Week of August 9th - Page 5

[bluehalo]

Happy Friday everyone

I actually woke up with a bit of energy today ... got our bathroom thoroughly cleaned and am making a dent in the laundry. Finished up another soaker. After all the productivity, I'm ready to sit on my butt for the rest of the day *lol*.

I put the Kangaroo Korner fleece pouches that I want for myself and DH on our "findgift" list ... I guess there's a chance someone might buy them for us, right? They're kinda pricey, but what the heck. Can't hurt to put it up there.

Who has "winter baby" experience? Ethan was born in May, so I've never done this cold weather newborn thing before. Like, I'm wondering if we need a fleece bunting, a fleece car seat cover thingie, or both?? Anything else I need to know? Anyone else as clueless as I am? *lol* I just remember Ethan spending so much time as a newborn and tiny baby in nothing but a tshirt and diaper, and obviously that won't be the case with this new one. And socks/booties ... guess I need to find some that actually stay on, huh? *lol*

Oh well, just babbling... Hope everyone's having a great friday!

[blessed2bamommie]

I was wondering about that....well, right now if I wanted a hotsling, it would be based on the availablity of her instock...not sure how KK works..

Kristi offers gift certificates so I could put *those* online. For dipes, I put AMEX gift certificates that I could use at any WAHM store, since not all have gift certificates. That's the best solution I could think of.

K, bbl?

[OakEmber]

Bluehalo- this will be my second winter baby. We did have one of those carseat covers, not the fancy Kokoon type but just a quilted one with a peekabo window. I found that that, with just a blanket underneath was plenty warm enough...Ember was a really warm baby anyway, she couldn't even wear the cute polar fleece sleeper she had, she'd overheat in it (and she still refuses to sleep with covers, even while camping :LOL). Really, the cover was handy to just keep the blanket from falling off her as we walked to the car...I do like those Kokoons but fear that they'd be too warm, as it was we'd take off the cover once the vehicle was warmed up. So that's my $0.02 for what it's worth. I'd highly recommend a pair of Robeez to keep little feet warm.

[Soogie]

I just posted some pics on the yahoo site from our 4D u/s we had this morning. And just as our luck would have it, little boo wasn't the most cooperative baby. Baby was covering it's face with both arms most of the time, with its right leg up near it's head, and the umbilical cord floating in front of its mouth. The tech did a lot of poking, and I was flipping from side to side, even stood up and stretched, hoping to jostle babe into a better position, but no go. We did finally get a few of the face, clear of any arms, but they still are not the best. But even though they are not the best, they are still soooo cool. you can tell that the babe will have DH's/Aidan's nose.

Tiem to put the kids down for some quiet time. I'll come back and answer the qotw in a bit.

Susan

[gottaknit]

I put the Kangaroo Korner fleece pouch on our registry, too. Actually, it's the only thing on our registry so far. It took forever for me to decide what color to get. I'm worried about the fleece being a lint magnet, so I chose heathered grey. With two cats and two dogs, pet hair gets everywhere in our house, so it works out better to just match my wardrobe to the animals. There are so many prettier colors available for the pouch though, it sucks to have to be swaddled in grey.

I went home and fell asleep last night at 7:30! It was great except that I woke up wide awake at 4 am. I've been trying to drink tons of water to keep the BH at bay. Now I'm peeing about five times an hour. Doesn't make for the most productive day at work.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and has something fun planned! We've got both John Kerry and George Bush in town today and the city is going to be a mess. Should be fun trying to get through downtown to get home.... (George Bush Sr. always referred to Portland as "Little Beruit" because of our love of protests) Wish I'd left town yesterday... I really don't need to get sprayed with pepper spray right now.

[gottaknit]

That sling is gorgeous!! OK, there's no way I'm getting a dark grey sling now.

Cute pictures, Soogie! The baby looks so squished in there. I wonder if it's cosy for them if they can't wait to get out and stretch?

So, Flitters, what's with the climbing picture? Please tell me that was before you were pregnant. Not that there's anything wrong with climbing, I'm just wondering, "Where's her belly?!?!"

