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

[HappyAuntie]

Hearty is at 33 weeks and still on modified bed rest and working from home. She was in L&D overnight last week with contractions every 2-3 minutes, but was sent home after they determined her cervix was closed and firm, her amniotic fluid wasn't leaking and baby's heart rate was good. They tried to do a FFN test and messed it up, so she doesn't have that reassurance. It was a really traumatic night for her.

(And thanks for the shout-out! I'm always lurking here. )

 

[MissMuffet08]

Hi Happy Auntie!!!!! Thanks for the update on Hearty! She and baby will be in my prayers.

 

[rottpaw]

Thanks HA for the update on Hearty! And im so glad you are always lurking on here!

Thanks so much Steph! It's Friday the 29, which seems like forever away lol, but I'm trying to remind myself that I've already waited a lot longer than that! I'm just so impatient! I've been thinking I'm starting to feel baby move and kick, but then I question whether it's just gas or something... Still at that very early stage where it could be either, but sure feels like little kicks!

Your summer schedule sounds busy but fun! We got Ethan in the pool last weekend and he enjoyed it, though the water was really cold (80) for my taste and, I think, for his. Normally it's super hot here and it would have warmed more, but it's been so nice and cool here (till now!) that it was only at 80.

I agree, we need some new baby pics, ladies!

 

[pablo797]

morning all!

MA, LOL on dogs eating baby poop. Yep mine eats that too. What could possibly be appealing about that?? I mean ribs or roast I understand, but baby poop?? So sorry to hear Amelia is still struggling with reflux. Every once in a while I feel like Jo has a little recurrence,but it's short lived. Yeh for nice weather!! I saw on news you were going to get HOT! We have been insane for where we live. In the 80s. As warn as Angela in atlanta and we're at 10,000ft elevation. One hot dry summer here. Take care and hugs to amelia!

Angela, I too am looking at swim classes. Hope to find something for babies. Glad BIL visit went well if not akward. Also glad you are all on the road to recovery! So exciting about gender scan!! I can not believe you are already that far!! Time is flying!!

Steph, I did not take Jo on ride. We rode true mountain bike single track trails,so no room for baby chariot. I do have it hooked to my road bike and take her out in that. I will have to look into the clorox anywhere , I have never heard of it. Sounds like Katelyn will really enjoy swimming classes! Little fish.

HA, so glad you lurk. Thanks for up date on hearty. I have been poking in here and there on her journal but it's been a few weeks. How are things with you?

Purple Lou, speaking of lurking . . . Hope all is well.

AFM, none of you has probably had this happen as you live in bigger cities, but I saw an ex's now wife yesterday. She is so nice and I like her,she is also beautiful and had her little boy is about 6 months older than jo. She came by my store yesterday in TINY running shorts and little tank top and I was like REALLY!! Granted she's about 15 years younger, and I don't think she works, but honestly. I also don't mean to harp on the weight thing,but when your struggeling, it was just not what I wanted to see. Insult to injury she got the one I didn't. Now everything happens for a reason, and I now know he wasn't meant for me...but... Anyway, doing my best. Have an appointment with doc next week for thyroid. I had a hypo thyroid when I was trying to get pregnant and was on medication all through pregnancy then went off after baby to let all systems even out, but if it's still hypo it may be the reason why scale is not budging despite all my best efforts.
that's t from here!! Have a good wednesdayj

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Hi Everyone!

Happy Auntie, It's good to see you! Thanks so much for the info on hearty. I understand her fear completely. You almost don't breathe until you see that baby in your arms. Then you eventually come down from all the emotions. I'm keeping her in our prayers. How are you doing?

Steph... I keep saying this, but your SO like me. I went to a Zumba class of all things WITHOUT sneakers. After convincing them to let me go barefoot I was either slipping on the freshly buffed wood floors OR running for dear life so the woman in front wouldn't step on my toes. Hahahaha It was WAY too funny. At least everything worked out where Katelyn could go in and you watched your friends little one. Goodness! Croop? So glad you clean those toys. Your such a good momma!

We DO have a stainless steel trashcan that you have to step on. He's figured out how to open the darn thing. If you can, find one with a darn lock. What is with these dogs?? At least we're not the only owners with this issue.

