~*Weekly Chat Thread for Jan 25th - Jan 31st*~ - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[LeighPF]

Porcelina, I did that with Monkey, when I was pregnant with Bee. But it was worth it to have the quiet time.

[mellybelly]

Hi Girls!

Leigh, I'm finally beginning to feel normal.  I'm still having some indigestion, but NOTHING compared to two weeks ago.

Stormi, I just read about what happened.  How awful!  I cannot even imagine what you're going through.  I totally agree with the pp who asked whether you have any friends around who can help you out now.  "Help" was designed for times like these.

I'm sorry to hear so many people are still dealing with m/s and other colds/flus.  That stinks.  We had some whopper cold/flus in Sept, Oct, and Nov (weirdly, I ran a fever around the time I was supposed to ovulate each month, making temping REALLY tricky/impossible).  And tho they really stank, I'm hoping that we maybe got the worst of it *before* I got pregnant.  That said, I did have a stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, so...  I guess that didn't work out 100%.

What else is new?  ODS just turned 5.  I can't believe it.  We're having his birthday party today, which should be fun for him (even though I sort of dread it:  my MIL has a way of being really irritating at these sorts of things).  I'm still busting butt trying to finish some work that's due soon-ish.  DH is going away next weekend and I'm just hoping to survive (Banana, I'm thinking of you!).  

And we're struggling with deciding what to do about school for ODS.  We live in a city and are not confident in the public schools, but can't afford the $20-30k+ (per year per kid) price tag of private schools, aren't comfortable with parochial schools, and are not sure whether homeschooling is right for us.  So we're talking about moving, which is stressing me out a bit.  I never envisioned myself living in a suburb, but...  well...  we'll see.  

I know some of you homeschool, so let me ask you my question.  When I first talked about homeschooling (we chose not to send ODS to public pre-k this year, so a lot of our friends think we're "homeschooling" right now), a lot of my friends said, "Oh, I could never do that.  My child doesn't listen to me/pay attention/do things for me/etc. as well as s/he does for a teacher."  At the time, I totally blew off that concern, but now I'm starting to see the wisdom in it.  I'm finding that ODS doesn't want to do *anything* when I ask him.  (Want to go to the park?  No.  Want to go to the museum?  No.  Let's go to the library.  No.)  It's sort of driving me crazy.  If I left it to him, he would stay in his pjs at home all day (my m/s was a great time for him!)  Of course, I'm not going to do that - he needs exercise/fresh air, at the very least!  So here's my question:  is this just a phase?  Is there anything I can do to help motivate him to do anything other than stay in his pjs and play with Star Wars figures?  As he gets older, I'm worried that he will not pay attention to lessons (I'm not inclined to unschool).  Is that a valid concern?  Or is this all just because he's 5 and when he's older it'll all be different?  Or are some kid/parent combos genuinely not suited for homeschooling?  I really love the idea of homeschooling (and I love how close ODS and YDS are because they're around each other all the time!), but I'm so frustrated with ODS's lack of interest in, well, anything (and with my own inability to get him interested in anything).  I'd love any advice from homeschooling mamas.  

Wow, that ended up being a lot longer than I was anticipating!  Obviously, that's where my mind really is.  Sigh.  Poor #3...  already getting the short end of the attention stick.  (Tho s/he was getting plenty of attention as I was slogging through the m/s :)).

[Banana731]

I think you are homeschooling right now without realizing it. Parents are always teaching and kids are always learning. It's all your ds knows. Little kids like to say "no" it's one of the few ways they have to exercise control. I wouldn't worry much about it. But, if it helps, I don't ask questions if the answer is really non-negotiable. It's "we're going to do X,Y,Z today, would you like me to pick your clothes or do you want to do that yourself?"

Sit down with him and use those star wars figures to teach him something about numbers. See how that goes. Bake a cake and to teach about following directions. It's an easy place to start at that age, and you have nothing to loose.

[LeighPF]

I really wanted to go to church today. Have not been since early December and husband is grumpy because people keep asking and he thinks they think we are fighting or something.

