8/5 Weekly Thread « Back to Group Discussions

[darkblue0729]

Chica-Congrats and what a sweet video mama!

Sunseeker-Hope you feel better soon! I second the PPs who have suggested getting checked for a UTI

Segolily-REST mama!!!! Seriously, relax, and take of yourself-we have a long way to go yet :) And darlin, now all's I need is a donut

Stegenrae-Congrats on getting so much done!

Travelmumma-Sounds like you and your DH got a ton done, way to go mama! Aaaaaand sending you all the most wonderful birthday wishes in the world my twin Your painting sounds like it is going to be gorgeous, can't wait to see pics!

AFM We've been making lots of homemade mozzarella here, and I keep meaning to keep some, but every time I make a new treccia I end up picking tomatoes and basil from the garden and eating it, lol...and I have crocheted four little fire soaker pants for Gabe, a cocoon, a newsboy cap, a pea pod hat, little mittens, a scarf, and a diaper cover; but i am looking at the incredibly long list of things I still need to finish before he arrives and before the holidays and am starting to feel the tiniest bit of panic, lol. I have two quilts to finish, two quilts to make yet, a few felt play sets, two soft zippered playhouses/barns, eeeeeeeek! But it is also exciting, it sounds like we are all getting to the nesting part in our own time, Sometimes it's hard to believe that we are so far along already!

Hope all is well mamas!

[segolilymama]

I somehow missed Gabe was your boy name, Darkblue! I have a Gabriel/Gabe, and he really lives up to his angel name - Gabriel was a tempremental angel according to legend, and my Gabriel is both firey & angelic :)

I've been wanting to make cheese lately - especially with the tomatoes just about to come in - where do you get your rennet? I haven't found any in the few places I look. We live close enough I could come down to Utah Valley if needed!

[Mamabeakley]

Hi, Mamas!

Totally appropos of nothing, but I just went to measure DS1 for pants for the fall and discovered why it is impossible to buy him pants.  He has a 32 inch waist and a 20 inch inseam.  He is definitely husky, but not rotund - he's *strong*.   He just has incredibly short legs.  He is going to have a growth spurt very soon, I know, but that is ridiculous.  I guess I'll just wait 

I'm having a rough week.  DH and I are having a difficult time, which isn't exactly unexpected considering both of our stress levels, but it is not fun.  And he's leaving on Friday to be gone for 10 days for work, making me emotionally a little panicky.  So I've been having horrible anxiety/relationship dreams.

BUT I also had one really cool dream and somehow slept for 6 solid hours last night - no getting up to pee, I don't even remember waking up to readjust my position.  That NEVER happens.  The dream was a bit too pat for me to believe, really, but it was still cool.  In it my step-grandfather, who died three years ago, sat down next to me and said, "I bet you think I'm dead!" and I said yeah, I did.  Then he said, "Well, you're right, I am.  But I came to tell you that if you have a boy and use James as his middle name, he'll be a very sensitive child and you will need to parent him gently."  My grandpa was kind of glowy, but otherwise it all seemed very normal.  (Having told DH this dream his is pooh-poohing using the name James .)

Mmm.  Fresh mozarella.  And, I have to laugh about the books/bookshelves.  I have sorted through and reorganized my books EVERY time I've been pregnant.  It's like a mandatory ritual.  Never planned it that way, it's just always had to be done during pregnancy.  And . . . we have a LOT of books.  Like maybe 30 boxes of them when packed?  I got to be in denial the last time we moved them by moving half at a time, about a year or two apart.  But still . . ..

[darkblue0729]

Originally Posted by segolilymama 

I somehow missed Gabe was your boy name, Darkblue! I have a Gabriel/Gabe, and he really lives up to his angel name - Gabriel was a tempremental angel according to legend, and my Gabriel is both firey & angelic :)

I've been wanting to make cheese lately - especially with the tomatoes just about to come in - where do you get your rennet? I haven't found any in the few places I look. We live close enough I could come down to Utah Valley if needed!

