Mayflowers or May Flowers???

Since everyone is talking about similar stuff, I'm just throwing my 2cents out there....

I always started my kids on sippy cups when I started solids. Logan is the only one not to be using one by this point. He's okay if I put one in his mouth without the insert, so it kinda pours in, but won't suck on it to get anything out of it. He has occasionally, but nothing like my other 2 were at this point! If he's not doing it by his 9mo checkup, I'll be talking to the dr about it.

I never did the juice thing with my kids before age 1. We gave Jeremy watered down juice after his 1st b-day, but he wouldn't drink - only the non-watered down juice. I just made sure it was 100%, and then he refused juice until age 2. We didn't offer it to Rayna until she was 2. But both my kids were (and still are) big water drinkers. Now, the only juice she will drink is Apple Juice. Occasionally she'll have grape, but very rarely. Jeremy will do apple, orange, grape.

Kim - I used to think Logan was way behind too, because of what I remembered my other kids doing at his age, but then when I took him for his 6 mo checkup and the dr said he was where he should be, I felt better. He's now sitting up on his own for more than 5 sec and is rolling all over the floor.

Amy - I hear ya on the clothes! I'm happy that my pre-pregnancy clothes fit, I just kinda wish they didn't cause that would have meant I lost a lot of weight! oh well! c'est le vie!

Hi to everyone that I missed!

AFM: My brain hurts so much right now! I have 2 teachers telling me 2 different things about Rayna - one thinks she'll be ready for kindergarten next year, and the other is telling me they're concerned that she's not ready for a pre-K program next year! And she acts like a different kid at each school and like a different kid at home! I AM SO CONFUSED!!! And then based on an OT observation we had done on her, her pedi thinks there might be some ADD issues going on.....AHHHHH!!!! I just want to do right by her, and not set her up to fail, but I don't think I know what that is because I'm getting conflicting information from everyone!!! I almost want to force a PPT to make everyone get into the same room and express their observations and concerns because I have NO IDEA what to do!!!!

Ok - rant/vent over - thanks for listening, once again. Time to get back to the insane asylum better known as my life!

Hi Ladies.

Kristen- She drinks juice mixed with water and formula out of her sippy cup. She drinks Gerber Juice, the pear kind and white grape juice. Sometimes Apple Juice, but we saved that for when she’s constipated. She likes bottled water also, from the bottle. She’s figured that out. Anything that she can be control of she enjoys. I think that’s why she likes the cup so good. Yay for the haircut!

Amy- She has been talking since she was 4 months old. Maybe it’s because I talk all the time, my dh says she’s going to have a big mouth like her mommy. Her first words were dada & mama. Now it’s the hey, yeah, buba, and some other babble, all the time! Lol. Everytime she gets mad she hollars "momma". So be thankful for the peace and quiet for right now! lol

Diana- I haven’t tried to y-baby yogurt but she eats Gerber Graduates Yogurt Melts, She loves them. I pour them out on the high chair and she gobbles them down.

Kim- we still don’t have teeth. Just sore hard gums. She just gums all of her food. She likes the food better than the formula b/c her mouth hurts her so bad, I guess it’s easier to eat. She is just hungry all the time. She eats the baby food and drinks the formula! And she’s still a runt. She gets the smallness from her daddy.

AFM- I am thinking of moving Miss Chloe up to size 3 diapers. Her size two still fit pretty good besides around her little legs. Chloe & me ran all day today. Paying bills, getting the oil changed. We went to K-mart b/c they were having a sale on baby clothes, so I picked her up a bathing suit for this summer at 30% off. YAY. Lol. She picked herself out a couple of new sippy cups. They have Minnie mouse on them.

Have ya’ll tried the lil crunchies foods yet? She eats the Veggie Dip ones and they make her breath smell like something awful! But she loves them! I tried the bitter biscuits things, and she hated those. So I lucked up on some more mum-mums. I am also wondering about getting her a couple of stage 3 foods. She likes thicker things better. Like when she eats mashed potatoes and table food. The stage 2 just seems runny to me.

Hope ya'll are having a great day.

Jessica - Size 3????? I bought a case of size 5's today....I think my kid is going to have to be potty trained at age 1 or I'll have to buy adult size diapers!

Shannon - Whole milk already?? It took me 2 weeks to transition Brenden from the Alimentum to regular Similac....I can not imagine whole milk at this point. I know we won't be starting it until his 1st Birthday. What are you gonna do?

