Hi March moms, thought I'd start a new thread and see how all of the little ones are doing. Can you believe it's been 4 months already?? Yikees, time is flying. Well, little girl had her check up yesterday. 4 shots, poor thing. I hate hearing that cry when they get poked. I mean you hear them cry all day, but that cry is so different, it kills me! Fortunately it passes quickly. My "little" one is off the charts for height and weight. 27 inches and 16lbs 12oz! I knew she was looking really long to me. One whole wall of her room is mirror, so when I'm in there walking around getting her to fall asleep I am constantly looking in the mirror and she just looks so big in my arms. Like an 8 month old or something. She has a big old head too. I can't remember what they said, but it was the 97% percentile. I just don't get these big old kids that I have. I'm 5'6. Hubby is 6ft. Neither of us are or ever were really overweight. None of our families have really tall people. But my kids are giants.

We also got the go-ahead to start solids. Beginning, of course, with the lovely runny rice cereal. And he said to start on fruits after that. I am so excited. I just love feeding them in the beginning and seeing how they react to it. I remember feeding my son for the first time and he chowed and looked at me like, "what took you so long lady?" LOL

I've been getting pretty burnt out lately. Patience is becoming an issue. My DD will nap very well (usually) all day. She gets sleepy and I can lay her down in her crib and she's out for and hour or so. But at night it is a whole different story. It can take hours to get her to finally fall asleep. It drives me totally nuts. I'm home alone with the kids from 1 pm-1am, so I have no help at bedtime. And almost every night she gets sleepy right when it's DS bedtime. She's normally crying while I'm getting him to brush his teeth, reading him books and putting him into bed. I feel bad for him, like he's getting ripped off during his bedtime routine. Sometimes If we start reading books and then she starts to cry, he'll close the book and ask to get into bed. But then he cries when I go to leave the room. Other times he'll put his blanket over his head when she starts to cry. Yet he never yells at her or does anything mean to her because of it. I think he's just getting tired of it like I am. I'd love to put her down at night first. But with the legnth of time it takes, I don't want DS waiting around for an hour for me so that he can get some sleep. I'm sure it will get better, but geesh.

Another thing. Once she does fall asleep, she used to sleep from like 9-5 or 6, wake up, eat and go back to bed. But lately she's waking up at 3, eats and doesn't alwasy go right back to sleep. She wants to "party". No big deal for me most of the time as I am at work. But poor DH who has worked all night and has only gotten an hour or so of sleep is up dealing with it. We are both pooped!

DD is sitting up really well with help. She loves to sit up! I've also started placing her forward facing in the front carrier that you wear. Makes her happy and she spends the whole time licking and gnawing on it. Teeth are surely on their way. She just chomps on her fingers all day. DS loves to play with her. and is such a great helper. I'm sure you guys have some of those too. He's always running to get diapers, bottles, toys, etc.

I wish I had more private time with DS. I try when I can. He's just over 2 and at such a great age that everything is magical and I want to share more of that with him. It's jsut hard with a little baby to have to fuss over all the time. Anyone else feel the same way?

How's everyone else coping? Sorry this was so long!

hello everyone....

kiera, great post, as always. i have been wanting to reply, but it seems that the babies know when i sit down to type and loose it. they are both sleeping right now, could change at any moment.

first of all for you kiera, it sounds as though you are in a tough spot. the only thing that i suggest is that you make story time durring your little girls nap durring the day. try to color with him, do an art project, something that is special to him. caden and i take pictures. i let him pick his subject and zoom in and out and take the picture. he loves it sooooooo much. as far as a bed time ritual, i have it pretty easy. sadly enough my DS does not enjoy stories. we keep trying, but he really does not like sitting/laying there. so after his bath he has some milk while we unwind. i give him rubs and talk about what we did durring the day and talk about what we are going to do tomorrow. as of late morgan has been crashing at 8:00 pm. i mean crash because he STILL gets fussy at 6:00 and it builds up untill no one can take it. i do everything i can think of to calm him (some nights he is much better than others) but finally i swaddle him and in the process he passes out and sleeps very well. obviously i have tried to swaddle him earlier, but you have to get it at just the right moment for success. he sleeps until about 2 am to nurse, up again at 4 am and then 6 am. i donno why so close together durring that time. then he is a happy baby until 6 pm again. wierd. so i guess i can relate, as morgan wigs out for 2 hours, but it doesn't get in the way of our bed time stuff. it sounds as though sabastian has a kind heart, if you show an effort to let him know you are trying to give him his special time, it will mean the world to him.

