Wow, Krissy- how cute! Smart little dude.

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Thanks, Claire--of course I think he is a genius Congrats to D for crawling! Does he scoot, or full out crawl? You better get to babyproofing; he will only get faster!

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Krissy

Claire-we had Avery's aquarium in her crib until she moved to a toddler bed, Violet has the same one now, I love that thing! We had to lower the crib to the lowest section when she started to crawl because she is so tall that she probably could have climbed out if she had wanted! Not sure if this is happening to D, but Violet would wake at night and crawl around but I think she has finally settled down and will now just crawl and play before going to sleep.

Violet seems to have another cold, poor thing. Only this time it started in her chest because she has been coughing the past couple of days and today her nose is running. I've become an expert with the saline-suction operation with all these colds she has had!

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Krissy- for now he is kind of doing a combination of whatever it takes to get where he wants to go. I think he might be lazy like me, though. I had this mental picture that as soon as he could crawl for real he would just take off and zoom around. Really, all he does is crawl from wherever I put him down to the cabinet with the DVDs and he proceeds to take them all of the shelf and put them on the floor. LOL. He's not adventuresome enough to crawl off the floor rug and on to the concrete yet. I'm not sure if it's that it's slippery or if it's that it hurts his knees and is cold, but he won't leave the rug!

Bina- I think at night he mostly stays put. But at nap time-oh, boy look out! He's sitting and playing and reaching and crawling and babbling and rolling and kicking. The crib I have at my office will move if he shakes it and he'll grab the bars and bang it into the wall. That's my little bam-bam.

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Tricia-Hannah was on Allimentum to..it is extremely expensive. With her it was the third formula the pedi told us to try and worked so that is what we stuck with.
Kanieka- nice to hear from you. How is work going? Is it as bad as when you was preggo?
Krissy-Glad to see you are ready for another baby. Hannah is a winter baby (born Feb 23) and Isabella a summer baby (May 13). I wish both my kids where summer babies it seems easier to plan birthday parties. But Hannah wasn't necessarily planned
Claire- for your little man crawling. Men are such big babies when they are sick.
I know we were talking about our Dh just a bit ago..but I am still so aggravated. Dh works and comes home eats supper then has his nose stuck in the computer till we go to bed. I get so sick of doing everything by myself, like taking care of both kids, cooking,cleaning,making sure the bills are paid, helping Hannah with homework and on and on. i know I get to stay home but sometimes I wish I did work so I could be around grown-ups and get a break. Sorry I know many of you would love to be a sahm but sometimes it's lonely and sucks!

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Back-I can't even imagine being a SAHM and then still having take care of the kids and the house all evening. Until the girls are in bed, Dh knows that we are both "on duty" in that respect. I'm very sensitive and would be having a lot of emotional breakdowns if I had to do it all on my own, lol. Are you involved in any mommy groups or a MOPs group? I've found a great local one at meetup.com. Most are SAHM and they get together during the week for playdates, go to parks, etc. and on weekends for mom's nights out etc. Since I work I can only go to the Friday stuff, but I get cabin fever from even being home just two days a week (I work from home on Tuesdays so can't really go anywhere) so its nice to get out and meet other moms and kids. I bet if you were able to have time for yourself on the weekends, yoru Dh would soon appreciate how hard it is to take care of two kids by yourself.

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The closes meet up group is 19.5 miles away. And DH won't keep Isabella by his self. He will Hannah because she is older and does for herself (so to speak) but Bella wants you to entertain her and if not she cries. Dh keep her one time while I went to get my hair done..highlighted and cut which takes about 2 hours and he called every thirty minutes cause Isabella was screaming and when I came home he said he wouldn't never do that again.
Do you all think I am being to critical and bit**y of DH?

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Back-oh I don't think you are being critical at all if you can't even go to get your haircut by yourself! That is too bad about the meetup group being so far For us it is a must that Dh be able to handle them by himself, since we really don't have any family we can rely on to watch them. Saturday night Dh was alone with both girls from 4:30pm-10pm while I went out for a girls night so I know I'm lucky. Hopefully as Bella gets older it will get easier and you will get more time for yourself, since it must be hard on you right now.

