Add N to team tantrum. I read that this is prime time for them to start - they're old enough to know what they want to say or do but can't act on that effectively, so they get frustrated by their failed attempts. Unfortunately, like her mother, Nora expects to do everything right the first time, so one mistake and she goes from 0 to 100 real quick!
Tantrums here too. Throwing himself at anything hard and screaming and sticking his hand down his throat to gag himself is the new one. we have been working on signing with him and it has helped some. He will tell me when he is done or wants more. The weird part is he made up his own sign for more which is the same sign my 10 year old did at this age so we knew.
@megpeg Nate is gagging himself too!! He's made himself throw up several times. I was hoping the act of throwing up would make him stop. He's also hitting himself and me. I choose to put him down and walk away when he does that. I hope this tantrum phase ends soon!
You and me both, @DDRRT1982! Lol. 04/18 was my due date - doctor wants to induce 04/25 if she isn't here before then. I've been up since 3 this morning timing contractions - they seem real and are coming regularly, but the timing is inconsistent. Hopefully there will be something to report soon!
We were all too sick to go to church or Easter dinner with family. Declan and I got it the worst and he has 6 teeth coming in. All the cute clothes will have to wait until next week. Declan will be wearing my 10 year olds first Easter outfit. He was only 9 months old when he wore it and Declan will be 13 months.
@ashtuesday I hope you are doing well! I keep coming to see if there is any new news and living vicariously through you.
we put a long sleeve onsie under the dress and a sweater on top and DH put hilarious socks with ducks on them, "peeps" he said, went to a buffet place. She entertained all the old people and ate a ton! I'm thinking I'll put the dress back on her and do an egg hunt the next warm day we have. Who says it all has to be on one day?
@ashtuesday thinking of you and hoping you’re feeling as well as possible for the next few days - but hopefully you’re holding your little love sooner!
@mccurleya that is the sweetest! I love traditions like that.
@megpeg hope everyone is on the mend. Poor Declan! Six teeth - must be exhausting for everyone. That will be so great when he wears the outfit from your 10 year old though 💜
@fatstagnation sounds like it was a fun day - and agreed it doesn’t have to all be one day. That’s a reminder to myself to dress LO up whenever - it’s not like they fit in these outfits for long anyway 😃
Most of you aren’t dealing with anything like this yet but I need a little vent time. My 10.5 year old has wanted fortnite for almost a year and we keep telling him no. Literally every boy in his class plays and that’s all they talk about at school so he feels left out. I feel terrible about that but I also see how addicted they are and my nephews are. I almost lost my marriage to a gaming addiction when he was a few months old. I just can’t. Beyond that I don’t like hearing kids talking about specific weapons and taking headshots and sniping people. I feel horrible that he doesn’t have anyone to talk to because that’s all they talk about but I just have a terrible feeling in my heart every time we talk about it.
I can totally understand where you are coming from @megpeg. I left a marriage where gaming was more important than everything including me (making me divorced before I was even able to legally drink). I dont mind playing games every now and then but I really feel like if they start that early it can become a life long addiction. I see it with my brothers all the time even as adults with kids they are constantly on their phones or tablets playing games instead of spending time with their SOs and kids. I seriously dont know how i will handle it when the time comes for us to have that conversation.
Also thinking of you @ashtuesday! How crazy to think you are overdue!
Hope everyone had a great Easter! We went to an Easter egg hunt and it was hilarious watching LO grab just one egg. He saw it, snatched it up, and didnt care about any other eggs.
My husband literally just left to go to the gym at 5 am while Nate is sick and I can't find anyone to watch him AND I can't take any more days off after taking a week for the flu. What kind of crap is this? He could've taken off or at least helped me find someone. I'm livid.
They dont think and are selfish. Mine left me Sunday morning at 6am until 1pm because he wanted to help at church. I was super sick and so was Declan and my 5 yr old. My 10 year old helped me but I hate putting him in the spot to be the adult.
