Stay-At-Home Moms 12/1-12/7

loreeb18

Help! I need parenting advice. Harley is 3 months old (well, she will be tomorrow). She sleeps really well at night. DH gives her a bottle and puts her to bed between 10 & 11pm and she (usually) goes right to sleep. Then she wakes up between 6 & 8am.

But I can't get her to take naps in her crib or pack-n-play during the day. She'll only sleep if somebody holds her. I know it's my fault for always holding her but how do I break it?

She likes movement. So I turned on her ceiling fan. I spent a few minutes unloading the dishwasher and starting some laundry. The whole time, she was crying. Like the red-faced, tears kind not just the fussing that I can ignore kind.

So I brought her downstairs and she passed out in my arms in under 2 minutes. (I'm typing 1-handed now so please forgive any typing errors.)

Any help would be appreciated.

3babybeans

Do you have a swing? Napping in the swing won't be the end of the world if it is the only place she'll sleep. Zeke used to have to sleep in the swing with a hairdryer running. I'm not kidding. BUT, he slept that way & gave me & the sitter time without him in our arms. Or a bouncy seat with the vibration on might work, too. Sleep is such a hard thing b/c kids can be SO different on this realm.

loreeb18

She hadn't liked her swing up to this point but I got her to hang out there for about a half hour this morning while I worked out. But she didn't fall asleep. She just watched me.

3babybeans

Does she like to be swaddled? Sometimes I can get babies to sleep by swaddling & then playing music in their room or static noise like what Zeke liked, the little freak. Another thing that Tabitha really liked to nap to at that age is just being in the same room with me. I'd get her nearly to sleep, put her in the co-sleeper (like a pack & play) and then go about my business. If I was too quiet (yeah, right with 2 boys) she'd wake up.

Lyn_Matthews

Lori, my daughter (now 5 months) did the same thing at that age. She would not nap. She would fall asleep on the boob or when someone was holding her but that was it and it was generally only for 5 or 10 minutes. I just tried to survive it. We tried to get really tricky about laying her down like laying her across the Boppy so it felt like someone was holding her, but it didn't really work. Don't worry about it, I know it's frustrating and it makes it hard to get anything done but it will change. The swing and hair dryer trick works. I've done that too. Good luck with that. And I'm excited for you about the HRM. Do you know what kind you are getting?

3BB I'm sorry you are jealous. My DH is great. He does a lot of things to help out. I'm really thankful that he's in my life. He's a wonderful hubby and a great father. I can only RUN to the store when my son is at school and since he goes half days I have about a 3 hr window that I can get things done. After being a single mom for 3 years draggin around one baby is easy for me. I don't go anywhere with both of them if I want to keep my sanity. I'm so excited about my HRM. I think my DH is buying for me for Christmas but it might be a Santa present to myself. I don't know but either way I'm getting it. I really like the Polar ones but I just can't decide if I want an F4, 6, or 11. Thats why I'm going to the store to check them out cuz I've looked online but I need a HUMAN to tell me what the differences are and if they are worth the money. I'm glad that therapy went well. I'm sure it's a huge weight off your shoulders.

BTW got on the scale this morning, I've lost most of the weekend weight. THANK GOODNESS! and my DH told me last night that he can see a difference in my back and butt....well that's great I cant see those places :grumble: Oh well eventually I'll see the difference in front WHERE I NEED IT!!!

loreeb18

I don't mind holding her if it's a lazy day. But today I'm trying to get several loads of laundry and some other house stuff done. I just don't want to make it a bad habit for her either. I'll try your suggestings, fellow Mommies and see what happens.

I don't know what type of HRM DH gets me. I just said I want something that tells me how many calories I burn when working out. It makes me happy that he's buying me one because it means he sees that this is important to me.

Yea! d's mom for losing the holiday weight. I've been guessing how much of Harley's cake I've been eating since Saturday. (I was saying between 200-400 calories, depending on how big a slice).Yesterday I pulled out my scale and it ended up being 999 calories worth! Why do goodies have to taste so dang good?!

Lyn_Matthews

So I finally took a look at the hundredpushups.com site. I think I will do it.....but I'm not going to start until New Years. That will be my new years resolution...100 pushups by my birthday (in April). Not only that but that is something that my DH and I can do together. And maybe we will get Dre involved I'm almost excited about it :laugh: Right now I can only do 10 girly pushups....which is good considering I could only do 5 in September, so I'm getting stronger :happy:

BTW I didn't make it to the store. Adi fell asleep so I decided to let her get a good nap in. Maybe we will go tomorrow!

