Chat Thread- 7/25-7/31 - Page 2

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by yellowdart 

Another question:  I'm eyeballing these realllly cute Hanna Andersson baby jackets that are cheap on Ebay, thinking about getting one... but how often do babies really wear sweaters/jackets?  Those of you with baby experience:  how do you dress them for cool/cold weather from 0 to 6 months?  Are waist-length fleece jackets nice, or is it more convenient to just go with a full length bunting/bodysuit or blanket?  We're in Iowa, so we'll have cool fall weather then cool to very cold winter weather.  

Well, it depends. If you are thinking about for carseat- skip the bunting/bodysuit stuff. They are way too puffy and interfere with the harness so shouldn't be warn in a carseat. How I do it (my ds was born in October too so I'll do it the exact same way this time) is to put baby in a onesie and diaper, outfit and then a sweater (not puffy) with a hat. Then put in carseat and cover with blanket (or if you aren't using a bucket then cover baby with a blanket then bring outside to the carseat). My ds had one of those fleece Hanna Anderson jackets (it was orange with a zoo theme and a pointy hat! So cute!) and it was perfect. Not too thick to interfere with the harness straps, but good enough to keep the chill off (I still covered the carseat with a blanket).

If you are thinking of situations not using a carseat (taking baby outside, going for a walk in the stroller, etc) then a bunting might be the way to go. My ds had one when he was young but we really only used it for playing in the snow (first sledding ride was at like 2 1/2 months old ).

[~pi]

Originally Posted by AKChix0r 

It's not me I'm worried about. DH is the one that freaks out every time regarding their gifting. His parents constantly throw money at their kids and grandkids and never do anything for themselves. He's already told them to hold onto the cash in case we actually have a legit need this winter (he gets less hours at work, etc), but they aren't really listening. Also, I've only met my inlaws once, and this is the first time they will ever be staying in their son's house. I just am anxious about how things will go.

Gotcha. Well, good luck to your DH, then. IME this is the kind of thing that you just cannot win, so it's less stressful to just find other ways to deal with it. (E.g., you hold onto the money until the winter in case you need it.) I hope the visit goes well, whatever happens on the money fight front!

LaBruja, that's so great about your flexible return schedule and your DH being able to bring you the babe once a day. FWIW, assuming no major breastfeeding issues this time, I am planning to introduce a bottle around 4 weeks, which is the advice I have been given by everyone I know who successfully breastfed and while WOH. I would think 8 weeks would be plenty of time to get the system going.

[~pi]

Originally Posted by yellowdart 

Another question:  I'm eyeballing these realllly cute Hanna Andersson baby jackets that are cheap on Ebay, thinking about getting one... but how often do babies really wear sweaters/jackets?  Those of you with baby experience:  how do you dress them for cool/cold weather from 0 to 6 months?  Are waist-length fleece jackets nice, or is it more convenient to just go with a full length bunting/bodysuit or blanket?  We're in Iowa, so we'll have cool fall weather then cool to very cold winter weather.  

DS (born in summer, living in Canada) wore sweaters/jackets all the time through October/November and then again in the spring. In between, fleece buntings like this on mild days and, when it got really cold and/or we were doing things outside, a proper snow bunting like this. And we did put him in the car seat in a bunting; we just kept the straps as tight as they were without the bunting. It meant struggling to strap him in, but that way he didn't freeze in our cheap, poorly heated car.

[~pi]

My QOTD: Is anyone else just cranky as all get out? It is taking all my self control to keep from snapping at my family, friends, coworkers, etc. these days.

[saoirse2007]

- we live in Canada and ds was a Jan baby...used fleece suit (from MEC...lol) and wind cover for carseat all winter.added a blanket under the carseat cover when needed

-as for pumping and bottles...I wish I had done it earlier with ds....did not do it until after 6 wks and he never took one...would not drink from anything but my boob until around 14mos!!!

with dd I started a bottle at 3 weeks when I went back to work part time...dh and ds got to feed her...it was really nice for them...and SIL (who was not able to have kids) got to feed her when she came to visit from Newfoundland.

dd is still on the boob (will be 2 in 3wks) and ds (4 1/2) tried to latch on after I had a shower this afternoon...where di that come from....