I'm literally out of days to take off and yet here I am at home all day today. Because my husband wouldn't take off work. They are selfish. And stupid.
Ugh, sorry guys. Same shit going on here. I was sick for two weeks bc I couldn’t get any rest. I wish he would help me more so I can recover. I feel your pain.
@ashtuesday I've been hoping the silence the past couple days meant she came on her own. If not, I hope the induction went well!! Can't wait to see how cute she is 😊
Hi ladies!!! Prepare for a long AW post... Murphy Suzanne is finally here, and boy, does she know how to make an entrance!
So as you guys know from my constant complaining, I had a LOT of contractions in the past month that would intensify over the course of a few hours and then stop totally out of nowhere for a few days. It was frustrating, to say the least. They were real contractions that were causing dilation, but never moved into active labor. The plan was to induce yesterday, 04/25, if baby didn't show up on her own before then.
On Tuesday, 04/23, I noticed some sliiiiightly blood-tinged mucus (TMI?) around 11 AM that I was hoping was my bloody show - if that typically means real labor will start within 24-48 hours, it could mean avoiding induction. Around 1:45 PM, it was clear it was definitely the bloody show and I was pumped. It was a nice day out, so I decided to take a walk with Nora to keep my body in motion and maybe get baby moving. Well, in the time it took us to get from our house to the elementary school that is three houses down, I had two pretty significant contractions. I was ready to call my husband right then (especially because I'd had lots of contractions the day before), but thought "She's given me so many false starts and I'm not even TIMING these contractions yet, let me calm down." I started timing on the walk back: 4 minutes between my second and third contraction, 2 and a half minutes between my third and fourth, and they were lasting over thirty seconds. Since my husband works in the city and that timing/strength was worrying me, I called him to come home and called my mom to come by when she could to watch Nora. It was about 2:15 at this point.
I went upstairs to put Nora down for a nap and kept timing - now they were consistently coming every two minutes. I texted my husband asking for the last-minute things he needed for his hospital bag: my plan was to pack everything up and just get in the car when he got home from the train at 3:15. The contractions were now so strong I could barely make it around the room gathering stuff. I called the doctor at this point, although I felt silly doing so since I'd only been having contractions for half an hour. To my surprise, she told me to go straight to the hospital. I texted my mom telling her to hurry - if possible, I still wanted to wait for my husband (it was now 2:45), but figured my mom could throw N in the car and drop me off at the hospital if I couldn't wait any longer.
At this point, I went to use the bathroom and saw a HUGE amount of blood. I knew this wasn't normal, so I called the doctor back panicking... and she told me to call 911. Cops arrived at my house in less than two minutes - they were having trouble finding an ambulance that was available, but had calls out to neighboring towns. The contractions were coming stronger and stronger, and I basically kept pacing around my living room, cursing and panicking through it. My mom showed up around this point in full panic mode - I hadn't had time to text her that I had to call 911, so I can only imagine what she was feeling. She immediately tried to help however she could, and the cops forced me to lay down, saying the walking was only making baby come faster. I just kept cursing and saying "I really don't want to do it this way, you guys!" which my mom found pretty funny. I was also terrified though - on top of the idea of delivering without an epidural, with Nora, I had uncontrolled bleeding that took 45 minutes to stitch up and required a blood transfusion - and Nora was a month early, compared to this baby who was five days late! All I could think about was everything that could go wrong.
The contractions were still coming fast and strong, my panic level was at 9000, and I was still laying on my living room floor surrounded by cops, no ambulance in sight. I asked my mom to get me a glass of ice water. In the time it took her to walk to my kitchen, get it, and come back to the living room, my water had broken and baby was crowning. Her head was out two seconds later, which was serendipitously when the ambulance arrived from a neighboring town and the EMTs walked in. One push later, and Murphy was here! That was at 3:13 PM - less than an hour and a half after my first contraction.
