@angelob88 i think everyone took the weekend off. Time to get the board back on track, and (for me) stop eating sugar. *sips on cocoa* Things are going swimmingly lol
Ugh I woke up like 20 min before I had to leave today. Literally had enough time to throw on some clothes and inhale some breakfast. Now I feel all groggy. I hate not getting a shower in the morning. At least I got my DH to braid my hair super quick.
Also im super pissed that I got left with an absolute disaster of a kitchen when my mom said she would help. After we got back from my cousins I was up past midnight cleaning it all up. And I still have pans in my sink cause I ran out of hot water. My back is freaking killing me today.
this is my backup acct. prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014 BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
@lyse01 My holidays are always shit. I wish my DH understood that they always end up more trouble than they're worth. He even spent at least half of yesterday feeling sick and napping. And then was mad when i did all the last minute moving/prep/cleaning. Who else was going to do it?
I'm just so glad it's all over. Next year i am refusing to host. I might refuse to participate at all.
this is my backup acct. prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014 BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
I told myself that I was going to be a productive member of my household today. My husband is back to work and I’m off for a week so I figured I would help out way more than I have been lately. We got back from our 6 hour ride back home last night around 11 and we literally dropped everything from our trip in the middle of the living room, showered, and went to bed. So there’s a lot to get done. My mind is telling me to knock it all out at once while my body is like “yeah, no.” Slow and steady will hopefully win this race.
@thatbaintforbetty y’know what? DH just made the same totally irresponsible decision he did on Friday AND Saturday and then blamed me again (for, I suppose, expecting him to have done what he said he was going to do and then dumping DD on him to go do it myself). So no, apparently I will not be letting it go.
Today: DH: hey Lyse01, can you and DD disappear for 1 or 2 hours so I can get things clean for the Airbnb guests? me: uh, I’ve got a lot to do here. You sure? DH: I need to be able to move vacuums and such freely through the house without baby gates. me: okay, it’s 9:45, i’ll keep us out of the house til at least noon, hopefully closer to 1.
dh: what are you doing here? me: it’s 12:45...we are hungry...what progress have you made and where do you need help? dh: I went to my friend’s house and helped him rake.
@thatbaintforbetty, how shitty! I'm sorry you got stuck w/ all of that. and @lyse01, your husband sounds like a temporary dick. in those situations, I always punk mine pretty bad w/ some reference to how I thought I married a man and not a boy and to get his shit together. hopefully shaming him will help him see himself a little more clearly.
hope things get better for you two.
man, I indulged WAYYY too much this xmas on the sweets. we still have left-over santa cookies that I don't want to toss. and I baked a rum cake that I also don't want to toss. I've already had a slice this morning for bfast, and now thinking about dessert after lunch.... 0_0
meanwhile, I can feel the skin on my torso stretching... and stretching... and everything hurts. I always used to sorta scoff at pregnant women who always rubbed their bellies, or have their hands on them in some way, but every. time. I. move, I find myself rubbing my belly trying to find some comfort in between what I've been told is round ligament pain. (surely, it can't be RLP- it's like, midway and above!! and constant!! so, so constant.)
side note: my new obsession is grilled cheese sandwiches w/ mayo instead of butter. I just savored one w/ leftover homemade chicken noodle soup. (the soup was made from scratch last week sometime & I couldn't bear to toss it out. wanna take bets on whether or not I'll have the stomach troubles later?)
we throw out wayyy too much food in my house, I'm super ashamed I think my new year's resolution will be to stop wasting so much damn food. anyone else thinking about NY res? or is that not really your thing?
Ugh yes. We’ve been staying at my MIL’s and there’s just so many snacks and cookies and I’ve been doing a terrible job resisting them. So many carbs! (She said while eating a bagel)
@batmama31 I usually do the word of the year thing instead of a list of resolutions. Last year I did “intentional” which worked well. I haven’t decided on 2019 but I think “survive” might suffice (LOL) since most of the year will be either 3rd trimester or newborn phase.
Too many sweets here too. Every year in the month of January, I try to "reset' cutting out all sweets and sodas. I will try that again this year. I have gained about 6 lbs since thanksgiving (EKK!)
