week of July 19 - Page 5

[Jillerina]

Oh Courtney - I feel your pain. I hope you made it through the night with a little bit of rest at least. I hope youve already been to Sears and exchanged your AC unit by now and are languishing in the cool air.

Flitters, great news on your dog!

Gottaknit, it really is amazing who we share genetic material with isn't it? My sisters and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to most things but I've heard many stories similar to yours in other families.

Wowza diapers ladies!!! We are going to cloth diaper this babe only when s/he fits into the "one sized" fitteds we have. Probably won't take more than a few weeks and the truth is I love the convenince of disposables. DD is in them now since she has grown out of the ones we have and I'm not really feeling energetic enough to do extra laundry these days anyways. I felt really guilty at first but now I'm ok with it. We did CD exclusively for a year and will probably do it for longer with this one (I didn't start with DD until she was 7 months).

I am also suffering from extreme pelvic pain. It has been gettting worse and worse over the last week but the last few days have been ridiculous. Getting up and taking my first few steps is excrusiating, I waddle like I'm 42 weeks pregnant and it just plain hurts. I find first thing in the morning is best and then by about 11am I am hurting so much I have to lay low for the rest of the day. We're supossed to be going to the zoo on Monday and I'm really not sure if I'll be able to walk for the whole day... I want a stroller for ME!

I never answered the QOTW this week...my dream birth is pretty generic in terms of natural childbirth. My biggest dream/hope is that I make it to the birthing centre in time! My last labour was 4 hours long from beginning to end (it was an induction however) and I know my mother had VERY fast labours. I just want to be comfortably installed in the house with a midwife in attendance while I go through transition. I want lots of support and guidance and everything else that comes with it!

OK, computer time is up.

Enjoy your weekend ladies.

[mirthfulmum]

29w 6d

flitters - Happy to hear your dog's going to be okay.

Courtney - Ugh! How frustrating! I hate it when stuff like that happens. I hope you've gotten your replacment air conditioner by now and are reasonably cool.

ameliabedelia - For the Can/US exchange rate check out this link. But double check that they do in fact ship to the states. There are different laws in regard to child product safety in each country making most baby items illeagal to ship across the boarder.

Nancy - Don't worry about your wipe collection. I don't think you could ever have enough wipes. You will be shocked by what a huge mess someone so little can create. And I totally agree with your Dh. It sounds like your sister is just trying to make herself feel better for not having the husband and baby that you do. By thinking that having a baby is a total nighmare she gets to feel better about missing her chance to have one.

Katie - Oh no! Not another one! You take good care of yourself and I'll be sending healthy vibes your way.

Jillerina - I'm so sorry you're having so much pain. It sounds terrible. Is this something that you have to just ride out or is there a chance a chiroprator or massage could help?

Well it's another sweltering day here and I'm going to be trapped inside working on a paper all day. I'm going to try to be good but I have a feeling that I'll be spending a good chunk of time lurking on the board today.

[gottaknit]

Wow Amelia, that sling is something! The how-to at the beginning is a little intimidating, but once it's on it looks so secure and comfortable. It covers so much skin you almost wouldn't even need to wear a shirt! :LOL

Courtney, doesn't this weather just bite? I spent over an hour last night wandering around our tiny neighborhood Trader Joe's just because it was air-conditioned. They kept asking me if I was finding everything OK. :LOL Today I plan to hit the movie theater. I'll watch anything at this point just to keep cool! Is Maria Full of Grace out yet? Anyone seen it?

BTW, where in Portland can you buy cloth diapers? Just what I need, another dangerous temptation!

I forgot to answer the QOTW, too. My dream birth will hopefully come true. It sounds pretty similar to a lot of others. At home, only my midwife, doula, and DH present (the dogs are being sent to a friend's house while I'm in labor!). No yelling to push, no panic, no episiotomy (please, God). Laboring and birthing however feels most comfortable and productive. (I'm considering getting a kiddie pool.) After the baby is born just relaxing a bit with DH and the little one, and eating a big yummy meal! Hopefully no visitors for a day or two....

[stanleymama]

I'm doing the 3rd trim. dance-care to join?

[Lucysmama]

[stanleymama]

HEEELLLLOOOOO 3rd trimester!!!!

