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After taking the path of least resistance with Chris and letting him nap in swings and vibrating chairs, or on my boob, the only way I can get him to nap now is lying in bed next to me with a pacifier and some soft lullabies playing. About five minute after he closes his eyes I switch him to the crib (I used to leave him on the bed but he fell off after he decided to wake up and crawl around without making a peep). Speaking of sleep issues (it really is the worst thing about kids), Chris has started a lovely pattern or waking up at 3:30am and NOT GOING THE gently caress BACK TO SLEEP. I know part of it is a temperature issue, because the weather is getting colder and heat really doesn't get into that nursery very well, and part of it is the fact that I'm lazy and bring him to bed to nurse when he wakes up for the day because I want to keep laying down. I'm babbling, but the gist of it is that this is becoming an hour and a half ordeal in the middle of the night and it's kicking our asses. Do I need to stop the morning feeding in bed because he's just kicking up a fuss to get that, or do we need to stop going in the room a half dozen times and just let him work it out on his own?
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Sep 22, 2012 03:35
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dreamcatcherkwe posted:Can you address the warmth in his room issue? Maybe dress him in warmer pajamas or turn your heat up higher than you normally would just so the nursery does get warm enough? We're trying, it's a delicate balance because he'll wake up and fuss if it's too hot as well. It was fine temp wise last night yet 2:30 am rolls around and he's awake for an hour and a half. I sat next to the crib keeping him from sitting up and he just laid there and stared into space, yawning and blinking heavily but refusing to go back to sleep. Then, an hour of fussing when I gave up and went back to bed, where every half hour I'd go, lay him back down and turn on some music. My husband wanted to go get him a snack but I'm worried that we'd just be rewarding him for waking up. Maybe we just need to make it really boring for him.
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Sep 23, 2012 01:59
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Panne posted:I think she needs to talk to someone. She might have post partum depression. Yeah, sounds like she's completely overwhelmed - it was one thing to take care of him in a hospital setting where you have a huge safety net, but now you and her are on your own with a high needs baby. She's mentally shutting down to escape from it all. There are probably support groups for parents of CP babies in your area, I would look them up and make your girlfriend come with you. Also encourage her to get a Boba or Moby wrap, so she can strap him to her chest and still putter around the house doing things.
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Sep 23, 2012 16:11
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I've had great luck with the Arm & Hammer diaper pail. My only complaint is the pail fills up faster than the bag, which is pretty wasteful so I take the bag out and continue to use it which lets some stink out. But yeah we have that sucker in our bedroom and have never had a problem with smell.
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Sep 24, 2012 14:37
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I have a nice Graco high chair that has a five point harness and can recline pretty easily, but Chis was always such a great sitter that I never needed the whole rigamarole. The straps and covering can be removed pretty easily and all thrown in the wash, and the whole chair can be taken off the stand and thrown in the car for traveling. I quite like it.
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Sep 28, 2012 23:12
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FishBulb posted:It's really true and its really not worth arguing about. I've leaned to just say "okay, thanks!" to all advice and then promptly ignore it. Pretty much. When my former co-workers and family were all telling me to let him cry it out at night, I just went "mmmhmm," mentally rolled my eyes, and did what I wanted to. Preaching and trying to change everyone's minds is just a waste of effort, really.
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Oct 4, 2012 21:33
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Alhazred posted:Babies needs human contact. Harry Harlow found out that in one of the most disturbing experiments ever conducted on cute little monkeys: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Harlow#Monkey_studies There was an accidental "experiment" in Romania as well, when the orphanages were overflowing. quote:But not in Romania, where the long-time communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, was a zealous believer in technological progress. Highly skeptical of all things touchy-feelie, he clamped down on psychology and social work in preference to engineering and science. He favored policies to raise the birth rate and established institutions for orphans and children whose parents could not care for them. Source Maybe someone else with better Google-fu can find a better source, but basically these babies were left in their crib all day and only saw people to get fed or changed. I think most of them just died. So yeah, hold your baby as much as you want to hold him.
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Oct 8, 2012 20:30
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me your dad posted:Tonight I'm making this vegetable biryani. Should I be concerned about anything going into the dish? I would make sure it's not too hot, spice wise, no need to burn her little mouth. Also be careful of how much sodium is in the bullion, maybe consider substituting water instead. Lyz fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Oct 13, 2012 |
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Oct 13, 2012 22:37
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Yeah I think that statement was the standard "don't nurse/rock babies to sleep because they will rely on that to go to sleep every time they wake up" that even the No-Cry method espouses, just worded badly. And kind of early, everything I read didn't even bother covering babies under three months. Chris was pretty brutal to try to wean from bedsharing and nursing all night. Turns out he thought his bassinet mattress was just too hard. One egg crate foam pad cut down to size later (I considered memory foam but it looked like baby-suffocating material even for a eight-month old), he was spending the entire night in the bassinet and sleeping through the night within two weeks. Best $13 ever spent. Can't believe the little bugger is going to be one next week! Longest year of my life.
