toddle along with her. Even though I'm pretty laid back, it's totally in my face how much I rush compared to her!

Speaking of which, I found a house that I love and I want so much. Getting my dh to move quickly on anything is a bit of a challenge, though. He's the tortise, I'm the hare. Wanna see it? Cool slide down from the back porch, huh?

http://denver.craigslist.org/rfs/212404929.html

Having more supply issues here - not sure why suddenly at 14 months. I went through the list of possible causes and the only thing that I haven't yet checked out is being pg.







: Just my luck, even with an IUD, I would be the one in 100,000 who gets pg. In the meantime, it's oatmeal three times a day for me! The sore on my nipple finally healed after a month of intensive treatment (saline rinse, breast milk soak, breast pads, nipple cream after every nursing session) and I would hate to have A wean after all that. I love nursing and want her to keep going. Please send me abundant milkie vibes, mamas!


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## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Amalia, I just wanted to say I just read your tribute to your beautiful little girl and I was so touched. And sad, too. But happy for your new little one and you, and happy that you've found us.

Tova still isn't walking, nor talking very much, but I thought I would share one funny thing she does. DS has a shark magnet on our fridge, and when we say "What do you say to the shark?", Tova lets out this hilarious gutteral growl. A very menacing noise for a very sweet girl!

She is also enjoying taking things out and putting things in, so the shape sorter is a big hit, as is the laundry basket and the wicker basket which holds our toilet paper in the bathroom. Mostly she takes stuff out, but I've been trying to get her to put things back in, too. She also likes clothespins, for some reason.

Happy October, Mamas ...


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## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

Hi Mamas!!!

I am finally sitting after a long day of non-stop work...most of it fun...but alas, it's nice to sit here quietly...Owen just went down for the night, (6pm is his bedtime), which I really love...that gives me some Amalia time to put my feet up...

Fall has arrived in Seattle...and it's just GOR! (







) I have amassed a collection of Japanese Maples, (23!!!) and they are beginning to turn...unfortunately, about half are planted in the ground, and I am leaving them with the house when we move...but I get to take a dozen with me!.









Last night I was browsing the Gentle Discipline forum and came across a thread about the best GD books...I have read "Positive Discipline" and really liked it...and also "Buddism for Mothers" which has been so great...but after reading the thread I went to Amazon and got 5 of the most recommended books on the thread...I am looking forward to them arriving next week, as I have packed all my books and this will give me something to learn and explore! I would love to get "my plan of attack" down so well that it just comes naturally to me...I decided not to say "no" to Owen, so I now instead of saying or signing no, I guide him with what I want him to do! So far so good! (And I notice that I don't get as "erked" with this approach than when saying "no" 700 million times!







)










Kristin, how great is your MIL!!!! (Although I'm not too sure about her comment!)...but I hope you love the podegi. I haven't tried one, but I am an avid babywearer...these days I mostly carry Owen in an Ergo, as his 27# are HEAVY!!! I still do front carries in my wrap/mei tais, but not as much! Let us know how it goes!







Also, thanks for your words on Livi's letter and Owen...and thanks for looking at my blog!









Ktmama, what does "subbing" mean? I'm sorry about the supply issues...sending you lots of FLOWING MILK vibes!!!

Skana, thank you also for reading Livi's story and for your words...I loved Tova's shark story...how cute...Did you get that on video?

OK...off to watch a DVD before I crash for the night! Have a good rest of the week mamas!!!








out!


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Well, we bid on the house and got our offer in just a few hours too late. We're still set up as the primary offer should the first one fall through for some reason, so we're going to hang in there until the closing at the end of November, but it's not looking good for us. Would it be wrong to wish for a short-term financial calamity for the other couple, if I ask that after _we_ get the house they have a financial windfall and can afford a much better house?

Sigh. I shouldn't have invested so much in the idea of it being our "forever house," the place Henry would grow up in, and where our grandkids would come to hang with us.

I know in the scheme of things it's not that big of a deal. We have each other, we're all healthy and doing fine, and we have a nice home to live in until we find another. But it's still disappointing.

In other news, Henry is the love of my life. He is _so_ much fun to hang with right now.







:


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Amalia, subbing just means subscribing so I can get the emails when there's new posts







.

I read your beautiful story and looked at your blog and figured out (OK, let's establish here that I can still do simple math) that you WERE born in 1965. Please join Adrienne and I as the 41 year old August mamas. Are we the oldest? In addition, A and I have the same birthday. Don't tell me you were born in April too....

Thanks for sharing your very moving story with us all. What an honor.

In other news, as my new location states, (even though I don't have a "sewing room" besides the dining room table) I am in a sewing frenzy. Just finished the CUTEST hat ever for A from fleece made to look like a bear and matching no-thumb mittens. Next is a pink fleece pullover for winter (all she'll really need here) and some more baby legs. I've cut off some tights and will make some thigh-high stockings for her to wear with dresses. I looooove sewing for my girls! Plus, you should see the hair clips I'm making! I'll post pics if you'd like to see them.


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

learn something new everyday!

I'm not doing much with bubs in this weather, although I did bring a blanket and a few toys and sat with him in the grass (it's very WET out) and watched all the kids playing at the school's playground. He still doesn't sit well in a stroller *sigh* so I haven't been taking him for walks, if I wear him my back KILLS I can't seem to find a way to carry him comfortably. The issue is he's almost 20 lbs but doesn't hold his body weight up so it's kind of like dead weight and it can be tiresome.

I love this time of the year too, all of the amazing colors and yes, those wonderful soups. Nathanael LOVES squash so yeah it's a big hit this time of year.

My eldest wants to be Napoleon Dynamite, the girls are thinking of fairies..once again. My 5 yr old, though, wants to be stephanie on Lazy Town and my 3 yr old wants to be a power ranger. Nathanael will be a little grey mouse. Hopefully I'll get some photos posted









This is a busy month, my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary is this weekend (2 hour one way- drive) my Mom's 76th birthday is on the 14th...she goes in for stent surgery on her heart on the 11 th







and my 2nd cousin is getting married on, I think the 19th. Busy busy busy...


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## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

NM, sorry about the house...I can relate to the disappointment...((hugs))

ktmama, I'm sorry I didn't respond to your (I think it was you?) inquiry about the 65 in the other thread...in my old age, it must have slipped my mind! haha!!!

Yes, indeed, I was born in 1965, in Buenos Aires, Argentina...in July...How lovely to meet other mamas in this vintage year...

OK...off to bed...I love cuddling with my little guy...(sigh)!

Oh...and do post pics of your creations!!! I'd love to see what you are making for your little girls!!!

Ciao!


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

subbing.


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## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Oh boy, Happy October! Yes, I love, love, love this season! Just finished up some yummy brazilian black bean soup and planning to make some veggie stew tomorrow, yumm!

I have given up all hope of ever keeping up with you all, though I do my best to follow along - while chasing after my boy!

I think I'm going to make August a butterfly for a kids' party we're going to, unless I get a better idea!

Welcome Amalia! I wept at the story of your Livi today, thanks for sharing! Welcome to this great group of mamas and so glad you've got your sweet Owen!

New Mama, I feel for you, we fell in love with a house recently, but didn't like the block it was on, we keep telling ourselves if we found one awesome house, we'll find another! You will too, if that one doesn't work out!!

Kate, what makes you realize you have supply issues? How do you know? Sometimes I wonder b/c my guy has been hovering under 20 lbs for months.??
How do we see the pics of the house you're into?

BTW, you can subscribe to the thread without posting, just use the thread tools pull down at the top of the first post...

August is pointing at everything with his thumb, and fascinated with shadows and circles, sooo in love with this kid!

Here's my cute boy int the tree at his papa's birthday picnic in the park last Saturday!
http://soulshinefamily.smugmug.com/g...789/1/99352084


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Awww...I love all the new pics!

I have some new ones of Owen that I will try to post tomorrow.

Life is SO nuts here, mamas! I want to quit my job...this working 6 nights a week without any child care is ridiculous. Owen is mostly sleeping through the night and I am still just getting 4-6 hours of sleep because of work. My DH just got a new job which is going to require more time, but it's not much more money (grrrr...). Plus we are working on our house and trying to move. It's ridiculous...I can't do it. I'm on the verge of anxiety attacks and I really just want to spend time with my baby!!!!!!! Sorry for the vent.

Owen's words mostly relate to food! I have no doubt that he knows exactly what I'm talking about, but he's not saying a ton of things--definitely no sentences like the beautiful Miss O.

This kid is eating constantly. He's also moving constantly too. My step-daughter wants to put a pedometer on him to see how many steps he takes per day. Still reacting to dairy--so it's challenging to cook for him, but I really get such satisfaction from making healthy whole foods for him.

Yay for the 1965 mamas!!! That would have been too spooky if you were born on the same day as me and Kate, Amalia!!!

NewMama...so sorry about the house. It's such a huge purchase (mentally, physically, emotionally, financially...) You HAVE to be able to imagine your family living in the house, which makes it difficult to not end up there. I am trying to operate on the "everything happens for a reason" philosophy regarding real estate, but challenging to really believe.

Kate: nice house...sounds/looks wonderful!!! Sorry about the supply! Please let us know asap if you test (can you imagine?!?) There's a low-supply thread in the BF forum now, FYI.

Amalia...pm me if you want to talk about Portland real estate!!!

Sorry for all that I'm not responding to...gotta sleep!!!

Love to all our mamas and babies!!!

--Adrienne


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

_Kate, what makes you realize you have supply issues? How do you know? Sometimes I wonder b/c my guy has been hovering under 20 lbs for months.??
How do we see the pics of the house you're into?_

Tracy, there's been a change in the amount of sucking required for A to begin swallowing and then a shortening in the amount of time at the breast. Also, lots of signing for milk and some frustration and giving up. I been offering a lot the past two days and it seems to be helping. I kinda panicked there thinking what I might do for A's nutrition if she weaned....

Here's the craigslist link for the house:
http://denver.craigslist.org/rfs/212404929.html

Love the new pics of August the butterfly!

I'd love it if any of you soup-making mamas would graciously share recipes. I love soup and would love to make some too! Yes, I have a crockpot!

As for cooking and dairy, we don't serve A any dairy, with the exception of a couple times in some beef stroganoff. I guess I've gotten used to cooking without dairy since L doesn't eat it often either. We seem to have adjusted to life without dairy and when I really want some cheese and sour cream, Qdoba is really close to my house


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Awww I missed you guys in September! Just been too tired/too busy to update, but I am going to keep up with you mamas this month!

I love this time of month too! The temperature is just perfect right now! I love love the holidays! Halloween, which leads to Thanksgiving, then Christmas and New Years!









The month of September was my birthday month, but I was definitely not in a celebrating mood. Christopher had 2 more teeth coming in, a little fever, bad sleep from that, and a lot of "pick me up Mommy cause I don't want to walk". Sleep is finally better now but the separation anxiety? is still there.

By the way, last month I also trimmed his hair ALL OFF! because he was growing a little ponytail... and I would not allow that.









He is now my Mr. Handsome Baldy. I will post pictures soon!!







:


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

I have a quick quck question for all you mamas!

My DH's cousin has a baby girl born in March and they were asking me about cross eye syndrome. I have no experience of cross eyes at 6-7 months old so I don't know what to tell them right now. Apparently their daughter still have a cross eye problem. And I am wondering if it will go away on it's own? Is there anything they can do? What's the cause of it?

Anybody else had this problem? I do believe my DS got better by 1 month.

Any advise/comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot.


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Nonny, so great to "see" you again! Looking forward to pics of C.

Cross-eyes - I think my midwife told me to start being concerned if it didn't go away by six months. I think they should probably see their doc.


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## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

Nonny, that child should see a chiropractor and/or craniosacral therapist. The sphenoid bone in particular is often a culprit in cross-eyed-(um)-ness. DH is a good example of this... he was cross-eyed as a child, even into toddler (we have a nice painting where the painter even made him cross-eyed - real nice). He eventually had surgery to correct it. Now that he is under regular chiropractic care, when he gets tired, he gets a bit cross-eyed. The surgery on the ocular muscles worked until his cranial bones and spine got corrected, and then of course it resulted in the opposite effect!

Kate, sorry about the supply issues. I like the french doors leading to the deck.

NewMama, maybe YOU'LL have the financial windfall to afford an even better house.

Tracy, CJ is still hovering just under 20 pounds or so (I actually haven't weighed him in at least 1-1/2 months) for quite some time. I know I have plenty of milk. It's just the way he is. Your back and arms probably thank him for being himself


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## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

Oh, and Kate, I really like Rachael Ray's Chicken Provencal Stoup (you can go to foodtv.com and find it). Easy, nutritious. And I really load it up on veggies and use more stock so it is more of a soup than stoup and goes farther... freezes well too.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Here you go.... Pictures just as I promised!

http://family.webshots.com/album/554552135MLgRgG


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

1963 wasn't a bad year either!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Nonny, good to see you back! I love the photos - such a happy boy!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

I uploaded a few photos of Kiernen to share:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/echota...?.dir=/c56bscd


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Created an album for Em on my YIM360..

Miss Emma


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## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aeriane* 
1963 wasn't a bad year either!

















Well actually....haha...J/K! My DH was born in 1963, so I'd say it's a FABULOUS year!!!


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## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

What a bunch of super GOR babies!!
Thanks for all of the pics. Will get some up soon.
I love Fall too. It is beautiful here.
We go for alot of walks, apple picking, leaf collecting, pumpkin carving, etc.

DS #1 who is 3 is going to be a robot for Halloween. I have to spraypaint a box, etc. Emmett will be something- not sure. I like to throw things together last minute- it is fun to see what I come up with!

Welcome to Amalia and the beautiful story of Livi. Thanks for sharing that.

- Kerri


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## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoVie...vfolderid=2006
here is a pic of emmett as a pirate.
not halloween, mind you, we just like to dress up around our house!


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## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

It's so great to see all the pics!!!!

Kerri, thanks for the welcome!







...I couldn't see the picture though on the link...it's asking me to sign in!


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## babycarrier (Apr 2, 2004)

good to "see" everyone here for another month. hi Nonny!

Estreetmama -







momma. that tired and going on 4 hours a day eats you up. Hope you are feeling better soon.

hopefulfaith - how are you? getting closer getting closer

had a talk with my director today and my fulltime job will be posted tomorrow. this is scary! money will be tight(er) but we will be ok. hoping it will open up more time for dh to play more music and gig money adds up quickly. I have hit a wall. This split shift schedule worked well for 4 years but it isn't good for any of us anymore. Really looking forward to regular bedtimes with my boys. Wow! Have I missed that working evenings for so long.
Will be starting a childbirth educator and doula training and hoping to go into biz for myself. While the boys are little, post-partum doula care will be my focus and that makes me EXCITED!!!!

best wishes to all in the middle of a move and looking to make one. Wish i could link to more pics but my work computer is firewalled like crazy these days. I would say 95% of my log in time on Mothering is at work so I will be taking a break from the boards. Not completely or anything but a needed one.


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

real quick...

soup recipe: cut up 1 onion. cut up 4 sweet potatoes, shred some ginger or use powder, cut 4 carrots into chunks.

sautee onion in olive oil and add ginger (as much as your family likes)

when they onions are translucent, add 4 cups of water and the sweet potatoes and carrots. bring to a boil

when it's boiling, cover the pot and turn the temperature down to low.

simmer 15-20 minutes.

Use a soup hand blender to blend everything.
Serve. YUM!

You can add sliced scallions to the top.

I love you all!

I'm starting a new biz so not much time to write...


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

_Originally Posted by Aeriane
1963 wasn't a bad year either!_

*Well actually....haha...J/K! My DH was born in 1963, so I'd say it's a FABULOUS year!!!*

My yummy dh was born in '63 too! A very fab year!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Coltrane* 
http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoVie...vfolderid=2006
here is a pic of emmett as a pirate.
not halloween, mind you, we just like to dress up around our house!

I got 'album not found'.


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

I've got lots of soup recipes, I'll post one later.

Mamas, what do you do when the weather isn't so nice anymore and you're inside for a good part of the day? Especially Mamas of onlies, how do you occupy your sweet toddlers? Kiernen isn't too interested in his toys these days, and if allowed, will sit on my lap all day long and just have me read books to him. I want to encourage him to develop skills like sorting and building and such, but he doesn't seem too interested. Any thoughts or recommendations?


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Yumm...soup!
We are big soup fans here! Lentil soup is a staple (lentils, garlic, onion, potatoes, with cumin and basil, with whatever else is around-carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach....)
Some of our favourites are:
*Black bean and corn*
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. cumin
2 t. mexican seasoning
1 C soaked black beans (or one tin)
1 chili (jalapeno, chipotle...)
2 C stock or water
1-2 t. salt
1/2 C corn
1/c C tomatoes, chopped
1/3 C cilantro, chopped

*lime juice and sour cream, if you like...

1. Heat oil, saute onion, garlic, cumin and mex. seasoning til soft.
2. Add benas, chili, and stock.
3. Simmer as long as you like (gets better th elonger you simmer)
4. Add corn, tomatoes, and cilantro.
5. Serve garnished with a squeeze of lime and a dollop of sour cream.

*Butternut Squash soup*
This soup is a little more work, but soooo good.
1 large butternut squash, or similar
2 c. chopped onion
1 garlic, sliced (or more).
2 T. butter
1/2 t. dried thyme, or 2 t. fresh, minced
1/2 t. dried sage
1/2 t. dried basil, or 1-2 T. fresh
1 t. salt
1 T. flour
1/2 c dry white wine (can be the worst wine ever-not important)
2 c milk (low fat or **** okay!)
fresh pepper to taste

*Optional toppings: small red bell pepper, cut intot hin strips, 1 clove of minced garlic, or minced chives...

1. Cube squash (1/4" slices).
2. In a large pot, asute onions and garlic in butter over medium-low heat. After 5 minutes, add squash, herbs, and salt. Stir, cover, and cook another 10 minutes.
3. Sprinkle in flour gradually, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over low heat for another 5 minutes.
4. Pour in wine, stir briefly, and cover; let simmer about 10-15 minutes. The longer you cook, the more the alcohol will dissipate. Stir from time to time.
5. Remove from heat, and allow the soup to cool.
6. Puree the soup with the milk in a blender, adjust seasonings if necessary, and add black pepper.
7. Heat gently before serving.
..and even though we're talking soups, this is the BEST salad I've ever had (okay, recently)...I am seriously addicted to it. It's simple but so yummy!

Spinach or other leaf lettuce
toasted almonds (sliced) or pine nuts
sliced pear (D'anjou or bartlett, quite ripe, are best)
Parmesan cheese, grated

Dressing:
1/4 c lemon juice, 1/2 c. olive oil, 2 tsp. grainy dijon (ancient grains), t tsp honey, and black pepper to taste.

*About daytime stuff to do, now that it's crappy out:*
-We read a lot of books too!
-We go on house explorations-rooms we don't often go into, we'll go check out. She loves this bc she always notices new things, and it's a good way to get her to talk.
-She "helps" a lot with cooking and laundry-I give her a little pan with some water or rice or grains or whatever (sometimes some snacks for her) in it, with a spoon and a lid, and maybe another pot of bowl, and she likes to "cook"...she usually tries to pour things from contain to container, messy, but she loves it! And it keeps her busy while I cook dinner. She has a couple of cupboards in the kitchen that are "hers" ie tupperware-and she loves going through them and sorting. Much more fun than her toys! Same for laundry-but I loop socks snd stuff through the pattern in the basket, and she has fun pushing it through, or getting it out, etc...
-We do bundle up and get out, even if it's just 10 minutes around the yard. I try to do this a couple of times a day if we're not going out anywhere.
-I put away a bunch of E's toys, and just take out one or two a day, to keep them fresh for her. Lately she's really into blocks and duplo (mostly bashing around and making noise, but some stacking, connecting too...). She has 2 baskets and she likes to take things out and put them back, ad nauseum. The baskets are just big enough for her to sit in, so she likes to get in and out of them too.
-She's starting to get into drawing, and I just got her some finger paints that she loves-they are pretty easy to clean up, but messy in the meantime, iykwim! Sometimes this is good pre-nap-paint, bath, nap...
-She will play with her farm/castle (little people kind of thing) sometimes for 30-40 minutes-she likes moving the figures around and closing doors, etc. I've noticed that her motor coordination is a lot smoother lately.
More active things...
-We go up and down the stairs many many times a day-I'm trying to teach her how to go down safely. I am bored to tears, but she loves going up and down. Also climbing up furniture, etc. etc.
-Music-she loves to dance so sometimes we just dance away...
-We have 3 cats for her to chase around too!

