# August '05 mamas - we have toddlers...wow!



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

*I* get to start the new thread? Wow!

Although I'm sort of sad to be over here on the toddler board.... I -like- my life with my babe. ...who has just single-mindedly climbed 15 stairs with a clean diaper in hand so he could throw it into the toilet and turn around and smile. Goofy kid!









Happy September, mamas!


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Oh, and Kristen, I love your new signature.









Hugs to you, Deb. I hope you can figure out what the issue is. And are you sleeping 8 hours? Oh, I hope so.


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

just subbing

and sobbing...


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Me too!


----------



## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

subbing!

hope everyones doing well!

Toddler stage will be FUN!

riiiiiiiight guys?.......hehe


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

tee hee. I was on the phone with my mom when I read that we were moving over here and I said oh snit no, she is NOT! Then I realized she is. More a weeble, but still...









Kind of concerned about her limited vocabulary so i'm getting an assesment from early intervention. I'll let ya'll know how that goes..


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom*
Kind of concerned about her limited vocabulary so i'm getting an assesment from early intervention. I'll let ya'll know how that goes..

As in speaking or understanding? Henry understands a lot but only says "Dada" so far. He does know four signs, though.


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

subbing

just back from vacation...more later

Love to all!

--Adrienne


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

speaking. She has like 6 or 7 audible & comprehendable words, but the only ones she uses frequently are cat/kat & dad. she knows and occasionally uses 'my' 'no' 'bye' 'eat' and 'cup' but not with any real frequency.


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Hey all,

I'm with the moms mourning the passing of the babe phase, although Tova still seems like a wee one to me, maybe because she isn't walking (or even standing) yet. Amazing how fast one can scoot, though, especially when one sees the cat!

About the vocabulary: Tova understands a lot, but still says very little in the way of words. Dada is pretty much her word for everything, although she's started making a noise lately that sounds a lot like Hi. Kaitnbugsmom, tell us what the specialist says, if you don't mind.

Henhao: hope you are feeling better and that everything works out. I went to see the movie Little Miss Sunshine (funny and subversive!) and the little girl in that is named Olive. Like yours, she's a beaut.

All the best, toddler moms ...


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom*
speaking. She has like 6 or 7 audible & comprehendable words, but the only ones she uses frequently are cat/kat & dad. she knows and occasionally uses 'my' 'no' 'bye' 'eat' and 'cup' but not with any real frequency.

I'm surprised you're worried, actually. As I mentioned Henry only says "Dada" and not even all the time.

One of the stories in my family is that my older sister Karen didn't talk at all until she was three or so, and then she said, "Kathy took my cookie." (Kathy is 1 1/2 years older than Karen.)

Of course, you gotta follow your mama gut on these things.


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Hi all,

Thanks for the good wishes. I won't learn the results of my test until next Tues.

I had the day off of work today. My plan was to have ME time for about 4 hours and then pick DD up early. This is what happened.

I woke up today and wrenched my neck doing pretty much nothing besides turning my head on the pillow.

DH had to run around getting DD ready. I helped with what I could. I rested for a few hours to give time for the ibuprofen to kick in after DD and DH left.

When I woke up, I really wanted to have my ME time so I did that. I started to use the girl's room at home and the toilet had no water in it. So I used the downstairs toilet and the toilet GROWLED at me. Have you EVER heard of a toilet growling? I could not find a plunger to save my life.

Should I call the plumber and say please fix my growling toilet?

So, I leave all the toilets to do their toilet thing and go about my day. Did I mention it's pouring rain and we have no gutters?









I can't see out the back windows of the house because smart DH and smart me have put a tarp up to try and keep the water away from the foundation (since we have no gutters). All I see is a green tarp flapping against the kitchen window.

Backing out of the driveway is VERY hard when you can't turn your neck very far.







:

So I go out and have my fun and even buy lunch out! Woo-hoo. A mommy on the loose!

I come home to eat and then plan to pick up DD. I look at the clock...Not working. No Electricity!!

Now I have a wrenched neck, a growling toilet and no electricity.

And that, my friends, was my day.

Love you all,
HH


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Who is worried about words? Is your DC walking? Mine does not walk and has a big vocab -- so they say. Evidently, babies with big vocabs will be a bit "behind" physically and those ahead physcially will be a bit "behind" with talking.

Right now, DD says: car, jenny and jen (name of someone at daycare), mama, dada, balloon, light (sounds like ight), bye (sometimes), house, sky (sounds like guy), tree, sit and hot. She seems to say new words the most with dada. She also "orks" like seal, hisses like a snake and growls like a toilet -- I mean a gorilla!

She only does one sign -- for milk. Man, was it cool when she was crying and she could tell me what she wanted!

When asked, she can point to her nose, mouth, eyes, feet, grandpa, and some other things.

However, she does not walk.

Here's something wild. We usually feed her dinner at 5 or 5:30. By 5:30 today, we'd not yet gotten her dinner, so she crawled over to her high chair and pulled herself up to standing as if to say "come on and feed me!" The other night, after dinner, she went over to the CD player and turned on her "night night" music as if to say "time for me to go to bed!" They can really get the messages across when they want to do so!

She really likes bedtime now!


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

I know that developmentally she's okay, that when the mind/body is focused on one task, such as walking, eating solids, etc, other things fall by the way side and are gained later, but after having two developmentally delayed children, one of whom has a smorgasboard of issues, I am a bit paranoid..


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom*
I know that developmentally she's okay, that when the mind/body is focused on one task, such as walking, eating solids, etc, other things fall by the way side and are gained later, but after having two developmentally delayed children, one of whom has a smorgasboard of issues, I am a bit paranoid..

Trust your gut! A mama knows. I was just looking into this and wanted to share this article with you...look at the end of it and they have some info about when to be concerned. Well, you already ARE concerned. I thought you might the end part of the article interesting; they said that having 2 or 3 words at year is okay.

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/tod...ent/11738.html


----------



## heldt123 (Aug 5, 2004)

Deb - hope you are feeling better! Feeling sick is no fun at all.
Wow, your house sounds so much like ours no gutters here either! We used to have a growling toilet that used to spew black gunk all over our bathroom...eeeeew! Luckily my FIL is a plummer. We still can't take a shower, have no bathroom sink, unfinished floor and walls. I did find a dryer at a yard sale for $40 that works great. I still hang out most days, but it is wonderful not to have to hang inside when it rains. Did you ever get your bathroom finished?

Yeah to toddlerhood! I really love the age Johnjon is at right now.







So much wonder and discovery. He points at everything and says "dat," tanslated as "that." Life is just one big adventurous game! I love the smiles and the hugs...and yes the growls, grunts, and hollering too (he does a really weird animal type growl thingy). I really didn't think that he'd get this huggy, but he is warming up and starting to give hugs and kisses which is sooooo sweet! I LOVE it!










He is just so much fun right now...a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I just feel all warm and fuzzy right now. I just rocked J back to sleep and stood there and watched Nathan sleep for a while. Ahh, these are the good days. It doesn't matter what else is going on or what bills are due, or what other crap needs to be done...I just feel so blessed to have to happy boys. When they give Mommy a big hug and kiss, I just want to cry, it makes all the rest worth while. sniff...sniff...sniff......

He really only uses two words: dada and dat (that). He says mama, but not too often. He knows the signs for milk, more, please, and help, but doesn't always use them in the correct context. I made the mistake of teaching him "please" and "help" before "eat", so he will go through the list of signs he knows trying to say eat, it is actually pretty cute.

Been busy lately, with life and getting a preschool plan set up. I think we will start next week, but not sure how that will go. Here's hoping.


----------



## wsgrl84 (Jan 12, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom*
I know that developmentally she's okay, that when the mind/body is focused on one task, such as walking, eating solids, etc, other things fall by the way side and are gained later, but after having two developmentally delayed children, one of whom has a smorgasboard of issues, I am a bit paranoid..

it's ok to be paranoid. I am also a very paranoid person but on a lot of the little things. My son actually taught me not to be so paranoid now, after watching him play with some toilet waterrrr...
















What other moms said about development is right...

Physically my DS is strong, started walking at 10 1/2 months, but verbally he only saids "bye bye", "mama" (only when tired), and "bubble" very well. He understands a lot more (probably around 12 words) and also commands (like Give me....Turn off light....Close the door...Don't touch....) and been signing "milk" A LOT these days.

By the time our kids start 1st grade, we won't be able to tell who started talking first or walking first. Right?

Hope all is well mamas!

I love all the hugs and kisses from DS too!







It keeps me going during the day!


----------



## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

Hello mamas!
I can't believe we have toddlers now.
Emmett turned 1 and then it was like he was a new boy. His personality is in full gear and he is one funny kid. we totally adore this guy.
I agree that we all have things we worry about and you need you trust your instincts. At least if it is nothing to worry about and a specialist lets you know that, you can reduce some of the stress you are feeling. My sis has a boy on the autism spectrum and when she had her DD she was very worried about her development, perhaps being a bit more critical because of her experience with her son. It sounds normal to be vigilant. I think I would be too.
That being said, my MIl is visiting and she is a pediatrician and has been for 30+ years. We were talking about babies and discussing the wide range of normal, especially in those first years.
- kerri


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

I talked to a speech therapist last week about Adam - he has had "few time only" word appearances with a lot of recognizable words - he had about 7 last month, before he started walking.

Then, walking, and ZERO words now except 'mama' and 'uh oh' -- he still converses in 'uh oh' -- like this:

Me: "Good morning, baby! Should we go downstairs?"
Adam: "Uh! Oh! Uh, uh, uh!"
Me: "Okay. We'll go have breakfast."
Adam: "Uh."
Me: "Let's get up."
Adam: "Uh oh ah oh."

The ST laughed at me and told me not to worry. She gave me some hints about early language development - the reading & talking, etc., and when I explained that I'm a SAHM with no social life who actually does talk to my son all day, she said that could be part of the 'no words' either, as he doesn't need them all that much right now...that since I can understand what he needs a good portion of the time and anticipate much of it, that he doesn't need to acquire much these days.

Interesting... But do let us know what they say, kaitnbugsmom. I still wonder sometimes.

Deb, between your neck, the toilet, and the power out...eek. But a Mommy on the Loose? Yeah!!! That sounds good!

Off to go and make the house presentable. Family coming for the weekend -- have a good one, all!


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *henhao*
Who is worried about words? Is your DC walking? Mine does not walk and has a big vocab -- so they say. Evidently, babies with big vocabs will be a bit "behind" physically and those ahead physcially will be a bit "behind" with talking.

That's interesting...Henry has been walking really well since he was 11 1/2 months. He never crawls at all.


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

We're no where near toddler hood. No words...nada. Heck we only just barely sit up! I've been emotionally drained lately and I fear it's had its effects on my therapy with Nathanael. I hope things change around here so I can be the mom I need to be.

It's still hard hearing how far apart your kidlets are from mine. The specialist told me to expect it..that the difference will be more and more glaring the older he gets.

I love my boy for who he is, don't get me wrong. I looked at him sleeping in my arms and said "perfect"! Because that's jsut what he is.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

of course you can stay. I remember well where you are, my ddc kids were so far ahead of where Bug was and it seemed like one more negative on top of a pile of positives. There were days I couldn't bear to look at the ddc threads because while we were celebrating holding her head up, tolerating pureed foods, and rolling over, they were talking cruising and baby gym and first steps...







s







2


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

what's that?


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

due date club


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

I wrote this for my blog in anticipation of Kiernen being 13 months (not until the 10th). It's long, but it's what's happening right now, and as I rarely get a chance to post anymore (but am still reading!) I thought I'd just put it here, too. It won't be on my blog until the 10th, but you all get to see it now!
















And before I do,







to Kitty.

And here it is:

Now when he is nursing, he often switches sides and says, "bo". I say, "Oh, you want the other side?" And his face lights up that I have understood. That seems to be the standard way for him to say yes, although I have on one occasion seen him nod his head deliberately, so I know that he gets that that is the true way to do it. But why bother when Mama knows what you mean? Sigh. So he loves to switch sides frequently while nursing. He also loves to have little drive-by nursing 'snacks'. He gets a little irritated when I am wearing a bra (when we're out) because it takes WAY too long to get the 'Bos'. (pronounced with long O.)

Lately at night it is difficult for him to settle down in bed. I think this may be largely due to the fact that we've not been consistent with his bedtime and have been getting him to bed about an hour later than normal. So when he is restless, I pull him up onto my stomach, where he latches on and falls asleep nursing. It helps that I have large breasts and he can wiggle and move around fairly freely until he settles and still stay latched on. But it settles him fairly quickly and he falls asleep that way. It is the sweetest thing ever.

He is becoming so much more stable now with the walking - he walks holding only one hand now, and fast! He wants to get there quickly! It's amazing to see him progressing - it feels like sometimes if we blink, we'll miss it and he'll just breeze on through all of these stages without us. He took FIVE steps unassisted today! His confidence is building!

The boy loves his trees, just like Quinn did. MBD says we have a Druid in training, and that's just fine by me! He wants to greet and touch the trees and plants, outside in the front yard and on walks, wherever we go. He LOVES the trees. He even has a favourite one in the front yard. It is, of course, the largest one as well. When we return from walks, he MUST touch both of the bushes we have outside of our window. And he is so gentle with the plants, too - I can let him touch flowers or anything and not worry that he will smush them.

Kiernen knows signs for 'finished', 'again', 'more', 'nurse', learning 'help', but prefers to use loud voice and sometimes whining (!) instead. There is such a fine line between actual helping and rewarding such whining. Sometimes there is a genuine need he is unable to express - other times maybe he just doesn't want to put forth the effort. I anticipate his needs incredibly well, and it can sometimes be a detriment, because it doesn't require him to use his communication skills. I do NOT want to teach him that whining and screaming are the ways to get what he wants.

Words: 'bo' (eat/nurse/drink), 'mama', 'ma' (up), 'daddy', 'da' (can be anything - da is the fallback word for 'that' or pretty much any exclamation), 'ba' (book), 'kiy' (kitty), and lots of verbalizations and complex sounds that make up his own special language. He is a very chatty little fellow - often at home or in the car he'll just be talking away, and laughing, only he is the only one who knows what he is saying. It is delightful to listen to.

Of course, Kiernen loves to chase kitties, they delight him - laughter always ensues. If they meow angrily at him he will burst into tears and cry. They have no front claws and the most they can do is whap at him and meow angrily when he's too much in their personal space.
Books! He is so very much into his books again, and wants them read over and over. His two favourites currently are "_Goodnight Gorilla_" and "_Alphabugs_". He also loves the Chuck Murphy books. There are others he likes to read but these are his favorites by far. He does not like "_Goodnight Moon_". Go figure. But he does like "_The Foot Book_"!

He loves to walk back and forth through the house with either his little Winnie-the-Pooh lawnmower (I can't find a photo of this on the net) or his Playskool walk n ride. Or sometimes for a change of pace he'll take one of his little plastic chairs and push that, but he gets all mad when it won't go up on the carpet (and I of course come in with one of the wheeled ones explaining how those will work on the carpet).

We recently rearranged everything in our living room - took out the huge space hog of a coffee table and the no longer needed glider rocker and added in the train/lego table and a toy/book shelf. Toys are no longer buried in the toybox and he has his own little plastic drawers to replace the ones he liked so much on the coffee table. Now the entire length of the kitchen and living room together are fully open and he can zoom back and forth across the house with his little mower or walk n ride. He LOVES this.
Of course he isn't too keen on the steering yet, so I am almost always 'helping' him get unstuck every few feet. But he is getting the hang of it.

Such an outdoorsy boy he is! Lately we have noticed just how happy he is outside - when he is troubled and fussing, we simply get his shoes on and take him out in the front yard (the wasps have taken over the back) and he is immediately calm and happy. Trees! Nature! Outside! He cannot get enough. Out in the driveway or for a walk in the stroller, he is blissed out. Or to the park! Or the beach! Or both! Funny though, he is not a fan of the heat. So we just make sure we take him to shaded places. Luckily our front yard is ALL shade!

And! He LOVES the bigger kids. Loves them! He loves to watch them run and play and he will follow them wherever they go if we let him. The other night we were at Friday Night Dinner with our close friends, parents of Beanie (of the infamous Beanie and Sprouty). Usually we're managing Kiernen, following him around, making sure he doesn't wander outside or get into things he ought not or whatever. But that night, Beanie went into his room and Kiernen followed him in there, and they just hung out and played. And we didn't even have to follow him! MBD did a swing by to check that all was well and it really was. Delight! And a little bit of nostalgia because my baby! Is not so much a baby anymore.

Then after dinner we all went for a little walk around the neighborhood and Kate carried him! Not me, not MBD, but Kate! Someone other than his very own parents! And he was fine with it. He was laughing at us walking behind her and at Beanie and he was having a great time! My baby. My heart melted and it said, "Stay here. Stay in Washington, where Kiernen's friends are." Because you know, he has known Beanie since he was in the womb. And Beanie is so so good with him. They are soul brothers, those two. And? His parents are our very best friends here.

And! Kiernen's comprehension is so high! He is a boy of few words, but he understands them quite well. He knows exactly what I mean when I ask him if he wants to go for a walk, or take a bath in the water, or use the potty, or eat some biteys, or nurse, or go for a ride in the car to get Daddy, or....He is a smart little guy! Of course this also means that we have to watch what we say in his presence now, too - time to ramp up the censorship of adult speak!

Oh, and the kisses! When I get particularly close to his face or if we're playing and he feels affectionate, he will make a little, "mmmm" noise and lean in close to my face. I then kiss him on the mouth and we both giggle away - it is a part of the game. But I love that he gives me kisses! Sometimes even when I ask for them. What a sweetie!

Despite his newly found independance lately - or maybe because of it - he is very snuggly. He wants to be close to me all the time still - he wants his Mama to come along! He will climb in my lap with a book in hand or just want to sit with me or be held by me just as much as ever. He will tug on my pants when I'm in the kitchen trying to do dishes/take my vitamins/cook food and look up at me, shouting, "MA!" (up) until I pick him up. He can sometimes be appeased with some food in his high chair but other times I'd better darn well hold him. Thank goodness for my Ellaroo wrap! I can wear him around the kitchen while I get things finished - just not the dishes.

My baby - my baby boy is officially for all intents and purposes a toddler. A toddler! And man alive, is he ever awesome. How I love that child of mine - he is just so amazing to be with.


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Chasmyn,

Loved your post! Thanks for sharing all your news.

_Such an outdoorsy boy he is! Lately we have noticed just how happy he is outside - when he is troubled and fussing, we simply get his shoes on and take him out in the front yard_

Ditto this for Tova -- she is exactly the same. I'm like this too, so I guess she comes by it naturally.

Cheers for now.


----------



## elight23 (Jul 1, 2005)

_Such an outdoorsy boy he is! Lately we have noticed just how happy he is outside - when he is troubled and fussing, we simply get his shoes on and take him out in the front yard_

Double ditto for Malek - that's been our secret weapon from day one - Malek fusses, step outside and all is well (what a life saver!) - appeasing Malek's thirst for the outdoors is how I lost all of my pregnancy weight! Now he looks at the trees and sky and says "pretty" - speaking of words - Some other parents in my AP group were saying that they had heard and seen that some AP children do rely on their super close seemingly psychic connection to their parents and communicate more often in wordless ways, thus speaking and signing later then non AP
Malek's spoken vocab is MUCH larger than his daily use of the words, but I always know what he's talking about either way -

according to the books, its totally normal for a 12 month old to only be saying mama or dada and nothing else - only some kids say three or more words - and I also have read/heard that infants tend to put more effort into either physical or verbal - Malek can walk, but he choses not too - I guess he figures why should he when he can get anywhere he wants to be by running on hands and feet and climbing with 100% confidence?, and with walking he doesn't yet have much. He can walk holding onto my hand, but I just don't push it bc that's not his thing at the moment, ya know?

as far as signing - I read in one of those signing books that the later you start with signs, the sooner they will sign back (bc they are more apt. to sign at 12 mos than 7 - so you waist less time showing them something they're not ready for) so I waited until after Malek's first birthday and wow! i only have to show him a sign one time and he gets it! He only knows 'finished', 'more', and 'milk' bc that's all I know - he also has a his own sign for 'up'

- have any of you heard any of those 'old wives tales' for reading skills? I was at my moms school the other day, where she teaches, in the faculty room - and a bunch of teachers were discussing how a child's ability to crawl correlates with their ability to read - that an excellent crawler, who is not early to walk, tends to be a great reader bc of the brain pathways and brain coordination they develop. Another group of moms was saying that the age of the first tooth correlates to reading readiness - first tooth at 5months equals ready to read at 5 years - first at 6mos = 6 years... they all say its true...
- pretty crazy sounding if you ask me, but what do I know?...

new pics added


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Quote:

Some other parents in my AP group were saying that they had heard and seen that some AP children do rely on their super close seemingly psychic connection to their parents and communicate more often in wordless ways
true. and the fact that DH and I, even when we weren't together, have always been able to communicate without words, probably just exacerbates {sp?} the 'problem'


----------



## elight23 (Jul 1, 2005)

_true. and the fact that DH and I, even when we weren't together, have always been able to communicate without words, probably just exacerbates {sp?} the 'problem'_

I love that - when time after time DH and I are right on track with one anothers thinking - he almost never calls home without me first thinking of him and moving closer to the phone


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Kitty,









Chasmyn, Henry LOVES "Goodnight Gorilla" too. I think it's his favorite. Have you noticed how there's a balloon on just about every page? And that the zookeeper's name is Joe? (Yes, we read that one a LOT.)


