I'm glad that things are going better with sleeping poly. Older DS was a terrible sleeper and there were so many nights I just cried because I was so tired and he wouldn't go down. Congrats on this triumph!

Things here are going well....except I'm dairy free now for Samuel. Older DS has a dairy sensitivity and after 3 months I'm pretty sure Samuel does too...so that means I have to be dairy free now until we wean :( I about cried as the reality of no cheese set in...but if it means Samuel feeling better (and less clothes to scrub poop stains out of) I'll do it :) Samuel is such a joy and has been such a mellow and happy baby...can't believe he is already 3 months old...it's going too fast. Older DS is doing better too....it's interesting how I was waiting for him to resent me or Samuel, maybe show anger or frustration, but it just didn't happen that way....just super emotional and sensitive with a lot of random sadness....kinda reminded me of me with all my hormones going crazy...but I think we've turned a corner at least for now...I'm sure there will be more twists as life continues to change but for now I'm just enjoying them.

Joey got 3 shots on friday plus an oral vaccine...man was she a bear all weekend!!! I was going to ask the doctor to stagger her shots but I felt a little guilty about her getting stuck to frequently when you stagger that I decided to do it the way the doctor wanted to do them...poor little girl was just laying on the table at the doctors sucking on her binkie and then the nurse stuck her....the bink fell out, the lip came out, her face turned red, and then she screamed..i almost started crying but she screaming the second i picked her up and i nursed her before i even got her dressed...that peds office is really good about letting you stay in the exam room to nurse after any appt.....we came home from that appt and i held her all day while she slept.

Hubby and I had several arguments about me "spoling" her because i run to her when she cries to console her....he said i was gonna teach her to cry and blah blah blah....finally last night i was like listen you better do some research on "spoiling babies" because that theory has been squashed by many professionals...its impossible to spoil an infant and its been proven that it actually does more damage to let them cry than it does to tend to their needs quickly...so finally he was like " well I trust that you will do what you feel is best for our daughter and you were born to be a mother so I will have your back"

Im not a lunatic who picks her up the second the lip comes out but i know the difference between a little wimper in her sleep and a cry that i know is not going to stop unless i pick her up so why would i let her get to the point of being to the point where is takes a long time to soothe her if i can pick her up and prevent her getting to the point of a melt down. he also got to bear witness to what happens when i let her fuss go on for to long before picking her up to soothe her..i was trying to heat milk up and the bag had a hole in it and it was a disaster...she was screaming and by the time i was able to get her..it was past the point of her calming right down...it turned into an hour long melt down!! So now he said he will do better about not giving me a hard time when i pick her up which is good because i was really to the point of wanting to punch him in the face lol.

Congrats on getting him in the crib, Poly! It's funny that you said he switched sides, Prescott is a wiggler in his sleep, and he's been scooting down in his bed for a while now, but the new thing is turning himself completely perpendicular in his crib. Last night he busted both arms out of his swaddle and turned himself sideways twice! lol He's a mess. I keep thinking that maybe he's too old to be swaddled, but if I don't do it, he won't sleep. It seems like he's still got that fear of falling thing when he's laying on his back on a flat surface. The swaddle seems to make him feel safe. You would think that if he likes it, he'd stop trying to break out of it! Jeez.

Kate, my husband says the same shit to me. I asked him how he would feel if all he could do was sit there and stare in whatever direction he was facing and couldn't really play or entertain himself? I agree that at some point, they need to learn to soothe themselves, but not when they're so little they can't even sit themselves upright! He has no form of entertainment besides us (and the occasional Mickey Mouse Club when Mommy really needs to get something done, or take a shower), and he gets bored. DH agreed that it makes sense that he's bored and just wants someone to talk to him, so he's ok with picking him up. I sometimes have to restate that argument, but once I do, he's like "oh, yeah". Men are dumb. Besides, he doesn't cry that much. Only when he's hungry, hot, or bored mostly. Though last night he was grumpy for no reason and fussed and cried all evening. He was in a good mood this morning, though, so hopefully it was just a tummy ache or something.

