Ask Moxie

Ladies - I found a pretty good blog that seems to provide information on all sorts of things - breastfeeding, solids, books, sleep issues, etc, etc, etc. I was searching for some scheduling answers.....just b/c we're dealing w/ daily pre-bedtime all-out meltdowns. For the few who know Rachel, she's very laid back, but some switch is flipped at bedtime. So, I'll probably post on that later when I have some more time, but I stumbled on this website in my searches last night, and I found that it's a wealth of information. There's a few life viewpoints that I found I wasn't in agreement with; however, the information there on the physical caring for your child was pretty good - from what I read. It's seems like it's based on a Q&A format. I searched by the topics on the side, and found it to be a lot of information.

Here's the link:

http://moxie.blogs.com/askmoxie/

Training to Sit Still

So I almost called this "Church Training," but it applies to more than church and I didn't want to narrow my responses to those of you who go to church. This could also apply to something like storytime or watching a program at an older sibling's school...any situation where you want your little one to sit calmly and quietly on your lap and...well...he or she wants to do otherwise.

So the official question...how are each of you going about training your kids to sit still and quietly when appropriate? What has worked? What hasn't worked, and why hasn't it worked?

I ask because I really, really want to train my daughter (10.5 months old) to sit through our church service on my lap. Yesterday was one of the worst days yet...she was loud and all over the place. We've been working a lot on "don't touch" at home, and she normally obeys very well, but she was even disobedient in that regard yesterday. I add this because I do think she's "old enough" to learn to listen. I was really frustrated that she was loud and wouldn't sit still, but when I got home I realized something: I haven't taught her to. She doesn't know how I want her to behave, so it's not fair for me to expect her to act accordingly. I do need to teach her, I'm just not sure how. Any thoughts?

Keeping little faces and hands clean

This is so fundamental but I just want to see what you all are doing. Now that NJ is on solids, his face and hands get very messy after meals. I wash his face and hands with water after each meal. Is that enough? Should I be using soap or something else to clean him better? Sometimes the foods are "greasy" (like avocados, or cereal mixed with breastmilk) and I don't feel like those rinse off as well.

How about throughout the day? How do you keep your babies' hands clean?

Anyone else use AIM?

I don't normally chat online (not enough time), but would anyone else be interested in doing so? Maybe we could set up a time to meet as a group.

If you're intersted, post your AIM IDs!

Bloggers?

Share your blogs w/ other mommies here! (If you're comfortable doing so) I know some of us visit each others' blogs regularly, but not all. I personally love visiting your blogs and look forward to reading your posts! You all are great writers and crack me up! Most of you have mine, but here it is anyway- http://lindseyfam.blogspot.com.

Plugged Ducts

I know that plugged ducts are common in the first few months or so postpartum due to engorgement but I've been getting them quite often even now. (About once a week) NJ will be 7 months old next week. He is eating regularly and nursing just as much as he was before solids. It usually happens on the left side, but occasionally on the right. I never skip feedings or anything and if I have to be out during a feed, I use a hand pump around the time that NJ would nurse. It has never turned into mastitis but it is painful and a drag to take care of. I usually have to apply wet hot compresses on the area and massage it and/or pump in addition to offering that side to NJ first each time. Is it normal to get plugged ducts even at 7 monts post partum, and as often as once a week? I am thinking about contacting a LC as well but just wanted to know what you all thought first.

Breastfeeding Woes

So, I'll tell ya'll my woes. I'm happy that I've chosen to BF Rachel, but it has had its challenges. I never had any of the mastisis (SP?) and stuff - thankfully, but I've dealt w/ a 2 month long struggle of nursing strikes. We got through that, and then for the past 3 1/2 months, we've settled into a nice routine....until the past 2 weeks. I've been having some troubles here and there w/ pumping. I used to pump all the time b/c I had to so much extra milk (I realize that's a continuous cycle w/ pumping), but I was nervous about losing my supply w/ working part time, I go into the office for 2-4 hours at a time, and need to be able to readily pump for any given week. So, for the past 3-4 weeks, I've boycotted pumping b/c I just don't have the time, and it's a pain in the tushy (setup, long time pumping, cleanup, etc). Plus, Rachel then suddenly was rejecting the bottle....not sure if it was teeth, nipple confusion (had just introed a sippy cup and she nurses and uses a pacifier), but at any rate, she wasn't thrilled w/ the bottle. So, I thought, that's a nice change for once:)

Sorry for the babbling (I feel that's what I'm doing but it's been a long day:( ). So, she still struggles w/ her last feeding....often she half cries while feeding. I can't seem to figure out if it's her teeth, gas bubble, over-tired, not enough milk coming out, etc. Now, I'm starting to worry that I don't have enough milk....b/c when I try to pump (here's where it ties into the 1st paragraph), I really don't get that much. Little background, Rachel is 7.5 months, and she is almost 23 lb and almost 30 in long. She's doing solids really well, and I nurse her 4 times a day. This has gone well up until this point (well except for the 2 mo nursing strike struggles). I'd like to nurse her until she's one year old b/c I'm cheap and don't want to buy formula, but I'm pretty worn out from nursing. I want to enjoy it, but she pulls back on my nipple, which hurts, and then she's been biting me these past 2 days. I always thought I'd use the remedy my mom did on my brothers and I (flick our cheek to get our attention and say no - she says it worked), but dang, it hurts when she bites and I've tried flicking her cheek - only to have her smile back at me a few times:) I'd like to smile back but I'm in too much pain....b/c that's a pain that keeps on giving.

