@mizzkbrat - That commercial makes me cry everytime!! @F47@CopperBoom86 I'm in the fur-babies will always be my furbabies camp, too! Everyone keeps telling me our 1 year old chiweenie has had a good run, it's all about baby now! But, that little guy is my baby boy!! I keep telling him he's going to be best friends with his little human brother or sister - and that he'll always be my baby. It chokes me up to think he'd ever feel neglected... @F47 Glad to know you can still make the time for fur-baby snuggles - I certainly plan to!!
@annabenanna This is where I'd be so clueless with a cat. We didn't let the dogs in the nursery with DS. We put a gate on his bedroom door. I just didn't want to deal with the hair in there. But, I suppose cats leap right over those, huh? lol
Ack, I have not been on here in days and have so much to catch up on!
@annabenanna I see a few people answered your question, but I'll still give you the nail tech answer. Lol. Yes, you absolutely need to use a gel base and gel top coat. We use OPI GelColor base and top (which I'm sure you could find on ebay) at work and every brand of gel polish that we've used with it works great. Gelish and gelaze, which are both available at Sally's, are good too. Their bases and tops work with many different brands as well. I don't know anything about brands that can be purchased at the drugstore. There's probably a million YouTube videos you can watch, but here are the important things to remember about applying it:
Do NOT soak your nails. You need to do a completely dry manicure so your nail beds don't hold moisture, which would keep the gel polish from sticking.
You need to push back and clean your cuticles really good. You also need to buff the surface of your nails nice and smooth.
Before painting, you need to dehydrate your nails. You can buy dehydrater at Sally's or use pure acetone.
When you're applying the polish, use a brush to clean up any polish you get on your cuticles. If your polish starts lifting because you let is harden on your cuticle, it can come off in one clean sheet and then you'll have a completely naked nail.
You also need to make sure that you are pulling the polish (base, color, and top) all the way down to the tip and capping it over the ends. The strength of your gel depends on how well you capped your tip.
Once you've cured all layers under the light there will be a sticky layer left behind, so you need to clean your nails with alcohol.
I'm with you all on worrying about how much attention the furbabies will get. I'm trying to spend time with each kitty every day so that it really becomes part of the routine, but I just don't know how much energy I'll have to give them once baby is here. I'm definitely not keeping them shut out tho. I think that's why my one kitty had those stress related urinary problems, because he was locked out of the nursery for so long while I was working in there and he didn't know what was going on. So the kitties are allowed in the nursery all day now, just not at night or when no one is home.. And once he's here, they'll be allowed to go and check him out.
@F47, they leap over EVERYTHING. YOu can't keep them out. Even a shut door sometimes is not enough. lol
@krzyriver, thank youuuuuu!!!!! When you say do not soak your nails, what do you mean? Like not in water and soap (the way a regular manicure woudl be?) and then when you say "capping it" do you mean like sealing it with nail polish by the direction you paint the polish on ?(by painting it horizontally? i've seen a few nail techs do it that way)
I feel like I am having the exact opposite problem everyone else is experiencing. I cannot seem to get into "sh*t is getting real mode". I am due 10/16 and my bestie is running the marathon on 11/6. Our girlfriends were talking about a plan for that day and some else had to say "Uh, aren't you going to have a three week old?" I feel like I am just hiding my head in the sand that anything is going to change. Am I alone on this?
@annabenanna Yes, soaking means letting your hands sit in soapy water. This is to help soften and push the cuticles back, but it saturates the nail plates and is very bad for gel polish. Honestly, when you're doing your own manicure, you don't need it. Just push your cuticles back carefully. We do it to clients so we don't have to use force and possibly hurt them. Capping is when you sweep or tap the brush across the tip of the nail, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WGNIaiOuSA
Also, since you live somewhere where it's frequently sunny, cuticle oil is going to be your best friend. The sun will continue to harden your polish over time. If you apply oil daily, it'll keep it softer and less likely to chip.
I can't speak for all of your fur babies, but I raised mine since he was kitten, then he pretty much didn't even care about me anymore once DD was born, he was too busy being her daddy. Please see the AW illustration below: He was never jealous, and pretty much claimed her as HIS baby.
Same as @AllyTheKid. Taco has been obsessed with Harper since she was brought home. Our others have a love/hate relationship with her. Kobe sleeps at her door every night.
@AllyTheKid, @nlane0723 - your fur babies are soooooo cute!!! Mine basically sleeps on my belly at night, like a guard cat. Haha. But I have no idea how to ease her stress when baby first comes home. Did you guys do anything different?
