"Weekly" Chat thread ~ Jan 10th-19th - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[LightForest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beautifulnm 

I couldn't find the paperbag over head smiley but I need it. I was so terrified of cutting ds' nails I had a coworker and the daycare lady do it. Totally paranoid.. The most I could ever do was use the file which doesn't work so great on fresh baby nails. 

I've known a couple of people who just sort of bit them off with their teeth. I could never bring myself to do that. I've seen these electric nail file things for baby nails but it's hard to see how they would work on a newborn's nails, because they're so soft and bendy...

[spughy]

I think I've cut baby nails for *most* of my postpartum doula clients - the first-time ones at least.  Sometimes the ones with older kids too, because it doesn't really matter how many kids you've had, it's still not a fun chore.  And also, most babies will hold still and look at mom if they're in someone else's arms and mom is right there - it's a good opportunity to do things like that.

chocolatechip - YAY for a functioning kitchen!!!  I totally get how important that is.  No question.  A kitchen HAS to work.

LightForest - I don't know what your feeling are on this, but have you considered a toddler harness for your DD?  Appearances aside, it will give her the freedom to explore (within limits) and it would give you peace of mind, as well.

I signed my DD up for swim club even though she didn't want to go because parents get 45 minutes of swimming for $2 at the same time.  I'm a dreadful mother (but really, DD *should* have some more swim practice, and she's not nearly as "tired" after school as she thinks she is - she's not averse to swim club per se, merely to doing *anything* after school - but yesterday she went outside and was running around until well after dark so she can't be THAT pooped).  I just really like the idea of a guaranteed 45 minute lane swim at least once a week.  I've kind of put the weightlifting on hold - it seems to bugger up my pubic bone too much, so I've just been going for longer walks but I need more exercise than that.  And while I can use the pool at the Y for "free" (it's included in my membership), they dump SO much chlorine in there that if I go more than once a week my skin starts to suffer (and I'm not a particularly skin-sensitive person).  I think I can manage without weight training for another two months or so (plus postpartum recovery time - hopefully I won't still be bleeding at 10 weeks pp like last time...)  Oh it will be SO NICE to not have this ginormous belly getting in the way of everything!

[Chapsie]

We had out kitchen remodeled in our old apartment when i was pregnant with DD and we didn't have a stove for 7 weeks (and no sink for 4 weeks). It was awful!!!! I am very happy to have my tiny ranch style house with functioning kitchen and first floor laundry now! Yay.

As far as baby nails go-- we tell all our new mamas at the hospital to hold off on cutting baby nails until the baby is 3-4 weeks old! The nail is attached all the way at the tip of the finger at birth and it is common to cause bleeding (ouch!!) if you cut a new baby's nails with clippers. Until then, those t-shirts with the cuffs on them or those baby mittens work well.

I had an appt today with my MW. She told me that my insurance company signed a corporate agreement with the other local Homebirth midwife and because of this, they won't reimburse her. She started crying when she told me this and asked if I wanted to transfer to the other MW. Of course not! I have a wonderful relationship with my MW-- she has been with me through two miscarriages. I am very sad that the insurance company is being so stupid. When I started care with her, I had such a peace about things. I trust God to work everything out. Even if we have to take out a loan to pay her ourselves! I hate insurance. It is so expensive and you have to jump through hoops to get them to pay for anything! What about what I want??

In other news, I am 31 weeks, measuring 33.5! My MW is ok with this, but I was really hoping to grow a slightly smaller baby this time (my others were 9.5 lbs). I have gained 21 lbs so far. Also, I have some swelling in my legs and my my pubic symphysis pain is getting worse. On Monday night, DH had to lift me into bed because I couldn't climb in myself... And I couldn't get my pants or shoes on by myself. The past 2 days have been a little better, but the pain is really slowing me down. It's a bit frustrating. Baby is vertex but posterior.

Other than that, I feel great. I am enjoying this pregnancy but feel that it is flying by and I am no where near ready to have this baby!

[LightForest]

Originally Posted by Chapsie 

As far as baby nails go-- we tell all our new mamas at the hospital to hold off on cutting baby nails until the baby is 3-4 weeks old! The nail is attached all the way at the tip of the finger at birth and it is common to cause bleeding (ouch!!) if you cut a new baby's nails with clippers. Until then, those t-shirts with the cuffs on them or those baby mittens work well.

This is great to know -- makes so much sense!!! And I'd do anything to have an "excuse" to not trim the baby's nails for the first few weeks 

[LightForest]

Originally Posted by spughy 

LightForest - I don't know what your feeling are on this, but have you considered a toddler harness for your DD?  Appearances aside, it will give her the

freedom to explore (within limits) and it would give you peace of mind, as well.

