Jan 23-29 - Page 5

[mamabeca]

Morning! It's so cold out today, I actually thought of going to the shops and getting pics. turned into cards for announcements and stuff like that, but SHEESH! It's like WAY to cold for that. Just getting around the block my fingers and legs were FROZEN inside my gloves and CoolMax. Fagetit.

Ori is doing so well...I am so very blessed. Last night was his hardest night yet. He woke for about 10 min. at 3am with the spitups and pains. I got him upright, burped him, and he went right back to sleep w/out even wanting to nurse (probably the chicken chilli from dinner, though it wasn't too spicy). Slept for 3 hrs., nursed, went back to sleep. I had to get up to get dd onto the bus, but he's still sleeping. I expect he'll give me about another 30 minutes. What an amazing little fellow! Please people, remind me I said this if it gets worse!!!

I found a sucking blister on my left nipple in the shower. It was hurting at latch-on, and I thought we'd avoided these (it didn't arrive until day SIX!!!), but oh well. Lanisoh, here we come!

Lisa - how's the bottom doing? Did you try the hairdryer?

Karen - you sound good - this beginning part is hard, it sounds like you're working through the hard parts and really enjoying the good parts, which is WONDERFUL! Enjoy!!! I'm really glad your boys are doing well with the changes. I'm sure there will be moments, but you sound like one really happy family!

Jessi - you inspire! Go sista! You are going to be one wonderful mama, is all I can say.

Heidi - thank you for the update on how we were all doing. I didn't realize we'd had so many changes to our plans, even though for a group this big it's probably not an unreasonable number of interventions. I can only say thank GOD I wasn't xferred this time round.

Ann - Yup - sounds like my dd's and your ds's births were similar. Poor dd had a little lumpola on her forehead (right on the hairline, so it wasn't too noticeable) for a long time. She was presenting that way because the cord was around her neck and if she'd ducked, she'd have cut off O2, her protection was a VERY wise thing for a teeny baby to do for herself! It really taught me (or started me on the road to realizing) that these babes come out with SO MUCH innate wisdom. We need to just let them have some room to show us how to be their own best parent. I don't know how long this actually holds up; at this stage dd makes a lot of mistakes that she learns from, but they're not too wise (like playing dress-up w/neighbor friend yesterday but taking off their clothes and trading underware. Def. no-no around here.). Anyway, I think the hard births also teach us something...just what I'm not sure yet!

Ok, dh is up and attum, I'm gunna go see what he's like this a.m. Sometimes he's such a cuddlemonger! LOL! Andy

[Killick]

Good Morning All,

Things are quiet here today. I told my office yesterday that they would not hear from me for the rest of the week and I intend to stick to that. I am going to paint some today. Our house is the basic crappy color that the builder paints, and is horribly dirty because the paint is basically the cheapest they can find. So, we are tired of everything looking incredibly dirty.

Will showed us last night, something we suspected all along, that he is a tummy sleeper. He slept 4 hours at a stretch, which meant that we only got up once in the middle of the night. The mom in me says that he will be fine if he sleeps on his tummy, but the public health professional in me screams out "You can't do that! You have to put them to sleep on their backs!" Not sure what to do, but the sleep was wonderful.

Makes you wonder how we all survived. I slept on my tummy and I was formula fed and my parents gave me cereal very early in life too. By all accounts I should not be doing as well as I am right now. Anyway, I guess I will just have to trust my instincts and do what they tell me.

Hope all have a great day.

Nicole and Will

[jessitron]

Where is everybody today? Mostly enjoying new babies, I hope.

Andy, Ori sounds like a wonderful baby. I hope I have one as happy.

Yesterday I bought a sling (Kangaroo Kids, made locally), breast pump, nursing bra, Lily Padz, lanolin and yet another tiny baby outfit. This is at the local childrens-and-maternity resale, run by an awesome mom and lactation consultant. It's an incredibly useful store (with a little coffee house attached) and it's only two miles from my house. Lucky me!

A January baby would be really nice. It's to the "You're still here?" stage at work. Today I had the first person freak out a little to hear I'm birthing at home. ("Don't be one of those people who don't use drugs... you're what???") Male of course. I liked the study that showed epidurals are good for the husband.

