March/April Thread #3

[Jayri]

k... I will have to figure out about scanning the proofs I have and cheat then. That will be my weekend project.

[sophieandhannah]

No worries on the pics/cards from my end.  Mine won't go out for a bit yet...waiting for our next weekend with brendan to take our family photo.
Hannah

[becca24]

:lol:  :lol:

The 'Idiot' thing really cracked me up too !!  Idiot is one of my FAVE words !! This is what it says in my English Dictionary

idiot noun

a person with subnormal intellectual development who is considered unable to be educated.

Trust me to find a dictionary entertaining  :roll:

[kate585]

Okay, now for the big unloading!

Dh was out of town for 2 nights (in NYC, lucky dog!) for work.  He doesn't usually go away and man am I in awe of Micky and Hayley and Judy (at least this week,right?).  On Monday, Ryan started acting sort of crazy...really fussy, short naps, clingy.  I put him down at 7, up at 10 or so SCREAMING the house down.  Got him back to sleep...possibly nursed?  don't remember.  Then, he woke at 2:45 screaming again.  Tried to calm him, for sure nursed him, sat and held him, brought him to bed  :oops:  (luckily, he hated that so it won't be a problem), etc.  Finally, he went back down after an hour.  Ugggh!  Now I can sympathize with some of you other night owls.  That stinks!  Slept through until 7. 
Dh got home on Tuesday, so I was glad for the backup.  Ryan went down at 7, up at 7:15 with stinky diaper  :evil: .  Then wide awake until back down at 8:15 or so.  Up at 9:20 screaming, nursed to calm, then back to bed.  Up at 11:10, nursed to calm, back to bed.  Same at 1:45, although this time I got dh in on it as I had got Ryan almost asleep without nursing, but when I put him in the crib, he totally freaked and I couldn't take the screaming any more.  How on Earth could dh sleep through this in the next room?   :roll:   Eventually, got him back down by 2:30 or so.  Up at 6:30...technically still the night, so I nursed him and he and I slept until 9:30.   :shock:  :shock:  :shock:   I was doing the "He must be dead" thing again, but when I went in, he was playing with Ella (his elephant/lovie) and just looked up at me and smiled.  How can you stay annoyed at that?   
So, tonight, he didn't want to go down at 7...imagine that since he got up 2.5 hours later than usual.  Finally down by 8:30 and he just got up at the 40 min. mark and I had to....drumroll please...nurse to calm him down.  This nursing is getting to be a HUGE problem here, ladies.  I told dh he's got the next wake-up as I seem to cave and maybe he is upset b/c he can smell me and knows I'll give in.  (Like Hayley was saying earlier, I think).  I know it must be the teeth...tell me it's the teeth, please...but I still don't want to start bad habits just to get him through this bad patch, as he's been sleeping through for 3-4 months again.  This too shall pass and all that jazz.

Okay, I'd better go pump...I didn't last night since I was about wrung out and he didn't have enough to mix his cereal at dinner.      Here's to a better night!!!

[Erin M]

Hi ladies--
I go to work for one day and come back to a ton of new posts!  Katie woke up crying last night, tried every trick in the book to get her back down and then her tummy growled and I realized she was hungry!!  She hasn't eaten at night in so long I forgot it might even be an option.  However,  she hasn't been eating much during the day. 

Ankie - yes, Katie pretty much stops eating solids when she's sick
Richelle - Katie grinds her teeth too - awful noise
Andrea - we too had the book in one hand and the crying baby in the other - good to know we weren't the only ones!
Hannah - we use Carter's socks and they stay on - do NOT get the cheap Old Navy socks as Katie gets them off as soon as I put them on. 
Hayley - Katie sleeps about 12 hours at night (7:30-7:30) and then about 2-3 hours during the day. 
Naomi -YAY Riley!!  I'm amazed!!

Birth story - I was a week overdue - Sunday morning, we wake up, go to church, go out to lunch, and were wandering around the grocery store when I started to feel a little odd.  We went home and I laid on the couch and started to realize I was having funny pains at regular intervals.  I was something like 3PM at the time.  Timed the funny pains for an hour and realized they were regularly occurring at 4 minute intervals.  So, off we went to the hospital.  Got there around 5:30 PM - in a bed about a half hour later and I was 6 cm.  So, I got the epidural in a big hurry and was at 10 cm not too long.  Started pushing around 7:45 and Katie was born at 8:30 - the labor and delivery wasn't bad - had a decent sized episiotomy though due to the fact that Katie's hand was stuck up around her head.  In all honesty, the roughest part of mine was recovering from those damn stitches. 

Talk to you all soon!

[hayes]

oh my gosh I can't believe how long it has taken me to catch up since last Tuesday.  Arggg.  Such funny stories. 

Traci-I haven't received the Christmas list yet, can you send it again to me, thanks.

Heard about Baby Whisperer from a good friend.  Read it when I was pregnant.  Tried to implement things the first week and DH told me that he was going to throw away all of my baby books because I was so stressed out.  Returned to it at around 4 weeks.

Birthing story.  Had a terrible obgyn.  That should prepare you!  A week overdue.  Went in on THursday night and got the gel for the cervix.  Went to the bathroom and DH told me to stick something back up my area and I told him to forget it because I didn't want to get grossed out.  Ended up peeing out the gel a few hours later.  I was a mess because I wanted to try to do things without any drugs.  Started a drip at 6am.  Doctor came in at 7:30 showed me a big sewing needle and told me that she was going to break my water.  DH and I were very surprised.  Had contractions all day and they got me up to 80 drips of petocin.  Never moved past 2cm.   Sat on the birthing ball and had lots of visitors.  A new nurse came in at 4 pm  and told us we would be having a c section then left the room.  Dh and I were very mad and dissapointed.  Nurse came back and DH introduced himself and we had a nice long chat.  SHe called the doc and said that we would be trying some other things.  Nurse put a measuring device in to see how strong my contractions were and they were off the charts but I didn't have that much pain.  SHe gave me 2 more hours to dialate some.  I didn't dialate, got an epidural at 9:30pm.  TONS of shaking and vomiting, I was given drugs for both.  Ben was born at 10:20.  He had his shoulders and head out of the incision but it wasn't big enough so they had to cut me open more.  I was so out of it but still remember what he looked like and ALL of the different smells.  Sorry for the TMI.  DH didn't tell anyone in the waiting room that Ben had been born for 2 1/2 hours.  A nurse didn't even go out there.  I could have killed him.
I am off to bed.  Thanks again for all of the wonderful stories to get me back into the groove.
Great sleepies for everyone.  We had a 5am wakeup here, lots of teething and a possible ear infection.  I told DH about the possible ear infection and he tried looking for it! :roll:
macaire

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi Girls, was keeping up until I think page 18 and then fell off the truck and could only read the last 2...so missed something about socks and the pics we are sending out?  sorry :oops:

GO Riley GO Riley!!!  Way to go Riley you awesome little overachiever you!

NIKKI-I have been meaning to tell you.  a few pages back you had a vent about not getting enough sleep and I just wanted to say, I hope things have gotten better.  I think that is the first time you have ever vented on here.  You are always seem so calm and together, so wanted to give some support when you have the rare bad day!   :wink:

So birth story:
I had been paranoid my entire pregnancy about something terrible happening to Taylor :cry: .  I guess knowing too many people that miscarried, as well as one family friend that had a still birth after being sent home for the night because she was only 2 cm dialated and she was my OB's patient! :shock:  :cry:  :cry:  :cry:   So my doc knew I was SUPER stressed and at 39 weeks she checked me and I was at 3cm.  So she said, "you are a nervous wreck and since we have had some questionable heartrates the last few days for the baby, do you  want to get induced tomorrow morning?"  Suddenly after wanting to get this over with for so long I was so scared! :oops:  :shock:   she said, "Andrea, this baby's gotta come out eventually!"  So made an appt for 6am the next day. 
At 3 am I wake up and have gone into labor.  Of course I don't feel the baby kicking so call up the hospital and they say, "what are you waiting for?  what is 2 hours?"  so go in and sure enough in labor.  At 6am my doc decides to give me pitocin drip as planned to ensure my labor progressed (contractions were steady but not intense).  I was kind of bummed because I said to DH in front of doc, "the likelihood of needing an epidural with induction is much greater" (I wanted to at least try for a natural birth).  My doc said, "you are getting an epidural...I do my best work with epidurals!"  Kind of shocking I know, but that is kinda what I like about her.

ANYHOO---6 am pitocin starts.  3 cm.  8am I get the epidural and by 10:45 I am pushing.  Pushed for 45 minutes and Taylor was born at 11:52 am!  Did have a small episiotomy, but no biggie.  Taylor latched on right away and it was amazing!  Healthy 7.8 lb 20.5" baby girl!

BTW, me who wanted to go natural had to have the anesthegiologist come in 3 times to up the epi!!! :lol:   he kept saying are you sure?  And the nurses and my doc totally backed me up and said "SHE'S SURE!" :lol:

Night Night girlies!

[Arwyn's mom]

Hello all!

Naomi... WooHoo Riley! Way to go! Glad you have the night off Naomi... it sounds like training is going well! How are the children enjoying Janean?

Kate... I know that DH can settle Arwyn much better than I can during the night. I think for sure that she can smell me and wants to nurse for the comfort. Sometimes she does take a full feed though and sometimes she just latches on and falls asleep.

Bec... I can also find amusement in the dictionary... particularly when applying some choice names to "idiot" people.

Christmas cards... I will be sending them out with pictures. We have pictures with Santa this Saturday. Hopefully I can print them off on the computer and still mail them all off to make it overseas in time.

We had a doctor's check-up today. Arwyn has an EAR INFECTION! But... he is not prescribing antibiotics. Just letting it "run its course" as he put it. She also has EZCEMA and he told me to put Glaxxal-Base in her bath instead of soap. AND she has a FISSURE on her poo-poo chute. So... there you have it... the reason for her not sleeping and not pooping. The doctor thinks she is not sleeping due to her cold  :roll: and I felt like saying, "What, like for the last 2 months?" Anyhow... now I know what is making my baby so miserable.

Here's to sleeping babies... wishing all of you who are having rough nights a better one tonight.

[FrasersMum]

Hi Everyone

OK, i'll play...  :lol:

I finished up at work on the Thursday before Easter (Fri being a public holiday), 12 days before my due date, so I could have a little break before the baby arrived.  Went to my parents house on Good Friday for afternoon tea.  They invited us to stay for dinner and to watch a football game but I said that I was a bit tired so we headed for home.  I wanted to get an early night but before I hopped into bed I decided I would finish packing my bags for the hospital.  Last thing before I went to bed I asked DH "so are we certain that we are happy with the names we have picked".  I wasn't feeling anything at the time but obviously my body knew somethings was up. 

I woke at 3am, and thought "ah, I'm having a contraction.  OK, it's begun" so I rolled over and looked at the clock so I knew what time I started.  At the end of the contraction, immediately my waters broke.  I woke DH and said "could you get me a towel" and he sort of grunted a bit.  I repeated myself and he got up and sort of stumbled around (I think he still had his eyes closed  ) and proceeded to try and give me one of the good bath towels.  I said, "no, one of the older ones, quickly" and all of a sudden he realised what was going on.  He gave me a towel and decided that we would try to go back to sleep for a bit.  Well, I couldn't sleep so we got up and watched American Idol that we had taped the night before.  I then practiced some relaxation (I had been practicing hypnobirthing and was hoping for a natural delivery).  After a bit, I said to DH I guess we should just phone the hospital and let them know that we'll come in a bit later.  I then hopped in the shower and asked DH to come in and time the contractions, I thought they were about 5 minutes apart or so.  He timed them and they were 1 and a half minutes apart   :shock:  :shock:  So we hightailed it to the hospital

{Just realised this post could go on a very long time so I'll speed up the story a bit  :lol:  :lol: }

Hypnobirthing was doing great, I was managing really well.  Midwife was a b!tch and though that because I wasn't moaning in pain I wasn't progressing - told the doctor so and dr called for pitocin.  I didn't want that so asked for some time so think about it.  I eventually thought I'll only have that if I can have an epidural because I didn't think I would be able to manage without pain relief with the drip on board.  So DH asked if we could speak to my OB but she was delivering another baby.  Midwife arranged for the epi guy to come - it took about 2.5 hours because it was a public holiday and no one would come.  They finally arrived, I still hadn't seen my Dr, they gave me the epi, finally my Dr came in to check and said turn the epi down, you are 10cm ready to push.  I was SO MAD because had I known it was time to go I wouldn't have had the epi.  Anyway, started to push, used the mirror which was great except I saw myself tear (a bit disconcerting!!), my beautiful boy arrived after about 10 hours of labour and only half of them intense.  I also had the horrible experience of the Dr trying to remove the placenta too quickly - she pulled the cord off it  :evil: so then had to dig around to get the placenta out in bits.  At that exact moment I was SO GLAD that I'd had the epi.  A couple of stiches (I didn't ask how many) but was on cloud nine. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again - giving birth was the easiest part of my last 8 months  :wink:  And I had one whole day off work to relax before my baby arrived!

Chat soon all!
Jo

[Nikki~Nathan&Danielle]

Thanks Andrea!  The last few days and nights have been better, so hopefully we're getting over that hump for now.    I might appear calm, but I think I'm just not used to venting to others and end up bearing the load on my own.

Jo, would love to make the chat tonight, but it's a bit too late for me.  Hope things are improving with Fraser?

Bec, I'm another dictionary geek! LOL   In fact, for part of my study I'm meant to dive into the dictionary and learn new words every week.

Any recs on good chick lit that's out there at the moment?  I feel the need for a good blob-out read when the kids are sleeping during the day.

[becca24]

Birth story:

I had a blood problem throughout pregnancy so I was in the clinic getting monitored and bloods tests, scans etc every week. I had  'unkown' antibodies :? I was at the clinic on a friday when I was 7 days overdue and the doc gave me a membrane sweep (ouch). She booked me in for induction on the monday but said I would probably go myself over the weekend. Didn't happen. Went to hospital to get induced Monday morning. Midwife has a feel around, trainee midwife has a feel around (ouch) Doc has feel around decides to break waters. Doc comes back breaks waters (ouch) Midwife sticks the drip in my hand. Labour pains start almost straight away. In the bath, out the bath, in the bath, out the bath, in the bath, out the bath. 7 hours later they say baby is posterior you will have to stop pushing  :shock: yeah right  :roll: More looking and feeling around (OUCH) lots of hitting myself in the head with the gas mask because that's about how usefull that stuff is  :roll: Baby's heart rate dropping. Doc informs me they need to attach something to baby's head to monitor heart rate. I yell at Doc 'NO YOU ARE NOT STICKING YOUR HAND UP THERE ONE MORE TIME MATE' dh tells everyone I need something for the pain (ya think???) Well I am still waiting for that  :roll: Finally they decide baby is not moving so they discuss possibilty of c-sec. Big Boss Dr Woman comes in and says no way, so they suck her out with a vountouse (sp?) (OUCH) Out she pops 7lb 12, 20 inches. Got about 10 thousand stitches (ouch).

[Jayri]

hi girls just a quick check in before work. The kids are enjoying Janean, she is doing awesome with the routine. Sh e did feed about a half hour b4 pd on the first day, but I just explained how RI needs to have it and on wed. she had it perfectly.
I am going to work on pics this weekend, I am going to cheat and scan the pic of Jay and Ri together, the one I got done at sears, put it on a disc, take it to sears and print about 20 copies off for all of the cards I need to do this year. Hopefully it will work.
Well ladies, I will also try to work on the pic thing this weekend to, I must dash, I have to go in early to the bank.
I wil "see" you tonite ladies...man it is getting as if I am rushing home to talk to all of you as well as my family.
Enjoy your day/evening...where ever you are.

[Colesmom]

hey Nikki-you vent anytime, that's what we're here for!  I can't imagine two young children and insomnia...very trying I'm sure.  hang in there.

Andrea, Naomi, Bec and Hannah-thanks so much for your support, encouragement, advice on the chat last night.  Here is how it went:

6:18 down after 23 minute bedtime battle (went down 12 hours to the minute after waking :shock: )
7:50 wake due to loud printer (bad mommy), settled no prob
10:05 or so, wake and settle no prob.
10:30 wake-decided to feed
2:20 wake and DH settles!!! :shock:  :shock:    more on this below
4:45 wake, feed, up until 5:50, feed again, down at 6:15, sleep until 7.

okay, a much better night although it doesn't look it.  After much discussion with the above girlies I decided to keep a feed between 10 and 11pm.  Will do pupd until then.  I'm not sure why i fed at 4:45am, maybe didn't have the stamina for pupd at the time.  Anyway, he was ready to play at that time...SO if i feed at night, no more early am feeds.

now my rave/mini-rant about DH.  He got home at 11pm last night so my idea of him settling cole during evening hours were out the window.  Oh well.  I didn't even have a chance to give him the pupd pointers.  Totally shocked me at 2:20 when he put his hand on me and said he'd get him.  The rave is that he did it, and in 10 min.!  The little rant is that as my head hits the pillow again I hear him say in a high voice "Hey my little boy, what's the matter?"  I sit bolt upright in bed and stumble down the hall and he's carrying him around his room :evil:  :shock:  "what are you doing, don't talk to him, put him down!!" puts him down, cole cries, i say pu, he stops i say pd, he cries i say pu, he stops i say pd.  DH sat in the glider once while he was crying. I said to stay with him while he cries.  anyway, coached him through 4 pupds and cole went quiet.  YAY for DH.  he was shocked that he just "shut off" after crying so hard.  i had to explain to him not to engage him or he'll just wake up.  etc etc.  anyway, happy to know that Cole will settle for him.  woo hoo!  i can go out on saturday (at least until about 10pm)

BEC-how do you even make such a painful story seem positively hilarious (ouch)

Macaire-emailed the list, hope you got it. sheesh, didn't go as smoothly as I thought it would

okay, going to get my coffee.  oh-forgot to mention, given that i'd had so much sleep between 11pm and 2:20 or so I lay there staring at the wall thinking of all the things i had to go over with DH   oh well, at least i was horizontal and not stooped over a crib :!:

[kate585]

Nikki, I second Traci.  Vent anytime...you're always such a good listener/advice giver for us, we'd love to pay you back!   

Another not so great night...but only 3 wakings this time.      Better than 5, right?  First one at 9:30 or so, figured it was dreamfeed-ish.  When I went in, Ryan was sitting in the crib, with his feet hanging out of the slats waiting for me.  It looked really funny...I measured the slats and they are small enough, so no worries. 
Dh tried to help at 12:20, so I wouldn't feed him, but it did NOT work (we tried for 10 mins. or so) and he said, "We know what works, why not just do it?"  So, I did  :oops: and it calmed him down enough to go to sleep on his own. 
Then again at 3:45-4:30. He was standing up when I went in this time. 
Slept in 'til 7:30.  Much better than 9:30 so it should be a better day...already down for first nap and has made in one hour, so keep your fingers crossed!  Still no sign of teeth, other than the night wakings, red/hot cheek, and swollen gums.  I'll keep you posted.

[Olivia's Mommy]

Good morning, all...at least on this side of the world.

Hugs to all who had a rough night last night. DH watched Liv last night so I could do some Christmas shopping with my girlfriends. I sooo needed a night out of the house!

Is anyone else's LO experiencing stranger/separation anxiety? Liv does great when we're here alone...she'll play on her own for a long time and be perfectly content in her room, her crib, or her exersaucer. But she doesn't like new people AT ALL. She's OK seeing them, but she doesn't want them to touch her or hold her. I love that she knows me and wants me to hold her. But I also want her to learn to be independent.

Rant: My cousin's fiance stopped by this morning to visit. Liv did fine until the fiance tried to touch her, then she started fussing. Not a major tantrum, just a little whine. The fiance said, "Oh my, are we a little spoiled?" And I just wanted to say, "No. She's 7 months old, and she has no idea who you are since she hasn't seen you since she was 3 months old!"

My niece was a very clingy toddler, and the whole family gave my SIL a terrible time about how she was spoiling her. Now she's a very well-adjusted 3-year-old who loves going to preschool. I don't want to face the same criticism with Liv, but it's hard to get her used to other people when it's pretty much me and her all day long. We don't have any family close by, and all my friends work, so I we don't see them on a regular basis. We put her in the nursery at church, and she does great there. And I go to a Mom's group every week, and she loves watching the other kids play and is fine as long as I'm close by.

Anyone going through the same thing? Anyone with older kids have any advice? Am I expecting too much independence from her too soon?