APRIL 2010 Mamas, through September 18th

[Peace+Hope]

WELCOME
TO THE APRIL 2010
DDC IN LWAB!

It's wonderful to be able to continue to chat with mamas we know here in LWAB, and we hope anyone who has been part of our DDC at any time will join in whenever you can. We also welcome other moms of babies born at the same time, just help us get to know you.

Below is a list of us mamas and our little ones, as well as some extra info.
Please feel free to have this edited any time by posting your request in this thread in bold.

For now we will be a weekly thread. In the future we can lengthen the time of our threads as needed.

erickalynne, Jennings, 2/11, single mom to 2, Jennings born at 32 weeks by emergency c/s due to placental abruption

Amandamanda, Adam, 3/2, (had my dates wrong in the beginning and was actually due in march - hung out here 'cause i liked you all! )

shantiani, Astrid, 3/14. Between recurring miscarriages and then pre-eclampsia, we had to work for this baby! But now she is here and perfect and worth all of the trials.

Peace+Hope, Charlie, 3/25, late-onset Pre-E, induction at 37 weeks, no pain meds! grieving my home birth... maybe next time?

NH Mom, Charlie, 3/27

Oliver's Mama, Eli, 3/27/10

jenfl, Sprout, 3/31, home water birth, transfer at birth+10 hours, forced 3 day NICU stay for Sprout (and I) because of doctors practicing defensive medicine, ongoing breastfeeding issues due to tongue tie and high palate

Ivymae, Rebecca Joy, 4/1, Home water birth

rolenta, Naomi, 4/2

MaterPrimaePuellae, V, 4/4

Liz.Furtado, Maxwell Cohen, 4/5

Cecilia'sMama, Cecilia, 4/6, high BP at 38 weeks, avoided c-section!

finn'smama, Henry, 4/7, born at home

andlee, Ben, 4/8

RhiOrion, L, 4/8, medical induction due to Cholestasis of Pregnancy, WOHM

Dena, Hannah and Maya, 4/9

dhinderliter,R, 4/10

sewcraftygirl, Anna, 4/11

Snoopy5386, Kelsey, 4/11

Carita, Danita, 4/15 Tax Day baby , Fast and Furious NCB @ hospital w/MW and awesome doula!

GreenTeaGinger, Rowena, 4/15, midwife attended birth center birth

LenaC, Leon, 4/17, Born 16 days after his due date of April 1st. Held my ground, as doc wanted to induce for low amnio fluid. All natural hospital water birth, that lasted about 3 hours.

Jsh7809, Symphony, 4/18, PPD, emergency post birth surgery for vaginal hematoma

Triony, Tobin, 4/18

3tammuz, Aliza, 4/19, double footling breech, VBAC in a hospital

Bubbamummy, Molly, 04/21, breech with double nuchal cord leading to an 'elective' c-section at 39wks

Pepper44, Ada 4/21

Ann_of_loxley, Hamish born on the 22nd (all 12lbs 4oz of him - though do I really need to remind anyone of that? lol) - and his big brother Duncan born the 19th of September and is about to become FIVE years old! !

dogretro, dd2, 4/23, labored at home, birthed in the hospital, all-natural VBAC

mom2happy, baby girl Tess, 4/24

smeisnotapirate, Naomi, 4/25, HBAC! Shout it off the rooftops!

ebbb, Lucy, 4/27

Elecampane, Eleanor, 4/28

laughingfox, girl, 4/28, 2nd homebirth

LoveNeverFails, Mercy, 5/11, Winner of the Silver Birth Stool,
Accidental quasi-UC (midwife running in the door, but we caught head and she caught shoulders...) island birth (half in the water, half on land?), Survivor of Hostage Crisis 2010, NICU Edition, Mom of the only baby in NICU with toenails painted hot pink, and Remembering Nicholas, 11/2009

silverspook, Isaiah, 5/17, Awesome Rockstar Golden Birthstool Winner

TreefrogNYC, Benjamin Zephyr, 4/24, born at home after 7 IUIs and one m/c (3.6.09) -- husband, midwife, midwife's assistant, doula, and two cats in attendance!