Kristen - I don't see how you do it! I don't think, actually I'm SURE, I could be with so many kids all day. Especially other people's kids that might not obey! We've been doing gerber pear juice for months...in a sippy. I was out one day and I gave him some of Dawson's applejuice and that was the end of the gerber for him! He really likes the regular natural applejuice by Motts. I give it to him in a sippy with ice and he goes to town!

Amy - There is nothing like a VomitFest as you are walking out the door!! Kudos to Nate for not getting himself! LOL! How do they manage to do that??? Anyway, I agree with you about clothes. I can't find anything that looks appealing! I tried on some stuff and JCP and honestly, I felt like an over grown grape. The shirts were far to wide and way way to short and I can't even describe the shorts....more like "koolocks".....so ugly.

Diana- Everyone deserves a temper tantrum once in a while! Don't feel bad....just get it off your chest! I hope Aubrey's appointments go well tomorrow. It's never easy to go back to the NICU even when you KNOW you are leaving there WITH your child. We have tried to yo baby yogurt but Brenden likes the regular yoplait (sp?) better. I know it's probably not as good for him as the yo baby but it's still packed with things he needs. His favorite is blueberry and cherry.

Kim- It really sounds like you've had a busy past few days! Busy but FUN!!! I hope you get some rest! Thankfully your girls SLEEP!

Elise - I say do whatever you have to to get everyone on the same page with Rayna! It's ridiculous to have so many opinions in the first place let alone them all be different! You know, the way she acts from one place to another is probably a comfortability factor. And the "attitude" where a child is really defines their mood and actions IMO.

I am sorry if I've missed anyone! I've been reading every day but just posting spur of the moment things that really stick out. I'm just in a weird place right now. I think it's dawned on me what is to come on Monday. I've been thinking about "what could be" A LOT. Positive or Negative this will change me FOREVER. I do not want to have tell my kids anything. That is the hardest part for me. Hopefully it won't come to that. I started bleeding yesterday and I just look at it and ask "are you cancer???" It just makes me sick. I am so sorry to be such a downer. I hope ya'll ahve a good night!

Kristen, I didn't even think about water but Aubrey loves water too I've just never put it in her cup just juice but she's not getting alot out of her cup yet she's still playing with it more than anything. If I give her a bottle of water she will suck it down like I wish she would her formula.

Kim, Aubrey doesn't have teeth. The way she chews I always think maybe one is coming but nothing. She only gets cereal with a little bit of stage 2 fruit in the morning and then 1/2 jar veggie 1/2 jar meat and small amount of fruit at night, she eats about what equals 1 jar of stage 2. I just gave her the yogurt for the first time today as a midday snack b/c it has alot of calories. I don't want to do anything to mess up her formula intake either b/c she needs it badly.

Michelle, size 5 OMGosh...we are still on the low end of 2's.
You don't have too much longer to wait. I've been thinking about you...stay positive and I'll be saying prayers.

Elise, that's weird that their opinions could be so different. is the atmosphere at each school completely different that would make her be on opposite ends?

AFM:We had the NICU followup this afternoon. They said she looks great, development is great the only thing is she's a little floppy in her muscle tone. It's the same thing my pedi says. She's strong but not real steady. So, they are going to see if we qualify for First Steps and have her evaluated to see if she needs some PT. They also mentioned if she keeps sliding down on the charts they may want her to start on some high calorie formula. I'm thinking we should just start on it. She only weighed 13lb 8.5oz. but she's grown 3/4". to 23 1/2.
Anyone know anything about high calorie formula??

Diana - Thank you so much for sending some thoughts....it makes such a world of difference to know your friends are thinking about you! Of course I have insight on some high calorie formula!!! Dawson needed LOTS of calories!!! At 4 months he was only 10lbs! Anyway, I was looking at some pics yesterday (I can't believe how much my boys look alike as baby's) and on the back I had written Dawson, 7months, 19lbs. We started the high calories when he was 5 months old and completely off his feeding tube. Anyway, all we did was super concentrate the Nutramigen. I don't remember the exact amount but it was 50% more formula per bottle. Like 1 1/2 scoops per 2oz of water instead of just 1 scoop per 2oz. We also added oatmeal because it had calories and fiber. The pedi GI gave us the feeding schedule and I bought a baby scale. Every time he gained a pound we added more calories so he was gaining and not sustaining. He gained weight very rapidly. I liked it because I didn't have to worry about him drinking so much....he just couldn't hold much...his tummy was so little. Did they tell you how big Aubrey's stomach is? I suspect it's not quite as big as it should be and since she is not eating much at one sitting it isn't stretching like it should. I could be wrong but it is not uncommon for baby's with malrotations to have this problem. I also want to tell you that Dawson was 5 weeks old and weighted barely 5lbs when they did his first surgery. He was in the NICU, of course, and they wanted to wait 2 weeks to operate. His health was not improving and I walked in one day and told them either they were going to operate and "fix him" or I was calling an ambulance to move him to another hospital. He was in surgery within 2 hours. I didn't not have faith in the surgeon or Dawson's his medical team, I just had more faith in my intuition and followed my gut. Just wanted to tell you that.