as far as morgan goes, he rolls over from back to front, front to back. i started him on rice cereal a while ago as he is always sooooo hungry. i don't know how much he weighs at this point, but when i am on the scale with him he is 16 pounds. if i grab his hands while he is facing me he will stand up like it's nothing. tonight my DH put him up next to the couch and he stood for about 10 seconds with only my DH touching him so he wouldn't crash when he realized what he was doing. i can't leave him anywhere but the floor or restrained in a bouncer as he will roll, push, squirm kick, whatever to get some place else. he is also laughing out loud and blowing raspberries to get his big bro's attention. they are having more and more interaction everyday. morgan has found a little stuffed animal that he loves to pull to his face and rub on. he really likes to be nuzzled and played with, and when you go to put him down he wants none of it. he is soooooo different than caden, but i think they will get along.
life is soooooo different with 2 babies. it is the hardest thing i have ever done, but the best. can you believe i still want another? nutz huh?

Hey Ladies - I love reading about everyone.

I remember my first two kids being like yours, the frustrations, etc. They were 26 months apart, so my son still needed so much attention when my daughter was born. The last two I've had nearly 4 and 5 years apart, and it's TONS better. The big kids love having a baby to play with and they understand the need for patience and don't see the new baby as a threat to their attention needs. Hang in there, I remember that as soon as the new baby is about 8-10 months old, it all really gels, then your darlings can start playing together pretty well, so hang in there. Hey Kiera - any teens in your area that would like to come over in the evening and earn a little money and help you out with bed times? Or an older, Grandma type?

My Drue is so fun right now, she too is a super chunk. She's a little over 16 pounds. Laughs, grabs things, trys to roll over but I think her big belly and thunder thighs get in the way. She HATES being on her tummy and strongly dislikes her stroller, bummer because I need her to hang out in it when I'm out with all the big kids. She likes the front pack alright and I also let her face out. The drool is out of control, so I too think teeth are on there way. She's been having rice cereal mixed with apple sauce (the rice cereal alone was making her constipated) for a few weeks. She started waking up twice during the night, so I decided it was time for food. She gets her dinner around 7, nurses around 9, then is down for bed by 10 and gets up around 8:30. We're done with our predinner fussy time, thank goodness!!!! I couldn't ask for a better kid.

I have a little story - I got the brilliant idea of taking all the kids to the mall by myself. It was going along great until about half an hour in to it, when Drue decided she'd had enough of the stroller. So, here I am trying to hold her, stand in the long check out line at Old Navy and my other three get bitten by the brat bug and decide to bicker with each other and touch everything they possibly can in the store. I'm trying to remain calm but I lose it when the ladies behind me take it upon themselves to keep telling me that a register has opened up and why am I not moving. Do they not see the TWO other people in front of me?!!!! I politely point that out (or at least I remember it seeming to be polite) and that I will go as soon as it is my turn. One of the women then feels the need to say "There is no way I would bring 4 kids acting like that to a mall without help", great, I felt like the worst Mom ever!!! Then, we got out of the store, and my big kids thanked me for taking all of them and that they had a blast and could we do it every afternoon please?

God, I wish DD would sleep like Drue. She used to be better. Asleep around 9 and going until about 5 before hungry. Now she's waking up around 2! It's driving us nuts. I'm wondering if she's figuring out the whole., "hey if I cry, they come in" thing. I'm actually sitting here at work and plan on re-reading my book about babies and sleep to try and figure out something. I'm hoping those solids will help out if it's a hunger thing.

