*~*Sorry May '04 Mamas, I just can't wait! August is TOO HOT!*~*

[Mama Faery]

I wanted to let someone else take the torch for starting the new thread but...I am sick and bored and home alone, and I NEED to do *something*. Sleep is elusive so...here I am!

Yes, mamas, it's true; DH stayed HOME for me today! I didn't even have to ask him!
: :

I woke this morning with a croaking voice, a cough that sounds like h*ll, and a head so stuffy no amount of fluids, homeopathics, etc etc were able to help! Out came the blessed nasal spray! I used to use WAY too much of the stuff when I got sick (cannot tolerate a stuffy nose when sleeping AT ALL) and my previous doc warned me that if I didn't stop, it would just make things WORSE. And I did used to get sinus infections all the time. :
So anyway, I used a little of the spray and I feel tons better. As long as I'm upright as well, I feel better.
My nose is all red and raw from blowing it so much, and it is YUCKY in there, let me tell you!
I think y'all are right about the stress getting to me. NO ONE in our house got as sick as I did. So I am trying to do right by myself today...I will take advantage of the time I have to chill out, read a magazine, sip some tea (after my morning coffee, of course! : Can't let it go even when ill!) and maybe sleep a bit more. *sigh*
Colds are the WORST.

Anyway, enough of my whining. (loving that smiley too much these days!) Happy August to everyone!!

And Elsanne, no worries about the drama queen stuff, honey. I still love ya! Part of *why* I love ya is how you tell it like it is! Sometimes I need to be struck with a clue-by-four.

Hope everymama is surviving the heat today (and tomorrow! WTF is going on? Oh yeah. Global warming. ) As I mentioned, DH took Rowan to the park this morning, and it's a really shady park, so they'll get a little outside time with some friends. I miss my mama-friends! When I am sick, I feel like I am sequestered from the world.
Okay, off I go. Take care, everyone!

[Jacqueline]

Subscribing...

and, yes, I was upset about 5 pounds. See, I weighed too much to begin with, so 5 pounds does upset me. And, I've got weight issues to begin with. What woman doesn't, I guess. So, I continue to deal. And I know it's just a number....it doesn't define me....all that mumbo jumbo. If I were to get pg, I know how to eat right and manage the weight. And, if it's meant to be, it will be.

Just woke up from a night of one long dream featuring my old childhood/teenagehood love. I have these every so often, and I always wake up feeling so good! Used to make me feel guilty, but now I realize it's all okay. There's just something about the first love that's so comforting to recall...didn't feel that way at the time, but I've idealized it over time

Anyway, here's to August!

[elsanne]

Awwww, Jacqueline, five pounds could be water weight! I for sure thought you forgot the "1" in front of the 5, or heaven forbid, a number AFTER the 5, five pounds you could lose by going out jogging ONCE and dehydrating!!
I'm right there with ya with weight issues, I'm hearing that. I was much heavier when I got preg with amara, and lost tons of weight in the first tri from eating better. Crazy. Mw was not happy about the weight loss but I felt great. I am definitely larger now than I have been for many moons but I have also produced some cuuute chitlins!!!
When I was 19 y.o. I was the heaviest I had ever weighed in my life, at 210 lbs. Yes! on a 5'5" body! I then lost 30 or 40 of them by binging and purging, real healthy. I was sooo low in my life in general, in a bad relationship, etc. Then a year or so later I went into the peace corps in guatemala where I had a maaaajor life change, all my values, etc. and began LOVING to exercise and discovering natural foods...long process that put me down to 120, then bouncing back to a natural healthy weight of 135 that I've kept until right before getting pregnant with Amara. Sol's preg I gained some 25 lbs and lost it afterward, but then started creeping upppp...
So I probably started amara's preg about 150, and now I think I'm about 160 ish. I don't really want to check so I don't start obsessing. I just want to enjoy moving my body again and if I lose weight, fantastic!

Starting August with an all about me post, what a surprise!!! :

Renae I sure hope you feel better soon.:

[KKmama]

Here I come, thinking I might be able to start the August thread, but noo....