----------



## eastkygal (Feb 19, 2006)

Wow! I can't believe it. DD is walking and talking (has a large vocab pediatrician says). Her appetite for table food has grown and her appetite for mama's milk is as strong as ever! She is still very tall, but is slimming down. No more baby chub.







Maybe that's why I want to ttc now? DD is a joy, and it sounds like all the other August babes are too. All different and all lovely.

How long can your dc occupy themselves now? Just curious. Also, we are starting Waldorf parent/child classes Thursday and they spend 25% of the time outside in all weather (except dangerous). Does anyone have any suggestions on outerwear to buy that will help dd play comfortably?


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Grr...just typed a huge post, recapping it all, and deleted it with an overcaffeinated/underslept stray pinkie finger. Boo!
Will re-cap later. The trip was awesome, E did so well, there were very few moments of pain in the 5 weeks we were on the road!
Wonderful to read about our (dare I say) TODDLERS! E has some terrible 2 behaviours already-stamping of feet and shaking of head and saying "no no no" is a favourite.







:


----------



## Maggi315 (Aug 31, 2003)

just wanted to pop in and say hi. My son has turned into a little terror since his birthday. He is walking (since 9 mos!), trying to run to keep up with siblings, has almost all his baby teeth (yes, I know, amazing, he has 2 more to come in and they are already starting to!) and he absolutely throws fits. He screams bloody murder when he wants something or when we take something from him. Going into the store or library is not gonna happen for a loooong time. He just screams and screams the whole time.

Maybe I forgot what having a toddler was like? Maybe I blocked it out of my mind? At least for the most part he has stopped screaming in the car seat since we turned it around.

When he is a good mood at home, he is funny and the kids and I have a great time making him laugh. But, when he is not happy, watch out!!! thank goodness he is not number 1 for me, now I am much better at rolling with the punches so to speak!


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Em has only two teeth but I am unconcerned about that at least...


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Only 2 teeth here too, but the top front gum is pretty lumpy.


----------



## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

_- have any of you heard any of those 'old wives tales' for reading skills? I was at my moms school the other day, where she teaches, in the faculty room - and a bunch of teachers were discussing how a child's ability to crawl correlates with their ability to read - that an excellent crawler, who is not early to walk, tends to be a great reader bc of the brain pathways and brain coordination they develop. Another group of moms was saying that the age of the first tooth correlates to reading readiness - first tooth at 5months equals ready to read at 5 years - first at 6mos = 6 years... they all say its true...
- pretty crazy sounding if you ask me, but what do I know?..._

i got my first teeth at around a year. i was reading at 5. i was crawling at 5 mo.....hmmm...

laurel is asleep on my lap. that never happens. i feel like i want to sit here all day.

she has so far always been eating more for fun than nourishment, but it seems like shes eating less and less. and back to more and more boob. i worked on the river on saturday (yay! river guiding again!) and we were prepping "happy hour" snacks for the guests after the trip and i started leaking everywhere. that hasn't happened in what seems like forever. i had to go hide out and do the suck-n-spit (hand pump doesn't work for s**t), and boy is that so much more effective. fast and easy. at work where i have electricity i'll still opt for my double super sucker as i don't have to do any weird body contortions, but i am happy to have finally learned that i don't _need_ anything but me.

laurel is walking like crazy now. interestingly, though, she is throwing this mini temper tantrums where she wants to hold your hand while she walks. you can just be sitting there and she's playing at your feet. then she decides to go somewhere else so she starts whining and holding her hand out. if you don't feel like appeasing her, then she squats and whines and cries louder. i'm not down with the fits at all, but don't really know what to do about them. any suggestions?


----------



## Maggi315 (Aug 31, 2003)

I've heard that about teeth, but that hasn't proven to be true in our family. One of my daughters had teeth at 10 weeks. She should be in college by now (11)







. She was one of my later readers.

I might add that although my kids get their teeth super early, they have lots and lots of problems with crowding issues, decay, infections, abcesses, etc. The dentist tells us there is sometimes a correlation, I dunno. But I do know that it is expensive







:


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

by that teeth tale Em won't read til she's 10.5/11!







I doubt that just a bit


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *riverundine*
if you don't feel like appeasing her, then she squats and whines and cries louder. i'm not down with the fits at all, but don't really know what to do about them. any suggestions?

I'm listening, too. Adam is doing the same thing here and there - and he's recently found his Loud Voice and begun screeching when he's angry/frustrated/mad/sad, etc. I'd love to hear suggestions.


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

And, I loved your post, Chasmyn. Thanks for sharing it here!








The outdoors cures most things around here, especially for me and I can definitely see it in Adam. We went to the beach tonight and waved hello to the seagulls. All are happier.


----------



## heldt123 (Aug 5, 2004)

henho - How are you feeling today..any better?

kaitnbugsmom - sorry you had such a bad visit with the wic office. I know things vary from state to state, but up here the quality of the visits really depend upon the nurse that you get. Most of the time they move us in and out quickly with no problems and lots of encouragement, and other times we get a crank that wants to nitpick on everything. After mentioning to one lady that I was in school working on my 4 year degree, she told me that "Oh good, when you finish that you will be able to contribute something back to society."







I almost walked out, but hubby was unemployed at that time and we really needed it.

eastkygal - Johnjon doesn't occupy himself for more than a minute or two. He either comes crying to mommy or goes to bug his brother. He is quite extroverted and needs someone nearby at all times (preferably paying attention to him).

How cold does it get in Ky? Up here in Minnesota I have to have quite a selection of outdoor wear--from total body snowsuits to windbreakers and sweats for fall/winter. I would say if it isn't too cold to have a nice windbreaker pants/hooded jacket. Those are great for cool days with a bit of a breeze. If it gets really chilly a jacket with loops to attach mittens is great (I hate unattached mittens--they ALWAYS get lost at my house.).

re: tantrums - I agree, it is so hard at this age because a lot of tantrums are because they can't express themselves well yet. Sometimes distraction works well for us--yes going outside is great here too. If I don't want him to have/or do what he wants and is screaming about, I just try to find a way to distract him. Whether it is moving to a new location or finding something different to play with. I've been giving into his screming most of the time just because we have two people in the house that can't stand screaming (one with sensitive ears and another just plain crabby), so we will probably have more problems later on than I want to think about dealing with, sigh.


----------



## heldt123 (Aug 5, 2004)

Ok, just noticed my post count! Golly, no wonder my house is such a mess!
















+


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

mine would explain why my office is a mess too huh?

or not. could just be my aversion to dealing with real life right now







:


----------



## K's Mom! (Jul 22, 2004)

Wow! One year olds! Unbelievable!

My little guy is also getting to be more himself now, ie: personality shining a bit. He has taken a break from the talking, walking coming maybe??? Both of my kids slowed down on their vocab whenever they were learning something new. Especially harder things.

About Tantrums. . . With my DD at this age, I just helped her to know what she was feeling (so she could express that later on) and then helped her do whatever she was wanting to do (if it was okay to be done, if not than I would explain why it wasn't okay) For example, if there was a tantrum over not being able to reach her juice on the table than I would say, Oh, are you frustrated you can't reach for your cup? It's hard to be frustrated, here momma will help you get it. Then when she got older (around 1.5 when she was using words much more fluently) I would tell her that I didn't understand her whining/ tantrum and that she needed to use her words (I did help to remind her what her words were) I believe that this taught her that I would not respond to whining and that words were the way to get what she wanted from me. This REALLY worked for her. We never had tantrums. Now, we'll see if this works for cheyne. Here's hoping. LOL!

Good luck!

I'll post pics of C's bday soon.


----------



## jillmamma (Apr 11, 2005)

Michelle is still not quite walking, but is doing great with the push walker that her grandparents gave her for her birthday, and cruises everywhere. She has a few words..."duh" (duck), "cah" (car), "dada", "dah" (dog), "baba" (mama), and a variety of different cries to signal different needs. She is quite a firecracker lately too, screaming at the top of her lungs if she is not getting what she wants right then. She can entertain herself for several minutes (like 1/2 hour or so) at a time as long as she is fed, not too tired, and not wet/stinky. She is really into putting stuff into and taking it back out of containers lately, and wanting to play with whatever her big brother is playing (she plays with a lot of cars and trains lately







).


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

I've had some time to myself today, for the first time since early August, when we left for our trip, and of course, some of that time was spent on MDC catching up. Hope everyone had lovely birthdays with their babes!









Our road trip went so well! We all had a few moments of frustration, but it was 97% good times. E rolled with the changes in routine, sleep, food, etc so well-and over and over again, we were remined how lucky we are to have such an awesome little creature in our lives. We went through a part of the US I've never been to: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, South Dakota (we wanted to avoid it for political reasons, but selfish desires to see badlands and other such things overrode those intentions), Idaho, and Washington, up to British Columbia, and it was so beautiful. The US is so diverse. We spent a week or so in BC for a friend's wedding, then made the week-long journey back through Canada, though we'd both done this route before, so it wasn't quite so exciting as the journey out west. Now that we're back, E is having so much fun running through the house, which must seem enormous to her after a month in a camper van. The only downsides are that she seems a little anxious when we are not 2 feet away from her. When we left, she was sleeping on her own, from 8-8. It's only been a few nights that we've been back, but she is waking up 3-10 times a night...we are zonked (as is she!). We're hoping that as she readjusts, she'll go back to "normal". We were co-sleeping while away, out of necessity, but we are a bad bed combo: we are all active and light sleepers!

A question about food prices in the US: we found fresh foods to be a lot more expensive that in Canada, and packaged foods a lot cheaper, at least in the areas we were in. Is this true for most of the US? It would be almost impossible for us to maintain our mostly organic/mostly fresh foods lifestyle if we lived there. Just wondering!

Chasmyn, your post rang true for me-well said!
I can't believe how much has changed in the last little while. When we left for our trip out west, E was a baby, and she is most definitely a toddler now! Thinned out, talking (or trying to talk) all the time, experimenting and interacting with objects, sounds, and people constantly, voicing frustration when unable to communicate something, complete with stamping feet, head shaking, and mouth saying no-no-no, following instructions, doing anything for a laugh, dancing (we call it the "honky hump"), pushing chairs, strollers, carts, and running after cats, other kids, and well, anything that happens to catch her eye. The baby hugs and kisses kill me too-E does that thing too where she leans in and closes her eyes, and kind of hums and "kisses" (aka slobbers) you. Only she could get away with such sloppy love!
Her current big love is for dogs, from real ones to plush ones to those plastic dogs they have in grocery stores with coin slots in their heads for donations to the CNIB (for you Americans that's the Canadian National Institute for the Blind). She will also follow other kids anywhere. On our way back, E ran right up to a little boy and grabbed his hand, and walked around with him for about 10 minutes, while his mother and I followed behind, taking pictures and awwing. E kept hugging him and leaning into him, and he let her (he was probably 4 or so). They kept making each other laugh, and it was probably the cutest thing I've seen.
Words seem to have taken a backseat lately, as E develops other abilities, but she is using some words reliably-dog (doh), duck (duh), mama, dada, hi, bye, up, ball/balloon/book (all sound the same), toe, that, this, there, baby, and a host of seemingly wordlike gibberish that is fun to hear (doidle-oidel, leedle-deedle, etc.) She follows instructions and we've been playing the "take this to mommy/daddy/take this out/put it back" game with her. She looks so pleased with herself when she does something like put the laundry in (and then takes it out, and puts it back&#8230 the hamper. Okay, we kind of applaud when she does it, too.
What about food? What are your babes toddlers eating these days? E has had most things, and doesn't seem to have any sensitivites/allergies, except for bananas. She hasn't had egg whites, honey, any nuts or seeds (except for flax and sesame), sweets (except for the wine gum my huband left on the dashboard







, or processed foods. She seems to love all fruit and veg, cheese, bread, chick peas, dairy foods, but I feel like she gets the same thing over and over again. I made some baby chili (very light seasoning) which she loved. Any recipes you'd care to share?
I think I've reached my quota for post-length. Thanks for those of you that read this to the end!








Today was the first day of school, and it's my first September not in school/teaching in a very long time. It's strange not to be there, but I know that being with E is where I need to be right now.
Good night, sleep tight, hope you're enjoying the end of summer!

PS. I got AF today-kind of sucky, but I have to remind myself that it's been almost 2 years since I've had a period, so it's not so bad, right? Is anyone thinking about when to have the next baby? I swear there's a correlation between thinking about trying for another, and AF coming&#8230;


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama*
Kitty,









Chasmyn, Henry LOVES "Goodnight Gorilla" too. I think it's his favorite. Have you noticed how there's a balloon on just about every page? And that the zookeeper's name is Joe? (Yes, we read that one a LOT.)

Yeah. He just loves to look at all of the pages. It's interesting to hear how DH reads it as opposed to how I read it, too - very different interpretations. Kiernen's favourite page seems to be the one where Mrs. Joe is looking around with the "what?" expression. I've no idea why, but he always really studies that page. And of course the page with the whole line of all of the animals


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith*
I'm listening, too. Adam is doing the same thing here and there - and he's recently found his Loud Voice and begun screeching when he's angry/frustrated/mad/sad, etc. I'd love to hear suggestions.

Me too! I wonder if we ought to start a separate thread? Kiernen is the same - everything is from zero to cry - he evn brings on the tears! He is so very much a Leo - all of the drama and all of the needing of the attention. He has been very sensitive lately and needing me to be RIGHT NEXT TO HIM ALL OF THE TIME. I cannot do dishes, cook, clean, laundry, pee...He has to be in my arms if I am up and I have to be right by him paying attention to him and what he is doing if I am down. Any attempted interaction with above activities or laptop results in needing to read his books....ALL DAY LONG.

I love this little Man with all of my heart and soul AND. I need some space! I am so tired of reading these books over and over again. The only break is if we go outside, then he wants me to hold his hand and walk him whererever - which is fine, and we do that. But inside is all Mommy and books all the time.

The good thing is it sure motivates me to get out - we go to parks and for walks, whatever


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

what are the kids eating? Em pretty much eats the same things the rest of us eat, grain cereals, air popped popcorn, baked seasoned chicken, {I put paprika, soul food and other seasonings on my chicken and she handles it fine} liver & onions, salads, baked potatoes, etc. She even had a tiny bit of bell pepper for the first time yesterday! Bug was eating one and being a good sister, shared with Em. Then told us about it. But she's alright so just a small lecture on food safety and so forth to the well meaning mini. Oh, and scrambled eggs, which are her latest obsession in life...


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chasmyn*
Kiernen's favourite page seems to be the one where Mrs. Joe is looking around with the "what?" expression. I've no idea why, but he always really studies that page. And of course the page with the whole line of all of the animals









Henry has a favorite page in just about every book we own. And some of them are not ones I would ever in a million years think would be a favorite, like the "Goodnight stars, goodnight air" page in "Goodnight Moon." His favorite in "Goodnight, Gorilla" is the first one, where the gorilla is taking Joe's keys.


----------



## Mama Poot (Jun 12, 2006)

Wow....DH was just commenting yesterday on how much Paddy is growing- on all levels. He's 30.5 inches tall and can reach the knobs on the stove







He mumbles all day long in his own secret language we have yet to translate, says daddy, mama, light ( iiiiight! ) and Addy ( were working on the P







) I look at his little 5 week old brother and think "wow Paddy used to be this small" I wish they could stay little forever!


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

Hello all! Happy Birthday to my little man! Happy Birthday August!

This time last year I wasn't even aware that I was in labor...by 4:20, he was here!

It's been an awe-inspiring year, dh and I were talking about it last night and as difficult as the adjustment to two has been, ds2 has just fit seemlessly into our lives and hearts. He's entering into that second year of tantrums because he can't communicate well. It's hard, but he's mostly a very happy go-lucky kind of guy, so we'll get through it.








Kitty








Henhao








to anyone else who needs some extra


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Heldt and angus,, Thanks!! I am feeling better! yahoo! I am pretty sure I was anemic.

Anyone else doing Waldorf? I saw one person is -- ekygal, was it? -- and wonder how soon you can start? I planned to start at 2 and didn't know you could start sooner.


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Kiernen is walking!!!! Like, really intentionally walking!!! Holy oh my goddess, he is a toddler for real and for true!!!

He has been taking 3-5 steps here and there for the past couple of weeks, but not real intentional walking....until today. He pointedly walked to me twice, and we even got it on camera!!! Then he has been walking across the kitchen, across the living room, walking!!!

Oh. My. Goodness.

!!!

As for food, Kiernen eats what I eat and then some, because I am on a fairly - no, seriously - restricted diet for gut healing. He really likes chicken and ground meat, apples, bananas, cashew butter, chicken stock (homemade), squash (not pureed) like magda, zucchini, yellow - all of the summer squashes. He'll eat asparagus, salad, spinach, whatever veggies we're eating. I recently introduced him to Pirate's Booty but I don't want to make that a habit - he doesn't seem to like dry foods much - he rejects the apple cinnamon teddies and any attempt at O's.

Did I menbtion he is walking?

!!!


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

The funniest thing that happened recently was at a coffee shop (OK, it was Starbucks) last week. I was sitting in a comfy chair with A, feeding her a banana. She loves to do this and look around and smile at all the people coming in to get their coffee. She noticed an older man sitting by us and starting giving him her best - the full-on smile, the head-tilt and the WINK! Well, it was kind of a repeated blinking. He looked at me and said, "Is your baby winking at me?" I had to admit that she was, but I have NO idea where she learned it!

She's crawling up and down all the stairs and gets really upset if you try to carry her up the stairs. We have two carpeted steps in between our kitchen and dining room and she has used these to practice all her moves over the months. She's currently practicing walking down the stairs while holding onto the wall. She can already walk up the stairs using this method.

After taking her first steps a week before her birthday, she began walking in earnest last Monday the 28th while Lily and I were baking cookies for her classroom birthday party. A just stood up and started walking around and around the kitchen island. I've seen her crawl once since then. She puts her hands up around her ears and shrieks and laughs while cruising all over the condo. The stroller has become like prison. The girl wants to walk everywhere. I'm taking advantage of it by having her walk to the potty when she has to go. Hopefully, this will evolve into her just going to the potty by herself, or at least initiating it.

Speaking of the potty, she's having only one or two misses a day and staying dry all night. I handed her some tp the other day and she wiped her bottom! Now, that's part of the routine. Amazing.

I've been frustrated by the lack of signing and trying to get her to communicate with me. Words are still limited to mama, dada, Lily, hi, dog, whasat?, fish and numnums. She's also saying something that sounds like "look at" while pointing and I think she is saying "I did it!". But she screams and whines a lot too. She has mastered the sign for "more" and I have seen "toilet" sporadically, but that's it. So, I decided to teach her "yes" and "no" with the head shakes. That's actually going really well. I use her books to point out obvious correct and incorrect questions. "Annabelle, is that a dog?" (pointing to a cat or cow). "Noooooo (shake the head), that's not a dog!" When I ask her now if she wants more food, she will say yes or no with her head.

Papa taught her that lions growl and now, when you ask her "what's the lion say?" (either in French or English), she says, "grrrrrrrroooowwwwwlllllll". Last night at Lily's Back to School Night A walked around L's classroom with a book open to a picture of a lion growling away. Some of the other parents looked a bit scared.

She loves books too, but likes to read them herself. They are a fantastic teaching tool for me and I love sitting with her while she reads. She interacts with me by pointing and saying, "whasat?".

Food - anything goes here except the dangerous stuff, dairy, juice and processed food, although she loves bread. I don't give it to her much at all though - maybe once a month. Her favorite food right now is what Lily calls numnums. Ground turkey, mushrooms, yellow squash and zuchini cooked up with some tomato sauce. Yum! She pretty much eats three meals a day and a snack in the afternoon with Lily. She eats what we have for dinner and has oatmeal with banana and berries for breakfast with an egg yolk too. Still nursing six or eight or ten times a day too. I have a sore on my left nipple that hurts like HE**, but I'm hanging in there. Pumping hurts as much as nursing, so I just keep nursing. Beware of walking and nursing! Rub, rub, rub...

