??? Weekly Check-in ??? 5/25/2011

Re: ??? Weekly Check-in ??? 5/25/2011

• Married2MrWright member

  May 2011

  (1) What week are you in/how old is your LO?

  Libby is 16 months old today and I am 6w1d PG.

  (2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share?

  Had horrible nauseau and a headache all day yesterday, but today I was okay. Weird. My back has been wanting to go out since Saturday, I feel like my hips are super loose and out of alignment. So I've been stretching like crazy and walking as much as possible.

  Libby had her 16 month pedi appt. today and has dropped 1.5 lbs since her 12 month check, but she's grown an inch! So now she's 23.5 lbs and 32 inches tall! She's in the 50-75% range for weight for the first time ever! Before now, she was always 90-95+%. So funny! She's wearing clothes that she wore this time last year, so I've been "shopping" for her in my storage bins! LOL! I've also been able to snap up her Duo Covers whereas before she was wearing them without the rise adjusted.

  (3) Next appointment date? Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up?

  I'll have my first u/s on June 10th and my first appt. with my OB. I am praying we see/hear a heartbeat.

  (4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week?

  We've had tornado warnings/watches and that throws off our evening/bedtime routine. Libby didn't get a bath last night because we were in the tub hunkering down during the storm and then she was awake until 11 p.m. And she was awake at 6:30 a.m.! She did have a three hour nap this afternoon though and was back to her bedtime routine tonight, thank goodness!

  (5) Do you use a "white noise" machine or anything else playing in the background to help LO fall asleep?

  Yes, we have a white noise machine set to "ocean" in her room. When we put her to bed, we play a lullaby CD that lasts about 45 minutes and turns off. But the ocean sound is on all night. We live near a busy street with frequent trucks and sirens, etc. and have small dogs that bark, so I think this white noise helps to lessen those sounds. The sound machine travels with us...we love it!

  (6) What product/item made your life easier when getting used to life with a newborn?

  Soothies Gel Pads for my sore boobs and my DIY Moby Wrap. Hands down!

  (7) For better AND for worse, how has your relationship with DH changed since pregnancy or the LO's arrival? How have you two dealt with difficult changes (as a couple and individually)?

  We've always been good, but as parents, I feel our bond has become even deeper. I have so much respect for him as a father and husband. He works really hard to balance his school, work and family life. He's wonderful with Libby and spends a lot of quality time with her (like this summer, he's off school until August so he's home with her all day, every day and has been taking her to the park daily and even looked up the library reading times and has taken her to those. I love that I didn't have to "arrange" or schedule anything and that he took care of it on his own!).

  We don't have much one-on-one time since our schedules are practically opposite (he works evenings W-Su and I work days M-F so on days when we both work we only see eachother for 60-90 minutes) but we make time each day to connect, either in person or over the phone. And we relish the time we have together. The only difficult changes we've encountered since Libby's birth was losing his brother and my salary reduction and we handled both as gracefully as we could given the circumstances. We've been together long enough to know that as long as we stick together we can overcome any obstacle.

  (8) What other questions would you like to see in upcoming check-ins? Are you breastfeeding (or planning to) your LO past 12 months? If so, how do you handle nursing a toddler? Do you nurse your toddler in public? Do you get comments and if so, how do you handle them? TTCers: Which cycle are you on? Where in the cycle are you? What, if anything, are you doing/trying for TTC success?

  
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• lelekay member

  May 2011

  
  

  (1) What week are you in/how old is your LO?

  Henry is 10 months old.
  

  (2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share?

  It's been an awful week, honestly.  Thankfully, Henry is finally recovered from his bout with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease.  It took almost week....he had a fever for 6 days, and these awful blisters in his mouth and throat.  He finally was getting better and we both went back to school on Tuesday, and then I got the call Tuesday at lunchtime that my dear grandmother passed away.  She was sort of the anchor of my large family (she had 9 kids, and 25 grandkids, of which I am #4), so I'm feeling really lost at the moment.  My mother, the oldest of the 9, is devastated, as we all are.  She was sick for a long time (I'm talking 15 years), but clung to life with a ferocity that almost made be believe she'd never die.  We were told twice in the 90s to say goodbye and every time she fought death and bayed it.  I knew she was declining rapidly the past few weeks, but I refused to believe this might be the end.  I'm at work right now (it's the last day of school), but after school we are jumping in the car to head to WI for the services.  I'm glad Henry got to meet her, but sad that he won't ever know her.  She was the loveliest women I knew, so kind and generous of spirit.  Her marriage to Grandpa is the one I hold as an example for myself.  She helped me through some of the hardest things in my life (she force-fed me and made me play board games with her for two weeks once during a particularly bad breakup until I would smile and laugh again).  I'm not sure how we'll go on without her.

