*~*~Our litte love-bugs*~*~ FEBRUARY 2013 CHAT - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[cristeen]

Definitely congrats, OneMore.  I have to say I'm really glad DH got the big V.  I've had baby fever lately, even though my body is in no shape for another pg, and even if it were, I can't handle it again emotionally.  Physically I need to be done.  Yet looking at birth photos has me wanting to do it all over again, as much as I had 3 horrible, awful labors/births, for some reason there's a part of my brain that says next time it could be different.  No.  After 3, all signs point to that's just the way it is for me.

Formula - it does cause constipation.  A lot of that is the iron.  When adding it into the diet, the peds tend to say that as long as they poop without excessive straining once a week, they're fine.  If they don't, then you need to switch brands.  If you know you're needing one bottle a day, you might try mixing it with the bottle of BM.  It makes it more digestible. 

Onemore - keep nursing and just keep an eye on her would be your best bet.  Make sure her # of wet dipes doesn't drop now that you're pg again.  Work on increasing solids and then sort of follow your gut from there.

At this point I have enough milk in the freezer to get another week or two of EBM, and then I'm saving all the small bags and ice cubes of milk for once we switch over so she can get a little bit of BM each day.  She's going to get a little BM, a little formula, a little cow's milk from our herd-share (if tolerated), and I'm going to start her on eating homemade pate of chicken liver, egg yolks and coconut oil, which are 3 of the dietary sources of vitamins/minerals she needs.  I'll probably wind up adding in the rest of them, too. 

Looking at the recipe for homemade formula from WAPF, it contains 2 cups of milk, 2 Tb of cream, 1/4 c of whey, probiotics, CLO, sunflower oil, EVOO, CO, nutritional yeast, gelatin and acerola.  That's for a day.  So at this age, I'm thinking I can get most of that into her in other ways.  The nutritional yeast and gelatin aren't used in the meat-based formula, so if she'll eat the liver, I'll probably skip them. 

I went and saw the doc this morning for my health problems.  He's immediately referring me to an endocrinologist, who he called up after I left and consulted with on the bloodwork to order.  They suspect Cushing's Syndrome, but the blood tests will tell us more.  I'm not going to be able to do them until next week though, since I'm sick again right now, with suspected Strep.  So, we'll see. 

And E fell asleep in the carrier (on my back) while I was at the doc's today.  First time.  She even transferred into the car, and then from car to crib, which is also a first.  Very happy about that.  I'm going on vacation at the end of March with both kids (no hubby), and I was worrying about her getting naps, but it looks like she's going to do just fine. 

[Kamiro]

Cristeen, I really dont have any clue about those hormonal issues. I wish I had some advice, but I can offer encouragement. You've been such an important part of our DDC and a good friend to all of us that I do feel bad for you having had so much struggle...with everything. You are most definitely a person of grace and a good example to all of us. I hope you sail through all of this and get some much needed answers.

Now, where are you going on vacation to? Will there be mei teis involved? (the kind you drink, not wear teehee)

Thank you Rozzie, KM, Grace, LHM, and Cristeen for the congratulations.

Today was a little rough. I'm going to vent to you guys cause we have ohh 18 months worth of net history here and you can skip past if you don't wanna hear it.

I am shocked I am pregnant again. Now, I know I know I had baby fever in the first few months - and I've been joking about whose next and all that...

but for me to be pregnant again is really just shocking to me. We went five years between #3 and Miss Dodi and we didn't do anything different. I accept whatever we are giving and am already in love with this little poppy seed inside of me, but all of a sudden I am like "HOLY CRAP. FIVE KIDS!?!?! FIVE!?! REALLY?"

watch it turn out to be triplets or some thing. lol

DH just got this look of stress on his face and zoned out on a pc game (which he NEVER does any more) for a few hours. But man, you should have heard the absolute JOY when we told the girls.

THAT made it all worthwhile. I wouldnt have told them so soon but my oldest discovered the preg tests on the entertainment center and hunted down the box to find out what two lines meant. LOL

DH gave me a big hug and kiss and said he is ofcourse happy...but then he mentioned that he was scared about the birth. He and I have actually never really talked about D.'s birth because it scared us.

