From the very beginning…
Seeking Advice
Cloth Diapers
015 years
Has anyone ever tried switching to cloth diapers while they were potty training?
We’re trying to get Ian back into potty-training mode and he’s fixated on the characters on his diapers and I really don’t want to buy any more. I got to thinking, why not switch to cloth diapers. They are reusable (after washing) and they feel like underwear. They’ll last through accidents without using rubber pants (which Ian absolutely hates and I think part of the reason he’s regressed) and it’ll cost a lot less than buying diapers. Obviously I would still use the disposables while we’re out and about, but with Jesse having the car 4 out of 5 days during the week, we’re home far more than we’re out.
I’ve also heard of cloth diapers that have velcro already on them so you don’t have to use pins. Does anyone know where I could find some?
Decorations for Ian’s room
216 years
Being somewhat of a geek, I want to introduce Ian to learning as early as possible. I need to keep that little melon of his learning so that he can buy me a retirement home as a father’s day gift when he’s 22.
Since Jackie and I are looking for houses and Ian will get his own room soon, I’ve been thinking about some non-conventional decorations we could put in his room to immerse him in learning- visual things that can soak into his brain over time. I’d like to keep away from the simple bland cutesy decorations that you’d see in many kids rooms. I want to challenge him and make him think. Something else we’ve considered is some non-obtrusive features we could add. Take the following examples:
- Magnetic Paint –
Someone had the brilliant idea of mixing iron filings into primer. When the paint dries, put a durable kid’s paint over it and they can use magnets to hang things on the wall. The church were we got married in had this in their daycare room and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. - Music Staff –
This is one of those things that would be easy enough to implement and would work well with the magnetic paint. Basically put a musical Staff border around the room(or a single wall) at a height Ian could reach. With the magnetic paint underneath, Ian could stick notes to the wall and would be a great way to help teach him music. - Solar System on the light –
Jackie found a setup where a model of the solar system ran across the ceiling, with the light in the middle of the ceiling as the sun. That in combination with a white ceiling and a small jar of glow-in-the dark paint would give him something to look at at night.
Along with the items listed above, we could also put up the following posters:
- Periodic Table of Elements
- Map of the US
- Map of the World
- Proportional Scale of the Planets
- Common North America Animal footprints (rabbit, dog, bear, squirrel, etc)
- Common North America Trees (Leaf pattern/tree height scale)
- Dinosaurs
- Fish
- Planes
- Dogs
- Musical Instruments
- super-busy-posters-with-lots-of-stuff-to-find
Do you have any suggestions?
Sleeping through the night….NOT
116 years
I need some advice. Ian is still not sleeping through the night and he’s 10 months old. He doesn’t receive a bottle during the night. I’m not breastfeeding. He doesn’t get a diaper change either. When he wakes up during the night, we’ll rock until he falls back asleep and then I’ll put him back in his bed. At this point, he’s getting up out of habit and I want to break it. Also, I have never let him cry it out and I don’t plan to start now.
A friend gave me some advice this morning and I did try it tonight, but it seemed like it had the opposite effect. Or maybe that was just because it’s the first night trying it. Either way, instead of rocking him until he fell asleep with a bottle, I gave him diluted formula in his sippy cup. He didn’t seem to like that too much, so we ditched that and started to rock. When I thought he was drowsy, I got up and went to put him in his crib. The first time, he laid there for a moment and then got up and stood in his crib. He cruised around for a bit, jabbering the entire time, and then after 10 minutes he started crying. At this point, we went back to rocking until I thought he had gotten drowsy again. We went back into the bedroom and, again, he immediately woke back up – only this time it seemed to wake him up even more. Finally, we rocked until I thought he was asleep and then I went to put him in bed. He moved around a bit after I laid him in his crib, but he’s still sleeping after 15 minutes.
My main concern is I waited until he fell asleep again because he was fighting me every time he got up after I tried to put him down. For some reason, it seemed he fought me more tonight than usually. This is strange considering he only took about a 1.5 nap all day. I’m not sure if I’m doing something wrong or if it’s just the first night, but I’m not comfortable with the cry it out method and I’ve never used it and I don’t plan to start now. The biggest problem I have with him crying is he does it while standing in his crib. So it’s not like he can cry himself to sleep anyway.
