NOVEMBER 2010 - Welcome to Life With a Babe! - March Chat Thread

[HeatherB]

Hi, mamas! Welcome to our "new" home in LWAB! It's been a YEAR since we started this journey!

A year ago, my then-5-year-old son was diagnosed with a ruptured appendicitis. After emergency surgery and 5 days in the hospital, I came home with him. I had been home overnight two days earlier (while my mom stayed with him at the hospital) so I could be with my 2yo son. I'd taken a couple of pregnancy tests on a whim, despite knowing full well that AF was imminent. In fact, after taking the tests (which had this shadowy, evaporation line on them), I got out my Keeper so I wouldn't have to worry about doing anything at the hospital. The day we came home, I glanced back at those tests, still sitting on the counter, and was beyond shocked to see they weren't evap lines - they were PINK. And more tests, including an expired digital, all confirmed it. I was in disbelief!

I texted my MW (who had just been over, visiting) and told her we'd be seeing a lot more of her! I was in such shock that I couldn't bear to wait and figure out a better way to tell DH. I stuck the results end of the digital test in his shorts pocket, and eventually took the shorts to him, as I needed him to go get DS's pain meds from the pharmacy. He dug in his pocket to find his phone, made a funny face, got his phone out... but no test. Then he got dressed, went looking for his keys, made a funny face, again, and pulled out the stick... "What's this?" he asked. And all I could do was shrug and look like and say, "I have no idea!" in that "Oh. My. Goodness. I had NO clue!" sort of way. That was quite a week!!

And there's a whole lot more pink in this house now! It's been such an amazing journey: what is most likely our last pregnancy; our final birth; our first baby girl. I can't believe she's already 3.5 months old!

So, who else found out around this time last year? How did you tell your DH/SO? My sweet baby is sleeping and I'm in the mood to reminisce.

[mitintraining]

I started this journey on March 9th, the day before my 5 child and 2DD 1st birthday.  My cycles had been crazy 50 days then 15, then 60 days.  I had no idea when the next one was coming, but I was tracking fertility and it seemed ovulating 2 x each cycle!  We were avoiding fertile times, but that 2nd ovulation caught me off guard! I have taken two other tests which were negative and starting to feel like I needed to buy stock in EPT!  On the day before her 1st birthday party, I took a test while on the phone with a good friend back where we used to live, and wanted badly to return to!  It was positive, I was shocked!!!!!  I have always just told my DH, usually calling him at work and telling him, although I usually wait until past 16 weeks to tell my family, they are a little put off with our large family!  This time I took the test and laid it out on top of his pajama pants he wears to bed.  I was sitting in the room pretending to videotape our 1 yr old, but secretly taping him!  He open the drawer and looked in, then looked really confused, and looked over at me asking me if I was pregnant!  I don't know who else he thought would have put a positive pregnancy test on top of his pajama pants!!!  So it began!!  This pregnancy was wonderful, and crazy all the same time!!!  She is our third girl and sixth child, she is mellow and easy, but when she is tired look out!  I am amazed that all this time has passed and seriously thought I would be sitting in the prodromol labor club until I was 10 months pregnant!  What a crazy journey this year has been, we were blessed to move back home close to friends and family and have our 3rd home birth! It was great getting to know all of you!  

[kittywitty]

March 7, 2010 I took a test to prove myself wrong! My period was late but they were always irregular. I didn't feel quite right and after waking up nauseous and starving, I decided to buy a test. I didn't want dh to know and freak out (we had been using protection and NFP and he was "done"). So I bought one at Walmart and used the test in the bathroom as soon as I checked out! I told dh that night and broke down in tears thinking he would be irate, but he was happy. And here we are, 364 days later.

[LadyCatherine185]

I found out February 26th.. the day my first born turned 18 months. I was elated, we had been "not preventing." ;) I can't believe he is already 3.5 months.. wow it all has gone so fast. It's bittersweet.. the baby year is so so hard, but there are so many sweet moments and they are only tiny for such a short time..

Ian has been laughing/cooing/talking so much more recently. He is getting so big (close to 17 lbs now!!) and cuter than ever. I am so in love! He seems to be over his reflux, we haven't had to give him any zantac in a few weeks. He is "playing" with toys and trying to roll.. everyday we are seeing more and more of his little personality. He is so sweet, and I am so blessed! I am already starting to think about #3!! what is wrong with me!? lol.. not that I want to get pregnant again anytime soon, but I am excited for when that time comes again.. maybe it is because my SIL is pregnant, and I just found out today a good friend of mine is also pregnant. ;) 

[Stitches]

I will always remember getting pregnant with Clara as the 2010 Olympics were going on.  It was my 3rd round of IUI and the drugs were making me feel awful, so I was planning on taking a break if the cycle didn't work.  I also bought some pregnancy tests on line so I could indulge my POAS addiction...I used all 20 tests up because I loved watching the line get darker and darker each day, I felt like a chemist in my bathroom, lol.  A few days after finding out we went skiing, and I had an absolutely horrible day.  My morning sickness kicked in on the mountain, as well as some vertigo and I had to take a ride down with the ski patrol...twice.  I was beyond mortified and had to spill the beans to our ski pals so they wouldn't think I was a total twit...luckily they were understanding given the circumstance, and no more pregnant skiing for me no matter how early!

