35+ TTC 1st Graduates!!! Come on Over!

[animalcracker]

Gorgeous Chris!

Okay girls, wish me luck and pray for me. I've had Ethan's HORRID cold -that-if-I-didn't-know-better-I'd-swear-it-was-the-flu ALL week. I'm still zero energy and coughing like every two seconds. I've lost my voice to the point I can only croak like a frog. So of COURSE tomorrow would be Ethan's party and I've got 20+ people coming to the house at lunchtime. Lord HELP ME, I've never had a week quite like this one in my life. of course I am thrilled for his party, I just wish it was next week!

Anyway, I'm sure it will be fine but your prayers are appreciated. I so want everyone -and Ethan! - to have a great time, I just wish I felt better than walking zombie. Sigh...

Anyway, love and hugs to all and pics to come as soon as I'm back on my feet!

Oh Angela, that SUCKS! I really hope you are feeling better very soon. Please let us know how Ethan's party went - I can't wait to see pictures!

 

[newmarriedgal]

Hi Ladies!

happy birthday to Ethan! I hope his party was tons of fun and I hope you are feeling better Angela!!!!

Chris - what an absolute beauty! LOVE the pics! Her little face is priceless....what big eyes she has!

I don't even know which way is up this past week. The time change knocked me for a loop....

The zantac is going well, I think it is helping a little! But boy does he hate the taste! Makes such a funny face, I will try to upload it as I got it on my camera.

today has been a kooky day, he had a ton of poopy diapers yesterday and today but he doesn't want to eat! All he wants to do is sleep.....which is ok but when he is going over 5 hours and not eating and not showing much interest in eating, I'm worried. He has plenty of wet diapers so I know I shouldn't worry, but this is SO weird for him! He spit up a ton today too - about half of his last meal almost 6 hours ago and only sips here and there - we gave him a few bottles today of my expressed milk as we had some company and he was up for quite some time being very good and now just wants to sleep.....not eat! I pumped off when the company left and from both breasts got almost 8 oz! he needs to eat!

Charlie just tried to give him more and he took a little less than an ounce, burped and is back to sleep (Charlie just keeps saying there is something wrong and it is freaking me out!).... I know I should be happy he is sleeping but I want him to eat! and tonight when he'll prob be up and ravenous, I'll be wishing he ate!

gotta run as I'm having some tummy troubles myself and I'm not having a good day.

hugs to you all, I'll be back on tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a good weekend - I'm going to crash tonight and watch Army Wives in bed - hopefully feeding Poppy!

beth

 

[newmarriedgal]

Hi Ladies....

well, poppy ate....and ate....and ate last night! every hour for about 25 mins at a pop from 9pm to midnight!!!! then slept until 4:30!

this morning, massive spitups but he's been eating every 2 hours and having plenty of wet diapers so I'm ok.....he even peed all over Charlie this morning and now is snuggled in my arms in quiet time after a feeding.

I'm planning his baptism too....it is on April 22nd... I'll post more when I can. hugs to you all....

beth

 

[MissMuffet08]

Chris - Sophie is Beautiful!!!

Angela - Oh No! I am so sorry you had a cold/flu. How as Ethan's party? Did he eat the cake? I want to hear ALL about it, as I am planning Katelyn's would love any tips, etc. Oh by the way, did you do favors at the end of the babies? What did you buy?

Beth - Sounds like Charlie is going through a growth spurt! Sleep sleep sleep, then eat, eat, eat. On the sleeping though, whenever Katelyn had a growth spurt, her Pediatrician said that during the day, not to let her sleep longer than 4 hours at a time. Not sure if this was so I could feed her or so that she would sleep longer at night. Glad that the zantac is working. It supposedly has a mint taste to it (it smells like mint), but Katelyn didn't like it either. Ask your Dr if you can mix it in with some breastmilk. that might make it more palatable.

