*Valentines thread for Nov 05 mamas!* - Page 2

[spughy]

Hope you pop soon, DiD!

Susannah - Rowan does exactly the same thing blowing kisses. It's still cute

QofC - I hear you on the citrusy fresh poop. Only for us, it's blueberry poop.

I am exhausted after the weekend. I took Rowan out for coffee and a walk yesterday with some friends. It was raining so I bundled her up in her rain gear and stuck her in the stroller (she hates the rain cover on the stroller). She was fine for a while then I think she got really tired and just started crying and I couldn't find enough fun things to point out to her to distract her, so I ended up making a break for home at a run. She cried the whole way home and I felt like such an idiot for not bringing a sling - there was no way I could carry her all that way - and as it turns out, she was just really, really tired and wouldn't have been happy being carried anyway. She kept crying until I smucked her on a boob and then she fell asleep instantly. She slept for 3 hours (with some additional boobie intervention) so she must have been just wiped. Poor little bug. Bad mama.

But I made the BEST sourdough pancakes for breakfast yesterday. Mmmmm.... I am getting back into my sourdough hobby. I've got bread on the go but I don't know if the starter is strong enough yet. We'll see.

[Bex80]

Happy due date DID!! I hope she lets you off the hook and makes her debut soon.

Thanks foe the encouragement about therapy. It only took me 2 years to get up the courage to go again. I went for a while in college and it was a good experience but a lot has happened since then.

Anyone is welcome to the Valentine's Day idea. I did that one when Austin was 1 and it was great. I used some fancy scissors around the edge to make a "border"... you know those scrapbooking kind of shears?

I second the citrus dipes. With Austin it was mandarin oranges, they also gave him a wicked rash. With Abigail it's craisins. Oh, and once she ate a lot of raisins and I guess they sort of reconstituted in her bowels because they looked like small grapes when they showed up at the other end!

So exciting, those of you getting married/already now married!

Sarah, would you mind sharing that pancake recipe? Just the name sounds delish!

Amy, I sure do hope that Brynn gets the hang of phase 2 asap. It sounds like you are truly wiped out and ready for regular sleep again. Abigail just started sleeping through around her first birthday.

Helen, I am excited for you because you sound so excited! Does this mean that the standards for birth/homebirth will change where you live? I am guessing that NHS is national Health Care? Please forgive me if I'm wrong. I am so embarassed to ask, but are you working now? Would midwifery be a change or do you already work in healthcare?

How do you all do your "internet" time? I am getting frustrated because I am finding that I have to do more and more while dd naps and now she's on the brink of cutting naps from 2 to 1. When bedtime comes, I just want to go to sleep myself. Dh is working mad hours, 8-7 and then more from home after playing with the kids for half an hour. I am BEAT!!

But during the day I need a respite here and there and whenever I sit down, Abigail wants to nurse (acrobatically) and I can hardley comprehend what I've read, much less form a reasonable reply.

[barcelona]

So much to say this month from everyone!
I'm just popping in for a quick hello

And I hope the baby comes soon, DiD!
And Amy, I hope phase 2 went well last night.
And spughy, thank you so much for helping me through my mastitis.
(I got it this weekend). I actually STILL have a fever (100), though am on antibiotics, but the redness, pain, blocked ducts, etc, seems to be gone. So, I'm still laying low, and since DH is out of a job at the moment, it works out well that he's home to help take care of Finley while I take it easy.

He does seem to be getting some gigs at this editing/production company, so that is a positive thing.

And kaspirant, thanks for sharing your wedding website! It's Beautiful! Great work.

And Q of C, Ellie and Killie are adorable I love seeing the pictures of them.

Helen, thinking of you, and so glad that you feeling so positive and alive and called and inspired in this direction of helping women and babies in your area through the birthing process. How very exciting.

Bex80, that's great about therapy. I hope it is helping. I have thought about doing some therapy myself, to help work through pains of the past (and present, even), but haven't quite come through with it. I try to work through it on my own, which sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't. Kudos to you for sticking to it and doing it. And yes, I agree, it is very much a part of mothering, as this board is very much about the mothers as well as the children.

Am trying to both relax and get little things done the rest of the day, as tomorrow is a big one, with a photo session in the morning (to add to my portfolio, a complimentary one therefore), and teaching baby sign language in the afternoon. Am anxious to hear the lead results...we should get them today...if there is any lead in our apartment. Will keep you posted!

