Losin' the Baby Fat ~ Wednesday, June 1st

[metroames]

Mornin' Gals. Great pics yesterday everyone!

nyanchan - My hair started falling out in globs this week too! I really regret going to get my hair cut the week before I went back to work. It has no life in it and I got it cut in layers and my bangs are too short to put back into a ponytail with the rest of the hair. I spend too much time trying to straighten the natural waves out, and then it goes flat and stringy on me by the time I get to work anyway. I'm going to get it cut short today because I think it will be a little more manageable. Then I will grow it all out again and leave it that way until I've got more time to do my hair.....like 5 years from now! Maybe, if I get it cut it won't look like so much is falling out, LOL! That, and I suppose it will be nice for the summer.

blueyedgrl - We use the Dr Brown bottles, because that was the only ones that Grant would take! Compared to the other ones he definately has less gas. But that might have just been because he was fighting the other ones because he didn't like the nipples and sucked in more air with his fussiness.

Well, my sweetie and I went to go see Star Wars Episode III last night and my aunt who keeps hounding us to bring him over took care of Grant. We got back from the movie and I guess Grant had been in a crying fit pretty much the hole time we were gone. I think my aunt way about ready to pull her hair out. I put him to the breast right away and he calmed down and then when we got home he had two huge bowel movements and then he ate some more and crashed for the night. Poor thing. My aunt sure did make it clear that she doesn't want to take care of him again anytime soon. There goes our babysitter.

I don't know what was wrong for sure, but he was fighting sleep, had gas and evidently didn't want to take the bottle from my aunt. I guess he didn't like being in a strange place. He's been over there several time before, but it was like 3 weeks ago the last time.

And another strange thing....in both big poopy diapers some of the poop was actually kind of solid. It looked strange, like something stringy and tacky and it was mustard/orange color like the rest of his poop. I wonder if it is something I should be concerned about or if his digestive track is maturing more so his poop is becoming more solid. And ideas?

Well, it's already June. I'll be glad when this month is over. We are just starting to get into a good routine and now it's gonna be interrupted at least once a week through the end of the month. We have a church function next weekend, Dave's brother is coming the following weekend, we have doctor's and dentist's appointments scheduled the following week, and then my sister's wedding is the last weekend (and I had to trade to get that day off and of course it's in the middle of a long work stretch ). I am so looking foward to July already, LOL!

Ok, I guess I'd better go do something constructive before the baby wakes up. Have a great day ladies!

Ames

[BrattyChelle]

Morning Mommies!!!

I had to lurk yesterday and skimmed the thread....beautiful pics!!!!

Life is hectic here, always something. Tonight is hubby's night off and I think we'll both be in bed as soon as groceries are bought and laundry is done. He's hoping his schedule calms down next week...this has been 4 weeks, it's time they let him work his shift.

Elana's doing well. Had her first weekend at the pool so I thought I'd share some pics real quick









Let's just say...daddy wasn't happy she had a tankini on hahahaha...poor guy!

Have a great day mommies!!! Sorry I didn't have time for personals, but please know you all are thought of

[BrattyChelle]

sorry the pics are so big

[karatejen]

Chelle~ great pics! I wish I had a pool I could go swimming in.

Ames~ I wouldn't worry about the poop. As long as it is coming out, you're good. Sorry about your aunt. I fear the same thing, so for that very reason, we haven't left Murphy with anyone yet in order to have a date. Evening is his worst time and sometimes he is only calmed by bfing. He does ok at daycare. So until I wean him, we probably won't leave him in the evening. Yes, I am probably paranoid, but I doubt I would enjoy myself because I would be worrying about him crying. Just a personal hangup of mine.

[BMmommy]

Good Morning....wasn't able to check back in yesterday and I think I may have a lot of catching up to do!!
Well, I got 100 oz of water in yesterday, so that is the goal today!!
Ames- Sorry Grant had a hard time last night I wouldn't worry about the poop either!!! What Jen said...

nyanchan- My hair is still falling out!!! It is so gross!!! And I need to get it chopped off again!!

