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

Hi, by the way. Pictures whenever Liza deigns to download them from our camera. Most amazing trip ever, and lil' M0lly is smart and beautiful and amazing, more fun than Cheap Trick opening for P.Funk in 1978, cuter than one million lolkittens, funnier than Gallagher mistaking Carrot Top's head for a watermelon.

Best description ever! Huge congratulations to all of you!

thx 1138

oh no nath I didn't think you were being negative at all! I can totally totally see what you're saying. You're right, it's all a mixed bag. We're lucky to have choices but it's the existence of those choices that makes us wonder if we're doing the best thing. I'm sorry if you catch any flack for your choices, I think it may be even worse in america though, where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, it's really horrible and occasionally misogynist the way people go after moms.

hello dere
http://i12.tinypic.com/4knc6ed.jpg

Oooh. *melts*

awwwww!

parents with older kids, tell me about teething. beats is sucking in her bottom lip a lot and i can see two very distinct teeth outlines in the front of her gums. shes been drooling for maybe 6 weeks. how long til they pop out?

Depends, it can take days for some, weeks for others. Just be prepared. It can be a hellish ride (waking up in the middle of the night,..). Get some teething toys (which you can stick in the frigde, it numbs the pain a bit) and there's also some ointment which you can rub on their gums as well. How old is Beeps again? Drooling can be a sign, but also rubbing ears.

beeps is 4 1/2 months old. im using the stuff you rub on their gums. thing is, package says you cant use it for more than 7 days. i dont want to use it now if the worst 7 days are still yet to come.

Another way you can tell the teeth are sore is if their cheeks are hot.

Top tips corner: The teething rings that you put in the fridge tend to defrost pretty quickly in my experience. You'll need two or three of them or alternatively tie up some ice chips in some kind of chewable cloth - that worked better for us.

btw beeps laughed for the first time earlier this week. it was such an adult laugh. not squealy or giggly at all. more "ha ha heh ho" than the "heeeeeeeeeehehehehe" i was expecting.

her father was horrified to learn she was hanging out with a boy at daycare yesterday. its the first social interaction with a peer ive seen her in. they start so young.

My (first) pediatrician said the drooling is a load of crap. Then again, I didn't really like him anyway, so whatever dude. ;-) There's homeopathic (?) ointment which you can use for longer periods. Well, we used it for a prolonged period, but we'd only use it when O went to sleep. She was about Beeps age when she started teething. I wouldn't worry too much, the first ones are the least painful (I think). The ones in the back (molars?) hurt more. :-(

we do have one for the fridge. i guess we'll need another. also she has a teething blanket but when she gnawed down on the plastic corners she started crying.

her cheeks are hot! diarrhea and fever too.

There is a homeopathic treatment that comes like a little pill which you put on a spoon with some water. I can't remember exactly what it's called. Anyway, it worked quite amazingly for us. Literally within a minute the crying stopped and all was calm. I tasted it once and it just tastes slightly sweet. Probably still got the container lying around somewhere, I'll see if I can find it - it was really useful that stuff.

excellent. thanks!

sunny, before any teeth break through, large peeled carrots are good as teethers. They stay cold and have some give, but aren't safe if she can bite or break off chunks.

the kid is still on formula (we are delaying solid until 6 months+) but thats a good idea though. later months maybe.

She shouldn't actually eat them, just gnaw on them to get the teeth to break through the gums. Once they have teeth, raw carrots are too easy to choke on for littlies.

oh duh! gotcha now.

We've used carrots (unpeeled, but I don't think that really matters), the teething tablets (sort of like melatonin pills - you put them on their gums and they dissolve), the gel, tylenol, and ibuprofen/motrin. Ibuprofen works the best, but some doctors want you to wait until 6 months before you give it to babies. I think our doctor said we could use a slightly lower dose of ibuprofen before six months. We usually alternate between all of these things, so that they don't get too much medicine. For some reason, the frozen toys have never worked for us.

Ben and Owen both have their bottom two teeth, and they are cutting their incisors (I think that's what they are called - maybe canines?) now.

IBUPROFEN??? WTF man, here they avoid it at all costs.

D5 - She is absolutely ADORABLE!

incisors are the top and bottom middle 4. i think canines? i dont know. i always call them the vampires.

xxpost

Cuspids? I think of them as fangs.

http://whyfiles.org/shorties/147tooth/images/teeth.jpg

Ibuprofen is a modern miracle. I love the stuff.

me too. in australia it is branded as "neurophen" but a lot of people call it "neurofriend".

I used to freeze washcloths and twist them up and give them to Spencer when he was teething - he loved 'em.

Who would have guessed, ILX the fount of all knowledge AND the land of lovely babies + children, HOORAY!

Only early days for us, my partner is 9-10 weeks pregnant but so far so good. Here's the hostages at 7 weeks ( identical twins starting to split the sac apparently, its all a bit surreal)

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z119/isherwoc2007/7weeks.jpg?t=1185182218

Yay! Scary though, twins, no? :-)

Ibuprofen is a modern miracle. I love the stuff.

Oh I know, but I don't think I'll be giving it any day soon to Ophelia. Then again she has already taken antibiotics and maybe those Perdolans contain a bit of it as well?

