Feb 08 Mamas - June is the bringer of light

[slgt]

The title is somewhat a reference to Juno, and it's also summer solstice month. Here is the May thread, but welcome to June!

May was a big month - Dea, Helen, SarahLynne, Lauren all shared their BFPs with us, and we're all sending sticky-baby vibes! Quinn joined Heather's family and is doing great.

ThisLove rejoined us...

and I have no doubt that June will be another jam-packed month for all of us!

Now that I have realized today is June, I'll go move my post from the May thread to this one...

[slgt]

SL, good luck - and happy Monday - and congratulations! You have a lot going on right now...sending you "one step at a time" vibes. Keep breathing.

ThisLove, welcome and good to see you again! Jump on in - this is a great board with a lot of great mamas on it. Not that I'm biased, or anything. I'm sorry about your frustrations from your other board - sound like it is definitely time to leave it behind and find a better virtual community for yourself.

Dea, tomorrow's a big day - fingers crossed for you! I'm envious of your long hike. How did Trixie do? R is really hit or miss with the backpack. We have not done a long hike with her since she started walking. Running. I'm not sure she would tolerate more than about 45 minutes. I guess there is only one way to find out! The down side is, what if she's great for the hike up, but screams the entire hike down? Hmmm. Did you use a Kelty, or a SSC?

Teeny, sorry to hear about Nara's crying. Wish I had some advice...

Helen, hope you're feeling ok, and not too knocked down by the first-tri tireds. How is your new house?

Rynna, easier said than done, but from all that you've said about tHRH, sounds like you should keep enjoying the moment! I always had a very hard time trying to think effectively about the future when things were still in the fairly-new-and-exciting-jump-into-bed-4-times-a-day phase . Oy, I cannot, however, truly wrap my mind around the complexity of the multiple girlfriends & boyfriends & husbands involved...but I'm glad you're having a blast! I'm trying to remember the exact phrasing, but I'm trying to think through the powerful resonance of 3 - how the human mind processes 3 vs. the duality of 2 (I'm thinking of art, math, etc.) - 3 engages Broca's area of the brain, changing how the brain processes - anyways, in a very inarticulate way, wondering if human relationships dynamic between 3 vs. two engages the brain similarly.

Um, hi. Sorry for that little tangent. Hi! We're doing great. Still waiting on those $%!&*( canines to come through. Could they be a bit slower? Really? R is doing great. She "says" about 20 words, but only DH & I can understand her. Very contextual. At some point soon, she'll figure out both the beginning and ending consonants, right? Then "ahck" will become "rock" or "walk"?

Unexpectedly sunny day...better get to work so that I have time to enjoy it later!

[Gena 22]

Congrats, SarahLynne! Glad to hear your DH is excited. But your ambivalence, if that's the right way to describe it, is totally natural too. :

Dea, looking forward to hearing how things go tomorrow. : Don't know if I wish multiples on you, but I do love being a twin momma . . .

Cheryl, your post describes where I am exactly, almost on every point. DH and I are going through a rough patch. Not over discipline (really hope you two can talk it out). But I have also been a bit blindsided by DH and my differences over things. Last week we hit a real low, when I told him I was considering moving out. But I think more sleep and changed circumstances will clear the worst of it out for us. And by changed circumstances I mean if things don't resolve themselves in the next couple months on their own (less anxiety, less of DH's work, less debt, etc) I will make some dramatic changes. Til then, please forgive me if some of my black mood comes out. Also, Izzy is our climber. It's exhausting keeping an eye and sometimes a hand on the babes every moment, but cute too. Amazing the climbs she attempts - scaling the changing table to get to her sister, etc! I turn my back for a second and she's standing on a table. Enjoy the Phish show! That should be a blast. Tell us all about it. Next week DH and I have a big date to see the Decemberists, I'm pretty excited too.

Emily - I'm with you on the chastity belt! Haha, but I bet Helen's right. Better you than me!