Finally, she is on her way to swimming! Thanks to coaching by my sister Mary, we've been working on swimming this summer. In Mexico at the beginning of August, I put her under the water and let go of her and she came up by herself! Last week in our pool, G and I were doing the same thing back and forth, back and forth. Wow, I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. A one year old swimming! Another day last week, I put her down to take off my cover up and she walked over to the shallow end of the pool, sat down, turned around, and lowered herself into the pool where she could touch. Then she took some steps and went under and came back up with just a little help.

So many changes this past month. My head is spinning!







:


----------



## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

Wow.. a lot to read! My mom's visiting this week so I've been busy with her and also (finally) getting a few things done. Will try to post more later

Hugs to everybody, esp those feeling ill or down!

A few things to say... that tooth/reading thing certainly didn't apply to me... I got my first tooth at 6 months but was reading at 3 years.

About my siggie: I'm glad you think it's funny, but I'm serious. Deadly serious.


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

_I have a sore on my left nipple that hurts like HE**, but I'm hanging in there. Pumping hurts as much as nursing, so I just keep nursing._

Kate: careful about that and try to make sure it's healing. After I had a couple of plugged ducts, I was left with a milk blister on my nipple, which then turned into kind of a red blister, which the lactation consultant theorizes is how I got such a severe case of mastitis. Hope yours gets better soon because it does hurt like H***, as you said.

Enjoying all the updates. Griffin started back at school today (my little boy is in Grade 4!), and my neice and her boyfriend are visiting, so it's been kind of hectic, but hopefully I can write more in a few days.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

kristin, what's up?


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Mamas...Owen ate peacock poo at the zoo today!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beyond mortified!!!!

It's a long story...have to work--more later. Good thoughts for the poo-eater, please.


----------



## heldt123 (Aug 5, 2004)

peacock poo!







Sorry, I couldn't help but laugh. I'm sure he'll be fine. Almost sounds better than eatin' his own poo....oh my kids have never done that!







:







:

Boy, the kids love Nathan's pumkin! Everyone goes running to the backyard when we mention it!

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/i_cor_...e2.jpg&.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/i_cor_...e2.jpg&.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/i_cor_...e2.jpg&.src=ph


----------



## elight23 (Jul 1, 2005)

- Beautiful pics, I really enjoyed them

- Yes, I think its a given that healthy organic eating in the states is more expensive than cheapo processed eating - at least on the west coast (where much is grown) - it cost a pretty penny... - which helps to flame the whole fast food nation/fast foods/junk/obesity ect.


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

So I had my very first chiro adjustment today - I have sciatic pain with this pregnancy that is like nothing I've ever known - and I can't sleep now. My back is on fire and I'm nauseous.

Is this normal?

eta: spelling...


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Emily, hopefully Kristin while chime in, but in my experience, it's totally normal.

I'm so sorry!!! That's just awful when back pain is keeping you awake. Did the chiro give you any instruction about ice or heat to follow-up?

This doesn't help tonight--but call the chiro in the am just to be sure. Maybe they can do some soft tissue stuff to help calm it down.

I use a lot of Icy Hot on my back. I know it doesn't actually treat anything...but it does make me feel better. (Don't know about these chemicals applied topically in pregnancy! Probably fine...but just wanted to add disclaimer!)

Is there any chance you could get to a pool in the next few days? It might feel good to float and get the weight of the womb off your back. I saw a study recently about water exercise being the most effective treatment for low back pain in pregnancy.

I hope you can sleep tonight!!! I wish I could do something helpful. I'll be up for awhile if you can't sleep.

Sorry, sweetie...









-Adrienne


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Thanks, Adrienne.









I'm up this morning and feeling a little better - if it's normal, then I can totally deal with that.

I see him again next week. He had requested every-other-day appointments to begin with, but it's such a production to go over there (3 hours in car, dh takes off work to take me over and take care of Adam, etc.) that I can't justify it right now.

There's a pool at the motel next door that we can use for $2







- that's a great idea....I'm going to try to go over today.

Back later to post - I've caught up on everyone's posts, but Adam is trying to help me type right now, so off I go. Love to all.


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Katie --

Sounds like A is busy working on the physical so the words are coming later. My babe is busy working on the words (she knows about 20 now) so the physical stuff is coming later.

O will NOT walk. She took 2 steps a few weeks ago. The sitter got her to take some more steps the other day and then O would not even get up on her feet after that. She really does NOT want to do it right now. She cruises and crawls and that's it. Whatever works for her!

Hey do you think it's too late to start to EC? I thought I should not bother since I'm not with her all the time. Maybe I should? We just got her a potty yesterday and I figure why not try.

Fridgeart--

Organic is more but whole foods are not. I buy grains that I scoop myself and they are not too expensive. Organic veggies are another story. They have learned they can charge more so they do. And now the US is changing organic standards so that some "organic" will not really be organic. Gotta love the US.

Sometimes I am eager for O to walk and then sometimes I am grateful that I don't have to chase her around quite yet. I don't feel ready!


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Henhao, I am thinking the same thing, but hope it's not too late. I was talking to another mama yesterday, and she said the window for EC was good til about 18 mos. She's been doing it with her daughter since about 4 mos, and said it has been going really well!
I am thinking E may be ready to try-she wakes up dry from naps, and as soon as the dipe is off, she pees...usually on the floor. So I was thinking about having a potty next to the change mat, and giving it a go.
Any advice from EC mamas? Most appreciated! Thanks!


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

Ds1 used to do what O is doing. He rolled 3 times in a row, then nothing. He He walked 5 steps at 13 months, then nothing until 16 months when he pulled off his diaper (note w/ds2 - retire the velcro aio's now before this happens) stood up and ran away from me laughing. He's still that way, doesn't really like to do something until he can do it "right".

Yesterday was nice, we went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Ds2 was scared of the splashing waves in the Wild Reef, but loved the turtles, the cichlids, the dolphins, the sea otters, the piranha, the rays...ds1 loved the frogs and snakes and lizards of course.

Dh & I looked at the birth pics & read the birth story before we went to bed, it was a nice ending to the day.


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

_Any advice from EC mamas? Most appreciated! Thanks!_

There's an EC forum in Diapering with a Late Starters Thread....


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

_Mamas...Owen ate peacock poo at the zoo today!!!!!!!!!!!!_

LOL -- Now I don't feel so badly about Tova eating a cat treat she found on the floor this morning. At least she hasn't found the litter box ...

xoxo


----------



## eastkygal (Feb 19, 2006)

Wow, peacock poo. DD ate dog food today. At least it was Natural Choice dog food.








We started the Waldorf Parent/Child Program Thursday. It was wonderful. The focus is completely on balance and rythym in our lives with dc. DD loved it. We planted flowers, ate a wholesome snack, sang songs, played games, told stories, rested, sanded knitting needles. I just loved it.







It chilled me right out. I just got over stress related hives and I never want to get those again. I'm working on the balance at home. We will get there. Does anyone have any suggestions?

How are dc's sleeping lately?

AF is driving me nuts! We are TTC and AF has came twice the last 2 months. I go 7 days, it goes away, and then I cramp badly and it starts again for 3 days. Unfortunately, migraines come with that. Yuck!


----------



## riverundine (Oct 26, 2005)

eastkygal,
we'll be in ky from the 18th through the 22nd...hardyville and louisville...i'm figuring louisville isn't anywhere near you, but what about hardyville? dh's mom has a small farm and we'd love to have you out if it's not too terribly far







.


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

We are in a rhythm here of awake by 6:30 or 7:00
Nap at 10:30 or so
Sleep for 2 - 3 hours
Bed between 7:30 and 8:00
up at 1:00 and 5:00 to eat

I'm OK with the 1:00 wake up (sometimes that's six whole hours sleeping for her), but wish I could stretch out the 5:00 to 6:30 or 7:00. My gut tells me that if she had her own room, she would be able to sleep all night, but with four of us in a two bedroom condo, we're not set up for that. I think this week when dd1 is at her dad's I'll have dh and me sleep in her bed and see how that effects the baby's sleep.

Anyone else still awake twice in the night? C'mon I know you're out there!


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama*
Anyone else still awake twice in the night? C'mon I know you're out there!

TWICE?! I'd be happy with twice! It's more like four or five times.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Em is usually up once or twice between the time we go to bed and the time we get up for the day. I tracked it the other day for her scrapbook. it's not a perfectly-normal normal day, but it will work, KWIM?

Went to bed for the 'night' {loose word in our house} @ 145
Got up briefly @ 422 {wet diaper. she hates even being damp}
Back to sleep @ 431
Got up again @ 740 {kids woke her up to say goodbye when they left for school}
Back to sleep almost instantly {all she really did was open her eyes and whine a bit at being disturbed even though they do it every school day}
Up for the day @ 1043
Down for a [email protected] 320 {all three kids crash out in the living room listening to the CD player at this time every day}
Up from her nap @ 452
Down for a brief nap @ 826
Up from that nap @ 9p

_edited to convert to civilian time. sorry about that_


----------



## jillmamma (Apr 11, 2005)

henhao - On the EC thing, I have a little potty that DS never really used that I am sitting DD on once or twice a day, just to get her where she is not scared of it like he was. She has gone pee and poo in there several times now, but if she starts getting agitated, I take her off and we try again later. I have been doing it after she eats or wakes up if it is a convenient time. Not sure how much she understands, but it saves a bit on diapers.









Night wakings - we are getting up once or twice a night here lately too. Usually at 2ish to have a good long nurse, and again at 5 or 6 to have another. Up for the day anywhere from 7:30-9:00, goes to bed between 8:30 and 10:00. DS was 21 months before he nightweaned and slept through, so I am not expecting DD to do it anytime soon either.

New word for yesterday..."uh oh!" Too cute watching her drop things and say it!

Anyone else getting a squealer? If Michelle gets frustrated...wants out of high chair, has toy stuck, etc. she screeches! She is definitely a little firecracker...must go with the red hair!


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

On EC, we caught a poop and some pee. And then some went all over the floor.









I've had her on the potty and she is thrilled to be there -- all smiles -- but not a drop comes out except for that one time. I sorta know when she's pooping but not when she's peeing.

I ordered some babylegs and joined the "EC Late start" yahoogroups.

AND she is terrible about naps. She poops right as I'm getting her down for her nap and cries and won't go down to sleep. She did this twice yesterday..the ol' I am going to poop so I won't sleep thingie.







:

She's fine with sleeping at night -- goes 11-12 hours at night -- but the daytime is not so good these days.

here's a pic:

<http://www.lifespacecoach.com/gallery/v/lifeinaugust2006/Olive-Aug-2006+238.jpg.html>

ETA: We caught a pee!! We caught a pee!! And then she pointed at the toilet and said "otty." I'm being laid back about our success. I'm just going to put her on the potty and, if she's into it, great! I've trained her to use her diaper as a toilet so now we'll see if I can teach her to use the toilet as a toilet.


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Tova is still up once or twice in 11-12 hours ... much less predictable than DS was at this age.


----------



## eastkygal (Feb 19, 2006)

riverrundine - We actually live in Louisville! We moved from east Ky about 5 years ago. I'm not sure where Hardyville is. Where are you coming to in Louisville?

DD hasn't been going to sleep well lately at all - though she did the last 2 nights. She still wakes between 3-5 times a night to nurse. I cut her down to one nap hoping that would help night sleep, but it didn't. Just wondering where everyone else was at.

Today she figured out how to blow bubbles in the water of the bathtub! Then, of course, she drank about a gallon of her water. She just loves water. (She is taking her Level 2 swimming lessons starting Monday.) She also blows spit bubbles making a little mawahhh sound with every bubble.







I love it because I can remember doing that myself as a little girl.

Just wanted to share that a combo of Herbs for Kids Echinecia (sp) / Golden Root and Hyland's C-Plus Cold Tablets will nip a cold in the bud real fast. DD was feeling better in a day!


----------



## elight23 (Jul 1, 2005)

Wow - Ds is still up sometimes every hour at night - at least every other hour
He is so super sensitive to teething pain and still reacts to a lot of foods that I eat and I've already cut out so much.
I didn't realize most of you had already moved into the once or twice a night waking club... hmmm NCSS didn't do a thing for us... Now that he's nearly 13 months, maybe I should look into that man henhao was following - what was his name again please? - Jay Gordon?
He sleeps great for his one nap,11-1, and goes down easily at 8pm.


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Deb, what was the key thing in getting Olive to sleep for these long stretches? I know you changed your routine so that she wasn't nursing to sleep. How did you get her to sleep then? Did she cry a lot? If so, it's OK, I'm not judging, just want to know what to expect. Sometimes A can't quite settle down with nursing and I put her in her bed awake and she cries a bit (5 minutes or so) until she gets comfy and goes to sleep. I sit next to her, but don't know if that's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, she's never been one to like cuddling, rocking, walking, etc...

When she woke at night, did you just stay in bed and shush her from there? Or did you try to get to her before she actually woke up and lay hands on her to settle her before waking?

TIA







:


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

E was a great sleeper before our road trip (8-8, no nursing), but the last week has been like having a newborn again-up every hour or so. I'm not sure how I managed to do it before!







: I feel fairly out of it. The good news is that she's getting better night by night (only up once last night, and back down again quickly. She just seems to need to know that we're there), and that she is putting herself to sleep for naps, mostly. I put her in her crib, and have a seat on the floor, and she kind of plays for a while, then falls asleep (getting up a few times to make sure I'm there, of course!) This is a huge change from the nursing-rocking-singing routine I had before, and she just started doing it on her own. The bad news is she's dropped a nap, so we're down to one early afternoon nap...anyone still lucky enough to have 2 naps (or more?!)

In general, here's our day:
7ish: up
1.30ish: nap
3.30ish: up
8ish: begin bedtime routine


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Fridgeart - any French words yet? I've heard chien and nez (while grabbing my nose) here, so that means I'll hear them again in about a month or so.


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

We've been lazy with the French lately-but my friend got E some sparkly (or "scintillantes" my new favourite French word!) board books with letters and numbers. E really likes them, so I'm going to try and be more rigourous about it. How much/often are you speaking French?


----------



## Leiahs (Jul 29, 2005)

Sheesh, I thought I had subscribed to this thread, and kind of forgot all about it or a while, and just found it again! That was a lot of reading! You gals sure keep a thread going!
















I'm in denial that Jacob is a toddler, even though it's staring me in the face. Heck, I still call my almost 3-year-old a toddler. I guess I should "upgrade" them both! Jacob is walking like he was born walking. This past week he just started standing up from a sit all on his own without having to pull up on anything. I never once saw him attempt and fail...he just started doing it like he had known all along. He is getting so fast, and loves chasing his sister around.

He's not really talking yet. He says "Uh oh" and "mama" and babbles a lot of other thing throughout the day. Right now he says "Dat" and "Dut" and "Guh" a lot while he's grabbing things. He was grabbing things out of the dryer yesterday and saying something that sounded an awful lot like shirt. But it's still babbling as far as I can tell. He isn't doing more than a couple of signs, mostly because I haven't been teaching him. But he has, in the last little while, started making this fingering motion, like rubbing his thumb between his first two fingers, with his arm stretched out, when he wants to grab something. It's cute









He's still almost completely nursing, another thing which makes me feel like he's still my little baby :heart I've tried giving him food, but he just tends to spit it all out, or make a huge mess, or both. I probably don't offer quite as much as I should, but he's still pretty consistent when I do. So I'm kind of still waiting a bit before I really get heavily into offering solids. In the meantime, he still nurses on demand. Sometimes coming to get a sip every 10 minutes!







And for night, sometimes he sleeps a good 5 hours, sometimes he's up every 3 hours, but I'm okay with it. It seems almost normal to me now, LOL. And AF still hasn't made any comeback, another bonus!

Jacob and I have gotten into a comfortable habit of him nursing to sleep when I sit at the computer. And so I never got around to creating a solid bedtime routine for him...I would just nurse him on my lap till he fell asleep, and then transfer him. Well, for naptimes, this technique still works great. But lately he's been staying up later and later (which isn't helped by my night-owl habits, I'm sure), to the point where his bedtime is now midnight or later, and his morning time is usually around 11am. Ugh. The few times I've tried starting him earlier in the day just end up with a very cranky baby and an entire day out of whack, so I just fall back into the comfortable no-fuss pattern we had. But I'm really starting to think I need to get going on a bedtime routine so he can transition more easily into "bedtime" mode. He's been doing too much of a nurse-on-my-lap and then get-down-and-play-crazy pattern lately, and then it's a struggle to get him to calm down to sleep.

Anyway, I'm subscribed now, hopefully I'll pop back in here more often!


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

_In general, here's our day:
7ish: up
1.30ish: nap
3.30ish: up
8ish: begin bedtime routine_

Fridgeart: this is very, very similar to most of our days, although we generally start our bedtime routine around 7:15 so Tova is asleep by 8. Sometimes she will nap for 2.5 or 3 hours, which is a real bonus. Of course, though, the teething throws everything off. She just got tooth #7 and so the past week was a bit of a struggle -- she was very hard to settle (two or three false starts when I would think she was asleep and she wasn't) and up two or three times in the night instead of the typical one or two. Not too bad, though, in light of others' sleep deprivation!


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

DD and I found a lovely board book at the library the other day and I just wanted to share, and see if anyone else has read it. It's called I'm Made of Mama's Milk and it's by Mary Olsen. The copy I have is pretty beat up, but it looks like it was published in 2001. Anyway, it's all about breastfeeding, with lovely photos of the Mom nursing her baby in the park, in the tub, in the sling, and lying down in bed. I also loved that the baby is not an infant, but probably about a year old (same age as my Tova). It ends with the words Mama's Milk! What a Wonderful Drink! It Makes Darling Children, Don't You Think? And there's a mirror-effect on the back page, which DD thinks is fabulous. Anyone else seen it?


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama*
Deb, what was the key thing in getting Olive to sleep for these long stretches? I know you changed your routine so that she wasn't nursing to sleep. How did you get her to sleep then? Did she cry a lot? If so, it's OK, I'm not judging, just want to know what to expect. Sometimes A can't quite settle down with nursing and I put her in her bed awake and she cries a bit (5 minutes or so) until she gets comfy and goes to sleep. I sit next to her, but don't know if that's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, she's never been one to like cuddling, rocking, walking, etc...

We followed the plan in the Good Night Sleep Tight Book. We didn't CIO.

I moved the nursing up in the routine so our routine is: nursing, books, warm bath in dim light, bedtime while listening to lullabyes.

She just gets to sleep on her own. We did a little less each night. The first few nights, we sat very close to her and walked and rocked her a little before putting her down and would pat her intermittently. She would stand and I would pat the bed and she would lie down...She hated the lion at first and would throw him out of the crib. She did cry at not getting the boob. However, we were there to comfort her. She had had the boob only 30 min before and had all of her needs met, so I knew it was a matter of her needing to get used to this big change.

On night 4, we moved a little bit further away and sat in a chair. She would pop her head up to look for us and then lie back down. She was very quiet for this. We said "time for night night" and "shhh" and we would pat her intermittently. We stalled in the process for no good reason and sat in the chair for about 10 days -- way longer than the book says/oh well -- and then moved her to another room and then sat by the door. When we moved her to other room, we were slightly concerned she'd need to adjust but she was fine. By this point, she was going out pretty quick. Eventually, we moved to the hallway and would just say night night or shhhh. This is all after the routine and some walking with her to the sounds of lullabyes. We don't just plop her in the crib...we get her very drowsy.

I really believe the way the baby first goes to sleep at night will map out how they sleep for the whole night. If the baby falls asleep nursing, she will want to nurse when she rouses in the night. Now, I'll hear some stirrings from O in the night and she goes right back to sleep on her own. Every now and then, she'll wake up and we go right in. Some people might not, but I do. One time, she was super thirsty and DH gave her a sippy of water. One time, she had not nursed well during the routine so I gave her a boob. Another few times, I roused her to give her a "moon boob" because it didn't seem like she'd drunk much before bed. The key is for you to rouse the baby so it doesn't become a habit for the baby.

In the morning, we have a mongo nursing session, and she nurses about an hour. After a nap today, she nursed and bellied up to me for about 40 minutes. It's lovely, and we have a great time laughing and I play "take away" with the boob and she cracks up. Nursing a toddler rocks by the way!

Oh, I also started to nurse her in the living room so she no longer associates the bedroom with nursing. Sometimes I break the rule but for the most part I don't.

My friend said her baby is a whole new person -- so much less cranky -- now that she's getting sleep.

I am really proud I could do this without CIO. That was important to me.









I think she's dropping her am nap. It's hit or miss.







:

PS: She peed in the potty again today!! She was SO pleased with herself. She started peeing right when I put her on it!!


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

_How much/often are you speaking French?_

Dh speaks French to her exclusively and I'm trying to get him (Mr. Set-in-His-Ways) to speak French to me all the time too in front of the children. I understand a lot, but don't speak very well, so I thought to expose A to more French, he could speak French to me and I could answer him back in English. I still am providing French translations to her during the daytime, though. Well, I do the best I can...