Lyn_Matthews

Good morning ladies, well it's sort of official, the holiday weight is gone. The scale has gone from 199 to 194 in 3 days I wish that would happen every week Now hopefully I can get at least one more lb to come off this week. I don't know if I'm gonna hit my mini goal by Christmas but even if I come close I will still be proud of myself. I think after Christmas I'm gonna take the week off until after the new year. There will just be too much traveling and parties and holiday goodness. I will still exercise and drink LOTS of water but I'm not going to count the calories. Hopefully I wont gain anything and then I will be on track to lose the last 20 lbs by April. I wanna look hot this summer!! I WILL look hot this summer!

Have a great day!

Nonibug

Good morning Moms!
drevans_mom-Hooooray for you for losing that holiday weight!! Tomorrow is my weigh in day so I only hope that I get as lucky:blushing:
Well, Ive got a busy day today. Just wanted to check in, say hi and see what you all were up to Have a great, healthy day ladies:flowerforyou:
~Roni

mechanicmom

Hi Ladies,
Alright this might be long. I'll try to shorten it as much as possible. I've been doing all the wrong things the last few days. When we got back from our Thanksgiving trip I was on day 45 of my cycle. I have had screwed up periods for most of my life, so I didn't want to assume the best until I knew for sure. After all, I've been cramping for two weeks! Dh and I have been trying to get pregnant since January and I miscarried in July and my cycle has been super messed up since then. Anyway, I take a test on Monday morning and I am pregnant! I was hesitant to be excited because of past experience. Two hours later I started spotting. Only for about 30 minutes and it wasn't heavy. I was still cramping. Next morning a little bit of brown, but that was it besides cramping. Last night I spotted again, pink and a tiny bit heavier. Today a little less cramping, no bleeding at all. Of course I am worried about losing the baby. I call my doctor who is not a OBGYN, but they do deal with some pregnancy stuff there. She says in so many words that I am to be on bed rest for several days, eat no sugar or sodium or soda because they are inflammatories, lift nothing heavier than a fork (uh, I have an autistic 3 year old. I don't know about that.) and eat lots of fruits and veggies and more natural foods. No fast food (oops!) and no boxed food. Okay. Question, who's going to prepare this food for me? My poor DH has a lot on his plate already and he's already going to have to go to the store for me! Poor guy. Surely I can make some quick meals? So I have been eating horrible, I've gained what feels like ten pounds, and I can't exercise! I mean a can of sauce weighs more than a fork. Can I not pick that up either? Any body ever been on bedrest and have ideas? I just hope this bed rest thing is only for a few days and not months or the entire pregnancy. I think I am roughly five weeks (or less). I'm going to drink tons of water to clean out all this junk I ate. Also my son appears to have a cold or at least severe allergies, so I could use prayer that I don't get sick too.
Okay it is long. Sorry. It's my story and I need help and encouragement!
MM

Marla64

oh MM-- congrats-- never been on bedrest. I'm not sure how it would work around here, either. Just do your best, my dear. God bless you-- and God bless your wee one within.

Don't worry about the exercise. Make the best choices you can eating, and take it easy--
:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

loreeb18

Congrats! And good luck! Take good care of yourself. I'm sure you'll be okay lifting a can of sauce. It doesn't weigh too much more than a fork. :laugh: No better reason to eat well and take care of yourself than a little one!

Marla64

Question-- anyone else have worse bloating and discomfort POST menstrually? Sheesh-- I feel like crap every month AFTER my stinkin period!!!!! Anyone else-- ideas?

3babybeans

A fork? Seriously? My hairbrush weighs more than a fork. :P That was a bit excessive, I think. I am SO glad you called your dr.! Were you able to make an appt. with an OB yet?

My suggestion would be tons of fresh fruits & veggies on hand. Maybe you could have dh make a big whole wheat pasta dish like baked ziti. That stuff stretches out like crazy. I don't understand the whole "no boxed foods" thing. Does that include cereals b/c you could eat oatmeal, toast, cheerios, etc... I know you were trying to get away from the wheat stuff, but you might need to put that on hold. When my friend was on bedrest, she survived on tacos for a month b/c that was all her poor husband could make. :noway:

Does Alex like to read books? That could be something you could do with him on the couch. Coloring? Hhhmmm...I'm trying to think of things that get Zeke to sit still & be calm & that's about the limit on that. Playdoh maybe?