Michelle- wow size 5. Chloe only weighed 14pounds at her 6 months check up. We are probably only up to 16 pounds. She’s long, but not big around. She gets this small stuff from her daddy. He’s like 140lbs soaking wet!
I’m so sorry you are going through all of this. You know if they do find something, hopefully it will be easily fixed and you won’t have to worry for it anymore.

Diana- I am glad she’s doing good. My step-brother’s baby is on some formula that costs like $50/can b/c she was born at only 25 weeks. It’s supposed to help her gain weight, and it has, she weighs more than Chloe. I think it’s like Enfamil Nut---something or another…I’m no help at all! Lol

AFM- at times my DH makes me so mad. Other times he’s ok. Like tonight I was craving fried taters and he fixed me some. He had worked all day and still did it for me. I’m sure he’ll do something to get on my nerves tonight! lol

Wow you guys have been BUSY today!!! Me too just not at the computer...I had to get everyone ready and out of the house to drop Dylan off at school, then head downtown and drop off DH to apply for some aid then get back up to Dylan's school to see them get their kindergarten graduation pics done then pull him out of school(half day anyway) and take Lucas back to the doctor because he sounds worse, head back to the school to pick up a friend/one of Dylan's teachers who told me I was leaving the older kids with her for the afternoon, dropped them off and then headed back downtown to get DH and finally home.It was 1:30pm by that time and we had been up since 4am....Lovely... I took a 20 minute snooze and then DH and I were off again with Lucas...Oh and did I mention that during all of this the weather was HORRIBLE!!! We had such high winds that siding was coming off houses, insulation was blowing out of homes that are being built, you couldn't drive down the street without being attacked by flying garbage cans(they aren't meant to fly either let me tell ya) and it was raining too....Good times. It also is my mothers birthday and they were coming out for Dylan's t-ball game and for t-ball pictures(Big Picture day and of course he's getting his hair cut this coming weekend)...So I'm completely exausted...I feel like I've got nothing to give anyone right now...

Kristen- We put ice water in the sippy for Lucas. He loves how cold it is and it probably feels good on his gums since I see his first tooth poking through finally.If we do juice he gets like 1 1/2 oz juice to 2 1/2 oz water...

Amy- Holy Cow!! 7 teeth!! That boy doesn't waste any time does he?! And of course he didn't spit up on himself..Its one of those laws of nature.He only would've covered himself if after you changed you were running late...One of those things....Those kids are sneaky stinkers I tell ya!

Jessica- I think its sweet that Chloe puts her head on your belly and got to feel the baby...Very cool... Miss Chloe is gonna give you a run for your money! That girl is busy!!! But so darn cute!

Diana- Unfortunately I know nothing about the high calorie formulas, sorry. All my kids have been large, although Lucas is definetly the smallest of my three at this age... But if I give Lucas a spoon he gags himself with it too.Then of course his brothers laugh at him so he realizes he got their attention so he does it again and laughs...Ugh...

MichelleL- I'm thinking of ya!Monday will be a tough day for you but we are all here.No matter what the news, good bad,or ugly, we're here...Is it an inpatient or outpatient procedure? {{HUGS}} It will all be ok. As for Lucas and the milk, I just can't seem to wrap my head around giving my 7 1/2 month old baby milk yet, maybe if he was 10 or 11 months...I don't know...

If I missed anyone I apologize, but I still love ya!

AFM: Lucas was sitting in my lap while we were waiting for Brian earlier to come back(part of the running around we did) and he laughed and I noticed one little part of the front of his gums looked really irritated and red so I opened his mouth to discover his first tooth trying to pop through!! I'm excited and sad! I just hope he doesn't bite while nursing because that may end the nursing!LOL...Sigh...Ok well am off to try to stay awake for another hour so that I can make sure DH wakes up for his night job...Later e-mommas!

Jessi, u'll have to let us know if he got on your nerves. that made me LOL.

