Jan/Feb 05 chat - Thread #3

[Leah's Mom]

Ohh, Tarri!!!!!!!!! How exciting!  Watch out now!

[julieb]

So me & Asher are still recovering from being sick.      It's been very challenging.  He is such a pistol these days!  And his poor nose!    :oops:   It's just terrible.  I can't tell you how many times we've poked him with the bulb and saline spray.  Think he even got a bit of a bloody nose from shoving it up there as he's thrashing his head around.  And it's raw from all the wiping and running.  Not sure what's better?  Just let it run?  I only suction now when I absolutely have to if he can't breathe and sleep or eat.  I just pray he doesn't develop a sinus or ear infection from my lack of suctioning!  :shock:

We leave for Disneyland tomorrow, so I'll be offline until Sunday, maybe later.

Heather, does the pedialite clear a stuffed nose as well?  The benedryl dries his nose when it's runny, but doesn't seem to decongest it.  It really is getting better though, even though it sounds bad.  :oops:  :lol:   

Julie, yes, we have some family coming.  It will be interesting!  Anyway, about the finger foods, Asher still shoves the entire slice in his mouth after all this time.  If I give him pieces, he shoves so many in until his mouth is full.  It's the same result regardless.  He seems to manage though.  I don't give Asher any dairy, eggs, or wheat yet, so he has brown rice pasta, rice bread toast with applesauce on top, steamed califlower, brocoli, peas, green beans, yams, squash, plain tofu, chicken, turkey, ham, ripe pears...in addition to some of the things you mentioned.  Everything's well steamed until it's well gummable.

Glad to hear things are going well with so many of you!  Keep it up, ladies! 

[Schae]

WELL DONE EMILY!!!

[klt]

Wow Tarri that is great news, so exciting! 

Schae - that would be a perfect arrangement I can imagine, hope you get it worked out

Julie - poor Asher!  I hope you can still all enjoy Disneyland. 

Hazel - congrats on your niece!  Nice to have cousins close in age.  Ciara has 7 now with another on the way! 

We are kind of stranded at home at the moment as although my back is pretty good right now, both my wrists have given out more or less.  We are up on the 4th floor and to get in and out of the building when dh is at work I have to carry Ciara in one arm and the stroller in the other and I just can't do it anymore.    Dutch staircases are steeep and I don't know how much she weighs now but it is too much for me!  I'm feeling kind of fed up and bad for her and the dog for not going out.  Boohoo!

[Deb_in_oz]

Tarri - well done Emily! it is all or nothing with that girl eh?   :lol:  bshe is doing awesome!

Congrats auntie Hazel!

Kate - sorry to hear you are stranded - how terrible to have to deal with a 4 story walk up  :cry: i hope you sort something out and your wrists improve.

Us - today was hard because the bloody standing/mobility issue still interfering with sleep - she sleeps ok but getting her down some days is hard and tonight was the first time she had trouble going down for bed (took from 7-8pm)

on the positive side the 3 bottles is going really well and last night we did not even have a stir or peep from 7:30pm until 6:55am    first night no waking between 10-11pm so i assume we are done with it - hope we continue to have good luck with this.

on another note - i know we are here to talk about the little ones but i have exciting alex news - she peed on the big toilet for the first time today and also went on the potty after dinner of her own choosing - we went out aftre the first one and bought undies!! i am officially on the potty train! i am so proud of her - no one told me i would feel so proud (i looked at it as a stresssful TASK, when really having experienced her first "wee" it felt like such a rite of passage i almost cried!  we did high fives and she wanted a cuddle (she was a bit scared at first) and we called daddy and grandma in america!! she said to my mom " i weed potty. i go to shops" (to get undies  :lol: ) my big girl is really getting to be a big girl  :cry: 

[HeatherC]

Julieb-yes, the Pediacare is a decongestant.

[thitz]

Debra, YEAH for Alex!!

JulieB, hope you guys feel better soon.  Maybe all the Disney excitement will take Asher's mind off being sick:)  I usually do some suctioning every day.  Sometimes I saline spray both sides then just kind of squeeze her nose and slide my fingers down the length and that usually gets the real big boogers out without suctioning.

Us, I got the convertible car seat in the middle back seat.  It juts out between the front seats so there's enough room.  Now we just need a test drive...

[Daniel's mummy]

Please could people say a prayer for my SIL.  As you all know she had her baby on Monday morning.  She has since developed Hellp syndrome (I had never heard of it but apparently it's a version of pre-eclampsia) and she has been quite poorly.  Last night she was actually moved to intensive care so that she could be better monitored.  As far as I'm aware she is doing much better and is gonna be fine but it can't be easy for her being parted from her dd.  Please pray that she will be back on the maternity ward soon with her dd and there will be no problems breastfeeding etc...  Please also pray for her dh (my brother) in all of this.  It can't be easy for him either.  He is so tired  :cry:

Thanks guys.

Will let you know how she goes.

PS Christine I pm'd you.