Sending out some love (and labor dust your way, DiD!)

[*Amy*]

Barcelona, ick. That stinks about your mastitis, but I am glad your honey is home to help you. And yay for your shoot tomorrow, and DH's prospects!

DiD, still thinking about you today! A friend of mine here in town had her DS#2 this morning, so birthing vibes are in the air!

Spughy - yum!!

QoC - I love that picture of Killy and Ellie holding hands! You'll have to remind them of that when they're teenagers and hate eachother.

Kaspirant, I love your wedding site! What lovely pictures. And this is going to sound funny, but you don't look anything like how I pictured you! I was always imagining you with long dark hair and dark eyes. Isn't it funny how we create mental images of each other?

Gunter, Happy birthday!! Can I tell you how much I LOVE frontier house? I watched it like 2 years ago (in two days) and I *still* think about it. Do you like any of the other House series? And that is so hard that Ez has been so sick! Brynn and I had the same thing over the Thanksgiving holiday, and it was horrible, and we also went through every sheet, pillowcase, blanket, and set of jammies in the house - and we were at my in-laws! It was god awful. Brynn lost over a pound, and she's pretty lean too, so I was a little sad about that. I hope she's on the mend now. Oh, and I want to see your blog!

Susannah, no I haven't tried Hylands PMS. I will look for it, thanks for the tip! I definitely seem to need it! Oh, and as far as the ringlets, just ask Fern if you should cut them or not!

Thanks for all of the positive sleep vibes. Last night went very well. She slept for 2.5 hours the first time, and when she woke up I encouraged her to lay back down and go do sleep. She wasn't exactly enthusiastic about it, and she cried a bit, but she did to back to sleep for another hour! After that, she came to bed with us, and can I just tell y'all that she slept SO MUCH BETTER than usual for the rest of the night. I remember waking up around 4:45 to her asking for milk (or "ilk" as she calls it), but there was no crying, no fussing, no kicking, nothing. Just a sweet little "ilk, ilk" and that was it. I think she did wake sometime before that but again, it was just really calm and peaceful. She nursed for about 5 minutes, and then rolled herself over and went back to sleep. I was in heaven, I tell you. She was also much less restless overall, thankfully. She woke up for the morning around 7:00 and was in a great mood, and has been SO sweet and cuddly and funny all day. We had a total love fest on the living room floor for about 30 minutes this morning, and then she took a 2.5 hour nap and I held her so that we could get in our quota of cuddling time for the day. And so I could keep reading my book! Anyway, this is the second time I've tried this approach; the first time was about a week ago and it was also the best sleep we've seen in a long time. So I feel good about the night-time aspect of Phase 2. The nap changes just aren't working though; I tried several times to get her to sleep in her bed and/or the Amby yesterday, but she just wasn't having it so DH ended up holding her for about an hour while she slept so I could get some stuff done. We talked about it and both agreed that it seemed to be pushing it too much, and given that she always naps just fine anyway, why mess with a good thing!? Anyway I know y'all wanted to hear every single detail!!

The weather is SO COLD here and we are totally housebound, which sucks. Also our heater is running constantly and the air in our house is so dry that both of us had fly-away hair this morning - like so extreme that I almost took a picture of Brynn; it looked like she had touched one of those lightning ball things that they have at science museums. I finally turned on the humidifier upstairs, and then turned on our rice steamer and left the lid off downstairs, so it seems to have helped a bit.

And if anyone wants to keep reading this message that NEVER ENDS, I have to share a couple of cute things that Brynnie is doing. One, she says "WOW-WEE!" whenever she is really impressed by something. Two, she is all about whispering now, which is just so precious and adorable. Third, she is in a *major* hugging phase. She wants to hug everything (and I mean everything): me, her dolls, her toys, the window, the phone, the picture of the author of my book (on the back cover), pens, her feet. Everything. It is hilarious.

OK, that'll do.