Michelle, Thanks...I did look it up on the internet and it said for 22 cal/oz to use 3 scoops per 5.5 oz water and for 24 cal/oz use 3 scoops per 5 oz/water but I wanted to hear it from someone that actually did it! 5oz is almost 2 bottles for her....I've always thought that about her stomach not stretching. They would do the surgery right now if I called it but as long as she isn't losing and they're not concerned I want to try to wait so they can do both at the same time. I don't know if that is the right call but I don't want her to have to go thru 2 if it's not necessary.
You know they never told me how big her stomach was but the dr doing the malrotation surgery told me in most cases (but not all) bad eaters don't improve. Did Dawson's eating improve afterwards?
I think I may up her cals in the next batch of formula I make. If the drs are contemplating it, it must not be a big deal to go ahead and do it.

Shannon, Are you young?? You must be b/c I would be dead. I get exhausted reading all the running you do.

Have a good night ladies

Diana - I can't really compare the first surgery because he went from not being able to take anything by mouth to a surgically placed feeding tube on a continuous feed since his stomach was so small...only the size of a pink fingernail. When his bowels twisted at 2 1/2 years old there was a significant difference. He was an okay eater before but a great eater afterwards! Not only did he eat more but he ate a bigger variety. I now know that it's because of the surgery and meds. Now that he can verbalize what's going on this is what I've learned....zantac MUST be taken at the same time every day and exactly 12 hours apart. He takes his at 7am & 7pm. If he doesn't then he gets terrible heartburn and stops eating. It makes no difference for him whether he takes it so many hours before eating or whatever just as long as it's the same time every day. I do the same for Brenden and it has worked well for him also. Anyway, the reason I wanted to tell you about how his first surgery came about is because no matter what anyone says you know your child and as long as you follow your instincts she will get the best care possible....and exactly what she needs. I had a HUGE feeling of urgency with Dawson and there was something telling me he COULD NOT wait. Turns out his stomach wasn't in his abdomen....it was lying inbetween his lungs. So every time the vent was pushing air into his lungs his stomach was being crushed and everything inside of it was going into his lungs and causing the pnemonia they couldn't get rid of. I knew with all of my heart something more was wrong with him then what they were telling me. The actually told us he had a hiatal hernia. It wasn't until they opened him up that the stomach placement and malrotation were found along with so many other defects. You'll never head down the wrong path if you can put your fear aside and follow your mommy instincts. That was the first thing I learned as a FTM and one of the most valuable lessons in my life.

okay I am so frustrated with my childcare!!! my childcare lady had to go to a funeral so she told me on a wed that thursday she was leaving for the funeral tehn she calls me over the weekedn saying she was turning the trip into her vacation and woudl be out another week. this whole time i am paying drop in rates of $60 per day for childcare. so now the daycare lady wants her payment for the time she was gone. she has paid vacation that she had planned in june but she deceided to at teh last minute make her vacation this past week. now she wants her money in full in teh morning or she won't watch my boys. i am like no way you can't turn your funeral into a 2 week vacation and you want me to pay for you when i shelled out $320 for while you were gone no way when you did it at teh last minute like that. so I have a back up childcare lady but i fel weird abotu the whole thing the lady swears she has the right to to charge me but i don't feel it is right and i guess she is threatening me to take me to small claims court over $260 but i really feel i don't owe it to her since her contract states she will give advance notice. so ug not a good situation.

I cannot remember all the posts in detail so I'll hit and miss on them a bit

Amy- Sorry Nate christened you with puke before you got to leave the house...Totally not fun when you are in a hurry I am sure...I guess he missed himself though to save you a little bit of time...lol

Shannon- Whole milk already?!?!? that's craziness! The earliest my ped told me I could and this was with Elijah...she said at about 10mo old I could start doing half in half milk and formula and eventually lead it up to 100% milk that way it is not a total shock or change to him...but I didn't know that nor find out about it till he was already 1 yr old....Maybe it could be because you are breastfeeding not formula feeding? Good luck on the chapter 11 or 13(I forgot which) process...and I hope your DH can run onto another job soon...I know Matt is looking still and has not found none yet... I really hope he finds one or else he may have to do otr trucking which I do not want but I would rather him do that than being a live in maid/ slave for his mom and live with her.

