Queer & Pregnant & Parenting - April, May, June! - Page 22

[planet]

Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I've hung out here, except for my brief pop-in about the cyst experience, which, by the way, is over now--thank goodness! Thank you to those of you who responded; it was super helpful. My midwives & doc were very reassuring that cysts are normal and come and go on their own all the time. And I was very pleased that mine went away in a couple days.

I just had a great time reading and catching up on how y'all are doing. I LOVE all the photos!!!

Sara, I'm glad to hear you are hanging in there & resting up, healing slowly and surely. Your little ones are adorable!!!

Desert, I loved your super moon pics, and the gorgeous belly pics too! I am so happy for you guys. Sounds like things are going really well. I'm curious to hear others' responses to your sex question. I'm not big enough yet that my belly's really gotten in the way - the main obstacle is my *excruciating* heartburn that comes on strong in any random moment and it is not sexy at ALL! But I'm wishing for you two many fun, comfortable sexy times in the coming months (and years)! ;)

Crystal, I'm sorry to hear that things are still kinda rough out there, but I'm glad to hear that you two had a good conversation about your fight. My therapist always says that it's not conflict that's a problem, but how you deal with it that can become a problem. So being able to process together when you are both calm & able to do so is a really good step. :)

Amanda, I really enjoyed the news article. Thanks so much for sharing, and sorry to hear about your not-so-supportive neighbors.  It's their loss - your family sounds amazing, and I always appreciate your wisdom and the stories you share in here.

Brite, I am thinking of you guys!  Hang in there just a bit longer, little one!  I am sending your family lots of love in this suspenseful time.  I have a really good feeling about your upcoming birth, whenever it will be. :)

Dandy!  Those are some awesome ultrasound photos!  Congratulations, due date buddy!!!!  I am so happy that things are going well for you guys.  You have inspired me to finally post some photos.  Oh yeah, and as an English teacher, I LOVE the comic you posted!  Too funny!!!  One of my students with two moms was so annoyed with the computer's auto-correct when she was writing a story about her family.  It wouldn't let her write "moms'" without giving her a grammar alert.  We spent some time trying to teach the computer the truth, but ultimately had to just resolve to ignore it.

AFU, 21 weeks!  Yeah!  We had our big 20 week ultrasound on Friday.  It was so reassuring to see that all the important parts are there and that the baby is healthy, and that there's nothing to worry about at this point!  After we had the ultrasound, we spent all day celebrating.  A trip to the beach, lots of delicious food, some good exploring and spending time with sweet friends.  We are ridiculously excited and happy at this point!  Below are some pics from Friday...

This baby already has my nose!

The growin' belly

Take care, everyone! xoxo

[planet]

. . .

Edited by planet - 5/20/12 at 9:47pm

[planet]

Well, I couldn't figure out how to delete a post.  So this is me deleting by way of editing.  Thanks for understanding...!

Edited by planet - 5/20/12 at 9:46pm

[planet]

And just one more..

Edited by planet - 5/20/12 at 9:47pm

[planet]

P.S. Happy belated mother's and mothers' day to all of you!

[planet]

Uh oh.  I swear I did not mean to post my message four times.  How embarrassing!  My computer froze and I thought I lost the whole thing, and tried to re-post it.. guess it's like the opposite of the whole post being lost.  Sorry about that!!

[onemommyonemama]

planet - beautiful belly and us pics!!!

isa - little E is beautiful! love how you are continuing with the chalkboard! creative moms :)!!!

mizy - your pics are awesome - what an awesome looking fam :)!

ahope - thanks!

sara and seraf - always love your pics! Soren is looking so healthy and cute!!! Hope you are well both of you!

sister secrets

belly button inspection

third birthday morning

thank you thank you thank you!

mommy and two wonderful babes

afm: the weather here turned from fleece to tank tops in minutes. we have the heater on at night sometimes, and are melting in the day. it is lovely.

my DD turned 3. She had two birthday parties with each side of our fam. I loved watching my growing girl: eat supper without any parental input at the kids table, play hockey like a girl (grrrr!) with her older boy cousins, treat her handmade constuction paper cards from her cousins as precious treasures, wear underpants with no accidents for 3 days now!

