PG>35 Weekly Check-In: Remedial Education Edition
danuli8
member
Hello, everyone, and happy Presidents' Day to you! (Does anyone besides bank employees and postal workers actually get Presidents' Day off any more? My DH is off at work.) I hope at least a few of you are enjoying a nice three-day weekend. And for the rest of us, well, we can always kill a little time on The Bump. 
I had my childcare education class at the hospital last Wednesday night. I have to note that neither my husband nor I have any previous experience with teensy babies whatsoever. I don't think I have ever changed a diaper or burped or swaddled or bathed a baby in my life. We are talking SERIOUS learning curve here, folks. 
The nurse teaching the class was really nice and still works on L&D, so I am hoping she will be there when I come in to deliver. My husband kept her late after everyone else had left because he couldn't get the hang of swaddling, LOL! We are going to buy a baby doll and keep working on it...I am so afraid I am going to break my baby out of sheer stupidity and cluelessness. We also bought our car seat and extra base over the weekend, and hello! That car seat is heavy even without a baby in it. I am going to have serious biceps and triceps after the first 3 months (or throw out my back, ha ha). Anyway, let's get on to the check-in!
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Hi Ladies!
Welcome to the Pregnant after 35 Weekly Check-In!
If you would like to be added to the check-in, just reply to this post with (and answer the questions!):
your screen name
first name (optional)
due date
sex of baby (if known, or will it be a surprise?)
**If you?re already on the list, you don?t need to give this info again**
Please let me know if you have any updates and/or edits that need to be made. Also, if I missed any births please let me know so we can celebrate with you!
Congratulations to the January/February Moms! Reb562 gave birth to a baby boy on 1/10/13. He weighed 10lb 1 oz and was 21.5 inches long. JennyP1 gave birth to Luke Thomas on 1/19/13 at 7:26pm. He weighed 8lb 8oz and was 20 3/4" long. Kat1221 gave birth to Elli June at 7:41 am on 1/31/13. She weighed 8 lb 10 oz and was 20? long. MangomamaFL gave birth to a baby boy on 2/5/2013 at 10:32pm. He weighed 9lb and was 21in long.
Pregnant Moms by Due Date:
February 2013
SouthernMom70 (Amy) 2/1/2013 ? Team Green
Brooklinld 2/5/2013
eane7311 (Janine) 2/6/2013
buggirl72 (Dana) 2/7/2013
Winofairy (Sherry) 2/9/2013
Starting all over again (Esther) 2/19/2013 ? Girl!
Solarflare 2/20/2013 ? Twins! (Boy/Girl)
Punter (Lani) 2/20/2013
Pginsa (Charlotte) 2/22/2013
Lanesmommy (Caroline) 2/24/13 ? Girl!
March 2013
Beforesunrise (Ashley) 3/1/2013 ? Boy!
rosesarepink (Rose) 3/4/2013 ? Girl!
[email protected] (Tracy) 3/7/2013
CountryGirlInTheCity 3/8/2013 ? Girl!
Elocin (Nicole) 3/8/2013 ? Girl!
Gundy21 (Kristen) 3/13/2013 ? Boy!
KatieKnitsny (Katie) 3/14/2013
NBBride05 3/15/2013 ? Girl!
KKGgirlATL 3/18/13 (scheduled c/s) Team Green
Cktravel 3/19/2013 ? Green
Wildflower75 (Martha) 3/20/2013 ? Team Green
MT-Head 3/22/2013 ? Boy!
Redcatz (Kirsten) 3/25/2013 ? Girl!
Dbadura01 (Deanna) 3/26/2013 ? Girl!
Haribo 3/26/2013
Coquina (Melissa) 3/30/2013
MouserNY (Monica) 3/30/2013 ? Boy!
Indyrowergirl 3/31/2013 ? Boy!
April 2013
Angelnumber8 (Angela) 4/04/2013
Lovelyday39 4/05/2013 ? Boy!
Elizabethnseanny (Elizabeth) 4/05/2013 - Boy!
Mishmax11 (Michelle) 4/7/2013
Danuli8 (Amanda) 4/7/2013 ? Boy!
