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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Mommy Questions

My mind is racing with questions about raising my little guy recently.  So... I figured I'd pick your brain this morning.  If you have a few minutes (who does?) please answer some (or all) of these questions in the comment sections.  Hopefully we'll help out more than just me with this. Thanks friends!

1. When did you start giving your baby "solid" foods?  Did you start with rice cereal or something else?  What brands of cereal and/or babyfood did you use?

2. Did you let your baby cry-it-out?  When?  How could you tell the difference between night-waking out of habit and night waking because he (or she) was legitimately hungry?

3. What did you give your baby for his/her first Christmas?

4. How strict were/are you about bedtime for your little one?  What time does he/she go to bed most nights?  What is your bedtime routine?

5. How often do you give your little one a bath?

6. How often do you do laundry?

7. Any tips for a stuffy nose?  How will I know if it's an ear infection too?

8. Working mamas: Do you pay your babysitter when you are off?  What did you give the babysitter for Christmas? What does baby wear most days?  What do you wear to work?  (This is random, but I'm curious because I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't get to wear jeans to work every day.)

9. How long did you breastfeed?

10. If you pump, about how many ounces do you pump at each session?

Ok, seriously, I'll stop now.  As you can see, I'm all over the place...

Midweek Confessions up later this afternoon!  Come join the party! :)

25 comments:

  1. I'll take a shot at some of these!
    1: 6 months I started rice cereal--which ended up being very constipating for my little guy. I switched to a cereal with whole grains / oatmeal / spelt, which helped. I have also heard other mothers encourage small sips of water from a cup whilst feeding to help loosen things up.
    2: Yes, at around 5/6 months. If he cried more than 45 min to an hour at night (I would check on him at intervals starting at 3 mins, then 5, then 7, then every 12), then I would feed him. After a few bad nights, it got better. Then once he hit a year old, the sleeping went to crap again!
    3: Is it bad that I let the grandparents shower him with gifts?
    4: Not very--when my son was around 5 months, I'd start the routine around 7:30 with feeding then bath then a song then bed around 8:15/8:30. Depending on how naps go, I would sometimes put him down earlier or later, but never by more than 30 minutes.
    5: Every night.
    6: not answering this one!
    7: My son has never had one! But i've heard great things about the Nosefrida, and a friend said she got a battery-powered "nose-sucker" from Walmart for her kids. She said it even has different speeds (crazy!).
    8: n/a
    9: For nutrition, around 13 months, then winnowed down to just before nap and bed (comfort feeds, really, because we were doing a lot of international traveling). Completely weaned by 17 months.
    10: my son never took a bottle!

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  2. 1. 4 months (I didn't breastfeed, if that matters). Rice cereal. Gerber.

    2. Yes. Around 6 months and it took about 3 days of 15-20 minutes of crying before naps/bed, but then she stopped and now goes right to sleep (she's 10 months old now). If she wakes up and has a real issue I can tell because the cry is different.

    3. This is her first Christmas and we just got her a toy we thought she'd like, some new shoes, and a baby Bible. We're doing the 3 gifts thing! The grandparents spoiled A LOT so no need to get more!

    4. Very strict! We start the bedtime routine at 715 every night. Bath, bottle, sip of water/teeth brush, lay in the crib.

    5. See above ;) I give her a bath every night, just since it's part of the routine...and she loves it! So every other night I do a soapy bath and the other nights she just plays.

    6. I throw in a load every morning.

    7. The only thing that worked for her stuffy noses has been turning the shower on hot and standing in the bathroom with her lol. A humidifier would probably work but we haven't bought one yet. My mom has told me if it lasts longer than a week to take them to the dr to see about an ear infection. Ours have never lasted more than a week (or 8 days or so).

    8. n/a

    9. 3 weeks. It made me crazy, and so I knew I would be a better more relaxed mama if I didn't. So I stopped and I haven't felt the least bit guilty for the last 9+ months! Gotta do what you gotta do!

    10. n/a :)

    Hope that helps!

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  3. I'm in the same boat as you so I'm looking forward to reading all the responses! Thanks so much! This is how we roll.
    1. We are planning to start at 6 months.
    2. I can't do the cry-it-out method.
    3. Luke has one bag of Christmas gifts from us. The bag has books, a set of rubber blocks (target), a crawling panda toy and the cutest little shopping bag.
    http://www.amazon.com/Earlyears-Lil-Shopper-Play-Set/dp/B001R5VNYY/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1324473141&sr=1-1
    4. Bedtime is at 8:00 every night. Luke started this routine and his body just knows when it's bedtime. We change into pjs, I nurse him and we rock for a while in the nursery. I wanted a simple routine we could continue wherever we are.
    5. Baths are every other day. With cloth diapers you can't really go more than that.
    6. Baby clothes get washed 2xweek. Cloth diapers every other day.
    7. Baby saline works wonders for a stuffy nose. We've found that using the nasal aspirator irritates his nasal passages more than it helps.
    8. I work at home, so I'm in jeans most days and Luke loves overalls. For some reason pants cut into his little belly!
    9. I hope to breastfeed until Luke is a year.
    10. I wish I could pump. I wish Luke would take a bottle!