[RosemaryS-F]

Yellowdart, I'm not sure I'm "average" but I always put Pascal in sweaters and jackets when he was tiny. And Hanna Anderson stuff is usually good quality (as you know.)

[emmaegbert]

Originally Posted by AKChix0r 

LaBruja, my mom is the same way. I read once that labor is the hardest on the mother of the woman in labor - it's just too hard to see "her baby" in pain.

This is what my mom said after being there during the birth of my first. But she was also very glad she was there. And she was great, 100% unobtrusive. Actually she was the first to hodl DS b/c he had to be "stimulated" (massaged) to start breathing and the darn nurses did that away from me, meanwhile I was still delivering the placenta. So DH was with me and mom was with baby and I think I was less panicked than  would have otherwise been.

Originally Posted by yellowdart 

Another question:  I'm eyeballing these realllly cute Hanna Andersson baby jackets that are cheap on Ebay, thinking about getting one... but how often do babies really wear sweaters/jackets?  Those of you with baby experience:  how do you dress them for cool/cold weather from 0 to 6 months?  Are waist-length fleece jackets nice, or is it more convenient to just go with a full length bunting/bodysuit or blanket?  We're in Iowa, so we'll have cool fall weather then cool to very cold winter weather.  

Originally Posted by RosemaryS-F 

Yellowdart, I'm not sure I'm "average" but I always put Pascal in sweaters and jackets when he was tiny. And Hanna Anderson stuff is usually good quality (as you know.)

I like jackets/sweaters for babies, and they can be hard to come by. Makes it easier to layer, taking a whole garment on and off a floppy newborn baby is a PITA. I also do not like onsies or on-piece stuff. I like separate pants and long gown or longer shirts. SO much easier for diaper changes IMO. Also when you have the inevitable poop blowouts or spitup explosions, sometimes part of the outfit is still wearable.

In NYC most people don't drive, and certainly not regularly. They mostly use these sort of sleeping-bag looking things that stay attached to the stroller, and baby is dressed warmly but not outrageously so, and popped in there. Makes a lot of sense. I am sure they make them for carseats too. The straps are inside the blanket/pouch. This past winter I didn't have one (they are pricey and I was too lazy/disorganized/busy to manage making one). we had a bitterly cold winter and I mostly stuffed my then-1yo in her ergo inside my parka. This winter I am going to actually make a panel that can zip in the front of a winter coat and I think it will be much more comfy for us all, and I expect baby will be in the wrap or mei tai in a front carry all winter, and 2yo will be in the stroller (maybe I'll finally make her a cozy cover for that... I even have some very thick fleece at the ready for the project. As for the following winter... ack, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Definitely not looking forward to wrangling a 1yo and a 3yo in bad weather on foot.

Originally Posted by ~pi 

LaBruja, that's so great about your flexible return schedule and your DH being able to bring you the babe once a day. FWIW, assuming no major breastfeeding issues this time, I am planning to introduce a bottle around 4 weeks, which is the advice I have been given by everyone I know who successfully breastfed and while WOH. I would think 8 weeks would be plenty of time to get the system going.

baby may get most of the feeding in with one good feed during the middle of the day- especially by 3 or 4m when they start to consolidate their feeding. Two of my IRL friends who went back to work around when baby was 4m did only two pumping sessions a day- one at work at lunchtime, one in the early AM (most women make more milk in the early AM). During weekends they kept up the early AM one and that went to freezer supply, but the weekday lunchtime pumping was just used fresh the next day.
 

AFM: DH may be applying for a second job. Its working for a theater (which is what he was doing before we moved) and I suspect not full time and mostly nights/weekends, and its just for a couple of months, so he may be able to do it together with his current job (which is M-F 7am-4pm). Its going to be a really hard winter for us both if he does do it... but we really are so tight for money that its awful... maybe it would work...

[Amy May]

The wool mattress...  Well, I'll give you specifics when I figure that out for sure!