I can't explain it really, nothing seemed that wrong if I were to write every thing down, but it just felt like we almost lost her.

I have been contemplating a hospital birth with some drugs. I know, I know I said the same thing with Miss Dodi girl also at first...but..man.

I can't believe I get to go through all of this again...I definitely DID NOT think it would be me.

I'll tell you gals, even with all the anxiety and birthing stuff going on - I am THRILLED. Thrilled and scared crapless.

Morning sickness has definitely been a wench this time around on day five of it..sucky!

I just love my kids...and when I look at Dodi I'm trying to imagine her a big sister...just weird.

Sorry, I'm all over the place.

Like LHM said - I wish we could all do our pregnancies together again. I love all of you, seriously.

[Kamiro]

whats babys fave toy?

Dodi loves her little piano. She bangs on it constantly. She also loves her mini maraca..

[rozziemama]

Oh, Onemore! I can imagine the thought of 5, and the fact that D is going to be a big sister stirs up some complicated emotions. I think you are amazing and your family has always sounded incredible to me - Just curious - what's the gender break down of your kiddos? I always imagine all girls ?

Are you due in October? The stuff around D's birth - it's great that you and dh are starting to deal with it now. There is so little we can control... But i find that getting the support I need from DH, and making any plans to help at least alleviate anxiety is so important - so, certainly if a hospital birth and allowing yourself to accept that you may want drugs and that's ok - if those things make your stress/anxiety decrease - I am a huge proponent.

So strange to think of you joining a new ddc! Please continue to vent to us and keep us up to date!
I hope you start to feel better soon- those hormones are crazy.

Originally Posted by Onemoreontheway 

Cristeen, I really dont have any clue about those hormonal issues. I wish I had some advice, but I can offer encouragement. You've been such an important part of our DDC and a good friend to all of us that I do feel bad for you having had so much struggle...with everything. You are most definitely a person of grace and a good example to all of us. I hope you sail through all of this and get some much needed answers.
Now, where are you going on vacation to? Will there be mei teis involved? (the kind you drink, not wear teehee)



Thank you Rozzie, KM, Grace, LHM, and Cristeen for the congratulations.
Today was a little rough. I'm going to vent to you guys cause we have ohh 18 months worth of net history here and you can skip past if you don't wanna hear it.


I am shocked I am pregnant again. Now, I know I know I had baby fever in the first few months - and I've been joking about whose next and all that...
but for me to be pregnant again is really just shocking to me. We went five years between #3 and Miss Dodi and we didn't do anything different. I accept whatever we are giving and am already in love with this little poppy seed inside of me, but all of a sudden I am like "HOLY CRAP. FIVE KIDS!?!?! FIVE!?! REALLY?"

watch it turn out to be triplets or some thing. lol


DH just got this look of stress on his face and zoned out on a pc game (which he NEVER does any more) for a few hours. But man, you should have heard the absolute JOY when we told the girls.
THAT made it all worthwhile. I wouldnt have told them so soon but my oldest discovered the preg tests on the entertainment center and hunted down the box to find out what two lines meant. LOL

DH gave me a big hug and kiss and said he is ofcourse happy...but then he mentioned that he was scared about the birth. He and I have actually never really talked about D.'s birth because it scared us.
I can't explain it really, nothing seemed that wrong if I were to write every thing down, but it just felt like we almost lost her.

I have been contemplating a hospital birth with some drugs. I know, I know I said the same thing with Miss Dodi girl also at first...but..man.


I can't believe I get to go through all of this again...I definitely DID NOT think it would be me.

I'll tell you gals, even with all the anxiety and birthing stuff going on - I am THRILLED. Thrilled and scared crapless.
Morning sickness has definitely been a wench this time around on day five of it..sucky!

I just love my kids...and when I look at Dodi I'm trying to imagine her a big sister...just weird.
Sorry, I'm all over the place.

Like LHM said - I wish we could all do our pregnancies together again. I love all of you, seriously.

