STM check-in w/o April 21

BigBadWolf12

How far along are you? How big is baby?

How old is/are you other kid(s)?

Nails and fails from this week:

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: 

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? 

BigBadWolf12

How far along are you? How big is baby?
25 weeks - baseball glove,  prairie dog,  Napa cabbage

How old is/are you other kid(s)? 19 months

Nails and fails from this week:
Nail - had a week off and it was so nice to be with ds
Fail - didn't do any marking. 

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: 

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? 
it's not that we did it "wrong" last time but this time around I'm going to pay closer attention to baby's positioning.  DS ended up with torticollis and flat had on one side bc he always looked one way.  Looking back at pictures im like how could I not notice he always looked left?  But in the moment, it's just not that obvious until I was babywearing him and looked straight down and was like,  ummm that had isn't round anymore

elizabeth_1985

How far along are you? How big is baby? 24 weeks, 1 day

How old is/are you other kid(s)? Almost 3 and 5

Nails and fails from this week: We've had some beautiful weather the last week. (More outdoor time!) 

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: 

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? 

Realize everything is a phase. Even when they "learn to sleep through the night", will regress. Nothing is ever set in stone.

BigBadWolf12

@elizabeth_1985 oh good call on the phases thing.  My son woke up at 11.30, 2, 4, and 6 for no apparent reason two nights ago and last night slept through again which he hasn't done  in weeks. Everything changes so much! 

elizabeth_1985

@BigBadWolf12 Potty training was the same way. Two steps forward, sometimes three steps back. Haha

aecm

How far along are you? How big is baby?
22+1, size of coconuts

How old is/are you other kid(s)?
DD, age 2

Nails and fails from this week:
Nails - survived Easter! Everything fell into place. I was pleasantly surprised that DD was agreeable to napping in her old pack-and-play in a strange place - which made the whole day way easier. 
Fails - not cooking nearly as much as I should. Finding it hard to be on my feet for too long. 

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: 
Heartburn really ramped up this week. I had to sleep basically sitting up last night...not fun, and I know it’s only going to get worse. 

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? 
In general I probably just won’t stress about some stuff the way I did with my first. I spent way too much time the first year worrying about DD’s food intake and weight gain...ideally the boys will just be good eaters and it isn’t an issue, but if not I’m not going to be quite as crazy monitoring milk consumption. 

mrosek91

How far along are you? How big is baby? 22+2, coconut

How old is/are you other kid(s)?
3 and 1.5

Nails and fails from this week:
Nails - Passover got off to a really nice start, spent the first 2 days at the ILs and somehow got more and less sleep than usual.
Fails - potty training continues to test my patience.

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: 
I have to keep reminding myself that I have an anterior placenta and am only 22 weeks, and it's not alarming that I don't feel the baby consistently yet. Being on this forum makes me much more aware of milestones, and where I am. I honestly don't remember when I started feeling either of the other boys. I need to relax.

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids?
I stayed home for practically my entire maternity leave with DS#1, not just didn't travel, but didn't leave the house. Looking back I think I had undiagnosed PPD which is part of what held me back from going out, but spending 6 weeks at home with only a newborn and DH was defenitely not good for my mental health. With DS#2 I was out of the house and socializing within 2 weeks, and it was so much better for me.
@elizabeth_1985 I definitely agree about the stages.

Allycat11

How far along are you? How big is baby? 22w2d box of mac and cheese. 

How old is/are you other kid(s)? DD6 DS3

Nails and fails from this week: Nail: we stuck to our meal plan every single day last week and only ate out once, which was planned.  Fail: I am still lacking motivation lately and I have a 3 year old who still is not potty trained...to be fair we are not even trying at the moment because he has no interest. 

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: 

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? I won't blame myself for every little thing that goes wrong and won't take credit for everything that goes right. DD has a very very challenging personality and I spent the first few years of her life blaming myself, then DS came along and I realized I have practically no control over most parts of their personalities. Same.goes for whether they are good eaters or picky, how well they sleep, when they are ready to potty train, etc...

ElcaB

How far along are you? How big is baby? 24w5d

How old is/are you other kid(s)? Pickle is 2

Nails and fails from this week: 
Nail: I survived. 
Fail: I've been eating like garbage.

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: I am so tired of getting up 10x/night to pee. But every time I wake up to pee I feel parched so I keep drinking water. 

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? 
Just knowing that every time a challenge is resolved, another one will begin. Basically, you're never out of the woods and parenting is full of challenges that give way to different challenges. 

hillaryo14

How far along are you? How big is baby?
25w, cauliflower 

How old is/are you other kid(s)?
17 months on the 25th

Nails and fails from this week:
Nails: Taking advantage of a day off to take care of stuff around the house so I can have some downtime this weekend. And only a 3 day work week this week! 
Fails: As soon as I got home from visiting my parents, DD threw up all over herself and the carseat. Thankfully it wasn't that horrible, and DD was back to her normal self after a quick bath. Pretty sure it was just related to all the rich foods she ate and allergies.

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: 

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? 
There's not any one thing, just to be more flexible. I know that every baby will do things at their own pace, and will come with their own challenges, especially with having a child with Down syndrome. He will teach me a whole new level of flexibility and open-mindedness in parenting.

sourlemon

How far along are you? How big is baby? 23w+1. Bump says grapefruit but that would be the smallest grapefruit I've ever seen.

How old is/are you other kid(s)? Next month they turn 5 and 2.5.

Nails and fails from this week: Nail: we survived. Fail: DH and I are fighting a lot and it is really my fault. I'm really pissy about everything and taking it out on him. I feel so bad, but cant stop.

Rant/Rave/Dear Diary: I dont remember hating DH this much during my last 2 pregnancies. I think a lot of it is just the amount of stress we are under, life with 2 kids, and full time jobs that travel frequently. But I need to be nicer to him.

GTKY: any "won't do that again!" learning moments to share from having your previous kids? I wont allow myself to feel guilty if breastfeeding/pumping dont work out. DD1's birth was horrendous and I didnt even try breastfeeding after the first day. A week later I felt HORRIBLE. Cried for hours about it daily. Didnt know that pumping was really a thing at that point, but it felt useless so I didnt even try that. I dragged myself down as a mom so much because of that for months.

Fast forward to kid 2 and breastfeeding didnt really work (she latched about 8 times in her life) but I pumped for 9 months. I felt better about it on a personal level and my "friends" gave me a lot less crap than with DD1.

Funnily enough, formula kid was actually healthier than breastmilk kid.