Twinks, if your lurking I miss you!

Jules, Beth and Carole, what's going on? Wondering how Charmaine is with the triplets these days. Busy, busy I suppose. Wonder how she did with 3 teething?

Angela...I'm waiting patiently to see the sex of the baby. PATIENTLY! ((tap, tap, tap...sigh, sigh, sigh)) I'm sure you're just as "patient".

CJ, how are you sweet friend??

Hi to anyone else I may have accidentally missed with this horrifying baby brain of mine.

Oh, Anna, I have Hypothyroid. HATE it! I'm actually going to a naturopathic Health Coach who's going to help me work with my weight loss goals with food, the emotional aspect AND exercise. I've had such a hard time and learning to cook a whole new way for Doug (who is vegan) and I who am trying to figure out what the right diet for MY body is that will work with weight loss. I've been depressed and deprived.

Well...It's been REALLY hot here. Trying to get through the day. I'm going to take my daughter and the dogs outside before the craziness happens tonight.

Love to you all!

 

[animalcracker]

Hi girls!

My goodness, I have been AWOL and I apologize! It's been so hectic at work lately and I am also planning Ella's baptism which is happening Sunday, August 5th in R.I.

Steph - so sorry to hear you had food poisoning! Are you okay now? How is little Katelyn doing?

Rebekah - yay on the house closing! So happy this all finally came through for you and welcome to the land of owning a house - where the DIY projects NEVER stop! It's a wonderful thing being a home owner but there is always something to do or fix, but it's your home and it's worth it all day long!! I am so happy for you!

Angela - how are you doing honey? How are you feeling? You have an anatomy scan this Friday? I am so excited to know if you are having a boy or a girl! I say GIRL! Just a wild guess LOL - I can't wait to find out and will be keeping an eye on the thread! I loved Ethan's beach pictures - I swear he gets more handsome every time I see him!

Beth - how are you doing, my twin? LOL Boy can I relate to not being ready to move Ella into her crib in her own room! I know the time is looming near but I am going to miss her terribly! I feel so comfortable having her sleep right next to our bed. Is Poppy in a bassinet? I have Ella in the pack and play which is working out really well. Her pediatrician said it's fine to keep her with us until she is 6 months (which is fast approaching!!) so that's the plan. Are you planning on moving Poppy anytime soon to his own room/crib?

Anna - how are you doing? I know and understand your weight loss frustrations my friend! But hang in there - have you seen the scale move in the right direction or are you still struggling?

My eliptical trainer broke recently and I just got it fixed so I will be starting up working out again. I took too long a break from it (even though there was no excuse! I have a treadmill AND an exercise bike! I was just being lazy!!)

So my darling girl had her 4 month shots last week and she is now 12lbs 10oz and 25.5 inches long! She is doing wonderfully. She is now also on solids and has started eating about 1tbsp rice cereal in the morning and I have her on Gerber's 1st foods (apple-sauce/carrots/sweet potatoes) in the evening and she's doing great!

because of the solids - her poop is more 'adult-looking' now if that makes sense, and she poops a lot less than she used to. I guess it's normal? She's not constipated or in pain when she tries to poop. Anyone have any words of wisdom about that? Did your little ones poop less the older they got? She is 4.4 months now.

She is also teething like crazy! She loves her Sophie the Giraffe toy, that's for sure!!

She is doing great at daycare but I still miss her like crazy every day and I am still hoping my winning lottery ticket comes in LOL

Well that's about it from me for the time being! Love to you all!!

 

[rottpaw]

Jules! There you are lol! So glad to see you back!

Yes, they do poop less once they start solids. just keep an eye out for constipation, and if she tends toward that you can stir some prunes into whatever else she is eating. I still do that with Ethan's morning yogurt! so glad she is doing great!

Ethan had his well check today and is at 22 lbs 10 oz, which is the 20th percentile for weight, but is 32.25" tall so that's the 77th percentile for height. Dr. Said he is long and lean lol! I told her that runs in our family (for the men, anyway... I'm 5'2" and I'm far from lean at the moment ) she said he is doing great and we just need to start brushing his teeth (oh boy,nthis should be interesting!)

