@TInman87 I plan on going all out still. Christmas is my most favorite season of the year so I'm still going for it. I don't go full crazy though with the house but I'm going my normal amount of decorating. And I'll be doing all my shopping online again, using Ebates. Last Christmas I got about $100 back just from Christmas shopping. Although, I'll probably pick up most of it from amazon prime.
@tlnman87 Christmas is my favorite. As you pointed out with DD being 18 months we will be decorating and what not.
As far as traveling I've already told my family (roughly 100 miles away) that I will not be visiting starting in mid Nov. I don't feel comfortable being suck somewhere in the middle of nowhere that far along. Also I was put on bedrest at 34 weeks last time, so maybe as PP mentioned see how you feel when you get there
We plan to do Christmas just like every year, but we only put a tree up, nothing fancy. The only problem is we were set to visit my family this year (5 hours away) so we told them we'd visit for Thanksgiving instead. I don't feel comfortable driving that far away about two weeks from my due date (1/12) in case we got stranded in a storm or something.
I'm sure we'll do all of our regular Christmas decorating. As far as visiting family, the farthest we would travel is about 2 1/2 hours away. I'm not due until Jan. 18, but I'll have to gauge how I'm feeling at that point and whether I'm comfortable being that far away from my hospital. Weather will be a factor, too. It may irritate/hurt my MIL if I don't go (it's her extended family and we don't get to see them that often during the year), but she'll just have to deal.
Y'all are all amazing! Thanks for all of the input. Given our due date is a week after Christmas, I guess I'll play traveling by ear, but I'm putting my foot down and insisting on decorating!!
A mom friend shared this article with me today. It took me 10 months to heal my diastasis recti and I thought I'd share this! It describes an exercise you do 10 min a day, where a small study showed that all women healed within 12 wks!
We're still doing Christmas! And I go ALL out when decorating. My mom is basically Martha Stewart, so I grew up with every holiday being a HUGE deal all around (food, decor, presents, etc.). DH thinks I'm nuts, but he has learned to accept my family and our Clark Griswold tendencies. @TInman87, DD was born on January 7th, so I've been in this same predicament before. I definitely did NOT skip Christmas then and I never regretted it! It was a lot for a pregnant lady, but I just love the holidays too much to skimp.
@auntieraindrop I use Tresame (spelling is probably wrong, I just can't right now) with the extra keratin in it to cut back the frizz. I also use the cleansing shampoo, same brand because we have really hard water here and buildup makes it so much worse. Since your hair is super long, I would also recommend putting it in a nice long, loose braid after you brush it. It will help control where the waves go. I let it loose after it dries and I gives you nice beachy waves.
Definitely not skipping Christmas here either. I was hoping for a Christmas baby last year when I put all our stuff away and super organized it with triaged to-do lists so I (and anyone I can rope in to help) can get it up quickly. I'm also still planning on hosting our annual gingerbread making party. I will not be traveling to my inlaws though for Christmas Eve this year, they're a little more than an hour away which is too far for me to feel comfortable with as I go fast, DS1 came at 38+1, and I'll be 38 weeks.
DS1: Nov. 2013 DS2: Jan. 2016 DS3: Dec. 2017 Baby #4 on the way!
You cant skip Christmas!!!! Even if Im not up to decorating I will force husband to do it. Maybe I should get one of those long pointer thingys teachers have so I can direct him hahahahaha. I love Christmas lights. I keep a string of lights up in my bedroom all year long and when we watch movies in bed at night I turn them on.
@Cricket99 I have it in "Little House on the Prairie" braids today. I don't think it looks very professional but I was at my wits end!
@TInman87 We usually don't do a whole lot of decorating at my house, we do most of our celebrating with friends and relatives. I will do the small amount I usually do (lights in the windows, a few decorations) but we will probably skip the tree. I know if I put the tree up, neither DH or I will take it down till March lol. We aren't going to my MILs 2 hours away in the middle of nowhere for Christmas (my due date has been moved a bunch of times, it was originally 1/11 then 1/22 now 1/14) but we'll go to my parents' (30 minutes away). We'll do Thanksgiving with the in-laws instead.
@TInman87 - We are definitely decorating but gifts will probably be light this year. Normally we would travel to visit family for Christmas and this year it was supposed to be the in-laws but they live in Massachusetts (we're in SC) so we won't be able to go. We can't go see my family either because they're in Colorado. I'm actually not really looking forward to Christmas this year which is really sad because I freaking love Christmas but we'll be spending it alone and for me, you're supposed to be surrounded by family. Sure if we already had kids it might be nice to not travel but for now I'm just not excited.
