Weekly thread, July 11-18

[jenfl]

Making puff pastry cups with chocolate chips and marshmallows as my apology to DD for being so grumpy today.

[loveneverfails]

I want to go back to bed now. Is it bed time? Please? I think I'd like some really thick, chocolatey brownies, but I lack the willpower to make them and the willpower to not eat the entire pan if I were to make them.

[Dena]

Ah, yes. Bed sounds sooo good right now. Sadly, too much work to catch up on today for that to be realistic.

Wasted yesterday trying to have a garage sale. I inherited my mom's kitchen. But I already have a kitchen. So I figured, hey, sell some stuff, make some money, maybe we could even get take out!

We made $3.50. The.whole.day. Sigh.

So on top of the emotional turmoil of going through my mom's things (the kitchen stuff is hard because that is where a lot of my childhood was spent with my mom, and good meals were a big part of our lives), there was the fact that the day was mostly wasted. Though we did have some nice visits with neighbors, so not an entire write-off.

One good thing - we traded our neighbors some individual casserole dishes for a nice wooden toy box for the girls' room that would NOT have been in the budget right now. And, lets face it, it will be YEARS before we have individual anything in our house!

Off to post some stuff on CL. Maybe I can find someone with fresh eggs or produce to barter...

[andlee]

I'm busy packing for a week long vacation to Montana. I'm really excited about having lots of helping hands with DS, and seeing my family. A little apprehensive about trying feeding him during landing and take-offs as I'm usually clutching the arm rests because I'm a little of an anxious flier.

I wish I were making puff pastries, though. Packing for a LO is not fun. What to take, what to leave? I feel like I'm not leaving anything Considering whether or not I should try to take his bouncer (could I check it?)

[jenfl]

http://www.puffpastry.com/recipedeta...eID=23993&rc=0

I made a couple of these as a sort of apology to Atlee for being so grumpy today (except without peanut butter and with more marshmallows). Atlee named them "chocolate and marshmallow hadoodle muffins" and enjoyed hers thoroughly.

[rhiOrion]

Originally Posted by jenfl

http://www.puffpastry.com/recipedeta...eID=23993&rc=0

I made a couple of these as a sort of apology to Atlee for being so grumpy today (except without peanut butter and with more marshmallows). Atlee named them "chocolate and marshmallow hadoodle muffins" and enjoyed hers thoroughly.

oh man, i've made those before- they're total yum

[GreenTeaGinger61]

Those puff things look really delish. I need something like this. I am really tense and grumpy today. I can't relax and really wish I could just crawl into a cave that includes no people. Not happening as we really need to go shopping. That should make me feel better (sarcasm here).

I can't believe R is going to three months old this week. Hard to believe. She's been very fussy lately. Oh and I'm rethinking the five year age difference. Piper has been verbalizing her dislike of not being a baby: "I want to be a baby so mama can hold me all the time."

[jenfl]

The hadoodle muffins didn't work for long. Less than 10 minutes later, DD peed in her pants for the second time today (after being accident-free for over a week). Then there was general loudness and then a nice time in the pool was finished up by a round of screaming that woke up my DH and resulted in her being put in her room for quiet time with some audiobooks.

Today just needs to stop.

[OneWithTwo]

jennings is 5 months today! time passes too quickly.

[loveneverfails]

Ginger, Piper is hysterical! My 3 year old has alternated between saying that she is Mommy's baby and saying that Mercy is her baby.

Jen, I'm so sorry things are rough today. Potty training (omg... just made the best Freudian typo ever wth "potty draining") deserves its own special circle of Hell.

[jenfl]

So we're trying something new around here. It's called the "calm down chair". Nugget just would.not.stop freaking out about little things. I know it's just her being 3, but it drives DH and I batty. DH finally sent her to time out for it, which I didn't totally agree with -- I try to keep time out for very rare occassions, he uses it a bit more frequently (but still only every week or two, although threatens it more often). Anyway, I didn't love the idea of time out just for being too upset.

So I dragged a child-size arm chair out of her room and put it in the living room with a book and a stuffed friend. I told her it's the "calm down chair", and if she's freaking out about something, DH or I will ask her to sit there until she can chill out.

I don't know how it'll work, but I'm desperate. I tried it myself this evening!

[crazyeight]

just subbing real quick. been a sick day here and r was fantastic and slept it all with us. love that kid!

[GreenTeaGinger61]

LNF: She's good in that she's not resentful of Rowena. she just wants to be a baby again. H was carrying her around in the sling the other. She LOVED it. But wow is she heavy. And I got some shots of her playing with the baby mat...like a baby.

Danielle: Sorry that you're feeling sick. Hope you recover soon.

Jen: Just hugs. Potty training is really hard. We had a calm down corner when my son was about five and we used it with my second daughter as well. We had a bunch of pillows, some books, and a blanket. They loved it and would often choice to be there on their own. I am thinking it might be a good thing to start up again.

AFM: Shopping was great! We went to our favorite Trader Joe's where the clerks are extra awesome. They were cool to our kids, joking around, giving them food, etc. It made shopping much less stressful. Then I made those pastry puff things. OMG. So good. Now I'm going to make some with melted chocolate and cherries. Mmm..with a glass of wine it should be perfect.

[sew_crafty_girl]

nak

will a baby who cosleeps from birth ever STTN in their own crib? i'm loving bedsharing now but worry i'll be in trouble when i want to transition her.

[Peace+Hope]

sewcrafty, i feel like i make sure charlie can fall asleep and sleep on his own during the day, at least for some of his naps. bedsharing at night is more for me, i feel like some of the time . so i feel like he will be able to transition at night when we are ready.

whew, spent two days in the car this weekend, so tired. it was charlie's first road trip, and he did really well! today he slept 3 1/2 hrs straight in his carseat.