I try to have a trip out a day planned, or I'd go crazy. We only have 2 scheduled things a week, but I usually go to a local playgroup and arrange playdates as well, and go to storytime at the library. We live out in the sticks so I go a little crazy if we don't get out. Once a week I like to stay in and just have a cozy day. Hope that helps!

E says "uh oh" now, and is dropping things just so she can say it. It's funny bc the way she says it is more like "oh uh", and so serious. hee.

Take care, mamas!


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

PS henhao-I'm going to try that soup tonight!


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

I don't know if it's just because I'm into reading alot myself, but I love to curl up with Em and read for hours when I can. When the older girls were smaller we would spend sometimes whole days on the couch {when we had one} with a stack of books, theirs, mine and the magazines I subscribed to, and just read and read...


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## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

My fave Brazilian Black bean Soup is from The Moosewood Cookbook;

I adapt it often, last week used canned beans, added squash and left out the sherry, sooo yummy and flavorful!

1lbDry black beans
3 ½cChicken stock; or water
2tbOlive oil
1cOnion; chopped
3Garlic cloves; chopped
1Large carrot; chopped
1Celery stalk; chopped
1tsGround coriander
1 ½tsGround cumin
½cOrange juice
1tbDry sherry
¼tsBlack pepper
¼tsRed pepper flakes
1tsFresh lemon juice
1tsSalt; or to taste
Rinse the beans. cover them with water and let soak overnite. Pour off liquid. Place in saucepan with 3 1/2 cups of stock. Saute onion and next five ingredients in the oil and add to the soup. Bring to a boil, cover, simmer 1 1/2 hours over very low heat. When the beans are just about tender enough, add the last six ingredients and simmer another 10 minutes. Puree some of beans to thicken. Serve topped with sour cream or yogurt.


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom* 
I don't know if it's just because I'm into reading alot myself, but I love to curl up with Em and read for hours when I can. When the older girls were smaller we would spend sometimes whole days on the couch {when we had one} with a stack of books, theirs, mine and the magazines I subscribed to, and just read and read...

I enjoy it sometimes, but when he wants to be on me all day every day and read the same books over and over again it gets to be sort of much.







:


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

thankfully {I think} the kids are content to listen to whatever I'm reading. Could be because that's what they were used to/exposed to when I was pg and all through their lives. I now have two budding news junkies and one vehement anti-news hound on my hands {very depressing to her journalist mother and maternal g-father} With Kait, I was even known to read the PBR News and annals of vet medicine with great drama.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Reading..... ha ha ha.....I'll be lucky to finish HALF of a book with Christopher. He would flip right to the end of the book when he's done sitting still.

My man is little mover always on a go inside the house and out. I would turn my back around and he would be down the hallway already. AT the bookstore, he would run around the kids' section like he's not even scaried to get lost. Aren't little babies suppose to stick to the MOM?! Oh wait...Christopher's a Toddler now...forgot.

I love him so dearly but sometimes I just really want a girl! My DH's cousin's daughter would just sit there, not making any sounds and would just read a book or look at a doll for more than 5 minutes. I'm so jealous...









So yea...since I have a crazy runaway toddler...I take him to the playgrounds at malls a lot or the bookstore or the playground. I chase him in the house too or play hide and go seek. He likes the stairs too, it scaried me the first time to find him following me up after I ran upstairs to get something. And he LOVES pushing the button on old remotes and dvd players and of course calling people on my cell phone.







:

Verbally, DS is finally busting out more words, and trying so hard to say everything after pointing at everything. He loves "babble", "dada", "moon", "bird", "go!" and for everything else he yells "ba!" and points. I keep repeating myself the word and he continues with "ba!"

Me: That's the train book.
DS: Ba!
Me: yea...train
DS: Ba!
Me: can you say Train?
DS: BA!

Other updates.....DS is liking self-feeding and feeding me more and more....which means more headache for me. I dont know, before I was dreading this because I can't stand looking at messes for very long..







:

Socially, he is a social butterfly. People even say he's gonna be a heartbreaker when he's older...(hopefully not too many hearts). And physically he's sunning everywhere so he's on track, but cognitively I don't know how he manage to stay still to finish any task!

Speaking of soup..DS loves any soup! and noodles! and any soup with noodles! haha... broccoli and cheese is our favorite here...Mmmmm


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

stairs







My back and shoulders wish Em were intrested in stairs. I guess when she fell down our front stairs {inside stairs, carpeted and all but still a full fall from second to first floor. Still shocked amazed and thankful she's okay} it turned her off stairs for awhile. Not that I blame her! I'd hate the darn things too if I'd seen every single one of them up close & personal like that.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Now that I have this active little toddler, I see almost EVERYTHING he climbs as danger.

For example: he likes to stand up and walk back and forth on the couch and loveseat. And in my mind I picture him sitting down on the wrong side and falling onto the ground headfirst. It makes my heart skip a beat whenever he "jumps" on the couch.


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Clara fell down the stairs too!







It just happened over the weekend and was quite traumatic for me, but she seemed fine within about 20 minutes! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only mom who could let such a thing happen. I've been beating myself up and having nightmares for days now.

Anyway, I love reading all the soup recipies! We've been making a mean potato/kale soup with fresh taters and kale from our garden. Yum, if I may say so myself! We just saute fresh garlic, onions and leeks in butter with a little salt. Meanwhile we cook the potatoes (diced). Then we chop and throw in the kale to the onion mix, and steam it for a moment. Then we add stock and whole milk, and some more salt and pepper (to taste) and the potatoes, and oi-la!!! You've got some good soup on your hands!


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## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wsgrl84* 
Me: That's the train book.
DS: Ba!
Me: yea...train
DS: Ba!
Me: can you say Train?
DS: BA!











Owen loves to read and be read to...sometimes he just flips through the pages fast...other times he sits and listens...today I was sitting on the floor, with my legs out straight in front, and he came over, and bounced up and down on my ankles as I read...not the most pleasant position for mama...









I went to "Half Priced Books" a couple of weeks ago and bought him a few new (used) books...I was actually astonished when I got home how cute the books we ended up with were, as Owen was tossing all the books off the shelf faster than I could put them back...plus it was one those Fall days that trick ya, when you wear warm clothes, but the the sun comes out and it's 78 degrees and you are sweating like an







, with the scarf, hat, coat, babe, purse/luggage...so I just grabbed a bunch of books off the shelves and hoped for the best...and alas, we scored. My favorite is Runaway Bunny...("have a







"...that part kills me!) and House-Mouse Party...too cute!!!

Anyway...I'm pooped...had a full day of working on the house...it's almost finished....
















Thanks for the soup recipes!!!

BA!


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

what's really horrible about Em's fall is that I was in an online confrence, had tucked her into bed, and to this day SWEAR I'd checked to make sure the wooden sliding door at the top of the stairs was closed.. next thing I know I'm hearing a major THUD! from the hallway. She didn't even cry til I got down there and picked her up.... I feel so guilty. Now anytime I can't keep at least one eye on her, the door between wherever we are and the hallway to the stairs is locked. It is one of the reasons I'm thankful our apartment used to be 2 2-bedroom apartments and 4 sleeping rooms with a shared kitchen before that, almost all the doors have a key lock {landlord had them all changed, including the main door, to the same tumbler, a totally different one than had ever been in any of the doors, just for us}


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Stuff to do inside and outside:

1. Get some cheap oatmeal and use this just for playing (not eating). Get some containers and let the baby pour oatmeal into different containers and pour it back out. My DH ate all the oatmeal I bought.







So, I've not yet tried this idea myself.

2. O likes stacking cups still. She also likes to explore her dresser. She can also take things out of baskets ad nauseum (sp?). Today she took all the mail out of the basket and then put it all back in. Yay for the putting it back in part.

3. We went outisde to watch daddy mow the grass. The lawn mower is fascinating!!

4. We play with our 'car' in the living room (yeah, it's for outdoors but we moved it inside) for 20 min at a time. We got one of those baby cars you see everywhere from freecycle. My gosh! This is her favorite thing. She gets in the car, gets out, opens the door, closes it, honks the horn. Tries to crawl out the side without a door and on and on.

5. It's not too cold here so we go out after work and before dinner. She likes to play on her baby slide. We also go to the playground. I like to have an outing before dinner if there's time. We've also been to the library where she can crawl/walk all around the kid section and flirt with everyone.

6. I also rotate her toys so she doesn't get bored.

7. I have a box of 'stuff' for her to explore. Every few weeks, I let her 'discover' it and she has fun taking out all of my necklaces and old hair ties and other odds and ends and looking at them and throwing them over her shoulder.









I bought a pegboard from a Discovery Toys rep and O LOVES it. She plays with it every single day!! Even I love it. If you know someone who sells Discovery Toys, I highly recommend it.


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

fridgeart -- hope you like the soup!

another soup i made was in the crock pot. i poured in some tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, hominy, 6 chicken breasts, some vinegar, a bit of stevia, some worchesershire sauce (I have NO idea how to spell that!). I was trying to do pulled bbq chicken without bbq sauce or ketchup. Well, it was really good and a total accident. I am going to try and recreate it this weekend!


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

ouch, the falls are scary. laurel just tripped today on the strip between rooms and ended up with a bloody nose







. poor little thing. the new house we're moving into on sunday (yay hooray!) doesn't have stairs. one mishap averted, many more to come.

dh and i were just cooking up pierogies and looked over to the fridge where laurel was playing. usually there is nothing within her reach that she can't have, but someone put some leftover pizza too low on the shelves. there she was, mackin' on a piece of pizza







, happy as a clam.

her new favorite thing to do all day long is read and sing-a-long to a winnie the pooh book that comes with a kiddie cd player and 4 cds that play lots of fun kids songs. she'll pick up the whole thing and drag it over to anyone that will appease her (someone always will







) soo many times a day. i took her out to the coffee shop today just to get a break from the 18th round of her 20 new favorite songs. and when she's playing by herself, she'll hit play and sing by herself to the music, "babababaaaa...babaaaba...bababaaaa....".

our trip back east was wonderful. sorry i wasn't able to connect with you, eastkygal. we were in louisville, too, for 2 nights. dh's gram is in shively and his aunt is off of the brownsboro rd exit on the watterson. but it was a quick visit with tons of people to see. next time i will have it more together







.

on the new and exciting mama front, the website is up for my new career endeavor. check it out and let me know what you think...conscious living rejuvenation center

oh, any ideas for how to get the hair out of laurel's eyes? everything i've bought so far has cut her hair or she pulls it right out. her hair grows forward and she looks like a little skate betty right now, but i'd like to keep it out of her face.


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

It's so amazing to read about what all our kiddos are doing now. Not that long ago we were talking about infants... Crazy how fast it goes. I can't believe I have a "kid" and not a baby.







:

Scary about the falling down the stairs. So far Henry hasn't had any accidents besides a few bumps to the head. I know it happens, even to the most vigilent of mamas, and the thought of it scares me half to death.

For the past two days we've had painters in the house and the upstairs (our bedroom and the play area) has been torn apart. I thought Henry was rolling with it pretty well, even though I had to put him in the car and drive around for his nap and keep him contained on the first floor for playing, but this afternoon he was really cranky and needy. Poor little guy. It makes me feel guilty for putting us on a path for moving to a new house soon, but I know he'll adjust. And what am I going to do, never move, and when he's 18 tell him, "Well, we could have moved to a nicer house in a better part of town, but I didn't want to disrupt your routine!"

We're now looking at a house that needs a LOT of work. It has good bones, and it was charming once, but the old couple that live there now have crap EVERYWHERE and have obviously never done any maintenance. There's mold in the basement (we'd do mold testing for sure to make sure it hasn't spread, and have them clean it up before the deal went through), the garage is falling down, it needs a new roof immediately, there's yucky carpet throughout (but wood floors underneath!), etc. But I have vision and I love restoring old houses. There's something so satisfying about it. It makes me feel like I'm honoring the past somehow. Here's the link if you're interested:

http://www.coldwellbankeronline.com/...kSearch=866961

The price would have to go way, way down, however. I'm not sure anyone else would be crazy enough to make an offer on this place, so who knows.


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Does that sideboard in the third picture come with the house? That sucker itself could fetch some pretty fat cash if you wanted, and is awesome for keeping as well.


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom* 
Does that sideboard in the third picture come with the house? That sucker itself could fetch some pretty fat cash if you wanted, and is awesome for keeping as well.

Yeah, it's built in. We have one in our current house, too. It's pretty common around here for this age house (the listing is circa 1920's and ours is 1931). I would never sell it! It's part of the charm of the house.


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Aw! I want! There used to be several houses like that around here, but as people got older and the town started dying, they started converting the older houses to apartments or renting out rooms to make ends meet and stuff like that started being destroyed or simply removed...

I'd personally never sell it either, but some people say I'm just a bit too attatched to charm and stuff like that..


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Hey all,

I have a big favor to ask you all. Would you look at the URL possibilities for my new business and let me know what you think. Since y'all are mothers, you are perfect for this job!









The web site will be a place where I write reviews of products I love and share them with people. If people buy the items I review, I earn money by getting a commission. So, the site will be heavy on *useful* content and won't be just a store. The focus is babies/toddlers. My ideal client is a mother who is either about to have a baby or has a baby under 2 years of age.

Many thanks for your feedback. You can PM me if you want.









I own all of the URLs below and just need to decide which one to get!

umbrellababy.com
absolutetot.com
thecutechild.com
idealtot.com
totville.com
totvillage.com
yellowrubberducky.com
grandcentralbabystation.com

Jeremy -- If you could do your healing through the phone, I'd sign up. Your web site is LOVELY.

NewMama -- Love this house. Super cute. It looks a bit like the other one from the outside. The kitchen is a tad dark -- mine is the same way -- but you could brighten up the room with paint, which is what I plan to do with mine. Oh, man. Is the price good compared to where I live! A home under 300K is a read find in these parts. And we'd love to move into a bungalow, but that would be a real extravagance at this point. I SOOOOO want a dining room so we have a place to feed people besides people having to have plates in their laps!!


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## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

These are my favorite, Deb! The most catchy in my opinion-Good luck! Sounds like a fun job!

umbrellababy.com or yellowrubberducky.com

New Mama, I'm sure you guys could make the house interior really lovely! It would be a steal for this area as well!

Jer- nice website! Sign me up! Nice to see you around! Any new pics of your skate betty? (August was asking about her, he he!)


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

Deb, I like umbrellababy, totville, and grandcentralbabystation.....cute names! good luck with the new venture








.

NewMama, I love the house. We've been lamenting on the lack of houses with old school charm out in these parts (and the fact that nothing is affordable anyway). The built-ins are beautiful! And if that price is high, you are in a great place! The cheapest home in the papers here right now is a studio shack (probably used to be a little garage) on the side of the highway (about 400 square feet) for 299,000. I kid not.

I love all the new photos of the babes. I truly freak on how big they all are getting. My camara doesn't seem to want to import photos right now, so we'll see if dada can fix it later.

We're off to the Kidzone for some super fun playtime







: ...


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

my votes!

umbrellababy.com
yellowrubberducky.com

cute names......


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Wow-our babies aren't babies anymore-but they're still *gorgeous*! Great photos everyone! Here are some never ones of E:

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/fri...?.dir=/a581re2

New Mama-that house looks like it has loads of potential-great details! Hope it works out!

Henhao-I like umbrellababy and totvillage best, but they're all good. I didn't get a chance to make your soup bc DH brought food home-yum, Indian!

Jeremy-sounds fantastic! My MIL (coolest MIL, btw) started up a holistic centre here in town, and ayurveda has been a big part of it. I am learning a lot...good luck!

Well, my new washer arrived this morning (!!! Okay, you know you are lame when you're excited about a new washer...but our old clunker took forever, and was so inefficient...and now I just have to set it once to soak, wash, and rinse my dipes-yay!) so I'm going to try and set it up myself. Wish me luck!

Have a great thanksgiving, and to any Canadians, happy thanksgiving!


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## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Hey mamas!
I just had to share my excitement about our new sleeping arrangement. We put a crib mattress on the floor between our queen, which is also on the floor, and the wall. I put August there for naps and at night and he will sleep there until? Probably 2-4 am (can't see the clock). Oh joy! This enables papa snuggle time and some solid sleep with no velcro baby until the wee hours, when he wakes, I just reach over and snuggle him in between us and everybody is happy! Yippeee!

For my next act I need to start figuring out how papa can put him down for sleep for the night, anybody's dh able to handle the put down? DH is great with bath and storytime with Augustino but I'd love it if I DS could be calmed or fall asleep without the nipple. ( He will if I'm not around, usually with a walk or bouncing but if I'm there he wants me!) Does NCSS have advice in this dept? I'm picking it up at the library tonight.


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

Does any of our Aug 05 Mamas live in Illinois? My husband posted his resume' on Monster.com and a software company out in Springfield, IL called with a job offer. It's good pay and an interesting move but wondered if anyone here was from the area and what you could say about it. It's complicated with the fact that my 3 oldest children currently see my ex-husband 3 weekends a month and moving would surely put a wrench into the works (I love having light duty with only 3 kids on weekends like that). Any input would be helpful. We're just so in need right now that any job sounds good so I'm trying to focus on the realities of places where we might have to move to. I'm particularly wondering what kinds of programs are out there for special needs kids and well, mainstream kiddos as well (schooling). Any help would be much appreciated.







Thanks heaps, Kitty


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Kitty - The only thing I can share is my experience trying to move out of CO with my dd1 and the court battle that insued. Please PM me if you have specific ?s. In general, I would say to try hard to come to an agreement with your X. If you go to court, chance are VERY high that you will not get permission to take the kids out of state, even if it means unemployment for your dh. Best of luck.


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

what she said. how is ex going to handle you moving the kids that far from Vermont? Will he be willing to fly in or such to see them or re-work his visitation perhaps for longer visits during school breaks or something?

Otherwise, I actually like springfield for the most part... nice town, nice people for the most part, same as most places


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Kiernen has some sort of runny nose with congestion and today has even had a slight fever. I feel so bad for him because he is uber clingy and I can tell he isn't feeling well. But buy does he like to be outside! Going to the Farm perks him up pretty well. (We have an organic farm 5 minutes from our house and we go every weekend for produce.) But by the time we got home, he nursed right to sleep.

Does anyone else's kiddo get a fever right after a good chiropractic adjustment? This is the second time this has happened - I realize the fever could have something to do with his congestion, but the timing of it is such that I feel it has more to do with the adjustment. And the last time he got a fever, it was right after a good adjustment and he had no other symptoms.

Kristin, have you ever heard of this? Has anyone?


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## friendtoall (Dec 29, 2003)

Hi all! I apologize for not having been around much and now jumping in with a question. DS still has no words. Any one elses baby still not talking? His tongue is a little tight and DH really wants to have it cut but I'm not so sure. Our first didn't say her first word until 13 months, so he's not that late, but he doesn't really use consonants much at all.

Where are your babies at with talking?


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

a few legible words but not many, really.

My 5 year old didn't use 'coherant speech' until she was 18 months old, and now she won't stop talking. You might contact early intervention and have their speech therapist eval him, just to appease your dh/calm your fears, but I wouldn't be too concerned.

