CHECK IN HERE- December Chat thread! - Page 4

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by Stayseeliz 

This is my fourth and I've never taken all of them in. I took just my 3yo once for a quick visit and she charmed all the nurses but asked a TON of questions. I had to have an "exam" and she said "What he doing? Why he looking at your booty?" LOL I try to get my MIL or DH to watch them when I go to the dr. It's just too much to take them all in!

That is exactly how I feel about my one. Too much. Plus, it is nice to have *one* thing that is mine, ykwim? I have a local friend who trades babysitting favors with me if I can't get family to do it. That way we both get free babysitting from someone we trust.

Originally Posted by Oregonicmama 

Nerdymom-  Thank you so much for your pointers!  That is exactly what I needed.  When I get on there to assess the registry my head starts to spin!  I will get in there and edit soon before my SIL sends out the invites and registry info.  I have the boppy and nursing supplies on a Target registry.  My mother thinks I should have two registries, so I just threw a few things in that one, but I think that will lead to confusion.  Her logic is that not everyone will want to order stuff off amazon, some will want to go buy it in the store, but we are requesting people just have gifts shipped here so I don't have to try and bring a bunch of stuff home on the plane.  Plus I think if they really feel the need to go buy stuff at the store they can get ideas off the amazon registry.  I'm thinking about eliminating the target registry and only having the amazon one, what do you think? 

Also wanted to add that I have 3 older kids and I do not invite them all to hang out when the midwife comes for an appointment, not that they really want to anyway.  DD2 is 6 and she loves the midwife b/c she delivered her and she's really, really excited about the baby so she tends to stick around longer.  But I encourage them all to go out and play so we can have some peace and quiet.

The amazon list allows you to "reserve" a gift if you plan to buy it elsewhere. It is a very simple process, you just click on the "buying this gift elsewhere" button right below "add to cart" and follow the prompts. Easy peasy, no need to have 2 registries I think.

Originally Posted by mclisa 

The oldest 2 are in school, so we haven't brought them so far.  I would like to at some point so they could hear the heartbeat too.  My husband comes along and helps bring the 3 little ones.  It's a bit chaotic, but we both really want him to be there. 

If I could have my DH there it might be a different story, but as he works and it is just me. My friend is in the same situation, but she takes her kids. She doesn't mind it.

[nadia105]

The only appt I take all my kids to is the u/s one, because they all get such a kick out of it.  I have taken my 3 yo (DH was with that time too) to hear the hb, he thought it was soooo cool to 'help'.  I do like going by myself most of the time, I always have to go have blood drawn to check my thyroid, and that wouldn't be easy if it was just me and the kiddos.

[StarCat]

Holly- way to check that registry!!  Can we all post ours and have you review??  j/k but I really do seem to forget important stuff when I register. my brain gets stuck on the cuteness factor and I lose all sense pf practicality!

I have a sore throat and feel a bit icky. hoping it doesn't turn into more. or if it does I hope it just does it and I can get sick and be done with it.  This teetering on the edge of a cold kinda sucks!

I just got off the phone with the doula I used for my 1st 2 births.  She does hypno. and we will be getting together soon so I can pick up cd's and start practicing my hypno stuff.  We haven't 100% decided to have her at the birth since it is my 3rd.  I don't know.  She said we could decide later- she's super laid back.  I just don't feel like she did a lot last time but she is a very reassuring calming presence and last time everythng went so great.  It would be nice to have the same team there.  What do you guys think?  Who is using a doula? Do you need one for a 3rd birth?  Maybe I should make that its own post but I'm feeling a bit lazy. 

IN any case- now that I have an appt at birth center and have talked to doula this whole baby thing is feeling a little more real. 

HOLY CRAP I'M HAVING A BABY!!!!!

[Blanca78]

I love the registry feedback, too! I know you were kidding, StarCat, but it might be cool to have a thread where we post our registries. I haven't done one yet and probably won't get around to it for a few more weeks, but it would be neat--and very helpful to me as a first timer--to see what others see themselves wanting and needing. I feel overwhelmed by the whole idea of picking baby stuff--so many options--so it would be cool to see what others have in mind.