Christmas was really good this year. My Dad bought us a 3d printer, so we have been trying it out. DD LOVED Christmas this year. She finally understand Santa and was singing Christmas music I am kind of glad its over.
So I am a little OCD about New Years. Since I was a kid we always did major cleaning before the new year to start the year off right. I kind of take it to the next level (cleaning closests, drawers, organizing, etc). Normally H gripes but he has been pretty on board. We started today we have off till the 2nd so I a trying to go room by room. I am also redoing DD bathroom and painting the Nursery.
Since I have off all week and hate mobile bumping I will try to check in periodically!
Me: 32 DH: 31
TTC #2 since January 2018
Baby #1 DD Born 8/25/2016 BFP: 8/11/18 Due: 4/26/18
@jlklec19 we had a 3.5 hour drive last night and did the same dumping thing when we arrived home last night. House is a total disaster - presents and suitcases everywhere. I’m planning on cleaning today too. Just hoping all those new gifts keep my son entertained while I work. Good luck to us
@batmama31 so much belly rubbing due to discomfort here! I make reading resolutions each year - to read 12 books a year (unrelated to my profession). But on the subject of food waste, we started meal planning each week and it helped us cut down on waste tremendously. We usually plan 4 meals for the week and then leave the weekends and one night a week up for grabs / open. It allows us to be flexible on the nights we realized we don’t feel like cooking and want to move things around, or if someone invites us out, or whatever.
My MIL has watched my 13 month old a handful of times. My mom watches him if I need a babysitter because she is so careful and respects all of our wishes for him. She is wonderful with him.. and shes my mom so I little biased there lol.
The few times my MIL had watched him (I keep reluctantly trying with her because I dont want to be the evil DIL that doesnt let her see him) she feeds him food I tell her not to.. like, chips and hard food he cant chew yet.. I'm not too picky! She refuses to put up baby gates on the stairs because she says she doesnt need them and has knick knacks and breakables everywhere. I also bring his pack and play for naps or bed and she puts him in a twin bed instead... hes only 1!....even though I tell her that its obviously not safe or appropriate at this age. One date night we came back past his bed time to pick him up and she set up the pack and play in the kitchen with all the lights on and he was screaming.. she couldnt figure out why he wouldn't sleep.... ummm..
Long story short, she never airs on the safe side and doesnt respect anything I say but gets on me ALL of the time wanting to watch him more. Every time I see her she guilts me by saying she wants more alone time to get to know him. I make it a point to go see her as a family or with me there every couple weeks but it's never enough.
I'm expecting my second son and on Christmas she made a comment in front of everyone that she remembers when she only had one child and was "crazy overprotective" but said once I have a second I'll be begging her to take my kids. Ugh. So awful!
I'm a stay at home mom who has no want to leave my son. When I do go out maybe once a month, I feel safest with my mom watching him so we just have her do it.
By the way, my husband is in total agreement. He is very annoyed by his moms nagging and doesnt feel shes a safe choice either. We are on the same page.
I'm just stressed from always being nagged from her and feeling like a mean person when all I care about is my sons safety. I'm more stressed now that I have a second coming and shes just going to be nagging more.
By the way, every time she nags me, I am very clear and say.. I appreciate it, I will let you know if I need your help. But I dont know what more to say. Obviously I have my husband do most of the talking since it's his mom but it never works. Ugh.
@elmich3 have you or your H ever had an honest discussion with her about this? If you two are in agreement and you don't feel safe leaving your kids with her, it may be time to have that talk.
Everything you said is valid - if she can't take the age-appropriate precautions with your child then she can't honestly wonder why you refuse her help!
@elmich3 we lived with MIL/FIL while DD was 1 to 1.5 and MIL still put breakables on her glass top coffee tables and metal objects nearby for DD to bang on said glass top tables. It didn’t matter how many times we said a vase within reach of a 1 yo was a terrible plan, we had to move it to a higher location at least twice a week. However, MIL is constantly hanging onto DD where I let her free-range a bit, so she’s probably more comfortable with the risk she’s taking. Also, it’s her breakable stuff, so as long as DD doesn’t cut herself on it, I’m pretty okay with MIL suffering the consequences.
