Cindy- yay for the midwifes!!
Kate, she is so pretty and I love that picture of Aubs holding her. I'm glad you feel good about M's birth and I think it's pretty cool your body wouldn't go further with the birth in order to protect itself.
Everr- so it really is his brother then and not just a same last name thing. I was very curious about that.
Gorgeous pictures Kate! She is beautiful. And the picture of her and Aubs is amazing! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Kate - Love the pics! Aubs looks like such a proud big sis - very cute :)
R skipped his nap yesterday and today and was in bed around 8pm and asleep in minutes. He was at my moms last night and she said he did awesome. I love it! He doesn't do as well through the week when he's napping at daycare. But I'm going to keep sticking to it and hope he just accepts it with less fighting. I love having the free time in the evenings but I also miss him :( I hope he continues to wake up early and join me in the big bed for a while.. I don't know..
I took Fiona in today for an allergy patch test. They will keep the patches on her back until Thursday. I sure hope we learn something new from this. It should give us "intolerances" to foods. She is not really a fan of these things being taped to her back right now but I'm hoping She'll forget about it since they need to stay on for a few days. We will get initial results on thursday and then the allergist will look again on friday.
I've also decided to take her to a holistic clinic in the Seattle area when we are down there this summer to see what we can learn there.
DH is at sea for the next week and a half. We made a chart with a boat on it for each day he'll be gone. Fiona seems to like that and looks at it frequently to see how many boat days until the house picture comes up. I'm still not in my solo parent groove but I'll get there...
Hope you guys are doing well. Sunny days here are helping us pass the time. Heading to the garden shop tomorrow to get some things. That should be a lot of fun!
Sue: I was reading your 1st paragraph and about to ask if you've seen a naturopath. My best friend was just here this weekend. Her daughter is not celiac and not allergic to gluten - but she gets bad eczema when she eats it. They swear by their naturopath - who diagnosed the eczema as being a gluten intolerance that she'll hopefully grow out of in time. My friend's DH suffered from a horrible skin issue for a yr or two until the naturopath figured out what it was from. I hope the patch test gives you some answers!!
Everr: How is the own bed thing going?
Kate: Thanks for sharing your story. I had wondered if you ruptured during labor or what. Thank god your body knew what it was doing!! So scary to think about what could have been if you weren't already cut open at that point! Love the pics! :-)
Courtney: I loved the pic of Juniper and Coraline on facebook the other day. I loved how Coraline was looking at her.
AFM: I pulled some sort of muscle under my left shoulder blade and it hurts to breathe. Ugh. I think I'm finally on the mend though. I can't wait for this weekend! My big anatomy scan is Friday morning. I'll have them put the gender in an envelope and open it on Sunday. I plan to open it in a public rose garden with a nice view of the ocean and golden gate bridge. My mom will be here then. I so can't wait to find out what I'm having!!!! I was sorting through Makenna's clothes today bc my best friend brought me tons of 4T clothes. Making sure all the 2T were pulled out, etc. I'd love to know if I can cart all those clothes to my friend or if I need to seriously organize them!
Cindy
Oh my gosh! Can't wait to hear what you are having Cindy! This is so exciting!!! :)
Cindy I am super excited to find out to, what a great way to do it.
Sue- hope you get some answers soon.
So I have been hit hard today by the baby blues and I don't really feel like doing anything. Luckily my friend is coming over later. I think I am just going to go lay in bed and hold my sweet baby b/c nothing else seems like a good idea. Everything feels sort of hopeless and I don't want it to. I am so sick of being poor and I want a laundry machine that works and I want a dang car to drive around. I'm wondering if these things are the cause of the baby blues and maybe it's not baby blues at all but it's just that it sucks to have everything broken and no damn money. I totally screamed at Hubs this morning about how much I hate this and under my breath muttered about how much it sucks to be poor and maybe he should do something. I think he probably heard. I am totally a bitch.
Courtney - hugs! hope you feel better soon with some sweet baby snuggles. And there's probably truth to both perspectives. Brain chemistry doesn't create all our problems, but it changes how we perceive them, turning what was formerly a doable challenge into a hopeless mess.