 

[rottpaw]

Okay ladies, PLEASE forgive the me-centric post today. I am just back from a 9:30 dr. appt with Ethan (WHAT was I thinking to schedule THAT???) and still wiped out from being sick myself. I promise to catch up soon, but Ethan is napping so I wanted to quickly give you the birthday recap and a few pics!

His party went GREAT, except for me being sick.* We had a great turnout that seemed to be just about the right size (14 adults, 7 kids).* I normally adore cooking but, having been so sick, I just could not face the extra pressure and had everything catered from our supermarket (who did an AWESOME job - Laura, it was Publix and they did a great job if you have never used them for anything).* They make a regular cake for the group and a "smash" cake for the birthday baby to destroy (a great idea!)* So we just had some wrap sandwiches, a chicken nugget/popcorn chicken tray and a fruit tray, then cake and ice cream.* He got LOTS of great gifts and one of my favorites was a PeaPod. Have you all seen this? VERY cool and a (seemingly) great alternative to a pack n' play for traveling.* (I will let you know if it actually works that well, as we'll be traveling again in a couple months!)* We also got three of the same toy, so my recommendation is to always give a gift receipt. Fortunately, two of those did come with GR's so I can swap.* It was so much fun to celebrate with our friends and family!

I also learned a few "tips and tricks" that were new to me, as this was my first- ever childs' birthday party.* In no particular order, they are as follows:

(1) plan the party around YOUR child's naps.* Others may have varying schedules, but you need a well-rested baby! I did this and Ethan was GREAT.

(2) expect the unexpected, including guests who show up at noon, and other guests who arrive at 2:30, in both cases for a 1:00 pm party.* * Be ready early!

(3) eat something for yourself beforehand, because as the mommy, you will NOT get a chance to eat during your party!

(4) if you can, provide a separate changing area (perhaps in a bedroom) and quiet nursing area for anyone who needs it.

(5) Enlist helpers for things like taking photographs (I had my sister do this. See eating, above - you will NOT have time to play photographer!), serving the cake and ice cream, ensuring everyone signs the "happy birthday" sign in sheet if you do one (we did a photo mat, similar to the same concept you may have seen done at weddings), and writing down gifts given and from whom, so you can write your thank you notes.

(6) balloons are a simple and inexpesive way to decorate, and they double as party favors for take home with each child!

(7) as far as favors, Steph - I had a wide range of ages (infant-5 years) so I tried to do favors that were sort of age specific.* But it's not as hard as it sounds. Do you have Party City where you are?* They have great "dollar store" type favors. I did silly straws, bubbles, crayons, mini-frisbees, paint by numbers (older kids only) etc.* Label your favor bags so you or hubby can grab them easily as people are leaving.

(8) what else.... um, go ahead and serve everyone else's cake and ice cream before you serve the birthday child their cake, so you can relax and watch those moments without feeling like you have to play hostess. make sure your camera battery is charged and memory card has plenty of space.* Put hand sanitizer out on the table, use disposable EVERYTHING and ENJOY your party!

Steph or anyone else who has specific other questions, just fire away and I will try to answer. I feel like I learned a LOT lol!!

. Ethan did not really "eat" any cake and became unhappy when my mother tried to shovel it in dohh:* I TOLD her not to do that, sigh).* But it was cute and he had a good time I think.* The cake did not match our theme exactly, because our theme was Baby Mickey Mouse and Disney copyright prevents the bakery from reproducing the images, but she approximated our colors and part of the design for me.

Hugs and love and i will post a few pics if I can get my computer to cooperate!

 

[rottpaw]

Well bnb was down all afternoon so I was just able to add my post above. I don't know WHAT all those asterisks are about but please ignore them, they were not part of my text.

Hugs!

 

[svetayasofiya]

Well bnb was down all afternoon so I was just able to add my post above. I don't know WHAT all those asterisks are about but please ignore them, they were not part of my text.

Hugs!

I was wondering!

Sounds like a great party and fabulous advice! Can't wait to see pictures. Sorry you were sick.