Carol*Brady (Christine) 4/8/2013
Tcfreedom (Tiffany) 4/15/2013
Lilblt19 4/15/2013 ? Girl!
Hisbabygirl76 (Stephanie) 4/16/2013
Shellbear+ (Michelle) 4/23/2013 ? Girl!
Palamar (Chantel) 4/24/2013
Sheloveslan (Mariah) 4/27/2013
Dresch25 (Vicki) 4/29/2013 ? Team Green
Technigirl (Melissa) 4/29/2013
Ba23Ba02 (Barb) 4/29/2013 ? Team Green
Michele707 (Michele) 4/30/2013
May 2013
Dhreczuck 5/2/2013 ? Boy!
Jennyandjasonsbaby (Jenny) 5/5/2013
Trevinosnm (Martha) 5/7/2013 ? Boy!
TXBride (Ami) 5/12/2013
Mndyhywrd (Mindy) 5/15/2013
MotherMayEye (Amy) 5/15/2013 - Girl!
mlwinkle (Michelle) 5/17/2013
McRib 5/18/2013
Drhibbard (MC) 5/19/2013
Petrastonegirl (Petra) 5/19/2013
MrsNukem 5/20/2013 ? TWINS!!
jteneback 5/21/2013 ? Team Green
riorisa 5/22/2013
Rebaann (Rebecca) 5/23/2013 ? Girl!
Danafromslope 5/30/2013 ? TWINS!!
June 2013
Danieleandwayne (Dani?le) 6/4/2013 ? Team Green
1Lump (Andrea) 6/5/2013 ? Team Green
JilliansMoma 6/6/2013 ? Team Green
Daphallen (Daphne) 6/10/2013 ? Boy!
Ocho2002 6/13/2013
VisciousKnitter (Sandy) 6/15/2013
Trootie2012 (Trootie) 6/16/2013
AZAmy77 (Amy) 6/17/2013 ? Boy!
Kimmy42 (Kim) 6/18/2013 ? Girl!
July 2013
Beach72 (Kim) 7/2/13
Karen0477 (Karen) 7/3/13
Amypep (Amy) 7/5/2013
Superzuber (Sarah) 7/9/2013
Bethz13 7/15/2013 ? Team Green
ASL71476 (Andrea) 7/17/2013
emikat (Christine) 7/21/2013 ? Boy!
Abeille 7/28/2013
missymr (Mia) 7/29/2013
honeyforlunch 7/31/2013
August 2013
SeaConquest (Monique) 8/1/2013
Lucyspeople (Betsy) 8/8/2013 ? Boy!
Jkzinck (Jessie) 8/10/2013
Goatgirlnyc 8/20/2013
AmyM72 (Amy) 8/22/2013
Cali3674 (Cali) 8/25/2013 ? Team Green
Gscoville (Geneva) 8/29/2013 ? Team Green
September 2013
Juicy71 (Dawn) 9/4/2013
Kakhmama (Amy) 9/7/2013
Jerseymm09 (Sonia) 9/9/2013
Atlmommy (Tammy) 9/11/2013
Csh96 (Carla) 9/16/2013
VelvetElegance (Adrienne) 9/22/2013
QOTW: Which baby-rearing skill was the most time-consuming and difficult for you to master? (Or, if you don?t have any babies yet, which one do you think you will need to work hardest on to master?)
Share your updates and vents:
Over-40 parents...what we lack in vigor, we make up for with cunning.
Re: PG>35 Weekly Check-In: Remedial Education Edition
Updates:
Took the hospital tour on Saturday and it def helped my peace of mind to be able to understand the logistics of everything.
QOTW: I'm sure breastfeeding is going to be a challenge, despite having plenty of "material" (or too much?), so to speak. But I'm sure bath time will also be a bit of a challenge. I'm quite certain that the diaper change will be a piece of cake, since I get so much practice at work with much bigger and heavier bums!
Updates: I already mentioned that we're going to monthly U/S checks. And I've mentioned that my body totally SUCKS at being pregnant. Other than that, our renovations are STILL ongoing, despite intending to only take a week to complete them. So lame. One problem after another that makes for continuous delays. But at least it's looking great! I can't wait to get into the baby's room to get the mural painted and the furniture set up. I'm sure this last 15 weeks will by quickly!