Deb, thanks so much for your post about your nighttime routine. I am really wanting to cut the nursing/sleep association. But at the same time I feel that nursing to sleep is so natural and provides for a no-fuss bedtime. My real concern in terms of my own health is the twice waking in the night. I know I shouldn't complain (right, Newmama?), but it's getting to me. I almost cringe when she nurses in the night and want her off me. I hate feeling that way about my sweet baby. I have a girlfriend who never did the nurse to sleep thing with either of her girls (2 years and six months) or CIO and they are both great sleepers. At least things have improved from the five times a night we were at in June. Wish I had a bigger house so A could have her own room!

Had such a nice weekend here for my dh's birthday. Now, NO MORE BIRTHDAYS until mine in April. I love my fam soooo much!


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama*
Deb, thanks so much for your post about your nighttime routine. I am really wanting to cut the nursing/sleep association. But at the same time I feel that nursing to sleep is so natural and provides for a no-fuss bedtime.

You're welcome. For me, O stopped going to sleep easily with nursing. I also liked the no fuss aspect and relied on it for about a year.

I hear ya with the health/sleep issues. My health is in the toilet. Now I am on a super good whole foods diet, taking a vitamins, etc. The doc said not to have a baby now. I am underweight, have random skin rashes. I feel like I eat all the time and am always hungry and tired (even when I sleep). Yuck. Sorry for the mini-vent. I just know I need sleep so I can heal what the preg and sleep deprivation took out of me. I try to keep quiet IRL because I don't want to bore everyone with how bad I feel a lot of the time. I am optimistic that I'll feel better as time goes on.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama*
I know I shouldn't complain (right, Newmama?), but it's getting to me.

Ah, complain away! That's what we're here for.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skana*
DD and I found a lovely board book at the library the other day and I just wanted to share, and see if anyone else has read it. It's called I'm Made of Mama's Milk and it's by Mary Olsen. The copy I have is pretty beat up, but it looks like it was published in 2001. Anyway, it's all about breastfeeding, with lovely photos of the Mom nursing her baby in the park, in the tub, in the sling, and lying down in bed. I also loved that the baby is not an infant, but probably about a year old (same age as my Tova). It ends with the words Mama's Milk! What a Wonderful Drink! It Makes Darling Children, Don't You Think? And there's a mirror-effect on the back page, which DD thinks is fabulous. Anyone else seen it?

I just put it on my wish list at Amazon. I'm trying not to buy anything for Henry but I keep finding cool stuff!







:


----------



## elight23 (Jul 1, 2005)

Henhao, please tell me the name of the author of your good night sleep tight book?


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elight23*
Henhao, please tell me the name of the author of your good night sleep tight book?

It's by Kim West.


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

What a great bedtime routine, Deb. I'm glad it's going so well for you. Like Kate, I'm reluctant to stop the feeding (bottle) before bedtime --- it's been a non-fail, fall-asleep-every-time thing since he was born, and it's just been so easy...but at the same time, I like the concept of helping him learn to fall asleep on his own, like O is -

However, at the same time, I'm too tired to change things - I'm 32 weeks now, and really hitting that brick wall each night. After I get Adam into bed, I've only got about a good half hour in me before I drop, and I just have no energy to even think about a major bedtime routine change right now. Lame, I know, but hopefully it will work out in a few months. I hope it won't be "too late" then.

Skana & fridgeart, that schedule sounds like ours. One nap for 1.25 hours and that's it. Adam has increased his nightwakings from 1-2 to every 30-60 minutes this week, but I think he's getting more teeth. His gums feel so boggy, and he just tosses and turns all night. We had stopped cosleeping for the majority of the night (he was still coming in around 4am), but now I just bring him in around 11ish with me and sing/pat him back to sleep next to me. Hopefully a shortlived thing because I am getting *no* sleep.

I don't think I can whine any more this morning, can I? Sorry! Just hanging in here, for the most part, but barely some days....

Love to all. Adam says "Bwahhhh!" to you - his new word, spoken like a growl with a great grin on his face.


----------



## babycarrier (Apr 2, 2004)

henhao - thanks for posting your night routine. J will not nurse to sleep for me at night anymore. in fact, he will not go to sleep for me at night. dh can put him down tear free in under 15 minutes. they say night night sing a song and dh cuddles in ds's bed until J drifts off into lala land.

hopefulfaith - whatever gets you through! my thoughts are to worry not about routines or habits or anything right now. the added stress to you is enormous i'm sure and just parenting while being pregnant is challenging enough. that exhaustion is deep. you are a wonderful momma and will lead your family through this transition time lovingly. how is the back pain?


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

_I just put it on my wish list at Amazon. I'm trying not to buy anything for Henry but I keep finding cool stuff!_

Good for you -- I think I will try to get a copy, too (this one will eventually have to go back to the library!). I hope you like it. Let me know what you think once it arrives. And hope Henry likes it, too.


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

I think I said in my post the other day that Tova had just gotten her seventh tooth. Make that eighth! I was feeling around in her mouth to see how much of it had come through, and I happened to feel her bottom gum and there was another tooth. I guess I missed it because it's not beside the four other bottom ones she has -- it's like a space removed. I think that makes it a molar? So she has three on top and five on the bottom. And we need a break from this teething. She is much more bothered by it than DS ever seemed to be. Hugs to everyone else who is suffering, whether it be teething or night-waking (or both, as is often the case!).


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

I feel so blessed and like who could ask for more!! He sort of gets on his knees and goes on his tip toes and pushes himself across the floor, first on knees then slumps to the floor. It's MOTION and I'm so thrilled! He rolls as well as the next kiddo but this is action in the positive direction! He also has begun jabbering beyond da-da. It's like it comes in spurts! I'm so happy! He says baba and not sure if means he's hungry or just a newly developed sound but I'll take it. He's also starting to eat solid food, he loved butternut squash with maple syrup yesterday. That and some garlic mashed potatoes he was like, oh yeah now THIS is eating! He's stopped mushing his teething bisquits and is actually chewing. I've notice him stare at us trying to get the motion.

He had a reaction to his first year immunizations (yes, I know I'm probably a minority here but...) he got a mild case of measles and was kind of miserable for a few days. The rash lasted all of 2.5 days and light 99-ish fever for 4 days. He didn't want to eat anything and barely took a bottle. He wanted to be held 24/7 and I was happy to be a recliner potatoe and oblige. Children with down syndrome tend to have compromised immune systems and from what my pediatrician said it's a bit more common to see reactions in children with lower immunities than those who have higher immunities. My friends on the T21 online forum I belong to concur and I read of many people going through the same thing.

All and all, life is scary and difficult at the moment but lil Nathanael is thriving and progressing so fast! I'm just over the moon about it! The EEE teachers are all campaigning to be his teacher when he's 3!! hahahaaa..girls are after him already









He's about 9months old in development and size (17 lbs) and I'm just loving every minute of it, some days, when I'm over tired or something I just kind of feel like "let's get on with it..enough baby already" but then the other 99.9999% of the time I can't get enough.

Aren't they great????


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Kitty -- O is 17lbs, too! We have small fries!

Emily -- Oh, I remember well how tired I was carrying that babe inside of me. You are doing so much work even when you sit still -- making a human, you know -- so be easy on yourself.

All -- O said "helicopter" today!!







It is SO exciting. One went by overhead and the 3-year old said "airplane" and O said "helicopter" perfectly, and O was right. Tee hee. She also said "squirrel." She went on the potty again and can use her spoon decently.







My baby is turning into a...girl. I'm not ready!! Waaaah.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *henhao*
Kitty -- O is 17lbs, too! We have small fries!

Emily -- Oh, I remember well how tired I was carrying that babe inside of me. You are doing so much work even when you sit still -- making a human, you know -- so be easy on yourself.

All -- O said "helicopter" today!!







It is SO exciting. One went by overhead and the 3-year old said "airplane" and O said "helicopter" perfectly, and O was right. Tee hee. She also said "squirrel." She went on the potty again and can use her spoon decently.







My baby is turning into a...girl. I'm not ready!! Waaaah.









WOW...I think Henry is about 26 pounds. That's almost TEN POUNDS more than O! And he's not really talking at all...O said "helicopter"?! Amazing.

(Which reminds me that the little girl I used to nanny for always called it a "hopper-copter." Too cute.)

Kitty, congrats on Nathanael's progress! I really, really wish Henry had stayed a little bitty baby for so much longer than he had. I understand your wanting progress but it's nice to have a wee one to snuggle with, too.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Kitty, congrats on Nathanael's progress









Em is still chunking out at 26 lbs give or take. She's friends with the scale in my bathroom and may or may not be the reason it said my Bible weighed 93 pounds today {and it's a slimline Bible. Dh's I could believe weighed that much}


----------



## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

Hi all!
Anyone have two kids in the same room yet? Emmett is nursing to sleep and sleeps with DH and I , but we were thinking of having our boys together sometime in the future. I think they would enjoy sleeping together.
Our nightime routine is similar to some of the others posted- sleep about 8pm or so. When I slip into bed for the night at 11 pm or so, he nurses a little bit again. Up at around 7 am, although there is usually a nursing in there somewhere else. I just kind of follow his lead, but he is a terrific sleeper.
He naps twice most days- around 10 am and around 2 pm. One of the naps is at home, but at least one of them is in the car or on a walk. It is hard to stay home all day every day, so we take our naps on the road alot! My 3 yo DS takes one nap still usually on the road or on a walk in the double stroller.

Congrats to all of the babies progressing in their movement, speech, etc. It is wonderful to see, isn't it? I so enjoy watching E's interaction with the world. iT is beautiful.

- Kerri


----------



## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *skana*
_I just put it on my wish list at Amazon. I'm trying not to buy anything for Henry but I keep finding cool stuff!_

Good for you -- I think I will try to get a copy, too (this one will eventually have to go back to the library!). I hope you like it. Let me know what you think once it arrives. And hope Henry likes it, too.

I have to say that I was dissappointed in this book. A great idea, poorly executed. The pictures are grainy, poor quality and make the book look very unprofessional thrown together, IMNSHO. Too bad, because it's a great concept!


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

_I have to say that I was dissappointed in this book. A great idea, poorly executed. The pictures are grainy, poor quality and make the book look very unprofessional thrown together, IMNSHO. Too bad, because it's a great concept!_

Oh, sorry to hear that. I just thought my copy was really beaten up from library use. Still, Tova seemed to enjoy it and I'm like you, I love the concept.


----------



## rainbowmoon (Oct 17, 2003)

my DD was 19lbs last I checked! she is _finally_ catching up!







(she was still only 12lbs @9mo) she is on the verge of walking, just not too sure of it quite yet. she crawls SO fast though and thinks it's fun if I chase her.







otherwise she is starting to talk a little and says "hi" and "cat" and "uh oh!" she is getting another tooth..her 6th or 7th, I am losing count now (my 2yo is also teething w/ molars simultaniously. oh joy!).


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

_my 2yo is also teething w/ molars simultaniously. oh joy!_

Oh, I can't hear that tonight. A is on his 5th consecutive day of misery & his gums look mangled - I honestly wonder if more than one tooth is coming simultaneously. This is the first time all day I've had more than 10 child-free minutes, and that's only because I just lost it with dh and he's upstairs putting A to bed...minor miracle.... ((sigh)) Poor kid - I actually medicated him tonight with ibuprofen - I rarely do, but he was just walking around crying in between climbing in my arms and drooling.







I feel sad for him.

Deb and farmlife, thanks for the support.







I'm really just having a bad week - I promise to try not to be whiny next week...







: Honest. I am pretty much at my wit's end right now, so am off to bed shortly.

Kitty, I'm so happy about Nathaniel's progress! Rock on, little man!









Good night, all. Kisses to the beautiful babes.

P.S. - Helicopter?!?







That's awesome. Seriously, Adam's new word is "BWAHHH!", spoken very loudly and with a great grin. He is definitely nowhere near four syllables.







He does think he's pretty funny, though!


----------



## babycarrier (Apr 2, 2004)

Kerri- we moved both boys in together a couple months back. there was a transition period, but things seem to have smoothed over. sometimes Jack wakes early and he thinks it is great fun to scoot off his mattress and tackle his brother while he is asleep. big brother does not love the game so much








anyway, our co-sleeping usually has me starting out with dh and ending up in ds2's bed about 1-3A and big brother crawling in on my other side somewhere before 5ish. Today I moved the bookcase and the train table out and am focusing on it being a sleeping room with few distractions. I'll see how it goes. I found that when I am getting the lil guy down for a nap, lots of the big guy's activities for quiet time are in the bedroom. That was not something I planned real well but am adjusting now. I love having them in the same room. The times they curl up together and sleep are just heartmelting. yummy kids!


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

because Nathanael's a great sleeper too. He's down by 7:30/8am up by 6am, naps from about 11-1 or 2, then 4:30-5:30. Please don't sic the natural family police on me but he sleeps in the kitchen! LOL No, I wanted to move him into a crib but our crib broke (well big brother used it as a trampoline one day) and it's been through a lot of kids. So all I have is a graco pack n play (an older wider one) and it will only fit in the kitchen.

Originally, we were fixing up our 3 season porch to be a bedroom for my 12 yr old and then a playroom, then my 11 yr old could move into my 12 yr old's old room, my 5 yr old could bunk with my 9 yr old and then Nathanael could bunk with Timmy but dang the contractor screwed us over etc etc and so that's all on hold. So, now everyone's still in their same rooms and the baby's in the kitchen. My room is half done due to the (#$)&(&*#@* contractor screwing us over so he can't be in there with me in the playpen. I originally never did the family bed with him due to his serious breathing issues where he had to sleep upright so we never got into the groove with that ...though we do have a comfy temperpedic king size bed *hubba hubba*









Anyway....you all must wonder what I'm doing here, I don't co-sleep, I vax, ummm well I breast fed (almost typed "beast fed" hahahaa) for 9 months. I guess we're all different for different reasons but my heart's still here. Though I feel wierd clicking on the toddler thread!!

ah well...that's me......


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aeriane*
Anyway....you all must wonder what I'm doing here, I don't co-sleep, I vax, ummm well I breast fed (almost typed "beast fed" hahahaa) for 9 months. I guess we're all different for different reasons but my heart's still here. Though I feel wierd clicking on the toddler thread!!

Humans don't always agree. That's what makes life interesting!


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Speaking of "beast feeding"...any new ideas for snacks or meals for these little people?

Owen's cow allergy persists. He's done with Oatios. But not ready for serious chewables either.

Snacks are challenging for me since I am organizationally challenged at the moment.

Any tips appreciated!


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah









avoid peacocks

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

The fav food here is numnums. I brown some ground turkey, add some tomato sauce and whatever veggies I'm trying to disguise (A is not too keen on veggies). So far I've had luck with broccoli, mushrooms, yellow squash and zuchinni. I have to cut it up into VERY small pieces. A is a big time choker.

She will eat sweet potato cubes and any kind of fruit - again cut up really small and cooked if hard like apple or pear. She also loves miso soup with some tofu cubes. Again, very small cubes. Everyone getting clear that the cubes have to be small?

For breakfast she is eating ground oatmeal with half a smooshed banana and some (yes, very small) pieces of strawberry. Last night, she ate the mushrooms and rice from our beef stroganoff.

I find that making a bunch (like the ground turkey) and freezing in small plastic containers is working great. Every morning I just take out what I'm using that day.


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Snacks...E is eating A LOT these days...she is loving whole peaches/nectarines!! She eats the whole thing, and loves holding it for herself. Of course, I am on choke patrol, and sit right beside her.
Other faves are steamed carrots (sliced thin) and broccoli, dried fruit (but I tend to avoid it bc of all the tooth brushing that has to happen after!), pita quarters with cheese melted on them (usually cut into strips/bites), toasted tortillas, mini muffins I make...hoping for some new ideas!

A question for SAHM's-how often do you get together with other moms/kids? E is in love with other kids, and I've signed her up for some classes that start next week, but I don't know if 2 kid events a week are enough. Generally I see another 1-2 friends that have kids similar in age as well. We live out in the country, so walking to a local park is not really an option. Ideas? TIA!


----------



## LoveMyJonah (Sep 11, 2006)

Can I join in? My name is Alison, I have a 12 month old named Jonah Alexander, born 8-19-05. I'm not a totally natural mom, there are lots of things I am trying to do better, but I'm here to learn. Thanks!


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LoveMyJonah*
Can I join in? My name is Alison, I have a 12 month old named Jonah Alexander, born 8-19-05. I'm not a totally natural mom, there are lots of things I am trying to do better, but I'm here to learn. Thanks!


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)




----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)




----------



## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LoveMyJonah*
Can I join in? My name is Alison, I have a 12 month old named Jonah Alexander, born 8-19-05. I'm not a totally natural mom, there are lots of things I am trying to do better, but I'm here to learn. Thanks!


----------



## babycarrier (Apr 2, 2004)

Welcome!

I'm feeling renewed! Dh and I went out for our anniversary last night. A whole hour and a half! It was wonderful to reconnect and necessary. We had a great talk about parenting on the way to the restaurant and it feels great to be getting in a groove with ds2.

Jack is just blossoming into this amazing little individual. He is running around like crazy. Has very few words but he does use what he knows regularly. He is starting to sign some things back to me. Today I asked him what he was carrying in his hand and he held it up high and said "ugck". It was a toy truck. Frankly, it shocked me and I had a moment of wow! he really is understanding me.

I am so looking forward to cutting back my hours in a few months from 32 to 16 and having my nights back with my family.







Glad this group is still going strong!


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

hey all. Is it just me or are these kids getting more amazing every day? I missed this stage with my older two due to being a WOHM pulling 18+ hour shifts to scrape by so I guess I'm probably super-lame for saying this with kid #3, but it seems like she gets more and more amazing every day.

We had to go clothes shopping for Miss Em today because she's outgrown *everything* like, overnight. Scary stuff. She's starting to slim down now that she's walking {read running} everywhere, so her few pants were too short, skirts & dresses were getting shorter, and she was down to one or two t-shirts. So we dropped $35 on two 'outfits' a sweatshirt and two pairs of stretch leggings at the ebil empire. As much as I would have loved to journey into town for these things, it was not to be time & cash wise.







The new stuff is size 12 months and cute. not exactly burlington's-cute but definitely cuter than the remnants that goodwill wants new-with-tags prices for so I'm dealing.

Tired. I guess I"m still feeling the effects of being sick all week. Still getting hot and cold chills. yeah. At least my jaw has quit hurting and I can and have resumed snuggling up to dh at night. I know it sounds nauseatingly sweet and all but I truly haven't found much that six hours of good sleep cuddled up with him can't solve. Other than the blasted ENT/Jaw infection. And most of what his presence can't fix, the kids can.


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Owen said "buddha" today!

Welcome to Jonah's mom!!!


----------



## LoveMyJonah (Sep 11, 2006)

Thanks for the warm welcomes everyone!
As far as talking goes, Jonah says a bunch of single words and a few two word "sentences."
Every morning when I'm getting him dressed, we do a routine where I say, "Where are we going? Are we going to school? Where are we going?" So two days ago I was really tired and was staring out into space getting him dressed. I took him into the bathroom to fix his hair and he looks right up at me and says, "Where goin?" Like, mom, you forgot! He amazes me every day


----------



## eastkygal (Feb 19, 2006)

ktmama- DD sounds just like yours. She dislikes most veggies too, but like the same ones yours does. Interesting!

fridgeart - We get out 4 times a week right now. We do swimming lessons on Monday, Gymboree Music class on Wednesday, Waldorf Parent/Child on Thursday, and Gymboree on Friday. I'm getting ready to give up the Music class at Gymboree though. I don't think she is getting much out of it other than socializing, and that's a lot of money to spend on socializing. DD thrives off of getting out of the house. She enjoys it so much. We are really loving Waldorf and may start that twice a week instead of Gymboree. I haven't decided yet. DD loves the water at swimming and everywhere else too!

DD's new thing is spinning in circles. Of course she crashes afterward, but she loves it. It's so cute!


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Welcome Alison!
This is such a great board!

How is it that there are so many changes in just a week or so? It seems like everyone's babes are going through major transitions. I've found myself getting misty over how toddler-like E is, and I'm not a very sentimental person. Has anyone else noticed that when their DC is learning a new physical skill or is growing a lot (crawling, walking, teething, etc), that things like speech kind of slow down, and that as soon as it's mastered/grown, they pick up where they left off? E's last tooth (yes, #16!) is finally all the way through as of last night, and today she is talking, talking, talking...just wondering if it is a coincidence?! Before this last batch of teeth came in, she was talking a lot, then it kind of stopped, and now it's back with a vengeance!


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

EStreetMama - can you clear your mailbox, please? Thanks.


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Welcome, Alison! I love the "where goin?" story.









Adam isn't into veggies too much, either...he's really only into carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash at the moment, and I keep wondering when his skin is going to turn orange!?! Seriously... He won't touch anything green right now except pickles.

I love all the new words everyone's getting - truck and Buddha! Very cool!!!