Nora woke up around this point, and my mom brought her down to meet her new baby sister. My husband walked in the door about 5 minutes after Murph was born and just looked completely shell-shocked. He, Murph, and I got in the ambulance and went to the hospital. Delivering the placenta was almost more uncomfortable than actually delivering Murph (I guess because I didn't have sheer panic and terror to distract me). Murphy weighed in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and miraculously, I only had one small, first degree tear that only required one stitch! I CANNOT wrap my head around how much better my body feels than it did when Nora was born. With Nora, I was in so much pain for so long. Peeing made me cry for weeks. I would try to do simple things at home after she was born - like, stand at the sink for 15 minutes to wash bottles - and the rush of blood and pain from just standing up would force me to lie down on the couch for an hour to recover. My body feels so. normal! now. I am trying to take it easy of course, but I can pee! I can stand! I can walk! All without crying! And I've taken NO pain meds, not even Advil! It is wild. The human body, boy.
We got home from the hospital yesterday and all are doing well. I feel great, my husband's shock is wearing off. Murphy is doing a great job adjusting to the outside world - she is ravenously hungry all the time, which is such a strange difference from Nora, who we had to wake and force to eat, but it's great! Nora is doing a great job being a big sister so far. She keeps trying to share her toys with Murph, and rock and sing to her when she's in the swing, and rub her back to encourage her during tummy time. We keep reminding her to be gentle, and I'm hoping the transition to sisterhood will stay as positive as it is right now. My hormones are obviously in flux, so I'm already feeling a lot of that "Are we doing right by each of them?" guilt already, but I'm hoping it will level out with time. What a wild ride!!!
What an adventure!! Welcome to the world Murphy!!!! So glad you’re feeling well @ashtuesday! I love all that hair! Clearly I’m super excited for you (all the exclamation points) what an amazing thing!!! Lots of love to you all.
Has anyone travelled long distance with a baby? I have a family reunion in July that's an 11 hour drive or a 3 hour flight. I'm going back and forth on going or not because it's very inconvenient. My dad said he would drive here and then drive Nate and I there, but do I want to keep him in a car for 11 hours? And do I want to lug him through the airport? I don't know. I just need to know if it's easier than I'm imagining it to be or if I should just stay home.
We drove to Florida this year and it wasn’t bad, but I would have much rather flown. There were periods that she just cried (understandably), but that was enough for me to say I am flying next time.
We lived 10 hours from our families when my DH was in school. We would make the drive 3-5 times a year. There were times it took 12 hours because I couldn’t just let him cry anymore but most times were ok. If you have someone to drive you that would be helpful because you can play with him and keep him entertained.
I think I'm leaning more towards driving with my dad mainly because I don't want to pay for the flight. I could keep him entertained and we would take bathroom and lunch breaks to let him stretch and move around. It just may take 13 instead of 11 hours. Thanks y'all!
@mccurleya yes, just count on it taking longer. When we traveled for Christmas we just made sure she got some exercise and a real meal. One of us sat in the back with kiddo to play/feed/troubleshoot.
Any advice about sun protection? Vinny wants to be outside all the time. Her hair is still thin, so I'm trying to get her to wear hats, but I think we need some sunblock too. Suggestions?
This is what I bought for the summer. She already was using the aloe lotion after baths but I read it also helps with mosquitos so I stocked up. I’m going to try the copertone sunscreen - but we haven’t used it yet. I need to get her a new ball cap because the one from last summer doesn’t fit, and we have a sun hat for the pool/beach. She has fair skin like my husband so I’m a little nervous about that.
@mccurleya I would go on the trip if you have the time and can - my cousins fly with their babies often, from what I understand all the gear is the hardest part. We haven’t done more than 2 hours in the car and she usually sleeps for it but I understand that’s a long ride. Good luck deciding.
Any one else having problems keeping diapers on? If he doesn’t have pants on he takes it off or today he reached in his pants and pulled it off. I guess I need to start doing onesies again but it is already such a hassle trying to just get pants back on I am dreading. The worst part is that he throws his dirty diaper in my daughters room and I don’t know he takes it off because he hides when he does it.