Gah, okay, back to work. You guys are supposed to post and talk about babies and pregnancies and give me something non-work-related to do here.

[3_opihi]

Andy -I forgot to mention that yes - we know all about Y moms. We used to go a while back, but most of the kids go to school with ds at his coop preschool. I figure three full days of them hanging out is probably enough, lol. we should start going again, though because its a really great group.

Can I just say, I'm really worried. The marines that got killed in that helicopter crash the other day were all from my town. I'm sure we know a few of them. The military hasn't notified any of the families yet, which is strange because on the news they are saying that they already have (liars). Anyways, my heart is breaking for all of these families right now. Hawaii has lost 29 soldiers in the past 4 days,. Stupid war.

Ok, how to move on from that? Yikes. Jessi, that sock yarn is called Regia . I did spell it wrong.

Nicole, I think Will is probably fine. Although the health professional in me is screaming not to say that. I think as long as he is close by you and you're checking on him alot, he's probably ok. Recently, there have been some new studies on SIDS. One of them says that it might have to do with the gasses from old mattresses breaking down, hence when the baby lays face down he/she is breathing themin more directly. Also, thats why its more common in second children. The other ones have to do with vax, and I don't want to go there in this thread. Trust your mama instincts, but do keep a good eye on him when he is tummy down.

But, you're right...how did we survive, lol?

We're doing well, on the sleep front. I think as long as she has a wakeful period in the late evening, she will sleep pretty good all night. So, she's usually up from 10-11:30 or so, then sleeps until about 5, has a brief wakeful period where she gats burped and diaper changed, and goes back to sleep until about 9. This is so much better than when she slept all evening and then was up from 2-6!

I went to the mall yesterday to spend that GC dh gave me. Realized there isn't really anything I *want* from the mall. ended up getting a bunch of stuff for the kids, and spent some money at the surf store. Sigh, mental note: DO NOT take your kids shopping with you if you want to get stuff for yourself, haha. Its stormy and rainy here today. We were supposed to go up to Haleiwa to see the big waves, but I don't know if we'll go now.

[jessitron]

Ann, very sorry to hear about the marines from your town. s Stupid war, indeed.
If it's raining, will you be able to see the waves?

Nicole, as a non-health professional, I have no qualms about agreeing with your instincts. If he wants to sleep on his stomach, then let him. How much of an increased risk have they measured from tummy sleeping? I bet it is not much.
DH's best friend's son died of SIDS some years ago. He was sleeping on his back. They smoke, though. Dunno about the age of the mattress. She had her tubes tied after the birth, and so now they can't have another baby, even though they'd really like one. I'll never get my tubes tied.

[Azreial]

I finally had my makeup appointment at the bc from the one I missed last Saturday becuase of the snow. Everything is going well we talked about what will happen if I have to come back next week (nst) and the week after (nst and progesterin gell, if I want). I don't know about the gel, we'll see if I get there. I was just glad I didn't have to start going 2x a wk like I did with ds. What a pita that is. We had the very baby happy mw today. I love that woman. If I could pick who would deliver it would ber her hands down. I feel so much better about everything and so relaxed after my appointment today. She asked how big ds was, 8lb 4oz, and she said she thinks this baby may be a little bit bigger. I've been thinking smaller, but she had a growth spurt, and the poor ripped apart skin on my stomach can attest to. Last week I was thinking right around 7 even, now I'm thinking 7 12-14. MIL said 6 10 three weeks ago but now she says bigger becuase my belly got way bigger. DH is saying 7lb 1oz or 7lb 2 oz. I asked ds and he said 10lbs!! The boy has some faith in me.

Jessi, you've just been a buying machine lately. Sounds like you should be ready for baby. I ordered a diaper pail. I've been saying for months that I was going to go and get a trash bin but I can see that is never going to happen. So diaper pail on-line, so I don't have to do anything, it is. I also ordered another pair of breast pads. I've gone breast pad crazy. I leaked so much with ds, it was aweful. When we would go out I would wear 2-3 disposble nursing pads and my shirt would still be soaked!! I got cloth this time, mostly becuase the throw away ones would stick to my nipple and it hurt terrible to take it off.