<br /> My Ovulation Chart</a>
your screen name Hlmlvt
first name optional Heather
due date 9/8/13
sex of baby if known, or will it be a surprise?unknown
QOTW: I'm freaked out about breastfeeding, I seem to only be hearing stories of it being extremely challenging which isn't helping, oh and the lack of sleep thing. I am not one that does well with sleep deprivation, it should be interesting.
Update: Had an u/s on Friday and baby boy was weighing in at 3lb 3oz, tech said that's 50 percentile so he's been consistently average at every appt. I asked her if she could do the 3D thing, (even though it completely freaks DH out) and we had extra time so she tried to get a good shot, it looks like he already has a good amount of hair and even though he looked all smooshie faced it made things much more real. We're WAY behind on everything else, nursery walls had to be repaired and it was more work than we thought, we have an old tin ceiling in that room and it needs to be repainted as well and we still want to do a quick reno on our kitchen, I'm trying not to stress about these things because we will survive one way or the other but I'd really like to have all my nesting done before LO gets here!
Me 41 DH 46 Not actively ttc, surprise BFP on 1/6/11! 4/1/11 m/c our sunshine at 16wks after complications from CVS test. TTC #2 **5th cycle 12/6/11 BFP! Missed m/c at 9 weeks 1/21/12, trisomy 14. Two Chemical PG 3/12&7/12
** BFP 8/16/12 beta #1 148! beta#2 407 beta #3 4000 u/s 9.10 1 lovely hb 126, Baby Boy is due 04/28/13!!
Our update, passed the glucose test! everything growth wise is looking ok, the brightspot in the heart is still there, but getting smaller a tad, both dr's are not concerned.
We are very close to close on a house, I have bookmarked so many things to buy and ready to nest but have to hold myself back, until we actually move in.
I passed my glucose test but my iron levels are low. AND that is with taking an iron supplement every day! I know I'm not supposed to take it with calcium since it prevents iron absorption; but lunch and dinner I take extra calcium/mag/zinc supplements so not sure when I can take the iron pill. I take it in the morning but with cereal and of course milk has calcium in it.
My cousin just had her twins last Friday at 34 weeks. They are in the NICU needing some breathing assistance but are otherwise doing fine. Thus cue my freakout that holy snikes, I need to register for some classes asap because I'm running out of time! So this morning I spent registering for a multiples class, breastfeeding class, infant CPR, and basic How to Take Care of Baby class. Like danuli, I have never changed a diaper, bathed a baby etc and neither has DH. I'm sure a lot is intuitive but I can use all the tips I can get!
Me:40 AMA, DH:36 0% morph, TTC#1;
BFP#1 4/2011, MMC 6/2011 11wks Trisomy 13;
BFP#2 11/2011, CP
FSH: 17.9, AMH: 2.2
IVF#1 w/ICSI: ER 4/3: 5R,4M,4F
ET 4/6 All 4 (1-8A+, 2-8A-, 1-3A) BFP#3
Two weeks of beta hell = Blighted Ovum
IVF#2 Aug/Sept: ER 8/27: 4R,3M,3F
ET 8/30 (1-8A+, 1-6A+)
Beta#1 9/10: 350; Beta#2 9/12: 796; Beta#3 9/20: 9155
Expecting Boy/Girl Twins! My babies were born 4/23/13 at 36w1d!
It's the breastfeeding that scares me. That and the lack of sleep thing. I have a brother 13 years younger and used to often babysit so the basic baby things don't seem to daunting.
BFP 12/13/12 EDD 8/22/13 Lilah Ruby born 8/8/13
QOTW: Definitely lack of sleep and breastfeeding. As for a new one, maybe having patience with baby
Updates: Nothing much new here, still searching for baby furniture. got a big bag of hand me down baby clothes this weekend!
~~~BFP 10/9/12, EDD 6/17/13~~~
Yes I am off for President's Day! I am a government employee though so holidays are one of the few perks.
