# July 2012 Rockstar Mamas



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Welcome to the Rockstar Mamas thread! Our wonderful group of mamas started following each other in the Charting to Avoid thread over in fertility. Eventually we created "The Whatever Ladies!", a safe place for those of us who were not trying to prevent pregnancy, though not actively trying to conceive either. Spread out over a year, we all got pregnant and had our current babes- several whom are over a year old now!

We made the decision to switch to Rockstar Mamas, after a conversation about how each and every one of us was a Rockstar in some way, for living and thriving through the parenting challenges thrown our way every day. Feel free to join us in our thread, but be warned, the conversation moves fast!

Not really rules but something to consider if you join:

1. Need to be chatty

2. Know that we are all vastly different from one another but we've become friends so we respect those differences. We are vaxers and nonvaxers; homeschoolers, unschoolers, public schoolers; run the gamut from vegan to paleo; some of us want more kids, some don't, and some aren't sure...but we all manage to really get along and come together on things we DO agree on.

3. Aren't afraid to ask each other the hard questions or point out the obvious when/if we want advice!

Member List:

lyeterae ~ Baby boy born February 2011
annie ~ Baby girl born April 7, 2011
Barefootscientist ~ Baby boy born May 30, 2011
AnnieA (due 7/18) ~ Baby girl born July 17, 2011
MarineWife (due 7/30) ~ Baby boy born July 25, 2011
Baby_Cakes (due 8/16) ~ Baby boy born August 16, 2011
MovingMomma (due 8/9) ~ Baby girl born August 18, 2011
akind1 (due 9/28) ~ Baby girl born October 11, 2011
mom2one (due 10/23) ~ Baby boy born October 21, 2011
jeninejessica (due 12/01) ~ Baby girl born November 29, 2011
Kindermama (due 1/6) ~ Baby boy born January 1, 2012

June: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1355087/june-rockstar-formerly-whatevering-mamas-2012


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Thanks for the new thread! I feel like we were *just* starting the June thread. This summer is going fast!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

We did start the June thread late.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

OMG! I am so happy to be home! Being evacuated for 72 hours was harsh. Especially with A.

Basically, the fire started Saturday afternoon and we were worried about it and a few miles from our house was being evacuated, etc. Then nothing happened, it stayed on the other side of the mountain.

Then Tuesday happened.

The weather basically stuck it's middle finger at us and the fire crested the ridge, jumped two fire lines in 10 min and raced down the mountain at 65 miles an hour. Craaaaaaazzzzzzzy.

After the first night I was pretty sure my house was fine, but still couldn't go home for two more days......... I get that, because the fire was nuts. We were evacuated with about 20,000 people and the cars were gridlocked.

Oh, and most of us went from no warnings or pre-evacuation to get the %^&^^%%^^ out of dodge if you want to live







Amazingly I got most of the stuff we needed to be comfortable. I even got a fan (white noise) for A.

Anyways, I was so happy to be home I basically turned into wonder woman and cleaned the whole house top to bottom. All three bathrooms, vacuumed the whole thing, mopped the floors, did all the laundry. It was better than the hormone responsible for *nesting* because I wasn't 9 months preggers!

When I get a chance I will try to read through the other thread and catch up. I'm so happy to be back!!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Oh Annie, so glad you guys are ok! Thanks for letting us know!

DD has been so sad today w/out her big brothers and sisters. DSS 11 played with her pretty much non-stop while she was awake so she was pretty bored w/just mama today.







We did go to the party store and picked out Sesame Street/Elmo decorations for her party and that cheered her up a bit. I think we'll go to the water wall tomorrow at lunchtime. Need to keep her busy until they come back home on Sunday.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

annie ~ glad you are home and all is good.

Dylan is actually falling asleep again at 9. This is the upside of him only taking one nap a day. Last night he fell asleep before i was ready for it, so not only did he have on just a regular diaper instead of a night time diaper but he didn't have on a cover, either. I had to put a night dipe on him before I got into bed around 11. He woke for that but nursed and went right back to sleep. So nice!

He's also not getting as disturbed by others at night. He still startles or stretches or rolls over sometimes when someone else moves but he doesn't get fussy and need to nurse again every time.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

I'm toying with the idea of leaving Ava's crib where it is but dropping the mattress and putting the fourth side up. She loves her bed, like loves loves it and wants to play in it all the time but I don't want her to fall out of the bed. She doesn't want to play with me in her bed, she just wants to explore her own space, if that makes sense. But I don't want to lose the convienence of the set-up we have. Is that selfish of me?


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> I have a baby that won't nap! Gah!! Yesterday he skipped his 2nd nap and today he fought it as well. I'm waiting 10 more minutes before I try again. Send me patience. I'm NOT ready for him to take one short nap a day!!!
> 
> ...


Gah! Days T doesn't nap, and I'm mess. It's a mind thing too, I know, but I need that second one!

I had some of that too. Being able to be a doula and still immerse myself in pregnancy and the magic of birth and new babies, helped to remind me that i could be a part of it, without it having to be -me-.

The staycation -was- lovely. Unfortunately, since we've gotten home, DH has been a grouch again.  It was such a nice 24 hours where it felt like old times. We had fun and it was careful and so nice. Then for instance, he went ot bed early tonight with no warning or anything. I went into the room to grab something, and he was laying in bed, and there was still half an unpacked suitcase on my side of the bed. I asked him to at least pick it up a little bit... he sighed at me, but finally did it. Then an hour or so later, Ten woke up, and I went in, she was obviously scared and hurting (teething bad right now), but I badly had to pee before I sat down to cuddle her back to sleep. So I brought her into our room, and told him that I had to go pee, and then told her I was going to let her cuddle with daddy for a minute, and I would be right back, and then put her to bed again. I asked him to cuddle her, and that hopefuly she'd start falling back asleep, but if not, I'll grab her and put her back to sleep when I was done. I started to put her down, and she fussed, so I was leaning over her and comforting her, rubbing her back, telling her that daddy would cuddle with her really nicely..... and he ROLLS OVER and turns his back to her. I asked him another couple times to roll over and cuddle with her, so he finally rolled over, but wouldn't even touch her or put an arm around her or anything, while she laid there fussing and crying.  I mean seriously!! I get that you're tired and you were sleeping, but give me a break. *sigh*

nom nom carbs!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *annie2186*
> 
> OMG! I am so happy to be home! Being evacuated for 72 hours was harsh. Especially with A.
> 
> Amazingly I got most of the stuff we needed to be comfortable. I even got a fan (white noise) for A.


I can't even imagine! so glad you guys got everything you needed!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Last night he fell asleep before i was ready for it, so not only did he have on just a regular diaper instead of a night time diaper but he didn't have on a cover, either. I had to put a night dipe on him before I got into bed around 11. He woke for that but nursed and went right back to sleep. So nice!


That's the worst!!


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

What happened to multi quote?!?! I just figure it out and then they take it away?? LOL


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

AnnieA - I bet it is REALLY hard on A when her sisters and brothers go. I couldn't imagine! Ana gets mad when the big kids go downstairs without her.

I had Ana's crib right next to my bed, all four sides up, and about two steps away until she moved into the room right next to me. It was really nice for her to have her own space, and it wasn't a big deal to have to stand up to get her, because I could basically collapse right back onto the bed.

MW - glad to hear D is getting some good sleep! I slept on an air mattress with A while we were evacuated, and she actually STILL slept through the night! but she was a squiggle worm. Holy crap! squiggle this way into a wall, squiggle that way into me.....she slept the whole time even though she would wake up and look around sometimes and then go back to bed.

JJ - I get the whole "unhelpful husband" thing.







My husband didn't/doesn't help with the baby stage really at all.........it sux. I really decided it just isn't worth getting into fights everyday over! I have recently started leaving him with all the kids, etc. and making sure he REALIZES that they are in fact HIS children too. Grrrrrrr. Stupid boys.

Carrie - sorry you have a sinus infection! I have serious sinus problems due to allergies............hate it! It just came on when I was pregnant with A and never went away.

Oh, did I tell you guys that M had a double ear infection? I took her to the doc's (8 days ago) monday. She had a fever off and on and then started saying her "ears were broken" and saying her jawline/teeth hurt. Crazy. None of my kids have had any ear infections (that I knew of) I am going to have to start putting colloidal silver in everyone's ears. The antibiotics was something else I actually remembered to grab! LOL


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

How did I not know there was a july thread!?









I'm going to try to convince DH we need to go see this house! http://www.homes.com/listing/photo/161140262/2_Deer_Path_GREEN_BROOK_NJ_08812

Lmk if the link doesn't work.

Going to whole foods for lunch today. I need to get in the shower while the kids are playing nicely! Instead I'm looking at houses, lol. Ok. BBL!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

JJ ~ That would piss me off!

Carrie ~ Nice looking house. I like one story ranches. That's what I want next time. I'm tired of running up and down stairs.

Now I'm getting achy pains in my right pelvic region along with tons of ewcf. O? I should mark this on the calendar to see if anything happens in 12-14 days.

Multiquote is back.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Definitely mark it down. It can only help in the future. If it's nothing, it's nothing, but if it is O then you'll have history written down!

Chris ruled that house out b/c the taxes are too high. Bummer. He found this one! http://www.homes.com/listing/photo/167886069/117_South_Ln_PRINCETON_JUNCTION_NJ_08550

The stairs freak me out, and I do want a ranch more than stairs. But...nice, charming, and tons of land.

Lunch was good. I had really good sushi! Met with my friend and her little girl and had a nice time. I am loving having IRL friends! Makes life full and interesting! I met her at the Target nurse-in. I'm so glad I went to that, now!

I didn't make it. It's 4 pm and I had some wine. Idk what it is, but Finn's fussing is loud and on my nerves and Nora is really begging for attention. When they both start in at me at the same time I just don't have patience. 1/2 glass of wine and I'm cool as a cucumber and can happily manage!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

oh, i don't like those stairs, either. definitely not kid friendly. they would have to be replaced.

i had to take kellen to the doc today. since sean is off it was just the two of us. we got ice cream afterward. it was nice to have time with just kellen.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Baby_Cakes, that's too funny about the wine!

MW, what's going on w/K?


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Carrie - Wine! *sigh* and we just stocked the freezer with ready-made margaritas and stuff. Indulge for me!

Annie - so glad you are back home!

Hope K is ok, and glad you got 1x1 time with him.

Lake was awesome. I want to go to the ocean beach though. We are thinking about it.

Our dream house (that's in our heads) definitely has no stairs. I don't like dealing with it. I would be ok with a basement, but most of the living needs to be done on one floor.

Boo. Naptime is over.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Drinking wine for you, Kat! Bummer you can't drink but it's for such a good reason!







How are you feeling? Any/more morning sickness? When is your u/s again?

Mw, what's wrong with Kellen?! A trip to the dr for you guys is a big deal!

I don't think I'd replace the stairs. But it would be interesting trying to babyproof them. They won't be babies for long. And if we are truly done with having kids then I really only need to "worry" for another year or two. You know? But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Haven't even SEEN the place in person.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Carrie- I lvoe the front door of the second one. And the kitchen. And the bath with the laundry in it actually. lol. And that is a massive finished basement! It's funny how with your first place, you're just like "HOUSE! I HAVES A HOUSE!" And then when you start thinking about the second or third and so on, it's like "Ok, but it has to have a garage, and AC, and a basement, and a walkin closet, and must have a pantry, and would ideally have a walk in shower and and and and and... " lol.

We need to repaint the front of our house in the next few years, and I'm pulling for grey with a red or blue door, or a very pale blue with a black door. I love the way that pops!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

JJ - YES! Exactly. You learn so much about what you NEED and how you want to live!! I can't stand being in our current house much longer. It'll always have a place in my heart b/c I had my babies here, but man, we have sure outgrown this space.

Finnley needs a room!!!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I wrote a post and then forgot to post it before closing the window. :doh

Kellen is fine. He had a bump that looked like a pimple on his belly for about 3 months. Then a few more showed up on his leg so I wanted to have them looked at. Turns out it's warts. Yuck! Doc said they don't usually treat them unless they are on the face. They should go away on their own within a few months. The one on his belly actually looks like it's almost gone. They can spread if they are scratched and opened. If they start to spread, we're supposed to go back.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Yeah, see we've got years and years before we outgrow this house. But we'll grow bored of it long before then. The family before us (that I nannyed for, so i spent time here with them as a family, and saw how the house was used) has three children, and even then, to me it just felt cozy, not totally cramped yet. But it really is only a 3 bedroom, and the room that is currently Tenleys is pretty tiny. She could share it with a sibling, but only because once we're finished renos there will be a playroom downstairs. It's too tiny for anything more than sleeping if you put two people in there. The only other room is in the basement. I don't want to put kids down their alone until they're quite a bit older.

I used to LOVE the idea of two stories, but I think it was mostly because we never had one, and to me, they seemed like the 'rich thing'. Now, I really couldn't care less as long as the other points are there!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Oh man we were too big for our current house before we even moved in!







But buying/moving somewhere else isn't in the cards right now. So we'll make do.

Had to take DD to the pedi this morning. When she woke up Sat morning after seeing the opthamologist on Friday, the inside corner of her left eye was bright red. He dilated her eyes but when I called, they said the drops should not have made her eye red. It's gotten worse, not better so took her in this morning. Pedi says conjunctivitis.







So got the drops. Hopefully it will clear up soon. I had been doing BM since Sat but it wasn't really helping.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

We've outgrown our house but only because we have so many toys. We have two playrooms, one upstairs and one downstairs, that are both full of toys. Sean keeps saying he's going to go through everything and get rid of stuff that's broken but he still hasn't done it. I go through periodically and fill up a grocery bag or small box with broken toys but it doesn't make a dent. But if we needed to, we could convert the playroom upstairs into another bedroom and have plenty.

I'm worried about what we'll do when we have to move. If Ryan comes with us, we'll need at least 4 bedrooms. Ethan really needs his own room. Kellen and Dylan could share a room. I don't know if we'll be able to afford anything that big where we're going.

No big plans today. Sean is out getting a new grill. I doubt we'll go see fireworks. I don't like the crowds.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I feel ok, a little nausea, but nothing major. Started feeling bubbles tonight. I tell you, honestly, I love being pregnant. I am treasuring it since its my last. Ultrasound is a week from tomorrow, so the 12th. If I am right, I think I am a little over 8 weeks, as that is the time I felt we were playing with fire a bit.

We could happily be in my parents basement a while, space wise. Hope we don't have to be, though.

It's so hard not telling my mom. I want to wait until after the ultrasound though.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

I was looking at pics of my belly from this time last year and I miss it so much! I want to experience another pregnancy! Glad I can live vicariously through you right now akind1!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> I tell you, honestly, I love being pregnant. I am treasuring it since its my last.










I loved being pg, too. It's such an amazing thing.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> I was looking at pics of my belly from this time last year and I miss it so much! I want to experience another pregnancy! Glad I can live vicariously through you right now akind1!


I said to Sean that this time last year I was waiting to have a baby. That got me a little sad since it will not happen again.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Yes, it is crazy how the little things add up to OMG I NEEDS ANOTHER PREGNANCY/BIRTH/BABY !! We dropped Tenley's crib mattress last night, because she keeps pulling herself up in the middle of the night. It's CRAZY! I still feel like she should be this tiny little newborn, and here she is, big enough to pull herself up and topple out of her crib, should she so wish.

It's weird. I can't say that I -miss- the newborn stage, so much as I mourn it, We go out with our parenting groups, and I see other mamas with newborns, and everytime, all I can think is "Tenley never did that..." Like at the beach- two mamas had newborns, that were so content to lay in a diaper on the blanket, and stare up at people, or snuggle into someone's arms. I want -that-. I think if I'm honest, I feel a little resentful that I never got to experience those peaceful blissful moments. We talked about newborn portraits too, and how we wished we had gotten some professionally done-- but I can't think of a time when she was settled enough to have done them. It's sad. And don't get me wrong- I love her. To pieces. I love the baby we have, I love how inquisitive she is, and how expressive, and always wanting to explore something new. I love how social she is, and how she cuddles in when I pick her up in the night. I just mourn that peaceful newborn stage we never got. 

So yessssss!! Living vicariously Kat!!

Back to the house-- I think most people would say one more kid and we'd outgrow this house too, but meh. I've always lived in cozy houses. And I'd rather keep my current mortgage! lol Moving anytime in the next 5 years would absolutely mean I would need to go back to work fulltime. I'd rather be cramped.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

That reminds me...Annie ~ I didn't really understand what you were talking about with Ava's crib. How is it set up now and how would that change?

Also, I've been meaning to ask you, what was up with the HIV thing when she was born?! I don't recall you mentioning that before. Did you ever get an explanation about that?


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Right now her crib is sidecarred on my side of the bed with her mattress at the same height as my mattress. I was considering dropping the mattress down to the lower level and putting the fourth side back on so she can safely explore her bed. She LOVES her bed. But I want to be able to just pull her over and snuggle. So I don't want to do it. But I feel a bit like I'm being selfish. But she likes to climb around on our bed too. IDK.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

The rapid HIV test she was given when she first arrived at the other hospital was a false positive but they would not stop giving her AZT until the slow test, the Western blot, came back negative for both strains. Even though my rapid test was negative and the rapid tests have a higher false positive rate in newborns. It is one of those things that are done in hospitals and no one ever talks about it. Whenever I've told that story to medical types, they are always just like, yeah either the mom or the baby gets tested after birth if the HIV status is unknown. Since you weren't there, they tested Ava. Meh.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

So, her crib would be completely enclosed and separate? Has she learned how to climb off the bed yet? I just took the bedrail off my bed the other night because Dylan can now climb down off the bed. It gives a couple of inches of extra space. IDK what to say about your dilemma. I guess I can't quite understand what the issue is.

Hmm...with that HIV test, it still seems to me someone would have to give consent for them to do that. Everything has to be consented to some way or another. There's usually a blanket consent statement on admission papers that most people don't pay attention to. That's probably how hospitals get away with doing that test without telling anyone.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> So, her crib would be completely enclosed and separate? Has she learned how to climb off the bed yet? I just took the bedrail off my bed the other night because Dylan can now climb down off the bed. It gives a couple of inches of extra space. IDK what to say about your dilemma. I guess I can't quite understand what the issue is.
> Hmm...with that HIV test, it still seems to me someone would have to give consent for them to do that. Everything has to be consented to some way or another. There's usually a blanket consent statement on admission papers that most people don't pay attention to. That's probably how hospitals get away with doing that test without telling anyone.


Her crib would be completely enclosed. I don't think I want to do that. She hasn't learned how to get off the bed yet. She still wants to go head first. Gotta work on that!

Based on what the NICU doctor told me and then my research afterward, medical professionals are REQUIRED to start AZT within 8 hours of birth for an HIV pos baby to minimize the chance of it developing in to AIDS. They do not need parental consent to do that and in fact if parents refuse or somehow try to stop it, the state can take custody because it's considered child abuse. I came across more than one instance of that happening while I was researching false positives for rapid HIV tests in newborns. When I asked my OB about it, he said that if Ava had stayed at the first hospital, they would have just tested me since I declined the test during the prenatal bloodwork. I asked a friend that is a LDRP nurse at the hospital Ava was transferred to and she said they actually test pregnant moms twice during pregnancy due to the higher risk population that is usually treated at that hospital. And they still do a test after birth but usually the mom is there to test.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

I think they can get around the consent if withholding it would be considered negligence. If Ava WERE +, then obviously witholding the medication could be considered negligent (ie a judge would easily overrule the parent's decision if they said no). But... it's all a moot point if she's negative, so that's a load of crap that they wouldn't listen to Lauri's request to wait for further testing.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Oh, also scary, I know it's different here in Canada, but I was all pumping myself up for a fight by declining the blanket consent forms, and I wasn't given ANYTHING to sign at all upon admission to the hospital. Not a single document. The only time I signed was on the paperwork to leave the hospital. Though come to think of it, I think that may have all been birth certificate stuff, and not even hospital stuff. Kind of crazy...


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I was talking about consent to test, not consent to administer meds if the baby is HIV+.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> I was talking about consent to test, not consent to administer meds if the baby is HIV+.


I guess with a newborn and they are working with the 8 hr time window, they treat it like an emergency. They wouldn't withhold lifesaving treatment if they couldn't get in touch with the parents or legal guardians. My understanding is they did the test before DH was allowed back in the NICU so he hadn't signed anything.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> My understanding is they did the test before DH was allowed back in the NICU so he hadn't signed anything


still seems off to me but maybe they can get around informed consent if they say it was an emergency. my issue with that would be what's the connection between oxygen levels/heart problems and possible HIV that would make it critical for them to test her? In other words, what other reason specific to Ava's situation besides it being a routine newborn test was there to test her without parental consent? if you can decline the prenatal test and you can decline testing the baby in the hospital, you should be able to decline the test even in an emergency situation.

i came back cuz i thought i was going to have a few to type but D crawled into my lap and is nursing. maybe later...


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

I don't disagree with you that we should have been able to deny the test on Ava. If I had known that it was routine to test any newborn that comes in to the hospital if the mother's HIV status is unknown or the mother is unavailable for testing, I would have verbally refused the test to the NETS team that came to transport Ava. But I had no clue that it is a routine test. I was angry about that for a long time actually, that no one ever talks about this. I feel like there should be a disclaimer when you are offered the HIV test during the prenatal screen that if something happens to you during labor, then they will need to test the baby. When I told my birth story at my local birth circle a few weeks after Ava was discharged, every single pregnant mom there was shocked. No one is warned about that.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Yeah, that is just wrong. I can understand the hospital staff's feeling that they need to test the babies but it still needs to be something that is clearly disclosed and explained. I apologize if I brought up bad feelings or anger over that again. I just have such a hard time understanding that sort of thing. I really don't get why medical people don't see how that's an invasion of privacy. It seems unconstitutional to me.

Dylan was asleep but he just woke up again. Sean has gone up there but I think I should go to make sure he goes back to sleep. I'm running on fumes again because he's been so restless the past 3 nights. Tonight will be the test of whether it was just because all 5 of us were crammed in the bed or something else. Sean sleeps in the other room when he has to work in the morning so he doesn't wake us all at 4 or 5 am.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

It's ok. It was a pretty infuriating situation. The thing that made me the most angry was that they seemed to be unable to use their brains and think logically about the situation. My rapid was negative, her western blot for HIV 1 was negative and the chances of her having HIV 2 were slim to none. But because protocol said they had to keep administering AZT until both western blot tests came back, it was like no one could use their brain and think through the idea that Ava was most likely not exposed to a strain of HIV that is primarily in West African countries.









I don't think I could do five in the bed. I get frustrated and want DH to go somewhere else when it's me and Ava in our queen bed!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

The HIV thing freaked me out. One of the reasons I am glad DH stays with the babies no matter what. Extenuating circumstances in Ava's case, but still!

Unless I can figure out how to get Norah and Gabe to share a room, we will likely have 4 in the bed. Not sure how I feel about that.

Feeling good. I have less than a week until the ultrasound, I am excited!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

That is like that ER doc telling me that D needed abx even though I told her that the nurses collected the blood incorrectly. I think she was stuck on the fact that D had not been vaxed so he must have this nasty disease.

5 in a king bed is a bit much. That's why I want to put the extra twin next to it. I finally got dh to measure everything. Now I just need to get him to buy a frame. He's resistant because he doesn't want everyone in the bed together but he doesn't do anything to change that and I'm not going to because I don't want to so that's his problem.

D didn't sleep well last night, either. I've decided we all have colds and that is the problem. Ethan had been complaining that he was sick for a morning but then said he was fine. Since then, though, he's had a cough and sounded congested. I thought it was his allergies but I've been feeling off and now D has a runny nose and Kellen is fussy.

I'm frustrated with my bathing suits. My nursing suit is too big. When it gets wet it's so loose I'm afraid it's going to fall off. The top of my other suit is too small. My breasts are all squished and popping out the sides and top. I hate that. I ordered a larger top (same bathing suit) and got it yesterday but the straps and body are too big. It's a tankini. So now I don't have anything decent to wear to the pool or beach.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Re: the HIV/AZT - if you had done the test during your pg, then Ava wouldn't have needed it? I know when I had my bloodwork done they did the test. I consented to it. I knew I didn't have it but I figured if anything should happen, at least thats one thing that everyone would know. You know?

Finn has been waking up a million times again. I think this weekend DH is going to sleep w/him and we'll try the whole not nightweaning but no mommy unless it's dire again. I'm exhausted!

MW - that is a total bummer. Were you planning on going today?? Ugh. Bathing suits are a crime!

Been really spending my "free time" looking into doula certification. So many options and so much to think about. Just trying to get a feel for what I'm going to do.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> MW - that is a total bummer. Were you planning on going today?? Ugh. Bathing suits are a crime!


Ethan wants to go to the pool every day. We went to the family pool I just learned about yesterday. It was great. Kellen would play in the deeper end by himself because it's only 3 feet at the most. Dylan could crawl or walk around in the very shallow end because it slopes down. It's perfect. I wish I had known that pool was there 4 or 5 years ago.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

In the specific circumstances with Ava's birth, it wouldn't have mattered if I had done the prenatal test. She was transferred to a hospital where my status is unknown. BUT, if I had known it was SOP I would have tried to decline it on her and get my OB to run the rapid on me while they were in the process of transporting her.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

it's even crazier since they all acknowledge that the test is inaccurate on newborns. that seems dangerous to me. those meds aren't without risk and it shouldn't be up to strangers to decide if it's an acceptable risk.

dealing with everyone being extra fussy from sickness today. not fun. And now Ryan just found a spot on D's back that looks like ringworm. WTH?!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> In the specific circumstances with Ava's birth, it wouldn't have mattered if I had done the prenatal test. She was transferred to a hospital where my status is unknown. BUT, if I had known it was SOP I would have tried to decline it on her and get my OB to run the rapid on me while they were in the process of transporting her.


Gotcha.

I got NOTHING house related accomplished today. Finn's naps have been so screwy -- it's 6:30 pm and he's been out for an hour and a half now. He took an hour and a half one at 1230. So messed up. Usually he does 1130 and then another at 3. Perfect so I can get all my chores done during the afternoon when Nora's at school. All I managed today was to fold half a load of laundry. And I bleached the hell out of the bathroom once I got home from picking N up from school.

That brings me to my next point. I hate bleach. But I've tried EVERYTHING to tackle the mold problem in my bathroom and nothing works. Vinegar, TTO. Just plain natural cleaner. Just water. I think the mold being on the walls really makes my skin break out and it makes me so crabby b/c it's ugly. I can only imagine what it does to our insides. Using bleach once a month to kill it -- it's the only thing that works. What do you guys do in a situation like this? I hate how bleach smells, and I do dilute it in water. But still. I wish I could just ditch all the chemicals and clean naturally!

I'm signing up to run a 5k in september right after our trip. Chris said he will run it with me!! Just have to get the inlaws to come and watch the kids while we do it. I hope they agree to come to the race to cheer us on! I think it'll be fun! And I get a free t-shirt!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

I'm so freaking tired!! Will this child's teeth PLEASE come in!?

It's going to be another hot day for us. Going to try to get out walking now instead of waiting til later. Hopefully he doesn't fall asleep in the stroller so he'll take a good nap (and maybe I can join him) midday. I think he's moving to one nap in the middle of the day. It's still short, maybe an hour and a half, but it seems to be holding him til 730 pm or 8 for bed. Idk. Teeth screw it all up.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I don't know anything about getting rid of mold. I don't like to use bleach regularly, either, but if it's the only thing that works, what can you do?

I'm beat, too. Dylan finally slept a little better last night. He's still real fussy today, not happy with anything for more than a few minutes. I am not feeling well, either. I think I'm feverish, so I didn't sleep well last night even though Dylan did.

And now I think Ethan has ringworm, too. I had been putting coconut oil on Dylan but it doesn't seem to be helping. I may not be applying it often enough. That's hard to do. I'm not sure whether to take them to the doctor tomorrow or see if I can find something at the health food store first.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Since having Ava, I HATE cleaning with cleaning products because of the fumes but there's no other way to get the kids' bathroom clean. I just try to do it when she's napping on the other side of the house and keep the bathroom door shut with the exhaust fan running.

MW, does the OTC antifungal stuff like Lotramin work on ringworm?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> MW, does the OTC antifungal stuff like Lotramin work on ringworm?


Maybe but I was hoping to avoid using anything like that. I don't know if that stuff can be used on babies, either. I have some nystatin cream that I guess I could use if I need to. I got a script for some of that for Ethan when he was a baby and had a yeast diaper rash.

DH is making me laugh (sort of). I keep trying to get some time to myself since I had to deal with 2-3 sick kids, including a sick baby, all week while he was at work and I'm sick, too. No matter where I go or what I do, dh comes following along within a few minutes with Dylan needing me to do something with him. He can't seem to do anything for any length of time with him.







It's kind of funny but it's also a bit annoying. When I say something, he says, "Well, I need to get x, y, z done and I can't do it if I have to chase Dylan around." I'm like, "What do you think I do all day while you are at work?"


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Ugh, ringworm. What a bummer. Nystatin works great on yeast - is it the same? Is ringworm yeast?

And Yep. DH does the same thing. It's frustrating on so many levels!!!

I have so much on my mind lately!! I feel like I'm spinning and can't get anything accomplished! New friends, playdates, exercise, still wanting to learn to knit (haven't picked up my needles in literally MONTHS and still haven't finished my beginner's square), wanting to read, wanting to get outside and garden, Finn's birthday party around the corner (have to make his wish list) always learning learning learning about parenting issues. And now this doula certification. I'm not overwhelmed but I do feel scatterbrained! No sleep doesn't help.

Oh - but I did get a nice nap with Finn this afternoon so I feel mighty refreshed!

Teeth #5 and #6 have cut skin! So - at least they are moving down. Hopefully we get a break soon.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Ugh, ringworm. What a bummer. Nystatin works great on yeast - is it the same? Is ringworm yeast?


They are both fungi. Yeast is candida and ringworm is tinea (essentially the same as jock itch and athlete's foot). Not all antifungals work on all fungi so I don't really know.

I always feel like my head spinning when I get out a lot. I want to get Ethan and Kellen signed up for swimming lessons again. Trying to decide between group or private. Ethan wants to do baseball in the fall and registration is now.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Is anybody else's baby drinking a lot less milk all of a sudden? Ava was taking about 4 oz at each nap plus bedtime as well as about 3-4 oz during the day and then 4-6 oz during the night. Now she's hardly doing 3 oz at naptimes and she's not consistently taking a second nap so sometimes just 3 oz and then another 3 oz during the late afternoon. She'll still do about 4 oz at bedtime and maybe 4 oz during the night. She's eating more but it doesn't seem like enough to make up for what she isn't drinking. I'm still pumping the same amount so I'm just freezing what she isn't drinking but I guess I'm wondering if that drop is normal at this age?