I'm feeling pretty good, thanks! Feeling heavier than I did the first time, and sooner, but probably because I still had some baby pounds from last time, and half the time I'm toting my almost 25 pound little man as well, so I'm not surprised I feel like a whale already lol! I'm only up just shy of 10 pounds so far, but I just feel like I'm waddling already. Of course, we have NOT been eating well the last couple weeks, so I think I added a couple of "fun foods" pounds that I now get to compensate for!

My scan is next Friday, the 29th. I'm with Rebekah, tap, tap, tapping my foot VERY. IMATIENTLY! I cannot wait to find out what this baby is! If they say boy I will feel pretty sure, especially if we can see it like with Ethan, but if they say girl I'll probably wait till our 3d to get a confirmation before buying much lol. I keep hearing stories of girls who turned out to be boys!

Anna, the time definitely feels like itnis passing faster than the first time. I think just because I have Ethan to focus on instead of just the current pregnancy, my attention is divided in a way it wasn't the first time, which is probably very good for neurotic me lol! A friend told me that with kids, the days pass slowly but the years fly by quickly, and that has definitely been my experience!

ETA: small update, just got a call from dr. And our spina bifida bloodwork screen came back negative. Yay!!!

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Yay Angela! Sounds like baby is doing well. SO exciting! I bet big brother is getting excited...does he understand yet?

Jules, sounds like your little darlin is doing great. As Angela said, it's normal for them to poop less. Amelia's poop is actually forming more like a normal one as well and she's 8 months. She's eating a lot more and she's actually pooping better. She's figured out how to push and the gas isn't as bad. Maybe this means we'll be using axid less in a month or two.

Oh the teething. ((sigh)) Our experience has been up and down. Poor kids. Some of them just go through the ringer. Those little teeth hurt coming in.

Yay on the eliptical trainer being fixed.

Oh, update on my dad. He still no longer smokes since January AND he and my mom bought a Lance Armstrong treadmill. He's lost weight and is feeling great these days. Of course he's now traded one addiction for another and is on the xbox all day long LIVE playing army games but at least he's not smoking anymore. He's tried several times before and this time it's worked the longest and he hasn't cheated at all nor has he gained weight. YAY!

Well, we're looking forward to going to the lake with my parents this weekend. It's been HOT here. Mommy doesn't do well at all. Pregnant or otherwise is muggy heat. You should have seen the air. You could cut it with a knife it was SO thick. 95 degree's and I don't really know how humid but it was HUMID.

Doug took us out to a beautiful lake town that is kind of like it's out of Dickens. They even do a Dickens Christmas with characters on the street and sleigh rides for winter. Anyways, we were dining at The Blue Water Grill and I had The Napoleon which was beautiful. The following picture shows what it is only MINE was Lobster Salad and not the Tuna Tartar which is seen in the picture. It had sliced cucumber on the bottom layer, mango salsa above that, Avocado on the next layer, Fresh Lobster Salad and Micro Greens on Top. BEAUTIFUL presentation. I had a lovely iced tea with it.

Then we went for a beautiful country ride and ended up at my parents where we had dinner out with them and some fun time with my parents. It's been nic to get along for a change with my parents. I hope it continues.

Praying everyone else has a lovely weekend too!

 

[animalcracker]

Wait - hang on a minute - did I miss something???

Rebekah - are you pregnant??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pablo797]

LOL! That is the way it sounds!!! MA something to tell us?


morning all and Happy Friday!!

MA, the lunch drive and dinner sound lovely. I am so happy things are good with your parents. I am currently struggeling with mine, sigh, never easy. Hope you survive the heat, it is hot on the east coast!!

Jules, gabby is going to be a super model!! Holy cow that's one long baby. I think she's as long as Jo and Jo's 9 months! So glad she is healthy and happy. And the poop thing is normal. So is missing her like crazzy. I'm with ya on the lotto thing. Tell you what, if I win i'll send you enough so you can stay home too! I mean if I win 100 millioon there's plenty to go around!

Angela, yeh!! On negative scan!!! I have heard the days and years quote before and it is so true! Little Ethan, another long and lean. I'm with Jules he just gets cuter and cuter! Can we fix Jo and Ethan up now? Waiting for next friday!! And yes I've known people who had to re-do an entire nursery because of an incorrect gender scan.