[blessed2bamommie]

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh : Was I *emailed* the yahoo group link by Oak Ember? Its not in my pms...what am I lookin for?

[True Blue]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. I'm about to take a nap before it's too late and DS is up. I'm on the opposite coast but closely watching Hurricane Charley, we are under a tropical storm warning, which means lots of rain, hail, high winds, and risk of tornados. And DH, being the military man he is, has to be at his ship (someone has to keep the boat safe, and be available to rescue the nitwits who no doubt will think they are smarter than the storm ) so it will just be me and DS. It should be especially exciting if we lose power in the dark before bedtime!! At any rate, as long as these contractions stay spaced out I'll be content. I REALLY don't want to take any brethine, between the side effects for me of feeling anxious and heart palpitations and the possibility of cognitive issues for the baby (though that is from long-term use, from what I have read)....but I don't want the baby to come this weekend or anything either!! It's like I'm not too too concerned about the long-term well being of the baby physically if it were born soon, but I really want the baby to come home with me and not be in the hospital for 3 months, you know? I can live with giving up my homebirth and birthing in a hospital before 37 weeks as long as my baby gets to come home with me ASAP. But I'll stop complaining for now, overall I'm pretty positive about the whole thing, I swear. Just some nagging thoughts. Since I've just had 3 contractions in 10 minutes. Sh*t. Ok time for that nap!!!

[krnflwr]

Hannah was born in Nov., so I have some winter baby experience. We had a kakoon (sp?) cover for the car seat, and I found that to be perfect for the transfer between car and store (or house or wherever) and then into the sling. The fleece buntings were too bulky and warm for us, but we didn't spend much time outdoors during the cold, snowy time. So it was mostly running to and from the car. The kakoon cover was easy to open up and fold back once it was warm in the car, btw. And I actually kept the bottom half of the fleece liner on the car seat through the spring and summer (until we outgrew that car seat), as it kept the seat cool and I could cover the metal buckles so they didn't get burning hot from the sun.
I pretty much used those baby bags (buntings?) and soft cotton pj's for the first few months. A few onsies and t-shirts underneath. Hannah's feet were unusually large, so we had a hard time w/ socks. Used booties and then discovered robeez (and the like). Hmmm...what else? Basically, we had WAY too many clothes for a newborn and never got to wear even a fraction of them all. Even in cold months, a layer or two was fine for us, as she was either being held, swaddled in a blanket or in the sling.

Our LLL group did a fundraising garage sale today, and I've been up since 5 am, sorting, folding, smiling, selling...and I am soooo pooped now. Hope everyone has some wonderfully relaxing plans for the weekend and all our "owies" (physical and spiritual) start feeling better!

[Piglet68]

Amy, I'll be thinking of you and sending you strong sticky vibes so that baby stays put!! You have every right to be concerned, don't think you are being negative!

Katie: well, I'm glad you have an Imago Therapist. Honestly the stuff has worked wonders for me and DH. When we were first engaged, we realized our communication skills sucked. We argued about all the stupid little things, and worried what would we do when things really were serious? We had some familiarity with it b/c my stepmum is an Imago Therapist, too. I'd read the book, we did some of the exercises...but going to see the counsellor really helped too. She did some of the "dialogues" with us, which made them go smoothly, and we were able to see how well they worked. It's hard to stick to the rules sometimes, and it takes practice, but we got better and better at it. We rarely ever fight anymore, and have been able to face a few challenges over the last while and come through closer than ever. I really hope you and DH get out of it what we did (by the way, is your therapist in Cleveland? ours was...she has a very strange name...if it's the same one as you have).

I also had a summer baby, and wonder about how to handle winter. Fortunately, we'll be in Vancouver where winters are mild (I didn't think they were until I moved to Ohio and Boston, lol). I have some wool blankets that we used for DD in the winter when in the car. They were nice because I could take them off easily when the car warmed up.

