Babies due April-June 2021

We’ve been hit by every illness under the sun the past 3 months (right now I think the girls have a mild form of the flu, but we’ve had ear infections, roseola, hand and foot and mouth etc.) But beyond the illnesses we’re doing great. Hollys still tiny, but I feel like she’s catching up (I thought that at her last check up though and she was still 2 percentile so we’ll just have to wait and see) but she’s met all her milestones. Her speech has really taken off the last few weeks and she’s speaking in full sentences though you have to be a familiar listener to catch everything she says as her pronunciation is still pretty gibberish sounding (we just discovered she has both a lip and tongue tie so that probably effects her pronunciation) and I discovered yesterday she can count to ten! (thanks to big sister, [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] has definitely got her daddy’s love of math and numbers)

Our biggest struggle is [name_u]Holly[/name_u] is our little extrovert in a house full of introverts. Where the rest of us can happily sit quietly and keep ourselves entertained for hours, [name_u]Holly[/name_u] absolutely must be with someone and craves that attention. Which has been a struggle for me (as well Winnie), I want to give her all the attention she wants but it is super draining for me, as she just wont sit and play independently ever, so [name_u]Ive[/name_u] been trying to find a balance between meeting her needs and not getting over stimulated/stressed myself as well as trying to figure out how to complete things like household chores without either carrying around a toddler 24/7 or causing [name_u]Holly[/name_u] a complete meltdown. I know as she gets older and her understanding improves this will get easier but oh my goodness does it try my patience sometimes.

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Ugh the illnesses, yes. It’s usually some respiratory thing with my kids, but everyone we know has been sick lately, and we can’t go anywhere without coming home with another bug. The kids are starting another cough right now.

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Yeah its been so bad this fall, we’ve had several of the schools close down because of the flu. Andin our house we’ve been down at least every other weekend since september.

And [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] has just broken out in a red rash across her cheeks and chin in the past hour, so now Im thinking it might be slapped cheek :roll_eyes: . Im pretty sure she’s just catching up on all those childhood illness she didnt get because we were quarantined for so long. But Im so ready to be healthy again!

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It’s so nice to see you all and hear that things are going (mostly) well!

It’s become very apparent here too lately that we are a family with four kids, not three kids and a baby! [name_f]Mila[/name_f] is still princess of the house and doted on by her three older siblings but she plays along with them now and loves the attention. It’s great that they give it so freely because it can be hard to do enough one-on-one with each of them sometimes and so I feel the other kids help me by making up for that.

She’s been having more meltdowns lately, becoming more independent–all that 18-month-almost-terrible-twos-fun-stuff but she’s also very affectionate and so sweet. Her latest thing is “I see, I see” when she wants you to show her something, which I love. She’s become super attached to a stuffed puppy that was nothing special before and is now her favourite toy (go figure) and so “puppy” comes everywhere now, dragged along by one ear, and everyone runs to look for it at naptime because of course she needs her puppy! (She goes down fine without it, but her brothers and sister spoil her!)

She’s a good eater, no issues there, although we had a bit of a slow start, and recently traded in her bottle for a sippy cup. I had a moment last week when I got rid of the bottle sterilizer and packed away bottles and baby bibs (we aren’t planning any more children, so every time she outgrows something now I have a “last time for this” moment which is just weird). Overall she (and her siblings) are doing very well though: it’s hard most days, I’m not gonna lie, but I also can’t complain as they’re happy and healthy.

It’s so nice to see this thread revived. Stay in touch!

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[name_u]Happy[/name_u] Holidays everyone :christmas_tree:Wanted to pop in and say hi! [name_f]Greta[/name_f] is 20 months and lots of fun. She loves to talk, with favorite sentences being “Greta do it” and “Greta press one button.” She is very sweet and likes to pat mommy and daddy on the back and give hugs. Sounds a bit like your [name_u]Holly[/name_u] @LibelluleClaire —loves people and always wants someone playing with her. I’m starting to feel pressure to start trying for kid #2 but not quite ready yet. It is definitely a huge change being a parent and I worry about not being able to give [name_f]Greta[/name_f] as much attention, let alone have time for me to exercise or shower. I do think she would like a little play buddy though.

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[name_m]Hi[/name_m] all, hope you’re all well! [name_m]Just[/name_m] wondering if anyone else’s bubs will still only crawl up steps rather than try to walk up them, now they’re 2?

[name_m]Hi[/name_m], hope you’re all doing well! Deliverance walks up and down stairs, but up until pretty recently she would occasionally decide to scoot downstairs backwards on her tummy, or forwards sitting down.

[name_f]Mila[/name_f] likes to go up the stairs on all fours and tries to come down them on her butt whenever possible. I keep telling her to hold my hand and the railing and she will, but grudgingly, haha. I remember vaguely my others being similar, so I’m just giving it time and hoping she’s the same.