  Ugh.  Sorry to be such a downer.  I didn't mean to unload that, but it feels good to "talk" to someone other than family at the moment.
  

  (3) Next appointment date? Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up?

  Not until 1 year.
  

  (4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week?

  Getting over being sick, and now planning for another long car trip today.
  

  (5) Do you use a "white noise" machine or anything else playing in the background to help LO fall asleep?

  Yes, he loves his Sleep Sheep.  We turn it on "ocean" for 30 minutes.  It seems to calm him.
  

  (6) What product/item made your life easier when getting used to life with a newborn?

  My Brest Friend, the Moby, and a changing table on two levels of the house.  I know some people say that a changing table is not necessary, but with a c-section, there's no way I could have bent over on the floor to change him.
  

  (7) For better AND for worse, how has your relationship with DH changed since pregnancy or the LO's arrival? How have you two dealt with difficult changes (as a couple and individually)?

  We don't have much time together, and that's really difficult for us.  I'll be honest and say that we do snip at each other a little more often, which I think is related to the lack of quality time together.  However, as the weather is getting warmer, we try to go for family walks in the evenings, and that's when we talk the best.  It's good for us.  In a way, I think our communication has actually changed for the better, because it had to.  We are more efficient with saying what we need.
  

  
  

  
  

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• MrsNJSwimmer member

  May 2011

  (1) What week are you in/how old is your LO? 18+ months

  (2) Any new milestones or news in the last week to share? saying new words all the time, just fun watching him learn how to do new things (and then constantly want to practice them!)

  (3) Next appointment date?  nothing big - 2 yr appt is next

  (4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week? his whining - I know it's mostly b/c he's teething, but it's irritating after awhile.

  (5) Do you use a "white noise" machine or anything else playing in the background to help LO fall asleep? We have the sleep sheep and we usually turn on the fan

  (6) What product/item made your life easier when getting used to life with a newborn? baby einstein lullaby DVD with repeat play! 

  (7) For better AND for worse, how has your relationship with DH changed since pregnancy or the LO's arrival? How have you two dealt with difficult changes (as a couple and individually)? better for the most part.  we don't get as much time to talk about normal stuff though, and I tend to tune him out when he goes on and on while on the phone with me at work.  but we communicate abuot the baby and have written down plans for the weekends with regard to errands to be run , etc.  Not as much expectation to read each other's minds!   The thing we really need to work on is meal planning - we simply don't do it and we need to b/c I'm running out of money in my paychecks each month!

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• vanilla15

  May 2011

  Leah, I am so sorry to hear about your grandma.  It is so hard to lose family members especially ones that are such a big part of our lives/memories.  I hope this week gets better and the family being together brings comfort.  I'm thinking of you and your family.  hugs.

   (1) What week are you in/how old is your LO? 8.5 months

  (2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share?  LO is fighting some sinus/allergy issues & I am hoping that is all it is.  She is supposed to get 5 month shots next week and we are so behind so I hope she isn't getting sick and can get the shots!  AND she took a few steps yesterday!! Luckily, it was right after I got home so I didn't miss it!!  I would by no means say she is a walker but she is definitely figuring it out!

  (3) Next appointment date?  Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up?  next week for regular checkup/shots

  (4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week?  sleep...she just doesn't sleep.  not sure how to change that, but I sure am sleepy!

  (5) Do you use a "white noise" machine or anything else playing in the background to help LO fall asleep?  we do.  I have a sleep mate that I have had since I was really little that just makes a light white noise and I also have another noise machine that we set to rain.  I used to put on "toddler tunes" from one of the digital radio stations from our cable but she kept trying to look at the TV screen so I haven't been turning it on.  This isn't noise, but we also have a lamp with a red light near her crib.  I had red that babies obviously can see the red light, but it doesn't really register to them as "light" so it doesn't wake them up but provides the comfort of not being in the dark.  Not sure if it does anything, but we have always used it with her.

  (6) What product/item made your life easier when getting used to life with a newborn?  If you are nursing, the breast friend pillow.  I really do attribute a lot of my success at nursing to it.  Plus lanolin was a definite must for sore nipples.  a "bouncy"/vibrating seat.  LO wanted to be held all of the time when she was a newborn and this chair was the only thing she would consider getting into https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Newborn-To-Toddler-Portable-Rocker-Lizards/dp/B002OOWAB2/ref=pd_cp_ba_3  Also a moby wrap or Beco...I didn't use it as much in the beginning but now that I really know how they work, I wish I would have.