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> DH is making me laugh (sort of). I keep trying to get some time to myself since I had to deal with 2-3 sick kids, including a sick baby, all week while he was at work and I'm sick, too. No matter where I go or what I do, dh comes following along within a few minutes with Dylan needing me to do something with him. He can't seem to do anything for any length of time with him.
> 
> ...


Yup. DH complained today that he didn't have a chance to pack a lunch for work. "I was going to, but then I did the bacon, and I had Tenley thjere!!" *Me, saying nothing.* "And like, I had to watch her, and she needed me, so I couldn't get anything done." Erm... yup! That's every day!

I think he's angry at me because I took two shots at a birthday party we were just at. It was his sister's 21st birthday, and all she wanted, was to have a family party where she could try a couple different kind of alcohol and just have some fun and a BBQ qith family (drinking age is 18 here, but I guess this meant a lot to her, since she's now legal everywhere). And so they bought her tons of coolers and shots and stuff, but then nobody else would do any. So I said I'd do one. Then was poured another, did it. Done, downed a bunch of water, no big deal. And... he pretty much hasn't spoken to me since. *rolls eyes*.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

JJ: what's the big deal? IIRC did he have addiction issues? and why should HIS sister have to drink alone, what's the fun in that?

DH has the kids all by himself the 2 days I am in the office. I honestly don't expect any housework to be done while I am gone, as he says the same thing, I tried, but was watching the kids. I need to teach him to babywear better. Part of the problem is fit; He's so freaking tall, with a long torso, finding a SSC that fits comfortably isn't easy. The one I have fits him, but how it's worn on the front, I don't like how low Norah is.

MW: you might try tea trea oil and/or garlic oil - both have anti-fungal properties. mustart seed paste and also carrot+spinach juice is also supposed to be highly effective.

AFM: morning sickness is stronger this time. I have to eat first thing in order to quell the nausea. DS has been very whiney and clingy lately, which further cements in DH"s head that 3 is the limit. With this spacing, It is mine too. with more space between kids, giving the older kids time to become independent and you time to miss the baby stage, I think I could have more kids. This close (Gabe with be 3 .25, Norah 16 months, and newborn) I think the first couple years are going to be challenging, but it will work itself out as they get older to be a really good thing, I think. Nursing seems to be going as well as it can. I'm not stressing over it, and Norah seems to be getting enough. She is also actually getting more food into her mouth at dinner. I hope it continues for at least another 3 months.

Back working today after a week off. Man, I didn't miss it!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Annie ~ Since I've never measured how much any of my babies drank I have no idea if they started drinking less at around a year. They may start nursing less often so maybe that's the equivalent.









JJ ~ Do you all have an agreement that you won't drink around him? Some people with addictions need those closest to them to abstain as well, at least while they are with each other. Maybe he felt unsupported by you.

Kat ~ Yes, I was reading online about adding crushed garlic to the coconut oil. Again, the biggest problem is putting it on him often enough. That's the thing with herbal/home remedies. They have to be applied way more often and usually for a longer period. I read that the coconut oil needs to be applied 7-8 times a day. The other option is to stick a cotton ball or gauze pad soaked with coconut oil on the spot. When I did that for a day the spot got bigger.

Dylan has started shaking his head for fun. He must get a rush from it or something because he does it over and over and laughs. He also likes to lay on his back on people and shake his head. So funny! Oh, and he's practically running now.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

where all is the rash? is it possible to keep it covered in oil - like if it's on feet, soak something with oil and cover with a sock? I would really add something to the coconut oil - if at all possible.

I think they do get a rush from that. so cute! and running! ack.

Gabe was nursing less around a year, but shortly after that we were actively weaning . . . so it's hard to say as far as how much he took in.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

There's just one spot right in the middle of his back. What I tried was a cotton ball soaked in oil stuck on with a bandage. It stayed on but the spot got bigger. I've been trying to figure out where he could have gotten it. The only thing I can come up with is the pool. We haven't been anywhere else and that's the only place he's been where his back was exposed. But I thought the chlorine was supposed to kill all that kind of stuff.

Sean and I were laughing about how we can't shake our heads like that because we get too dizzy.







D also likes to blink hard and nod his head down. He laughs and laughs when he does that, too. Yesterday he was bouncing all over the couch. Thought it was the funnest thing.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

It's hilarious what kids find funny. I think the tolerance for that stuff decreases with age. Don't know why.

It's odd that it got bigger. does it also need to breathe? I have never had ringworm myself, so not sure what would cause it to get bigger. I have had athlete's foot, and that sucked.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> It's odd that it got bigger. does it also need to breathe? I have never had ringworm myself, so not sure what would cause it to get bigger. I have had athlete's foot, and that sucked.


IDK. I was following some directions i read online. it can spread so i'd assume the patches would get bigger if not treated properly.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> JJ: what's the big deal? IIRC did he have addiction issues? and why should HIS sister have to drink alone, what's the fun in that?


I know! I felt bad for her! People were already ragging on her for wanting a party, and then to all ditch her to drink alone at the table? It was just mean.

he did have addiction issues, but with prescription drugs, never alcohol. He drinks more than i do! (Socially, and on occasion, not in a habitual way). He's never had a problem with me drinking before. I -think- what he was angry about, was that I took the shots, and then was going to in the future nurse Tenley (like 2 hours down the road... ) and I was somehow being irresponsible. (Even though we've talked about the amount of alcohol that gets through into breastmilk before).

My guess is affected by the fact that again yesterday, he came to pick us up (he wasn't at the party initially, just T and I), and it was a pool party, so we'd been outside. First thing he did, was pick her up and start checking her for heat and/or sunburn. And made a show of whispering in her ear "It's ok, you can tell me! Tell dada!" like yes, I had been neglecting her all day and letting her get heatstroke.... ... ... In front of his parents and all his siblings and their kids. Like really? I think we're going to sit down tonight and talk, because this is getting ridiculous.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> JJ ~ Do you all have an agreement that you won't drink around him? Some people with addictions need those closest to them to abstain as well, at least while they are with each other. Maybe he felt unsupported by you.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

ooh, that whispering would burn me up! try to talk some sense into him. And seriously, it cannot be as hot as what I have had the kids in all this last week - 100+ temps - we stay shaded when we can, or in the water, use sunscreen when appropriate and stay hydrated.

The worst I've had happen from drinking and breastfeeding is a baby sleep a little better  not a bad side effect, IMHO LOL.

what is it about kids napping that makes me want to nap, rather than be productive?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> He drinks more than i do! (Socially, and on occasion, not in a habitual way). He's never had a problem with me drinking before.


Well, that negates my guess at why he's mad. I don't get it, then. Is he jealous of the closeness between you and T? Even if he is, that's no excuse for that kind of behavior.

I had to talk to my dh the other day because he kept making negative comments about things that D was doing right to him. Not mean but things like when I'd try to get D to do something and he wouldn't, dh would say something like, "Why should I do what you say? That's no fun." as if he were D. Just because he can't talk doesn't mean he doesn't understand every word we say and that sort of thing could reinforce D not doing what we want. KWIM?

Having a couple alcoholic drinks every once in a while when breastfeeding is no biggie, imo.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Even doing shots while nursing is nbd. You're right, the amount in BM is negligible. I think your DH is seriously having some issues, JJ! Idk why or what from, but all these little stabs at your judgement are really uncool. I do think you need to call him out on it and really demand an explanation so you guys can work this out.

I drink wine or whiskey every night practically. Some nights more than others, but never to the point where I'm like drunk falling on my face. I really don't see the harm.

re: the head shaking - Finn does it still! And now he's starting to actually do it to say "no" which I think is adorable and incredible. We can't "make" him do it, like tell him, "Say no!" but if he's doing something he shouldn't be or if Nora is, he'll start shaking his head, "No-no-no" really fast when he gets caught until he giggles. It's so funny!!!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

That's so cute!

I am letting Norah make DH's office messier .. . .why not?

Carrie, drink for me!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Even doing shots while nursing is nbd. You're right, the amount in BM is negligible. I think your DH is seriously having some issues, JJ! Idk why or what from, but all these little stabs at your judgement are really uncool. I do think you need to call him out on it and really demand an explanation so you guys can work this out.
> I drink wine or whiskey every night practically. Some nights more than others, but never to the point where I'm like drunk falling on my face. I really don't see the harm.











Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> re: the head shaking - Finn does it still! And now he's starting to actually do it to say "no" which I think is adorable and incredible. We can't "make" him do it, like tell him, "Say no!" but if he's doing something he shouldn't be or if Nora is, he'll start shaking his head, "No-no-no" really fast when he gets caught until he giggles. It's so funny!!!


Funny!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

JJ, that would piss me off. These little guys understand EVERYTHING. I hate that grownups think they don't understand just because they aren't communicating with words. I'd probably be blunt but nice. "DH, I love DD. I will not purposely do something to hurt her. It makes me very angry/upset/hurt/ when you doubt my judgement. Can you please make an effort to curb those types of statements/actions?"

DD is saying her name. But she's pronouncing it "Ah-vah" instead of "Ay-vah". Her babysitter and my goddaughter both speak spanish and they call her "Ah-vah". Too funny. She's in hog heaven now that the big kids are back home.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Glad your family is whole again!

It's been a oroductive day. I got Norah in bed without DH here to occupy DS. God bless iPhones! She has wanted to sleep a lot today. I am hungry again. Curse of pregncy and breast feeding, I can't eat much at once, so I am hungry all the time. Yay.

*yawn*


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Glad your family is whole again!
> It's been a oroductive day. I got Norah in bed without DH here to occupy DS. God bless iPhones! She has wanted to sleep a lot today. I am hungry again. Curse of pregncy and breast feeding, I can't eat much at once, so I am hungry all the time. Yay.
> *yawn*


I can't imagine!!! Omg I know how hungry I am multiply that times one nursling one growing baby AND my own self -- aye!! I'd be constantly eating!!! Enjoy food -- I'll enjoy wine for you!

I tried giving the baby my phone this morning so I could close my eyes for 5 more minutes. Yeah. He took it and threw it and it went behind the bed WITH toddler lock still making all the sounds! Not exactly restful!! LOL I might wait a few more weeks before trying that again!

Love that Ava is saying her name! So cute. can't wait for that!

Right now, he has Mama, Dada, Nora (sounds like Oh-Ah)...and I think that's it. Oh and he makes the sound "tickle-tickle-tickle" and it's adorable! I should jot this down for his baby book.

What else? Really cruising along planning his party. MW/Lauri - what are you guys doing for birthdays??!!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> I tried giving the baby my phone this morning so I could close my eyes for 5 more minutes. Yeah. He took it and threw it and it went behind the bed WITH toddler lock still making all the sounds! Not exactly restful!! LOL I might wait a few more weeks before trying that again!
> 
> ...


I can't give D my phone. He puts in his mouth and drools all over it. I think that's what messed up my phone at my mom's house when it started calling the police station over and over again.

He's not saying anything yet. Still just sounds.

We're not doing anything big. Probably just a cake and some balloons and just us family. I don't think will even get him any presents. We have so many toys and clothes that more will just add to the mess and he won't know the difference yet. My mom is planning to come the weekend after his birthday to celebrate.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Gabe works the phone better than some of his grandparents! LOL Norah . . . still doesn't get it.

Gabe is finally calling people by name, Mom, Dad-dee, Rah (for Norah) she also gets "ser" (sister) and "silly girl", grandma is "Ahh" and grandpa is "ha". Nana and Grandaddy don't get called anything yet.

9 months old today! I only need to try to keep lactating for 3 more months. It is so frustrating, because most of what I read says if you will make enough milk, you will, but if you don't, there isn't a whole lot you can do about when you're pregnant, because all the normal increasing rules are no longer working (eating and drinking more, increasing demand, even lactogouges). It's almost enough to make me want to give up. But I am still making milk, and it seems to be enough with the solids she's eating, that we are OK for now . . .day by day.

I am tired. Ultrasound and bloodwork tomorrow! I will have an official date!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Ultrasound and bloodwork tomorrow! I will have an official date!


Exciting!

Dylan fell asleep early last night. I was caught off guard again so he didn't have a night diaper on. He just had on a cotton flannel dipe and a regular pair of wool shorts. It worked fine, didn't leak, but some of the dye from the wool stained the diaper because it was so wet. I could seriously get used to this schedule. Asleep by 9 pm and still sleeping at 8 am with a nap for 2-3 hours in the middle of the day.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

That is an awesome schedule! That's more like my toddler's schedule - he's in bed between 9:30-11 (big gap I know) up at 8-9, with a long nap after lunch.

Norah . . . . she's in bed around 9, with however many wake ups, and up for the day between 7-9, she takes 2-3 naps that are kind of random in timing and length. Alot depends on Gabe not waking her, LOL.

I need to kick my butt in gear, I am tired. I did nap a little with Norah today, until Gabe came in from his nap letting me know he had pooped.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> What else? Really cruising along planning his party. MW/Lauri - what are you guys doing for birthdays??!!


Birthday party on Saturday! Trying to keep my mom from going in to complete stress-out mode. I don't want Ava's party to be a high stress. I need to finish her slideshow so I can play it at her party. I'm going to post it on FB on Tuesday on her b-day. I'm making the smash cake and then DH is picking up the special cake on Saturday.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Yeah, it is a pretty nice schedule. Gives me an hour or two at night to relax, maybe even spend some time with my dh, and at least a little time in the morning. And since he's more mobile and getting more mature I can get more stuff done while he's awake, like cleaning up the upstairs playroom that never gets done. He still wakes a few times at night but it's cool because he just nurses and goes back to sleep most of the time. He has even gotten to where he'll nurse and then unlatch and roll over when he's done rather than falling completely asleep while nursing.

I made cookie dough today. After that Kellen decided he wanted to make something so he made an individual chocolate lava cake. We were supposed to go to a pool party with dh's unit tonight but it has been cancelled because of thunderstorms. I went to the psych for my antidepressant refill and told him I'd been having leg cramps. His solution was to prescribe me muscle relaxers.







I told him I was breastfeeding so then he said to just drink lots of water.









Let's see. I know I had more stuff to share. Oh, Dylan is getting quite the attitude. When he gets mad he screams and even hits! He also scrunches up his face into a stink face like Kellen used to do. Very funny! Yesterday those two were upstairs playing. I ran downstairs to grab something real quick. The gate at the top of the stairs was locked. Next thing I knew they were both walking into the kitchen. Apparently, Kellen opened the gate so they could come down.

I'm knitting baby legs for the first time for the woman in my homeschool group who just had the baby. They are easy and cute. I'm thinking I could make some for any of you guys if you want any. I can post pics of the yarn I have so you can pick what you like. It also occurred to me that I could use my scraps of girly sock yarn to make socks for any of you who have girls if you'd like them. That would help me get my stash down a bit. It's getting quite big and I've got at least 3 orders coming in so I really need to get some of this knit up. I haven't knit anything for Dylan recently because he has enough shorts and I don't want to make pants too far out for fear that he might be too big for them when the time comes. Most everything is wool (Sorry, Carrie.). Some of the sock yarn has nylon or bamboo or cashmere and all of that is machine washable on gentle and lay flat to dry.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Even doing shots while nursing is nbd. You're right, the amount in BM is negligible. I think your DH is seriously having some issues, JJ! Idk why or what from, but all these little stabs at your judgement are really uncool. I do think you need to call him out on it and really demand an explanation so you guys can work this out.
> 
> I drink wine or whiskey every night practically. Some nights more than others, but never to the point where I'm like drunk falling on my face. I really don't see the harm.


Yeah - I totally agree that drinking while breastfeeding is NBD. My BIL does this to my sister. Makes her think she's a crazy drunk and feel bad when she has a couple drinks while nursing. Meanwhile he has 3 DUI's







Their whole relationship is nuts though.......what are you gonna do?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Yeah, it is a pretty nice schedule. Gives me an hour or two at night to relax, maybe even spend some time with my dh, and at least a little time in the morning. And since he's more mobile and getting more mature I can get more stuff done while he's awake, like cleaning up the upstairs playroom that never gets done. He still wakes a few times at night but it's cool because he just nurses and goes back to sleep most of the time. He has even gotten to where he'll nurse and then unlatch and roll over when he's done rather than falling completely asleep while nursing.
> I made cookie dough today. After that Kellen decided he wanted to make something so he made an individual chocolate lava cake. We were supposed to go to a pool party with dh's unit tonight but it has been cancelled because of thunderstorms. I went to the psych for my antidepressant refill and told him I'd been having leg cramps. His solution was to prescribe me muscle relaxers.
> ...


That is an awesome schedule. A has been settling down to the one nap now. She was going back and forth between waking up early and taking two naps and going to bed late to then wake up the NEXT morning late, take one nap and go to bed early to then repeat the first one. If that makes sense.

A still doesn't really say words either. She does *talk* quite a bit though. None of my girls have been early talkers though.

She also has quite the attitude! Did I tell you ladies I got 2 kitties last week? I know, I'm nuts!







And anytime any of the other girls or me or DH pet the kittens in her presence she starts screaming. Crazy kids.

MW - Can Dylan go down the steps by himself or did Kellen help him? My steps are way to scary for any babies to attempt by themselves until they are closer to 2 2 1/2. I wish I had normal stairs so I could get rid of these stupid gates!!!

Yeah - I would LOVE anything you made! You could get rid of any girly thread through me fo sho! Sooooo many girls


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Asleep by 9 pm and still sleeping at 8 am with a nap for 2-3 hours in the middle of the day.


That sounds like heaven!!

My two are usually down by 9 when Dh isn't home. When he is home it's 10. Then nora will sleep a solid 12 hours (sometimes she gets up by 830, sometimes as late as 930) but Finn...sigh. Finn needs to work on his nightly wake ups. I don't mind the waking to nurse if he goes right back to sleep. But lately he won't resettle on his own and needs a lot of shushing and pating and sometimes all out stand up and rocking! I'm over it!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> Most everything is wool (Sorry, Carrie.). Some of the sock yarn has nylon or bamboo or cashmere and all of that is machine washable on gentle and lay flat to dry.


Awe, bummer! If you find you have some synthetic material lmk. I'd love a pair of 'em. None of the ones I've found fit finn's thighs. You know what i was trying to find? Just KNEE protectors. Like non slip with like, the stuff that is on the bottom of socks, but for over the knees. To keep him from getting scraped out outdoors. anyone ever see anything like that?

Ok so party! I'm nuts. A friend of mine made up (FOR FREE) a bunch of templates for food, cupcake flags and wrappers, a banner with his name -- all in the pirate theme! Even some with pirate Mickey and I'm like, so freaking excited! Here is my pinterest board.

http://pinterest.com/baby_cakes/finnley-s-1st-bday-ideas/

The only thing I'm thinking is skipping making a cake and just do cupckaes. Way lower stress, way more fun to eat, you know?

They'll most likely be these but with a different flag.



__ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/67835538107956933/

And the water bottles! she made me these water bottle labels!!



I picked up eye patches, plates, and napkins at Target today. I still have to get invites made up (just going to email them) and printed. I'm so freaking excited. I've never done a party like this before! Feels so fun!

And omg. Just now...Finn took a step. He went from the bed to me w/o holding on. OMG.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Carrie ~ There are these: http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=537825&cmSource=Search. It probably wouldn't be hard to knit or crochet some and then put that rubbery fabric paint on them to keep them from slipping. That's what people use on the bottom of socks and slippers. But he's walking! Who needs knee protectors anymore? Dylan had dark, bruised knees for a long time from crawling on the hardwood floor.

That's a lot of cool pirate stuff. Are you going to do all of it? How did your friend make those bottle labels?

Funny that you think cupcakes are easier than cakes. I'm the opposite. I think cupcakes are a pain and cakes are so much easier.

annie ~ Dylan has been doing the alternate schedules for a while now. For the last two weeks or so, not including when he was sick. he's been pretty consistent about taking just one nap is getting more consistent about falling asleep by 9. I'm not used to it yet, though, and rarely have him ready for bed in time. We used to not bother putting a night time diaper on him until closer to 10 because he'd be up until at least then if not 11 and sometimes even later.

Oh, yeah, all those girls need socks! I'm not sure about the largest size I can make with the leftovers I have. The nice thing about learning to do two-at-a-time toe-up socks is that I can just knit until I run out of yarn so I might get anklets or mid-calf or something in between.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

OMG Carrie! Sooooo freaking cute!!! Can't believe all the babies are getting so big









Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Funny that you think cupcakes are easier than cakes. I'm the opposite. I think cupcakes are a pain and cakes are so much easier.
> annie ~ Dylan has been doing the alternate schedules for a while now. For the last two weeks or so, not including when he was sick. he's been pretty consistent about taking just one nap is getting more consistent about falling asleep by 9. I'm not used to it yet, though, and rarely have him ready for bed in time. We used to not bother putting a night time diaper on him until closer to 10 because he'd be up until at least then if not 11 and sometimes even later.
> Oh, yeah, all those girls need socks! I'm not sure about the largest size I can make with the leftovers I have. The nice thing about learning to do two-at-a-time toe-up socks is that I can just knit until I run out of yarn so I might get anklets or mid-calf or something in between.


I also think that cupcakes are easier thank a cake........although I am along the lines of buying cakes/cupcakes not MAKING them (I know, I'm a bum) and cupcakes are easier to eat since they don't need their own plates and utensils to eat. If that makes sense.

That is cool about just knitting until you run out - I srsly need to learn how to knit one of these days!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Cupcakes make me a bit batty too because you have to put icing on all of them. But easier at the actual party because you don't have to cut a cake. I'm so excited to see what Ava's cake looks like. I hope I'm not disappointed.

I'm trying to not go overboard with the decorations. I didn't do all matchy-matchy plates, I'm just doing red plates, green silverware and probably orange napkins. I have some decorations and told my mom to not buy more.

I'm getting jealous that all the other babies are walking and Ava isn't! I know it will take time but boo!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Annie ~ The average age for babies to walk is actually 12-15 months, so she's not behind. She'll get there! And she's talking. I'm jealous that you guys have talking babies. I've been trying to get Dylan to say, "Mama," but no luck. Although, he smiles like crazy when I say it.







He doesn't even really babble, just makes randoms sounds and screams a lot.









Yeah, cupcakes are easier to serve but individually frosting all of them gets me. And, I like frosting. I wouldn't eat cake if it weren't for frosting. So, I want frosting all over my piece in every bite.







Can't really get that with a cupcake unless you spread the frosting around while eating it.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Annie ~ The average age for babies to walk is actually 12-15 months, so she's not behind. She'll get there! And she's talking. I'm jealous that you guys have talking babies. I've been trying to get Dylan to say, "Mama," but no luck. Although, he smiles like crazy when I say it.
> 
> ...


Yep - my other two girls both started walking about 14/15ish months. I was surprised when Arianna started walking about 12 months! I guess she needed to keep up with the big kids









MW - A won't say mama either!!!!! I can count on one hand the amount of times she has said it. She said it once randomly when she was younger (and whining of course) and just recently on a long car trip. She says dada and da to most things. She tried to say kitty when we got them, but it is mostly just the K sound. Oh, and she said "bobble" earlier. All of my kids have called their water bottle's etc. Bobble's. I have been purposefully saying boTTle to A so she wouldn't pick up the bad habit. Guess it is just genetic!!!









Oh, and it didn't help that at a family reunion on Saturday, a baby who was almost her exact age (her great aunt couldn't remember if she was born the 7th or the 4th) pointed to A and said "baby!" PERFECTLY. Showoff


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

That's true MW. All perspective. And I know it may be awhile before Ava walks. DSD 13 didn't walk until she was 14 months old. So it may be a while. She doesn't have any problems getting to where she wants to go though!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Haha! Gotta love those show off babies!

I didn't answer you about Dylan and stares. He can go up and down them himself. Kellen only helped him bust out. Do you think that means I can stop worrying about it? IDK. He still doesn't always get that there's an edge he can fall off. Sometimes when he stops and decides to sit he's right on the edge and would topple if I didn't catch him. He has only done that once on the stairs and he was only up 1 or 2 steps so it wasn't a big fall but he does it on the couch all the time.

Carrie ~ Do you remember that yarn I posted about on FB that I had finally gotten after something like 2 years of waiting? It's called Pieced of Eight. hehe The colors don't really make me think pirates so I'm not sure why it was named that but I thought it was cool. I'll be making a pair of pants for Dylan out of it.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Ugh! DH is really pissing me off. I asked him to empty the trash can so that I could clean up our trash from lunch. He did that but then just sat in the kitchen doing whatever. I had Dylan so I couldn't get up and do anything. When he got up and started doing stuff I asked him to come spend time with his family. He said he was going to clean. I asked him again to please come spend some time with his family. His response was, "Ok, I'll trade you." In other words, he would take Dylan so I could clean up. Um, that's not what I said. I wanted him to actually spend some time _with_ us, sitting, talking, laughing, enjoying each other instead of always doing something else. I did not get up and clean right that second. I said I'd get it when I get it. He got mad and started passive/aggressively insulting me about the house being dirty implying that we are slobs or something, I guess. Finally, I told him to go clean it then. We don't need to be here if we bother him so much. Now he's stomping around the house "picking up" as he calls it while holding Dylan. I'm mad so I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to leave my trash on the table and see how much it bothers him.









I get like that. If you try to tell me what to do and when to do it, I'm for sure not going to do it even if it's something I said I would do. Why doesn't he understand that I wanted him to pay attention to us instead of his stuff? (And, yes, I know I'm probably a little crazy for complaining that my dh is cleaning.)


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Ugh! DH is really pissing me off. I asked him to empty the trash can so that I could clean up our trash from lunch. He did that but then just sat in the kitchen doing whatever. I had Dylan so I couldn't get up and do anything. When he got up and started doing stuff I asked him to come spend time with his family. He said he was going to clean. I asked him again to please come spend some time with his family. His response was, "Ok, I'll trade you." In other words, he would take Dylan so I could clean up. Um, that's not what I said. I wanted him to actually spend some time _with_ us, sitting, talking, laughing, enjoying each other instead of always doing something else. I did not get up and clean right that second. I said I'd get it when I get it. He got mad and started passive/aggressively insulting me about the house being dirty implying that we are slobs or something, I guess. Finally, I told him to go clean it then. We don't need to be here if we bother him so much. Now he's stomping around the house "picking up" as he calls it while holding Dylan. I'm mad so I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to leave my trash on the table and see how much it bothers him.
> 
> ...


Yeah, my husband is an OCD neat freak. When other women complain that their husbands don't clean, I just imagine a husband who doesn't clean







He goes around all day picking up stuff while I would rather just do one BIG cleanup once a day and maybe deep clean once a week.

I think all us ladies need to go on a REAL vacation. Somewhere tropical







Of course now we will have to wait for Kat to have the baby and said baby get older........sooooo, like 3ish years? LOL


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *annie2186*
> 
> I think all us ladies need to go on a REAL vacation. Somewhere tropical
> 
> ...


AGREED! I saw a deal come through my email a few weeks ago from Travelzoo that was a 6 night cruise to Bermuda for $399 on Royal Carribean with a $100 onboard credit. Oh man! How I would love to be on a cruise with you ladies!


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

So much happening here today guys!! lol I'm following along, but had a busy day (even though I didn't leave the house... lol) I might get a chance to come back and do personals tomorrow.

For the past week or so, T has been waking up every 45 minutes during the night. *headspin* I know a lot of it is teething, but knowing why doesn't help the fact that when I get up, I'm so tired that I'm dizzy. It sucks. so much. Anyways, we've been trying everything, and last night we brought her into bed with us at the start. I've been noticing that the alst few times she's been in bed with us, for various reasons (teething, sick, random cuddle night), she's --finally-- cuddling with me/us without wanting to nurse all night! It used to be if she was in bed, she was nursing. Period. I couldn't have her in bed without her wanting to nurse all night long- which kept me up. But she seems to be growing out of that, which is so nice! Anywho, so we brought her into bed last night, and she slept for almost 4 hours straight!! It was such a dream! And then she did I think 2 hours and then went back to every 40 minutes, but still!!

So... I told DH that for one week, I'm going to put her to bed in her crib, and then whenever her first wakeup is after we go to bed, I'll bring her in with us for the rest of the night. After a week, if she's sleeping better like that, well... significantly better I guess I should amend to... then we're going to look at getting a king size bed. I don't know how we'll fit it in the room and still be able to move, but it would be worth it. If she will sleep with us without nursing, then that's wonderful. But we don't fit, not even close, in the queen. I wake up feeling like I slept on a park bench, I'm so cramped and squished. So a bigger bed would be needed.

So that's our big news! We may turn into a co-sleeping family after all!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

JJ: Hooray for Co-sleeping!

MW: Stairs . . . once DS could go up and down them well on his own, I stopped worrying. That was around 2, but he didn't have stairs until then either (like inside the house stairs). Norah has gone up one step, freaked out, and went back down again.

A cruise without kids?! OMG yeah . . . probably 3 years 

Ultrasound later this morning . . . . woot!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Oh, I've always wanted to go on a cruise. I even booked one for us once. Then I got scared of tidal waves and cancelled it.









I can always tell when my dh is mad at me because he doesn't make my coffee in the morning. The thing about his cleaning is that it never really is. All he does is "pick up." He goes around the house and creates neat little stacks of various stuff. He doesn't actually sweep or vacuum or mop or a scrub a toilet. I've been asking him since he came home from that one deployment to this house to pick up and move the couch so I can clean underneath it. The way it's built, if you slide it, it drags everything underneath with it. He has still not done that.

The issue isn't that he does this. It's the attitude he has about it. He thinks he has to do it or it will never get done and then he expects me to thank him for it. Um, not gonna happen. If you want something done, then do it and feel good about it but don't go around trying to make everyone else feel bad about it. It's not a gift if it comes with strings attached. KWIM?

JJ ~







for some sleep! Hopefully, this will work for you guys. When we had the queen with Ethan we put a twin mattress next to it rather than getting a king because we figured he'd use the twin eventually when he got older. We're still waiting on that and have gotten a king mattress in the meantime.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Ultrasound later this morning . . . . woot!


Can't wait to read the news!
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> MW: Stairs . . . once DS could go up and down them well on his own, I stopped worrying.


Yeah, that's my thing. What is being able to do it well? He's been able to go up for several months now and he's been climbing down off the bed and couch for a while, too. I watched him go up and down the stairs several times yesterday. He didn't slip or fall once. I'm still not 100% confident with him doing it without someone there. It sure would be nice to not have to worry about him going upstairs, though.

That's another thing that's been bugging me about dh. I like to give the kids as much freedom to roam as is safe. I don't worry about them pulling cans out of the cupboard or whatever. DH is the opposite. He likes to contain them as much as possible. For example, he took D upstairs but shut him in the playroom and then wondered why he was fussing the whole time and got annoyed. Well, geez, he wanted to explore. When I asked dh said he did that so that D couldn't get into the bedrooms but there's nothing in the bedrooms that are dangerous. I let him wander everywhere upstairs. I only shut the bathroom doors because I never know when someone might leave the toilet seat up and he likes to unroll all the toilet paper.