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  4. No kids yet, so I can't answer most of these, but I do work in a big corporation with lots of working moms so I thought I could offer some work clothes advice.

    I think the standard uniform is black pants and sweater sets. If you can find a brand of black pants you like just snap up several pairs and then you can just worry about the tops. I notice a lot of sweater sets on the managers I've worked with who have kids. It's easy to look or exchange a piece if necessary, you can mix and match them, you can get them at target or Nordstrom/Macy's so you can have some "nice" ones and some "everyday" ones.

    I don't know if you have Nordstrom out in your neighborhood, but I've gotten some their Halogen "Quinn" fit pants lately and they're awesome. Machine washable, just stretchy enough, very comfy. I do have to get them hemmed. I also find Anne Taylor Loft pants to be very forgiving. The Julie fit sits in a comfortable spot on my waist and it's a little roomy in the hips and the front.

    Invest in a good pair of flats. Anne Taylor's flats are pricey but sturdy and hold up well. If you get 1 pair you like and wear them all season I think it justifies the cost!

    I think finding a uniform is helpful. If you can get a silhouette you feel comfortable in you'll feel good. And yes you might end up wearing the same thing every other week (I know I do), but if you FEEL good and confident in your clothes, it shows and I think that's more important than being a fashion plate.

    This is kind of fun interview with Laura Bennett, a Project Runway contestant from several years. She talks about editing your closet, etc. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/31/AR2006103100715.html

    And now I'm outing myself as a former Project Runway devotee, but htese are Tim Gunn's 10 Wardrobe Essentials: http://fuckyeahtimgunn.tumblr.com/post/166789052/tim-gunns-10-essential-elements-for-a-womans-wardrobe

    I parred down my closet using this guide about 3 years ago. AMAZINGLY helpful.

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  5. Ooo, fun! My kids are one of my favorite things to talk about : )

    1. We followed their cues as to when to start. My first son was introduced to rice cereal at 6 months old, simply because I thought that *had* to be the first food. Our second child seemed ready much earlier, so we started him on solids at 5 months old. We skipped on the yucky cereal though and fed him things like avocado, bananas, squash, etc. For both boys, we made their baby foods until they were a year old – easy, healthy, and cheap!

    2. Rarely. I think babies cry for a reason – and sometimes that reason might just be “Cuddle me, please.” Now that my boys are getting too big for those snuggles, I’m glad I comforted all those cries – even the ones at 1:30, 2:45, and again at 4:00 in the morning ; )

    3. Hmm…my first was 8 months old at Christmas and he got all sort of things – more for my joy than his. Last year, my second son was only 4 months old at Christmas time so he just got a push toy and a pillowpet from us….now, from the grandparents – that’s another story!

    4. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being “We don’t dare miss a bedtime!”, I’d say we’re an 11! I think that kids thrive on schedules and require a lot of sleep so we established solid bedtimes very early on with both of our children. Our 16 month old goes to bed at 7:15 each evening and he sleeps until 6:45. Our 3 year old goes to bed at 8:00 and sleeps until 6:30. When they were Sam’s age, our routine was bath, book, boob/bottle, bed. Now that neither of them nurse anymore, we do bath, book, and bed. It’s probably my favorite time of day! And – confession – I also benefit greatly from this schedule. I need that down time at night so I love that the hubby and I have a few hours to ourselves each evening!

    5. At Sam’s age, we gave a “bath” every evening – although sometimes that meant just being wet in the tub but not using soap. We did it more for routine than hygiene. Even now, we sometimes just let the boys play in the water and don’t worry about soaping them up – all for the routine of it all.

    6. Really? Is this confession Tuesday or do you just delight in making me feel guilty? Fine…the truth is that I do laundry when I run out of something. Maybe once a week – maybe once every two weeks. I’m so lazy. I know it should be more frequently but my priorities are elsewhere. (Like answering questions on blogs!)

    7. That bulb nose sucker thing was helpful until they learned to actually blow their noses. I’ve only dealt with one ear infection and I knew it was something “special” as he was cranky and messed with his ears a lot.