Chelle- Great pictures, that looks so nice......hope you get some rest tonight!!! Funny how we get up in the morning and it is all about how we are gonna get some sleep the next night HAHA!!

Well, I will try to check in later, hope everyone is having a good morning!!

[Dar20]

Morning, girls, just a quick check-in. Alison was up until 1 am last night, but didn't get up until 6:30, so not a bad night. But, I'm still exhausted.

I feel better today. My throat doesn't hurt anymore, so I think whatever I had may be going away. Or it could have just been allergies.

BBL..

[Dar20]

Forgot to mention.. weighed in today at 179, so I'm down 3 pounds in a week. I was hoping for better, but that's okay.

[Friendship]

Dar- 3lbs is 3lbs!!! Congratulations!

Beth- Good job on the water, I hit 120 oz yesterday. Already started today off well, about 20 oz so far!

Ames- I agree with everyone, if he is pooping, then he is more than likely fine! You are so brave, I've only left Hunter with my mil 2 times while we went to dinner and that was before he was 6 months of age. I think I have issues with leaving him with people.

Hi Chelle- Cute pictures!!! Hope that you both get a good nights sleep!

Busy day here at work for me (but you know I'll find time to hop on here!) have to finish one spreadsheet, have another one waiting for me and then 2 more after that. Yuck, I will hate Excel so much by the end of the day!

B- Green Olives, String Cheese
S- String Cheese
L- Wings, SF Jello
D- Steak and broccolli

Okay, I'm waiting for the veggie nazi to come in and tell me more veggies! :-) (Just kidding Vanessa, but you know you want to tell me that........)

[boodsadel]

Morning ladies... Slept til 7:34 today! YAY!! It was hard going back to work last night after 10 days off. Although I was really lazy and didn't get hardly anything done! Oh well...

Ames... Glad you are getting a little more sleep. That's hard when sitters have a hard time. We are pretty lucky with Jason's mom that she watches him so often, so it's like his second home.

Chelle... Awe, cute pics.. that looks like so much fun! I miss swimming already.. Eli really loved it too!

KJen... I LOVE the new pics of Murphy.. and you and DH look so cute with him.

Beth... Don't worry about catching up with yesterday! It's so hard when you can only stop in in the morning...

Dar... 3 pounds in a week is awesome!! I seriously need to kick it in gear!!!

Melissa... Busy, schmuzy... you know you'll be on here!

Dierdre... My hair is STILL falling out too! (and Eli is now 1!) I'm wondering when that'll stop also... yuk!

[Dar20]

The veggie nazi can come for me, too. I'm still not back into the groove of veggies.. kind of lost my taste for them during morning sickness. I don't like the spring mix salad anymore, and I used to really enjoy it. I actually like the frozen ones.. you know, with the cheese sauce and stuff? Yumm.. not exactly induction level, though!

Menu today, very similar to yesterday (gotta get to the store!):
B- two bacon/egg muffins
L- pork chop, celery w/ cream cheese
D- steak, some veggie

Regarding leaving/not leaving the kids with someone.. and I don't mean to start a debate, just a discusssion.. but do you feel you might be creating problems later on? The only reason I bring this up... and I KNOW all babies are different ... but a friend of mine has a daughter who is about 14 months. She has not really been socialized much. Her parents don't really go out, they don't have friends over anymore, etc. The girl is very very shy. On the other hand, other friends of ours take their 1 year old everywhere, we go out to dinner often (sometimes once a week), leave him with family, etc. He is very outgoing.

I'm just wondering... by introducing them to strangers early in life, will that affect their social skills later in life? By allowing them to spend time away from us, does it make them more independent?

At the same time, I totally understand where you are coming from. Even just leaving Alison with Rob was hard for me at first.. making sure he knew how much she ate, reminding him to burp her, etc. He already knows all of that, but I was still paranoid.

[karatejen]

Hey Dawn and Melissa!

Originally Posted by blueyedgrl

Question for you mommies~

Has anyone here used the Dr. Brown's bottles? Do they really work (i.e. did you notice a difference from "regular" bottles?)