For those of you that have 3+ month olds, at what point did your LO find his/her hands, and start reaching for stuff? Prescott still doesn't seem to know that his hands are his, except to chew on them, and I can put a toy in his hand, but he doesn't really know it's there. If I hold something up in front of him, he won't reach for it, either. Are we behind? He'll be 3 mo June 2nd.

Kevsgirl - I can't remember the exact time when Trey started grabbing things but do you have one of those playmats where they lay on the floor and the toys are dangled in front of them?? I think they need A LONG time to process things, meaning that us "quickly" handing them a toy isn't long enough for them to realize they can grab it. But if they are laying on the floor and have this thing dangling in front of them and can learn to bang it around they will finally grab it. Yup, now I remember, Trey used to swing and bat at the toys WAY before he learned to grab them.

I think that a lot of infant toys seem to be big items that may clutter the house but they serve multiple purposes - they keep them occupied (YEAH!!!!) but they also teach them things, like cause and effect, dexterity, etc. I think Trey has learned ALOT from his playmat. If you don't want to buy one new - have you looked at joining a facebook rummage site in your area?? I have about half a dozen of them and there are ALWAYS baby things for sale.

Oh and I meant to add that each baby will figure things out in their own time. Doesn't mean anything is wrong with him if he takes a few more weeks to find his hands, they all develop differently. I think the worst thing we can do is try to push them before they are ready - it's ok to find ways to assist them, like the playmat or other toys, but I think it's unfair to compare and push them.

Yes Samuel first started batting at things...first seemed random then you could tell it was intentional and I would say in the last week or 2 he has really started grabbing well and bringing to his mouth. He also enjoys fabrics a lot more then plastic toys...he just seems to love to squeeze his fingers around it. The other thing to keep in mind is that babies will follow their gestational age or due date...so if baby came early they might be a week or two behind the 'average' but Poly is totally right the vast majority of kids do things at their own time and you shouldn't be to concerned about delays or behind at this point. But not to write you off and give you the 'he will do it when he's ready' thing because if you have a concern you shouldn't ignore it...give that doc a call...that is why they are there.

jmommy makes a very good point - Trey likes fabric better than plastic. On his playmat there is a toy that is a circular fabric with some sort of crinkly material and that was his first to grab and he definitely plays with it more than the hard plastic one next to it. There is another toy that is more of a ring and that would be his 2nd favorite, but it's a very distant 2nd. Maybe try different toys/textures. If you don't want to get him a playmat then maybe dangle something from his carseat handle. I have a few things that I interchange so that he has something to look at/grab if he wants. And that grab action would only take us adults a second, but for a baby it may take a full minute or 2 or 5. I think at 3 months Trey still had those really jerky reflexes/actions of a baby, they were starting to subside, but they were definitely noticeable. I always related it to the Vincent D'Onofrio character from the Men in Black movie.

We do have a playmat, but he never seems interested in the stuff dangling above him. When I lay him on it, he turns his head to the side and stares into the distance. I haven't put him on it in a week or so, though, so maybe I'll try again. He has a little toy that dangles from his car seat that he likes to talk to, but he's never tried to swat at it. Like you said, Poly, his movements are still very jerky and reflexive, not at all intentional, except to put his hands in his mouth. Are you talking about the guy that's wearing the dead guy's skin?? lmao, that's about right.

Good point, jmommy, he was almost 2 weeks early, so there's that. I know that they all learn and do at their own pace, and I'm not really concerned, more curious. I don't think there's anything wrong with him, but he also hasn't seemingly done anything new for a few weeks, so I think I'm just getting anxious waiting for him to discover something else. lol It's fun to watch him learn new things, so when nothing happens for a while, I get antsy. :) He did start sitting in his bumbo seat the other day, so that's been exciting! He likes to sit up. He will also look at the pages when I read books to him. It's so cute, because it looks like he's really listening and trying to read along. Thanks for the input ladies.

