I’ll give y’all a little peek inside what it’s like having 5 children. I was up all night with the baby. He woke up puking again. He wouldn’t go back to sleep without nursing but I didn’t want to put anything on his stomach. So I was up for an hour or so settling him. Then I got abruptly woken around 5 because my 5 yo needed to tattle on my toddler. Apparently he was dressing up in a costume. Then my toddler came into my room and flipped the lights on. At that point I came up out of bed and put everyone back in their rooms and told them to play quietly until I was ready to wake up. Then, my 8 yo woke me because she wanted to know what time it was. There is a clock right next to my bed. She could have read it without waking me. This is Day 1 of solo parenting. So far, it’s not going so well.
We are supposed to get a foot of snow today, according to radar it’s been snowing for hours but we haven’t had a single flurry! I sent SO to work with the truck and now it seems like that was pointless and I could’ve gone to Sam’s club today after all.
@tumbleweed-1 No one else is getting sick so I’m beginning to think he has something other than a virus. Or this is a symptom to a cold virus he has that the rest of us don’t seem to be bothered by. His little body is so wrecked that he just wants to sleep a lot. Luckily we are still breastfeeding because that’s really all I can get him to take in aside from water and a piece of toast here and there. DH mentioned he could have food poisoning. The only thing he eats that no one else eats are the baby pouches that I buy him. I’m going to throw those out and just never use them again.
@emeraldcity603 THAT IS MISERABLE. Poor kid, and poor you. That you managed not to put your kids up for sale after that kind of night is a testament to your patience.
So this is maybe a "too early" to share here but oh well, I went through this last pregnancy and it was nice to have an outlet. My husband used to be a college basketball coach, and has wanted to get back into it since we got out (I always use "we" because coaching, at that level in particular = a whole family commitment). Our coaching staff got let go when I was 6.5 months pregnant, and we had a HORRIBLE six weeks after that where he was the clear choice for a job but for some inexplicable reason the head coach dragged his feet in giving it to him until it was too late for me to move, and so he turned it down (that coach has since done well, but tells him all the time he regrets not having us there on his staff).
Meanwhile, our head coach did broadcasting for two years, and now is coaching at San Jose State, where he's done AMAZING and is now getting a lot of attention for the turnaround he's made there, and if this keeps up he'll likely be getting some job offers after the season. When he got the SJSU job, he asked my husband to come as an assistant, which we hemmed and hawed on (that lifestyle is HARD -- it's one thing when it was just the two of us but with a family, it's really really rough) before saying yes -- only to have HIM say "actually no, don't do it, this place SUCKS and I can't in good conscience ask you to uproot your family to come here, but when I get my next job I'll want you to come then." And I believe that -- he's a really great guy, and he and my husband are super close (he's been almost more of a father figure to my husband than his own dad over the years) so if he gets a job upgrade I have no doubt we'll get a call.
SO. Once again, that means a potential move during later pregnancy, based on how a season goes, to somewhere as yet unknown. This would mean selling our house, moving away from my family, and getting back into an incredibly demanding job with ridiculous hours, rather than staying somewhere we like, near my (aging) parents, in a ridiculously flexible job that allows him to coach at the high school in town (DURING REGULAR WORK HOURS EVEN) -- all for the "privilege" of coaching dudes who are 18-23 rather than 14-18. I want Coach to do well. I don't want to move and I REALLY don't want to do that life again, particularly with a new baby. My husband keeps saying he doesn't necessarily think we'll do it, but I know he sort of secretly really really wants to -- depending on where it is, anyway. Like Cal will obviously be open this spring, and Coach will be an obvious front-runner, but I'd just as soon cut off my own feet than move to Berkeley and thankfully my husband feels the same on that. But that's far from the only job that will open, and for a non-hellhole, it's a possibility. So back into the pressure cooker we go, I guess.
I did it. I broke down and went out and bought maternity leggings. I think the worst thing is o was expecting them to be a bit loose with the belly band but nope, they fit great! I am way more comfortable though!
@justyouraveragemama oh man I’m jealous. I’m waiting till my ultrasound to buy maternity jeans but I with I had them already. Which brand did you buy of the leggings? Last time I ended up in a larger size of regular aerie ones. The ones I got from motherhood maternity had a weird inseam and then I splurged on Hatch ones and they were too baggy until the third trimester (surely this time around I’ll be in them in a couple weeks lol)
@ccmrc143 they were actually an impulse buy at Walmart! We were at a funeral and my current leggings were so uncomfortable so we stopped at the local Walmart and found some there! They were like $8!
I just bought Motherhood Maternity leggings on Macys.com. Paid $7.99 for them! They are so breathable and the band can go high up or you can fold them in half which is what I did and they were not uncomfortable or tight at all! Def a good buy.
@emeraldcity603 aww I'm an old head and was a knottie 16 years ago ( ) but that's how I'm used to the boards! I kind of miss it. I can remember in the height of posting how many posts there would be in a day. It was insane to try to keep up, but fun. I stay on GBCN where most people moved during the migration.
I’m sooo grateful that our board is well organized! I was in the Feb 18 board which was also really well organized so I was initially nervous about joining here given how crazy other boards have been.
@msjaay I was around before the great exodus but with a different name. I originally moved with them and then they kept moving and I finally was just tired of learning new social media platforms. So I left.
@emeraldcity603 I get it. It can be exhausting to keep up with all of the movement! I've limited myself to here, FB groups, and GBCN lol. I can't handle anything else.
My original wedding board is still super active on FaceBook. We all travel to see each other. We've ran marathons together. Raised money for each other. We talk every day. We're very close so the knot definitely changed my life for the better.