Beth I'm glad Poppy started to eat more. How are things today?

How are everyone else doing? Anna how are things? I really hope things are improving with your DH. I know we went through a rough patch and I really thought there for awhile we weren't going to make it. If you need to talk I'm here for you

 

[animalcracker]

Hello ladies!

Angela, Ethan's party sounds like it was a hit! Thanks for the tips - I can't wait to see pictures.

So my Gabriella is going to be a Flower Girl! I am so excited! My brother in law is getting married next October in Rhode Island and he and his fiance want Gabriella to be their flower girl - she is going to be so cute!

So we got all of the photographs back from Gabriella's newborn session and they came out great! Here are a few more pictures.

https://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o262/spesh37/Clipboard22.jpg

https://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o262/spesh37/Clipboard14.jpg
https://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o262/spesh37/Clipboard20.jpg

Hugs to all! Hope everyone is doing well

 

[rottpaw]

Jules, she is SOOOOOO gorgeous! I love the first one especially!

I really regret not getting newborn shots of Ethan, but at the time I was simply unable to cope with even the idea. I have to remind myself that i DO have plenty of photos of him from that time, but I will always wish I had somehow managed to get those professional ones. Sigh.

 

[svetayasofiya]

Angela I feel the same way. Reason enough to have a 2nd kid lol Jk

Jule she's just absolutely yummy!!! So so precious. Thx for sharing.

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Hi. Jules

She's BEAUTIFUL!

Beth, so glad little sweetheart is eating.

Angela, I have a question for you. What do one year olds eat?! I was thinking about having a "rainbow" party or a book themed party as she LOVES to be read to. In the process I thought about a bunch of clear glass jars loaded with candies in them. Some colored m&m's, pixie sticks, other finger foods. I'm not exactly sure where she'll be with solids. I need help kind of getting into the idea of what to have for both children AND adults for food & beverages (well, water, soda, tea and coffee)??

Also, what kind of games or things did you do with all these young kids?? I'm not sure how much to plan or what games to actually do.

I don't know...I even thought since her birthday is Sept. 29th it may be a neat idea to have the party at the pumpkin patch and have colored markers for the kids and their parents to create their own pumpkins but then what else shall we do?? Maybe see if we could get them all on a tractor/hay ride then cake??

Any ideas??

 

[newmarriedgal]

Jules! what a beauty!!!! love love love the photos! She gave me such a smile to see her face. I will try and post Poppy's pics, I was getting an error when i tried to post mine last week...

Poppy is def in a growth spurt! cluster feedings at night...every hour for 4 hours last night but then slept for FIVE hours! woke up for a quick feed then back down for another 3 hours. he is over 11 pounds now and such a happy boy now that he's on the zantac. He still coughs and arches but not as much and not in as much discomfort.

Angela what a FUN party! so glad it went well. Cant wait to see the pics, esp with the smash cake! :hahays

we are off to get an ultrasound for poppy soon - it is for the hip dysplasia since he was breech, but the ped didn't think it would be an issue when he felt the hip joints, but it is mandatory for all breech babies here. I'll be back on later....by the way, I'd love to get on fb with people, I'm on it if anyone wants to be friends.....

b

 

[rottpaw]

Angela I feel the same way. Reason enough to have a 2nd kid lol Jkg.

Chris, I agree completely lol!

 

[animalcracker]

Hey Beth!

Just sent you a PM with my name - would love to connect with you on Facebook!

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Beth,

Amelia had to have the ultrasound for hip dysplasia as well. I was freaked out until we had it and it was just fine. She was literally taken out butt first. lol What a story we'll have for her one day! Haha

 

[MissMuffet08]

Angela - The party sounds great! Thank you for all the tips. My Ladybug party stuff just arrived today so I am getting excited. Did Ethan actually eat any of his cake? I did go to Party City and have a friend from Church who works there and will be getting me a discount on some items. For the older kids I have Kazoo, bubbles, stickers, activity book, and washoff tatoos. I am at a loss what to get the babies. Perhaps I could do bubbles for them as well and them maybe one other fun little thing. THe balloon's as gifts is an excellent idea as well! Oh one last thing - how long was the party? 2 hours, 3 hours?