[Mommy2Austin]

Well some good and bad news and already know news today:

Bad News:
The Dr. is an idiot and couldn't look up antidepressants that were approved for pregnancy so I'm stuck in limbo with that.
I can't get the job at the Drs. office because I have no medical coding experience Cause I can't look it up in the book in the office.

Already Known News:
I am pregnant (But at least I have it documented for insurance!)

Good News:
Talked to my midwife and she gave me a laundry list of stuff for me to do for both the staph infection (draw-out salve, Triple Antiseptic Cream, Garlic (9-12 pills a day) and Acidophilus (5,000 ui)) and my anxiety (Rescue Remedy.)

I'm not disqualified from getting hired at DoC!!! Thats the best news of all because that has been the biggest reason I've been so upset about being pregnant. Its not that I'm not excited about the baby I was just upset when I thought they wouldn't hire me. DH called some of the human resource people for the DoC in the Region I'd work in and she said they put pregnant women through all the time. I just can't finish the training until after I have the baby because of the high risk stuff (Defensive Tactics and Firearms.)So I feel much better now. My plan is to work until the kick me out for maternity leave and then as soon as I have Drs. clearance I'll go back and finish training

[Dea]

[QUOTE=slgt;13861634
Dea, tomorrow's a big day - fingers crossed for you! I'm envious of your long hike. How did Trixie do? R is really hit or miss with the backpack. We have not done a long hike with her since she started walking. Running. I'm not sure she would tolerate more than about 45 minutes. I guess there is only one way to find out! The down side is, what if she's great for the hike up, but screams the entire hike down? Hmmm. Did you use a Kelty, or a SSC?
[/QUOTE]

We carried Trixie in the beco and she was quite happy with it. Yesterday we went to Maker Faire and the same, she was on my back all day and she's good with it. She likes to be near me at all times so wearing her is a great alternative, and she's happy with it.

Speaking of she's pulling on my leg to twist me away from the computer!

[flapjack]

SL, you know I'm a bach flower remedy practitioner, yes? LMK if you want to explore them further... and yay for jobbiness. What is DoC, anyhow?

slgt, canines are evil. In fact, teeth are evil full stop, but canines are singularly obnoxious. Yes, they can go slower, so don't tempt fate. And they can retract back up again- so again, don't tempt fate. Just pretend not to notice anything and soon enough they'll all be through.
Oh, and River cut another molar. One molar, four canines to go. And then another bloody set. Why do I do this to myself?

Oh, and as I said in May, I lack symptoms. Total absence. Venting on another board about my unplanned pregnancy, I was wished the best pregnancy imaginable, and so far it's paying off. I do, however, have a funny feeling in my tummy from time to time, so I'm pretty sure there's someone living down there...

[Mommy2Austin]

Originally Posted by flapjack

SL, you know I'm a bach flower remedy practitioner, yes? LMK if you want to explore them further... and yay for jobbiness. What is DoC, anyhow?

slgt, canines are evil. In fact, teeth are evil full stop, but canines are singularly obnoxious. Yes, they can go slower, so don't tempt fate. And they can retract back up again- so again, don't tempt fate. Just pretend not to notice anything and soon enough they'll all be through.
Oh, and River cut another molar. One molar, four canines to go. And then another bloody set. Why do I do this to myself?

Oh, and as I said in May, I lack symptoms. Total absence. Venting on another board about my unplanned pregnancy, I was wished the best pregnancy imaginable, and so far it's paying off. I do, however, have a funny feeling in my tummy from time to time, so I'm pretty sure there's someone living down there...

PM me about the remedy stuff!!

DoC- Department of Corrections Its prison!

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by slgt

Rynna, easier said than done, but from all that you've said about tHRH, sounds like you should keep enjoying the moment! I always had a very hard time trying to think effectively about the future when things were still in the fairly-new-and-exciting-jump-into-bed-4-times-a-day phase .

Both of us fully expect this stage to last for some time. I mean... I don't really get over it, for my end, if you take my meaning. I'm not the kind of girl who gets 'headaches' very often.

