BFP Chasers...........Feel free to join....

[mikihope]

Hehe, imagine 15 hours time difference! Plus poor gummy was suddenly covered with rashes yesterday, so we took him to the doc today. Turns out he had been battling some viral illness, plus his bottom 2 teeth just appeared yesterday. He'd been so exhausted and hot to the touch, but I thought it was jet lag and the summers heat.

Poor gummy, he's usually so cheerful and greedy that it wasn't obvious he wasn't well. He was still generally cheerful and drinking lots of milk. Now that he's better, I see the difference. He's so ridiculously silly and happy again! Imagine having jet lag, teething, and a virus at the same time... I feel so bad that I didn't realize he was ill

 

[TTC74]

Glad gummy is back up to snuff Miki!

 

[Wish2BMom]

poor gummy, that sounds miserable!!
yeah, i've been to India and STRUGGLED with the jetlag there. Took me a few days to catch up.
I'm glad he's on the mend now!!

 

[TTC74]

Bella was up screaming half the night. We had no idea why until 11:30 this morning when the school called saying she couldn’t stop pooping and there is a stomach bug ripping through her school.

 

[Wicky78]

Ugh... jet lag is rough! We lived in Germany when I was born and my mom said she would try to stay on one country's time even when in the other, just to keep things the same. It never worked for her, though! The sunlight caught up with her I don't know if she had any tricks for jet lag with a baby. I should ask. Obviously, I don't remember!!!

Things have been good with M the last couple of weeks. I, on the other hand, have been having a rough time. I feel exhausted all the time, even when nothing's happening and I'm getting rest. I think it's the PPD rearing its ugly head again *sigh* I also started back to work on July 6. It was great starting on a Friday because I got to ease back into things and have a weekend right away. Last week, I caught some kind of bug - maybe from being back at work in a hospital - and ended up staying home Thurs & Fri. I feel better but guilty for taking more time off right after coming back from leave. M and I slept all day Saturday (7 hours straight), so I think that she might have also been struggling with a bug.

M turns 3 months this Thursday. I can't believe it has gone so fast! She weighs 7 lbs, 9 oz as of last Thursday. She's still on the 3rd percentile line for weight and jumping around all over the place for height/length. To us, she looks like she's getting big, but she's still just tiny for her age!

Breastfeeding has improved. She can latch on and seems to actually be swallowing milk for 15-20 minutes per side, as long as I use the nipple shield. She still sounds like a rabid dog when she is trying to latch on, though. I told DW I'd be mortified to feed her in public because she sounds so ridiculous I'm still only producing about 2 oz a day pumping (combined!), but a friend of mine told me she couldn't pump much but her kids nursed just fine, so I'm hoping that M is getting a decent amount. I have to supplement with formula, anyway, but it would be nice to know all this effort has some kind of result. I knew BF could be a challenge and not always a happy experience, but I had no idea how much effort it would take and how often I would question my decision. The recent progress helps me stick with it, as I enjoy the bonding time. It really is different from bottle feeding. But sometimes it is traumatizing when my baby is throwing a fit (turning red/purple, screaming and coughing, arching her back, pushing away from me) because the milk isn't coming fast enough or she isn't latching on right.

Miki - I feel for you and not realizing gummy was sick. It's so hard to tell with little ones, especially if you think you know why the baby isn't being him/herself. I keep wondering if M has a fever or if she's just hot because it's HOT outside. Will I even know?

Also, on the subject of genetic relationships versus appearance, I thought I'd share my experience as a stepchild. I was always close to my stepmother and she and I looked somewhat alike, despite having no genetic connection. People told her all the time that I looked just like her and they knew I was her daughter because of how much we looked alike. She just laughed and thanked them... it was like our little inside joke. It made us happy that we had a connection of some kind that people could see, even if imagined (not genetically based). I hope you can come to enjoy this inside joke with your gummy in time. Also, it sounds to me like you and DH did a great job of picking your donor, as gummy has traits similar to yours. DW and I tried to find a donor with traits similar to her and we think we succeeded - M looks a bit like DW's baby pictures right now. So we take it as a credit to ourselves that we did a good job of picking a donor. I don't know if that will help you, but I thought it was worth sharing.

