May Chatty Thread

[2moms2b]

Ok... it is May... guess we should start a new month.

Don't forget to go back and read up on the end of April posts... I don't wanna cut anyone off!

Jacqui - Congrats on a good ultrasound. I didn't like being labeled "Advanced Maternal Age"... but I did like all the ultrasounds we ended up getting. hehe Anytime you get to see your little one in there moving around is GREAT!

Jenn - Yes... there is no dignity left... the pumping has taken it away (haha). I actually pumped in the car on the way to the store tonight. (No... I wasn't driving.)

Dawn

[Care75]

Jacqui- Glad the u/s went well.

Dawn- Glad to hear you are slowly but surely increasing your supply! I'm on the opposite end. I'm slowly but surely decreasing mine. I'm down to 2 times a day pumping now and I am moving down to once a day starting tomorrow! I'm excited to finally be getting some freedom from the pump!

BUT- I am freaked out about suddenly gaining a whole bunch of weight once I'm totally done breastfeeding. I know it's my neuroticness, but I'm back to my old size now and I don't want to worry about getting new clothes. I also know I won't have time to exercise like I used to- an hour of cardio a day with twins just won't happen. We've been taking walks some days, but...

Well, this week at work wasn't so bad. The kids were all super excited to see me so that made it easier. I got tons of hugs and smiles and cards so that made it easier too. The babies are consistently sleeping longer now. We have a 7 to 7 1/2 hour stretch most nights so that makes it easier! I feel like sometimes I'm missing time with one baby. If Susan has one of them for most of the night while I'm home, it makes me feel like I missed them for the whole day!

[A Squared]

Dawn, I LOVE pumping in the car! It's great because it allows me the freedom to be out and about. DP things it would be funny to see me drive while pumping. Thanks for starting the new thread. Want to be a host?

Care, I'm worried about my weight when I stop breastfeeding. I have been ravenous while breastfeeding but have still lost tons of weight. I am almost 20 lbs below my prepregnancy weight.

[2moms2b]

Care - Glad work isn't too bad. I am DREADING having to go back. I am not sure how long I am going to continue working... but promised the guys that work for me that I would be back to help with a big project this summer. (they are letting me bring her to work if it will work out... but considering how much I am getting done at home... I just don't know if that is going to work. My sister secretly hopes it doesn't, I think so that she can keep her... heheh!)

A - Yep... I think pumping while driving would be funny. (I am not going to totally rule it out... desperate times, you know...ha!) I hope I wasn't stepping on any toes by starting a new thread. Was I?

Dawn

[WannaBMom74]

hello everyone I have been trying to browse and catch up.

dawn- glad to hear your supply is getting better

care- glad to hear the twins are sleeping better how is Harper doing with her neck issue?

A- love the new pic soo cute

Jacqui- glad to hear u/s went well

wow you guys who are breastfeeding are lucky I wish I had been able to because I gained 35 lbs during my pregnancy lost 20 the week after she was born then gained back 5 lbs and have not lost anything since. plus now I have hips (no more shopping in the boys section) I guess I am not trying that hard with not a whole lot of time to exercise and the whether not really being great yet to get outdoors but I cut way back on my calories and I thought returning to work where I am on my feet all day would help.

[JesnKel]

Hey gals -

Dawn - good job building your milk supply! As Jen said - between feeding, pumping and washing and sanitizing the pump parts, I feel like I'm damp all day long. You've been doing even more than me. Isn't it cool when you can feed her without supplementing? I had that at the beginning. Suddenly feeding seems so easy...

Care - I'm glad going back to work isn't too bad! I'm pretty anxious about it too - planning on meeting with another new mom who has the same role as me before going back so that I can find out how it's working for her. Luckily, I'll be able to come home at lunch most days to feed him.

The weight issue - yeah. I'm back in most of my regular clothes. I'm shaped a little differently but actually trying to keep on a little weight because I know it will help me maintain my milk supply. I dropped all but 5 lbs of my pregnancy gain by my first appointment (egad). I'm sure I've put more back on (don't have a scale and my next ob appointment is next week). We walk every night but it's not hing that's going to make me svelt and lovely again. My neighbor asked me last night if I'd been working out...I just laughed.


Pumping in the car! so funny. I haven't started that yet. I'm planning on it when I go back to work. If I'm out and about, I just feed him and drop the pumping.

[Care75]

Jen- Love the new picture of Katie. Can't believe how big she's getting!! Harper's neck is getting better with the exercises and more tummy time. We went 9 1/2 hours between feedings last night- slept from 9:45 to 6:45!!! Yay!