So I got up earlyish, got just the right breakfast at just the right time. Most of my mornings have been better lately. And my father in law is here for a quick visit on the way through, so extra help.

And nothing. I feel terrible and spent most of the morning lying in bed aching.

I told husband to just announce baby to the church, but he hates making and announcements.

[FarmerCathy]

Leigh - hang in there.  That's sad that the other church folks think your fighting.  You need positive not negative attitudes around you right now.  Hope your hubby announces it.  I'm sure he'll get a warm response if he does.  If it was my hubby, the whole church would know by now.  He's a blabbermouth!

I was 13 weeks last Friday and had my 1st appt. with the new OB.  He was great and yes, a little harder to understand, but he and the staff were so much nicer than the other place I was going.  He wants to see me again in two weeks.  Baby's hb was in the 150's.  He is the classic OB though trying to get my glucose numbers to be non-diabetic.  Good luck doc.  My last endo said that most are that way.  I would love to have non-diabetic numbers, but its not going to happen. 
 

[mama_b]

Originally Posted by mellybelly 

Hi Girls!

Leigh, I'm finally beginning to feel normal.  I'm still having some indigestion, but NOTHING compared to two weeks ago.

Stormi, I just read about what happened.  How awful!  I cannot even imagine what you're going through.  I totally agree with the pp who asked whether you have any friends around who can help you out now.  "Help" was designed for times like these.

I'm sorry to hear so many people are still dealing with m/s and other colds/flus.  That stinks.  We had some whopper cold/flus in Sept, Oct, and Nov (weirdly, I ran a fever around the time I was supposed to ovulate each month, making temping REALLY tricky/impossible).  And tho they really stank, I'm hoping that we maybe got the worst of it *before* I got pregnant.  That said, I did have a stomach flu a couple of weeks ago, so...  I guess that didn't work out 100%.

What else is new?  ODS just turned 5.  I can't believe it.  We're having his birthday party today, which should be fun for him (even though I sort of dread it:  my MIL has a way of being really irritating at these sorts of things).  I'm still busting butt trying to finish some work that's due soon-ish.  DH is going away next weekend and I'm just hoping to survive (Banana, I'm thinking of you!).  

And we're struggling with deciding what to do about school for ODS.  We live in a city and are not confident in the public schools, but can't afford the $20-30k+ (per year per kid) price tag of private schools, aren't comfortable with parochial schools, and are not sure whether homeschooling is right for us.  So we're talking about moving, which is stressing me out a bit.  I never envisioned myself living in a suburb, but...  well...  we'll see.  

I know some of you homeschool, so let me ask you my question.  When I first talked about homeschooling (we chose not to send ODS to public pre-k this year, so a lot of our friends think we're "homeschooling" right now), a lot of my friends said, "Oh, I could never do that.  My child doesn't listen to me/pay attention/do things for me/etc. as well as s/he does for a teacher."  At the time, I totally blew off that concern, but now I'm starting to see the wisdom in it.  I'm finding that ODS doesn't want to do *anything* when I ask him.  (Want to go to the park?  No.  Want to go to the museum?  No.  Let's go to the library.  No.)  It's sort of driving me crazy.  If I left it to him, he would stay in his pjs at home all day (my m/s was a great time for him!)  Of course, I'm not going to do that - he needs exercise/fresh air, at the very least!  So here's my question:  is this just a phase?  Is there anything I can do to help motivate him to do anything other than stay in his pjs and play with Star Wars figures?  As he gets older, I'm worried that he will not pay attention to lessons (I'm not inclined to unschool).  Is that a valid concern?  Or is this all just because he's 5 and when he's older it'll all be different?  Or are some kid/parent combos genuinely not suited for homeschooling?  I really love the idea of homeschooling (and I love how close ODS and YDS are because they're around each other all the time!), but I'm so frustrated with ODS's lack of interest in, well, anything (and with my own inability to get him interested in anything).  I'd love any advice from homeschooling mamas.  

Wow, that ended up being a lot longer than I was anticipating!  Obviously, that's where my mind really is.  Sigh.  Poor #3...  already getting the short end of the attention stick.  (Tho s/he was getting plenty of attention as I was slogging through the m/s :)).