    8. Our babysitter only watches teacher’s kiddos and she requires payment even during school breaks – except summer break. So, while our boys won’t go to her for the next two weeks, our payment for December was still a full payment. For Christmas, all of us (she has 5 different families under her care) chipped in a bought her a Nook. The boys wear whatever was hanging at the front of their closet that day. And my clothes tend to go with that same philosophy. But I am the last person you want consult for fashion advice – trust me.

    9. Our first son was breastfed for a solid 2 days ; ) I gave up early and just pumped instead. I pumped everyday until he was 6 months old and then I was just exhausted. I still regret that little experience as we switched to formula then and that makes me sad! I was stubborn with my second son and had already kicked that evil pump to the curb so he was exclusively breastfeed for 9 months.

    10. When I pumped, I would get about 5 ounces at each pumping session.

    Hope this has helped : )

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  6. Hi! Just randomly found your blog! I also went to Clemson! Anyway, my son is 2 months older than little Sam. I love getting other Mommy advice, so this post is interesting and helpful! Here are my answers!

    1. We started giving rice cereal and breastmilk at 4 months. I didn't think he was ready, so I held off for another month. Big difference! :) Now I'm making most of his baby food. His first real food was sweet potatoes at about 5.5 months.

    2. Oh dear. He still is not sleeping all the way through. I tried CIO at around 6 months for about 3 nights and on the 3rd night, I said I couldn't do it. I think my son is waking out of habit, so we decided we're going to try again after Christmas (with traveling and all). He doesn't try to nurse, so it's not because he's hungry.

    3. My hubby and I just do stockings for each other. So I'm going to just fill my son's stocking. I bought him a gloworm, a cloth book, Baby Einstein take along tunes and some Earth's Best baby food! HA!

    4. I guess I'm getting fairly strict on bedtime. We just started doing a bath every night. He doesn't get a soapy bath every night (just plays sometimes) Then, I put on his pjs (he hates getting dressed) and my hubby reads him a book. I try to keep him in his nursery with the lights dim to get him in the mood for bed. I nurse him in the dark with the noise machine on right before I lay him in his crib. He is usually in bed by 7:30 or 8pm.

    5. Every night now. He gets messy now that he's eating solids!

    6. About every 3 days or so we might toss a load in. We separate by whites, mediums and darks baskets and then a baby clothes basket in the nursery. Whatever is full, me or the hubby toss in a load.

    7. Ugh! I think teething is bad for my son's little nose! I HATE using that syringe sucker thing. It's a team effort: my hubby holds our son's head still while I suction. Little Noses saline is good. We use boogie wipes and Qtips a lot to get out boogies! I'm wondering about the Nosafrida but I just don't know if it'd be more efficient since my son shakes his head back and forth to fight me.

    8. You just reminded me maybe I should get a gift for our sitter! We pay by the week. If it's a normal working holiday, we don't pay her. If we're taking off on a random Friday for a trip, she would still get paid for that day. I dress my son is comfortable, cotton clothes. He's playing and napping, so need to dress up! I also try to dress him in layers. Our babysitter has extra changes of clothes for him as well. Mostly, its onesies and knit pants with socks. Otherwise, it's a one-piece Old Navy or Gap outfit. I can only wear jeans on Friday. Other days, I wear comfortable, easy access shirts (for pumping) and comfortable pants, like khakis or cords. I try to dress in layers too. Oh, and flats, boots or danskos!very day.)

    9. Still breastfeeding at 7 months and plan to till he's a year.

    10. I pump at 10 and 2 at work. I get anywhere from 6-10 ounces at 10am and 5-6 ounces at 2pm. I guess it depends on when I've eaten or how much water I've had. I eat oatmeal every morning, and I think that helps for the 10am session. I am so proud when I take home 16 or more ounces at the end of the day!

    Whoa this was long. SORRY!

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  7. 1. We started cereal at 5 months and used Gerber rice cereal.
    2. We didn't start crying it out until 7 or 8 months. At that point I knew that if she woke up, it was definitely out of habit because she was getting enough food during the day.
    3. My daughter was 9 months old for her first Christmas. She got a stand up play table. My son will be 2 months this Christmas. He is getting pacifiers and a swaddle blanket and socks.
    4. We are not strict at all with bedtime. If we are home my 20 month old goes to bed between 7 and 7:30. If we are at a friend's house we will put her down around 8 in a pack n play. She has been flexible her whole life. Our 2 month old does not have a bed time yet. oops.
    5.every other night
    6. every 3 days or so
    7. Mine have never had an ear infection but I think that if they pull on their ears and have a fever. Bulb suckers are great.
    9. BF til 9 months with 1st. 2nd I plan to go a whole year.
    10. If I pump in between feedings I get 2 oz on each side. If a pump instead of a feeding I get 4 oz on each side.

