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Yeah, Charles is a moose. I'm glad we got the higher weight limit infant carrier/carseat, because when it's below zero it's nice to be able to get him all snug in it and carry him out to the car, but I will be very, very glad when it warms up and we switch him to an installed seat. He's really too heavy to lug around in the bucket seat.
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Wow! I'm trying really hard not to feel like it's bad that Beanie is so little. I know when I was a baby I was tall and skinny, and I know her doctor is not at all concerned about her, but sometimes mommy guilt/worry overcomes reason.
And I can't believe my little baby is now a toddler! She's really getting into walking and walks about as much as she crawls now. Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Good thing there's such a wide range of normal. I wish my doctor were a bit more relaxed about Nathaniel's weight. He's a great doctor, though--which I *really* know now, since Nathaniel is just getting over pneumonia & RSV. So if he keeps wanting weight checks, well, I'll just put up with it.
Nathaniel is not walking yet, but maybe soon. He's certainly crawling and cruising like a champ.
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I love that Bin is little. She is 2 and still wearing 12-18 month clothes. Since the under 2 clothes seems to be what everyone gives you, it is nice to have those last a good long time.
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I thought Celeste was big -- she was 16.5 lbs at 6 months. Of course, compared to my son, she's enormous. He's 3 and still only 28 lbs. I guess I just have small babies...
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And Emma hit 33 at about 2 years old and has yo-yoed between 33 and 37 (depending on how recently she ate, mostly) for the last 3 years, while she grew about a foot...
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Our kids are all small. Mooselet is 7 1/2 and under 50 lbs. Superstation turned 5 in November and is 39 lbs (still in a car seat, not booster!). Squoose will be 3 next month and is ~28 lbs (he stepped off the scale before we finished weighing him last week).
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Thanks for the reassurance! Whenever I start to think too much about it, I remind myself that everyone is different and that I should enjoy the fun of her not growing out of her clothes every 2 months.
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Which is no guarantee for the future. My kids were all low on the weight charts as babies/toddlers. Tall, though, even then -- but nothing like now, when my son needs new pants for the third time this year.
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*nods* My kids tend to go through periods of not growing much, and periods of eating everything in sight, going through 2 gallons of milk a week, and outgrowing 2 sizes of clothing in a month or two.
quote:Superstation turned 5 in November and is 39 lbs (still in a car seat, not booster!)
That makes me so happy. Of course, there are seats that have taller top slots and will harness him to 65, which would make me even happier. He could make it to 6 or 7 when his iliac crest is fused and a booster would fit him better. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: He could make it to 6 or 7 when his iliac crest is fused
I'm confused about what you mean by this. The iliac crest typically beings ossifying at around age 12-13 for girls and 14-15 for boys and fuses to the ilium at some point between 15 and 23 years of age. Do you mean some other part of the pelvis?
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As a 23 year old, I don't want to ride in a carseat (there was a state senator trying to pass a law here that would require anyone under 90 pounds to do so, it failed).
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: He could make it to 6 or 7 when his iliac crest is fused
I'm confused about what you mean by this. The iliac crest typically beings ossifying at around age 12-13 for girls and 14-15 for boys and fuses to the ilium at some point between 15 and 23 years of age. Do you mean some other part of the pelvis?
No, it's in pieces completely until between 6 and 7, there's a pic somewhere of the bones at different ages. I mean, it's possible that the people who do the training have the wrong bone. But that's what I've heard it called. It doesn't ossify until you're an adult, but it's not completely separate and is strong enough to help keep a child from "submarining" or sliding down under the belt in a crash, leading to seatbelt syndrome (massive internal injuries due to the soft tissue and organs in the abdomen slamming into the seatbelt.)
Of note, some booster seats have features that help prevent this by acting as a "false hip." But many seats do not fit children under 6 or 7 correctly.
Age, height, and seatbelt fit in an individual car are much more important than weight in how a belt fits and whether a booster is needed. My oldest is very slim and tall and will probably outgrow the need for a booster before she hits 90 lbs. But there are some adults who might benefit from one; someone posted on one of my carseat boards asking if there was an age limit because her 4'8" sister-in-law was in a crash and sustained massive internal injuries due to poor seatbelt fit. She is buying a backless booster seat with a wide seat and her sister-in-law will start using a booster and pedal extenders when she completes her physical therapy (she also had broken bones) and is able to drive again.