I'm feeling some weight/body issues right now. After T and Z, the weight fell off, quickly and without my having to do anything. But it's not moving this time, and I'm a little anxious. I don't know whether it's my metabolism changing as I get older, or the fact that I haven't been able to be as active (both during the last pg and right now). (My old problems with my feet are bugging me, and I have an appt next week... it looks like I'll have to get completely new orthotics $$$, because the ones I have are just not cutting it.) Before I had kids, I was super buff, very muscular, and I just feel *squishy* right now. Relatively speaking, I'm really not in a bad place, but I feel out of shape, I guess like a deflated balloon. Elsanne, what you said about posture etc. really hit home. :

I for one find the body/weight discussions interesting, makes me feel like I'm not alone. I've been checking back in on the Shape of a Mother website.... I'm so fascinated with it. All of this stuff is stuff I've been talking about with my friends IRL, too. One of my friends who homebirthed 2 *enormous* babies is going to be having some reconstructive surgery this fall...

[A&L+1]

Oooh yeah, it’s me, the MIA May Mama!

We had a great time in Oregon and now that I am somewhat caught up at work, I can afford the time I need to prepare this mammoth post. Brace yourselves.

Renae- Drama is about caring. You care a LOT about things and as long as you don’t make yourself feel bad for being invested in your feelings then it’s all good. I care deeply about some things that others may find not worthy of the energy I put into it. I just try to accept that what matters to me is important and worth my attention. I just strive to let go when it gets unhealthy and is no longer serving me. The trick is to be a guilt-free about it as possible when things end and it’s time to put your energy elsewhere. Lord knows you’ve done all you can to be a supportive friend to G. So, be without guilt as you choose to forego spending more money, time, and energy on the issue. Release.

Els – I am shocked that you are up for any Viet “communication”! I think that I was so hands off after E was born that it wasn’t even a possibility for months!
I am so sorry that it is tough for you right now to balance the two kiddies. I love what you have been saying about healthy exercise, posture, and being a mother. I am terrified that with our second on the way we’ll never have time to relax or exercise again. You are inspiring.

Claudia – It’s lovely to hear you post about your mom. I had some tough times with my parents, but now (and especially with my dad sick but defying his terminal diagnosis) I feel so close to them and miss them so much. Eleanor loves her Grandma and Popeye (her name for my dad) and she wants to call them on the phone all the time. I bet the webcam is a lot of fun.

PDX Mamas– Jess, thanks for sharing your home and yummy food. I loved meeting all of you and the cute kids (Eleanor loved naked time in the paddle pool!) Although I expected the PDX meetup to be more of a May Mama gab fest than it was, it was nice to see you all and get a more complete picture of you than you can get online. I so want to move to Portland. Sigh.

Sarah - I wish that I could have curled up on a couch somewhere with a cup of tea and talked to you for hours about midwifery stuff. How was the weekend? How’s L&D?

Jacqueline – The house contract rocks! I think the insurance thing is just the sort of grace that comes to good people so I don’t think you should fret about your omission. How are you liking CO?

Megan – I can’t look at shapeofamother at work but I peeked a little and I love the idea.

I will go back to the site because like many have said, I am still a little upset about the changes that my body has gone through. I am around 10 pounds over what I would like to be and it’s hard. As a survivor of sexual abuse, I have tried to never allow myself to be critical of my body. I have never wished to weigh less before, and while that may seem like an enviable state, it’s a bit of a shock to my system to feel that my body isn’t right.

The update on us: Eleanor was having a terrible time eating and napping and sleeping. It was bad until we went to Oregon and tired her out. She’s doing a lot better, but I admit bashfully that both Alison and I are looking forward to getting back on a school-year schedule. Eleanor loves loves loves routine and we can’t seem to keep her to one on our own. She’s waking at around 7:00, napping sometime between 1:00 and 4:00 (for 15 mintues to 2 hours depending) and sleeping at 8:30ish. It’s okay but we live in fear that she’ll go back to no naps/up until 10:00! She’s getting her canines (finally) so maybe that was the issue.

Alison is doing well (thanks for asking KK). She has a terrible itchy rash that I am concerned about. It’s just really itchy and persistent but she’s probably not going to get it looked at until her next appointment in a week and I am afraid she’ll scratch her skin off. She’s not feeling sick anymore. We did a nuchal translucency screening. She’s got the same likelihood of this baby having downs/trisomy 13/18 as a 20 year old, so that’s good.