AFM, knock on wood, Jo has slept through the night three nights this week including the last two nights in a row. Could we be so lucky? Granted she got up thursday morning at 4:45am, but slept this morning until 5:30. NEVER in my life would I consider 5:30 sleeping in, but there it is. Good thing is by 7 she is ready for a nap so I put her down from 7-8:15. I woke her up to take her to daycare and go to work. But at least I know she has one nap in her. She does not nap well at day care.

we are off camping again this weekend, up north outside of Steamboat Springs, close to the wyoming border. Temps should be in the 70s, so comfortable. Taking all the toys so hope to ride my bike again!! Anyhoo, that's all from here. Have a good day and weekend!! Anna

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Sorry for the alarm bells ringing. Nope. :no: I'm not pregnant. Steph reminded me that the heat was worse last summer when I was pregnant and I was just over dramatizing the heat around here lately....I am NOT pregnant. ((Faint)) Oh Heavens to Betsy I'm not quite ready yet. I'm trying to lose some MAJOR poundage and I think Steph and I will be ttc again in the New Year. Sorry for the slip up in my wording. You may rest assured I'm NOT pregnant...yet. Not really trying but not really holding back either. We'll leave it at "practicing". We're enjoying Amelia and learning all the new "firsts" before we try again. It's also really hard to get pregnant because I don't get a period.

I MUST ovulate as I somehow got pregnant with Jackson without a period but then we had an IUI with fertility meds to conceive Amelia. If it doesn't work this way this time, we'll definitely be adopting this time. We have always wanted to even before we got married.

So, rest assured we are relaxing, both trying to get healthy and enjoying the blessing we have right now with Amelia. If the Lord wills, maybe it will happen again sometime in the new year.

Hows everyone doing? Anna, have fun camping again! We're going to the beach with my parents. I've made some strawberry lemonade and raspberry lemonade with our vitamix to take with us. We're taking veggies and hummus and I'm making strawberry salsa with Stacys cinnamon pita chips. We'll be taking some sandwich wraps as well. My mom is making two kinds of salads and they are making egg salad sandwiches which doug won't touch now being vegan.

Well, I should probably get to bed so we get there at a good time!

Happy Weekend ladies! Love and to you all!

 

[rottpaw]

Morning girls!

I will update properly a bit later, but please keep Amanda (Heart tree) in your thoughts and prayers. Her water broke last night and they are at hospital now, 34+ weeks, so all should be fine, but i know she is frightened and would appreciate your support!

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Thank you Angela. While 34 wks is not ideal, what gives me encouragement is that most births after 28wks have a high rate of mortality and anything after 30 wks goes up. She is close to term so this is exciting for me to hear. She has been waiting for this little dear for so long I can't wait to bask in the joy with her. As a few of us went through, It may take a little bit of time in the NICU but my hopes baby and momma are both healthy and it will be no time before baby goes home.

We'll keep her in our prayers and we're looking forward to good news!

 

[pablo797]

hi all!!

started reading then had to jump over to Hearty's journal to wish her congrads. She has been through so much and is such an amaing person. I could not be happier if it was myself. Such great news. Think I might cry again...

MA, thanks for asking,camping was good. Jo finally cut one of her two top teeth. I swear it's been two months coming. Poor little girl. Sunday night was aweful, but then the tooth came and she slept from 7-7 last night! Sorry i'm on a tangent. Anyway camping was fun. Went to hot springs on the way back and had a good relaxing weekend. Your lemonade had me drooling! Sounds so good! How was the beach? Did amelia enjoy the sand and water?

AFM, have a doc appt today. Going to get my thyroid checked. Also going to ask her about some spells I have had on and off for the past 15 years. They honestly occur once a year or once every two. But when they happen I get light headed, looose my ability to speak, and get tingly in the face or arm or hand. Truth be told I am afarid she will think I have been having mini strokes. I have never mentioned them before because they are so infrequent, but I had one the other day with jo and it scared me. So i'm biting the bullet and going in. I have also lost feeling in the skin on the front of my right calf. How weird is that? I don't think the two are related,but we'll see. Sorry don't mean to be debbie downer, but i've only told my DH my fears and it feels better to put it out there.

so that's about it, went for a run this AM and got cramps in both calves. What's up with that? Try and be healthy and get a smack down!