  (7) For better AND for worse, how has your relationship with DH changed since pregnancy or the LO's arrival? How have you two dealt with difficult changes (as a couple and individually)?  I wouldn't say our relationship has changed that much.  Obviously, we don't have as much couple time or free time, but we have lunch pretty much everyday just the two us and we eat dinner together every night.  He has a really flexible schedule so he picks LO up from daycare everyday and drops her off a lot.  He is a huge help to me, but he always has been super helpful...I guess I just really need his help more now with a LO.

  (8)  new questions?  anyone taking LO on vacation this summer?  if so, how did you prepare for vacation? any tips (especially with sleep routines)? 

  

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• mrspresley

  May 2011

  (1) What week are you in/how old is your LO?she's about 18.5 months old now
  (2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share?she's starting to have a few more two word phrases - the other day I asked her which shoes she wanted to wear, "this one or this one?" and she pointed to the ones she wanted and said "this one" I also got her a wooden step stool and now she stands at the bathroom sink and brushes her teeth like a big girl.  tonight after nursing she said "big girl," trying to tell me that she wanted to go brush her teeth it was really cute also took her to her first little gym class.  she did a whole lot better than i thought she would.  she still gave a lot of people the "evil eye" as I call it but not for too long before getting distracted by other things. even though she was shy she did start dancing to the music and eventually she was comfortable enough to start clapping.  she had trouble staying in the circle and would wander off, but i also took that as a good sign b/c it showed that she was confident enough to explore on her own - i fully expected her to cling to me the whole time w/the stranger anxiety she's been having lately!
  (3) Next appointment date?  Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up?not until her 2 yr check up - she is done with shots now (except the flu mist every winter) until she is 4 yrs old - yay!
  (4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week? still struggling with melt downs/tantrums whenever she wants something and doesn't get it right away or isn't allowed to have it.  I've decided that some things aren't worth "fighting" over.... i.e. if she wants the tupperware that the food is in I just give it to her and if she knocks all the food onto the floor then oh well.  when she wants the ceramic bowl i offer the plastic one instead and that usually is enough to make her happy.  of course when she wants something like the knife and i firmly tell her she can't have it, she still throws a fit!  I struggle with finding the patience to deal w/these tantrums and keeping my cool.... putting her in timeout helps me to have a minute to cool off, too, but it's still hard to deal w/sometimes, esp when it is over some of the most ridiculous things!
  
  (5) Do you use a "white noise" machine or anything else playing in the background to help LO fall asleep?we didn't when she was little (didn't want her to become dependent on anything to fall asleep) but once she learned how to put herself to sleep then I introduced the fisher price seahorse and use it as a "cue" for bedtime now. it's definitely comforting to her b/c sometimes she wakes up at night and goes to it, turns it on, and then goes back to sleep
  (6) What product/item made your life easier when getting used to life with a newborn?ditto what others said about the my brest friend nursing pillow.  it was much easier for me to use than the boppy pillow (which was great for tummy time). that an lanolin for cracked/sore nipples!
  (7) For better AND for worse, how has your relationship with DH changed since pregnancy or the LO's arrival? How have you two dealt with difficult changes (as a couple and individually)?unfortunately I think having a baby has put a real strain on our relationship.  he works long hours, we don't get much quality time together anymore, and we seem to have different expectations for parenting responsibilities so it's been a struggle.  i've already posted about it before so i won't rehash everything, but i'm trying to look into counseling for us right now.
  

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  Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005

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• SanHawaii08 member

  May 2011

  eta: lelekay, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother.  She sounds wonderful, my thoughts are with you and your family.
  

  (1) What week are you in/how old is your LO?

  6.5 months

  (2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share?

  eh, today's kind of a down day.  E has been fighting his 3rd nap and thus isn't sleeping enough, and he's started to refuse solids more and more.

  (3) Next appointment date? Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up?

  9 month.  oh, and we have another developmental assessment with our occupational therapist at 8 months (recommended by our nicu doctors).  it's fun to watch, and i expect E will do fine, as he did for the 4 month one
  

  (4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week?

  very short or non-existent naps.  random, smaller reactions to something in my diet (but I can't figure out what).  starting to refuse all solids.
  