@megpeg we are still in onsies, but it is still chilly here. I really have no advice. I bet our Montessori teacher would say this is one of the signs that he's ready to be taught about the potty. it's all happening too fast!
Vinny is such a toddler lately! She gobbles something up one day and the next time I give it to her, she spits it out and looks at me like I must be joking. She's fighting sleep, she's testing boundaries. All of it! I thought I would have more sweet baby time! wah
eta: thanks for the info @shoretobe I guess I just have to slather the sun block and hope for the best.
Re: April Randoms
Edit: words
we have been working on signing with him and it has helped some. He will tell me when he is done or wants more. The weird part is he made up his own sign for more which is the same sign my 10 year old did at this age so we knew.
@ashtuesday I hope you are doing well! I keep coming to see if there is any new news and living vicariously through you.
@mccurleya that is the sweetest! I love traditions like that.
@megpeg hope everyone is on the mend. Poor Declan! Six teeth - must be exhausting for everyone. That will be so great when he wears the outfit from your 10 year old though 💜
@fatstagnation sounds like it was a fun day - and agreed it doesn’t have to all be one day. That’s a reminder to myself to dress LO up whenever - it’s not like they fit in these outfits for long anyway 😃
Beyond that I don’t like hearing kids talking about specific weapons and taking headshots and sniping people. I feel horrible that he doesn’t have anyone to talk to because that’s all they talk about but I just have a terrible feeling in my heart every time we talk about it.
Also thinking of you @ashtuesday! How crazy to think you are overdue!
Hope everyone had a great Easter! We went to an Easter egg hunt and it was hilarious watching LO grab just one egg. He saw it, snatched it up, and didnt care about any other eggs.
@megpeg I'm sorry you're going through that. He'll find his people. And hopefully fortnite will pass soon. It's all my students talk about too.
@ashtuesday thinking of you as well! I hope you have her today so you don't have to worry about being induced.
So as you guys know from my constant complaining, I had a LOT of contractions in the past month that would intensify over the course of a few hours and then stop totally out of nowhere for a few days. It was frustrating, to say the least. They were real contractions that were causing dilation, but never moved into active labor. The plan was to induce yesterday, 04/25, if baby didn't show up on her own before then.
On Tuesday, 04/23, I noticed some sliiiiightly blood-tinged mucus (TMI?) around 11 AM that I was hoping was my bloody show - if that typically means real labor will start within 24-48 hours, it could mean avoiding induction. Around 1:45 PM, it was clear it was definitely the bloody show and I was pumped. It was a nice day out, so I decided to take a walk with Nora to keep my body in motion and maybe get baby moving. Well, in the time it took us to get from our house to the elementary school that is three houses down, I had two pretty significant contractions. I was ready to call my husband right then (especially because I'd had lots of contractions the day before), but thought "She's given me so many false starts and I'm not even TIMING these contractions yet, let me calm down." I started timing on the walk back: 4 minutes between my second and third contraction, 2 and a half minutes between my third and fourth, and they were lasting over thirty seconds. Since my husband works in the city and that timing/strength was worrying me, I called him to come home and called my mom to come by when she could to watch Nora. It was about 2:15 at this point.
I went upstairs to put Nora down for a nap and kept timing - now they were consistently coming every two minutes. I texted my husband asking for the last-minute things he needed for his hospital bag: my plan was to pack everything up and just get in the car when he got home from the train at 3:15. The contractions were now so strong I could barely make it around the room gathering stuff. I called the doctor at this point, although I felt silly doing so since I'd only been having contractions for half an hour. To my surprise, she told me to go straight to the hospital. I texted my mom telling her to hurry - if possible, I still wanted to wait for my husband (it was now 2:45), but figured my mom could throw N in the car and drop me off at the hospital if I couldn't wait any longer.