I wish there was a teen nearby to help at bedtime. All the kids on my block are 11 or younger. And all the adults are running around chasing the young kids. But that's a great idea. I'll keep my eyes open for someone. The past two nights someone has come over to help with the kids. It makes such a diffrence. Plus it helps with my nerves. The kids and my lack of sleep due to work is really starting to get me down. I didn't have any post pardum after the baby was born, but now I'm wondering if I'm getting it now. Is that possible? I know that if I could just get more than 4 hours of sleep every night I'd feel better. That and see my husband for more than a handful of hours every week. I feel like a single parent sometimes. Well, sorry to throw that out there. But it always feels better when you talk about things.

OK back to happy baby stories! DD had a total fluke the other day and said "mama". I know it was just coincidence, but it still made my day. :0

Take care ladies

Hi!
My little guy went today for his 4 month checkup. He's exactly 4 months. He weighs 15lbs, 9oz and was 26" long. He's been rolling over since July 4th and he LOVES sleeping on his tummy which is funny because he used to HATE being on his belly. We started giving him cereal 2x's a day last week and the Dr. said today that we could start him on fruits. That should be fun!! He sleeps between 8-10 hours at night and he usually eats every 6 hours during the day. He loves to smile and giggle and he's such a happy little baby. I just love him to death and I could just kiss him all day long! Glad to hear everyone's babies are doing good. :)
Mell :)

hey everyone...

morgans appt is tommorrow, but i know he is only 13.2 lbs. this is sooooo bizzare to me as EVERYONE comments on how he is a bowling ball and must weigh 17-18 pounds. i asked if he batteries were low on the scale. he was weighed because 2 year old DS got very very sick (had to take him to ER) for a double ear infection and croup, and 4 mo DS was very ill as well, so congested that he had to puke to get it out! it has been one of the hardest last 5 days of my life! so much medication and snot in one house! god bless who ever invented the bulb sucky thingy.

anyway, morgan is a happy baby as long as you are holding him, miserable if you are not.

anyone else having issues with DH? mine a acts like he is going to set himself on fire when he learns he has to watch both boys for a couple of hours while i work. i do it all day, he does it for 4 hours 2x a week. sheesh.

Little Ryan will be 5 months on the 27th. When I took him for his 4 month, he was only 12lbs, 10ozs. He was like 15 percentile. She didn't seem concerned. He is just so cute. He smiles at everything. It is so different than my DD. I had to do cart wheels to get her to smile. LOL. DH and I a are enjoying the kids so much, but we are extremely exhausted. It's all in the attitude. We just keep plugging along.
Back to Ryan, he rolls from tummy to back with ease and just today rolled from back to tummy. Yeah for him. Rice cereal plugged him up so I've been giving it sparingly. I like to mix it with apple juice. I have also just recently switched to oatmeal. He is still cranky at night and goes to sleep around 8pm. Up at 2 or 3 for a feeding and up at 6 am to go to daycare. I'm happy with my daycare situation. She loves him dearly. The same girl had my DD from 5 months on. She is a blessing. Anyways, it is so good to hear from all of you. It has been really hard to find time to get on the computer. DH and I work fulltime. DD has swimming and gymnastics. I'm in the process of moving my mother to the area so she can retire closer to her grandkids. I can't wait till she's up here. She will be a great help, besides we love her so. I hope things continue to go well for you all. Keep the updates going.

She is just the happiest baby in the world. Good sleeper, on a great schedule that she worked out herself, only cries when she's hungry or tired. She has the sweetest smile and LOVES to "talk" to anyone. She coos, goos, squeals, and giggles constantly. She loves her big brother and watches him all the time. He had a difficult time adjusting to her at first, but now he's so sweet. He's always patting her head if she fusses and trying to give her her pacifier. I caught him yesterday patting her and trying to give her a bottle saying "Okay baby sistoo (all words ending in "er" end in "oo" for him!)" I am in the process of transitioning her to formula because I am looking at alot of medication, tests, and possibly surgery for some digestive problems I've been having. I go for an upper GI on the 29th to find out what the deal is. Doc seems to think it's either an ulcer, my gall bladder, or a hiatal hernia. I'm just hoping it's non surgical.