Kristen- I think it was you that mentioned about unemployment benefits... I totally know how all that crap goes my hubby called prolly a week or two ago to see if there was any other extensions he could get because his last check was like 2 weeks ago and he just did Marvin Wed and they told him on the automated things to wait another 10 days to see if he will get a check.... so in the meantime our rent is due and our car payment is coming up so is car insurance...and we have an overdraft because one of our billing companies decided to keep our checking info when we did a one time payment online and auto withdraw money from our acct which we did not have so now we got in the negative plus a 29 overdraft charge on our bank acct..on top of it all we need an oil change as our van is running a bit rough recently....we are in dire need of a miracle..

Michelle- I will pray for you hun and your testing/results/ appt( I cant remember what it is) on Monday.. I hope it is just a rare case of excessive bleeding and not cancerous...maybe something that resembles or has symptoms alike but is not.... I'll go up for prayer for you at church Sunday also..the more prayers the better I say..

I almost forgot

Jessica that is too dang cute about little Chloe and the baby bump....people think that babies don't pick up on that stuff but they do...they know more than we think they do sometimes they just are not able to tell us with words... and I agree with the other lady that said it You are gonna have your hands overflowing if this lil lady is like miss Chloe thats for sure...Good luck with all that!!

AFM- Well besides all what I have already wrote...Jeremiah has found a new love with grass outside just as long as it is not touching his bare legs he is good....he gets a kick out of my mil beagle....He loves blue moon ice cream( I have pic from a few weeks back I should post), and he loves to screech and holler and most of all he loves to bounce up and down in the excersaucer he gets all crazy in that thing bouncing then looks to me for my reaction..he also loves dora and diego...and occasionally spongebob those are the only kids shows that get his attention and calm him when he is getting out of sorts and nothing pleases him. He has not mastered the forward crawl yet he is still going full speed backwards and gets mad because its not forward..he rolls all over the darn place.. he is picking up on his eating habits as far as the baby food goes...still does not eat more that maybe a jar a day maybe once in awhile 1 1/2jars..He loves the gerber puffs and wagon wheels and has tried the yogurt thingies although he is not sure what to make of them yet.. he loves"our" mashed potatoes also....He is in a size 3 but has recently starting soaking through badly so I will be stepping him up to a 4 effective after this pack runs out Ok now for Elijah's appt today at the ENT so we get there typical fill out forms stuff we go back to see the dr and he asks a series of questions.. and most all of it lines up with what Elijah is going through..bedwetting(due to not having proper sleep so he sleeps to deep to wake up to go) excessively loud and labored breathing and snoring while sleeping, Falling asleep suddenly during the day, dark under eye circles, nasal talking,crabby mornings, and a slew of other things and all of them are related to his tonsils being huge on top of it he has OSA Obstructive Sleep Apnea..The dr said with as big as they are he is shocked he does not have problems swallowing..I guess they are a 4+ whatever that means...and they are just huge no infection or anything just really large tonsils..so he said normally he would try antibiotics to shrink them but in Elijahs case it would not end up working because he lacks an infection..he checked adenoids and those must be huge also...and he explained everything out and basically said he is gonna remove them both tonsils and adenoids.. which was the answer I was gonna demand had the appt went any other way that the way it did. So I am happy that soon this will be taken care of..The bad thing is that its not gonna be until June 9th. 3 days before the poor kids birthday looks like no cake but lots of ice cream for him then.. I am a bit nervous of it because it is surgery but I am more scared about the fact if left untreated long term it could cause other problems or even lead to him stopping breathing at night and not catching his breath again. The dr said with all the symptoms and effects this has that everything should 100% be improved after surgery..which will be a good thing that I won't have to go and check on him constantly at night to make sure he is breathing ok because he will have his airway open.....sorry for such a novel but wanted to update a little bit...Please keep Elijah in prayer for his breathing until he gets the surgery and also my dh for a job fast... I really do not wanna have to even entertain the idea of living with his mom ever again it was hard enough with one kid and to have 3 now....

Michelle, omgosh that is something about his stomach. you are a wealth of info. i am so thankful to have someone that knows first hand, even though i hate anyone having to go through the worries, not to mention poor lil Dawson. i completely understand what you mean about the instinct. there were small things when she was in the nicu that i knew she would be better if it were changed and thankfully the nurses & drs were wonderful about listening to me.
Her nicu dr was excited to see her yesterday. It would be nice of me to take her up to see her nurses but i just have NO desire to go back to that floor.

Joy, I will be praying for Elijah. I know the thought is so scary but he will be so much better afterwards. I have a girl at work her DD had hers taken out not til like 11 and she couldn't believe the way foods actually tasted. She started eating alot of different foods that she didn't like before.

Eileen, that's crap!! if she says she'll give advance notice then i think she's at fault. i would keep a copy of the contract and let her take you. especially when she already had her scheduled vacation.