I forgot to mention that we wont be traveling. My family is in CA and DH is in Maine and we're smack dab in the middle of TN. Plus we have my SS the week before Christmas, which is always a weird way to open Christmas gifts because DH likes to have SS open his gifts the day he gets here, which is like 12/17, so he can play with his loot. Now that we have our son together I'd really like to wait for our little man to open his stuff till Christmas but DH wants him to open sooner. Soo I don't know what will happen with that. So in that regard, I'm not excited with Christmas not being Christmas with all of us together. I wish DH and his ex would have made their parenting agreement like my parents did where the chid spends half of christmas with 1 parent and then the other half with the other parent and rotate every year. But thats hard too. So yeah...
Definitely decorating for Christmas here! I'm due January 2nd, but I plan on decorating mid to late November so I, hopefully, won't be miserable when I decorate and I can enjoy it longer! I think I might also buy a little 3ft tree to decorate and put in the nursery so I can look at the lights at night while I feed her. Then, that will be her little tree for her room as she grows up.
my DH and I haven't even talked about Christmas... but we both love Christmas and have made it a point to get a tree every year - I think we will definitely decorate. Traveling we will NOT be doing since I will definitely be having December babies. I also highly doubt we will travel for Thanksgiving. 36 wks for me would be December 7th and even yesterday my new doc mentioned most twins come around the 36 week mark.
Question for you ladies: Baby Shower Favors... Do you do them? do you not? If so, what is appropriate?
@tinman87 I've been thinking about the same things! I can't NOT put up a tree (my kids love Christmas!) but I also don't really want to deal with it this year Especially the taking it down (possibly with a newborn around). I might buy a smaller more manageable tree and tone things down a bit. But I agree, with other little ones in the house, it just doesn't seem right to skip Christmas.
@Mudge85 We did favors. I like small and useful, I don't think it's really nice to load people up with random junk. My shower with DS was "Mom to BEE" theme so the favors were honey straws and Burt's Bees lip balm & mini lotions, and maybe some honey hard candies I think. We're now planning my cousin's shower and going for a woodsy boho theme (whatever that means?? still kind of up in the air) but anyway we're looking at doing mini succulents and probably small candles with a little poem we found on Pinterest about lighting the candle to say a prayer when baby is on the way.
I am so excited for Christmas this year! My daughter will be 3 and really able to enjoy it. I don't go too crazy with decorating but we do have a tree, and DD has a little tree, and we have a Little People nativity and some lights for out front. I hope it will be a nice, enjoyable last Christmas as just the 3 of us. That said, I'm not volunteering to host anything this year- usually we have my parents over for dinner...I don't want to have to entertain while waddling.
Random: Thoughts on doing a Nursery thread to share ideas?
I think I might also buy a little 3ft tree to decorate and put in the nursery so I can look at the lights at night while I feed her. Then, that will be her little tree for her room as she grows up.
I love this idea so much, I might steal it. I can just see myself sitting and rocking by the light of the little tree.
@RC1014 - Yes to a nursery thread! I was just thinking yesterday I'd love to see one. We just started planning ours and I want to see everybody's ideas!
@RC1014 yes! I need to get inspired so I start cleaning out that bedroom of all the stuff we've flung in there. It's bad, I can barely get past the door right now.
Yes to a nursery thread! I need ideas. DD has a pretty girly nursery right now, and we're having a boy. They'll be sharing a room, so I'm wondering what other moms have done to address this issue. I'm thinking of giving him his own little space, but don't quite know how to go about it!
@bainidhedub@supercoolstephy OMG you two are the person I
want to be. I could never do something that detailed and complicated.
IMPRESSED! I just use my automated system that tells me the time I have off etc.
I’m awful and will pay for it. 6 paid here and 6 unpaid… just rolling with
that!
@bbeaman It isn’t on you to invite her! I agree with others
re: since she isn’t local, I think it is okay to not invite her… i.e. “I didn’t
want you to feel compelled to travel that far etc." Also my friend threw my shower in Ohio for DD and I DID invite my MIL, who lives in Colorado. She ended up booking an 8 day trip. I was off work and DH wasn't... so I had to spend that entire time with her and deeply regretted inviting her. She also refused to buy anything off my registry. WTF?
@scatteringashes I think I love your on… he sounds smart. I
can’t wait for the day one of my children reflects and tells me they think I
betrayed them! YES deep thinkers! And yes to the movie… with all the snacks!
@cyanope OMG! That is too scary. I spend a lot of time
imagining things like that (with a worse outcome) happening to DD. It’s hard
not to… so so glad they are okay.