I just hired a doula last week! I'm really excited to work with her. It was a hard decision, as I loved both the women I interviewed, but this one has attended deliveries with my doctors before (and had very nice things to say about them and natural birth, so that was a relief!). Our first meeting is coming up in a couple weeks.

Baby is still not so much "kicking" as poking and rolling, I think--it's not as dramatic a feeling as I had imagined but it is a persistent floppy and ticklish feeling--I love it!

p.s. Oh yeah--I thought you all would appreciate--when I was home for the holidays my mom dug out a bunch of her old Mothering magazines from the late 70s/early 80s. They are a trip! Printed on newsprint and I love the ads. So much of what they talk about is still relevant today. They all have ads for a carrier called "Sara's Ride" that I haven't heard of but that my mom swears was the best baby carrier she ever had. It would be fun to track one down.

[nerdymom]

You know it's going to be a long day when you wake up with that burning, sandy grit in your eyes. I slept horribly last night. And DS woke up with his first nightmare at 2:30. He screamed and cried for about 10 minutes, and was restless the rest of the night. At least DH took him to MiL's house this morning, they won't be back until afternoon. Maybe I can get the house cleaned up and vacuumed, and the grocery shopping done. We are almost done moving furniture. I just need DH's help moving one tall bookcase into the office/sewing room (formerly Jack's oft abandoned bedroom and rarely used playroom). It feels good to make progress!

Yesterday I went to a household/clothing/junk swap at a friend's house. It was my first time going and it was a good time. I brought a 6 paper bags of stuff that I needed to purge and brought home a nice enameled dutch oven (the previous owner didn't like it because it wasn't Teflon!), a good daily devotional book for myself, and a few Dr Seuss books for DS who has an unholy love for "Green Eggs and Ham".

On the subject of registries, I like looking over them, if you all want me to. But maybe a separate thread for that, so others can chime in and we don't clutter up chat for others.

On the subject of doulas, I wish I could have one. It is just not in the cards for us right now. An additional expense is definitely not what we need. And I am not really keen on the idea of having too many people around either. Honestly, I almost want to UC. Is it bad that I feel like I don't even want DH there? Last time he was coming off the night shift and ended up sleeping most of the time!!! Despite the fact that I had been awake just as long as he had with contrax (but he still went to work...hindsight, ugh). I was awake for a solid 52 or 53 hours before they gave me delauded for pain when my epi wore off and I slipped into a drug-induced stupor for a few hours, only to snap awake and not be able to sleep again until my next dose. Yuck.

[mclisa]

What?  The dads aren't suppose to sleep through your labor?  That's been a running joke between my DH and me since our first. 

[nerdymom]

Honestly, if I hadn't been hypnobirthing I would have punched him at one point. But the hypnosis had me so relaxed and calm that I barely cared. Still...I did care.

[nerdymom]

The only thing I accomplished today was a big grocery shopping trip, a nap, and a roast beef dinner. Oh well. My son is going through a growth spurt I am sure. Today for breakfast he ate oatmeal with raisins, cookies and macaroni at Oma's for lunch, a snack (three hours after lunch) he ate 3 mozzarella sticks and a bowl of strawberries. For dinner he ate a pile of broccoli, a pile of roast beef, two servings of apple sauce. That was about an hour and a half ago. Just now he asked for more berries (finished off the half pound he started earlier) and another cheese stick. To me that seems like a huge amount of food! But he ate it all without wasting it, so I can't complain.

[preggers5]

I had my m/w appointment today and my uterus has grown 4cm in less than 3 weeks. I measured 6 weeeks ahead this week. I am 25 w and measured 31w. My m/w was like "look at you! you're way down there and clear up here". She said I'm measuring like women who are having twins because my uterus is measuring more weeks ahead every month. For example I measured 4 weeks ahead at 16w, 5 weeks ahead at 22w and 6 weeks ahead at 25w.  If I wouldn't have had a u/s 2 weeks ago I would just know I was having twins.   lol 

[Oregonicmama]

It does sound like Jack might be having a growth spurt!  Or he just loves food a lot... my 6 yr old is like a human vacum.  She wants a meal every two hours! 