    :) Merry Christmas

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  8. My answers... In case anyone is interested.

    1. We haven't started solid foods yet. I'm all mixed up about what to do and when. We have ordered Earth's Best Organic Stage 1 fruits and vegetables from Amazon - so we will probably start there some time soon. Our doctor isn't a fan of cereal, so I wasn't planning on doing that... But I've heard different thoughts. I'll keep you updated. (Of course.)

    2. I'm totally inconsistent on crying - which I know is bad. Often when we first lay him down at night, I will let Sam cry for 5 - 15 minutes until he falls asleep. Most of the time, when he cries in the middle of the night I just get up and feed him, more because I know he will go back to sleep faster that way than if we all have to lay there and listen to him scream. Just being honest.

    3. Sam is getting a Baby Einstein exersaucer, some teethers, and a few books.

    4. I am TERRIBLE about bedtime. Our lives are wild and we just aren't good at being home and settled at a regular (early) time every night. The older Sam gets the more I am noticing that this isn't good for him and we need to make adjustments. Lately, we've been shooting to have him in his room being fed and ready for bed by 8.

    5. I am also awful about baths. I know, what kind of mother am I? Usually Sam gets a bath every other night... Sometimes every two or three. He LOVES the bath though, so we should do it more often for the sake of routine. (I'm really feeling convicted about how lazy I am and how much I put MY need for convenience above what is probably best for Sam.)

    6. Laundry = Once a week because I have to. (And it is NEVER totally done.)

    7. I'm worthless with ALL forms of nasal aspirators (bulb, electric, and Nose Frida where you literally SUCK the snot out with your mouth), and Sam HATES it. I have found that propping one side of his crib up a little bit helps some.

    8. Yes, we pay for holidays. We gave our babysitter a card and a gift certificate to a fun nail salon/spa. (Is that weird? I figured if she takes care of five babies every day, she DESERVES it!) Sam wears footsies almost every single day. There is no difference between every day clothes and pjs around here. I'm a tights and dresses kinda girl for work - which isn't the most convenient for pumping, but I have a totally private office, so I just make it work.

    9. Exclusively breast fed for five months and counting... My original goal was 6 months, but I'm considering going longer.

    10. I think I was a cow in another life... I make about 8 ounces (sometimes 6, sometimes 10) of milk at each pumping session. Thank goodness because my boy likes him some mommy milk!

    Whew... This is hard work! *Hope I don't sound like too much of a Debbie Downer. I know I'm just doing the best I can, and that's enough. BUT, it was a good for me to think through my decisions and my motives too. It never hurts to want to do better.

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  9. I'm sure you've heard of it by now, but I LOVE this site: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/ I hadn't planned on making baby food, but it's so darn easy! I bought a Cuisinart hand immersion blender, and I go to town. Last night, I made Zucchini and Squash, and some stuff with pumpkin puree. Starting solids can be confusing. I was so torn! Good luck with it! :)

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  10. Hey E... great questions... I've been reading people's answers and taking notes. Anyways here's my 2 cents on a few of your queries...

    {3} we subscribe to the 'wear, want, read, play' present giving philosophy, but since Gabe was inundated with baby shower gifts - less than 3 months ago - he's getting a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament and that's it {well from us anyway}.

    {5} we bath the kids every 2-3 days, but since Gabe loves showering so much we've started taking him in with us and then hollering for the other parent to come grab him so we can finish washing up.

    {6} I do laundry when I realize every outfit Gabe & I own is covered in spit up {every 3-5 days depending on his puke regime}. And by "doing laundry" I mean it goes from the washer to the dryer to the basket - actually folding it and putting it away only happens on special occasions.

    {8} if Saige is scheduled to go on a stat holiday than we pay. Our daycare folks have become our best friends so we took them on a weekend getaway to the hot springs and gifted them with one those JJ Cole picnic blankets and a punch pass to the indoor playground they take the kids.

    {9} with Saige, my boobs and I were officialy done at 9 months... I'll probably go the same with Gabe.

    ** the fact that you've adopted the "it works for us so we're sticking with it" motto in your first go around means that you're a fast learner... that's what parenthood is all about - doing what you gotta do to get through, doing what comes naturally. I took far too much advice from the "perfect" moms and felt like a huge rebel/failure when I wasn't living up to their "I only give my baby organic veggies grown from our garden which I puree in our $1000 Swedish made blender" standards.