Sue - hopefully the patch test will give you some answers.
Cindy - Exciting to find out so soon! And I can't believe you're getting 4T clothes already. K is such a pipsqueak, he still fits in 2T just fine, and I can pass his outgrown clothes directly to Lituya.
Everr - K definitely didn't become easy to put to bed until after he gave up naps.
Kate - That is neat that your body knew to protect itself from a birth it couldn't handle. And I'm glad it worked out better for you than the first time. What's with all these second kids being so much bigger than the first ones, anyway? Is that true for everyone, or just this group?
AFM - We just got finished with a cycle of really big (more than -5 feet lows) tides, so we've been on the beach a lot, and went camping across the bay for the biggest tide. So much fun. I think really the kids are just an excuse - I love tidepooling so much. Now it's been beautiful weather and the night time freezes seem to be gone (crossing fingers), so I've been working to get the garden in. And falling behind on computer work and our house is an utter disaster with all our time spent outside. I love May. All the sun and none of the bugs - one of the best Alaska months, I think.
Erin - Sounds fun! Enjoy the weather :)
And yes, if I could get rid of naps, bedtime would be a breeze! If R stays in daycare this summer I may request the naps get dropped. If I don't find a job soon though I'll have to keep him home and then I'll drop naps myself.
Courtney - *hugs* I'm sorry you're having a hard time.
Cindy - I'm so excited to hear what you're having!!! As for R's own bed.. Well I'm making him go to sleep in it but he has yet to last a night. It's ranged from about 12am-4am when he's joined me. I'm sure we'll get better over time!
Sue - Oh poor Fiona :( I hope you get an answer soon! I had to have one of those patch things on when I was younger and it was so itchy (and not because I was allergic, just because it was there). And good luck with the solo parenting!!
AFM - I'm job hunting and it's not going well :/ I need to find something by the end of May or I lose my daycare subsidy. Then I'll have to keep R home with me which I really don't want to do. I love him, but the thought of going back to being a SAHM fills me with panic.
And for the good news. Things with my bus guy are still going well. I'm still not sure there's long term potential there, but I'm having fun :P And my cousin has taken R for sleepovers twice now and R loves it, so that's awesome! I've been getting lots of time off :)
Gah! So, an example of R's 'going to bed' when he naps: He was put into bed at 8pm, it is now 9:10pm. He's still wide awake. He's quieted down, he's stopped coming out of the room crying/needing to pee, but every so often he calls out "Mama are you going to bed yet?" lol! Grrr! So frustrating!
I totally remember those days Everr, Jewel once handed me something (I couldn't see anything in her fingers but she told me to take it, I thought it was pretend but it was sticky) and then asked for a tissue. That bedtime thing, man sometimes it works and sometimes even at 9 and 6 they give you a hard time.
Sue: Hope the solo parenting is going well. The chart idea is great! DH doesn't leave town very often, but he has some training coming up at work he'll be gone a work week for. I'm not looking forward to the idea of parenting solo with two kiddos!
Cindy: I can't wait to find out what you're having!! I agree with Starling, I have imagined a boy for you ever since you got pregnant!
Courtney: I'm sorry you're feeling down right now. I agree with Erin on this. I think it's probably a combination. You probably wouldn't feel as hopeless if you weren't post-partum right now. Just snuggle that baby, enjoy this new beginning with her. Things will look different tomorrow. 
Everr: Fingers crossed for your job hunt!! Sounds like R's transition for bedtime is going well! We've had one night with Owyn that didn't go great. But it was a day when she took a nap, which hardly ever happens. It was a lot of in and out of the room. I need a drink, I need a snack, I need to go potty, I need a hug, etc. etc. Then, she got sad and cried for a little bit. It wasn't fun. She actually went to bed by herself when we had company the other night! I was shocked about that. She was so tired, she came and asked for her PJ's and a book.
Kate: Love the pics!! She looks so much like Aubrey. They both look so much like you!!