I realize that in time all this will not only pass and will seem minute and petty, but I'll also probably miss these woes:) And in the grand scheme of eternity, it's not a big deal at all. But, I thought I'd blog it to the sympathetic ears (readers) here, and if any of you have any words of advice, they're greatly appreciated. I really want to stick this out until she's a year, so any words of encouragement or suggestions are great. Also, do you think it's too late to go to a lactation consultant? Not sure how much it costs.....might be a wash between going to an LC and just switching to formula......

Evening dilemma

NJ isn't an early bird anymore. I guess it was a phase? He usually goes to bed around 7:30/8:00pm and wakes up at 7:30/8:00am now. He usually is able to stay up for 2.5 hrs at a time, except first thing in the morning. So his routine goes something like this:

7:30- up, breastfed
8:15- solids
9:30- nap#1
11:00- up, breastfed
11:45- solids
1:30- nap#2 (this nap tends to be longer than nap#1)
3:00- up, breastfed
3:45-solids
5:30- nap#3
6:00- up
7:00- breastfed
7:30/8:00- bedtime
(He still wakes up once in the night to eat, usually anytime between 2-5 am. If it's closer to 5, I feed him 1/2 a boob and top him off when he wakes up.)

My question is about his final nap. I try to keep this a catnap. It is usually a struggle to wake him up from this nap. I can tell that he wants to keep sleeping. 5:30 also seems a bit late for a naptime. But if I try to keep him up even to 6:00, he is a wreck. And 6:00 to me is a bit early for a bedtime. What should I do? I try to keep him up longer during the day (to 3 hrs) to stretch out his day and phase out his 3rd nap, but he ends up getting overtired and not napping well at all. Thoughts?

Pampers, Anyone?

Does anyone use Pampers crusiers? I somehow got on their mailing list and have coupons that add up to $8 off of crusiers. I'm cheap when it comes to diapers...we use the Costco brand. I'll happily mail these coupons to someone who will use them! I'll even throw in the $1.50 off of pampers wipes coupon, since we use Costco wipes too. =)

When to see the pediatrician?

My sister called me that her son (6 months) is running a fever of 102.6, and of course it would be a Saturday night. She was asking me when she should take him to the pediatrican, and this has always been something that I'm not entirely certain. My general rule of thumb has always been to call the doctor's office if Chloe's temp goes to 103 and take her in if she starts to act lethargic or out of her norm. (I think this is what the nurse told me, but it's been a few months. *knock on wood*)

When do you take your little ones to see the doctor if he/she is sick?

Convertible carseats

We are finally getting around to switching the infant carrier to a convertible carseat for NJ. We have a Graco Comfortsport that I got off of my registry but it seems that everyone else is getting a Britax Marathon/Boulevard. Should I be concerned? The B is way more expensive, but I wonder if I'm sacrificing quality by going with the Graco. What convertible carseats do you have? Any recommendations? If need be, I will look into returning the Graco and getting another one.

Late Night Feedings

Ok, so I've been having some issues w/ feeding Rachel before she goes down for the night. Originally, I thought it was b/c I was spacing her breastfeeding and solid food sessions out too far so that it was like she was constantly eating and wasn't hungry at night. Although changing her solid food sessions to be closer to her nursing sessions has helped out tremendously, I still run into the issue of her being really tired at the end of the day and sometimes unable to take in a full feeding. This morning she woke up at 4:30AM (and she was crying); she ate from both sides rather vigorously, and then I laid her back down and she slept until 7:15. So, obviously, she's hungry. Yesterday, she woke up at 5:30. I was able to hold her off until 6/6:30 to eat, but she wasn't interested in sleeping anymore pre-feeding or post-feeding. She was wide awake. She was doing well for about a week after I had reorganized her feeding schedule, but it seems like we're falling back in the same pattern. She can't stay awake any longer than 1PM usually in the afternoon, and yesterday, she wound up going for her afternoon nap pretty late (2PM), since the sitter didn't realize what time it was, and then she didn't fall asleep until 2:30. She then slept until almost 4:30. I fed her then, and then fed her again at 7PM before bedtime, but she still fought me at 7PM. I know teething rears its ugle head, but I hate to always assume that and give her more Tylenol. I do give her Tylenol, but I just don't want to do it every night. Sure, sometimes it makes a difference, but other times it doesn't, so I'm thinking either that may not be her issue or it varies from night to night what the issue is.

So, if anyone has any thoughts/advice on this or has run into similar situations, I'm all ears. Generally, Rachel has been a good sleeper and slept through the night (11-12 hours) from about 7 weeks on. But, since 5 1/2 to 6 months, it's been a little hit and miss at times. So, I'm a bit baffled as to why she seems to be more hungry but isn't taking in enough during the day......

Early bird

NJ has turned into quite the early bird. He used to wake up 6:30/7:00am but these days, he is waking up for the day at 5:00/5:30. He used to wake up at 4/5 and I'd nurse him on one side, and he'd sleep until 6:30 or so and I'd top him off and start the day. These days, even if I nurse him on one side at 4/5, he wakes up at 5/5:30 still. The only thing different these days is that he is on solids 2x a day and his bedtime has gradually shifted little by little from 7:30 to 8:00. There is a biiiig difference between the 6:30 and 5:30! Any suggestions to keep him asleep a little longer?

Neoprene swim suits

In case any of you ever run into the same problem as we did of cold child in swimming pool, dress your little one in a neoprene swim suit. I bought one for my daughter off of iSnorkel.com. It was expensive but so worth it. My little one used to turn blue when she was in an unheated pool, and we had great success with a regular bathing suit worn underneath the neoprene suit.