And Kitty, I have been giggling for two days over "beast fed" -- Adam was mowing on some cheese yesterday and that's all I could think of.







My beast was fed. heeheeheehee!!

Oooh - another OB visit today. She felt my belly up good and my baby's head is definitely down! Yeah!!


----------



## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Howdy mamas! It's been awhile! It's great to be back home safe and sound after a trip back east Boston/NH and August's one, two , three birthday celebrations on two coasts and in 3 cities. WOW!







: Check out all the fun pics of the co-youngest 1 year old on the thread here;
http://www.soulshinefamily.smugmug.com/gallery/1869370

I can't believe it! What big babes we have! August is saying just a few intelligible things; mama, papa, ball, bye-bye, woof woof, Nay-na (our friend Shayna) but he jabbers to himself NONSTOP! Obviously gets it from his verbose professor daddy!









Food ideas- August is all about finger foods, puffed rice, pieces of Kettle Valley organic fruit bars are a huge fave, bite size fruit including melon, peaches, strawberries, and frozen blueberries and mango. He still loves avocado, steamed carrots, broccoli and squash. For breakfst we sometimes have Earth's Best oatmeal mixed with yo-baby yogurt (I'll finish what yogurt he doesn't oooh-that stuff is delish!) or fruit and egg yolk and yes still oatios!

As far as getting out goes, we do baby swim (some) Mondays, library story hour on Tuesdays, starting Music Together on Thursday, and Sparkplug dance on Fridays. I think that's plenty along with the occasional walks with other moms and babes.

oops, baby cryijn2`


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mtnsunshinemama*
As far as getting out goes, we do baby swim (some) Mondays, library story hour on Tuesdays, starting Music Together on Thursday, and Sparkplug dance on Fridays. I think that's plenty along with the occasional walks with other moms and babes.

Okay, you mamas are making me feel guilty! We go to a playgroup once a week and visit my parents once a week, but that's it! We do go out almost every day -- the grocery store, Target, or another errand -- but other than that we just play at home. (We were taking a music class once a week for a while, but that ended.)

I'm also a little lazy about taking Henry for walks, but he loves it so much that I'm trying to be better about it. I'm just such a homebody and NOT an outdoorsy-type.

Am I the only one?







:


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Hmmmm....a bit of guilt going on here too. I take A out to walk for an hour every morning and we stop at the park, but no formal classes or playgroups here. No way we could afford them anyway. As a matter of fact, I decided to stop going to my AP group from now on. Too many kids, not enough limits of agression and tooooo dangerous for my little girl.


----------



## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

No worries, mamas, whatever works!! I just find that August and I both like having something to do to break up our day and get out of the house. We both get bored in our small place and he always has better naps when he has had some kind of outside stimulation. We can mostly walk everywhere, which makes it easy for us!
That said, most libraries have free kids programs that we've found to be a great way to meet other moms with babes!

If you get a chance, check out my "nipple extraction" thread here and weigh in! http://www.mothering.com/discussions....php?p=6039689


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

We don't do a whole lot here either in the way of daily activities. We do go to dh's g-parents one day a week, wal mart two or three times a week to walk around/chat {yeah, it's one of those towns} and of course the primary school every day to pick up the older girls. Em seems to thrive despite the lack of any 'focused' activity though so we're happy


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Welcome Alison!!

Paying for classes is not something I want to do. It's just not where I want to spend my money. I can call up a friend and meet at the playground, the coffee shop or a house and that is free!!







Also, O tends to want to nap whenever I have a planned event. Woe to those who keep her awake past naptime.

One exception might be Waldorf. That would be pretty cool, but I would not be able to go until O drops her morning nap.

O started saying shoe and cool. It's so cute to hear her say "cool"! And she's also learned "cold" because she was calling everything in a mug or glass "hot" and I want her to know it's not always hot.

They pick up so much. These little people amaze me!!

Today I was a SAHM. It was so much fun. We had some AP mamas over, and I can see why Katie doesn't want to attend a group anymore. A boy poked O in the eye twice. She deals with this kind of thing very well...didn't seem to phase her very much, but I don't like that roughness. Anyway, we walked to the post office and went by the playground on the way home. Fun fun fun!!


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

I was feeling guilty, too. No organized activities here ... we live 50+ miles from the nearest organized playgroup and 100+ miles from the nearest formal toddler classes/activites. I can't justify spending the gas $$ these days to drive to them, so Adam and I take a lot of walks, play in the yard and on the beach, and I try to go "out" at least once a day in our tiny town (gas station, grocery store, post office, bank). I do miss having a library in town, though, and may consider driving a few times a month this winter to get to one. I read "The Truck Book" nine times today.


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Hey everyone. About the organized activities, Tova and I are both very social, but we don't do much in that realm. Just a Baby's First Books at the library one morning a week. But we go out EVERY morning (she's usually cranky, but not tired enough to take a nap, and as long as we get out, she does great) for a long walk/outing, and I usually try to incorporate a stop of some sort -- the library, mall, coffee shop, a friend's house, grocery store, park, etc. That way we have a coffee/snack (coffee's for me!) and usually a chat with whoever happens to be around. I've found Tova is a great conversation starter, so to speak! I'm also lucky enough to have my Booby Club, a group of seven Moms in my area with babes aged 7 months to 17 months, and we always get together one morning a week -- either at someone's house or at a park. Some of us have known each other for years, others we met through friends of friends or LLL. Anyhow, it's a wonderful group and great Mommy therapy some days. It's so funny, though, how our meetings have changed since the babes (or most of them) have become mobile. I think Tova was about six weeks old at the first meeting and back then we could just sit with babes in arms and drink lattes. So relaxing! But these days definitely have their incredible moments, too. It's all good. I also try to get to a LLL meeting one morning a month.

I'll be sorry to see some of this come to an end when I return to work (three-four days a week) after Thanksgiving (Oct. 10). Sniff, sniff ... I'm really struggling with it, although I know I am incredibly blessed to have had the last year-plus off.

On another note, Tova now has two molars. Nine teeth altogether. And she's really been struggling with them these past few days as they come through. I feel so badly for her, because it's gotta hurt. She's really nursing roughly (poor Mom!) and her sleep has been disrupted. Also, for the past few weeks, as teeth #7, 8, and 9 have come through, she's had really soupy poops. No matter how quickly I change her, they seem to make her bum a bit red and sore, and she's never had any diaper-rash problems before. Anyone else with similar experience?

We're enjoying gorgeous September weather here in Nova Scotia. Hope everyone's having a fantastic weekend.


----------



## babycarrier (Apr 2, 2004)

anybody else fallen completely out of a falling asleep rhythm? I don't want to nurse to sleep anymore. He will not go to sleep at night. I've been exhausted and taken to going for a 10 minute drive around bedtime and he is fast asleep.

but now that is the routine.







:







:

in a couple of more months I am cutting back from 32 hours to 16 hours. i will slowly try to incorporate routine again. hoping this insane teething is contributing. 3 came through this week and he is working on 2-4 more. poor bug.

i am so tired i can't even make coherent sentences and obviously punctuation is out the window. guess that left a while ago, but then again i've been exhausted for going on 4 years.

so looking forward to not working evenings anymore. sorry for the rant, needed a safe place to release.

hopefulfaith - Wow! you are in the homestretch now, momma.


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *farmlife* 
anybody else fallen completely out of a falling asleep rhythm? I don't want to nurse to sleep anymore. He will not go to sleep at night. I've been exhausted and taken to going for a 10 minute drive around bedtime and he is fast asleep.

Yes, oh goodness, yes. It was 9pm. Bath at 8:30 then bed and nurse down by 9. Now we're lucky to get to sleep by 11, I don't know what happened. Well, I do - we've been lax about our routine because of this or that happening...sigh.

Kiernen has been walking with more and more confidence lately. Just a couple of days ago he would insist on holding my hand and leading me everywhere with him. Today we went out for the brief sunbreak today and he would not hold me hand. I stuck rather close, but he just wanted to walk all about on his own. He only took my hand a couple of times, and only very briefly at that. He wanted to do it himself despite all of the falling because of uneven surfaces. *sniff*

So with all of this newfound freedom has come an absolute hatred for riding in the car and being restrained in his carseat. You'd think we were torturing him the way he screams and protests and thrashes his body about. It is all we can do to keep him from hurting himself or us when we put him in the car. We're both getting really good at finding things we think might distract him from his fighting. Once he is in and we're on the road, he is fine, at least for a short while. But man alive, we have begun to dread making any stops where we have to take him out only briefly, because then we will have to put him back in!

DH has become the man of the hour in Kiernen's eyes. He cries when upon waking he realises he is gone for the day. He asks for him several times a day and whimpers when I explain that he isn't here, he is at work. And when he does get home, Kiernen is so happy to see him. If DH leaves the room from Kiernen for any reason he will start to cry. You can imagine how much fun this adds to my day, right? Because without DH there, all Kier wants to do is read his books, in my lap, all day long. I love snuggling up and reading to him, but all day is a really long time, even punctuated by naps and eating.

Next week DH will be out of town on bsiness all week, so I will be a single Mama for FIVE WHOLE DAYS. Now I know, he is a singleton, and there are many single Mamas out there who are raising more than one child (my Mom raised three alone), so me whinging about this is really self indulgent and silly. But pretend with me that it isn't, because I am totally anxiety-ridden about it. It's bad enough when he isn't here for a day! Kiernen is so sad. But for a whole week??? No breaks for me for a week! No sewing, no showering...how will I do the dishes and laundry and cook with Kiernen attached to my body?

/whine

Sorry, I just had to get it out. I am aware of the silliness here.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chasmyn* 
Next week DH will be out of town on bsiness all week, so I will be a single Mama for FIVE WHOLE DAYS. Now I know, he is a singleton, and there are many single Mamas out there who are raising more than one child (my Mom raised three alone), so me whinging about this is really self indulgent and silly. But pretend with me that it isn't, because I am totally anxiety-ridden about it. It's bad enough when he isn't here for a day! Kiernen is so sad. But for a whole week??? No breaks for me for a week! No sewing, no showering...how will I do the dishes and laundry and cook with Kiernen attached to my body?

/whine

Sorry, I just had to get it out. I am aware of the silliness here.

No silliness! I feel sorry for myself when DH is gone for the evening. I would be so stressed if he were gone for five whole days.

Come here for hugs and venting any time you want.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *farmlife* 
anybody else fallen completely out of a falling asleep rhythm? I don't want to nurse to sleep anymore. He will not go to sleep at night. I've been exhausted and taken to going for a 10 minute drive around bedtime and he is fast asleep.

but now that is the routine.







:







:

in a couple of more months I am cutting back from 32 hours to 16 hours. i will slowly try to incorporate routine again. hoping this insane teething is contributing. 3 came through this week and he is working on 2-4 more. poor bug.

i am so tired i can't even make coherent sentences and obviously punctuation is out the window. guess that left a while ago, but then again i've been exhausted for going on 4 years.

so looking forward to not working evenings anymore. sorry for the rant, needed a safe place to release.

UGH, that exhaustion is the worst. So sorry, hon. And I know what you mean about trying something just for a short-term relief only to have it turn into a routine. It's how I ended up having to put Henry in the mei tai for every nap for months and months. I finally just took him in the bed for naps and let him thrash around and be unhappy a few times; now he USUALLY goes to sleep without a lot of fuss. (Though it can still take half an hour or so.)

Hopefulfaith -- I'm so excited for you. Henry still wears me out, but I miss having a baby around. I've even got DH discussing the possibility of trying to use our one frozen embryo at some point.


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Just back from squeezing the last few days of summer out of the Colorado Rockies. Mountain sunshine, changing aspen, elk mating and Grand Lake on a fine Indian summer day. Oh, my! Rocky Mountain National Park was lovely today, and A INSISTED on hiking by herself (thankyouverymuch) no matter the terrain or incline of the paths. What a little Leo. Oh, and she growls everywhere she goes too. Speaking of which, her speech pretty much consists of animal noises now and she relies on the yes/no head shake for everything else. Crappy sleep both nights of the trip sent dh to the couch (earplugs left at home, poor guy) and me with little sleep. So glad to be home and getting back in the routine. Let's hope, anyway.

Farmlife, I am such a free spirit, it took me awhile to embrace the idea and benefit of a routine. However, I concede that it benefits A soooooo much to have a sleep routine that now, come 11:00 am and 7:30 pm no matter if she's showing signs of being tired or not, she will fall asleep. I'm sorry you are struggling with this. Sticking to a routine has been really hard for me.

Chasmyn - good luck with the single mom thing. I admit that I do enjoy the few nights a week that dh works late and I can get the baby down without the distraction of papa time. He seems to excite A so much. However, I will say that I am glad that they are getting more and more attached. At the hot springs this weekend, A let dh hold her (well, they pretty much snuggled together in the hot springs pool) for about an hour. Wow! No baby on me for a whole hour. I really didn't know what to do with myself! Good thing L was there to make some demands on me!

I am sooooo ready for sleeping through the night, but A still gets genuinely hungry a couple times (at least) each night. Seems like every four or five hours. I'm trying some things to help her extend her sleeping time gently. The white noise (humidifier) at least lets us come into the room without her waking automatically and this week I'm getting a lambskin rug from a friend. Anyone else use one of those or have any tried and true tricks?

Newmama - It's nice to hear you're thinking of TTC. I read your whole TTC blog entry about Henry. Amazing. Just amazing. I was thinking today that IF we do try for another one, it will be in about a year.....wait, didn't I just say something about being ready to sleep through the night?







:


----------



## K's Mom! (Jul 22, 2004)

Hi August mamas!
I've been MIA a bit lately. Been sooo crazy busy with the non prof I volunteer for, etc.







:
Cheyne is still not walking but very close I think!?














(Can you tell I have mixed emotions about this?







) He stands alone for quite awhile drinking from a cup, like the cup is holding him up! LOL!

I missed a few pages, but just wanted to chime in and say happy fall time to you ladies. I hope to be on more soon, I miss you all. You are great women to chat with.









I don't know if any of you ever watch the TV show "Extreme Home Makeover". but if you do, *I just wanted to note that this Sunday is a makeover of a home about 10 miles up the highway from me.* It's funny, because Ty Pennington (the host of the show) calls North Pole, Alaska the ends of the earth! I don't feel like I live at the end of the earth!







So, if anyone wants to see what my neck of the woods looks like, tune in this Sunday (I hope I don't sound like I'm promoting the show, or something. Sorry if I do.







) I'm just excited that my part of the country is being broadcasted. . . Alaska gets ignored a lot. . . especially my area.

I'll catch up with you all soon. ~~Andrya


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

farmlife - three teeth in one week?!? Aagh! ((hugs, hugs, hugs)) I'm glad you are going to be able to work less soon, though. Sending sleep vibes your way, mama.

Chasmyn, single mama for five days. WOW. Now, I was raised by a single mom, and I know it's hard, but when my dh went out of town for a week, I was freaking exhausted - it's so hard being the only one. Please do come here and let us know how it goes - I was humbled when dh left and I realized how much he actually does do (my occasional vents to the contrary...







).

NewMama - thanks for the excitement!







I've read your blog about your conception, and I have to admit, I would be so excited for you if you decided to have a second one! So good.

Kate, I am absolutely drooling over thinking about that last fall hike - I love the Rockies, period, but fall was my favorite, favorite, favorite. Aspen, elk, and the fourteeners... (((((sigh))))) I miss that. I love northern Michigan - my family is all in MI/WI - but when we left Yellowstone, I just knew (and I know) that we will be back out that way someday. Dh applied for a job in RMNP a few years back but no luck. That & Yellowstone would be my dream parks to live in... I loved both of them.
Side note: some friends of ours still live there, and when we were there, they had a 1 year old son - when we sang "Old McDonald", he didn't know the cow sound (had never seen one), but he could actually imitate an elk bugling! It was priceless!!!!







He would throw his head back and make the noise... Awesome!

Andrya - we'll try to tune in this weekend - I would love to see where you are. Dh lived in AK for awhile (~Bristol Bay area), and we have friends in Denali - I've always thought it would be a beautiful place to live!

Hmmm, what else? Life is good here. I actually feel like I'm entering the home stretch, and I'm nesting like crazy (everything in my storage room is in a neatly labeled rubbermaid container...our closets are organized by type of clothing...you get the picture). My back is so much better, thanks to the chiropractor (I'm a late convert, but a devoted one now), and we're all sleeping better at night now that Adam's molar popped through. I'm nearly 34w by ultrasound and nearly 36w by date, so who knows when this kidlet will come? I'm getting excited, though. I held a newborn last week, and it all just came rushing back. I can't wait to nurse again, and to wear a baby again. I'm very curious to see how Adam will do, and slightly concerned - he is with me 24/7, and very much attached, so I'm a little worried about him having "to wait" for his needs here and there while I'm taking care of the baby. We'll do the best we can, I know...and I just keep reminding myself that I'm not the first woman in the world to do it, right?









Have a great day, everyone. Love to all.









P.S. - Does anyone have an Arms Reach cosleeper? A just slept with us, but we have a "sleep number" bed now, and I'm a little wary of putting an infant on what is essentially an air mattress, so I'm considering one. Tips?


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ktmama* 
Newmama - It's nice to hear you're thinking of TTC. I read your whole TTC blog entry about Henry. Amazing. Just amazing.

I can't believe you and hopefulfaith read that whole entry! Even my DH lost interest after a few paragraphs (of course, he lived it, but still).


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

Hopefulfaith: 2 years ago - the year I got pregnant w/ds2, we were out in Yellowstone visiting my sil/bil. The sound of the elk bgeling is amazing! The morning that we left there were elk in all the front yards of the houses (Mammoth Hot Springs) just hanging out. There was a young bull with only one antler at one end of the road calling to the herd of females in the yards that were with an older bull. We got some pretty cool pics looking out of the windows.

I'm almost jealous of you getting a newborn so soon again. Baby lust has hit me *hard* and I just got af back last week, so now that I know my fertility is back dh and I are really trying hard to figure out if we want to tta or ttc or just "let it be." Ds2 was such a easy baby compared to ds1, but I'm always thinking, "what if we get another ds1?" Shouldn't we wait until the boys are a little older, just in case we do get another velcro baby? Have fun snuggling your newborn in just a wee bit!

Ds2 is standing for periods, using the walker we got him for his birthday (looks like it was a popular one in our ddc, August got one, I think Annabelle had one, ds2 has one)http://www.teachingplanet.com/pamaarwabyba.html
It's a great toy, ds2 loves to push it over to stuff to climb up on the two steps and ds1 loves to race around the house with it. He's been trying to convince ds2 to ride on it while he (ds1) pushes it, but I've managed to intervene so far.







:

We're heading off for a road trip in a couple of weeks in our rv, so I'm trying to find time to plan, make campground reservations, make my packing lists, figure out what toys the boys will be happy with that won't drive dh and I nuts and they won't tire of for 2 weeks. Hopefully, I choose well.

Farmlife: So many teeth at once?! Poor little guy. Hopefully everything will settle down when you get to your new work schedule.









K's Mom: I'll try to watch - did you or your dp volunteer or visit the job site? Friends of my sister's had a house built for them by EHM this year. There was a tornado in their town and Amy (the mom) was paralyzed from the waist down as she protected her two boys from the house falling down on them. I watched the building progress on a website that they had and it was pretty amazing. Apparently Jared and Amy knew that they were contenders to be on EHM, but when Ty actually showed up, they were totally surprised! I think their show is on in November.

Chasmyn: Good luck during your 5 days. Dh used to travel a bit when ds1 was little and I tried to just do the essentials while he was gone. Or I'd go visit my parents. I'd put ds1 in the shower while I took one, we'd bathe together, I tried to slow down to his pace. It was still difficult, but we got through it. Good luck!

Well, another tome by me...time to go back to lurking!







:


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

So now that we have toddlers and the weather is getting cooler, what are you all doing for shoes? It gets wet and rainy here and I'm wondering if I ought to get him some hard-soled muck boots or rain boots. Or these. Thoughts?


----------



## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

Damn, those are cute shoes. My friend has those for her kids and loves them. Emmett is wearing robeez only so far, but I have a few pairs lined up for later. I have some winter boots for him that were DS1's boots. We'll see how that goes.
My good friend just had her first baby and I am so proud. She got to the h ospital fully dilated at 3pm and pushed and pushed until 10:45 pm. Baby was posterior. I am so psyched- she is a trooper. I am also so psyched that the hospital never mentioned drugs or c section to her once. Maybe there is some hope. The baby is a little girl- I can't wait to see her.
I am also feeling baby lust lately. My DH and I have set up weekly date nights and I find myself hoping for conception sometimes. That freaks me out. Do I really want a third child? Don't know. We'll see what happens.

You all are so great. Thanks for being around.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chasmyn* 
So now that we have toddlers and the weather is getting cooler, what are you all doing for shoes? It gets wet and rainy here and I'm wondering if I ought to get him some hard-soled muck boots or rain boots. Or these. Thoughts?