Thanks Segolily! Yes, he has definitely told us that his name is Gabriel Hawthorne, and we love it :)

I have found that locally the prices are a bit high, so I usually order online (New England Cheesemaking is a great resource) but Good Earth sells vegetarian rennet as well as citric acid, their citric acid is quite reasonably priced (1.95 for a 2oz bg and you use 1 1/4 teaspoon per batch) I would send you some rennet, lol, but it is crazy perishable. I loooove making cheese (although I will admit making feta is pretty smelly business,lol) I highly recommend making mozzarella, it is a supremely easy cheese to make, so long as you get milk that hasn't been ultra pasteurized!

Mamabeakley-What a neat dream! I am lucky that DH agreed with/believed me when I felt so insanely strongly that this babe's name was Gabriel Hawthorne, it wasn't even a name we were really considering, but I had a series of dreams that felt so real it was insane where I could see our son in these courdoroy pants, dark green rain boots and a sweater I had knitted for his big brother Henry, and in each dream his name came up in a very vivid way...so I say honor your intuition mama!! And lol about reorganizing your books, I do it on the regular because we have so many as well, that I like to rotate which books are where in the house :)

[segolilymama]

Awesome - I will stop by Good Earth this week! I have a great recipe for mozzerella, I get raw goat's milk from the farm (Drake's).

There must be something about those Gabriel's - I was at a reading where they were talking about the angel Gabriel - and EVERY time the name was said, I got kicked SO HARD. Afterwards, I told DH, "I think we are supposed to be naming this baby Gabriel or Gabrielle" and when I said that I got kicked so hard I literally doubled over!

mamab - that's a wonderful dream, too! I say go for it - use James :) This is an interesting website for anyone interested in numerology - you put in the name, & it will give you a very detailed reading. I checked out both the boy & girl names I have picked out and they both come up the same number, which is interesting!

http://www.paulsadowski.com/Numbers.asp

Oh, and I have a 13 year old with very short legs (takes after his daddy), he is wearing a 32 inch waist & we always have to hem about 6 inches off the bottoms of his pants! It's a pain that he can't wear anything off the rack, but oh well. I have tons of little scraps of denim & khaki for projects, lol.

[segolilymama]

Oh and I forgot to add - last night, after finding the boy name I am so excited about, every time I woke up it was running through my head like a mantra. It made me smile every single time :)

[purposefuldoula]

Darkblue and Sego- I love that your names came to you!  We (I) had that happen this time around, too. Right after we found out he was a he, it was almost as if he whispered his name to me, (Judah Emerson.)   After debating with DH about it, we went along with it and I'm so happy we did! It wasn't on our list either but was just his name.  I feel the same way as you, Darkblue, in that I have made  so much already, but have so much more to make before the holidays start!  Check out this gown pattern that I found over on pinterest. I was wanting to have at least 6 gowns in stick before December, and when I found this and reused some old t shirts, I ended up with 6! I'm pretty excited too, as I used some of my dads old shirts that I remember him wearing growing up. 

Mamabeakley- hugs mama! Maybe his trip will recharge you both and things will settle down when he gets back? 

Missing you ladies!! We've been so busy over here with planning for the school year starting in just a few weeks! That and all of the making that is going on here too is keeping us extra busy. I actually had to look at the calendar to figure out how far along I was a few days ago. I was getting my weeks confused!  Also- Books? I put together two more bookshelves yesterday and rearranged all of our books! Since DH is in his 9th year of college-5th year of grad school- we have a TON of books! They are mostly on US religious history or birthy books :) 

[mamaharrison]

Thanks for the numerology link Sego ; )
I have an awesome book on numerology--like AMAZING--can't think of the name off the top of y head and it is packed away right now, but I was wanting to dig it out and put our boy name into it and this saves me some time since it is accurate. Also, must say I LOVE the nae Gabriel! I tended a boy named Gabe for years when I was a teenager and he was a very special soul indeed. Also, when I visited Nicaragua in 2007 there was an infant babe named Gabriel whom I feel deeply in love with when we were visiting a friends' orphanage. Had I been married then I would have petitioned for adoption. Gabriel is certainly a strong name and fitting for any one choosing to incarnate in these modern times, IMO.

We know our son's name, if this is indeed him I am pregnant with. This soul has been with us for a few years {with me perhaps longer} and we see his name EVERYWHERE--it is truly uncanny. 

[segolilymama]

Purposeful - LOVE the pattern! I am totally making a bunch of these; DP has some old t's that are getting holes in places; I'm sure I can cut around the holes and make some awesome gowns for baby!

mamah - you are welcome :) I take it baby's name is a secret, like mine? You mentioned it but didn't say the name....