I should totally try that. We do have a little backpack thing that has a leash clip on it, but the fit is super funky (the chest strap is too high and cuts into her neck). I haven't tried it on her in a long time. I don't know, though. I think the real issue is that I'm trying to transition her away from using the stroller when we use public transportation, but we' haven't figured out a good "system" to replace the stroller yet. Maybe I need to just figure out a way to make the stroller work... I was hoping to stop using it when we use public transportation - the idea of juggling a toddler, a baby in a carrier, a backpack, and a (folded) stroller on a bus or subway just seems like too much to me. I barely manage all that (minus the baby of course!) now, but the stroller was getting to be too much on crowded buses. It's causing me too much stress, though, I now see.

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by LightForest 

- the idea of juggling a toddler, a baby in a carrier, a backpack, and a (folded) stroller on a bus or subway just seems like too much to me. 

whew!  that sounds very stressful!  I've done that a couple of times (subway with toddler and baby) and I am so glad I don't have to do it on a regular basis!   I hope you can figure out a system that works for you.  Hopefully DD will cut you some slack soon!  I have a 2 yr old daughter, too, and she sounds very much like yours (always wandering)!  They won't be two forever!  (I have to remind myself daily!)

[LightForest]

Originally Posted by Chapsie 

whew!  that sounds very stressful!  I've done that a couple of times (subway with toddler and baby) and I am so glad I don't have to do it on a regular basis!   I hope you can figure out a system that works for you.  Hopefully DD will cut you some slack soon!  I have a 2 yr old daughter, too, and she sounds very much like yours (always wandering)!  They won't be two forever!  (I have to remind myself daily!)

as i write out my frustrations I'm realizing that the transit thing DOES stress me out, a TON! we only have this one activity a week that requires using public transportation - otherwise we do well with the bike, stroller, and occasional zipcar (hourly car rental). we're car free and i'd love to stay that way. but her school (just a bit too far away to bike) is the one real hiccup in our car-free life right now... ug...

(of course, the new baby will introduce another snag in my bike-commuting world. i'm trying not to fret about that yet but the reality is slowly setting in whether i like it or not!)

anyway, thanks to you all for being a sounding board for my issues!

[Melany]

Hello!

I think this will be a drive by post of sorts. I just got back from the office, which is a long drive over the pass (2 hours one way). My office threw me a shower and it was perfect. I work with a lot of men and there was a "make your own taco" bar, cake, cookies and an action movie playing in the background. I don't think I could have planned a better "engineer" friendly baby shower. And, they were overly generous. I'm kind of in awe, I think I was blushing the entire time (I hate being the center of attention). 

[LightForest]

Originally Posted by Melany 

Hello!

I think this will be a drive by post of sorts. I just got back from the office, which is a long drive over the pass (2 hours one way). My office threw me a shower and it was perfect. I work with a lot of men and there was a "make your own taco" bar, cake, cookies and an action movie playing in the background. I don't think I could have planned a better "engineer" friendly baby shower. And, they were overly generous. I'm kind of in awe, I think I was blushing the entire time (I hate being the center of attention). 

Melany, that shower sounds awesome!!! Make your own taco bar? Sign me up!!!

[maydaymom10]

Originally Posted by chocolatechip 

Sometimes I feel a little ridiculous being so excited about this, but we've been living in non-optimal kitchen conditions for the whole two years we've been in this house, and it makes SUCH a big difference when things are set up right. 

I totally get this!! We just had a water softener removed last week. Found out 1) it was too small for our house (came with it when we bought it), and 2) it wasn't even working anymore. Anyway, for the past 5 years our water pressure has stunk. Now with the water softener gone, the pressure is up and DH & I can fill our glasses from the water filter in the fridge in less that 20 minutes. We just laugh about how incredible giddy we are about this. And we can run the dishwasher and/or washing machine & still get our water quickly. I think we're way too attached to our water dispenser.

Originally Posted by LightForest 

I wasn't able to dig my phone out of my bag to look at the time because I was too busy trying to stop DD from rolling around on the ground and licking the glass walls of the bus stop enclosure. Seriously, what is wrong with this kid? (Answer: she's two. Sigh.)

So glad I'm not the only one. DS is 2.5 y.o. and does the same things. We went to a Kindermusik class yesterday and he just totally refused to participate. Let out a gigantic "ROAR" after they sang the "Hello Song" to him, and then proceeded to run around in circles for most of the rest of the class. And don't get me started about the window licking -- what is it with these kids?? Between eating dirt/playground sand, licking windows, and constantly rolling on the ground, I'm surprised that he hasn't been sick this year (knock on wood). I guess he's building up some good antibodies.