I've also been watching my two babes together - how Sage's face lights up when Z is near. How Sage doesn't mind being pummelled by her sister - she loves it. she squeals with delight! S is rolling a bit to the side, smiling, and chatting up a storm just like her sister did.

been catching the eye of my wife. smiling while we both watch our little ones growing way too fast.

[seraf]

Good morning, all.

Planet, I got up this morning and went, wow, 6 posts! Sorry it gave you such trouble.  I totally understand because it usually freaks out and eats my posts, too.  The US pic is great.  That is quite a nose, Soren's came out looking quite different than his US. I hope your heartburn feels better.

Isa, you asked about diaper rash a while ago.  We change often but babies in summer get pretty rashy.  Shay has a neck rash most of the time. My kids are dry almost all the time but they've still gotten diaper rashes.  Sometimes it's the laundry soap, sometimes the wipes, sometimes the diapers themselves (Osha's bad rash was a food sensitivity).  My favorite is to use plain water to clean baby bits and air dry before re-diapering.  Diapers without covers around the house are nice, for airflow.  We haven't been brave enough to let Soren sleep without a diaper, but Shay goes longer between pees (I'm not fooling anyone he rarely wears anything on his rump) so I let him hang out naked at night after his last pee to let his skin breathe.  I know I'm not the only one, tho.  Because you have a girl it would be a bit easier for you to just let her sleep on a prefold for one of her naps (tho Ari used to pee straight up at times, I hear that is the exception).  I fully support getting out of the house every day! 

We got to see Yellow and her family yesterday, which was super fun. 

Shay nursed with Sara for the first time yesterday, too.

  

 

This video is Shay's new snarfy noise.  You can't tell from the video that he has carrot puree from his eyebrows down.  He rubbed his eyes, oh yeah!

[seraf]

OMOM, crosspost, what is she wearing? Is that a swimsuit? 

[onemommyonemama]

SERAF - yup, we are all into the one piece uv swim suits because we camp a lot and spend many hours in the sun :)

[seraf]

QOTD: Sun! Sunblock/sunscreen has changed labels? Swim suits. Kids all wear sun shirts and hats these days, what do the parents wear? And UV fabric, how is it different?

I'm way out of research mode, anyone have a good website handy? I keep the kids in swim shirts to prevent burn, but the UV fabric is different, right? Ari recently got a burn through mineral sunblock, we usually used SPF 50 hypoallergenic sunscreen last year and it worked really well (Ari gets rashes with most everything else, the mineral stuff didn't irritate her skin but it also didn't block the sun). While I'm asking, does anyone have a recommendation for something relatively low cost? We use a big bottle of sunstuff ever couple of weeks through the summer even with sun shirts on.

Totally different subject, we used 27 diapers in 24 hours. Soren has been wearing Shay's diapers, so I couldn't say who used how many. When you consider that we caught at least 5 pees for each boy (Shay goes much less often), that's a lot of diapers!

[LibraryLady]

Good morning all~  Sorry I've been out of the loop, but that's how it's going to be for the near future. Even if I"m not posting much, I"m always thinking of you all!!

Planet~ Wow! What great pix, and what an u/s!  How sweetly amazing that baby already has your nose. Isn't that the most wonderful feeling?  When we had an u/s that showed Alice's foot, with its big monkey toe just like mine, I broke down realizing that this was really truly my baby. So happy for you!!

OMOM~ I love your photos, too, especially bellybutton inspection!  Both participants look thrilled. 

Saras~ I love your photos too, and second your quest for proper sun protection for my palest of babies.  We'd bought the Nutrogena stuff, but apparently it was released that it causes all kinds of mayhem so we threw it in the trash asap! Hats, shirts, etc are all in use, but I guess we'll have to keep looking for some additional protection.

Hello everyone else~ Hope all is well. Rainbow! How are you feeling? How's your baby hanging in there?! Dandy?  NosReves?  And hello to all you lurkers from the TTC board   I'm sending out love that you'll be joining us soon. We need you!!