When I first started using the playmat Trey didn't seem impressed AT ALL!!!!! Then he found the keyboard and would kick the hell out of it but would never look at the toys above him. It took A LONG time for him to show any interest in the toys and then it was only the crinkly fabric toy. It's just been in the past couple of weeks that he's shown interest in the other toys and he's a full month older than Prescott and he was full term. I have learned to put Trey on the playmat and just leave him there till he fusses, even when he looks bored I leave him there cuz I've found the longer I leave him there the more stuff he tries to do, such as bat at the toys, then grab the toys and now he's trying to roll over on the mat, but he always rolls into the bar - but at least it's something. And now lately he's been scooting around on his back. There are times I watch him scoot himself all the way off the mat and 2 feet away from it.

I'm sure he's developing things that you don't even see - such as his eyesight. They can only see certain colors at first and only a short distance in front of them. I can't remember at what age they start to see further distances and a wider range of colors but I'm sure he's still developing his sight. And at this young age - it may only take a minute or two of looking at something to be overstimulated and thus he turns his head to the side. But if he's able to look at the same toy (such as on his playmat) for multiple days in a row it won't overstimulate because he'll get used to it.

And yes I was talking about the guy that's wearing the dead guys skin. Sounds gross when you put it that way but he has all those jerky movements and that's exactly what Trey did for a long time. He's just now finally grown out of that stage.

Aunt flo finally returned today. Bleh. Though I am curious to see how this is gonna go. I'm hoping that the pregnancy put my endo into remission, and maybe my periods won't be so bad. I guess I'll know in about a week.

On a happier note, Prescott had an eventful weekend. Yesterday I used my carrier for the first time and took him to the flea market. We walked around for a good hour or more, and the carrier was great! He even fell asleep in it for a bit, so I'm gonna take that as his thumbs up. Then we came home and got in the pool. Prescott's first swim was mostly a success. He was a little grumpy, but that was because he was sleepy. But his daddy floated him around and he was kicking his little feet and babbling. We got it on video, it was too cute. We'll start lessons as soon as we can. I think they start them around 6 months.

Sidenote, Prescott decided that he would sleep in until 6 am on Sunday and Monday morning! Yeah, awesome since that's when Kevin gets up with him during the night. Did he sleep in today? When it's mommy's turn? Of course not. So I've been up since 330. Little turd.

Kevsgirl- So glad you enjoyed your weekend! Sounds great! I've tried Brenna in the carrier a couple times and she screams her head off. No clue what we'll do when we go on vacation this summer. I was hoping to use the carrier often so we don't have to lug around the stroller. I cannot wait to take Brenna in the pool! So glad Prescott liked it! Hoping you can sneak in a nap today- although I know that's wishful thinking since you've returned to work :(

Our weekend was a bust. The whole house was sick. Brenna has been dealing with an awful cough/ear infection and is on an antibiotic. I had strep throat and am on meds. My husband has strep throat and is on meds and my mother- same thing. We were pretty much useless and layed around all weekend, which was kind of nice but now I feel like I'm stuck playing catch up!

The plus side to taking the stroller is having something to put all your shit in. lol Kevin was carrying a back pack through the flea market, or else I would have wanted the stroller.

Yeah, nap ain't happening. Tuesday after the holiday is brutal. I won't get off until at least 4, and then I have to pick up the baby, then cook dinner when I get home. Oh, wait, I don't have to cook tonight!! I almost forgot we're having leftover hot dogs and brats from the party saturday!! Maybe I will get a nap! lol It's ok if I don't though, since this is the only day I have to work this week. :)

Sorry everyone is sick. That sucks. I'm so not looking forward to Prescott's first illness. Mainly because I know he'll be miserable, but also because I know I'll catch it. My immune system is shit. Hoping we can put that off as long as possible. :)

Trey was up at 1 AM this morning, not really sure why - he wasn't hungry, wasn't fussy, just wanted to play I guess. I did make him a bottle thinking he might was something to eat. He didn't, but I noticed that he INSISTED on holding it for himself. He wasn't doing a very good job but part of the problem was that he had his head turned to watch tv and was trying to hold the bottle out of the way. I thought it was cute that he was trying though. He finally went back to sleep around 3 AM.