Shannon...I just have to add...I sure hope u get a minute of peace today!! LOL, girl, you said you're looking for work too, right? You're going to be bored to death if you go to work. You won't know what to do with yourself.

AFM:We're getting ready to have breakfast and then the urologist appt at 11. then my day will be cleaning house. it's about to drive me nuts!
Have a good day ladies and I'm sure I'll pop on later.

Hey Ladies,
Thank you all for the info. about sippy cups and juice. I honestly had no clue and hadn't really thought about it up until recently. Just like water, I had no clue if she could have just water in her cup. So thank you!

Jessica- I just switched Maddie to 3's. She could fit in the 2's still, but she's been on amoxicillan and having issues with # 2 and was leaking through a lot. So I got 3s so they would be a little bigger and it's much better.

Michelle- Somedays I don't know how I do it! Sometimes they drive me nuts but I have to say I laugh everyday. That's the great things about kids, they are so funny and innocent! They love to hear stories about Maddie too! You are in my thoughts and prayers! As hard as it is right now, just try to stay postitive. I'm thinking of you!

Elise- Is Rayna in a public school for either program? If so what is this teacher saying? There should not be so many differing views to you. A PPT can be held if you want it. If she's at a public school ask this teacher for help. If not you can send a certified letter requesting a PPT. Everyone working with her needs to be on the same page! Let me know how it goes and if I can be of any help. I have a lot of experience in pre-k and have worked as an intern in K, and taught grades 1-3.

Diana- I'm glad things are going well with the drs. and they are all saying the same thing! I'm like you, I never thought about water in a sippy!!

Well, things are going ok. I found out last night my grandpa is home from the hospital. He was supposed to go to 4-6 weeks of PT but he has a leaky valve in his heart and they said PT would only hurt him. They can't do surgery and they won't put in a pace maker. So there's not much more they can do for him. He's in much better spirits now that he is home, he begged them to let him home. They have a Vet. doctor going to his house daily and nurse to check on him and put an iv in. So it's not like they sent him home saying he only has so long to live, but this is a terminal condition, he will never get fully better. To top it off my parents are still on the cruise and my mom has no idea. He asked me not to tell her until Sunday when she's heading home. Since he is in the same condition he was when she left my aunt and I decided to not tell her until Sat. night in case she wants to fly straight to Michigan. It's been hard because I'm very close to him, and had been hearing how great he was doing. I don't think they told my mom the whole truth because they wanted her to go on the cruise and she was going to cancel. So it was kind of a shock. Now I'm going to try to fly out there in the next two weeks- Maddie's baptism is next weekend so I can't go then. But I have to take 1-2 days unpaid from work because I have no sick time and just took my personal days. But I need to see my grandpa. So, I'm feeling kind of ick today. Sorry to go on and on but I just needed to talk about it a little.

On a good note, Maddie slept through the night again last night- I needed that!
Have a great day!
Kristen

Wow I just realized I had read pg. 7 and hadn't gotten to 8 when I responded. So I'm so sorry to all the mamas I missed! I'll try to get on in a little while to respond!!!

Joy - Rayna had her tonsils and adoids taken out last year - the surgery was 30 min and that included having tubes put into her ears too. But it made a HUGE difference for her! I know it will have the same effect on Elijah!

Can't type much, have a sleeping baby that I need to put down, but I just wanted to say that before I forgot! Hope to get back on later - not sure 'cause I have 3 kids home and lots to do before we take them to the Rock Cats game tonight.

back from our urologist appt and don't know much more than we knew before ....here is the info i sent my family in an email. it's easy to copy and paste than retype.

Today we saw the urologist about the kidney reflux. She had an ultrasound and the kidney is a little bigger but he felt that is normal growth. He still wants to wait to do her surgery until 12-18 months old as long as she doesn't get any infections. I didn't get anymore concrete answers about if they can do the two procedures together. The dr today says he's going to talk to the other and get back with me in the next couple weeks. He said normally he would not be able to get to the stuff he needs from the other dr's incision but maybe they could figure something out. Steve an I have pretty much decided if it has to be done seperately then we're going to have the malrotation surgery done asap so she can be healed and ready for the reflux surgery.

AFM:I guess I'm going to hit the cleaning hard now so it will be done for the weekend. If I don't get a chance to get on later...have a nice weekend!