If he's learning a lot of new skills or working on perfecting one skill, he probably won't even begin working on talking til he gets the ones he's working on integrated.







s to you both just the same


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Wow! Go away for a week & spend an hour catching up on the news. I do love this group.









Our trip to WI was good, for the most part. Adam came back with a raging resp. infection and two new teeth







: ....so this mama is TIRED....but I did have a great time with my friends and Adam had a good time playing with all new toys in between naps and resting on my lap. Here's hoping the URI goes away soon....fever, congestion, harsh cough, and sleeplessness. Lots of sleeplessness....

I love everyone's new pictures! Here's one of ours with Adam's new hard-soled shoes! He has since had his first haircut, so he isn't sporting such a mullet now...









Tracy, I'm thrilled for you for your new sleeping arrangement!







I'm glad it's working for you. All three of us slept so much better and longer when Adam starting spending the first half of the night on his own. The first time he wakes up, he comes in with us, but it IS nice also having snuggle time with dh and being able to stretch out without my dearest bedhog taking over my side of the bed!









Deb, good luck on the new work! I like umbrellababy the best, I think. Let us know when it's up and running ~~ I've been buying some new things for the new little person around here (I got an Arm's Reach last week, etc.), and I'd love to give you the commission if I can.

Kitty, here's hoping the job situation works out for your dh...I don't know anything about custody/visitation, etc., but I hope something works out either where you are or where you can move to!

fridgeart, YAY for the new washer!! I'm excited for you. My mom got us a portable dishwasher a few weeks ago as a baby present and I can honestly say it is changing my life. I am a happier woman, and I have great Appliance Love going on. Happy new washer! ...and you are not lame!









NewMama, you crack me up! _And what am I going to do, never move, and when he's 18 tell him, "Well, we could have moved to a nicer house in a better part of town, but I didn't want to disrupt your routine!"_ I love your taste in houses, both this one and the last one, and I'm excited that you're looking. Old houses are so neat.

Jeremy, what a beautiful website, and what a wonderful place you work in!!! It sounds like you are doing so many good things. Happy New House, too! Sending good moving vibes to you~~

Amalia, welcome!!!!







I read your blog and your moving story about your Livi, and I wept for you. Your little Owen is beautiful - now we have two Owens here!

farmlife, thanks for asking! 36 weeks and counting. I'm enormous -- my friend "Leopolded" me and laughed...she's estimating this little bear is already 6 lbs. and I still have a few weeks to go.... I'm glad you're off evenings now - that is a tough shift to do with kidlets, I would think.

Nonny, I laughed out loud when I read your "BA!" conversation with Christopher!







: It sounds like most of the conversation I have with Adam. He's beginning to mix it up a little bit with the vowels and consonants, but, really...that sums it up. Only it's "Bwah!!" here, spoken with great emphasis!!

Caren, I'm glad you're back.







It's nice to "see" you.

Chasmyn, re: the inside-time recommendations... I don't have much new to add to what Deb wrote, but I smiled when you mentioned building & sorting skills. Adam is hit and miss with both, and his great joy really comes in knocking things down that *I* build, and "resorting" things that I sort (laundry...). He was bringing me trash out of the can today and handing it to me, saying "Bleah!" with each piece (which is what we say when he touches something gross/not allowed - making a yucky face). We promptly sorted it back into the garbage with much joy.

Kate, what a neat house that is.







Do you think it will be a possibility?

....what else?!? I know there's more, but my tired eyes are going to go to bed - I'm sorry for everything else I'm missing, but I just wanted to say hi again and catch up on the week's news...and I hope everyone's having a great weekend! Love to all.


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Deb, I don't know if it's just the power of suggestion, but I'm feeling the umbrellababy vibes as well. It's cute and catchy. Good luck with your start up... that sounds exciting!

Kitty, I hope things can be worked out smoothly with your ex if you have to move. What a tough spot to be in!









Emily, good luck with your last couple of weeks! One of my bfs irl is due on the 21st. Her first daughter is nearly 3 and has been Clara's buddy since the beginning. It's hard to imagine that in just a couple of weeks, Clara and Adam will be the big kids in their respective towns! I love the shot of him in his shoes! I'm a huge fan of soft-soled shoes, but Clara just got her first pair of stride rites for walking outside this fall, and boy do they make her look cute and grown up!!!

Jeremy--that is so exciting about your new job! I hope that you make good money for that, because you are providing such an important service. Good luck to you! What will Laurel do while you're working?

I'm up late tonight b/c I had "dorm duty" till 12 midnight. I have 8 teenage girls to keep track of and sometimes they just floor me. Tonight I walked out of my apt. into the lounge to see if everyone was in the dorm on time, and one girl is lying on the floor wearing very skimpy clothing and these outrageous high heels, posing provocatively while her friend snaps pictures for the girls "myspace" page. I didn't know what to do except tell them that what they were doing was boarderline porn and very degrading to themselves. They just don't get it!!! And I don't really get it either, because, to be honest, when I was that age I was hanging around in my ratty bell-bottoms and old rumage-sale t-shirts!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
Chasmyn, re: the inside-time recommendations... I don't have much new to add to what Deb wrote, but I smiled when you mentioned building & sorting skills. Adam is hit and miss with both, and his great joy really comes in knocking things down that *I* build, and "resorting" things that I sort (laundry...).

Yes, Kiernen has those same mad helping skillz.









I forgot to tell all of you. Heisted from my blog because I'm too lazy to type it again:

Quote:

An envelope from the Consulate in Seattle! I opened it right there. Essentially it says we have 30 days to send them our passports, two photos of each of us and our landed fees or MBD and myself. Then our temporary visas are good until March of 2007. I believe what this means is that we have until March to officially enter the country, i.e. with all of our stuff in tow.
As of now we have decided we are in fact going to Vancouver. The thing is, we're approved. If we don't go now, we may never get this opportunity again. How often in a person's life can they immigrate to another country to live? How often does one get to officially choose that their taxes will no longer be funding a war for oil? We may have to give up on the dream of home ownership for awhile, but we have decided that it is worth it to us.
So in March we'll be&#8230; "Almost Canadians!"
There is a cohousing development there that is one I've been in "virtual" love with for a long time. It just so happens that they have ONE unit for sale that is *almost* within our price range. I'm putting in my 'order' to the Universe that that is OUR house. We will get it, we will be able to afford it, that will be our home.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Re: on toddler speech

Ok... I swear to God this morning Christopher sporatically said "Go Dada!" I was just waking up so I am only 99% sure.







And I am 99% sure he is not going to say it again when I ask him to...sigh

Here's a summary on Christopher's Language skills, though I don't think you should be comparing or worrying!

1) "dada"
2) "mama" only when he wants me to pick him up or feed and nap cause that's all I am good for..
3) "bubble" sometimes turn into "babble"
4) "woahhhhh"
5) "uhhhh ohhhh" for something bad
6) "MmmmMMmm" for something yummy
7) "OOooOoooo" for something cool
8) "dat" for "that"
9) "dis" for this
10) "ball"
11) "bir" for bird
12) "da" for duck
13) "bye bye"
14) "go"

and of course the infamous "ba!" for everything else he can't say yet...

Wow I am actually amazed at the list I came up with. I didn't relaize DS can "say" so much. Then again of course if I ask him to demostrate it to everyone, he would only probably say a few on demand. So I guess you guys just have to trust me on this on.


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## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

just time to respond to the direct query to Chasmyn...

NORMAL and EXPECTED! The adjustment is freeing up his nervous system, which controls his immune response, hence the fever. It's a good thing. Make sense?


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chiro_kristin* 
just time to respond to the direct query to Chasmyn...

NORMAL and EXPECTED! The adjustment is freeing up his nervous system, which controls his immune response, hence the fever. It's a good thing. Make sense?

Yes, totally! Thank you







The fever was gone today - I _knew_ it was the adjustment. Thank you for verifying for me, Kristin


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Just had to share this...







a "shhhh" sound. Something DH taught him...

I was feeding him dinner tonight and I asked him, "Do you want more?" He responded back by putting his finger on his mouth and made a "shhhhh" sound!! how dare DS tell me to be quiet! 

he's so cute!


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

starting to holler out "haaaaa" sort of like a Hi. When I haven't held him for a while, like when Daddy holds him while I tuck in the older kids, I pick him up and he snuggles up into my neck and says "haaaa" I LOVE it!!!! oh my gosh I love it! He hollers it out if I'm walking in another room and he hears me. I think his hearing hasn't really ever been 100% so he tends to be a bit loud


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## LoveMyJonah (Sep 11, 2006)

Hi All! I took me a while to catch up but I think I'm ok now!
Nonny, DS is sporatically saying EVERYTHING! The other night he was playing with his bib and we said, "Jonah, look, eat more chicken." He looked down at the table and proclaimed loudly, "OH! Chicken!" I also said to him while we were at Quest waiting to get his Bloodwork done, "Jonah, when we get to school, Miss Sharon will be there." He looks right at me and yells, "Be there?" Everything is coming out of this kids mouth lately! Its funny because he's still not walking, very close, but he's been slower on the gross motor skill side. As far as speech, he was saying Mama(not specifically to me) at 3.5 months. Now he does a lot of "Baby" when he sees any small baby/toddler or his reflection, "Look See" "See This" "More Milk" "More" "See Tree" "What's This" "Mine" "Hi Momma/Daddy/Nanny, etc" "Baloons(comes out Bloons)" and actually said to the dog, "Say(that's what he calls our dog Shayne) No Bark!" Its crazy, DH and I think we're hearing things but then when we're with family and friends they hear it too and confirm our notions. I love it, this is my favorite stage so far, but I keep saying that! The walking I could wait for, but he's getting heavy in a sling or just being carried. He also gets very frustrated when he can't do something so I think he'll be super happy when he walks.
Sorry for the novel!


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Wow-you're moving to my old hometown! I lived there for most of my 20's-what a dynamic city! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I'll be sending out soem "affordable home vibes" for you-that's great that there's a place that's within range! We briefly considered moving back after living in the UK, but for what we could sell our 30 acre/5 br house for here, we can get oh, a condo in Vancouver.







I hope it all works out for you! Congrats!


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Chasmyn, that is wonderful news! I'm so excited for you -- hooray, "Almost Canadians!"

Caren, your "dorm duty" story blew my mind. Perhaps I grew up naive, but ... wow. I love our soft-soled shoes, too, but we needed something to keep his toes warmer, frankly...looks like we'll have snow this week up here! Aagh!







:

Kitty, that is *awesome* -- I still can't get a "hi" or reasonable facsimile thereof out of Adam... When we greet people (anyone, including Dad), they get a solemn stare from my son.









...and one tired mama here this morning. Adam's URI/teething is kicking my #$%. We were up from ~1230 to ~400 this morning, when dh finally took over and I don't know how late they were up after that. I woke up to Adam kicking my back, and I greeted him and asked him what kind of day we were going to have:
Me: "Are we going to have a good day today?"
Adam: "No. No. No." ((shakes his head))

:yawning:


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

ladies, ladies, ladies
Soooo much going on with everyone! Gosh, I don't even know how to answer the question of "what are you up to?" when someone asks. Imagine being able to say, "getting ready to move to another country" or "getting ready to have another baby!" (love the Jr. Ranger pic!) or "dorm duty"







or "installing a new washer" or "starting a new business" (I like umbrellababy too Deb)! You are all so busy and productive.

We're in a bit of a lull here, but I feel busy with the day to day of my life. Taxes, getting ready for weekend guests, learning new signs, sewing, cleaning, and trying to stay organized in our very tiny condo. We are bursting at the seams and I'm really wanting a house so badly. Dh is the tortise, though and getting him to move quickly on anything is difficult at best.

We're focused here on sleeping through the night and so far it's going OK. I've taken to feeding A in her sleep (I think Deb calls this a "moon boob") before I go to sleep so I can skip the first waking. The other waking I'm handling by changing the diaper and offering water. Last night it worked great and she accepted going back to sleep after some water. She woke up four times.....but went back to sleep much, much easier. Now, if I could work through this issue of wet dipes at night. The girl can just not sleep with a wet dipe, but won't sit on the potty at night either. Maybe I'm ready to go to sposies at night????







:

Anyway, here's what we've been doing around here lately....
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/katewi...e2.jpg&.src=ph


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

wow.. look at all those teeth! Em's still got two and two halves...


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

After 4 days of treating it with nystatin it wasn't getting much better so we went to the pediatrician's and she said to keep doing it and some hydro cortisone twice a day for itching. Poor lil tacker, I almost canceled his physical therapy appt because I thought he wouldn't be up to the workout but he did pretty well. He's so loveable and tries to be so easy-going. Gotta love it.

ktmama...I'm SO glad the link of what you've been up to wasn't ttc !!
















: sorry.... trying for a giggle


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

ouch... I feel for you. Honestly the only thing that has ever worked for my kids has been BFI powder. Which is a pain considering now you can't get it anywhere but online unless you have one of those rare pharmacies where they still stock the classics that actually work. The soap that the company I rep for also works, so I guess I can't say only. But I didn't have that until Em was almost ten months old either, so the powder is the 'only' thing that worked on the older two.


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Kate, your girls are so lovely! Lily looks more like you the older she gets, and I love A's hair & smile!

Kitty - hope he feels better soon. That is NO fun.

Today is my birthday - yay! I'm 30. Dh asked what I wanted for my b-day, and I told him I wanted to sip a latte at the bookstore in the nearest town over for an hour ALL BY MYSELF. We're doing that today, and I am disproportionately excited about it!!! I haven't done that in....well, over 14 months! Hooray!


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Katie -- Try a "moon diaper" and change the dipe **before** she wakes up. Whoever goes to bed latest changes the diaper in her sleep. This might get you some more hours. I'd go sposie or use G Diapers for a bit and see if it helps.

Kitty -- I send you good vibes with the job and possible move.

NewMama -- Good luck with the painters and the house hunt.

Chasmyn -- WOW. What a big change. I mean, wow. I dream of it and you are doing it. Can I say 'wow' a third time?

All -- Thank you for the help with the names!









EMILY-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Ah, 30. It seems so young! Hee hee. My DH asked what I wanted for my bday and I said for everyone to leave me alone. (I was a little tired at the time -- hee).

Lots of language here. I thought this was pretty normal, but my friend says this is a lot.

She won't learn a lick of sign language.

Here are some of my favorite words of hers (she NEVER says 'mama' around me














: ):

squirrel
yellow (I am trying to teach her 'blue' now.)
hi,bill
jerry
jenny
cocky for avocado
shoe
light
shampoo
sit
sky
moon (said like boom)
alligator
car
truck
helicopter
potty (said only 1 x so might not count)
cat
dog
hot tea (repeated over and over while we drink hot tea







)
hot
uh-oh

She can point to grandma, grandpa, nose, eyes, mouth, cheek, chin and belly button but does not yet say those.


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## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

Happy Birthday Em!


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## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Happy Birthday Emily! Hope you had an awesome latte hour!! Been thinking of you and your growing belly, hope all is well!

Chasmyn - very excited for you- Oh Canada! Vancouver is a great city!!

KT- A is so beyootifully sweet!

August isn't much for crawling (if he has to) or walking still, but he is a language fiend! He babbles non-stop and here are the words I just wrote in his baby book that he says with regularity;

mama
papa
ball,
circle,
cracker
shadow
star
bubbles
(cocka)doodle-do
choo-choo
woof-woof
bock-bock
bye-bye
hi
balloon
baby
on-off
Shayna (nay-na)
banana
blueberries
apple
shoe
sock
doorknob
truck
uh-oh

He learns new ones almost daily, he also can recognize and point to or retreive lots of other things and is also picking up new signs quickly,
bird, bath and sleep most recently.

His favorite thing is to wave and say hi and bye-bye to everything and to find circles EVERYWHERE and point them out! Who knew there were so many circles (gurkles) in the world??
He also copies what we say frequently, the other day I was nursing him in the car before we went into a store and I said, "Bye booby" and he said "bye booby" right back - sooo cute, unfortunately he has also copied DH saying the f word while watching a hockey game- yikes! Cleaning up the language in high gear around here!

Here's what we've been up to lately;
http://soulshinefamily.smugmug.com/gallery/1973264
and no TTC pics -though we're working on that too!


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

Tracy! You got my joke! WTG!!! hheheheeee....

Moms, if I get a little funky or wierd, go out and lynch the govt. powers that be. I haven't been able to get my Zoloft script refilled because my Medicaid paperwork hadn't been finalized..now it is and they won't pay for it because it's too expensive (even the generic version is too expensive). Umm without Zoloft I spiral down from depression, to resentment, anger, I start beating on others, screaming irrationally...try to kill myself..you name it. I get really bad and that's when I miss like 3 days...takes that long to metabolize it out completely. I've been off 2 days, tomorrow's #3 and I'm really coming unhinged. I'm so scared because I know how I can get. I feel like crying because I know I'm going to do some awful things and I hope none of the children get hurt in the process. I hope and pray that my dr can fight this and get me the script. She would have to go to bat for me and insist I can't function without it. I have a chemical imbalance and serious PTSD. I already scared my 3 year old into violent crying because he wouldn't go to bed and I threw bedclothes all over the place and just basically came unstuck.

Mom's I'm SO scared.















:

As I'm writing this I remembered I had bought some hTp 5, a natural seratonin balancer. I just took it with a snack so hopefully that can do something to keep me on even keel until I can get this straightened out.

Sorry to unload but it's quiet and I'm scared and now that baby's down for the night I just needed "someone" to talk to. If it gets too bad perhaps I can find a way to just not be home. ??? I have so many responsibilities and with us not having an income the stress level is SO high.










Meanwhile, Nathanael's so sweet and wonderful. Guess God sent him to keep me happy because who couldn't be with having such a docile loving cuddly boy.














:


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## babycarrier (Apr 2, 2004)

Kitty - can you get a couple filled from the pharmacy and pay per pill? call local mental health clinics? call the pharmaceutical company and urgently request a sample? I work in the mental health field and their are oodles of samples in providers offices. Your situation sounds critical. Do you have a local crisis center? Contact them - tell them the situation - people will help with this.
Also, are you able to advocate for yourself in this or can you enlist help? Please let us know how it goes. I'll be thinking of you.


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## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

:








Quote:


Originally Posted by *farmlife* 
Kitty - can you get a couple filled from the pharmacy and pay per pill? call local mental health clinics? call the pharmaceutical company and urgently request a sample? I work in the mental health field and their are oodles of samples in providers offices. Your situation sounds critical. Do you have a local crisis center? Contact them - tell them the situation - people will help with this.
Also, are you able to advocate for yourself in this or can you enlist help? Please let us know how it goes. I'll be thinking of you.









:







- Sounds frightening Kitty, get some help and love up that little babe!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

I agree.







s, Kitty - let us know what happens.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

I am very irritated mamas...and it's not even at my little Christopher...or at DH...

First of all, I want to give my thoughts and hugs to Kitty, I'm sorry you're going through this. Just remember something good will always come around in the end...it always does. And keep loving your kids, they are truly the rainbow after the rain.

Onto my little venting...because I knew you mamas will give me some sympathy.

I didn't want to mention this problem until I was 100% sure that it is a problem. My poor little DS got a blood test done in September for Lead, and results came back as High level of lead. His level was 25, the normal is 10 or below.







So the Montgomery County Lead Poisoning and Child Protection Agency calls me to tell me I need to get him retested to be sure and to arrange a house visit (to find the source of problem).

I was 100% surprised and shocked that we have this problem, DS does not show ANY signs of something wrong and this house was built in the last 10 years.

SO a nurse from the Montgomery County Lead Poisoning Group and another woman from the Montgomery Envirnmental Protection or something came over to inspect the house today and talked about the issue. You learn something new everyday as a mom and today I learned that lead poisoning is actually a big issue affecting children in the county. There are about 50 kids in Montgomery County with this issue. After 3 1/2 hours (1:30-5:00pm), they ended up finding traces of lead in the old spoons and cups and old desk/shelf, all objects that I did not have real connections with. I am saying this because the old spoons/cups and furniture were all from my MIL! They are from the time when DH was little! And that's the part that really irritates me, that the causes of this problem is not my fault and I didn't realize it nor did I do anything about it. I knew keeping old stuff can not be a good idea.