[name_f]Hope[/name_f] everyone’s doing well, too!

[name_u]Holly[/name_u] walks up and down however its very carefully, and scares me to death. I don’t think at this stage crawling up the stairs is abnormal.

[name_f]Callie[/name_f] has no fear :person_facepalming: I wish she would crawl or scoot on her butt for stairs but she runs and tries to push me away if I try to hold her hand.

How’s everyone doing?

We’re finally trying to bite the bullet of stopping [name_m]Casper[/name_m] from breastfeeding to sleep, as he’s been driving me mad switching breast every 5 sucks and making me feel soooo touched out.

But it’s 10.30 pm and I can still hear him chattering away to his Dad so yeh, not going well. :sweat_smile: I think he’s just starting to quit day naps too, which complicates things a little. But he’s always been very much a Mumma’s boy, as well as stubborn in how he wants things, as well as a bit cheeky… probably a large part of why we put this off for so long!

Sorry for reviving such an old thread, I’ve deleted my facebook but getting rid of the habit if chatting on the internet is much harder! But would be lovely to hear how the little ones are doing now, and how their personalities have changed and grown.

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I love hearing how everyone’s babes are! We had to stop breastfeeding last [name_u]December[/name_u] as [name_u]Holly[/name_u] starting biting and nothing I did would persuade her to stop.

As for us we moved twice this summer for my husbands schooling and that was definitely an adjustment for everyone. We went from having our own house with a large backyard and both grandparents being a 5 min. drive, to living in an apartment in a new state where we dont know really know anyone. (Luckily we do have some extended family pretty close in case of emergencies but not family we’re super close to)

[name_u]Holly[/name_u] though is doing great. She seems to be pretty well adjusted now that we’ve been here a few months. She’s still as sassy as ever, and has learned if she says ‘mama I just love you’ she gets away with more. She’s also finally starting to figure out how to play by herself which has been great for me & big sister. We still have some concerns about her growth, as at our last measurement she was still under the 3rd percentile we’ll see what her new pediatrician has to say when she has her 2 ¹/² year checkup at the end of this month! I cant believe we’re heading towards 3 already!

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Aw hello, nice to catch up occasionally!
Deliverance is going to be fine if she ends up the only girl with a bunch of brothers :smile: She is sassy and bossy enough to pull it off. Also she’s still a girly girl who loves clothes, shoes, pink, and [name_f]Disney[/name_f] princesses even though she hasn’t seen any of the movies! She says more words every day; she can pretty much mimic anything she hears, and her comprehension plus vocabulary make fairly sophisticated conversation possible now. (And boy she gets upset if we don’t understand her!)
She self weaned sometime during the winter, and now she’s potty training. She initiated that too, wanting to sit on her brother’s little potty and wear cute panties. We’ve progressed to the point where she usually goes if I take her, and occasionally she can tell me she needs to go before it actually happens. I get ahead of progress sometimes though; we had a few accidents yesterday when she didn’t tell me soon enough. I still put a diaper on her for naptime, bedtime, and leaving the house.
We’re working on her getting along with her big brothers without screaming when something doesn’t suit just right. Learning the rules for asking someone to stop annoying you, asking for a toy before grabbing, saying “excuse me” etc. Some days are better than others :laughing:
She’s on a kick right now where she calls herself different names, based on what we’ve been reading or who we’ve been around. “I’m [name_f]Laura[/name_f] Ingalls today and I’m digging potatoes.” “I’m [name_f]Amy[/name_f] today and I have a baby in my tummy.”
She loves babies and seems to be excited about her new sibling on the way. She likes to “pat baby” and “listen for the heartbeat.”

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Deliverence sounds exactly like [name_f]Holiday[/name_f] when it comes to potty training, as long as Im on top of it and remind her to go she’s does pretty well, and sometimes she’ll go on her own. But she’s still in pull ups for dance class and church and nightime (and anywhere theres not going to be a bathroom readliy accessible) But we took her to the pumpkin patch last week, which I was worried about as we were planning on being there for a few hours, and she did great. Im really looking forward to be done with diapers for a bit!

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@LibelluleClaire gosh that move really does sound tough. I hope YOU’RE doing okay, less family support wouldn’t be easy.

Mine seem to be in lower height centiles too, though not the worries you have with [name_u]Holly[/name_u]! But my first was iugr and is still somewhere in the 9th-25th centile area at nearly 5, and [name_m]Casper[/name_m] had an appointment thr other day when they checked and Dr kept re-measuring and he was coming up only 10th for height (despite being 90th for head!). Their Dad is 6 ft 4 so I thought they would have got some of that?!

Casper’s also big on the love, but it seems quite genuine. “I love you” or “you’re beautiful” at completely unexpected times, which my eldest never did. He doesn’t use it to try and cover the cheekiniess, he just grins and keeps doing that! :sweat_smile:

@auroradawn [name_m]Casper[/name_m] gets super upset if we don’t understand him too! He’s got language pretty nailed but will confuse things like power cut and shortcut, and still says not instead of don’t “No, I NOT want you to change my bum!”.

