Mom’s of Many – JANUARY - Page 3

[orangefoot]

Yay Jenny Congratulations to you and all your family and welcome to Isaac too. Your date pattern is still going strong

[mataji4]

Hooray Jenny on the new year's birth of baby Isaac!! Congratulations!

Did I miss any other birth announcements last month? Flapjack? Not long and it will be your turn, Sam...hang in there!

I've just turned 34 and pregnant with #5. Very interesting! This will be our last, for many reasons it just makes sense. I was not comfortable saying that last time or the time before, though dh thought stopping with 3 or 4 would be fine. But this time it feels different and I don't feel sad saying this is our last. It just feels like the truth!

I'm in my 11th week and nausea hit late this time, just got yucky this last week. wierd. yuck.

2009 was hard for us too- sickness, traumatic loss of my step-dad. Sorry that it was hard for so many of you too...here's to hoping for better from 2010!

[baltic_ballet]

Originally Posted by mataji4

Sam...hang in there!

Thanks Jenny

Originally Posted by mataji4

I've just turned 34 and pregnant with #5. Very interesting! This will be our last, for many reasons it just makes sense. I was not comfortable saying that last time or the time before, though dh thought stopping with 3 or 4 would be fine. But this time it feels different and I don't feel sad saying this is our last. It just feels like the truth!

We said said "this baby will be our last about four kids ago but somehow manage to have more

Originally Posted by mataji4

I'm in my 11th week and nausea hit late this time, just got yucky this last week. wierd. yuck.

I hope you feel better soon.

Originally Posted by mataji4

2009 was hard for us too- sickness, traumatic loss of my step-dad. Sorry that it was hard for so many of you too...here's to hoping for better from 2010!

You too Jenny

[rajahkat]

Happy New Year!!

It's 32yo for me this year (Jan 14th, actually) and I'm thinking this babe (#5 too) will be our last. I would be open to maybe one more, but I'm also totally comfortable with the idea of this one being it.

A big welcome to Isaac!

Kat

[crittersmom]

I'm probably the last to say Happy New Year's to you all! We are in HI and there were fireworks from Christmas til 3 in the morning New Years.I'm from southern CA where most places fireworks are illegal because of the fire dangers so these were pretty fantastic.
Congrats jenny on your new little one! what a wonderful birthday!

[flapjack]

Congratulations, Jenny!

Yep, I have a very small ball of yumminess curled up in my left arm while I type this Samson Elessar was born on the 22nd.

[canadiannancy]

congrats Jenny and Flapjack!

And Happy (belated) New years to all Mof M!

[~bookcase~]

congrats Jenny - what a way to start a year

i'm 32 this year and leaning more and more towards 'that's it!'
but i feel like maybe 2/3 more to come and just hope to pace them....and that they come one at a time

edit: and that they'll be full-termers born beautifully at home etc etc !!!

[wendybird]

Things just keep going on here, it is sheer craziness! Most of the kids are done with their chicken pox, a few scabs linger, but we are able to go out in public again. Griffon started swelling in his face Wednesday so we went to the ER and found out he has cellulitus. It was so sad, he looked like a Brian Froud creature instead of a little boy. Then yesterday the puppy jumped on him and because of the cellulitus it ripped his face open. A frantic trip to the ER, traumatic visit, and 9 stitches to close him up, but we are really counting on this being it. We are done with illness and injury.In 12 years I have only done 4 ER visits, and 2 were the past 3 days. These are our first stitches and oh my goodness...that was horrid! He actually slept through the stitching, but he screamed bloody murder when they cleaned it out. Broke my heart.
So here I sit at the computer, finding a new home for our beloved hound pup who is just too big and too much for my family right now. It goes against everything I believe to give a dog away after we make them part of our family but I can't train him not to jump and it is hurting the kids.
I love being able to come on here and read baby love . I love picturing you all snuggling little fresh babes, or having preggo bellies. I love reading about all the children and what they are up to. Thanks to everyone for being cyber friends .

[Guinevere]

Hello, dear mamas,

I've lurked on this thread off and on for over a year, but never seem to manage getting into posting. But you all seem like such a friendly bunch, I'd like to try!

I'm Guin, mama to 6 -- 3 of each, as it turned out -- aged 11 yrs. on down to 4 mos. We live in sunny New Mexico, and the older 4 are at a charter school that is half-public school, half-homeschool, so I kind of straddle both worlds. Sophia, our 3yo, was born with Down Syndrome, so we have various therapies and such to ferry her to. And thanks to her birth, we now all know American Sign Language, which has been a wonderful thing. Duncan is our newest (and likely last) sweet babe.

I, too, was quite ready to say goodbye and good riddance to 2009! While Duncan is a truly wonderful blessing and I love him to pieces, my pg and birth with him -- my first following a m/c -- were downright miserable, and we had such stress this year as DH was chronically underemployed for most of it. Now he's just unemployed, period.