[jodieanneanton]

Originally Posted by Melany 

Hello!

I think this will be a drive by post of sorts. I just got back from the office, which is a long drive over the pass (2 hours one way). My office threw me a shower and it was perfect. I work with a lot of men and there was a "make your own taco" bar, cake, cookies and an action movie playing in the background. I don't think I could have planned a better "engineer" friendly baby shower. And, they were overly generous. I'm kind of in awe, I think I was blushing the entire time (I hate being the center of attention). 

Yeay for a good shower.  :)  I might need a taco today now...  I am sure Moe's Southwest Grill wouldn't mind! ;)

Originally Posted by maydaymom10 

I totally get this!! We just had a water softener removed last week. Found out 1) it was too small for our house (came with it when we bought it), and 2) it wasn't even working anymore. Anyway, for the past 5 years our water pressure has stunk. Now with the water softener gone, the pressure is up and DH & I can fill our glasses from the water filter in the fridge in less that 20 minutes. We just laugh about how incredible giddy we are about this. And we can run the dishwasher and/or washing machine & still get our water quickly. I think we're way too attached to our water dispenser.

So glad I'm not the only one. DS is 2.5 y.o. and does the same things. We went to a Kindermusik class yesterday and he just totally refused to participate. Let out a gigantic "ROAR" after they sang the "Hello Song" to him, and then proceeded to run around in circles for most of the rest of the class. And don't get me started about the window licking -- what is it with these kids?? Between eating dirt/playground sand, licking windows, and constantly rolling on the ground, I'm surprised that he hasn't been sick this year (knock on wood). I guess he's building up some good antibodies.

 mayday! That is prob why he's not sick!!!  lol

And I am with you and chocolatechip on the excited over the little things.  When we moved, our water pressure was so much better than someone can flush the toilet while I am showering and there is NO CHANGE to the pressure or the temp!!! :D  And then a couple weeks ago, my DH turned up the temp on the water heater and the difference in my life has been incredible!!! WOO!  I was jumping for joy over the results!  I guess grown ups just get excited over bathroom and kitchen improvements. lol.

Oh, that reminds me!!!  The other day, we went to Amish country for the day.  My kids like collecting the flyers for the stores out there.  DD1 picked up a flyer for a cabinetry maker.  She was looking through it and said, "Mommy, I want our kitchen to look like this," pointing at a picture of a BEAUTIFUL Italian-looking kitchen.  "Yeah.... Me, too, kid!"  lol.  Maybe she is growing up faster than I think.  I don't remember being excited over cabinets until I was planning my "dream home" at 13!

[Chapsie]

I have to laugh about the 2 year old licking thing.  My husband just said:  "Stop, kiddo!  Licking is just as bad as hitting someone!"  haha.  Made me giggle.  DD likes to pretend she's a "baby puppy" and so she'll climb up on someone's lap panting and then lick their face.  Totally gross and cute at the same time, lol.  She also licks windows all the time.  So bizarre.  Her last ultrasound when I was pregnant with her showed her licking her placenta like an ice cream cone, haha.  

[jodieanneanton]

Originally Posted by Chapsie 

I have to laugh about the 2 year old licking thing.  My husband just said:  "Stop, kiddo!  Licking is just as bad as hitting someone!"  haha.  Made me giggle.  DD likes to pretend she's a "baby puppy" and so she'll climb up on someone's lap panting and then lick their face.  Totally gross and cute at the same time, lol.  She also licks windows all the time.  So bizarre.  Her last ultrasound when I was pregnant with her showed her licking her placenta like an ice cream cone, haha.  

My 2 yo does this, too!!!!  haha!  Never thought to tell her it was just as bad as hitting.  That is hilarious!

[spughy]

I just gotta say, if kids licking things were truly a health hazard, you'd have been warned long before now.  There are only a few places where I'd be really worried about licking stuff and most of them involve medical facilities.  My kid was never a licker but she certainly ingested her share of mud and sand and stuff (the most truly disgusting thing she ever did was go through a phase of biting her own toenails - preferably when her feet were really dirty from running around barefoot in the summer because she liked the "extra crunch".)  Kids are SUPPOSED to do these things, as gross as it is.  It totally helps provide them with a robust and varied internal flora.  Just... try not to think about it.