From the internets:

Ibuprofen suspension such as Nurofen can be given to babies from the age of six months old. (NB: Ibuprofen should not be given to anyone with a history of asthma.)

Nurofen for Children is an ibuprofen based pain reliever which can get to work to reduce fever in just 15 minutes. An effective way to help make your child feel better, fast. It reduces fever for up to 8 hours, is effective but kind - and it can be used to treat babies as young as 3 months.

Ibuprofen is increasingly used in young children below the age of 6 months and even in premature babies. Over-the-counter ibuprofen is licensed in several countries, for example; France, Ireland and Romania, for children from 3 months.

Why is it disapproved of? Urban myths, old wives' tales?

I think here they are VERY weary of giving any type of pain relief for babies. (Especially sleeping pills, as they want to avoid crib death at all costs.) *shrug*
Maybe there's some in the Perdolan I give to O.

Yes but Nathalie it's fine. Dutches want babies to suffer ;_;

Belgiums, oops :)

Hi everyone, finally caught up on this thread after being away for a couple of weeks. Everyone's kids looking great as usual. ILXors got good genes.

PJ Miller I have the same car rug thing as you. I'm hoping Megan wants to play with cars as the two boys never really did.

Megan learned how to climb stairs, the first time went something like:
Me: "Where's Megan?"
A: "I thought she was with you..."
We then find Megan at the top of the stairs laughing at us. I immediately start shouting at the boys
"Which one of you carried her up there? You've been told not to lift her when we're not there"
Boys: "We didn't touch her!"
Me: "Don't lie to me!"
Boys: "Really, we didn't!"

So I carried Megan back down stairs and put her down, she immediately turned around and climbed the entire flight in seconds while roaring with laughter at her latest trick.
Me: "mumble mumble sorry guys mumble mumble where's that other stair gate?"

Obligatory photo:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1123/830715906_4706cf1f18.jpg

Ooh Megan's going to be a tearaway isn't she, but what a gorgeous one :)

Alice was on both ibuprofen and paracetomol after her operation and although they were much needed and haven't done her any lasting harm, I still tend to avoid for anything else, because they really did upset her stomach and suppress her appetite :(

And GOOD LUCK to Vicky with the final fortnight or whatever it turns out to be!, Shakey+wife with the rest of pregnancy, and Kiwi+partner with more ILX TWINS yay.

Megan is so smiley for the camera! Once Mum or Dad disappear behind the viewfinder, Lulu's smile drops - that's why we have so few snaps of her being her usual giggly self. Bloody paparazzi.

We're all ill at the moment and there was no putting Ava to bed last night at all (she must've said "Cuddle?" 500 times during my various attempts to leave the room), so she slept with us. I was late for work this morning but she was still snoozing in precisely the same position she fell asleep in at 11pm last night. Poor, weary gal. Tixylix did the trick though - a night without coughing.

Congrats to Emma and Alan - ILXors of yore - on the (early) arrival of their first!

Meanwhile, here's Ava laughing at her dragging-not-crawling "baby sistah" in the garden the other evening:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1229/854246719_c94f954311.jpg

Adorable! Blimey they grow up quick don't they...
I'm really not ready for a second, but I do miss Alice as a newborn already.

Here she is having an apparently hilarious time in her cot:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1170/875383127_5f7805c8f8.jpg?v=0

Oh and congrats to Emma and Alan wherever in the ether they may be!

Tell me all about "vocalizing, " I mean lanugage development. Ophelia spends hours looking in her books, either pointing out something and saying (sort of) what it is or pointing at it asking us what it is. Her pronounciation is cute and sometimes she makes up words for objects (most popular one is baba for ball). She understands a lot of words. It's so much fun asking her where mommy's brain is and then she shakes her head. Just kidding.

If all goes well, she's off to her grandparents (my husband's parents) tomorrow until saturday! EEEEEK! It'll be VERY strange for us. First time that she's away for a few days and we, the parents, are left helpless at home. ;-)

HI THERE, THIS THREAD. look what we done made. (Ta, Archel and Mike)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1250/870545085_78d067c1ed.jpg?v=1185127843

http://www.flickr.com/photos/61898285@N00/sets/72157600948979368/

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/lynskey/bryher1.jpg

Despite not being around here much anymore you kinda need to shout from the rooftops on these occasions. Mrs. Lynskey gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl at midday on the 20th. Mother and child are home and well and we're currently settling into to ikkle bliss.

Yay new babies! Congratulations and well done everyone!

Hurrah! Going by the description of that photo, Lynskey - is that a Celtic name? One of the Scilly Isles, isn't it? I like it. (Apols if I've got the wrong end of the stick).

new babies!

Saw this updated and thought it must be you, she's gorgeous!

Hurrah to Alan and Emma, needless to say I am very jealous that Emma gets to miss out on the misery of late pregnancy!

Congratulations to Lynskey and Mrs Lynskey!

Congrats to Kiwi on the twins too!

Despite the fact that the labour ward at our local hospital is overflowing at the minute I am SO ready to have this baby, but I have a horrible feeling it's way to comfortable in there :0( On top of backache and SPD I had a migraine today :0( I'm sure it will all be worth it when squirrel arrives though!

Lovely smiley fluffage of ILXOR childers!