I'm going out tonight & think I'll look for one to try. While Reilly's digestive problems are doing much better with the change to formula, I'm wondering if these bottles will also help. He's still gassy (he could out belch a grown man! ) & still has some "fussy" times where he acts like he's in pain.

He currently uses the Playtex bottles with the disposable drop-in liners & I squeeze all of the air out, but I'm just wondering if there's something better.

blue~ we started Murphy out on basic evenflo bottles, but he was very gassy. We switched to the Dr. Browns. It think with the combination of the bottles and age, he became a lot less gassy. I never minded that he passed gas. I was actually relieved when he did. It was when he couldn't pass it that he was a miserable little guy. The OTC gas drops didn't work too well after a while so we switched to gripe water. Gripe water? Yep, it is all natural and works wonders. I can give more info if you are interested.

Dar~ Murph does great at daycare. We don't have any family here in town, so we are limited on being able to do stuff without him. So far if we have good timing, we can take him just about anywhere with us. I wouldn't attempt a movie theater, though. I don't have qualms leaving him with a sitter. It is just that the time of night is really the deciding factor right now. I can't wait until I wean him. I will definitely consider leaving him with mom for an evening when we are visiting them. Six months to go...

[Friendship]

Dar- I think if my family lived closer by I would leave Hunter with them. I just don't trust my mil with a 10 foot pole. She has to find something wrong with everything we do with Hunter, from giving him whole milk at 11 months to not wanting to give him juice to making our own baby food instead of purchasing the stuff already made for you in the store, etc. Hunter is a very social butterfly, he goes everywhere with us and goes to strangers. We go out to eat, both as a family and with all of our friends, etc. We have a friend that has a 2 year old and his party is on Sunday, he will be going to that and hopefully having fun with other children his age. We are trying to get him more contact with other children. Our local library does story time, etc so I think Andrew will start to bring him there.

I guess for me, I don't feel like I am holding Hunter back by not leaving him with a baby sitter. (Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with babysitters, I have nothing against them at all) I love having him with me all the time and it is funny to have people at other tables say what a good mannered child we have.

[blueyedgrl]

Good Morning!

Thanks to Dar, KJen, & Ames for the help/input on the bottles!

I did buy one Dr. Brown's bottle last night. It isn't like the picture I posted yesterday, it looks like this:


As I type, he's drinking from it, so I'll report later if I notice a difference.

Another silly question - should he be putting the whole nipple into his mouth (up to the plastic collar?) I feel so dumb asking that , but I've only ever used the Playtex bottles with the wide base nipple.

Thanks again for the advice & help!

[Dar20]

Originally Posted by Friendship

I just don't trust my mil with a 10 foot pole.

<snip>

I guess for me, I don't feel like I am holding Hunter back by not leaving him with a baby sitter. (Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with babysitters, I have nothing against them at all) I love having him with me all the time and it is funny to have people at other tables say what a good mannered child we have.

at MIL comment. LOL...

I totally agree with you that, if you are going to go out and are happy with taking baby, that is a great thing. We plan to do that with Alison. We don't have a babysitter lined up, and have NO family nearby. And I'd never have a babysitter at my house, at least not someone that doesn't know my dogs. I'd have to take Alison somewhere, and that's kind of a scary prospect.

I think the difference b/w the two babies I mentioned is that the girl never goes out in a social setting. She'll go with mom to the store and such, but not to dinners or parties. Alison's only 8 weeks (today!!!) and I can't even count how many dinners we've taken her two, she's been to several parties, and two frisbee competitions! Hopefully, if we can keep that up, she'll be well socialized and have no fear of being held or looked after by people other than us.

Emily, let him take in how much he wants. Alison will pretty much fit the whole thing in her mouth, it kind of depends on how hungry she is. I can tell when she's full, she just takes the tip in her mouth and plays or chews it. When she's eating, she's got that whole thing in there, almost all the way to the collar. For the wide neck bottle, she only has the skinny part, and I think that's why it doesn't work for her.

ETA: Sheesh, why do I keep calling you Kristen?? Sorry about that!!