Now she will be 4 months old tomorrow!  I don't know how the time has gone so quickly.

[~Demeter~]

Let's see... I got my first faint bfp on Feb. 24th. I took A LOT of test in the next couple weeks because I had had a miscarriage 6 weeks prior to conceiving Marah. I was really surprised that I was pregnant again so quickly after the miscarriage, my hubby wasn't interested in TTC at all... so we weren't really trying, well.. he wasn't. I was taking what I could get ha. So hard to believe she's 16 weeks today. I'm so glad she's part of our family... she's a perfect addition.

Um... there's a part of me that could do this again. I'm not sure why. I should be done! I've had 5 you know?? I think we are done, though. Really. (that's what I've said the last 3 times >.>)

[fancyoats]

i got my bfp on march 20th, which i think was the first day of spring last year?  it was 11 dpo, which means that one year ago today, we were still dtd and hoping.  :D

[Earthy Mama]

My period had been crazy since my suspected miscarriage in Dec. 09. I never took a PT so I don't know for sure. I missed a period in Jan, but if I had a m/c in dec. then that would make sense. I had a normal period in Feb and then was a week late again at the end of March. I was talking to dp and told him, either I'm pregnant or something wonky is going on because I'm late again. So, I bought a three pack ept and it turned positive right away! Took another one just to make sure. We weren't actively ttc or actively preventing but my dear friend Nic (Demeter) had been telling me for some time that she and I would be pregnant together and our LOs are just over a week apart! 

[loonar]

I spent several years trying to convince my husband to have a baby with me. By December 2009 I'd basically given up... but when I broke down and told him as much, he shocked me by saying he was ready. Very very reluctant still, but willing to give it a go. Overjoyed, I spent January weaning off my medication and we started trying to conceive in February. I went all out from the get-go, tracking my cycles and obsessing over everything. On March 11 I got my positive test. It was so faint my husband thought I was hallucinating. In the following days it got darker. I felt so lucky and so thrilled to be pregnant on our first try. I'd already waited so long.

Now our beautiful boy is nearing four months old, and I've never seen my husband so full to the brim with love.

I had a wretched pregnancy. I spent the first half puking and the second half barely able to walk. And I got terribly sick this January with what seems to be celiac disease -- especially devastating news because I was a part time bread baker before I got pregnant, and had planned to go back. But here I am now with my baby fast asleep in my lap. His hand is tucked inside my bra and he smells like milk. I have everything I need.

[ocelotmom]

It still makes me upset to think about finding out I was pregnant. I love this baby like mad. She's a total joy and I'm really glad she's here. But it was a very very hard time emotionally.

[FarrenSquare]

One year ago today, I still didn't know *for sure* I was pregnant. My period was always irregular (between 32 to 48 day cycles) until I stopped eating gluten about 2-3 months before I became pregnant. It was a rough time for us, emotionally, as well. Dimitri's grandmother was dying and I didn't take a test until three days after she had passed away. The moment I realized I was pregnant I was sitting alone with her in her hospital room, it hit me as though she was trying to tell me herself. I should have taken the test then but I was trying to avoid the added stress, I suppose. It was such bad timing... I didn't tell Dimitri for four more days just to give him space to grieve, as they were very very close. That moment seems worlds away from now, how quickly things can change.

[my kidlets and me]

I had a miscarriage in Nov '09, so I was fairly anxious to be TTC again.  Spent December champing at the bit, spent January charting very carefully, and spent February strategically dtd ( we were trying for a boy).  I knew, 10 days before AF was due to come, that I was pregnant.  I tested March 9, told dh right away, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I can't believe it's been a year already!

[Red5Mama]

I was following the November DDC, but never posted. I wish I had now.

I found out I was pregnant near the end of February. I was only a day late, and DH and I weren't actively trying. I had a strange feeling and just decided to take a pregnancy test for the heck of it. Imagine my surprise when it turned up positive! I ran downstairs with the test, and handed it to him without saying a word. He broke out in the brightest smile I've ever seen. It was a great day.

Our son was born on November 6th. He is definitely the best gift we have ever received. 

[jensb]

I was on the fence about having another baby, so we were simply not preventing. Feb was the first month we didn't prevent at the right time. I figured, that being 37, I would have a harder time getting pregnant than before. This time last year, I came down with one of those colds that makes you cough and cough for weeks after. My older dd was a munchkin in a production of The Wiz, and we were busy going to rehearsals. Every time I coughed, I would pee a little - very annoying, but it made me wonder. On the day of the show, I had to sit through 2 productions (afternoon and evening) and try not to cough too much, so I was taking cough drops (and hoping I wasn't pregnant because I wasn't sure about their safety). The next day was the latest I would have expected AF based on my somewhat irregular cycle length, so I took the test and it was positive! This weekend we are going to see the Wiz again (only once, because she's not in it this year) and it will be a fun little milestone for me - the last thing we did together before finding out I was pregnant.