@elmich3 I agree with @sheknows6 that all of your concerns are valid and that it may be time to have the talk. The nagging is the worst (we’re already getting some of it and this is our first baby).
@elmich3, that's definitely beyond normal "I'll deal with this behavior because it's my MIL and she does it out of love," boundaries. I would definitely try to have an honest tall with her, with your DH taking point if he feels comfortable. My MIL isn't an unsafe babysitter, but there are definitely things she does that I don't like (too many treats, brings toys every time, too much tv), but I usually pass those off to DH to casually mention. Your MIL sounds like she's completely forgotten safe parenting techniques (maybe just because of the old "that's how I raised my kids and they survived," kind of mentality?). I hope you guys can have a productive talk with her!
Yeah, a serious talk has to be in our future. I'm just nervous it will go nowhere because we've attempted to have serious honest talks with her about this stuff in the past but she is very hard to talk to. She is very absentminded and I dont feel she ever grasps onto what we say. Kind of in her own world...
As in, after she put our son in a twin bed the first time, my husband had a straightforward talk with her the next time saying he can not sleep in the bed. He set up the pack and play for her and said clearly multiple times, he sleeps in here, not a bed. It's not safe. We came back and she was still trying to put him in the twin bed. She said "he just wont go to sleep, I keep putting him back into the big boy bed!" Uhh, what?? She even took down the pack and play. Things dont sink in.
So I'm afraid even if we spell out what the problem is, she will never understand. But I guess at that point theres not much we can do.
@elmich3 hmm. I’ve been known to send MIL articles explaining how there’s mixed evidence about things, or to show modern safety recommendations. I think it sinks in a little better that way. But you might be at a point where you get to make some defensive moves, as in you and DH “seeking advice” from some of those Christmas guests (B/SILs?) about ways to get MIL to respect your parenting decisions...and let them come to the conclusion that she is doing unsafe things. Then at least the public nagging gets ignored by all the important people.
Off topic, but I literally spent all day cleaning / straightening / reorganizing my house. And somehow I still feel like there’s sooooo much to do. Had to take a break though due to Braxton Hicks. I feel like this is just going to be the new normal for the next 15 weeks? Blah. On the up side, my house is a billion times better than it was this morning! And I’m cuddling under my new electric blanket, which is pure awesome.
My house is kind of a mess and there are definitely some organization projects I could work on, but instead I’m experimenting in the kitchen. I have a cake in my rice cooker. Clearly I have procrastination issues.
I don’t have New Years resolutions, exactly, but come January it’s crunch time. I don’t really feel any nesting vibes, but I plan on getting truly organized and finally buying the big ticket purchases we’ve been putting off.
@elmich3 I’d definitely say it’s time to have a serious talk with MIL, but that sucks. I’ve been worried myself about how to handle MIL doing things we may not agree with. Baby hasn’t even been born yet and I already know my mom will be my preferred babysitter.
@elmich3 I second the others. And im sorry you are in this scenario. A serious convo needs to happen and you guys need to set hard limits. If she breaks them then no unsupervised time.
I wouldn’t ever leave my kid with my MIL for many of the reasons you list, she doesn’t respect our parenting choices and her version of safe differs greatly from ours. For good and bad she actually doesn’t really care about DD or the new baby. I’m eternally thankful my DH has always been very firm against his moms crazy (not that she like him much either) and it has saved me many a headaches.
this is my backup acct. prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014 BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
I’m definitely starting to feel antsy about everything we need to get done before baby. We’ve been in “after the holidays” mentality for so long, hard to believe that’s now!
Damn, somebody worked a minor miracle and got me a phone appointment and an intake appointment with a doc as soon as humanly possible after my new insurance goes active. Like on January 2nd at 2:30.
this is my backup acct. prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014 BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
@elmich3, sorry you have to deal with this. MIL's house being unsafe is one of the reasons we had to stay in a hotel for our recent visit.
Both my and DH parents give us grief about how they raised us and we didn't die. Survival is not the goal here...raising healthy, happy kids is. Plus, they had their time and now it's my turn so stop encroaching and wait til be asked for help or advice. Sorry for the rant.