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  11. Hahahahahahaha you have me laughing so hard at these random questions!!!!! Oh I love it so much!! But really, they're all great questions and I can't wait to see what all your readers have to say. I'll be wondering about these same questions in no time!!

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  12. Solids around 5 months, I start with cereal, oatmeal or rice for a little while b/c baby is very unlikely to be allergic you can mix it with milk they r used to tasting and it's easier to clean up but then once they get the hang of eating I move past it to fruits and veggies b/c they r more complex nutrients than plain carb loaded cereals!
    Other answers to come - kids r calling!

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  13. As a fellow new Mom I thank you for asking all these questions!

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  14. I had a bunch of thoughts but then read your answers, and so many of them are the same for us!

    1. Solids were at 4.5 months (rice cereal) but it clearly was not the right time because she did not know how to handle food in her mouth and hardly ate any of it. Real solids started at 5.5 months and has been GREAT. She's definitely more ready.

    2. We do let her cry it out, but like you, we are not all that consistent. Now that she knows we are willing to let her cry, she has gotten better about crying when she needs something. Unfortunately, she will ALWAYS take a bottle, so I am not sure that she is actually hungry or just awake. Either way, she's healthy so I'm happy.

    3. This is our first Christmas too (she's almost 6 months) so the other answers have been helpful!

    4. I'm learning that she needs routine and if we stray too much from it we PAY. She just does so much better when we get her to bed by 7 (so early!!). If it is 7:30, it is a nightmare and the whole process is miserable. I cannot believe how much difference a half hour makes.

    5. Same as you! Exactly. She loves it, we should do it more, and I'm guilty of being lazy in this dept.

    6. Same as you again. Probably about once a week but not consistently and there is always either a pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room or a pile of clothes needing to be fulled (thus very wrinkled) in the living room.

    7. Not had to cross that bridge yet.

    8. Babysitter is my mom-in-law so we've got it made!

    As far as work clothes, I work at a bank so I need to be fairly professional. I have a ton of sweaters and cardigans (not old lady looking I hope??) and I have SO many boring plain colored shirts that I dress up with scarves or necklaces. For pants, I try to have always 2 black pairs, a gray pair, and a brown or khaki pair to have a lot of variety. I'm a huge shoe person so I love to match the shoes to the outfit (usually heels) and I also love dresses but just don't have a ton (always looking for more!)

    9. I only breastfed til 3 months. It was super super hard to maintain and she was not getting enough food. She would get sooo mad when I "ran out" and it just worked better for us to switch to formula. I'm hoping with the next kid it will go a lot longer because I so wanted to keep going for her health, but honestly since we've stopped she's been just as healthy. I guess it wasn't meant to be!

    10. I did usually pump 6 oz first time then only 4 the second time at work. Hence the reason I quit doing it. It was hardly worth it.

    Can't wait to hear more answers from others!

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  15. I'm a SAHM of three kids (8, 6 and almost 2.) I started reading your blog about a year ago, and I have really come to appreciate the community of the blog world.
    1. We started solids around 5-6 months. We did start with cereal each time, but our youngest didn't like it (AT ALL!) so we quickly started him on veggies.
    2. We started to let them cry it out around 6 months. Especially when they started on solid foods, I wasn't constantly thinking they must be hungry. It is hard, but if you can stick it out, it does get better.
    3. Our family also does the three gift thing, but last year, Isaac (almost 2 now) got a book, a toy and an ornament.
    4. We have never been super strict about bedtime, mainly because I stay at home. Therefore, I don't mind putting them down a little later if they will sleep a little later in the morning. Our "routine" when they were little was pj's, nursing/rocking and bed.
    5. Baths every other day (and this is still the case for my older kids, unless they are smelly!)
    6. I try to do a load each day so it doesn't overwhelm me, but I'm also bad about leaving it in the dryer and fluffing it up over and over again.
    7. I liked the nasal aspirator from the hospital the best. We also use a humidifier and Ayr nasal drops if he is particularly stuffy. There really is no tell-tale sign that it's an ear infection. Sometimes Isaac pulls on his ear, sometimes he doesn't. He did get to the point where when he did get an infection, he wanted to be held all.the.time. So that became a clue for me.
    8. n/a
    9. I breastfed all three of mine for one year. One of my proudest accomplishments. Hard, but worth it.
    10. I did pump some for my oldest (the other two snubbed their noses at a bottle!) and I'd get 10-16 oz. each time I pumped. I was an overachiever!
    Stephanie

