Weekly chit-chat November 22nd-28th - Page 3

[Citykid]

Dreams are weird. Last night I dreamt that my DH and I added another woman to our marriage, and I was overjoyed at the thought of more parenting help!

Jenivere, I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles. :

[justKate]

getting impatient...

Okay I'm ready for Baby to be here now. I mean, I'm not prepared in terms of having stuff/house ready, but emotionally and physically I'm ready.

I had an appointment with the midwife today that was utterly pointless. After sitting in the room for 45 minutes, she came in and apologized (another OB patient had a lot of questions). Asked me how I was doing. Fine.

I told her I was ready for the Baby, and she was like, "no, you're not, because if she comes now you'll be going to Miami all the time to visit her..." (Because there's no NICU here.) Well duh. I don't literally want her to be born premature, I'm just anxious for February to come so that I can be done being pregnant. I know I shouldn't complain becuase there are a lot of mamas who are dying for a relatively easy pregnancy like I've been lucky enough to have, but this is getting tedious. I'm having a lot of trouble focusing at work, and finding clothes to wear to work is a PIA. There's also a little added stress at work since my boss was not re-elected this year--with a new boss coming in after the new year everyone is scrambling to make themselves look valuable. I'm just trying to show up dressed and get done what i need to.

Anyway. Enough about me.

Jenivere,

nighten, interesting about your belly button. I never would have thought of that.

MomtoXane, congrats on the weight gain...I know it's been a battle for you. Let us know how your u/s goes.

Luvmy2Joshs,

As far as baby stuff goes, I still haven't accomplished much. Although I have been checking out cloth diapers and different things online.... I guess I need to make a big to-do list and start knocking things out!

I hope everyone is having a good week (or if you're not, that it gets better soon) and a good holiday.

[Nillarilla]

It's getting hard to work the 12 hr shifts at work. I asked for the last 4 hours off on my middle 2 days next set. I hope I get it. I have to get a note from my mw to take it as sick time. I have an appointment tonight so I will ask for one.
A doula was supposed to be contacting me but that was last wednesday and I still haven't heard. I'm beginning to wonder if having a doula isn't meant to be for me.
I ordered dipes 2 weeks ago as well and they still haven't arrived. I am hoping today. DH is refinishing and painting the dresser we are using for the change table. He worked on it all weekend and hopefully will be done in the next couple days. Usually he is such a procrastinator stuff like this just does not get done. But really he has been good about getting stuff done lately. He tidied and vacuumed the whole house yesterday so I only have the kitchen to deal with today on my first day off which is lovely since I am really sore.
I really don't know where to put this babes clothes. We cannot fit/afford another dresser at this time. It may have to be baskets in the closet and under the bed for now.

[starling&diesel]

I hear you about the shift work, Nillarilla ...

Today is actually my last day, and not a moment too soon. It's getting really hard to do the night shifts on the ambulance. As of tonight I'll be on maternity / parental leave for 14 months. The thought of that makes me a bit nervous ... there will be lots of beans and rice at our house. Thankfully, I do get 55% of my pay, so we'll see how we can manage with that.

About the nanny share Vegan... I'd love to know how that works out for you. If or when I go back to work, it will likely be two days, two overnights (all 12 hour shifts) and then four off, and then start on the rotation again. I'm already putting out feelers to see what other paramedic parents do to manage childcare coverage. It feels pretty impossible, actually. We'll see. There's just NO childcare options for shift workers. It's really pathetic. The world keeps chugging along well outside of the hours of 9-5pm. Kinda frustrating.

[Vegan Princess]

Starling: Congrats on beginning your maternity leave! It may be tough but enjoy it!! That is hard about trying to find childcare for shift work! Your best bet might be to find someone who can share the 2 days and maybe your DP can drop off and pick up baby on those days so the times match more with a regular day? I work 10-12 hour days too but I work 5am-4pm usually. DH can drop baby off at 8am and I can pick up by 4...then on Fridays I am off by 1 or 2. So that is only about 35 hours of care/week rather than the 8-6 every day that my friend needs. I am hoping to be able to swing some working from home too and maybe just get a nanny for 3-4 hours on those days so I can actually get stuff done.

I think I can handle my long days better than most bc I just sit at a desk all day. I couldn't imagine being on my feet and in a high adrenaline situation for that long! My biggest complaint is just having to get up at 4:30am after not being able to sleep well anymore.

Cindy

[starling&diesel]

Originally Posted by Vegan Princess

I couldn't imagine being on my feet and in a high adrenaline situation for that long! My biggest complaint is just having to get up at 4:30am after not being able to sleep well anymore.

Yeah, the kicker was the other night when the pager went off at 3am for what would be a 7 hour ambulance transfer to the city and back. I cried.
I actually cried. I hadn't hardly slept that night as it was, and then to have to do such a long transfer ...

