May '06 Weekly Check In 8/13

I'd have never noticed until it was something like December and we were still posting in the August thread.

Erin, I hope things improve and you get some rest!

Here's my most recent post:

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I've been wanting to do this since ds' birth but just didn't know when/how to start. I guess this is it!

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Yup, it stinks. I'm so hoping the midwifery legislation passes in 2007. Not to say I won't choose to just stay plain old DEM instead of state-licensed CPM, depends on the legislation and how it affects CPMs. At least it will just be a misdemeanor to practice as a DEM and not a felony. : My midwife is more underground than the other local midwives, her practice is smaller and she doesn't advertise.

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When are you thinking you'll start your journey?

I hope everyone is having a good weekend! I'm going to surf the net a bit more and then buckle down to and sweep the floors. Today is a great day to be outdoors so I think we'll aim for a walk later too if I don't wear myself out doing chores.

Cindy, : Maybe because I am about to leave for a 4-day vacation w/my IL's, who are not like that at all, but still push my buttons in other ways . . . In fact my parents-IL co-slept w/all 5 kids & DH would have been horrified by the idea of putting our babes in their own beds as infants & both SIL and CIL (raised by my ILs) also co-sleep w/their babes. But there's always something . . . in my case, I'm feeling tender about my status as a WOHM. This *is* right for me and MY FAMILY (although if someone offered me a paycheck to stay home, I would take it ) But none of the other women in the family have ever been WOHMs and I think they just don't get it and are in denial about the fact that HELLO, I EARN MOST OF THE INCOME IN OUR FAMILY! No, I can't just take off work for a fun day just because I feel like it. : Yes, I am taking off four days this week to go on vacation with them - they should appreciate it. Sigh. That's not how real human relationships work and I know it, but it's so tempting to think that way . . . :

Have a good week, everybody!

All this mw talk! I keep having these visions of being at my friends' births...
There's a newly pregnant choir member at church and I've been trying to "show her the way." I asked her yesterday what she was planning to do during labor & she'd never heard of Bradley! So I'm lending her my book & giving her my Bradley coach's phone number. Plus I'm talking to her & her hubby about bwing & all things AP!! I hope she's really listening & : and not just being polite.

I feel like I need to educate the world! I mean, even at the store Saturday night, there was a woman with a brand new baby in a carseat stuck to the shopping cart. The baby was rooting around and I wanted to scream, "YOUR BABY'S HUNGRY!!!" She just kept shushing it (even though she was in line in front of us & her husband was doing all the grocery loading...she could've at least picked up the baby!!!). Anyway, dh was all worried cause I've still got the baby fever and seeing that baby, he says, probably made me want to "start poking holes in things..."

Simon's getting so big! He is CONSTANTLY nursing the past couple days, especially through the night. No rolling over yet, but he sure is a talker! Just this past week, he learned how to shriek with the highest part of his voice. Perhaps listening to me practice & sing my senior recital throughout the whole pregnancy made him want to sing, too!

Cindy~~Sorry to hear about your MIL!! I haven't heard any flack about our co-sleeping...yet.

Thanks Erin! Totally forgot to link the threads. I hope you're getting some good rest mama and that your DD is feeling better .

Flippin' MIL, how rude! I'm sorry you have to deal with that Cindy. : It's ironic how those in our own families can often give our feelings the least regard.

Michelle I'm hoping to get things going in another couple of years. I'm looking into becoming an LC and doula in the meantime. We sure need 'em!

No problem Max. I hope your wee one is feeling better too and that you got some rest.

Have a good vacation Mamabeakly!

I know how you feel sheandaru. I have to bite my tongue sooo much. But if asked I can go on and on.

So I just posted in the SAHM forum about feeling a little burnt out. Anybody else? I love being a mama and being able to SAH and watch my little guy grow and learn something new each day but I'm not getting any recharge time and I can see it's becoming a problem. : I'm not about to totally freak out or anything just yet but I did shed a few tears today as DH left for work and my little Froggy was just being so super fussy from a too short nap. He's sleeping in the Moby now though, yay! I hear you guys on the :yawning: .