[spughy]

Amy, Rowan is right into the hugging now too. She hugs all the pictures she likes in her books, but she's learned that the cat does not like to be hugged so she leans over and gives her delicate little kisses on the top of her kitty head. I can hear the little "smack smack" sounds. Thankfully, the cat doesn't mind this at all and it is so adorable I just turn into a little puddle when I see it. Then she turns around and suddenly delicate, gentle Rowan disappears and she starts terrorizing the dog or pulling my hair or poking my eyes... and I KNOW why she's so gentle with the cat, it's because if she's not, she gets scratched, and she knows it. It's too bad she can't respond so well to "gentle, Rowan, gentle"...

Last night I took what was supposed to be a relaxing bath but all I could hear was "Rowan, leave the dog alone. Rowan, please don't pull the dog's fur. Rowan. ROWAN! Leave Daisy alone. Come help Daddy in the kitchen. NO! Rowan, don't pull Daisy's tail..." And yet, put a snack in Rowan's hand, and all of a sudden the tables are turned, and it's Daisy chasing Rowan around the couch instead. One day, they will be best of friends, I know it - but I think that day is a long way off...

[spiritmomma]

So much to catch up on here! Seemingly everyone is doing well and that is wonderful.
Isa is doing well most of the time. Her bottom molars or eyeteeth (not sure which they are) are now poking out. However for the last few days, they have been wicked swollen and sometimes bloody. She seems uncomfortable, as I imagine she would be. Other than that, life is pretty good around here. It IS effen COLD in Indianapolis, but I heard our team won the superbowl so I guess that's cool. Not a sportsfan, neither is DH and we don't have a TV. I kinda like living in a media vacuum.
Isa's new tricks are meowing like cat, to the cat, or to pictures of cats, or lions, tigers, leopards, etc... It's wonderfully cute and since our cat is pretty vocal, they talk to each other now. She is also chanting OM with us before bed. Par of our routine involves saying goodnight to the rooms. In our dining room, we have 2 OM's on the wall and when we say goodnight to them, we chant. Isa's chant is pretty quiet, but she's doing it, which I think is a great step toward learning to relax on her own before bed. I can totally see us all chanting OM as a family to help her to sleep after her nursing days are over!

*Amy* Hoping the positive sleep trend continues! :yawn:

DiD: labor vibes for peaceful, safe, joyous delivery :

Bex80: I know what you mean about finding computer time... Mostly I've been too tired to even sign on!

spughy: I hate myself when I forget the Ergo carrier. I think Isa hates me too.

zjande: where are you? :

[lunchbox]

Just wanted to introduce myself. I've been around this site for a long time, mostly lurking and I wasn't active here with my Nov 05 bub.

Della Fern is a true joy. She is very huggy kissy. She loves to dance and twirling is her new skill.

Last time I weighed her, she was 35.25 lbs and was 34 inches tall. I didn't believe I would have a baby bigger than my first but she is. My first was 29.5 lbs at a year, Della Fern was 35 at 10 mos.

Bex80!!! OMG both our kids are days apart! DD1 was 5/6/02 and Della Fern was 11/29/05. WOW!

I should mention that we are still BFing (duh - DD1 weaned at 4.5 years) and Della has minimal interest in solids. Yeah, I know! Super creamy mama's milk!

[Bex80]

Lunchbox~

Wanted to chime in that Abs is totally huggy and we have to say 'goodnight' to all 6 "friends" in her crib.

spiritmomma, too sweet about Isa chanting! I bet she has a dear little voice. I find anything they say or do at this age fascinating. Hearing those pure little voices just move me so.

Amy, YAY for last night! I hope tonight brings more of the same. I love the 'ilk, ilk'. Good idea about the humidifier, my hands are cracked and bleeding and all of us have crazy hair. Ugh! Ths static electricity from Abs' sleeper is cool to see during a middle of the night nursing session. Little sparks and snaps of blue electricity. Trippy!

Barcelona, forgive me but have you begun a photo career? I have been (noticeably) absent from many of our PP threads and am catching up on who's workinga nd doing what. : Sounds like a bunch of fun despite ehich side of the camera you are on for your session tomorrow. Photography is so beautiful. I hope the mastitis clears up and goes away ASAP. That sounds so painful and uncomfortable.

Sarah, sounds like Rowan and Abigail both have a bit soft spot for kitties. That is so neat how she gives little gentle kisses. And hey, while I wish there were easier ways to teach about stuff like sharp kitty claws, sometimes all that works are natural consequences. My mom must've told me a thousand times that our cat Luther taught us kids how to treat him. She said it only took one time with each of us.