Her (our?) OB is going to plan to be in town/taking births around Alison’s due date. She is going to give us her personal cell phone number so that we can call her directly to ensure that it is her and not a back up doctor that gets the call to come to the hospital. So, it looks like we’re going with the small community hospital and this OB. Now we are talking about birth plans in general and doulas. We’ll get one, but Alison really isn’t concerned about having the “ideal” birth. This fits her personality to a tee. We joke about the difference between us all the time with the euphemism of dress shopping. I am the sort of person that can find a decent dress, buy it, but until the event I plan to where it to is over I will keep looking for a better one, even if I am basically happy with the first one. Alison is the sort of person who will find a decent dress, buy it, and never give it another thought. She just doesn’t waste energy on being a seeker. I am a seeker. Alison wants to approach birth like dress shopping – she’s picked a low intervention OB and will hire a doula. The rest is up to chance. I want to to keep seeking more and more options and considerations and planning and processing and talking about it and sharing birth stories and -- it’s just not over for me until the baby is born (and then I am on to a new set of concerns). Alas, becoming a parent teaches me more about myself than I expected yet again.

[elsanne]

Originally Posted by A&L+1

Els – I am shocked that you are up for any Viet “communication”! I think that I was so hands off after E was born that it wasn’t even a possibility for months! out

I know, huh? Even more shocking is that I would go for it, despite all my complaints about him. Jeez. Wish I would just LEARN for chrissake!!! Oh and also, I am respecting the 6 week no-oh jeez do I just say intercourse or what?-rule. So we git bizzy but not THAT bizzy.
I have to say, I was ready to go back to work in the fields a few minutes after Amara was born. Such an incredibly opposite experience from Sol, where I didn't leave the bed for a week. Didn't leave the house for several more, or leave with Sol for even more. I took Amara to the market today, the big Tuesday Market, picture the classic Latinamerican market and that's it, really dirty filthy disgusting colorful noisy outrageous. I would NEVER have taken Sol there at one month old. She was asleep in the sling the whole time and I got some great goodies.

kk--yeah, the posture thing. Ooooh yeah. I really do love moving my body, having it upright and working and strong, I just have to try and remember that all the time.

lisa--glad to hear the alison update. Rashes are common in my family of sensitive white-skinned folk. I get them for just about everything...my mom gets them with any other virus. Does she not "do" mdc? Why isn't she on here? I've always wondered that. I too have a hard time maintaining a routine or schedule like toddlers need, but after enlisting Viet's support to realize she needs more sleep than she was getting things are working so far.

[nuggetsmom]

Mostly I am just subbing.

Well, I was not around to complain about how hard it was to have two. But I just did it and now I am just content most of the time. Busy, but content. The thing was that I just assumed the answer would be apparent if I looked for it and it really was true. I am of course the mother with a temper and so N did get screamed at a few times. I think she may be permanently scarred because of potty training in the time after having J. The reason we did it was because at her daycare they told me she was using the potty. So when we had two weeks at home we went for it.
Well, I think we both survived.

TC, really I was freaking out before I had J too. How would I manage to get N to sleep? How would I get dinner fixed etc etc etc. I ended up fixing a months worth of food ahead of time. I think that is why I had J early

Well, DH had to help out more and my mom came. I kept up the daycare and had a routine (like flylady)

OK, I have to finish my chores today.

I really should exersize more but I don't seem to have the persistence for it. Which is odd since I do for most other things:

[A&L+1]

Originally Posted by elsanne

Does she not "do" mdc? Why isn't she on here? I've always wondered that.

: She is on a working moms AP list, but basically thinks MDC is too <insert favorite criticism of MDC here>

[mcsarahb]

Oh, you guys. It is so nice to read this thread daily and laugh and think and cry and wish we could all be within a mile of each other. But anyway.

I'm sure I will forget something; it is late and I am feeling kinda stream-of-consciousness. But please no one feel bad if I leave you out because I do read and think about EACH AND EVERY one of your posts.

Elsanne - I am impressed you are jogging and feeling like working in the fields, too. And gettin' bizzy, no matter what orifice you may be using. I am sorry you are having a time with those girls, but I'm glad Viet is stepping in a bit and you are getting some you time.

Heather - hugs, mama. I was going to respond on the YG but will just say I'm thinking of you and your whole family. Good to hear E is getting more calories, and I want you to know that I understand your pain over having to do it that way and think you are doing an amazing, truly amazing, job.

Lisa - I could write a book about my L&D experience, but I will just say it is soooo hard and discouraging being there. There are moments of light, and some of the nurses are great, but there are just so many things wrong with the whole picture, it depresses me. I am hoping the CNM program helps prepare me for what I can do to make a difference...
Hope A gets her itchies figured out.

Renae - Keep on keepin', on, mama drama. You know we love you. I'm interested to hear about the beauty pageant. People have said Lily should do modeling. I would totally do it if I could find somewhere legit, and it would pay for her college education!