Gottaknit--sorry about your sis. I am sure she is just struggling with feelings of envy and jealousy and it is coming out this way.

So last night I didn't get my good night of sleep. After going to bed at midnight I woke up at 2:30am. with a HORRIBLE tummy ache which then ended with me running to the bathroom twice to :Puke I still feel a bit blah today and tired. So I am hoping my oldest two will nap so that I can nap too.

Later

[stanleymama]

Oh and OakEmber your package is in the mail and on its way. I forgot to include wash instructions so if you have a question just pm me. Have a great time on your camping trip

[krnflwr]

Originally Posted by Piglet68

27w4d
Is anybody here having a hospital birth with a toddler at home who has never been away from you overnight? I'm starting to get really anxious about this.
I'm also really worried about nighttime. DD will not often be comforted back to sleep by Daddy, and if she does want milkies, she gets more and more distraught if she can't find them (she sort of half wakes and searches for the breast, muttering "milkies"...then if she can't find them, she wakes up more and more and gets more distressed). I don't know what we can do to prepare for this, and yet I don't want to just do it "cold turkey". Bad enough that she'll wake up without me there for the first time in her whole life, but then we won't be together much during the day since I'll be in hospital!! I'm just really starting to worry...this is going to be such a shock for her, and hard on both of us.

Piglet, this is our story to a "t". Hannah has only once in her entire life fallen asleep w/o me right next to her, and almost never w/o nursing. I don't know how to begin to intergrate DH into our bedtime routine, as he is missing the crucial boob factor. And both DD and DH get frustrated so easily and give up or start wailing, which is why I've been doing bathtime and bedtime routine solo for the past 32 months. I'm so worried about what is going to happen w/ me in the hospital.
Any tips, suggestions, advice would be most appreciated!

[Court]

27 wks 2 days

My dh ended up opening up that broken AC and rigging it to work for a little bit, after much pleading from me. It looked like it had been chopped in half (including the fan). Someone must have dropped it along the way. Anyways, he got all his tools out, plus some extra metal and screws (and duct tape ofcourse) and rigged that piece of junk to actually work. So, we all huddled in the bedroom and cooled off. Though in the middle of the night, it woke me up making strange loud sounds, so we turned it off and went back to fans. What sucks, is dh had to work today (they made it madatory), so we haven't been able to exchange it yet (cause I sure as hell can't haul that thing around). But I did manage to get some sleep. Getting comfortable seems more a problem to me now. I wish they made beds w/ big belly holes in 'em so I could sleep on my stomach.

Nancy- yes this weather bites, but today is the last day of the record heat, thankfully. I spent 3 hours at the mall yesterday trying to cool off. I was also thinking about movies too, I've never heard of the one you mentioned. If I go, I'm pretty much limited to Shrek 2, due to the company I keep. The store I mentioned is over on 21st and Clinton in that little shopping area. I *think* it's called Organic Baby, if not then something really similar. They have tons of different cloth diapers and covers and slings, etc. It's all normal price, so no deals to be had. But still, I was drooling. Those kissaluvs are sooo soft. They also have fuzzibunz I believe.

I'm so sorry to those of you w/ pelvic pain, that sounds so awful. I know I have tailbone and hip pain, but I don't think it's the same.

Gonna go make sure the *little A/C that could* hasn't exploded. (I turned it on again )

[krnflwr]

Originally Posted by wannabmommie

Heartburn anyone? I've take waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more tums than I've *ever* wanted to. There's gotta be a better solution. : There's mineral oil and *talc* in them and I got the undyed!

Yup, I have like constant heartburn, esp starting right around 4 pm. Milk products help somewhat. Water and crackers just make it worse, oddly enough. I eat Tums like they are candy. I mean, like 10 a day. I definitely am getting enough calcium. Haven't found anything else that helps like the tums do.
Old wives' tale says that if you have heartburn, the baby will have lots of hair. Very true for me, preg w/ Hannah. She had (and still has) a full head of thick, thick hair. Wannabe, maybe your baby won't be a cue ball baldy, then.

[Jillerina]

I'm waiting for the heartburn to kick in! I had it really bad with my last pregnancy I'm just assuming I'll have it again but so far so good! I don't remember when it started last time but I certainly feel like it had already started by 29 weeks (where I am now).