[Peace+Hope]

hey ladies, oops, monday not sunday for our new thread

yesterday was my birthday! i turned 37 and am overwhelmed with gratitude that i got to spend it with my best present ever, charlie. he congratulated me by cutting his first tooth . we had a busy weekend, drove 2 hrs to visit some friends friday, saturday drove straight to MIL's house for a birthday dinner, and then hiking and hanging out with my parents sunday.

charlie has started NOT being happy in the carseat just in the last week or so . i don't get it. he s.c.r.e.a.m.s., even when i'm sitting with him in the backseat. he's good for 30-45 mins, but gets fussier and fussier, and then finally loses it. last night, we were on our way home and i fed him and assumed he'd go to sleep right away in the seat. 15 minutes later, after he slowly escalated, we pulled off the highway. poor little guy was barely able to keep his eyes open, but his face was all scruntched up and soaked with tears, and he was doing that deep in the throat rumble-cry thing. i just took him out and held him, and he fell asleep in 5 minutes, no nursing or thumb sucking, just laying in my arms heaving and sighing. aghhhhh!

greentea, yay for a solution to R crying during your class! btw, i'd totally check with the career dev. and/or student work program offices, and see what students are making. i can imagine a couple of hrs a week at decent pay being great xtra cash for somebody. i did it.

jsh, LOVE san francisco and the bay area, you lucky dog! we lived in the city for 4 yrs, but eventually left for exactly the reasons you mentioned that make it difficult to live there - $$$ and no family support. oh boy, would i love to live there again. one of my favorite places on earth is point reyes. hope you're feeling better today! oh, and ditto on early morning behavior/EC. i don't want to risk waking him up and then having him not fall back asleep. and to complicate things further, he usually poops while eating at that time. we should both just buck-up and try it one morning, sleep be damned .

jenica, i looked into an arms reach co-sleeper too, in case charlie doesn't take well to the kanoe hammock for transitioning. i actually asked in nighttime parenting for advice, and i found that as soon as babies are starting to get more mobile, the raised position is not safe on any size of the co-sleepers! for me, i realized it would be a waste to buy something with a function i won't be able to use for long/at all. and it so much easier to find used P-N-P type beds! also, the mini is 22lbs, but the larger one is 35 i think, heavier than a PNP i believe.

bedsharing, i certainly planned to do it through the newborn and young infant stage, and i could keep it up. however, it's not something my husband has ever been interested in for a longer term, and he was accepting of it pretty much mainly for the science behind it for really young babies. part of getting his buy-in was not dwelling on it as a long term option. he loves having charlie with us, but is also interested in transitioning. he leaves it completely up to me, and all i have to do is mention how much easier it is for me right now for him to realize he shouldn't bring it up for another month... btw, his primary concern is snuggling with me, which we've always done all night since we've been married. he's lonely over on his side of the bed .

carita, i need to get on that bm cube train. charlie loves icecubes for teething... i have bibs but am not using them yet.

sewcrafty, any idea what happened to the BM? have you defrosted any more? i tasted a little a few weeks ago, and it was so vegetable-y, i was surprised.... is that spinach or carrot i taste? fresh, my milk tastes much more sweet and just milky.

welcome liz! and little maxwell cohen too glad to have you join in post-preg.

carita, LOVE watching football. we don't have cable, so we use it as our excuse for weekly visits with my husband's parents in the fall. my husband IS doing fantasy football - he bought a couple of fantasy mags and spent a few evenings coming up with his draft strategy. he was happy with how it went. i don't really care who's playing, as long as it's a good game. we love going to the local highschool at least once a season too, and sitting near the band.

ivy, s with becky teething so hard! i don't understand why it's so different from baby to baby, do some have more pain, or are some just more distracted/distressed....

lnf, gah, sorry for the knee pain.

[jenfl]

Shiny new thread! Not much new here. Parttime ECing. DD is totally loving on Sprout and calling him her best friend. He still won't take a bottle/cup/sippy, and I had to give up taking DD to a Kindermusik class because of it. Doing great sitting up, lots of lunging for toys, desperately wants to chase the cat.