[rozziemama]

Christen- what is Cushings Syndrome?
Is it odd that I know SO MANY women who have been diagnosed with some form of thyroid/hormonal imbalance after pregnancy? Seriously like 5 or 6 close friends in the past few years. Maybe it is a common occurrence that the pregnancy hormones screw with our health...
I am so relieved to hear your doctor seems to be on top of it.

Originally Posted by cristeen 

Definitely congrats, OneMore.  I have to say I'm really glad DH got the big V.  I've had baby fever lately, even though my body is in no shape for another pg, and even if it were, I can't handle it again emotionally.  Physically I need to be done.  Yet looking at birth photos has me wanting to do it all over again, as much as I had 3 horrible, awful labors/births, for some reason there's a part of my brain that says next time it could be different.  No.  After 3, all signs point to that's just the way it is for me.

Formula - it does cause constipation.  A lot of that is the iron.  When adding it into the diet, the peds tend to say that as long as they poop without excessive straining once a week, they're fine.  If they don't, then you need to switch brands.  If you know you're needing one bottle a day, you might try mixing it with the bottle of BM.  It makes it more digestible. 

Onemore - keep nursing and just keep an eye on her would be your best bet.  Make sure her # of wet dipes doesn't drop now that you're pg again.  Work on increasing solids and then sort of follow your gut from there.

At this point I have enough milk in the freezer to get another week or two of EBM, and then I'm saving all the small bags and ice cubes of milk for once we switch over so she can get a little bit of BM each day.  She's going to get a little BM, a little formula, a little cow's milk from our herd-share (if tolerated), and I'm going to start her on eating homemade pate of chicken liver, egg yolks and coconut oil, which are 3 of the dietary sources of vitamins/minerals she needs.  I'll probably wind up adding in the rest of them, too. 

Looking at the recipe for homemade formula from WAPF, it contains 2 cups of milk, 2 Tb of cream, 1/4 c of whey, probiotics, CLO, sunflower oil, EVOO, CO, nutritional yeast, gelatin and acerola.  That's for a day.  So at this age, I'm thinking I can get most of that into her in other ways.  The nutritional yeast and gelatin aren't used in the meat-based formula, so if she'll eat the liver, I'll probably skip them. 

I went and saw the doc this morning for my health problems.  He's immediately referring me to an endocrinologist, who he called up after I left and consulted with on the bloodwork to order.  They suspect Cushing's Syndrome, but the blood tests will tell us more.  I'm not going to be able to do them until next week though, since I'm sick again right now, with suspected Strep.  So, we'll see. 

And E fell asleep in the carrier (on my back) while I was at the doc's today.  First time.  She even transferred into the car, and then from car to crib, which is also a first.  Very happy about that.  I'm going on vacation at the end of March with both kids (no hubby), and I was worrying about her getting naps, but it looks like she's going to do just fine. 
[

[forestmushroom]

Onemoreontheway I have been thinking about you all last night and today. Sending you big hugs!

As a mama of 5 I totally feel your shock and surprise... I just remember thinking... who has 5 kids? But lots of families have 5 kids! I can tell you 5 is loud, busy, fun, exhausting, joyful.... 5 is awesome!

Some days I definitely worry about how I am going to do it all, how will I meet everyones' needs... and then I see my oldest helping DD read a book, and my second oldest son helping my 3 yo find his shoes... and it is better then me meeting their needs because we are all busy helping each other.

I've had hospital births and they can be good....

I am so excited for you!
 

[Astraia]

I'm friends with several people who have 5 (or more!) kids, and their families all seem... well, normal, honestly. Happy, loud, rambunctious, healthy, aggravating- all the things that families normally are, right? I was looking at 2 of my friends today who are due in March and was debating my "no more ever ever ever ever, never more babies." Saying... well, one more wouldn't be THAT bad. And we can have some good spacing this time, right? And once you have 3, what's one more? Maybe #4 will be that happy, non-colicy, doing everything on track and not early baby. It could happen, right? Even the horrible, terrifying, excrutiating birth isn't enough to scare me off any more. I had a bit of a "scare" as well and tested and was actually pretty disappointed it was negative, and maybe cried just a tiny bit when I got my period- ha!