Here is our inspiration for the co-sleeper.

http://www.yes-have-some.com/2010/02/co-sleeper.html and http://www.yes-have-some.com/2010/02/co-sleeper-construction.html

They made alpaca felt for the sides, and then sewed it into a mattress.  I made a pair of worseted wool slippers before that I felted, but I don't know if I'll felt the wool myself (and we have no alpacs in our backyard either).

Our plan so far is to get a wool blanket from an army surplus store, as stiff as we can find, and layer it, and then sew a cover to make it one solid piece.  We'll make another wool cover, and then our own fitted sheets (probably just rectangles with elastic sides to slide over mattress.  Mattress will probably be 1-2" thick, and we might consider some sort of support inside the mattress if we need it to be thicker.  Our objective is to avoid chemicals.  Also, since the base of the co-sleeper is 20 x 36, we have to make one somehow in order to get the size right.  The unit is 30" tall (which is like 4" taller than a regulation crib), but after the mattress, it'll have a max interior height of 27-28" or so.  Again, it'll attatch to our bed for stability, but will have its own legs for support.

Here is a picture so far. 

Originally Posted by RosemaryS-F 

Amy May, please describe how you will make your felted wool mattress? That sounds...amazing.

[Poodge]

QOTD: I will most likely be listening to Hypnobabies tracks, but I have thought of a few songs as well - Let It Be - The Beatles, With My Own Two Hands Jack Johnson, You and Me Dave Matthews Band, and the two songs (one for a boy and one for a girl) that inspired our name choices. (DS #1 name also was inspired by a song.) On the way to work today I heard Lady Gaga's Born this Way and thought that could be a fun choice or annoying depending on the mood.

QOTD #2: I go back and forth between being paitent and wanting to lose it. The other day I snapped at the dog and felt bad. DS was throwing a fit, would not get dressed, I was alone with him, I was hot and the dog would not stop following right behind me so I kept tripping over her and I finally just said through clenched teeth "STOP FOLLOWING ME!!!!" Poor doggie.

[LaBruja]

QOTD#2: Oh my goodness, yes...it's just bizarre how quickly my mood changes these days. I went to a yoga class last night and was feeling just dandy, then got home and totally ripped into DH...I did have a reason, but my response was totally disproportionate to the offense and was just inappropriate. I feel terrible, especially since he just dislocated his shoulder AGAIN (although honestly, I think that's part of the reason I was annoyed...his shoulder pops out at the drop of a hat, and yet he insists in engaging in activities that are almost guaranteed to cause another dislocation).

Cold weather: with DSS we mostly just used warm sweaters and sweats (with babylegs and warm booties), and tucked blankets around him when in the carseat. If we were out walking I'd usually just put him in the moby and zip my coat up over both us, which kept him nice and snuggly warm. My sister makes these awesome hooded fleece baby sack things (sort of carrot shaped with arms)  that she customizes to work with carseats so you don't have to juggle blankets and baby every time you're strapping them in or taking them out...I'm planning on asking her very nicely if she'll make one for this baby

Pi, thanks for the reassurance about going back to work and pumping...I've been nervous about it but it does seem like two months should be plenty of time to get everything working smoothly. Now I just have to decide on a pump...eek! 

[starling&diesel]

QOTD #2:  At this point in my pregnancy with dd, I got super annoyed and grossed out by my (normally beloved and adored) cat and dog.  I start to look at them and think how dirty they are, and how much time and energy they take (they don't), and how I wish we'd never brought them home in the first place (What?  I LOVE them!).  I'm perplexed by this, because outside of about a five week period starting about a week ago in both pregnancies, I love our cat and dog immensely!   So I get snippy towards them.  And I have to watch my tone in general, with pretty much everybody.  Especially random strangers who annoy me or do something that I think needs some commentary.  And I'm more bitchy to DP, who is friggin' tireless saint who doesn't have a foul bone in her body and puts up with my moods as beautifully as if we were dancing.  So why am I being snippy?  Meh, dunno.  Hormones are no excuse, but are likely the culprit. 

[yellowdart]

Thanks for all your lovely enabling responses regarding baby sweaters.   HA jacket has been ordered.   

I love cheap used baby things.