It's like we're coming at things from opposite directions. I can't seem to get him to understand that it's better to give the kids as much freedom as possible and that he doesn't have to thwart them at every turn. It reminds of me people who think they are supposed to not let kids do anything. It's like he thinks he has to control their every move. Do you all know what I'm talking about?


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Yes MW, my mom and sister are like that. It drives me crazy. It's stifling to the kids and more work for them! My mom put my nieces in the stroller to walk ten steps across the street in to the park. My big girls were there and could have helped with holding hands ect but she took ten mins to set up the double stroller, made the girls sit down and buckle to walk literally 30 seconds. So strange! I'm always the parent getting the stink eye at the park because I have Ava stripped down to her diaper splashing and playing in the water wall and the other parents want their kids to keep their shoes, sun hats, shirts, etc on. The kids look at Ava and are like WTF? Hahaha!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Yay for cosleeping babies who sleep better!! Good luck, JJ. I hope your DH comes around and doesn't mind. I know DH loves waking up to snuggles from the kids. I really wish he didn't snore so badly so he could come back in bed with me and Finn. I'm kind of already dreading sleeping together with just him once finn is out in his own bed! But I guess at that point I can use ear plugs!

MW - I totally see what you're saying. I wonder if it's b/c he needs to feel in control, and you just don't. You know things will work out and you see no point in controlling children. His job might have a lot to do with that. He is always under someone's thumb, or someone is under his, and he sees/knows that is the only way to avoid chaos. He believes in that the same way you believe in what you are doing.

I don't know what you can do to reach a middle ground.

And I do know what you mean about the huffy attitude while picking up. DH does the same thing with making little piles!! Ugh, it's infuriating.

My DH also decided he doesn't like the look of the trash can in front of the house. So. He put it in the back yard all the way around in the back where it can't be seen. Makes it about 30 times more difficult for me not only to take the trash out from the kitchen, but now I can't just drag it to the curb from the front by the garage. I need to pull it all the way around the whole house (and this thing is HEAVY, it's the kind the machine picks up and dumps). I gave him some crap about it. He was also watering the lawn and complaining that the garbage can was leaving tracks from where it's killing his precious grass from dragging it around. I looked at him and said, "Are you serious? You care more about the look in front of the house than the fact it's killing the grass you worked so hard on back here!?" It needs to go back where it was. Maybe I can bedazzle it so it isn't so hideous.







Or maybe knit a cover for it! Haha!

Kat - yay for u/s!! Ready to hear when this baby is coming!!

MW - stairs - he's bound to fall now and then, but if he's got it, then I wouldn't worry too much. Trust your gut. If you think a few more weeks could guarantee less accidents, then wait.

I would love a tropical beach vacation w/you ladies!! Tho - I'm not into cruises. My ILs are trying to talk us into the Disney cruise in a few years and we are just hesistant to do it. Food aside, we like to explore, and is there really that much to do on a ship? I'd rather be in a country or location that I could have more freedom and possibilities. Ykwim?

Ahhh - going to get some more coffee and wake Nora up. BBL!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I'm always getting the looks for letting my kids play outside without shoes. I go without shoes most of the time myself. One more reason why Ryan calls me a hippy.

Carrie ~ My dh does stuff like that without thinking about how it will affect me. He put a magnetic lock on the pantry of our house in Hawaii to keep Ethan out of it. As soon as he left I pulled it off. It may not have been a pain if you only need to get into the pantry once or twice a day like he did but when you need to get into it 100 times a day like I did it was a major pita! Once he also locked all of his tools up before leaving on deployment and didn't leave me a key or tell me where to find it or anything else. I could not do any home repairs while he was gone. There are so many little things that he's oblivious to because he's not here. I tell him over and over to not undo anything I have done. If I have done it, it's for a reason. I don't do things without thinking about them like he does.

I think that's why he does the containment thing with the kids. It's just what he had always heard and seen growing up and he hasn't thought beyond it. What's the true purpose? Is it really necessary? Are there other ways to handle the situation?


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> That's a lot of cool pirate stuff. Are you going to do all of it? How did your friend make those bottle labels?
> Funny that you think cupcakes are easier than cakes. I'm the opposite. I think cupcakes are a pain and cakes are so much easier.


Pretty much all of it, I think. It's not really that much, and not much extra stuff. I'm going to have a Jolly Roger tattoo station and have a bunch of temporary pirate tattoos, eye patches, and maybe (maybe) foam swords for the kids to take home. I don't want to do a "goody bag" but I might pick up a few more little things that the kids can take home with them.

I keep trying to sit down and come up with a guest list but I keep getting distracted! I think there will be 5 little kids and a few babies, plus all their folks plus our family. Did I tell you? I think Diane is coming up from Maryland for it.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> All he does is "pick up." He goes around the house and creates neat little stacks of various stuff. He doesn't actually sweep or vacuum or mop or a scrub a toilet. I've been asking him since he came home from that one deployment to this house to pick up and move the couch so I can clean underneath it. The way it's built, if you slide it, it drags everything underneath with it. He has still not done that.
> The issue isn't that he does this. It's the attitude he has about it. He thinks he has to do it or it will never get done and then he expects me to thank him for it. Um, not gonna happen. If you want something done, then do it and feel good about it but don't go around trying to make everyone else feel bad about it. It's not a gift if it comes with strings attached. KWIM?
> ...


What is it with boys and cleaning? DH doesn't "pick up" like that, he's more the type that I'll say "Ok, let's clean today. Can you take that small pile of tools on the table and put them away downstairs?" And he'll take them down... and then come back 2 hours later, and be like "I installed the light switch!!" and expect oodles and oodles of praise for this wonderful thing he did. Meanwhile I'm like uhhh yeah, thanks for helping me clean up. The main floor is done. *sigh* Why do they feel like if they pick up one toy they need a parade? lol

A queen and a twin definitely wouldn't fit in the room! lol Although I have heard some families that set that up perfectly.

And she slept horribly last night. That's not good for my experiment! lol. She wasn't nursing, but she would latch, and then just bite, or start playing. She spent most of the night kicking herself in circles around the bed, and waving her arms around-- but not sleeping. All three of us slept horribly, and she's been melting down this morning because she's exhausted.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Ultrasound later this morning . . . . woot!


Oooh exciting! I don't remember, are you guys going to find out gender with this pregnancy. I'm assuming it'll be too early at this ultrasound anyways though. Exciting none the less!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> That's another thing that's been bugging me about dh. I like to give the kids as much freedom to roam as is safe. I don't worry about them pulling cans out of the cupboard or whatever. DH is the opposite. He likes to contain them as much as possible. For example, he took D upstairs but shut him in the playroom and then wondered why he was fussing the whole time and got annoyed. Well, geez, he wanted to explore. When I asked dh said he did that so that D couldn't get into the bedrooms but there's nothing in the bedrooms that are dangerous. I let him wander everywhere upstairs. I only shut the bathroom doors because I never know when someone might leave the toilet seat up and he likes to unroll all the toilet paper.
> It's like we're coming at things from opposite directions. I can't seem to get him to understand that it's better to give the kids as much freedom as possible and that he doesn't have to thwart them at every turn. It reminds of me people who think they are supposed to not let kids do anything. It's like he thinks he has to control their every move. Do you all know what I'm talking about?


DH and I were just talking about that this morning. One of the things that comes up in my AP group a lot is the idea of not restricting kids from things just because you're "supposed to". So yeah, if there's something non-toyish that she wants to play with, she can play with it as long as there's no good reason for her not to. So she plays in the cupboard, and she plays with the newspapers, and we allow her to play with the phone as long as she's not pressing buttons, etc etc. Too often we say no simply because we think we're supposed to, even though there's no real reason for them not to have the thing they want.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Yay for cosleeping babies who sleep better!! Good luck, JJ. I hope your DH comes around and doesn't mind. I know DH loves waking up to snuggles from the kids. I really wish he didn't snore so badly so he could come back in bed with me and Finn. I'm kind of already dreading sleeping together with just him once finn is out in his own bed! But I guess at that point I can use ear plugs!
> 
> ...


Spray paint it tie dye or something!! lol

DH actually in theory is more of a push for co-sleeping than I am. Because she sleeps on my half of the bed entirely, DH still gets his (more than) half, so it doesn't disturb him at all. It's me that ends up huddling on the edge of the bed, trying not to fall off, and uncomfortable. He is not however, supportive of us buying a new bed. It sucks because our current queen is 4 years old, and still in great condition- it was a pillowtop bed, and quite a nice one, but from costco, AND on sale, so it was under $500. From what I've seen, a new king would be closer to $1000. I didn't realize costco didn't carry the same bed we have now in a king  That could greatly effect our ability to buy a new one. I can't see us dropping $1000 on a new bed when we still have a basement waiting to be finished. But... we'll see. No decisions until the week is over.

Oh, and I'm not a cruise person either. But I could totally do a hot destination! I want so badly to go back to Dominican or Cuba again. But DH prefers to travel alone (as in, he's never travelled with friends and family, and won't even try...) so we probably wouldn't go as a group. *pout*


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> And she slept horribly last night. That's not good for my experiment! lol. She wasn't nursing, but she would latch, and then just bite, or start playing. She spent most of the night kicking herself in circles around the bed, and waving her arms around-- but not sleeping. All three of us slept horribly, and she's been melting down this morning because she's exhausted.


I know it sucks but it's probably developmental. You will get thru it! We all just did!!

I'm chalking up Finn's rough sleep to the whole walking thing. I think right around this time, he's tranistioning to one nap, wanting to walk, talking up a storm, changing almost DAILY let alone weekly. So. I have to just suck it up. I know this will pass!!

I thought of another one. When he's eating, after every bite, he says, "Yum!" it's the cutest thing.

We did OK last night. I think only 3 wake ups and right back to sleep w/nursing!

Yes! I'll spray paint that darn can! LOL!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Sounds like fun, Carrie. Who's Diane?

JJ ~ Tell your dh the trip would be very low pressure, if any, to socialize. We could all get our own rooms and no one would be expected to do anything with anyone else if he didn't want. I'm an introvert so I need a lot of down private time so I totally understand being hesitant to do anything like that.

Annie ~ I'm afraid your idea of a cruise has been voted down.







Maybe you could take a cruise to our destination.








Quote:


> Too often we say no simply because we think we're supposed to, even though there's no real reason for them not to have the thing they want.


Exactly! I had a talk with dh the other day about how he always starts off with a long list of why we can't do something that the kids want to do. He never just says, "Yeah, let's do that." It's not that he doesn't like to do things because he'll do just about anything I come up with whenever I tell him to do it. If I got up Saturday morning and told him that I wanted to drive to the mountains, he'd do it without a second thought even if he had other plans. I don't understand why he's the opposite with the kids. Even if they come up with something kind of crazy or that is way too expensive for us to do, I think it would be better to say something like, "That's a tricky one. Let's see what we can come up with to make that happen."


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Oh my bad. Diane is my oldest friend, the one I've kind of grown away from over this past year. She did cio with her baby and we had some trouble reconciling our differences. I'm hoping they come, it'll be good to see her and her little girl, but I worry drama will ensue! And there's no way I can tell her her douchebag of a husband isn't allowed, lol!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

OK, so we are only 6 weeks and 1 day - due March 6th. DH wants to wait to make the big announcement at Norah's birthday, at which point I will be about 19 weeks. I wonder if we can restrain ourselves that long - some IRL friends know, so it's not news to them. But holding back from our parents . . . oi vey. we are going to try!

My kids are always the ones getting wet without "proper" water gear. the nice thing about cloth diapers is that they get wet and heavy, but don't explode the way disposables do.

Trash . . . DH lets it stack up in the house, where we might have 3 or 4 trash bags going at once. I don't like it.

I need more sleep.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Wow, so early! When did you test? How long had your cycle been by then? You thought you were a couple of weeks further along, didn't you?

Carrie ~ I thought that was who you meant.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I must've been about 14 DPO I guess. LMP was 5/5, but based on us we conceIved mid June. But I am far enough along that we saw a heartbeat!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> I must've been about 14 DPO I guess. LMP was 5/5, but based on us we conceIved mid June. But I am far enough along that we saw a heartbeat!










Ain't nothing like seeing that little flicker! Congrats!! And March still feels good and long enough away to get more used to the idea of another! Ha!

I never thought about that with cloth dipes. Stupid me thinks sposies are better for getting wet. Sometimes I'm not prepared and we go swimming or something or play in the sprinkler. I usually do a huggies but maybe next time I'll just let him wear his cloth.

I think he's got a little spot of yeast again so today he's in sposies to see if I can get it cleared up.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> I know it sucks but it's probably developmental. You will get thru it! We all just did!!
> 
> We did OK last night. I think only 3 wake ups and right back to sleep w/nursing!


Yes, very much so! It sucks, it seems like every time she's on her way to 'good sleep' again, she gets derailed by developmental something or other. Last night was definitely teething, no doubt. But she did sit in her pack and play this morning for an hour and watch baby einstein while I slept on the couch. So, she redeems herself a little bit. Now she's passed out on my lap, so I'm trying to catch up on 'me time'. There's never enough of it!

I'm pouting too, because I messaged my mother at the beginning of the week and asked if she wanted to come over wed or fri to spend some time with us, since we'd been very busy lately, and I was trying to get some stuff done. She hasn't even bothered to respond. sigh. She's turning into one of those parents who only seems to want to spend time with us if it's on her terms/her turf. Which is an hour away... and filled with smoke and grime. grrr.

Yay for 3 wakeups!! That's huge progress from the last few weeks!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> JJ ~ Tell your dh the trip would be very low pressure, if any, to socialize. We could all get our own rooms and no one would be expected to do anything with anyone else if he didn't want. I'm an introvert so I need a lot of down private time so I totally understand being hesitant to do anything like that.
> 
> Exactly! I had a talk with dh the other day about how he always starts off with a long list of why we can't do something that the kids want to do. He never just says, "Yeah, let's do that." It's not that he doesn't like to do things because he'll do just about anything I come up with whenever I tell him to do it. If I got up Saturday morning and told him that I wanted to drive to the mountains, he'd do it without a second thought even if he had other plans. I don't understand why he's the opposite with the kids. Even if they come up with something kind of crazy or that is way too expensive for us to do, I think it would be better to say something like, "That's a tricky one. Let's see what we can come up with to make that happen."


Oh, like he doesn't even want to go on a trip with my best friend and her partner, or his sister and a friend. He wants to travel just the two (or three) of us. I told him that it'll be years before we can go somewhere with her alone, but could probably go somewhere this winter if it was in a group. He was a no go, and would rather wait. I think he's crazy!

He does that too. I don't know why. Is it a guy thing? Like if you saved the time and just did it, you'd have so much more fun than wasting all the time figuring out why you can't!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> OK, so we are only 6 weeks and 1 day - due March 6th. DH wants to wait to make the big announcement at Norah's birthday, at which point I will be about 19 weeks. I wonder if we can restrain ourselves that long - some IRL friends know, so it's not news to them. But holding back from our parents . . . oi vey. we are going to try!
> 
> My kids are always the ones getting wet without "proper" water gear. the nice thing about cloth diapers is that they get wet and heavy, but don't explode the way disposables do.


I wish I could have held out to 19 weeks! I was totally showing by 13, that was pushing it! But if I could hide it, I totally would!

We've done the same. Ten has a cloth swim diaper, but I keep forgetting it! But at least with cloth dipes, I just pull out her insert, and let her swim with the cover on. Tadaa! We went for an impromptu picnic last week, that was at a park with a splash pad, and once we got there, found some friends at the splash pad. so I stripped off Tens pants, left her onesie one, took out her diaper insert and away we went. I had people looking at me funny. I mean really? It's better to deny her the opportunity, than to dry some clothes once we got home?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Very cool that you saw the heartbeat!

I use cloth swim diapers on Dylan. I have some that just pull up and down and some that wrap. The wrap ones are nice because, if he poops in it, it doesn't get smeared down his legs while taking it off. The idea of a disposable swim diaper grosses me out. In addition to pee leaking out into the pool water I imagine all the chemicals from the diaper. Yuck!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Here's a link to some yarn I have. http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/ryeth/Yarn/

If you see something you like, lmk and I'll see if I can make something out of it. I can't guarantee anything.

Carrie ~ I found some stuff that's a cotton/acrylic blend. I put your name on it. Idk if you'll like it. It's kind bland. Also, I'm not sure if I have enough to make baby legs out of it.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> We've done the same. Ten has a cloth swim diaper, but I keep forgetting it! But at least with cloth dipes, I just pull out her insert, and let her swim with the cover on. Tadaa! We went for an impromptu picnic last week, that was at a park with a splash pad, and once we got there, found some friends at the splash pad. so I stripped off Tens pants, left her onesie one, took out her diaper insert and away we went. I had people looking at me funny. I mean really? It's better to deny her the opportunity, than to dry some clothes once we got home?


Yep, do the same thing. I bought a pack of swim dipes and then I was like "ummm, they can't absorb the pee because otherwise they would absorb the pool water so why am I using them again?". So I put a Thirsties Duo Size One snaps on her that has gussets in the off chance that she poops and I'm done. Easy peasy.

akind1, yay for a heartbeat! I've got the baby bug bad right now. But if I honestly examine it, what I'm wanting is that excitement and anticipation waiting for a new little one to join our family. I need to chill out.

I don't care where we go in 3 years as long as it's a vacation! I'm still fantasizing about going to a hotel room by myself for the night once Ava is sleeping better and I'm not pumping anymore!

Speaking of pumping, my supply is so sensitive! I had gotten a bit lax over the last couple of days because I had so much extra milk I was putting in the freezer every day. Well my supply has regulated itself and now it looks like DD is heading in to a growth spurt! No worries because I've got stuff in the freezer but I like to be able to at least replace what's been taken out in the evenings while I'm at work. So back to pumping every 2 hrs again.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> I've got the baby bug bad right now. But if I honestly examine it, what I'm wanting is that excitement and anticipation waiting for a new little one to join our family.


I don't have the baby bug but I know exactly what you are talking about. That's my big thing, the excitement of pregnancy and the anticipation of giving birth and having a newborn baby. There's something about all of that that I love. I just think the idea of another human being growing inside my body is so incredible. I'm not really sad about not having another baby but I am sad about never being pg and giving birth again.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Here's a link to some yarn I have. http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/ryeth/Yarn/
> If you see something you like, lmk and I'll see if I can make something out of it. I can't guarantee anything.
> Carrie ~ I found some stuff that's a cotton/acrylic blend. I put your name on it. Idk if you'll like it. It's kind bland. Also, I'm not sure if I have enough to make baby legs out of it.


If you want to make something for Miss Ava out of the yarn in pic 10 of 11, that would be awesome!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Baby_Cakes, most of my IRL friends do CIO in one form or another. When they try to "suggest" that I do that with Ava or ask if she's sleeping through the night, I usually laugh like they've said the most absurd thing ever. And if needed, I add "No, I won't/can't do that with Ava." and just leave it at that. If they push me, I may start going in to why it's not a good idea, if babies wake it's because they need something etc. But otherwise I just ignore them.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> If you want to make something for Miss Ava out of the yarn in pic 10 of 11, that would be awesome!


This one? It's called Playful Pooches dyed by Retro Baby on a merino wool/cashmere/nylon blend. Very soft!










Here' one of the socks I made for myself with that so you can see what it looks like knit up. I didn't like it much in the skein but I love the way my socks look.



Dylan has another tooth! He was drooling like crazy so I decided to feel inside his mouth again. I've been doing that every so often but hadn't felt anything yet. Sure enough, I feel a sharp edge. I think it's the 1 year molar on the right side. That would explain why he only had 1 good night of sleep after getting over the cold we've had before going back to being squirmy.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Yes, MW, that's the one. I love the colors together!

Ava is working on her fourth tooth. She's finally settled at night but she's still super emotional during the day. Hopefully she'll be ok at her party on Saturday.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Yep, do the same thing. I bought a pack of swim dipes and then I was like "ummm, they can't absorb the pee because otherwise they would absorb the pool water so why am I using them again?". So I put a Thirsties Duo Size One snaps on her that has gussets in the off chance that she poops and I'm done. Easy peasy.
> 
> Speaking of pumping, my supply is so sensitive! I had gotten a bit lax over the last couple of days because I had so much extra milk I was putting in the freezer every day. Well my supply has regulated itself and now it looks like DD is heading in to a growth spurt! No worries because I've got stuff in the freezer but I like to be able to at least replace what's been taken out in the evenings while I'm at work. So back to pumping every 2 hrs again.


Exactly. When I plan for it I have a cover with me. I usually use a grovia shell that velcros. Otherwise the poop smear possibility scares me!!

Oh honey, I really feel for you on supply/demand.

Things are really changing fast for us so I can only imagine how hard it is for you to know ahead of time how much/how little she's going to eat. Like for instance, yesterday we were just plain busy and he didn't nurse from 730 am (wake up) until like 445. I was horrified at myself that I let it go that long. He had plenty to eat and drink and wasn't asking...and didn't fuss a single time. But man! It's crazy! I was really mad I let it go that long. He should be nursing more often, and he does most days.

Maybe it won't take long to up your milk supply. Here's to hoping! Ugh!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> I don't have the baby bug but I know exactly what you are talking about. That's my big thing, the excitement of pregnancy and the anticipation of giving birth and having a newborn baby. There's something about all of that that I love. I just think the idea of another human being growing inside my body is so incredible. I'm not really sad about not having another baby but I am sad about never being pg and giving birth again.


I feel the same. I really feel like being a doula and being invovled with birth in general will help me. I have some pull toward the birth community, toward helping mamas, toward babies. It's just such an amazing life changing event. But then I get to go home.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Baby_Cakes, most of my IRL friends do CIO in one form or another. When they try to "suggest" that I do that with Ava or ask if she's sleeping through the night, I usually laugh like they've said the most absurd thing ever. And if needed, I add "No, I won't/can't do that with Ava." and just leave it at that. If they push me, I may start going in to why it's not a good idea, if babies wake it's because they need something etc. But otherwise I just ignore them.


It's so sad! People think it's normal and the right thing to do. I like your response. No one would ever tell me to do it b/c I'm too outspoken about my beliefs on the issue...but it's hard just the same to hear ppl talk about it like it's nbd.

EtA - LOVE those socks!! They look like slippers!!

Finn now has 6 teeth! all 4 front teeth on the top and the two middle bottom ones! Can we get a break now please!?! LOL!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Carrie ~ I found some stuff that's a cotton/acrylic blend. I put your name on it. Idk if you'll like it. It's kind bland. Also, I'm not sure if I have enough to make baby legs out of it.


You got a pic of it?


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Norah still is toothless hehe!

Love the socks, but no one here wears them







except maybe a couple months in the winter when wearing shoes that need socks.

I didn't have the baby bug, but I got bit anyway!

I got in a crazy discussion re: CIO when a local friend asked for help. I hate when people think that's the only option! Makes me so mad!
I should crochet more . . .


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> You got a pic of it?


There are two in the link I posted. They are labeled with your name. One is a kind of mossy green and the other is a cream color. They are solids. If I don't have enough of one, I may be able to make some striped baby legs using them together. I don't know how boyish it would look, though. They are very neutral colors.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> There are two in the link I posted. They are labeled with your name. One is a kind of mossy green and the other is a cream color. They are solids. If I don't have enough of one, I may be able to make some striped baby legs using them together. I don't know how boyish it would look, though. They are very neutral colors.


Ooh. I love the cream color! I would take that or stripes -- either! I don't care much about boyish or not.







Thanks!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Ooh. I love the cream color! I would take that or stripes -- either! I don't care much about boyish or not.
> 
> ...


Ok, I'll see what I can do. Can you measure the thickest part of his upper thighs for me since you said you had trouble finding any that were big enough? Also, while you're at it, if you could measure his inseam that would be great.

For comparison for anyone, Dylan is about 29.25 inches long and his inseam is 9".

He fell asleep at 8:30 tonight! And that's after having a 3 hour nap this afternoon. I was sure he'd wake up around 9:30 and be up but not a peep so far. I'm getting ready to head to bed. I have to wake him because (again







) he doesn't have a night diaper or a cover on and I can't leave him in the dipe he has on. It won't last without a cover. You'd think I'd figure this out but I didn't realize it was that late. We hadn't even eating dinner yet.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Ok, I'll see what I can do. Can you measure the thickest part of his upper thighs for me since you said you had trouble finding any that were big enough? Also, while you're at it, if you could measure his inseam that would be great.


The fattest part was 13" and the inseam (from crotch to the floor, right?) was 8".

I weighed him today - 28 lbs and his height standing against the wall was 30"!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Carrie ~ That's one chunky monkey! Dylan thighs are 11" around. He only weighs about 22 lbs., too. He's a bitty think compared to Finn.









I measure inseam from crotch to top of the ankle or wherever you want the pants/leggings to end. When I make long pants at the beginning of the fall/winter season I try to make them about an inch longer than needed so they will last through the season.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

MW-- how did his night go?! That sounds so promising!

Send good thoughts/vibes this way? DH was offered a new position at work, and I really really really want him to take it. It's a little bit more money, set hours 7-330 M-F, with benefits- and they're even kicking them in after 1 month instead of 3, (I gave up a pretty good benefits package when I went on mat leave, because paying it outright for the year was insane, well for us here in canada anyways), and the job also gets him off the floor, and into a more office type position. So instead of dealing with customers all day, and getting dirty and walking around and feeling like 'just another sales guy', who works all over the place shifts, he'd actually have more of a 'career position' (even though long term, this is NOT his career). To me, it sounds like a no-brainer---- but it's also a TON of work, for what isn't really -that- much more money... so he's hesitant, and might not take it. He's worried that it's going to end up being more stress than it's worth, and since it's a new position that they're essentially creating for him- he's worried that he's going to get a lot of flak and they're going to be very demanding.

So yeah... I understand his reasons for not wanting to take it... but the idea of it being a set schedule alone has me wanting to say TOO BAD!! lol That would be -so- nice. And with the type of position it will be, he'd be able to adjust his own hours a bit too-- so for things like right now when he has physio and OT twice a week- he could go to them and say ok- for the next 6 weeks I'm going to work Sun-Thurs 7-330, and Tuesday I'm going to work 10-630. That not only gives us weekends together to go camping, etc, but also carves out his appt times. And then more money... like I said, it's not a ton- but with the $ increase, and then it now being a full time (right now, he's working around 25ish hours I think on average)... it's potentially almost an extra $500 per cheque. And the benefits... Gah. Ok, I'll stop going on and on. Just good thoughts for this to go the 'right' way it should, whatever that is!!

Off to catch up on FB and then be productive! Sbux is offering free new drinks today, so we're going to run some errands!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

JJ ~ That sounds like a great opportunity for your dh. I hope he decides to take it. Could he always choose to go back to the floor if it becomes too stressful for him?

The night went very well. D woke when I went up there. I changed him. We all climbed in bed. He nursed and settled pretty quickly. It was nice. We all slept until 8:45 this morning, too! Oh, and the other night dh put him to sleep and he stayed asleep when we all went to bed about an hour later. I got to actually go to bed and drift off to sleep without nursing him.

I want to get all of your opinions on which size of these diapers you would get. Dylan is in the overlap between the medium and large. They both fit him well but the medium is a little more trim, I think. Here are pics.

This is the medium. I can still snap it on the 3rd set of snaps. There are two more snap sizes before it's to the largest size.



This is the large. It's snapped on the smallest set of snaps and there are 3 more snap sizes.



Which would you all buy? I like trimmer so I'd like to stick with the mediums if I can. I'm kind of thinking he may be able to wear those until he PLs based on how they fit now. But maybe it makes more sense to get the larges to make sure he can wear them as long as possible. They aren't that much bulkier. I don't want to have to buy the large size later because he did grow out of the mediums.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Carrie ~ That's one chunky monkey! Dylan thighs are 11" around. He only weighs about 22 lbs., too. He's a bitty think compared to Finn.
> 
> ...


Ooh ok I remeasured. It's 8 inches from crotch to ankle, right where I think they should end. Thanks!

Yes he's a chubby monster!

I would do larges. They don't seem that bulky and you guarantee they'll fit til he's done with them. It's a safer bet. You could always just get a few of each and use them both.

bbl - gotta head out to school!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I would do Larges too. a little bulkier now, but a better fit for longer. Gabe is on some of the furthest snaps in our BG, and they no longer hold poop in as well it seems. I need to get serious about the potty training. *sigh*

Gabe weighs 28-30 lbs I think, and is 36-37 inches tall (again, I think, it's hard to get him to sit still) He's lean but has wide hips. DH has put Norah in one of Gabe's large blueberry and it wasn't a bad fit. And she's not even 20 lbs yet! LOL

I am sleepy, need more sleep. Norah didn't want to nap without me next to her, she finally went down. ugh. I hope she wakes rested and happy.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Ok, I can't decide what to make for you all so you'll have to choose. Depending on the yarn I may have enough for a hat or leg warmers or socks. What do you all want or would use the most? Keep in mind that the thinner the yarn, the less warm it may be, so a hat made out of sock yarn may not be good for freezing winter days. (If it's wool or acrylic, it would still be pretty warm, though.)


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Hmm - I think I'd like a hat then! Can you do stripes? With ear flaps? Thanks!!

Ok - somehow I need to get thru this day w/o killing DH. I took the kids outside while he was out running so I could take out the trash and recycles and water the garden. He comes home and is like, "oh what are you all doing outside? Are we staying out here??" and that irked me. So I told him what we were up to. He volunteered to bring the hose around so I said thanks, and then he hands the hose to Nora and says here go water the plants. But she was playing and *I* wanted to water the plants so I could also see if anything needed to be picked or straightened, etc. Whatever. I said, "Wait, I definitely want her to have the sprayer nozzle on so she doesn't soak them" and he turned the hose on anyway w/o the nozzle! Ugh.

Then after we straightened out that mess, she said she wanted to go in thru the front door. I asked him if he came in that way and if he locked the front door. He said, no he hadn't locked it. So I haul Finn and follow her around the house, get up to the door - locked. I could have murdered him, I swear.

I need another cup of coffee!

In good news, sleep was good last night! Hooray for a break from the insanity!! He slept from 830 -1130, then 1130 til 4!! Woo what a nice stretch -- and yes I slept that whole time, too! Then he was up again at like 7. Not bad, Mr. Finn! Lets keep it up!

Family trip out to Costco and Sams today. What was I thinking? Maybe I'll just stay home! Ha!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Ok, Carrie. Hats take the most yarn so that one will really depend on if I have enough. I can do stripes. But...I can't find that yarn I said I could use for you. I don't know if I recorded it incorrectly in my stash database or I put it somewhere that I can't find.