I'm taking a rest day because a) I can and b) I can feel another roid coming on - but I think I've caught it in time.  DD's swim club experience was a huge bust.  Tears, shivering... I can't really blame the poor kid, the setup was awful and she's too good a swimmer to be with other kids her age and felt too intimidated to go with the older kids.  Fortunately I had TV night at a friend's house last night and her little guy has the same issues with regular swimming lessons that DD does - too much sitting around getting cold, not enough swimming - so my friend and I are going to look into semi-private lessons.  DD's a decent swimmer but she's not getting any better just going to the pool with Daddy and playing - she can swim across the pool no problem, and dive deep and is completely comfortable in the water, but has no clue about different strokes, energy-saving emergency swimming, diving technique or anything. Anyway, instead of a nice 45 minutes of length swimming for me, there was 45 minutes of me sitting on the cold hard pool deck trying to get DD engaged in the activities.  It didn't work, and now my bum is paying the price.  So, DH took DD to school, they're having dinner at MIL's and I get a day of TV and books.  I think I need it, regardless.

[scruffy too]

We had about 10 inches of fresh snow last night.  It took me 30 minutes to get out of my driveway (and it was with the last vehicle I tried.)  So I was late to work, which isn't a big deal where I work right now, but everyone was so worried about me that I felt bad for not calling once I was on my way (I live 45 minutes out of town - lots of time to pull over and safely place a phone call...) 

My parents arrive today (again!!!)  They were about to put an offer in on a house here, then another house came on the market at a much lower price and it's bigger and in some ways better, but they have to come up to see it as it will go within a week at the price.  So even though they were here for 3 weeks over Christmas and just left 2 weeks ago, they're baaackkk!!!  I'm so happy!!!!!!!  I really hope they like it.  I checked it out on the weekend and I really like it, but my mom and I have very different tastes...  They saw all the pictures and like them, so I hope I didn't just waste their time (and $) by urging them to fly up.  I think they'll love it.  My mom is already imagining her craft room in the loft area of the house, so that's a good sign.  They're more just coming to make sure it's structurally sound, etc...

Spughy - have you thought about Synchronized swimming at all?  I was in swimming my entire life (and went on to teach if for a few years in High School and University) and while I only spent one year in Synchro, but it taught me some cool things.  There's another type of organized swim I was in for years that wasn't "lessons" but I can't remember what it was called....  It more focused on just swimming - kind of like endurance swimming, and I really enjoyed that.  Or, can you just go and swim lengths and have her swim with you (using a flutter board and/or flippers if she needs/wants to)?  I LOVE swimming with flippers (don't do it nearly often enough) because you go SO fast and it works your a$$ great.

[Chapsie]

Originally Posted by scruffy too 

We had about 10 inches of fresh snow last night.  It took me 30 minutes to get out of my driveway (and it was with the last vehicle I tried.)  So I was late to work, which isn't a big deal where I work right now, but everyone was so worried about me that I felt bad for not calling once I was on my way (I live 45 minutes out of town - lots of time to pull over and safely place a phone call...) 

My parents arrive today (again!!!)  They were about to put an offer in on a house here, then another house came on the market at a much lower price and it's bigger and in some ways better, but they have to come up to see it as it will go within a week at the price.  So even though they were here for 3 weeks over Christmas and just left 2 weeks ago, they're baaackkk!!!  I'm so happy!!!!!!!  I really hope they like it.  I checked it out on the weekend and I really like it, but my mom and I have very different tastes...  They saw all the pictures and like them, so I hope I didn't just waste their time (and $) by urging them to fly up.  I think they'll love it.  My mom is already imagining her craft room in the loft area of the house, so that's a good sign.  They're more just coming to make sure it's structurally sound, etc...

Spughy - have you thought about Synchronized swimming at all?  I was in swimming my entire life (and went on to teach if for a few years in High School and University) and while I only spent one year in Synchro, but it taught me some cool things.  There's another type of organized swim I was in for years that wasn't "lessons" but I can't remember what it was called....  It more focused on just swimming - kind of like endurance swimming, and I really enjoyed that.  Or, can you just go and swim lengths and have her swim with you (using a flutter board and/or flippers if she needs/wants to)?  I LOVE swimming with flippers (don't do it nearly often enough) because you go SO fast and it works your a$$ great.

10 inches??!!!  WOW!!!  That's a lot of snow.   (I live in Western New York and we get a lot of lake effect snow, so we're "used to it" but 10 inches is still quite a bit!)

I'm so excited for you that your parents are moving near by!  That will be really nice for you and them and baby!

AFM--  when I was sick with the flu, I had no idea where my house keys and van keys were.  It really bothered me but I couldn't really look for them (and didn't really need them at the time because I was sick in bed) but I hated not knowing what happened to them!  They were missing for 2 whole weeks!  Finally, the snow thawed (I lost them the day of a big snow storm) and I saw my DH walking around the yard picking up little chunks of something.  He comes in the house and said "found your keys!" and held out his hand-- my keys were in shreds!   Apparently, they got dropped in the driveway and the snowblower had its way with them!  They were spewed all over the yard and covered in snow!  haha.  At least now I know what happened to them!

