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

[Wicky78]

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking and keeping up with posts, but haven't had time to respond. Well, actually, I started to respond one time but screwed up the post so I just gave up. Oh, technology!

Anyway, it was so fun to hear everyone's Halloween plans. Miriam didn't go trick or treating, but we did take her to a Trunk or Treat Safety Fair our local Police and Fire station held, along with my 12 year old cousin. So it was the perfect photo opportunity and the 12 year old took home all the candy I've attached a picture of our little bunny, although she definitely wasn't feeling it that day. She's usually so smiley!

M isn't doing the screeching thing, per se... she just kind of "talks" in a really loud voice. It sounds a lot like fussing, but when you look at her, you can tell she's content and just "talking." I'm sure screeching will come soon enough

Miki, I am mad at your landlord on your behalf! It sounds like they aren't good with money and didn't set aside the deposit in an account so they found any way possible to not have to pay it back. That's totally bogus and unprofessional! Oh, and I didn't think your haircut for gummy looked bad at all! He looks so grown up with all that hair, my goodness!

Wish, all that talk of standing and nearly walking is so exciting with your boys! It's fun to hear how they approach things differently. I love that they are now playing/interacting with each other more. That must be so cute to watch (most of the time!). I hope they will be the kind of twins that are close and get along well.

TTC, Bella looks adorable in her costume! I still can't get over those curls!!!

I know this was awhile ago now, but I really wanted to thank all of you for your supportive comments when my friend got all passive aggressive about flu shots. As Wish pointed out, it wasn't like I was saying no one without the shot could ever see her for the rest of her life... duh, I can't keep her in a bubble! But just until 2 weeks after she gets her second shot. So by Christmas time, when most people would see her, she'll be up to date on her flu shots and immunity at its maximum potential. That way, even if she's exposed, she will likely have a lesser chance of getting the flu or of having it very badly. I mean, we're not super germ-freaks or anything - we have been known to pick up pacifiers off the floor and give them right back to M as long as there's no cat hair stuck to them - we just want to follow the recommendations because our peanut is still so little.

Speaking of little, I don't think I updated you all after her 6 month checkup on 10/19. She came in at 12 lbs 3 oz and 25 1/4 inches. She is finally on the weight chart at the 1st percentile! Pediatrician said everything looks good, but she is still behind developmentally compared with other 6 month olds. I think she's pretty on track with her adjusted age, though, as she had met all the 4 month milestones at least two weeks before her checkup. We're still in OT and PT. OT got continued through another month because she is still having trouble with eating. She just doesn't open her mouth wide enough to get a spoon in and she keeps making weird LOUD slurping noises at the breast like she's not getting good suction. She's making great progress with PT, though, and the flat spot on her head is barely noticeable. Honestly, I don't think other (untrained) people would notice it unless it was pointed out to them.

Hi to Ask and Terri and anyone else I forgot!

 

[TTC74]

That’s adorable Wicky! Speaking of pics. I got plenty of Bella at the pumpkin patch!

I also recently attended my first grandchild’s baby shower. It was so sweet. She’s due on Dec 16th!

 

[Wish2BMom]

I can't with all these cute pics!!! Love them!!

how exciting to have your first grandchild due next month! I cannot believe it's here already!! I swear you just told us your DD was pregnant!

wicky - always so good to see you! Congrats, peanut, for getting on the weight chart!!

miki - how are you?

The boys are awesome - still doing so well. Not walking yet but the biggest development lately has been that Timothy started babbling again and Malcolm is finally saying Ms, so a 'Mama' is thrown in there every now and then instead of always 'Dadadadada' Timothy started with the Ds too, so he sounds like 'Dadadadadada' but he lights up when I say 'Mamamama'. HA! Solid foods are starting to go a lot better - they get puffs and yogurt melts before a meal now, sometimes some cut up avocado or banana too. I tried soft carrots and string beans from a can but they don't like the taste of them (duh - who does) so I have to figure out something there. They are definitely INTERESTED in the stuff we eat b/c they become little seagulls when I'm eating anything in front of them. So just need to get the right stuff in front of them. But overall, they are gagging less and finally figuring out 'chewing' and squishing between tongue and gums before swallowing. PHEW. This is the most pressured I've felt so far!!

 

[mikihope]

I love all the updates! And the adorable photos! This is the first non smiley pic of Miriam that I've seen, but she's still an adorable little bunny And Bella is so cute and happy in the pumpkin patch!

Thanks Wish and Wicky for being angry on my behalf. It turns out that our deposit wasn't as large as I thought, and that they apparently took out some rent that we owed them in the beginning of our lease, and trash and water, etc. It's the lazy manager's fault, she's supposed to have sent a breakdown. The breakdown she finally sent a couple of days ago (blindly cut-and-pasted from their ledger) is unreadable, DH and I still don't understand it, and we have PhDs in engineering! Even though it's not right to take those things out of the deposit, I think we might actually owe that money. I'm so tired of trying to deal with it that I might just let it slide.

Wish- It's nice that you got to spend time with your friends, and then come home to your little bundles of fun! They really sound like they'll be early walkers... are you prepared? Hehe, little seagulls. That's a great description of hungry babies. Yay, they're saying mama and dada already! Sadly, gummy only says mama when he's crying, and he clearly and happily says dada to DH. Luckily daycare lady warned me that this tends to happen, or I might have been jealous!