I did find something else, though. It looks like this.



That picture is kind of washed out. It's muted brown, blue and white/cream.

Guys just not thinking! When mine changed D's poopy diaper he threw his t-shirt on the floor and put the diaper with poop in the diaper pail even though he knows the poop needs to be sprayed off. He left it all in the living room, no less. This from the guy who leaves wet pee diapers laying around all over the place, even right on top of the diaper pail because he apparently can't be bothered to actually lift the lid.







I think he did that just to spite me because he doesn't like to spray the diapers. That's fine. I'll spray them if he'll put them in the bathroom with the sprayer.

He complains about stuff being all over the floors all the time but he drops everyone's dirty clothes on the floor and leaves them there. WTH? Ha!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

That's beautiful!! Hmm, now I want leg warmers made out of that instead!!!

DH won't even TOUCH a poop dipe. Ugh, he'll take it off, neatly place it somewhere (even right into the pail, which sucks b/c it stains if I don't rinse it within a certain amount of time!!) and then just recently he'll actually put a CD on him. He used to put him in a sposie! Oh well. Better than not changing him which was the battle I used to fight!

I still want a sprayer!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

DH had to change the dipe after he stuck his finger in it.







The only way I keep dh from using sposies is to not have any in the house. I've been trying to switch back to cloth wipes but he keeps buying the sposie ones. I'm still not sold on the wipes sprays. They don't seem to get the wipe wet enough to really clean the bum.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

I keep them around b/c I do use them a lot of the time. I don't mind using them sparingly. Like when Finn has a bad rash and I want to use triple paste. I also don't usually bring cloth dipes with me when I go out. I keep a few sposies in my bag and the travel wipes, and I'll change him to a sposie while out. We'll leave the house in cloth, but I'll change him to a sposie.

He'll change Finn but I was just saying he'll change him to a sposie dipe. At first it was a slap in the face. When we were having our issues. Since we've been on better terms, he's doing nicer things for me and accepting the crunchier things I'm doing and not NOT doing them out of spite.

I'm not into cloth wipes. I love disposable wipes. They are great not only for bottoms but for messy hands, faces, baby puke, etc. And they help when Nora has to use the potty to poop while out and about. Not giving those up!

Ran a 5k tonight on the treadmill! 34 minutes! My time isn't getting better but I'm shocked I was able to do it, even, b/c I was sick for so long!!! Last time I tried to run I failed miserably. JJ I thought of you while I was running. I honestly was on the couch for a couple weeks and was able to get up and run that 5k thanks to the program. I think you should try it if you haven't started already!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

That reminds me, JJ, I've been meaning to ask if you could sidecar T's crib the way Annie did? Maybe that would work if you don't have room or money for a king bed right now.

I don't mind using sposie wipes but having to buy them all the time is getting to me, especially since I have a ton of cloth wipes. Seems so wasteful.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I just finished making this whole set for that homeschool mom's baby. I love the way it all turned out. The only problem is that the booties look tiny, one seems to be just the teeniest bit bigger than the other and the straps are a little crooked. I'm not great at crochet, though, so I'm still very happy with how they turned out.










is trying to make an appearance. I had a teeny bit of spotting for 2 days. Yesterday had some red, clotty stuff and today some nasty looking brown gunk.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

OMG that set is gorgeous!!! You can nitpick all you want but man -- sort of makes me want another little girl to dress up!!!









Boo to AF! I'm trying to O, I think. O pains and some watery CM. No EWCM but definitely not my BIP, so going to watch the calendar. I'm not temping this month.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Thanks. Knitting for girls is so much fun. There are so many possibilities. Boy knitting is very limiting.

Eh, I don't really mind







showing. I'm kind of happy about it in a way. I'm not sure why or how to explain it. Maybe because it means that everything is getting back to normal.







Does that make sense?

I marked on the calendar when I had that ewcf and cramping. It was the 3rd. If I count yesterday's red as flow, that would make a 10 day lp, assuming I did O. That makes sense. It's short for me (my usual is 12 days) but within normal. My lp was short for the first few cycles when







came back after Ethan and Kellen.

I'm not going to temp but I'm going to try to keep track of CF. It will be interesting to see how well that corresponds to







without temps. I've never done it that way before but it would be nice if I could have an idea of when to expect







without temping.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I keep forgetting to tell you all about Ryan. First, he has been so much more pleasant since he started dating this girl. She's really nice, too. He bought the boys ice cream from the ice cream truck and he offers to pick things up for me when he runs out. Second, he's being considered for a manager position at his work. Very promising.

I just realized that we have to start thinking about moving up to Virginia again. DH is supposed to get orders in February or March. He doesn't know how soon after getting them he will have to go. It could be a few days or a few months. We really should have our house on the market about 6 months before we will vacate it. That's August! I don't know what we'll do. I don't think dh has realized it's so close.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Wow, MW, that is coming up soon! Hopefully it won't take too long to sell your house. Does the Marine Corps buy your house if it doesn't sell and it's time for him to go to the next duty station?

The birthday party was fun but there are lots of things I would do differently if I could go back and change things. The first thing would be NOT having it at my mom's. She just gets herself so freaking stressed out. I tried really hard to plan things so we wouldn't be rushing around and her in the kitchen the whole time cooking. It still didn't work out well. I texted DH on Friday and said he was allowed to give me a knock upside the head if I started talking about having another party at my mom's. Also, I would have made more of an effort to protect Ava's naptime. Originally, my plan was to not go to my mom's until she woke up from her afternoon nap so she was well rested. I should have stuck to that. But my dad was visiting from out of town and I felt guilty (ugh, the source of all problems) so I took her out there in the morning. Then I should have stayed laying down with her when I did get her to sleep to help keep her asleep but I felt guilty (again!) about other people doing all the work for the party so I went downstairs to help. So Ava was overtired and I don't feel like she really enjoyed the party. Also, for those planning 1st birthday parties, get pictures of everything BEFORE people start arriving. I have no pics of the table set-up and all the decorations that were really cute. I wanted a pic of Ava in her b-day outfit with the cake and it didn't happen. Oh well. Next year is going to be at a park w/takeout pizza....hahahaha!

The video slideshow turned out great though. I worked on it for four hours and didn't go to bed until 2 AM on Friday night and I still didn't have it great. Then I had DSS 17 work on it and in about 20 mins, he had it amazing. I should have just had him do it from the start! Lesson learned! I put it on youtube and will post it on Tuesday on her b-day.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

MW: The dress is beautiful! The dress I crochet'd Norah is one of the hardest things I have done.

Moving - ugh - I don't want to think about it. We will be doing it again one day, into our own house, but packing, unpacking, going through boxes that have been closed over a year now? *sigh* one one hand, it's like Christmas. OTOH it's a major PITA. I feel for you.get by with

Men . . . DH changes diapers when he has the kids alone, or I ask, or he notices first. Poopy or wet. But he kind of stacks them, doesn't like putting in a wet bag. I don't spray diapers - what falls off or can be peeledor shaken into the toilet goes, what doesn't, gets washed. Haven't had any issues.

We use disposable wipes. DH likes them. I think with cloth wipes we could get by with fewer wipes per poop, and I wouldn't have to worry about keeping the the wipes seperate from the diapers. But we buy them in bulk at Sams and we have to run out before I can justify having cloth wipes.

Having to start thinkng about Parties. I think this year we are going to do Gabe's at the Children's Museum. I have a mix of crunchy and not-so-crunchy friends who can be picky about where their kid(s) play during sick season, and the museum is usually a safe bet. Plus being a late november birthday, I can't really depend on doing an outside venue. I might *gulp* also make it a no-presents party. Less to cart home, plus both sets of grandparents are getting him non-wrappables, and I think we might too (seriously considering getting him tickets to the Fresh Beat Band as his gift from us). That and I don't he cares if there are gifts so long as there is cake. LOL.

Norah, we will just have friends over at home. Going to try to announce the new baby then, and I need to manage to not tell anymore people about it, so our parents aren't the only ones surprised!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Parties can be exhausting and stressful. That's why I don't do much. I can't handle it all. I've been trying to get a cake ordered for D but the cake lady's website won't load. I hope she hasn't gone out of business. I'm going to call her today.

I used to keep my cloth wipes in a wipes box with water but I got tired of having to refill it. Plus, it would get slimy with mildew or something. Yuck! That's why I got the wipes solutions. They say to just spray the wipe and then wipe baby. It sounded easier for the diaper bag than always making sure I had a few wet wipes in a bag, too. But they don't really get wet when I do that. Do you suppose it doesn't really need to be wet as long as baby's bottom is clean?

Haha, Kat. Gotta keep your mouth shout! It's so hard to not tell.

Crochet is hard. Whoever said it is easier than knitting was crazy! Some stitches count, some don't (sometimes). If you don't add at least one stitch at the end every time you will lose stitches (but no one ever tells you this in a pattern). It is impossible to tell the right side from the wrong side. And, how do you hold the yarn and the piece at the same time so you can do a stitch easily, anyway?

At least when we move we won't have to pack or unpack. The military pays the movers to do all of that for us. DH says he wants to do a DITY move if we go to VA. That means we move ourselves. He says we can make money if we do that because the military will pay us a certain amount per pound plus mileage and other travel expenses. I don't see how I'll be able to do that with the 3 little kids running around. But, then, if I'm at my mom's, I guess I won't have to. DH can do it all himself if he wants.

I would like to go through our stuff and get rid of things before we move. If I don't, it's no bigge because we'll just go through it when we unpack wherever we end up and get rid of stuff that way.

D has a 2nd molar. Not much sleep for 2 days. I got some teething tablets and then forgot to take them upstairs when we went to bed. He's also stayed up late again and fought going to bed the last 2 nights. Not fun. I woke up before 7 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Lauri - glad the party was a success! I would have felt the same about all the guilt. It's hard not to! I'm going to try hard to let go of a lot of the details b/c I really want Finn to get at least one nap in that day. His party is going to start at 3. I figure that way I have a few good chances he'll take a decent nap that morning/afternoon if he keeps the same schedule is he moving toward now (nap from 1230 or 1 -2 or 3. Only thing is he's never slept at my ILs. So. Hopefully it works out! Otherwise I'll be talking about the same thing in a month!!

Can't wait to see the slideshow! I'm glad it turned out well.

Kat - a no presents party sounds reasonable to me, especially w/a venue like that. I would LOVE to take the kids to see the Fresh Beats! One of their favorite shows! And yes cake is wayyyy more important!

I'm so excited for this new baby!

MW - eek moving that soon sounds daunting!! That's sweet about Ryan. Sounds like he's doing so well!

AFUs - Ordering the invites today, and hopefully going to print them out as well. I want to get them in the mail this week. The party is only a month away so I need to get them out!!

I was going to include the amazon wish list I put together as a separate card in the envelope, but DH shot that idea down. He said it felt wrong since we are throwing the party. Since I don't care either way, he wins. What do you guys think (just curious)?

I have like no plans this week! That means I suppose I have time to clean. Haha.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

I say don't include it but if people ask you for ideas, point them to the list. I'm considering for Ava's parties going forward to ask people to bring a new unwrapped toy to donate to the hospital if they really feel the need to buy a present. Have to think it through some more but Ava gets all of the toys from my sister's girls when they outgrow them. Plus, when Ava was in the hospital the ast time, it was a big bright spot in her recovery when the volunteer brought in this beautiful Gund Tigger that someone had donated. I would like to be able to pay it forward, you know?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

JJ ~ Since we'll be waiting about 3 years to go on our tropical vacation, maybe your dh won't be invited anyway.







We could make it a Mama's getaway and leave the kids with the Dads.

Carrie ~ By wish list, you mean gift suggestions for Finn? No, I wouldn't send something like that in the invitations. I only give people gift suggestions if they ask.

There was something else but now I don't remember what it was. Probably because I was interrupted like 5 times before I finally got back on here to post it.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I don't think I'd print it out in full, but maybe include a sidenote that if you are inclined to get a gift, list the link for his wishlist for ideas. It's perfectly kosher to include it in shower invites, I don't see why it would be different for birthday parties.

The nice thing about the museum is that it includes admission for 15 kids and unlimited adults - so it's no $$ outlay for anyone. I am considering doing a weekday party for 2 reasons: 1) all people get a pass to come back for free on another day (and some people aren't members, so it would be a real treat for them - those of us that are members, don't need one. 2) if I do during the week, it's a reason to not have older, school age sibs come (so I don't need to purposefully exclude anyone - and some of our friends have 3-6 kids, and obviously I can't invite them all)

We have done both DITY and MC moves. i would choose the MC. less stress.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Annie ~ That's a very cool idea!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Oh Lauri I like that idea a whole lot!!!









We're just going to do word of mouth. Once ppl get the invites, if they ask what he wants, I'll direct them to the list. Easy enough.

Doing it during the week sounds like the perfect thing, Kat. Seriously.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Yeah, just need to convince DH . . . and see if I can get the day off . . .LOL (his birthday would have to fall during Thanksgviving week this year)

And Lauri - awesome idea <3


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Enh. DH is unconvinced about a weekday party. So I guess a Saturday it is! I am going to email them and see about available dates soon. He loves the idea of a donation in lieu of gift.

Morning sickness sucks. I had it so good with Norah. only decreased appetite!

oh, and I got a whole 4 oz this morning's pump! woot! it's no where near the 7 or more I used to get, but it's the bare minimum Norah needs from that session. I ordered some More Milk 2 today from Amazon, it's got great reviews (designed esp for pregnant women. The only negative review was from a woman who wasn't pregnant when using it, and eventually she switched to fenugreek which did work for her :facepalm: why wouldn't you do fenugreek first if you could???)

How is everybody? Awake? busy?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

We went to bowling this morning. We hadn't been since before we went to VA so the boys had a lot of fun. I was hoping to give the Mama the baby girl set I knitted but she didn't come today.







I was disappointed. I thought we might go to the pool afterward but they wanted to come home.

Boo to morning sickness. Hopefully, it goes away soon. Hm, much milder m/s with Norah. Maybe another boy this time. Did I say it was time for a boy for our group? No, I think it was girl. I think we have one more boy.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

We haven't been bowling in forever, and we have our own balls, bags and shoes! LOL too busy. Need to take Gabe on a cheap night, I think he's old enough now to enjoy it.

Some days the nausea is very strong, others it's kind of mild. Today is a mild day. I have a friend due in Jan that's on IV fluids at home, and Zofran, and is just miserable. I am so glad I have never had it that bad. I am feeling boy . . .it's the first time I have felt strongly about the gender. We will see in October if I'm proven right!

Even though it's my 3rd baby, a friend still wants to throw me a shower  that's so sweet of her. I'm going to let her LOL. why not?

The boys didn't want to do the pool? are they feeling ok?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> The boys didn't want to do the pool? are they feeling ok?


I didn't tell them about the pool because I wasn't sure if anyone else was going. We did end up going a little later but only stayed about an hour. Ethan got hungry. My fault because I didn't plan well and either bring snacks or have them eat something real quick before we left. I thought they had a snack machine at the pool but they don't.

Yeah, have another shower is someone wants to throw one for you. Fun! People don't have to get you gifts if you don't need anything. You all can just celebrate another baby.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

This same friend said she's sad - she had her 2nd two months ago - that he would probably be her last - her husband is older and they own a restaurant that takes up a lot of time and energy. She didn't have a shower or mama blessing for him. I am kind of wondering if it might be kosher to throw her a post-baby shower/blessing? as a surprise? Thoughts on that? They don't need anything I know of (gift wise) but we could do some of the things I've seen done at mama blessings anyway. (like write down thoughts/blessings and put in a pretty box, or on fabric) Just something I was thinking.

I don't always plan well either. I need to get better at that. I am thinking of growing my hair out . . . I wonder if it's just the pregnancy hormones?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> This same friend said she's sad - she had her 2nd two months ago - that he would probably be her last - her husband is older and they own a restaurant that takes up a lot of time and energy. She didn't have a shower or mama blessing for him. I am kind of wondering if it might be kosher to throw her a post-baby shower/blessing? as a surprise? Thoughts on that? They don't need anything I know of (gift wise) but we could do some of the things I've seen done at mama blessings anyway. (like write down thoughts/blessings and put in a pretty box, or on fabric) Just something I was thinking.


I think that would be a wonderful thing to do for her. My friends in Hawaii threw me a shower for Ethan a couple of months after he was born because I didn't find out his gender beforehand. No one knew how to do a gender neutral baby shower.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> I don't always plan well either. I need to get better at that.


I try to keep water and snacks (granola bars and stuff like that) in my car so I always have something. It's a habit from when I was pg and would get sick hungry suddenly. I needed something to eat right away or I felt like I would vomit and then pass out. Not good while driving. Anyway, dh does the grocery shopping now and he keeps getting the wrong stuff. No one likes it.

We're having some issues with that. He's trying to make everyone eat healthy, which is fine. I understand he's doing it because he cares. But, it's wasteful and useless if he buys a bunch of stuff that no one eats because no one likes it. And, he's stingy with desserts. I like dessert. I like to have something for dessert every night after dinner. So do the kids. We have 6 people in this house. A half a cake isn't going to last very long. He gets upset because it's gone in 2 days. Well, if everyone has a piece (including him), that's how fast it should go.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Healthy is good, as long as it gets eaten. Our issue more is due to toddler's wavering appetite. Somedays he could eat his weight in bananas, or grapes, and others he won't touch them. Hard to keep that stuff in the house, when it's a toss up as to whether it will be eaten. I don't really snack, other than granola bars (and they are healthy, right?) Can he take one of the boys with him, or sit down with them and make a shopping list? That way the kids get input too?

Cake. . . is a treat here. I really don't eat much of it. Now ice cream. That I can and do have nearly every day. But only once the kids are in bed, because I don't want to share. Gabe gets a treat after dinner if he eats. His appetite has been minimal lately. So has his naps.

Potty training . . . on the way to bed last night, he wanted to sit on the potty, so I let him, and he gets a treat for sitting. He talked about poop out (that's what both pee and poop are to him) but nada. Then once I was headed to bed, a little after midnight, he starts crying about poop, and DH said he didn't really have a poop or anything, but changed his diaper. I wonder if a)he peed and didn't like it, or needed to do one or the other and DH didn't figure that out. *sigh* I guess I need to get in the habit of sitting him on the potty every time he talks about it. Just in case.

I am going to get together with some of our mutual friends and see what we can come up with for our friend. i think it would be best if we can keep it a surprise. It's hard enough keeping my pregnancy from my parents . . . but DH really wants to surprise people at Norah's birthday.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Yes, healthy is good but what is and is not healthy is very subjective. Most people would probably say that granola bars are relatively healthy. Most people probably think they are more healthy than cookies or candy. But, some people would say they are not healthy at all. Then there's the issue of the different kinds and brands of granola bars. For example, I asked dh to get the Nature Valley Fruit & Nut bars. Those are the one I and the boys like. He got Kashi ones. I can't stand Kashi. All of their products that I've tried taste like cardboard to me. My thing is that I try to eat as much whole, natural food as possible but there are certain things or brands that I know I don't like so when I ask for something specific I want only that thing. Don't try to get a substitute. I have told dh this over and over but he still doesn't get it.









Also, it's not good when it becomes a control thing or a power struggle. DH isn't home during the day so he doesn't what the boys eat throughout the day or how active they are. He's stuck in that conventional everyone works and/or goes to school so sits on his butt and eats who knows what all day so we have to make sure they eat only "healthy" stuff for dinner at night when we are home. Our life isn't like that. Since my boys can eat whatever they want whenever they want throughout the day and move around as much as they want whenever they want, that's not much of an issue. When it's just us and they have access to all kinds of choices they choose healthy stuff most of the time. They know when they don't feel good because they haven't eaten healthy and will tell me what they need. But since dh tries to control what they eat, they are more likely to gorge on the "treat" stuff in front of him for fear that he'll take it away. I can't seem to get dh to understand that and it's causing problems in his relationship with the boys.

I think he's getting better, though. Last night after we had all gotten into bed and dh was doing the dishes, Ethan said he was hungry so was going to try to find something to eat. Kellen soon followed. DH gave them each a brownie and they came to bed happy.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Playing catchup again... MW you asked about sidecarring her crib. We've looked into it a few times, but a/ it would mean buying another crib, since ours may not come apart, and b/ We pretty much would not be able to walk around the room. At all. The crib is wider than the p&p was, and even with that, we had to kind of scooch, and couldn't access our closet properly. The only way we could do it, would be to get rid of our dresser, which we need, and don't have anywhere else to put. I keep considering it anyways, but realistically, it'll just lead to a mess.

She's back in her bed though. We did the few days, and other than the one, she was sleeping no better than in her crib, but we were sleeping worse. And she started doing all the typical co-sleeping antics of spinning and pushing, and punching and kicking, and it was just too much for my tired brain to deal with. I was getting so angry with her. So, back in the crib again, and just coming into bed with us around 6am instead.

That said-- Started NCSS seriously again on Sunday night. We've been here and there using some of the tactics, but not really putting our all into it. It was time to try again. So-- Sunday was 12 hours total (not counting the time she was awake during those 12 hours), and woke up 8 separate times (some requiring several tries before I could put her down again). Monday she slept 11 hours, and only had 5 wakeups, none of which required several tries. Last night she slept 12 hours again, only woke up THREE times, and even slept for 6 hours once! I nursed her at around 730, and she fell asleep (not intending to, we hadn't done any bed stuff yet). So I let her sleep and she woke up about 8pm. We went and had a quiet bath together, and then got pjs on, and read books and cuddled for a bit. She was fussy, but it was so obvious that she had to go potty, and was having trouble. I took her, and she tried like mad, but nothing. So I redressed her, and went back into the room, and she settled anyways. Then we nursed again, and after 4 minutes or so she stopped sucking altogether, but had her eyes wide open. So I popped her off, and cuddled her, and she fell asleep around 910pm. Slept until 1015, woke and I nursed her, but again she stopped after only 2 minutes or so, and just cuddled into me big time. Then she slept until 4am! We got a really big nurse in, and then she popped off, and went back to sleep, and then slept until 620- I brought her into bed with us, and she nursed a bit, and then dozed until about 730, when I latched her on again, (she was still 'sleeping' but fussy) and she actually fell into a deep sleep, and slept until 830. I even got out of bed around 810, and she kept sleeping. *Cheers!!!*

I know there's as good a chance of her waking up 10 times tonight as there is that she'll have another night like that... but oh my! If we could bottle that night, I think I could sell it as perfection! I didn't go to sleep until too late (around 12:30), so I missed out on a bunch of the good sleep I could have gotten, but DH and I ordered pizza nad talked and spent time together, so that was nice too. And obviously if I knew on a regular basis that she was going to sleep 10-4, then I'd haul my butt to bed right at 10!

It's such a good day for it too! My friend if coming over today, and it'll be nice to actually be rested for it!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Some days the nausea is very strong, others it's kind of mild. Today is a mild day. I have a friend due in Jan that's on IV fluids at home, and Zofran, and is just miserable. I am so glad I have never had it that bad. I am feeling boy . . .it's the first time I have felt strongly about the gender. We will see in October if I'm proven right!
> 
> Even though it's my 3rd baby, a friend still wants to throw me a shower  that's so sweet of her. I'm going to let her LOL. why not?


 Hopefully it'll pass soon! My 'ms' really wasn't bad compared to others, but even then I know by like 14 weeks when it hadn't passed, I was getting nervous. I can't imagine going through a whole pregnancy sick like you hear of people doing!

I think boy too. Not sure why.

And I think that's adorable! Every baby should be celebrated!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> This same friend said she's sad - she had her 2nd two months ago - that he would probably be her last - her husband is older and they own a restaurant that takes up a lot of time and energy. She didn't have a shower or mama blessing for him. I am kind of wondering if it might be kosher to throw her a post-baby shower/blessing? as a surprise? Thoughts on that? They don't need anything I know of (gift wise) but we could do some of the things I've seen done at mama blessings anyway. (like write down thoughts/blessings and put in a pretty box, or on fabric) Just something I was thinking.


I think that would be really nice. My IL's typically do showers after the baby, so that people can meet the little one. You could totally come up with enough activities and fun things. And it would be so nice for her 

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> I try to keep water and snacks (granola bars and stuff like that) in my car so I always have something. It's a habit from when I was pg and would get sick hungry suddenly. I needed something to eat right away or I felt like I would vomit and then pass out.


I started the same! I was carrying practically a whole lunch kit worth of snacks with me to work every day on the bus! Chocolate covered almonds became my savior! lol. Now I've just got a couple granola bars stuffed on the bottom of the diaper bag, and then T has gerber puffs (she loves them! :/ ) and a dried fruit mix, that I could steal if I really needed.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Healthy is good, as long as it gets eaten. Our issue more is due to toddler's wavering appetite. Somedays he could eat his weight in bananas, or grapes, and others he won't touch them. Hard to keep that stuff in the house, when it's a toss up as to whether it will be eaten. I don't really snack, other than granola bars (and they are healthy, right?) Can he take one of the boys with him, or sit down with them and make a shopping list? That way the kids get input too?
> 
> ...


I snack too much, and I'm trying to get in the habit now that Ten is eating, to have the healthy stuff on hand, and actually make an effort to prepare and eat it, rather than grabbing a handful of chocolate or such. A lot of it I just never developed a taste for, so now I find myself trying to adjust to it. (Things like cantelope and sugar snap pees, etc).

No cake or 'desserts' here either- We're the type that if it's here, we'll just inhale the whole freaking thing, and I really don't need any more help eating junk! lol. But we do have ice cream in the freezer all the time, like you Kat.

Ok... time to go motor through the rest of my computer stuff and then get to cleaning up for the visit today!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I know she's back in her crib so this doesn't really apply to you anymore, JJ, but just as a general FYI. When we had a small bedroom and needed more bed space we moved one of our dressers into the other bedroom. That worked well for dh because he could get dressed in there when he got up early for work and wouldn't disturb the rest of us sleeping.

I'm terrible about bringing food for D to munch on while we are out. I'm still not fully used to him eating solids so I don't think to take food for him with me. Yesterday he had french fries at the bowling alley because we all got lunch. He was screaming because we were all eating in front of him and they don't have anything good for babies there. I need to plan better for that.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

OMG - I don't know how you mamma's do it









Ugh - the past 2 out of 3 nights A has been up for an hour to an hour and a half at a time!! I try to just go in there and sleep in the bed with her (we have a spare that is pushed against the wall) but it has been suuuuuucking! 
I have no idea what is going on...........she has broken through teeth, been evacuated, and STILL slept soundly all night.

She did have runny poop for about 3 days, but that seems to have passed. Who knows! Oh yeah, she did wake up a couple times when she went poop in the middle of the night, but I would change her and she would go right back to bed.

Kat - I hope your MS goes away soon. Mine has always been pretty mild, but pretty annoying. It would be more of a "I'm hungry, I'm sick, I'm hungry, I'm sick" Also, I craved the warm comfort food in the beginning. No salads or veggie's or sandwhiches. The last trimester I would crave icecream! I would have it almost every single night









I know I am forgetting a bunch of stuff, but blaaaah. I don't feel so great.

I think the situation has been worse since I have been going to bed later, I'll have to go to bed early tonight JIC.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I woke up last night and couldn't find D. He had scooched himself down to the bottom of the bed and was upside down! Scared the crap out of me.









He was up from about 2:30 to 3:30 either last night or the night before (maybe both) alternatively squirming and nursing in addition to his other night nursings but I still feel ok. Maybe not quite as rested as if I had slept straight through the night but not completely exhausted, either.

I had zombie nightmares from watching the first episode of The Walking Dead. I don't think I'll watch anymore of that. Zombies really freak me out.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> I know she's back in her crib so this doesn't really apply to you anymore, JJ, but just as a general FYI. When we had a small bedroom and needed more bed space we moved one of our dressers into the other bedroom. That worked well for dh because he could get dressed in there when he got up early for work and wouldn't disturb the rest of us sleeping.
> I'm terrible about bringing food for D to munch on while we are out. I'm still not fully used to him eating solids so I don't think to take food for him with me. Yesterday he had french fries at the bowling alley because we all got lunch. He was screaming because we were all eating in front of him and they don't have anything good for babies there. I need to plan better for that.


We thought about that, but it's one of the long and low dressers, so we'd have to take furniture out of ten's room too! lol It's one of those pieces that I -love- but is really not practical for a small home at all.

My father and his new girlfriend are building a house together, and I got to go see it on Sunday. I am so jealous now. And even more tempted to build when we have to move. It's out of our price range, but then I go and look at theirs, and how it's coming together, and I'm like hmm... we could make it work! lol. It's only 1400 sq ft, but it's got 10 foot ceilings throughout, so seems so much bigger, and it has a full basement, so it's really more like 2600 square feet, after you take out the utility room. Upstairs they've got a huge open concept living/dining/kitchen with a breaskfast bar, and a walk in pantry, and a fireplace, and then a walk out to the massive covered deck (they're going to also put in a hot tub and a pool, and possibly an outdoor changehouse and shower). And then there's two smallish bedrooms, and a bath with a soaker tub. Then the master has it's own bath, and they're putting in a two person walk in shower (my idea, they were going to have two tubs, which seemed silly for two old people with no kids!), and also a walk in closet, with a hidden door into one of the other bedrooms, that is acting as a separate office/dressing room for his gf.

Like I said... jealous!

Ten LOVES french fries, much more than she should, so that's always a good bet when we're out!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *annie2186*
> 
> OMG - I don't know how you mamma's do it
> 
> ...


See at least with Ten though, usually, she goes right back to sleep as soon as I nurse her. It is 10x worse when they actually wake up up, like A is doing! At least with Ten, I can latch her on, and then zone out in the rocking chair while she nurses. (Next time, I will totally splurge for the luxury rocker though!) And it's so hard to go to bed earlier, even when you know you should!!

Got dressed nice today, and even put on makeup, and straightened my hair. I feel so much better, I don't know why I don't take the time to do this more often!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

JJ: could you sidecar a small crib? Not like IKEA, but the portable sort of size, which is hardly bigger than a PNP? I hate having baby in a separate room from me, it feels lonely. (but that's just me)

OB appointment this morning in just a little bit! need to go get ready!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> OB appointment this morning in just a little bit! need to go get ready!


Again already? Or is this your first OB appointment?

I don't know if you all remember how upset I would get when someone (mostly dh) suggested that I could get my baby fix through grandkids before we had Dylan. I just realized that I am truly at that point where I can find joy in other people's babies without feeling that sadness for myself. I guess I've reached that milestone where I am truly done having my own. I didn't think I'd ever be completely content with that.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Is it weird that part of me would like to be pregnant again so I can see my OB on a regular basis? Hahaha! He's one of my favorite people! Maybe one day...


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Is it weird that part of me would like to be pregnant again so I can see my OB on a regular basis? Hahaha! He's one of my favorite people! Maybe one day...