LOL, have a good day!! Anna

 

[rottpaw]

Yikes Anna! Do get that checked out, hon. You don't want it to happen while you are driving or something! Glad camping was fun! I think I could enjoy camping in a nice cool environment. But it is just not that way here. And this weekend we are forecast to get well over 100 for several days straight, with NO rain. Yeesh!!!! I hate the heat, and 100 is just ridiculous!

Are you guys impacted by the wildfires at all? Stay safe! That is super scary.

How is everyone else? We've been super quiet on here (me included ) Ethan is growing like a weed, but has been running a fever (no other symptoms) the last 24 hours. I'm not sure what's causing it unless it's his teeth... We are visiting a neighbor this afternoon and I'm hoping he will be feeling up to it. He just woke up from his morning nap after only half an hour . Lovely! I'm trying to encourage him to sleep some more but he's up and down, so far for for the last half hour.

Anyway, in other news I'm getting SO excited for scan day Friday!!! I literally feel like this week is just oozing by while I'm waiting so impatiently! I really, really hope they are able to tell us with pretty good certainty which gender we will have, because I am in the mood to start planning! It hit me yesterday, it is almost July 4 (traditionally, in my mind, the midpoint of summer, at least from a school year point of view here locally). Nowhere near the middle of summer weather season, but somehow I always feel like the summer is about half over when we hit the 4th. Mentally, by August I'm gearing up for football season and fall cooking (my very favorite season!) and so I cannot believe it's already almost July!

Ah well. Story of my life these days, it is just flying by!

Everyone check in when you can, we miss you!! CJ, Chris, Laura, Lou, Charmaine, Carole - (hmmm, we are missing all our c's and l's, haha!). Viv, Bek, Beth, Steph, how is everyone?

Hugs and love ladies! It sounds like my little guy is NOT going back to sleep. Oh boy!

 

[pablo797]

morning ladies!

Thanks Angela. News from the doctor is good. Turnes out what i've been experiencing is called a complex migraine. Who knew? I guess my brain is having a little spasm and that's what knocks out speech and effects my vision and causes the tingling in my face or hands. The resulting headache is the more traditional migraine. Anyway, not a big deal. Other than it's annoying when it happens. She perscribed tylenol and allieve to combat the pain after ,but there's nothing to prevent them from happening. Luckily they're few and far between and I can tell when one is coming on so I can pull over if driving. Bad news is no more birth control. So DH has got to get snipped. I've been pushing for this for months but he's been dragging his feet (go figure). So it's either that or never having sex again.


anyway, hope Ethan feels better! Poor litttle guy! And I love the 4th too! It signals the beginning of summer for me. We are typically pretty cold until June so July marks the real start,but this year is a whole other enchillada. It has been HOT! I am sorry the next few days are going to be so miserable in atlanta. Denver has been over 100 for the past week. We are lucky (knock on wood), there is a small fire not too far, but no worry. The really large fires are east of us in the foothills north and south of Denver. Steph, how's your mom? I think she's south denver. A little way away from the fire in colorado springs but I bet she's got smoke.

We got some rain yesterday, but we need a torential downpour to really make a difference.

anyhoo, not much else to tell. Hope everyone is well and can't wait for the scan on friday!!!
anna

 

[rottpaw]

Anna I'm so sorry for the migraines, but glad its nothing more serious! And I think it has been hot darn near everywhere this year, sadly. I can remember in FEBRUARY we had to turn on our AC! Sigh. Of course I picked this summer to get pregnant!

So our playdate for the afternoon just had to be canceled due to Ethan's fever. not that I blame our hostess at ALL, it's just frustrating, we've already rescheduled this particular day three times now. Sigh. I'm thinking I may run some errands this afternoon, before the crazyinsane heat arrives and I don't want to leave the house!

Hugs!

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Hi ladies.

Excited about Fridays scan Angela. Anna, so sorry your having those migraines. YIKES!

Not much really going on here. Still packing. I'm EXHAUSTED today. I had to take a xanax last night because I had some kind of anxiety. Nothing too intense but I couldn't sleep so I took one. Now I'm overtired.

