Would anyone be opposed to a thread dedicated to quick questions? The kind of stuff that doesn't require a big discussion but may get lost in the whole randoms thread?
@Themaritimemama we have a list but I wouldn't call it a short one. Today Nina is the front runner for a girl, but who knows tomorrow. It seems like a different name every day. Don't get me started on the boy names, we've got nothing.
@Themaritimemama we have yet to settle on any names either. We know we are having a boy and my fiancé has contributed one combination of first name (William) and middle name (Kenneth) and vetoed anything I have suggested for one reason or another. These are both family names so I am not opposed to them but not in love with them either.
@UnwritteN12 I'm sorry your husband is going to miss your family weekend. It hardly seems fair that they can go back now and say none of his time was approved off. I can understand your frustration. When we were engaged, DH had a third shift rotating schedule. I hated how little I saw him and how much he missed while he was there. I hope your husband's employers come around or he can find a job with better management.
Re: never beginning nursery: My husband was in the city yesterday, coming home today, so I took the time to list all the things we have coming up, as well as what still needs to be scheduled, so we could talk it through when he returns. (I emailed it to him so he would have a heads up, sounds strange but it keeps him from getting overwhelmed). I included the date he previously promised me the construction would be done. I am going to take your wonderful advice, and start moving things out and doing little stuff on my own. But I am hoping that seeing all the things that have to come after the construction (painting, setting up, shopping, etc) he will light a fire under his own behind!
@skirtandsandalsI'm in the same boat. The nursery is no where nears done and it's at a stage where I need DH's help to complete it (get wall paper off the wall that has a death grip on the wall). But alas he hasn't no motivation/sense of urgency to do it. Unfortunately he is not 'over-protective' of my pregnant state, so if I marched up to the baby's room in mask and sledge hammer he'd be all 'You go mama!' instead of 'Whoa!'
Oops, I had posted a symptom not a random... so here's a random instead:
Aeroflow Breastpumps just emailed me saying I can now order my pump! I still have a perfect condition Medela Pump in Style Advance.. so this time I ordered the Ameda Purely Yours Ultra! I really liked the Medela so I can always go back to that, but didn't want 2 of the exact same thing on hand! Woohoo!!
I like reading the Dear Prudence column over on Slate.com. Anyone else? I do miss the old Prudie and the new writer, who is unmarried and childless, tends to give fairly extreme advice on marital and parenting issues. In today's column, there is a letter writer who is asking for advice because her husband has some severe disappointment learning that they are having a second baby girl. She pretty much told the letter writer to leave her husband.
@marajay6 Whoa! That IS some pretty extreme advice! I've never read the Dear Prudence column (or heard of it) but I'm kind of surprised to learn their unmarried, childless writer is answering questions about marriage and children...how does that make sense to anyone over there!? Lol... Shoot, even someone married with children doesn't always give the best advice (to each their own and all that)!
@KimmySchmidt I second your quick questions thread. @UnwritteN12 I'm sorry about work ruining your plans. Is he able to go back to the pre-approved Friday and Saturday off request?
@marajay6I had to go and read that article. Although Dear Prudence gets it right in some sense where she notes he's overreacting, she definitely goes beyond what's necessary when suggesting the father should be no father and her girls 'would be better off without him.' My first question would be how long has been acting like this? If it's less than a week, I'd say give him time to transition and accept the new news. If it's been longer, it's time to bring him to see the doctor and talk to him and try to get him to open up. Contact a therapist. Either way jumping to leaving him was an exaggeration and unhelpful.
Just found out that my OB is letting me skip my 1 hr glucose and go straight to the 3 hr because I had GD with my first. This makes things so much easier because I will only need MIL to make one trip (she lives an hour and a half away) to watch DD. It also means I only have to drink the glucola once, and will get my 3 hr results sooner. I'm all around happy we are doing it this way!
Just found out that my OB is letting me skip my 1 hr glucose and go straight to the 3 hr because I had GD with my first. This makes things so much easier because I will only need MIL to make one trip (she lives an hour and a half away) to watch DD. It also means I only have to drink the glucola once, and will get my 3 hr results sooner. I'm all around happy we are doing it this way!