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  16. 1. we started at 4 months but that was early - our dr. suggested it b/c she had such bad reflux and it def helped! We started with rice cereal - it's really high in iron and vitamins!
    2. I definitely let A cry it out. I started around 4 months and sometimes it would take 45 min and it was REALLY hard for like a week. but now she will NOT let us hold her to go to sleep. She just wants to be laid down to fall asleep on her own.
    3. um, some books... can't really remember anything else.
    4. she USUALLY always goes to bed at 7:30 but every Wed night we have Bible study so she never gets to bed then before 8:30 or 9. And occassionally if we're at a party or something we'll let her stay up til 8:30 or so, but it's pretty much just 7:30.
    5. It used to be every night when we were trying to get her into a bedtime routine. now we are less strict and it's every other night usually.
    6. um, like every 2 weeks?? that is not a lie.
    7. My only tip is to use the nose sucker FROM THE HOSPITAL. the ones you by in the store definitely do not work as well. A hates it but it comes out!
    8. ----
    9. you already know my saga.
    10. I was like you... I would get like at least 8 oz each time.

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  17. Ok E, I'm going to try to answer you, short and sweet, time is precious!
    1-4 mos. He hated rice cereal, went straight to bananas
    2-Yes and no, cry sounded different
    3-Nothing, but he was only 2mos. old
    4-Yes and no, We shoot for between 8 & 9. Sometimes you just can't help it.
    5-Every other day since he was born unless poopfest 2011 occurs.
    6-Weekends
    7-Dehumidifier, and no on the ear infections that's super tough
    8-Holidays No, Random Days off, only if scheduled in advance. Omaha Steak Package (pooled money with other Daycare moms). PJ's to her house, two outfits in the bag. Business Casual :)
    9-4 mos. Then my supply ran out
    10-I would get 6-8 oz. per side. Depending on my water intake between feedings. Also took Fenugreek religiously!

    Miss you! Merry Christmas :)

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  18. Okay my two are 13 and 8 so things may have changed.

    Boy (13) started solids at 4 months on medical advice. Started with rice cereal then added a new food every few days. Girl (8) attempted to start solids at 6 months. She wasn't at all interested until 9 months.

    Ear infection - it might be an old wives tale bu if you touch the bit if the ear attached to the head above the bit where people get earrings and he screams he probably has an ear infection.

    Good luck.

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  19. 1. Started a week before his 5 month dr appt because I didn't want to tell the dr we hadn't started yet haha! P didn't like cereal so we skipped to bananas and have tried pears and apples. Next up avocado and sweet potatoes. I also recommend wholesomebabyfood.com if you've ever thought of making it...so much easier that I thought and saves money!

    2. I haven't had to CIO (knock on wood) P slept in his bassinet til 2 weeks ago when he outgrew it but luckily he transitioned into his crib easily with no tears. He's had a fussy night or 2 from teething and I am so exhausted I will let him sleep in our bed. If he's fighting sleep or wakes I will give him a minute and if it's just a whine he will stop on his own but if it escalates I know he will get too worked up to go back to bed on his own so I will rock him a little.
    3.He just got the BE bouncer so he's getting some new 9 month clothes and will be spoiled by grandparents with toys/books.
    4.Bedtime is around 7:30 because he takes a bottle around 5:30 I want him sleeping before he would get hungry again then we do a "dream feed" around 10:30/11:00 so he sleeps til 7:00 am.
    5.I wish every other day but hoenstly every 2-3 due to hectic schedules, late work nights. We need to get better about this.
    6.Laundry = bane of my existence. Since it never ends, you never feel accomplished when you do it. I aim for twice a week so it doesn't get overwhelming.
    7.Haven't had one yet but I have a humidifier still in a box and have heard rave reviews about the nosefrida thingy.
    8.Babysitter=family member and I will get her an extra xmas present. She loves starbucks so probably a GC.
    9. Only 7 weeks due to a 4 day business trip that was too hectic for pumping. It was miserable. I have guilt about that which is another reason I'm making his food (for now lol)

    PS you are doing an awesome job and need to give yourself more credit!!! Happy holidays!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. ALSO: I wear jeans and cute boy clothes are so hard to find. P wears gymboree sale stuff and these RL coveralls and then dressier smocked outfit for weekends (I love stitched and smocked fb page for deals):
    http://www.ralphlauren.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11894596&cp=2943770.12480336&view=99&parentPage=family

    ReplyDelete
  21. 1. I started her on rice cereal first, then oatmeal at just shy of 6 months old. We use Earth's Best Organic foods.

    2. We are not fans of the cry-it-out method.

    3. Our baby got an I-phone for Christmas - a Fishcer Price one!!! She also got some books, bath toys and a toy that helps with walking.