I think you will be surprised at how instincts kick in and you will learn quickly how to care for your baby so don't worry. We are taking a childcare class in a few weeks too. I have some experience taking care of babies but DH does not. I'm sure there will be things that I learn too so I'm looking forward to it.
QOTW: This is my first but the thing I am worried about is getting my baby to sleep and also breastfeeding. I just want to be able to bf and get on some sort of schedule. I know this will take awhile but I am so worried of never being able to sleep and having a baby that cries all the time.
Vents/updates: I'm still uncomfortable due to my back pain but it has gotten better. I still can't do as much as I would like but I have managed to get a few things done this weekend. I have an appt. this Thursday and my shower is Saturday, I'm so excited! We are also touring our first daycare tomorrow.
BFP #1 - missed m/c 4.18.11 found @8w3d, d&c @13w
BFP #2 blighted ovum found 8.2011 @8w, misoprostol
BFP#3 - missed m/c 6.11.12 @ 9w3d, d&c revealed extra chromosome 15
BFP#4 8.10.12, DD born 4/26/13
FWIW I have 3 children and I still cant swaddle..... They didnt really care for it anyway.lol Youll do fine. The three most important things to remember:
1.Put the baby to sleep on their back in their own bed.
2.Always strap them in a properly secured car seat while traveling by car.
3.Never leavve them in water unattended or on an elevated surface.
everything else is ok if you screw up occasionally...and everyone will
Congrats
I don't know anyone who gets a day off on Presidents' Day unless they work for the government! :P
Since this is #2, DH and I do have some experience under our belts, so I'm not nearly as nervous as I was the first time.
It's actually pretty hard to "break" a newborn (assuming you don't drop them of course). They are tougher than you think! You will do fine and figure out the diapering, bathing etc, in no time. It will take you just a couple days to become a diapering expert, and a bath or two to become a bathing expert. It's really not that hard! The difficult part for me was that sometimes you do everything you can, and they still cry and cry for no reason. And that makes you feel like a failure as a parent - but you're not, just remember that! My daughter has always been pretty laid back, but even she had those times as a newborn. I wish I could say don't worry about breastfeeding either, but I found it extremely difficult. I had a lazy eater and didn't make enough milk. Often we would both end up laying on the couch and crying our eyes out. For me and my daughter, things got so much better when I quit, but I also had PPD and so my situation was probably worse than most. I have friends who had almost no trouble at all, so it's definitely possible. But if you have to quit for whatever reason, or not do it in the first place, don't feel bad - the baby will be fine.
I'll recommend a book that we found really helpful for crying newborn babies: "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp contains really useful information and methods for dealing with newborns (and when they're a little older "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" is also a very helpful book). In fact I'm planning to start re-reading sections of this book soon to refresh my memory on the techniques. Of course you will have to find what works for YOUR baby, but these tips and techniques seem to universally work pretty well. Also - men are often better at soothing than we are, so that's another thing to keep in mind. They just seem to have a way with little babies LOL.
I think sleep (mine and the baby's) was my biggest challenge. I EBF and my daughter had reflux which made it difficult for her to fall asleep on her own for the 1st 4 1/2 months. This made night time feedings exhausting when it took a while for her to settle back to sleep and by then i was usually wide awake. The sleep deprivation made me feel like I was going insane. To complicate matters, my husband had complete lack of empathy b/c if his sleep was disturbed he could just lay back down and fall asleep immediately and couldn't even fathom why I was having a hard time. He thought I was just being dramatic and difficult...angry and frustrated really don't do justice to how I was feeling at that point. After the first few weeks, I had built enough of a milk supply for DH to take over a night feed from time to time. DH finally started being more supportive and as the months went by, he eventually took over all night duty b/c she had developed some bad sleep habits due to her reflux and jet lag and needed to learn to fall asleep w/o me.He could just get up, take care of her and fall back to sleep...no big deal for him.
This time around I am thinking of having someone else take over at least one night feed from the very beginning, even if that means supplement with formula for a time. I had issues with oversupply last time, so lack of milk isn't really a concern for me, but if i did, I'd just supplement if needed I'm not so stuck on EBF this time around.
UPDATES: Anatomy scan is next week!