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Oct 16, 2012 16:01
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So, Chris turns 1 this week, it's weaning time! I really don't think I'm producing all that much anyways so I don't feel too bad. Anyone have any ideas on how to get him to like cow's milk? I gave it to him a couple times at breakfast, he just drinks it, opens his mouth and lets it spill out, then refuses the cup. Should I try to sweeten it with something (he likes all types of fruit juices)? Or should I start with something like 1% and ramp him up to whole? Here's the obligatory messy birthday cake photo, had a great party for him this past weekend. 
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Oct 23, 2012 23:43
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Also, music. Train that kid like Pavlov's dogs to go to sleep to a certain tune. I got this, has some good, repetitive lullabies and white noise.
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Oct 30, 2012 00:30
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I always just kept the frog playing in the background, and after he dozed off turned it to white noise and put it in the bassinet with him. But I didn't start this until around five months old.
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Nov 2, 2012 02:51
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Chris gets a drink of water from a sippy cup we keep on the cribside table. One night he managed to grab it himself and we found him curled up with it next to his face like it was a bottle. 
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Nov 3, 2012 02:58
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Well, I've only read a few books, but there really only seem to be a few methods. There's the No-Cry Sleep Solution, which basically focuses on building a solid bedtime routine with lots of comfort objects that help the baby to be secure in the crib and fall asleep with no crying. There's something my aunt called the Applebaum Method (might have a different name) where you do your routine, put them down to sleep, and if they cry you go in to soothe them at increasing intervals - 1 min, 5 mins, 10 mins, etc. And there's the Ferber method, which is CIO and a huge can of worms we won't go into. I ultimately ended up using the second method after No Cry really didn't work for me, and it worked well with Chris. After a while you begin to learn the difference between a complaining cry and a genuinely upset cry (where you should probably do more than just soothe). It all depends on how comfortable your friend is with crying - used to drive me batty but I'm pretty numb to it now. I would probably recommend starting with the No Cry, because it's really good at getting a solid bedtime routine going, and if that doesn't work moving on to #2 when the baby is a bit older. Three months is really the bare minimum they recommend starting this stuff. As for the rest of the day, be really really consistent is all I can say. Chris always started his day in his activity gym, then after nap #1 we'd move to the living room and have some one-on-one time, then lunch, a nap in his bouncy chair, perfectly scheduled naps but it was pretty close.
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Nov 3, 2012 13:45
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Seconding these, they are pretty awesome and you can get a lot of them for pretty cheap. Only down side is Chris has learned he has to open his mouth occasionally to release the suction, which doesn't translate well when drinking from a straw (but then again, he also likes chewing on a straw so that probably doesn't help). They also aren't completely spill proof, but they do pretty good for a cheap cup.
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Nov 6, 2012 14:23
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Christopher is cutting three molars and two canines at once (one molar appeared like, overnight). God help me.
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Nov 20, 2012 23:21
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Brennanite posted:I don't know how old your son is, but mine is rockin' a pair of canines and a molar too and I've found he seems to get a lot of relief from chilled (like in a fridge) jicama wedges. (Seriously.) I have no idea if I could find that at my local Hannaford's but I'll keep an eye out. He also seemed pretty content to mow down on some French bread, I guess the crust is hard and scratchy enough. He's a year old.
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Nov 21, 2012 00:13
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AlistairCookie posted:Good luck, teething's a bitch. Yeah, he's been cranky before because of teeth but now he's a monster. Clingy, gnawing on everything, wails if I deny him anything or put him down... fun fun. I will try the carrot sticks, I have enough of them lying around. I gave him some paper towel folded up tight and soaked in cold water, he was quite thorough with that so the washcloths will probably be popular.
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Nov 21, 2012 02:26
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He's pretty easily distracted from the discomfort by toys, climbing all over me, going out, etc, and his sleep doesn't seem to be affected, so I try to avoid medicating him more than necessary. I feel that if you use painkillers too much they're not as effective when you really need them.
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Nov 22, 2012 02:09
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Chris hated tummy time, so my husband and I sat him upright in the crook of our arm a lot. He never really liked being on his back either, didn't like other people holding him cause they would cradle him like a, well, baby, but with me and Daddy would prop him upright. I also would kind of lay back and put my feet up so he had a more upright perch lying along my legs. He had phenomenal neck control by one month old. Here's kind of a crappy example pic:  It was also good for face-to-face time and apparently a great position for pooping.