Nicole, I hope you stick to not checking in with your work. Enjoy some mummy time with Will. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about him sleeping on his stomach. DS slept on his alot when he was a baby. Really the only time that he didn't is when he'd fall asleep in the car or stoller or if I put him down for a nap in his basinett. Which wasn't very often, I could pretty much only nurse laying down for the first couple of months so I would usually nod off nursing him to sleep.

[3_opihi]

jESS - Yeah, I suppose we could see the waves. But who wants to sit on a Hawaiian beach in a tropical rainstorm? Ok, I realized the redundancy of that question as I typed it. We decided to go to Sears and get pics taken instead.

[LEAW]

Maya, I sit on the beach in the rain here, although it's a bit different than your tropical locale

Andy, haven't had a chance to get out and get the saalve you mentioned. We've been going diaper free (baby on nappy, not nappy on baby) since we got home yesterday afternoon, and her bum is now totally dry, not inflamed, but is now dry looking and still a little red. I'm going out tomorrow - all by myself (ok with babe!) for my first big solo adventure. We're going to hit the other local bf support group and check it out, and then head to the health food store. This time I plan on taking enough diapers to make it through - I only took 3 clean ones yesterday and she went through them all pretty fast.

P&A - I was hunting around on the ec board and saw you were thinking of doing that with new baby too, are you? Dh has been rather successful with Lauren the last 3 days, especially poops. Amazing. Last night we put a potty bowl next to the bed so I didn't have to get up, and she went in there too. Talk about really amazing things babies can do!

Everyone keeps telling me that newborns pee every 20 min, even the IPT books, but she's going about once an hour, almost right after she wakes. Maybe I'm just lucky. I think I have the perfect setup too - right now we are in the rocker (been here most of the day actually!) with feet up and a fuzzy blanket, baby on diaper on boppy on lap, laptop on table so I can reach, stack of diapers and potty on other side, and we just sit here and let dad serve us. He empties the potty and brings us food and it doesn't get much better than this! Ok so really I need to get my bum up before it falls asleep, and I'm going to have to pee at some point, but it's kind of nice. Next project, making a fleece cover for the potty rim so it's not so cold on her bum.

We went out yesterday too, to the bf group at the hospital, and the lc who runs it is super nice, and they had big babies there too. It only meets once a week though.

So many new babies, congrats to all the mamas and families and babies too, I feel like I'm way behind in the conversations here. We've managed to stay in bed the last 2 nights, even if the quality/length of sleep isn't signficant, it's much better than the sitting up in the rocker all night with my head bobbing.

Back soon, need to catch up with everyone and get writing her birth story.

Lisa

[Proudmom]

Not much happening here. DS and I have been hanging out. He/We had a friend come over today which was nice. Dh is home, so we may do something fun this afternoon. DS is napping

I was quite productive yesterday. I got the floors mopped (the whole house is tile, except for the bedrooms) and I completed some sewing. Woo Hoo...Not sure what I will do today.

I am sorry about everyone's stinky weather. Ours hasn't been too bad. I definitely don't envy your cold, Andy. We lived in the midwest for a few years, and I HATED it. Too cold for me...I hate runny eyes and frozen nose hairs

Proudmom

[jessitron]

Az, me too on the breast pads. I think I have over twenty. Then the Lily Padz that I bought yesterday are ones you can wear all the time, supposedly, just rinse them off and put them back on. No leaking yet, but they'll be useful eventually, I guess.

Heather, great job on mopping the floors and finishing the sewing. It is good to get projects completed.

Ann, the tropical beach in a rainstorm sounds great, but not with a baby. Pictures are good too.

Lisa, your baby sounds adorable. That's awesome that she's peeing in a potty-bowl already! Great job.

[mamabeca]

Ok - I have made my share of mistakes here, especially concerning laundry, but I now have no wool socks (shrunk to the size of my dd), she has no tights (those are doll size!) and her wool long johns are for like a 2 yr old! YIKES!!! Like $300 worth of wool material shrunk beyond reckoning... am I being a control freak, or is this enough to wrench back control over the laundry... at least over DOING it and letting dh bring it upstairs??? SHEESH!!! tnx for the rant...that's better.