AFM: Last night, DH and I went out to dinner with some friends. We actually left as soon as I got off work, so I didn't get to see my girls at all yesterday. That was really hard. My MIL picked them up from my sister's house and they stayed with my IL's until we got home. Owyn was long asleep by then, but Greta woke up for a while after we got home. Normally, I would hate it when she's awake until 11 pm, but I was happy to see her last night! Then, she slept from 11-7 am!! It was amazing!
Getting closer and closer to the school year ending too! Yesterday was actually the last day of my lesson plans. We finished up the alphabet and did a Mother's Day craft. Tomorrow we have a field trip, then just two days next week! I'm thinking of doing a pajama party one day and bringing popcorn and a movie in. The end of the school year is so much fun!
Oh and Owyn learned how to pedal this week! Finally! She has a little tricycle and her balance bike. She can finally ride her balance bike, it's been too tall for her but she can touch the ground flat foot now! But she goes for things with pedals. Anytime we're at a store and she sees the bikes, she says "Mommy, I need pedals please?!" She finally got it on the tricycle and we rode around the block a couple of times. I had to help her steer a few times and she'd yell "Mommy, get your hands off, I doing it!" 
Starling: I got excited that you were home and going to tell us fun stories! I hope you're having a fantastic time. :-)
Mal: Yay! Your last few days of work sound fun. Summer is going to be divine for you. I remember the feeling of wishing M would wake up when I missed her. :-) Glad you got a night out though.
Courtney: Hugs!! Money problems are tough! We've had our share lately too. Being home w/M has been a HUGE adjustment for us bc I made about 50% MORE than DH. So we went from an extravagant lifestyle to really pinching pennies. You have a beautiful family though and I know you guys will get through this and be fine. I hope taking a little time to yourself made you feel a smidge better or stronger.
Gender: I have no strong feelings. I've sort of been thinking girl, but I am def hoping for a boy. Mostly bc I know DH wants one so bad.
Bedtime: I'm so sad - M gave the airobed that we'd be transferring her to a leak!!! So we put it away yesterday. I think we may just put her big girl mattress on the floor next to our bed after my mom leaves next week (she's going to sleep on it while she's here).
M has been having fits about being a big girl and doing everything herself these days. Yesterday we went to fairyland and when we got back to the car I unhooked the strolled seatbelt. So she started crying about how she was going to do it - only she is not capable of doing it. She insisted I rehook it - so I did - and then she couldn't get out. So I unhooked it, Meanwhile she is freaking out. She wouldn't get in the car so I ended up picking her up and just putting her in the car and closing the door. I was so frustrating I needed a moment while I put the stroller away. By the time I put it away, she still hadn't got in her car seat. So I warned her that I was going to put her in if she didn't. She didn't. So I did. Then she's extra upset and thrashing and wanting to buckle it - but again, she isn't able to yet. I ended up having to hold her arms down to get her buckled in. Not a fun scene. Then she cried half the ride home that "I'm a big girl. I don't need help. I can do EVERYTHING myself." Ugh. I understand the indepenence desire - but sometimes she just CAN'T do things and she doesn't get it. And sometimes mommy doesn't want to stand around for an extra half hour when I'm tired and want to go home.
Cindy
Mal- woohoo on all that sleep, it is amazing to wake up after a nice sleep like that and how nice to get out. I always miss mine when I go out, but i like going out too.
Cindy- those fits are no fun, my first was the worst with them. I also have no guess for your baby, but I am super excited to find out!
AFM- I am feeling better today. I think yesterday it was a combination of the hormones, bad situation and not enough sleep. i felt the worst for my Hubs who I bitched at every time I talked to him. I apologized this morning and told him I knew the things coming out of my mouth were mean but they just kept coming. He said it was okay but sort of confusing b/c I would bitch about one thing ( I told him I wasn't making dinner and he needed to, he said no pizza and I yelled at him about how he shouldn't always just buy something to eat if I don't want to cook and maybe he should cook something sometime. Even though I knew I wanted him to just buy something. So then he went to the store and bought something to make and then I bitched at him when he got home because dinner would be so late then and he should have just bought something if he was going to be home this late. didn't he know Josie had to go to bed in 6 minutes?? We ended up eating after 8:30 (an hour past Jo's bedtime, she needs a lot of sleep) so this morning when Jo was a wreck I told him it was his fault. sometimes I don't know how he puts up with me.