Abigail LOVES Lars, our kitty. Whenever she spies him she squeals and says "Laaaahs!". I guess because I always talk in a high pitched voice to the cat myself. She always wants to pet him and stuff and she gets totally distracted by him whenever she's eating. She will squirm to get down and no amount of cajoling or even puting the cat out dissuade her. No wonder she still hasn't topped 20 pounds yet...:eyeroll

[spughy]

Welcome, lunchbox! Wow you have big kids! I thought mine was doing pretty well at 22 lbs! Funny you should mention weight - I just weighed Rowan yesterday, more out of curiosity than anything else... I picked her up and I thought "ugh, I think she's put on weight" and sure enough she's put on about 2 lbs since her 12-mo checkup. I guess we don't have to worry that she's eating enough!

[Queen of Cups]

Originally Posted by lunchbox

Last time I weighed her, she was 35.25 lbs and was 34 inches tall. I didn't believe I would have a baby bigger than my first but she is. My first was 29.5 lbs at a year, Della Fern was 35 at 10 mos

Wow! I am so impressed! My son was always above the 90th percentiles for height and weight (except now his weight has dropped quite a bit as he's super active, but he's still quite tall), and everyone thinks Ellie is just minuscule when she stands next to him. I constantly have people comment on how absolutely tiny she is, and I gently let them know that she was 60th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight at one year, so she's almost perfectly average. I think its because she walks and moves so well to be only be 14 months. She runs, she carries heavy toys, she's been practicing walking backwards the last couple of weeks, she climbs ladders (and anything else!)...

We're in the super-kissy phase, too. I love it! She kisses us a million times a day, kisses her dolls, pictures in books, tries to chase the cats down to kiss them... The other night she was going to bed, and wanted to kiss Killy, but he was distracted and not paying attention to her. I said, "Killy! Ellie wants to kiss you goodnight." He froze in the middle of the kitchen, leaned his head down, looked at Ellie and said, "Ellie, please kiss me." and waited with his lips puckered till she walked over and kissed him on the lips. Then he said, "Thank you, Ellie." and went back to playing. It was so sweet I nearly melted right there.

[flapjack]

Ah Skye kisses too. She's not big on dolls or cuddly toys, but is a big, big fan of the dog.
Bex, the NHS is the national health system. What they're doing in Wales is just clarifying the big exciting legislation that went through a few years ago (changing childbirth) but it's still really cool. (Wales has an independent legislature- I'm about 40 miles away from the border.) And to whoever asks, no ,at the moment I'm a full time mum, but I've spent the last 6 years gearing my voluntary work with a goal to training as a midwife- and now I can do what I want. It's a strangely liberating feeling.

[flapjack]

Oh, you GiRLS!

Thankyou so much for the flowers. It means so much, I just feel so treasured.
Last night wasn't such a good night for us, so it made today seem so much better. Thankyou!

[Kavita]

Hi all! I'm back! I never seem to be able to keep up with our threads, so I'm glad that I can jump in at the beginning of the month for February!!!

And my very special reason to be checking right now was that the thought came into my head earlier today--"I wonder what's up with DID? I think she's due sometime around now, isn't she? I wonder if she has had her baby?" I decided that the most efficient way to figure it out was to come check our Nov. 05 thread. And now I am amazed at my own psychic powers upon coming here and discovering that it's your due date today! (well, I guess really it's yesterday based on the fact that it's after midnight, but since I haven't been to bed yet I'm still on Monday, Feb. 5) Thinking of you, and sending you good labor and birth vibes!

Ella is doing great. She talks a lot and has a lot of words, but she isn't quite walking yet. She will walk while holding on to one adult finger or a section of pants for balance, and she has a little walking toy that she can hold onto and push (her "car") and she will even sometimes get almost up to a run while pushing that or the ottoman all around the living room and laughing hysterically, but she won't quite walk independently. I also discovered today that she hates swinging. I took her to the park and tried pushing her in the baby swing. I'd put her in a swing once or twice before and she was so-so about it, but today she was absolutely terrified and let out a huge wail and so I took her right out. I tried swinging on a regular swing with her on my lap (and I mean, not fast or high at all) for her to get the message that it's okay, but she basically just cried and clung to me like a monkey, so I abandoned the project.