Nicole - are you co-sleeping w/Will? My mw thinks a lot of SIDS problems are based on the fact that we expect newborns to remember to BREATHE when they aren't really used to doing it and they just forget sometimes. I think, well, maybe, but it's probably a combination of factors. I don't think tummy/back is a major contributor. In fact, if I had to choose, I'd choose side or tummy because they allow baby to lose the spit-up that they constantly puke up to exit the mouth, even when they are asleep. If you are co-sleeping, you will remind Will to breathe just by breathing near him. Also you will be more aware of him, and not worry so much if he is doing ok. Just put your hand on his back and you'll know. We got a co-sleeper for dd way back when, which I think we still have, but I like sleeping with ds in his room because dh is so noisy and big and rolls the bed around a lot. It's on castors that are locked, but we don't have a rug big enough to go under the bed so it still rolls around when the big guy tosses. At any rate, I think your instincts are EXCELLENT and you'll do the right thing, so no sweat sweetie!

Jess - sorry no good posts today. My sore nip. is kind of a bummer, and I've been putting him to the breast as often as I can to try to get it better. I am also using black tea bags and breast milk, in addition to the lanisoh...any other rec's??? Meanwhile, it's not been very convenient to get online. We got the birth cert. today!! It so cool - our REAL baby cert.

Oops, crying from the LR means I'm OUTTA HERE! LOL andy

[Malama]

I've been wanting to get online all day, but sleeping and eating have taken precedence-- good to know my priorities are correct!

Can't remember if I posted yesterday. Luka was in that "I want the milk NOW!" stage and nursing non-stop and not letting anyone hold him. It was tiring, but today we have milk and ALL is much better. we slept for a long time after breakfast and then he slept most of the mid-afternoon. Now he's wakeful but so content. Ahhhhh I LOVE breastmilk!

Nicole, my ds2 was a tummy sleeper. He just wasn't very happy on his back. Since he was with me most of the time (and my house was teeny if I wasn't right there) I felt comfy with that. It is important that what you put him to sleep on is firm though. Essentially, all the info and advice is useless if it doesn't work for your kid.... follow him.

Wow Ann, rain and stormy? It was all rainy here this am and I was so excited (love to stay home in the rain). But it all washed away and now it's super sunny. Hilo's having very dry weather lately.

Heidi- appliance/ plumbing probs again!! wow. I'm so impressed you're still attending births! I have one client (who's a close friend) due in April and I'm so glad that the other mw can take care of her right now. She saw her today and called me with an update and I could barely wrap my brain around what I was hearing. She knew it too-- and she'll do the next prenatal probably until I can get myself together! I'm a mess!

I ordered a new sling yesterday- the cotton version of that fleece sling that everyone raves about- the kangaroo one. I have a New Native that someone sent me but it's too big.... she's at least 5" taller than me and it's fine for baby to hang in, but not to be close to me. I love shopping for things. Also gonna buy some pul fabric and make some diaper wet bags- maybe 2 larger for in the house and a few for on the go. My mil sent me this really shmancy diaper bag- silk- lemme see if I can post a link:
http://www.petuniapicklebottom.com/p...tml?id=50&pg=1
It's a little fancy- but she wrote in the card that for 3rd baby I deserved something "sophisticated". lol. If you came to where I live, you'd laugh.... the Big Island is awesome, but I doubt anyone would call it sophisticated. But then I can be the exception, can't I??? Now I just need one of those fancy slings (Zolo wear) in similar fabrics to make it complete. They're only like $150! Maybe I'll make one for when i go see them......

Andy- hurrah for "easy" babies! May Ori stay a nice sleeper!

I'm gonna see if I can get some pics posted somehow.... Luka is fast asleep on my shoulder and I have both hands "free"

Much Love and baby vibes to all who are ready (isn't that everyone at this point?)
Karen

[Azreial]

Originally Posted by jessitron

Az, me too on the breast pads. I think I have over twenty. Then the Lily Padz that I bought yesterday are ones you can wear all the time, supposedly, just rinse them off and put them back on. No leaking yet, but they'll be useful eventually, I guess.