By the way Clara did NOT have piles of hair as birth, very little in fact so the old wives tale didn't work in our case!

[sqoya]

Any other first-time Mamas thinking this may also be their last? My DH and I always wanted to have one baby, adopt one baby. I've waited so long to get pregnant, and it seems to be going by so fast! It makes me sad to think this may be my only pregnancy!

I thought I was the only one excited about diapers!!! So far we have 36 kissaluvs, and plan on using prefolds after that with Prowraps, Bumpy Wool Covers, and Aristrocrats for night-time use.

Gottaknit, I'm so sorry about your sister. I can't believe she would be so inconsiderate! My in-laws are really uncomfortable with the birth center, co-sleeping, even cloth dipes (they won't even buy them for us). Last night I was crying about the lack of support I'm getting, and my DH really helped me through it. I'm beginning to realize that I shouldn't feel the need to justify our decisions. WE need to be happy with our decisions, since WE'RE living with the consequences. No matter how I rationalize it though, I still feel very sad about not having supportive family. Baahhhh!

Mtnjenny - I hadn't thought about freezing soups. I'll try that! We love this brown rice waffle recipe, and it freezes really well, you can just toast them (like Eggos, I guess)! Healthy, quick breakfast or snack.

I'm at work this weekend since my DH is still painting - wow, I never knew painting a whole house would take so long! Anyway, I should get back to work! Take care everyone!

[mtnjenny]

I can't believe how much I love reading all these posts.

Flitters, so glad to hear your pup is OK. Amazing how much those little critters mean to us, isn't it?

Wannabmommie and others, I never even knew what heartburn was until I got pregnant. I'd see dh eating Tums and I actually thought it was kind of gross - now I'm eating them every day and I hate it!! Forcing myself to stay upright for as long as possible after eating anything helps a lot.

Gottaknit, the big sister thing is hard sometimes. Mostly, my sister is great and we get along well, but then once in a while the "big sister judgment" comes through and...OUCH. I think it's extra hard coming from a sister because you do love them, and you do care what they think, and they can be so dang harsh sometimes. Glad that dh can help put things in perspective for you.

For anyone who cares to help out a newbie, I'm overwhelmed by the diaper thing, especially after seeing your stashes! I just can't go crazy spending money, but I want to have the things I need so this can be successful. So here's my "stash," if you can call it that, try not to laugh... Any feedback would be appreciated!

48 regular prefolds (inherited from sis)
tons of somewhat "cheapo" covers (inherited from sis)
12 size 0 kissaluvs fitteds
12 Booster Doublers
12 Super Soaker Doublers
30 cloth wipes
Bi-o-kleen laundry det.
Bi-o-kleen Bac-out

I know there's gaps, please fill me in for infant and beyond! Thanks!

bluehalo, how do you dye your prefolds? That sounds like fun!

[mirthfulmum]

Originally Posted by stanleymama

I'm doing the 3rd trim. dance-care to join?

[Lucysmama]

MtnJenny - You may wanna get some infant or preemie prefolds for those first few weeks. Or more fitteds. You can use regular prefolds on an infant, but I imagine they would be HUGE for a while. Other than that, your stash looks like it is doing fine!!! Maybe pick up a new-ish cover or two in case your hand-me-down "cheapo" ones aren't so great! I'd hate to find that out and have nothing else when the baby comes. Good covers are a must, or else you may be looking at a big mess!

Oh, and for everyone with heartubrn - you can also try papaya extract tablets. They are kinda chalky like tums, and they work wonders on heartburn for me. They are also all-natural and gentler on your system! They taste a bit funny...kinda strangely minty.

[gottaknit]

Originally Posted by mirthfulmum

ME TOO!!! : : : :

[stanleymama]

Originally Posted by mirthfulmum

ALRIGHT!!!

[stanleymama]

Originally Posted by gottaknit

ME TOO!!! : : : :

Oh YEAH!!

[Piglet68]

LOL! I love reading these posts, boy am I behind now!