Books: I have already re-arranged by 'most important' books this pregnancy. The rest of the books (and yeah, we have a million of them too!) were sorted & organized a few short months ago when we moved in & unpacked :)

[travelmumma]

Oh my goodness! I can't believe how many of us are dreaming up names!!! I have too!!!!
I had a dream only a few nights ago that I gave birth to a chubby cheeked bright eyed girl, and as I caught my breathe my midwife asked "who is it?"
I checked and found it to be our little girl then I turned to DH and said "I think it's Ruby!" and he nodded yes, thats who it is!!
Then yesterday while we were cleaning the house I had my iPod on and every second song had the name Ruby in the title!!!!
we still aren't setting on that name alone, but if it is a little girl then I thnki she has let me know who she is Ruby was my nanas name
But we will have to wait and see!!! So for now it's still Albi lol

[tropicana74]

Originally Posted by segolilymama 

I somehow missed Gabe was your boy name, Darkblue! I have a Gabriel/Gabe, and he really lives up to his angel name - Gabriel was a tempremental angel according to legend, and my Gabriel is both firey & angelic :)

We have a Gabriel too (Gabriel Asher)! I have to say I wasn't crazy about the name Gabriel but the Asher was more my addition to the name. 
He has ABSOLUTELY lived up to the name. I can not even put into words how precious and often angelic this child is (even when he is being a little stinker)!

I still feel absolutely clueless about a name. I am glad you mamas are having better luck than I am! 

[AlaskAnne]

Congrats to all of you who are finding out your baby's sex!  I'll admit I'm curious myself but we are sticking with our decision to play for "team green" until the big day.  Although, I'm now leaning towards getting an U/S.  I'll decide for sure after I talk to my midwife at my appointment tomorrow.  I have been really going back and forth about it which is tough for me since I like to have things settled and decided but I just wasn't feeling like there was a clear right answer for us...

Chica, that video is so cute!! so fun that your family participated like that.  I think we have almost the same due date - have you started to feel movement outside yet?  I think maybe my baby just had a super active period there last week because he/she is more subdued now - less insistent kicking!

Kate - Awesome news on your raise and time off!  I think I would have gotten a little emotional too!  It must feel great to have your bosses have that much appreciation for your contributions. 

Purposeful - I found that same gown pattern and bookmarked it!  I'd love to see how yours turned out.  

AFM, I've been really productive this weekend.  Went on a major cleaning/organizing rampage at the house and on Saturday my husband and I went on a marathon garage sale-ing outing.  I think we went to 20 garage sales or some ridiculous number like that.  Got lots of great stuff that will be helpful for the baby - assorted wicker baskets for organizing, a nice flip lid garbage can for cloth diapers, the dr. sears book, yards and yards of cute printed flannel for sewing gowns, etc, and some $.50 baby clothes items.  I felt like I scored.  :)

A few weeks ago I started taking pictures of my belly although there really isn't much to see yet.  I even ran into one of the midwifes from the birth center today at Costco and she was shocked when I told her that I was only 19 weeks!  Anyway, I know something's happening b/c I can't button my work slacks and I had to buy some belly bands.  Kate, I thought of you when I went to motherhood maternity and they had those "fake bellies."  LOL! I couldn't help it, I had to try one on.  It was very strange to see myself with such a huge belly!

[nhklh]

Originally Posted by segolilymama 

I somehow missed Gabe was your boy name, Darkblue! I have a Gabriel/Gabe, and he really lives up to his angel name - Gabriel was a tempremental angel according to legend, and my Gabriel is both firey & angelic :)

Funny that this name has come up so much here, the feminine version is our top girl name and has been since DS2 was in utero :)

[chicajones]

travelmumma, I loooove the name Ruby! That was my second pick for a girl's name (behind Cora), and part of me is a little sad I won't be able to use it (yet). Such a beautiful name!

purposeful, you ROCK for posting that tutorial! I love those, and DH hasa ton of band shirts that I know he'd love to pass on to his son. :)