... and it got worse.

The patient had menningitis! Along with MRSA, VRE, HIV, HEP C ... but the menningitis scared the beehoozus out of me. I made my partner go in the back with him and I struggled to stay awake at the wheel. That's how I know it's time to go.

[Just1More]

Wow. It's so interesting to read about everyone's day to day lives and struggles and blessings.

Everyone seems to have so much on their plates right now...concerns for money, health, the new babies, our other children, sick husbands, moves, jobs, clothes, etc. I hope this week things calm and level out...sounds like most could use a few days of down time.

As for me, I can't even think about what I'd like to be doing or what I might be concerned about. I just feel so scattered. That always happens to me when dh is gone a lot, though. I need him to take the kids for several hours for a day or two (or three) in a row so I can just sit and THINK. And, when he gets up at night and first thing in the morning and I can sleep just a little later, it makes all the difference for me. Each day, as I get tireder, I can feel it's getting harder and harder to think through stuff and gets things done. It's so frustrating for me, but it's because I need a bit of silence, and because I need 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Neither of which I get when he's gone. I do get naptime, but only about an hour's worth, and I try to stay awake at bedtime, but then the lack of sleep gets worse, so...I'm just taking it one day at a time and we'll be as ready as we are when the baby comes, and that'll be that, I guess.

I had a very vivid dream last night. We had a boy, after a 2 hour labor, weighing 7 lb 5 oz, 19 inches long. He looked like a cross between dd and ds. He was born at 38 weeks and 2 days...and that was funny because the midwife and I were discussing in my dream whether it was 38 and 2 or 38 and 4 because she always counts me 2 days ahead of what I personally count. And, dh wasn't here...we thought that might happen. Anyway...it's all very odd, because I've been certain it was a girl, and if the baby is only 7lb 5 oz, it would be more than a pound smaller than my smallest baby, and more than an inch shorter than either of them! AND, both of mine were born 40 weeks to the day. So...it was an odd dream...but so very real...

[Queen of my Castle]

Eeeks Starling! What a night! I'm so glad you're done- enjoy it!

As far as being ready for the baby- I am so NOT. I am not ready mentally to handle another child yet, to welcome the infant stage, to greet the postpartum exhaustion...I love babies, and I love having a baby, but I never really 'look forward' to the initial period. It's hard on me! I don't anticipate this time being any easier, but I'm hoping my recovery is quicker with some good planning.

I am, however, conciously enjoying this time I have with my children, noting how clean my house is (haha, but it will get worse) lingering over books in bed, not leaking fluids from everywhere yet....I'm trying to be productive, but if not that, then relishing this time 'before three'. Oh dear, I'm scaring myself. :

[Larissa]

I agree Queen. I am NOT ready for baby either. . . for the same reasons you stated. I have 3 children already and am enormously tired. I have been emotionally challenged this entire pregnancy. I feel as though I have been in a bad mood for 7 months. And I am trying so hard to enjoy this pregnancy. It's just been really hard. And I have enough experience now to know that having the baby is only going to make everything more complicated.

So, we are leaving for my parents' house this morning. My sister is going to give me bunches of newborn girly clothes . . . and I can't wait to go through them. I am hoping that this will give me the excitement that I need and desire. I am so thankful for this baby, I really am! I am excited to be adding a girl to our crazy crew. I feel enormously blessed, but just overwhelmed.

So, surely, touching soft and cuddly newborn clothes will get me out of this funk!

[Mal85]

So, it is 20 til 7 in the am and I have been awake for almost two hours already. I got to bed late last night because of many thoughts going through my head as soon as I crawled into bed and spent most of the night tossing and turning-- partly due to my head being filled with too much at the moment and partly because my hips hurt no matter which side I lay on and I can't find sleep on my back anymore. Today is a short day at the school where I work, which means a long day for me watching the kiddos in the afternoon. I can deal because it means I have the next 4 days off. I go back to school Monday for one last week of classes, a few days of finals, then an entire month off for the winter break. It couldn't come soon enough!

I go today for my glucose screening-- that was one of the many thoughts inside my head while I was trying to sleep last night. I'm just hoping it doesn't make me sick. The lab is a 35 minute drive away and I have to go by myself.

On the upside, I have a family in line to start child care for once I graduate in May! They are having a baby girl in February as well, due just a couple weeks before I am. My husband is worried I'll be overwhelmed with two newborns, but I am glad for the two to have each other as friends from day one. So, last night I spent the whole evening getting a start on a policy/contract for them to view when they come visit, which will be sometime while I'm out of school in the next month. This also means I have to get my house in some kind of order and organize all the ideas I have had for my childcare thus far. So much to think about!

[Everrgreen]

Yes it definitely sounds like many of you have a lot going on in your lives.