[blueyedgrl]

Chelle~ Great pictures! I hope things calm down with your DH's schedule soon!

Beth~ I don't remember if I said so yesterday, but congrats on the job!

Dar~ 3 lbs is great!

Melissa~ Good luck with your spreadsheets!

Ack, I'll have to come back later & finish - Mackenzie's fussing & I'm afraid she'll wake Reilly.

[Friendship]

Dar- 8 weeks already!!! Wow, time flies! Yeah, when we are out with our friends, it is kinda like having a babysitter because they all want to play with him, etc.

[LivnLGNOmore]

Well I didn't make my goal the scale is still flashing 300 However, I did start TOM this morning, that in itself is kind of a relief. I had a period for a few days when I went on the pill, but that was a long time ago, it stopped as soon as I went off it. So I guess you could say this is my first real period since the baby, but seeing how I was preg this time last year I guess this is the first one in a year.

Anyway sounds like evryone is doing well this morning. Elliott as at 'school' today, Jamie, and Connor will be here a little later, and the wee one is napping.

I have a question, is there such a thing as too much sleep? Judson goes to bed between 7-8 pm sleeps ALL night long till 7ish the next morning, naps from 9-12, then again from 2-4. He's only actually awake for 7 or 8 hours a day.

Gotta run and hang some clothes on the line since the sun is out, I'll probably jinx it by doing that but I'll try. Drink up ladies! I'LL BE BACK

[karatejen]

Emily~ that is the Dr Brown's bottle we have too. I didn't notice a difference right away. It took a little while. I'm with Dar....the whole nipple is normal.

[BMmommy]

Dar- Great job on the loss!!! My scale is stuck Need to eat some more I think!! About leaving the child......we have no family, she gets left at church in the nursery and I have only been paged once..so that is good. And we left her with a neighbor when hubby and I went to dinner.....she went to bed about 45 minutes after we left and was fine. With Braden we ONLY left him with family, and one friend that lived close by, we didn't even leave him in a nursery at church.....afraid he was going to get sick or crabby. So hard and scary to find someone to trust. About the socializing.....we took Braden everywhere with us....I think they go thru stages of "being good".....up to 4 months its great ( when they are in their carrier) then it is a little harder when they are at the stage of almost sitting up on their own, but not really.......and closer to 1 they want to get out of the highchair!!! Yikes I guess it's hard in different ways at different stages!! wow that was a ramble........I did notice a difference in Braden when we started going to playgroups and such....I think it is great for them to be around other children to learn to socialize and play nice


Melissa- Great job on the water. It is 10 and I have only had coffee....and I have to laugh at your breakfast!!! Weird the stuff we eat LOL

Dawn- HI!!!

Emily- We used Avent with Braden and Madison wouldn't take them...so I bought the cheap Gerber ones.....she does fine with those, but she doesn't have the gas problems either. Everyone I know that use Dr B, loves them and when I see the babies drinking, it seems the whole nipple is in their mouth....

Okay I will check back in later!!! Man I really rambled on this one.....

[Friendship]

Beth- Drink that water!!! Yeah, I've been having Green Olive cravings.....

Liz- Hunter sleep a lot also, he seems to be moving towards one nap now so that is good. Right now he is going to be around 8pm and sleeps until 6:30-7:00AM, will go down for a nap around 10:30 to 11:00am and then sleep until 1-2pm.

[BMmommy]

Emily- Thanks!!!

Liz- I DO NOT think there is such a thing as sleeping too much...could be a growth spurt....Madison did that at around the same age....cherish the moments LOL!!! Now she sleeps 8-10, 1-2:30 or so....and she even used to take a nap in the late afternoon, think she has dropped that though......she has about the same routine as you have!!

[boodsadel]

On the babysitting topic, I think there are so many angles to look at. Like in the case where you are social yourself, and take your baby with you... I think the baby gets the most "social time" since they know you are right there if they need you, but can still explore on their own and play with different people. We also take Eli everywhere we go, but he is still SUPER shy. He goes to three different houses for babysitting a couple hours a day each week. The houses that he only goes to once a week, he still cries every time I leave him there. He cries just about every time we leave him in the Y daycare for just an hour tops... I think it really depends on the baby. If you are leaving them with a sitter they never really see often, they may get scared and be even worse off. I don't know... every kid is so different!

