anyone ttc or ntnp before there child is a year old?

[Pielette]

Aw poor Liam! I think some toddlers are absolutely obsessed with babies. One of my good friends has two little girls, 3 and 4, and they can't seem to leave Milo alone (in a nice way though).

Been reading a thread in baby club that got me thinking so I'm curious as to what you ladies do - do you leave your babies alone with their siblings? I don't mean going out or anything I just mean sometimes I'll go into the kitchen to prep dinner or go and get a load of washing for example. And they're always fine, I guess I'm lucky that Noah is very good natured and always knows to walk around Milo and be gentle. But should I never do that? I'm just hearing how you should never leave a baby alone with a toddler in case something happens.

 

[HAKing]

Rachel, it's good to hear from you! Ice skating lessons for Ozzy sounds like so much fun. I'm glad he's enjoying it.

That's fantastic that Ozzy is in a big boy bed now I've thought about switching Sam but I think we are gonna wait until we move to get him one. Do you have a guard rail up so he won't accidently roll off in the middle of the night? Sam is quite the mover in his sleep that I'm afraid he will fall out

Vanessa, Milo is so cute! I love that picture.

As for your question about leaving the boys alone; I struggled with this a lot right after Ben was born because I didn't know how Sam would react to him and I will admit there were a few times I walked out for a minute or two and Ben was crying or Sam sat on him talking to him. But know it seem like Sam is totally good with Ben and doesn't need 100% supervision around him. He knows he has to be gentle and hasn't seemed to have a problem in a long time now.

Like Jordyn said with Alia, Sam is very fascinated with Ben and wants to hold him or shows him his toys and is always talking to him so I no longer worry. And usually it's only 5 minutes max that I step out for laundry or to go to the bathroom.

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Alia's fascination with Liam seems to involve Liam getting hurt, so I usually don't leave them alone for more than 1 minute max. Sometimes, I'll tell Alia, "Okay, mamma will be right back. Keep Liam happy, okay?" And she'll usually go sit by him and talk to him, but then she loses interest pretty fast.

Okay, so the most horrible thing happened last night. First of all, I fell down the stairs again! My poor tailbone hadn't fully recovered from the last night I did that, so that sucked. Then, Liam actually slept through the night. Didn't wake for a bottle once! Why was this horrible, you ask? Because I was kept awake all night by a sore throat, cough, headache, diarrhea, and vomiting. So I couldn't even enjoy it! The best I can hope for is that maybe he'll do it again tonight, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[Harley Quinn]

Oh, Jordyn, that is terrible about your tailbone and being so sick! How are are you doing now?

Heather, it's funny you should ask about the guardrails and Ozzy falling out of bed. We've been sleeping on the floor in his room because our bed wasn't set up. The other night, something woke me, and I turned just in time to see Ozzy rolling over. I put my hands up just in time to catch him and stop him from falling on me! Haha! He moves around a lot in his sleep, so he probably will fall out a few times, but I think he'll be okay. It's not a long fall, and we'll be keeping our bedroom door open for him if he needs us, so I'm not too worried.

Jimmy is doing well. He's finally starting to actually eat the baby cereal instead of just mush it around in his mouth and then spit it out. He has some rice and some oatmeal cereal every day now. I gave him a taste of steamed carrots tonight and he was not impressed. But it was also cold and kinda chunky, so it could have been that. lol He weighs 16 lbs. 6 oz. now, so he's a little guy. But growing still, so he's actually right on track.

 

[Spiffynoodles]

I'm starting to get over the illness, although I lost my voice on Monday and am just starting to get it back. My tailbone is actually not too bad! I said a very fervent prayer that it would not be as badly injured as it was last time, and the Lord heard my prayer, because I swear I hit it just as hard as the first time, but it's not bad at all now.

Rachel, that's funny about Ozzy almost falling on you.

And speaking of beds, on a whim I decided to setup a "big girl" bed for Alia a couple days ago (just a mattress on the floor, so if she falls, it won't hurt) and she's doing great! She's slept in it the past two nights with no complaint, and took a nap in it yesterday. I have a friend who had a horrible experience transitioning her daughter to a bed, and a SIL who had a hard time with her son, so I was fearing the worst, but so far I'd say it's a success!

 

[blessedmomma]

so glad you're feeling better jordyn! praise the Lord your tailbone wasn't as bad

my preliminary testing for lupus came back positive so I have to get a consultation with a high risk maternal fetal specialist. he did my genetic testing and 12 & 20 wk u/s so I already know him and he is fabulous. still kinda in shock about it all

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Lupus??? Yikes, Melissa. I'm sorry to hear that. So are the doctors attributing the decreased movements to the Lupus? And does this change their plans for you, delivery-wise?

 

[Skadi]

Ugh Yuck Melissa... Didn't you say your mom has Lupus too?