[mzminty]

We were planing on having another baby, but weren't going to start trying until late summer or early fall.  We had planned a fabulous vacay/belated honeymoon to San Fran/Napa for June.  My cycle was getting later and later and I kept telling my husband I was afraid I was pregnant.  He kept saying there was no way.  March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, my husband was at work and had asked me the night before to wait to take a pregnancy test until he was home the next day.  I sat down to lunch -- a tuna melt with red pepper spread and avocado on it -- and could barely eat, I was so nauseous.  I ran right upstairs and took a test.  I was very unhappy to see that it was positive, but not surprised.  My sister came over later that day and I told her and just cried and cried.  I knew I would have terrible n/v and that I would have to take a leave of absence from my new job (I had just started 4 months before) and that our carefully planned and eagerly awaited trip would have to be cancelled.

The next day I told me husband when he got home from work, and I started crying again and asked him if he was upset.  He said, "Of course not, every child is a miracle and a blessing.  So many people want to have a baby and they can't.  We're so lucky."  So just as I thought, I ended up getting very sick and having to take a leave of absence from work.  I gave up my part time position in order to go PRN, and we went on a short cruise to Canada in June instead (it sucked).

But despite the very rocky start, I feel that God intended for us to have our beautiful Maia.  Obviously I can't express in words how much I love her and am glad she's here!  I just kiss her head and her lips and rub her face next to mine and smell all the sweet little smells of her and think she's an angel.  I love when the two of us just smile at each other and "talk" to each other.  She's a very happy girl!  We're not planning on having another, but with no formal birth control being used, a surprise could always happen!  

[MisaGoat]

I don't exactly remember when we found out. I remember we were in the middle of buying a house. We were trying to get pregnant, I remember that the day I got my period was the day our bid for the house was accepted. That was my last period before I got pregnant. 

I can't believe how big all the babies are getting. Finn was 14 pounds 12 ounces and a little over 25 inches at his 3 month check up. He learned how to roll over almost two weeks ago and is so chatty. 

What else is going on?

[~Demeter~]

I took Marah in for a checkup yesterday. She is 15lbs 6 oz and 27in long. She's pushing up when on her belly, rolls over from back to belly often and occasionally gets from her belly to her back, She is chatty, too. She likes to complain as she is falling asleep... it's cute most of the time, lol, but sometimes (when I'm tired) I would like to skip the grumbling and just get there already! She's laughing and squealing and just a beautiful little soul. I'm so happy to snuggle up with her when I can. She's growing so fast. *sigh*

[my kidlets and me]

Nic - my ds1 was like that...always talked and talked as he was going to sleep.  I'd forgotten about that until you reminded me.  :)

I weighed Nicholas at the health clinic 1.5 weeks ago and he's 18 lbs.  His gaining has slowed down immensely.  He has a cold right now and has goopy eyes. :(

[peaceful_mama]

:)  Haven't been on much.  I found out 3/17---so *almost* exactly 1 year ago.  Baby Zayd was born 11/28/10.  Maybe some here remember me posting about his surgery.  He recovered from that just fine and now is this happy, easygoing, sweet little baby.  He smiles full-face adorable smiles when he wakes up and when I sing to him.  He laughs.  He's ticklish in his little neck.  He rolled from his back to tummy for the first time a few days ago, has not done it since.  He's starting to be interested in toys.  LOVES when the 'big kids' talk to him.  His 2 year old brother likes to kiss him, and has *finally* started using his name occasionally...but still he is "The New Baby" a lot.  :)  (To which my 6 year old says "STOP calling him that he's not new anymore!")  :P

He'll have his checkup Monday.  I figure since we don't vax, 3 months at the regular pedi and a 6 month with his surgeon should be sufficient.  We typically don't do the "well baby checkups"....with him though, I'll do a few.  As far as I know, he gets more surgery around his first b-day to repair his bottom, then another 2-3 months later to reverse his colostomy.

If anyone needs to know...I've discovered cloth diapers are WAY better for him---disposables, it runs right to the part where there's no absorbency and leaks all over his clothes.  He's just in bigger diapers than he would be without the colostomy, and I figure that's why he is rolling later than my other kids did.  They didn't work around as much bulk.  (I CD'd the 2 yr old full time and planned on it with him, I've just had to buy diapers that don't get ruined by the vaseline (trying to find non-petroleum locally) and that don't have exposed snaps on the inside.  (that part's not too hard.)  Fortunately, there's a great store here that does basically a cloth diaper rummage--I totally lucked out and found quite a few that work great for him for 3.50 a diaper!  :)

other than that we're good, eat, sleep, coo   :)

[corysmilk]

hi, I was in the DEC. DDc, but Jade was born on Nov. 19 Th

She has been a blessing to our family since she was born. She is singing, and "talking" and has rolled over a few times. I can't believe how fast time is going. oops shes awake.

this is the only pic. I had on hand. thats my 7 year old sneaking in for a pic too!!