Jess- My body is shaped differently too now. I don't think I'll ever get my 25 inch waist back! I also have NO ab muscles!! I try to lift my legs and I can't!

I don't know what to expect with the weight thing. I gained 52 pounds with the pregnancy and pretty much have lost all of it. I wish I had lost the extra 10 or 20 pounds because then I wouldn't be worried at all- I'd feel like I had a cushion- KWIM? So I'm trying to push the water and eat the fruits and veggies. We'll see what happens! I'm just having a lot of anxiety about it.

Dawn and A- Pumping in the car! I hadn't thought of that!

[WannaBMom74]

care- Congrats on the sleep ! glad to hear Harper's neck is doing better cute new pics they are both little cuties love the Red shirts I have to get one of those for Katie

Katie turned 4 months yesterday I can't believe how fast it's going. but for her birthday she got her first cold. I was so upset we were doing so well she does not seem to be to upset or bothered by it but she is eating less and had a low fever yesterday.

[Care75]

Jen- Bummer about the cold!

We had our first paid babysitters today!

Actually, we didn't even leave the yard but...

Some family friends have two daughters in high school. They're really nice girls, and both have a LOT of babysitting experience. We had to work on trimming bushes, etc. for a couple of hours because the city's free yard waste pick up is on Wednesday.

I told Susan afterwards that this was a really bad deal economically speaking for us. I HATE yard work, and we paid $36 for the girls to watch the babies while I did the work in the yard so that we could get FREE yard waste pickup. What we should have done was paid someone to trim the bushes! No biggie though- I know the girls need money for gas etc. so I don't feel bad- but I had to do the work! NO FAIR!

[robin7361]

carrie: i totally feel your pain on the yardwork! fortunately, i'll be able to milk the pregnancy all spring and summer and get away with just sitting on the steps giving moral support.

typically on sundays i start getting a little anxious about my tuesday morning ultrasounds--will it be developing as it should? is all going ok?

of course, this is the first week i don't have a tuesday ultrasound. or a tuesday appointment at all. and i don't have one next tuesday either. in fact, i don't see my doctor for another 2 and a half weeks and it's driving me almost as mad as my typical sunday madness.

i'm trying to just assume everything's ok. i have no cramping and no bleeding and no reason to think anything's wrong at all. but, i really don't know how people do it--how they don't know anything for weeks and weeks and weeks. how they wait 20 weeks for their first (and sometimes only) ultrasound. clearly i've been spoiled by my handholding.

[A Squared]

Robin, It IS hard to wait for the next appointment during the early part of pregnancy. It gets easier once you can feel the baby moving. That usually gives you peace of mind. I know I also felt better once I reached the 2nd trimester b/c I felt more secure in the pregnancy.

Care, Congrats on getting yard work done. I still haven't done any yard work, but DP has. I have come home from work to find them all out in the yard and dirt on the babies. I recently discovered some flower parts and dirt in the car seat, too.

Jen, Katie is so cute! How is she feeling? So far, we've avoided any illness in the babies but one of my coworkers mentioned that his family has some vomit/diarrhea illness and that this is going around. Needless to say, I got in my car and used antibacterial wipes. I never, ever used them before the kids were born but now I am paranoid. I try to be really careful, but know that illness is inevitable in children. As for losing weight, I'm sure the weight will slowly come off as you get back to your normal self. Summer might help, too.

I am exhausted lately. Being back at work, even part time, is really difficult. I used to sleep in more but now I can't and it means that I don't function very well. My mind is often foggy. Anyone else feeling this way? I swear, I can't remember basic conversations I had, let alone focus well on work issues.

[JesnKel]

This is just a quickie post in response to A -

A - your post reminded me of a little essay I read on a blog I keep up with. Here's the link.
Superhero Journal
It's the April 30th post called "Fragments".

[A Squared]

J--I can definitely relate to that blog.

[JandS]

I don't know if anyone else has had amusing responses when they've announced that they are expecting, but we had a funny experience this weekend when we told my grandmother.

I asked my grandmother if she had heard our exciting news. She said no. I said, “Sharon’s pregnant, we’re having a baby.” She said, “Karen’s pregnant?” I said “No, Sharon’s pregnant.” Then she said, “Sharon got impregnated! Well, I don’t approve for the same reasons I don’t think you should get a dog. You shouldn’t have a baby if you are working. Well I hope it is a boy and that it looks like your father, Jacqui.” She changed the subject and we started talking about other things, then out of the blue 45 minutes later she says, “I just realized that the baby isn’t going to look like your father.”

Anyway I can’t complain about that response from my 85 year old grandmother. Hopefully when we tell Sharon’s grandparents this weekend we will get a good response, too.