Kristen - Rayna is in a private pre-school program in the morning and a public school one in the afternoon - the pm program is where she receives her speech services. that is the teacher that thinks she's ready for kindergarten in the fall. we had a ppt in march after the psychologist observed her in the morning program, but didn't see much of what the teachers are concerned about. after she started the pm prog, we insisted on having an OT observe her and she saw what the teachers were concerned about (and then some according to her report). the pm teacher suggested we take her to the kindergarten open house at the school she would be attending that they are having next week and seeing what they think. but from what i see, i don't see her as being ready for kindergarten maturity wise. academically, i think she's ready, but developmentally, i don't think so! She just now is remorseful about pooping or peeing in her pullup and/or underwear instead of in the potty! And I'm not confident she'll be 100% potty trained by Sept!

Ok - didn't mean to write a book there -

Diana - glad the appt seemed to go well. maybe having the 2 surgeries is better for her? i don't know, but I'm sure you guys will figure it out!

Jessi - I feel for ya - it's hard when our DHs have to go away!

Eileen - if you have it in writing what the agreement is and when she was supposed to take vacation, i wouldn't worry about it - let her sue you and then you'll win!

Shannon - i was always told no milk until one year and then start with the whole milk...i'd be leary of starting it too soon 'cause it can mess with the baby's stomach!

AFM: jeremy was home today because it was a teacher prof day at school, so rayna didn't have her pm school either.....they are driving me insane! i'm supposed to be getting stuff together because we're taking the kids to a Rock Cats game tonight - they're playing the Portland Sea Dogs (a Red Sox minor team), but I just don't feel like figuring out what to take and what to take it in! I can procrastinate for about another half hour and then i have to get it all done! i just want to take a nap! but i know i'm going to end up driving down and then alex will drive home.

Oh - before I forget - Rayna has been walking on her foot!!!!!!! Not completely normally, she's walking with a straight leg instead of bending the knee, but at least she's walking with the foot on the floor instead of on her tippy-toes!!! YEAH!!!!!!

Ok - i'm really done typing now - i ramble too much sometimes!!! sorry......

Wow! This board went from sleepy to a starbucks caffiene high in a blink. I can believe so much has gone on since my last post.

Diana - I have seen the yo-baby yogurt in the store and have wanted to get some for Nate but its milk based so we cant. Bah! I am glad your appointment went well. I would say go for it with the extra calories. All it can do is have her gain I dont think it will harm her in any way. I hope they get it figured out and can do the surgerys at once. If they cant then getting the one done asap sounds like the way to go. Trust your instincts.

Kim - What a fun busy week it sounds like you have had. I hope you get to get a little rest this weekend. When do the results of the baby contest come out?

Kristen - I tell you from expierence after getting my hair done and my eyebrows waxed for the first time since Nate was born. (This was just a couple weeks ago) It makes you feel like a new woman! Enjoy it!

Elise - I hope they get everything figured out with Rayna. That is seriously confusing that they have so many differing opinions. Hopefully they can come together and have a consensus on their evaluation. I am glad to hear she is starting to walk on her foot again.

Jessica- I think Nate was actually saying DaDa this morning. Then I would say it back to him and he would giggle. He thinks saying our names is so funny. Then again that kid thinks everything is so funny. Nate really hasnt moved on food wise to anything crunchy. He is working on the Mum Mums but he bites them and makes a face like - "This thing just crunched that cant be right. You really dont expect me to eat something that crunches do you?" I gave him a small bite of mashed potatoes once and he hated it. He looked like he thought it was trying to kill him or something. He is such a wierdo with food.

MichelleL - I feel the same about the clothes. I think the designers want you to look bad. Either that or they are all skinny minnies that dont need to be designing plus sized clothes because they obviously dont know what looks good on a plus size body.
I have been thinking about you a lot the past few days and I am keeping my fingers, toes, you name it crossed that everything comes back ok. I know its hard but try not to worry until its time to worry. If that makes sense. I know its easier said than done.

Shannon - Just reading your post makes me exhausted! I hope Luc doesnt go on a chew fest while nursing! Nate does like to chew EVERYTHING hard core now that he has all the teeth. He even chews his own teeth! So disturbing... I have been thinking about y'all too and hope something comes along soon for you.

Eileen - Yeah that doesnt sound right to me. I would keep the contract and since you had no advanced notice for her vacation then you shouldnt be responsible for paying her. Time to find a new provider!

Joy - I am glad they are going to do the proceedure on Elija. Sounds like they cant do it too soon. I will keep you all in my thoughts that he has no problem up until his surgury date and no problems during or after.