I'm not even recovered yet, I haven't slept more than 2 hours in a row since he was about 6 weeks old, and I kind of want another? Crazy!

Either way, all this is to say that I totally understand the thrilled/terrified feeling.

Forest- what you said about your oldest reading a book to the second kid and helping the little one find his shoes really resonated with me too. We all helped each other growing up (I was one of 4 siblings) and I think that that connection is what helps us even now- we look out for each other. I think that can make us better people!

Pfft, maybe we're not done, right? Ha! Need to break that one to the husband. "Oh, remember how I was begging you to get a V? Maybe don't call yet...."

Oh right, except that I carry muscular dystrophy and Everett has it. Double damn, the things I forget about!

[Kamiro]

You ladies are just awesome.

I am feeling so much uplifted after reading your posts. Thank you so much.

I came from a family of 5 (dh from 7) and it is exactly as you both have said. Every one helping every one. I just love large families and this will be great. Really.

I will admit that within the first hour one of the things I thought about was "What if this is a boy?" (Roz, we do have all girls) and then I thought "What if he has hard core autism??" (because of the percentage of siblings who get it)

Panic kind of struck me for a minute, but then I took a deep breath and realized that if the child does, it does. I would have ran out and got my tubes tied if I would have been told that I would have a child that was ______X_______ due to fear of the unknown before I became a parent. But once you're in it, the joy and love just over shadows every thing else. Most days.

Don't make any rash decisions either way, Grace. Thats my unsolicited opinion. Who knows what there is in store for you.

FM, did you go to OHSU? Could you do a water birth there? It would be a 2 hour drive for me, but the local hospital by me has something like a 30 percent c-section rate.

[MLog]

YAY onemore!!!!

[cristeen]

Thank you for your beautiful words, Onemore. 

Cushings is also called hyperadrenocorticism or hypercorticism.  It's an excess of cortisol, which is the stress hormone.  The leading cause is steroidal drugs (like for asthma or arthritis), which I have never used, which would then leave actual physical causes like damaged pituitary or adrenal glands.  It's going to be a bit of a road to discover the cause, from what I'm reading, but from my memory, I would suspect timing-wise, it would have started between my first and second pregnancies, but it's just kept getting worse.  But it would explain why I never lactated for Ezri, since that is controlled by the pituitary. 

The common symptoms for it include:

Extreme weight gain, Moodiness, irritability, or depression, Muscle and bone weakness, Osteoporosis, Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Immune suppression, Sleep disturbances, Menstrual disorders such as amenorrhea in women and decreased fertility in men, Hirsutism, Baldness, Hypercholesterolemia

I'm dealing with at least 8 of those symptoms.  But also decreased libido, infertility, brittle hair, etc.  Many of those are also symptoms for PCOS, so it's hard to say where one ends and the other begins, or even if I was misdiagnosed all those years ago. 

Hubby is freaking out, since one of the treatments for this would mean brain surgery.  I'm trying not to borrow trouble right now. 

As for E's favorite toy - anything technology.  The remote control, the cordless phone, my ipod, big brother's iPad.  Actual toys take the backseat to any of the above, but then her brother was the same way. 

[cristeen]

Oh, I also wanted to say that for all that I'm a HUGE HB proponent, after E's birth, I also have to say that if you're feeling the hospital and drugs this time around, do your research, know your doctor, but go for it.  We transferred during labor, and while I wasn't thrilled with the doctor I got, my MW stood up for me (and I stood up for myself), and got some great nurses, and eventually the midwife on staff ran in and caught her just as I pushed her out.  I did wind up with an epidural, because I demanded one at that point, even though my MW was trying to talk me out of it.  And I can't say that I regret it.  Sure, I didn't get the beautiful peaceful natural HB that I wanted, but E'd made it clear that wasn't in the cards - we transferred because she was in distress, and I obviously wouldn't change that for anything. 