[2moms2b]

Jacqui - OH.. my! That is so funny! I got a similar response from my grandmother. She said, "Well, why did you go off and do that?" I said, "probably the same reason that you did 4 times... we want a child." (My mom has 3 siblings.) Her response? "Fair enough, fair enough. Number one may have been a surprise, but you can't get surprised when it happens 3 more times." Later on she realized that there was no way it was a surprise. hehe

Robin - It is hard to wait for sonograms and appointments. Sounds like you are going to be like me in that you have gotten and will get a LOT of sonograms. I have no idea how other people do it. I thought I was going to literally die the first time we went a whole month without an appointment.... drove me NUTS.

Jen - Sorry Katie got her first cold... that stinks. Hope she is back to her normal self soon. BTW - her new pic is just tooo cute!

Care - I feel you on the yard work. Luckily, our little one likes to be outside so much that she often goes out with me and I do non-tool related yardwork like weed pulling. It is kinda nice to get outside, but I don't like the heavy duty kind of yard work that it sounds like you all were doing... YUK!

A - I don't even know how I am going to handle the whole sleep thing in a few weeks when I have to go back! Right now, Kathy gets up at 6:00 and feeds her while I pump. I finish feeding her and then it is time that in the future, all 3 of us will need to be leaving... ACCK. I have NO idea how early we are going to have to get up to make this work. OY!

Well... we are heading to Kathy's hometown for a visit with her family on Thursday afternoon. Our first trip with little O. Anybody that has traveled got any advice about specific things you wish you had taken with you or things you did to handle the car ride?

Dawn

[WannaBMom74]

Robin- I know what you mean it felt like forever between appts. it does get better though.

Jacqui- cute story when we told my Grandma she is 88 she just kept saying Amy's pregnant and I kept having to explain no I am the one who is pregnant she finally got it once I started getting big.

Dawn- good luck on your trip with little olivia hope everything goes well

Well one year ago today I was having my IVF transfer it did not seem like my pregnancy went fast at the time but looking back I guess it was not to bad.

[A Squared]

Dawn, I hope your trip goes well. We've been on two trips. The first was 3 hours away and the second was 6 (this is prior to baby times). The trips took 4 and 9 hours with kids. I would say be prepared to stop, possibly a lot. We ended up changing the babies in the car b/c rest room changing tables are GROSS, so I would say make sure to have your changing pad. We brought everything but the kitchen sink. On the first trip we never used the bouncy seat but we did on the second, so for us the verdict is out on whether it's useful to have. Have lots of extra clothes, diapers and wipes and bring lots of plastic bags for dirty diapers/laundry/misc other stuff. On the first trip we ran out of wipes b/c we underestimated how much we would need. I don't think I have any real words of wisdom except be flexible and open to things not being what they usually are.

[Care75]

Jacqui- Yeah, my 86 year old grandma doesn't really "get it" either. She repeats herself a lot and kept going on how I "got in trouble".

Robin- Yes, it does feel like forever in the beginning. I had such a hard time trusting my body that everything was okay after trying for soooo long for this. Just wait until the end when you're going like every day! Then it does start to get annoying.

Dawn- Good luck on the car trip!

Jen- It's been a year! Wow. Congratulations! It's amazing to think how far we've all come.

A- I can't keep anything straight either. I'm a mess in front of the kids at school. I'm like, "Have you seen my clipboard?" "Where's the markers?" Luckily, they are so easy going!

[2moms2be]

Sorry I have been MIA...been crazy around here.

Dawn- No words of advice...but wanted to wish you luck! Just try to start making a list now of what you think you will need and just keep adding to it as things pop into your head.

Robin- It will get easier once you can feel your baby move.

Jacqui- Thats funny! My grandfather was kind of like that. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. He kept saying "how did that happen?"

[LauraH]

Dawn - how long is your car ride? We took Caleb to NJ when he was 2 mos old (a 3 hour trip) and she slept most of the way. He woke up to eat a few times and we would either pull off the highway for a bit or one of us would climb in the back seat to givve him a bottle.

The grandmother stories are too funny When my FIL told his mother that Carolyn was pregnant she said "But, she's not married!" Um, gramma...if the fact that Carolyn isn't married is an issue, just wait until the rest of the story sinks in!

Quick update on us - Caleb had an appointment with a urologist to give an opinion on his botched circumcision. She said if the issue was just the extra skin she might leave it alone, but some of his skin is really tight & might cause a problem down the road. This actually happened to the son of a friend of mine & he just had a circ last week at age 7. So, we are having Caleb re-circed in a few months

Anyone have plans for Mother's Day?



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