AFM~ Just crazyness.  Our garage sale was much work, but after it was all said and done (including hauling the unsold books to Half Price) we made about $375, so I will not complain.  The packing continues. Our POD will be delivered Thursday, Vietnam Vets will come Friday and haul away all unsold garage sale stuff plus whatever other stuff we put out for them so that is a bonus. Our dresses are nearly done (at the first fitting my dress looked AWFUL on me, but we've revamped it and it should look much better now. DP and Ace look awesome) Alice's HFM rash has flared up again. OH, and the cherry on the cake of it all:  with four days left in the school year, Mean Girl has 'declined to give me a recommendation' for South Carolina teacher certification because she 'just doesn't think she can give a positive reference' and can't really recommend me for a job. So, several years of shit have culminated in this giant back stab which might effectively end my  career.  Wow. 

Hope everyone has a terriffic Tuesday. I'll post again when I can, and will be reading along meantime. LOVE YOU ALL!!! xoxox

[prettyisa]

Library--that is the nastiest thing I may have ever heard of someone actually doing. I'm so sorry, and shame on her. Do you have someone else who could be a reference? Her supervisor, maybe? I always thought that it was a particulary shitty system that the only person who can recommend you for a job is your immediate supervisor--it just doesn't take into account personality conflicts or the fact that some people are assholes. I hope you find a work-around, and that you end up with a job that is a thousand times better in NC.

Seraf/Sara--What sweeties! E has started sucking on her hand (or DP's finger) but hasn't found her thumb yet--so cute to see that Soren is way ahead of her on that one!

OMOM--oh, I love it! Your DD1 just looks So.Happy. And I love the big fuzzy dipe on DD2! Is the wife comment a hint that you might try for #3? I can't remember if that was your plan...

Planet--you look great! I see that your LO is also ahead of E on the thumb front!

Related to the sun question--any ideas for baby beach covers? E is going to be too small for sunscreen when we hit Naples for a whole month, and the idea of not going to the beach with her while we're there makes me die a little inside.

[justrose13]

Isa, I'd probably keep her under an umbrella with brief exposures to the sun (5-15 min depending on intensity) for vitamin D. but also may want something like omom had for her DD1. http://www.uvsungear.com/nzn301.html

Library, OMGosh... that's about the shittiest thing ever! Could the universe be telling you to stay home with Ace??

Seraf, that's a.lot.of.diapers. especially for a EC family! I can't even imagine what 2 under one could be like if you didn't practice EC! Awesome pics!! (as always)

Sara, love the pic of you nursing the boys! love it, Love It, LOVE IT!

OMOM, cuties!

to all I missed

afu, I think I mentioned that DP decided to TTC next. she started temping on mothers' day and our plan was to have her start in Jan, as that is when we planned to TTC again with me (when she thought she'd never carry). we chose that start point b/c I have a summer job (at the renaissance faire, as some of you may know) so I knew when I couldn't be giving birth next year... well, DP came home and said, "you are planning for me to be 6-8 month pg in the summer?!? why can't we start now so I'm big and pg in the winter?" I gave it some thought and the reason I wasn't going to start this soon is my fertility hasn't returned! but if she's TTC, that doesn't matter at all!! so we decided to insem starting in July! omg... I'M SO INCREDIBILY EXCITED!! but, shhhh... we aren't telling anyone IRL...

[seraf]

Library, that is f****d up. Previous principal? Superintendent? Actual teachers? Independent panel? My previous DON didn't work with me so I always wrote other people for references. I hope you can file something or something. Abuse of power is wrong. Yay on making some money.

Isa, we are in the same boat. Well, not Naples, but we will sped the summer outside and tiny Soren can't be in the sun. So far we are seeking shade, creating shade and dressing him in hat and long sleeves. He does see some sun but we use an umbrella and/or sling tails when he's in the sling, the stroller canopy when he is sleeping at the park. We are ordering him some sunglasses and at the pool he has short sleeved one piece swimsuit. He will spend most of the time under a big umbrella or with a fabric shade of some sort. I have no experience with the baby shade things, I avoid the sun myself quite a bit and I'm thinking something large enough to nurse in is necessary, if that ends up being big umbrella with extra fabric or a sari with a stick or two and weights/tie downs. I read Wikipedia's page about SPF fabrics and I'm way more comfortable with it now. Basically thicker, darker, more tightly woven fabrics have higher SPF naturally. 100% polyester (like swim suits) is also better. Soren may wind up poolside with a simple rectangular bag with holes for his head and hands if I freak out about the sun too much.