AlaskAnne, I tried on the fake belly at Motherhood Maternity (and also thought of Kate, lol) and it was huuuge! There's no way it was accurate. That, or I'm in for a very rude awakening! Isn't it crazy how your stomach can just pop out all of the sudden? I feel like the difference between now and two weeks ago is a huge shift. I do think we're close on due dates -- I'm 20 weeks today, where are you at? It's funny, I feel like ever since the ultrasound he's been moving around/kicking a ton more! Last night, DH even felt him kick, which was so amazing! I'm really glad he got to experience it. Keep us updated on whether or not you do an ultrasound/find out. I totally understand not doing it, but for us, I'm really glad we did. I feel so much more connected to him now that I can picture a "him" as well as have a definite name, saw him move, etc. Not that it wouldn't have felt as real if we hadn't, but he's definitely less of a vague idea now (which is what it felt like before). We don't plan on doing any other ultrasounds, but it was good to hear that everything looks good, my placenta is in the right spot, etc. It was also amazing to see them measure and get spot on with my due date. Just nice confirmation of what we already know. :)

segolily, I feel like my stack of books just keeps growing and growing! I'm really loving them though, and it's hard for me to take a break and read "regular" books (which I still like to do). I wish I could spend a week in a cabin with nothing to do but read! You may have mentioned before, but what would you say are your top five "most important" books?

darkblue, I also know a Gabe and he is so sweet. He's a lot of fun and the name really suits him. :)

I don't remember if I mentioned our name or not yet, but it's Charlie. :) Officially he'll be Charles (after DH's amazing Grandpa), but we plan to call him Charlie. The middle name is after my Grandpa, which we're excited about as well.

Last night was the last full evening I had to organize/pack things in the house. I feel like I got a lot done, which was great. Tonight we have our Bradley class, and tomorrow I'm staying in the city near the airport so I don't have to get up as early for my flight on Thursday. I'm so excited about this trip, and also really looking forward to seeing my grandma and mom and dad. I'm bringing along Game of Thrones Book Four (one of the non-pregnancy/childbirth books I've been reading), as well as a knitting project. So nice to have some quality "me" time!

[darkblue0729]

Travelmumma-I LOVE the name Ruby! the only reason DD1 isn't Ruby Wren is because when I thought we would be childless we named our dog Ruby, lol, and I just couldn't bring myself to name our sweet babe the same as our dear dog...we have long since learned our lesson about using names we are in love with as pet names (hence our Rabbit lovingly called Mr. Kitty :) )

Alaskanne-Loved the cute pic of your bump and grats on getting so much done!

Chic-Charlie/Charles is an awesome name mama!!

AFM- I am leisurely sipping my eensy weensy cup of coffee  and eating a slice of raw cashew cheesecake with ginger mango jam on top whilst waiting for our bread to rise; I love how my babes are old enough now to participate all together in our projects  I feel like fall is getting so close I can hardly wait, especially since our swamp cooler keeps the house cool, sometimes I forget that we still have a ways to go...I hope all is well mamas!

[cieloazul]

Hi, mamas! I feel a bit out of the loop after a busy week that's kept me mostly offline. It's so fun to hear everyone's names and name inspirations. Gabriel, Charlie, and Ruby are all terriffic. DH has taken to calling baby "Tillie Mae", which is sort of an inside joke but I think it may stick. I do love Tillie as a nickname but I'd want her to have something else to use as an adult if she wanted to. DS goes by a nickname so we'd be keeping tradition in that sense. I'm lobbying for "Matilda Jane" since my name starts with "M" and my grandmother's middle name was Jane, and Matilda works well in Spanish. But when I googled it for fun I found out that Matilda Jane is a company that sells clothing at house parties (really cute stuff BTW) and now I can't get it out of my head that naming her "Matilda Jane" would be like naming her "Mary Kay". We'll see what ends up on the birth certificate. Glad we have a while yet before it has to be decided.

[kateadelle]

cieloazul - just wanted to chime in and say that I love, love, love the name Matilda. I really wanted this babe to be Jude Matilda, but my partner hates Matilda. Matilda was my father's grandmother's name, but everyone called her Mamo.

I am so glad that more of you are getting to experience the glory of the fake belly! 

AFM We finally managed to make contact with a potential doula who is free in December! We are supposed to be meeting her this Sunday, which I am very much looking forward to.

I had a midwife appointment yesterday at my house to see if my blood pressure was lower there, but it was just as high as ever. I took it again 5 minutes after she left and it was fine. Go figure...