Hi, mamas. Checking in from our big trip. We had the little one's baby naming ceremony yesterday, so she got to meet her whole extended family. She seemed pretty overwhelmed by all the people/noise, but was alert and happy throughout the ceremony. Today, she spent 45 minutes (!) happily in a swing my sister gave us (although if you turn it on, she starts screaming), while I folded laundry nearby and sorted baby clothes next to her. Much as we love to hold her, it's great to be able to get a LITTLE time to get some stuff done!

She seems a *wee* bit better in the car these days, but there's still some screaming. Car screaming is so unbelievably horrible--she's had a couple of screaming fits at times when we absolutely can't stop or pull over (i.e., in a traffic jam at a toll plaza, when we were stuck in the middle lane of 8 and nothing was moving)...I sit in the back with her and try to comfort her, but it's so frustrating not being able to HOLD her when she's crying.

BBM...I missed the discussion of your mw plans on the old thread, but I have so much admiration for women who dedicate themselves to catching babies. I hope it works out for you!

Well, off to repack. We have a long drive to the country ahead of us tomorrow.

Hope everyone is doing well...enjoy your week!

Hello mamas..

Sorry to hear about the inlaws being mean to you Cindy...You are doing the right thing...and Matt will go in his own bed when ready...Adrock had no problem going to his own bed yet he does still ocassionally cuddle in with us ....

mamacatsbaby...oh do I hear you on the SAHM burn out....I have had a couple of breakdowns since Judah was born...It can be overwhelming...I think i am finally getting over the hump though and getting a gripe on things....Hugs your way Mama...

Things are going great here for the most part..Just wish I could get my dang house clean..It is driving me nuts : ...

Judah got his first toy..A cute little haba rattle...i love watching him shake it..

Gotta go..Judah is waking up

NYCVeg I love holding Matt too, but my back can only handle it for so long. Its great how much he loves his playgym and that he can stay happily occupied for a while as well!

MCB, Andi, Dharmama, I'm also suffering from that new mama burnout. Thank goddess for this forum. You all really do keep me sane, help me feel that I'm not alone, and validate my feelings on being an ap mama. Its also nice to hear that I'm not a terrible mama for not bfing. Not like anyone in my family cares one way or another, but I do, and its nice to know I don't have to be alone.

Speaking of which, I'm looking into some sort of therapy for ppd. Actually, I don't think I really have ppd, just regular old depression because of all the things that went wrong with the birth, my subsequent illness and then the inability to bf when I REALLY wanted too, plus the first couple of weeks of motherhood and how lonely I've been feeling and the burnout. Anyway, I just think it will be helpful to talk to someone.

I really wish you all lived around me. I'm in love with my baby, but lonely as well. Anyone else?

wow, sorry to hear of the IL issues, fussy baby issues, etc...

Things here are MUCH better with DD. We've done the tough love thing, taking all toys etc. and making her earn them with good behavior. I think she's just an easily over-stimulated kiddo and was just : . Anyway, with most of the distractions gone, she's been much more focused, better at listening, not having so many meltdowns and not hearing so many mama "no"s. Hallelujah! I thought I was gonna have to give her away for a few weeks there! (JK)!

Grant is growing like a weed. He hit the 16+ mark yesterday! Heavy little bugger! He's found his voice and loves hearing himself chatter! Too cute! He can roll from front to back and is slurping on his thumbs, fingers, fists, blankies (are you seeing a pattern here? ). He's been really fussy for the last 2.5 days and really chomps down on your finger if he gets it anywhere near his mouth! He's also got a lot more saliva, so I'm wondering if teething has begun. Hooray for teething tablets!

Oh, Oh, and I've stared CD'ing (is there a pat on the back smilie??). Day one today and so far so good. I'm addicted already, but I guess having an addictive (shopping) personality doesn't hurt. "OUCH" says the checkbook! :

I just can't seem to keep up with the thread, and I keep looking for it in the wrong places. Silly me! I'll try harder, I promise. (oh, did I say this last week too? ARGH!)

Have a good couple of days everyone and I hope to keep up with everyone and their progress this week! Stay safe and healthy!

Hi all. Mamacatsbaby, the mommy burn out is tough and so common. Do not feel bad about it. It happens to the best of us! Dharmama had some good advice. Little breaks are really important, as well as taking good care of yourself. If there are things you enjoy, like reading, movies, walks, etc. see if you can fit them into your daily routine. It is so important not to neglect yourself.

PrincessJay, we just kind of developed our own co-sleeping transition plan based on need. When the babies got to the point where they were so mobile they could (and usually did) fall out of our bed we began moving them to their own cribs for safety's sake. Since there is no way I can be in the bed w/a baby whenever he/she sleeps (I have 4 little ones) the crib is necessary. In a nutshell, this is how we handle it - we co-sleep at night until the baby is able to sleep through the night without nursing (w/my first 3 kids this was around 9-10 months old, w/this babe I think it will be sooner), baby usually naps in her crib (which is in our room) during the day. When baby is ready to transition to the crib full time I have usually ended night nursing for the most part, so we use the crib in our room & if she wakes I just pat her back or say "shhhhhh" until she falls back asleep. When baby is sleeping well, we move her into a shared room w/the other kids. This has always worked really well for our family. The kids room is right across the hall from us, so I hear everything little thing. All my kids do really well at night and seem to enjoy nap & "night-night" time, so I would say our approach has been successful. Family sleep is such an individual thing. You will find the right approach for your family. Just go w/it and make adjustments as needed.

NYCVeg, glad to hear you are having a nice trip. What exactly is a baby naming ceremony? I have heard of it, but never knew. And yup, the car screaming is nerve wracking. We have a 4-5 hour trip planned next week, and I know we will have some bouts of it too.

Cindy, I think you are making a good decision in getting some help for yourself about the depression. It is so important to take good care of yourself (do I sound like a broken record?) and you want to address it before it gets any worse or seriously interferes w/your mothering. I used to be a therapist, so if I can be helpful w/your finding a therapist - questions to ask, different kinds of tx. and settings, etc. feel free to PM me.

Hugs to all,
max

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It's a relatively new tradition in Judaism (it may be that only Reform and/or Conservative Jews do it--I don't believe that Orthodox Jews do) to provide baby girls with a "welcome" ceremony as baby boys have (with boys it's a bris--the circumcision ceremony--but that's a whole other can o' beans; some Jews who are anti-circ now to a baby naming for their boys as well). In other words, it's a way of achieving gender parity. It can be pretty informal--we had ours in dh's backyard. The rabbi spoke a little bit about welcoming a baby into the family and gave her the Hebrew name that we picked out for her, said some blessings, there was a parents' and a grandparents' blessing over the baby, we presented dd with a gift as her "welcome" into our family and into Judaism. And then we ate!

Prinssessjay~~Simon spits up all the time, too. I'm sure it's nothing out of the ordinary because my other two boys were spitter, too. As long as he's gaining & it's not projectile, I wouldn't bat an eye. We lovingly call Simon "Pukey McPukesterpants." And that's only one of his nicknames:

Drooly McSlobberpants
Patches (since he only has little patches of newborn hair left)

Momto1and1ontheway~~I think we may be starting some teething, too. Simon's starting to clamp down at the end of feedings, is drooling buckets, & loves gnawing on his HABA Kringelring. Congrats on cding!!

NYCVeg~~Sorry to hear about the car. I was afraid it would NEVER end for us, but Simon's doing soooo much better. Yesterday he started to get a little fussy, but we were stuck in a jam on the interstate for an extra ten minutes, putting the total minutes in the car at 40 instead of 30 (we live in the country). I discovered last week that Portishead puts him to sleep.

Sorry to hear about all the burnout. I hope it gets better for you guys.

Hey guess what....

Simon rolled over this morning!! Of course, his arms were stuck under his belly & he couldn't get them free, but STILL!!

Awww, thanks guys, I sure needed some lovin'. : DH has today and tomorrow off so at some point today I'm going to tank up the Froggy here and go on a nice hour long trip of sole mama time. I think I'll walk to the library up the street and sit and *gasp!* or *choke!* and just try to relax.

Cindy. Good for you for looking into therapy about the PPD. We want you to be happy and healthy mama. Both DH and I have had depression issues our whole lives and it can be so rough. At one point I thought PPD was threatening but nothing came to fruition so yay! I too wish you guys lived near me as I am definitely lonely for some good mama friendships IRL. I've gotten out twice in mommy groups in the past four months and it's just not enough. It's just me and Froggy most of the time, not very many people to talk to, especially about "crunchy" stuff. I get looked at like I have three heads. :

Momto1, found the CD love huh? Oh so addictive.

Amanda sounds like a great time was had by all at the ceremony.

Sayon can almost roll over. He's just trying to work around that arm!