    4. We are not strict with bedtime. She usually goes to bed between 8:00-9:00pm. Routine (at night) is bath around 7-7:30, play for a bit, read to her, then bottle by 8-8:30 and she falls asleep in our arms.

    5. We give our little girl a bath every other day.

    6. I do baby laundry 2-3 times per week.

    7. I use saline and boogie wipes for a stuffy nose.

    8. We do not pay our babysitter if she takes off or calls in or if we do. I struggle with this, but nothing has been said, so I think it is ok for now. We gave the babysitter cash for Christmas and a framed photograph. My baby wears comfy clothes, anything the babysitter puts on her is really ok. I wear business casual clothes to work and when we have events I wear more professional attire.

    9. I only breastfed for about 3 months. I wish it could have been longer, but I was not producing enough breast milk.

    10. n/a

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ok to finish now that the gang is in bed
    2. Clare was a disaster, a terrible sleeper - finally at 7 mo we let her cry it out b/c I was so exhausted I thought I might jump off a bridge if I didn't get some better sleep. She cried 2hrs the first night!! I cried about 1.5 hrs of it! Anyway, after 4 nights we were both sleeping thru the night and much happier. He may be a bit of both hungry and looking for comfort/habit. I just recommend the first cry it out night after you've been together all day nursing completely on demand so you know he can't be starving. My only advice, if u decide to do it finish it, you can't waiver so don't do it unless you have the stamina for a few bad days/nights, emotionally and physically.
    3. 2 little toys and an outfit - nanny and pa and Omi took care of the rest!
    4. Bedtime is a dicey one, I find if we mess w/it too much we pay for it later be it with a bad night or early morning. I think if want to train them to be totally flexible then you have to go all the way and not sometimes insist on a early regular routine. We r fairly strict b/c everyone is happier then. Of course sometimes we have family parties, friends houses for dinner etc. But I'd say 75% of the time it's teeth, 2 stories, cuddling and in bed about a 20 min process that starts around 7:30 and I'm out of the room by 8:15 at the latest. We don't usually do a bath b/c they get all "jazzed" up by a bath, it's a recreational activity in our house!
    5. Depends on how much time we have, how dirty they are, some weeks its nightly others only about twice? Terry and I will look at each other and say hmmmm they r kinda dirty huh?!
    6. Totally spoiled the kids laundry is in my nanny's job requirements so she does it 2-3 times a week. I do adult laundry on Wednesday since I am home all day and I can just constantly throw loads in, folding it, well... For sure by the next weds. B/c I need the buckets again!
    7. Give him a bath and pour a little clean, non- soapy water down his face, if he's like my kids he'll blink a lot and sneeze out the snot. He will most likely have a fever and be miserable if it's an ear infection.
    8. We pay our nanny any holiday i get that she would normally be working- so new yrs day, memorial day, July 4th, labor day, thanksgiving, Xmas if they fall on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. She gets 1 week paid vacation, on our terms, I.e. When we go on vacation we pay her. She gets another week vacation, unpaid but on her terms, we request 60 days advanced notice however. We give her Xmas and birthday gifts, but then again she does the same for my kids.
    The kids wear comfy clothes, if the girls are not running around naked! but they are all in pjs when I leave the house, my nanny dresses them.
    I wear professional but mostly washable clothes since it is almost as likely that I will get puked on at work as at home and when I am pumping tops and bottoms dresses are just to complicated when I only have a few minutes to pump.
    9. The girls both gave it up around 10.5 - 11 months so I was fine with that, hopefully, same with michael.
    10. You r a rock star- I get 4-5 ounces total each pumping session and pump 3 times a day while at work. I aim for bring home 12 ounces!

    ReplyDelete
  23. You sound like you're doing great. You know your baby better than anyone else, so just listen to him!

    1. We did baby-led weaning and started at 6 months. His first food was avocado. I blogged about it a few times, if you're interested. He's 13 months now, and is a CHAMP eater. He eats anything. He's never had rice cereal.

    2. No. We are not a CIO family. He woke up at least 1x a night till he was 8ish months. Every baby is different. Our son eventually just figured out how to sleep all night. Maybe he needed to get bigger or meet some milestone first? I don't know, but it really does go SO fast, and I don't regret having those middle-of-the-night meetings with him for what amounted to mere months.

    3. He was only 5 weeks old last year, so nothing! This year he is getting 4 gifts: want (a play cube), need (a cloth diaper), read (a book), and wear (PJs).