QOTD #1:  I don't have a playlist yet, but I think it will resemble my normal work selections:  Leonard Cohen, Daft Punk, Animal Collective, Broken Bells, etc - I think it will be good for me to listen to albums I really know well, and ones I find relaxing/invigorating.  I definitely see myself wearing earbuds and focusing on music and blocking out other things while I'm in L&D.  I will ask to not be interrupted or talked to too much.  

[Mainebirdgirl]

QOTD2- YES! So grumpy! I am getting so tired of the folks that are working for me- just the little lame excuses and feeling a little lack of respect lately. I finally snapped today and said that I was tired of feeling constantly questioned and like my decisions are not respected. I really didn't want to say things at the time, but someone was questioning literally everything I said. I think it made the person realize how their behavior was inappropriate, and I later apologized and we talked it out. I was horrified because my fuse is shorter than normal and I didn't plan out what I was going to say, but I guess it worked out. I wasn't the raving lunatic that I WANTED to be- I at least was keeping my cool as I expressed frustrations, so I guess it's OK... right? 

Part of my frustrations also stem from the wicked nausea that has returned complete with puking. UGH! 

You all are reminding me that I have to start thinking about that whole labor thing... yikes! I had been holding back since 50% of twins are delivered by c-section, but it's looking like I'll have head down babies if they stay how they are! So- I need to prepare.

As for all the visitors during birth- as a newbie I don't know what I'll want, but the thought of my mother being there is terrifying. I definitely feel like she'd be a hindrance to the process... I can imagine her talking about her 'easy' medication-free birth as I struggled along... oy. I love my Mom and we get along fine, but I definitely don't have that kind of relationship with her.

Amy May- that cosleeper you guys are making looks awesome!!

[AKChix0r]

QOTD2: I am Queen Bitchy of Grumpville. I am tired and just want to go live in a cave somewhere with no one bugging me. Work annoys me, chores annoy me, and this whole house-buying thing seems more of an inconvenience than a relief.

Oh, and speaking of, my landlord lives out of state and comes up to (illegally) hunt this time of year. We had a knock on our door at 6:25 this morning!!!!! It's him going, "What's for breakfast? Hahaha heard you guys moving around in here. Hey (DH), I need you this afternoon for a project I'm working on blah blah blah." I almost went through the roof. He's lucky I was still getting dressed upstairs or it would have been ugly.

[puente]

Thanks for all y'all.  It's very nice to have one place to go where I'm not the crazy one, the slacker one, the mean one, the crying one, or the pregnant one.    I have been totally emotionally unstable lately, and trying to keep it under control (or at least vaguely reasonable) means enormous stress for me and very out-of-nowhere interactions with those around me that confuse the hell out of them.   Except for DH, he's getting the most unadulterated version of me, and I know I'll hear about it someday, but for now he's been very good about it all. 

Mostly I'm cranky about work-- I feel like I'm being treated like I'm preparing for a 3 month vacation, so I should "pre" do all my work in addition to doing 50% more than my fair share now and I should be happy about it, yet I'm still being treated like a slacker for taking that time.   Someone actually asked today if I was going to take ANY TIME.  Really?  Seriously?  Can you imagine a world in which a woman pushes a child out of her body and is back the next day?  Ok, yes, that has happened, but that just shows the strength and fortitude of that woman and the ridiculousness of the world we live in, it does not give you, Miss, permission to ask if I'm "taking time" like that's a Problem for you.  And now I've got clients asking for written transition plans, and questioning the capacity of the person who will be covering for me while I'm gone.... and that person chooses not to attend meetings with the client, help me prepare for meetings, or generally learn anything about what he'll be doing while I'm gone.  (By the way, even if I wasn't going on maternity leave, it is his job to do all of those things.   He is just consistently busy with other things and therefore, is unavailable, so I do, as always, all the work.) So as annoyed as I am at the client, I see where they are coming from, since I can't actually be sure that my co-worker WILL know what he's doing.   I also know that my boss, as a practice, gives us way more work than we can handle (see the top of this paragraph) and he probably actually doesn't have time to do any of this work.   

I'm just so sad that they don't like me enough to help me, and I'm so angry that they think that my work is so worthless this everything will just happen by magic when I'm gone, and I'm so annoyed that when it doesn't happen by magic I will be blamed for poor training, terrible organization, or bad transition planning, even though I'm trying so FREAKING HARD.   That sentence is super pathetic, but that is the truest reflection of my feelings I can come up with. 