[BubbleMa]

Originally Posted by Onemoreontheway 

Alright....way too many pregnancy tests later and it is definitely positive. Holy crapola.

Congrats!!  :)  And now that you've broken the dam, the flood gates are open.  I expect at least 2 more BFPs this week.  NOT IT!

Originally Posted by Onemoreontheway 

Ok I'm back..

We are down to about 2-3 nursings a day. We co sleep and nurse unrestricted at night, but in a 24 hour period she doesnt nurse much. I dont  have much milk, and she never nurses longer than 10 minutes unless she is going to sleep for the night... I wonder if I should switch her to formula? I am not sure how to proceed at this point.

Still just the two teeth. She is not walking yet! I have never had a child crawl for this long. It tickles me to see her crawling all over the place cause I just love a crawling baby.

I am exhausted so I am going to bed

Is she still having enough dirty diapers?  I would do the Weston A. Price formula, or donor milk before commercial formula.  Or, even just making sure she's getting lots of the right nutrients in addition to whatever breastmilk she's still getting.  Commercial formula would be a last resort, for me.

Originally Posted by cristeen 

Definitely congrats, OneMore.  I have to say I'm really glad DH got the big V.  I've had baby fever lately, even though my body is in no shape for another pg, and even if it were, I can't handle it again emotionally.  Physically I need to be done.  Yet looking at birth photos has me wanting to do it all over again, as much as I had 3 horrible, awful labors/births, for some reason there's a part of my brain that says next time it could be different.  No.  After 3, all signs point to that's just the way it is for me.

Formula - it does cause constipation.  A lot of that is the iron.  When adding it into the diet, the peds tend to say that as long as they poop without excessive straining once a week, they're fine.  If they don't, then you need to switch brands.  If you know you're needing one bottle a day, you might try mixing it with the bottle of BM.  It makes it more digestible. 

Onemore - keep nursing and just keep an eye on her would be your best bet.  Make sure her # of wet dipes doesn't drop now that you're pg again.  Work on increasing solids and then sort of follow your gut from there.

At this point I have enough milk in the freezer to get another week or two of EBM, and then I'm saving all the small bags and ice cubes of milk for once we switch over so she can get a little bit of BM each day.  She's going to get a little BM, a little formula, a little cow's milk from our herd-share (if tolerated), and I'm going to start her on eating homemade pate of chicken liver, egg yolks and coconut oil, which are 3 of the dietary sources of vitamins/minerals she needs.  I'll probably wind up adding in the rest of them, too. 

Looking at the recipe for homemade formula from WAPF, it contains 2 cups of milk, 2 Tb of cream, 1/4 c of whey, probiotics, CLO, sunflower oil, EVOO, CO, nutritional yeast, gelatin and acerola.  That's for a day.  So at this age, I'm thinking I can get most of that into her in other ways.  The nutritional yeast and gelatin aren't used in the meat-based formula, so if she'll eat the liver, I'll probably skip them. 

I went and saw the doc this morning for my health problems.  He's immediately referring me to an endocrinologist, who he called up after I left and consulted with on the bloodwork to order.  They suspect Cushing's Syndrome, but the blood tests will tell us more.  I'm not going to be able to do them until next week though, since I'm sick again right now, with suspected Strep.  So, we'll see. 

And E fell asleep in the carrier (on my back) while I was at the doc's today.  First time.  She even transferred into the car, and then from car to crib, which is also a first.  Very happy about that.  I'm going on vacation at the end of March with both kids (no hubby), and I was worrying about her getting naps, but it looks like she's going to do just fine. 

Cristeen, I'm sorry you're not feeling well. :(  I hope you get some answers soon.

Originally Posted by Onemoreontheway 

whats babys fave toy?

Dodi loves her little piano. She bangs on it constantly. She also loves her mini maraca..

Layla loves mirrors, her tambourine, and this big bouncy ball that belongs to DD1.  She rolls it, then army crawls to it, then rolls it, army crawls to it...It's the cutest! :)

[Kamiro]

Sarah, so glad to see you posting again. How have you been?