Sorry to hear about all the sickness ANB - that just plain SUCKS!!!!!

Hey Ladies!! Its been a few days since ive been on here! ANB sorry that everyone was sick in your house. I am super nervous about Joey getting sick!! Glad to see that everyone else seems to be doing well!

We went to visit the lactation nurse today because Joey has upper lip tie which needs clipped but her doctor doesnt think its truly affected nursing like i say that it is....so she wanted me to see them and if they thought it should be snipped she would put in the referral. The nurse said she thinks it should be done so now I am on the hunt for a doctor who will actually do it.

Hubby and I made the decision for me to return part time only to work. I have already informed my boss, canceled the day care and changed my schedule for college...well today he calls and says we may have to reconsider this because shit is going down at his work but he is having lunch with the manager of a competing shop tomorrow. I told him I need to know like now what we are doing because i dont work in a place where i ca flop willy nilly between FT and PT. Its a huge hospital with a budget so its not like i can just change my mind...there has to be a slot available...secondly i canceld the damn daycare that only takes 3 babies under 12 months so that slot is probably long gone....im ready to lose it!!!

Joey is now 9 weeks weighing 12lb 6.5oz! I cant believe how much she has grown! She rarely naps which can be super frustrating at times when i have to get things done..she is actually sleeping right now and im sitting here on my ass instead of doing my school work...the day is nearly shot!

Ugh we also have a HUGE problem...Joey is seriously unhappy if anyone has her but me...she would rather be left alone as opposed to have someone besides me hold her including her dad!! hubby is super frustrated with me because of this. I am certain its a breastfeeding thing and i hope she will be cooperative when im at work and he is left to tend to her alone because currently all she does is scream when he holds her....now if she is fed, changed, and not tired she will allow him to hold her for like 15 mins then she cries....she does this with just about everyone else as well BUT that is her daddy and its super heart breaking to him when she does that..i couldnt care less if she was like that with everyone but it does bother me that they are unable to bond...idk what to do....yesterday i pumped so he could give her a bottle but she was only ok being with him to eat but later that night she cried when i was trying to eat and he was holding her...... ugh :(

I hope everything works out with hubby's job so that you can stick with the PT thing. I love that I only work PT and don't have to be away from him everyday. Not to mention it lets me catch up on lost sleep on the days I'm off. Though, Prescott is a pretty good sleeper most nights, so it's not that big of an issue.

Prescott usually sleeps at least 20 min at some point between each feeding, with one long nap in the afternoons. But some days, like today, he doesn't do the long nap, just a bunch of shorter ones. Those days do make it a little harder to get stuff done, but he'll usually hang out quietly in his swing or rocker for a while right after he eats, so I can do stuff then. He's really such a good baby, I can't complain. Right now he's chillin in his rocker watching his daddy eat.

That totally sucks that she doesn't like hanging out with her daddy. Kevin would be heartbroken if Pres did that to him. This baby has yet to meet a stranger. As long as he's fed and rested, he'll hang out with and talk to whoever happens to be holding him. It comes in handy when we're hanging out with friends and family, because it gives us a break from having to entertain him. lol Hopefully after she spends more time with him, she'll get used to him and it will get better. Has he tried skin to skin with her? I've heard that even with dads it helps them to bond.

So far, my period has been different than before pregnancy. The flow has been heavier than normal, but I've had almost NO pain!! Which is amazing, because I had terrible cramps before. I hope that this is a trend that continues, but who knows. The next one could hurt like hell. Maybe the pregnancy put my endo into remission, and that's why the pain is gone. Whatever the reason, I'm glad for it.

Well, I'm playing Bunco tonight, so I've gotta go get dressed. TTYL! XOXOXOX