Cow's Milk and Weaning

So my little one will be turning one (gasp!) on Saturday, and I'm hoping to wean her shortly after that. I know that breastmilk is excellent for her and all, but I've been struggling to keep weight on and she doesn't take a bottle (I got lazy when she was about 6 months old and didn't pump for a couple of weeks, and when I tried to give her one she'd forgotten how to take it), so I can only leave home in certain "windows." My husband and I are looking forward to going out on dates that don't have to start after her bedtime feeding. =)

So here's my question: for those of you who have done this before, how long did it take (days, weeks, months), and did you have to get our kiddies settled on cow's milk first? I know you're technically supposed to wait until they're 1 to even try cow's milk, but I cheated and tried it last week from her sippy and she was very uninterested! She did have a little though, and didn't seem to have problems with it (she doesn't have any other allergies, so I figured it would be fine). Any suggestions for introducing cow's milk or for weaning in general?

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?

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.

Just Whining about Tantrums & Stress!

Hi Mommies,

Today has been so difficult. It's been a while since I've had a day like this with Jackie. 1st she wouldn't nap all day. When she finally did go down (around 4:15pm), she only stayed asleep for about an hour. When she woke up, she started throwing a major tantrum (arching her back, screaming bloody murder, etc.). Around this time, I got call from one of our tenants about some possible water damage in our rental property due to the rain. "Oh great," I say to myself. Unfortunately, I had a hard time having an intelligible conversation with my tenant b/c of Jackie screaming bloody murder in the background. No matter what I tried to do, Jackie would not stop screaming. I put her back in her crib - but unfortunately, she's still crying. I think that she is just extra fussy b/c she had trouble taking a nice nap (normally she sleeps anywhere from 2-4 hours for her 1 nap). It's so hard listening to your child cry and not knowing what to do about it. Anyone have any good tips to deal with temper tantrums?

Sandy

Teething woes and sleep

Don't laugh at me, I must have a very short memory since my elder daughter went thru the whole thing with me by her side... but my almost 6 month old Hayden is just killing me with his teething problems. He'd wake up with 30 min nap nowadays and desperately gnawing on his blanket, his hand, MY hand, everything... How long does this last for each tooth? And are all babies napping/sleeping like this during teething? Seems like he's been like this forever!

Anyone with "Baby tan-lines" in diaper area?

Did everyone else notice babies sometimes have "tan lines" on their tush?
My little girl Lexa had it as a baby. Since it was mostly summer time we were joking she went out to the beach while we were sleeping. As it turned out it's the bleach in the diapers (to make them snow white) that made her like that. After seeing our son with the same stuff (even tho he was born in winter and was always bundled) we switched to chlorine-free diaper. I got mine online for good price (just a bit more than normal ones, plus they have discount for first time customer), it's so soft and comfy, and Hayden's "tan line" is gradually disappearing now that it's been a couple of weeks. Just wanted to share...

Going from 3 to 2 Naps

here's a question- NJ is currently taking 3 naps per day, usually lasting 1-1.5 hrs each or two 1.5-2 hr naps, and a 30 min catnap. I know that in the next couple of months I will have to drop the last nap. He currently stays awake for 2 hrs at a time during the day.

How did you go about transitioning your baby to 2 naps and increasing his/her awake time? Cold turkey? Or gradually? How gradually? When?