Body image: I have been wanting to lose 5-10 lbs for a while now, but very recently I've been feeling kinda good about it. Don't know if I lost 5 lbs or not, but I'm pretty happy with it. Definitely could be a bit more firm, and I'd love to get back to my yoga, but that is just not going to happen in the next month or so. Maybe in September. I must admit that I think the extended breastfeeding is a big help in keeping my weight down. Has to be, with all the crap I eat.

OK, yeah, people are being forgotten, but I must sign off. Gotta rest up in preparation for teaching tomorrow. Pregnancy and Postpartum class, w00t!

Smoochie-boochies!

Sarah

[Mama Faery]

Okay, so Sarah said "smoochie-boochies"! : And that just made me think of my two favorite stoners of all time: Jay and Silent Bob!
I saw Clerks II a couple weeks ago and it was just fantastic. I didn't even care that it was a sequel. Heh.

I am still sick, blah, still keepin' on, trying to figure out WHAT we will do this morning, maybe just stroll around the mall that has a kiddie play area, carousel, those quarter-operated little cars, and a screen on the floor that you can step on and play on!

I should probably take it easy but man, if we're here ALL MORNING, we'll drive each other bats. DH is back at work today. I DID get a ton of rest yesterday so I am ing to him for that! Or maybe, as Elsanne said, I should be gettin' bizzy! Hah, if you saw what I looked like in the midst of my cold; snorty, red nose, hacking cough, bags under the eyes, etc etc...it ain't pretty! :

I probably won't get much else in besides I you all and think of you often! Rowan is done with Sesame Street and he came running through the house going "Mama? Mama? In the dent?" (In the den--where our computer is) "All done cuputer!" He is so cute.

Time to get through the day. I'll respond more soon!

Haha, Lisa, *I* think MDC is too <insert adjective here!> But you know, I found all of you here so it was good for that!

Ugh. Sick. Head full of mucus. Whee! Have a great day, mamas.

[Mama Faery]

!
DH wants me to go to bed but I just wanted to wish you all good night!
And grr...I couldn't get into the Mothering chat room with Hathor. Apparently I'm not registered??? Oh well. I'll figure it out later.

I am still sick, but I see a light at the end of the snotty tunnel!
Tomorrow, two months after Rowan turned two, we are going in for his 2-year physical! : Haha. I'll let y'all know how it goes...

[elsanne]

Oh, I'm baaad...maybe I should try to take Sol in. I did wellbaby visits for many moons, then at about a year just stopped. The MW I see is sooo wonderful and fab and great, that whenever there is an issue we consult via telephone or however, she's really more of a friend now although I just took amara in for her 1 mo. yesterday. Get this, mamas:
My sweet nugglechunkness has an extra set of tiny, miniscule labia!!! I had seen some extra flesh in her vaginal region but hadn't "delved" into it so to speak until yesterday at her visit, I wanted her "doc" to see it. (doc=mw) so we checked it out and beneath her tiny, wonderful vaginal opening she has an even tinier mini-set of labia, ie the labia minora. It is between her vaginal opening and her perineum. Shouldn't be a problem, except for hygiene (must make sure all the poop etc gets out of there) and maybe later on she might feel weird about it and it could be removed. It's barely visible, lest you be imagining strange monstruosities. Our job now is just keep our eyes on it to see if it grows along with her or stays tiny tiny. Interesting eh?
Sometimes when I am changing my girls' diapers I wonder if I will ever be blessed enough to have grandchildren, and if I will get to be witness to their births via those sweet nether regions. Wow. The thought kind of blows my mind.

Sarah WOULD say smoochie-boochies. She's like that.

Lisa, I thought it was hilarious how you described Alison's aversion to MDC. <insert amused chuckle here>

Renae, may you be feeling better today!

It is 9.15 am and Sol is still not awake. This is truly an amazing thing.

[A&L+1]

Originally Posted by mcsarahb

I am hoping the CNM program helps prepare me for what I can do to make a difference...

Even as I wait to start ‘becoming a midwife’ I think about this sort of thing too. How can I make a difference in homebirth when hospital birth is the norm? How could I work in a hospital and still maintain the homebirthing spirit? I am re-reading Babycatcher right now and it makes me wish I could somehow be a homebirth CNM with hospital privileges…it’s the ideal in my mind. I feel stuck. I like having a job with hours (rather than 24-7 on-call) and benefits, so I should want to be a CNM, yet the whole hospital setting bums me out even as I know I would be like you in trying to make a difference. But I love normal birth, so then I think, CPM for sure. Then as I think through what that will do to me and my family (significant drop in pay, gone all hours) I vacillate back again to CNM. There’s a woman here that is in nursing right now to get in the UCSF midwifery program and every time I see her I am so focused on her every word. I am strongly leaning toward CPM, and not ruling out the CNM route when the time comes… How did you decide on the CNM path?

