Hi all,

This is a new thread. Here are the most recent posts from the last one. I hope I got it all!

JenniferMR Re: Hullaballoooooo

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Hey girls!

KC - I'm sorry that you all were sick - this time of year sucks! Lauren had the treatments in the hospital around the clock and they really helped her too. I'm completely back to normal now, thank goodness! I ended up having to have a classical incision which means that the outside incision is the normal low/horizontal one, but the inside one on my uterus is vertical, because of the position of my placenta and they didn't want to risk cutting through it because that would cause significant bleeding. Anyway, because of that, I am not allowed to get pregnant for at least 12 months, preferable 18, so I'm having an IUD placed in a couple weeks. She also told me that my chances of this happening again are about 15%, higher than normal due to the type of incision I had . We'll cross that bridge when we get to it I suppose but right now the thought of that scares me to death, especially with the risk of accreta and all that other fun stuff.

KC II - The feeding thing is a whole other story! I can't remember if I talked about this before, so forgive me if I'm repeating myself. Since she was so little, she just couldn't latch on in the NICU even with daily help from the LC, so we started the nipple shield, and even then, she couldn't get enough from me, so we had to follow up with a bottle of EBM, and that has to be fortified with formula to increase the calories (still doing this). So, I then have to pump after this. Because of the shield thing being a pain, I mostly fed her by bottle, but on Tuesday, I made a real effort to try to get her to nurse without the shield and low and behold, she did it! She still didn't stay on long enough to get a full meal, and my pedi really wants her to get mostly the fortified BM from the bottle, so I haven't really pushed her to get her full meals by nursing, but I'm very excited that we're making progress! I hope that once my pedi says that we don't have to fortify the BM anymore that I can transition to exclusively breastfeeding with occasional pumping so Brad can help out too. Right now, the process takes almost 2 hours when I nurse first, then bottle, then I have to hold her upright for 30 minutes due to reflux issues, then pump - so it's definitely triple the work, but I'm sticking with it because I know that it is what is best for her, especially this time of the year and with her being a preemie. Right now, my supply is ok, but I'm just barely ahead of her, but I'm hoping that with the increased nursing that it will improve because when she starts eating more, I won't be able to keep up with her with my supply as it is.

So, that's my super long story!

Heather - Sorry that Landry had the crud too! They say that it's really only really bad for babies under 6 months of age which is fortunate for him. It was not fun at all with little Lauren, but she is healthy now, and we just need to keep her that way! I would be wanting to spray people down with Lysol too though they probably wouldn't appreciate it very much! Sorry that work is so busy, but I'm glad that it is going well.

Well, it's time to go feed Lauren, so I'm off. Lauren's 2 month checkup is tomorrow so I'm very anxious to see how big she is getting! She's out of newborn and into her 0-3 month clothes - that happened so fast! Have a nice weekend everyone!

From Heather
Jenn-I hope Lauren's check up gets an a-okay rating from the doc. We had a nebulizer too for the RSV but I have to say that it helped a TON. We had just cough syrup albuterol but it wasn't working near as well as the breathing treatment in the office so we called the doc and he called in an Rx for the nebulizer. In fact, DH used it today for himself because he has bronchtits and our doc told him to use it 3 times a day. The only down side was that Landry gets really hyper after the nebulizer....it makes me feel for those moms of hyper kiddos! At least he is okay now and not needing one but for a few days I would brace myself for that hour or so after the treatment when he was a little wild child and did NOT want to take a nap!

KC-You know, the crus is just everywhere. We are having a bad flu season and there is one strain of the flu that the vaccine doesn't block and it can put you in bed for 7-10 days with throwing up and all sorts of fun. I have a sinus infection now but have some meds and hope to be good as new in a few days.

I was wondering about Karen the other day too. I hope all is well!

No word from Molly--I think she leaves tomorrow for the long flight, I think it takes 2 days!

I am sure y'all have heard that the Ags have a new president...Dr. Elsa murano...first woman and hispanic. you know what that means???? LOTS of changes going on! The dust is starting to settle so we will see how it all goes.

I am basically only doing one job now, I just take care of the VIPs at the hotel but otherwise doing my new job. I find it really fullfilling and am happy that I made the move.

Well, my little boy is yelling MOMMY from his gate in the living room. Must be time for bedtime stories!

Take Care,
H

From KC
Jenn- I understand being scared to death of the whole getting pg thing again. Especially with the chances of eccreta! YIKES! I had wondered if they were going to do my incision like that too. Somehow they were able to do it full horizontally. I guess maybe mine was more up the back.

