The new rolling ILX parenting thread, since the other one was getting unwieldy

I'm trying to imagine the good citizens of Bruges 500 years ago grappling with these concepts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw9ipfC3YQk

i understood about a tenth of that

Aw, loving the little ILX boy babies! They all look so chubsome and happy :)

A(li)ce of spades:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2356/1524179974_c4c04379c9.jpg?v=0

Read it or eat it?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2052/1524179994_85feff081f.jpg?v=0

haha. so cute!

its so not 2058, Archel. I mean it might be but thats one young looking 51 year old.

Yeah, we time-travelled for that one... apparently our house is still a mess in the future, woo.

Oh my god - she's so gorgeous and happy.

What great eyebrows!

i still don't have one...still trying. :(

looking into adoption now.

Heya Chris. Hoping for the best.

Hi ILX.

Ethan James Fallaize got himself born this morning. He's awesome.

Love and hugs

Matt

Congratulations!!!! All the best to you and Mrs. Coastaltown and wee Ethan!

:-)

Welcome to the world, Ethan! xxx Congrats Mr & Mrs Coastaltown!

awwww...congrats. PHOTOS.

Congrats! Great name, too!

xpost to last dozen or so photos - Why are all ILX babies so adorable and happy looking?!

Because all other babies are full of the evils.

i still don't have one...still trying. :(

How long have you been trying now? Maybe rude of me to ask... :-(

Matt, congrats! I thought she was due after me. Gah, I still haven't delivered. Then again, I feel a bit sick these last few dazzzzeee so maybe for the best, I can rest somewhat before the sleep deprivation really begins. :-)

Ophelia was sick last week. We called the doc on call and he claimed it wasn't anything specific, probably a UTI as he didn't notice anything else. We went to her pediatrician. She noticed an ear infection. I was extremely tempted to call him, ask my money back (46 euros) and demand WHY THE FUCK HE DIDNT SEE THE EAR INFECTION EVEN THOUGH HE LOOKED AT HER EARS.

Congratulations Matt!

Congratulations Matt!

Chris, I hope your journey ends happily soon. I wouldn't wish infertility on my worst enemy, it was a truly miserable experience and if my memory serves me right you've been trying for a lot longer than the two years it took us.

Congratulations - ilx babies rule ok.

go long!
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4121/starlite10132007nb2.jpg

Ben and Owen
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2272/1570695564_8dc37b3506.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2141/1569807151_82151b4715.jpg

look at all those toofahs! do they both have the same amount of teeth?

Well done Matt!!!

They have different amounts of teeth. Owen has less on the bottom. Other than that, they are very identical. They have been within an ounce of each other for months now.

So, teething... Aidan's started chewing his hands lots. He's always done it as a sign of hunger but this past week it's really stepped up, and soon after he's been fed, which makes me think it's more likely to be teething than hunger. Particularly as he seems to be chomping down on my finger rather than sucking. Is ten weeks a bit early to start teething? I know it can take months before they actually come through. He has started dribbling a wee bit, but doesn't have red cheeks, and doesn't seem too distressed about it...yet.

I'm loving seeing photos of Alice, Beeps, Ben and Owen and all the other ILX babes, it's scary how fast they're all growing up now! I can't believe that Aidan's ten weeks old today!

We're trying to get rid of cradle cap at the minute. I'm trying the oil overnight then trying to get the scales off before washing his hair. It's pretty disgusting work! Not sure how many goes to give it before deciding to just use the dentinox shampoo.

When did people start introducing bed time, and what time was it, etc? Aidan's still not really in a routine - it all depends on feeding times and whether he sleeps or not - changes wildly from night to night.

Gratuitous fluff, of course

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2289/1536173876_cd0b35af1d_m.jpg

awww...Aidan! That nose and cupids bow lips! eeee!

Beeps actually started with the teething behavior somewhere between 8 and 10 weeks. Lots of biting and drooling. This went on until she was 4 months when her bottom teeth broke free. Now she is 7 months and it finally looks like the top two are about to pop. You can tell because they get this weird little pimple looking thing on their gums just before the action starts. The thing I didn't know about teething, and it may not be the case for all babies but it has happened for my friends with kids and us, is that before the teeth come though they are super fussy for 2 or 3 days then fine for 4 or 5 then fussy for another 2 or 3 days etc. I thought teething was going to be this fussy hell that would go on without a break for months. Beeps had a total of 4 fussy days/nights with her bottom teeth and that didn't happen until two weeks before the teeth came through. None with the top teeth so far.

Beeps started off with a real late bedtime. I guess we were working on the 4 hour theory. 11pm bedtime, 3am feeding, 7am wake up. She started sleeping through the night consistently at 5 weeks and her bedtime stayed at 11pm for a while but then edged its way down to 10pm and now somewhere between 8:30 and 9pm. Sometimes if she missed her last nap its more like 8pm but thats rare. Friends of mine have their baby in bed by 7pm but with work, the nightly feeding and bathing routine, plus wanting to spend time with her, 7pm is just not possible for us. Also, she's never tired that early.