I didn't leak much at all when I was pg with ds or this time either, just a wet nipple and a small nipple sized wet spot on my shirt, which could easily be a drip, now and again. AFTER my milk came in. I think I could have fed the whole nieghborhood lol. I would have to sleep with two towels under my chest and sometimes the sheets would still be wet. I think I changed more sheets in the begining becuase of my leaky breasts than ds leaky diapers. I saw those lily pads in a magazine, I just don't know about plastic/slicone on my nipples. I ended up ordering a pair of wool breast pads with the diaper pail yesterday. So we'll see how those work.

DH is on the "crap" list right now. He is pretty much refusing to put any time aside to spend with just me right now. I'm talking one-on-one time with out having to go somewhere or doing something. He went out plowing last night even though we had talked and he agreed not to go out again until after the baby is born. We had a long talk the other night about how I feel like I need him to be here and commit himself to me and the baby and then the next night he's out plowing Last night we were talking and he starts complaining about how he won't get to do anything with the baby because he can't feed her. Hello! babies do a lot more than eat I try to talk to him about how much better for the baby it is to be breastfed and it is always "she won't know who I am" "I love feeding babies" I really don't need him to be doing that. I need support. I only bf ds exclusivly for 3 mnths and stoped at 7 because of the total lack of support from ds father.

THen he was complaining about how I'm a jerk becuase I really don't want the baby to be passed around among his family. "Thats what you do wigth babies" and "that the way my family does it" are what I hear. You know what I don't give f*** what your family does. I am not doing it with my baby. I am not going to deal with the people who doin't want to give the baby back or the baby feeders who try to feed your baby what ever they think is right. DS was very lactose intolerant, and still is to a lesser degree, and mil still insists upon giving him 2 cups of ice cream at every birthday. Even though dh and I have both told her that he can have a taste, no more than 1/2. I can only imagine what will happen with his baby (her 1st grandchild), especially since I'm planning no solids until at least 6mths and no milk products (except yogurt) until 1 1/2

I'm just so overwhelmed right now and dh is not helping things at all. I'm just really glad that this baby has not come yet and shows no signs of coming anytime soon. I could have to join the Feb mamas and then the MArch mamas for all I care right now. I just don't feel like dh is ready to have a baby and that he is refusing to comit to how our lives are going to be. He keeps trying to drag me out every day, even though I tell him I don't want to, that I'm sore and tired and riding in the car just makes things worse. I jsut always have to hear how we won't get to do anything after the baby comes. The worst part about this is that this is a planned baby.

I'm sorry for just dumping but I'm feeling unsupported at home right now and I need someplace to.

[Malama]

Az
I don't have any words of wisdom for you right now.... just sending lots of love your way.

[jessitron]

Az, this is a great place to share. I'm so sorry DH is being a poophead. Does he enjoy plowing or something? He really doesn't seem to get it. And MIL too. Does she like to make them sick? :mad

Karen, that's a lovely diaper bag. Good for your mother in law.

Heidi, that is awful about your hot water. Is it fixed yet?

Having a few contractions here, finally. Nothing major, just kinda like lots and lots of BH, and the baby occasionally punching me right above the pubic bone (ow).

Babies babies babies!

[LEAW]

Az, I agree, what a poopy hubby day. Just go ahead and keep on venting here. And thwack him upside the head from me too.

Jessi - ooh yes, I guess Jan is almost over, happy labor vibes to you and babe.

The hospital provides a one week home visit after you leave, so they are coming tomorrow to check on us.

I think we've just started in on another marathon nursing. Lauren keeps getting wider eyes every time I change sides, rather than falling asleep. Ugh, I was hoping to go to bed now.

I love love love all the names for the babies, all so unique and fitting.

Going to turn out the lights and hope for sleep.

Lisa

[Proudmom]

Az - s DH is being a big poop. I know you know, but there are many things he can do to bond with the baby. Feedings are such a small one(well, kinda). DH used to have ds sleep on his chest. He would change ds' diapers between sides and hold him afterwards to give me a chane to shower/nap/etc. I am sure dh will find his place...In the meantime, he better hop to it and start supporting you!!!!!