[spughy]

10 inches is a MASSIVE amount of snow for the Yukon.  It's really dry there in the winter, big dumps like that don't happen often!  I should probably call my sisters.

Scruffy - that's a great idea about synchro swimming.  I did it when I was a kid too - again, not for long, but I loved it.  I haven't seen any listings for it in the rec guides but I will do some more digging. 

Chapsie - that's a bummer about your keys!  I hope you didn't have one of those fancy open-the-car-doors remotes on your keychain... I have one of those and a friend of mine told me about another friend (who has the same kind of car as me) who lost hers and it cost a couple hundred dollars to replace.  Yikes!

[scruffy too]

10 inches is crazy!!  It was a workout just "brushing" off all the vehicles I tried using this morning.  There was a snow fall warning, but I figured they were just trying to predict worst case scenario - but yeah, it snowed.  I always think it's too much when the under carriage of the vehicle leaves drag marks in the snow...

[Melany]

Lots to comment on and no time.

Both my kids came out with long nails, you could see the whites and they weren't attached. My husband would never cut them, the tiny fingers scared him. Both kids wanted access to their hands to put into their mouths. So, I would trim them with baby nail clippers. My pediatrician helped with my son, they were so long! With my daughter, I trimmed them while she slept before we left the hospital. My kids would get frustrated with the mittens, so it seemed kinder to trim the nails and let them have their hands. They were calmer. 

Worked from a coffee shop this morning. That was nice change of pace, but the increase in bathroom breaks is a problem when you have no one to sit with your laptop.

[chocolatechip]

I love that you all understand my kitchen excitement.  Chapsie, remodeling the kitchen while pregnant doesn't sound like much fun! Maydaymom, hooray for good water pressure! JodieAnne, we had a plumber over somewhat early on after moving in to fix a basement drain, and he was running hot water to do it and was suddenly like, "you're out of hot water already?!?" So he checked the water heater and turned it up and now we actually have a decent amount of hot water. 

 

Our stove has been only partly functional for longer than I care to admit (ever since I decided to clean it and discovered the wiring was frying the burner plugs), but I find that it's remarkable the number of things I can cook with one burner and an oven.  Still, I'm excited the new one's coming in February. I'm going to see if anyone wants the old one on Craigslist, because it would probably be fine with just the wiring redone, which I'm told isn't that hard. But it's *also* extra wide, and our kitchen is such that we'll be better off with a regular sized stove. I will miss the solidity of this stove, though - they just don't make new appliances like they used to (this one is 1950s/60s GE, sturdy metal!).

 

LightForest, so sorry you've been having such a difficult time. You're making it through, though! Sometimes what I get most anxious about is having a baby that turns into a toddler.

 

spughy, I'm sorry your swimming lesson experiment didn't work, but I think it's great you're considering sharing lessons with another friend. I really think good swimming skills are important - you never know where you'll end up living or what kind of experiences you'll want to go on! (not you, specifically, of course, but people in general) I'm very glad that I'm really comfortable in the water, given all of the boats and canoes and kayaks I've been in and beaches and lakes I've visited and so on. Admittedly, I LOVE swimming, so I'm a bit biased!

 

Chapsie, yeah, insurance is stupid.  Ours just says they won't cover the home birth. They cover midwifery care if we go to an office for our appointments (which we do), but not if the midwives were to come to us. I'm hoping the midwives will just bill as "prenatal care" visits when they get to the part where they do a home visit before the birth! But even so, we had to just decide to suck up the costs of the actual birth part. It's worth it to me, and fortunately my husband (the main income earner) is supportive. (but then the insurance would cover almost the entire costs of a MUCH more expensive hospital birth? It boggles my mind)

 

Melany, your baby shower sounds awesome. Good for the guys! 

 

 

Synchronized swimming - I did synchro for about 3 1/2 years (age 10-13.5), and loved the combination of water sport with dancing. I swam for one the top two teams in the US, though, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it at the hyper-competitive level. I left when I did because it just turned into an unhealthy situation, and I was lucky enough to have parents who supported my decision to leave in the middle of the year (the coach was subsequently put on administrative leave for quite a while, and sent to training on how to deal with young girls, but I was done at that point, and I think it took me leaving to push that to happen). *Anyway*, that wouldn't be a cautionary tale until much later, probably, but sometimes it can be good to remember that competitive sports can be, well, over-the-top competitive in not-so-good ways.