My mother sent me some money for my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I promptly spent all of it on some expensive maternity underwear - best decision I could have made. I haven't been this comfortable in weeks! 

[segolilymama]

I love all the names! Matilda, Charlie, Ruby, and of course Gabriel :) I cannot WAIT to start meeting some of these beautiful wonderous souls we have been busy creating - but will happily wait the necessary 18-22 weeks ;)

kate - SO happy you found a doula!!!! YAY!!!

chica - Ina May's guide to childbirth & Spiritual Midwifery; Goer's Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth; Shanley's Unassisted Childbirth; Davis-Floyd's Birth as an American Right of Passage. Oh, and Active Birth (Can't remember the author). I also have a TON of more spiritual books about birth that I love - there is one by a woman whose name I cannot remember right now who had one of the first water births in the US - beautiful stories & pictures :). And about 200 others ;)

darkblue - I am seriously droppinh by to share coffee and treats soon....

AFM, I am off to write my 21 week blog post. I have been working my butt off for 2 days, I was supposed to go out tonight but cancelled & will be hanging in bed for the evening while being waited on hand & foot by DP, DH, and DS3 ;) Baby kicked me so hard night before last that it HURT several times - I could see my whole belly move! DP saw it too, but of course as soon as I tried to have him feel it, it stopped lol. I was able to buy a few things for baby last week, which took some stress off as I have been (unreasonably) paranoid that I would have 2 onsies and a blanket when s/he arrives lol. I also found the fabric for one of the 2 quilts I want to make - I'm doing white squares for each of the other 12 kids to decorate with colorful sharpie markers, which I will then turn into a quilt for baby :) I'm thinking about getting theirs done this weekend, both because it's one of the last weekends of summer where everyone will be around & because it will give me plenty of time to turn it into a quilt lol. Oh, and I am totally making some of those gowns from t-shirts!!!

[DeeGee 1873]

I love hearing all of the names that everyone has decided on already. Am I the only one that can't seem to pick the right name for my babe?

So, the irony is, I had the girl name totally set. And I felt like it was a girl, so I hadn't even really considered boy names. Of course, I was convinced my DD was a boy, and when she was born and my husband said "It's a girl" I totally had him double check. And when I was pregnant with my son, I went into the U/S thinking it was another girl and was wrong again. So, I think from now on, if I am thinking my child will be one sex, we can bet on it being the other.

So, family names are really important to us and here are some potential names and some explanations. So, on my side of the family we have a John Andrew (grandfather), John Keith (father) and John Jacob (brother) who all go by their middle names. So I really want John as the first name, with a strong middle name that he will go by, make sense? So, some of our options are August (my husband's middle name, which he doesn't like, but I LOVE), Robert (my husband's first name), Jacob (my brother is unmarried, no prospects in sight but has laid claim to naming his firstborn Jacob, which I get but am annoyed by), and Andrew (after my other grandfather, Jacob Andrew, who died just a couple months ago, but complicating that is he would have a cousin "Drew" only a few years older than him). Also, I really wouldn't want our son to go by John, because our other son is James, and it felt a little silly to have brothers James and John (as in two of the 12 disciples, who were also brothers, as very regular church attenders, it felt a little too . . . cheesy?). And then someone suggested that no matter what the middle name is we could call him Jack, which my husband at least kind of likes because that was his grandfather's given name. 

I am beginning to think we may just have to wait til baby boy is born and then I can demand the name that I like best because I just went through labor. But my husband always jokes that he will be the one filling in the birth record while I am sleeping so he can get his way no matter what!

PS: Darkblue and Segolily, I totally get what you gals are saying about where you live because my husband's family lived in Utah for several years and they still complain about it. The funny thing is, they are also part of the club, but apparently the Utah members are on a whole different level than those that live elsewhere, so even they felt out of place. Anyway, the missionaries come to our door regularly trying to win him back to the church, because he joined me in the Episcopal church years ago. I am so aggravated by how pushy they are, and I don't know if I could hold my tongue about it if we lived in Utah.

[Mamabeakley]

Nope, I have no name for a boy, either, and with 2 out of 3 of my kids AND ALL THEIR COUSINS being boys, the chances of us having a boy are very good.  DH is still in the 'suggest stilly names the 8 & 6 year old will think are funny' stage, so he's no help at the moment!