I don't at all. My job is boring and I don't work a lot. I'm finishing it in a couple of weeks because I'll have the hours I need for maternity leave and I really hate it. And I'm planning on staying home indefinitely after the baby comes so I'm actually quitting.

I'm so ready for this baby. I feel this constant anxious excitement all the time and it seems like February is so far away. I don't actually have everything I need for the baby, but that's only because I've purposefully paced myself. We are going to be picking up the crib and other hand me downs from my in laws soon. They store everything in their home-office/shop and it smells really bad (they silk screen and everything sort of smells like varsol and paint) so it will all need plenty of time to air out.

[Queen of my Castle]

Ack! I really freaked myself out last night. Just like you, Mal85- I couldn't sleep from all the thoughts churning around in my head. Not ready for a baby, pausing my painting career, our horrible finances which I've been blissfully ignoring....man, I was getting so upset! I'm the type to lie there and desperately try to sleep, not get up and do something. I've created this irresponsible cocoon where I'm enjoying my children but neglecting everything else- it had to end sometime- I need to get it together!

However, I woke up to a huge, beautiful snowfall. Everything, even my clothesline, is covered with an extra 3 inches of snow. It was like all my fitful, half-asleep praying brought me peace and refreshing through the night, because i woke up in a good mood- I had my 7am walk and so far things have been great. I'm healthy, we have food. My family has love. What more could I ask for?

[starling&diesel]

Queen ... it is so true how a snowfall can make everything seem right again. It is truly one of life's gloriously free pleasures.
I too was awake most of the night, tossing and turning, also dealing with hip pain and financial fears. I finally got up and took a bath at about 3am and read for a while, and that made me feel a million times better.

I applied for EI today (Canadian maternity benefits) so that feels like one big chore under my belt.
Gillian ... you know that you can apply for "illness prior to maternity benefits", right? So that you'd be paid for 'sick' leave until your due date and then you'd have the full 50 weeks with babe before the benefits run out. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

[Queen of my Castle]

Hey guys, I have a small sore lump in my calf, any idea what it is? It's not discoloured, otherwise I would think varicose vein. I don't have any of those yet!

[Larissa]

Queen - you need to get that checked out immediately! That could very well be a blood clot and you don't want to mess around with one of those. Call and try to be seen tomorrow!
My sister had a blood clot when she was pregnant with her first child.

I hope that everyone has had a great Thanksgiving . . . those of you fromt he US, that is!

[Queen of my Castle]

Thanks Larissa,
I did call the midwife and I'm going in today to have it checked. It could be phlebitus- a superficial clot, because it doesn't look like a varicose vein. Coincidentally, I'm also having what might be heartburn- my chest/breathing has been sore since suppertime last night when I breathe and move... ridiculous!
Thanks again- and Happy Thanksgiving all you Americans!

[Larissa]

Oh, good! I am glad to hear you are having it checked. Let us know what happens!

[Nillarilla]

I did a whole day of Xmas baking yesterday. Man am I sore but the results are very yummy. I'm going to see if I can squeeze into the chiro today though.

justkate I hear you about being ready for babe even though it needs to cook a little longer. I can't wait to meet this little one. I wasn't really like this with my first though. I just wanted to be done being pg by that time.

I'm hoping my MIL is going to bring me some nb clothes up with her from her sister. I have found some stuff and a few gowns. I still have to go through ds's stuff and find all the gender neutral stuff.

I got this incredible deal on nb size AIO monkey doodlez dipes 8 of them brand new and free shipping. It was 50bucks off because the manufacturer had to restitch the leg casings once. Only colour choices were blue and white but ah well this little girl will have a blue bum for a month or 2.

I have to get all my homebirth supplies collected now.

[nighten]

I am exhausted. And grumpy. And impatient with my toddler. And I'm huge. And nothing fits.

But we have lots of leftovers and I'm happy about that. Even though I've gained 32 pounds so far. Whoops.

So not ready for new baby to arrive. Have a ton left to do.

[Mal85]

I in the "can't wait to meet my baby" boat. I am totally unprepared... we don't have a car seat, which I think is pretty important since I need to get her home somehow. I have hardly any diapers. The list of what I don't have ready is so long... but I can't help it. I'm impatient. I can't wait to meet this little one.

She has been moving around like crazy all week, the most spastic movements I've felt so far and I just want to know what she's doing in there. I wish I had a little microscope so I could see her. I can't wait until I'm holding her and see her do something and just know that's what I was feeling! I was cuddling with my newest niece yesterday who is just a few weeks old and there were a few movements of hers that I definitely recognize. I just can't wait to see my own daughter do these things. I really just can't wait to have my own daughter. I've been feeling slightly more disconnected from all these new babies in the family than I have been in the past simply because I want to hold my own... Can I really hold out for another 3 months??