That's good news. I considered asking my OB if I could do the same, but since I passed the 3 hour test last time.. it doesn't quite seem worth it just in case the glucose gods are going to be kind to me!
My husband mentioned to his work that he needed to change his schedule for the day I have my 1 hour test so he can be on toddler-duty and his supervisor was like "Oh yes! I had to take my toddler to that.. that was miserable. We will get you off when you need to be that day, Anna doesn't need to go through that!" ...nothing better than understanding employers!
WTF is with Netflix cancelling all the shows i was in the middle of watching?! Do they not know how hard it is to find a show both DH and I will watch?! We weren't done yet! Grrrr!
Which ones were cancelled?
It turned out to be a Netflix blip, which was even worse. I was working on One Tree Hill, Royal Pains, and the Walking Dead, and noticed they were no longer in there, along with a lot of HGTV and Food Network shows that I LOVE. Then I discovered awesome gems like Downton Abbey and 24 (which we started, but was cancelled before we could finish) and was all "oooh I can rock this!" But apparently my Netflix account got flustered and a bunch of TV shows started popping up that I don't actually have access to. After about an hour or so, my regular shows were back, but the cool little gems were gone. It was so confusing and frustrating! Like c'mon Netflix, gimme ALL the content!
@UnwritteN12 I'm sorry, that sounds very frustrating.
Re No name. Yep same here, only one in mind and not sold at all, H likes it but there is one issue I don't know if I can get over (it's becoming a girl name). To be honest I'm still in like with the name, not love.
Grrrrrr. So we just hit a snag in the condo inspection. The circuit breaker is on a wall against the fridge AND the door opens away from you so you have to move the fridge completely out to access it. We would love it moved but I understand they won't drop the 3-5K to do it. We simply requested they rotate the door panel the protects the breaker to open towards you. At least that way we can fit our hand in. This is the only item they refused and the most important by far. The other agent claimed "my clients didn't have a problem."
@jhems776- Sounds like a really easy/reasonable fix to rotate the door (maybe not the BEST solution, as moving it would be)... we trip breakers frequently enough at our house (running the microwave at the same time as the keurig and something else always does it) - that I'd want pretty easy access, like... NOT having to move an entire refrigerator.
@AnnaS930 Hopefully you pass the one hr, but I know you love the taste of the glucola and won't mind drinking it twice. (That wasn't my reason for asking to skip the one hr, but it certainly was an added benefit.)
Looking at mid-size/smaller SUVs. Test drove a Ford Edge this morning. Going to check out Honda CR-V, Jeep Cherokee and Mazda CX5 tomorrow and this weekend. So if anyone has any thoughts on any of these, please share. (I know there's been tons of threads already on this and I've read through them. Would just appreciate the random ladies' thoughts )
I currently drive a Honda Element which I've loved but it's not meant for small children and rearfacing car seats.
@PSUBecky23- I did the same thing much earlier in this pregnancy. I've had my Highlander for a few months now and I absolutely love it... not as wild about having a car payment again, but I just don't focus on that part!
@AnnaS930 we just finished paying off my husband's car so not looking forward to a car payment again. But I'd just feel better about having a better more "family friendly" car prior to next baby coming.
@PSUBecky23 We have had a Ford Edge for the past 6 years and I love it. It gives us room, but it's not overly huge. We haven't had any mechanical problems with it. I would love it if we could find a way to fit three car seats across. I think it'll be tight, but I really love this car and don't want to give it up.
@PSUBecky23- no personal experience with those cars but most popular around us of those would be the Edge or the CRV.. most people with those seem pretty pleased! We have a Toyota Rav4 for our other vehicle and have had great luck with it. Is it possible you'll get more for your Element if you get a CRV and trade it into a Honda dealer?