Today's DD and I's first day of "preschool" at home. It's our first attempt at something fairly formal, and it's a change for all of us. Wish us luck -- and wish DH luck at keeping Sprout out of our hair during it!

[loveneverfails]

Happy Birthday, P+H!!!

Jen, good luck with preschool!

Merce had her 4 month appt on Friday, but I forgot to post it. She's 16.1 lbs, and 26 3/4 inches tall! So, really really tall, and 90th percentile in weight. Talked to ped about the whole invisible brain damage thing, and he was pretty surprised that that somehow got thrown into the mix.

[jsh7809]

P&H - thanks for starting this! Happy birthday and happy toothday to Charlie . LOVE point reyes, one of my favorite areas on earth.

LNF - yay for the Mercinator overcoming invisible odds and growing so big and strong! She's bigger than Symphony by several pounds and inches!

I'm sicky-poo over here, bad bad sore throat. The baby seems happy and healthy though, which was my main concern. DH got up with her in the night so I could rest, however she's only satisfied with that situation up until about 5am. Even when he gives her a bottle of breastmilk, at a certain point she's like, hey, where's my mom? So she snuggled in bed with me from 5ish to 7:30 when we got up... DH said she woke up 3 or 4 times between 11 and 5, adn then with me she started wiggling awake every half hour or so. When will this madness stop?!

She's so cute and happy, though, I can't really complain. Last night we tried giving her a little (alchohol- and sugar-free) tincture to help with sleep and since I Had been "topping her off" like a crazy person and then squirted tincture in her mouth, we had one of those all-stomach barfs that we haven't had in months and that I did NOT miss. Despite my complaints a 4.5 month old baby is just leaps and bounds more fun and easier than a newborn!

Hope everyone has a happy Labor Day...

[loveneverfails]

Yep, my baby girl: She is Mercy, but has no mercy against the invisible conditions that try to thwart her awesomeness.

Jess, I'm so sorry you're sick! Sickness is not fun. And yes, they do get awfully fun around this age. Cute and interactive, but still too little to be DESTROYERS OF WORLDS!!!!

[rhiOrion]

Would whomever starts the new thread each week mind going over to the old thread and mentioning it? I bookmark it, so I was going over there and kept thinking you guys were being remarkably quiet- then I realized there was probably a new thread!!!

We had a big ol' party yesterday. There were like 10 babies or so. It was a blast, and L was exhausted and slept for 13 hours (including some nursing and diapers) last night, and has taken two naps today. We should party every weekend!

[laughingfox]

I've been avoiding housework all day, so I thought I'd pop in and say hi!

[Peace+Hope]

i thought about mentioning the old thread rhi, but was concerned if it was up at the top ya'll might not see the new one. if i start it again i will though.

jsh, yaaaaay, point reyes!

jenfl, hope preschool went well today. my SIL just started homeschooling her oldest, and her preschooler tags along with stuff adjusted for her. now the almost 2yo wants to participate

laughingfox!

lnf, woah, mercy maybe shoulda been named justice

[Dena]

Avoiding work here too. Bleh.

Happy birthday P+H!! Sounds like it was a good one!!

Not much going on here. Working a lot, trying to catch up.

Tom is still NOT working, which makes things... interesting around here. He is never allowed to retire, I'll tell ya. He is starting to rearrange cupboards. I go to find things and have to search. Drives me nuts. When he is not doing that, he is playing video games. I have SO much on my plate and feel so overwhelmed by everything, it is making me crazy to see him sit there for hours with the wii remote in his hand. I have tried asking for help with specific things - carefully thought out requests for things that would add $$ to our bottom line, including helping me market my firm, which he is much better at than I - and he just blows me off. But he denies being depressed and won't even consider meds other than his ADD meds. Sigh. I know it is temporary and will pass and he will likely be working again soon, but still... OK /rant

I am also not dealing well with my mom's death. I think part of my brain is still in denial. I keep having dreams she has come back to life - like in the dream I know she died, but she is back again - and they are really messing with me.