And some vehicle belts don't fit almost anyone correctly. I'm average-sized but I am uncomfortable with the way the belt hits me in my almost-step-mother's Rav4 and could probably benefit from a backless booster in that car. I've met very few people who have driven/ridden in that car and say that the belt fit them correctly and comfortably.
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I think Maggie misses Jeff. She signed "more" at me, but I tried to feed her and she shook her head. I asked, "More what? More play? More food? More na-na?" She said, "Abba! Abba!" while signing "More." I think I need to teach her to sign "want!"
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I think Maggie misses Jeff. She signed "more" at me, but I tried to feed her and she shook her head. I asked, "More what? More play? More food? More na-na?" She said, "Abba! Abba!" while signing "More." I think I need to teach her to sign "want!"
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: He could make it to 6 or 7 when his iliac crest is fused
I'm confused about what you mean by this. The iliac crest typically beings ossifying at around age 12-13 for girls and 14-15 for boys and fuses to the ilium at some point between 15 and 23 years of age. Do you mean some other part of the pelvis?
No, it's in pieces completely until between 6 and 7, there's a pic somewhere of the bones at different ages. I mean, it's possible that the people who do the training have the wrong bone. But that's what I've heard it called. It doesn't ossify until you're an adult, but it's not completely separate and is strong enough to help keep a child from "submarining" or sliding down under the belt in a crash, leading to seatbelt syndrome (massive internal injuries due to the soft tissue and organs in the abdomen slamming into the seatbelt.)
Which are you saying is in pieces, the iliac crest or the entire pelvis? The pelvis is in at least two pieces until 11 to 14 years for girls and 14 to 17 years for boys when the ilium fuses to the ischiopubis. I don't know if the iliac crest is in separate pieces when it's cartilaginous or even when the cartilaginous form appears, but it's not going to be fused to the ilium until at least age 15. The only mention of something occurring between 6 and 7 in the two juvenile osteology books I'm using for reference is this: "It is said that the pubic organs descend fully into the pelvic cavity by 6 years of age and presumably this reflects the time at which the complex has grown sufficiently in all diameters to allow complete descent." I can definitely see that protecting the internal organs in a crash.
I want to make clear that I'm not questioning your knowledge of car seat safety. I'm just questioning the iliac crest part.
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Okay. I should have said "contiguous" instead of "fused." I don't know where I got the word fused but it stuck in my head. Anyway, there's a gap that eventually closes around 6 or 7 and makes the hips better able to hold a belt and prevent submarining. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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KQ, since this has come up, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. My son is 6 (like, nearly 7), but he's tiny. He's just under 40 pounds. He's still in his booster seat with the 5-point harness, but I'm not sure whether to take off the harness and switch him to the belt-booster yet. He's tall enough, but doesn't weigh enough (the seat supposedly works with the harness up to 40 pounds). What is the danger in using the harness longer? Or is there a benefit to keeping him IN the harness even though he's taller than your average toddler?
Does this even make sense?
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How often do your babies fall? I feel like maybe I let Ellie fall too often. It seems like almost everyday she topples over at least once. She is a pretty good sitter but sometimes she just decides to let herself fall over in pursuit of some toy. I don't know what to do to prevent this from happening. I don't want to sit with her constantly because I have things to get done but really because I want her to be able to play with her toys on the floor for ten minutes while I am doing something. I guess I just worry. She never seems worse for wear after I pick her up and we do have pretty thick carpet.
Sorry that turned into a bit of a ramble. I just wonder if other people's babies do the same thing.
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If you have thick carpet and it doesn't seem to upset her much, I wouldn't worry about it.