[dkjokisch]

Well, I was trying to find my last post, and it's been a week!  Time flies.  Sadly, I can't say we were having fun.  But MIL left at the end of last week, and on Saturday, we had our post-Thankgiving turkey dinner.  (Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant just isn't the same.)  We invited another couple with a baby, so they were completely understanding of working dinner around naptimes, etc.

I took Maya in yesterday to get her helmet adjusted again.  Hopefully, we have resolved the irritation issue.  Cross your fingers for us.

However, in not so great news, we have a termite infestation in our house.  I suppose it definitely could be worse - they seem to be confined to one corner of the house, but the timing couldn't be worse.  The first estimate came in at $1500-2000.  :shock:

Schae - Congrats on the job and the nanny, and good luck with the move.

Branwen - I hope the move goes well.  I don't envy you the travelling cross-country bit, but how exciting!

Deb - I am so happy for you that things are going well.  I've been thinking of you alot in the last few days as I have been going insane with all the stress.  Little things I could normally shrug off have been setting me into horrible moods.  But I read your PPD post, and I have been trying remember all that and keep perspective.

Hazel - Glad you found a playgroup.  It's so nice to have a weekly outing to look forward to!  We haven't been in a month due to our revolving cold, but I am excited to get back to it this week.

On dropping to three feeds - due to the weight gain issues, we won't be dropping the fourth feed until the ped oks it, but I always thought the late afternoon one would be the next to go.  Like Heather, I don't think I could hold Maya off until 2pm.  I think a late afternoon snack would do it (if only I could get Maya to drink from a sippy :roll:) , and I could use the time to start prepping dinner.   

To all those who are sick, I extend my sympathy.  Between dh, Maya, and myself, I single cold lasted one solid month!  And we shared with MIL and SIL.

Still catching up, but Maya is up, and not so happy.  However, we have had two hour+ naps today, so I am ecstatic.

[dkjokisch]

Julie - I found my playgroup through church.  There is a women's group specifically for moms with kids under 5yrs, and they organize playgroups according to age.  There is also a group called MOMS.  I don't remember what it stands for, but try an internet search.  They have chapters all over the place, and they organize playgroups.

As for finger foods, Maya now gets everything from our plates that's appropriate for her.  She eats all manner of steamed vegetables, some ripe fruit, cut up meat, bread or toast cut into sticks (she loves homemade banana bread with cream cheese), soft cheese, and other stuff I am sure I'm forgetting.  My trouble is finding things I can prep fast when I'm not sitting down to eat with her.  I posted about this on the solid food board and got some good suggestions.  Take a look there.

On the cold front -  I talked to the pharmacist when Maya got sick.  He said to use to Benadryl for clear runny noses and decongestant for snotty congested noses.  For those concerned about your lo's getting hyped up on pseudoephedrine, there is a new decongestant out that uses something else.  I don't remember what it is called, but you can ask at your local pharmacy.  Maya won't let you anywhere near her with an aspirator or drops, so I found that just squeezing her nose from the top down like someone else mentioned did the best job.  Also, it may sound gross, but her nose was getting so chapped and sore, I stopped wiping every drip and would wait until it reached her lip.  Finally the pharmacist also said not to give her anything for the cough.  Cough medicine for a dry cough is fine, but with a runny nose, coughing is the only way to clear the airway.

[klt]

Hazel - sorry to hear about your SIL; I have a friend who had HELLP when she was starting her 3rd trimester and had to have an emergency Csection.  They were fine (still are) but it is a scary thing.  Sending my thoughts for a quick recovery. 

Kate

[thitz]

Hazel, I'm sending good thoughts to your brother and SIL and new baby.

[thitz]

Walking/crawling:  I've got to get Emily moving on her own or my back is going to collapse!

Emily loves it when I hold her hands so she can walk all around the house.  But my back is going to fall of soon.  I've started getting her to take some steps with me holding just one hand and she's improved a lot and I've started putting her leaning with her back against the couch and having her take a couple steps into my arms.  JulieB, is this how Asher started out?

She has tons of leg strength but she just can seem to push up onto all fours.  She done a few little bum lifts on her tummy and can turn in circles using her hands, and can go from sitting to tummy...but that's it.   Any tips on how to get her on all fours or gain arm strength?  I think once this improves she might crawl.

Thanks, Tarri

[Daniel's mummy]

I went to see my SIL today.  She's back on the maternity ward with her dd next to her.  Yay!  She seems to be doing really well.  They're gonna be monitoring her for a few more days I think but she is definitely on the mend.
And my neice is just soooooo cute!  She is so small :shock:   6lb 1oz which is not that tiny but compared to what my 9lb 2oz ds was she just seems miniature!
Thanks for all your well wishes, prayers and positive thoughts

Will post more soon.

[sedona314]

Debra, so glad you are feeling so well!  and that is awesome about Alex, so cute.

Tarri:  Hurray for Emily

Christine:  that xmas pic is so cute. and Im the one who asked what photo program you use, mine is just too difficult.

congrats Aunt Hazel, hope your SIL is doing much better

Deborah, that sucks about the infestation.  Thanks for the suggestions about play groups.

US:  Matty is 26 lbs 31 oz.  Do we win the big baby prize?  :lol:

Julie