Kristen - I am sorry to hear about your Grandfather. I hope you can make it out there soon to see him. Yeah for sleeping through the night. What a precious gift Maddie gave you!

Jessi - Good to see you. Sorry to hear your DH is going on TDY. Hopefully he will be back soon. I hate it when my DH has to travel for work too.

AFM - Well today has been a whirl wind of a day. We got Nate's new big boy carseat yesterday and we are installing it on Monday night, having it inspected on Tuesday and we should be ready to drive 5 hours on Friday! Whee! We are going out of town so Nate can meet his Great Grandmother for the first time. It should be fun, I just hope the 5 hour car ride with a baby and my mother goes ok. We are also stopping in Austin to visit my brother.
Today I found out that the Dallas Morning News is doing a special peice on my company and its owner. Monday we all have to be dressed pretty for a group photo that will be in the paper too. I am not looking forward to that but it gives me an excuse to go out and buy something to wear. Then I had to get the event catered. Whew! Crazy times. Other than that I am ready to go home! I gave in and bought a new camera last night. I couldnt go out of town this weekend and not have a camera with me. So I found it on amazon a little cheaper than anywhere else and it should get here on Tuesday. DH and I may be going to the laudrymat tomorrow. My dryer is just killing me (and not drying). It took 6 hours to dry 6 pairs of Jeans! That is 4 - 90 minute cycles on high. Our vent cleaning kit is supposed to come in on Monday and we are going to give that a try before giving in and getting new ones. UGH! Everything has to be done at once I guess. No spacing the big purchases out for us!

I guess that is it for now. If I dont get back here, everyone have a wonderful weekend. I hopefully will get back and check in a couple of times.

Take Care!

Amy - Thank you so much for your thoughts!!! I'm so ready for monday to get her and then leave. I wanted to tell you that my dryer acts like that sometimes and DH pulls the dryer out and takes that big vent hose off and vacumes it out with the shop vac...then it's just like new! Oh and he takes off the cover that's outside and vacumes it also. Lint and crap gets trapped in there and we have to clean it about twice a year. Maybe it will help your situation??? Or you can go buy an Electrolux like Elise.....oh how I envy her! LOL!

Eileen- I've sort of been in the same position a few years ago. We had a sitter that we would have to pay even when she was on vacation(sucks then paying 2 sitters) and once she took a planned day which we knew about ahead of time and then she called me and said that last minute her DH had gotten some tickets out of town to surprise her for their anniversary and so she was also going to take the whole week off.I told her that while I was excited for her trip I wasn't going to be paying her while she was gone since it was written in her contract that she had to give a minimum of 2 weeks notice for a vacation and that if this was how she was going to run her business then I was going to complain to the city office that licenses home daycares. Se got all huffy with me and I repeated the same thing. It wasn't fair that I was left short handed and I told her that. I'd tell the woman to take you to small claims if you have it in writing that she has to give notice. Illnesses are hard to plan for and we understood when she was sick but that still was difficult for us because again it left us shorthanded.She did write in that she was allowed so many sick days(I think 5 or something like that) but she couldnt take more than 1 day in a row...But after this incident do you think that you guys will see eye to eye on everything?

Well I think only one of our fellow mommies is preggers and that is nursejessica....she is preggers again and due in Sept. With another girl!!

I read all the posts but not really much I can remember that needs commented on really other than Yay for the new carseat for Nate.... I have one that my other dc used the convertible type but it will have reached 6 years old come June...I am not really fond of using it but I really do not have a choice because with money troubles and DH not getting unemployment nor being able to find work yet we have no money to buy a new one.. I am so against using an old carseat...but I guess I have to suck it up and use it old is better than none. It has never been left in the sun nor in an accident but still...Not much new is happening here. Took Faith and Jeremiah for their WIC appt today.....Jeremiah weighs 20lb 4 oz is 27 3/4 inches long and his head is 18 1/16inches....overall he is in 75th percentile when averaged out..His head is 90th though when measured alone and figured..his height is between 50th and 75th and his weight on its own is 75th Hope all that was not too confusing...Faith is 34lb 12oz 38 2/16th inches tall she is around the 75th for her age also...I guess thats all to ramble on about for me..If I do not get back on this weekend have a great one... as tomorrow I will be going to DH aunt for a party/family get together and sunday is church then a potluck afterwards.....I'll try to check in on Sunday night at least if I am able to...later mommas

Thanks shannon she told me to pay her or she would terminate care so i didn't take the boys to her this mornign adn won't be taking them back. i just feel bad it had to be like this. ohwell though not $260 bad...lol