[Dena]

Originally Posted by sew_crafty_girl

nak

will a baby who cosleeps from birth ever STTN in their own crib? i'm loving bedsharing now but worry i'll be in trouble when i want to transition her.

Absolutely. We transitioned both our older girls with no problem.

Sofia was sleeping in her crib from about 10 months. She would sttn some nights, and others would awaken and come in with us. By two she had her own bed and there was no turning back.

Ellen was transitioned out earlier, because she likes to sleep horizontally, and was pushing Tom out of bed. She was sttn in her crib by about 13 mos.

Funny thing happened today - Tom went to Costco with the older girls and Maya, so I could get some work done. Hannah was sleeping and so stayed here with me. Of course, she woke up before they came back, which was fine because I was ready for a break, and we had fun together. But both Tom and I agreed when he got back that it was very strange only having one. Personally, I kept looking around for Maya.

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by sew_crafty_girl

nak

will a baby who cosleeps from birth ever STTN in their own crib? i'm loving bedsharing now but worry i'll be in trouble when i want to transition her.

My sister's kids both coslept from birth and both sleep in their own rooms now. At first they transitioned to sleeping in the same room, which was cute, but eventually the younger one, my nephew, decided he wanted to sleep in his own room. There was zero issue with it; she just let them decide when they were ready and it went very smoothly.

[triony]

Originally Posted by andlee

I'm busy packing for a week long vacation to Montana. I'm really excited about having lots of helping hands with DS, and seeing my family. A little apprehensive about trying feeding him during landing and take-offs as I'm usually clutching the arm rests because I'm a little of an anxious flier.

I wish I were making puff pastries, though. Packing for a LO is not fun. What to take, what to leave? I feel like I'm not leaving anything Considering whether or not I should try to take his bouncer (could I check it?)

We took a carseat for DS to sleep in on our last trip and regretted it. THere was always someone who was willing or wanted to hold him. It was a total waste of space. Unless it's a really good spot for him to sleep/be calm, I wouldn't bother.

Jen - sorry for the rough day. Though I did laugh at the pee puddle playing. Sorry.

AFM: Much better night tonight. Thank you, T. Going out to a movie tomorrow night. SO EXCITED! DS took the "test bottle" from DH today with no hesitation. He even fell asleep in DH's arms. DH was really pleased and enjoyed it I think. DS is going to stay home with his Aunt who LOVES him, and will hopefully not be a problem child for her. We're paying her in banana muffins which I just made. Yum!
While pumping for the bottle, I discovered that my suspicions were right. My left breast produces WAY more than my right breast. I'm starting to get lopsided. So tonight I mostly pumped from the right side. Think that will help?
Off to bed.

[jsh7809]

Snacks: I'm enjoying delicious seeded bread toast with butter, Newman's mint chocolate choc. chip cookies, sleepytime tea. Those puff pastry things sound great, though!

Lopsided: my left boob has always been bigger and definitely is even bigger now! I think it produces more but it may just be that it's easier for us to nurse off that side because the right nipple is a bit inverted. I'm trying to nurse and pump more on that side in the hopes of evening out, the size difference seems to change daily.

Bottles: yay for a baby taking a pumped bottle sometimes! This has been great for me... she's spent a few (partial) days at her grandma's house which takes some getting used to for me but makes me appreciate her all the more when I pick her up. Plus the few times DH has gotten up with her is amazing... And I can always pump a full 6 oz bottle in about 5 minutes flat those mornings so the milk supply keeps up. Phew!

I'm starting to feel a little better from my rash (Zoloft-caused, me and my dr suspect) and am off the Z now... nervous about it but so far everything I'm experiencing seems like manageable, normal stress and worry instead of the crushing panic and anxiety. We'll see.
Sadly, though, I just talked to DH about HIS depression, stress, anxiety... it started in a big fight and led to tears and exhausted discussion.... he feels all alone and that if anyone knew how he really felt they would think he was a jerk. When he explained that how he feels is that he doesn't like how his life feels now, I told him that that's pretty much how I've been feeling, but the difference is that I have been asking for help, and every single person I've talked to has reassured me that that is NORMAL. That it's okay to hate parenthood and love your baby, which is I know how he feels. But I don't think he bought it and I"m not sure what to recommend. He doesn't want to see a couselor so there's only so much I can do. Normally I would spend a lot more time worrying and codependently hand holding but I am so overwhelmed on my own that he's kind of left to his own devices. Which is probably part of the problem.
I'm going to try to make sure that each of us gets an evening mostly alone this week, and that we get a date in there somewhere, too. He watched the baby yesterday for 11 hours while I worked, and she lost it a few times for an hour or so each, so I think that is adding to his stress. The toughest part is that I wasn't doing anything fun or for myself, I was out working incredibly hard to make my half of our living... but it's easy for each of us to forget that the other is working even when we're at home, doing childcare. And it's easier for both of us to assume it's my job even though I have a "real" job, because I'm the mom, and because I'm self employed.
ACK. I'm sure you guys are sick of hearing me complain... I'm sick of it too! First all of that pregnancy stuff, then the descent into PPD, and now that I'm finally feeling better, the Zoloft reaction. Did I mention I threw my back out picking the baby up the other day? Jeez... I'd love for our little family to catch a break.
Sometimes I realize that things are fine and that we will never have to go through that newborn hell again (hooray!) and that it's okay for us to give ourselves more time to adjust to being parents... but when I'm truly exhausted like today, it's harder to keep perspective.

[triony]

Jess, I feel for you. i really feel it when my DH has a moment of "argh" along with me. So i know how much harder it must be to have both of you suffering from stress and depression. Hugs from me!

LO one decided to get up early this morning. Sigh.