To Baby Tyler Jordan

i_hope_that
For many of us, the holidays can be kind of rough. If you're searching for a network of understanding friends, this ultra-nurturing community encourages you to express your heartfelt wishes and offer other members encouragement and acceptance. Not for the terminally snarky or emotionally-challenged, this is a good-spirited place to lend comfort and support.

diygifts
Feeling crafty? If you've got a few last folks on your holiday gift list, this is a great place to seed your creativity and generosity. You'll also discover wonderful DIY tips to decorate your home and entertain guests. Offering a no-frills-no-skills attitude that welcomes the cash-challenged and arts-phobic, you're sure to get ideas and make friends in the process.

cooking_club
A fun and friendly community dedicated to those who love to cook, whether you're a meat-and-potatoes type, an aspiring gourmand, and/or a vegan. In search of a brilliant dish to use up those weekly leftovers? Post your ingredients and you'll be whipping up a feast by dinner. You can also share favorite recipes. For Type A chefs, you can spice up your culinary repertoire with exciting cooking challenges.

Today officially ended breastfeeding Tebriel. He started weaning himself off in the last month to the point that he was only nursing from me first thing in the morning, then taking expressed milk for the rest of the day. This last week I've added in a little formula and that seems to be going okay, but the plan was to keep doing the morning bf and then pumping once a day for a while yet. I'm reduced enough that I can just quit, but I love being able to feed him in the morning still. It's the only time he'll let me usually. Today, though, he bit me. Now, he's nipped before and it was uncomfortable and I got over it, but today he hurt me so badly that it made me cry. I am now done. I think it was his way of saying he is, too. Maybe I'm not making enough to satisfy him anymore. It makes me sad anyway.

He is going through something strange with his eating at the moment anyway, wanting much, much less milk and increasing the amount of solids he's eating. He'll be 9 months old on the 2nd of January. The pediatrician said he's doing fine and there is no need to worry, it's just his age and a phase he's going through.

I decided to cave and do the whole Santa thing since b wants that to be a part of Teb's childhood, so yesterday he took him to get a picture with Santa. I told him that as Teb was happy with it, great, but if he looked like he was scared of the guy then cancel it. Tebriel was completely happy to sit with Santa, but he wouldn't smile. They took several shots, then a lady decided to try to talk to him and wave some sort of singing dog at him, which scared my little one and made him cry instead of smile. They sent home a shot of my baby looking very, very unhappy. You'd think at that point he'd be trying to get to daddy, but b said that he actually buried his face in Santa's shoulder and let him comfort him. *shakes head* Great Santa, sucky photographer?

Savanah stayed at our house last night while Teb was asleep and let us go to Steve's Annual White Elephant Christmas Party, courtesy of our invitation from Erin. It was our second year, and it was so much fun! I think I had more fun than last year. My cool presents got stolen, but I still wound up with chocolate kisses that I gave to Savanah and a whistle that blows bubbles. Teb should get a kick out of it and I love bubbles. It reminds me of our wedding. So, we had our first late grown-up night out and the munchkin was terrific, slept through with no problems. Life is good.

stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.

Melody is almost 8 months old and she stood up the other day!!!
Everything has been going wonderful except for sleeping at night.

She will cry in her sleep every couple of hours.
She doesn't wake up, she just cries and sometimes sits up, but she is still sleeping.
I am assuming it is a form of sleepwalking, but I am not sure what I can do to help her sleep.
Any ideas?

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.

I can't believe it has been 8 months!! Teddy sits up well by himself. He's not crawling yet, but he is getting good at pulling himself forward. We just got him one of these, and he loves it already.

( Teddy's first picture with Santa )( Read more... )

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're tall on adventurous spirit, but short on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about bargain hotels and hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

Now I know our children go through phases food wise, but I am tearing my hair out with Patrick. He's becoming very independent, which is brilliant to see him grow and develop, but actual meal times... he's making them a war. I can just about get his breakfast porrige inside him without too much of a fight, but now lunch and dinner... oh boy.

Let me explain, I have gone the puree food route as opposed to baby led weaning and generally he will eat anything put in front of him. I am currently transitioning into textured foods. Now these last couple of days I am feeding him foods he has previously eaten without too much problem (same texture as before) so nothing is different there, but all of a sudden he will not allow me to feed him these foods or anything else unless its breakfast. I have tried giving him finger food as an alternative but he simply cannot eat enough to sate his hunger.

Now I am not concerned about weight or anything as he is eating more milk as a result, and I know full well that is supposed to be their primary source of nutrition till a year. That and he doesn't appear to be losing any. But after a war where he ended up screaming in the worst distress I have ever seen him in this lunch time (and no I am not trying to force feed him) I am at a loss. I put him in his high chair and he starts to cry, I try to feed him on my knee and that's a no go.

So what do I do? Do I sit and wait out this phase, it will pass like all others he's had. I've managed to adapt fine to what he wants, but this one has me stumped. He goes to childcare one day a week now and can't have him not eating there, and his dad has him one day a week, and he does not have the confidence in feeding I do and has never been able to get him to eat as well as I can (I am trying to teach him as we are in serious danger of him only eating for me which just won't do), and he is such a worry wart. He will panic on Friday if he can't get him to eat. Help guys?