I'm kind of bummed that my little guy is gonna be in pants most of the time. I want to show off his gorgeous newborn diapers!! Maybe I could just put him in wooly kneesocks...whattaya think?

[bluehalo]

Originally Posted by Piglet68

I'm kind of bummed that my little guy is gonna be in pants most of the time. I want to show off his gorgeous newborn diapers!! Maybe I could just put him in wooly kneesocks...whattaya think?

You need some show-off-worthy longies Problem solved *lol*

[blessed2bamommie]

: That sling! Was that instock or custom?

More pics!

Ok! Pig! You make urself sound older than you are. How cute are you?

Who's the one who's ethnic lookin? Dark features? And the naked pic? I remember the disclaimer...but I can't remember who is was...you're beautiful!

Katie...I see Lucy but, I don't see her mama!

Well, I haven't taken any preggo pics and the photographer is on the list of call I haven't made; but, I guess I could shoot one....lemme get my hair and makeup..:LOL

I don't see no rolls! Maybe I won't.....

Looks liked if there was a pic of me there would be integration of the October mamas! :LOL

Ugh..go pee when you get the urge to avoid UTI....

[mtnjenny]

Oooh, it's so hard for me to keep up...Especially when the in-laws show up, unannounced, with friends, to spend the night on the way driving home from CA to WI. I already had my turn to rant about that, so I won't again... :

OK, is it confusing for anyone else that everyone has two names here? I'm having a hard time keeping track of who's who, and I don't know what to call anyone!

Amy, thanks for the advice about mastitis. I printed out yours and krnflower's advice to have on hand just in case...

Luckily, besides that bump in the road, I really feel fantastic. Now I've got the foot in the belly-button thing going - weird!

Bluehalo, I love your photo.

Back-to-school craziness is rapidly approaching, so I'm afraid it's going to be hard for me to keep up and respond like I should! Our school has moved, so I have an entire classroom to unpack and organize before the kids come back. It's a good thing - means our district supports our public Montessori program to exist for the long-term, but it's a $%!# of a lot of work! Anyhoo, Hope y'all don't mind me still hanging around and putting my 2 cents in when I can.

As for winter babies, I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm totally looking forward to spending the winter in our snowy mountain house by the fire with a new baby to cuddle with!! Speaking of winter, we had ice on our deck this morning... :

[Court]

The sling was instock! The nakey mama is bluehalo. I thought Piglet looked a lot younger than she sounded too.

Yeah, put a picture up Letia! We need some integration

oh, and those 4-D ultrasound pics were really cool, those babies do get really smushed in there. I remember when Logan was a newborn he kept his legs curled up to his chest for a long time - so that his pant legs were always empty in his little one-piece outfits.

[mtnjenny]

I just had an idea, thought I'd share (maybe you all have thought of this already.) You know how when you click on your name, you can see all that you've posted. It might be cool to print out all your posts and save as a keepsake. Just a thought!

[gottaknit]

Ok, I've got a bad case of the green monster. I want that oriental print hotsling!! She's got it in stock in S/M.... So what do you think - should I just buy it for myself or put it on the baby registry and hope it doesn't get snapped up before someone indulges me?

Any opinions on Hotslings vs. the Kangaroo Korner fleece pouch? The fleece one would probably make more sense for winter... Can you wear a hotsling on either shoulder?

Me me me blah blah blah... sorry.

[OakEmber]

Letia- good to see you back long enough to give us some

Nancy- IMO, I don't think that sling will wait for someone else to buy it for you...if you want it I'd grab it, consider it your present to yourself!

Amy : sending you stop contracting vibes! And amidst a tropical storm warning too!

So Dh has the job if he wants to take it...only the pay falls short of what we were hoping, but what can ya do? I am leaving it up to him because I really want him to figure out what his intuition is telling him about it and listen to it...he was quite positive when talking about the job and possibilities for advancement but he still feels a bit of unease. I will keep you updated, he is supposed to let them know Monday am.