Today was a rough day, but it ended so nice. My 2 year old niece felt the baby move and she was asking that the baby come out and play with her. Then as her and my sister were leaving, she hugged my belly and said “good night baby.” It was so sweet ❤️
I just purchased the bigger items I need/want before I leave my shit job at the end of january. My DD is 18 months so I purchased a toddler bed (even though she doesn't have to leave her crib for awhile, DS will sleep in my room for the first few months.) I also purchased a tandem stroller. Second time around and all I need now is to stock up on diapers and wipes.
Our lives literally were turned upside down this week so I’ve been 100% MIA from here and basically all other aspects of life😅 DH was offered an AMAZING job... however it requires him to be out of the country til mid March *que panic mode* and we have to relocate once he gets home. SOS. I have to find new housing, new doctors and hospitals, and pack up our whole lives BY MYSELF all during the third tri of my first ever pregnancy. It’s going to be fine... right?? Hahahah
BUT the job is literally his dream and will fulfill my lifelong dream of being able to travel often with my family. So I’m happy to make the sacrifices. Sooo... Any moving while pregnant tips are super appreciated.🙏🏻
I've taken a lot of time away and it's been nice to just be with my kiddos!!
I know I'm the 26th person to say but I agree with everyone else @elmich3 just for the fact that she can't respect what you ask then I'd say stop letter her babysit. I am one of those people who feel like it you've left breakables in reach of kids and they break then that's your fault but it sounds like your LO could get hurt. The sleeping thing bothers me. I'm sure my mom doesn't agree with everything I want, but if I said put them to bed this way, that's how she would put them to bed.
One of my friend's MILs is that way too. She will feed the grandkids oreos and junk until they literally puke. I know grandparent's "jobs" are to spoil the kids, but common sense needs to prevail at some point.
It's my first day back in the office since last Friday and I come in to an email that just says "Take the Xmas decorations down." Yea, thanks tips. I'm the one who put them up for our department. I hate being micro managed. I really wish it was busier so I just couldn't get to it today, but I know I will.
Me: 31 H: 36 L & N twin girls: 3yo. Born at 30 weeks. 2 month NICU stay BFP Aug 2018: EDD April 2019
@frenchfrymama - start eating your pantry and not buying more large bags of rice it takes a shockingly long time to eat through that stuff solo. - designate a room for packed boxes and just give up on using it for the rest of your time in the current house -pack your non maternity/summer clothes first, or the contents of the box room, and generally get down to a capsule wardrobe. I find books easy to pack too, since I don’t use them all daily. - keep an eye on Craigslist/local Facebook groups for free boxes/packing supplies - join local fb groups for the new area and start asking for recommendations for docs/hospitals. - ask for help - your parents/sibs/friends for an afternoon or weekend of helping pack/clean, or for a trip to the new place to househunt (always something better done with a second set of eyes IMO)
@ysotte that is so sweet! We’re due the day in between our 4 year old nephew’s birthday and my birthday (which I share with my MIL). When I mentioned that at Christmas, my SIL asked our nephew if he would be mad if the baby came on his birthday and he said “the baby can share my birthday!” and I just thought it was really sweet since he’s currently the baby of the family. I’m glad that our nephews and niece are excited to be big cousins.
@frenchfrymama I probably moved upwards of 15 times/at least 1x annually before I settled into my current place, and I can tell you from experience that if you're in the US, your local ABC (liquor) store and grocery store like Food Lion/Harris Teeter/Kroger will give you boxes for free.
They won't be as large as actual packing boxes but free supplies never hurt! Plus the bottle boxes from ABC are perfect for glassware or knick knacks. I have to +1 to everything @lyse01 suggested as well, packing up everything you know you won't touch until you've settled to get yourself going.
That's super exciting for you guys! I love to travel so color me jealous
@frenchfrymama congrats on the new job for your DH! It's going to be hard in the early days but so worth it in the long run! I grew up in a military family, and spent most of my early 20's being pretty restless, so I have moved around A LOT in my time, albeit never while pregnant!