Oy, I cannot, however, truly wrap my mind around the complexity of the multiple girlfriends & boyfriends & husbands involved...but I'm glad you're having a blast! I'm trying to remember the exact phrasing, but I'm trying to think through the powerful resonance of 3 - how the human mind processes 3 vs. the duality of 2 (I'm thinking of art, math, etc.) - 3 engages Broca's area of the brain, changing how the brain processes - anyways, in a very inarticulate way, wondering if human relationships dynamic between 3 vs. two engages the brain similarly.

That *is* interesting. Time to get my geek on, I suppose. The human brain has an easier time, in general, with threes than it does with twos. That's why I'm kind of looking forward to bringing another boyfriend into the mix. I think the "trouble" is that I kind of want to find someone to share with tHRH... but that's an entirely different story.

Originally Posted by Dea

Helen, hee hee... Yes the Feb 08 octuplets, apparently my fertility meds rubbed off on all of you, osmosis through the computer? Heh. Perhaps all of the don't want to get pregnant now mamas should disinfect their keyboards!

I've 'disinfected my keyboard'... by investing in fresh condoms.

Rynna, You said I could let my anthropologist out to play and ask questions.... I've been wondering in different poly relationships how parenting works. I know that all of your children have the same father, but is it common to have children with other people in the relationship and how does that work out if you all don't live together? Is it like how, say my family grew up where I have 2 brothers, but one is a half brother? I understand that it's individual, but it's interesting to me how it works when all parties involved actually like one another. (my mom and dad hate each other)
Oh you can totally tell me to bugger off, or ignore me all together.

Just to reiterate, everyone's mileage will vary. There's actually a poly thread on MDC (I think it's in Queer Parenting?) where others have different situations, but most of us have kids already.

So: To clarify things, Mike and I aren't in a relationship. We live together, we're raising the kids together, but we pretty much gave up on the relationship while I was pregnant with Bear (if not a bit before). We're still on the same page when it comes to the kids, and I'm not about to take them and move them to Philly nor am I about to move myself and leave Mike with the kids (which is what his parents seem to think is going to happen-- nope, sorry, not my scene). The kids are priority number one, and right now what's in their best interests is to live with their two parents, whom they know, love, and trust (rightly so). Please note here that if tHRH wasn't on the same page, I wouldn't be half so smitten with him as I am.

THRH loves the kids, and they love him. I asked Bean if there was anything he didn't like about tHRH and he said, "I don't like the way you're always trying to keep us apart." (?!) He's already slipped up and called him dad at least twice. Being the wonderful man that he is, tHRH is actually quite willing to jump into the fray. He helps with ridiculously mundane and irritating tasks like laundry and dishes as well as the bedroom escapades. Of course, this only helps with the other side of things-- I think we all know what a man doing dishes does for a woman's libido. :

More kids? Eh. Maybe. I recognize my desire to breed with tHRH as one of those insane, impossible-to-prevent biological impulses. After all, part of what makes someone attractive to someone else is that purely biological urge to propogate your genes with the best of what's around. THRH is very tall, very smart, slim, young-looking; He's got a whole slew of features which indicate Prime Breeding Stock (did I mention the red hair? ) so it's only natural that my lizard brain says, "Yes! Breed now! With that one!!" For what it's worth, he feels exactly the same way about me. He's never particularly wanted to have kids of his own (never even got to, "I'd like to name a girl ____"), but he recognizes a whole slew of traits (genetic diversity is hot, and being mixed I'm already more than halfway there-- nature loves an outbreed!) in me that make his lizardbrain say "Yes! Breed now! That one!!"

Even better is this: He loves the four kids I already have, and he wants to be part of their lives. He told me that if he can't have kids for some reason, that's okay too because mine are just like the ones he'd have wanted. : Isn't he too sweet? : I'd love for him to move in, and he would too but there are other considerations to keep in mind. It's nowhere near happening, sadly. If I could find a house close enough for him to commute to work, though? I might get him every other week...