I know you say that you are uncomfortable with unschooling, but what about very relaxed schooling?  That's what I do.  Unschooling really appeals to me, but in the real world I'm just not comfortable with not teaching the basics like reading, writing and basic math.  My dd does not like to sit and learn for long periods of time, so what I do is a mixture of homeschooling and unschooling.

We do a short period of structured learning, which might be reading or grammar, math, writing, or a mixture of all of these depending on the day.  And then for the rest of the day we unschool, which basically means she learns what she wants to learn that day.  When she asks me questions, we look up the answer online, and if she's into it we can delve into the subject further, doing some kind of project.  We keep science experiment books around and both kids like doing those every so often.  But it's really very relaxed and works well for us.

[emily11megan]

Originally Posted by AUvetmom 

Last week I got sick with something that seemed to exacerbate my preg symptoms. I was nauseated, exhausted, felt like crap all around. But as soon as I got past that, I've felt better this week than I have my entire pregnancy. Lots of energy, good appetite. I'm sort of waiting for a relapse. I'm 10 weeks today.

This is so me. I could have written that.  I've felt worried that I'd never be normal again, but it's happening slowly.  Yesterday and today were closer to normal.  I think we're close to the same due date.  It's been ROUGH.  My husband went out of town for 5 days and I was alone with two kiddos, 2 and 4.  A week of hell.  But I survived, and I'm actually gonna be my old self again, I can feel it.  I'm hoping you feel good soon too.  ...and spring is coming, think how nice that will be.  Feel healthy, get in the sun, feel some baby kicks, rub a round belly.  aahhhhhhhhhh.

[Banana731]

For those of you getting the super serious blood work thapredict ell the baby's sex: how accurtate is it. What else does it test for? Is your insurance covering it? If not, how much is it OOP?

[CrunchyMama19]

Ok, I am afraid to jinx myself but I really am starting to feel better! I still tire a lot more easily but the nausea is a lot better, as long as I am nowhere NEAR a cup of coffee. DH had one in the car yesterday and I was nauseous the whole ride, yuck. So strange since I drink more than I should when I am not pregnant! I also found that if I add a bit of cranberry juice to water I can tolerate a lot more of it.

mellybelly - I too was worried about homeschooling my DD, she is really not the best listener. We tried PS for a little while but it became apparent that although she was doing well it just wasn't the kind of education we wanted her to have. I want her to enjoy learning, learn by doing, explore and go in-depth but PS simply doesn't allow for that these days, especially for this common core curriculum they are going towards. So far it has been great! She still has trouble listening sometimes but I don't think anymore than any other 5 yo. It's funny, her short stint in kindergarten was SO structured, with very little play or recess time when in reality, many are realizing that super structured learning isn't what 5 and 6 year olds need. I believe in some countries in Europe, they often delay formal reading and writing until almost 7 (correct me if I am mistaken).

Anyways, his lack of interest is probably just a phase, DD has them too and then all of the sudden she gets into it again. I am not unschooling but we are taking a very relaxed approach to kindergarten. We are learning about some science (sun and moon, what makes night and day, nature around us, ect.) native americans, and whatever else strikes her fancy for the week. I have a lot of art supplies available so she can always paint, draw, right, play with clay, ect. We read a ton of books. She learns by living life with me, DD2, and DH. We may take some field trips to museums and such as she is interested. For first grade we will probably go a bit more structured and I think I have decided on Oak Meadow curriculum. It is very relaxed, with lots of freedom within the syllabus to explore further or expand on any subject that interests her. So far we are loving it, there are bad days of course but for the most part we are really happy with homeschooling. And they will learn no matter what they are doing so I try not to stress.

[porcelina]

Banana, the MaterniT21 test gives results on the three most common trisomies (including Down's), and also predicts sex. I have read that the accuracy is 99.4% (6 out of 1,000 it is inaccurate). It is made by the company Sequenom. There is a better case for insurance covering it if you are advanced maternal age or have a higher risk of trisomy. However, since it is new, apparently some or many insurance companies are skeptical. I think the copayment is something like $235 or less, depending on insurance, but, apparently Sequenom will guarantee you are not charged more than $235 (or they will write off the rest of the cost). From what I have heard, they have only been giving out gender results since 10/2012, so pretty new stuff.