[A&L+1]

Total thread killer...

I am because our toilet is plugged up and I am waiting for the plumber to come. I can't go to my ice skating class because I don't want to leave Alison home alone to juggle dinner/bedtime with Eleanor and a plumber!!! : : :

[Mama Faery]

No Lisa! You're not a thread killa! I think I killed the thread just by starting it! : Haha.
You take ice-skating lessons! That rules! Sorry you are missing your class, and sorry for the yucky toilet issues. We had some of those a few months back. Cost us a pretty penny, too. :

Ah, mamas, I am in such a funk recently. Mostly because of the whole G. and C. thing. Sounds like NO one is looking forward to that wedding, yet they're ALL going. I just feel bad about it all and it's not helping that it's 1000 degrees most days (though it should be cooling off by tonight!) and I am still pretty sick (but getting better! Slowly)...ach. So anyway. Sorry, don't mean to : on anyone's parade...
I have an infinity symbol tattooed on my left ankle, kind of in the back, it's less than an inch long. I got it when I was 19, and G. has the exact same one, in the same place (when we were dating. Good thing I didn't get his name tattooed on my butt or anything! ). C. wanted him to get it removed, which, to his credit, he did not do (yet)...but now I am tempted to change mine. Kind of like moving on or something. Hah. DH said he would take me to talk to a tattoo artist that weekend we have to ourselves, the weekeng of the wedding. I won't jump into anything rashly though, I promise! I'm just feeling really bummed out.

Elsanne! An extra tiny set of labia?!?! How interesting! I can imagine how it could totally trip you out, thinking you might witness one or both of your girls becoming a mother someday! That's so amazing. It almost makes me sad that I didn't have a girl to experience that with...but to experience Rowan someday, possibly, becoming a father...it amazes me as well! Even if I won't be seeing him give BIRTH or anything.

My nose is stuffy, my tongue hurts, my mouth tastes like a$$, my lips are dry and I ran out of Burt's Bees... and since I really have nothing else that's nice to say, I will go have a cookie and some milk and go to bed. Humph. I hate being in a poopy mood.

I did watch a lovely show tonight from Netflix, though. Wonderfalls; it's cancelled now, but it's a really cute show! Set in Niagara Falls. Talking inanimate objects. Yay.

I you all! I hope your nights are well! Sorry I'm grumpy.

ETA: OMG! I forgot! Rowan's 2-year appointment went well! He's 26 1/2 pounds, 35 inches long, and totally all healthy and well (like I didn't know but hey, nice to have it acknowledged sometimes)
When they took blood for the lead test he cried, even though he was nursing, which broke my heart. But he was calmed very quickly, thanks to nursing the whole way out the door and into the waiting area. So I did my part for World Breastfeeding Week: nursed in a crowded waiting area in a laboratory! Okay, good night, all.

[fiddlefern]

Just posting to

1. Sub, and

2. Say HELP!!!!!!! PDX mamas- I guess all of my posts to/from the YG have been bouncing since the 1st. Claudia called me to tell me of the place tomorrow, but can someone post HERE about the time? Thanks.

Nighty-night.

[Sarah'sMama]

fiddle, I read on the YG the gathering is at Sarah's at 10/1030ish.

have fun gals!

[elsanne]

OMG, Sherri is so "on it" that she even knows when OTHER maymamas are getting together!! Sherri, you boggle my mind. Especially with everything else you have on your mind! AND I bet her porch looks nice. :

So when is the MayMamas-do-Mexico meetup? It's just wrong that no one has come to see this beautiful city. What is wrong with you people???? Oh, heck, time off, money, etccccc...not to mention that now that our kids are over 2 you have to buy them a plane ticket too...excuses, people!!!! :nana:

[Sarah'sMama]

Originally Posted by elsanne

OMG, Sherri is so "on it" that she even knows when OTHER maymamas are getting together!! Sherri, you boggle my mind. Especially with everything else you have on your mind! AND I bet her porch looks nice. :

Well, I'm just nosy, that's all, els. and yes, my porch looks beyooootiful with my thriving impatiens hanging baskets.

[elsanne]

Originally Posted by Sarah'sMama

Well, I'm just nosy, that's all, els. and yes, my porch looks beyooootiful with my thriving impatiens hanging baskets.