I just bought Henry these: http://www.dandelionbaby.com/shop/ca...ategory_id=252

He loves them and is always showing them to people when we go places. They're not waterproof though. I'll definitely have to get him some snow boots soon. Argh!


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
I just bought Henry these: http://www.dandelionbaby.com/shop/ca...ategory_id=252

He loves them and is always showing them to people when we go places. They're not waterproof though. I'll definitely have to get him some snow boots soon. Argh!

Those are adorable! But yeah, we really need waterproof.










Kiernen has no qualms about going out and playing in the rain or the wet, so his shoes at least need to keep the wet out. I guess I ought to look for a raincoat, too....


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

Hi everyone, shoes, hmm, we're not there yet..but I was thinking bubs deserves some new booties or something to keep his feet warm when we have to go out. He's starting to ///....almost.../// crawl! He is getting up on his elbows and pulling himself along while hiking up on one knee and pushing forward. Nathanael's also beginning to eat more solids now. He looovvves bananas now and squash. I still have to add cereal to it to make it a consistency he'll actually eat.

We had our 1 year evaluation with Nathanael's social worker, OT, PT, Parent to Parent Developmental counselor and the EEE worker he'll get when he's 3. We reviewed our goals we had set a year ago and he's doing pretty good. He can't drink with a cup yet nor use silverware but he is really into imitating while playing. He isnt' saying anything other than dada or babadada bud a dada .. but hey, it's something!

He's also cutting his incisors of all things..Just in time for halloween!!!









He's such a blessing, always so happy and the total joy of my life.

I had a hard day today, our Parent to Parent worker took me to the food shelf for moral support. It was hard. I was homeless, in a battered women's shelter 6 years ago and relied heavily on food shelf and welfare and today made me feel like I was going back. I didn't realize how bad I felt until we were leaving..I felt like I would pass out. I just felt so awful to have gotten down to the point of needing to go to the food shelf. I'm not feeling sorry for myself, just scared and hate feeling like I'm begging and worry for things to get worse..like loosing our home.. oh God I hope it doesn't get that far...

ugh enough about me... I guess I needed to vent..sorry!


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Reposted from my blog:

Quote:

When I finally finish the quilt I made for you when I was pregnant and I drape it on the sofa to present it to you, immediately fling yourself onto it and snuggle into it. When I lay it out on the floor, crookedy corners and all, so you can play with it or on it or whatever, walk over to it and proceed to dance in circles on the quilt, smiling and looking down at it. Then circle and circle, and when you lose your balance and fall over onto it, do a little downward dog onto it and look at the design some more. Then get up, spin in circles again and proceed to walk back and forth across the room over the quilt.

Look up and smile at me when I start taking photo after photo of you doing this. When I whip out the video camera to record the actual dance, continue the dance, then come over and look into the camera with a huge grin on your face.

And then, then! Get your little lawnmower, your favourite push toy, and roll it over and over the quilt, back and forth and back and forth. Do this very deliberately and with focus so I am clear just how much you are enjoying all of the things you can do with your new quilt.
One Mama heart, all melty and smooshy.

(I made a little slideshow minus the frontal exposure. Please let me know if it works - this is the first time I've tried this method.)

Here it is: http://slideroll.com/?s=7pxyr3bf


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

Chasmyn: I LOVE your slideshow! The music is perfect to his little dance! And your blog entry made me cry - so beautiful!

Ds's are busy scarfing down the apple-cinnamon pancakes I made this morning. Ds2 loves to try and eat anything and everything that ds1 is. Luckily, he eats a few vegetables even though big brother won't touch them.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! We have a harvest party tomorrow and Sunday is stay at home and catch up day - cleaning and such.


----------



## LoveMyJonah (Sep 11, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *K's Mom!* 
Cheyne is still not walking but very close I think!?














(Can you tell I have mixed emotions about this?







) He stands alone for quite awhile drinking from a cup, like the cup is holding him up! LOL!


This is the ONLY way Jonah stands on his own too. I've heard when they have something in each hand, even a cup he's holding with two hands, they feel more secure.


----------



## LoveMyJonah (Sep 11, 2006)

New Mama,
I love the SeeKaiRun shoes, we're getting those for him next. Right now he's in a really sturdy pair of stride rites, not walking yet but really close.


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

*Shoes:*Right now E is in a pair of Stride Rites for outside, and Robeez for inside. I too am looking at winter boots (apparently we're getting a lot of snow this year?!). I like the MEC ones, but might need something more watertight.

Chasmyn-your blog entry was so sweet to read! I don't have high speed, so I can't check out the vid. Boo-it sounds cute!
Aeriane-it sounds like Nathaneal is doing really well-way to go! It sounds like you have really good support-that's awesome. My cousin's daughter has Down's, and has had a lot of help with speech, PT, etc., since the very beginning. Her daughter is now 13 and is in a normal grade 8 class-reads, is active, and happy. It's so great to see, as she was initially diagnosed as very low end.

(Warning-rant!)
I am having a kind of sh***y day. E has not been the same since we got back from our trip. She is still awesome-doing all kinds of new tricks (her newest is that you can ask her "what sound does a chicken/lion/dog/cow make?" and she'll answer with "bok bok/roar/pant pant/mooo"-very cute!), but is still sleeping HORRIBLY-like newborn horribly-and is so shrieky. The sleep thing is due to her sleeping with us for a month, and now readjusting to sleeping on her own, but it is so slow in resolving itself. She puts herself to sleep for naps, but can't do it at night-just needs us sometimes every hour to pat her on the back and lie her back down, and rub her back for a loooong time til she's asleep. This is especially hard as she was sleeping 8-8 (no breaks!) beforehand. I am really feeling sleep-deprived! We can't go back to co-sleeping (she was with us for the first 6 mos), as as we are all active/light sleepers-so we just wake each other up all night, and no one gets a good sleep. Any other suggestions? I picked up a valerian root/passion flower herbal kid sleep remedy-it works well, but I don't like using it too much. And the shrieking thing is killing me-it's mostly limited to when she's tired/hungry/frustrated-but it's turned into an attention-getting thing. We try to ignore it as much as possible, and use redirection/explanation when she's frustrated (it's not quite a tantrum, but she's letting us know she's PO'd!), vocalizing why we are doing/not doing something, etc. Any suggestions? Is this just a phase? She's still happy and easy most of the time, I just don't want this "phase" to become the norm. Anyway...thanks for letting me rant, and if anyone has suggestions-fire away!

Have a great weekend, everyone! We are having our fall bonfire this weekend, and going to our county fair. Can't wait! Take care, mamas!


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Just a quick post while Tova is napping:

Kitty: hugs, hugs, hugs to you. My Mom was a single mom and we struggled financially for many years, so I can relate to that part of your post. Please take the help that you need and try not to dwell on it (I know it's hard) and hopefully things will get better soon. I'm glad you have a loving hubby and that your sweet boy seems to be doing so well. Tova isn't walking yet either, nor crawling -- she just scoots whereever she needs to go.

Chasmyn: loved your blog entry and the vid. What a cutie! Tova loves getting up on DS's bed and doing some similar moves -- she really seems to know that it's a special place (especially since he doesn't allow her in his room -- i.e. near the Lego) very often!

Fridgeart: I feel for you and the sleep thing, although I'm sorry to report I have no advice. Sounds like you are doing all the right things and hopefully E will resort to form soon. Losing out on sleep is so trying ... we've had more disruptions than usual as Tova cuts her molars, and she's also coping with a little cough she picked up somewhere -- and that's hard enough. I can't image how wrung out you must feel. Thinking of you.


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Fridgeart - have you tried Hyland Calms or any chamomile homeopathic products? They don't seem to really work for A, but I have friends who swear by them. Also, a nutritionist told me catmint tea works well at night (as chamomile would too, I imagine). A has been out of her sleep rhythm due to a cold and a short vacation and is finally getting back to only (sigh) two wakings a night. I imagine it will take E awhile to get back to her "normal" sleep schedule after a month of something else. Do you use any white noise? Introducing a rather loud humidifier has helped A a lot I think. I can sleep through it, dh wears ear plugs. Also, just make sure you're sticking to a routine every night so she can get back to her sleep associations. Good luck and hugs. BTW - I sure am jealous of that 8 - 8 you had going on!


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

Aerianne:







Congrats on the belly crawl! I know (from growing up and needing the help w/parents too proud to ask/receive it) that it must be difficult for you to go to the food shelf, but you're showing your kids how when you need help, you ask, you receive and when you can give back, you do. I wish my parents would have accepted some help when I was growing up, perhaps then they wouldn't have been quite so stressed all the time and it would have made for a happier home.

About the shrieking thing...ds1 did that. It's a new sound, so they need to try it out. Softly, loudly, loudly high pitched, loudly low pitched, loudly longly high pitched, loudly longly low pitched, extra loudly high pitched, extra loudly low pitched, extra loudly longly high pitched, extra loudly longly low pitched...great fun. At times I seriously thought my ear drums might burst because it't most fun to do this as close as possible to the parent's ear. It *is* just a phase though.

Give the sleep some time, she had a different schedule for a month, it'll take a couple of weeks to get back into it. Then she'll start teething or get a cold or the moon won't be aligning with the planets correctly...


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Quick post during the napping time....!

_Hopefulfaith: 2 years ago - the year I got pregnant w/ds2, we were out in Yellowstone visiting my sil/bil. The sound of the elk bgeling is amazing! The morning that we left there were elk in all the front yards of the houses (Mammoth Hot Springs) just hanging out. There was a young bull with only one antler at one end of the road calling to the herd of females in the yards that were with an older bull. We got some pretty cool pics looking out of the windows._

Anguschick! We lived in Lake, Grant, and Old Faithful during our years there, and fall was one of the -best- times because the elk were in rut and just outside bugling away - I remember cold evenings listening to them fight with their antlers banging and banging together for what seemed like forever! Do your SIL/BIL live in the park or nearby? Are they Park Service?

--I'm so glad to hear the shrieking thing is a phase....yeah, we've got it here, too. I try to provide words when Adam's doing it - i.e., if he's yelling because he can't do something, I'll walk over and say "You can say, 'help, mama!', and I'll come, buddy." or something like that...hoping that in a few months, I'll get requests like that rather than the prolonged frustrated yells...

Kitty, ((hugs, hugs, hugs)) - you are in my prayer, and I'm glad you're asking for help that you need; I'm sorry it is so difficult and stressful. PM me if you have specific prayer needs, mama. BTW, no independent cups or silverware here, yet, either. Adam views them all as lovely, lovely toys, as I'm sure Nathanael does!

Hugs to all who aren't sleeping well now. I understand completely....

Chasmyn, I loved your blog entry and your slideshow - what a beautiful quilt --and an even more beautiful, happy boy!!! It made me really happy to watch that!









Happy Friday, all.

P.S. - One more thing. I had my credit card # stolen yesterday, and luckily discovered it last night... And do you know what the [email protected] bought? $779 worth of merchandise from SPEEDO, for Pete's sake. Now, come on. Does he really think I wouldn't notice that?!?!?! I was ticked. The phone calls started last night at 11:30 and continued all morning to try to get this resolved. I was NOT happy. Speedo? Aren't thieves supposed to make less conspicuous purchases? Argh.


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

How did you find out your cc was stolen? Was it through fraud protection services calling you? And how did he steal it?

Sil/bil lived in Mammoth Hot Springs until Feb of 2005, then moved out to VT and now they're divorced, sil is back at Mammoth until the end of the month when she's moving to Grand Canyon for a job there. She started as a ranger, many moons ago and now works as a l.e. dispatcher. Her then husband was in law enforcement for the NPS, then FBI, then NPS and now NFS. He seemed like a great guy, then again, we weren't married to him.

Your husband is a ranger? Can I ask which park you're in? How do you like being in the park service? Dh and I sort of fantasize about it, but then we also want to have a farm someday and farming doesn't exactly mesh w/rangering, does it? What was your favorite park?

Sil has worked at Mammoth Cave, Grand Canyon, Statue of Liberty, Smokey Moutains, back to Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Yosemite (I think?), Yellowstone and now back to Grand Canyon. We've visited her at Mammoth, Smokey, the Canyon and Yellowstone. It's a wonderful opportunity to live in such places of grandeur and beauty, no?

Ok - sorry to take the thread soooooooo ot. In other news, dh, ds1 and my in-laws are all ready for us to have another baby. I dont think I'm quite ready yet - I'd do pregnancy and labor any day, but having three kids ages 3, 1 and baby is a little intimidating right now. Sil is pregnant (sister to the ranger, dh's oldest older sister) and isn't very happy. She has two boys (10 and 6) and had many fertility problems, was told that she could never get pregnant again, and voila! She's due at the end of March and it's not helping that her husband is complaining because he'll need to sell his jeep for a vehicle that can fit them all in, the 10 year old is complaining because they "are ruining his life" and the 6 year old "will never get his own room." It's a tough time for her. Dh thinks she wants someone to be pregnant with as all her "mom friends" are done w/babies, as she thought she was. I'm thinking of throwing her a "freezer party" where everyone brings a dish for the freezer, how's that sound to you guys? Cool idea or logistical nightmare?


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

the freezer party sounds wonderful..

I have to admit it breaks my heart a little to hear people who are blessed with a pregnancy being so upset over the trival bits of it. I would so love to have another baby. Somedays I wish DH hand't gotten into the habit of going with to all my OB appointments. If he hadn't come to my 8 week PP visit, he'd have never known that the second opinion we requested came back the same as her opinion, that another pg would kill me.







I know it was best for Dh and the girls that we did the permanent sterilization thing but it still hurts, kwim?

okay, totally sorry for the OT moment there


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

KaitnBugsmom


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Kitty, hugs to you. I can't imagine how stressful things must be for you right now. I'm thinking about you.

Chasmyn, cute video! What a doll you have.

Fridgeart, I can't help you with the sleeping thing. Henry needs me to lay down with him for every nap and nighttime, and I always have to run back in during the middle of a nap to nurse him back down, and he's still waking up many times during the night, too. Will I ever sleep more than three hours at a stretch again?

Hopefulfaith, ugh about the credit card being stolen. Identity theft is one of my greatest fears.

Katenbugsmom, ((HUGS)). After doing infertility treatment and only having one frozen embryo left that may not "take" even if we decide to use it, I know what you mean about people taking that miracle for granted.

So...we've decided to move back to our old end of town, though to a nicer (and way more expensive) suburb. I'm psyched but honestly it's a big stretch financially, so I'm also a little freaked out. But I so don't want to raise Henry on this end of town. It's really kind of trashy and ******* and un-liberal, and there's nowhere to walk to. Anyway, I'm going to be busy getting this house ready to sell and investigating houses on the other side of town. I'm a little worried that a move will be traumatic for Henry. I know people do it all the time, but this is MY baby we're talking about, lol. Plus packing up and moving and unpacking may be a nightmare with a toddler. We have this place so well babyproofed!

Okay, just babbling here. I hope everyone has a good weekend. Hugs to you all.


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

kaitnbugsmom.

NewMama - keep us posted on the move! That sounds exciting for you, but lots of work and worry, too. Wow!

Anguschick - PMed you about your family! I am very curious if we know them/they know us - it sounds like we were around at the same time, and the park service is such a small family when it comes down to it.







I love it...most days!! I get to live in really cool places - i.e., there was really nothing better than Yellowstone during the shoulder season --- when it was closed to visitors for a brief period during the late fall/early winter, and the animals got a little more social outside. I'll never forget going for groceries in West and passing a group of wolves just howling away over a bison carcass in the field past OF. I have so many amazing memories thanks to this lifestyle. Downsides? We still don't own a house, being (again) in required occupancy housing....dh is almost 40, and I turn 30 next month. I want a house!







My favorite park? Probably Yellowstone, although Pictured Rocks has been really nice, too, to be fair. But Yellowstone just has a special place in my heart. I got married on Yellowstone Lake, for instance...during fire season!!







I still can't believe we pulled it off.
...okay, I am so way OT. I could reminisce for a looong time. But I won't! Sorry! Back to your regularly scheduled mama thread!!!!









P.S. - A freezer party sounds GREAT.


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

sorry to have vented, it was just weighing heavy on me and talking does help.

Kaitnbugsmom? Hugs to you. I've been in a frump lately because I can't have any more children either. My pelvic floor just plain gave out with Nathanael and so I had my tubes tied once my c-section was done. I know I need to make my peace with it, I mean I'm 43, I have 6 children, enough is enough. I just have these pangs of what if and who would've been born, etc. etc.

I just wanted to say I totally share those feelings with you when people complain. I mean yes the aches and pains are justifyably painful and that coupled with exhaustion makes the process a little less than appealing at times but it's such a wonderful thing that is going on and it's such a joy to look at your child(ren) and know that they once lived inside you, there's such a connection.

On another OT note...my stepdaughter was on the phone with me yesterday and her baby was screaming (seems like he always is). She says "hang on a minute" and then the screaming is almost blood curdling so I know she put him down (UGH) and then he is absolutely silent. I said "WHAT DID YOU DO??" thinking horrid thoughts of smothering or locking him away in some other room (this girl has a selfish streak..) and she said "fed him chocolate"

I could've DIED!! I started going off on her about the detrimental effects but she started to tone me out..etc and so I knew I could only get through so far. I finally said that I was mortified and that it's a major major NOT cool thing to give a 3 month old infant (talk about comfort feeding!) and how it's huge on the allergy scale. etc... UGH I just wanna save the world!!!







:

Thanks for all your kind words again, I wasn't searching for attention, just needed a safe place to talk
















Kitty


----------



## K's Mom! (Jul 22, 2004)

Vent. . . Sad . . .
Oh, Mamas, I am writing tonight with a very heavy heart. My IRL friend and I had a huge arguement (essentially over nothing







: ) and I am very sad about it. I do not like having arguements and especially this kind of a thing.







: We have been friends for about 8 years and she is the first friend I knew that had a child. So we were mama friends together. I have been feeling like the universe was leading her and I in different directions for a long time, and this just feels like this was the straw that broke the camels' back sort of thing. We have decided to just have some space and take some time for now, but this is hard. I feel like I'm breaking up with her or something.







Sorry to vent about this here, but I just needed to "talk" about it. My other IRL friends are also friends with this person, so I cannot vent to them so as not to put them in the middle. It's quite frustrating.








Sorry to take this thread to such a depressive place.


----------



## eastkygal (Feb 19, 2006)

Hello all! I can second the ready for sleeping through the night. DD still nurses through the night like a newborn, though she is going to bed much better.

It's good to hear that I'm not the only one thinking about a second babe. Congrats - hopefulfaith!!! I've been TTC since August and have bled the majority of that time. I've had AF everyday since August 30th aside from 6-7 days interspersed here and there. I've been to a doc who said wait it out or go on the mini-pill. Neither of those choices seemed right to me. I'm going to a homeopath Thursday.

DD's vocabulary is taking off. The things she is starting to do are amazing. There is a book she has about The Creation from the bible. She pointed at Eve and said mama and Adam and said dada! I couldn't believe it. They were cartoon images too! She is such a joy.







:


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aeriane* 
Hi everyone, shoes, hmm, we're not there yet..but I was thinking bubs deserves some new booties or something to keep his feet warm when we have to go out. He's starting to ///....almost.../// crawl! He is getting up on his elbows and pulling himself along while hiking up on one knee and pushing forward. Nathanael's also beginning to eat more solids now. He looovvves bananas now and squash. I still have to add cereal to it to make it a consistency he'll actually eat.

We had our 1 year evaluation with Nathanael's social worker, OT, PT, Parent to Parent Developmental counselor and the EEE worker he'll get when he's 3. We reviewed our goals we had set a year ago and he's doing pretty good. He can't drink with a cup yet nor use silverware but he is really into imitating while playing. He isnt' saying anything other than dada or babadada bud a dada .. but hey, it's something!

He's also cutting his incisors of all things..Just in time for halloween!!!









He's such a blessing, always so happy and the total joy of my life.

I had a hard day today, our Parent to Parent worker took me to the food shelf for moral support. It was hard. I was homeless, in a battered women's shelter 6 years ago and relied heavily on food shelf and welfare and today made me feel like I was going back. I didn't realize how bad I felt until we were leaving..I felt like I would pass out. I just felt so awful to have gotten down to the point of needing to go to the food shelf. I'm not feeling sorry for myself, just scared and hate feeling like I'm begging and worry for things to get worse..like loosing our home.. oh God I hope it doesn't get that far...

ugh enough about me... I guess I needed to vent..sorry!

*Kitty*:







I didn't see your post before, I am sorry about that. I didn't want you to think it went unnoticed. What size are Nathaniel's feet? I might have some shoes that fit him, Kiernen's feet are kind of big I think, he's in Toddler 6 and 24-36 in the soft booties.


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *K's Mom!* 
Vent. . . Sad . . .
Oh, Mamas, I am writing tonight with a very heavy heart. My IRL friend and I had a huge arguement (essentially over nothing







: ) and I am very sad about it. I do not like having arguements and especially this kind of a thing.