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Back- It sure is expensive. The nutramagen was cheaper but the ped wanted us to switch so we did. Thank goodness for coupons and only buying one can a month!! I don't think you are being over critical. My DH has to help out or he can't question why I'm crabby. When he comes home for work we have dinner, relax, and usually he does Ben's bath. Then he gets him to bed and does dishes. I completely understand what you mean by needing "alone" or "adult" time. I do get to go to work but I feel like I could use sometime to get out without the kids to relax and enjoy myself! DH doesn't mind Ben but always wants me to take Anna. He is good with her and does stay with them after he's done working until I'm home and then he's alone with them every other weekend.
Claire-Yay!! That's awesome he's crawling!! I think Ben was the same age when he started too!!!
I'm hoping someone has some pointers for me, Anna is starting to dislike bfing I'm not sure if my supply is diminishing (I can tell she's getting some and she burps/has wet diapers) but she fights me. She wiggles around and comes on and off. I have been having a terrible time pumping at work. Today I gave her 2 oz of formula and she drank it all. She has also started on peas and I gave her cereal tonight too. The ped's office said maybe she's teething.
Crystal- Did you get those meds? Are they helping your supply? I called my OB and they said there was nothing they could recommend since I already tried the reglan.
Anna is calling...

Tricia--I would take her to the ped. Every time Ely would do that, he either had an ear infection or strep throat, and he also did it once when he had thrush. He would act exactly as Anna is--fighting it, coming on and off, ect.

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Krissy

Tricia - I think you are using the breastflow bottles, right?
Hannah used to fight me before we started using those b/c she could get the milk so much faster from the bottle. Using the nursing cover when we were at home so she couldn't be distracted helped some.

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Krissy-I did end up taking her to the ped. They were going to check for RSV but I really don't feel like she has it. She has no runny nose, no cough, and no fever. They decided not to test for it since her throat and ears looked good. He ended up sending us to the hospital for blood work to check her thyroid. The last time she was sort of like this her hormones were off so maybe that is all it is. The results probably won't be in until Thursday. I just hate taking her for the blood work because it is miserable. I'm going to feel horrible if everything comes back good (not that I want it to be bad).
Kelly-Yes we are! Those bottles are AMAZING. That is all I can get her to take. Target by us has started having them so I just picked up the 9oz. Those are actually the only bottles that she will take.

Another question (not pertaining to babies) I'm on the bc that is safe for bfing but have yet to have AF. Has anyone else experienced this? The OB's office asked me to test, I'm almost 100% I'm not pg. That was part of their concern for my decreased bm.

Tricia--I know; the blood draws are AWFUL. Ely has had to have a lot of blood taken since his red blood cells are funny, and they still dont know why, but there is some connection between that and his constant illnesses. I know many women whose milk supply is diminished when they start taking the mini-pill (the b/c pill that is safe for bfing). It is "safe", but can still decrease your milk. You could always try going off of it and see if your milk goes up.
Speaking of health; Ely has been healthy, no meds (except prevacid), no illness, for 3 weeks. This is a record, and a pretty big deal for us! Unfortunately, I think I will take him in today because he woke up 3 times last night and has a diaper rash--that has only ever happened when he had strep

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Krissy

Amy - I feel like work is WORST! There is one chic here who talked MAJOR mess about me in a class...but get this, she was trying to impress the instructor...WTF?!?

Not to mention she talks MAJOR mess behind my back. I CANT STAND IT!

I listen to my iPod all day, every day...

Get this, she was on vacay for a week and a half and was supposed to back on a Thursday...she TEXTED our boss (who is married with 2 babies, one is 14 months and the other is 2 months) at 10 PM saying she had a back stomach ache and wouldnt be back until Monday...WHAT?!?

She sould have been repremanded but she wasnt.

If it wasnt for Ky, I would be LONG GONE from here but I need the security of a job...but I really hae outgrown this position...

Its soooooooooooo sad because I am the youngest one here but I have the most and I am envied the most...its really a sad story!

HI CLAIRE!!!

HI IRENE!!!

Gosh, I feel neglected here...I feel like I post and nobody responds to me anymore...

Have I been dumped?

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Krissy - What a smart little guy you have there!

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Amy- I don't think you are being too critical of DH at all. I hear you about being lonely. It's kind of funny, because that occured to me yesterday. Like a bulb went off in my head "Oh, wow, that's it-I'm lonely." And as far as your DH not watching the baby because she cries- he's needs to man-up a little! My dh is the same way, the concept of "turn off the friggin TV and PLAY with the child" is kind of lost on him. But he's learning. SLOWWWWLY. I think part of the problem is that I enable him. If the baby makes noise, and I'm in the other room, I come running. But now that I'm taking a couple of online courses and I have to stay in the other room (the comp is in the nursery, so I can't do my homework after D goes to bed at 6:30pm) DH is getting a little more confident. I can speak from experience that holding that resentment in isn't good for your marriage. You should set him down when things are calm and talk to him. It's hard for them to understand because you are home and they think it's not work- but just remind him how he felt when he was home alone with Isabella, and remind him it's like that for you ALL day!