Any advice? It’s time he starts sleeping all night.
Seeking Words of Wisdom
217 years
I’ve made the decision to wean Ian off of breast milk. He just had his first tooth pop through and while he hasn’t bit me yet, I really don’t want that to happen. On top of that, since starting solids, he’s been nursing less and my supply is really low. I’m never sure how much he’s getting out of me, so I’m switching to formula so I know exactly what he is getting.
Weaning him off breast milk shouldn’t be too much of a problem. He already receives one bottle of formula every night before bed and whenever we’re out and about, so it’s nothing new for him. However, he still gets up at night and I’m guilty of letting him use me as a pacifier. Nursing him has always been the best way to get him to go back to sleep.
I’ve determined that tonight we’re going to change that. I’ve already introduced him to a pacifier and he seemed to calm down after he could suck on that. I have a bottle at the ready with formula standing by when he wants to get up around 2am (if he stays on schedule). I’m hoping I can get him to use a pacifier again when he gets up at 4am.
I’m hoping once I get him weaned off of me during the night, and strictly on a bottle, he’ll become disgusted with the whole thing and sleep through the night. I know I’m rambling a bit now, but does anyone have any words of wisdom that I might be able to use? I’m hoping I still have the determination to do this at 2am when I’m usually the sleepiest. I could use all of the support I can get right now.
Ian’s Baby Pictures
117 years
We’re getting Ian’s baby pictures done in a couple of months and I’ve been asked to “be looking up ideas of baby photos and what you really want”. Since this is our first child, I have no idea what I want. So does anyone have any recommendations, suggestions, ideas, etc?
Homemade Baby Food
517 years
Jesse and I want to find a good food processor so we can make our own baby food. Has anyone had any luck doing this? Any recommendations on what kind we should buy or works the best for making baby food?
Naps
217 years
My little man is growing up on me. Ian used to love falling asleep on me. He used to fall asleep while we were nursing and then complain if I tried to lay him down. Over the last week or so, I’ve begun noticing that he hasn’t been sleeping as long when he falls asleep nursing. The other day, I put him in his crib soon after he fell asleep and he slept for an hour. He doesn’t want to sleep on mama anymore. That’s fine, but now I’m having a hard time getting him to take decent naps. He starts rubbing his eyes and I know that’s a signal that he’s getting tired. So today, I am trying to get him to fall asleep for a nap in his crib. It’s not working yet. I’m also trying to get him to go to sleep without nursing.
Any ideas on how I can get him to take a nap without nursing (he nurses right before bed half the time too) or other hints that might help this transition?
Sleep Wanted!
1117 years
I know I know, Ian is a newborn and sleep is now a luxury. However, Ian is getting so much sleep right now you would think Jesse and I would be able to get some. Before Ian became sick, we were able to sleep, but now, Ian is having a hard time sleeping in any position but on either mama or daddy. Needless to say, Jesse and I have been staying up the last couple of nights holding him while he sleeps, which means we can’t get any sleep. We need to get him to sleep in his bed again.
So, if anyone has any suggestions, we’re all ears. This is what we have tried already:
- Feeding/Burping/Changing – This is part of his routine. We do this every time.
- Rocking – I don’t think it really calms him that much. It does put him to sleep, but the moment you stand up, he wakes up.
- Holding him – Then after a few minutes of him sleeping, we’ve tried gently putting him in his bed, which ends up waking him up.
- Ambient sounds – We have a machine that will do heart beats, rainfall, ocean waves, and a lullaby – all to no avail, I think. We just got it so who knows.
- Baby Einsteins Classic Lullaby CD – I really can’t tell if this is working or not.
- Tilting the bed – We propped up a side of his playard so that there is a slight incline. We thought this might help with his congestion too.
- Car seat – One doctor said we could let Ian sleep in this if it helped; but a nurse practitioner said we shouldn’t. If Ian moved his head a certain way, it could be bad. Either way, if we do let him sleep in it, we still have to supervise, so still no sleep for us.
- Bouncer – Yeah, Ian hasn’t taken to this since he’s been sick. It even vibrates and has sounds attached to it.
I want to say we’ve tried some others, but I’m too sleep deprived to remember them. We’re hoping this is due to him being sick, but we’ll find out in a couple of weeks when the RSV has run it’s course.