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Nov 23, 2012 01:37
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Alterian posted:My health insurance will cover the cost of a manual breast pump. Any recommendations? I'm going to be renting a higher end one as well, this would be more as a backup. By manual do you mean ones that you pump by hand? If so, don't even bother unless you are gushing milk. I had a pretty normal flow and I couldn't get crap from a hand pump.
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Nov 27, 2012 23:09
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Fionnoula posted:Yeah, I know a couple of women who found the manual more useful than their electric pumps. I didn't have much success with manual and the one I had is now off the market, so I have no recommendation. Yeah I think the distraction of manually pumping inhibited my letdown, cause I only ever got maybe 1 ml pumping by hand. The electric was much nicer. Whatever you end up getting Alterian, keep it withing the brand so the parts are interchangeable. I got a Medela hand pump and I could use all the bits except the actual hand pump mechanism for the electric pump. Edit: I didn't know BNL did a kid's album, I must find this thing!
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Nov 28, 2012 15:16
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AlistairCookie posted:The kids listen to whatever we listen to. One day, lyrically, this will bite us in the rear end, but for now, it's fine. Liam is taking a shine to musicals (Wicked in particular right now) and Tim likes all sorts of mostly harder fare; NIN, TOOL, APC. Nothing beats hearing a 4 year old mangle lyrics to old Korn songs. Yeah I have satellite radio and I listen to Alt Nation which isn't too heavy but they don't filter the swears, so when he gets better at picking up words I'll have to switch. =/
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Nov 29, 2012 00:39
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As for actual kid's stuff, The Fresh Beat band will get Liam dancing, and is mostly ignorable pop pablum. During quiet times, they will both settle down to Jethro Tull (think Songs From the Wood, not Aqualung or Stormwatch.)
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Anyone have any good recommendations for a good, safe baby jungle gym? Chris is driving me nuts climbing over everything - couches, coffee table, his activity table. He's only thirteen months old! I need something a bit safer to satisfy his insatiable need to go upwards, especially since he doesn't really pay attention to how close to the edge he plunks his butt down. Bonus if it has a slide, he's also obsessed with slides.
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Dec 2, 2012 15:10
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Ariza posted:It really depends on how much space you have and if it's indoor/outdoor you're looking for. I like this one, but this one is a little smaller and they both have little slides. They're both a bit pricey (to me), and if you want to get a bigger one they start to get insanely expensive. I trawled Craigslist for 'climber' for about 6 weeks (they were usually gone within an hour or two) and ended up getting the Step 2 Treehouse for $40 and a bigger one that normally went for $750 for $200. Any of the climbers from Step 2 or Fisher Price or Little Tikes that have little stairs and a little slide should be fine. We have wood floors so there was some pain involved, but she really really loved them at that age. We have a whole room downstairs we're not doing anything with (yet, someday it'll be my library), both of those look pretty sweet. He's already fallen off the couch a couple of times so if this ends up more interesting to him it'd be well worth the money! He's also obsessed with the inside of the fridge and this morning was trying to climb the shelves like a ladder. I wish he'd devote that much effort to learning to walk. -_-
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Dec 2, 2012 16:17
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Touch and feel books are pretty awesome, Chris has learned all sorts of page turning skills just so he can find more furry patches to poke. Bright Baby has little boxed sets.
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Dec 6, 2012 03:48
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Mnemosyne posted:Does anyone know about carseats that I can swivel to face front or back while they stay attached to the car? My car (a Honda Element) has the back seats really far back, so that they're not really accessible when the car door is open. This is what it looks like: Ugh, you have my sympathies. I put the car seat in my mother-in-law's Element once, it was such a pain to get him out. Edit: Bad latch advice, disregard. Lyz fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Dec 8, 2012 |
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Dec 7, 2012 16:18
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I'd assume as long as they're able to sit up unaided for a while, since there's no shoulder straps, only a lap belt.
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Dec 8, 2012 00:11
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Chris loved empty Gatorade or Powerade bottles, he would just nom down on the lid (still attached to bottle of course). We actually found his first tooth from the scraping sounds of one of those lids.
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Dec 8, 2012 14:53
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Fionnoula posted:Our Chicco Capri has a 5 point harness as well. Ah. I have the one you find hanging on a rack for $20 at Babies R Us. I've started using it a lot because I really like having my trunk back. The Graco Trekko was great back when I was doing a lot of walking on bike trails and stuff but forget putting anything else in the trunk of my hatchback. Maybe if it fit underneath the stroller...
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Dec 10, 2012 00:13
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ChloroformSeduction posted:It's weird. I have these moments where I tear up a little looking at tiny baby pictures, or coming across old clothing (or seeing other babies, and realizing that my kid used to be that small), but then I have other times where I can't wait until we can do awesome stuff like rides at Disneyworld, or snowboard/surfing and go to rad museums and stuff. It's a weird combination of feelings. Yeah pretty much the only thing I missed about Chris being a tiny baby was that he slept all day and I could sit on my butt and watch TV. Now I can't do that without him climbing all over me and trying to steal my drink so he can spill it all over the place.