Just found out that as of this year our Short Term Disability waiting period is only 1 week versus the 2 weeks that it used to be. For the first (now just 1) week of STD we have to use STD banked hours (I have 10 for no known reason.. yay!) and paid time off to get any pay, then we get (now 5 instead of 4) weeks of 60% pay! Hooray! This year we also get another week of full "Parental leave" pay, and since I was planning on using 2 weeks of PTO at the beginning of my leave, I'll still use another week. So basically it means I'll be getting 3 weeks of full pay, 5 weeks of 60% pay, and do the final 4 weeks of my 12 week FMLA unpaid. Not too shabby.. husband will be taking just a few weeks off, some using paid time off, others unpaid.. but will definitely be back at work before those last 4 weeks.
Long story short - my maternity leave benefits have IMPROVED since last time and I'll get paid more (still kinda crappy) while on leave. Hooray!
CRVs and Outbacks are the family cars of choice in my neighborhood. The latter is more of a hatchback (we have one and love it), but a bunch of neighbors and friends w 2 kids have CRVs and love them. One friend has two of them -- a his and hers! Not super specific advice I know, but she could be a salesman given how much she like hers.
@PSUBecky23 I have a Mazda CX-9 and I LOVE it. It's smooth, easy to handle, and it hasn't truly broken down in the three years I've been driving it around. (One time I thought there was a major problem because it sounded like metal was dragging on the ground. I took it to the mechanic. Once it was up in the air they found that a metal plate which protects the drive shaft had come unbolted. It was $20 to fix it!) We got it used and it just passed 100,000 miles.
@LizC216 I really liked the Edge and they're willing to give me decent trade-in for my car. How does a rear facing convertible seat do? I have a giant of a husband and while it will primarily be my car, I want him to be comfortable in it.
@abberson we're totally a Honda family too. My husband has an accord so the his and hers CRVs made me laugh.
@cassloumy good to hear you like your Mazda. The salesman at the Ford dealership said the CX-9 is the Edge's primary competitor.
@AnnaS930 that's my goal with going for another Honda. We'll see.
@skirtandsandals I'm sure this has probably been said already -- just catching up now after a few days. But if it makes you feel any better, we are probably moving in the end of July which means, you guessed it, NOTHING is set up in our nursery yet. I'm already anxious about it! Although I've been told by many people that the baby will stay in your room for the first few months so if the nursery isn't done when they get here, it's not really a huge deal. I totally understand wanting it done ASAP though!
@jhems776 Inspections are AWFUL but that actually sounds like something that can be worked around! it's too bad that they won't pay to have it moved, but hopefully they'll at least have the door switched. We recently had a disaster of an inspection where the house was actually deemed unsafe and then the sellers said they "didn't believe" our inspector! Yup, we backed out of that one really quickly.
@PSUBecky23 I have an explorer that I assume is set up similarly to the edge just with a 3rd row. We can fit a RF car seat behind the passenger (chicco nextfit) but there isn't extra space and the passenger is cramped. We could get one behind the driver for me (I'm 5'4") but not sure on my husband (6'0"). It will not accommodate 3 across in the second row because of the width of the center seat, which is 11" between buckles and a RF seat won't fit in the 3rd row. So if you're having more than 2 kids, wouldn't recommend it. I love the car, it's just not set up well for families with young children. So now I'm probs headed for mini van land.
Hello everyone and happy June! I've been on vacation for the past week, traveling to Seattle and Vancouver with DH so I've only popped in a couple times here but haven't really been around. Vacation was amazing but I'm glad to be back home -- we ate so much amazing food in both cities and saw so much, but I was starting to feel like a different human, sometimes it's good to get back to your every day life!
Anyway, my random of the day is a super sweet thing that happened in Seattle. We were eating at a little cafe that we LOVED in Capitol Hill, and the owner had written a children's book that she had in the shop. Anyway, it's a beautiful story about love and loss, and reading it actually made me cry realizing that this little girl will grow up and leave me someday! I was that crazy person, crying over a children's book while eating breakfast But the amazing thing is that the owner/author signed the book for our little girl, which made me cry all over again. She also was super sweet and said that she used to cry when she read it to her little girl. Ah, my heart. I can't wait to display it in her nursery!
@PSUBecky23 my husband is also giant and we have a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We have to find a new, larger car now because he can't fit in the passenger seat with DD1 in the passenger side, so once we have DD2 on the driver side, he won't be able to ride in the car at all.