He also loves being things other than [name_m]Casper[/name_m], but for him it’s things like a cat or butterfly, or saying he’s a girl not a boy, or a 2 year old not a baby (or vice versa!), etc. I guess it’s that age of developing that personality separate from Mum?

I’m not sure if it’s because he’s got a big sister (and no big brothers), but he loves wearing dresses to twirl in, reckons his fave colours are pink and purple, adores [name_f]Minnie[/name_f] [name_m]Mouse[/name_m] but not so much [name_u]Mickey[/name_u]. His sister isn’t even into [name_f]Minnie[/name_f] though! But then he’s such a stereotypical ‘boy’ in other ways (loud lion roars, pretends to have a firetruck but actually the hose sprays fire everywhere not water :rofl:).

He’s got loads of iniative and “do it myself” attitude which is awesome, but so anxiety inducing when I don’t get there fast enough and he’s emptying his own poo from the potty into the big toilet, or has pulled OUT a power outlet protector and started plugging in the electric keyboard into the socket himself :grimacing:


Attempting not breastfeeding to sleep didn’t work. I feel like he’s almost untrainable! He just stays awake figuring it will come eventually. When I went away one weekend he’d stay up till midnight then wake up again 2-3 hourly. It’s not the first time we’ve tried to tell him the breasts are asleep and he needs to get to sleep without them. He’ll chatter away to his Dad till midnight. [name_u]Or[/name_u] - and I find it so creepy! - just sit there silently in the dark WAITING. I was trying to get some work done one night and it was really quiet so I thought it had gone well… tried to sneak in to bed at like 11pm and my partner was asleep, but [name_m]Casper[/name_m] was just sitting there quietly in the dark waiting. I don’t think the co-sleeping helps? But argh, this is going to be a battle!

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I’m glad you revived this thread again, it’s fun to catch up!

[name_f]Callie[/name_f] is wearing 4T clothes now and has absolutely no fear! She is very independent and into everything. We haven’t attempted much in the way of potty training yet. I think the hardest part will be getting her stop what she’s doing to use the potty – she really doesn’t seem to care if her pullups is wet or even dirty.

We didn’t nurse but she still loves her pacifier for sleeping. We tried to get rid of it for a week and gave in and gave it back. She was just so inconsolable in the middle of the night without it. We all needed the sleep and I think she was genuinely not ready yet. Well try again in a few months.

She’s very excited for Halloween and told me she wants to be a peanut butter cup this year!

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@Kiriko its just so heartmelting when they tell you they love you! Holly’s definitely more affectionate then her older sister was/is. And also way more into the whole ‘I can do it myself’ than I remember my oldest being!
We’re doing pretty good over all. This has been a long road to get my husband in to a doctorate program (he was working on it before we got married almost 7 years ago) so we’re super excited to finally be here. But I really miss having our own house and yard, the girls had a swing set and a garden and lots of room to run and play. And even though I know in the long run this is going to be so much better for us, I still feel horribly guilty that we took all that away from them and now it’ll probably be atleast another 4 years before we are in a similar type of situation.

@LaurenAlexis
Oh my goodness! 4t! Holly’s still in 18-24 month (some of her clothes are still technically 12 month :grimacing:) and a peanut butter cup is so cute! Especially since that’s what she chose! Holly’s going as Tinkerbell, since we joke that she’s so little her body can only hold one emotion at a time, she’s either all sweet or all sour.

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This was my thinking too! Casper still has a couple 12 month or 18-24 month.

@LaurenAlexis my older girl was a little more like Callie with not wanting to stop what she was doing for the toilet. I tried to outlast her once when she was 2 because the screaming and wiggling with a poo makes it SO hard to change, I thought she’d find the poo uncomfortable and decide a change was good after all. She lasted 2 hrs plus :grimacing: so we ended up reaching an agreement of one 5 min Peppa Pig episode for a poo nappy change :sweat_smile: Don’t want to scare you but she’s only a couple months off turning 5 now and STILL fights using the toilet! Her focus on what she’s doing has paid off though and she’s an amazing reader. Casper on the other hand… he’d piss anywhere for a smartie lolly so I just need to get on with being more consistent getting him to try.

@LaurenAlexis @LibelluleClaire those Halloween outfits sounds soooo cute! Wish this wasn’t so public a forum as would be so cool to see pics. Halloween isn’t such a big thing here in NZ, I’m not even sure if we’re doing anything! It kinda sucks that none of the holidays are right for the hemisphere, pumpkin carving for you guys but it’s spring here, and having our Christmas in the middle of summer which is NOT when you need big feasts and colourful lights (that the kids are in bed for by the time it’s dark!).