@EmilyLove25 mine looks different from @bainidhedub but that's because I don't earn hours, I get x amount of days per year, 3 sick occurrences (which can last up to 30 days with a drs note), and 3 family care days. I started off because we switched Directors in 2015 and they gave us a calendar to report what we had used the entire year and it was just so much easier to track everything, especially because since sick occurrences and family care days are on a rolling calendar. I'll get 8 weeks off FMLA for my csection and then 4 weeks of my vacation time. Although DH thinks I should take less time off so we can take a vacation late May/June
Here's a random one for you ladies! I know it's early, but are you guys still going all out for Christmas this year? I guess this is more of a FTM question, because with other little ones in the house you can't really take a year off. We are due January 1ish and DH is already saying we should skip Christmas this year, all of it, and it makes me want to cry. The furthest we have to travel is an hour, which I feel is doable but he is already telling his family and mine that we might not come this year...hello...I can sit at someone else's house as easily as I can mine.... Then there's the decorating question...do I struggle in my 8 month pregnancy mess to put up a tree only knowing I will be taking it down either 9 months pregnant OR postpartum?!?
Even if I didn't have my son, I could not be stopped from doing it. I won't travel (my husband can't take time off -- retail -- and we usually can't afford it anyway), but I'm in a perpetual state of holiday excitement-stress-exhaustions from mid-October to January.
@auntieraindrop You definitely should! Even if she isn't here until January, I'll probably leave it up until like February anyways! And also I'm just obsessed with Christmas tree lights at night with all the other lights off. I could sit there for hours!
They have another one called "It's Not the Stork," which I haven't read but sounds like it might be geared a bit younger while staying in the same tone.
Thanks! I had actually ended up ordering It's Not the Stork, because I think it will be great for both the 5yo and the 3yo.
@Cricket99 I have it in "Little House on the Prairie" braids today. I don't think it looks very professional but I was at my wits end!
@TInman87 We usually don't do a whole lot of decorating at my house, we do most of our celebrating with friends and relatives. I will do the small amount I usually do (lights in the windows, a few decorations) but we will probably skip the tree. I know if I put the tree up, neither DH or I will take it down till March lol. We aren't going to my MILs 2 hours away in the middle of nowhere for Christmas (my due date has been moved a bunch of times, it was originally 1/11 then 1/22 now 1/14) but we'll go to my parents' (30 minutes away). We'll do Thanksgiving with the in-laws instead.
One year when i was a teenager, my dad didn't take down our Christmas decorations Until Easter! Celebrates and decorate and let then stay up No one will care, or they can take it down and put then away for you
Calling Canadian mamas! Anyone know where I would be able to find (in-store or online) gender reveal smoke bombs or something similar?! I desperately need one before September 9th!
@TInman87 Ugh frustrating… I travel an hour for work every
day and will be doing that right up until my due date. And OMG yes still do a
tree! Everything about Xmas is even better with a LO arriving in the near
future. You’ll be fine doing decorations at 8 months… your belly might knock over a few ornaments,
but you’ll be fine!!!
Omg y'all, we are in Chicago for my cousin's wedding... my mom, dad, DH, and DD... and DD is napping as I write this! I am so, so glad because otherwise she would be in a horrendous mood for the actual reception. As is, I sincerely doubt a toddler (ok, well my toddler is going to sit still/quiet for a ceremony). Yay!
I have cried no less than 2 times today. My DD told her dad, "I don't want to like Mommy, I just like you." In front of me. He laughed which only encourages it. DH has been pretty insensitive lately, and I'm left feeling alone. I could use a glass of wine or a whiskey after my week, but watered down juice out of a wine glass. HOORAY.
ETA: Should have gone in why my pregnant self is crying. My bad.
I was just scrolling pinterest and glanced down, found myself distracted by my newly found cleavage, so much so that I took a break from scrolling in order to actually poke at them!
I have been losing my shit with DS this weekend. He's been ignoring everything we ask him to do - even simple stuff like "come here & put on a new pull-up" he runs around bare-assed until I haul him back. This morning he tried to get an apple by himself and dropped & broke the fruit bowl bc of course he tried to take a giant ceramic bowl off a counter as tall as he is. DH left to do a volunteer gig today so I'm on my own until whenever he's done there... send me strength & patience.
@bainidhedub I feel your pain. DS does the exact opposite of what he's told, keeps jumping on me and doesn't want to eat anything unless I'm eating it today. I can't get a breather. I needed some reprieve so was sure to point out to him that DH was making a bowl of ice cream. Sorry DH!