I have been having really crazy nightmares for the past week.  Awful, crazy nightmares.  I sort of don't even want to go to sleep.  I keep waking up with a headache and aching hips, feeling like I didn't sleep, but not really wanting to go back to sleep either.  I know this is normal with pregnancy, but they really get to me.  I was told kava tea can help, and not eating before bed so I am trying both of those things tonight.  Hopefully it will be better.

Two of my good friends told me yesterday that they think I am having a boy b/c of the way I am carrying.  I was feeling like I looked fat for a while, instead of pregnant, but now that the belly is getting bigger they say I look skinny like normal with a basketball belly.  I guess I am leaning toward a boy too, but I was sure DD2 was a boy I am hesitant to guess. 

My best friend is due in a few weeks and having her blessing way this Sunday.  I am really excited to go celebrate her upcoming birth.  Hopefully we can get some cute pictures of our bellies together.  She just reminded me that by the time I have this little one (due April 28th) her baby will already be 4 months old!  Wow!  That makes my EDD seems much farther off.  But it's good b/c she will be passing all her outgrown baby gear down to me and she has nice taste.  :) 

DP started taking college classes this week and I am really happy for him.  His parents always tried to get him to go for something businessy, but he is an artist  so I have encouraged him to go for graphic design.  He's in some art classes and he is loving it!  He's been taking the kids to school on his way to school and I have been picking them all up (they have three different pick up times at three different schools).  So far it's been going well.  I actually got to do some house work the other day since he wasn't here to make me stop!  lol 

[justrose13]

Kava tea is ok?! I didn't even consider it... I'm so having some tonight! Yum!

[Oregonicmama]

My midwife said kava is questionable in the first trimester, but after that it's ok to have if you feel like you need it. 

Last night DP told me he thinks most of my nightmares happen after he gets up and leaves with the kids.  The thing is that's the only time I get real solid sleep, before 7 am I am up every couple hours to pee and I have a really hard time sleeping.  But I let him get me up at 8 today before they all left for the day and I really didn't have any nightmares.  And I did notice when I woke up that the dream I was having (i tend to go back to the same dream after waking), which had been good before his alarm went off, was just starting to turn bad when he made me get up. 

So... my conclusion is that kava, not eating for an hour before bed, and getting up earlier helps prevent the nightmares.  Hopefully this combo continues to work. 

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by preggers5 

I had my m/w appointment today and my uterus has grown 4cm in less than 3 weeks. I measured 6 weeeks ahead this week. I am 25 w and measured 31w. My m/w was like "look at you! you're way down there and clear up here". She said I'm measuring like women who are having twins because my uterus is measuring more weeks ahead every month. For example I measured 4 weeks ahead at 16w, 5 weeks ahead at 22w and 6 weeks ahead at 25w.  If I wouldn't have had a u/s 2 weeks ago I would just know I was having twins.   lol 

Wow! I have seen pictures in the belly thread, you are so slender you just look like you are all belly. It is very cute. :)

Originally Posted by Oregonicmama 

It does sound like Jack might be having a growth spurt!  Or he just loves food a lot... my 6 yr old is like a human vacum.  She wants a meal every two hours! 

I have been having really crazy nightmares for the past week.  Awful, crazy nightmares.  I sort of don't even want to go to sleep.  I keep waking up with a headache and aching hips, feeling like I didn't sleep, but not really wanting to go back to sleep either.  I know this is normal with pregnancy, but they really get to me.  I was told kava tea can help, and not eating before bed so I am trying both of those things tonight.  Hopefully it will be better.