It has the benefit of being noninvasive, as it uses maternal blood only.

[Banana731]

Thanks!

[BKGreen]

Wearing my maternity jeans for the first time today! Excited to actually be comfortable at work, but hope no one can tell I'm in maternity pants since I haven't told anyone yet. It's so crazy how all of a sudden, nothing is comfortable!

[LeighPF]

For just the Sequinom blood typing (and sex) it was a max copay of $25 if I had insurance.

The last time I was in church, I left a service in tears (damn hormones) so that has something to do with it.
Felt terrible all day. Coughing up snot balls is no fun.

But my father in law made me apple pie and that makes everything that much better.

[Banana731]

Originally Posted by LeighPF 

For just the Sequinom blood typing (and sex) it was a max copay of $25 if I had insurance.

The last time I was in church, I left a service in tears (damn hormones) so that has something to do with it.

Felt terrible all day. Coughing up snot balls is no fun.

But my father in law made me apple pie and that makes everything that much better.

I'm sorry you're not feeling well! But FIL who makes pie sounds awesome.

Your poor dh. I hope you two will be able to look back on this and laugh soon. It's pretty funny, from an objective view

You're RH- right? I wonder if the sequinom test was covered for you because of that? I haven't had any thing even close to high tech prenatal care since 2004. It's a brave new world out there!

[GISDiva]

Originally Posted by BKGreen 

Wearing my maternity jeans for the first time today! Excited to actually be comfortable at work, but hope no one can tell I'm in maternity pants since I haven't told anyone yet. It's so crazy how all of a sudden, nothing is comfortable!

I finally found some maternity pants that fit too and am wearing today.  I feel like a new woman!    I hear you on hiding it at work though, it's getting really, really hard.  Plus I know people will be super excited for us, so it's hard to keep a secret, even though I'm adamant about waiting until we hear that heartbeat!  It's a good thing it's winter and I can wear my big sweaters...

[thecoffeebean]

Maternity pants rock! I recently remembered that they fall down constantly at first though, so I've been adding a belly band on top. Perfection!! They also have a way of making me look very obviously pregnant, too, so I've been getting some nice comments from people. :-)

[Banana731]

I think it's time for some more pictures! Everyone is coming out the first trimester!

[carmen358]

BK, I've been in mine for a couple of weeks  I couldn't handle sitting down at my desk with a tight waist. So far no one has actually said anything to me but I have put on weight in the past year so I think people are likely afraid to say anything lol

Leigh, big yay for apple pie. Hope you feel better soon!

Afm: My big scan is tomorrow. I'm kinda sort of FREAKING out. lol I'm only half joking. I hope it goes well.

Does anyone have sore muscles already? I remember with DD I got sore later on but this seems a bit early - it's mostly just at night that I feel almost stiff or something - mostly in my back.

Edited by carmen358 - 1/28/13 at 2:36pm

[harmie0515]

I hate the thought of getting new maternity clothes, (no luck at the 2nd hand stores) but sitting in my jeans is getting uncomfortable. I'm down 16 pounds since I got pregnant, so my pants are baggy, except around my belly.  It looks as bad as it sounds.  I have to order everything online, so I guess I better get started.

In other fun news, I got to crawl up to the top of a restaurants play area to rescue my 2 year old.  We like to go right after they close it for cleaning, and I can attest that this one was cleaned today, all the way to the top.  

[GISDiva]

I haven't had any luck at second-hand either, I need small sizes and they're hard to find used.  I finally broke down and bought some clearance items from Old Navy's website...I have plenty of shirts when I actually want to look pregnant, but the pants I got as part of the hand-me-downs are just too big right now.

Two weeks until the next midwife appointment.  I'm going a bit batty right now wanting to hear that heartbeat.  Gah!

Wishing you a very uneventful scan tomorrow, Carmen!