I was just hopping around the groups and there are 4 births (5 babies.. 1 was a set of twins) on the July board. Holy moly.. most born at gestational ages that we are all at/have passed and babies (as of last updates) doing well. The time is nearing...
@PSUBecky23 my mom just got a new CRV in the fall and she LOVES it. It drives really nice and has decent gas mileage for a SUV. It's beating my Ford Escape by about 3 to 4 mpg
@unwritten12 I'm sorry your DH's employer is being a douche. That really stinks to not have him around for your family weekend
Re: June Randoms Thread
Aeroflow Breastpumps just emailed me saying I can now order my pump! I still have a perfect condition Medela Pump in Style Advance.. so this time I ordered the Ameda Purely Yours Ultra! I really liked the Medela so I can always go back to that, but didn't want 2 of the exact same thing on hand! Woohoo!!
@UnwritteN12 I'm sorry about work ruining your plans. Is he able to go back to the pre-approved Friday and Saturday off request?
My husband mentioned to his work that he needed to change his schedule for the day I have my 1 hour test so he can be on toddler-duty and his supervisor was like "Oh yes! I had to take my toddler to that.. that was miserable. We will get you off when you need to be that day, Anna doesn't need to go through that!" ...nothing better than understanding employers!
Re No name. Yep same here, only one in mind and not sold at all, H likes it but there is one issue I don't know if I can get over (it's becoming a girl name). To be honest I'm still in like with the name, not love.
Grrrrrr. So we just hit a snag in the condo inspection. The circuit breaker is on a wall against the fridge AND the door opens away from you so you have to move the fridge completely out to access it. We would love it moved but I understand they won't drop the 3-5K to do it. We simply requested they rotate the door panel the protects the breaker to open towards you. At least that way we can fit our hand in. This is the only item they refused and the most important by far. The other agent claimed "my clients didn't have a problem."
FWP random: Decided yesterday that I need (i.e. want) a new car so started that fun process this morning. I hate it already.
Looking at mid-size/smaller SUVs. Test drove a Ford Edge this morning. Going to check out Honda CR-V, Jeep Cherokee and Mazda CX5 tomorrow and this weekend. So if anyone has any thoughts on any of these, please share. (I know there's been tons of threads already on this and I've read through them. Would just appreciate the random ladies' thoughts
)
I currently drive a Honda Element which I've loved but it's not meant for small children and rearfacing car seats.
@camichael84 - YES! Glucola forever.. 2 weeks away! Yummmmm
Long story short - my maternity leave benefits have IMPROVED since last time and I'll get paid more (still kinda crappy) while on leave. Hooray!
@LizC216 I really liked the Edge and they're willing to give me decent trade-in for my car. How does a rear facing convertible seat do? I have a giant of a husband and while it will primarily be my car, I want him to be comfortable in it.
@abberson we're totally a Honda family too. My husband has an accord so the his and hers CRVs made me laugh.
@cassloumy good to hear you like your Mazda. The salesman at the Ford dealership said the CX-9 is the Edge's primary competitor.
@AnnaS930 that's my goal with going for another Honda. We'll see.
@jhems776 Inspections are AWFUL but that actually sounds like something that can be worked around! it's too bad that they won't pay to have it moved, but hopefully they'll at least have the door switched. We recently had a disaster of an inspection where the house was actually deemed unsafe and then the sellers said they "didn't believe" our inspector! Yup, we backed out of that one really quickly.
Anyway, my random of the day is a super sweet thing that happened in Seattle. We were eating at a little cafe that we LOVED in Capitol Hill, and the owner had written a children's book that she had in the shop. Anyway, it's a beautiful story about love and loss, and reading it actually made me cry realizing that this little girl will grow up and leave me someday! I was that crazy person, crying over a children's book while eating breakfast
giant and we have a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We have to find a new, larger car now because he can't fit in the passenger seat with DD1 in the passenger side, so once we have DD2 on the driver side, he won't be able to ride in the car at all.
@unwritten12 I'm sorry your DH's employer is being a douche. That really stinks to not have him around for your family weekend