As we live far, far away from all family, we started the New Year's tradition several years back of having a few of our closest couple friends and their children over for a potluck/family game night. It's really nice to have a family-friendly celebration, although we often don't all make it to midnight (I did see the ball drop in Times Square this year, though!) This year there were 10 adults and 16 children and the menu was Greek. Yummy!

In my house, my children also have selective blindness regarding anything on the floor. Apparently, they are also genetically incapable of changing out the empty toilet paper roll in the bathroom, as I am the only one who ever does it. Perhaps they inherited this from DH, as he's quite bad about it, too.

Although we usually leave up our decorations through Twelfth Night, this year we're taking the tree down today. I'm exhausted trying to keep our ornaments semi-intact with a SN 3 1/2 yo destroying them at every turn. And they're not even precious -- before having Sophie, I would even have called them quite sturdy, made mostly from wood, fabric, or paper. They survived the onslaught of 4 other toddlers, but my dear Sophie is in a destructive category all her own. We even borrowed a play yard from a gf to encircle the tree, but she's sharp as a tack about things we'd prefer she NOT figure out, so of course it took her only about 10 mins. to work out how to scale the thing and/or push it in far enough to grab and run (and chew, sigh...)

Congratulations flapjack and Kidszaplenty on the sweet new baby boys -- how lovely!

You all may indeed be onto something with the reevaluation of family size in the mid-30s. I was 34 while pg w/#5 and we had already decided that we would be done with her birth. But odd numbers never have sat well with me , lol, so after a long break (well, for our previous pattern, anyway), we settled on #6 and last. All other things being equal, I actually think DH and I would love more, but finances truly are becoming a factor and more importantly, my health just isn't up to it anymore, either. I wish I were one of those women who do pg well (and safely), but I'm not. Of my six, 4 were preemies, several quite premature, due to pg complications, and now I think it prudent to try and regain better health to be able to keep up with them. But the thought of it still makes me a wee bit sad -- I think that's probably natural, isn't it?

Looking forward to chatting more as the month gets on...hope you don't mind me jumping in.

Kind regards,
Guin

[pixiekisses]

Welcome, Guin!
I think I've seen you at the SN board.

(I also had HELLP in one pregnancy, btw.)

[~bookcase~]

i posted at the end of december thread about washing sheets and towels, but everyone had already moved to Jan!!

sooo - how often do you wash? any wonderful systems going on in your homes?

we're supposed to be moving (but not getting confirmation on this yet ) and we'll have 3 bathrooms if it goes ahead.
unreal we've made do with one so far.
i'm worried about the extra work though!?

[Collinsky]

Originally Posted by wendybird

Things just keep going on here, it is sheer craziness! Most of the kids are done with their chicken pox, a few scabs linger, but we are able to go out in public again. Griffon started swelling in his face Wednesday so we went to the ER and found out he has cellulitus. It was so sad, he looked like a Brian Froud creature instead of a little boy. Then yesterday the puppy jumped on him and because of the cellulitus it ripped his face open. A frantic trip to the ER, traumatic visit, and 9 stitches to close him up, but we are really counting on this being it. We are done with illness and injury.In 12 years I have only done 4 ER visits, and 2 were the past 3 days. These are our first stitches and oh my goodness...that was horrid! He actually slept through the stitching, but he screamed bloody murder when they cleaned it out. Broke my heart.
So here I sit at the computer, finding a new home for our beloved hound pup who is just too big and too much for my family right now. It goes against everything I believe to give a dog away after we make them part of our family but I can't train him not to jump and it is hurting the kids.
I love being able to come on here and read baby love . I love picturing you all snuggling little fresh babes, or having preggo bellies. I love reading about all the children and what they are up to. Thanks to everyone for being cyber friends .

Goodness, I'm sorry your Ds went through that, how traumatic. The prep work before stitching can be horrible. With the cellulitis I imagine the area was already inflamed to begin with? Ugh. Poor kiddo -- and poor mama, it's hard.

I have no advice about the dog, just sympathy. I wish I knew enough about training dogs to offer some sage wisdom that would enable you to keep him. Sometimes hard decisions have to be made for the greater good of your family... I hope you are able to find a terrific home for your dog, and that you have a lot of peace in it!

[Collinsky]

Congrats Flapjack!!

[baltic_ballet]

Originally Posted by wendybird

Things just keep going on here, it is sheer craziness! Most of the kids are done with their chicken pox, a few scabs linger, but we are able to go out in public again. Griffon started swelling in his face Wednesday so we went to the ER and found out he has cellulitus. It was so sad, he looked like a Brian Froud creature instead of a little boy. Then yesterday the puppy jumped on him and because of the cellulitus it ripped his face open. A frantic trip to the ER, traumatic visit, and 9 stitches to close him up, but we are really counting on this being it. We are done with illness and injury.In 12 years I have only done 4 ER visits, and 2 were the past 3 days. These are our first stitches and oh my goodness...that was horrid! He actually slept through the stitching, but he screamed bloody murder when they cleaned it out. Broke my heart.