Wicky- thanks for the compliment on gummy's haircut! It's great that Miriam is now on the weight chart. She's growing so well! She's getting such good care from you guys, I'm sure she'll progress in leaps and bounds in everything from here on. Soon, she won't be such a little peanut anymore. Take heart, it does seem that they get more fun and cute as time goes on!

TTC- Wow, how exciting, December is almost here!

Besides crying "mama" and laughing "dada", gummy says "hello" a lot now. It's so funny when they're actually saying stuff with meaning. Unfortunately, he found his shrieking voice again this weekend, because of a hamster toy DH's brother bought from Japan. The toy is a riot, it jiggles around and repeats what you say, but in a high pitched hamster voice. Gummy and the hamster were in an imitation loop, getting more and more high pitched. And then he went "EEEEeeeeee!" I had to turn the hamster off, but the damage was done

Gummy was a bear for Halloween. It was hilarious when he crawled around, he looked like a living teddy bear. Here are some pics. I included a pic of gummy wearing DH's safety glasses, he looked so funny, and he loved wearing them!

 

[Ask4joy]

Hi ladies! I’m sorry I have been MIA. I know you understand! We are doing well and loving life. Bea is sleeping well and usually has a good 5 to 7 hour chunk in her first stretch. Breast-feeding is also going well though I had to have a milk cyst drained last week. Today we go to her doctor for her 2 month well check and vaccines. She smiles all the time and is starting to make little laughs. Beatrix is a happy baby and we feel so lucky. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the fall. I will try to check back in more often! Hugs to all!!

 

[mikihope]

So happy to hear from you, Ask! And what a wonderful update, everything is going so well for all of you (except the milk cysts... ouch!). How did Beatrix's 2 month wellness check up go?

Glad to hear that she's such a happy baby. Enjoy the smiles and laughter, they're the best!

 

[Wish2BMom]

lurking today - awesome to see updates and pics! will write more later. T had croup this week and it was scary. Trip to the ER. he's better now though but really clingy and sleeping on me so I'm typing with one hand.

i can't even take the bear pics! he's sooooo cute!

 

[Wish2BMom]

Ok now I'm alone and can type! ha!

Miki - that stinks about your deposit but I guess it all sorta worked out. Booo for the way it was handled, though. Gummy looks SO adorable in that costume, seriously. You must just melt daily - he's so adorable. I really look forward to you guys going for #2! how's the new house coming? getting settled ok? how far is it from your office? you guys aren't anywhere near the fires, right?

ask - so glad to see you're doing well!! yes, please update on how little Bea's 2 month appt went!

wicky - what's new? what's shakin?

TTC - I thought of you this morning, about what you said when even though they are getting older, they can now show or tell you their affection for you. I got up with Timothy and it was just us. I was laying on the floor with my head on this ottoman thing I got them. He came over and stood next to my head and leaned over and put his cheek on my face. He did this 3-4 times, just hugging my face. He's such a love I melted all over the place!

Soooo yeah - croup last week. Timothy woke up Tues night with a barking cough but no fever so still went to daycare. They called us during the day to let us know about the cough in case we hadn't heard it. He still didn't quite have a fever, but it was going up. Wed night was the worst - he could barely breathe and didn't want to be in the crib. So we barely got any sleep that night. We took him to the pediatrician that morning and they were on the fence but sent us to the ER. They gave us a steroid to help open up his airway and some albuterol b/c the poor muffin also had chest congestion going on. Thank goodness they sent us - DH just dropped us off b/c he had to take Malcolm home to feed him and get bottles and such since we weren't really planning on staying out longer than an hour or so. So T and I were together - they gave him nebulized epinephrine that helped open things up, Tylenol for his fever, took chest xrays (soooooo pitiful to watch but he was a trooper) to make sure he didn't have pneumonia. Then he just slept on my chest until DH and Malcolm came. And actually even most of that time too - he was tuckered out. The xrays showed that he had just a slit of a throat passageway - i'm so glad we went! But everything opened up and fever went down and all was better. Better sleeps that night except that Malcolm came down with a cold too so he was up a lot. T stayed home with me on Friday and I tried to work a little but it was tough. But he was SO good - hung out in his pack 'n' play in the office when I had calls to be on or had to do a little work. i took him to a follow up appt, thankfully with the same NP we saw the day before. I asked her if he was considered 'severe' the day before and she said yes. But he was like night and day from then already.
T and I definitely bonded quite a bit more over these past few days. He's been very clingy and has a hard time going down to sleep now, though. We are hoping he hasn't regressed. Hopefully it's him just not feeling 100% and he'll bounce back.
One adventure after another. I just keep beating myself up for not knowing that he was really 'severe' and probably should have gone to the ER earlier. DH thought so too but then thought better of it, when he had him at 4:30am that bad night. I know we're all learning here but I don't want any lesson to come at the cost of my children's health and well-being. I feel so terrible. But i'm so glad he's ok now and I'm getting face hugs.

 

[Wish2BMom]

oh and here are some pics! I don't know why it's putting Timothy's dinosaur pic on its side...

 

[mikihope]

Oh, they're so adorable, