Week of 4/10-4/17 September 2011 Moms

[linden]

Hi ladies--here's the thread for this week. Do you think we need a weekly thread or maybe just a monthly one? I like keeping the board organized, but the weekly thread might be overkill.

Emiline---So happy to hear your great news about the amnio results. I don't know how you've gotten through the last month of waiting. I think Dawn was right on with the things you need for your registry. I spent a ridiculous amount of money at Pottery Barn kids on crib bedding for Sophie, assuming she was my one and only miracle and would never be lucky enough to do all of this all over again! The room looked adorable with the coordinating sheet, quilt, mobile, crib skirt, and bumpers. However, by the time she was 4 months old and starting to move around in the crib we had to take down the mobile so that she didn't pull it down and we had to remove the bumpers since they are a suffocation hazard. The quilt is hung on the wall above her crib since it matches so nicely with the crib sheet and crib skirt, but now, at 18 months, so pulls on it a lot, so that might be coming down soon as well. As for the brands you asked about, we did get the crappy plastic Fisher-Price exersaucer and jumperoo. She used each one for only about 4 months so I'm glad I didn't invest too much in the nicer stuff. We do have a Maclaren stroller which I love--my parents bought it for Sophie for her first birthday. DH also used the baby bjorn carrier a little bit when Sophie was younger. Our high chair was a hand me down and is Peg Perego and I really like it. If we have a boy this time he's using it, despite the fact that it's entirely pink! One other thing for your registry---swaddles! I don't think we could have survived the first few months without the SwaddleMe swaddles. Sophie refused to sleep without being swaddled. I bought all the fancy Aden&Anais and SwaddleDesigns blankets at the baby boutiques and barely used them b/c she was highly-skilled at breaking loose from the swaddle. We switched to the uglier SwaddleMe ones that velcro shut and never had that problem again. I'll keep thinking of more stuff that are registry must-haves.

Dawn--Good luck with the BP issues. I'm glad that your new OB is keeping an eye on it. I think you said that you're going to be looking for a double stroller. Let me know what you find as you research them. I'm definitely going to need one. Also interested in your mini-van research. Both of our cars are very small crossover SUVs and they both still have 2 years left on their leases, but we will need something with a third row since my mom lives w/ us 9 months out the year when I'm working during the school year. I can't squish her in the backseat of my CRV between 2 carseats for very long!

Diane--Sorry to hear that your single friends weren't supportive. I think what you're doing is amazing, incredible, and inspiring and I hope you keep your chin up despite how some people might react.

afm, I'm 16w today. Routine OB appointment on Friday. Still throwing up constantly and I'm going to make an another attempt at begging for Zofran. Maybe now that I'm well out of the first trimester my OB will more likely to give it to me. Can't remember if I updated you guys on my blood clot in my leg. I switched to a new hematologist at the urging of my peri. The new hematologist sent me for a repeat Doppler scan of my leg and the clot had dissolved so I am no longer taking Lovenox injections. I still have almost 4 weeks to wait to find out if I'm having a boy or a girl...the waiting is driving me crazy!!!! I would be thrilled w/ either b/c I love the idea of Sophie having a sister, and I also love the idea of having a son, so either way I'm happy.

[DMS721]

linden - I'm fine with either weekly or monthly update threads. Whatever works best. What a bummer that you are still so sick. You really do need to see about getting zofran. I'm finally over the worst of it, but still feel queezy from time to time. I'm glad to hear the blood clot is gone. Today we went out and got a minivan. We got a 2011 Dodge Caravan. It came down to that or the Honda Odessy, but the Caravan was more affordable. I don't think we would have been able to financially make the Honda work. As for strollers, one thing that I have been told, that when you are dealing with 2 different aged kids (like toddler and infant) it is best to get a tandem stroller vs a side by side. With the difference in weights, the side by side can be difficult to turn and could possibly topple over. I think we are looking at the Graco Quatro Duo. We have a Graco infant seat, so it will work well with that stroller.

Emiline - Originally we had gotten a pricer bouncey seat and Patrick HATED it. We got the cheap Fisher Price bouncey seat, and he LOVED it. They are funny creatures like that. lol As for my blood pressure, there are several medications that are perfectly safe to take while pregnant. If the blood pressure gets too out of control it can affect how well the placenta works and cause it to break down faster and restrict the growth of the baby. So it is best to treat it and to try and keep it as under control as possible.

afm - nothing new to report. I'm definitely feeling the little guy move. It isn't consistent yet, but usually at least once a day I can feel him. My mom is arriving at the end of this week to spend a week with us. I'm sure we will do some shopping for baby stuff. I did have some stress this week. One of my students (5th grade) wrote a note saying he was going to kill me. The principal did nothing other than "counsel" him and sent him back to my room not even 5 minutes later. So now I am going through the teacher's union to get some action. Crazy!

Dawn

[emiline]

Hi All,

Linden, monthly is fine with me. We don't post often enough for it to get confusing, I think. If things get super busy closer to September we can always go back to weekly.

Thank you so much Linden and Dawn for your suggestions! This clarifies a lot. I love your funny stories about fickle babies, I'm sure mine will want to do a little product testing too. So great to get the swaddle suggestions, velcro it is! Someone suggested the Halo sleepsacks so I might try some of those.

Dawn, congrats on the car purchase. If I was rich I'd get the new Bugaboo Donkey, it seem fairly compact, but what do I know? I can't believe you can feel your little guy already! I'm 17 weeks too and can't feel anything but bloating and hunger. Maybe it's easier to feel the baby when you're on your second child? Also, I am so sorry about your classroom experience. My girlfriend teaches 2nd grade through LAUSD and the horror stories are unending--mainly lack of good admin support for teachers dealing with a troubled population. College is hard enough, I have huge amounts of respect for primary and secondary school teachers.

AFM: 17 weeks and 2 weeks past my amnio--I finally get to exercise. Prenatal yoga and swimming here I come, very excited. I am trying to feel positive about the pregnancy and have told a bunch of people--the congrats are coming in, people are just thrilled because many of them know how hard it was for us to get and stay pregnant. Still, though, I'm having a little trouble not worrying. I don't have any friends who dealt with infertility outside of my support group, and all the other women in my life who've been pregnant say how it goes by so fast, that the baby will be here before I know it. Well, it is the exact opposite for me, every week moves by so slow. And I'm always fearful that the baby will stop growing or her heart will stop beating, even now that I'm post first trimester. I'm ok for the few days after an ultrasound and then it's back to being concerned. I can't feel her yet, and I've only gained a few pounds, so how do I know everything is going to be ok? And while my girlfriends are awesome, I think that after the stress surrounding years of infertility my friends just expect me to be happy now (my husband too), so I feel bad expressing any anxiety--I just want to give them all a break. But it's no walk in the park, and I shudder to think what it would be like to lose another baby and go back to square one.

[DMS721]

Emiline - I also teach for LAUSD. It is a nightmare school district to work for! We used the velcro swaddlers too, but Patrick was a little houdini. He would somehow manage to get his arms out no matter how tightly I wrapped him. To this day he still likes to sleep with his arms up over his head. lol I LOVE the halo sleepsacks. I use the lighter weight ones in the fall/spring, and then the fleece ones in the winter. Also, for when they are a bit older and standing/walking, they now make some that have leg holes. We got those for Patrick this past winter. He moves too much to keep a blanket on him, so the halo sleepsacks were the only way we could keep him warm.

All teh books say that you feel them earlier the 2nd time around. I think with Patrick I started to feel him around 18 weeks, but it wasn't consistent until a few weeks later. At first it feels like little flutters or bubbles. It isn't until later on you can feel strong jabs and kicks. Last time I was a nervous wreck the entire time, and I didn't enjoy the pregnancy at all. I worried about every little thing that could possibly go wrong. I totally understand your worries and concerns. Just try to enjoy it somewhat. That was my biggest regret when all was said and done. I wish I would have actually enjoyed being pregnant vs being a nervous wreck the entire time. I agree that time does go by slowly though. At least we are almost to the halfway point!

Dawn

[linden]

Yes, the HALO sleepsacks are a must have, especially if you have a newborn who doesn't like to be swaddled. You can use the sleepsacks well past the swaddle phase too, which is nice. HALO is great--we used both the cotton and the fleece, depending on the weather. Aden & Anais also makes cute ones that are very lightweight and a gauzy material for the warm summer months, but their zippers were the cheap plastic ones and often got jammed, which is incredibly annoying in the dark during the night when you're up changing a dirty diaper and don't have much patience!

I was also approx. 18 weeks when I started feeling Sophie moving for the first time...and the movement was so infrequent and so light that it could easily be missed. By 20 weeks I felt her everyday, and at 21 weeks, DH felt her for the first time. I've been feeling this baby move since the end of the first trimester, so I think people definitely feel it earlier the second time around. In fact, s/he is moving around like crazy right now, probably from all the sugar in the soda I just drank. I never drink soda, but thought that a ginger ale would help settle my stomach. It didn't, and I forgot how much it burns when being thrown up. Ugh. I really can't take the constant vomiting anymore. I am off from work this week and I took Sophie to the mall yesterday and she made throwing up sounds to everyone who said hello to her. Very embarrassing. I guess she thinks it's my primary mode of communication these days!

[DMS721]

This mommy thing is tough some days. Patrick took a fall last night and needed stitches to repair his split lip. Worst part is dr said no binky for a week and he is a binky addict at sleep times. He barely slept at all last night. I just feel lousy.

Dawn

[brown_eyed_girl]

*Barge from October*

Dawn ~ I'm so sorry to hear about Patrick's tumble! I hope he's feeling better soon.

[DianeF]

Loss mentioned

Long story short, I had some cramping/spotting on Tuesday night that led me to the doctor's office on Wednesday morning, where unfortunately I was greeted by the sight of two babies, not moving, without heartbeats. Luckily (I guess) my doc was able to get me in that afternoon for a D&C, which was the least sucky of the sucky options i had left for me at that point. The sad face emoticon just doesn't do justice to what I'm feeling right now. And I'm chickening out of calling my mom for the 2nd day in a row because I know she'll be devastated as well.

[linden]

Oh Diane, I'm so sorry. My second miscarriage happened that same way and I really don't think I've had a sadder moment in my life than looking up at that ultrasound screen and seeing that the heartbeat was no longer there. I am so very sorry that you've had to experience that. I know that this is such a hard time for you right now. Sending you lots of hugs.

[DMS721]

Oh Diane I am so sorry! Words can't express how badly I feel for you. Did your dr give you any idea as to what might have happened? You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Dawn