Jenn II- I'm glad Lauren is making progress on BFing! Yeah for you for sticking it out! Most people would have given it up. I sure hope you get the go ahead on not fortifying BM anymore. I know how big a pain it is to nurse, feed and pump. It really drags you down. Maybe you can at least go to only fortifying a bottle or 2 a day. How are you holding up through all of this? Are you doing OK? I don't think I told all of you, but it got to be too much for me. I've been seeing a therapist for PPD since October. I feel so much better now. I wish I had done it sooner.

Heather- I'm glad you are down to 1 1/2 jobs! I'm sure that is a huge relief for you. What does everyone think of Moreno?

We're going to have a pretty busy weekend. We are going to a horse pull tonight at the fairgrounds, church on Sunday, and a Super Bowl party for at least a little while Sunday night. Anyone else have plans?

From H
Hello---

Jenn--I meant to tell you good for you for sticking it out with the bf-ing....but also, don't let it kill you! I just never quite produced enough for Landry so we always had to supplement, but I was okay with that because I went into it with no expectations. I did like that it saved me some moolah in buying formula!

Karen-I am glad you are doing better from the PPD, you looked it in the eye and took charge and got help and that says something for you. I know that it can be crippling if you let it, so good for you for taking the bull by the horns!

As far as Murano....I don't know...lots of changes....the verdict is still out!

Gotta run!
H

From Dona
Remember me??? LOL.

I've been reading when I can, things are still crazy over here.

I'm still at Bombay until next Friday. Every 2-3 weeks they've asked me to stay on and help close out, so that's been nice. But I got a job offer in Granbury (YAY!) on Tuesday so I made my official last day next Friday. It's sad to go, but I'll be only 5-6 minutes from home AND daycare!!!

Logan's been sick for about 2 months. He goes in next Thursday for his 3rd set of tubes and to get his adenoids removed. Makes me sad. Poor guy.

Kaelin is doing great. She's my "helper".

Anyhoo, not much else going on. Once I get settled at my new job I'll give y'all my new email address there. I think y'all have my home email?? If not, you can still email me at Bombay and I'll send it to you.

From H
DONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I miss you! I am so glad to hear from you! I need your home email, I think I only have the bombay one! You can just pm from this page if you want or just email it to me.

Poor Logan, he must be miserable! I would love to see pictures of the kids.

I am SO GLAD you got a new job, I hope its fab. And it will be so great to be so close to your kids and home...and what a blessing to still be working until the new one starts, that is great.

Does Keith still like his job?

Its so good to hear from you!

From Laura
Hi Y'all! Figured I'd drop in and say hello.

Jen- Congrats on little Lauren. I'm sorry you've had to fight RSV. Did they consider doing the RSV injections? I know she got it so quickly that they may not have even had that discussion with you. Nathan had the RSV shots and I'm so grateful (insurance paid 2,000 per MONTH for those shots!).

KC- I'm sorry you've been battled PPD. I think I've told you some of the issues I've battled (I think I havfe....maybe not). Pregnancy sure does change a person's chemistry. I'm glad that you've been brave enough to face it head-on and get the help for it. I'm on Lexapro and it's helped a whole lot. I still get overwhelmed, but it's not like it was before. In fact, it's amazing that I actually lived that way. I'm sure you probably know what I'm talking about.

Heather- That's crazy about Molly moving while being really preggo! I saw Meg to other day. I'm so happy for her and her little family.

Dona- I can't believe you are on to the 3rd set of tubes for Logan. Geez! Does he have reoccuring ear infections? Or...how do they decide to do tubes again? Both my kids have tubes. Natalie had a pretty rough ear infection and popped her ear drum, even with the tubes. I didn't know that they'd still be able to pop an ear drum with tubes! Poor Logan!

Me.... Well, my big update is that I'm not teaching anymore. I don't think I'll ever return to teaching fulltime. I'm teaching English classes to a bunch of really wonderful Spanish speaking folks. Nearly all of them are Mexican, but I have a Guatemalan in there too. It's a nice job and it's only 4 hours a week. Otherwise, I'm home with the kids!

Here's another big endeavor of mine: Family to Family Children's Consignment-Index

I've started a twice a year children's consignment sale. I held a trial one at my house in the Fall and it was waaaay too large for my yard! This one is at The Brazos Center and we are up to 64 consignors. It's going well, I think.

My other big update is that Natalie and Nathan fight like crazy. Nathan hits Natalie. Natalie whacks him right back! The hit, kick, bite. WHERE DID THEY GET THIS FROM? *MY* kids were supposed to be so sweet

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