    4. We started a bedtime routine around 4ish months. I think much before then it's sort of pointless. They're too little for much of a routine. Our routine was bath, books, bottle, bed. Starting it that early was really more for us than for him. To get US used to this routine. These days it's bath, books, bed. He goes down about 6:45 and sleeps 12ish hours.

    5. He gets a bath every other day, but I only wash his hair every 2nd bath. And sometimes I don't use soap at all.

    6. I do laundry every day, because we cloth diaper. So I wash diapers every other day and our other laundry in between the diapers.

    7. We use saline drops and a Nose Frida for stuffy noses. It works!

    8. Our boy goes to a daycare center, so yes we still have to pay even when we're off and he doesn't go. He has 3 teachers + an aide, so we got them each a Target giftcard.

    9. & 10. N/a

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ok my baby is only 3 months but I thought I'd answer some of your questions anyway because sometimes it's just fun to compare and see how other's do it, even thought I am certainly not more 'experienced' or anything! :)
    1. I wondered about this too. I was planning to start at 6 months but my daughter has been sleeping through the night already and thus getting less feedings during the day so I'm wondering if we'll have to start earlier to fill up her little tummy? I'd still like to wait until at least 5 or 6 months!
    2. No. We tried it one day and it was so sad. We all hated it! (No judgement on anyone who does-we originally planned to but she's too little right now we feel!)
    3. We are giving her two 'learning' toys like some dinosaur thing from Leap Frog and one of the learning lap tops and probably a personalized Bible.
    4. We used to be horrible until a few weeks ago! Sometimes it was 7:30 and sometimes it wasn't until 11 or so. We just went with whatever she seemed to want. We recently established a 9:00 bedtime and she started sleeping longer and better after that! We aren't super strict though-sometimes it's more like 8:30 and sometimes more like 9:30. If she gets a bath that day then daddy bathes her, we get her in her jammies and nurse with the lights off in the chair in her room. Then swaddle her up and rock her to sleep.
    5. Every other day usually. Sometimes if we're busy on bath night, we'll just skip and do it the next day. I would like to do it every day because she loves it but she has really dry skin and her ped said not to.
    6. Oh my! Well I have a spitter-upper on my hands so I feel like my washing machine is always running. Pre-baby, it was once a week IF THAT. Now a days at least a load a day. We do cloth diaper though which is part of it.
    7. My little one got her first cold at 3 1/2 weeks :( Her ped recommended the Little Noses saline drops (bought them at Wal Mart in the pharmacy dept. with the children's cold stuff) and it worked really well on loosening the snot so you can wipe it instead of having to use an aspirator to suck it out.
    8. n/a
    9. Hoping to go for a year!
    10. Sometimes in the mornings I will get 6-8 ounces of straight foremilk before I feed her! I think, like you, I was a cow in another life :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I know this is a little late but here are some answers from my experience. :)

    1) We started at 6 months. We already knew that rice cereal constipated N (from the spit up formula she had been on) so we used oatmeal and she loved it! We used Gerber oatmeal and Earth's Best baby food. Once she mastered the oatmeal, we started her on some of the baby food - sweet potatoes, apples, and peas.

    2) Yes, we did a modified CIO with N. We rocked her to sleep until she was 6 months old and just couldn't do it anymore. She never really CRIED it out - she just fussed and played. It took 3 nights of checking on her at intervals and she started putting herself to sleep. Then, she regressed at 18 months and we did it again. She's back to putting (or playing) herself to sleep again in her crib. :)

    3) Fisher Price piano, stuffed animals, and a ride/push walker car.

    4) Our daughter is 21 months now and she goes to bed between 8 and 8:30. She used to go bed between 7 and 7:30, up until she was about 15 months old. As far as how strict we are with it, it really depends on what we're doing in the evenings. Tonight is Christmas Eve - she was up until 9 because I know we can sleep in tomorrow. ;)

    5) Every night - it's part of her bedtime routine.

    6) We have one big laundry day a week. It's a lot but it's how it works in our house!

    7) We use a mist humidifier, a nose sucker (bulb aspirator), and saline nose drops. N has never had an ear infection but the signs are USUALLY fever and the child pulls at their ears. Those can also be signs of teething so I've been to the doctor for an "ear infection" about 6 times. ;)

    8) I work part time and send N to daycare two days a week. I wear jeans to work. :) Yes, we pay our little home daycare when I'm off and home with her since we signed a contract with them. We get two weeks a year of vacation to use at the daycare and we usually use those for our family vacation and for Christmas.

    9) Until 3 months. My supply dried up, despite my best efforts to keep it going, after I went back to work. It's the biggest regret I have since becoming a mama. :(

    10) I can't even remember now. :(

    Hope this helps!!!

    ReplyDelete

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