Mamabeca - UGH about the wool. Sometimes I wonder if they secretly are inept on purpose. How can you wash all the wool and shrink it all??? My BIL did this to my niece's covers. My sister was mad!!! I have given dh strict laundry instructions...under no circumstances should he wash wool. Of course, we live in AZ, so the wool pieces are few...

Of course, my dh has been no gem. He has been playing some kind of video game today. Uh, hello, you are 33!!!! There are things to be done. Remember that dresser sitting on the back porch. You know, the one for your children....the one that needs another coat of paint. Or how about the weeds in the front yard that the HOA sent a note about...

Oh well. My mw's assistant dropped off a birthpool today. I wasn't sure if I would use one, but they just got a new one and offered to let me be the guinea pig. Of course, I wanted to set it up tonight, but dh put ds to bed in our room. No biggee since he sleeps most of the night in there, but how do we set up the tub in the adjoining bath with him sleeping. Uh, we don't.

That's okay, dh isn't ready yet for the baby to come. Uh, get ready!!!

Wow. I didn't realize I needed to rant!! I feel better. So sorry if you read this :

Proudmom

[Killick]

This evening has been a bit stressful. With the impending hospital stay, everyone has been checking with us to make sure that we have enough insurance coverage. I always assumed that I did, but I didn't think to check until this evening. It seems likely that we are going to have to pay about $2,000 for the surgery. While this is not even something that we would hesitate doing, I have no idea where we are going to come up with the money.

Likely, we will take out a home equity loan, and possibly consolidate some debt too. At least it would be tax deductible. I was so hoping that we could work towards getting out of debt too. It is so frustrating and disheartening.

At least we still have time to get Will on DH's insurance too so that he is doubly covered. I am calling the insurance tomorrow to try and understand this better.

I do know that all of my expenses from Will's birth were covered by insurance. The out of pocket cost for me was 10 bucks for the initial appointment and 10 bucks for a Rhogam shot that I had to get.

Hope everyone is having a good night.

Nicole

[Human_Being]

We have a "blog" now

Happy due date me and Jesse!

Just cause posting here is so much fun, now we can post for the whole family! I learned from a few of you and now we have "blog". You can finally see pictures of me pregnant before I am not anymore!

http://dahlborg.blogs.com/baby_2005/

Heidi

[Azreial]

Nicole, about the insurance. Hopefully if you get him on dh's insurance it'll pick up the slack from your insurance. If not maybe you could work out a payment plan with the dr and/or hospital. I would start with dh's insurance though. From what I've seen when you have double insurance there isn't much you have to pay for and what you do is much less

Az, this is a great place to share. I'm so sorry DH is being a poophead. Does he enjoy plowing or something? He really doesn't seem to get it. And MIL too. Does she like to make them sick?

I think he does enjoy plowing but mostly it is he is so afraid that we won't have enoguh money after I stop getting paid. He doesn't make a lot of money, not even 1/2 of what I do so it is putting a lot of stress on him.

MIL does not have any kids with allergies so I think she just does not understand. DH have not been married very long and I don't think she does it to make ds sick. But you would really be surprised at how many people think that being lactose intolerant only means you can't have milk. She's only trying to make ds happy but it is very frustrating. DH actually just told her last weekend no more ice cream becuase of it.

Sorry to everyone else who dhs were being poopheads or are being poopheads. It just so frustrating that they just don't seem to understand.

My mum has been calling me everyday lately. I think she is getting anxious for this baby to come. She wants to come and visit, but I really don't feel like visitors so we keep telling her that the parking ban is still on so she can't come. Now the parking ban is still on but you can now park on my street and a few others around mine during the day. However it would still be hard for her to find a space since we live downtown. Today she said that if I needed her she would take the train so she would have to worry about parking. I told her I was fine. She also wanted to know if I wanted her to come up today to help out and spend the night to be with ds becuase babies usually come at night. Yes I am due tomorrow but we all know how much that means You think she'd know better since I was living with her when I had ds and he was born June1 and "due" May 15