Also, midwives said no more lemonade (add it to the list-- no alcohol, no caffeine, no soda, no sweetened drinks of any kind- real sugar or fake) which was my "treat" to get me through and my husband has taken to hogging the bed so that even when my back pain and bladder aren't waking me up, I'm waking up because I'm falling off the bed. 

Yes, its the Pout>Sad>Tears>Anger>Guilt>Tears>Pout cycle, folks, and God willing it will be over soon. 

[~pi]

So glad I am not the only cranky one. Misery loves company.

puente, big hugs to you. That sounds like such a frustrating work situation. Can you have sugar-free lemonade?

I am traveling (again! third trip out of country this month!) and it is exhausting.

I had the first of many size u/s and BPP this morning. The BPP was perfect. Size estimate was 80th %tile, which makes me slightly nervous, but we'll see what the next one shows. The error range is pretty wide, but multiple measurements can give a decent picture. DS tracked 70th-90th all the way along, too, and was born at 9 lbs 5 oz, and my glycemic control was fabulous with him and has been even better this time, so I may just make big babies. The specialist said he doesn't worry at all until the estimates start to tip over 10-11 lbs and was very encouraging about VBAC.

Edited by ~pi - 7/27/11 at 7:22pm

[puente]

Originally Posted by ~pi 

I had the first of many size u/s and BPP this morning. The BPP was perfect. Size estimate was 80th %tile, which makes me slightly nervous, but we'll see what the next one shows. The error range is pretty wide, but multiple measurements can give a decent picture. DS tracked 70th-90th all the way along, too, and was born at 9 lbs 5 oz, and my glycemic control was fabulous with him and has been even better this time, so I may just make big babies. The specialist said he doesn't worry at all until the estimates start to tip over 10-11 lbs and was very encouraging about VBAC.

Great news, ~pi!  That's fabulous!!

Sorry about the travel-- I had a lot in the past month too (although all in the country) and it's super exhausting.  I found I was useless for a few days after each trip and kept thinking that "today I'll be back to normal".   I hope you have some nice lulls between trips if you have to do so many!

[Poodge]

Wonderful news pi!

puente - That sounds so frustrating! For what it is worth my employer wasn't interested in talking about leave plans until a month out last time. Almost as if they just didn't believe or want to deal with it. I expect the same thing this time.

[puente]

This is a silly questions but I'm wondering.  I know, and it's obvious, if the baby moves significantly less one day than s/he does most days, that could be a problem and one should watch for that. 

Could there be a problem if a kid moves Way Hella More than s/he normally does? 

(No caffeine, adrenaline, or crack (that's a joke, to be clear) is involved.  I'm normal and I'm eating exactly like I always do.  She's break dancing and has been for hours.)

I assume its ok but just wondered...

[emmaegbert]

Puente, I think your baby just wants some lemonade. And, she wants her dad to stop hogging the bed (what size? we waited too long to get a queen, DH is too tall for a double so he really can't help being a bed hog in a double... his feet are, quite literally, hanging off the end!).

I cant' have sugar, juice, etc either. My favorite drink in summer is to have some seltzer with a tiny SPLASH of juice. Have found that 100% cranberry and 100% black currant juice are DELISH. very tart. And they are 100% not appealing to juice-drinkers straight up, way too sour. I do drink caffeine though (I did with both previous pregnancies and just can't stop now!)

Pi, I make big babies and assume this one will be too. I was tracking blood sugar very closely with number 2, it was excellent, like 100% normal, and I only gained 17lbs (have gained more than that already this time!), and she was 9lbs. She was born with 3 pushes. I swear. Crowning, head, body. That was it. And no tearing. And a really good, quick recovery for me. I think OBs and other scare-mongers make too much of it. Some babies are big. And those size measurements, as you are well aware, can be off by such a huge margin. (I realize that is not how it is for everyone, but heck, some people have really long crazy hard labors with 6 or 7lbs babies. I am convinced that fetal positioning has as much to do with it as size).