@books&icecream I know you've explained that you're a developmental psychologist so I'm not sure how the process works for that particular field in psychology and esp in another country, but working in a similar field I was curious (and I apologize, I feel like this was mentioned in another thread either by you or someone in a similar situation) if you are planning after you finish your dissertation to then work toward licensure to work as a psychologist in Germany or instead you're able to return to work in academia with LO regardless of degree completion requirements or licensure?
@F47 - That is all so reassuring. Thank you for taking the time to write it all out. It really did make me feel better!
Also, is it weird that I didn't get emotional until I got to the part about your dogs?? DH and I love our fur babies so much. I've been rocking our dachshund in the glider we obviously bought for Reagan and I've been lying in the floor with our 50 pound mix telling her she'll always be my baby girl! They're both rescues and I don't want them to ever feel less loved!
@cooperboom I've read that you're supposed to start kind of distancing yourself from your pets a bit so the lack of attention once the baby gets here won't come as a complete shock..but I absolutely cannot do this! If anything, all I want to do is love on them more right now. I cried this weekend when we were all snuggled on the couch because I got to thinking about how it might not always be like this. I just held them & kissed them & kept telling them how much I loved them. Lord help me!
@MRSCORKER your mom's explanation is a good one! It really did feel like it wasn't really me for a while. I had my dd at 8:30 pm and didn't get to go into a quiet recovery room and hold her (or even feed her) until 2:00 am. So I was there with her and my dh and I would just look down and just feel apathetic. But after a little sleep and a chance to 'recover', I was like 'this little one rocks!'
@annabenanna I didn't do anything different, but when it comes to CATS, I don't think you really have to... I mean, they kind of come and go as they please, aren't quite as emotionally and physically dependent on your care and affection as (most) dogs are, and they are small enough to fit in just fine pretty much anywhere you and babe are sitting. Good luck with your Meow Meow!
We did nothing different. DH brought a blanket home from the hospital and left in on the floor two days before we came home. We also didn't restrict any of our animals from the baby room and set up the swing, bouncer, and PNP early. Bentley, our rottie, took a little time to adjust, but he's the best, most patient dog with Harper. @annabenanna
Thanks @AllyTheKid and @nlane0723. We have the crib set up, I think we'll set up the pack n play and swing etc.... so kitty can investigate before baby comes.
@mizzkbrat, I don't really know what to do with our cat the first few weeks of baby's life. door shut, or not? let her in crib? no? off limits 24/7 from baby's room? or just at night? Do you have a concrete plan that I can copy from? lol
Nope no plan. We have the nursery open so she's been allowed to roam in and out of there as she pleases. She hasn't really been interested in it though which I figured she would stake her claim on the crib. I'm worried once I set up the arms reach co sleeper she will think that is her new bed as she sleeps on that side of the bed from me. I don't plan on keeping her out because you know cats, if you don't want them on something, the more they will do it. So I'm hoping she loses interest once I let her roam around a little bit.
I did read putting foil on stuff will deter them because they get scared so if she likes to hang out in the co sleeper, I may try that method.
I think her quads posts have caused some posting drama over there but I personally would want to know every detail about carrying 4 babies! I can't imagine.....
Me:33 DH: 34 Married: May 2011 TTC #1: May 2015 DS: 10/20/2016 TTC #2: June 2019 #2 EDD: 2/20/2020
@books&icecream I know you've explained that you're a developmental psychologist so I'm not sure how the process works for that particular field in psychology and esp in another country, but working in a similar field I was curious (and I apologize, I feel like this was mentioned in another thread either by you or someone in a similar situation) if you are planning after you finish your dissertation to then work toward licensure to work as a psychologist in Germany or instead you're able to return to work in academia with LO regardless of degree completion requirements or licensure?
Barring unforeseen circumstances I will finish the dissertation and PhD, but that doesn't mean I'm licensed as a therapist. In Germany that would be an additional three years (you can do it after getting your masters). I prefer research anyway and hope to stay in my academic bubble forever I would be eligible to apply for the professor track but am not planning on doing that. And the great thing about developmental psychology is that no one cares if I bring baby along to meetings!
Don't you love when you're having an amazing dream where you're about to make out with a super hot cop and you roll over and wake up?! Then when you get back to sleep, you can't get the dream started again (sure you can imagine it but it's not the same).
I don't think any of you will judge me too harshly for saying this, but I would seriously love to tell my 3 year old to leave me alone right now!!!
I dont int know for sure if I would call it nesting since I didn't get those 'urges' with my first, but last night and this morning I have been packing up dd's room with a fury! Last night I got lucky and my mil took dd for about 2 hours where I got most of her 'extra' toys packed (the ones she doesn't play with everyday) and most of her books (left out a bunch so we can still read at night). But this morning I am back to being on my own and every single thing I touch my dd is like 'oh I need that', 'oh I have that?', 'oh that's mine'. If I try to pack in the living room, she's in the living room, if I try her bedroom she sits at the open door saying everything.