So you may or not remember a long time back when I had my u/s my midwife mentioned me going for a follow up just to be sure that my placenta has moved out of the way(because it was low lying and anterior)...so I am going in on Tues. for another. On one hand I am a little uncomfortble with having another one but on the other I think the peace of mind will be worth it. Her reasoning is mainly due to the distance that I will travel in labour, about an 1 and 15 mins...depending on traffic, one of the things she mentioned that woman who have a low lying placenta will sometimes have a lot of bleeding in early labour...which would be nothing to worry about but might make me nervous when I am so far away. I am sure that it will be a super quick u/s as there will be no measurements to take.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend! It was hot today and it's gonna be even hotter here tomorrow, hope you are all staying cool!

[Lucysmama]

Piglet- Our therapist is named Lanex Brink. Is that who you guys had? I am starting to like her much better after last session.

Letia- I'll post my pic if you do! I'm gonna put dh on there, too...so you can see who I am always venting about! Hee hee.

Lucy was born in January, so I do have experience with winter babes. We really didn't go anywhere for the first month or so. I mean, we went out sometimes and when we had to, but that winter here in Ohio was a very cold and snowy one! I wanted to recommend Hanna Andersson's fleece buntings and Neverending fleece coats (www.HannaAndersson.com). They are thin, but really really warm - so you get warmth but not bulk, which is nice for a tiny baby. They don't have them instock yet, but I am told they will have them by September, or you can get them on ebay. We have had one of those coats for Lucy every year, and we love them. Like all Hanna stuff, they hold up so well, and the new baby will be able to wear them - they still look mint, and are gender-neutral.

I am getting a new sling, too! My mom said she wants to get me one for my birthday, so I gave her a list with 4 different slings in 4 different price ranges: the Moby Wrap (about $30) the Kangaroo Korner Fleece Pouch (about $55) the Hug-a-Bub (around $80) and the Zolowear silk sling ($150). I don't know which she'll pick, but I want all 4, so whatever she picks is great. I AM getting the KKAFP no matter what before the baby comes, though. It looks so soft and snuggly. Plus, I saw a guy wearing his baby in one not too long ago in the health food store, and he raved about it. I got to see it "in action" and it looked really comfy to wear and easy to put on.

Speaking of slinging, is anyone still slinging a toddler? I wore Lucy for about 30 minutes the other day in the Maya, and I was SO worn out afterwards. She's around 34lbs, so it was pretty tough. But, she was crying and upset cause Daddy wasn't there, and begged to get in the sling, so how could I refuse? She almost fell asleep in it, but I had to take her out, I was getting so tired! I also wore her at the street fair a couple weeks ago. I felt like SuperMama at first, but had to quickly take her out and make her walk. She's just too big, I think.

I am up to my ears in packing boxes. I should be working....

ETA: Ok, they DO have those fleece Hanna coats in. Here they are, if anyone is interested:
http://www.hannaandersson.com/style....C213%7C6%7C%7C
I'm getting it for my dd. They should have the cute buntings in soon.

[sqoya]

jenny - thanks for that idea of printing out what I've posted. I didn't know I could that - how cool! I completely agree with you about cozying up to the fire with a new baby!!!! How exciting to be having these babies in the fall time, huh?

Letia, You make me laugh so much!!! I lived in south carolina for a while - gotta love moonpies! mmmmmmm............ Don't stay away from the diaper forum too long - I'm sure they're missing you tons by now!!!

[bluehalo]

The nakey mama is bluehalo.

OMG, as long as I won't perpetually be known as "the nakey mama", I'll leave the picture up :LOL ... I don't know whether to laugh or be embarrassed. Guess I asked for it though, huh? *lol*

I've been trying to avoid the Hotslings website, despite all the raves, just b/c I didn't want something else on my "lusting-after" list ... but they look very cool. And I got all excited reading her birth story. Won't it be so cool when it starts being time for our babes ... I'll be so excited to check in every day and see if we have any new babes and birth stories.

Soogie, those U/S pictures are very cool ... I've never seen the 3D ones before ... wild!