: No more old toys or anything coming near Christopher!!







:

Right now, we all waiting for the results from the second blood test. Hopefully the level has dropped a lot or a little bit. All I can do now is keep feeding him healthy foods and pray that his level won't go any higher. I am also going to try not to get upset with other people...

The nurse showed me papers on signs and consequences of even higher levels of Lead, and I don't want to name them, it just frightens me.


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

I took that natural meds to elevate seratonin levels so I feel much more relaxed now. SOrry to dump on you all..you're probably all ready to call SRS. No joke.

I've called my dr's hotline and they're going to move heaven and earth for me tomorrow. This should be sorted out by this time tomorrow night. Meanwhile I have my case worker with Family Infant Toddler project to call to have take me to the food shelf to get food so that stress will lessen and it'll get me out of the house and away from the stress here.

My case worker is here to ensure Nathanael gets all the support he needs for his needs but she's been amazing for me too.

Once I relaxed I put a plan in place and I feel so much better about it.

I'm sorry if I upset you guys. I just needed someone to talk to. Kitty


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Kitty...you need your meds no matter what. Your doctor MUST get you some samples tomorrow while she's going to bat for you. Are you going to have time to make phone calls in the morning to deal with this? I have found that calling doctors offices REALLY early in the morning helps get action started. Don't get me started about doctors and pharmaceutical companies and the government!!!

Please give us an update on Thursday. If I had a script for that, I would fedex, but I don't.

On other notes...








: to Emily!! I hope that was the longest hour and the tallest mocha of all your 30 years!

Congrats to your family, Chasmyn! Take us with you...

Owen mostly says "boom" when he falls...and he says "boom" a lot! He is trying to say lots, but only mama and daddy can recognize what he's saying. I should make a list in his baby book, though. Good idea.

He IS running and climbing and going up and down the really BIG slide by himself (mama's right there for safety, though). He is trying to climb onto bicycles at the park! I think he's going to be ready for a skateboard in a week or so. This guy is go-go-go!

The sad news is that my butt doesn't fit on some of the playground equipment as I try to keep up with him. I had to squeeze between the bars of the merry-go-round today. A health club membership is in my near future...

Owen is throwing a HUGE fit when mama (not daddy) goes to put him in his car seat now. Anyone else? He locks up his knees and waist so I can't strap him in!!! It's extremely freaking challenging to deal with. He's really strong. Did I already post about this??? It makes me want to stay at home. I am going to look into a bike seat. I don't think he would like being in the bike trailer. Does anyone use a baby seat that's behind the seat? Are they horribly dangerous?

New Mama...what's up with the house? We just came REALLY close to writing an offer on a new construction house that's right across from a groovy elementary school that has a Chinese immersion program... then we found out that the builder has let his insurance and bond lapse!!! Crazy stuff...no offer on that one. We need that like a hole in the head.

Gotta get back to work...

XOXOXOX to all our growing babies!

--Adrienne


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EStreetMama* 
Owen is throwing a HUGE fit when mama (not daddy) goes to put him in his car seat now. Anyone else? He locks up his knees and waist so I can't strap him in!!! It's extremely freaking challenging to deal with. He's really strong. Did I already post about this??? It makes me want to stay at home. I am going to look into a bike seat. I don't think he would like being in the bike trailer. Does anyone use a baby seat that's behind the seat? Are they horribly dangerous?

We have that kind of bike seat. I don't think they are particularly dangerous, although the trailer would definitely be more stable in a fall. Kiernen has a similar reaction to being put in the car seat when he's not ready to go. He will tense ad thrash his whole body - it can be quite trying. But once he's in there, he settles down for the ride.

*Happy Birthday Emily!* A whole hour at a coffeeshop all alone - sounds decadent! You must tell us about it!

We tried to leave Kiernen with our trusted friend and her son last night while DH and I saw a counselor to talk about our communication problems. It failed on all fronts - Kiernen was a sobbing mess so she called me on the cell as requested and I left 15 minutes into the session to rescue him (the office was less than 10 min. from her house).

Then when we returned to get DH, who has stayed to finish the session, he informed me that the therapist immediately decided that Kiernen was the reason we are having issues, because he is sleeping in the bed with us and our focus is him. It turns out that he and his wife are AP to their 4 kids and he has an 8-year-old that cannot sleep alone, so he essentially is projecting his own issues on to us. Not v. professional IMO. It's too bad, too, because we wanted this guy to work - he is really laid back and hippie-ish, with a ponytail and photos of his kids and his own toys all over his office.

The thing is, DH and I know that our issues are in our communication - namely our lack thereof - and we told him as much. That and our seemingly differing expectations. We just need an intermediary to help get us back on track. We thought that's what marriage counselors were? Essentially a referee to help facilitate clear communication and listening?

Ah well. Perhaps the next one will be more along those lines.


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Kitty







s: my obgyn and our reg doc both keep a nice sized stash of zoloft samples on hand. In fact, when I had ptsd & ppd combined w/ #2, I was on zoloft for over a year and never had a script, just had to drop by and get a new bag of samples. Hope the clinic gets your stuff fixed ASAP

Em loves her car seat. It's the one place where the bigger girls can't hassle her much and she has a toy they can't play with {fisher price kicker aquarium thing} She stares at the fish and babbles to them til she falls asleep. The other day we caught her 'singing' [babbling] along with the radio. It was cute.









Her big thing right now is calling the dog a cat, even though we continually correct her and point out the dogs in her picture book. That and trying to take his leash away from whomever has it.


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## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Hey folks. I haven't posted in a while and I was in New Brunswick last weekend visiting my Mom (she's in a nursing home but doing pretty well), so I'm just catching up on posts now.

Hugs to all the Moms having problems -- especially, Kitty. Hope everything gets resolved quickly. Please let us know.

Congrats, Chasmyn, on your pending move to Canada. We're on the opposite coast, but if you're ever in Halifax ...

Tova is also (sometimes) doing the car-seat rebellion thing and it's really tough because she is amazingly strong and I am in the middle of a pretty bad arthritis flare-up (more on that at a later date). She still isn't saying too much and still not crawling or walking -- scooting on her bum seems to keep her happy -- although she is wanting us to hold her hands and help her walk more and more every day.

I love all of the photos people have been posting -- you can see a few of our crew (the family portrait was taken by a friend of ours at Tova's first birthday party in August) at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Keep on keeping on!


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Kitty, I haven't posted, but you've been on my mind. Please just know that there is a circle of female support around you and let that mother you if you need it. We are here for you. I hope you get your meds ASAP. I've BTDT and my doc kept me in samples for six months because I couldn't afford my meds.

And Miss Emily! Happy Birthday!!! I remember 30. well, kinda.


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Hi all, so many new postings! I have a hard time keeping up with this group sometimes, so if I don't respond to each of you individually don't take it personally.

Kitty, I am thinking about you. ((HUGS))

Emily, happy birthday! A solo coffee shop visit sounds heavenly!

Nonny, scary about the lead levels. Keep us posted.

Chasmyn, grr about the therapist.

Tracy, Henry is obsessed with flags...if they're around he'll see them!

The second house we passed on. We took a walk around the neighborhood and decided it didn't feel right (too busy, too many rentals). So we continue to look. I know we'll find the right one eventually.

Henry is moaning in his sleep. Gotta go!


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

thank you so much.







I got a 4 day supply until they sort it out *ugh*

We don't have carseat issues yet as natty boy is still much like a 9 month old, 18 lbs, rear-facing...still at my mercy ! lol

No, I still have to roll up recieving blankets so he can sit properly in his carseat. I'm looking for a good insert so he can sit in a stroller, any ideas? He falls into a gellatinous heap and when unbuckled would fall out the bottom. So for now I have to use the infant bucket which clips into the stroller facing forward so he can see the world. Nice stroller but not mean't for my lil ball of lovin' goodness. Guess I got my $$ worth out of that infant bucket, it's the 3rd child to use it and he's 14 months old! It has to be destroyed in December as it'll then be 6 years old.


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

nak...been awhile
unpacking, unpacking, unpacking...
we took a nice hike today cuz it was a beautiful day! i grabbed the kelty backpack for laurel and won't do that again. dh loves it, but the weight is just too high on me i think. and i tilt forward and end up looking at my feet. the ergo was still in a box. i came home and unpacked the garage. found the ergo and won't opt for the kelty again. i love our ergo!

emily - happy belated birthday!!! i found these boots linked somewhere at mdc. i think we might try them for laurel this winter. we went into payless and tried on moonboots. watching her try to walk in them was perhaps the highlight of my week







.

kitty - so much love and strength flowing out to you, mama. i'm praying everything comes through for you. it sounds like you really were able to get all your ducks in a row. i hope things continue in this positive light and the meds are readily available to you.
as for the thrush...laurel just recently had a really bad bout of yeast infection on her yoni. i put 10 drops of GSE in one ounce of distilled water and swabbed it on with a q-tip at every diaper change. i also let her sleep bare-bottomed, sprayed colloidal silver on her tongue, and gave her baby probiotics. it worked like a charm. yeast is no fun. i hope that you see relief soon. with everything.

chasmyn - yay canada!!!! and i really hope that you and your dh are able to work through the communication challenges. at least you both have insight as to the root of your problems, and you are both willing to seek help. dh and i went to a lame counselor a few years ago to work out some difficulties. even though she was weak with extra weak sauce it gave us a platform from which to further discuss things when we left her office. she ended up being a blessing, just based on that. stay positive! loving thoughts to you, mama!

tracy - i love a man in wings!!!

nonny - i'm sad for you about the high levels of lead. that's really scary!!! it definately made me think about the toys we have from mil that she saved from dh's childhood. i also get the updates of recalls on my email and crappy dollar store toys are always getting recalled due to lead paint. just another heads up. my best thoughts for good 2nd test results.

adrienne - we got one of those fp aquarium toys to hang on the backseat of the car. it has a little button that plays music. when laurel starts throwing a fit as i'm putting her in to the carseat i just hit the button. she mellows out and starts singing...babababaaaa...bababa...just an idea. it's what works for us.

dh is p.o.-ed cuz he kept unpacking and i took a break at 9:40 at night to hop online for a moment. so off i go to make amends...


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

nonny...you might want to think about/look into supplementing with some vit c, liquid iron and calcium. i thought i'd link up the cilantro chelation pesto recipe for you. you may already know about this, but just in case you don't...
recipe one
recipe two
also, a couple links to mdc threads regarding high lead levels...
dd has elevated lead levels! help!!!
moms dealing with elevated lead levels


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

here i am again!
toy tool bench recall...thought i'd give the heads up...


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Wow-a heavy week for lots of August mamas! Hugs, hugs, hugs.
Kitty, I hope you are all sorted out as I type this-you've got a lot on your plate already! Chasmyn, sorry the therapist was a dink. Like someone else said, perhaps him not being as helpful as he could have been (or, um professional?) may help more than you think...I went to a psych while in uni to "help" with some depression I was having-all he wanted to do was blame it on my mom/family...which didn't help at all...but it did make me realize a lot of things, and gave me the "something" I needed to sort myself out.
Nonny-spooky about the lead levels. I am on the product recall list with Health Canada, and soooo many toys are recalled for lead levels...it makes me want to go through everything (we have a lot of old "junk" around-mostly in the basement) and dump it all! Hope it all works out. A friend of mine had very good results with chelation treatment as well.

And happy belated bday, Emily! Hope you enjoyed the alone time...what a treat!

And here's my new problem-E can undo her carseat!!!! She was very quiet on the drive back from Toronto over the weekend, and I looked back and the belts were all undone. Holy crap! So now I have to turn them inside out, and hope that doesn't interfere with safety. Any other tips???
AND for a fun Friday night, I am stripping my dipes...again. Ugh. I can't believe I still have build up...any tips from other moms CDing? I've been doing less soap all along, and just switched to Charlie's soap, I do a cool rinse, then a long hot/cold wash with an extra rinse, with vinegar, but have big ammonia problems. Boo. I was washing 2x a week, and think I need to wash every other day maybe?! Any help is most appreciated. I've read everything on the diapering forum, but am wondering if there's anything else...
On that note, I am going to go have a drink with DH! Nighty night all!


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

there used to be a shield you could buy for the center point of a five point harness, the one between the legs. Don't know if they still make it or not. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit at one point I used duct tape on kait's carseat belts to keep her from undoing them. She would undo them and then GET UP AND MOVE ABOUT. I told her the car may be as big as a plane, but that did *not* mean she could feel free to roam about the cabin once we reached our cruising speed...


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## babycarrier (Apr 2, 2004)

fridgeart - do you have hard water? i found a vinegar rinse in my extremely hard water contributed to our stink problem. if it is hard water, calgon added into some hot hot water and rinse until you are suds free does wonders over here.
I try to keep the additives as minimal as possible, but after a really bad bout of dipes that wouldn't clean through lots or rinses and natural remedies - i did treat with a tiny tiny bit of bleach. hated to do it and had to buy a bottle just for it but it worked, and it was better than the ammonia "burn" from the dipes.
let me know how the charlie's works out. I have been using cloth for 4 years now and am finding myself reaching for sposies which i never do. Buildup stinks, literally!


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## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

How about Bac Out , for the diaper smell,is that working? WE have good luck with that here.


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Thanks for the tips!
We do a vingar rinse almost every time, and I resorted to a little bleach once, but I hate using it as we are on a well. I may have to do it again. For some reason it seems that it's not the inserts but the FuzziBunzs that are reeky?? I washed 5x last night, and the 5th wash still had bubbles (albeit very small and very few); I'm going to wash every 2nd day instead of 2x a week and see how it goes.
Calgon-like the dish detergent? Or do they make a clothes deterg. too?
Bac out-will have to look for it here. I had a hard time finding Charlie's until I found out it's called "Wonderwash" here. It sounds like what we may need though!
We went to a LLL Garage Sale here today-and found some rad deals. I got an MEC snowsuit (the toaster) which is $90 for $30. Sweet! And an art easel for E, which is great bc I am a painter. I have visions of us painting together...

The IL's are in town, so I'm off to entertain! Happy weekend, hope everyone's doing well!


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Fridgeart - have you tried adding tea tree oil to your wash?


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Just dropping by to say, hope everyone have a great weeekend!

Update on Lead levels: we got the results back from the second blood test and DS level is a 9!! (levels 1-10 is normal) So just kidding Christopher's parents, your child doesn't have high levels of Lead, we were just trying to scare you, hope you get our joke.

ha ha ha!








:

I'm really REALLY tempted to go back to the lab and complain to whoever did the tests.

But no, I'm a nice and calm person.


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Oh, Nonny, what a relief!!! I am so glad to know that Christopher has a low lead level! Yay!!!


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

I'm going to type for as long as dh and ds are finishing their nap together, now that the laundry is folded......!!!

Thanks to all for the birthday wishes!!







It was great. I sipped and sipped and it was a lovely hour for me. I think I'm asking again for it for Christmas.









Adam is still sick here, intermittently, which is what slightly concerns me... Today is Day #14 -- he had 5 days of fever/serious congestion/cough, was afebrile for 6-7 days with resolving congestion and lesser cough, and is now periodically febrile with increasing cough (which he cries after, now - sounds painful) and clear rhinorrhea over the last 2 days. I am almost considering a ped visit...whoa. Max temp has only been ~101.7-102, so I know he's just fighting something....but I am starting to wonder if I'm missing something...

Question for the group, here -- am I the only freak who's just gotten around to leaving their dc with a babysitter for awhile? I'm at home, and there's nothing to do here in town, so it's not like dh and I "go out" (except to the restaurant next door, but Adam is so welcomed and at home there that why bother leaving him home?) -- and we left him with a friend for two hours on Friday (a healthy, afebrile day) for the first time to go out to dh's business dinner a few towns away. Adam did fine...played so much that he slept almost all night (!) ... and I can't even tell you how proud I was of myself for doing it. It was my first time, too....I was a little nervous, and slightly worried....but we did great!







I may even do it again one of these days.

Deb, I'm trying the "moon diaper/feeding" thing here. Adam is still touch-&-go with the sickies, but it is WORKING on the nights he's better. You are brilliant.

Kitty, ((hugs)) about the "unstuck"-edness. Are you going to be able to continue getting your rx? Sending you happy thoughts, mama.

Tracy & Deb -- can I just say that those are A LOT of words?!?! WOW!

Nonny, I'm so glad Christopher's lead level is normal. That is rotten about the scare...ugh.

---->>Boys are awake, and A is sobbing. Going now. Back later!!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
I....Max temp has only been ~101.7-102, so I know he's just fighting something....but I am starting to wonder if I'm missing something...

My recommendation, FWIW: Go to the vax forum and ask there. Those Mamas know a LOT about such things.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
Question for the group, here -- am I the only freak who's just gotten around to leaving their dc with a babysitter for awhile? I'm at home, and there's nothing to do here in town, so it's not like dh and I "go out" (except to the restaurant next door, but Adam is so welcomed and at home there that why bother leaving him home?) -- and we left him with a friend for two hours on Friday (a healthy, afebrile day) for the first time to go out to dh's business dinner a few towns away. Adam did fine...played so much that he slept almost all night (!) ... and I can't even tell you how proud I was of myself for doing it. It was my first time, too....I was a little nervous, and slightly worried....but we did great!







I may even do it again one of these days.

We have yet to leave Kiernen with a babysitter. We tried once, when we went for counseling, and 10 minutes in I had to go and get him because he was sobbing inconsolably. the woman I left him with was fine, but I had requested she call me if such a situation arose and she did. This is exactly why she was the one I left him with.







:

Kiernen is uber attached to me, though, and he is also quite sensitive. I expect he felt my uneasness at leaving him and felt that something was wrong. Had I been completely at ease with leaving him, I suspect it might have gone differently. Because we have no family in town it becomes a bit more challenging to leave him with folks. And I honestly don't mind taking him with me everywhere.


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## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

I have been computerless for the past week...and just caught up reading! Hugs to all of you and your kiddos!

We had the floors refinished and the had to be out of the house for a couple of days...which turned into 6 days/5 nights as the odor from the chemicals was bad...







: So we stayed at a friend's house, who has a 16 month old, and so Owen and Penny played, as did I and Penny's mom....Fun!

It's good to be home, although now that most of the house is packed, and kinda empty, I'm ready to move on...Unfortunately, the floors need some additional work, and so we must be out of the house next week for a day/night...Argh...

Owen is officially walking...he does this FRANKENSTEIN walk...(so appropriate for Halloween, don't ya think!







) and is a complete peanut...He is signing a lot...and now says "mama" when he is looking at me...YEY!!!...Anyway...I'm loving this age so much....he is fun and sleeps through the night to boot!!!

Last weekend, we came home to paint the barn...it was drizziling here and there...a little chilly...but Owen was a trooper...Joe had him on a carrier on his back, and painted the barn with him...Owen babbled...slept...laughed for hours...he is so GREAT!!!...

Well I'm pooped...I'm off to bed here in a few minutes...I loved the photos everyone has linked...it's so great to see your babes and you mamas as well...

Hugs again to all, and I hope to post more as time and energy permit.

Ta!


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Nonny, sorry about the scare but I'm glad the lead levels are normal.

Emily, I only just left Henry with someone other than DH last week, so no, you're not the only one! And I only just left him with my sister, who he sees once a week and who is very similiar to me in a lot of ways, for 1.5 hours while I went to the dermatologist. Having a lump (it was nothing) checked is not the most fun way to spend time away! We didn't tell my mom as she would be hurt that I didn't leave him with her, but honestly, though I know she loves him, she just isn't all that sensitive or great at distracting. While my sister knows to distract and get silly and bounce Henry around the house, my mom would say, "You're fine. Your mom will be back soon."