I know I don't post with you girls alot, but I always read! I'm glad to hear you and your little ones are all doing well!

Over the past 3 or 4 days Sophia figured out how to really laugh. Now she's lauging at nothing! She'll be sitting in the back of the car just giggling. I love the sound of babies laughing...it makes me laugh every time. She seems to have figured out how to put herself to sleep for the most part...thank goodness because I was going insane! Now I have to keep a close eye on her and at the 1st sign of being tired I can put her in bed and she'll usually conk out. But if I wait too long she gets so irritated and then fights the whole thing.

She is so diffrent then DS, he was a really tough baby. Always crying, had to be held all day. She's my angel baby. Only crying when tired or hungry. She never wakes up crying...just cooing in her bed. DS woke up crying for probably the 1st 8-9 months of life. She's rolling over like crazy and seems so proud of herself. Loves to stand (with lots of help of course) I think it's about time to bring out the toy that helps them stand up with all of the toys and stuff on it. She LOVES her big brother. He's as good as I am in her book. If she's lonely, she only needs to look at him and she feels better. And he adores her too. Calls her "Baby Goo" And his new favorite thing is throwing diapers away for me (aren't kids funny?)

Nyxin...I'm so sorry to hear about everyone being sick...that's the worst!!! I was just thinking the other day about how sick my entire family got right after the baby was born. God, being exhausted, healing from a c-section and all 4 of us coughing and filled with snot for like 3 weeks. And when the little babies are sick it just breaks your heart. Hang in there sweetie! These are the hardest times...but we all get through it.

Well it sounds like everything is good but rough for everyone. I haven't been on the board in forever and it was so great to read everyones updates. Tyler is 5 months and weighs 21 pounds!!! He is off the charts for weight and is in the 90th percentile for height. He is huge. I wish that Tyler slept as well as all your babies. He is waking up every 2 hours to eat. He eats either rice cereal, bananas, or squash right before bed and it doesn't help. I am so tired. Friday is my last day working full time, I am going to work only 10 hours a week. I can't wait. He can stand really well with some balancing help, he can roll over and he is starting to sit pretty well. He loves the water. Whether its the bath or the pool he loves it. He also loves the Johnny Jumper. He is a jumping bean!! He is spoiled rotten! My husband calls him HNB (High Needs Baby). My 9 year old son is a great help. He asked me the other day if it was OK if he loved Tyler more than me. How sweet is that?? I hope everything gets even better for everyone. Thanks for the stories!!

So great to read everyone's updates!!
DD is a fussy baby...needs attention at all times, fights sleep, is really difficult when we're away from home, such a momma's girl! :)
At her 4 month check up she weighed 14 lbs 8 oz, 24.5 inches long.
Breastfeeding is still going well, and I plan on introducing cereal within the next couple of weeks.
Naps during the day are pretty good, but I wish she would sleep longer at night. She's awake 2-3 times for a feeding.
She has rolled over a few times, but doesn't seem to be trying too hard anymore.

Hey moms, update time.

Well, the past 2 nights I have let DD cry it out. It hasn't been very bad at all. Probably because I'm used to doing it with my 1st. She only cried for about 10 minutes each night. Then she would talk to herself for a minute and then crash out. And then she has slept through the entire night (she had been getting up around 3 to eat) I hope that she keeps it up. I'd been rocking her to sleep every night, but then she would wake up EVERY time I put her down. This could go on for 2 hours. So I had enough, and now being 5 months I think she's old enough.

She's finally decided that she likes solid food and now kicks and giggles while I feed her. Thanks to those of you who suggested going with bananas...that's what got her interrested.

I pulled out the old exerscaucer the other day. Man does she love that thing! It's nice to add something new to the arsenal of things to keep baby happy. I'd love to get her one of those bouncers that you hang from the doorway, but there is no molding above any of my doorways to secure it to.

She's also discovered her feet. She's about 2 cm from getting them into her mouth. I love that, so funny. I hope you are all doing well. I was going through some PPD for a bit. It's starting to mellow out now. You just forget how darn hard having a newborn can be. Have a great weekend all!