She started sleeping through the night consistently at 5 weeks

WTF! She really started sleeping through the night (from about 8 till early morning) around four months. 4 months plus one day to be exact. I know this because I put her in her own room at four months. The first night she woke up once, the second (and following) night she slept through. But before that she had already a pretty consistent routine. Woke up at around 11 PM for a feeding and then maybe around... Ah hell, I'm feeling crampy and can't focus.

Oh yeah, first teeth was at four months which is considered to be VERY early. But the "fuss" starts a bit earlier. It all depends from baby to baby, but it usually runs in the family: I was early, so I kinda expected O to be early as well, which she was.

I've been reading up about breastfeeding. How quickly I forgot what I have to do. :-( I hope it all works out as well as the first time.

Damn, feeling so crampy.

My son didn't get his first teeth until he was over a year old! Admittedly he was a preemie, but only 6 weeks early. It was kind of crazy. And... I can't remember about Julia. :( Bad Mommy!

Breastfeeding the second time was a bit harder than I expected since I had last nursed a toddler, which is pretty different - and the new baby will be learning, too. BUT not to worry, Nathalie, I'm sure it will be fine.

Also - being crampy is a great sign (as long as you're not too early) - so go get some rest. (I never did that with Julia; I kept trying things to induce labor. They didn't work, though. One memorable moment - my FIL telling my husband that "sperm freshens the uterus." Uh... thanks, dude, I don't think we needed to hear that from you.)

That's all right, Sara, presumably he was talking about how his wife's sperm freshened his uterus.

So MANY things wrong with that...

Belated congratulations Matt! And well done Mrs Matt! And Ethan!

It's weird how much I've forgotten about the first few months with Alice already. I can't really remember when we started having 'bedtime' for example. I don't think it hit me for quite a while than even though she was going to wake for a feed at 11pm (and 3am...), I could still put her down in bed at 7pm and even go to bed for a bit myself if I wanted...

I know she slept through the night from about 4/5 months, and that she was teething at 3 months with a tooth by 4.

guys, recommend something for a 1 year old that i can get on amazon. like a toy. what were/are your kids 12 month favorites?

I remember seeing a few photos of me at that age where it was one of those groups of rings one on top of the next around a little column -- about a foot tall. Each ring was a different size, soft plastic or rubber or something, different bright color, way too big to choke on but easy to play with. I'm sure there's a name for this!

listen, raggett, i don't what kind of developmental slow track you were on as a kid but the average 1 year old is way beyond that colored donut shizz.

j/k! thats a good idea. keep em coming, please.

Our kids are major bookworms. They frickin' LOVE these ones:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-5794029-8592407?initialSearch=1&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=peekaboo+dk&x=0&y=0

And they have spent many hours around this thing:
http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Learn-Groove%C2%AE-Musical-Table/dp/B000ETRENI/ref=sr_1_4/105-5794029-8592407?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1192557508&sr=1-4

This one looks good for learning to walk - I haven't tried it, but the "push-resist" feature sounds good to keep them from face-planting:
http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Flyer-Classic-Walker-Wagon/dp/B00005AWB5/ref=sr_1_23/105-5794029-8592407?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1192557508&sr=1-23

That's all right, Sara, presumably he was talking about how his wife's sperm freshened his uterus.

Woha. This is a KIDS related thread! :-)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2240/1571504515_3ccb165b53.jpg

Reading with granny. <3

VERY cool. :-)

Owen making his biggest smile:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2164/1572375907_fd280d11ae.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2343/1573261508_060d702885.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2185/1573259590_0d1a177908.jpg

He's actually winking! How cute! :-)

Howie started having a proper bedtime around 9/10 weeks, I think. Before that he would just doze on us on the sofa til we went to bed. But he still doesn't sleep through the night at nearly 8 months!

He started drooling and gnawing around 4 months but no teeth til 6 months.

This week, he can crawl. Eek...

chris bingo,

http://www.fcleague.org/

is a really really really wonderful adoption agency that handled my adoption into the US.they're fairly near you, and i can't say enough good things about them.

But he still doesn't sleep through the night at nearly 8 months!

Crosses fingers this does not happen to our second baby. Ophelia was so easy, still is. We know that if she does wake up in the middle of the night, she's most probably sick.

He is actually getting better at night -- at least a hell of a lot better than he was 2/3 months ago. At the moment we are averaging 3 wakings a night, he is still feeding once a night but not til 4ish and I am gradually pushing that back so hopefully soon it will be phased out altogether. He's not really keen on solids yet so I'm not too worried about that one feed.

wow...how long are you going to wait to give him solids. beeps got crazy fussy around the 6 month mark. waking up multiple times a night crying. suddenly we realized - she's hungry!! we started her on some cereal and all the fussing and crying stopped immediately. poor kid. we'd been starving her :(

btw: thanks for your help schwantz and ned!

Alice has been a good sleeper for ages, but suddenly she is waking up ridiculously early, between 4.30 and 5.30am, and won't be settled. It's not like the waking in the night she used to do when she was disturbed but still sleepy, she's just wide awake and ready to be up. Unlike me. Any tips?

Sunny, I'm not waiting to give him solids... he's been offered them since 6 months old! But he's just not massively interested yet.

Archel, take it you have tried later bedtime/earlier bedtime/shortening naps?