In the event that I do have his redheaded mutant baby (RHMB), most things will go as scheduled, but I'll have five kids instead of four. Mike may or may not be less willing to help with the littlest than he is with the older four; I expect there will be many discussions between the planning/conception of RHMB and birth re: logistics. On the up side, it might spur Mike to move his bloomin' arse and get his s*** in gear... and that's always good, right?

Hm. Is tHRH my kids' father? Well, no, clearly not. Is he something like a step-father? Eventually, absolutely. I don't know if he's there now... I'm sure it's coming, though. Will he parent the little people? He's working on that. He's still learning them, like he's learning me. A year from now, (if that) he'll be a visiting third parent, kind of like a weekend dad I guess.

Ideally, he'd move in with us at least part-time and we'd go about living normal lives together. Right now that's not happening, but I figure, if I can wish him into my life, the logistics should be easy.

I just bottled another batch of Kombucha, it's so yummy. I think that I'm really figuring it out. I'm bummed that I can't really drink much seeing as I'm pregnant and all.

I have a kind of fear surrounding kefir and Kombucha. I want to try them, but I'm terrified to do it on my own. I'll have to find someone to teach me.

:

[lovetobemama]

uh...woah! Things look different!

Back later to say hi...just was momentarily shocked by the different look!

[Mommy2Austin]

I go take a nap and come back and MDC has been abducted by aliens......

[FelixMom]

uh...woah! Things look different!

Back later to say hi...just was momentarily shocked by the different look!

:

My DS2 wants to walk down the stairs, using the wall for support. Anyone's kid doing this yet?

[ema-adama]

Originally Posted by lovetobemama

uh...woah! Things look different!

Back later to say hi...just was momentarily shocked by the different look!

:

Not sure I like it.... probably will get used to it....

be back later

[eilonwy]

Originally Posted by FelixMom

:

My DS2 wants to walk down the stairs, using the wall for support. Anyone's kid doing this yet?

Bear crawls down the stairs. BooBah was walking them by this age, though. It's really disturbing to watch, because it doesn't seem like their legs could possibly be long enough. Especially BooBah, she had like, a seven inch inseam at this age.

[slgt]

Originally Posted by FelixMom

:
My DS2 wants to walk down the stairs, using the wall for support. Anyone's kid doing this yet?

Yes. We don't help her down any more because she wants to walk down the stairs (step. step. step.) holding onto one of our fingers. She comes down with a hybrid of backwards, walking forwards holding onto the railing, and sitting on one step to get down to the next. We prefer backwards, and we keep telling her that, but she apparently does not care that we prefer backwards.

I know every kid is different, but when is a standard timeframe for them being mostly-trustworthy about coming down the stairs on their own? (We have hardwood, oak stairs. Not very kid-friendly.) 15? 8? 2?

[applecore]

Twyla likes to try to walk down steps, but I keep a gate up because the older kids' rooms are up there, and there's all kinds of stuff she needn't get into.

I just got a call at 4am to go to a birth, and then ten minutes later as I was readying to leave, got another call that the baby had been born! That's two in a row that have been too fast for me to make it to! This 8 pounder looked really tiny in comparison to the two 11 pounders that were the last two births I attended.

[smokeylo]

Hi everyone, subbing!! 7w tomorrow, felt absolutely terrible yesterday. Blech.

[Mommy2Austin]

Originally Posted by applecore

Twyla likes to try to walk down steps, but I keep a gate up because the older kids' rooms are up there, and there's all kinds of stuff she needn't get into.

I just got a call at 4am to go to a birth, and then ten minutes later as I was readying to leave, got another call that the baby had been born! That's two in a row that have been too fast for me to make it to! This 8 pounder looked really tiny in comparison to the two 11 pounders that were the last two births I attended.

Thats so funny!!!