Amelia has been clingy lately. She freaks out when we put her down on the floor with her toys, when we try to put her in her bouncy, she even freaks out when the blender is on. I'm guessing this is the stage they start to cling to parents?? She's also STILL been giving us issues with naps. Sometimes she does sometimes she doesn't. When she does it's a HUGE ordeal. For example:

Doug and I were playing with her outside together on the porch because it was a nice day. We came inside and SLOWLY put her in the bouncer showing her we were around and when Doug went upstairs to shower before work she started to lose it. Then I tried to let her calm down and went into the kitchen for a second to empty dishes and she had a TANTRUM. I mean SCREAMED like bloody murder. So, I picked her up to calm her down and put her in her bath chair I have in the sink while I unloaded the dishwasher right in front of her. Gave her a bucket and some toys and she was GREAT. Until I turned the vitamix on to make a smoothy. The lip came out and then the wail.

I sat her down with me, changed her, sang with her and she was still pretty pouty so I figured it was time for a nap. Put her down and she screamed bloody murder again until she made that sound I know SO WELL when she refuses to nap...I brought her slowly up and she threw up ALL OVER THE PLACE. ((sigh)) I picked her up, told her everything was okay, cleaner her, put her in new clothes, took the sheets off and put knew ones on THEN put her back into bed for a nap and NOW she's out.

Holy Cats is this tiring! I now have a sugar free red bull in hand to wake me up a bit and give me some needed energy.

Have any of you gone through this? Am I doing something wrong?! I know she's got more teeth coming in and she's had a heck of a time with the one that's barely through. I'm guessing it's a combination of things.

What scares me though is I've heard from a friend that when they cry about getting out of the stroller or such that your not supposed to take them out every time for they'll expect it and have tantrums until they get their way everytime. Not sure if this is correct for an 8 month old versus a toddler though.

At any rate, when she's awake we usually have so much fun with her. I LOVE when I start to laugh and that makes her laugh so we have a laughing fest. It REALLY brings me joy that we can bond like that.

After she went to bed last night Doug and i watched Couples Retreat I think it's called. It was Hillarious! We has such a NEEDED laugh together. We're trying to find that spark again. It's coming slowly but surely back.

Time at the beach was fun. Amelia liked her feet in the sand but did NOT like the waves rolling in on the beach. She clinged to my mom.lol

I think I'm going to rename her from baby bear to cling-on now.

 

[MissMuffet08]

Hi All,

Work is still kicking my butt so that is why I have been MIA. How do I get to Hearty's journal? I want to congratulate her as well.

Anna - Glad to hear that your spells aren't anything too serious, although being a migraine sufferer sorry that you get them as well. I had to stop taking the pill about 8 years ago because of my migraines. Every time I would try one day 2 or 3 I would get a bad migraine. Thanks for asking about my mom. She is fine. She is in Castle Rock which isn't too far from the Springs, but they didn't really have any smoke. If they did, they weren't home enough to notice. My neice was visiting them and so they were out and about for the past two weeks. Glad to hear that Jo's tooth has cut and that she is sleeping consistently throught the night!!!! Yay!!!!

Angela - sorry to hear about Ethan's fever. Hopefully it is lowgrade one. I too kinda think summer is half way over by July 4th. Especially when I lived in ATL because we started school towards the end of August (yes football season! LOL). WHat are your plans for the 4th? Two more days SQUEEEAAAL!!!!

Rebekah - The clingy thing is totaly in the norm. about 8 or 9 months, babies start going through separation anxiety. Because she was preemie by 10 weeks, she didn't start it until about 11 or 12 months. She is just starting to get over it and letting other people (other than me and my husband) hold her. Not the throwing up part, but the not going down for a nap part consistently I am totally right there with you. I just got off the phone with Steve and he was telling me he had problem TODAY putting Katelyn down for a nap. It was truly a process/ordeal. Glad you guys had a good time at the beach. It sounded like a lot of fun.

AFM - same ole same ole. Work work work. I am starting swim classes this weekend I think. I have to look at the time because I have a baby shower for my neice (hubby side). She is 23 and just as cute as she can be, just glowing. Looking at her makes me miss being pregnant, that is until I saw her swollen feet, then I was like, yeah...I don't miss that!

