[amybeth]

Hi everyone! It's so great to see all the adorable pictures and to see how all the munchkins are growing!

Billy is doing well. He'll be 7 months on Monday which just amazes me. He's getting so big it seems. We're taking him in on Tuesday to a pediatric opthamologist because his one eye is still tearing up a lot and our pediatrician said it's still a blocked tear duct. He suggested we see the opthamologist even though normally they won't do anything until he's a year old. From what we understand, the ducts unblock by about 6 months, but for some it can take longer. If it's not unblocked by a year, then they look at other options. I'm hoping we won't have to go down that path because I believe it's surgical.

Sue asked about bf-ing. I've been weaning Billy, but it's more like he's weaning himself. He loves to hold his own bottle (Mr. Independant) and would push off of me and go for the bottle instead. It kind of made me sad! Last weekend I nursed him once, but mostly for the last few weeks I've been pumping and just feeding him by bottle. My supply has really decreased and now I'm down to pumping only twice a day. I only get about 2-4oz total each time now too. That's by design though as I'd been slowly cutting down the amount of time I pumped and the number of pumping sessions each day. I wanted a gradual drop in my supply so that I wouldn't go through major pain of engorgement if at all possible! I mix whatever I get each day from pumping in his bottles with the formula just so he keeps getting some breastmilk. My surgery for my fibroids got cancelled and still hasn't been rescheduled, but hopefully it will be within the first few weeks of December. My goal is to be done pumping by then.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. My parents will be coming in from Michigan and DH's mom and sis will be joining us too. One of our neighbors and her 6 year old might come over too. Her hubby is a fireman and he's working that day/night so I told her to come over if she didn't have other plans already. I love the holidays!

[Curlgirl503]

Hey guys! Yep, still BFing here! Ethan gets two solid food meals a day (he finally started eating without gagging and crying and now LOVES food!) and nurses four or five times a day. I love it and am pretty proud of us! I noticed a drop in my supply after Ethan started eating solids so I've been taking Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle and for a few days I went back to nursing every two to three hours. It seems to have helped. I also think that my body thinks I should be on my period (which I haven't gotten yet). I have felt like I've been on it, crampy and all that, but haven't actually gotten it. The LC that I talked to said that it could still cause a hormonal change.

I'm making all of Ethan's baby food and I love it! It's so much fun and so rewarding to see him enjoy it. We're traveling to my dad's for Thanksgiving and I guess I'm just going to pack up the Babycook for the trip down there. I've been straining my brain trying to think of all the things that I need to take for the baby! It's been so long since I traveled with a baby!

I did get this handy contraption for a sleeping solution for the baby. I am so glad I found it, I think we'll get a lot of use out of it over the years.

One Step Ahead Baby - PeaPod Plus

Enjoy the weekend girls!

[jjbaxter]

Hello everyone Chloe is 8 MONTHS OLD today I am just in shock at how fast it is going she is so much fun I don't think I have ever smiled so much in my life I am so Thankful for her!!!!!!

[amybeth]

Happy 8 months Chloe!!!

So I'm in pain. My surgery still hasn't been rescheduled and now that I'm almost done with the weaning (I'm only pumping once a day now and Billy isn't nursing at all), decided to roar for the first time starting yesterday. Argh. My cramps are awful and the stupid fibroids are making it worse. I knew the first one would be bad but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. I'm really hoping the coordinator at my Dr's office gets my surgery rescheduled soon. She's been trying to do that for over a week now. It's so frustrating.

Today I'm taking a half day and taking Billy in to the Dr's for his second flu shot. It'll be nice to have some time with him to snuggle in the afternoon!

Hope everyone has a great day!

[Rademaker]

Amybeth,
Sorry you are feeling so bad! Hope the pain settles down some soon!

[dlrust1]

AmyBeth- I am sorry you are in so much pain. The first period is the worst. I also have fibroids and it does get better after the first one is over. Have you tried using those thermal heat pads. You can leave it on for 8 hours. I love those things. They won't take away the pain but, it does ease things a bit.

[amybeth]

Hi girls. Thanks for the wishes! I've used those thermal heat pads before but unfortunately they don't do much to make me feel better. I don't remember it being this heavy in a long time either. Ick!