Anyway, he did fine. DH wants to leave him again in December for his company Christmas party. I would be okay with that for a bit, but Henry still definitely needs me to get him to sleep and again if (when!) he wakes up, so we couldn't be out too late.

We're still house hunting. We looked at one yesterday that turned out to be pretty yucky inside. Shallow stairs, hodge-podgy windows, a narrow livingroom with the front door opening right into the middle of it... DH was pretty depressed. He said, "I keep thinking about you saying about the first house, 'We will never find another house like this in this condition for this price.'" I hate to say I told him so... We're still crossing our fingers that the first offer falls through, but we don't want to get our hopes up too much. (We just went through that recently when the other buyers didn't have the rest of their earnest money and were going to have their realtor cut a check -- a no-no -- but then they came through at the last possible second.)

I'm going to look at another one tomorrow. No online photos (like the one we saw yesterday) which makes me suspicious, plus it's on a corner, which I'm not crazy about. But I gotta check it out.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Thanks everyone for the concern about the Lead. It did scare me a lot and I knew something didn't sound right from the start. Thanks for the recipe for the Cilantro too, it won't hurt to know how to make it! I did learn a lot of useful information and health issues during my scaried and worried phase. Definitely a lot of great information to keep in mind for the future.

Emily, I'm glad you had a relaxing birthday! I told my DH that I want the exact same thing sometime...anytime. And he actually told me how sad it is that 1 hour of coffee break seems like heaven to most moms.







I don't think it is sad at all...what IS sad though is that on every Sunday the thing I look forward to is eating my favorite sandwich and Broccoli with Chedder soup of the day at this sandwich place here called Potbelly's.

And also you are not the only who left baby with a babysitter. We left DS with the in-laws once in awhile (once every 3 weeks, 4 weeks..) just to relax, go out, watch a movie, or for me to just eat in PEACE!







: I think it's very healthy to just go out for yourself or with DH, I personally HAVE to once in awhile to keep my sanity.

You should definitely take Adam to the ped if it's day #14! Having a fever for a very long time isn't very healthy either. Just a thought. It could just be a cold like always. Flu season is coming up too!







Hope Adam feels better soon!
I'm not enjoying the Toddler days here, and it has just begun too!







: Sometimes it feels like my whole day is just full of cleaning up messes, whining, nagging, crying, hitting/kicking mama from 8:30am through 10pm and sometimes in the middle of the night. What is with all this whining and nagging crying I get?!? The sound is just so annoying sometimes my mind just shuts down cause I don't want to listen to it anymore. And the weird thing is, I didn't even do anything or I don't know what I did wrong to make DS do this. I wish it would just stop. I'm the type of mom who will not tolerate a whining boy! I feel like I'm being punish...what did I do.....

Off for some "me" time finally! Goodnight all!


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Babysitting: I can count the times on both hands, for sure, but he's always fine. He cried once for about 5 minutes, but he was with a really good friend who he knows well, so he was fine. I was late for an unexpected appointment to go get my work computer fixed...so I think I left too fast...hence the crying. It's a great thing now that they are starting to play with other kids though--tire those babies out!!!

We just turned the car seat around...no more fits about getting in the seat! Yay...

Can babies have a fever with teething? Emily, wondering if Adam had a combination of a cold plus teething since the nose is running clear now. It seems that Owen's colds always take a couple weeks to clear, but the fever for this long seems to make it another matter. Alternatively, could be a secondary infection like sinus or ear. Hmmmm....wish I was more helpful. Go with your gut, of course! I hope he's better soon! It really is such a bummer to have the booger fairy visit!!! Owen has a cold right now too but nothing dramatic. My friend gave me some breast milk today to squirt up his nose.

Gotta go work, as usual. We are trying to sell our house or split our lot so I could SAHM without WAHM.

On a sweet baby note, we were out walking the other day and Owen was pointing and saying something emphatically. I looked up and saw the moon and realized that he was saying "Moon! Moon!" It nearly broke my heart with love and pride!!!

--Adrienne


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EStreetMama* 
Can babies have a fever with teething? Emily, wondering if Adam had a combination of a cold plus teething

Adrienne, I totally think that is part of it, which is why I'm so hesitant to worry about it & run to the ped's. Adam got two molars last week, right during the yellow congestion time. Honestly, he's run a temp every time he's gotten a new tooth, so I tend not to worry about fevers. The only thing is the duration & the max temp -- he never gets above 100.5 with his teeth, and last night we were up for three hours (0130-0430) because his temp jumped to 102+ for those hours, despite ibuprofen, and he was just crying in my arms.







: Today? He's tired and grumpy, but afebrile and playing again... ((sigh)) I'm just going to keep treating symptoms and wait another few days, I think.

Thank you all for the thoughts, though. I know you've all BTDT, and I don't know why I'm so worried right now... I'm paranoid about getting "it" myself as dh is sick now, too







: , and I think that's part of it....









NewMama, you mentioned that about your mom's reaction to Henry if you would leave him with her. My ILs do the -same- thing, only they laugh at Adam when he cries. The Mama Bear in me is infuriated when MIL does that. I know the right house is going to come around for you and your family one of these days, too. I have a good feeling about it. And you have good taste in houses - I can't wait to see what happens for you!

Amalia, that sounds like NO fun, being out of the house while working on it...!! ((Bleah! as Adam says!)) It's nice that you're back in, & it sounds like your sense of humor is still intact.







I'm glad it's going well!

Farmlife/fridgeart -- about the diaper problems? -- are you using FuzziBunz? I was having the same problem -- my dipes were STINKY, and I was caring for them just like I was supposed to. I posted about it in the diaper forum (which I usually don't, since those mamas speak a very foreign language when they discuss their diapers), and got great advice. One woman used baking soda during her pre-wash and then did a rinse again after the washing and put baking soda in that, which has been working for me. I did resort to a tiny bit of bleach during two of my loads last month, which frankly helped...but I want to avoid that, and the baking soda has actually been working quite well. I do diapers every other day, as Adam is a prolific pee-er and I only have about 2.5 days worth of diapers in my medium stash.

Jeremy, you make me smile. I love the way you word things -- "weak with extra weak sauce" is one of my favorite things this week.









I know there's more I'm missing...but ((hugs)) to all....happy day. Off to start more laundry. I got out the baby stuff yesterday and I'm washing and folding and putting away today! This stuff is so teeny...hard to believe it fit Adam not so long ago! Yay!


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Adrienne, can I ask why you turned the car seat around already? I'm starting to wonder if I don't have the shortest 26lb chunk around. she's nowhere near ready for her seat to be turned around. If Bug is any guideline, she won't be ready til she's closer to 22 mos.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

I agree with Emily on the fever while teething. Christopher always got a temp of around 101 when he was teething. And he didn't have any other cold symptoms. The temperature did go away after a day/ a day and a half.


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom* 
Adrienne, can I ask why you turned the car seat around already? I'm starting to wonder if I don't have the shortest 26lb chunk around. she's nowhere near ready for her seat to be turned around. If Bug is any guideline, she won't be ready til she's closer to 22 mos.

Ours has been forward-facing since Kier turned 1. We went to St. Louis at the end of July and had it forward facing for convenience while we were there, and once we got back, we just kept it that way, since Kiernen seemed so much more comfortable.

He's 29.5" tall, BTW and 24 pounds.


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom* 
Adrienne, can I ask why you turned the car seat around already? I'm starting to wonder if I don't have the shortest 26lb chunk around. she's nowhere near ready for her seat to be turned around. If Bug is any guideline, she won't be ready til she's closer to 22 mos.

Henry is 25 pounds and 33 inches tall, and he's still rear-facing. He likes going for rides in the car the way it is, so I figured I would just keep him that way until I HAD to turn him around. There's a weight/height limit and I forget what it is, but he's not there yet.


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

E slept in til 8.30







, her dipes don't stink anymore







: (many, many washes later, and finally some enzyme cleaner from the pet store did it!), and she slept for 2.5 hours this afternoon! I didn't know what to do with myself, with all this rest time...
Nonny, so glad to hear lead levels are okay-what a relief!
We've left E with our moms a few times, but mostly during nap times/at night when she's already asleep. If our families lived in town, we would probably have them babysit more often, but they live in Toronto and Trinidad (my MIL runs an ashram down there), respectively! The idea of leaving her with a complete stranger is something I'm not quite ready for, just yet, though I am joining a gym with babysitting, so we'll see how it goes!
We turned the carseat around for our month long trip-around E's 1st bday, so she could see a little more (a month is a long time to stare at the back of a seat!), and we just left it that way. She's 23# and 32".
E definitely gets feverish with teething-especially the molars. Hope Adam is on the mend soon!
How are your babes dealing with frustration? E is pretty good tempered, but when she can't do something, she is very vocal with her frustration-gives up quickly and makes AWFUL squealy girly sounds. Hope it's just a phase! She's learned the words "more" and "done" has almost mastered thank you ("tata") and this makes for more pleasant meals...she used to just shriek when she was done/wanted more. Wretched sounds!
I made a list of all the things that E can do now-from words to to animal sounds to funny little actions (her latest is "the fonz": we say "put your thumbs up!" and she points her fingers (totally not even close to her thumbs) straight up and says "ayyyyy!"







) and I was fairly amazed at all she is able to communicate-what an amazing year.
Anyway, off to make dinner!


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## friendtoall (Dec 29, 2003)

S is still rear-facing. He's content that way and I feel it is safer, so he'll stay that way until he starts getting close to the limits of his seat. It's also more convenient for sleeping, which he does almost four days of the week because we are running his sister around so much, or so it seems. I'm getting so burnt out on our schedule, but she wants more!


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## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Fridgeart, It sounds like you got the diaper thing figured out, but thought I'd chime in anyway.....
We use a 1/2 watered down Bac-out solution on all the poopy diapers after scraping and then keep them in the pail 2 or 3 days, then wash everything together with Charlie's soap. And rinse twice. It seems that the covers (we use mostly bummis and proraps) can retain the stink so every once in a while I'll do an extended wash and soak of just the covers with a very small amount of bleach. Switching to Charlie's and doing the covers treatment has seemingly solved our own ammonia stink issues.

August's seat is rear facing as he is still just 20 pounds, and even though they say rear facing is always safer (up to the specs of your car-seat) I am looking forward to turning him forward at 22 pounds because I'm hoping he'll ride more happily in the car that way. He does get bored easily and I think if he can see more it will keep him content. For now we listen and sing to a cd he likes (music together) over and over and over!







:

I'm recovering I hope from a now week long yucky cold and it's been tough feeling soo tired and chasing around after little guy.







: Whew! He still isn't walking but he crawls, cruises and climbs into everything!!

We have left our little man weekly with a dear friend for a few hours since he was maybe six weeks old and they adore each other! (She's the one who is often in our online pics) I feel completely comfortable with her but we have just decided to find some other options to try and relieve her so we're trying out a recommended college student this week. A little nervous about it for sure, hope my boy likes her and she can do a good job!

My muzzy head keeps me from replying to any more topics, but hope all you mamas and babes are well and enjoying the autumn weather! I love fall!
Oh-Just got August a bike helmet and we're going on rides on the bike trail- yippee, we both love it!


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Hi moms! I've been busy this week and away from the computer, but I wanted to say a belated Happy Birthday to Emily! The 11th of October is my birthday, too! (Hence, much of the business!) I turned 27, which I'm glad of because 27 seems like such a nice number. Another thing that I'm busy with is helping my friend get ready to have her second baby. Any day now!!! I'm so excited for her, and going through this process with her helps me think about having another of my own. Good luck to you, Em, as you approach your due date, and good luck to all the moms having a rough week!


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

rock on. Not sure on Em's height but she's not even straining her straps yet so we're good. I make stocky, tiny babies I guess {though looking at my 4.5 foot 7 year old some people would question that} She loves being rear facing anyways, so she can watch her sister beside her and the one in the back seat without straining...


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

: to you, too, Caren! 27 is a good number.


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Happy Birthday Caren!!!!

Sorry I am *such* a lurker mamas! I'm reading everything and looking at all the fab pics, but don't have time lately to post. Nothing really going on, just one of those periods of being pretty busy.

Hugs to all of you having challenging times right now. I did want to respond to a couple things....Nonny, about whining. I found that teaching the signs for "help" and "please" have significantly reduced the whining. That and I ignore it most of the time and say "if you want help you can ask for it" and remind her to "say please". That's probably not too AP and Unconditional Parenting of me, but it worked really well with my dd1 and, like I said, has decreased A's whining lots. HTH.

Diapers - ours stink too. But not of ammonia (I know that's spelled wrong...), but of GARLIC! And they only smell when they're wet. Any advice? We only use them at night and her pee doesn't stink during the day (yes, I've smelled it in her little potty







). Does anyone else's dc's nighttime pee smell different that their daytime pee?

Took some great family pics last weekend when my sister and bil were here for a visit for our holiday cards. My sis just got married for the 2nd time this summer to a great guy. Neither have kids. She's 36, he's 38 and she just found out she's pg!!!! I am soooo excited!


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## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

Oh, I just wanted to tell you all about something fun we did today at home. For his Birthday, Emmett got this water table . I have used water, sometimes putting a drop or two of food coloring in to make it pretty. I have some bath toy stuff- little boats, cars, scoops, measuring cups, etc. Emmett and his 3 yo brother both LOVE to play with this. It stands up , so they stand at it and I have it on the porch for outside play.
Well, today I put oatmeal on one side and elbow macaroni on the other. Those kids played for so long with that table and they were so engaged, They also didn't fight. It was wonderful. I knew they would like the table, but i didn't realize how much.
I am going to get some new things from the grocers next week for tactile play- beans, rice, shaving cream, etc. Fun


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Kerri, that's awesome about the water table. We had one of those at the daycare where I used to work and the kids LOVED it! One thing that was always a hit was putting little cars in there to drive through whatever substance we had (shaving cream, rice, etc.) They especially loved making roads through the "snow" (shaving cream)! That would be a great thing to ask for for Christmas! Yes, I'm starting Clara's wish list already, because I have two gift-obsessed grandmas to deal with here!


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Coltrane* 
Oh, I just wanted to tell you all about something fun we did today at home. For his Birthday, Emmett got this water table . I have used water, sometimes putting a drop or two of food coloring in to make it pretty. I have some bath toy stuff- little boats, cars, scoops, measuring cups, etc. Emmett and his 3 yo brother both LOVE to play with this. It stands up , so they stand at it and I have it on the porch for outside play.
Well, today I put oatmeal on one side and elbow macaroni on the other. Those kids played for so long with that table and they were so engaged, They also didn't fight. It was wonderful. I knew they would like the table, but i didn't realize how much.
I am going to get some new things from the grocers next week for tactile play- beans, rice, shaving cream, etc. Fun

That's so cool! Henry still puts everything in his mouth, and it's now too cold to play with something like that outside, but I will definitely look into that for next spring. What brand/kind is it?


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

That sounds so cool! I want a water table. Can you post a link?


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama* 
about whining. I found that teaching the signs for "help" and "please" have significantly reduced the whining. That and I ignore it most of the time and say "if you want help you can ask for it" and remind her to "say please". That's probably not too AP and Unconditional Parenting of me, but it worked really well with my dd1 and, like I said, has decreased A's whining lots. HTH.

I do the same thing. A doesn't whine as much as he simply drops to the floor with great drama and begins to sob. I try to give him the words because this happens when he's greatly frustrated with someone/something - i.e., can't put the block back in the hole, can't pick up a heavy truck, etc. - I tell hiim "You can say HELP, MAMA and I will help you, son" - he generally picks himself up and looks to me for help/solace, and we go about what needs to happen. When he gets whiny, I also say "Tell me HELP, MAMA and I will help you, Adam" -- again, probably not too AP/UP over here, either, but it seems to be working.....mostly....I do find I have to ignore things occasionally and he will work it out himself/go on to something else.


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

The comment about the gift-obsessed grandma made me smile. =) We have a few of those around here. Hee.

Also, Katie's comment about nothing going on but being busy rang true with me. It feels like I get nothing done, but I am going, going, going for 12 hours a day.

I was sooo naive. I had no idea that parenting would be an 18-hour day job. I know that nighttime counts, but I find "parenting" while she sleeps rather easy.

I've been absent from here for what seems like forever so just want to check in and say hellooooo!







:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!







:

O said "one, two three." Her daddy has been saying "1-2-3" since she was a newborn. Well, now SHE says it. SHe has these 3 ducks and she took each one and said "one" about the first one and "two" about the second and so on and basically counted!!

I mean, I don't even know if she knows what "one" means but this is still exciting.

All right, now I'll go back and read some of these posts!


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
Deb, I'm trying the "moon diaper/feeding" thing here. Adam is still touch-&-go with the sickies, but it is WORKING on the nights he's better. You are brilliant.









I am happy that worked for you! I wish I could take credit for the brilliance of the idea. Alas, I can't. =)


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *henhao* 
O said "one, two three." Her daddy has been saying "1-2-3" since she was a newborn. Well, now SHE says it. SHe has these 3 ducks and she took each one and said "one" about the first one and "two" about the second and so on and basically counted!!

And here I was all excited because I told Henry when we were done at the bank yesterday we would meet Daddy, and when we pulled away from the bank drive-thru I said, "We're all done!" and he said, "DAH-DA!"









Counting. "Helicopter." Wow. Are you sure you're in the right DDC? lol


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

My local AP group had an online discussion today about cooking meals, and I think I'm the only one (or one of few) who doesn't actually prepare dinner for her family. For a long time I was vegetarian and then vegan, and DH was the OPPOSITE, lol, so we kind of just did our own thing. Plus he's super picky, and it's just disheartening to make something you think is yummy and healthy only to have the other person not like it.

I have been trying new recipes in the past few months in the hopes of building a collection of them that we both like. So far I have about four or five. I really WANT us to have a home-cooked meal and sit down together as a family most days of the week. But even beyond the "DH not liking stuff" factor I find it really difficult to cook with Henry around. He is just very needy -- totally happy when I sit with him while he plays or brings me books, but sad and clingy when I try to do much else. And I can't do it during his naptime because often he cries out at least once or twice during it, and I have to go back in and nurse him, and sometimes lay with him for the rest of the nap -- so obviously I can't have stuff on the stove or in the oven or leave food out.

All this to say -- do you all cook a meal every day or most days? If so, how do you manage it?


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced!









I was so thrilled to hear that these contractions are making something happen...until I remembered somewhat soberly that I had these same statistics last year for TWO WEEKS straight anyway.







Oh, well.

Sad note: I did have Adam checked out today, as today was Day #18 of illness, and he had developed a viral exanthem over the last few days....which I know is harmless, but seeing it brought up thoughts of nasty meningococcemia and other awful things, so I made the appt. Anyway -- bilateral OM with huge effusions. No wonder he was so sad. I consented to antibiotics







I do hope he starts feeling better, though. Nights have been spent with me sitting upright and him draped across my torso, writhing for a few hours until he falls asleep in the least comfortable position for me -- on top of this belly -- and now that I've been contracting so much lately, I have been near tears trying to making him comfortable, which puts us both into crying jags at 2 am on the couch.... So, here's hoping for relief for my little guy.


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

emily (((hugs))) don't beat yourself up over the anti-b's. You tried everything else you could and did what was best for you and both your children. Praying he gets better soon so you both can get some much-deserved pre-baby rest..


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Poor Adam!!! I hope he feels better quickly! Antibiotics suck because I never feel right about them whether I take them or don't take them. Never a fun decision. I hope Adam (and mama!) get some relief before the new baby comes. Pretty exciting, Emily!!!!!!!!! Will be thinking about you and sending peaceful, easy birthing vibes!!! Are you going to have someone around to help with Adam and the household after the baby? For the millionth time, I wish we all lived nearby!