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K - sorry work sucks. I don't think you've been dumped. There are times I have felt like that, too, and then a few days later I feel like I am getting responses. Glad Ky's eczema is better.

I've got to get Lily to sleep somewhere other than on/next to me. I love it but DH won't sleep with us for fear of smashing her.

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HI KANIEKA!
I can't speak for everyone, but I respond to posts when questions are asked (that I know the answer to) when I have something to say or add or when I can sympathize. Don't take this the wrong way, K- but a lot of times you only post about what is going on in your life, and since I don't BF or have issues with people at work (since I'm the only one here) I don't have much to say to help you out.

Tricia- Do they draw Anna's blood with the footprick still? I HATE that! Hope everything is alright with her

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Wow - I guess i haven't checked in for a few days and I missed a bunch of posts... It was pretty interesting reading about switching formulas. I didn't put two and two together but those couple of days that Kieran was acting so difficult about bedtime I had switched to Similac sensitive from Enfamil gentlease because I had a coupon and wanted to see if it helped his gas and I didn't do it gradually. It didn't even occur to me that it could cause a problem because when he was really little we switched back and forth a few times because we kept getting samples.

Krissy - thats pretty interesting that STTN only means 5 hours straight - he's been doing that for months!! I thought it was 12!! And I completely hear you on the lying thing!! I have a couple of friends who always post these amazing things on FB like their kids can do no wrong. And then I met up with one of them and her kid was screaming the whole time - I couldn't help thinking where the heck is the perfect angel she's always posting about?!?!?! That was too cute about the kangaroo - Ely is really smart!! I hope he doesn't have strep again

Rhea - woohoo for Donovan crawling and pulling himself up!! I would be happy to have him stay on the rug and not the concrete if I were you!!

Bina - you have to share your tricks for the saline-suction. I've given up on the bulb entirely. If I can manage to get any spray up there I just wait until he sneezes or they fall out.

Amy - I also don't think you are being overcritical of your DH. He's the daddy and he needs to act like it!! I get annoyed with my DH because I end up alone alot but at least when he is home, he's really good with Kieran. It makes it so much easier for me to have his help - its like I don't really need a break from the baby, I just need a break from being ALONE with the baby if that makes sense. I'm sorry that there are no groups closer to you. Do you know any other women w/ similar aged children that maybe you could start up your own playdates with?

Speaking of moms groups, a friend of mine convinced me to take Kieran to a little dance class and he LOVED it. They had us in a big circle and we had to turn to the mom/baby next to us and tap the babies toes together. I couldn't see his face but the other moms said he was laughing and having a blast. I've been pretty bad about keeping him indoors with me to avoid all those crazy germs but I really need to get out there for his sake since he enjoyed it so much. That class was a little far away and he was so cranky by the time we got home so I've signed up for a bunch of classes at places closer to us. I'm pretty excited about it!!

Tricia - I hope Anna is okay. I HATE having Kieran's blood drawn. Those heel sticks are awful. The poor guy got stuck so much for the first month of his life that I wish he never had to have it done again Ironically they were sticking him to test his platelets which were low so he wouldn't clot... they always had to squeeze so hard to get him to stop bleeding again.

Kanieka - sorry things aren't going well for you at work and that you felt ignored here. I don't really have much to add to your work situation either - you must work with a bunch of catty women. Although I don't know if I would say its WORSE than being a SAHM - I'm sure everyone has their own opinions on that and there are good days and bad days.

Kelly - I finally confessed to DH that I actually enjoyed those weeks when I was sleeping with Kieran in the armchair. I loved having him so close and having that be the only way that he would sleep. It did get old though when I started to have neck cramps everyday and yeah I guess I kind of missed sleeping next to DH too LOL!

Can you believe my baby is over 6 months old now?!?! I still can't get over it. I had a couple of really great days with him and started thinking I would really love to have another

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K- I've felt like the "thread Killer" at times, as well. I don't post on this side as much as D is definitely a toddler now! Glad that you are back and things are going well with K.

Irene- I'm sorry that you feel sad about wanting another. I can imagine the heart pangs you must get. Have you ever considered adoption? I know it can't replace the hole in your heart, but you may just find that it becomes a calling for you. Just my 2cents.

Just wanted to respond to you guys as you both were on my mind...

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