If you have a Boppy or similar, you can use that to help prop her up. Although it may not do much if she's doing this as a deliberate method of locomotion. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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theresa, I totally know what you mean. From the time baby K was learning to sit up to when she mastered walking (and, ok, sometimes still [14 months]) I wondered if I was a bad mother for letting her fall too often and how many times you can hit your head before it starts to impact your intelligence... I think it's just part of the process though. She doesn't seem unusually unintelligent for a one-year-old, at least Posts: 2762 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I'm trying hard not to have weight envy. We have weight checks. Again. The twins had their 2-week appt. today and neither one has reached her birth weight. Camille now needs a supplement for 1/2 her feedings. Leni is gaining the smallest amount you can gain and not need a supplement. Why are all my babies so small? Andrew and I were huge babies and we're both average weight (well, I will be again someday). Andrew is 6'5'' for goodness sake! Why are my babies not chunks? I'm convinced that I have to have a singleton term boy to finally get a properly chubby baby.
I've accepted that the twins will just get banged up. Between clonking each other accidentally and a rambunctious older sister, they're going to get some boo-boos. I was much more nervous with Aerin.
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Thnaks for the reassurance. I know in my head she's ok but when she falls for the umpteenth time it is hard not to feel like you are doing something wrong.
Mrs. M I had the opposite. My little one was off the chart for height and weight for the first 5 months and my husband and I are both 5'6" and both weigh less than 150 lbs. I am not sure where are chunky tall baby came from. Our doctor kept trying to get us to wait longer in between feedings. It never really worked though and eventually she just started to come back towards a more average percentage as she got older. I hope the extra supplements help put a little extra chunk on.
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quote:Originally posted by rivka: Hey, I dropped my oldest on her head when she was a baby (she actually had x-rays because of it)!
If it cost her any IQ points, we still haven't noticed 'em. She's 14 now.
My mom reminds me that I fell out of the car as an infant. (KQ it was pre-car seat) It was winter, and I was wrapped up a big blanket, laying on the front seat. Mom took a left turn a little too fast, the door flew open, I flew out, hit the road and started to unroll. By the time she got stopped, the blanket was unrolled accross the road and I was in the snow bank at the curb. I've never missed any IQ points eather.
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When my wife was a young kid she opened the car door and fell out in the middle of a busy 4 lane street. A stranger picked her up out of the path of a large truck.
Not before seatbelts, just before responsible & aware parents.
Course, that implies that her parents became responsible & aware. Which is debatable.
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Camille is now refusing to latch in the football position, which means that I can't feed both girls at once. Not good since they both get hungry at the same time. I have many coping strategies, but it would be much better if they ate together. They're also starting to want snacks between their insanely long meals. I'm getting a little haggard - I've lost almost 50 pounds since having them. I have a call in to the lactation nurse.
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Mrs. M, I think it's great your breastfeeding them both right now. But don't risk your health, okay?
It's okay to supplement twins. A lot of mothers I know who have breastfed twins have a schedule of which baby gets the breast and which gets the bottle, at rotating feedings.
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Kq is right, but also remember that when exclusively breastfeeding even just one baby there are days, every time they hit a growth spurt, when it seems like all they do is eat. It ups your supply, gets them through the growth spurt, and then they settle down again.
John had those days like clockwork at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, two months, four months . . . they always seemed to hit on a Friday and we called them feeding frenzy Fridays. Charles has been a little less predictable, but he has them too. There'll be a period of at least 12 hours where I'm lucky to get a bathroom break because the kid is latched on every waking minute and barely sleeps.
Also there are other tandem positions that work for infants and don't require the football hold. Have you tried a modified cradle hold with their bodies angled out slightly and crossed at the legs?
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Mrs. M, I hope your babies start gaining that weight soon! And you, too. I recommend a big can of nuts. You can grab a handful every time you feed the babies and it has lots of calories in it for very little effort.
Do you have anyone taking care of you right now? When I had my baby, a bunch of people dropped off meals. It was very helpful.
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Squee! Calista has figured out that backwards is a valid direction of locomotion! She's been crawling around backwards for the last two days.
Mrs. M-I feel for you. Calista is 6 months now and is hitting a growth spurt. That means that if I'm not offering it up every 2 hours, night and day, she lets me know. If that's the way that one breastfeeding baby is, I can't imagine two!
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So far, they vastly prefer to eat alone. Last night I tried everything I could think of (including y'all's suggestions - thank you ) to no avail. I think Camille has nipple confusion - she's a much weaker nurser and will root frantically when my na-na is in her mouth. I have to hold it just right for her to suck. They're also using my na-nas as pacifiers, which I wouldn't have a problem with except I can't let one do that while the other one is screaming in hunger.