-Talk to your doc about referring you to a new one where you're moving. The medical community is pretty small, so they may know of someone that they can refer you to before you move, and that way you can still have continuous medical care while you're moving! -Take this time to "be brutal" with belongings. If you haven't used it in a year or more, throw it out! Its way easier to toss that to pack! -Try to pack away "non-essentials" before DH goes away, so you're not going through the whole process solo! -Label boxes as you go! That way, when you are 9mo pregnant or have a newborn in the new place, you wont be tearing through boxes trying to figure out which one holds that one key thing you need! -If the whole packing ordeal is getting to be a bit overwhelming, there are services that you can pay to come in and pack things for you. Its certainly not cheap (it can run anywhere of the ballpark of $1000.00 or more), but they'll do the whole house. Depending on how you're feeling and what your moving budget is, it may or may not be worth it to you! And depending on what your husband does for work, the company he is moving for might be willing to chip in / cover the cost! -If its feasible for you and your DH, try to get out to the new location nowish to secure a place. That way, you're not worried about being homeless for the next few months. Do you know anyone who is local to that area that can give you some insight into neighborhoods / what to expect RE: cost of living? If not, most Real Estate agents / Property Management companies are pretty happy to be that person for you in the time leading up to your move! -Maybe try looking into local community groups in the new place now. Being a new mom can be pretty isolating (at least I've heard, we'll both find out soon!) but so can being in a new city! Might be good to establish some connections beforehand if possible!
Sorry for the long post! Good luck to you and DH! I'm sure it'll be a challenging but super wonderful adventure!
lyse01
member
Re: Randoms 12/26
Also im super pissed that I got left with an absolute disaster of a kitchen when my mom said she would help. After we got back from my cousins I was up past midnight cleaning it all up. And I still have pans in my sink cause I ran out of hot water. My back is freaking killing me today.
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
Today:
DH: hey Lyse01, can you and DD disappear for 1 or 2 hours so I can get things clean for the Airbnb guests?
me: uh, I’ve got a lot to do here. You sure?
DH: I need to be able to move vacuums and such freely through the house without baby gates.
me: okay, it’s 9:45, i’ll keep us out of the house til at least noon, hopefully closer to 1.
dh: what are you doing here?
me: it’s 12:45...we are hungry...what progress have you made and where do you need help?
dh: I went to my friend’s house and helped him rake.
😡😡😡😡
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
hope things get better for you two.
man, I indulged WAYYY too much this xmas on the sweets. we still have left-over santa cookies that I don't want to toss. and I baked a rum cake that I also don't want to toss. I've already had a slice this morning for bfast, and now thinking about dessert after lunch.... 0_0
meanwhile, I can feel the skin on my torso stretching... and stretching... and everything hurts. I always used to sorta scoff at pregnant women who always rubbed their bellies, or have their hands on them in some way, but every. time. I. move, I find myself rubbing my belly trying to find some comfort in between what I've been told is round ligament pain. (surely, it can't be RLP- it's like, midway and above!! and constant!! so, so constant.)
side note: my new obsession is grilled cheese sandwiches w/ mayo instead of butter. I just savored one w/ leftover homemade chicken noodle soup. (the soup was made from scratch last week sometime & I couldn't bear to toss it out. wanna take bets on whether or not I'll have the stomach troubles later?)
we throw out wayyy too much food in my house, I'm super ashamed
Christmas was really good this year. My Dad bought us a 3d printer, so we have been trying it out. DD LOVED Christmas this year. She finally understand Santa and was singing Christmas music I am kind of glad its over.
So I am a little OCD about New Years. Since I was a kid we always did major cleaning before the new year to start the year off right. I kind of take it to the next level (cleaning closests, drawers, organizing, etc). Normally H gripes but he has been pretty on board. We started today we have off till the 2nd so I a trying to go room by room. I am also redoing DD bathroom and painting the Nursery.
Since I have off all week and hate mobile bumping I will try to check in periodically!