Liz... I remember asking these guys the SAME question several times! Eli was about the same as Judson. He'd sleep all night, then during the day, he'd be up for an hour, sleep for two.. ALL DAY LONG! I almost felt guilty that I could do so much.. like I was neglecting him putting him down all the time! The doctor assured us there was nothing wrong with that and we should just thank our lucky stars! I agree with that... live it up for as long as it lasts!!

Emily... Glad the new bottles are going well for you! It really is a matter of finding what works for each baby.. we started on the Avents, and had NO luck. Then we went to the Playtex VEntAire... and he loved them!

Cynthia... WHere are you?? How ya doing? Guess what I just found out yesterday... my dad has Chron's Disease.. hope it's not hereditary! How was Lexie's birthday? I still have to post pics of Eli's!

Tracy... Great pics yesterday.. I'm with everyone else in shock of how much hair Katie has!! Too cute!

Jen... LOVE the hair! You have the prettiest eyes ever...

Kristin... Did ya have a good birthday date???? Hope so!

Vanessa... where are you young lady?

Hello to everyone else....

[Mrs Sarah]

Good morning ladies!

Well, I'm not sure what's up with Tanner. I'm wondering if he's getting sick AGAIN! He's been really fussy lately and this morning woke up crying at 4am. He usually doesn't get up until 6:30 or 7:00. I did finally get him back to sleep for about an hour. He doesn't seem feverish and his appetite is fine, he's just really cranky. No signs of teeth that I can tell.

Ames: I'm sorry Grant didn't do well with the sitter. That is so hard. We had a hard time with Tanner as well. It's just something he has to get used to. It will get better.

Chelle: Fabulous pics! Looks like you guys had a lot of fun! Love your tattoo as well!

KJen: Morning! I just LOVE your av! That is such a cute picture!

Beth: Good job getting your water in yesterday! Way to go!

Dar: Getting babies on schedules is hard, isn't it? Tanner really didn't start to get his schedule until 3 months. Good job on the 3 lbs!!! On the socialization thing, Tanner was SO shy until we started daycare. It's been so much better, so I think getting kids out around people makes a HUGE difference!

Melissa: You are doing so well with your eating! Good job!!!

Emily: I hope those bottles work for you! I've never tried them.

Liz: Sorry about the scale, TOM is so frustrating, isn't it?! I hope it moves for you soon. I'm very jealous of all the sleep Judson gets... I wish my Tanner would nap better for me!

[Mrs Sarah]

Dawn: You snuck in on me! Morning!

[GoJackets]

Not sure how many lurk in the pregnancy thread, but I posted this over there today:

As far as Hamilton, the red spot in his diaper was the urate crystals (not blood) which was what I thought. Some babies have it in their unrine and it causes a chemical in the diaper to make a red (sometimes orange) mark. It can be caused by dehydration, so I was worried about that. She said he wasn't dehydrated, but he did lose weight. He's back to 6 pounds 4 ounces. So, I guess nursing wasn't going as well as I thought and I am pretty upset by it because I was getting to enjoy it.

I think I screwed things up when he got sick last week. He wanted the breast and I was afraid of over-feeding him and making him even more sick. Since then, he has been fussy (not screaming) and I was mixing it as signals that he had gas. He was eating every three hours, both breasts at least 20 minutes each. He was getting wet diapers and poopie diapers, so I was thinking he was just fussy from gas....now I think the poor thing was probably just still hungry.

Now the doctor wants me to see a lactation consultant (which I agree is a good idea), but wants me to either get the supplemental feeding system (which attaches to the breast and gives him formula while sucking on the nipple for stimulation) or give him a bottle after every feeding. I was doing this two weeks ago when he was gaining the weight.

I don't care what books say, I just want to see my boy put some weight on. I have my mind made up to do the supplemental bottle after nursing....it just p*sses me off because if you go to the trouble of making bottles, why even b