Oh! Would your inlaws be able to help & make some meals for you? I know you said they were going to be there today so I'm not sure how close they live to you. What about your church? When we have folks that are hospitalized or otherwise, we have a committee that takes food to them every other day for a couple weeks. Maybe they could help?

*HUGS* Take care of yourself! I wish we all lived closer so we could help you out!

Marla - it takes me a few days to recover from it, too. Quite frankly, I'm having one heck of a time right now, too. The people that manage to not have a period the entire time they're breastfeeding are on my bad side right now. :laugh: I'm not a big "medicine" girl but if I can't take it, I take a couple advil & that seems to help a little bit. CHUG that water, too. More than normal. I'm so glad you're posting a little bit. I thought I lost you forever. *sniffle*

Roni - can't wait to hear the good news about your weigh-in tomorrow! I'm honored you mentioned me in the "inspriation" thread, too. You're so sweet. You & your battle with cancer MULTIPLE times inspires me! *hugs*

Lyn - YAY! I'm glad the weight disappeared quickly for you! I agree with you about not watching it as much during the holiday season, especially if you're travling that much. How many calories are really in the cake that Aunt Jody made? Seriously don't want to stress about it. Just watching my portions I think is what I'm going after.

I had a busy day today & feel like junk so I'm vegging out right now with Rudolph on tv. I think I'm going to make myself a cup of tea & maybe hit bed early. Blech.

3babybeans

I don't mind holding her if it's a lazy day. But today I'm trying to get several loads of laundry and some other house stuff done. I just don't want to make it a bad habit for her either. I'll try your suggestings, fellow Mommies and see what happens.

I don't know what type of HRM DH gets me. I just said I want something that tells me how many calories I burn when working out. It makes me happy that he's buying me one because it means he sees that this is important to me.

Yea! d's mom for losing the holiday weight. I've been guessing how much of Harley's cake I've been eating since Saturday. (I was saying between 200-400 calories, depending on how big a slice).Yesterday I pulled out my scale and it ended up being 999 calories worth! Why do goodies have to taste so dang good?!

Oh, Lori! I meant to tell you that I never got too crazy about putting my kids down routinely until about 4 months just b/c it never worked out that great before then. At about 4 months, their schedules got much easier to anticipate & then they went down in their cribs/pack & plays much easier (well, except Zeke but we won't go there...horrible sleeper he's always been). Try not to stress out too much about it. Try some different things on different days. What I've found that what doesn't work today may darn well work tomorrow...and vice versa. Does Harley take a pacifier?

loreeb18

I don't mind holding her if it's a lazy day. But today I'm trying to get several loads of laundry and some other house stuff done. I just don't want to make it a bad habit for her either. I'll try your suggestings, fellow Mommies and see what happens.

I don't know what type of HRM DH gets me. I just said I want something that tells me how many calories I burn when working out. It makes me happy that he's buying me one because it means he sees that this is important to me.

Yea! d's mom for losing the holiday weight. I've been guessing how much of Harley's cake I've been eating since Saturday. (I was saying between 200-400 calories, depending on how big a slice).Yesterday I pulled out my scale and it ended up being 999 calories worth! Why do goodies have to taste so dang good?!

Oh, Lori! I meant to tell you that I never got too crazy about putting my kids down routinely until about 4 months just b/c it never worked out that great before then. At about 4 months, their schedules got much easier to anticipate & then they went down in their cribs/pack & plays much easier (well, except Zeke but we won't go there...horrible sleeper he's always been). Try not to stress out too much about it. Try some different things on different days. What I've found that what doesn't work today may darn well work tomorrow...and vice versa. Does Harley take a pacifier?

No. We've tried several. She just spits them out with her tongue. But she chews on her hands so much that both of her pointer fingers and calloused. :noway:

This evening DH laid her in her crib with the celing fan on and her mobile on while we ate. (We don't want to always have to hold her while eating.) We just hung out on the couch upstairs with the dogs for about an hour. We thought she'd fallen asleep. But she was just laying there, content. So I might try that during the day. Even if she doesn't fall asleep, at least she and I'll both get some alone time.