I miss the way the old boards were. I got a lot of help back then. Especially from the breastfeeding board. They helped me get my son diagnosed with pyloric stenosis. I was at a complete loss as to what was happening with him and they mentioned that. I took him in the following day and he was diagnosed via ultrasound and had corrective surgery that same week.
@emeraldcity603 I had seen it but don’t actually know the risks of retinol and pregnancy since I don’t take/use anything with retinol so I didn’t say anything
@emeraldcity603 i suppose my FFFC is that I didn’t know any of that about retinol (or what it even was until I googled it tonight). Then panicked and searched the ingredients in skincare products I use, which thankfully don’t contain it.
@gingermama29 I am very careful about reading ingredients. Acne medication that’s in face wash and skin care can also be dangerous. I accidentally bought something once that had retinol in it and I panicked. I used it a few days and then as soon as I realized I tossed it out. Definitely not worth it.
Our mail has been all out of wack since he snow storms we had in early December. I ordered my prenatals that I like and the box is lost at the post office. So I ordered another box and it took forever to get here. So I have been stuck taking prenatals that aren’t as good as the ones I ordered. It’s been driving me crazy because prenatals in the first trimester are so important. At this point I need to go ahead and order another bottle so they will get here when I run out of these. I could get them from the health store but they are 3x more expensive there.
I'm with @gingermama29. I just barely got into skincare at the start of the pandemic thanks to tiktok and my routine is hella simple. Lol. Plus my skin often gets amazing during pregnancy for absolutely no reason. So the thought of complicating it is mind boggling to me 😹.
@emeraldcity603 ugh I'm sorry about your prenatals. My ob tried to rx some but the pharmacy couldn't find one that would be cheaper with insurance than OTC. It was so strange. My last pregnancy at their sister office I don't think did that.
Oral retinoids definitely show cause of birth defects. Topical retinols have never been tested on pregnant people, so it's not known one way or another. Some physicians (my dermatologist is one) think the amount in a topical is not nearly high enough to be absorbed by the skin to cause any effects. In general doctors err on the side of caution and don't recommend them. I avoid them during pregnancy because the benefit for me is not worth the potential risk.
Putting this in ransoms because it’s not a pregnancy related question! I’m driving 2ish hours with my toddler alone on Saturday. He’ll be awake the whole time ideally. Any tips on how to keep him entertained when I can’t lean back and give him things?
@ccmrc143 I always use snack to keep kids happy in situations like that. Or a movie but I also make my kids listen to audiobooks and look out the window at the scenery. I listen to a different audiobook while they do that.
Re: Weekly Randoms w/o 1/2
PG #2: EDD 8/15/23 Miscarried 9w1d 1/11/23
PG #3: EDD 12/15/23
So this is maybe a "too early" to share here but oh well, I went through this last pregnancy and it was nice to have an outlet. My husband used to be a college basketball coach, and has wanted to get back into it since we got out (I always use "we" because coaching, at that level in particular = a whole family commitment). Our coaching staff got let go when I was 6.5 months pregnant, and we had a HORRIBLE six weeks after that where he was the clear choice for a job but for some inexplicable reason the head coach dragged his feet in giving it to him until it was too late for me to move, and so he turned it down (that coach has since done well, but tells him all the time he regrets not having us there on his staff).
Meanwhile, our head coach did broadcasting for two years, and now is coaching at San Jose State, where he's done AMAZING and is now getting a lot of attention for the turnaround he's made there, and if this keeps up he'll likely be getting some job offers after the season. When he got the SJSU job, he asked my husband to come as an assistant, which we hemmed and hawed on (that lifestyle is HARD -- it's one thing when it was just the two of us but with a family, it's really really rough) before saying yes -- only to have HIM say "actually no, don't do it, this place SUCKS and I can't in good conscience ask you to uproot your family to come here, but when I get my next job I'll want you to come then." And I believe that -- he's a really great guy, and he and my husband are super close (he's been almost more of a father figure to my husband than his own dad over the years) so if he gets a job upgrade I have no doubt we'll get a call.
SO. Once again, that means a potential move during later pregnancy, based on how a season goes, to somewhere as yet unknown. This would mean selling our house, moving away from my family, and getting back into an incredibly demanding job with ridiculous hours, rather than staying somewhere we like, near my (aging) parents, in a ridiculously flexible job that allows him to coach at the high school in town (DURING REGULAR WORK HOURS EVEN) -- all for the "privilege" of coaching dudes who are 18-23 rather than 14-18. I want Coach to do well. I don't want to move and I REALLY don't want to do that life again, particularly with a new baby. My husband keeps saying he doesn't necessarily think we'll do it, but I know he sort of secretly really really wants to -- depending on where it is, anyway. Like Cal will obviously be open this spring, and Coach will be an obvious front-runner, but I'd just as soon cut off my own feet than move to Berkeley and thankfully my husband feels the same on that. But that's far from the only job that will open, and for a non-hellhole, it's a possibility. So back into the pressure cooker we go, I guess.
PG #2: EDD 8/15/23 Miscarried 9w1d 1/11/23
PG #3: EDD 12/15/23
PG #2: EDD 8/15/23 Miscarried 9w1d 1/11/23
PG #3: EDD 12/15/23
My original wedding board is still super active on FaceBook. We all travel to see each other. We've ran marathons together. Raised money for each other. We talk every day. We're very close so the knot definitely changed my life for the better.
PG #2: EDD 8/15/23 Miscarried 9w1d 1/11/23
PG #3: EDD 12/15/23
PG #2: EDD 8/15/23 Miscarried 9w1d 1/11/23
PG #3: EDD 12/15/23
PG #2: EDD 8/15/23 Miscarried 9w1d 1/11/23
PG #3: EDD 12/15/23
PG #2: EDD 8/15/23 Miscarried 9w1d 1/11/23
PG #3: EDD 12/15/23