New Mama...dinner somehow happens around here, but it's a daily struggle. I have to start work by 6:00 as well--another challenge to the dinner issue. I have no appetite so it's hard to think of yummy meals. My DH also eats way more meat than I want to deal with or eat myself. I feel maxed out by the constant feeding of Owen. I feel really good about his diet, but it takes a lot to keep a variety of fresh healthy food on his tray. I agree that it's very hard to cook when he's around. Lots of what I make isn't as good as I used to make it--I am hurrying and not really focusing on the food. My damn stove died today...I was waiting a looooooong time for something to boil before I figured it out







! New stove for me! Yay...

Grrrrr....gotta work!

Happy weekend, mamas!!!


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced!
























:







:









Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
So, here's hoping for relief for my little guy.









:


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
I do the same thing. A doesn't whine as much as he simply drops to the floor with great drama and begins to sob. I try to give him the words because this happens when he's greatly frustrated with someone/something - i.e., can't put the block back in the hole, can't pick up a heavy truck, etc. - I tell hiim "You can say HELP, MAMA and I will help you, son" - he generally picks himself up and looks to me for help/solace, and we go about what needs to happen. When he gets whiny, I also say "Tell me HELP, MAMA and I will help you, Adam" -- again, probably not too AP/UP over here, either, but it seems to be working.....mostly....I do find I have to ignore things occasionally and he will work it out himself/go on to something else.

This is eactly what we do with Kier.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 

All this to say -- do you all cook a meal every day or most days? If so, how do you manage it?

Kiernen is the same way. Sometimes he lets me cook, other times not. I've become quite adept at feeling him out and knowing when I can cook or do dishes. Other days we rely on leftovers or I cook once DH gets home from work. And Kiernen still naps ON me, so that's generally my online time









Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced!









Sad note: I did have Adam checked out today, as today was Day #18 of illness, and he had developed a viral exanthem over the last few days....which I know is harmless, but seeing it brought up thoughts of nasty meningococcemia and other awful things, so I made the appt. Anyway -- bilateral OM with huge effusions. No wonder he was so sad. I consented to antibiotics







I do hope he starts feeling better, though. Nights have been spent with me sitting upright and him draped across my torso, writhing for a few hours until he falls asleep in the least comfortable position for me -- on top of this belly -- and now that I've been contracting so much lately, I have been near tears trying to making him comfortable, which puts us both into crying jags at 2 am on the couch.... So, here's hoping for relief for my little guy.

Woot on the effacement!

And healing to Adam.







:


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Poor Adam







. OM is no fun. I hope he feels better really soon. Emily, please keep us updated on your progress. Here's hoping for a quick and easy labor and birth. I couldn't believe the difference between my 1st and 2nd: 36 hours of labor vs. three. Ladies, we're going to have a new baby!!!!!







:

Cooking: I don't cook every night, but we do have a dinner and breakfast routine here every day. G cooks Monday and every other Saturday (schedule depends a lot on if dd1 is here or with her dad). Friday night he brings home sushi after work. I cook Tuesday and Wednesday. Dd1 is with her dad every Thursday, so we wing it. Dh usually works late and I take A out for burritos! The point being that we do sit down most nights together and sit down for breakfast together every morning. In terms of actual cooking and what to do with baby, dd1 is a big help to me as is the tupperware cupboard







. If dh is home in time, he plays with A while I cook. I try to prepare most things (in terms of marinade/chopping) during her nap or after school when she and L are having their snack together so my dinner cooking is actually just cooking - mostly baking - so that if I need to hold her I can. I also use the crockpot a lot for the same reason. HTH.

Odd duck: A is developing some interesting sleeptime habits including cuddling with her two sippy cups, her puppy (Sandy) and a t-shirt dd1 gave her for her birthday. Makes for a full lap and difficult nursing! Last night I forgot to turn on the humidifier and she kept pointing to the dresser until I finally figured it out. She was asking me to turn on the stupid thing







: .

Don't know if I've filled you all in or not, but I started putting a sposie on her at night and guess what? She is now sleeping from 7:30 - 4:30 and then back to sleep after nursing until 7:00 or so. I slept for six whole hours last night and I feel like a new woman!


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

You guys really are the best. Thanks for celebrating with me and for the healing vibes!









Three doses of abx so far & I think I've got a whole new man on my hands. Rash is clearing up, no fever, and considerably less sadness today. Here's to a good night...maybe?!?









_Don't know if I've filled you all in or not, but I started putting a sposie on her at night and guess what? She is now sleeping from 7:30 - 4:30 and then back to sleep after nursing until 7:00 or so. I slept for six whole hours last night and I feel like a new woman!_
--Kate, that ROCKS! I am so happy for you.







And the tupperware cupboard is also my salvation during dinner prep, too....

_Are you going to have someone around to help with Adam and the household after the baby? For the millionth time, I wish we all lived nearby!_ --Adrienne, thanks again for the birthing vibes.







Dh gets two weeks off; his boss is going to let him cash in his sick time to stay home after the birth, just like he did last year (we







his boss!). However, we just learned this last week that an important trip dh has to make this fall (interagency investigation team thing) is scheduled for a week after my due date. Dh has been working on this angle for the better part of a year, and he was devastated to learn that it would be right after #2 would be born. However, I gave him my full blessing to go if he wanted to, as long as he was here for the birth. He said that was a no-brainer, obviously, and wouldn't go if I hadn't had the baby; he knows I won't have a convenience induction, or anything, so we're sort of hoping I go "early" or "on time", as far as EDDs go.....it's an important trip he's been looking forward to, and I don't mind, really, since my mom and my sister can come up to help me!!!

_All this to say -- do you all cook a meal every day or most days? If so, how do you manage it?_ --NewMama, I mostly do. I was not fortunate enough to marry a man who will cook...ever. I've decided to blame his mother, rather than resent him anymore for it







-- but that generally means he gets what I give him. Tonight, I was in the mood for Chinese. So, I made Chinese! He would eat "carnivorously" each night, given the opportunity, but since he doesn't help menu plan/shop/cook, he doesn't exactly get the opportunity. He does clean up, though, so I can't whine too much. Adam is about 50/50 with me cooking. Some days, he's fine with the tupperware and watching me....other days, he's on my hip while I cook.....literally.


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

_He does clean up, though, so I can't whine too much._

My dh does too, which totally motivates me to keep cooking. My attitude matches yours, Emily. Unless you want to plan/shop/cook, you'll eat what I give you! Luckily, all four of us usually agree on what we like!


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

New Mama? I do the cooking every night (and most of the dishes ..grrr) but things are so much more different for me. I have 5 other kids to entertain the baby. But he is still fussy at this time of day so I put him on the floor of the kitchen and I have a box of pasta with a clear film window on it and he shakes that like mad and he drums on things while I'm cooking/cleaning and I talk to him all the time and he just bounces on his hiney and makes singing noises. He's not mobile or vocal yet.

Hopeful? I'm so hopeful!!!! Sending good labor vibes your way! Imagine us all massaging your back and letter rip!! umm well maybe not the best choice of words...

We're doing ok, I'm in a cluster headache syndrome thing so I'm barely functioning. I also think I have the flu, congested, ear aches..etc. SO many things happen due to the headaches (they make the face drooop, tears run, head feel hot) so it's hard to differentiate the two. Just miserable!! Nathanael's starting to get better from his yeast infection. He's also got 2 new teeth so he's really liking the chewing. Tonight he had raisin bread with cream cheese and hew as thrilled to pieces. Not much of it gets eaten per se' but he likes to practice.

It snowed here last night...winter's on its way!!!!!

Also don't worry about the antibiotics, there are incidences where I think modern medicine is in order. God gave us the ability to adapt and invent. It is very necessary to take meds at times. I"m on barbituates at this point in my headaches lol so I guess I'm at a point of acceptance. Anything to stop that searing pain.

Love to all, Kitty


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

I'm sooo excited for you Emily!! Keeep us updated on the baby details and of course post pics!!

Wow Kitty! SNOW! I'm not ready for winter! But I am ready for some apple cider and trick-o-treating though...









I am having this weird form of cold here...it's weird because my nose feels like a horse got stuck in it, my head hurts A LOT because of that, I have random coughs during the day, and yet my nose isn't running at all. Just a lot of headaches and blackouts whenever I sit down and stand up. It is slowly getting better though! I never take any medications now ever since high school actually (I developed a mild to moderate hive allergic reaction). Now I always drink water, pee, and let my body fight it.

*On cooking:* We always have breakfast at home, and we always eat out for Lunch or Dinner but never for more than 1 meal a day. I always do the dishes and cleaning up in the mornings when DS watched his favorite morning cartoons.

hope everyone is doing well!


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

RE: cooking. On weekends, the cooking is split 50/50, with a pizza/take out night Friday night. During the week, I do make dinner each night, unless it's been a really horrid day and E hasn't cooperated. I don't work though, so I do have a little more time. One of my big no-nos, for us but especially for Evvie, is no processed food. Some nights it's something fast like veggie burgers and salad or steamed veggies, some nights it's lentil soup/fresh baked bread, chili/fresh bread, etc, and some nights (though not often!) it's something more elaborate, like a couple of curry dishes or roasted root veggies or dragon bowl. DH is pretty good about cleaning up, but (cough, cough) with gentle reminders. For lunch he's on his own, unless there are leftovers. We are both vegetarian and like the same foods, so we don't fight about food very often. He knows better than to complain!!!








E said "belly button" this morning. She's been trying for a while, and just woke up this morning, pulled up my shirt, pointed to my bbutton, and said it! Hee!

Emily, so exciting about the dilation and effacement!!! Lots of peaceful birth vibes coming to you from Canada. I am so excited for you! And also glad to hear Adam is feeling better.

We got our first blast of snow today-not enough to stick, thank goodness. I am not ready for "real" winter yet.

We just got back from a playdate and everyone is asking me about when we're going to TTC#2. I am thinking not til spring. I was hoping to have a few months in between nursing and being pregnant again, but E is nowhere near giving up the boob. I don't want to wean her too early, but I would like a little time where my body is just mine, kwim? I guess I'll have to wait and see. On a side note, anyone else getting tired of "You're STILL nursing?" comments???

Happy weekend, all!


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

_On a side note, anyone else getting tired of "You're STILL nursing?" comments???_

Yes, especially from my bils whose sisters formula feed/fed. I just look suprised at the question and say, "of course!".


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

here's a few, none of them came out well but I LOVE the one of me and Nathanael, you can see how much I love my boy!!

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2012%20months/

I had a woman who lives here, who emmigrated from Bosnia, cup her boob and jiggle it up and down and say in broken english "you feed?". It was akward but umm yeah.. LOL Now a days you don't know if it's a come on or not!!! LOL The guy working the register (this was in a store where she works) was MORTIFIED!







I tried to explain politely how I did but now he's doing cup and food and she smiled. *sigh* you never know what'll come your way!!

Gotta get my head to bed!


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama* 
_On a side note, anyone else getting tired of "You're STILL nursing?" comments???_

Yes, especially from my bils whose sisters formula feed/fed. I just look suprised at the question and say, "of course!".


Yep! I am just as sick of it now than ever....

My dear dear sweet Mom's reply, "that's not enough for your baby, he's not going to grow up big and strong..." I just look at Christopher and think to myself, "Hmmmm...he seems to be doing pretty well for himself."







I mean come on..it's not like it's the ONLY thing I feed him!

One of my parents' old friends made a "smart" remark on how skinny and little I was..."Oh wow you still breastfeed? Are you sure? Aren't you too skinny? because Christopher seems to be getting chubbier than you." I was sooooo tempted to say "at least I am not fat like your wife."(harsh I know) But instead I just chuckled at him and walked away...

I don't know I get so uptight of people judging me by how I look. I just have a small bone structure and fast metabolism thanks to my Dad's genes. But if you look closely, I am indeed fatter in my stomach and hip area now after pregnancy. In the mornings I look my normal self, by nighttime, my stomach looks about 4 months pregnant, it's really annoying me too. Everyone might think being small and skinny is a good thing but it's really not.... I wish I had more bone mass, more weight, more strength, more muscle. Sometimes I can't even open a Gatorade bottle.







: AND my little brother whose 9 can even break my wrist if he really tried. My DH is worried about me getting attacked by a stranger or something and I can't even fight back. I'll just go for the crutch area.









I (we) should feel proud of breastfeeding our babies for how many months now. It wasn't always easy but the rewards are so much greater. There ARE people out there who can tell which baby is breastfed and which aren't (I met a few). So there are people who are proud of us too.









well off to bed!


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

About breastfeeding....

I was in a large, independent bookstore in Denver today when A asked for milk. I pulled her up on my lap facing me (do any of you nurse in this position?) straddling me and lifted up my shirt and proceeded to read my Vanity Fair. After about a minute she popped off to look toward a loud noise and I kept on reading. My dh looked at me and said "um, honey, you might want to cover up". Yep, there's me, with my nipple hanging out for all of Denver to see and I didn't even notice. I HAVE been nursing for a long time now....

A few minutes later she leaned back and I saw a big, white MOLAR sticking out of her top left gum. No wonder she's been velcro baby the past couple days!


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Hi all, I'm off to bed, but I enjoyed getting caught up on posts. I can't believe two of you have seen snow! Here in central NH there is the possibility of snow in the forecast, but just flurries. I'm not ready for winter yet... I still need to plant my bulbs!!!

Here's a question for you all, do you let your dc eat apples? My mil informed me that they are a huge choking hazard, but Clara seems to be fine with them, and they're one of her favorite foods right now. She goes around the house saying "App! App!" It's really cute!


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fridgeart* 
On a side note, anyone else getting tired of "You're STILL nursing?" comments???

yes. and, "so when are you going to STOP nursing?"

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama*
I pulled her up on my lap facing me (do any of you nurse in this position?)

all the time. laurel is very comfortable with this position, and can pop from boob to boob







.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CarenSwan*
Here's a question for you all, do you let your dc eat apples? My mil informed me that they are a huge choking hazard

yes. she eats quite a few foods that could be considered 'choking hazards', i suppose, and has been for quite awhile. i don't know if it's necessarily the best idea, but i want her to get used to chewing (which she seems to be pretty darn good at, even with only her 4 little front teeth), i want her to pay attention to what is in her mouth, and i keep a pretty close watch. i know that knowing the heimlich (sp?) is a plus, and not an excuse, but overall i'm okay with just keeping an eye and letting her eat. she eats corn chips, sesame chips, apples, garbanzos, etc...i was most impressed with her ability to chew up all sorts of things when i gave her chewable probiotics about a month ago and watched how she worked those little pills down into a powder with just her front teeth. smart...don't know, but working for us. i think it's kind of continuum conceptish, maybe.

laurel had her naming ceremony at ananda dhiira today. that's the ashram we lived at where she was homebirthed. it was a beautiful ceremony, and at the end she received her spiritual name......da, da, DA......

*"padmitii"*

it is a variation on "lotus flower". my little lotus flower







. i have great pics of laurel all cute and naked in a tub of water and flower petals, but my
camera isn't importing, so sometime soon...

love to all you beautiful mamas!
time to go to sleep...


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## mommy-X-2 (Oct 23, 2006)

hello my name is Stacy. I have a beautiful little girl Railee 8/6/05. My husband and I just found out that we are expecting our second together.

So far fall is going well here. We havent had very many cold days which is nice. Railee is a true outdoor baby so its nice to still be able to take her to the park, and I get to enjoy looking at all the trees changing colors.


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Stacy! Our dc share a birthday (yay, 8/6!), and I'm also expecting! How far along are you?

Blessings to Laurel on her naming ceremony! I have a lovely image of your beautiful girl surrounded by flowers.

Kate - I have to ask .... Tattered Cover? ((sigh)) That was probably my favorite place in the whole wide world when I lived out there.... Your scenario made me giggle -- you know you're a nursing mom when...?!?









_My dear dear sweet Mom's reply, "that's not enough for your baby, he's not going to grow up big and strong..." I just look at Christopher and think to myself, "Hmmmm...he seems to be doing pretty well for himself." I mean come on..it's not like it's the ONLY thing I feed him!_ ---Nonny, you keep on keeping on, sister. Christopher looks very healthy and happy in your photos, and you're doing an awesome job.









Kitty, I like the one of you and Nathanael! I LOVE his great big grin!!







Thank you for the labor vibes...I like the massage idea right about now. Still lots of BH.... I have completely given up on the house and am napping regularly with Adam.

_We got our first blast of snow today-not enough to stick, thank goodness. I am not ready for "real" winter yet._ ---I totally hear you, fridgeart & Caren. We're getting snow fairly regularly now, but nothing has stuck more than 24-48 hours.... I am so not ready. SO not ready...

Love to all tonight - I hope everyone's snuggled in and happy!


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

okay, what was i thinking...it must have been really late when i posted last. her spiritual name is _padminii._

we've got "milk", "diaper", and "drink" down for signing. i'm going to focus more on the signs now, cuz she's still speaking in a foreign tongue, but for a few words.

laurel, her godpapa, and i are off to crystal peak to hunt for crystals. should be lots of fun!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CarenSwan* 

Here's a question for you all, do you let your dc eat apples? My mil informed me that they are a huge choking hazard, but Clara seems to be fine with them, and they're one of her favorite foods right now. She goes around the house saying "App! App!" It's really cute!

Kiernen eats apples. We eat the skin first or peel them first. Or is we leave the skin on, we slice them really thin. He loves apples.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy-X-2* 
hello my name is Stacy. I have a beautiful little girl Railee 8/6/05. My husband and I just found out that we are expecting our second together.

So far fall is going well here. We havent had very many cold days which is nice. Railee is a true outdoor baby so its nice to still be able to take her to the park, and I get to enjoy looking at all the trees changing colors.









Welcome, Stacy!!! Jump on in!


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

We give E apples, either sliced thin (with or without skins) or one big apple-with the skin off. I only give her hard fruit like this when she's sitting down, though.
Speaking of food, anyone else's DC have a hard time with peas, corn or kidney beans??? I am trying to pinpoint a culprit food in E's diet, and it's one of these things that's causing...erm...a chocolate waterfall. Except instead of chocolate, it's poo, and instead of a waterfall, it's a torrential monsoon. Yuckola.

Welcome Stacy!

New phrase here-"Beep Beep!" as in "outta my way!"









DH is "fixing" the computer, so I have to go-good night! Sorry for the tmi poo-commentary!


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## mommy-X-2 (Oct 23, 2006)

Thanks for the welcome. Im looking froward to becoming a part of this group.

hopefulfaith I am about 4 or 5 weeks along. We just found out.

What is everyone doing for Halloween? I just found out that my dh wont be here so its just me and Railee. I think shes still to young for trick-or-treating but at the same time a few houses would be fun!


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
And here I was all excited because I told Henry when we were done at the bank yesterday we would meet Daddy, and when we pulled away from the bank drive-thru I said, "We're all done!" and he said, "DAH-DA!"









Counting. "Helicopter." Wow. Are you sure you're in the right DDC? lol

Aw, that is so cute!!








Well, a few months ago my baby was behind everyone else's it seemed. When you all had babies walking and so on, mine was barely crawling. So they all move at their own paces, and they are all soooo different.


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
All this to say -- do you all cook a meal every day or most days? If so, how do you manage it?


New Mam -- You've probably thought of this already. Have you tried wearing H while you cook?

Have you tried the Tupperware trick? O will play with Tupperware and keep herself amused. But that might not work if she was in a clingy mood.

I use the crock pot as much as I can. I throw in some chicken, some crushed tomatoes, garlic and hominy and/or garbanzo beans and let it cook for 8-10 hours.

If you are a vegetarian, then you could use tempeh perhaps.


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *henhao* 
New Mam -- You've probably thought of this already. Have you tried wearing H while you cook?

Yeah, I've thought of it, but Henry is 26 pounds, and all arms, and isn't too happy with hanging out on my back for very long unless we're going somewhere. I'd love to get a learning tower at some point in the next year. (Maybe our next kitchen will be bigger to accomodate it.) I think if Henry could see what I'm doing and have little nibbly bits to snack on he'd be happier.