Two of my good friends told me yesterday that they think I am having a boy b/c of the way I am carrying.  I was feeling like I looked fat for a while, instead of pregnant, but now that the belly is getting bigger they say I look skinny like normal with a basketball belly.  I guess I am leaning toward a boy too, but I was sure DD2 was a boy I am hesitant to guess. 

My best friend is due in a few weeks and having her blessing way this Sunday.  I am really excited to go celebrate her upcoming birth.  Hopefully we can get some cute pictures of our bellies together.  She just reminded me that by the time I have this little one (due April 28th) her baby will already be 4 months old!  Wow!  That makes my EDD seems much farther off.  But it's good b/c she will be passing all her outgrown baby gear down to me and she has nice taste.  :) 

DP started taking college classes this week and I am really happy for him.  His parents always tried to get him to go for something businessy, but he is an artist  so I have encouraged him to go for graphic design.  He's in some art classes and he is loving it!  He's been taking the kids to school on his way to school and I have been picking them all up (they have three different pick up times at three different schools).  So far it's been going well.  I actually got to do some house work the other day since he wasn't here to make me stop!  lol 

Jack is already big for his age. over 30lbs and 36 inches tall. He wears size 8 shoes and is a 3T moving into a 4T. I'm so glad I shop used for his clothes!

yay for friends with good taste! All my friends are holding onto their clothes for the next one. It's funny but we are all "quiver full" families so baby clothes are not often given away! I'm sorry you've had nightmares. I find I sleep better with a nice big pillow between my legs, it helps with the hip pain.
 

Originally Posted by Oregonicmama 

My midwife said kava is questionable in the first trimester, but after that it's ok to have if you feel like you need it. 

Last night DP told me he thinks most of my nightmares happen after he gets up and leaves with the kids.  The thing is that's the only time I get real solid sleep, before 7 am I am up every couple hours to pee and I have a really hard time sleeping.  But I let him get me up at 8 today before they all left for the day and I really didn't have any nightmares.  And I did notice when I woke up that the dream I was having (i tend to go back to the same dream after waking), which had been good before his alarm went off, was just starting to turn bad when he made me get up. 

So... my conclusion is that kava, not eating for an hour before bed, and getting up earlier helps prevent the nightmares.  Hopefully this combo continues to work. 

Not eating before bed?! I have to eat before bed or I wake up so hungry I can barely think straight.

[Oregonicmama]

Wow!  He is a big guy!    My girls are both really tall, but they're both really skinny (DD2 is the tallest and skinniest kid in her class).  They outgrow everything lengthwise and they have huge feet too!  It runs in the family... I wear a size 10 and my feet stopped growing in 4th grade.

Another night with no nightmares!  Instead I had happy dreams about shopping.  lol  I don't like not eating before bed, I wake up feel nauseous and weird.  But it's better than waking up crying and freaked out.  I sleep with two huge pillows on either side of me.  We call them Bill and Ted, they're my other boyfriends. ;)  But even with Bill and Ted my hips still hurt in the morning. 

Ah to be "quiver full."  I think that is really great!  I would have 20 babies if I didn't worry about money so much.  I'm tempted to keep going after #4, but my family would think we were crazy and I don't know how we could support so many people.  But I have always wanted 6 kids.... 

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by Oregonicmama 

Wow!  He is a big guy!    My girls are both really tall, but they're both really skinny (DD2 is the tallest and skinniest kid in her class).  They outgrow everything lengthwise and they have huge feet too!  It runs in the family... I wear a size 10 and my feet stopped growing in 4th grade.

Another night with no nightmares!  Instead I had happy dreams about shopping.  lol  I don't like not eating before bed, I wake up feel nauseous and weird.  But it's better than waking up crying and freaked out.  I sleep with two huge pillows on either side of me.  We call them Bill and Ted, they're my other boyfriends. ;)  But even with Bill and Ted my hips still hurt in the morning. 

Ah to be "quiver full."  I think that is really great!  I would have 20 babies if I didn't worry about money so much.  I'm tempted to keep going after #4, but my family would think we were crazy and I don't know how we could support so many people.  But I have always wanted 6 kids.... 