Wehrli, way cool about trying so soon! And way cool on no return to fertility yet! Good luck knocking her up! I think we would use fewer diapers if we didn't EC. We would put more absorbent diapers on and change less often, I figure.

Randomness, OMOM, do your kids smell different to you? Do you remember your 3 year old's baby smell? I recently noticed that Soren has a totally different smell than the first 3. He has a much more bitter smell to me but not to Sara.

[onemommyonemama]

library - that sucks. mean girl. gah. I feel like we should write a saga of the queer parenting board folks vs mean girl. perhaps a graphic novel. queer librarians are so hot - they would sell like mad. someone, please make this. how are things with DP and packing? hoping you are sharing more of the load and stress and doing well :)

seraf - today I'm going to try to remember what my DD1 smelled like. :( I forget. Sage smells different then she did though for sure. ALso on the list for today is to try and describe how sage smells. earthy but not in a funky way. sweet earth baby? I'll work on that.

seeing you two sharing feeding and tandem feeding makes me all wishin that was our situation. a question - was it hard for either of you to let the other feed the other babe? my dp doesn't want to feed sage - and I wish she did - but I also realized that if I walked into a room and she was feeding sage wtihout any warning, i might freak out inside. like I'd need some mental prep to share feeding. I was wondering how that felt for you seraf after 6 months of solo feeding and for your sara with all your new hormones. I wasn't expecting to feel that way - breastfeeding overwhelmed me before I started doin it. DP was cool with me feeding DD1 - but I guess we talked alot about it and she was preped for it. Maybe that is what makes the difference.

sara - how are you feeling? how does it feel feeding Shay vs Soren? Sage started latching with vacuum sucking action that I woudl have found totally overwhelming right off the bat. But it makes me laugh now. Doesn't hurt, just makes me go HOLY CRAP!

wehrli - I'm so so pumped for you. July is so close! Hoping your TTC journey is short and so sweet.

isa - sage started really understanding how to move her hands into her mouth a couple weeks ago. she doesn't such on her hand - but her whole fist. sometimes both of them - with this really serious face. I love it. what is E up to these days? getting smiles yet? how far apart are they? 3 weeks or 4? Sage was March 21st.

Hi everyone! Dandy - are you going to tri pride?!? :)

[Gavin Gear]

ladies- deal with harsh acid reflux with Manukaguard - worked wonders for us

[prettyisa]

OMOM--why thank you. we think we're hot, too! And they're just shy of a month apart--she was April 18th. We've been getting smiles since about Mother's day (I didn't believe they were real then, but her pediatrician confirmed it) and they're getting more frequent now. Especially at dawn. This kid just loves the whole freaking world before the sun is up. I think I'd have a hard time sharing feeding, too. We talked about it a lot, and in some ways I would have liked DP to induce, but I also wonder if it's helping me fend off some inborn jealousy that she didn't. Same goes for being the one to get pregnant. I'm totally up for being supportive if she decides she wants to carry, but I had a telling dream the other night where she said she wanted to and I basically broke down in sobs, so if it happens in real life I'll need to sort through some stuff that is, for the moment, neatly buried.

[LibraryLady]

Hey~ just a moment but wanted to give a big hug for your support and a hearty second to the idea of the movie/graphic novel of the MDP vs Mean Girl.   She hasn't even looked at me today, just walks right past.  I do have other references, and will add more, but it's a huge slam if your current administrator can't recommend you for hire. Ugh. 

Oop, later than I thought. More soon xoxo

[dandylez]

hi everyone,

I'm up at DP's family cottage and just have dial-up internet access, so I'm not reading/writing as often as I would like. That said, it's gorgeous up here. We're on Georgian Bay so it's quite a rugged, rocky coast. Unfortunately, the water is super-low this year, so I hope we have a wet June (for the water levels and for our veggie garden at home, which is parched!). I'll take some pics and upload them from home later. We're here for the next 2.5 weeks, so I'm hoping to get lots of dissertation work done. DP is gone to her practicum placement during the day, so it's just me and the dog all day, and the kicking pickle in my belly, of course! :)

OMOM: It doesn't look like we'll make KW pride this year because we're up north. I would've really liked to see you all there! I imagine you're going? We're going to Toronto Pride this year for the first time in forever. Any chance you're making the trip? Those sister pics of your two DDs are gorgeous. Love the purple diaper! Happy birthday to DD1! Those are some fantastic things to be proud of, especially her holding her own at hockey! Atta girl!  We should arrange to get together sometime. I'd love to meet your wonderful family!