Wish - I can't believe the boys are 6 months already! Where does the time go?

Terri - we ended up staying indoors practically the whole time we were in MD. What was the deal with the heat leading up to July 4?! So miserably hot! I hope you got to stay indoors with AC, too...

Spud!!! It's so good to hear from you. I was sorry to hear AF came, as it would have been exciting to have another BFP. Glad to hear the girls are doing well, though I cannot get over how old they are. I think my inner clock of time passing has gotten all messed up during pregnancy and postpartum LOL! It's too bad Miki won't still be in Singapore to cross paths with you on your return trip home. I hope you get to enjoy your remaining time at home before going back to NZ.

TTC - so excited for your daughter and soon-to-arrive granddaughter! Does this mean you'll be able to hand down some of your daughter's things to your granddaughter?

 

[Wicky78]

On my May birth group thread, one of the moms shared that she and her OH call their baby's spit up/vomiting a "cheese fountain." I read that yesterday and thought it was funny/gross. Well, last night we had a cheese fountain of our own and OH MY GOSH was it gross! I now completely and totally understand this phrase in a way that I kind of wish I didn't Let's just say the baby and I both had a bath and the sleeper liner and all of her clothes and blankets got thrown in the wash ASAP!

 

[Wish2BMom]

TTC - ewwww poor Bella!! "couldn't stop pooping"

oh dear, wicky! That sounds horrible!! I haven't had a cheese fountain yet, thank goodness!!

That's so wonderful that little M (loving the pic on your avatar, by the way) has gained almost 4 lbs in 3 months! Malcolm is on the small end too so I can relate. He's just a peanut and it's just perpetuated by his brother looking so huge next to him! They go for their 6 month appt next week, I'm so curious to see where they are on the scale.
I'm sorry your PPD is coming back but it sounds like you recognize it and are handling it well. This whole thing is all about adjustments I think - having baby, no sleep anymore, going back to work, babies at daycare, schedule change after change after change, nipple changes, growth spurts, developmental changes! It doesn't end! Not that i want it to but I think my realizing that this is the way of life now has helped me out.

afm - we are all doing great! M woke up a few days in a row with puffiness around his eyes but it was gone this morning. It went away into the day but he'd wake up that way and of course Dr Google said this could be the first sign of kidney failure. But he's peeing fine and everything else is fine. B/c he just got over an ear infection, the nurse thought it could be a sinus infection. But he woke up fine today so I just cancelled. Oh the things that can go wrong!!
T has taken to screaming at the very top of his lungs and it's so funny. LOUD but funny - you can tell he's just trying out all octaves of his voice.
that's really it! We have 6 month pictures this weekend, I can't wait to see them!!

 

[TTC74]

Yes Wicky! I’ve already given her a ton of clothes and made a list of other things she’s welcome to if she wants.

I got another call to pick up Bella today. Child was fine yesterday. She goes to school and starts pooping like crazy again! What is up with that place?!

AFM - 9 DPO bfn today. No big deal. I usually don’t get BFPs until 11-12 DPO. Frankly, though, I’m not expecting another at 43. It would be shocking.

 

[Wicky78]

TTC - that's so weird about Bella's pooping at daycare! I hope she didn't catch the bug a second time On a more pleasant note, how fun is it that Bella will get to be a playmate for her little niece, with them being just 1 1/2 yrs apart or so in age?! My family is a bit "interesting" and we have situations like nieces being older than their aunts or the same age as each other and it's kind of fun (though confuses/freaks out some people!).

 

[TTC74]

TTC - that's so weird about Bella's pooping at daycare! I hope she didn't catch the bug a second time On a more pleasant note, how fun is it that Bella will get to be a playmate for her little niece, with them being just 1 1/2 yrs apart or so in age?! My family is a bit "interesting" and we have situations like nieces being older than their aunts or the same age as each other and it's kind of fun (though confuses/freaks out some people!).