BFP: 8/11/18 Due: 4/26/18
@batmama31 so much belly rubbing due to discomfort here! I make reading resolutions each year - to read 12 books a year (unrelated to my profession). But on the subject of food waste, we started meal planning each week and it helped us cut down on waste tremendously. We usually plan 4 meals for the week and then leave the weekends and one night a week up for grabs / open. It allows us to be flexible on the nights we realized we don’t feel like cooking and want to move things around, or if someone invites us out, or whatever.
My MIL has watched my 13 month old a handful of times. My mom watches him if I need a babysitter because she is so careful and respects all of our wishes for him. She is wonderful with him.. and shes my mom so I little biased there lol.
The few times my MIL had watched him (I keep reluctantly trying with her because I dont want to be the evil DIL that doesnt let her see him) she feeds him food I tell her not to.. like, chips and hard food he cant chew yet.. I'm not too picky! She refuses to put up baby gates on the stairs because she says she doesnt need them and has knick knacks and breakables everywhere. I also bring his pack and play for naps or bed and she puts him in a twin bed instead... hes only 1!....even though I tell her that its obviously not safe or appropriate at this age. One date night we came back past his bed time to pick him up and she set up the pack and play in the kitchen with all the lights on and he was screaming.. she couldnt figure out why he wouldn't sleep.... ummm..
Long story short, she never airs on the safe side and doesnt respect anything I say but gets on me ALL of the time wanting to watch him more. Every time I see her she guilts me by saying she wants more alone time to get to know him. I make it a point to go see her as a family or with me there every couple weeks but it's never enough.
I'm expecting my second son and on Christmas she made a comment in front of everyone that she remembers when she only had one child and was "crazy overprotective" but said once I have a second I'll be begging her to take my kids. Ugh. So awful!
I'm a stay at home mom who has no want to leave my son. When I do go out maybe once a month, I feel safest with my mom watching him so we just have her do it.
By the way, my husband is in total agreement. He is very annoyed by his moms nagging and doesnt feel shes a safe choice either. We are on the same page.
I'm just stressed from always being nagged from her and feeling like a mean person when all I care about is my sons safety. I'm more stressed now that I have a second coming and shes just going to be nagging more.
By the way, every time she nags me, I am very clear and say.. I appreciate it, I will let you know if I need your help. But I dont know what more to say. Obviously I have my husband do most of the talking since it's his mom but it never works. Ugh.
Vent over, thanks for listening lol.
@elmich3 have you or your H ever had an honest discussion with her about this? If you two are in agreement and you don't feel safe leaving your kids with her, it may be time to have that talk.
Everything you said is valid - if she can't take the age-appropriate precautions with your child then she can't honestly wonder why you refuse her help!
DD born: 3/31/19
As in, after she put our son in a twin bed the first time, my husband had a straightforward talk with her the next time saying he can not sleep in the bed. He set up the pack and play for her and said clearly multiple times, he sleeps in here, not a bed. It's not safe. We came back and she was still trying to put him in the twin bed. She said "he just wont go to sleep, I keep putting him back into the big boy bed!" Uhh, what?? She even took down the pack and play. Things dont sink in.
So I'm afraid even if we spell out what the problem is, she will never understand. But I guess at that point theres not much we can do.
On the up side, my house is a billion times better than it was this morning! And I’m cuddling under my new electric blanket, which is pure awesome.
I don’t have New Years resolutions, exactly, but come January it’s crunch time. I don’t really feel any nesting vibes, but I plan on getting truly organized and finally buying the big ticket purchases we’ve been putting off.
@elmich3 I’d definitely say it’s time to have a serious talk with MIL, but that sucks. I’ve been worried myself about how to handle MIL doing things we may not agree with. Baby hasn’t even been born yet and I already know my mom will be my preferred babysitter.
I wouldn’t ever leave my kid with my MIL for many of the reasons you list, she doesn’t respect our parenting choices and her version of safe differs greatly from ours. For good and bad she actually doesn’t really care about DD or the new baby. I’m eternally thankful my DH has always been very firm against his moms crazy (not that she like him much either) and it has saved me many a headaches.
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
prevously helloblueeyes
Me:32 DH:33 Married:04/2012 DD:07/2014
BFP 8/14/2018 #2 due 4/18/2019
Both my and DH parents give us grief about how they raised us and we didn't die. Survival is not the goal here...raising healthy, happy kids is. Plus, they had their time and now it's my turn so stop encroaching and wait til be asked for help or advice. Sorry for the rant.