M and I just made the yummiest brownies! They have a can of black beans in them and are grain free. Not a bad treat for little ones! A yummy way to get some extra protein in. :-)
http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/healthy-grain-free-brownies/comment-page-1/#comment-68902
Anyone see the new cover for the issue of Time coming out tomorrow? I shared the pic from another friend on facebook. I got it from an unmarried guy who was just shocked by it. I don't typically read Time but now I want to check it out - I'll probably read it in the library or check out line though. The comments for the cover are not good! Typical America. But the pic was def meant to stir up controversy, i think.
Cindy
Courtney: hope you start feeling better soon. $$ stress is no fun. Hug that baby!
Cindy- getting so excited to hear your news this weekend! That fit you mentioned- happens here ALL.THE.TIME!! It can be so frustrating.
Fiona's patches were pretty irritating to her and she's been on edge this week. I've been distracting her with far too much TV. They came off today. Pulling the tape was the worst. She thrashed and cried and tried to get away. I hated seeing that and having to basically hold her down while the nurse pulled it off as quickly as she could. Initial results- beef and potato. My midwestern IL's won't have a clue how to feed my kid when we visit! :) Lots of other spots look red now though so I think we'll be adding to the list tomorrow. The spots have to be looked at again a day after being removed- a delayed reaction kind of thing.
Maeve has pooped in at least 5 days- I've sort of lost track. When should I worry? She's super gassy but no poop!
We are missing Papa around here but doing ok.
Sue - Beef and potatoes?? That is so strange! I'm glad you're sort of getting some answers.. Hopefully you can figure it out :)
Cindy - Oh R is the master of major tantrums I think. I get so frustrated with him sometimes. I do a lot more threatening and bribing than I'd like :/ It's especially bad if we've had a busy day which it sounds like you did. Thanks for the brownie recipe - I'll have to try it!
Courtney - I'm glad you're feeling better today. Those hormones can make you crazy, just remember that things will get better. You have a gorgeous family!
Mal - Yay for class almost being over!!! You'll have an awesome summer :) We've put aside the balance bike here too, I had such high hopes for it but R just is not interested. I got him a little 12" bike with training wheels and he LOVES it. He zooms up and down the sidewalk by himself, it's been great!
Starling - Hope the vacation is going well! Can't wait to hear about it :)
AFM - bedtime is going a bit smoother tonight.. I think.. It's been about 30 minutes and he's quieted down (still not asleep..) When he doesn't nap it's soo easy. That one hour nap at daycare really ruins bedtime!
Everr: So weird, right?! I really had high hopes for the balance bike too, but she always asks for the ones with pedals. Maybe I'll find a little one on Craigslist for her... My IL's got it for her, so I hate for them to be disappointed that she doesn't like it much. Maybe she'll like it as she gets older?
Sue: Beef and potatoes?! That poor girl! I wouldn't know how to feed her either. 
Owyn just went to bed. She napped today, which was weird. It was early for her to be that tired. She normally gets sleepy around 4-4:30 in the afternoon, but she passed out just before 2. We held bedtime off for 45 minutes, but she still fought it a little. Lots of coming out of her room, lots of putting her back to bed. It's been about 45 minutes and I'm not sure if she's asleep, but she is in bed and isn't crying...
beef and potatoes, wow. i didn't know people could even be allergic to that.
Junie used to use her balance bike but has switched to her sisters old tricycle and loves it more than I have ever seen a kid love a bike.
Sue- not sure about the poop, 5 days sounds a bit long, if she doesn't poo in the next day or two I think you might need to think about doing something. (this with the caveat I have never dealt with the situatin and have only heard some friends talk about it in an offhand manner, but I bet a quick google search would give you a decent answer.)
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