  (5) Do you use a "white noise" machine or anything else playing in the background to help LO fall asleep?

  we play the seahorse to let him know it's time to sleep, but it stops after 5 minutes and we don't usually turn it on again.  the sleep sheep never seemed to help him, so we don't bother using it anymore
  

  (6) What product/item made your life easier when getting used to life with a newborn?

  the brestfriend pillow (i still use it! and feel like we don't nurse as well w/o it ) and the moby
  

  (7) For better AND for worse, how has your relationship with DH changed since pregnancy or the LO's arrival? How have you two dealt with difficult changes (as a couple and individually)?

  it's gotten tougher the last few months.  MH has been working crazy long hours forever, and i think we're both still trying to figure out how to juggle everything while having very little time to ourselves or for each other.  communicate, communicate, communicate.  there seems to be a pattern of things getting strained, we work through them and end up stronger, repeat.  it's a work in progress, for sure.
  

  

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• redshoegirl member

  May 2011

  lelekay, I'm so sorry about your grandmother. (((hugs)))

  (1) What week are you in/how old is your LO? 13 months

  (2) How are you feeling? Any new milestones or news in the last week to share? I'm so sick of my Mirena - I'm going to get it removed, and then I'll go on the pill and we'll just use condoms as backup until Ben gets the snip. Between the constant spotting (I don't think a week goes by without it, and that's in addition to my period!) and the way it's utterly killed my sex drive, I want it OUT.

  (3) Next appointment date?  Any big ultrasounds/other exciting stuff coming up? 18 months, and I have to make an appointment with a specialist to see if they need tubes in their ears for their recurring ear infections.

  (4) What's been your greatest BR challenge this past week? FIGHTING! OMG...I am SO over the fighting! It's making me crazy! I don't know what's gotten into them for the past week, but they are constantly fighting over EVERYTHING right now. Ugh!

  (5) Do you use a "white noise" machine or anything else playing in the background to help LO fall asleep? I downloaded some free white noise mp3s and burnt them to a CD. The boys really liked a recording of a dishwasher, and we used that on a continuous loop all.night.long until they were about 3-4 months old.

  (6) What product/item made your life easier when getting used to life with a newborn? I agree with lelekay about the changing tables, and about having changing stations on both levels of a house - SO helpful! Other than that...hmm. I'm trying to remember, that whole time is like a fog lol!

  Oh I know! This isn't a product, but one of the things we did was cook a ton of meals ahead of time and freeze them in single serve containers. If we hadn't done that, we'd have ended up eating a ton of junk food or nothing at all because we were so exhausted most of the time - it was absolutely worth the weekend that we set aside to do virtually nothing but cook.

  (7) For better AND for worse, how has your relationship with DH changed since pregnancy or the LO's arrival? How have you two dealt with difficult changes (as a couple and individually)?

  Let's see...how about I do the "better" first? I love seeing him as a father. LOVE it. He is amazing with children, and the extent that he adores his own takes my breath away. I love watching the three of them interact - everything from cuddles to teaching them an evil genius laugh (like "mwahahahaha!" and yes, I'm serious...he did it one day when they were on a long car drive and I wasn't there lol). It's a whole other side to him, and I love seeing it, and I know he feels the same way about seeing me as a mother. Another "better" is our communication - we've always been excellent about talking things through and being clear about expectations, etc with each other, but having kids can challenge that and I'm proud of how smoothly we've transitioned into parenthood.

  The "worse" bit...I think that as a whole, changes have all been good, actually. "Worse" moments were really just that - moments, not actual relationship changes. I know I've had less patience with him since they were born (the boys use it all up and then I feel snippy with him sometimes lol), and when they were really little we had some discussions about how he played with them (e.g., parking them in their rockers next to him while he tinkered with his computer vs directly interacting with them) but these days things are pretty smooth.

  As far as dealing with difficult changes, I have to ditto Sandra: communicate, communicate, communicate. Most of the "worse" times we've had since the boys were born were when we were so sleep deprived that we weren't communicating effectively - I'd need him to do something and expect him to read my mind, and then get pissy when he wouldn't lol. On an individual level, I cannot express enough the importance of taking time out for yourself, even if it's just a 10 minute shower or going grocery shopping alone. I think there's a lot of pressure on mothers to always be with their babies 100% of the time, but you NEED time and space for yourself.

  (8) What other questions would you like to see in upcoming check-ins?

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• vanilla15

  May 2011

  SanHawaii08:

  the brestfriend pillow (i still use it! and feel like we don't nurse as well w/o it ) and the moby
  

  don't feel ...i still use mine whenever we are home.  It's just easy!
  

  

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