I hope your Ds is ok

Originally Posted by wendybird

So here I sit at the computer, finding a new home for our beloved hound pup who is just too big and too much for my family right now. It goes against everything I believe to give a dog away after we make them part of our family but I can't train him not to jump and it is hurting the kids.

It's a hard choice but if he's not right fit for your family then it's not fair to your family or to the pup. Could you do some more training with him at a puppy school?

Originally Posted by wendybird

Thanks to everyone for being cyber friends .

Aww! thanks for all your support and friendship Wendy

[rajahkat]

Welcome to the group, Guin!

As for sheets & towels, basically we have one bath towel for each person and they get hung to dry after daily baths. Washed aprx twice a week. Bedding I wash when dh is out of town, usually once every 3 weeks unless it looks/smells icky before that. I tend to do a top to bottom house cleaning while my dh is gone. Though I'm creeping up on 35 weeks pg on Tuesday and I'm huge & uncomfortable & lazy right now. So I'm not sure how much is going to get over the next two months or so.

MIL is still here & beginning to get on the nerves. Looking forward to some peace & quiet when she leaves on Monday. I need to get my tree down too.

And Alder got a hamster for Christmas so we have a pet in the house now. That's a first for our family & it's been fun so far. Other than having to get up & check constantly to make sure the baby isn't helping her to escape.

I bought some new warm jammies for the coming babe tonight. Slightly freaked out that the end is near! Valentines stuff up in the stores & babe due Feb 9......it's all starting to hit home.

Kat

[baltic_ballet]

Originally Posted by ~bookcase~

i posted at the end of december thread about washing sheets and towels, but everyone had already moved to Jan!!

sooo - how often do you wash? any wonderful systems going on in your homes?

we're supposed to be moving (but not getting confirmation on this yet ) and we'll have 3 bathrooms if it goes ahead.
unreal we've made do with one so far.
i'm worried about the extra work though!?

I wash clothes daily, towels weekly (everyone has their own towel (each of us has a different color) and we hang them out to dry after use) and sheets fortnightly (I rotate where I do half one week half the next).

I hope your move goes smoothly

[baltic_ballet]

Welcome Guin

The mothers are wonderfully supportive and great advice givers

[wendybird]

I wash 2 or 3 towels in every load, but I also do not wash whites seperately or towels or whatnot. I don't buy white clothes for this reason lol. Sheets are done on a rotational system that gets thrown out of whack every time a pullup leaks.We do 2 loads of laundry every day to stay on top of it, and 3 or 4 if there is sickness. We have 2 bathrooms but honestly...the kids bathroom has become a guest bathroom and my bathroom is the family bathroom, so the towels in the kids bathroom rarely need to bechanged. DH is the only one who showers every day, and we all share towels. I think we only have 6 total in the house.
Patriot(my puppy) has a wonderful new home.I drove 2 hrs to meet the guy who wanted him and am very happy with the fit.I still cried though, and Griffon said he didn't want him to go(so glad he isn't terrified of dogs now).
I am frustrated with myself for really really wanting to have a baby this year. I *have* a baby...I feel mostly complete...I just feel like there is another one waiting. I was so glad with Epiphany because I felt like I might finally feel "the peace" of being done. Now I don't and wonder if my wiring is messed up. Or maybe I am just hormonal.
Heading to bed to collapse, crying wears me out.

[crittersmom]

I wash the towels once or twice a week.I usually try to wash everything at night so that I can fold it and line it up to be taken upstairs in one go, otherwise it spends a week in the middle of the living room floor being tumbled out so that the baskets can used for scooters and ladders.If I try to get anyone to help fold there is so much supervision going on there isn't time for anything else, I don't remember really helping fold until I was 11 or 12 anyway.3 bathrooms are really, really nice ( I grew up in a 6 member all female household with just one) but it does get hard to really be able to clean sometimes.Oh yeah and on the moving no matter how thrifty you want to be shut down the kitchen first.I tried to leave it for last so that we could have more home cooked meals but it always ended up being super stressful even when i had just one kid.I seem to always find out I'm pregnant right befreo we move and we have to move again right after the birth too.
I am always tripping over toys and sidestepping lego arrangement and battles and no one ever sees the pile of things practically blocking the stairs that need to go up or down.
Glad you found a good home for your dog, it is hard to let go of a furry family member.SO sorry about the stiches that must have been hard for you both.
Welcome Guinn!!!It seems our 4th little guy is the one who can open child proof locks and scale what for the others were impossible heights to get at things.My tree is fake with all walmart,Kmart unbreakables and not very many of them.They just get rearanged every day by the kids. We are also very far from family and don't have any really close friends so most of our hoilday traditions are built on our own or reflecting the ones we both grew up with. We watch movies and play board games until the 10 mintues before and watch the ball drop or since we moved here go outside to watch all the fireworks.
I keep wondering if I really want anymore kids, We'll be 34 this year so four is most likely it for us and I don't really want a big age gap anyway so this year would be the deciding year.I do wish that DD had a sister to bond with since she is sooo girly and the boys have each other.Still not willing to do anything permanent and hormonal birth control works the opposite way for me.