But, on the bright side, Maya and Hannah are too stinkin cute for words. Still not sitting up, but getting close, I think. Maya in particular is trying to pull herself up more when she is on our laps. They are both becoming very social and dislike being alone, but are happy just to hang out in the same room near us, and don't necessarily need to be in arms all the time, which is nice. Especially because if you pick up one and not the other, the one left sitting has a FIT.

I finally got a good picture of them together in the Moby - likely the last time they will be in a front carry together. Sniff.

More pictures of them here, for anyone not on FB.

[loveneverfails]

Dena, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how difficult it is to work through grieving about your mom when you have kids so young.

And the picture of Maya and Hannah in your Moby is so cute!! And I hear you about husband going nutty when around the house too much.

[Sorin]

Hey, Ladies!

I just wanted to check in. DD was born on 4/16 via c-section because my stubborn little girl was breech. Now she is an exceedingly happy, but still stubborn, 4 1/2 month old. She's been babbling SO LOUDLY lately, and she does it every morning for like 30-45 minutes in her pnp, which is right next to our bed. So DH and I just lie there looking at each other wondering what in the world she is talking about! We at least figured out who she is talking to --- the animals on her mobile.

She sits up well when supported, and she is beginning to hate tummy time a little less nowadays, but it still is not her favorite thing. She doesn't really roll over, but she can do it when placed on her back on top of us when we are lying down. As a visual--we lie down on the bed and place her across our body at our waist (like a lowercase "t"). Once we let go of her, she kicks her legs up and out to her right hand side and uses the momentum to roll up our belly. It's still not the easiest thing in the world for her to do, but when she does get all the way around, she smiles like she is so proud of herself! It's super cute. She not interested, however, in rolling over when just placed on her back on the floor or on the bed. She's more interested in waving her arms and legs around and babbling . . . LOUDLY!

It's been great reading about what everyone else has been up to!

[loveneverfails]

Welcome back, Sorin!!

One of my friends just gave birth today, and ouch.. would not want that labor. Natural, birth center birth, 9 lbs 2 oz, baby boy who WRAPPED HIS ARM AROUND HIS NECK and mom still gave birth vaginally. She was just screaming about how she was giving birth to an anvil.

AAAAHHH!!!! That might be enough to keep me unpregnant a whole other 6 months just thinking about that one!

[rhiOrion]

My birth class instructor's son came out like that. Ouch. He and his wife were actually in our class, and she really liked to tell that story

L is sitting up pretty well now, but still face plants sometimes. Today I actually stood her with her arms on the couch and she stood for a minute or so. I've also noticed that despite the fact that her arms aren't as strong as her legs she can stay pushed up if I put her like that, but she can't push herself up off of her stomach.

[snoopy5386]

Happy Birthday P+H!! And Happy Labor Day to everyone else. It is hard to imagine a year ago, all our babies were soooo tiny and all of our worries back then were so different, what a difference a year makes.

There are times when I feel frustrated by having such a small babe and how restricted I feel sometimes, but then I stop myself and remind myself that she'll only be this little for one year - one spring and summer that are already over and one fall and winter to come and that I should just sit back and soak up every second.

This weekend I was feeling this frustration - I was outside and DD1 was happily playing in her sandbox and I was holding DD2 looking at the mess that is my back patio and wishing I could just *do something* - weed, clean up, fix the patio furniture, etc. And then I stopped myself, realized that next summer I will be able to do those things, but I won't be able to hold a snuggly baby on my lap and who *cares* if the patio has weeds anyways and I just snuggled Kelsey closer, sat back and enjoyed the view.

So those of you with 7 pm bedtimes, how exactly do you do that? Over here, I consider it a good day if both kids are asleep by 9, norm is 9:30ish. By 7 we are usually either just sitting down to dinner or finishing it up, and then there is bath, stories, teeth, jammies, etc. Laying down with the older one, nursing the younger one. Even on a "good day" when DH is home early, we don't sit down for dinner until 6, normally though, I wait for him to come home before I cook so we usually eat between 6:30-7. When do you ladies eat dinner? Do you eat without your DH or does he just come home exceptionally early? I'm realizing more and more that I'll never be an early to bed, early to rise person, it is just not my personality, but I'm up for tips.