At this point, I went to use the bathroom and saw a HUGE amount of blood. I knew this wasn't normal, so I called the doctor back panicking... and she told me to call 911. Cops arrived at my house in less than two minutes - they were having trouble finding an ambulance that was available, but had calls out to neighboring towns. The contractions were coming stronger and stronger, and I basically kept pacing around my living room, cursing and panicking through it. My mom showed up around this point in full panic mode - I hadn't had time to text her that I had to call 911, so I can only imagine what she was feeling. She immediately tried to help however she could, and the cops forced me to lay down, saying the walking was only making baby come faster. I just kept cursing and saying "I really don't want to do it this way, you guys!" which my mom found pretty funny. I was also terrified though - on top of the idea of delivering without an epidural, with Nora, I had uncontrolled bleeding that took 45 minutes to stitch up and required a blood transfusion - and Nora was a month early, compared to this baby who was five days late! All I could think about was everything that could go wrong.
The contractions were still coming fast and strong, my panic level was at 9000, and I was still laying on my living room floor surrounded by cops, no ambulance in sight. I asked my mom to get me a glass of ice water. In the time it took her to walk to my kitchen, get it, and come back to the living room, my water had broken and baby was crowning. Her head was out two seconds later, which was serendipitously when the ambulance arrived from a neighboring town and the EMTs walked in. One push later, and Murphy was here! That was at 3:13 PM - less than an hour and a half after my first contraction.
Nora woke up around this point, and my mom brought her down to meet her new baby sister. My husband walked in the door about 5 minutes after Murph was born and just looked completely shell-shocked. He, Murph, and I got in the ambulance and went to the hospital. Delivering the placenta was almost more uncomfortable than actually delivering Murph (I guess because I didn't have sheer panic and terror to distract me). Murphy weighed in at 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and miraculously, I only had one small, first degree tear that only required one stitch! I CANNOT wrap my head around how much better my body feels than it did when Nora was born. With Nora, I was in so much pain for so long. Peeing made me cry for weeks. I would try to do simple things at home after she was born - like, stand at the sink for 15 minutes to wash bottles - and the rush of blood and pain from just standing up would force me to lie down on the couch for an hour to recover. My body feels so. normal! now. I am trying to take it easy of course, but I can pee! I can stand! I can walk! All without crying! And I've taken NO pain meds, not even Advil! It is wild. The human body, boy.
We got home from the hospital yesterday and all are doing well. I feel great, my husband's shock is wearing off. Murphy is doing a great job adjusting to the outside world - she is ravenously hungry all the time, which is such a strange difference from Nora, who we had to wake and force to eat, but it's great! Nora is doing a great job being a big sister so far. She keeps trying to share her toys with Murph, and rock and sing to her when she's in the swing, and rub her back to encourage her during tummy time. We keep reminding her to be gentle, and I'm hoping the transition to sisterhood will stay as positive as it is right now. My hormones are obviously in flux, so I'm already feeling a lot of that "Are we doing right by each of them?" guilt already, but I'm hoping it will level out with time. What a wild ride!!!
Any advice about sun protection? Vinny wants to be outside all the time. Her hair is still thin, so I'm trying to get her to wear hats, but I think we need some sunblock too. Suggestions?
This is what I bought for the summer. She already was using the aloe lotion after baths but I read it also helps with mosquitos so I stocked up.
I’m going to try the copertone sunscreen - but we haven’t used it yet. I need to get her a new ball cap because the one from last summer doesn’t fit, and we have a sun hat for the pool/beach. She has fair skin like my husband so I’m a little nervous about that.
@mccurleya I would go on the trip if you have the time and can - my cousins fly with their babies often, from what I understand all the gear is the hardest part. We haven’t done more than 2 hours in the car and she usually sleeps for it but I understand that’s a long ride. Good luck deciding.
The worst part is that he throws his dirty diaper in my daughters room and I don’t know he takes it off because he hides when he does it.
Vinny is such a toddler lately! She gobbles something up one day and the next time I give it to her, she spits it out and looks at me like I must be joking. She's fighting sleep, she's testing boundaries. All of it! I thought I would have more sweet baby time! wah
eta: thanks for the info @shoretobe I guess I just have to slather the sun block and hope for the best.