: We have been friends for about 8 years and she is the first friend I knew that had a child. So we were mama friends together. I have been feeling like the universe was leading her and I in different directions for a long time, and this just feels like this was the straw that broke the camels' back sort of thing. We have decided to just have some space and take some time for now, but this is hard. I feel like I'm breaking up with her or something.







Sorry to vent about this here, but I just needed to "talk" about it. My other IRL friends are also friends with this person, so I cannot vent to them so as not to put them in the middle. It's quite frustrating.








Sorry to take this thread to such a depressive place.









s Andrya. I ended a 20-year friendship when I was pregnant with Kiernen, so I understand where you are. It IS like breaking up, and it is hard. I hope that in time you and she will be able to resolve things.


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fridgeart* 
*Shoes:*Right now E is in a pair of Stride Rites for outside, and Robeez for inside. I too am looking at winter boots (apparently we're getting a lot of snow this year?!). I like the MEC ones, but might need something more watertight.

Do you think the MECs aren't waterproof? I need something watertight too and I thought these might work, but I cannot find any info.

We tried some rainboots on Kiernen yesterday at the store and he stood there for a second and then burst into tears. He was NOT happy with hard-soled shoes. But ARE there soft-soled waterproof boots? Maybe I ought to start a thread to ask?


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Oh, I forgot, these are another option I found. They do have a rubber sole and look to be waterproof, too.


----------



## adoremybabe (Jun 8, 2006)

Hi mamas. I don't visit this thread often but I am wondering how many of you have a DC that sleep through the night? My DS is almost 14 months now and still wakes up at least 2 times each night to nurse.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *adoremybabe* 
Hi mama's. I don't visit this thread often but I am wondering how many of you have a DC that sleep through the night? My DS is almost 14 months now and still wakes up at least 2 times each night to nurse.

My almost 14-month old wakes up three or four times to nurse (I think...I'm so tired I really don't know).


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

Chasmyn, you don't have to notice me LOL it's okay!







I haven't a clue what size Nathanael is because he's still so "baby". He holds his feet like toes down and feet bunched up. I was thinking of getting him some bootie/sock combo thingies. For clothes he wears 12 months but they're kind of big, 9 month being a bit snug.

K's Mom: Hugs to you, I know how hard this can be, I think fights liek this between our friends can be the most hurtful. I mean serious fights with friends hurt me more than fighting with my hubby. Women tend to have a closeness you can't substitute. I hope, in time, you're able to mend your fences. I had a really good friend years ago who was my roommate in a nice apartment. She always paid her half of the rent but her phone bill was outrageous. I moved out, when I got married the first time, I was stuck with like this $500 phone bill. She kept saying she'd catch it up but didn't and it affected our relationship so badly. We were sooo close and this caused such a rift. I finally called her bawling and yelling at her that friends don't do this to one another etc etc and she got really mad at me and came and gave me the money. We were on a rocky road after that and things patched up a while later but it took time.

Nathanael's sick today, woke up with very watery green diahreah and fever. I have it too..meanwhile I'm the queen of scrubbing my hands ALL the time and felt that I shouldn't have passed it on to him. My dh and I have had this bug a few days. Perhaps HE's not scrubbing enough? I don't know. All I know is he's had a rough day, poor lil tacker.







:


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

my ds sleeps from about 8pm until 7am







: All my kids were great sleepers. Must be my lazy-a__ genes


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Aeriane* 
my ds sleeps from about 8pm until 7am







: All my kids were great sleepers. Must be my lazy-a__ genes
















I have some serious lazy genes {I'm the only one of my five sisters with ANY income of my own making, almost always have been unless FSSA bennies count as income, then the rest of them might have a bit} and NONE of my kids would sleep that long without some serious drugs


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom* 
NONE of my kids would sleep that long without some serious drugs









I don't think Adam would, either.







Adoremybabe, twice sounds pretty darn good right now.

Andrya, I'm so sorry with you. I hope it works out as it should and brings you peace.

PMing you, anguschick -- my dh knew your bil! Cool!


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Tova usually wakes once in 11 to 12 hours, although more when she's teething (and she's in the middle of getting three molars right now, so we've had some up and down nights). Hugs to everyone experiencing sleep disruptions -- it is hard to function without a good night's sleep.


----------



## Leiahs (Jul 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *adoremybabe* 
Hi mamas. I don't visit this thread often but I am wondering how many of you have a DC that sleep through the night? My DS is almost 14 months now and still wakes up at least 2 times each night to nurse.

I know I don't post here often enough, but this is a simple enough question that won't take me long to think about and post about, LOL!

DS wakes at least 2-3 times, for sure. It's hard for me to know for sure. He starts off the night in a pack 'n play next to my bed, and when he wakes the first time, I bring him into bed and nurse him. We both fall asleep, and after that is where I start losing track. I can usually remember at least one other time he wakes up during the night, some mornings I can remember as many as 5. But since I always just use the boob to pacify him, and fall back to sleep as soon as he's settled, my brain is fuzzy and I don't know for sure. All I know is that he is NOT sleeping through the night at all. His first waking is usually only 3 hours after I put him down, if not less.

Funny thing is that it doesn't really bother me. After 13 months of this, it feels completely normal!







I totally don't remember what a full night's sleep feels like


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Leiahs* 
Funny thing is that it doesn't really bother me. After 13 months of this, it feels completely normal!







I totally don't remember what a full night's sleep feels like









Me too! Would you ever have imagined feeling this way pre-baby?







:


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

RE: sleep. Please see my siggie for how I'm feeling these days. I think our prob here is that A wakes just a little and then pees and then can't get back to sleep with a wet dipe, so needs to be changed and then can't get back to sleep without nursing. I think she wakes and then says to herself, "I'm wet and oh, yeah, I'm hungry too! Come here mama!". Even tho we EC, she HATES to use the potty at night so we're using dipes. Yawn!


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *adoremybabe* 
Hi mamas. I don't visit this thread often but I am wondering how many of you have a DC that sleep through the night? My DS is almost 14 months now and still wakes up at least 2 times each night to nurse.

ACK! I was going to say maybe you were in the wrong forum since you have a 14-month-old baby. Ack!!!! How did we get to 14 months????







:







: My little one was born later in August so she's only 13 months today. But still. 14 months sounds so....old.

Sleep: Baby is down 11 to 14 hours at night usually. Now that she's getting molars, it's a free for all a little bit. She'll wake. We'll give her drugs if she's in pain and then I'll nurse her. She woke up SCREAMING from pain last night, so I got a boob in there along with some pain meds and she was feeling better. She went out after a bit of walking. Her top right gum is purple -- just about to break through. She's got about 12 teeth now.


----------



## Mama Coltrane (Sep 30, 2004)

My little Emmett wakes a couple of times a night to nurse. he is also teething heavily, so the night before last he was up almost every hour. Holy moly! It was nutty. I am used to it and feel like I can exist well on less sleep. My 3 yo doesn't really sleep through the night either. He wakes once or twice it seems. We are pretty exhausted around here!


----------



## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

We're up every 2 to 2-1/2 hours on a normal good night.


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chiro_kristin* 
We're up every 2 to 2-1/2 hours on a normal good night.









to you and all of the other non-sleeping mamas here.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chiro_kristin* 
We're up every 2 to 2-1/2 hours on a normal good night.

Yeah, what's up with this? How come no one told me it could be this way?

I know what my mom would say...but then I had a very unhappy childhood and a horrible relationship with my parents growing up, so I don't listen to her too much, lol.

I looked at a house today and I LOVE it. Here's the link: http://www.firstweber.com/vp/Listing...cd_MLS=685187#

It's not in the suburb we are really looking it, but it's right next to it, so DH is having a tough time with this. He also didn't seem to think the house was as amazing as I did. (It looks even better in person, and there's TONS of storage, and everything is in pristine condition.)

When I was standing on the driveway with Henry a woman riding a bike with two little ones in a trailer behind her stopped to talk to me. She said she moved from the street a few months ago, but only because she has five kids and they outgrew their house. She said she went kicking and screaming and that she LOVES the neighborhood. She then told me about all the neighbors and ticked off all the kids who live on the block and their approximate ages.

It's within easy walking distance of a kick-ass park, the library, schools, and a charming shopping district with a Starbucks, bagel shop, bread shop, and a bunch of other stores.

I think someone else is making an offer tomorrow, and we can't really afford to go over asking price, so we probably won't get it. I'm sad.







:


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

That house is INCREDIBLE...*drools*

I would SO make an offer! You never know, your offer could be better than the other one.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *chasmyn* 
That house is INCREDIBLE...*drools*

I would SO make an offer! You never know, your offer could be better than the other one.

It's tough, though, because our current house isn't ready to show yet (I'm still getting quotes for painting, then it has to *be* painted) and we haven't actually looked at any other houses in person. So I don't know if we should just relax and take some more time, or if this house is just so amazing (this is a really good price for this area, for such a great house) that we will regret not getting it. It's also at the very top range of what we can afford.

Ack!


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

New Mama...we are in the exact same phase. Incredibly overwhelming to think of moving while taking care of a baby toddler, huh?? I am reluctant to work on my house while we are in it because of fumes, etc too.

Anyway, that is an INCREDIBLE house!!! Don't know if you're homeschooling, but check out the schools for this address because we bought an incredible house 5 years ago and are now discovering that the schools are shaky at best. So we're moving...and I wish we had been more careful about that.

Good luck! Let us know how the offer goes if you make it. You never know...the other offer might be a weaker one, so it could be worth a try!

--Adrienne


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

it has so much character and style and it's very very inexpensive (well, compared to here..it would go for so much more). I would most definetly put a bid on it. How much are you prequalified for? You could also put in a contingency clause with the sale that would allow you x amount of time to get your house read for viewing/sale.

What a gem that house is. Don't let it pass by!

OK I'll stop being bossy!!!

I feel bad that my bubs sleeps so well but then he's also still quite baby-ish. He's still quite sick, has been since Thursday last week..I hope he shakes it soon..poor lil guy.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EStreetMama* 
Anyway, that is an INCREDIBLE house!!! Don't know if you're homeschooling, but check out the schools for this address because we bought an incredible house 5 years ago and are now discovering that the schools are shaky at best. So we're moving...and I wish we had been more careful about that.

We may homeschool, but this area and the area we are REALLY looking in have incredible school systems...probably the best in our state. Lots of people move there just for the schools.


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Wow-that house has character! I love older homes for all the attention to detail. We live in a nice but soulless newer home-no quirks or details.
I can't believe how inexpensive it is either! We live in one of the most affordable cities in Canada, and that house would easily be in the mid to high 300's!

Hugs to mamas dealing with non-sleepers! E is mostly back on track (slept til 7 again, woo hoo!), though she woke up with a cold today, so we're probably in for it tonight...and I was just saying it had been *ages* since she was sick. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Help with dinner ideas for toddlers-we are in a rut of cheese omelette/veg chili/lentil soup (both green and red), and assorted chick pea/tofu finger food dinners...vegetarian suggestions, anyone? Are our babies old enough for veggie burgers? TIA!

Have a great day-it's sunny here (finally!) and as soon as E is up from her nap, we're heading out.


----------



## chiro_kristin (Dec 31, 2004)

Wow, beautiful house. Good luck new mama!

No advice on the food thing, CJ still eating minimal solid foods and definitely not on a regular basis.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Em eats pretty much whatever we eat, just chopped up into bite-sized pieces.

Dh and I are going on Saturday to look at RVs. We're leaving the older kids at my parents so they can play and have a last shot at riding their bikes before my dad puts the bikes in his garage attic. Em will be with us, either in the backpack or sling, possibly both as needed. We're getting down to the wire as far as research and it's getting both terrifying and exciting.. The thought of being on a 40 foot or smaller RV with 3 kids under the age of 10 for 9 months out of the year is somewhat scary, but the balance of the things they will be able to experience and the work we will be able to do balances it out well...


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kaitnbugsmom* 
Em eats pretty much whatever we eat, just chopped up into bite-sized pieces.

Dh and I are going on Saturday to look at RVs. We're leaving the older kids at my parents so they can play and have a last shot at riding their bikes before my dad puts the bikes in his garage attic. Em will be with us, either in the backpack or sling, possibly both as needed. We're getting down to the wire as far as research and it's getting both terrifying and exciting.. The thought of being on a 40 foot or smaller RV with 3 kids under the age of 10 for 9 months out of the year is somewhat scary, but the balance of the things they will be able to experience and the work we will be able to do balances it out well...

Yep - that's what ds2 is eating. Last night was peas, carrots, shredded beef and slices of potato.

So you're going full time? And then you'll homeschool? We bought a 2000 Itasca Spirit 24-footer this year and it's been great fun (a class c). Ds1 goes in the cab-over bed w/his toys & ds2 climbs around on the floor (and mostly ends up under the dinette table). That sounds like such an adventure! Have fun! We're heading out to PA in Oct & I'm getting so excited.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Quote:

2000 Itasca Spirit
aw! how neat! I wish we could fit into something that small... but I think we'd all be in the looney bin before we crossed the state line.

Yeah, the plan is to home-base in Indiana somewhere, probably around Bedford, and spend the majority of the year on the road. Likely as not we'll end up workamping part of that time, but we're not sure yet. We plan to do craft shows, county fairs and the like in addition to our online store to provide income, as well as the banner ads that you get paid to have on your rig. I will also be nationally certified as a massage therapist by then so if the need arises I should be able to rather easily go through AmeriTemps or one of the healthcare specific agencies. A friend of ours does shoulder & back massages in her booth at fairs and makes quite a bit from that alone and she's not even certified











Right now we're intrested in the Newmar Kountry Star, Itasca Sunova and the Four Winds Hurricane because they have bunks in addition to the main bedroom, which would work out perfectly for us. We've already looked at the Sunova at a dealership and were highly impressed with the quality and design...


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Katinbugsmom -- I think I missed something. Why are you going to live in a RV? Sounds totally cool

New Mama -- WOW. I can't believe the price on that house! Mine is the same size, not as nice and it costs SOOOO much. Ridiculous. The prices here are just ridiculous. To move into a decent school district, I'd have to pay 250K for a 1 or 2 bedroom condo or 500-600K for a house. I don't know what we'll do about schools. Um, move to WI?


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

We're going to be doing it for the eexperience more than anything I guess. We want to be able to travel and do some limited mission type work as well, so the craft circuit as a financial support base, opting into the Full_Timers club's Habitat builds, working in the missions/shelters/church plants of our friends and their friends, and taking time to see things we wouldn't see if we were constrained by bricks and mortar, is our dream and our goal...


----------



## Anguschick1 (Jul 25, 2003)

Kaitnbugsmom: That is so cool! Hey - are you going to be at Covered Bridge Festival in IN in October? Dh and I have gone every year since 2000, normally we stay in Greencastle, but this year, w/Serenity (what we named our rig) we're staying at Raccoon Lake. Have you ever been to the forums at rv.net? I find them really useful. We bought Serenity at Barrington Motors, http://www.bmsrv.com/ I know that would be quite the hike for you, but they came highly reccommended and dh and I can't say enough good about them. Will you blog your adventures on the road? Ohhh, it just sounds too incredibly fun!

New Mama: What an awesome house! I know what you mean about looking at new houses/not being ready to move. I want to stop looking, but then I think that that's when we'd find something that's perfect, yk? But our house is no where near selling condition and dh wants to decide before Christmas if we're staying here another 5 years or moving next...decisions, decisions.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Anguschick1* 
Kaitnbugsmom: That is so cool! Hey - are you going to be at Covered Bridge Festival in IN in October? Dh and I have gone every year since 2000, normally we stay in Greencastle, but this year, w/Serenity (what we named our rig) we're staying at Raccoon Lake. Have you ever been to the forums at rv.net? I find them really useful. We bought Serenity at Barrington Motors, http://www.bmsrv.com/ I know that would be quite the hike for you, but they came highly reccommended and dh and I can't say enough good about them. Will you blog your adventures on the road? Ohhh, it just sounds too incredibly fun!


I've got RV.net open in another tabl
















Our family readiness group is going to have one or more booths at & near the festival. I've never made it all the way down to mansfield but it looks like I'm going to be assigned there if we get the space we're after {another member works at the Mill} I'm almost scared of the traffic considering how bad it is here.. Where are you staying at RL? I am practically drooling at the sheer # of RVs that will be boondocking at every wal-mart for miles in the coming weeks due to the festival and surrounding events







The Greencastle W-M *just* went RV-Friendly this summer now that the former manager "quit" and the word has already spread.

I am going to be blogging everything here shortly, the search, research, all of it.







Thanks for the link, I'll check it out when I'm done cooking {Shhh! I'm cooking at 9:30 at night. Not good for my digestion but research makes me hungry}


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *henhao* 
I don't know what we'll do about schools. Um, move to WI?









Hey, come on over!


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

DH and I went through the house again tonight. He liked it _much_ better, but then once he got home and started talking about it, he started doubting himself again. Now he's mostly unsure about the space and where to put everyone. It has a huge dining room and living room, but only two bedrooms and a tiny half bath upstairs. There is an extra room downstairs that could be a bedroom, and a 1970's style basement rec room that we could make into a room for my teenage stepsons if we had the window enlarged.

So I think we could make it work. We're just spoiled in our current house. It's a bungalow with a wonderful upstairs -- huge master bedroom, big second bedroom (Henry's room, though he doesn't sleep there), a play area, a full bath, and a computer area with built-in desk.

Anyway, someone did make an offer on we looked at, but the owner countered and is asking that their home sale contingency be dropped. We *heard* that the buyer won't be able to drop that, but who knows. And we're still waiting to hear from our mortgage broker to see if we qualify for a bridge loan and could even make an offer without a home sale contingency.


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

New Mama: this is so incredibly similar to a situation we just went through 2 weeks ago. VERY stressful...although it's working out for the best, of course.

I have been SO MIA from posting...but reading along!

Hopefulfaith...thinking of you these days...how are you doing?


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Reading along too....NewMama love, love, love that house. Oh, I want a house soooo bad. I actually am starting to believe that our nighttime wakings here are a result of a too-small house.







My baby needs her own room soooo badly!

Anyway, I've decided to cut out one nighttime feeding (that stupid 5:00 am feeding) since she typically wakes between 6:30 and 7:00 anyway. Started last night and it took her about 30 minutes to fall asleep on her own. She starting to pull off the breast at bedtime and reach for the bed, so she's falling asleep on her own about half the time now. Cool! Just in time, because I've started to get the creepy-crawlies while nursing at night. Anyone else? Her hair is so tickly, her little fingers touch me so lightly (in the most sensitive places). I hate to say it, but it just gives me the creeps! I NEED MY SPACE! I just keep breathing and saying to myself, "just hang in there a little bit longer!" Kristin, notice I don't say to myself, "this too shall pass".







:

In other developments, the words keep appearing and disappearing, but the signing is really taking off. We now have done, please (love that one), food, more, milk and the head shaking for yes and no. The whining is decreasing dramatically with each new sign learned. I really feel that we are starting to communicate at a deeper level. We've also added "putting the toys away" to the nighttime routine. In terms of the words, she knows probably 15, but doesn't use any except "eye" (this week). My feeling is that one of these days, she'll just come out with a paragraph or two in English and in French!







:

Here's a cool website I came across today. I am totally deficient when it comes to singing the cool mama songs! http://niehs.nih.gov/kids/musicchild.htm


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Hey mamas...how are you handling the "can't have what I want" tantrum/crying? Owen is into EVERYTHING and starting to get really pissed if I try to re-direct from hazards. He usually gets over it pretty quickly so I re-direct and ignore the drama, but he's getting more intense about it occasionally. Today he cried and whined for about 10 minutes because I wouldn't let him stand on the edge of our porch (no railing) and eat potting soil from a plant.







:

Any help appreciated...there may not be much to do but re-direct, huh? I am trying to teach him the word "angry" so he can say that when he's pissed. I think if he could sign he would flip me the bird in these moments!!!









Are your babies pretty wild and tearing up your house, by the way????


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

O isn't tearing up the house. She did pee on the floor, slip in it and then fall to the tiled bathroom floor. Ow! So, she's getting faster. She also tried walking down the stairs and DH was right there, of course, and caught her.

The other day O hid from her babysitter. The sitter used the restroom and came out and called for O and the 3 yo boy. The sitter started to get worried and looked all over and finally found the 2 of them hiding behind the bed. O totally got that she was supposed to be quiet and wait to be found. The kids thought this was great; the sitter nearly had a heart attack.

Today, O said 'key' and 'computer'. I was trying to teach her the sign for computer and she just said computer instead. I officially give up on baby signs.

Deb


----------



## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *henhao* 
Today, O said 'key' and 'computer'. I was trying to teach her the sign for computer and she just said computer instead. I officially give up on baby signs.