Rebekah - I love the pumpkin patch idea! Very clever. I like the painting faces on pumpkins - you could do that even if you don't have it at the pumpkin patch (buy the small little pumpkins). I don't know if you need to do a whole lot for the party. I am having my party at the park (my husbands family is huge!) so the older kids can play on the play ground. I will be having a Lady Bug Pinata so they can do that.

Beth - I will PM you with my name so you can add me to FB. Also, sorry for calling Charlie Ethan in my last post! I think I had just responded to Angela and had Ethan on my brain!

Jules - Love the photos!

Chris/Angela I didnt get professional photos of Katelyn when I finally brought her home from the NICU either. But have lots of unprofessional ones LOL.

Anna - Hope you are doing well. Please let us know if you need anything or just want to vent.

I snuck out of a meeting to eat lunch, but I guess I have to go back. I will check on here later.

Best,
Steph

 

[rottpaw]

Beth please pm me your name and I will add you on fb as well!

Steph Ethan didn't really eat any of his cake as we are still having the texture issues. but he had his one year checkup tues and dr said he is fine, some kids just aren't ready for textures at this age. sigh. I tried to make the party last about two hours, so started at one, people had food and visited about an hour, then we did presents and then cake and ice cream, finishing up with singing happy birthday and Ethan's cake "smashing" lol. A few people lingererd a while, but we had family there etc. I think bubbles are fine for the babies and I included some crayons and scribble pads for our other one year olds.

Rebekah, as far as the kids at one, theree is a huge variance in what they may be eating. For example Ethan still can't eat anything besides stage two foods, while his friend Maggie who is just two months older is eating pretty much anything. I did our party at one, so did not feel like I had to offer a huge meal, so I kept munchies for both adults and kids pretty simple. We had a sandwich tray with turkey, veggie and roast beef wraps for the adults, a chicken nugget tray more for kids (though a big hit with grownups too!) and a fruit tray for everyone. Then sweet tea, coke/diet coke/sprite and juice boxes (apple and lemonade) for the kids. And of course dessert was birthday cake and ice cream. If you can find them, get the little individual ice cream cups, easier to serve and cleanup. I did not offer sweets for the kids besides the cake and ice cream, but I think your candy idea is cute! I basically had Ethan nap and then fed him just before the party, so we were not trying to feed him while holding the party. I think the pumpkin patch idea is also great! I did not bother with games, as I honestly didn't feel they were necessary with our particular crowd of kids. We had kids from ages 3 months- 5 years, so I just let them dive into the pile of toys we keep in the den. They loved it and didn't seem bothered by the lack of structured activity. They also helped enthusiastically with opening ethans gifts! I would say just keep things very relaxed and casual and be prepared to go with the flow!

Beth I am sure the ultrasound will show poppy is perfect! But hugs and prayers coming!

Jules again, I LOVE the photos. Just beautiful!

Okay girls gotta run. But will definitely try to upload some pics tonight!

 

[rottpaw]

Here are a couple pics from our party!

 

[Mommy's Angel]

:hmmm:, I need to re-think a few things. 1. the party is noon-2pm so that means we're feeding them. 2. Less candy and just the ice cream and cake is a good idea or we could have a lot of high's and lo's. 3. This is where I learn that MY planning things won't really work and will only cause meltdowns and maybe disappointment for mom when things don't go as planned. If I've learned ANYTHING it's that kids need flexibility. Your idea about having toys available may be a great idea. Matbe a sandbox and swingset present which means either this will be done at a playground or some playplace. Great start! Thanks for the tips!!

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Aww LOVE the pics! I also like the green paint on your walls. Really nice color!