Our biggest news is that it looks like we will be moving to Louisville, Kentucky in a few months, due to DH's job. His boss and several of his work group are going to a new institution there, and his boss wants him to come with, and is making some very tempting offers in terms of more money, better job title, moving expenses, more opportunities for advancement and further education, etc., all of which would be impossible here. So, if the formal offer comes through as we expect it, we will be moving. We went there last weekend to check it out, as neither of us had been there before, and decided that we would be willing to move there. Everything else is up in the air--when the move would happen (prob. sometimes between May and July), what we are going to do with our house here, where we will live there, etc. But, I guess we have time to figure it out.

[SoulJourney]

YAY, Helen...glad we could brighten your day! Big to you!

lunchbox: WELCOME! And WOWZA you grow big babies!!! I just had Noah in the other day for some mild eczema and he is 33" and 27 1/2 pounds!: I thought HE was big! Love your DD's name, btw!

DiD: sending lots of good labor vibes your way. I, too, followed part of FSM's induction method, which is what popped Noah out.

Spiritmomma: Isn't it FLIPPIN FREEEEEZING??? Sheesh. Noah's starting to go through some serious teething issues right now. We've been wearing the teething necklace at night and gobbling up the teething tabs. I felt like he wore me out more over the weekend than both boys did all week!:

Amy: I'm glad to hear sleep issues are being resolved. Do you have problems with Brynn wanting to nurse endlessly in the mornings? I'm having such a hard time with Noah first thing in the mornings. He literally spends 45-an hour "nursing" and I. NEED. TO. GET. READY!!!!!!! Argh. And I totally hear you on the staticky hair...I have it myself. Noah still doesn't have enough hair and what he does have, MAN is it course!

Bex80: Just wanted to say HI! Always good to see your "smiling" face!

Barcelona: Do you shoot digital or film? What camera do you own? My digi camera just crapped out and I'm looking to get a digi SLR hopefully by spring/summer. I am a Nikon girl so it's just a matter of WHICH Nikon I want. I had a pretty decent photography business going a few years back but ditched it all to play in the mountains. Was a silly choice but I was really burning myself out on something I always felt very passionate about. Word from the wise...always stay true to yourself! If you feel very strongly about not shooting certain types of jobs...DON'T DO IT. I hated weddings but did them for the $$$ and that's where I went wrong. I would like to start doing baby/children again one day in the sort-of-near future. I may PM you about the baby sign language classes you're teaching, too, if that's ok. I have been talking to a friend of mine about doing this together...it's still in the discussion phase.


Kavita: Good to see you stop in, mama!

Hi FERN & ZJANDE! Wherever you guys may be!

[DreamsInDigital]

Well I'm officially "overdue" today. Raise your hand if you're surprised.

[Gunter]

just reading along...

baby ez is feeling better today thankfully. she's eating solid food, again but her poopies have yet to be solid. let's hope that changes soon. at least, she is happy to play and spirits are up!

is anyone else overwhelmed by their dog/cat/fish/hamster? I am ashamed to say that my dog has been getting on my nerves recently. now with a sick babe, it's just been hard to keep up with him and meet his needs, too. any tips on how to balance?

[eirual]

Wow, I've got a lot of reading to do to figure all you mamas out!

As for valentines, we're not going to do any this year, but last year I cut out red hearts from heavy-weight red paper and put a white handprint on them in the top of one lobe of the heart (started in the top left, he moved, so went to the top right, so I rolled with that and half-assedly 'sponge painted' the background to blend in the botched print) and wrote "Happy Valentines Grandma and Grandpa, love Hunter". They loved it. Oh, and I also used the red hearts as tracers to cut out a thin white heart outline that I glued onto the red one- they looked pretty fine if I do say so myself.

Now that I have more time on my hands I figure I'll give you all a little more insight about where I'm coming from.

I'm 24, had Hunter at home, breastfeed, he's intact, un-vaxed, we cosleep, babywear, do EC, is there anything else I'm forgetting?? lol,.... anywhoo- we do that sorta stuff.

I was home with Hunter for the first 9 months of his life, then we moved from the hippy-friendly city we loved to a not-so-great-for-anything city we don't so much love so I could start teacher's college. So that's in the works, it's going fine- I can't wait to do our last block when I actually get to get back into the schools with the kids, not in the dungeon building they place all their faculty of education courses in at the university:

Hunter's doing great. He's saying more and more 'words' all the time ("meh" for milk, "ga-da" for guitar, "daw" for dog, "o-o" for off, etc.). He isn't trusting himself enough to walk yet. A few random steps, but nothing consistant. He's convinced he needs at least a finger to go. Last week was rough as his top eye teeth cut through, but he seems more comfortable with them now that they've broken through.

DiD, best birthing vibes being sent your way- for your sake, I'm hoping it's sooner rather than later

Spughy, did you 'catch' your own yeast?? I've tried a few batches of SD and haven't had any work for me yet.

How are you mamas with the baby cravings?? having any?? acting on any?? I had a wave of them a couple of months ago that was sooo crazy intense, thankfully that has passed (hints of it still hit me when I see a pregnant mama or little babe).

[spughy]

I posted about my sourdough in the traditional foods forum here. It's a combination of "caught" yeasts and yeasts from kefir.

[*Amy*]

Welcome Laurie! What a beautiful family you have! Congratulations on almost being finished with your program!

Gunter, as for the pet thing...I've thought about you so much this year because I know how attached you were to your dog, and wondered if you were having problems with the new family dynamic. This past year was so hard for Spencer, our Boxer, and I didn't tell y'all this when it happened, but we had to put her to sleep at the end of December. She had Cushing's disease, and was getting worse by the week. I still really miss her, and feel so bad that her quality of life went downhill so quickly. Before she got really sick though, I experienced a heavy mix of strong annoyance, and guilt. I just couldn't give her the attention that I used to be able to, and she wasn't our baby like she had been her whole life. It was sad, to be honest. Anyway, Gunter, I don't have any advice, but just wanted to let you know you aren't alone in your feelings!!

Lunchbox, welcome to our group! Brynn in't really into the solids thing either, but seems to be picking up a little more every day. I think Della (what a cute name, by the way!) would tower over her; Brynn is only right at 20 pounds now, and around 31". She's a little beanpole!

Speaking of that, QoC, people say the same thing about Brynn. I think most people assume she's around 18-24 months (with all the hair, and the talking, and the walking/running), so most people are shocked when I say she's actually tall for her age, and she just turned 14 months!

Spughy, I can't find the post where you said it, but Brynn really doesn't do the marathon nursing very often - well, during the day, anyway. She's just such a little busy-body that if *anything* distracts her, she's liable to pop off and check out the scene while I sit and spray milk all over the both of us! (Speaking of which, yesterday she squeezed my areola and saw, for the first time, milk actually squirting out of my nipple. I think she was really startled for a second, and then started laughing. It was pretty funny!)

Kavita, it's so good to see you again, girl! How exciting about your move to Louisville. Sounds like it'll be a big change for your family, and I hope it's a good one!

Helen, sorry you had a rough night last night, Mama. I'm glad you were cheered up a bit today.

DiD, hang in there Mama! Your *daughter* will be here before you know it! :

We had a pretty good night last night, and she's been sleeping for about an hour on her nap so far, so things are looking up. Still making progress.

[flapjack]

Yeah: you know that certain members of my family weren't happy with my decision to refuse ultrasound because twins run in my family, my aunt miscarried one twin at 3 months and carried the other one to 8 months, and they were convinced that I had twins too? They were right. The thing I love best about my family, though, is that nobody is going to say "I told you so."

Amy, I'm so sorry about your dog. Gunter, I know totally what you mean. It's driving us nuts here because Maya had a phantom pregnancy (no idea how, she's spayed) and so is carrying her puppy everywhere, nesting and generally being an excellent mother. The heartbreaking thing- aside from the fact that she obviously knows what's up, and doesn't know how- is that her puppy is Skye's beloved rubber duckie, and she keeps on dropping it for Skye to mother, and then taking it off again. It probably reads funny, but it's hard to watch.
DiD, the best things in life are worth waiting for. My prophecy of the nice, calm, gentle, painless, very short birth happening right now still hold.
Laurie, I hope teaching college goes well for you. My dh is back at uni training to be a teacher (he's doing 6 months subject enhancement first) and working part-time as a classroom supervisor, and absolutely loving it.