Rainbow, how you doing? Hope your little girl is contentedly hanging out for a while longer! Sending you positive energy!

Library, Ugh, ugh, ugh... mean girl is just a nasty piece of work! I really hope this isn't career-damaging for you.  I love the idea of a graphic novel to document her meanness, and make it laughable. I also hope you get your goodbye party. I wish we could organize something like that for you guys! You deserve it! Congrats on the successful garage sale!! The move is getting so close. It must be awesome to have a long trip across the ocean to look forward to, with time to relax and prepare for the next step of your journey. Can't wait to see the pics of those wedding dresses!

Sara x 2, your family is beautiful! Sara, I'm glad you're starting to feel like yourself again. Sending you lots of positive energy. The pic of you double-breastfeeding is wonderful! The videos of Shay and Soren are so cute. Love the one of Shay trying to eat Soren! Hope you all had a great visit with Mizyellow!!

Mizyellow, hunches as to what we're having? My default pronoun is "she" but I don't know for sure. DP thinks we're having a girl but only because we're having a harder time coming up with girl names.  I've been getting predictions of both from people that swear they're able to read a pregnancy accurately.  My hunch is leaning towards girl, but only by about 51% so that's not too strong! :)  Your family pics are gorgeous, btw! You have a beautiful family!! Hope you had a great visit with the Saras & co.!

Isa, Those pics of E at 1 mth are amazing! What a sweet, beautiful babe! It's sounds like things are going really well with you guys!  As for the Karma room, that's pretty funny! It's called that because it's associated with the KARMA fertility clinic. It's an acronym, but I always thought that it's a strange name for a fertility clinic -- it's almost implies that you'll get pregnant only if you deserve to! Ugh. Talk about loading up on the anxiety of TTC!  :)  Hopefully it has better connotations as an ultrasound room!

Desert, I'll PM you my address, but if you don't want to send stuff to Canada, that's totally okay! Happy 25 weeks! I'm so excited for you guys!

Planet, hey, due date buddy! Was excited to see your post!! What beautiful pics! I love the thumb-sucking! Pickle looked like s/he was doing the same at one point but we didn't get a pic. And you look amazing!!!! So glad you're happy and excited and just enjoying this wonderful time!  I have terrible heartburn too, so I can absolutely commiserate.  I try not to bend down too much, but to squat instead. That helps to prevent it a little. I hope yours gets better soon.

Wehrli, your TTC news is so exciting!! I can't wait to start following this new journey, and I hope it happens quickly!!

QOTD, Sun protection!  We won't have to worry about it too much yet with the babe coming in October and being over 6 mos before next summer hits.  But I have to share that one of the small bonuses to our donor was that he has an olive complexion.  I'm pasty-white Irish. I burn easily and never tan, so I'm constantly slathering on sunscreen in the summer months, and wearing high-neck, long-sleeved UV shirts.  The possibility of giving our kid a little bit of genetic help in that area was a definite plus! :)  But, I'm always on the lookout for a better natural, non-toxic sun-screen, so if anyone has recommendations, let me know. We're switching over to Green Beaver from Alba this year. I haven't had a chance to pick any up yet, but I hear it's good.

AFU and in other news. We had a midwife appt yesterday to review the u/s results. Everything is looking great, and so we're on track for a home birth at this point! :)  We're also feeling like quite the little family.... we purchased a 2nd hand pop-up tent trailer yesterday with a little kitchen in it! We still have to get the hitch installed on our car to take it home, but we're excited for roadtrips and camping weekends in the future, especially with kid(s).  We're already planning our first trip out East to  Nova Scotia and PEI in August! Can't wait!

Hope everyone is doing well! Talk soon!