[Astraia]

Cristeen, not sure how I missed the Cushings?!? That's really frightening. I hope you can get some answers soon, and you get over Strep as quickly as possible!

I had no idea that the WAPF stood for Weston A Price- I read up a lot on that sort of thing (although we haven't made any changes in diet to reflect my reading, go figure). That formula recipe looks quite good, and i think you're right- at this age, you could get a lot of that in through other nutritional sources. It would be nice to have a lot of those things available for those low-calorie eating days for a back up.

I also third the # of wet dipes for Dodi. Also keep an eye on weight gain and sleep patterns. With Nigella, the only sign I had that she wasn't getting enough milk was that she never slept- she was up and nursing all day and all night and would scream when I tried to take her off the breast but her wet diapers and weight gain was still fine. Once we supplemented formula she finally started sleeping again.

[cristeen]

Oh, and as for vacation, we'll be going to OR to see the grandparents who have never met E.

[forestmushroom]

Originally Posted by Onemoreontheway 

You ladies are just awesome.

I am feeling so much uplifted after reading your posts. Thank you so much.

I came from a family of 5 (dh from 7) and it is exactly as you both have said. Every one helping every one. I just love large families and this will be great. Really.

I will admit that within the first hour one of the things I thought about was "What if this is a boy?" (Roz, we do have all girls) and then I thought "What if he has hard core autism??" (because of the percentage of siblings who get it)

Panic kind of struck me for a minute, but then I took a deep breath and realized that if the child does, it does. I would have ran out and got my tubes tied if I would have been told that I would have a child that was ______X_______ due to fear of the unknown before I became a parent. But once you're in it, the joy and love just over shadows every thing else. Most days.

Don't make any rash decisions either way, Grace. Thats my unsolicited opinion. Who knows what there is in store for you.

FM, did you go to OHSU? Could you do a water birth there? It would be a 2 hour drive for me, but the local hospital by me has something like a 30 percent c-section rate.

I had my little guy at Legacy Emmanuel.... which was where my dad died (well, was pronounced dead ) 4 months later :(

... did I tell y'all that my daddy passed away? I think I might have forgotten... it was super hard and sudden, and I am still coping with it... and my mom is up and down and we are better and worse... depending on the time... but yeah, anyway...

I've heard great things about OHSU and have a friend who is a L and D nurse there... almost all the hospitals in PDX have baths and do allow you to both labor and deliver in the bath. OR has very progressive birth in hospital. You can easily refuse stuff like vitamin K and eye drops, and circ -ing is super rare.

I had a pretty good birth at legacy... it was hard because my little guys head was *HUGE* and it was a bit freaky... but the hospital was great.

I've never had a home birth but I have to say that having a hospital birth in Portland is really good... most places (esp. OHSU) are very aware of different births and are totally respectful of moms and want to have the least intervention...

rambling seems to be the thing to do! Sorry I was everywhere there...

[rozziemama]

Forest, I am so sorry to hear about your dad. Just sending love and hugs.

[Kamiro]

FM, no you never mentioned that! Oh my gosh, I am really very, very, very sorry. I just had the fourth anniversary of my own Dad's death. He died at age 51. I miss him terribly. I know what you're going through with an unexpected death. Will pray for your Mom and your family that peace finds you all. Shalom, my friend. I'm sorry.

[cristeen]

Forest - I'm so sorry to hear about your dad!  At least he got to meet your little man. 

So Oregon ladies, are you all in the Portland area?  We'll be in state the last week of March, but we'll be out on the central coast and we won't have a car.  I'd love to meet you, but I know it's a bit of a drive for a meet-up. 

[JynxGirl]

Forest - I'm so sorry about your dad. :( *hugs* 

Onemore - Congratulations!!!!

Cristeen - lots and lots and lots of prayers coming your way!!!

Wow, you blink in this place and everything happens at once!!! ;) 
We're back into the swing of things here, I think... I've started teaching sign language again, especially as Patrick has picked up on so many of his own signs! (more, eat, milk, daddy, and all done)  It's really awesome to be working with kids again!