Not weird at all. I miss my midwife from when I was pg with Kellen. We're friends on FB but we never see each other anymore and I'll probably never see her again.









DH took the cat to the vet this morning so his plan was foiled. haha!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

I really miss my midwife! I even thought about inviting her to Finn's party. In a rush. I seem to get so little computer time lately! I guess that's a good thing b/c that means I'm busy with the kids.

Sleep - nothing to complain about here! All the teeth are thru for the moment so we are back to good stuff (11-5 or 6 am). I'm hoping it lasts for another night. Haha.

Sorry to hear about lack of sleep and transitioning to cribs and all that awful stuff! And zombie nightmares yikes! I can't watch scary stuff, either.

I just started reading Beyond the Sling. I wish I coudl give a copy to every mainstream mama I've ever met! I feel like it would help so much to read!! Love it so far.

Ok, babes are calling me. BBL!!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

its the first one, so took forever, but it's ok. The nurse and staff are just so sweet, and the OB is nice. Thank GOD. She delivered Norah, but I hadn't seen her since. she has a good vibe. The biggest question mark for them was the fact I told them I hadn't got my period back yet, so they didn't know what to say. (I had, but if they went by it at ALL it would move my EDC by over a month, and that's not good)

Carrie, you should invite her. My doula will be invited to all our kids' birthday parties; we have become good friends. I love that.

Sleepy still. This too shall pass . . . in a few years.

MW: I am glad you are content - that is awesome!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I just recently learned that the actress who wrote that book plays Sheldon's girlfriend on The Big Bang Theory. I love that show and I love those two!


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> JJ: could you sidecar a small crib? Not like IKEA, but the portable sort of size, which is hardly bigger than a PNP? I hate having baby in a separate room from me, it feels lonely. (but that's just me)


I could definitely look at dimensions! I forgot about those. I haven't seen them in Canada, but I know walmart US had tons when we bought her other crib.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> its the first one, so took forever, but it's ok. The nurse and staff are just so sweet, and the OB is nice. Thank GOD. She delivered Norah, but I hadn't seen her since. she has a good vibe. The biggest question mark for them was the fact I told them I hadn't got my period back yet, so they didn't know what to say. (I had, but if they went by it at ALL it would move my EDC by over a month, and that's not good)
> 
> Carrie, you should invite her. My doula will be invited to all our kids' birthday parties; we have become good friends. I love that.


Yay for good vibes with your HCP! And I agree with your bending of the truth for a better due date. YOU know, so you can make decisions based on that, that's all that matters.

I would invite her too! We'll invite ours to Ten's bday, and she invited us to her son's birthday! (I babysat for them a handful of times before she became my doula.)


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Baby_Cakes, let me know what you think about the book when you are all done with it. I enjoyed many parts but then there were some that just came across as extremely self-righteous.

I know that EC isn't most of you guys' thing but I just had to share this. DD has learned how to wipe herself after she pees. So she grabs the toilet paper and scrunches it in her hand and then reaches down and pushes towards her bum and lets go. It is THE cutest thing I've seen in a long time!

So I experienced a breastfeeding/pumping first today. I was holding DD when I released my right breast from the pump and she immediately grabbed my nipple and scratched it. When I was pumping the next time, I had pumped the left breast and then I was pumping the right breast. No pain or anything. I looked down towards the end and there was blood everywhere and the milk was pink!







I had to pour it all out! I thought it was from DD scratching me but then when I started to pump at work, I noticed it was coming from multiple places. My nipple is cracked and bleeding. I brought a larger breastshield with me and was able to pump w/out bleeding but it hurts! I'm trying to air it out as much as possible and cover it with breastmilk every time I pump.

DD's 1 yr WBV is tomorrow. I'm interested to see if she's gained more weight. She's eating a lot more these days. I handed her a whole slice of colby jack cheese today and she almost the whole thing!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Eeek about the blood!!! Nipples are strange that when they get cut even a tiny bit they bleed like crazy!! Awful. Hopefully it heals up soon.

Ok yet you know what i think of the book. I haven't gotten very far yet!

The kids did me in today. Fighting, crying, lots of whining. I know why, we were out a lot longer than i thought we would be this afternoon. I have to say i wasn't in the best mood. I hate to even put this out in the universe bc it sounds terrible...but i visited a new friend of mine at her house. It was my first time there. I almost...i almost couldn't believe the state of disrepair her home was in. I felt nervous and felt like i couldn't put Finn down on the floor bc it was such a mess as well. Not just toys, but real garbage, and laundry tossed everywhere. Crumbs all over surfaces. The girls went to play in the back and the deck was basically falling apart, no rail, etc.
Anyway it just made me uncomfortable. I really like this woman, we get along fabulously. I just couldn't get past the house.

I didn't say anything but i really don't want to go back. Ever.







Still stay friends of course but i think only meet in public or over my house.

Invites for finns party are ready!! They are super adorable.

My in laws decided to renovate their extra bathroom AFTER they offered us the house. They ran into plumbing problems and now my fil is angry it might not be ready in time. So not my problem!!! Today my MIL was laying it on me thick and i said listen sorry, but you have another bathroom people can use. And she was like, not wet! I don't want them trapsing (sp) thru the house with wet suits! And all i could do was hold my tongue. I didn't ask to use their house, they offered. They started this project on their own! Argh!! Frustrating!

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> I know that EC isn't most of you guys' thing but I just had to share this. DD has learned how to wipe herself after she pees. So she grabs the toilet paper and scrunches it in her hand and then reaches down and pushes towards her bum and lets go. It is THE cutest thing I've seen in a long time!
> 
> ...


That DOES sound absolutely adorable!

 Ouch!! Just so you know though, I had bleeding in the beginning, and was told it was ok for there to be a bit of blood, just nothing excessive. It sure was scary though when T then threw up, and it was pink *blink blink*.

Ugh. Ok so two nights ago, we had an AMAZING night. a 6 hour stretch, and only THREE wakeups. Last night was back up to 6 again, and she had a horrible time going to bed. BUT, she woke up at like 1230, shrieking like a banshee, and wouldn't calm down at all. Finally, I clued in, and went and put her on the potty. She had a massive pee, and then literally fell asleep on the toilet (I was cuddling her on the potty, so she had her arms around me, and was leaning over). I was like Oh DUH! She was probably shrieking because her bladder got full and was uncomfortable. I think she's turned a page with the EC, where she's consciously holding it more now. After that pee, she stayed dry all night until 830am, when I put her on the potty again. She pottied 4 more times today, which is a record, and two of those were -not- after naps (which is when she most frequently potties). I've also seen her signing potty a couple times in the last two days.

Anyways, that was besides the point-- it was a bad night. And then tonight... I started putting her to sleep at 8:20... and she JUST fell asleep at like 10.  Dh and I were passing off, she was playing in her crib, then cuddling, then screaming, then cuddling, then playing... She was a mess. And even trying to nurse her down, she would just latch on, and then play around and keep turning her head and hurting me. So I'd try to cuddle her, and she'd push away, and wildly swing her head from side to side. *sigh* I really hope tonight goes well... Crossing my fingers she was just overtired.

Went shopping with my mom today. No luck until we hit value village. Got Tenley her cabbage patch. <3 Love!! I'm still looking for a duplicate of the one I had. And all of a sudden so excited to start gathering "house" stuff for her to play with. Kitchens, and baby doll stuff, etc etc. We've also got Brio trains to set up. And did I tell you guys that I went and found some wooden toys the other day too? I'm having to remind myself to slow down and hold off until we've got her play area done downstairs! Then I think I'm going to make her a whole baby/house corner.

Anyways, we also found a toy ambulance-- that the station number is the same as the one near our house. So perfect, so I had to buy it. And I also found two dresses to choose from for my cousin's wedding in September. So glad! And I actually feel good in them. One I need to finish looking the little bit of baby belly and/or buy some spanx, and I will be one hot mama!


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> It was my first time there. I almost...i almost couldn't believe the state of disrepair her home was in. I felt nervous and felt like i couldn't put Finn down on the floor bc it was such a mess as well. Not just toys, but real garbage, and laundry tossed everywhere. Crumbs all over surfaces. The girls went to play in the back and the deck was basically falling apart, no rail, etc.
> Anyway it just made me uncomfortable. I really like this woman, we get along fabulously. I just couldn't get past the house.
> ...


 That's so awkward. I had to pick something up from a casual friend's house a few weeks back, and it was like that. One of those, where she left the room, and I just sat there bug eyed, looking around. It was shocking. And like you said- not just untidy-- but actually like... not a single clear surface, and garbage, and pet hair, and oh it reeked so bad like cat and dog. I have a dog, but this was just... suffocating. The combination of dirty, and the literal lack of even enough clear space anywhere to put a glass down... was just... wow.

Urg on your in laws. That's so annoying when people offer things, but then make you feel guilty for it...


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Oh, and random... so we were shopping, and I didn't bring the stroller, because it's awkward in the mall- it's too big, and Ten only likes being in it when we're in constant motion. But I had the Boba with me, so I put her on my back, and she was fine. Except A/ Everytime I went to put her up, my mom tried to help, by grabbing the body of the carrier, and bringing it up for me, and trying to find the arm holes, etc, or by supporting Ten. And I know she was trying to help, but it made it more confusing and made me feel all off-balance! And then B/ She kept talking about how we should have brought the stroller, and how she was going to buy an umbrella stroller. I had to talk her out of buying a crappy quality one for $30. *sigh* She -likes- being worn! And it's easy! Heck the only thing I would have liked the stroller for, was to put the diaper bag in!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

My mom is always going on about strollers too! I don't get it. When I pull out the stroller, the only thing that will sit quietly in it is the diaper bag!

Sounds like Ten is doing great w/EC. I wish Ava would go pee on the potty more. She does not want to wear diapers ever now but she doesn't want to stop playing to go potty.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> Ugh. Ok so two nights ago, we had an AMAZING night. a 6 hour stretch, and only THREE wakeups. Last night was back up to 6 again, and she had a horrible time going to bed. BUT, she woke up at like 1230, shrieking like a banshee, and wouldn't calm down at all. Finally, I clued in, and went and put her on the potty. She had a massive pee, and then literally fell asleep on the toilet (I was cuddling her on the potty, so she had her arms around me, and was leaning over). I was like Oh DUH! She was probably shrieking because her bladder got full and was uncomfortable. I think she's turned a page with the EC, where she's consciously holding it more now. After that pee, she stayed dry all night until 830am, when I put her on the potty again. She pottied 4 more times today, which is a record, and two of those were -not- after naps (which is when she most frequently potties). I've also seen her signing potty a couple times in the last two days.
> 
> ...


Interesting about the potty!! Good job mama for being in tune with her and figuring it out!

That night sounds frustrating as hell.

Good finds on those toys!!! I love that Nora loves her Cabbage Patch doll and her toy kitchen. Those are investment toys - they'll get years of enjoyment out of them!

You are already a hot mama! I wish I had an event to go to. I feel like I need a night of glam to feel better about myself. I'm always in a ponytail, shorts, tank top. It's nice not to worry but at the same time I LOVE dressing up and doing my hair and makeup. Sigh. Oh well.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> That's so awkward. I had to pick something up from a casual friend's house a few weeks back, and it was like that. One of those, where she left the room, and I just sat there bug eyed, looking around. It was shocking. And like you said- not just untidy-- but actually like... not a single clear surface, and garbage, and pet hair, and oh it reeked so bad like cat and dog. I have a dog, but this was just... suffocating. The combination of dirty, and the literal lack of even enough clear space anywhere to put a glass down... was just... wow.
> 
> Urg on your in laws. That's so annoying when people offer things, but then make you feel guilty for it...


Yes - this EXACTLY. I just was sort of bug eyed and trying not to react in front of her. Pet hair, etc. At least it didn't smell. Thank GOODNESS. I wouldn't have stayed. I would have made up an excuse. Makes you realize when people put pet/odor free home on item listings how IMPORTANT that is. Dipes could be from a house like THAT and you wouldn't know. You know?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> Oh, and random... so we were shopping, and I didn't bring the stroller, because it's awkward in the mall- it's too big, and Ten only likes being in it when we're in constant motion. But I had the Boba with me, so I put her on my back, and she was fine. Except A/ Everytime I went to put her up, my mom tried to help, by grabbing the body of the carrier, and bringing it up for me, and trying to find the arm holes, etc, or by supporting Ten. And I know she was trying to help, but it made it more confusing and made me feel all off-balance! And then B/ She kept talking about how we should have brought the stroller, and how she was going to buy an umbrella stroller. I had to talk her out of buying a crappy quality one for $30. *sigh* She -likes- being worn! And it's easy! Heck the only thing I would have liked the stroller for, was to put the diaper bag in!


See that's frustrating! People think b/c it's kind of a heated minute when you're actually PUTTING them on that babywearing isn't easier.
On the contrary, I have a good friend who brings her stroller EVERYWHERE and it's a royal pain in the ass. Her baby is 5 months. If we meet at target, she hauls the stroller in and can't push a cart. He'll cry or fuss in the stroller and she ends up carrying him and pushing the stroller. Ugh. She HAS a beco! She just doesn't USE it!!!

Have you guys seen the Boba Air??? I WANT. Can't justify another carrier though, not with being done with babies. Sigh.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> She does not want to wear diapers ever now but she doesn't want to stop playing to go potty.


Neither does Nora!









AFUs - Another fabulous night of sleep for us last night. I'm beginning to count on good sleep and that scares me. It's all going to be pulled out from under me, I know it!!

Finn is starting to run away from diaper changes. He'll see me grab the diaper, drop what he's doing, and BOLT away from me! Then sit and look at me and laugh! Oh goodness he is STINKER!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I missed a lot. I went to a workshop called LENS last night with dh. It's supposed to help with communication. It's about learning the type of personality/temperament you and the people around you are, kind of like a Myers-Briggs test but simpler. He didn't tell me he had to go until the day before because he assumed I wouldn't go. No babysitter. They set up the base childcare place for things like that but we can't use it because the kids aren't registered. It's too much of a hassle to get the vax waiver and I don't really want to put my kids in a daycare type setting anyway. Luckily, Ryan's girlfriend wasn't working so she babysat.

The thing was interesting. I think dh really learned a lot about himself and me and other people, including me. We are polar opposites in every way. I'm mainly an intuitive perception/logical thinker and he's a sensory perception/judgmental processor. Even the other traits, which everyone has on a continuum, were opposite for us. We'll see if he can remember it so that he'll be more understanding. It didn't really help with communication, though, because there was nothing about what to do with the info once you had other than realize that other people are different and have different perspectives. I don't need to sit through a 4 hour workshop to know that.









Dylan does not like to be dressed, either. He fights and squirms and screams and gets mad! He also tries to clean himself. I used to get annoyed when he grabbed the wipe because I thought he was just playing. But once he finally got a good piece of one it was obvious he wanted to wipe himself with it. So cute! So now I give him one of his own so he can clean himself, too. Now if he could just learn how to put his own diaper on so I wouldn't have to fight with him over that.









That's cool about the EC stuff. I do try to get D to go in the potty sometimes. I still have a hard time figuring out how to hold him to pee, though. I'm also not good with recognizing cues. I can tell right after he's gone pee or poo but can't seem to catch it right before.

Sleep/bedtime: D feel asleep around 8 last night while we were still out but was up when I got home at 9 so I figured we were going to be up late. He didn't get a good nap yesterday because we went to the park in the morning, took Kellen to the dentist and then had to pick the cat up from the vet so we weren't home all day. Around 10:30 or so I could not keep my head up anymore so took everyone to bed. I just let D wander around the bedroom playing until he was ready to go to sleep while Ethan and I watched Swamp Wars and River Monsters. I set up a stool and an ottoman at the end of the bed so he can climb up whenever he wants. He climbed into bed around 11:30, layed down to nurse and was out quickly and easily. That was so much nicer than trying to get him to lay still when he isn't sleepy. Kellen fell asleep easily, too. Things go so much better when I wait until everyone is ready to sleep rather than trying to get everyone to go to bed too early (for them).

A dangerous, dirty house would freak me out, too. I sometimes have crumbs on the counter or crap on the floor but if someone pops over I clean it up while they are there. I would certainly clean it up ahead of time if I knew someone was bringing her kids over to play.

Talk about disrepair, our next door neighbors still haven't fixed their fence panels that got knocked over in that hurricane last year that we evacuated for when D was only a few weeks old. One panel is in-between our yards. It's laying in their yard with grass and weeds growing up through it now. I don't get it because the husband is a Naval Chaplain and the wife works. They have two grown kids. They should have the money to get it fixed. And, actually, their homeowner's insurance should cover it since it's damage from the hurricane. Everyone's insurance covered their roof repairs.

I think I'm missing something.

Ok, I think I want to get an Ergo or a Boba or a Beco, again. I need something I use on my back easily. My mei tai just isn't comfortable for me, I don't think (I guess maybe I should try it again before I say that.). Which one would you suggest? If I remember correctly, the Beco is better for smaller infants and the Boba and Ergo are better for bigger/older babies?


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Sounds like Ten is doing great w/EC. I wish Ava would go pee on the potty more. She does not want to wear diapers ever now but she doesn't want to stop playing to go potty.


I think it's sooo developmental, certainly nothing I'm doing. Right now she's all about control, right? So control of her bladder is something 'interesting' to her. Hey dude! I can hold this stuff in, and then go on the potty, and people get excited!! lol We've never really done extended naked time with Ten, so I don't think she realizes it's an option, thankfully! lol Though she does hate having her diaper changed, she makes no effort to get it off.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Good finds on those toys!!! I love that Nora loves her Cabbage Patch doll and her toy kitchen. Those are investment toys - they'll get years of enjoyment out of them!
> 
> ...


I know, I love finding good quality toys to add to her collection. We've started looking every time we go into the thrift store, or Winners (which I think is like TJ Maxx there? Brands names for less type thing).

We just finished talking about that in a local auction site I'm part of. People will put ridiculous things like "Smoking home, but in a closet where smoking isn't allowed." Oh yes, because the smoke totally realizes it's not allowed in that closet... Or "Smoking home, but not worn by smoker" *Sigh*

I did!! I wants!! And like... less than half the price of a regular Boba! (Which I have to return today and am so sad! ) The only thing I'm meh about, is it doesn't look like i's really padded at all- which is one of the things that makes the Boba so comfy. But one of the local retailers is getting a few in, and said she'd let us know when they get here, so we can take a look at them. If it's still comfy, I'm pretty sure DH is on board with buying one.

Last night was rough. rough. rough. Trying to remind myself it's all a process. Frustrating though- DH kept telling me to bring her in bed, I kept saying no, because she was in a kicking/wouldn't settle mood, and I knew I'd be frustrated, so finally she woke up, and I went and grabbed her, got her settled on the bed, and turned my back on her. He sat there ignoring her, even though he was facing her, and she was looking at him. Even little while he's say shh or it's ok, but that was it! No effort to rub her back, or cuddle with her or anything, even though HE was the one that said to bring her to bed. I finally rolled over and grabbed her, and he tried to blame me, saying that he'd just expected me to nurse her. Even though we've been talking about trying to decrease her dependence on nursing back to sleep AND I'd just nursed her half an hour before, and he knew that. *sigh* He sucks at nighttime parenting.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

DH didn't really do night time parenting until we had #2, and he had no choice. LOL. Now, he does fine, but it's with DS. DD is mine - I hope DS will need less night time parenting once #3 arrives.

MW: Boba vs. Ergo . . . If Dylan is on the taller side, I say Boba. If he's on the wider, shorter side, I say Ergo. Boba has a tall, narrow body, with skinny seat darts, IME baby sits very snug with you. Ergo has a shorter, wider body, I think it does better for knee-to-knee support, but the back isn't as high as the Boba. the seat darts are deeper which makes it a little more comfy as baby doesn't feel glued to you as much.

Either way - I say if you can, buy used! they hold up super well, and so much cheaper that way.

I got a kinderpack (another type of structured carrier) and I love the shoulders. However, I am so used to back wrapping, and the majority of the weight being on my torso/shoulders. with the SSC, it feels like it's all on my hips, which I am not sure I like. Either way, an adjustment. But at least I'm not dragging yards of fabric in the parking lot.

yay for EC!

even though we dont do it, I totally can celebrate with you.

Last night sleep sucked. usually norah wakes up, but goes back easily with the boob. Last night she was up and playing for over an hour. ugh.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:
Originally Posted by *MarineWife* 

The thing was interesting. I think dh really learned a lot about himself and me and other people, including me. We are polar opposites in every way. I'm mainly an intuitive perception/logical thinker and he's a sensory perception/judgmental processor. Even the other traits, which everyone has on a continuum, were opposite for us. We'll see if he can remember it so that he'll be more understanding. It didn't really help with communication, though, because there was nothing about what to do with the info once you had other than realize that other people are different and have different perspectives. I don't need to sit through a 4 hour workshop to know that.








Dylan does not like to be dressed, either. He fights and squirms and screams and gets mad! He also tries to clean himself. I used to get annoyed when he grabbed the wipe because I thought he was just playing. But once he finally got a good piece of one it was obvious he wanted to wipe himself with it. So cute! So now I give him one of his own so he can clean himself, too. Now if he could just learn how to put his own diaper on so I wouldn't have to fight with him over that.








That's cool about the EC stuff. I do try to get D to go in the potty sometimes. I still have a hard time figuring out how to hold him to pee, though. I'm also not good with recognizing cues. I can tell right after he's gone pee or poo but can't seem to catch it right before.


> Ok, I think I want to get an Ergo or a Boba or a Beco, again. I need something I use on my back easily. My mei tai just isn't comfortable for me, I don't think (I guess maybe I should try it again before I say that.). Which one would you suggest? If I remember correctly, the Beco is better for smaller infants and the Boba and Ergo are better for bigger/older babies?


That's great about the workshop! Information is the first step!

Cute about him trying to clean himself! My gosh how easy it woudl be if they figured out how to diaper themselves at a year! lol "Here, change yourself when you get uncomfortable!"

Yeah, I didn't like holding T over the potty. If we hadn't gotten the potty seat, I probably would have given up. At least with the seat, I pop her on it, hand her a toy, and then I'll sit on the bathroom floor and wait or read, or something while I wait.

I wasn't a fan of the insert/harness thing for the Beco- especially if you're already used to putting him on your back with the mei tai. I haven't tried an Ergo, so can't say, but I'm in love with the Boba, especially for older/bigger babes. And yes, from reviews I've heard, people seem to like the Beco for smaller, skinnier babes, or younger ones less than 18 months. Most people I know that use Bobas- use them from around 1 year to around age 2.5-3.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I caught a poop in the toilet this morning!







I have a baby potty that has a removable seat that I can attach to the toilet. The problem is that when he sits on it his penis sticks out so, if he peed, it would go all over me or all over the floor, not in the potty or toilet. I got it because it said it had a shield made for boys. Ha! Does not work! Maybe I should go ahead and splurge on one of those standing urinals.

i guess D is on the short and chubby side. i don't really know what averages are. he's about 22 lbs. and 29+ inches long. where do you look for used ones, the babywearer?


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

That and diaperswappers. Thebabywearer had some bad malware on it (fried several of my friends' computers) so I might avoid it for a few more days while they fix it. Seems to be fine if you see it on an apple device.

Or, if you are on the babywearing swap group on facebook.

OH - workshop - glad that he went, and got some information. I know in Okinawa there were tons of workshops through the chaplain's office. My parents did the 5 love languages one, and actually helped serve at the personal growth retreats (as cooks, LOL). IDK if they do anything similiar at Camp Lejeune or not.

I hate, hate, morning sickness. I really hope I only have 5 more weeks of this.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Yeah, I am getting my payback in spades with the whole "my baby sleeps through the night" thing









All my kids went through this "toddler waking up for an hour or two in the middle of the night" thing, but I was hoping she would just skip it since she was such an amazeballs sleeper. Oh well, "this too shall pass"

Yep - Arianna has been running away from diaper changes for a LOOOOOONG time. She did hate getting dressed, but recently she thinks it is a hoot to put on clothes and then go run and show everyone how "pretty" she is







Oh, and she also does the whole "wipe herself" thing! To cute!

There was a mass shooting at a movie theater about 45 min from me. 12 dead (so far) and 38 injured. So sad. I am sooooooooooooooo freaking tired of my area making national headlines. Sheesh.

I have to go to a wedding reception tonight with my DH for someone he works with. Should be interesting. I am not going to the wedding (they are Mormon) so just the reception. I need to clarify if I need to dress up. Not feeling up to it. I'm super bummed about this shooting...............I'm just waiting for the "the brother of this person was killed, etc. etc." to come pouring in. I am just hoping I don't personally know anyone.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> I caught a poop in the toilet this morning!
> 
> ...


Oh that's right, I remember you saying that! Hmm. I wonder how young is too young to teach him to point his penis down? I guess it's probably hard when they're this young because they like to use their hands to hold themselves up as well.

Do you have a local babywearing group at all? I don't remember. We have quite a few that come up in there, especially if you post "I'm looking for a ---" people always come out of the woodwork saying "Oh, I couldn't decide if I wanted to sell, but know that I know there's a buyer..." Other than that- yes all the places Kat mentioend!

Size wise-- All I know is that for 6.5 months, Ten was 17lbs and 25", and was 80th and 90th percentile... so To me, I would think he's keeping in about that range, maybe a little bit higher for weight?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *annie2186*
> 
> Yeah, I am getting my payback in spades with the whole "my baby sleeps through the night" thing
> 
> ...


Awww Annie! That sucks. It's probably harder too when you're used to getting the sleep. At least I've deprived my body so 3 hours at a time seems like days!

 I saw a few posts about the shooting on FB but haven't had a chance to go look up an article. When will this end? Isn't it enough already? Hopefully you will get through without knowing anybody, even friend of a friend.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I was born in colorado and still have family there - it's so sad to read of things like this. And the biggest WTF that came out of it in our local news was an opinion piece on whether or not you should bring babies to movies (bc there was a 3 month old injured) - I mean, seriously, local news, of all things, THAT is your take away???

On a similiar news front - took the kids to their first movie at the local drive in. Ice Age. Gabe really liked it. Norah . . . well, it started past her bedtime anyway, and she is one of those unfortunate children who is particular about where she sleeps. She finally fell asleep on the way home. The nice thing about a drive in, is that I could walk around with her and her crankiness didn't really seem to bother anyone.

Then, on the way home, poor Gabe pukes, twice, in his sleep. His appetite has been zero really lately, he drinks alot, but hasn't wanted to really eat much. Has loose stools, but otherwise is pretty content, doesn't seem to be bothered. He seems ok this morning, went straight for my glass of water to drink, and is eating some dry cereal now. And asked for a shirt to put on, I think he was cold.

I love our local babywearing group. LOVE.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Oh no, I hope he isn't coming down with a bug! Hopefully it's already passed!

Fun on the movie! How was it? I love those Ice Age movies.








for all the families involved in the shooting. Its so tragic.

AFM - going to be babysitting my friends daughter today. She's just shy of 2. Should be interesting to have another little one running around with us all day! Chris will be home but I don't think he's planning on being involved unless I need his help.

The only thing I'm a little irked about is I asked him to tidy up his office and clean his crap off the stairs and he hasn't done it yet, and he went out for a run this morning. I have enough picking up to do other than that and I'm mad it won't get done.

Don't ask me why I'm worried about a little bit of clutter when this friends house is the one I was telling you guys about.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

No local babywearing group. One mama in my homeschool groups has (had) an Ergo but now that she needs it for her new baby she can't find it! She's very upset. A friend of hers is lending her a Beco but I think that would be too small for us. Those are supposedly better for really little babies.

I love Drive-Ins. We used to sneak into the Drive-In when I was a teenager. Fun times!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

It was cute - and my parents were with us too, so lots of hands for the kids.

He seems ok this morning, but like I said, he has acted normal really all week. He's eating, or asking to eat, which is good. bananas, cereal, granola bars. so we'll see. I don't think he's contagious at all, bc no one else has showed any symptoms all week.

enh. clutter, it's fine. But tell him, beware if the littles get into it. He can't be upset about it if he leaves it out to be destroyed. I wish I had a car big enough for more carseats now, I could help out friends more often.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Then, on the way home, poor Gabe pukes, twice, in his sleep. His appetite has been zero really lately, he drinks alot, but hasn't wanted to really eat much. Has loose stools, but otherwise is pretty content, doesn't seem to be bothered. He seems ok this morning, went straight for my glass of water to drink, and is eating some dry cereal now. And asked for a shirt to put on, I think he was cold.
> 
> I love our local babywearing group. LOVE.


Poor guy!  That doesn't sound fun!

And yes!! So love our group. I was able to try on someone's hotsling yesterday, determined my size, and then was able to go pick up a $10 almost new one in my size. Yay! AND they demonstrated the Boba in the infant position!! I totally forgot it could even DO that, and was stuck on the idea that it's recommended from 15lb + Now I'm like heck! That is such a point in its favor to buy one, because when we were talking before with DH, I said that was the problem, is that you would have to have another carrier for the baby stage anyways. But now-- you don't!

Like it matters... lol. I now have a homemade ring sling (that isn't very good), a Moby, a Boba wrap, a BabyHawk, and a Hotsling.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> The only thing I'm a little irked about is I asked him to tidy up his office and clean his crap off the stairs and he hasn't done it yet, and he went out for a run this morning. I have enough picking up to do other than that and I'm mad it won't get done.
> 
> Don't ask me why I'm worried about a little bit of clutter when this friends house is the one I was telling you guys about.


LOL I totally get it though! It almost makes you more nervous though because you don't want to become anything like that! lol


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Babysitting yesterday was a trip! My head was literally spinning having one extra child here. My goodness. She was very well behaved, I'd just forgotten how go-go-go a 2 year old is and how busy they keep you!

And now I'm 110% certain I'm done having kids. 2 is perfect. I think for me 3 would be chaos and a lot of guilt not being able to have enough 1:1 time. How do you mamas do it!?

I brought up the vasectomy thing again with him today and he was still a little apprehensive b/c of the side effects.

Alysia - did your DH go and get it yet or did you not sign the papers?

Going to go out shopping just Nora and I today for a bit. Trying to make a concerted effort to give her significant one on one mama time, hoping it helps with her general clinginess. It seems to be helping a lot! And I enjoy the time!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> I brought up the vasectomy thing again with him today and he was still a little apprehensive b/c of the side effects.
> Alysia - did your DH go and get it yet or did you not sign the papers?


No, he didn't do it. We decided to stick with condoms as needed for now. He never even brought any papers home for me to sign. He said he's fine with condoms but thought I didn't like them. I don't, really, but I'll deal with them rather than him having a vas. It just really freaks me out.

DH was getting a little taste of what it's like to take care of all the kids this weekend. He's been making a more concerted effort to do for them when he's home (maybe because of that workshop we went to?). Yesterday morning he said, "Come on, guys, I just want a cup of coffee."