VENTS: My sister is getting married in April...I'm the MOH and DD is the flower girl. She was in town over the weekend to try on wedding dresses. On a good day she's a complete AW who sucks my energy dry. As a bride-to-be she's horrendous. Somehow I ticked her off...I still don't know what it was and she treated me horribly during her visit. This is really reminiscent of when we were younger and I had to constantly walk on eggshells around her never knowing what was going to cause her to start yelling at me for some ridiculous thing. As I got older I learned that she was just not someone I wanted to spend much time around and I don't. But since I'm in the wedding I have no choice.
DD born 12.21.09, conceived w/ injects and IUI
TTC#2 since Nov 2011
BFP 2.6.12 m/c 6w5d | BFP 5.25.12 c/p
-Back to the RE-
3 medicated IUIs, all BFN
-Taking a break from treatment-
BFP 11.20.12 ~ EDD 7.28.13
My Chart
This! I totally get that. Even now on the rare occasions DD wakes up and needs comforting at night (a nightmare or whatever), she goes right back to sleep and I'm wide awake for another 45 minutes. DH totally doesn't get it either as he is able to go right back to sleep. For that reason, I do agree men are probably better suited to the night time feedings/wakings.
The sleep thing was also hard for me the first couple months. I also plan to have DH do at least one night feeding (with formula or whatever) this time around. It's so worth the extra sleep.
QOTW: I think dealing with dirty diapers will take some getting used to. I have a stepson and he was on the tail end of potty training when I entered his life.
Update: 18 weeks now and I can't believe it. I has some brown spotting on Sunday and call my OB and the MFM, both were not worried and since it only was present one morning, thinks it was just an irritated cervix. I used my home Doppler to listen in the last couple of days and heart beat is strong and in the right range. I'm not too worried either, but I sure hope it doesn't happen again!
TTC 10/11. IUI 2/12. BFP 3/8/12. 4/26/12 missed mc. RE consult 5/17/12. IVF #1 ER 7/13/12 53R, 41M ICSIed, 32F, 8 5d, 6 6d blasts - all PGD/frozen. PGD results 1 normal M and 1 normal F, 1 maybe M. FET 9/6, transferred 1 F embie. Beta 9/15 BFN. FET#2 planned for 11/2012 put off until 2013. Surprise BFP 11/21/12!! My son was born on 7/24/13!
I have 2 older boys ages 20 18 that still live at home and 2 little ones as well, DD will be 4 when twins are born, DS is 2.5.
To this day I am still having issues with my 2 LO's waking up in the middle of the night. I find it easier to just sleep with them at night now and they have gotten totally spoiled by this. I know this is something I really have to work on before twins are born, but working full time really makes it difficult to get up in the middle of the night and put them back to bed. Not to mention it practically kills any intimacy with hubby and I!!
Any tips on getting these 2 to bed and STAYING in their beds would be much appreciated!!
Welcome Lisa! Glad to see you here and will add you to the check-in list. Congratulations on your twins!!
I can't advise on your sleeping issues since I don't have any kids yet, but you can try posting your own new thread on this board as well as on Parenting After 35 (another Bump board). There are many moms here with 2+ kids and older kids who may have some good advice for you.
Over-40 parents...what we lack in vigor, we make up for with cunning.
Baths were a bit intimidating (holding a somewhat squirmy abby in a sink - eek!) and changing boys' diapers (please don't pee in my face), but the worst for me was breastfeeding. Even after working with the [horribly mean] lactation consultant at the hospital, I just couldn't do it. My son wouldn't latch and my milk never came in. Ugh, I felt like a horrible failure. This time around, I am much more calm about the whole thing. If it happens, great, if not, oh well.
your screen name - rubygirl
first name (optional) - Jennifer
due date - 9/19
sex of baby - Team Green (for now, I may change my mind)
Hardest thing to master with DS? Hmm, it's true what they say that you just sort of figure it out when you need to. But, the one thing I did think of was getting DS to take a pacifier. He had reflux right away and the pedi recommended trying to get him to take a pacifier to help. I couldn't get him to do it and would have given up. But my mom came to help every day the second week we were home (love her!) and she just kept patiently offering and he took it. Sanity saver!
Glad to have found this board.