4th grade? oh my! I think my feet were done by 8th grade, they stopped at 9 1/2. It was horrible being the tallest girl, plus thanks to my sturdy Scottish ancestry I am built like a peasant, thick ankles and wrists, big hips, thick waist. It was hard being the "sturdiest" girl in my social circle. But I certainly don't mind it now. I think having Jack dealt the death-blow to my vanity, lol! I am praying hard that my feet don't grow any more. They grew another 1/2 a size up to a full ten when I was pg with Jack. I don't mind having big feet, but I really don't want to have to go buy new shoes all over again!!

ROFL at "Bill and Ted"!! I am itching with anticipation for our new bed. A king size. With a memory foam pillowtop. Today I was putting DS down for his nap and I lay there fantasizing about how much space we will have and how nice it will be to have new sheets and pillows. I'm keeping it very simple this time. All white linens. Cheap, easy to clean, never have to sort for a matching set. I was envisioning cleaning out my jumbled linen closet and getting so excited. Does that make me  weird? Or does that just make me pregnant? I cannot stop cleaning and organizing. I am on fire over here!

DH and I don't have the money thing all figured out either, we are just taking this one kid at a time and trying to trust that God will provide for us. I really love to see large families and I hope that one day we have one! But at the same time it is a little scary to think about. Raising a quiver full on an enlisted salary? We'll just keep on praying for guidance!

[Oregonicmama]

Cleaning and organizing is good!  I wish I was into it too.  But between the big kids and the dog I am not very encouraged.  Plus I am a purger.  I don't have a lot of stuff to clean or organize because I get rid of stuff all the time.  For instance, while my kids have 10 or 12 sheet sets between the 3 of them, we only have 2 for our bed.  Having all one color sheet sets is a really good idea!  I hate having different color pillow cases and non-matching sheets on the bed and that would totally solve that problem.  You will love having a king bed, there's so much room!  We are also getting a new memory foam mattress when we get our tax return... but I'm a little worried I'll ruin it with my crazy leaky boobs. 

I am German and Irish and was always "thick" as a kid too.  And also the tallest kid in my classes.  My family loves to tease and when I would walk out of a room my father would yell "Hey feet!  Where you going with that girl?"  haha... I'm able to laugh about it now.  :)  DP and I were high school sweethearts and I was just telling him the other night how when I met him I was instantly in love because he was the ONLY boy my age I'd ever met who was actually taller than me (I'm 5'8" and he's 6'3").

I love large families too.  I grew up an only child of divorced parents and was always jealous of our Irish Catholic friends the Richardsons who had ten kids (8 boys named Richard, by the way).  I am still one of the only friends I grew up with who even has kids, never mind 4.  I know the universe will guide us in the right direction as far as that goes. 

[mclisa]

We'd love to be quiverful too, but 6 has us maxed out financially.  Just looking to the future with trying to help with college costs and such, we would need to win the lottery to have more.  And since we don't spend money on that, we're out of luck.

I have one friend from high school who has 5 kids.  A few have 4, but most have 2-3.  I love hearing the people with 1 child complain about how busy they are.  I just sit back and smile at them.

I'm home for the week and tried to get a bunch of groceries since DH will be traveling.  The grocery store foiled my plans as they were completely out of the soy milk my allergic daughter can drink!  Curses!!!!  Hopefully I can either pick some up today yet or otherwise I will have to drag 3 of them into the grocery store later this week.  The last time he had to be gone we had a 3 day blizzard with school canceled all 3 days so I was glad I had stocked up and had a plan for meals. 

25 weeks today!!! I need to reorganize my bedroom (lots of Christmas gifts need to be stowed in the proper places) and then I will give myself permission to bring the baby stuff into the room.  I need to figure out where I'm going to put it.