Welcome to my world!

Have fun shopping. I still haven't made it to the organic market after stating on FB that I was going to go. Guess I'm not that motivated.


----------



## proudMoMmy2634 (Jun 26, 2012)

Quote:
Originally Posted by *MarineWife* 

Member List:
lyeterae ~ Baby boy born February 2011
annie ~ Baby girl born April 7, 2011
Barefootscientist ~ Baby boy born May 30, 2011
AnnieA (due 7/18) ~ Baby girl born July 17, 2011
MarineWife (due 7/30) ~ Baby boy born July 25, 2011
Baby_Cakes (due 8/16) ~ Baby boy born August 16, 2011
MovingMomma (due 8/9) ~ Baby girl born August 18, 2011
akind1 (due 9/28) ~ Baby girl born October 11, 2011
mom2one (due 10/23) ~ Baby boy born October 21, 2011
jeninejessica (due 12/01) ~ Baby girl born November 29, 2011
Kindermama (due 1/6) ~ Baby boy born January 1, 2012
June: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1355087/june-rockstar-formerly-whatevering-mamas-2012

They have one years old now. So sweet


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *proudMoMmy2634*
> 
> They have one years old now. So sweet


Yep, and we've been with each other for years now. It's been a lot of fun!









Dylan finally started doing the, "mmm" sound when he eats that the rest of you have said your babies were doing. We finally discovered something he does not like, pecan pie. He didn't ask for a second bite of that.









Not much else going on. I'm already trying to plan for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball. We can't skip this year because it's dh's ball. Because of his position, he's in charge of the whole thing for his unit, which has something like 800 people in it. Ethan says he wants to go. That will be fun. He wants a tux. So cute. Kellen said it sounds boring so he'll be hanging with Dylan and whoever we get to babysit. It's going to be in Wilmington, an hour and a half away, so we'll have to get one or two hotel rooms and have whoever is staying with the little boys there. I've asked Ryan if he and his girlfriend would go if we got them their own room. The other option is to ask my mom to come down. I don't know anyone else. I need to lose at least 10 lbs. I gained some weight when I was at my mom's.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I love going to the MC ball. And Wilmington! mom and dad have said that the few they have had "away" have been some of the best ones. The worst is when they cram the whole 2nd FSSG (I hope I'm remembering my acronyms right) in the Field House. That sucks. I went to that one, and man. It was NO fun. I hope everyone that goes enjoys it.

The only opportunity on the horizon to really dress up is a wedding in December. I'll be like 6? 7? months pregnant, so that will be fun dress shopping.

My girl can eat! At MIL's yesterday, she tore through 2 chocolate donuts (they fell apart, but I"m sure some got in her), 3 bananas, 90% of which did get in her, some lasagna, and 1/2 a baby ice cream cone. And puffs. That was just the afternoon/dinner.

Gabe seems to be doing better, thank goodness. I am trying to work on potty training, but I'm just not motivated enough.

I am not sure at what point in time DH will get a vas. Maybe once the baby is born? I don't want to postpone too long afterwards, otherwise . . . well.

As for dealing with 3. I don't know yet. I really need to work on DS being less clingy and wanting to be held so much. Because I just can't. And I really won't be able to in a few months.

JJ: my stash includes: 1 wrap conversion ring sling, 2 SSC (a jetpack and a kinderpack, which I will likely sell the KP, bc I need a smaller size, and I am kind of wondering if I should buy "up" and do a toddler one, so it fits Gabe and will fit Norah . . . .) a size 2 wrap, 2 size 5 wraps, and a size 7 wrap. And in all likely hood, I will be buying another, special "squish" wrap once I know for sure whether this baby is a boy or a girl. Probably something with silk. Also, I probably will be converting the size 2 wrap into a ring sling . . . shorties just have very little use for me.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> As for dealing with 3. I don't know yet. I really need to work on DS being less clingy and wanting to be held so much. Because I just can't. And I really won't be able to in a few months.
> 
> JJ: my stash includes: 1 wrap conversion ring sling, 2 SSC (a jetpack and a kinderpack, which I will likely sell the KP, bc I need a smaller size, and I am kind of wondering if I should buy "up" and do a toddler one, so it fits Gabe and will fit Norah . . . .) a size 2 wrap, 2 size 5 wraps, and a size 7 wrap. And in all likely hood, I will be buying another, special "squish" wrap once I know for sure whether this baby is a boy or a girl. Probably something with silk. Also, I probably will be converting the size 2 wrap into a ring sling . . . shorties just have very little use for me.


Lordy that's a nice collection!!

This is me just not wanting to do math, but how old with G and N be when the new baby is born?

Yesterday was a horrendous day. I had a couple meltdowns of my own and realized I need to stop putting so much pressure on myself. It's better to not get caught up in doing things 100% right or try to make everything a "teaching moment". I need to get back to where I was a few months ago when I had faith that things would just work out. A good nights sleep and I feel much clearer about everything. I'm hoping I can find some strength to see it thru.

AFM - finally a week with little to no plans!! Chris is going to Canada wednesday night, flying out around 7, and he'll be back Friday night. Not sure when yet. Late, though, b/c he was talking about getting a car service home from the airport. I think I did make plans to go to Ikea on Thursday with a friend another friend of hers, with all the kids. Should be fun!

ETA - I meant to say, MW, that party sounds fun. I can't wait to see a pic of E in a tux!
I hear you too on the gaining weight. I have put on 2-3 lbs and am feeling it! Ugh. I really want to get it off before Finn's bday party at least. I think it's doable. But my bigger goal is to shed 8-10 to finally be at my goal weight. Hopefully by the fall!

ETA again - Right now Finn's fave thing to do is climb UP slides. He's GOOD at it and FAST. We were at the park yesterday and he just zipped up a handful of times! But - he doesn't turn around and slide down. He just keeps crawling! And at our park that means a 5' drop straight down so it kept giving me heart attack and I had to stay close! LOL!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I have no idea what FSSG is but I wouldn't know if you got it wrong because I don't know the acronyms. We've never had a ball at the Field House, thank goodness. We've been to one in Wilmington, one in Atlantic Beach and one in Greenville.

Oh, this is funny. DH's unit has been having a lot of babies lately with more to come. One guy that he works with said if you count back, conceptions occurred over the Ball month. He told everyone that it's coming up on that month again so people need to start making long term financial plans.







What's funny for us is that I conceived Dylan sometime between November 4 and 6, 2010. DH's ball that year was on the 4th and we dtd that night (although, I don't remember dtd at all







).









I'm going to go for a walk now. I've been meaning to start walking for like 2 weeks now but kept forgetting. I finally asked DH to send me a text reminder. If anyone else would like to help me remember by sending me an email or a FB message in the mornings, I'd appreciate it.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I think, IIRC, 2nd FSSG is pretty much anybody on base - the commandant of camp lejeune goes to it. The smaller unit ones are way more fun.

How funny, about ball babies!

When the new baby is born, Gabe will be 3 years and 4 months, give or take a few days (depending on when the baby is born) and Norah will be 17 months, again, est.

DH and I are working hard on establishing a better bond between him and Gabe - giving them lots of one-on-one time, because I so really need the break.

I do want to potty train Gabe soon. I know he will likely regress and have some accidents after the baby is born, but I just can't handle 3 in diapers. That's too much. (especially given that Gabe is at an age where he can and could be Potty trained)

Carrie - man, that would give me a heart attack!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

DH and I keep saying that one year, we are going to plan to go to a ball but it always slips up on us and we are too late to get tickets. Maybe one year.

I had an epiphany the other day. I'm in no way shape or form ready for another little one any time soon. I realized this as I navigated around piles of clean clothes attempting to get DD to sleep for at least a few minutes before I needed to wake her up to put her in the car to leave for the babysitter. If/when we have another, I really need to be able to stay at home. Of course if another one showed up, I'd survive, but right now I wouldn't actively choose to create another baby.

AFM, big kids are home for the week and DD is loving it. I left her home with them today instead of taking her to the babysitter. She was napping for part of it so it worked out well. We did her 1 yr WBV on Friday. She was 16 lbs 11 oz and 27 inches long. We did one shot and she was miserable all weekend. Still not great appetite-wise. I'm having a harder time justifying any shots at this point. I'll probably just end up delaying the rest until we decide if she's going to public school and then catch up as needed.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Annie ~ The Marine Corps Birthday Ball? It's always in November. Tickets usually go on sale in September. Mark it on your calendar. You should be able to get some this year (although I don't know if you'd want to go this year since you have a baby now).

Also, you know, you can get a vaccine waiver for school. You don't need to worry about previously vaxing. You can change your religious convictions and stop at any time for the purposes of a waiver.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

So this may seem silly to you but it feels wrong to me to lie and say I have a religious conviction against vaccines when I don't. And in VA, that's the only exemption IIRC.

I know it's always in November but somehow it's suddenly the middle of October and we haven't planned at all. What we really need to do is find one that some of his other buddies from when he was in are going to. The one here is mostly officers and DH was enlisted. He still has some friends that are in and stationed at Lejeune. We should just come down there!


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

I wish I had a ball or such to get all fancied up for. I know most people hate wedding season, but since DH and I don't have a lot of close friends, we don't actually go to a lot of weddings. I kind of wish we did!

Birthday was fantastic. On Saturday we went out to the lake and went on the boat, went for a bit of a ride, Ten napped, and then we anchored and went swimming. She didn't even blink when we put the life jacket on her, which blows my mind. I expected her to hate it! And so I got in the water, DH passed her to me, and I popped her down beside me, and voila that was it. She freaking loved it. Kicked around in her life jacket, floated around on her back for a bit, tasted some lake water and just had a blast. And then we put her in her floaty and she thought that was even better. I want to go out ALL the time now. I can't believe how much fun she had. My father's gf took some pictures, and said she'd post on FB. Can't wait! Then we went back to the site, had dinner and campfire hot dogs, and headed home.

My actual birthday... lol. I asked for a "mama's day off" where DH brought her to me only for feeding and diaper changes (he can't do the snaps with his hand still). I took the day to have a nice bubble bath, and sleep in (until 10am!!! though 1.5 hours of that was actually T's morning nap), and read my book a bit, but also got a bunch of cleaning done uninterrupted. Sounds silly, but I was so excited to do that! Anyways, I still ended up taking care of Tenley for probably... 1/3- 1/2 of the day, but DH "had her" the other time. Even though I had her that much (whereas on an average day, he has her for maybe... 1/10 of the time), by the end of the day he was still like "ok ok !! I get it. You are super woman! How the heck do you DO this?" SO worth it, and exactly what I wanted from the day. That was really moreso my 'present' than getting to spend the day "alone". I want him to see what it's like to be the one responsible for her all day. And even so, she was getting fussy in the early evening, and he was like "What do you want!!!?!?!" And I had to look at him and go "You realized, you've been watching her all day, but you haven't actually -played- with her once?" And you could see him get sheepish and go "oh..." And then went and played with her on the floor for a bit.

So HAH! It's not all easy to fun and games to take care of her all day! She's hard work!

Today I got it back in spades though. She is soooo hardcore teething (at least I think that's what it is, hope she isn't getting sick), and she's in need of constant constant attention right now, and I was having one of those days where I was sooo touched out. I kept trying to just nurse her for a bit so I could have some quiet, but she wouldn't even have that. It took an hour and 15 minutes to get her down for her morning nap. Thankfully by bedtime she was so exhausted from whining all evening that she conked out pretty easy. And I'm jinxing this, but she's been sleeping soundly now for an hour and 15 minutes (usually at night we only get 40 minute stretches or so for the first 2 hours).

Ok, on another note... DH and I started tlaking about taking a shopping trip down to the states again around Septemberish. And I was like "Hmm, I should go through all the clothes we have for her, so I know what/if anything we need." I've started getting bummed out because I want to go buy things for her-- but we have so much from hand me downs, etc, that I feel like I shouldn't. Anyways-- so between stuff she's grown out of that I was keeping for "the next baby" and decided to let go (still kept a bunch...), and things that we had for her to grow into, I managed to fill an entire garbage bag of clothes to sell/giveaway. I -still- have too much of 12M and 18M, and probably even 2T stuff to justify buying any more!

So I'm going to sell what I have set aside right now, which in total is close to two garbage bags full. That will probably take a few weeks, and by then she will have grown out of a little bit more, (and grown into some of the other stuff), and maybe I'll have a better idea of what's going to fit at the right time, and then I'll pare down even more. It seems like such a silly conundrum, having TOO MUCH clothes, but it makes me sad! I am -so- frugal, so wanting to buy stuff, but knowing that I don't need anything, is so hard.

On the plus side-- in the stuff that I didn't think would fit her for several months (ie in the winter, so wrong season, or -maybe- next spring), I found 4 more super cute summer dresses that I just added into her closet. She's got about 7-8 summer dresses now. I had to pare down more of her "boring" onesies and stuff, to ensure she'll actually get a chance to wear all her cute outfits and dresses. Otherwise I try to "save them" for special days, and then she just never wears them! lol

*sigh* ok, end my OCD rant now.

Carrie-- all those newbie pictures of Finn have me just shaking my head. It's CRAZY to imagine that he's gone from that to the big boy he is now, in less than a year. Mind. Blown.

Annie-- I'm sorry her shots are going so poorly!! What a decision that must be. I totally understand your reasons for wanting to get them, so I know how hard that must be to see her react, and now not want to give them. I'm very thankful Ten didn't react to hers, since I used to get pretty sick after mine.

MW-- You keep on my tail, I'll keep on yours!!


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> So this may seem silly to you but it feels wrong to me to lie and say I have a religious conviction against vaccines when I don't. And in VA, that's the only exemption IIRC.


Jumping in here to wonder if the fact that fetal cells are used to be good enough to be a religious exemption? I know we are both Catholic, and I use philosophical exemption at the moment, but I personally would go underground before giving my kids any vaccinations







. My kids safety and health are # 1 priority and I will lie, steal, and cheat. I would find a way to ease my conscience into a religious exemption....... but that is obviously just me









Arianna is still sleeping like crap - and I am exhausted!!!!!! Ugh.

Oh, and I just enrolled J in kindergarten.............WTH is happening to time!?!


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

One of my friends from high school (ie we haven't talked in 10 years), is due with her first baby in September. She pinned a crapload of "after baby" type checklists tonight, and I'm just going through them for nostalgia. And then I came to this one:

http://www.thedatingdivas.com/kiirsten/after-the-baby/

I want to vomit!! It's all about things like "dress up sexy for your man" and "make sure you go to bed at the same time, even though you're exhausted". This is for the first SIX WEEKS pp. I definitely was not worried about dressing sexy, or going out on a date, or laying out my husbands pjs!! More like... remembering to eat -something- every day, and trying to get off the couch without mentally cursing.

SHHHHH!!!!! Tenley is growing up fast enough as it is already! I don't want to even THINK about her being old enough for kindergarden!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

I'm so glad you had a good birthday, JJ! It sounds like him realizing how much you do really made your bday special. LOL. I know that feeling of satisfaction!! I'm sure I wished you a happy one already, but if I didn't happy belated bday!!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> Carrie-- all those newbie pictures of Finn have me just shaking my head. It's CRAZY to imagine that he's gone from that to the big boy he is now, in less than a year. Mind. Blown.
> 
> ...


Oh I know!!! It's amazing and bittersweet!! I am glad I took so many freaking pictures bc I really have forgotten a lot of how he looked and felt and the cute clothes he wore. I have an idea for a neat before/after picture that I'm going to be working on for a few weeks. I hope it comes out. I'm going to be tinkering in photoshop and Im still a novice!

So - Finn did have one vax reaction and the nurses I talk to at the office didn't know what to tell me. I wanted to know if they thought I should discontinue the series or do it separately by itself. I do believe in vaccines and that they work, so if it makes more sense to do it one more time, I would. But idk. Something in my mind is making me hesitant. I want to speak to an actual dr about it. So. I need to either call up and get a consult or make an appt with a dr for his next one.

re: exercise - I took Finn out in the stroller yesterday and almost did the 5k. I got to 2.5 miles and then walked the rest. I know if i didin't have the stroller with me (25lb stroller plus 28 lb baby) I could have finished! It was also almost 100 degrees out, and very humid, but I have to squeeze in a workout somehow and if that means I push him, it means I push him! I hope you BOTH have nice long walks today!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *annie2186*
> 
> Arianna is still sleeping like crap - and I am exhausted!!!!!! Ugh.
> 
> Oh, and I just enrolled J in kindergarten.............WTH is happening to time!?!


Word! We had a week or two of glorious sleeping thru the night! It was AH-MAZE-ING!!! And now these past two nights haven't been god-awful but ...

He went down at 930.

Woke at 3:47

Woke at 4:20

Woke at 6 babbling and I thought he was up for the day, but did nurse back down.

Woke at 730 for the day.

YAWN. I'll take a huge cup of coffee please!!

And yes - kindy. Oh man it's tough isn't it? We are in a pickle here b/c Nora is starting the 4 year old class in september. Since her bday is October, she will still only be 3. So, we are planning to move, so this won't necessarily be the case, but after the school year, the next year would be kindy, but she will miss the cut off date. I'm torn whether to put her in kindy as a 4 year old, or do one more year of preschool. 
I know she is book smart enough, but I worry about her socially. She is still a little young in that area. She's incredibly introverted and that isn't something she will grow out of. But with age comes a grain of maturity and I'm hoping/wondering if an extra year will help give her more self esteem and confidence to not worry about feeling left out or being teased or missing mommy.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> One of my friends from high school (ie we haven't talked in 10 years), is due with her first baby in September. She pinned a crapload of "after baby" type checklists tonight, and I'm just going through them for nostalgia. And then I came to this one:
> 
> ...


Um, ok that website is a little weird. I don't like how its making it the newly postpartum mothers job to worry about ANYTHING besides her baby and herself. SHE should be the one being dressed up for and attended to! Yuck to that website! Yuck to any man who isn't mature enough to take care of himself and not get bent out of shape in those first few weeks!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

What was the vax and what was his reaction if you don't mind sharing? DH says DD being sick for a day or so is ok so she doesn't get more sick. But seriously, do you know anyone that's gotten diptheria? I've always thought it best to be the oldest in the class instead of the youngest, especially K-2 when a lot of stuff is physical.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

:Annie ~ You should come down for our Ball. It's on the 15th. Tickets are $60 per person and they say childcare will be provided. I don't know the details on that, yet, so I don't know if anyone can use it or only ADMs and their families.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> So this may seem silly to you but it feels wrong to me to lie and say I have a religious conviction against vaccines when I don't. And in VA, that's the only exemption IIRC.


I think it depends on how you define religion and a religious belief. Religion is the belief in a higher power. It doesn't have to be a god or deity. If I believe in the natural order of things and that nature is more in control that I am and I believe that it's better for my children to be naturally exposed to diseases (if they are going to be exposed at all) so their bodies can build natural defenses against them and I believe that vaccinating my children goes against that natural order, then I can honestly say that it is against my religious belief to vaccinate my children. I don't think that religious beliefs are any different than a personal philosophy or conviction so interchanging those doesn't phase me one bit.

I understand how it can be trickier in your own heart and mind when you subscribe to a specific religious organization. You can have personal religious beliefs that are not included in the beliefs or tenets of your chosen religion. That's one of the wonderful things about this country and it's constitution.

I think that forced vaccination is unconstitutional. The government does not have the right to do anything to my person like that. And, like annie said, I will do anything to protect the health and well-being of my children. If that means lying to the government, I'll do it. But I don't consider it lying because I can easily justify a personal religious belief against vaccination.

There was more I was going to say but I've been interrupted and distracted so many times that I can't remember it all. Maybe it will come back to me at a time when I can post more. Oh, I remember part of it.

JJ ~ Water play is fun. Dylan loves the pool. I haven't had the nerve to take him to the beach with the other boys by myself now that he can really get around. I want to go on a weekend when dh can go but he's been working on that clubhouse. I may have to insist that we go to the beach first and he can work on the clubhouse later. The problem is it's been raining or threatening rain every afternoon so, if he doesn't work on it in the morning, it may not get done.

Carrie ~ I'd wait to put my child in school. But then I might skip kindergarten, anyway. Kindergarten isn't compulsory in many states. Is it in yours?

Dylan has been very fussy lately. I don't know if it's his teeth or what. Those molars have broken through the gums a little but not completely. The ringworm he had is much, much better but I have to keep applying the cream for a total of 4 weeks so I wonder if it's a reaction to that. He's also got some sores on his scrotum that I think are related to the ring worm. In doing a quick google search, I found that it could be a sign of a yeast infection. So, I've started applying the nystatin cream to that, too. We'll see if it gets better. He's sleeping ok, though. Just really fussy and clingy when he's awake.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Does Nora have enough sense of herself that you could ask her what she'd choose? We intend on homeschooling so it's not really so much an issue for us, and the first couple years will be very unstructured, I think. I don't know that I will go completely the unschooling route, but I don't plan on doing "canned" homeschooling either.

ITA with MW re: religious exemption. I do believe in God, but generally the principle is the same.

Re vaccine reactions . . . see, while I agree that vaccines WORK (to an extent - it's not 100% in any case) I have a very hard time reconciling injecting all the miscellaneous crap that's in vaccines into my healthy children. Now, if we lived somewhere where supposedly VPD (I say supposedly, because vaccinated people do still sometimes come down with VPD's) were far more prevelant, and access to healthcare and treatment for these diseases weren't so readily available, I would consider then the benefits to be worthwhile, given the risks. But, we don't.

So, if a child of mine did react, I would look into perhaps separating them. because often with series injections, if one is missed or delayed, you might have to start over. (I had to with my Heb B vax I got in college). But that's just my 2 cents.

Norah loves the water, but hated the life jacket. oh well.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Here's something to consider with the series of vaccines, too. The reason there are series of vaccines is not because every person needs more than 1 vaccine for his body to make antibodies. Every child is given more than 1 shot of the vaccines because not everyone produces the antibodies the first time. I don't remember the numbers exactly but it's something like 85% of the population will create antibodies from the first shot, another 10% will create antibodies from the 2nd shot and another 2% create antibodies from the 3rd shot. That last 3% will never have antibodies. So, your child may not need more than one shot of any vaccine but it's easier and more profitable to give everyone a series of shots rather than test each person after each shot to see if they have the antibodies or not.

You could always have your child tested for antibodies and forgo any more vaccines for those diseases that he has antibodies. Your insurance company probably won't pay for the tests. You'd probably have t pay out of pocket.

We may have an issue if dh gets overseas orders. I don't know the rules for going overseas when not vaxed. I also don't know that I'd feel comfortable taking my children overseas unvaxed because of the issues Kat brought up. However, I'm not willing to inject them with vaxes just for that purpose. So, either we'd have to be able to get exemptions (which may not work if we are bound by the rules of the other country) and go to a relatively modernized country or dh would have to go unaccompanied.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

He would most likely be sent to Okinawa, no? We had missionary friends over there that didn't vax at all, and their son got everything - chicken pox, measles, . . . maybe german measles? - one summer. He was a preteen though, and he was kind of miserable, (because he had to miss out on fun summer stuff) but otherwise didn't seem too bad. This is to say, that obviously, there are cases of unvaccinated children over there, but I am not sure what exactly the rules would be regarding bringing unvaxed kids in.

And yes, you can have titers done. I think a blood draw might seem more traumatic for the baby at the time, but at least you might not need to inject more stuff into him.

Depressing: I only got 2 oz at this mornings pump. ugh.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

No, it would not be Okinawa. He's looking at places possibly in the Middle East, Africa and South America. There's one position for German, I think. More than likely, he won't get chosen for any of those but everyone in his rank has to be considered so it is a possibility. I would possibly consider Germany but I have a feeling their rules would be very strict. That country is strict about so many things. Homeschooling is actually illegal in Germany. There's no way I'd take my unvaxed kids to the Middle East, Africa or South America.

Ethan had some blood drawn when he was little and it didn't phase him one bit. There isn't much to a blood draw other than a quick prick, unlike vaxes that can sting, cause pain at the injection site and illness later. To me, that seems like it would be much less traumatic in the long run. Of course, a child who has had shots might be more afraid of getting blood drawn because they associate needles with pain and illness. Since Ethan had no recollection of shots he didn't have any reason to be afraid.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> What was the vax and what was his reaction if you don't mind sharing? DH says DD being sick for a day or so is ok so she doesn't get more sick. But seriously, do you know anyone that's gotten diptheria? I've always thought it best to be the oldest in the class instead of the youngest, especially K-2 when a lot of stuff is physical.


Ok so, it was his 2nd prevnar. The first one, no issues, a little red at the injection site, but it went away within 24 hours and he was fine.

The 2nd time, it was red, hot, hard, and his entire thigh (and he's got big thighs) blew up huge and he was in obvious pain. He couldn't crawl w/o dragging his leg and crying. It lasted for 4 whole days after his vaccine, and then started to fade.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Does Nora have enough sense of herself that you could ask her what she'd choose? We intend on homeschooling so it's not really so much an issue for us, and the first couple years will be very unstructured, I think. I don't know that I will go completely the unschooling route, but I don't plan on doing "canned" homeschooling either.


She might by the time it comes up. Right now we are just going to go ahead with the 4 year old class and see how she does. At least I do have one more year to really see how she blossoms.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Here's something to consider with the series of vaccines, too. The reason there are series of vaccines is not because every person needs more than 1 vaccine for his body to make antibodies. Every child is given more than 1 shot of the vaccines because not everyone produces the antibodies the first time. I don't remember the numbers exactly but it's something like 85% of the population will create antibodies from the first shot, another 10% will create antibodies from the 2nd shot and another 2% create antibodies from the 3rd shot. That last 3% will never have antibodies. So, your child may not need more than one shot of any vaccine but it's easier and more profitable to give everyone a series of shots rather than test each person after each shot to see if they have the antibodies or not.
> You could always have your child tested for antibodies and forgo any more vaccines for those diseases that he has antibodies. Your insurance company probably won't pay for the tests. You'd probably have t pay out of pocket.


Hmm, good thinking. I had thought of that but wasn't clear on if titers would be present or not.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Depressing: I only got 2 oz at this mornings pump. ugh.


It's something! 1 oz from each side?

How is your freezer stash? Is she nursing more at night to make up for it?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> No, it would not be Okinawa. He's looking at places possibly in the Middle East, Africa and South America. There's one position for German, I think. More than likely, he won't get chosen for any of those but everyone in his rank has to be considered so it is a possibility. I would possibly consider Germany but I have a feeling their rules would be very strict. That country is strict about so many things. Homeschooling is actually illegal in Germany. There's no way I'd take my unvaxed kids to the Middle East, Africa or South America.
> Ethan had some blood drawn when he was little and it didn't phase him one bit. There isn't much to a blood draw other than a quick prick, unlike vaxes that can sting, cause pain at the injection site and illness later. To me, that seems like it would be much less traumatic in the long run. Of course, a child who has had shots might be more afraid of getting blood drawn because they associate needles with pain and illness. Since Ethan had no recollection of shots he didn't have any reason to be afraid.


Wow, homeschooling is illegal in Germany? I didn't know that.

AFM - I'm going nuts with this party planning. I just bought MORE tattoos, stickers, and goody bag loot. Sigh. It's too much fun.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Since I have an October birthday, I was always the youngest and shortest  but I was always one of the more advanced, also. So if I had been held back a year, I think that would have been more harmful. If we were to do a school, I like the Montesorri system. Less age-specific pressure, and it fits in more with what I think is natural, younger kids learning from olders, and olders reinforce what they've learned.

It's hard to say with Gabe, since he will have the issue of likely being the oldest with a November birthday. His physical skills are very good, but he has some catching up to do in the verbal department, and other knowledge things . . . well, we really haven't worked on much.

I don't stress on non-pumping days, because she seems content enough. and yeah, I'm still getting something. I have to remember I can't gauge what I get with the pump as to what she's getting, she's more efficient than any machine. My freezer stash is just about gone, since I've only been making 1/2 of what she needs while I am gone. I need to stress offering more solids while I'm away.

MW: they do accompanied tours in the middle east??? Germany, I know some people that have gone there. I wish we could have, what an awesome experience! I am not sure the outlawed homeschool thing would apply to you, as an American on a military base. There are TONS of homeschoolers in Okinawa. I think easily 1/4-1/2 of the military population over there is homeschooled.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Carrie ~ Honestly, if my child had a reaction like that, I would never do that vaccine again. That's scary. It sounds like temporary paralysis, Guillain-Barre syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillain%E2%80%93Barr%C3%A9_syndrome#Signs_and_symptoms, which has been associated with vaccines.

No, I don't think the homeschooling laws in German would affect us as U.S. citizens. I was just using that as an example of how strict and controlling that country's government is. If they have laws requiring vaccination with no exemptions, that would almost certainly apply to us. We don't have to go and they don't have to allow us to enter. KWIM?

I can't remember the job but, yeah, some assignments were in the Middle East. DH asked me to pick the top 5 in order of where I'd want to go so he thinks it's possible we'd all go. I would love to go to any of those places. I originally picked Morroco, Egypt and Brazil.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Ok so, it was his 2nd prevnar. The first one, no issues, a little red at the injection site, but it went away within 24 hours and he was fine.
> 
> The 2nd time, it was red, hot, hard, and his entire thigh (and he's got big thighs) blew up huge and he was in obvious pain. He couldn't crawl w/o dragging his leg and crying. It lasted for 4 whole days after his vaccine, and then started to fade.


Oh that's scary! Ava didn't do well w/the PCV shot either so we stopped that. I could tell her pedi wasn't thrilled but oh well. He's pretty laid back.

Annie, thanks for mentioning the fetal stem cell/vaccine connection. I had no idea. I googled it and found this page: http://old.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/vaccfac2.shtml It's old but it references what you are talking about and if that is the case, then I have no trouble signing the religious exemption form if necessary.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Carrie ~ Honestly, if my child had a reaction like that, I would never do that vaccine again.


This is how I feel. Chris feels differently. He says do it once again, by itself. I see absolutely no reason to do that, but he is adamant. WWYD (if you vaccinated)?

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Oh that's scary! Ava didn't do well w/the PCV shot either so we stopped that. I could tell her pedi wasn't thrilled but oh well. He's pretty laid back.


I think the dr would be ok with discontinuing it since Finn reacted.

I'm thinking titers would convince DH more is unecessary...

The kids are finally asleep! I'm having some wine and some ice cream!!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> This is how I feel. Chris feels differently. He says do it once again, by itself. I see absolutely no reason to do that, but he is adamant. WWYD (if you vaccinated)?
> 
> ...