First, I have to tell you all about our lovely day in Lucymama's town! We went to Peninsula, Ohio on a last minute whim (otherwise I would have tried to contact you, Katie!) and had the loveliest day! We had lunch on the patio and DD was great the whole time, then we walked along the towpath that Katie often speaks of. My god it was good to be back in the woods! I just don't get in the park enough here, and our neighbourhood, being rather ratty, has very little green stuff in it. I could just feel the peace settling into my spirit with the water and the trees, etc. We just had such an amazing time, and I loved watching DD explore. We saw bugs and butterflies up close, she discovered she loves footbridges (kept walking back and forth over them, lol)...it was just a wonderful, peaceful, day. Katie, your town is lovely!!

And...I'm really glad we had that day b/c when we got home we got some bad news. We have a property we've been trying to sell, and had found a buyer..things were set for September and I just got an email saying she's backing out. We were really counting on the money to help us with our move, etc...well, I started freaking out b/c I'm already way too emotional, etc...I was thinking the worst. But then finally DD went to sleep and I sat down with DH. He made me realize it isn't as bad as I thought, AND he told me that if he must he's going to go to his father to borrow some money to tide us over for a bit. I cannot tell you what a huge thing this is for him: he and his father have had their troubles and this means a MAJOR swallowing of pride for DH. And, my Mum could easily help us out, and would without hesitation, but DH wants to "take care of it" and go to his father. I so admire him for that (and my mother would worry silly about us). So I'm feeling so much better! my DH!!

wow, so many things to reply to.

so happy about the doggie, flitters!

krnflwr: I'm so glad I'm not the only one dealing with this toddler issue, let's keep in touch on this issue as it gets closer!

gottaknit: that sucks about your sis, but your DH sounds awesome! i think he is very right about her, it's bitterness coming through. those birth horror stories are so ironic since it's almost always the hospital's own ridiculous way of treating labouring women that get them into that situation in the first place!

courtneylogan: I feel SO bad for you! I recall experiencing my first over-100F weather the summer that DD was born, when we were in Boston. We only had an air conditioner in the bedroom so I spent all my time in there. I was STUNNED when I'd walk out of the room to go to the kitchen or bathroom - it was like walking into an oven. I cannot IMAGINE how you dealt with it, and hopefully you have your A/C now!!

stanleymama: welcome to the third trimester!!!

Amelia: you can make your own wrap carrier pretty easily by just buying the appropriate length of fabric yourself. That's what I plan on doing. I got some intructions/tips on that from a site called MamaToto, but I can't find the link right now so I'll get back to you on that (or ask on the sewing/crafts forum, or the babywearing forum). I can't really afford to buy any more slings, but my mother is a great sewer and I got some patterns online so I'm hoping for a fleece pouch and a wrap carrier (though that really doesn't require sewing anyways).

As for dipes, well my mother paid for most of them as a baby gift. I didn't start with CD's with Emily until she was 8 months old, and I had always dreamed of a newborn stash. I swear I had more fun planning it out and ordering than I might actually using them....NAH!!!

Mandi: I just have this gut feeling that Sasha will be our last. TBH, I had always just "seen" myself with two kids, a boy and a girl. Not sure if it's because that is society's expectations or what, but that's what we are getting. DH and I have talked about maybe a third, but I just have this strong feeling of completeness now. I have heard other mamas say they felt "done" or "complete" and then they knew. I have always referred to our "kids", plural, even before Sasha was conceived, like I knew we were having more than one. And now I just know that Sasha is it, we're done. So, I am trying hard to savour this pregnancy. It's such a unique and amazing experience!!

Okay, I really need to get my butt to bed! hugs to you all, mamas!!!

[Lucysmama]

Piglet!!! I am so glad you came down to Peninsula!!! (I was actually in YOUR neighborhood today, how funny! We went the the West Side Market)

I was hoping you would get a chance to see Ohio's pretty spots before heading back to BC! I'm glad you liked my town. My dh works at the Blue Heron Bookshop (if you saw it) and we live a few doors away from the 2 restaurants. We love living in the valley!

I'm glad Emily liked the towpath! Lucy loves it, too, especially the bridges, like your dd. Lucy likes to fill her pockets with rocks to throw over the bridges into the river. She could do that for hours!!! We take her there almost every day because we are so close. We took a walk this evening, in fact! It's good to have it close by, it keeps me in shape while pregnant. I plan to walk it in early labor. Call me if you wanna come down again, and Lucy and I will hike with you!