Shes driving me nuts!! She's usually fairly independent but for whatever reason if I am cleaning she is up my butt!
No judgement here @maf9866! That would drive me nuts too. Sometimes you just wanna get things done and get them done in peace. No one can blame you for that
ugh. I got to our all staff meeting 5 minutes late, so I had to stand. And, it's super hot and crowded in our conference room. I kept trying to ignore how I was feeling...until I couldn't. Crouched down just before I would've fallen and while I didn't pass out, my whole body went tingly and I couldn't see right. And, I'm wearing a dress with no leggings (because it's 98 degrees with a heat index over 100 today), so who knows what was revealed. Now, I have swamp crotch and I'm sweaty and shaky and it's only 9:50 a.m.
Re: Weekly Randoms 08.22.2016
@annabenanna I see a few people answered your question, but I'll still give you the nail tech answer. Lol. Yes, you absolutely need to use a gel base and gel top coat. We use OPI GelColor base and top (which I'm sure you could find on ebay) at work and every brand of gel polish that we've used with it works great. Gelish and gelaze, which are both available at Sally's, are good too. Their bases and tops work with many different brands as well. I don't know anything about brands that can be purchased at the drugstore. There's probably a million YouTube videos you can watch, but here are the important things to remember about applying it:
Do NOT soak your nails. You need to do a completely dry manicure so your nail beds don't hold moisture, which would keep the gel polish from sticking.
You need to push back and clean your cuticles really good. You also need to buff the surface of your nails nice and smooth.
Before painting, you need to dehydrate your nails. You can buy dehydrater at Sally's or use pure acetone.
When you're applying the polish, use a brush to clean up any polish you get on your cuticles. If your polish starts lifting because you let is harden on your cuticle, it can come off in one clean sheet and then you'll have a completely naked nail.
You also need to make sure that you are pulling the polish (base, color, and top) all the way down to the tip and capping it over the ends. The strength of your gel depends on how well you capped your tip.
Once you've cured all layers under the light there will be a sticky layer left behind, so you need to clean your nails with alcohol.
Viola! Gel polish!
@krzyriver, thank youuuuuu!!!!! When you say do not soak your nails, what do you mean? Like not in water and soap (the way a regular manicure woudl be?) and then when you say "capping it" do you mean like sealing it with nail polish by the direction you paint the polish on ?(by painting it horizontally? i've seen a few nail techs do it that way)
Also, since you live somewhere where it's frequently sunny, cuticle oil is going to be your best friend. The sun will continue to harden your polish over time. If you apply oil daily, it'll keep it softer and less likely to chip.
Please see the AW illustration below:
He was never jealous, and pretty much claimed her as HIS baby.
@AllyTheKid Omg, SO cute! I think my one cat might do this. We'll see. Lol
DH: 34
Married: May 2011
TTC #1: May 2015
DS: 10/20/2016
TTC #2: June 2019
#2 EDD: 2/20/2020
Me: 28 DH: 27
Good luck with your Meow Meow!
Me: 28 DH: 27
Me: 28 DH: 27
I did read putting foil on stuff will deter them because they get scared so if she likes to hang out in the co sleeper, I may try that method.
DH: 34
Married: May 2011
TTC #1: May 2015
DS: 10/20/2016
TTC #2: June 2019
#2 EDD: 2/20/2020
DH: 34
Married: May 2011
TTC #1: May 2015
DS: 10/20/2016
TTC #2: June 2019
#2 EDD: 2/20/2020
Barring unforeseen circumstances I will finish the dissertation and PhD, but that doesn't mean I'm licensed as a therapist. In Germany that would be an additional three years (you can do it after getting your masters). I prefer research anyway and hope to stay in my academic bubble forever
And the great thing about developmental psychology is that no one cares if I bring baby along to meetings!
DS#2 due 25 April 2019
It's a boy!
I dont int know for sure if I would call it nesting since I didn't get those 'urges' with my first, but last night and this morning I have been packing up dd's room with a fury! Last night I got lucky and my mil took dd for about 2 hours where I got most of her 'extra' toys packed (the ones she doesn't play with everyday) and most of her books (left out a bunch so we can still read at night). But this morning I am back to being on my own and every single thing I touch my dd is like 'oh I need that', 'oh I have that?', 'oh that's mine'. If I try to pack in the living room, she's in the living room, if I try her bedroom she sits at the open door saying everything.
Shes driving me nuts!! She's usually fairly independent but for whatever reason if I am cleaning she is up my butt!
So...that was a fun way to start the day.