Does Chris go to the dr appts? If not, just don't consent to it. Or make him do the research and prove to you that it's a good idea.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Also, would he even know what it was if you said to the nurse "we aren't do the next dose of Prevnar right now"? My DH is smart in a lot of things but details are not a strong point for him. We discuss Ava's shots but he mostly defers to me. When we had her 1 yr WBV last week, I said to the nurse, "We're doing Pentacel today". I bet if you paid DH $1000, he wouldn't be able to tell you what that shot was for. He just doesn't retain that info.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> This is how I feel. Chris feels differently. He says do it once again, by itself. I see absolutely no reason to do that, but he is adamant. WWYD (if you vaccinated)?


I would do what Annie said. Just refuse it at the appointments if he doesn't go with you. Tell him to research it and prove to you that it's safe. Does he know anything about G-B syndrome and it's association with vaccines? Have him talk to your doc if you've established with the doc that s/he is ok with not doing another. Check titers if all else fails.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Annie, thanks for mentioning the fetal stem cell/vaccine connection. I had no idea. I googled it and found this page: http://old.usccb.org/prolife/issues/bioethic/vaccfac2.shtml It's old but it references what you are talking about and if that is the case, then I have no trouble signing the religious exemption form if necessary.


No prob! I've seen aborted fetal cell in the list of vaccine ingredients countless times and I don't doubt it at all









Carrie - that reaction is freaking insane! I would definitely follow your mommy instincts on that one. *Usually* vaccine reactions get worse and worse. Like you said, the first shot was just a little red and irritated, the second one made his whole leg blow up, what the freak is a third or fourth one gonna do??

I remember reading before about babies who died or suffered severe vaccine reactions that they usually had a milder (but still bad) reaction the first few times and then it was the 3rd or 4th time that something REALLY bad happened and the author was just wondering where the freaking heck the mother's instinct was? The mom's just followed the doc's advice blindly. Sucks.

I have been so busy enjoying the last little bit of summer. Today I spent the day at my parents house and tomorrow we are going to the County Fair.

Hopefully the baby sleeps all night - she has been waking up every night for a couple weeks now! I'm not quite sure what is up. Today she only slept for like 30 min though in the car so hopefully she is konked out


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

In our case, DH is far more adamant about no vaxes than I am, so it would be a non issue. I even had him do a couple of the wbv for Gabe by himself, because he is better at standing his ground than I am (or was, since I was recovering from a c-section then).

Our sleep was slightly better last night, I think I got 4 solid hours. (11 something to 4 something) then nursing on and off between 4 something and 6. She is refusing the paci. IDK if its because she really wants milk or if it's because she is a little stuffy and and can breathe better around the boob than the paci?

Gabe was so funny last night, I was tired of nursing Norah down for 30 minutes only to have her sleep 10 before waking up again, so I brought her back out, and Gabe was saying "C'mere sister" "play, play" "C'mere!" and patting his chest like he was calling the dog. he'd run down the hall and back trying to get her to chase him. She just grinned at him, and finally went to play. It was so cute. I love it.

Annie, last little bit of summer?! we still have probably 2 months of summer weather left, if not more. I want to go the beach. Any beach. *sigh*


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Kat ~ So cute!

I've been thinking I need to get to the beach because this may be our last chance at quick and easy access for a while.

My dh doesn't seem to have a strong opinion one way or another on vaxes or anything else child related, really. He pretty much just goes along with whatever I say. If I told him today that I'm taking all the boys to get all their vaxes, he's probably just say, "Ok." He did tell the people he works with that we can't use the CDC because we don't have the boys vaxed. That kind of surprised me. I guess I thought he'd keep that a secret because he didn't want us to seem too weird.









Oh, I've been meaning to talk baby clothes. I still have stuff from at least when Kellen was a baby with tags on them. I rarely use any baby clothes other than shirts since I use wool soakers, shorties and longies. I keep everything everyone gives us, though, just in case. I'm finally to the point where I can start getting rid of things as D grows out of them. I now have a few bags of baby clothes from newborn to at least 9 months that I need to do something with. I've listed them on a FB yard sale page and on LeJeune yard sales but no bites. I'm not asking much, $1-2 for used clothes and maybe $5-10 for new stuff depending on what it is.

I'd really like get a little bit of money out of this stuff so I can buy more diapers or a SSC or yarn. Hehe Any idea what else I could do? I don't think an actual yard sale will ever happen. I keep thinking about but just never get motivated enough to organize one and get it done.

Dylan is 1 today! I can't believe it. I have to run to the store for a cake mix and so the boys can get him something. We looked when we were at TRU yesterday but everything was plastic. They did not have any natural, wooden toys at all! I'm going to try Target today because I know they carry some wooden stuff. The other option is Ross. Believe it or not, they usually have Melissa & Doug stuff. I checked there last week, though, and didn't see anything good.

Doh! I just remembered while typing that out that the "natural" stuff is in a separate section at TRU. I can now picture in my mind exactly where it is. Gah! I forgot all about that and only looked in the baby section.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

True that DH doesn't come to any appts. I'm really REALLY leaning towards discontinuing it, (and besides, since he has already had 2, he has some protection...) I can just keep putting it off until I feel right one way or another. I'm not in any rush.

Happy birthday to Dylan!!!









AFM - AF showed up right on time this morning, CD28. I didn't really chart at all this month, just counted days and noticeable CM. I tried to temp for a few mornings, but Finn dropped my therm behind the bed and I really didn't care about fetching it so ... no real temps. I never had any actual fertile cm or EWCM, so I'm wondering if it was annovulatory again.









Beach! I think we'll go at least once more. I'm kind of over it, TBH. My friend lives at the shore so we have been there a handful of times already. I think I want to try to get there during the evening so it isn't so freaking HOT!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Carrie ~ Have you talked to the doc about Finn's reaction and not doing that vax anymore?

I started a chart when I got that spotting.







never actually showed, just 9 days of spotting. It finally stopped a couple of days ago. I'm just going to try to track CF and see what happens.

Some women do O with just creamy CF. Not everyone gets watery or EW every time. I'd be more inclined to think you did O if your cycle was regular just to be safe.

I've only been to the beach twice this year. Both times were before D was getting around much. I haven't gone since he started walking. I'm not confident about being able to keep track of all 3 of the boys by myself.

I need to get off the computer and do something but I don't want to.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

No, I haven't talked to the dr yet. I need to do that.

I suppose you're right, and of course we are using protection just in case. I def had watery CM for a few days, which is not my BIP, so yes I guess that should be considered fertile.

I think you need at least one other set of hands. In case someone needs to go potty, or wants to go in the water. Even just with my 2 I need one extra set of hands at the beach.

Haha - me either!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Happy Birthday Dylan! I hope he enjoys his cake and toys!

Carrie - hooray for regular cycles. Boo for AF.

I love the beach. I could go all the time and never be bored with it. (I say that having lived places with easy access to the beach) I miss it. Some people are called to the city, or mountains . . .I am called to the ocean.

Baby clothes . . . Are there any consignment stores, like Once Upon a Child there? We have several here. If I knew for sure I'd be having a boy, I might buy some off of you. I only kept sentimental nb boy stuff. I have bags from 12 months + I think still though, but the seasons will probably be off.

now. . . of to pump. yay.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Carrie ~ I read up a little on the Prevnar again. I can't remember all the different vaxes by name anymore since we don't vax. Anyway, I think you definitely need to talk to the doctor about that reaction. From everything I read, anything other than the "regular" fussiness that some babies get after a vax should be reported to your doc. Especially with the unusual swelling and not being able to move/use his leg, I'd consider that a serious allergic reaction.

Kat ~ A lot of the newborn stuff, at least, that I have is gender neutral. I don't go in for boy boy clothes. I have a bunch of those sleep gowns that I love for middle of the night newborn diaper changes.

Are you going to find out gender? If so, when? A lot of my older boy stuff is not the right season for D. We had only summer stuff for Ethan since he was born in Hawaii and was there for his for 2.5 years. I bought winter stuff for Kellen that you'd think would work since he was born in June but I'm finding it's not. I think it's because I used a lot of pockets and regular pants with Kellen but I'm wanting to only use wool with Dylan. IDK it's kind of strange. Anyway, maybe my older boy stuff would work for you if you end up having a boy and I still have it.

There is one consignment that I know of. They recently announced that they were only accepting gear, no more clothes because they have so much.

I'm called to the beach but not the ocean. That makes it even harder for me to take the boys by myself. I do not like being in the water.

I got another Zulilly email today. Must.Not.Look. They have Google Android tablets with a case and keyboard for only $130. Does anyone know anything about tablets? I don't, really. Do they do everything a laptop does? I really only use mine for the internet and photos. Oh, I do also store pdf knitting patterns. I was thinking the boys might like one for the game apps. I don't know anything about apps. I'm not even quite sure what an app is.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

My parents have an android tablet, we have an iPad. an app can be a game. it also can serve other functions. I have a Michael's and JoAnns app, you can dowload coupons to the device and show in store. There is a ZuLily app. You can play games, watch movies, surf the internet, write notes . . . lots of things. very handy. I have an app that charts baby growth, since we don't do wbv, I like to keep track somewhere.

This baby will be early/mid march, so spring stuff - I love gowns and I still have some of those because they were handy. I am not big on onesies (as in just a onesie, part of an outfit sure, but I rarely use just a onesie) . . . . Then again, I've only had fall babies. so maybe I will change my mind on that. I like outfits. Also depends on how fast he (or she) grows. Norah was growing by leaps and bounds her first 6 months. Gabe was right on track with what he fit into and the age/size.

Oh, and we are definitely finding out. we can't not know. Though I am toying with the idea of not knowing immediately and having the tech put it in an envelope for us to open at a family dinner, or other gathering.

Seriously, I love the ocean. Jumping over the waves . . . I miss it terribly.

on Birthdays: I refuse to join Pinterest, but I started adding favorites to Etsy . . . for Norah's party. I don't think Gabe's will really be themed. Unless we keep the pumpkin theme.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

I don't know much about that particular tablet but it's much like a large smartphone. You said Ryan has an iphone, right? Picture that bigger. So it might be annoying to type online, post here. Not sure if the tablet takes pictures, but if it does it might be awkward.

Idk, I'm not a fan of tablets.

But yes, it would do what you want it to do with saving pics, pdfs, etc.

I never get sucked into zulilly but babysteals and I have a bit of a history!









I got Finnley on my back all by myself today!! He laughed the whole time I was trying to get him up there! I managed to vacuum the WHOLE HOUSE with him there, too!! He is very clingy and frustrated, b/c he is...gulp...really trying to walk. I didn't think this would happen so soon!!! (so soon, yeah, right, b/c he isn't ALMOST ONE!







) I'm such a sap. It's hard that it's my last baby and he's trying to walk. I wasn't prepared for how it would feel. I'm proud but a little tiny bit...empty.

Chris left for a meeting, and then tonight he flies to Canada. I won't see him til Saturday. Darn!









Oh yes, I'll be talking to the dr def. I was very concerned/worried about the reaction like I said, and I told DH that I wasn't doing it anymore. End of story. He wants the dr's opinion. I don't get why, but, he does have a 50% say, at least to have his concerns heard and get the "expert" opinion rather than just mine (though, I feel like more of a vax expert than the pediatrician, who told me that Finn's ear infections were reoccuring b/c he didn't have his vaccines up to date. Really? You went to med school and this is what you learned and are spouting? UGHGHGHG! I really dislike fearmongering...)

I want to show you guys Finn's invite but...it has my phone number and address on it and I'm hesitant to post it! I don't have the file on my computer that I can edit since I bought it. Hmm. Ideas? I want you guys to see it!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Can you put it in a PM?

and boo on solo parenting. I don't like doing it even for a few hours (when stuck in the house) - for some reason going out and doing stuff with the kids solo is so much easier.

Norah kind of tried to walk, she was going from one cruising object (the reclliner) to the couch and it was too far away to just keep going, so she let go, arms flailing a bit, turned and grabbed hold of the couch. No steps really necessary, but it was so cute! She will stand unassisted for a few seconds before she chickens out and sits down.

I don't know if this will work, but this is what I've gathered for Norah's party on Etsy. Think I might buy one thing at a time until it's here, so it doesn't seem like so much at once.

https://www.etsy.com/people/akind1/favorites?ref=si_fav

Hooray for getting him on your back! for me putting Norah on my back in a SSC is so much trickier than wrapping. I can do it, but I need a little help still sometimes.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Kat ~ The owls are cute!

D's birthday celebration doesn't have a theme. I looked at stuff but nothing really struck me. I didn't get him any presents, either. Again, I looked in TRU, Target and Ross but found nothing that looked good. It occurred to me that a toy drum would be fun. He loves music and banging on things but couldn't find one by the time I thought of it. I still have time, though, because we'll probably have a second celebration while my mom is here this weekend.

I got cake mix and a bunch of balloons. The cake lady was all booked up so I couldn't order a fancy one from her. She gave me the names of two other people to try but I don't want to try them. I really like her cakes. Hm...maybe I should call them.

I looked at Ryan's iPhone but didn't really try to use it. I think I'd need a few uninterrupted hours to really learn about it and you know that's not going to happen. He's been showing me apps here and there that he's gotten. He was really excited about his weather report app, of all things. He gets hourly updates.







Would it be hard to type/post with the separate keyboard? That one deal comes with the keyboard attachment (or whatever you call it). Maybe I should just wait until October when my Verizon contract runs out. I plan on switching back to AT&T so maybe I'll get a smartphone.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

LOL, I think we plan to switch back to Verizon from AT&T

typing and posting from a touch screen isn't bad, once you are used to it. as for the xternal keyboard, with that it would be alot like using a small laptop or netbook.

I don't know that Gabe's party will really have a theme  I like themes.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Oh, I hate Verizon! I miss my rollover minutes. I'm actually going to switch back to AT&T even though DH is stuck with Verizon for another year since he had his number suspended while he's deployed. It actually won't cost us any more to have two different individual accounts than to keep the Verizon family plan, especially now that Ryan has his own. We can cancel his line in October.

I let the boys pick their own themes once they are old enough. When they are too young to ask for what they want I don't really worry about it.

Ryan has informed that if I get a smartphone there's no reason for me to get a tablet. They do the same thing so I'd only need a tablet if I didn't have another computer.


----------



## StudyingStones (May 16, 2012)

Hi everyone!

Can I join this thread? (not sure if I need to meet certain criteria).

DS is 5 and a half (born January 2007), and we are a rocking family! (see my post in the Childhood Years Thread about whether to bring a 5 year old to a outdoor rock festival).

DH and I are 29 and 28, respectively, and have been trying to make baby #2 for 4 months now. Hoping to share a thread with some like-minded mamas!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *StudyingStones*
> 
> Hi everyone!
> 
> ...


You're welcome to join. There isn't any criteria, really.

Our group name doesn't actually have anything to do with music. We have been a group for at least 3 years now, since we met in the CTA thread. We made our thread and called it The Whatever Ladies when we went from CTA to not preventing but not necessarily TTC. We all got pregnant and have since had our babies so we moved here to Parenting. Then someone said something about us all being rockstars for the various trials and tribulations we go through as mamas so I changed the name.

So, you may not want to join if you are specifically looking for rocking families (not that none of us rock but that's not what this group is about). You are still welcome, though. Totally up to you. I hope all of that made sense.

To all of you who have been a part of this group for a while, should we come up with a little description of our group so people won't have to ask?


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

I certainly don't mind a new face around here but yeah, hmm, what should we say our group is about? Since we've all had our whatever babies, it's not as though we can't allow ppl who aren't whatevering anymore, right? Maybe in the first post we can put something catchy, or a phrase describing how we got to where we are. Like the way The One thread in TTC has info in the first post about what The One thread is and how to join/participate. Hmm, we should come up with something. I'll think! I barely have two hands to type right now but maybe I will later!

I think the only criteria to meet to really be part of our group would be you:

1. Need to be chatty

2. Know that we are all vastly different from one another but we've become friends so we respect those differences. We are vaxers and nonvaxers; homeschoolers, unschoolers, public schoolers; run the gamut from vegan to paleo; some of us want more kids, some don't, and some aren't sure...but we all manage to really get along and come together on things we DO agree on.

3. Aren't afraid to ask each other the hard questions or point out the obvious when/if we want advice!

Kat - LOVE the tutu!!! Owls are super cute. Love the theme!!!

Ok, I'm going to see if I can PM the file. I really just freaking love the invite.

re: walking. Finn is able to walk along with me if I'm holding one hand. Sniff sniff. I'm just not READY! He hasn't taken any more unassisted steps, and the one he did was just like you said Norah's was, Katrina, where it was from the bed to my leg and I'm not even sure it was a full step or just a reach and lean and shuffle, you know? He didn't realize he did it. But man, when I hold his hand and he walks along next to me he just seems so OLD and GROWN UP!!









Went for a good run this afternoon! I needed it! Jogged with Finn in the stroller for 3.5 miles! I did it in record time too for being outside, just over 35 min!

I really need to sign up for the 5k. I feel odd doing it w/o having a committed babysitter yet, but I want my free t-shirt and I only get that if I sign up before august.


----------



## StudyingStones (May 16, 2012)

Thanks for the responses babycakes and marinewife! I certainly won't be offended if you're happy with your group as is...I certainly don't want to intrude!!

I'll tell you a little bit about myself, and if you're happy to have me I'll stick around, and if not that's ok!

DH and I are 29 and 28 respectively, and have been together for 11 going on 12 years (we will be married 6 years in September). We became pregnant quite accidentally (I now realize what a blessing that was as we are in our fourth month TTC), and DS is now 5.5 years old and beginning Senior Kindergarten in the fall.

We live in Ontario, Canada and enjoy music, camping, reading and swimming. DH and I enjoy going to concerts and try to always manage a few eah year. We really love music...there is no better balm or medication. Music can cure a shitty day and turn a four hour car ride into an awesome time. Music can do almost anything!

We have a 5 day camping trip planned for next weekend and I am very excited!!! I keep joking to DH that we're only 9 days out from our trip and I STILL haven't made any lists!! And I am an obsessive list maker...extremely detailed. It's kinda ridiculous, really. If you ever need a list for something, ask me; I probably already have one. We've also decided to bring our 6 month old puppy with us, so it's going to be interesting! Does anybody have any tips for camping with a dog?

I work in a hospital as an administrative assistant, so I'm busy 24/7 whether at work or at home, but I'm truly a hippy at heart! I constantly maintain that I was born in the wrong decade and should have been around to experience the 60s and 70s!

I'm really enjoying the companionship on these boards. A community of strong women is such an important thing to have, and I am grateful to be a part of one.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I don't think I've ever looked at The One Thread so I don't know what it says. How long is the description? I'm thinking it should be as short as possible but I'm having a hard time summing us up in just a few sentences. We've known each other so long and been through so much together. Maybe we could just say something about where we are now and how we want the group to be as far as being accepting and able to handle strong differing opinions.

StudyingStones (SS) ~ We aren't exclusive. I think as long as you can get along and feel comfortable with us and good about the group you are welcome. Just understand that we've known each other a long time so we may discuss things that you weren't a part of. Don't feel left out. Some of us are even planning a vacation together in September.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Studying-- Haha! I totally could have written that bio, adjusting that we conceived our daughter after 9 months of whatevering, and though I am -obsessed- with music, mine is more in the form of youtube and obscure tv show songs, not so great about getting out to concerts.

DH and I are 27 and 26, and have been together for 9 years, so since we were 17. And have been married for 4 years. LOL So we're just two years behind you on everything!

Camping with a dog-- greatly dependent on how he does with other dogs- will be bark a lot when he sees them? That was a big adjustment for our puppy.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Welcome to the Rockstar Mamas thread! Our wonderful group of mamas started following each other in the Charting to Avoid thread over in fertility. Eventually we created "The Whatever Ladies!", a safe place for those of us who were not trying to prevent pregnancy, though not actively trying to conceive either. Spread out over a year, we all got pregnant and had our current babes- several whom are over a year old now!

We made the decision to switch to Rockstar Mamas, after a conversation about how each and every one of us was a Rockstar in some way, for living and thriving through the parenting challenges thrown our way every day. Feel free to join us in our thread, but be warned, the conversation moves fast!

(And then add this in...)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> I think the only criteria to meet to really be part of our group would be you:
> 
> ...


We can reword it, but that's the gist, really, I think?


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> I don't think I've ever looked at The One Thread so I don't know what it says. How long is the description? I'm thinking it should be as short as possible but I'm having a hard time summing us up in just a few sentences. We've known each other so long and been through so much together. Maybe we could just say something about where we are now and how we want the group to be as far as being accepting and able to handle strong differing opinions.
> StudyingStones (SS) ~ We aren't exclusive. I think as long as you can get along and feel comfortable with us and good about the group you are welcome. Just understand that we've known each other a long time so we may discuss things that you weren't a part of. Don't feel left out. Some of us are even planning a vacation together in September.


It's long! A whole thing. I think it's a couple posts long. LOL!!

And SS -









Welcome to our group!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> Welcome to the Rockstar Mamas thread! Our wonderful group of mamas started following each other in the Charting to Avoid thread over in fertility. Eventually we created "The Whatever Ladies!", a safe place for those of us who were not trying to prevent pregnancy, though not actively trying to conceive either. Spread out over a year, we all got pregnant and had our current babes- several whom are over a year old now!
> 
> We made the decision to switch to Rockstar Mamas, after a conversation about how each and every one of us was a Rockstar in some way, for living and thriving through the parenting challenges thrown our way every day. Feel free to join us in our thread, but be warned, the conversation moves fast!












Love it. Signed sealed delivered! Whoever makes the August thread can simply put that in the first post! Right?

I'm such a moron. I created that event of FB thinking it was private -- it was public to my WHOLE friends list!







I was out picking up nora and got notifications that ppl saw it and I FREAKED! So, now one more person I wasn't planning to invite b/c she's kind of annoying I have to invite b/c she saw it. Geez. I think it's fixed now - I made it invite only!

JJ did you see the invite? I'll add you to the invited list so you can see it.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Oh no, Carrie! I loved the invitation.

OK, I added both of those to the first post. Anyone is welcome to reword or add to it. Just LMK.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> Oh no, Carrie! I loved the invitation.
> OK, I added both of those to the first post. Anyone is welcome to reword or add to it. Just LMK.


Thanks!!









Finn is starting to do very toddler like things. I just put his spaghetti on his tray, and there were a few cheerios on there from earlier. He sat there picking all the cheerios off one by one and dropping them on the floor! Now he's happily eating his noodles. O BOY! Here we go!

Also today he came to tell me his train was stuck. It's one of those motorized Thomas engines. I heard it clicking and running from the other room, but thought it was just pushed up against something or had fallen over. He crawled out to me, and fussed while waving his arms and got my attention. I said, "Where's your train?" and he went to crawl back to Nora's room. He goes all the way in, goes flat on his belly, and points under the dresser! The train was under there and he couldn't reach it, so he came to get me. Unreal.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Very cool, Carrie!

I meant to comment on the cruising to walking thing. Dylan very quickly went from taking those few accidental steps not holding onto furniture to walking for real, I mean just a few days. So get ready!

I need to change my signature since Dylan is now 1!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

That's funny, I just remembered yesterday to change my siggie because Ava is now 1. Her skills have just exploded the past week. She has started cruising, she can climb on to her toy car my sister got her for her birthday, she can climb in and out of the baby pool my mom got her as a ball pit. She signs eat if I ask her if she's hungry, she goes to the bathroom if I sign "bath", she waves bye if she ready for someone to leave that's at our house or if we are doing an activity that she doesn't want to do anymore, she puts her head down on my shoulder and starts patting my back if she's tired and wants me to walk her to sleep because I pat her back while she's going to sleep. It's just amazing!They will all be walking before we know it!


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Love the invite Carrie!!!

I'm so torn! Our family doesn't normally do big themed parties. But I want one. We never had a baby shower for Tenley, and so never really got a chance to do something big and exciting for her. I want to celebrate, and something more than just a bunch of her older cousins running around like crazy. But since it -would- be mostly cousins, and they're all older... I don't know how I would really do it any differently. I need to think on this some more. It's hard though, since so much of it depends on where we do the party-- which is dependent on whether we get our basement done in time. We -should-, but heck, it should have been done last year...

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> Finn is starting to do very toddler like things. I just put his spaghetti on his tray, and there were a few cheerios on there from earlier. He sat there picking all the cheerios off one by one and dropping them on the floor! Now he's happily eating his noodles. O BOY! Here we go!
> 
> Also today he came to tell me his train was stuck. It's one of those motorized Thomas engines. I heard it clicking and running from the other room, but thought it was just pushed up against something or had fallen over. He crawled out to me, and fussed while waving his arms and got my attention. I said, "Where's your train?" and he went to crawl back to Nora's room. He goes all the way in, goes flat on his belly, and points under the dresser! The train was under there and he couldn't reach it, so he came to get me. Unreal.


So adorable!!! It's amazing how quickly their brains and problem solving skills develop. Little people we haves!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> if we are doing an activity that she doesn't want to do anymore, she puts her head down on my shoulder and starts patting my back if she's tired and wants me to walk her to sleep because I pat her back while she's going to sleep.


<3 What a big girl!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

oh, what big kids Finn and Ava are!

JJ: There were mostly older kids at Gabe's first birthday, so I mostly focused the activities on them; we had a mini hayride, a pinata, and a big pile of leaves - they loved it. I had kids from his age (1) to 10ish, and everyone had a good time.

Re: birthday parties this year . . . I am struggling with how to word Gabe's to let people know to only bring the kids listed on the invite. I don't really want to pay an extra 13 bucks a head for extra kids that might show up, so I need to think of a tactful way to express this. Something like "Due to the size limitations on our party, please only bring children listed on the invitation. Any and all adults that would like to accompany them are welcome" - Honestly it is only an issue for 2 families, and I brought it up with one of them, to see what she thinks, and she doesn't think that it's appropriate to do that, in the even the olders couldn't be left at home. In her case, I know they can, because her oldest is earning $$ this summer watching the youngest while the mom works. She said to put something on the invite like, for those above and beyond our party limits, parents please be prepared to pay admission . . . I don't really like that either.

Norah refused the paci last night. insisted on boob. *sigh*


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

What if you put something like "Please ask if you have older children you want to bring. They may not be able to attend due to size limitations." Blame it on the place. When they ask you, pretend to find out, and then say you're sorry but they can't come.

And you know if one family can't come b/c they can't bring Mikey and Janey, well, oh well. You know? But everyone else will be ok and you'll still have tons of fun!!!

Lauri - AWW! She IS getting so big. Sigh. Our babies are really turning into kids!!

So - new development. Sleep was CRAP last night, and now Finn is crawling different. He's on his feet and his hands (like a mowgli crawl). He really, really wants to walk. I wonder how long this in between cranky crap sleep frustrated stage will last. It was about 2 weeks when he was wanting to crawl!

JJ - I made up the guest list and I realized Nora is the oldest kid at this party. Mostly it's babies and 1 year olds. I almost wish we had some older cousin type kids to watch the babies who are going to be there, but there aren't any. So. I have the opposite problem!

We are going to Ikea today! Should be fun. Just going to walk around and let the kids play, and grab lunch, and hopefully I can pick up a few cute toy things for Finn's bday.

Oh - MW - I meant to ask you which drum you got/wanted to get? I have one on Finn's wish list...

http://www.amazon.com/B-Parum-Pum-Drum-Lime/dp/B003WE34HC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1026C7MR7L26E&colid=101P7C3X1XVY4

It's filed with other little instruments. I thought it was really cute when I saw it in person.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Carrie ~ I didn't get anything because I didn't see one I liked. That one was at Target and I considered it for a long time. But we already have shakers and cymbals and sticks and a triangle and bells. The drum we had was torn apart so I wanted just a drum. Not a biggie. I'm hoping to get back to TRU and check the "natural" toy section that I forgot about when I was there before.

Ethan informed me that, of course I didn't find any good toys at Target. That's not a toy store. I need to go to TRU for toys.









I find it very curious that you take the kids shopping so they can play. How do they play in a store?

Annie ~ She waves bye when she wants people to leave? Classic! I love it!

Kat ~ IDK. I'm a very upfront kind of person. I'd just tell the people that I can only afford to pay for so many kids. They would be welcome to bring their older kids if they are willing to pay the fee for them. I'm not sure how to word that on an invitation. I think if I were dealing with only 2 families, I might just call them up and tell them directly. The one family already knows now, right? So there's really only one family left that you'd need to inform. Could you put an upper age limit on the invitation, like 3 year olds and their parents only, or something like that? And then put the price for additional older kids after that?

I'm feeling overwhelming busy this week. I've had to go shopping Tuesday and yesterday (what did I do Monday?). Dylan's birthday celebration yesterday. Park day this morning if it doesn't rain. I want to walk there to get some exercise. The my mom is coming tomorrow but an old friend is back here after moving away and we are trying to get together. She suggested tomorrow evening at the pool but I guess I can't do that since I'll be waiting for my mom to arrive.

That's a kind of interesting story. One of my new homeschool mom friends was at the family pool at the Air Station and started a conversation with the woman sitting next to her. In the course of the conversation my name came up! When this other person learned that I was still here she contacted me via FB. She moved to Russia 3 or 4 years ago and I hadn't heard from her since. I can't wait to hear her stories about living there. Oh, and her DD is Ethan's secret girlfriend. She's the one he cleaned his room for. Of course, the girl doesn't know that but that's ok. hehe

I think the main reason I feel so busy is because I've been cooking dinner every night this week. DH was getting too upset about the kids not eating his dinners. He was trying to force them by making rules about dessert and bedtime. It was creating a lot of discord. So, I decided I should take over dinner. That way the kids will have some say in what is made and dh won't do the whole, "I slaved in the kitchen," passive/aggressive act. It's a little tricky because I have to try to make it paleo but still palatable to the kids. On top of that, Ethan wants to do a different country/style of food every night so I'm searching for international paleo recipes.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:
Originally Posted by *MarineWife* 

I find it very curious that you take the kids shopping so they can play. How do they play in a store?

Kat ~ IDK. I'm a very upfront kind of person. I'd just tell the people that I can only afford to pay for so many kids. They would be welcome to bring their older kids if they are willing to pay the fee for them. I'm not sure how to word that on an invitation. I think if I were dealing with only 2 families, I might just call them up and tell them directly. The one family already knows now, right? So there's really only one family left that you'd need to inform. Could you put an upper age limit on the invitation, like 3 year olds and their parents only, or something like that? And then put the price for additional older kids after that?