Deb

I'm right there with you, Deb. August can say pretty much anything he wants. His language explosion is blowing my mind. In the past few days, shadow, spider, circle, blueberries, window...and not just repeating them, using them in context. Yowsa!
I do wonder, however how much teaching him signs in the first place helped him get the concept of language...we are still working on teaching him some important signs, i.e. stop, hurt, sleepy,hot, etc.

A- he would tear up the house if I let him, time for us to put latches on cupboards
ooops he's waking up now, bye


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Tearing up the house...







I laugh out loud as I glance across our kitchen floor -- we came home from a night away last night, and A was so happy to be back he emptied both of "his" kitchen cupboards across three rooms. I picked it up this morning, and it is now all out again.







Tearing up the house...hahahahahahaha! We do have a handful of latches for the cupboards around here, and I don't know what I'd do without them; he'd have the blender and the crock pot out on a daily basis, I think.

Adam is further behind verbally than the rest of the kiddos here, I think. He's still mostly babbling sounds (although I know what his sounds mean, so perhaps that's why he's not motivated to make them into words??), and he seems to have "lost" most of his recognizable words lately, except for "mama" and "no". I'm trying to relax about it; the ST I spoke with gave me early language things to do with him (singing, speaking, etc.), and when I said I was doing all of that, she told me to chill out.







I think I'm going to try to get into a playgroup this winter, as I wonder if being home with just me all the time is slowing his speech. ??? I'm way impressed by O's 'computer', though. And August's 'blueberries'.









And, oh, the "I can't have what I want" moments. Ah, yes. I'm trying trying trying to do the gentle redirection/distraction, etc., but sometimes I've just had to let him be sad about not getting to play with the electric knife or the paper shredder or any number of dangerous things he deeply desires. Adrienne, the "eating potting soil" scenario sounds so like those at our house lately!!!

NewMama, I love that house. Love, love, love. I want a house, and since I'm living vicariously through those who do own one, I'm so excited by the possibility of you living in such a beautiful place. I hope it works out for you!

Kate, what a cool website! Adam has his own gesture he makes when he wants to listen to music; he's all over the songs.









And what else? I "failed" my 1hr GTT, and asked to repeat it before I did the 3hr one -- and then failed the second one. So I'll do the three hour one...reluctantly... Thank heaven I'm 35 weeks this weekend; not much more time for anyone to cram any more suggested testing/intervention into this pregnancy. I've successfully fought off routine repeat ultrasounds and non-stress tests already...I'm getting tired of fighting, sad as it seems. I am really ready to meet this baby! He/she is the kickingest baby ever!!!







Adam was on my "lap" the other day (I really have none now) and the baby kicked so hard that Adam lifted his head up and looked at me sort of quizzically...he's been kicked in the head a couple times, and isn't quite sure about the sensation!

Have a great weekend, all. I'm going to WI for the better part of the week tomorrow night - solo road trip with Adam & I! It will be fun.


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Quote:

Adam is further behind verbally than the rest of the kiddos here, I think. He's still mostly babbling sounds (although I know what his sounds mean, so perhaps that's why he's not motivated to make them into words??), and he seems to have "lost" most of his recognizable words lately,
Em is the same way. Lots of 'verbalizations' and not so many actual words anymore. She still says "ca ca" for both her sister and the four legged fuzzball and "Datda" appropriately but other than that it's "Unh" "Uhn" "ummm" etc. Probably doesn't help that I translate for her and so do her sisters. Bug was the same way though and by age two was coversing at a level her sister's speech therapist said was 'easily second grade' whatever that means.

She's not really big into tearing the house up, but heaven forbid her sisters leave their backpacks lying around {which is a battle for a whole different forum} because the contents are emptied, studied and spread in the blink of an eye..

I'll be in and out this weekend, still working on the house and whatnot.


----------



## K's Mom! (Jul 22, 2004)

Attention Houston: We have walking!








Cheyne started toddling yesterday. I thought that maybe he could do it, so I put him standing holding onto the footstool and stood back a little and called him and sure enough he walked over to me. It was awesome!

Thanks for the support. I think that My friend and I going different ways will be easier once the hurt feeling die down a little bit. YKWIM? Thanks for the kind words!

Wow! Hopefulfaith! It's amazing that you look like this







now. It always goes so much faster when I'm not the one preggo! How exciting that you are almost 35 weeks. Are you growing anxious to meet this new one? What does your little guy think about it? Have you read that book, "What Baby wants" by Dr. Sears and his wife? Its a neat book IMO.

Tearing up the house? Both of my kids keep me sooo busy. It's a lot to have 2 that are 2.5 years apart because they are both sooo busy and making messes faster than I can keep up with.







Especially since the oldest one is 3.5 she can't exactly do a whole lot, however she does have some chores.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow! I am feeling ready to do some sledding! Cheyne likes it a lot when his sister pulls him around in the wagon, so I imagine that a sled will be a riot!









We've got a busy week before our trip down to Seattle/ Portland. We're getting soo excited about it though!

Have a great weekend ladies! Andrya


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hopefulfaith* 
Adam is further behind verbally than the rest of the kiddos here, I think.

Henry isn't talking at all, so don't worry, you're not alone! He will say Dada and Mama, but doesn't really use them to address us. He also says something that sounds _kind_ of like "hot" when touching the side of the oven. But that's it. He mostly says, "ES! ES! ES!" when he's trying to show us something.









Where in WI are you headed to?

So...we're putting an offer in on that house tonight. The first couple who put an offer in were counter-offered, and I think they're going to refuse the counter and put in their OWN counter. So since we're making ours with no contingencies and at asking price, it looks good. Am I crazy? This whole house needs to be painted and talk about our kids getting into everything...I can barely keep it kind of tidy, much less show-worthy.







:


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

Andrya, i feel your pain, my oldest two are two years and ten days apart... and honestly, the youngest being four and a half years younger really wasn't that much different. They still get into more and make more meses than I could ever hope to keep up with at once. I do most of my cleaning while the older two are at school and at night after everyone else is in bed


----------



## hopefulfaith (Mar 28, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *New Mama* 
Henry isn't talking at all, so don't worry, you're not alone! He will say Dada and Mama, but doesn't really use them to address us. He also says something that sounds _kind_ of like "hot" when touching the side of the oven. But that's it. He mostly says, "ES! ES! ES!" when he's trying to show us something.









Where in WI are you headed to?

So...we're putting an offer in on that house tonight. The first couple who put an offer in were counter-offered, and I think they're going to refuse the counter and put in their OWN counter. So since we're making ours with no contingencies and at asking price, it looks good. Am I crazy? This whole house needs to be painted and talk about our kids getting into everything...I can barely keep it kind of tidy, much less show-worthy.







:

Yep! We get a lot of "Ah!" and "Es" and "Eee" and "Ohh" with consistently recognizable gestures. He also follows directions quite well - i.e., "Let's go UPstairs.", "Let's go DOWNstairs.", "Let's brush our teeth in the bathroom", etc., so I know he understands. It'll come.

I'm going to Tomahawk, and then down to Stevens Point; my two bfs from college live there! I'm excited!





















We only see each other every few months at most, so it's a good thing.

Happy House Offer!!!! Keep us posted - I am so excited for you!

Andrya - yay for the walking!!!!!!







That is so exciting! I definitely look like this now ->







and I'm glad to think I will look like this soon ->







: I still feel sort of sad sometimes about Adam's unfortunate early weaning. I bought a cosleeper yesterday, so I'm pretty excited, and am starting to stock up on bm storage bags, etc., and in general NESTING LIKE CRAZY!!!!! Making lists....tidying things that could probably wait.... You all know the story! But I am really getting excited again. And a little intimidated - Adam is still a 24/7 kind of kid (as you all know), so I'm a little worried for his sake, but I know it will work out all right. I haven't read that Sears book, but I'm a huge Sears fan - I will have to check that out! Thanks!


----------



## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

Hi mamas,

May I join you? My son was due in Aug, but came in late July...







:

My name is Amalia and I live in Seattle, although we are moving to Vancouver, WA in a few weeks. (Actually we are moving to Portland, then to Vancouver! Why make things easy is our motto!







: ) I am a fine artist, and have a studio at home were I paint. My DH is a pilot for a cargo company and flies out of Portland, (why the move)!

I had a daughter, Olivia in July of 2003, but unfortunately, she died just three days short of her due date. We miss her and think often of her...and I treasure her birth and time with her. You can read her story here: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ighlight=story (it's the 3rd one down)

Owen will be 14 months old tomorrow...He is just starting to walk...mostly still crawls and walks holding on to things! Too cute! He signs milk, more, all done, dog and help. He waves and points to something THE MINUTE I pick him up!!







(This makes me laugh)...He says mama, iss, (kiss), es (this). That's it. He is a very happy little boy and we hang out together playing and reading lots. I'm LOVING this age/stage...it's a blast.

I have a blog about him: www.allabouto.blogspot.com so if you are interested, check it out!









I LOVE photography, gardening and cooking. I am looking forward to finishing packing and moving so that I can concentrate on my life again...and hopefully meet new mamas and babes!

I look forward to getting to know you all!


----------



## chasmyn (Feb 23, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Amalia65* 
Hi mamas,

May I join you? My son was due in Aug, but came in late July...







:

My name is Amalia and I live in Seattle, although we are moving to Vancouver, WA in a few weeks. (Actually we are moving to Portland, then to Vancouver! Why make things easy is our motto!







: ) I am a fine artist, and have a studio at home were I paint. My DH is a pilot for a cargo company and flies out of Portland, (why the move)!

I had a daughter, Olivia in July of 2003, but unfortunately, she died just three days short of her due date. We miss her and think often of her...and I treasure her birth and time with her. You can read her story here: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ighlight=story (it's the 3rd one down)

Owen will be 14 months old tomorrow...He is just starting to walk...mostly still crawls and walks holding on to things! Too cute! He signs milk, more, all done, dog and help. He waves and points to something THE MINUTE I pick him up!!







(This makes me laugh)...He says mama, iss, (kiss), es (this). That's it. He is a very happy little boy and we hang out together playing and reading lots. I'm LOVING this age/stage...it's a blast.

I have a blog about him: www.allabouto.blogspot.com so if you are interested, check it out!









I LOVE photography, gardening and cooking. I am looking forward to finishing packing and moving so that I can concentrate on my life again...and hopefully meet new mamas and babes!

I look forward to getting to know you all!

You and I have a ton in common, Amalia:

We're in Redmond. We're strongly considering a move to Portland in the Spring. We lost a child in 2003 to his heart defect (see my sig), and our son is 13.5 months old. I love photography and cooking, and I want to get into gardening, but renting isn't really offering that opportunity, so the local organic farm is like our hangout instead.









We should meet.


----------



## skana (Jun 29, 2005)

Welcome Amalia -- glad to have you on board.

To all the mamas: Tova seems slower than most of your babes, although she has just reached 13 months on the 24th. She doesn't crawl or walk, but scoots very fast on her bottom. It is a riot. DS and I have taken to calling her Quasimodo when we hear her thump, ker-thump coming down the hallway. Or Quasitoto (since one of her nicknames is Toto). She is starting to try to pull up, and succeeded today while inside the laundry basket (one of her favourite places to be), so walking probably will not be too far off. She loves to walk if you hold her arms or hands. And, yes, she is into everything. Especially loves newspapers and magazines (fitting, I guess, since I'm a reporter and DH is an editor). She's been slow to talk, though, like a few of the others -- mostly just babbles and says Dada and Daddy a tonne. Has said Mama and Baba (for brother), but not consistently. I think she said duck once, but I may be grasping at straws ... she does, however, understand pretty much everything we say to her. So I think all is well. DS hardly talked at all until he was 2, and then within two weeks was pretty much conversing in full, easy-to-understand sentences, so maybe Tova will be the same.
_
I think if he could sign he would flip me the bird in these moments!!!_
I hear you, sister! Tova is definitely at the tantrum stage. I think distraction is pretty much the only recourse. The only one we've found, anyhow.

Must run now -- enjoy the weekend!


----------



## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Welcome, Amailia!! I live in Portland and have an Owen, too!!! He's 13 months.


----------



## quelindo (May 11, 2005)

Welcome Amalia. It's nice to have you join our fabulous group. Owen is ADORABLE -- love the photos on your blog.

Well, it sounds like we won't get the house...though we have a chance yet. The other couple who made an offer contingent on the sale of their current home were counter-offered a deal dropping the home sale contingency, and they took it. We missed getting our offer in by a few hours, I think. However, they did not provide paperwork proving they could afford the house either with or without selling their current home, and they have to provide that by Sunday. And it sounds like no one has much confidence in these people as far as that goes. (I'm wondering if they got wind that another offer was coming in, so they quick signed the counteroffer and hoped they wouldn't have to prove that they could afford a bridge loan if need be.)

I'm gonna be a wreck all weekend, though I'm trying to get used to the idea that we won't get this house and need to keep looking.

If somehow we get it, it sure was truly meant to be. And if not, well, we have a nice home and this will give us more time to really look and get our home ready to sell. Right?


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Welcome Amalia! This is a great board-glad you found us! I read your story about Livi-wow-you are a strong mama!









Yay to all the new walkers and talkers-"computer"? Wow!
Hopefulfaith, I can't believe how close you are! That's so exciting!
Newmama, hope Sunday comes quickly, and provides the answer you want.









Tantrums? Oh yes...pitching all kinds of fits when we're not allowed to open the hot oven, climb up the cabinets/chairs/the cats, etc etc. She is into everything-every cabinet, closet, laundry basket, etc must be looted, and oh my, does she love shoes. We rely on lots of redirection and distraction, and it seems to work for the most part. When E's tired, she gets frustrated very easily (which results in much foot stamping, no-no-no sounds and throwing things), so I try to verbalize what she's feeling/help out how I can. She is definitely frustrated by language barriers, as she understands sooo much, but speaks just a little, probably 10ish words, with the occasional try/one off use of a word. She understands a lot, and will follow 1-2 step directions. She is really working on "zipper" and "diaper" right now, but her favourite word is "yah!", with a little lilt at the end. She does have a repertoire of animal sounds (monkey, cow, cat, panting dog, hooting owl, lion/other roar-y animals) though! What can I say, she's a country kid...

I'm off to relax with DH, whose Kung Fu movie just ended...







Have a great weekend!


----------



## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Hi gang! Hopefulfaith found me in Nighttime Parenting and told me how to find this thread. I went MIA all summer long, and have only recently returned to mdc. I'm glad to read about all that's going on in your lives and with your babes.

NewMama, I'm sorry about the house... It really was incredible, but it might be less stressful to take more time to look and decide (trying to look on the bright side here!)

I can't believe so many of you have TALKING babies! Clara said her first real words this summer: kitty and duck (both live in the house next door) but has hardly said even those since, and really doesn't say much beyond a lot of babble. She does understand an amazing amount, and is learning a few signs. I really want to be more focused with the signs, now that she's really started using "more" and "gentle" consistently. Also, she's only been really walking for a few weeks now. And I didn't think she was behind until I read about all of your babies! But I'm not worried. It's pretty normal for premies to be all over the map developmentally, and it's clear that she's bright and interested in the world.

Well, I've sayed up way past my bedtime, so I'm signing off, but it's good to "see" you all again!

-Caren


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

I have an Owen too (grandson in Utah) and my youngest daughter is Amalie. (named after a princess in my husband's lineage). No connections with Washington other than my dh has considered moving there for work.

About talking? Nathanael's still at da-da stage and a lot of squeeling and what not. Considering he's almost crawling I know he's working more on that than speech.

OH he's started imitating! I forgot to come on the other day and tell you girls! I started singing patty cake patty cake the other day and he looked at me like, ok that's my cue, and he started clapping..he even tries to pat it and mark it with an N and then when the song is done he tries to clap really fast when I say YAY!! It's extra cute because his little hands bend over backward almost touching his arms so he's a bit overly floppy. He can almost touch his legs with his toes too. Kids with DS can really flex like that which is kind of cute on one regard yet scary on another as you can pop joints waaay too easy without even trying.

Ok I'm babbling now.







KItty


----------



## Aeriane (Apr 4, 2005)

I should include the reason why patty cake was so significant for us is he hasn't done anything that coordinated in a while. Actually connecting with both hands was a milestone for me. Not to mention the recognition of the song.


----------



## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

YAY Nathaneal! That's so great, Kitty!


----------



## Amalia65 (May 31, 2005)

:

Wow! What a lovely welcome...thank you!









Chasmyn: I actually spent a couple of hours reading your journey and life with Quinn the other night when I first found this thread...I was very moved by your story, and needless to say extremely sad...I just sat on my couch as tears streamed down my face. The picture of you and Quinn as you held him is so lovely and heartbreaking at the same time...I loved looking at Quinn's pictures...he was a very happy little guy...









I didn't get a chance to check out your blog, but will get to it one of these days as Owen allows...and it would be great to meet!!!

Skana, Tova sounds adorable! Owen never scooted on his toosh, even though I would push him around that way! I thought it would be a hoot! But, alas, he did not listen to his mama!







Owen didn't crawl till late really, (I can't remember exactly) and just now is walking. I try really hard not to compare him to other children, but I don't always succeed, as I notice that he is slower than his playmates...I hate that I notice those things...I just know he is developing well, at his pace. Sigh...(I don't mean to suggest that you are comparing BTW...just "venting" my own unhelpful internal thoughts!!!







:

EStreetmama...WHAT? Another Owen??? I thought we were so original with his name...







(J/K) I look forward to meeting you when we move down to Portland!

Hi New Mama! I'm sorry about the house...sending you good vibes...and hoping things still work out!!! We have found a house I LOVE, but being that we haven't even put our home on the market, it seems a bit unrealistic to even think we are going to get it...We did though contact the owner about a possible lease till our home sells, paying them full price, as we know that he is paying two mortgages...so who knows..maybe, maybe...although the thought of us over-extending ourselves financially doesn't appeal...and I know there are other houses...Maybe I just shouldn't look until I'm ready to buy??? Right!
















Hi Fridgeart! I love the "yah!"...if Owen ever does anything like that he'd be eaten immediately!!!









Hi Caren!

Hi Kittie! Amalie is what my mom calls me!







I love the imitating too..it's really cute! That's how he started with kiss...super cute! I sing the few songs I know, (which is really a limited list...) to Owen, but he doesn't seem too interested...maybe my singing is REALLY bad!!!
















OK...off to take Owen outside and watch DH work...Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks again for your welcome. I'm glad I found you.


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

Welcome Amalia. If you were born in 1965, we need to talk!

I'm now getting closed-mouth kisses on request. Life is suddenly sweeter...

Here are some new pics. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/katewi...e2.jpg&.src=ph


----------



## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Kate, those pics are great! Wow, these babies are all getting so big! Now, since I missed the last 4 months of posting, I may have missed a similar discussion, so feel free to re-direct me. That said, my question for y'all is, what toys do your little ones play with? I'm feeling like Clara is ready for some new toys, and I'd love to ask for a couple really nice things for Christmas. Do you have any recomendations of things that your little ones really get into? She LOVES books, and I always get her more of those, but I'd love for her to explore some tactile things like playsilks or non-toxic crayons.

Amalia, I love your sig. about yarn deals!!!


----------



## ktmama (Jan 21, 2004)

CarenSwan - right now A is into stacking and sorting. Really loves her shape sorters, tupperware of various sizes to stack in each other, duplo blocks to take apart and put together (and put away in the box) and at the end of the day, put it all back into the toy basket. The books are getting a good workout and I've given her a paper book (vs. board book) which has yet to be torn or eaten! She's also getting attached to her stuffed dog Sandy and enjoys pushing him around in her cart. An old cell phone is fun now too - she likes to pretend she's talking on the phone and says "hi dada" about a thousand times a day. HTH.


----------



## henhao (Dec 17, 2004)

Amalia -- Welcome. Your story was so sad and how you both handled it seemed so brave. The story -- how you wrote it -- was full of beauty and wonder along with the extreme sadness.

Kitty -- Clap clap for Nathaniel!!

All -- We have walking here, too. After a weekend away with other babies who were walking, O came home and decided to give it more of a try. (During that weekend with the other babies O would not walk AT ALL! As though she didn't want to mess up in front of the others!







)

I forget if I told you all already that O made a few sentences. She bonked her daddy in the head -- they like to head butt each other at dinner -- and then said 'that's right!'







She also said 'hi dada' and 'that's crazy!'

Gotta get to bed soon. Hugs to all!


----------



## Kaitnbugsmom (Dec 4, 2003)

wow, sorting and whole sentences







But those things would require Em to sit down for more than two minutes and us to quit translating for her. And since she's our last, I think we'll content ourselves with her timing..


----------



## CarenSwan (Sep 29, 2005)

Just so you know, I started an October thread. I'm kind of excited. I've never started a thread for this group before. I'm not usually that on top of things at MDC!


----------



## mtnsunshinemama (Sep 21, 2004)

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=531777

Here it is, see you there!


----------