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Dec 22, 2012 04:11
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rio posted:Speaking of compromise, have any of you dealt with situation where your partner wants to give your kid something sugary and you are not for it? I don't mean like a cookie here or there, but on our daughter's first birthday she wants to make her a cake (her family tradition as well) but I don't particularly see the need to sugar up my kid when her taste preferences are forming (she is already getting finnicky and she started out a great eater) when she isn't asking for it and will not even remember it. Chill. One cake is not going to ruin your kid for life. Besides, it makes for hilarious pictures. Edit: Now with bonus example Lyz fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Dec 23, 2012 |
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Dec 23, 2012 13:34
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Chris ate a respectable chunk of cake (german chocolate from a box and plain white frosting from a tub) and crashed for a two hour nap a half hour later. It didn't turn him into a whirlwind or a sugar addict. You can always look at milder options. I went with german chocolate so we could have a cake that was chocolatey without being too rich and it was pretty popular.
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Dec 23, 2012 17:52
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randomfuss posted:My husband thus accused me of being a bad mother for spoiling the fun. "Fun" would be okay for 2-3 days, I mean it's a grandma's job to spoil the kid and give them all the good stuff Mom doesn't let them have, but consistently for three weeks? Put your foot down on that poo poo. No cookies until after they've had a good, solid breakfast, and then maybe only one between then and lunch. Who cares if you're being "no fun," you're looking out for your child, not your husband and MIL. And I don't think it's unreasonable to ask her to tone back the perfume in YOUR house.
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Dec 24, 2012 20:45
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Fionnoula posted:I didn't mind at first, when it was just me having to reshelve a few of them them once a day. But then it was like half of them. And then it was 10 times a day...and then he figured out how to open the cases and pull the discs out because OOH SHINY! Mine are all in a closed cabinet with door latches because while it may be fun for Chris to pull them down over and over and over it's not really fun for Mom to keep reshelving them. And I am like compulsively neat so I start twitching just seeing them lying around on the floor.
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Jan 8, 2013 02:12
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Also, I will say this a thousand times because it worked for Chris - try putting a foam pad in the crib or the bassinet. Sometimes babies just don't like the harder surfaces of the standard mattress. Just get a cheap eggcrate foam pad, cut it up and put it under the fitted sheet (don't use memory foam, that looks like baby smothering material). Worked like a charm for me.
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Jan 29, 2013 18:26
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My cat Fred does this, due to surgery his plumbing was rerouted slightly and his aim was off, combine that with an affinity for peeing right at the lowest section of the litter box and he always got more out than in. I just got a regular Sterilite storage bin and used that for a litter box. Also, if you have the space, consider more than one litter box. I had to put one upstairs cause if people were in the kitchen my flighty cat would instead opt to pee underneath my husband's desk instead of the litter box in the mud room. I hate having one in the guest room but it's better than the rest of the house smelling like piss.
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Jan 29, 2013 19:10
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I would just rehome her then, sounds like she'd be way happier in a quieter house. I'm still kind of torn on my flighty cat, she is getting friendlier but she still has a tendency to blindly flee if she thinks she's cornered, which has led to Chris getting clawed if he's standing at the baby gate she wants to get over.
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Jan 29, 2013 20:22
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frenchnewwave posted:Hi, new mommy here. My daughter is almost 3 months old now. My husband and I love to travel and are wondering when we might be able to (enjoyably) travel with our newest addition. Is it crazy to think about European or UK travel (we're from the States) with her when she's about 18 months? We originally thought it might be a good age - she would have more of a schedule, we would be more confident as parents. Of course we would plan a more relaxed trip and not pack our days full like when we travel alone. But then we just went to a party where someone brought their 18 month old and he was a terror. Thoughts from other parents? Travel when she's old enough to leave with Grandma and Grandpa and young enough to not resent you for it. That being said, this age is good for short flights within the country. I flew from Mass to Florida when Chris was 4 months old and he basically slept most of the way, and when he was awake he was content to smile and laugh at the other passengers.
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Feb 5, 2013 18:47
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I would voice my concerns to the wife first, in case she doesn't know about the whole thing, and with any luck she'll give him holy hell for you if you're that afraid of confronting him directly. I mean goddamn, I can't even imagine trying to drive with a squirmy toddler in my lap that wants to touch everything. Sounds like you're basically asking for a horrible accident. Just out and tell your friend you'd never let him watch your kid because he's an idiot.
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Feb 11, 2013 14:46
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