 

[blessedmomma]

jordyn- I have no idea what it means right now. my ob said it would change how my pregnancy is treated, but I didn't ask what that would mean. I googled of course and it said decreased fetal movement does occur with lupus, but there is usually a reason related to the lupus like a blood clot in the placenta or other placenta problems like abruption which I had happen in one pregnancy. or that the lupus is effecting blood pressure/protein in urine which could end up in pre-eclampsia, which I have also had in another pregnancy. although as far as I know my blood pressure is low at this point.

Elizabeth- yep, my mom has it. so does some cousins and aunts on her side of my family. she is the reason I decided to be tested. when I started having so many complications I was discussing it with her and she was talking about how it effected her pregnancies. she has clotting problems so she lost 5 babies all together. they didn't know she had lupus back then. and there was probably other complications, but they didn't have as much u/s scans and tests back then so she isn't sure.

I agreed to be tested although I honestly thought it was gonna come back negative. im pretty shocked it didn't. I see the maternal fetal specialist on feb 10th, so I guess I will find out more. I don't have symptoms of lupus outside of when im pregnant or nursing. the raynauds vasospasms I had while nursing mason can be related. and the complications I have had in past pregnancies can be related. but outside of that I cant really say I have the symptoms of it. guess that's why im so surprised. maybe its something that only effects me when im pregnant or nursing?? idk. very odd

 

[Harley Quinn]

Melissa, that's so crazy. Seems strange to only have symptoms while pregnant, so I can see why you're so shocked. You know what, though, I can't help but think about how miraculous all your children are! You've been blessed with them despite all the complications. God is good, and I know he's taking care of you and your family. I'll keep you all in my prayers.

Speaking of prayer, Jordyn, that's awesome that your tailbone isn't as bad this time around. And I'm glad you're starting to feel less sick, too.

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Thanks, Rachel.

Melissa, I hope you get some answers soon. I can't imagine how worrying this must be for you and your family. As for it only affecting you in pregnancy and while nursing, I guess you can see it as a blessing that it doesn't affect you all the time. Silver lining, right?

 

[Duejan2012]

I will come back and do a proper reply when I get a chance I'm glad all is well.

Melissa I really wanted to just reply to your lupus test. I was told by my doc that a women with lupus is very very likly to have problems during pregnancy but worse of all after birth. Pregnancy causes flare ups because it causes a lot of inflammation already. Plus inflammation from the lupus plus hormones. My mom has lupus too and I'm too scared to be properly tested for it. I know it's very stressful but now the positive thing is that they know now what can be the prob so they know better how to take care of you and little miss.

 

[blessedmomma]

thanks ladies! as im finding things out its very strange. like im extremely allergic to sulfa meds. I was given some for a bladder infection a long time ago and it made me violently ill. was told my mom and grandma were very allergic to it so I thought it was just some allergy in my family. I guess its very common for lupus patients to be allergic to it. maybe my grandma had it too, but no tests for it back then?? idk. and I started drinking some herbal teas that are supposed to help with pph. I had that with mason so I thought I would be proactive this time. I started getting headaches from it and one of the teas is alfalfa tea. which im finding out can cause lupus to flare up. also, I get lactose intolerant when pregnant and I was reading that a lot of people have digestive probs when they have a flare up. like gluten sensitive, celiacs, lactose intolerant, ibs. so wondering if that isn't from it. think I need to start eating better, lots of fruits/vegetables to reduce inflammation and exercise too. if possible I don't want to have symptoms later on in life or be on meds. would like to be as healthy as possible for my kids/grandkids. maybe its God's way of opening my eyes to getting healthier

rach- DH says the same thing! there have been so many probs, but except for the 2 mc all my babies are here safe and healthy. God is so good!

jordyn- I was thinking the same. maybe its just mild for me and I will only have probs when my immune system is compromised like during pregnancy?? it would be nice to not be on meds for life like my mom

Stacey- I agree im glad I went ahead and tested. my mom has mentioned it to my sis and I in the past but I think a combo of fear of it being positive and also thinking there was no symptoms so it would be a waste of time kept me from it. maybe you should just test for peace of mind. I did read that onset is usually in child bearing years for women for the reasons you said.

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Melissa, I hope you're right, and that you won't have to be on meds for this. I have a question, though, you said you had pph...does that stand for post partum hemorrhage? Because if it does, then I'd like to get the name of the teas you're drinking, because my SIL hemorrhaged really bad after both of her births, so much that they're considering not having any more kids, which I think would be such a shame. So if there are things that can help, I'd love to be able to tell her about it.

As for me, I'm still dealing with a sinus infection, but the kids are both totally back to normal, so that's good. Also, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself, because this month I wanted to relax and not stress about whether I was pregnant or not, so I didn't pay attention to ovulation or any of that (although I know I'm at least 10 dpo, since I checked my cervix to see whether I'd already ovulated before taking Nyquil or other medicines. Unfortunately I had, so no medicine for me! ) But I haven't tested yet, and won't until this Saturday (assuming AF hasn't shown) since I'd definitely be late by then. So basically, I'm just proud of myself for sticking to my plan to not test early this month.