> I'm feeling overwhelming busy this week. I've had to go shopping Tuesday and yesterday (what did I do Monday?). Dylan's birthday celebration yesterday. Park day this morning if it doesn't rain. I want to walk there to get some exercise. The my mom is coming tomorrow but an old friend is back here after moving away and we are trying to get together. She suggested tomorrow evening at the pool but I guess I can't do that since I'll be waiting for my mom to arrive.
> That's a kind of interesting story. One of my new homeschool mom friends was at the family pool at the Air Station and started a conversation with the woman sitting next to her. In the course of the conversation my name came up! When this other person learned that I was still here she contacted me via FB. She moved to Russia 3 or 4 years ago and I hadn't heard from her since. I can't wait to hear her stories about living there. Oh, and her DD is Ethan's secret girlfriend. She's the one he cleaned his room for. Of course, the girl doesn't know that but that's ok. hehe
> I think the main reason I feel so busy is because I've been cooking dinner every night this week. DH was getting too upset about the kids not eating his dinners. He was trying to force them by making rules about dessert and bedtime. It was creating a lot of discord. So, I decided I should take over dinner. That way the kids will have some say in what is made and dh won't do the whole, "I slaved in the kitchen," passive/aggressive act. It's a little tricky because I have to try to make it paleo but still palatable to the kids. On top of that, Ethan wants to do a different country/style of food every night so I'm searching for international paleo recipes.


Well, working backwards you sure have your work cut out for you in the kitchen!

I still don't get it. When DH wanted to do all raw/whole foods, he didn't place that on the whole family. I would still cook dinner and he would do his own. I mean, what we had by comparison wasn't completely opposite - but he stopped eating pasta, processed food, etc. So. If I made a stir fry he wouldn't eat it b/c of the sauce, etc. Anyhow. I hear you. Dinner every night is all consuming!

Can you do any kind of take out? Is sushi paleo?

I really like your upfront approach to Kats age limit problem. I don't see how anyone could get their knickers in a twist if someone says that, and then lays out the prices for older kids if they need to come. I would be fine with that on an invitation.

Ikea is a like a showroom. You've been to one? I can't remember. Anyway, you just are walking through, and they give you little pencil and a paper and you're only writing things down you want to buy. You can walk thru the bedroom displays and kitchen displays, etc, and the kids can sit and play on the stuff. I mean, not jump on beds, but there's so much to look at and couches to try and all that. It's fun for them as long as you have an eye on them and they aren't being destructive, you know? Idk. It's just something that we do. Then they have toys and stuff you can purchase off the floor, so I"m hoping to find felt food or wooden things to pick up.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I think I may have been to Ikea years ago when I was a teenager but not since. Do you know how long ago that was? About 27 years!









I can see how sitting on all the furniture would be fun for the kids. My boys did that the last time I was in a furniture store.

DH isn't trying to get everyone else to eat paleo. He makes separate food for the boys. The problem is that he doesn't take into account what they like. It's hard to explain. Like if he's making something spicy, he'll make theirs separate but he leaves it plain rather than flavoring it at all. Or he makes that nasty kale that neither he or I could stand and then gets mad that the boys don't eat it. We choked it down because we chose to not waste it and because we understand that it's good for us (and I doused mine with balsamic vinegar). Kids aren't going to do that and I'm not going to try to make them. I was traumatized as a child from my dad doing that to me so I will never do that to my kids.

He also puts way too much on their plates and then gets mad if they don't eat it all. I had to look up how much protein a 5 year old needs to show him that Kellen wasn't going to die if he didn't eat his meat at dinner. It's the equivalent of 3 glasses of milk a day, which Kellen easily gets every day, so it's no big deal to me if he only eats his rice or potato or pasta at dinner. I look at it this way. He's growing exponentially. The body and brain need mostly quick and easy energy to grow. That means carbs and sugars. Protein is important, too, but he doesn't need nearly as much.

Tonight is Japanese night per Ethan so we are having sushi. I think sashimi is paleo so dh should be fine. He's going to pick some up from the commissary today. They have people who make it fresh every day and you can call in an order. Ethan likes plain octopus, of all things. That has to be ordered because they don't routinely make it.

Tomorrow is French Friday so I'm going to try French Chicken in a Pot, http://www.meat-n-veggies.com/2011/06/18/french-chicken-in-a-pot/#more-185. We have a butternut squash that needs to be used. (Don't get me started on trying to get dh to buy only seasonal.) The only French recipe that I found for that is a bisque. Not sure I want to try that. Plus, I'm not sure how to make it paleo other than to just leave out the cream. Then it's not really bisque anymore, is it?


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

As long as I don't have serious shopping to do, like grocery shopping, half the idea of going to the store is as an activity for my kids! They learned a long time ago to not ask/beg me to buy anything for them so it's just an opportunity to walk around, window shop, play with toys, etc. There's a small toy store that we go to on a regular basis for them to just hang out in a bit. They love to go to IKEA but the closest one to us is up by Quantico. They like to go through the living rooms, kitchens, the apartments that are set up and then we always eat in the restaurant.

Baby_Cakes, did you find their cloth/felt food? I've been eyeing that for Ava. I may go up to stay with my sister next weekend and she's about 20 mins from an IKEA so I may go get some then.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Baby_Cakes, did you find their cloth/felt food? I've been eyeing that for Ava. I may go up to stay with my sister next weekend and she's about 20 mins from an IKEA so I may go get some then.


I did! I got two - the fruit basket and the veggie basket. I also picked up some wooden cars and a set of stacking cups. They had so much it was hard not to buy it all!!

We all had a really great time. It was so fun to go. And it's only 25 min from me up the Turnpike. I don't know why I've never gone! And I packed food (just snacks - hummus, pretzels, some veggie sticks) and then got drinks and fries at the cafe. It was great! We were there almost 3.5 hours! The kids were so zonked after that, Finn slept in the car and then I just carried him and put him in bed and he slept 2 hours, and Nora just rested on the couch watching TV.

She has the sniffles and is acting a little tired. Either a summer cold or -- idk if this is even a symptom, I have to look it up -- one of the kids in her class had coxsackie so she could have been exposed. I told her please be careful not to share food/drinks with anyone and I've got to keep an extra close eye on her. Though, like I said, are sniffles a symptom? I don't think so...

Anyway, kids went to bed an hour ago and I've been up enjoying the peace! Chris is gone for one more whole day and we'll see him Saturday. Now that Finn is older, it's a lot harder doing this alone.

Here are the kids at Ikea:


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

My boys do like to look in TRU. Ethan doesn't ask for everything he sees but Kellen's at that age where he does no matter. He asks for everything he sees on TV, too. It's not a big deal, though. He doesn't have a fit when he doesn't get it and he finds something else he wants pretty quickly. When we were at TRU we were looking for a backpack with flames on it for him, which he had bee talking about for days, but then he saw a trash can one and HAD to have it. He said it was too funny! He's such a fun kid.









Carrie ~ Ethan got it when he was 2.5 and we were driving from CA to here. It wasn't too horrible but it was a little freaky.

My mom is coming today. She wants to celebrate the time we spent together when Dylan was born. I still haven't finished giving Ethan his end of the year test. We're too busy living life to take a stupid test. Grrr!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Grrr on stupid tests!

We go shopping as an activity for the kids too.

Yesterday was such a good day! 1ht right now, so i will leave it at that.

love ikea!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Dylan is so clingy! It's really driving me crazy. I feel like he's been nursing non-stop for 2 days.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Norah too; she's refusing the paci and only wanting to nurse. I know it's likely due to my diminished supply and she wants to get all she can. plus she's a little snotty at the moment, an that might have something to do with it, but geez.

We had a great playdate yesterday, then dinner out, and Gabe actually wanted to go shopping with DH, so I made *ahem* encouraged him to let Gabe go with him.

Trying to figure out what all we might do today. *sigh*


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Kellen likes to run errands with DH. I strongly encourage dh to take him. DH complains that Kellen wants to be carried. I don't get why that's such a hardship. All he has to do is carry him to a cart. I do it all the time. Kellen is happy to ride in the cart.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Gabe only rides in the cart if he has a bribe or Norah is in it too. Wayne said yesterday Gabe wanted to walk, so that's good. If he has a choice, he almost always prefers to ride in "dad-dee car" - so why not?

I want a nap! oh well.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

My turn to ask for votes. I submitted 3 pics of dh wearing Ethan in the mei tai for the Mothering Babywearing contest.

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1358293/motherings-babywearing-photo-contest/280


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Voted 

Ok so fun and random... Someone on my pinterest keeps pinning the most obnoxious mainstream "baby's coming" type lists, and even though I know better, I keep reading them. Anyways, the point is... my two best friends will probably both be pregnant within the next year, and some of my crunchy has interested/rubbed off on them, but not a ton. So I would -love- to put together a basket/gift bag of things to have on hand for post birth. Not so much baby things you'd expect on a registry, but more of the 'first six weeks survival kit' type things... but... not so mainstream. Soo... ideas! What are all the things you wouldn't have thought of, or would have hesitated to splurge for yourself on? So far I'm thinking... (and won't use all of these because it could end up costing a fortune but...)

Water Bottle

New set of easy-nurse PJs

Cloth pads (maybe...)

coconut oil

some sort of homemade snack

a phone list for health links, LLL, etc.

witch hazel

lanolin

aden and anais swaddlers


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

PP herbal sitz bath
those cooling or herbal breast compress thingies. I don't know if they work but that's one thing I would have liked to have tried but never splurged on.
Milkies Milk Saver

That's all I can think of right now. I'll post more if I think of anything.

How is someone else able to post stuff on your pinterest? I don't use that site so I don't know exactly how it works.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Thanks 

Sorry, it's not on 'my' pinterest, but it shows up in my feed of new things, similiar to people's FB updates show up in your feed.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Love all the ideas! Does she have a kindle? I would have loved a gift card for kindle books. Even $25 can get you a few books.

Bbl. Phone typing stinks.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Second the idea for a gift card to buy books if she has an e-reader type device.

So back to our vax convo, I saw this link posted in the selective/delay vax board on here: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/G/cases&deaths.pdf

Big eye-opener for me. If and that's a big IF right now, I give any more shots to DD, I'm going to focus on HepA/HepB since those are the ones that seem to be actually causing VPD deaths at this point. Wish this info was more mainstream.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

The CDC used to have historical data that went back even further than that. A lot of it showed that VPDs actually started to decline before vaccines for them became available or widespread. I can't find that info anymore. I wonder if it was taken down or just hidden really well as a backlash to the growing number of people who don't vax.

The thing to consider with HepA/HepB is how likely it is that the child would contract it. I think it's very unlikely without major risk factors. I made it through life without contracting either of those diseases and without vaccines for them. I'm not aware of anyone in my close circle who has hepatitis, either.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Quote:
Originally Posted by *MarineWife* 


> The thing to consider with HepA/HepB is how likely it is that the child would contract it. I think it's very unlikely without major risk factors. I made it through life without contracting either of those diseases and without vaccines for them. I'm not aware of anyone in my close circle who has hepatitis, either.


That was my original thought process but remember that Ava spends more time in medical environments than your average kid. So that's my only concern there. What's your take on that? (hope that doesn't sound snarky, I'd really like your input!)


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Doesn't sound snarky at al.







I really don't know. I'd need research each disease again. I can never keep A, B and C straight. One of them is almost strictly a STD, right? The other two are blood-borne diseases? I assume the concern would be with other patients with hepatitis rather than medical workers with it, right? And the fact that she possibly gets blood products?

I vaguely remember there being some concern about hepatitis being contracted in restaurants but I can't remember which one that was.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Hepatitis A info from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/hepa-guide/digestive-diseases-hepatitis-a

Hepatitis B info: http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/hepb-guide/hepatitis-b-topic-overview

Based on that info I probably would not do them.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Right, Hep A is fecal-oral transmission and Hep B and C are primarily blood-borne transmissions. Off to do more research!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

lmk what you learn


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

Hmmm, I've learned that I don't know why we vaccinate for those! Or why anyone is dying from either of them. Maybe I'm missing something? Hep A is acute only, not chronic and resolves itself on it's own within a couple of weeks, causing issues max of 6-9 months. Hep B is usually acute but can become chronic in immuno-compromised adults or if babies/small children get exposed it can turn in to chronic. But otherwise it resolves itself too.


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> Hmmm, I've learned that I don't know why we vaccinate for those! Or why anyone is dying from either of them. Maybe I'm missing something? Hep A is acute only, not chronic and resolves itself on it's own within a couple of weeks, causing issues max of 6-9 months. Hep B is usually acute but can become chronic in immuno-compromised adults or if babies/small children get exposed it can turn in to chronic. But otherwise it resolves itself too.


I wouldn't give HepB EVER (except the two times I gave it to J







). I am pretty sure people who are dying from it are drug addicts and incredibly unhealthy anyways.

HepB was originally made FOR drug addicts, prostitutes, etc. and when they (obviously) didn't come get them they started giving them to newborns............nice.

Also - I know the effectiveness starts to wear off pretty quickly (like 5-8 yearsish I think) so by the time said baby/toddler could even get into such a lifestyle it would be worn off









I have no idea about HepA..........haven't researched it at all.

I'll be back for personals later!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Is HepA vax required?

Ethan got HepB right after birth. I wasn't prepared for the question and they asked dh, who consented. After Ethan's birth, I realized that I could not leave any health/medical decisions up to him. He just goes along with whatever he's told needs to be done. Anyway, yeah, I don't think either disease is something that the average infant/child is at risk of contracting, much less dying from.

DH has been so much more pleasant since I started cooking dinner during the week. It's interesting because I thought he liked to cook. I guess he is so tired and stressed from work that he really doesn't want to. He made some incredible NC pork BBQ today! Nothing better!

In case you didn't see my FB status, I got some soapnuts today and used them for the first time. I guess they worked. I haven't taken my clothes out of the dryer yet but they looked clean when they went in. I'm going to try them on my diapers tomorrow.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Will you all help me with something? I've relisted my diapers for sale on DS. I am asking $70 for a lot of 6, like new FBs with microfiber inserts. That's about $11.66 per diaper. After PP fees and postage, I'd be left with about $62. That's $10.33 per diaper for me. I think that is very reasonable considering they go for about $16 brand new and that may be without an insert.

Someone has offered me $11 ppd for one diaper. I'm not sure if she wants the insert but I listed them as included so I'm assuming she does. After postage and PP fees, I'm left with only about $8 for that diaper. Is that worth it? Should I take her offer or try to hold on for what I'm asking?

I had these diapers listed for months for $78 ppd and hadn't gotten any interest (which is why I lowered the price) but haven't been diligent about keeping my listing active.


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

I'd do it, especially since you've had it listed before and they didn't sell.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

MW - Do yuo have other avenues of selling you could try? Local FB groups, maybe a fuzzibunz fan group on FB or something? There's an AMP one, and there's a ton of activity on it. With FB being a bigger brand, I'm sure it would be pretty active. I know how much it sucks to get less for something than you know it's worth. I just sold a lot of baby clothes, all in really good condition, mostly Carters and Old Navy, over 30 pieces... and got $17. *sigh* 4 pairs of pants were worth that. But... it's worth it to have them out of my house!

We had a good family night last night... at like 630pm, we made a quick decision to go out and grab food and ice cream. We went and got kabobs, which is a total nostalgia thing from years and years ago, and then got ice cream, and headed to the park we used to spend tons of time at (we went like 2-3 times a week the first two years we were together). It was nice to be able to just throw the carrier and a diaper in the car, and take off, and do something nice and spontaneous as a family. Tenley fell asleep in the carrier as we were walking, and then when we got home, she woke up, and would NOT go back to sleep. *sigh*

So after almost two hours of trying to get her to sleep, the last 45 of which she was in bed with us, we finally managed to get her settled. She actually slept well, woke up to nurse lots but really quick ones, so I was able to go back to sleep quickly. And then she woke up quite a few times from 7am onwards, but she let me sleep until 10am!! (between playing quietly in bed and sleeping herself). I woke up and was like... rested! I wasn't tired! I haven't slept like that in 8 months!!

She went down really easily tonight, but has been up three times already. Doesn't bode really well, but I'm trying to be optimistic that she'll settle after we go to bed.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Yay for feeling rested! It's amazing, isn't it? I've actually been waking up between 6 and 7 am because I'm getting so much sleep. It's strange. I feel like I should still be asleep because I'm used to sleeping until 8 or 9 but I'm not tired. Of course, I get very sleepy earlier. It's getting hard to keep my eyes open past 10 pm.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> MW - Do yuo have other avenues of selling you could try? Local FB groups, maybe a fuzzibunz fan group on FB or something? There's an AMP one, and there's a ton of activity on it. With FB being a bigger brand, I'm sure it would be pretty active. I know how much it sucks to get less for something than you know it's worth. I just sold a lot of baby clothes, all in really good condition, mostly Carters and Old Navy, over 30 pieces... and got $17. *sigh* 4 pairs of pants were worth that. But... it's worth it to have them out of my house


I have tried the local online yard sale website and a local yard sale group on Facebook. Nothing. I haven't looked for a Fuzzibunz fan group. I can try that.

I know what you mean about the clothes. I am accumulating bags and bags of baby clothes that I am now ready to purge. I am willing to sell most pieces for only $1-2 each. I need to get them bagged up by size to see how much I have of each size and figure out a price for each bag. I've noticed that's what people here are doing. They list bags of clothes for like $20.

I gave my maternity clothes to a friend who is pg because I wanted them gone. After I gave them to her, she offered to pay me something (I think because I kept finding stragglers to give her and she ended up with a lot of clothes). I wouldn't let her because I didn't indicate that I wanted anything for them when I gave them to her. I had those for sale on the yard sale website with no interest.

Oh, I learned that one of my neighbors was homeschooled and she has a friend who uses cloth diapers and has an amber necklace on her baby.







The neighbor has a 4yo, almost 5, girl that Kellen has been playing with recently. It's so nice for him to finally have friends his own age to play with. They wandered over last night because they were outside and the girl heard my boys playing outside. We sat on my porch and chatted for a little bit, which was nice. Her husband used to be artillery, which is what mine is, so we have that in common, too. Anyway, now I'm excited to get to know the mom and, hopefully, her CDing friend. They sound like they might be close to my kind of people.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Yay for like minded people!

I see Hep C in medical records for people with chronic liver problems like cirrhosis. Nearly all the heps are lifestyle related, not something at large in the general population. Hep A I think is the one you are at risk for drinking dirty water in mexico (or that might be an urban legend) so might also be the one MW thinkilng of related to restaurants.

I dont vax against any of the heps, they are one of very low things on the totem pole risk wise. I myself am vaxed against heb B, because I was in the health care field.

Sleep - ack - Norah has been marathon nursing at night. My sleep sucks.

We had a good weekend, busy and fun.

MW: I would sell for the offer, bc it's not much off what your asking price is. In the future, I might list them at $13PPD each, and $70 for the lot, that way people really feel like they are getting a deal when buying multiple. (I like to buy several off of one person, it saves the mama shipping, and me hassle of multiple transactions)


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Sleep is crappy here again too! Yawnnn!! B/w him trying to walk and all he's just a mess thru the night. Waking all the time, and I just can't nurse him every time, so I've been settling him on my chest and then laying him back down. He goes right to sleep but man. Tough!!

He's able to stand unassisted for like 10-30 seconds at a time now, he'll be walking before I know it!

MW - I would sell the dipes for that much. Tho I agree w/Kat that next time do the lot price as X and raise the individual price for splitting the lot. makes Ppl buy more at once. I'm addicted to Cloth Diaper Swap on FB and I just joined the Grovia B/S/T board - that one moves FAST.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

oh, while we are voting, vote for me!

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1358293/contest-ending-soon-come-vote-for-your-favorite-motherings-babywearing-photo-contest/100#post_17049868 (I saw JJ did already! - thanks!)

helpful survival things . . . snack foods. do you know what she likes? If she's likely to have a vaginal birth, sitz bath herbs, I think there is a bottom balm as well . . .I used that pain spray in a can like crazy. and witch hazel pads. Flushable wipes. Maybe a bottle of something alcoholic she'd like? Chocolate wine? those pre-mixed cocktails you just need to freeze? - I know my list isn' t horribly crunchy or anything, but I think I'd find it helpful.

Damn, I am so tired.

Finally got Norah to sleep, Gabe needs to nap, but is resisting.


----------



## onetwoten (Aug 13, 2007)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> helpful survival things . . . snack foods. do you know what she likes? If she's likely to have a vaginal birth, sitz bath herbs, I think there is a bottom balm as well . . .I used that pain spray in a can like crazy. and witch hazel pads. Flushable wipes. Maybe a bottle of something alcoholic she'd like? Chocolate wine? those pre-mixed cocktails you just need to freeze? - I know my list isn' t horribly crunchy or anything, but I think I'd find it helpful.


Thanks for the suggestions so far ladies!! I want to make something like this: http://www.happyhomemaker.me/2011/09/new-mommy-survival-kit.html Not right away or anything, it was an idea for my two bffs (don't remember if I said that here, I asked for suggestions in a few places), but also maybe a smaller version for doula clients. So it doesn't need to be "crunchy" just... trying to give a better idea of "real" things that are useful, than most of the kits I see that have like... what to expect books, and just very mainstream ideas.

I also thought of this, and it may be cheesy, but I think I'm going to pick up a few sheets of nice paper, and write out some of the helpful less known tips that I've learned and picked up during the pregnancy. It's funny, but being so immersed in birth and babyness, you forgot how it's not all normal knowledge! ie Looking through my birth photos, and one of my bffs was obviously embarassed, asking a bunch of questions-- things like she didn't know that the monitor belt was, or the squatting bar, and had to confirm that the placenta was indeed what she thought it was... It's weird to think that all these things are a part of my 'everyday' life, but still so foreign to some people! lol


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *onetwoten*
> 
> I also thought of this, and it may be cheesy, but I think I'm going to pick up a few sheets of nice paper, and write out some of the helpful less known tips that I've learned and picked up during the pregnancy. It's funny, but being so immersed in birth and babyness, you forgot how it's not all normal knowledge! ie Looking through my birth photos, and one of my bffs was obviously embarassed, asking a bunch of questions-- things like she didn't know that the monitor belt was, or the squatting bar, and had to confirm that the placenta was indeed what she thought it was... It's weird to think that all these things are a part of my 'everyday' life, but still so foreign to some people! lol












I think that's BRILLIANT!

Also maybe some links, like to kellymom, Hales bf'ing med list, etc. Those sites that we know to go to, some ppl have never heard of!!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Or even for moms who haven't been there in a while (like it's been a few years since their last birth) Things DO change. and it's good to keep up to date.

My doula gave me a ton of samples. Lanolin, and I don't remember what all else. We are now good friends . . . I need to broach how that works, as I want her at this birth too - I mean, obviously, not a whole lot has changed about my birth plan, but maybe a few things . . . alot of the basics, we don't need to go over. I don't know if she still wants to come to a pre natal appointment or not. . . . and fees I don't mind, and would expect to pay her . . . but I just wonder. Also contemplating the idea of birth photography - she does that too.

I am down like 4-5 lbs. LOL, now that I don't really need to lose it!


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Oh yes, samples!

Guys, my patience is all but GONE these past two days. I know I'm tired but I've really been eating well, getting out, etc. I'm just TOAST! Burnt out!! Idk what it is but I'm snapping at people. Sighhhhh. This too shall pass.

Going to try to go for a walk in a bit.

Kat - sheesh on the loss! Is it b/c of the MS you think?? How are you feeling otherwise? Any more appts coming up?

--- oops -- bbl, baby in distress!


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Kat ~ Didn't you lose weight when you were pg with Norah? Or did you just not gain?

I don't have much to say.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I don't remember losing; I just didn't really gain much - 8 lbs total - (so really, I lost once the baby was born) -

I am eating all the time, just small amounts. Not much appetite but have to eat to keep the nausea at bay. Also, Norah is nursing far more than Gabe was at this point in my pregnancy. I think Gabe actually might have weaned around this point.

Also, to add to baskets - take out menus from local restaurants. I know you can pull them up on any smart phone, but in post-baby fog, it is really easy to forget what restaurants exist nearby that do take out or delivery. (Again, I suck at crunchy ideas, but hey, I thought of something!)

Carrie - where in your cycle are you? blame it on hormones? your DH is back home?

MW - nothing??? are you feeling ok?


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> MW - nothing??? are you feeling ok?


I'm tired. Dylan has been really squirmy at night again so I haven't been getting much rest but I've been waking for the day an hour or more earlier than usual.

Also, I don't think I've talked about this much here, but I think the antidepressant I'm taking is making me sort of flat, if that makes sense. I've noticed that, while I have more motivation and energy to do things, I have less to say.









Plus, I'm trying to work furiously through all this knitting for you guys. Bet you all thought I forgot but I'm getting stuff done. I'm just keeping it a secret until it's all done in case I don't get something finished. Then you won't know what you're missing.


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

Ah, that makes sense. What's up with D? more teeth? Gas?

We are still on a pacifier strike. Boo. I am so not ready for her to give that up.


----------



## Baby_Cakes (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *akind1*
> 
> Carrie - where in your cycle are you? blame it on hormones? your DH is back home?
> 
> MW - nothing??? are you feeling ok?


Hmm, AF just ended yesterday. I've been kind of blah thru this one, tbh! Maybe it is hormonal?!?

Hugs MW!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *MarineWife*
> 
> I'm tired. Dylan has been really squirmy at night again so I haven't been getting much rest but I've been waking for the day an hour or more earlier than usual.
> Also, I don't think I've talked about this much here, but I think the antidepressant I'm taking is making me sort of flat, if that makes sense. I've noticed that, while I have more motivation and energy to do things, I have less to say.
> ...


I didn't think you forgot!!

Interesting. I remember feeling similarly on antidepressants, like the fire I had in me to fight certain things wasn't there. I was fine and not anxious, and definitely not depressed, but I just didn't have that snappy energy that I would use to make small talk or even start up an interesting discussion. Weird.

I'm glad I went to bed early (for me) last night. I was in bed before 11. I need to do that more often!! Finn only woke twice but Nora had a nightmare so I spent half the night curled up at the foot of her bed and DH slept with Finn. Was interesting to say the least! LOL!

Definitely going for a walk. I want a bagel and we need to get out of this house!!


----------



## akind1 (Jul 16, 2009)

I am going to have to get outside for lunch. It's freezing in this office.

I think Norah might finally have cut a tooth. My nipples look like they've been attacked.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Baby_Cakes*
> 
> I remember feeling similarly on antidepressants, like the fire I had in me to fight certain things wasn't there. I was fine and not anxious, and definitely not depressed, but I just didn't have that snappy energy that I would use to make small talk or even start up an interesting discussion. Weird.


Yeah, that's exactly how I feel. Sometimes I'll even start to type something out to post and then decide against it because I just don't feel like it or it doesn't seem worth getting into a discussion.

My anxiety is better, I think. I'm sleeping better (not counting Dylan waking me). I fall asleep more easily because my mind isn't racing with a gazillion thoughts that I can't seem to stop.

I am almost always in bed before 11 pm. We usually head to bed around 10 pm if not earlier. I cannot stay up any later. Sometimes I hope I will be able to get back up after everyone is asleep so I can knit without interruption for a while but it never happens because by the time they are asleep I'm comfy and decide sleeping is more important. I guess that's a good thing.

Oh, after 9 days of spotting and 3 or 4 days of dry (one day of maybe sticky CF) I'm spotting again. It's actually somewhere between spotting and what I would consider light flow. I guess that means I didn't actually O?


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Hey Ladies! Sorry if I have been MIA lately, just kind of busy with kiddo's and whatnot. I am a total stalker though and always read along









MW - I am glad your feeling better. Sorry about the lack of "fire" though.

Kat - I don't know if I ever really lost weight when first getting pregnant, but if I start out with some extra fluff I definitely don't gain for awhile. All of my final pregnancy weights have had me right at 150lbs. Whether I start at 115 or 130, LOL.

So, I had a very interesting experience yesterday. I went to a chiropractor/FSM (Frequency Specific Microcurrent) specialist. It srsly nice to get adjusted. It has been about 10 years and I needed just about every adjustment down to my toenails. More interestingly though he does muscle testing and the FSM treatments. I had 27 of the 32 candida strains, a virus, and vaccine toxicity. Some of my family members have been going to him for about a year and he slowly works on your body, and your body tells him what it needs to get rid of most. (for me it was the candida and more specifically a certain strain. Robustia or something). Anyways, hope that makes sense, pretty cool stuff if you believe in naturopathic stuff.

I took Jacinta because she has the muscle weakness and walks funny and had the delayed speech, etc. And HepB was her main cause of concern like I figured. That vaccine sucks, it just solidified in my mind that I am definitely not giving that one ever again.

I just wanted to share that in case anyone else cares - I know we were talking about vaccines and that one was the worst I gave her out of 2 rounds or shots (4 months and 9 months).

Oh, and FSM is basically just the belief that all things have a frequency in your body (every virus, bacteria, etc.) and the machine tunes into that frequency and vibrates those cells until they burst. That is about as good as I can explain it!

In other news, A is still sucking it up and the sleeping thing. Some nights she sleeps all the way through and some nights she is HELL (like last night) ugh. I hope it is a phase and she gets over it freaking soon!


----------



## annie2186 (Apr 13, 2009)

Oh, and did I tell you ladies that I decided to write a series?







Yep, I'm crazy! LOL

Places like Amazon have made it so simple to upload your ebooks and sell them to people that it is almost a no-brainer. I have always loved writing and I have read hundreds of books. Anyways, I just think it will be a nice hobby. I don't know how to knit or sew and I just *feel* right trying to be an indie writer. I've already had a bunch of fun thinking up a story line and plot.

Even if I never make a dime selling my books, I'll have fun!


----------



## AnnieA (Nov 26, 2007)

That's awesome Annie! I've had thoughts of writing a book to help parents navigate having a baby in the hospital w/a CHD but the thought of sitting down and writing makes me want to take a nap.

MW, my DH really should take antidepressants but he won't because he says it makes him feel dull. Since he's in sales, he really does need to have a lively personality.

Sleep sucks in my house but Ava is gaining new skills every day so I have to imagine it's just where she's at right now. I'll get rest one day I'm sure.


----------



## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *AnnieA*
> 
> MW, my DH really should take antidepressants but he won't because he says it makes him feel dull. Since he's in sales, he really does need to have a lively personality


That's interesting. It seems like the opposite of what it should be. You'd think people with depression would be flat or dull not on meds and be more lively on meds. His job must be difficult for him. I don't know how he does it with depression.

I am enjoying things more, I think. The other day I finally found out who Adele is and listened to an hour long concert by her on YouTube. She really is an amazing singer. I really enjoyed listening to the music. Before I had thoughts that getting into things like music and movies and books or whatever was silly, pointless but now I'm seeing the joy in the little things again. I watched a Monty Python movie with Ryan the other day.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *annie2186*
> 
> Even if I never make a dime selling my books, I'll have fun!


That is very cool. I'm the same way with my knitting. I think about selling it whenever I start to have time to knit a lot but I don't really care if I make any money doing it. I just enjoy knitting and am happy to give stuff away.

You'll have to let us know when you get one up there for sale. I have a Nook. Would I be able to get it on that or do you have to have a Kindle?

New thread for August: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1359569/august-2012-rockstar-mamas


----------