[jenfl]

"Preschool" went great! DH held onto Sprout, so I only had to duck out once to try to nurse him. DH got him down for a nap on some sheets on the floor of his eventual-room, but he didn't sleep well there. I think we are going to have to move him into his room sooner rather than later to give us free access to the master bedroom again. Now, to clean his room of all the CRAP that's accumulated there as he's outgrown it....

Now that Sprout is very much out of the newborn stage and firmly out of the 4 month regression, I'm just totally, deeply smitten with him. Things were just so hard with DD at this point (leaving my career, moving across the country, trying to track down the reflux/dairy issues, little sleep) that it, comparatively, feels so easy to love on him. He's cheerful and sweet and just so goofy!

And those pudgy, smootchable cheeks! Love those!

[jenfl]

Originally Posted by snoopy5386

So those of you with 7 pm bedtimes, how exactly do you do that? Over here, I consider it a good day if both kids are asleep by 9, norm is 9:30ish. By 7 we are usually either just sitting down to dinner or finishing it up, and then there is bath, stories, teeth, jammies, etc. Laying down with the older one, nursing the younger one. Even on a "good day" when DH is home early, we don't sit down for dinner until 6, normally though, I wait for him to come home before I cook so we usually eat between 6:30-7. When do you ladies eat dinner? Do you eat without your DH or does he just come home exceptionally early? I'm realizing more and more that I'll never be an early to bed, early to rise person, it is just not my personality, but I'm up for tips.

snoopy -- Our situation is different from the usual DH-works-9-to-5. My DH is home Monday-Thursday evenings and nearly totally off the board Friday-Sunday.

M-Th (both DH and I), I cook beginning around 4:30pm, we eat between 5 and 5:30pm, after that play or read until 6:20, then DH does both baths at the same time, Sprout to me to nurse to sleep at 6:45pm while he gets Nugget out of the bath and ready for bed, then after Sprout is down I come into her room and DH and I read her stories.

F-Sun (just me), we eat leftovers from the rest of the week. Again, dinner between 5 and 5:30pm, play or read, dual bath starting at 6:20. Out at 6:45, read to Nugget while Sprout hangs out on the floor and stares up at the flashing rocketship nightlight on her ceiling. Tuck her in, then nurse Sprout to sleep.

The first few months of doing bedtime solo were a disaster. But everyone is used to it now, so it goes smoothly. We're really relaxed on scheduling the rest of the day, but we're pretty strict when it comes to bed routine. A 10 minute deviation is a big deal for us, a lot because Nugget totally breaks down when you keep her up past her bedtime. Now, she doesn't fall asleep at 7pm... she can be in there, telling stories to herself and kicking the wall for up to an hour. But she's happy, that's her downtime.

PS -- Happy birthday, P+H!

[sew_crafty_girl]

I start cooking dinner at 5 and start annas bedtime at 7:30. Dh is developing a compex over how fussy she is for him at night if he tries to help and go to her. He's even started talking how we have to do CIO so now it's my task to prove that we don't have to do that and work harder at transitioning her to her crib. He's so supportive in other areas but this is starting to get trying. Blah. Cosleeping is so easy. Sleep training is not.

DH said for me to pick out a bread machine or ice cream maker for my bday this week.Items I've been hinting at. I'm leaning towards bread maker. I just hope I'll use it.
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[jenfl]

sew_crafty_girl -- That sucks that you guys aren't on the same page. Can you compromise, maybe put her in the crib but keep the crib in your room? That's working well for us.

[ann_of_loxley]

Might as well jump in!
You can add me to the list!

Ann_of_loxley - Hamish born on the 22nd (all 12lbs 4oz of him - though do I really need to remind anyone of that? lol) - and his big brother Duncan born the 19th of September and is about to become FIVE years old! !

(my birthday is the 13th! ).... I like Virgos and am very happy Hamish held on a few extra days to make it to a Taurus! lol

We already have two teeth here and two more are just coming in!

I am horrible with these types of threads as I can never keep up - but I will try!

If I were lucky to have another baby, I would deff aim for this time of year. April was perfect for having a baby!