BUT the job is literally his dream and will fulfill my lifelong dream of being able to travel often with my family. So I’m happy to make the sacrifices. Sooo... Any moving while pregnant tips are super appreciated.🙏🏻
I know I'm the 26th person to say but I agree with everyone else @elmich3 just for the fact that she can't respect what you ask then I'd say stop letter her babysit. I am one of those people who feel like it you've left breakables in reach of kids and they break then that's your fault but it sounds like your LO could get hurt. The sleeping thing bothers me. I'm sure my mom doesn't agree with everything I want, but if I said put them to bed this way, that's how she would put them to bed.
One of my friend's MILs is that way too. She will feed the grandkids oreos and junk until they literally puke. I know grandparent's "jobs" are to spoil the kids, but common sense needs to prevail at some point.
It's my first day back in the office since last Friday and I come in to an email that just says "Take the Xmas decorations down." Yea, thanks tips. I'm the one who put them up for our department. I hate being micro managed. I really wish it was busier so I just couldn't get to it today, but I know I will.
H: 36
L & N twin girls: 3yo. Born at 30 weeks. 2 month NICU stay
BFP Aug 2018: EDD April 2019
- start eating your pantry and not buying more large bags of rice
- designate a room for packed boxes and just give up on using it for the rest of your time in the current house
-pack your non maternity/summer clothes first, or the contents of the box room, and generally get down to a capsule wardrobe. I find books easy to pack too, since I don’t use them all daily.
- keep an eye on Craigslist/local Facebook groups for free boxes/packing supplies
- join local fb groups for the new area and start asking for recommendations for docs/hospitals.
- ask for help - your parents/sibs/friends for an afternoon or weekend of helping pack/clean, or for a trip to the new place to househunt (always something better done with a second set of eyes IMO)
@frenchfrymama I probably moved upwards of 15 times/at least 1x annually before I settled into my current place, and I can tell you from experience that if you're in the US, your local ABC (liquor) store and grocery store like Food Lion/Harris Teeter/Kroger will give you boxes for free.
They won't be as large as actual packing boxes but free supplies never hurt! Plus the bottle boxes from ABC are perfect for glassware or knick knacks. I have to +1 to everything @lyse01 suggested as well, packing up everything you know you won't touch until you've settled to get yourself going.
That's super exciting for you guys! I love to travel so color me jealous
DD born: 3/31/19
-Talk to your doc about referring you to a new one where you're moving. The medical community is pretty small, so they may know of someone that they can refer you to before you move, and that way you can still have continuous medical care while you're moving!
-Take this time to "be brutal" with belongings. If you haven't used it in a year or more, throw it out! Its way easier to toss that to pack!
-Try to pack away "non-essentials" before DH goes away, so you're not going through the whole process solo!
-Label boxes as you go! That way, when you are 9mo pregnant or have a newborn in the new place, you wont be tearing through boxes trying to figure out which one holds that one key thing you need!
-If the whole packing ordeal is getting to be a bit overwhelming, there are services that you can pay to come in and pack things for you. Its certainly not cheap (it can run anywhere of the ballpark of $1000.00 or more), but they'll do the whole house. Depending on how you're feeling and what your moving budget is, it may or may not be worth it to you! And depending on what your husband does for work, the company he is moving for might be willing to chip in / cover the cost!
-If its feasible for you and your DH, try to get out to the new location nowish to secure a place. That way, you're not worried about being homeless for the next few months. Do you know anyone who is local to that area that can give you some insight into neighborhoods / what to expect RE: cost of living? If not, most Real Estate agents / Property Management companies are pretty happy to be that person for you in the time leading up to your move!
-Maybe try looking into local community groups in the new place now. Being a new mom can be pretty isolating (at least I've heard, we'll both find out soon!) but so can being in a new city! Might be good to establish some connections beforehand if possible!
Sorry for the long post! Good luck to you and DH! I'm sure it'll be a challenging but super wonderful adventure!