I'm a little sad you don't live near me because I'd love to have you at this birth

[Mommy2Austin]

Completely frustrated this morning....DH has a friend from work coming over and the house is trashed. I've been trying to wake him up since 8 am and he just got up at 9:30...God only knows when his friend will show up. I go to do a load of towels and I thought "ooo since I'm out of bleach I'll just throw a scoop of Oxy Clean in." So I go into the kitchen to get it off the counter and I hear Steven in Michael's Star Trek tapes (That I've been fighting to keep the kids out of ALL week.) So I take care of that situation and head back into my room forgetting the OxyClean. I come back out to get it and I can't find it. Go down the hall and Steven is dumping it on the carpet. *scream* So I get him away from it and scoop what I can back in the bucket and then vacuum the rest up. All the way Michael is still lazing around.

Now my hands are dried out from the Oxyclean. What does he do just now? "Have the kids been fed yet?" Well uh no sorry I've been running around trying to get the house looking presentable for your friend.

Pregnancy hormones + Regular already crazy hormones - my meds=

[sarahn4639]

Hi everyone! I'm so excited about these new babies and still happy one of them isn't my own quite yet! I am thrilled to live vicariously though you all for a few more months!

Raina, 2 11lbers!? Wow! I love/hate fast births like that. I had a run of 4 births I missed in a row (all for reasons that weren't my fault) and it was super frustrating! I agree with Sarah Lynne, I wish you lived closer because I would love to have you be my midwife for my next birth!!

Sarah Lynne, I don't know that being upset about your morning is extreme at all, I'd be super pissed/frustrated about a morning like that and I'm not pregnant and am not adjusting to no meds so I don't think it seems extreme at all. The part that would get me is DH not helping through it all: you see I need help, help me or bear my wrath! I hope you adjust to your pregnancy soon, but I completely understand needing time to adjust. It was a huge shock and not the best timing so it's not at all unreasonable to be ambivalent for a while. I'm glad your job is still a possibility!

Lauren, I hope today is better!

slgt, James is trustworthy on the stairs now BUT he goes down backwards. I hate when they try to walk, it scares me so much! I don't remember when I didn't really worry about Grace walking down the stairs, maybe close to 2?

Rynna, I like that you and Mike are so dedicated to coparenting your kids and giving them daily access to both of you. How does Mike handle the HRH situation?

Dea, I can't wait to hear about your ultrasound today!!!! Many good thoughts coming your way!

Emily, great to see you!

Helen, I didn't know you were a practitioner! I'll have to remember that. I'm glad you are having a nice easy pregnancy thus far. I hope it continues through your babe's arrival!

Gena, I'm really sorry things are so rough right now. I hope everything straightens out soon.

Carrie, much love coming at you!

We are good, James is talking more and more and doing new things all the time. I love this age. He has the best little mischievous smile that gets me every time. He's a much easier kid than Grace was. He is very laid back and does fine when I need to be gone, which has been frequently lately. I have several doula clients right now and still working 1 day a week on a research project and teaching my class. It's a great balance for me right now. This summer will die down and we will have vacation and I won't have clients due so that will be nice too. Grace had her first overnight away from me last weekend, it went really well. It didn't bother me at all either because I knew she was ready and she loves her papa and mema. The garden is growing, I'm having a garage sale this weekend (if it doesn't rain), and getting my house in better order. It's been a pretty good past month, thought of course there are daily rough patches, over all things are good here. I hope everyone has a great month!!

[ThisLove]

Thanks for the warm welcome ladies! : I can't wait to get to know you all better. Right now, I'm trying to peruse previous threads (just laid C down for a nap, we'll see how it goes) and get a good idea of who everyone is. Sorry if it takes me a bit!

My silly fear of the day: not being inspired to name this baby! With C, it was very obvious. The day before our anatomy/gender scan, I decided that no matter what the baby was, we were naming it Call(o)(a)way. It was very obvious to me when he was born that he fit his name. Now, I can't think of a name that gives me the same kind of feeling for this baby. We have our lists started and a boy's name chosen, but I keep thinking that this one's going to be of the female variety and I'm totally blank!

flapjack, I'm jealous of your non-symptoms! I've been struggling with hyperemesis and have had to buy new bras ... twice so far. At this rate, I'll be able to reach out and touch someone with the ladies by the end of the pregnancy, ha!!

And lots of for those that need it right now. A little bit of good juju goes a long way, right?