Tupperware or wire whisks or any number of kitchen items that are safe keep him amused for only so long.

I was able to make homemade chicken noodle soup over the weekend, and I made two pans of lasagna for the freezer tonight, and I plan on making a chicken/broccoli/cheese dish tomorrow. So I think I just need to get more organized and just DO it, eeking out my time where I can.

I was vegetarian, but am slowly moving back to meat. Just chicken so far. I need to find some good chicken crockpot recipes -- I make veggie soup in it a lot but DH doesn't like any soup but chicken noodle.







:


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## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

to be holding a baby vigil here for Hopeful? heheheee I check often just to see if anything's goin on!!! (or comoing out as the case may be!!







)








brrRrrrrrr it's gettin' cold!


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

i think i may have been slightly insane when i told the director of the school that i would take 6 interns this time. it is sooo time-consuming. but it is such a good lesson in patience, working with people who just can't figure it out.







: patience, jeremy...have patience. love, patience, acceptance, time management...all sorts of wonderful lessons







: .

so how about halloween plans? costumes?
mil made laurel a super cute mouse costume. i think we're going to take her to the truckee parade tomorrow night. i'm excited to see all the cute little kiddos! i have to say that i have had NO time to figure out a costume myself. any mamas dressing up? any quickie costume ideas?


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## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

we got a costume from a friend who was moving out of state for em, and the girls want to be princesses {in 40 degree weather! I think they're a bit too nutty} so we are digging out leotards and such for them and got wands and boas and tiaras at the dollar store... The leotards at least will be reusable as underarmor during the coldest nights.


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## mommy-X-2 (Oct 23, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
Yeah, I've thought of it, but Henry is 26 pounds, and all arms, and isn't too happy with hanging out on my back for very long unless we're going somewhere. I'd love to get a learning tower at some point in the next year. (Maybe our next kitchen will be bigger to accomodate it.) I think if Henry could see what I'm doing and have little nibbly bits to snack on he'd be happier.

Tupperware or wire whisks or any number of kitchen items that are safe keep him amused for only so long.

I have the same problem with Railee she wont let me wear her and playing with dishes only keeps her happy for so long. I have discovered that if I let her help (where safe) she is alot happier. I let her pour in ingredents and stir with my help. She thinks its great and as soon as daddy gets home she takes him right in the kitchen to show him what shes done. Plus that it gives me bonding time with her.


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Stacy, just wanted to welcome you to our group. There are a couple of us with older kids and then a newbie. My older girl is nine! I'm so glad for the age difference. It is working great for us.

_Kate - I have to ask .... Tattered Cover? ((sigh)) That was probably my favorite place in the whole wide world when I lived out there...._

Yes, ma'am! They recently moved location from Cherry Creek to an old theater on Colfax and Elizabeth across the street from East High School so we had to go check it out. What a wonderful place....I miss living in Denver soooo much!

Mamas, I am finally doing this happy produce dance!





















:





















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:

For the past week, A has been sleeping through the night (7p - 5a) thanks to the moon boob and a disposable diaper. I am feeling sooooo much more sane and rested. It's amazing what a good chunk of sleep can do for a tired mama. In looking back, it's been a six month (!) journey of working on sleep. Slow, steady progress has been made and we've finally reached one of our goals. Now, I'm going to wean the moon boob. Wish me luck! My and dh's dream is to go away for a weekend for our anniversary in May with my sis taking care of the girls.

Approaching the 18 month mark is so wonderful. I absolutely love this age. Even though A doesn't talk much, the signs are really coming in earnest and we are really communicating. EC is going great and I'm going to consider her "potty trained" soon! Most days she wets one or two pairs of undies, mostly because I lose track of the time and forget to offer the potty. Often if I leave the bathroom light on and leave her nakey butt, she will just go into the bathroom and go by herself. Truly amazing. I never would have believed that a baby could be toileting from the beginning if I didn't experience it myself.

In other developments.....A has discovered music. More specifically, she's discovered Raffi and INSISTS on having music on all the time. It really cuts into my Air America time, but for now I'm indulging her because she will play independently for much longer periods of time when the music is playing. It also keeps her calmer in the car.

Is anyone else noticing picky eating already? A simply will not eat most veggies. I have discovered, however, that anything tastes good to her when combined with either pasta and pasta sauce or ground turkey and pasta sauce. This kid has a major sweet tooth too and mostly wants fruit. She saw a donut the other day and reached for it and started whining! We have NEVER had donuts in our house, let alone eaten them in front of her!







: I will admit that I ate sugar when I was pg with her and didn't touch the stuff when I was pg with L. I wonder if that's the difference.

A is running now and climbing hills. She likes to travel over difficult terrain such as landscaping stones and move up and down curbs and stairs without holding on. Oh, and she learned how to ride an escalator the other day. We're being hit with a major snowstorm this am. The lights are flashing on and off, so I'd better post this before it's lost!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Kiernen is going to be a turtle for Halloween. I found a







: di$ney costume of Squirt, the turtle from Nemo, and I couldn't resist. It's so darn cute! We all have to post Halloween photos, okay??? I want to see everyone in their costumes!

We're cutting molars here. Three. All at once.

No rest for weary Mamas.


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Ouch, Chasmyn. Three at once.







We're working on one here.

A won't be dressing up for Halloween, but L and her best friend are going as Laura and Mary Ingalls. Yes, I've been sewing all week....I'll post pics for sure!


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

E is going as a punk rock pixie, as a tribute to her middle name. I wanted to get her a more gender neutral costume, but she instantly went for the biggest, pinkest, frothiest, sparkliest costume in the place--hence the punk addition!







A friend of ours is having a party on Saturday, and I am taking her to my old school on Hwe'en and to a couple of friends' houses.

Food is totally becoming an issue, from out of nowhere! She used to gobble down broccoli, all veg, tofu, beans, fruits, etc etc, now all she wants is cheese and bread. (I console myself with the fact that it's organic cheese and home made, whole wheat bread). I'm trying not to let food become a battle, so I just try to find something she'll definitely eat (ie avocado), and sneak in some bites of protein and veg. Right now I'm trying to figure out what's upsetting her tummy, so she's on a limited diet-slim pickings! Oh well, only 2 more weeks...

I tried out a game I read about here on mdc, and E LVOES it! I cut out 3 red circles and put tape on them, then "hide" them around the room, and E goes around and finds them. she doesn't really get the idea of not peeking (she halfheartedly covers her eyes), but she loves going around and finding them. I stick them back up on the wall, and she points to them when she wants to play. Maybe you could try this out while trying to cook???

ktmama-congrats on the sleep! That's awesome!

Emily-baby news????


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## mommy-X-2 (Oct 23, 2006)

Railee is going to be a unicorn. She originally picked the doggie costume, but it didnt fit. So when I took it back the only one left in her size was a pink unicorn and its so cute!!!! I cant wait for halloween!


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

No baby news here....((heaves a huge sigh)).....Still enormous. Biggest issue lately? I can't sleep.







:
---and Adam, _for the first time in his life, slept for over 8 hours straight last night!!_ I was awake for most of it, wondering if he was still breathing and afraid to go and check, lest I wake him up... Happy produce dancing over here, though....maybe he'll do it again sometime!???!!?! Yea!!

Thank God for the "moon boob" (well, bottle over here) and "moon dipe"!!! More kudos to Deb.







I've been trying sposies here and there over the last week, trying to see if it helps, and we're down to a 4 oz bottle at around 4 am now. I would also love to cut that down, too -- I've begun bringing a sippy cup with water upstairs with me at night and offering it to my half-awake guy when he wakes up, trying to get him used to that as opposed to the bottle. Does anyone's dc not take fluids/bf for a 10-11 hour stretch at night???

Three molars at once, Chasmyn?







We cut two at once two weeks ago. I'm feeling for ya, sister.

Kate: does your house sound like this half the day?
Ever green, ever blue
As it was in the beginning
We've got to see it through
Ever green, ever blue
At this point in time
It's up to me, it's up to you.....
----Adam LOVES Raffi! Loves, loves, loves. Passionately. He asks me to turn on the music by coming over to me and shaking his head like he does when he dances -- and boy, does he cut a rug to Raffi's "Evergreen" album! Generally about twice a day; more if I'm feeling generous, but Mama needs a change once in a while.









Picky eating going on over here, too. I have been using more jarred foods







during these last few months as I've been so tired...and I wondered today if I've ruined my child's palate for life. We went to a neat restaurant in Marquette after my OB appt., and they -made- actual applesauce for Adam to eat, since he turned his nose up at my gyro. He wouldn't eat that either, choosing to eat instead the jar of carrots inside the diaper bag for such occasions.... I ate most of the applesauce - it was awesome! - and was bummed he wouldn't eat more than a bite. He prefers fruit, and won't touch green veggies except if he's absolutely starving. I can occasionally get fresh peas into him, but only if I'm lucky.







: I also wondered if it had to do with the sugar I ate when I was pregnant....

I'm 39 weeks on Sunday, and my next ob appt is Friday - with my favorite crunchy OB - the one who caught Adam. 







I'm really hoping to begin labor this week. My inlaws are coming on Tuesday so that they can keep Adam during labor for me. I am pleased to have plans in place so that I don't have to worry about what we'll do with my little guy, but I am really trying not to be anxious about it. --to sum up, my FIL is ~400+ pounds and needs waited on hand and foot. He is an ardent conservative blowhard who believes W is doing a good job. And, he watches Fox news all day. All day.
--I am, shall we say, not of the same opinion as he...and in my house, the TV is off during the day while Adam is up. We only turn it on when A is in bed, around 8-9pm. A few months ago, I got a tv from my mom and put it in our basement so dh would have someplace to watch a little football on Sundays; I'm really trying to throw him a bone while trying to look out for Adam's needs, and that's the best I can do. FIL can go downstairs to watch tv, but I'm not sure how well that will go over.

MIL is a passive, old-school sort of lady who tends to laugh at Adam when he's upset or frustrated, and doesn't like to get down on the floor or read to children.

They will be staying at my home (long story; no motel....). I am not thrilled, but they are doing us a favor since there really isn't anyone else who can be "on call" for us to go to the hospital. So, please send labor vibes....and also PATIENCE vibes to me. I think I will need them in the upcoming week. This too shall pass...this too shall pass...this too shall pass....

Thank you for the labor vigil, Kitty!







I feel so good knowing you all are thinking of me and sending good thoughts.

Thanks for letting me vent tonight; I didn't realize I had written so much about the IL situation, but I think it was just the last straw this week, setting the date for them to come... ((sigh)).

I love hearing about the Halloween costumes - I think that's neat. A isn't dressing up, but hopefully we'll get some trick-or-treaters out here at the end of the road! I love Halloween.







Maybe next year we'll dress him up.

Love to all - happy end of the week!


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Emily, vent all you want. You are a brave woman to have your in-laws stay with you while caring for a toddler and delivering a new baby! Hopefully they will be a help and not a burden.

Henry is cutting two molars, as far as I can tell -- he won't let me really look inside his mouth.

Today I took Henry and my three step-kids to Sears to have their photo taken as a surprise for DH. I thought for sure Henry would be fine, since he usually rolls with everything. Nope. We did manage to get two shots where everyone looked good and Henry was not crying. Poor little guy!

I have a dog costume I bought for cheap from a friend last year, so that's what Henry is going to be. We won't be taking him trick-or-treating, though, so I'm not sure when he's going to wear it except for a photo-op. Maybe we'll bring it to Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow and he can model it during our weekly visit.









The house hunt is slow and frustrating. I know we'll find something eventually, but I want to find it NOW, lol! Patience is not a virtue of mine.


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Is anyone else having nap drama? How many naps are you getting at this point? What time? How long do they sleep? We've been in hell this week after many weeks of wonderfully long naps at noon. He went down and woke happy. Now he's fighting over an HOUR before falling asleep and is not happy when he wakes up. Can't tell if it's just an off week, or if his schedule is making a big shift. I wish I'd get a memo!!!!

Sorry about the challenges of the IL situation, Emily!!!

Veggies: Owen loves steamed zucchini slices. I try to grate veggies (on the tiniest grater size) to sneak them into things like scrambled eggs. I water-sauteed some swiss chard that was cut into tiny strips and then grated some mozzarella on top...and Owen ate it right up. Tomorrow I am trying parsnips and beets. Wish me luck. Owen is refusing squash and sweet potatoes. I am going to try and make oven fries out of the sweet potato to see if he'll go for it. Apparently if you coat the potato in egg whites before baking, they get nice and crisp like they were fried. We'll see...my big challenge is overcoming the cow dairy and potato reactions. It's hard to cook without those!!!

Fridgeart...I love the game...how big are the circles? I kept Owen happy on a rainy afternoon this week by floating some water balloons in his bath. He had fun and it was a good motor skill thing too. He freaked a tiny bit when the first one broke, but got over it. He went running in there looking for the balloons the next day.

VERY relieved to hear that not everyone is dressing the baby up for halloween. I don't think I am going to get a costume together in time...but he's not going to do anything other than pose for pictures anyway, and I can take those pictures a week late, right???

Gotta sleep--lots of love to all you awesome mamas!!!

Adrienne


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

I had to post again...

Adam did it again!
He did it!

He slept from 9:15 until 6:00, and then tossed and turned in our bed until almost 8!

And I slept most of the night!


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
I had to post again...

Adam did it again!
He did it!

He slept from 9:15 until 6:00, and then tossed and turned in our bed until almost 8!

And I slept most of the night!










Yay! Now send some of those sleepy vibes Henry's way, please.


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## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

go Adam, go Adam!

I only gave A one side of the moon boob last night and she woke up hungry at 3:30. OK, gave that a try - back to nursing from both sides before sleep!


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

We haven't dealt with these in so long, and I don't want to whine bc E has been *so good* (sleeping through 8-7 since about 8 mos, with some exceptions). But this week has been awful, both naps and at night!!! And I've been sick, so not very tolerant...E fights and fights sleep-before she would go quite happily in her crib, and play for a bit, then sleep 2 hrs in the afternoon (she droped her morning nap around a year). Now her naps are maybe an hour, with her waking up every 15-30 minutes, very upset. And all this week she has been waking up, hysterical, for 45-90 minutes, around 2 am: she's not hungry, she's not wet/dirty, no fever, no teething (she got all her teeth around 10 mos), she just wants mama. Well, I gave in one night and let her sleep with us (which means we don't sleep, bc she is a very active sleeper), and it's been downhill all week. Last night was very long. Luckily she went down without a fight this afternoon; hopefully she is back to "normal". Could it be separation anxiety? She doesn't seem to want anything, just to be with me, which is lovely and all, but mama needs to sleep! Hopefully it's just a phase...and hopefully a quick one at that!<Vent over>!

Adrienne-the circles are about 15 cm in diameter. Still a big hit on day 3! It's fun bc when she can't find them, I can giver her clues like "check the back of the chair", adn I can see how much language she does/doesn't understand. Love the balloon idea-will try it out tonight!

Emily, glad you're sleeping, sorry about the IL's. Sending patience vibes your way! It's great that you'll have someone there for A, even if it's not your ideal siuation.

I think I caught house hunt fever from you ladies-we have a great set up but I think I want to move into town! Now I just need to work on DH...

And Raffi is a big hit here too-E loves to dance to "Baby Beluga". Do you guys know Sharon, Lois and Bram? (Canadian kids band from the 80's/90's-E loves them too!). Raffi used to play at my childhood friend's b-day parties!







Needless to say, she was the *coolest* girl to know in kindergarten...

It's nice out, finally, so I'm going to get out for a run as soon as MIL gets here for a visit with E. I am down to the last 8 lbs, and am determined to get rid of them by x-mas (so I can gain them back, ha ha). I found a gym with (almost free) daycare, and am joining next week. Wish me luck! Have a great weekend!


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Fridgeart...the gym thing is a lot of what's driving me nuts with Owen's naps. I joined last weekend and planned to go after Owen's naps in the afternoon. Then all of a sudden...NAP DRAMA! Grrrrrrrrrrrr.....so much for the best laid plans.

Ok...now for a change of topics to toddler flatulence. Owen has been farting up a storm the last couple days. DH says this is normal...I say that it means that his system is not quite right. Do your babies fart alot? He has had some new foods, but I can't really pinpoint the culprit.


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

No major flatulence issues here, but I did just have to add my happy news of the day (or of last night, actually). My dear friend who lives across campus from me (her dh teaches with my dh) just had her baby last night! Emily, I especially wanted to share the news with you because she had a really wonderful labor and delivery, and her little 9 lb. 1oz boy is so beautiful. She was a few days past her due date, and so miserable, and it was so wonderful to see her today feeling so great and powerful and energized! So, Em, I'm just sending along some of those powerful vibes to you. You can do it!!!


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommy-X-2* 
I have the same problem with Railee she wont let me wear her and playing with dishes only keeps her happy for so long. I have discovered that if I let her help (where safe) she is alot happier.

Yes! As I re-read my post and New Mama's response, I started to think that letting H help might be the answer. I'm not sure what a 1-year-old could do but there must be something. Organize strawberries or something?









Or maybe he'd be more patient if you were explaining to him what you're doing?

Brainstorming here...

WELCOME STACY!!!!!


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *riverundine* 
i think i may have been slightly insane when i told the director of the school that i would take 6 interns this time. it is sooo time-consuming. but it is such a good lesson in patience, working with people who just can't figure it out.







: patience, jeremy...have patience. love, patience, acceptance, time management...all sorts of wonderful lessons







: .

so how about halloween plans? costumes?
mil made laurel a super cute mouse costume. i think we're going to take her to the truckee parade tomorrow night. i'm excited to see all the cute little kiddos! i have to say that i have had NO time to figure out a costume myself. any mamas dressing up? any quickie costume ideas?
















: May I join you in the insanity? I took a big work load at work and also decided to start a biz! What on earth could I have been thinking?









We had a little Halloween celebration with my AP mother's group. I found a bunny costume at a church sale for $6. It has big floppy ears that are soooo cute! It's so warm and cute that I wonder if she could wear it as a coat/warm top layer. We're going to put her in her costume again when we go to a party tomorrow.

Since my baby is sooooo tiny and several months behind in terms of sizes, I might be able to use this costume again next year. We shall see! She could very well have a growth spurt.

DH and I don't have any costumes. We're both sort of bad at Halloween for ourselves. What I need to do is buy a costume I like and then wear it every single year. I tried to find a costume to buy this year to do just that, but the ones I could find were sexy French maids or sexy cats or basically sexy, sexy, sexy. Yuck. Um, I do NOT need to show my belly button in June let alone during a cold October!









WSGRL-- I hear ya about the being small thing. If your belly is larger as the day goes on, it could be gases from bacteria/yeast, which would happen due to the food you eat throughout the day. You might want to research taking Primal Defense or eating raw cultured veggies.

ON SLEEP:

We had a bad past month on and off as she got her molars. Now, we're back to her sleeping about 11-12 hours.

Naps are going well. We really get her tired in the am by going out and about. She fell asleep in the car and DaDa took her from the car to the crib, and she was asleep about an hour.

She only naps for about an hour now. THAT is a little hard. No more rest during the day! If I don't sleep at night, it is too bad. On those days when she wakes at 4:30 because of teeth or whatever, we are wrecks.

It rained here today. We took her out for dim sum. She loved all the food!

On the way home, I suggested we go to the library. She had a field day! It ended up being a great idea! She played with toys, got on and off a chair a million times, talked to the big kids, smiled at everyone, and created a big stack of books. We were there about 2 hours.


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Caren, thank you for the encouragement! I love hearing about good births - and I especially love that she's feeling so wonderful afterward!!!! Thank you for the vibes - I am really trying to be positive about these last, neverending days.