 

[blessedmomma]

jordyn- yep that's what it is. the teas that were suggested for it are red raspberry leaf tea, nettle tea, and alfalfa tea. alfalfa tea is supposed to be best for it since it has a lot of vit k and will help with clotting. the rrl and nettle have a lot of iron in them so they can raise iron levels and help that way. if she had it that bad it would probably be better to use the alfalfa pills. I have heard they can be stronger. she may need to find out why she has pph so bad. like I was anemic and that may have contributed. but also my labor was very fast and that could contribute as well. also now knowing I have lupus could be a cause. so using the rrlt is not good for me even though it would normally be good. it tones the uterus and can make labor faster, which may have actually made me have pph. but her reasons may be something completely different. like if she has clotting problems or some disease that should be addressed. and maybe something completely different would work better for her. I hope all that makes sense??

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Unfortunately, I don't think they know why she has pph so bad. And both times it was delayed, like 8 hours or so after labor. But I'll tell her about those teas. Thanks.

 

[HAKing]

Melissa, I'm sorry to hear you have Lupus. I hope that your doctor will monitor you closely. Will you still get to try for a normal delivery?

Jordyn, sorry you're dealing with a sinus infection. I had one all last week as well. I've never had one and really wish I never get one again. I'm finally feeling better. How are you feeling?

That's good you didn't get all crazy and truly NTNP. I feel like its so much less stressful...until you really want to get pregnant and aren't and get frustrated Hopefully AF doesn't show for you!!!

All is good over here...everyone is finally over being sick and all seems to back to normal. Sam has been talking like crazy and I just love having little conversations with him now!

Ben is such a happy good boy too; he is trying to crawl and tried rice cereal for the first time this weekend and did really well! I love this stage where they get to starting eating "real food"

And some pictures!

https://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y498/Ciarkowski84/null_zpsb53b585e.jpg
https://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y498/Ciarkowski84/null_zpsc240ecc2.jpg
https://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y498/Ciarkowski84/null_zps25c9fbde.jpg
https://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y498/Ciarkowski84/null_zps5b9797c4.jpg

He loved the baby in the mirror!
https://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y498/Ciarkowski84/null_zps4f8fcc3a.jpg
https://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y498/Ciarkowski84/null_zps739bb811.jpg

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Heather, I love the pics! Especially the one of you and Ben. How sweet. That's awesome that Ben is already trying to crawl. I swear, if Liam is anything like Alia, then ALL of your babies will be crawling before him!

I'm finally getting over the sinus infection, thank goodness, but now I just have this dry cough that won't go away. DH said, "Oh no, it's because you're preggo! That's why you're not getting over it!" (He loves to pretend like he's horrified at the thought that I might be pregnant. He got a reaction out of me once, and so now he feels like he has to keep it up. ) The funny/sad things is, I had a cold towards the end of my pregnancy with Liam and the dry cough stuck with me until he was born, so I had to deal with it for about a month and a half. So I certainly hope that's not the case this time!

Oh, and last night, Liam woke up to eat, so I fed him, and then as I was getting ready to lay him back down in the crib, he threw up everywhere! I mean, my clothes were soaked, it was in my hair, and all over my face! Not exactly fun to deal with in the middle of the night. And then to make matters worse, he woke up crying every half hour for the rest of the night. So send us sleepy vibes tonight, because I don't think I can handle too many more of those kinds of nights before I fall asleep standing up.

 

[HAKing]

Oh no!!! I hope Liam isn't getting sick and he sleeps good for you tonight.

How are his naps during the day? Ben is still taking two naps, a morning one around 9:30 and then one in the afternoon at 3pm which sorta sucks because I never have a time with both boys sleeping so it makes doing thing a bit difficult.

My DH jokes about "when I'm pregnant again..." I want another baby but I just don't feel ready right now and really want to buy a house first and get settled so when he says it I get mixed feelings about being pregnant at the moment!

Speaking of house, how is the one you bought? When do you get to move in?

 

[Spiffynoodles]

Sadly, we're still living with the in-laws. We had that house under contract, but then the inspector told us that there was $25,000 worth of work, just in code-violations! So it was a no-go, and we're still looking for another.

As for Liam's naps, he's taking a short nap not long after he wakes up (which is still at 5am!) and then he does a 9:30am nap, and a 1pm nap. Today however, because of his bad night of sleep last night, he went to sleep at 9:30am and is still asleep right now! (it's 12:30pm) So who knows what the rest of the day will be like...

As for your mixed feelings about getting pregnant, I've been the same way lately. When I think about getting a positive test, I feel excited, but when I think about going through the newborn sleep-deprivation phase again so soon, I feel nervous. But the point is, I've survived it twice, so I know I can do it again. Plus, it helps that women always say that going from 0-1 kid is the hardest, 1-2 kids in the second hardest, and then after that it's not too bad, because you already know how to juggle more than one.