Re: Randoms Week of 8/7
J18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies
As far as traveling I've already told my family (roughly 100 miles away) that I will not be visiting starting in mid Nov. I don't feel comfortable being suck somewhere in the middle of nowhere that far along. Also I was put on bedrest at 34 weeks last time, so maybe as PP mentioned see how you feel when you get there
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/07/541204499/flattening-the-mummy-tummy-with-1-exercise-10-minutes-a-day?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170807
@TInman87, DD was born on January 7th, so I've been in this same predicament before. I definitely did NOT skip Christmas then and I never regretted it! It was a lot for a pregnant lady, but I just love the holidays too much to skimp.
DS2: Jan. 2016
DS3: Dec. 2017
Baby #4 on the way!
@TInman87 We usually don't do a whole lot of decorating at my house, we do most of our celebrating with friends and relatives. I will do the small amount I usually do (lights in the windows, a few decorations) but we will probably skip the tree. I know if I put the tree up, neither DH or I will take it down till March lol. We aren't going to my MILs 2 hours away in the middle of nowhere for Christmas (my due date has been moved a bunch of times, it was originally 1/11 then 1/22 now 1/14) but we'll go to my parents' (30 minutes away). We'll do Thanksgiving with the in-laws instead.
@supercoolstephy - heck yes to Ebates!
ETA: added a response
J18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies
I think I might also buy a little 3ft tree to decorate and put in the nursery so I can look at the lights at night while I feed her. Then, that will be her little tree for her room as she grows up.
my DH and I haven't even talked about Christmas... but we both love Christmas and have made it a point to get a tree every year - I think we will definitely decorate. Traveling we will NOT be doing since I will definitely be having December babies. I also highly doubt we will travel for Thanksgiving. 36 wks for me would be December 7th and even yesterday my new doc mentioned most twins come around the 36 week mark.
Question for you ladies: Baby Shower Favors... Do you do them? do you not? If so, what is appropriate?
Jan 18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies
Random: Thoughts on doing a Nursery thread to share ideas?
Yup, tearing up a little.
Jan 18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies
@bainidhedub @supercoolstephy OMG you two are the person I want to be. I could never do something that detailed and complicated. IMPRESSED! I just use my automated system that tells me the time I have off etc. I’m awful and will pay for it. 6 paid here and 6 unpaid… just rolling with that!
@bbeaman It isn’t on you to invite her! I agree with others re: since she isn’t local, I think it is okay to not invite her… i.e. “I didn’t want you to feel compelled to travel that far etc." Also my friend threw my shower in Ohio for DD and I DID invite my MIL, who lives in Colorado. She ended up booking an 8 day trip. I was off work and DH wasn't... so I had to spend that entire time with her and deeply regretted inviting her. She also refused to buy anything off my registry. WTF?
@scatteringashes I think I love your on… he sounds smart. I can’t wait for the day one of my children reflects and tells me they think I betrayed them! YES deep thinkers! And yes to the movie… with all the snacks!
@cyanope OMG! That is too scary. I spend a lot of time imagining things like that (with a worse outcome) happening to DD. It’s hard not to… so so glad they are okay.
DD1 EDD 9/29/2015, Born 9/24/2015
DS1 EDD 1/3/2018, Born 12/26/2017
BFP #3 3/21/2019, EDD 11/29/2019, MMC/D&C 5/7/2019
BFP #4 6/28/2019, EDD 3/12/2020
Jan 18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies
J18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies
older siblings: ds 16 dd 14 ds 13 dd 11 dd 7
@TInman87 Ugh frustrating… I travel an hour for work every day and will be doing that right up until my due date. And OMG yes still do a tree! Everything about Xmas is even better with a LO arriving in the near future. You’ll be fine doing decorations at 8 months… your belly might knock over a few ornaments, but you’ll be fine!!!
DD1 EDD 9/29/2015, Born 9/24/2015
DS1 EDD 1/3/2018, Born 12/26/2017
BFP #3 3/21/2019, EDD 11/29/2019, MMC/D&C 5/7/2019
BFP #4 6/28/2019, EDD 3/12/2020
J18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies
DD1 EDD 9/29/2015, Born 9/24/2015
DS1 EDD 1/3/2018, Born 12/26/2017
BFP #3 3/21/2019, EDD 11/29/2019, MMC/D&C 5/7/2019
BFP #4 6/28/2019, EDD 3/12/2020
I am in pillow heaven. I live on the pillow throne of our bed and I am never leaving this pillow sanctuary.
ETA: Should have gone in why my pregnant self is crying. My bad.
Jan 18 December Siggy Challenge: Christmas Movies