I promise not to keep posting about this....but Adam slept through again last night. He did not even wake to take his bottle!! That is the first time he hasn't eaten at night, and he's perfectly cheerful this morning; he and his dad are eating breakfast right now. This is really an answer to so many prayers - I can't believe he's sleeping. Sleeping! Finally...right before the baby comes! I pray it continues; I have spent so much time worrying about nighttime parenting for two small children that I am so desperately relieved that Adam is making it easier now. Happy day.

Sarah, I'm sorry about the 2am sleep drama. Adam has done that a lot - he just wants mama in the middle of the night...and no, daddy won't do.







Specifically, he likes to sleep on my pillow with me with his forehead touching mine and his hands on my neck.... ---and you're down to the last 8 lbs? You GO, mama! Nice job!!









Toddler flatulence? Often, around here. Nothing spectacular; it doesn't seem to bug him, and I've never really thought about the foods it may be connected to as it's not severe or painful for him.

I like the circle idea, too! That sounds like a good game - I think we'll have to try it.









Happy weekend, all!


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## mommy-X-2 (Oct 23, 2006)

Dh and I left town for a week and left DD with the inlaws. She did fine the whole time we were gone. We came back and she went right back to her normal sleeping times. Then a week after we came back she started freaking out at night. She would wake up several times in the middle of the night wanting to play. Now she wont go to sleep unless Im in the room with her. I had to stand by her crib for 45 minutes last night until she finally went to sleep. I dont know if she just had a delayed reaction to us being gone or if its just something she is going through. Has anyone else had trouble with their DC and sleep?


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Happy early Halloween mamas!!!

I wasn't thinking of trick o treating this year since it's been 45 degrees at night all week! PLUS windy! BUT! I found this custome today at Target by luck that didn't cost a crazy amount and looks oh so cute on DS! SOOOO Dh agreed to go trick o treating inside at the huge mall in VA...

I got more recent pictures too! DS' s cute little puppy custome, his new Recaro car seat and his play times at the mall playarea.

http://family.webshots.com/photo/256...51053220wiafvE


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Sending all the mamas more sleep vibes..

Christopher has been pretty consistent with his sleep. 7:30-8:00 bath, an hour of flipping around in bed, sleep till 12, wake up for 2 minutes then goes back to sleep till 7:30-7:45. I got used to this schedule now so hopefully no new teeth soon!!

The stressful event for me is the *1 hr of flipping around in bed* no matter how tired he is, cause I just want him to FALL ASLEEP! I am thinking about some "me time", some relaxing, some reading, some MDC! You know how dogs and cats turn around 3-4 times before they find their cozy spot to sleeep? Well Christopher reminds me of that except he turns around 100 times before he drops! And another thing, I don't know is any of your kids do this but DS will always hold my boobs to sleep and while nursing, I don't know how he always finds where it is even with his eyes shut! It does get annoying something, I'm like stop massaging me!!!









On a funny note. One morning, Christopher took a tissue from the tissue box, held it up to his nose and sneezed.







I was thinking DS must have learned it from DH!


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Nonny, Christopher is adorable. Henry had a similar costume! Photos in my latest blog entry.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
Nonny, Christopher is adorable. Henry had a similar costume! Photos in my latest blog entry.










OMGoodness! I dont know who is more adorable! They can be twin pupppies walking around trick-o-treating on Halloween! That's it, I think you guys should come over on the 31st!
















By the way, I LOVE the entry with the pic of you and Adam. DS has FINALLY FINALLY starting saying mama and meaning it (in a nice sweet tone of voice and not whining). So I can really relate to you!


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

New Mama: would you mind if I borrowed that pic of the puppy custome for my new entry on my blog sometime


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wsgrl84* 
New Mama: would you mind if I borrowed that pic of the puppy custome for my new entry on my blog sometime

Go ahead!


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Sad news, mamas. We had to put my 16 year old dog to sleep today. He has been my faithful baby since he was 8 weeks old. I am so so so sad about it. I will try to scan a pic so you can see his cuteness. He was a great dog!!!

We have the 1 hour of flipping phenomenon over here too. It is INCREDIBLY frustrating and I find it depressing. I would like to do other things...like, um...maybe pee or shower or eat or god forbid, read or craft, and oh, yeah...I could clean or maybe WORK.

I think they are just so busy and neurologically needing to move constantly. I read in one of the sleep books that "busy" babies need a longer period of sleep prep time, usually about an hour. It sure doesn't make more time for mama or DH, but we are going to try it. Unfortunately his bed time is the busiest time of the day for our household.

Big hugs to mamas with the sleep struggles of all kinds.

Emily, HUGE congratulations on the sleep success!!! I hope it lasts and lasts forever. He has fantastic timing, huh?

Speaking of sleep...it's only 7:30 here and I'm headed to bed. Night mamas!!!


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EStreetMama* 
Sad news, mamas. We had to put my 16 year old dog to sleep today. He has been my faithful baby since he was 8 weeks old. I am so so so sad about it. I will try to scan a pic so you can see his cuteness. He was a great dog!!!

So sorry about your dog. Sixteen years is a long time to have a pet...I'm sure he was like a family member. (((HUGS)))


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## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

EStreetMama,







for you about your dog!!!







Pets are such important parts of our familes! I'll never forget being 12 and watching my dad cry after putting our beloved dog to sleep (my folks had had her since they were newlyweds). It was the first time I'd seen my dad cry. That is so special that you got to have him as part of your family for so long. I'd love to see a picture!


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

I love the Halloween costumes!!! What great pictures!

NewMama, I think Henry and Adam would be good friends. What more do two people need in common besides a love of sticks, woodchips, and The Truck Book?







I can tell him to go and get it, and he'll search the shelf until he finds it...and then we read it eighteen times in a row...!!

Adrienne,







-- I'm so sorry about your dog.







It is losing a member of the family, and I'm just so sorry. I'd love to see a picture.


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
NewMama, I think Henry and Adam would be good friends. What more do two people need in common besides a love of sticks, woodchips, and The Truck Book?


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## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

Adrienne,
So sorry about your dog. Helaing vibes your way.

Maybe the sleeping vibes headed my way. Emmett slept really well last night. He is still teething like a madman, but at least there are some good nights too. To tell you the truth though, I am not too tired. I guess I am used to sleep deprivation because it has been happening for about 4 years now!!









Anyone not have their period yet? Mine still isn't here. Not pregnant. It should be coming soon. Emmett still nurses a lot and nurses at night, so it may be a while.

My sis is having a baby any day now. I can't wait. It is her sixth birth, so she is an old pro and her body does it quickly. This baby is posterior and it doesn't even worry her, three out of the six were posterior.

More later,. We are off to a Halloween party. C and I made an awesome robot costume for him. Emm is going to be a cow. I will try to get some poics up/

- Kerri


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## nancy926 (Mar 10, 2003)

Hi everyone...remember me?

I've been off the boards for awhile now...it was just taking up too much of my time. I thought I'd come back and see how everyone was doing!

To anyone with sleep woes, I empathize. Zoe has never slept through the night. Right now she has a cold, and even before that she was up multiple times, sometimes wide awake and wanting to play. Last night she and I slept on the reclining sofa...."slept" being probably the wrong word for whatever I was doing, lol. I sure hope the cold goes away soon!

Zoe is about 20 lbs and 30.5 inches...lots of fine, very blonde hair and brown eyes. We went to a Halloween party yesterday and she was a bumblebee. She was her usual social self, walking around "meeting" people and hardly even caring if I was near her or not. Very different from how she is at home - it's Momma Time, all the time, then. I remember Sascha going through this too, but I don't remember how long it lasted (which could be a good thing).

She really only has two words -- doggy and daddy -- but she's working very hard on kitty and yes. She knows 12-15 signs though. She loves baths, being outside, having books read to her, and music.

It's all quite bittersweet for me. We're not having more kids, so I'm hanging on to her babyhood as long as I can. Unfortunately this is a time of development that I'm not too crazy about...constant hanging on me, sleeping horribly, but very willing to hit her sister and pull her hair. Sigh. I still give her tons of kisses every day and try to remember that soon, no one will be short enough to hang on my knees until my pajama bottoms threaten to fall down.









Nancy


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Coltrane* 

Anyone not have their period yet? Mine still isn't here. Not pregnant. It should be coming soon. Emmett still nurses a lot and nurses at night, so it may be a while.

Me! No period, lots of nursing, not possible for me to be pregnant.

Hugs, *Adrienne*.







:


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nancy926* 
Unfortunately this is a time of development that I'm not too crazy about...constant hanging on me, sleeping horribly, but very willing to hit her sister and pull her hair. Sigh. I still give her tons of kisses every day and try to remember that soon, no one will be short enough to hang on my knees until my pajama bottoms threaten to fall down.

Yes, yes...I'm there with the hanging on Mama. And he has in fact pulled down my pajamas.









Kiernen has returned to stranger anxiety, and is SUCH a sensitive child. I bristle whenever someone tells their own child 'no' or chides them for something if they are anywhere near Kier, because he wil surely burst into tears. Very sensitive.


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## friendtoall (Dec 29, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama Coltrane* 
Anyone not have their period yet? Mine still isn't here. Not pregnant. It should be coming soon. Emmett still nurses a lot and nurses at night, so it may be a while.

Nothing here yet, either. I had to wean DD at 18 months in order to get pg for DS, so I'm not expecting it anytime soon. At least I'm not hoping for it...this time around!









The separation anxiety is almost killing me. I can't do anything. It's been going on so long.







:


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chasmyn* 
Yes, yes...I'm there with the hanging on Mama. And he has in fact pulled down my pajamas.









Kiernen has returned to stranger anxiety, and is SUCH a sensitive child. I bristle whenever someone tells their own child 'no' or chides them for something if they are anywhere near Kier, because he wil surely burst into tears. Very sensitive.

Yep, I get the "hanging on Mama" thing here, too. Daddy is definitely second best -- but still way above anyone else.









Chasmyn, are you familiar with the Highly Sensitive Person books? The author has one on kids: http://www.hsperson.com/pages/child.htm I am definitely a HSP, and found her books to be enlightening. Maybe it would help with Kiernan. It helps to see it as a gift or a positive trait to be able to better nurture your HSC. Not saying you're not already doing that, but I thought it might be helpful.


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

I second the no periods yet and the seperation anxiety here too. I do want another child in the next 3-4 years but I'm not looking forward to the periods yet.

I'm just glad I'm not the only one with separation anxiety!!! I hold DS to the bathroom, to the kitchen, in the kitchen, while watching his cartoon, while he naps, while he plays, all day until he sleeps at night. I'm surprised I still have my back. I'm just all "touched out" by Christopher that I don't even want a hug/kiss from DH. I just want to be left alone in peace! Just all whining and clinging all day today. I probably said "stop the whining then I'll hold you" like 30 times today.

*sigh* when is this gonna get better...


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## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

No period yet here! Two years now... wow. Not missing it although if I had to pick between getting my period and continuing to be up every two hours at night like we have since night 3 of Cj's life, I think I might just pick Aunt Flo. Jay Gordon and NCSS both are useless. The coffee has become a regular part of my morning routine now (I didn't drink it for the first 10 months of CJ's life, so I don't think that has anything to do with it). Elimination diets haven't changed a thing.

The puppies are soooo cute! Sorry about you losing your puppy, EStreet! (all doggies are puppies to me, 16 years or 16 days)

Good to "see" you Nancy!

Hope to keep up a little better. If I miss a few days, it just snowpiles on this thread and then I can't get caught up









Em, lots of good prayers your way! I'm so excited for you and I have been thinking about you a lot this week!


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## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EStreetMama* 
Sad news, mamas. We had to put my 16 year old dog to sleep today. He has been my faithful baby since he was 8 weeks old. I am so so so sad about it. I will try to scan a pic so you can see his cuteness. He was a great dog!!!

I am SOOOOO sorry. Ugh. As you may remember, I lost my cat this past March. I shed numerous tears over it and am still sad not to have her keep me warm this winter. Plus, I felt so much guilt over ignoring her in favor of my constantly breastfeeding baby. I vowed that I'd pay more attention to the cat when the baby was 6 months old and the cat died the week O turned six months.

Oh, I really feel for you.














:

Hugs,
D


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chiro_kristin* 
No period yet here! Two years now... wow. Not missing it although if I had to pick between getting my period and continuing to be up every two hours at night like we have since night 3 of Cj's life, I think I might just pick Aunt Flo. Jay Gordon and NCSS both are useless.

Same here. It's crazy, isn't it? I keep hoping once ALL his teeth are in he'll start sleeping through the night, though I'm probably fooling myself. But this can't go on forever, can it? I mean, eventually it will be his wife's problem, right?


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
Yep, I get the "hanging on Mama" thing here, too. Daddy is definitely second best -- but still way above anyone else.









Chasmyn, are you familiar with the Highly Sensitive Person books? The author has one on kids: http://www.hsperson.com/pages/child.htm I am definitely a HSP, and found her books to be enlightening. Maybe it would help with Kiernan. It helps to see it as a gift or a positive trait to be able to better nurture your HSC. Not saying you're not already doing that, but I thought it might be helpful.









I have heard of those books, but I hadn't thought of them. Thank you for the excellent suggestion, I'll be checking it out of the library soon. Anything that can help and offer me insight I might not have, or reaffirm what I am doing, is all good.


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## nancy926 (Mar 10, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
Same here. It's crazy, isn't it? I keep hoping once ALL his teeth are in he'll start sleeping through the night, though I'm probably fooling myself. But this can't go on forever, can it? I mean, eventually it will be his wife's problem, right?

LOL

I only have one data point...my older DD. By about 20-22 months she was waking up only a couple of times to nurse at night (while still cosleeping). We nightweaned her at 24-25 months and she slept through the night soon after that, like days soon after.

So it does end. I just don't feel right about nightweaning yet, b/c I've read so much about 12-18 months being a huge developmental time and also the time when kids have the "most disordered" sleep patterns. I figure I need to have nursing in our bag of tricks to get Z back to sleep!

No period here either. I didn't get it back with my older DD until she was almost 2. Then I got it once...and got pregnant. LOL. THat's not happening again though .... we are all set with kids.


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

hello mamas!
can't go back and catch up right now, no time, but wanna say that we were having difficulties with dd tossing and flipping and hopping about the bed for what feels like forever at bedtime. i was getting frustrated, as i get work done after she's sleeping and that was all i could think about. finally i let go. remembered that it won't last forever. decided to shift my focus to enjoying the moment, as there is no getting around it. i started using it as my "meditation time", as that time doesn't exist in my daily life for right now. it's all becoming a walking meditation these days...the miracle of mindfulness. so while nursing dd to sleep i breathe in love and light energy into my heart center and focus on all that prana flowing in to laurel on the exhale. i found that i really enjoy bedtime so much more now that i'm living more in the moment. also very helpful is the fact that if i've been nursing for 45 minutes, she's generally very full. if she's still not asleep, dh switches with me and snuggles her to sleep. this is a new thing we're doing that i'm extremely happy about.
on another note, we've got a spot of eczema about the size of a nickel above her knee. it doesn't bug her, thankfully, but i want to be proactive. i'm trying calendula/tea tree salve, coconut oil, and baby EFAs right now, but i'm up for all other suggestions that don't involve topical steroids.


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

finally can get pictures up again! here's laurel in the mouse costume that steve's mom made for her...my little mouse


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## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Jeremy, I love the pic of Laurel!!! You know the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" -- she is the mouse.







I LOVE the smile!!!!! What a GOR baby.
Thanks for the thoughts on your meditation -- I really like thinking about it that way. I think it will help during our own nightwakings. Our sleepy streak ended these last two nights..... Thank you.









Nancy, it is great to see you!! I thought about you recently and wondered where you and the "other Nancy" (nabigus) were. It's good to hear you are all well! My knees and pajama bottoms are in quite the same situation around here.









Kristen, thank you for the prayers and thoughts! It is nice to see you around here, too - I know how busy you and your dh are with the new office & how tired you are with your crazy nights, but it is good to hear you here!







How is CJ, other than the silly sleeplessness?

_But this can't go on forever, can it? I mean, eventually it will be his wife's problem, right?_ ---NewMama, I read this earlier while Adam was napping, and have been giggling ever since.







You are so funny!

....and finally, before I drop off to bed, mamas .... no baby here yet.

I don't think they have a "throwing hands up in air and sighing" smilie, but I'd use it. I am trying to be patient, but the ILs showed up last night, and I am already freaking exhausted today -- they aren't terribly self-sufficient, as I think I complained about at length in a recent post, and just getting meals on the table has made me tired today.

I napped with Adam for a little while today, and I'm reading my BFW book at odd intervals and trying to meditate on calmness, awareness, and patience, knowing that this baby is going to come on his/her own time and terms and I just need to be ready and patient. Just no good contractions or CM in several days, and it is somewhat discouraging at times. I am going to have a better day tomorrow, I think.

This baby is kicking kicking kicking right now!! Sending baby love to all of you and hopes for a good night for all of us!!


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## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Well Emily, just enjoy having the baby inside you as long as you can! I remember those weeks after giving birth how much I wished for another baby to be inside me again!







I loved the feeling of baby kicking...awww...my hand was constantly on my belly feeling any movements!


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Photos of Kiernen. Tell me if it doesn't work.







:


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

E has battled this whenver the air is dry. I made a mix of sweet almond oil and pure lanolin and apply this every night to her trouble spots, then cover her in sweet almond oil...it seems to control/get rid of the eczema. A friend of mine (a naturopath) also recommended evening rimrose oil, applied to the spots or rubbed into the soles of her feet. I do this when I have the patience to pop the capsules-it also seems to help! We also cut bathing down to 2x a week, unless she is really manky, cause I notice that the more we bathe her, the worse it gets. Good luck!


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Thanks for the good thoughts about the dog, mamas. I appreciate it!

Emily...I can't believe anyone is expecting you to have meals on the table!!! AGAIN, I wish we all lived closer (ever tire of hearing me say that?







) I love to hear about all the kicks!!! Hopefully, baby will get all the kicks going during the day...not when you lay down to sleep. I was 10 days "over" with Owen and those last few days were really really hard to get through. I hope the next days go better or at least go quickly! Sorry the sleep streak ended...

Jeremy...thanks for the good thoughts about the pre-sleep Olympics!

I was reading a thing about one year olds today that said that they are similar to chimpanzees until about 18 months. I would not bank on the evidence base of this assessment, but made me laugh anyway.

Eczema...we have no problems as long as Owen doesn't eat cow dairy. We didn't have to treat the skin since it cleared up well when the dairy was stopped. I have it myself though...and I am just trying to use probiotics and cod liver oil.

The photos are all wonderful!!! I can't believe how these babies have grown.

Have to get to bed...no helpful comments on AF because I've had is since 2 months post-partum. Lucky me!

Hope y'all had a happy halloween!

--Adrienne


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## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chasmyn* 
Photos of Kiernen. Tell me if it doesn't work.







:

Oh my gosh, what a cutie! I love the cross-eyed look at the pear.


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## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

I love the halloween pics!!! Cutest puppies and turtle in all the land! I especially love the pic of Kiernan snuggling on your chest, Chasmyn







.

Thanks for the eczema tips. Thankfully, she is not opposed to the cod liver oil







. I'm hoping it goes away before I have to do an elimination diet. Just in case, though, I'm starting a mono-diet of kitcheree (mung and rice) today. I figure it'll help me cleanse out the system and, if need be, we can figure out her sensitivities.

Emily, lots of warm, patient, loving thoughts flowing your way.







I'm imagining your ILs sending you out for a neighborhood walk with Adam and DH...you arrive home to a nice home-cooked meal...then DH tells you to sit down on the couch as he proceeds to bring in a bucket of warm water with yummy essential oils of lavender and rose that you can soak your feet in as her massages them...then MIL rocks Adam to sleep and FIL cleans up supper while you are told to go sit by yourself and read until you are ready for bed...and DH says that he will get up with Adam through the night (he's already thawed a bottle, has the pot on low, and is ready to go) so you can sleep all the way through...








Anyone else totally thrown off by the time change?


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## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

It's November!!! Thread here:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...92#post6421292


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