They will be 22months apart. I was telling DD that there is a cabbage patch hospital that would be a day trip from her house. We’re definitely taking the girls together when they’re a little older!

 

[mikihope]

TTC- Thanks, gummy is doing great now, but he "lost"€ his voice a few days ago! He seemed fine, but he had a really hoarse and almost non-existent voice. Poor Bella, is she doing better now? I forgot to congratulate you on your granddaughter! How cool that your daughter and granddaughter can be playmates.

Wicky- What a precious photo of M! She’s smiling in that pic I’m so glad that bf is working better for you! I hope that you’re feeling more energetic and you’re not experiencing PPD. If it helps, I was ridiculously exhausted while trying to make bf work, and I felt depressed and crazy from the lack of sleep. Once I got more sleep (not a lot, but it did miracles), I was a different person.
Yeah, it’s crazy how sometimes we can’t even tell they’re sick. I thought we were supposed to have a mother’s intuition! Thank you so much for telling me your story, I was so touched by it. I hope that I get to enjoy that inside joke with gummy -- that would be so sweet.

Wish- Yup, it’s hard to get used to the time difference between here and Asia! Poor M, I hope his eyes are ok now. Funny, gummy also took to joyful shrieking at some point, and it was just before our trip. I was dreading being on the plane with him shrieking that loudly.

Gummy is constantly getting up on all fours, but he can only move his legs and one arm. So he either barely inches forward, or topples over. This makes for a very frustrated baby! He loves our two cats, he squeals and tries to crawl towards them. But he is rough with their ears, and tends to pull them. Thank goodness they are very tolerant cats!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[TTC74]

Bella is doing much better. Thanks all. She even made it through school Friday!

 

[mikihope]

Glad Bella is doing much better, TTC!

 

[TTC74]

I’m going a little nutty today. AF was due yesterday. I had a spot of dark blood and assumed AF would be there in hours. Except there’s been no sign of her. So, I am testing like crazy and developing line eye!

 

[TTC74]

AF finally got me.

 

[Rainshiny]

Awwww... sorry TTC that sucks.

 

[Wish2BMom]

So sorry TTC - still not sure how you're driving yourself nuts every month!


I'm in such a different boat now, it feels so weird. I have AF right now and I barely remember she's here now. It's SO FREEING to not track it every single month and go through the ups and downs. I feel like I'm forgetting to do/feel something b/c I did for so long.

rainy! how are you, hon? how are those twins? how's your summer going?

So I got a new job! I am going back to the big company I was laid off from back in 2012. I cannot wait - industry I'm FAR more comfortable with, more modern ways of thinking/culture, closer to my boys' daycare, closer to home (not that this was far), better compensation package. There is nothing about this change that is wrong or questionable. My last day here is today. I don't know if the firewalls at the new/old place will allow me on here so I might be finally saying goodbye to BnB. It's served me very well and I know I'll pop on from time to time just to check in.

I wish you all nothing but good things in your lives. My sincerest THANK YOU to EVERYONE who helped support me through my LTTTC, pregnancy, birth, post-birth. I love you all and you'll always have a very special place in my heart and memories.

 

[mikihope]

Wow, I'm so happy for you, Wish! All things good are happening in your life, and I hope they continue for you I know I'll miss your continual presence here, it always brings sunshine to my day. Definitely pop in from time to time and let us know how you and your lovely boys are doing!

TTC- Sorry AF showed. There's always next month!

Gummy is up to 6 crawling steps forward now... I think he'll be crawling around for real before the end of the week! Oh, and we've started looking to buy a house and settle down here in the Bay Area. I would love for gummy to grow up and go to school in Berkeley, as it has a very diverse student body from all walks of life. But the prices of homes are insane! I comfort myself with the fact that the prices in Singapore are far more crazy, and I could never dream of affording even a fixer house there.

How is everyone else? The weekend is almost here!

 

[terripeachy]

Congratulations Wish!!

 

[Wicky78]

Wish, that sounds amazing. We'll miss you if you aren't able to post much, but yay for getting a great job!