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by Oregonicmama 

Cleaning and organizing is good!  I wish I was into it too.  But between the big kids and the dog I am not very encouraged.  Plus I am a purger.  I don't have a lot of stuff to clean or organize because I get rid of stuff all the time.  For instance, while my kids have 10 or 12 sheet sets between the 3 of them, we only have 2 for our bed.  Having all one color sheet sets is a really good idea!  I hate having different color pillow cases and non-matching sheets on the bed and that would totally solve that problem.  You will love having a king bed, there's so much room!  We are also getting a new memory foam mattress when we get our tax return... but I'm a little worried I'll ruin it with my crazy leaky boobs. 

I am German and Irish and was always "thick" as a kid too.  And also the tallest kid in my classes.  My family loves to tease and when I would walk out of a room my father would yell "Hey feet!  Where you going with that girl?"  haha... I'm able to laugh about it now.  :)  DP and I were high school sweethearts and I was just telling him the other night how when I met him I was instantly in love because he was the ONLY boy my age I'd ever met who was actually taller than me (I'm 5'8" and he's 6'3").

I love large families too.  I grew up an only child of divorced parents and was always jealous of our Irish Catholic friends the Richardsons who had ten kids (8 boys named Richard, by the way).  I am still one of the only friends I grew up with who even has kids, never mind 4.  I know the universe will guide us in the right direction as far as that goes. 

I'm tempted to go ahead and get rid of all the twin sheets and go all white with them too. I'm going to sew pink or blue ribbon around the edges of our pillow cases, because I *hate* it when DH steals my pillow. I am very picky about my pillow and he balls his up. And DS is always re-arranging the pillows on the beds so I need to be able to easily identify, in the semi-darkness, which pillow is mine. lol! As for ruining the mattress - get a good waterproof mattress protector! Between baby poo, breast milk, spilled coffee (DH!) and occasionally vomit, our mattress pad has averted stinky mattress disaster more than occasionally.

Originally Posted by mclisa 

We'd love to be quiverful too, but 6 has us maxed out financially.  Just looking to the future with trying to help with college costs and such, we would need to win the lottery to have more.  And since we don't spend money on that, we're out of luck.

I have one friend from high school who has 5 kids.  A few have 4, but most have 2-3.  I love hearing the people with 1 child complain about how busy they are.  I just sit back and smile at them.

I'm home for the week and tried to get a bunch of groceries since DH will be traveling.  The grocery store foiled my plans as they were completely out of the soy milk my allergic daughter can drink!  Curses!!!!  Hopefully I can either pick some up today yet or otherwise I will have to drag 3 of them into the grocery store later this week.  The last time he had to be gone we had a 3 day blizzard with school canceled all 3 days so I was glad I had stocked up and had a plan for meals. 

25 weeks today!!! I need to reorganize my bedroom (lots of Christmas gifts need to be stowed in the proper places) and then I will give myself permission to bring the baby stuff into the room.  I need to figure out where I'm going to put it.

Yeah...DH and I both paid our way through college and we don't feel that is an unfair expectation for our children either. We have a savings account for DS, and will have one for DS2 as well. We will help them as we are able, but I don't envision us paying for college. DH jokes that they have 5 options to pay for college: Coast Guard, Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force.

[JoyfamMama]

Oh my chickens! I had no idea there were so many quiver-full families on here Yay! Our only thing is that pregnancy has turned out to be waaaay harder on my body than I ever had in my wildest imagination, so I don't know how many we will be able to end up having biologically. I think it bothers me a little since we are so committed to adoption. In the process right now, in fact. So, we most definitely will have our quiver full one way or another As for money, DH and I both not only grew up in very large families, but also surrounded by more families than I can count with 11, 12, 13, 14 children. Nerdymom, you're right that NONE of those families paid for their childrens college. I can think of things a whole lot worse in life than having to pay your own way through college. But on the other hand, NONE of those children went hungry, did without clothing, medical care, or anything else to make them well-rounded adults and responsible citizens.

All that to say, althoug it does look scary at times thinking about it financially, DH are confident that we will be able to provide for and love ALL of our children-no matter how many

[Oregonicmama]

:  DH jokes that they have 5 options to pay for college: Coast Guard, Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force.  ROFL!!