They're so much better at eating during the daytime. I'm sure my level of alertness has a lot to do with it, but it's a really big difference.
Leni (pronounced "Lay-nee" btw) absolutely won't take a bottle at all. I tried yesterday just to see and she refused and looked at me like I was nuts.
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I used to use a medicine dropper to feed supplements to avoid nipple confusion. My son didn't like it much but it got him fed and motivated him to get to business on the breast! Posts: 2392 | Registered: Sep 2005
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It was very difficult to get Nathaniel to nurse at night for about the first two weeks he was home. Definite preference for the faster flow of the bottle. I prepped two 4-oz night time bottles every night (LOTS of extra breastmilk from when he was in NICU, so no problems there), tried to nurse every time he woke up, he wouldn't latch, we fed the bottle, then I pumped.
I think it made a difference that he was already *really* hungry by the time he had woken up and cried enough to wake me. During the day I watched his cues & tried to get started nursing before he was frantic. Maybe that's part of what's going on with your girls, too?
Is your husband able to help much at night?
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It's just me at night - Andrew needs sleep to work.
I'm going to talk to my pediatrician and the lactation nurse first thing tomorrow because I just nursed for more than 8 hours with just bathroom breaks, plus one break for Aerin's bedtime routine. I don't know if I can keep that up. I pumped after hour 6, but Leni started to cry before I even got 2 ounces. I'm pretty sore and nauseous. I just hope this is normal for twins and that they pass their weight check on Tuesday.
My mother is leaving a week from today, but we'll be getting a mother's helper so I can get some rest during the day.
Of course tomorrow is the first time I'm taking Aerin to school with the twins, so we can't sleep in.
At least my Steelers won. Go Steelers! They win every time I have a baby, so I told Andrew that we have to have at least 2 more. But one at a time.
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I second syringe or dropper feeding, or trying a cup. Just remember that you don't feed a cup the same way you do a bottle (Bridget always tried to give Maggie a cup like a bottle and it just doesn't work. )
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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With both my babies, I told my husband to go to sleep because he needed to get up and go to work and his response was that I had important work the next day too.
As it happens, he does a lot better than I do on just a few hours of sleep. I think if it were just me I'd have to hire a nanny.
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They ended up sleeping through the night. Whoo hoo! I think they were as exhausted as I was. They haven't been quite so hungry today, though the day isn't over. We got Aerin to school without any problems and I even took the twins to Staples. Of course, I haven't been able to finish a meal in less than 3 sittings, but that's the life of a twin momma.
I don't mind doing nights by myself and Andrew can't function at all without adequate sleep. I wouldn't even trust him to drive if he got up with me. I can go for months and be just fine, so it works out okay. He's very helpful during his waking hours.
It's interesting how different the twins are. Camille loves the bottle and would probably happily give up nursing for it, though she is getting better and better. And she loves Mylicon. Leni refuses bottles and is a fantastic nurser and hates Mylicon.
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That was always my experience with the feeding frenzies -- eat like crazy, then sleep like a log and then return to something approaching normal. I have a hard time remembering that in the middle of the eat like crazy part, though.
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Mrs. M, that's great. Though I have to say that I would probably pump on one side while Leni eats, and give Camille the milk in bottles, just to make my life easier, if they went on another "feeding frenzy" as dkw puts it!
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Wow, eight hour nursing session! That's intense! You are amazing, Mrs. M.
James had his 12 month check up today. Stats:
20 lbs. 2 oz (12th percentile) 29 inches (24th percentile) 47.5 cm head (80th percentile)
Yep. Still a little guy with a big head! The doctor was happy with his growth and loved his personality (he's really a social little guy!). And I was happy to see that he reached 20 pounds. I thought he'd been feeling heavier lately!
I can't believe he's already a year old!
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I wish my doctor were a bit more relaxed about Nathaniel's weight. He's a great doctor, though--which I *really* know now, since Nathaniel is just getting over pneumonia & RSV. So if he keeps wanting weight checks, well, I'll just put up with it.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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Oh my goodness.