Last night I went to sleep in my workout clothes, hoping that would make it easier to get up and work out this morning. (Um, didn't work. :grumble: I was too tired. :yawn: ) But DH said to me tonight, "We're working out tomorrow morning." I was surprised. But both of us want to work out more and neither of us are good at motivating. ("I don't feel like working out today." "Me neither.") So tomorrow we're gonna try to get up around 6 or 7 and work out for a bit before we start our days. Wish me luck!

3babybeans

Shoot. I was hoping that she'd be a paci. girl. NONE of my kids took the darn things but I've heard they work wonders. :laugh:

Good luck getting up & moving in the morning! You can do it! Just think of me one state away. I'll be up around 6 working out so I'll essentially be working out with you, too...just miles & miles away.

Lyn_Matthews

Congrats MM. Take care of yourself. Get people to help you as much as you can. I would go stir crazy on bed rest so best of luck to you!!

Marla I'm happy to say I haven't had to deal with TOM for over a year and may not have to for the next couple years...breast feeding and IUD I'm sorry you are feeling crappy. You know they say that us females are only "normal" one week out of the month cuz the other weeks we are PMSing, bleeding, or Post MSing :laugh:

Lori my baby loves her fingers as well she always has them in her mouth. ALWAYS!! She didn't take a paci until she was about 4 months and now she only sucks on it about 5 times before she falls asleep and then spits it out. I understand about holding her during meals. For the longest time my DH and I used to trade off who eats dinner cold. Now she takes a 20 minute nap around dinner time. Its so nice to eat warm food again.

Most of you ladies are like 2 hours ahead of me....I think. By the time I roll out of bed I'm sure half your morning is over!! I probably work out while you are eating lunch hahaha! I went and looked at HRMs today :happy: I've decided I want a Polar F6 in pink

Good night!

loreeb18

Since Harley is already 3 months old and doesn't take a paci yet, I don't want to try to get her to take one now because then we'll just have to break her of it eventually. Last night, I think she felt us leaving her in her room while we ate was enough alone time for her because it took her an hour to go to bed. She'd start screaming. But if I'd just lay my hand on her chest, she'd do her "I'm saved!" noise.

This morning she was making noises around 6:15am so I got up and fed her. Then since I was already up and awake, it was much easier to get going. So DH and I worked out. I walked on the treadmill for half an hour and he did his BoFlex. Then he said he wanted to do my excercise ball workout with me. When we were done, he let me take a shower first so if Harley woke up, he could take care of her while I was getting ready.

The only bad of the day (so far, it's still early!) is that I think Luey (our little dog) has an upset tummy. Yesterday evening, we let the dogs come upstairs with us and she pooped on the kitchen floor. When I came downstairs to let them out this morning she'd gone again, and while we were working out, she squated near us and took yet another doggie poo. :grumble:

mechanicmom

Marla, I hope the post PMS symptoms disappear soon. I hate it when when body is not acting the way I think it's suppose to (meaning bed rest lol).
Loree, I remember struggling with Alex sleeping, though he was always a good sleeper, but it was hard to hear him cry when I put him down. Someone told me to let him play in the crib more and he would get used to it and play himself to sleep. It worked some times. I wasn't able to get him on a routine until he was 4 months. My husband left for a job for a week and when he came back he was wondering what I had done with his son because Alex was so different. It'll happen for you, it just takes time. I hope your little dog is okay. :frown:
I feel fine this morning so it's going to be hard to lay around again. Dishes are piling up, house is getting messy, child is sick, daddy is stressing out because of the burden on his shoulders now. Alex has a doctor's appointment this afternoon. I may go. I know I probably shouldn't, but I might anyway. If I start feeling bad I can go put my feet up in the car. I'll have to see how the day goes. If any of you tell me it's a bad idea then I should probably listen to you.
There was a question I was going to ask you all because you are mommies but I forgot. Must not have been THAT important then. Have a good day everyone. I will be laying around, logging my cals (that's what it was!) and watching TV.
My question: how many cals are you suppose to eat while preggo? I was thinking about keeping mine around 1400 (my BMR) for a few weeks so I won't gain too much, then upping it as I get closer or go into the second tri. Thanks!
MM