Katelyn is now having issues when I give her a bath. If she thinks I am going to wash her hair she freaks out and starts to stand up in the tub. The other night I had to have Steve come in and hold her while I washed her because she refused to sit down. I then HAD to wash her hair because she was in the pool. Lots of screaming and crying. I hate for bath time to be traumatic like that. Normally she is ok in the tub and actually LOVES the water. Just doesn't like her head to be wet. Swimming lessons should be fun...

On another subject, I am totally saddened by the fact that my 15 year old neice (hubby side) is pregnant. My SIL has lost her mind it seems and hasn't been acting right for months now and basically is nonchalant about the whole thing. I am just so sad by it all. Right before Christmas my SIL lost her job, then about 2 months ago she was evicted from her apartment. So currently she and her pregnant daughter are living with friends/relatives (going from house to house) and neither one has a job. What makes it worse is that we are having this fun HUGE baby shower for the 23 year old to celebrate the pregnancy and baby. Do we do the same for the 15 year old? Just very sad. I just keep praying for both of them as it is all I can do. Didn't mean to bring anyone down.

What is everyone's plans for the 4th of July? Also, I will do my best to post a few new photos of Katelyn on Friday...and then maybe Angela can post new photos of Ethan and her baby girl/boy? LOL

Jules how is it going with the daycare? Beth how is Poppy, I saw some of your photos on Facebook the other day. Carole, Laura, Charmaine, Skye, CJ, Chris 1 & 2, Lou, Viv and anyone else I may have left off, miss you and hope you are doing well!

Best,
Steph

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Thanks Steph. It looks like all this is normal. The throwing up I think is her getting herself all worked up.

Oh Dear. Sounds like your sil has had quite a rough year. ((sigh)) I'm thinking with the 15 year old, you should feel it out. Will she actually be keeping the baby or will she be putting the baby up for adoption for someone who can raise him or her with love, structure and maybe giving the baby more than she or her own mother can give?

Of course this is easier said than done too. It's the mother's choice and if her decision is to keep the baby then maybe it would be something nice to give her a small party. You can't change what has already been done. If anything. Maybe it would be helpful to the baby to have some necessities. Knowing what we all know the necessities would bring some great help their way to providing for the child. A pack n play, car seat, stroller, diapers, wipes, onesies, lots of clothes for the baby to grow into. Maybe some books for the baby. simple supplies like infant tylenol and ibuprofin, books on parenting.

It's hard for all of us emotionally to deal with this as we know how hard it is to ttc and then our new experience with parenting let alone a single mother with no income. The best we can do is see it from the baby's perspective and try and help that way.

Which brings me to my experience. Remember my cousins daughter who got pregnant while on drugs, tried to commit suicide, etc just after our son passed away and then I was quite mad?? Her daughter is THE cutest little bean. Sadly for her, she's living with my cousin (her grandma) who has custody because her daughter is still terribly addicted to drugs.

I'm saying this because my perspective was similar to yours. I was disappointed, angry and maybe a bit bitter because here this kid was, conceiving when I lost my son and others in our own group have had a tough time. It's hard to put these feelings aside. NOW seeing this little doll, I feel bad for her. She doesn't have a mother who cares for her...or at least doesn't get to know her and find joy in the milestones like we do. In which case, if all we can do is help out somehow to make the baby comfortable...then this is what should be done.

In the end, you'll feel it all out. The sadness really doesn't go away. I'm still tearing up about this little girl born into such a hard circumstance. If I let it get to me I'd really ask why's again about our children passing and how some are born into very bad circumstances...why "I" couldn't have her child when she couldn't care for it. I could go on and on selfishly but the end result wouldn't be resolved nor would it solve things.

Do what you think is right. Feel out the circumstances and move from there. If there is no party then try doing what they do in the UK and maybe bring some items upon the baby's birth to celebrate the child not the teen pregnancy.

I understand how you feel though. It's sad, frustrating and just so darn confusing sometimes if you focus on it.

Hugs to you and MANY prayers for the family. I'm sure they will need it considering the hardships they've had already. All we can do is love them!