The good news is that my surgery for my fibroids got rescheduled. It's Dec 2nd so only a few weeks away! So... this should hopefully be the last super painful period for quite a while!!!

[Curlgirl503]

I'm sorry you're hurting Amy! I haven't had the pleasure of my first yet. I don't have experience with fibroids, but it doesn't sound fun!

Yay for getting your surgery rescheduled!

Happy 8 months Chloe!!!

Ok, so I have to get this off my chest. I know every baby is different, but it's so hard not to compare Ethan to every other baby. He's not even close to crawling yet. He will get up on his knees every once in awhile, but that's about it. I'm personally not in a hurry for it to start, but it's a little hard to see everyone elses babies crawling or getting ready to and not worry. He is sitting up, rolling all over the place, and I can feel he's getting stronger every day. Also, he's a very quiet baby! He doesn't really babble a lot. He likes to blow rasberries and gurgle. He says "geeeee" and "gaaaa" but that's about it! Please tell me I'm worrying over nothing. He's very healthy (a little small, but perfectly healthy) and I know I should just be thankful for that...

Anyway, have a good day girls!

[dlrust1]

Angela, You are worrying over nothing. Ethan is doing exactly what he should be doing. I have 5 kids and not one of them developed at the same rate as their siblings. I had one who walked at 9 months and another that walked at 15 months both were in the normal range. I had one who had a full set of teeth before she was 10 months and another who only had 2 teeth at 10 months. My youngest son (of the big kids) didn't really start talking until he was 3 while my oldest was talking in full sentences before 1.
I also have a friend in Blaine's sign and sing class who was concerned her son wasn't crawling. He is 2 months older than Blaine. He was always on the verge but, just wouldn't move forward. Last week at 9 and 1/2 months he just took off. There is also a 15 month old in that class that communicates really well but, non-verbal. He says about 5 words total and another one who can't stop talking. Its amazing to see the differences.
One thing that I have learned to encourage speech development is to take turns. Play a game of copycat. He makes a sound, you repeat the sound and say Your turn. Keep doing this. Eventually, you will catch him starting the game with you. I bet that you and Ethan communicate non-verbally. You know what is going on with your son. When he is tired, hungry, or just wants to cuddle. In baby world there isn't much more that they want to communicate. When his world expands beyond this you will have a talker that is going to tell you crazy stories. Trust me.
You have a perfectly, healthy, right on target little boy.

[jjbaxter]

Amybeth glad to hear you surgery got rescheduled

Angela I wouldn't worry Chloe is just army crawling we cannot get her up on those knees but she is much more interested in standing but she has just recently started getting places with her army crawl

[Curlgirl503]

Thank you Deanna. I know I shouldn't worry so much, but you know how it is... It's been so long since I've had a baby! What you said is exactly what I needed to hear!

Thank you too JJ!

[Sprink]

Originally Posted by Curlgirl503

I'm sorry you're hurting Amy! I haven't had the pleasure of my first yet. I don't have experience with fibroids, but it doesn't sound fun!

Yay for getting your surgery rescheduled!

Happy 8 months Chloe!!!

Ok, so I have to get this off my chest. I know every baby is different, but it's so hard not to compare Ethan to every other baby. He's not even close to crawling yet. He will get up on his knees every once in awhile, but that's about it. I'm personally not in a hurry for it to start, but it's a little hard to see everyone elses babies crawling or getting ready to and not worry. He is sitting up, rolling all over the place, and I can feel he's getting stronger every day. Also, he's a very quiet baby! He doesn't really babble a lot. He likes to blow rasberries and gurgle. He says "geeeee" and "gaaaa" but that's about it! Please tell me I'm worrying over nothing. He's very healthy (a little small, but perfectly healthy) and I know I should just be thankful for that...

Anyway, have a good day girls!

Hi Angela,

Eli is about a month older than Ethan and he is not crawling yet either. He just started creeping/army crawling a little bit tonight. I feel like he has been on the verge for a while. He also is not very verbal, most of the time. Only in the last month or so has he started babbling more, he mostly grunts! In the breastfeeding group I go to, the babies are all over the place in development. There was a 5 month old last week who was starting to crawl and a 9 and a half month old who still wasn't crawling and it is hard to tell the difference in ages because the sizes vary so much! Eli is little too. just thought I'd give you our experience too! Glad you and he are doing well though!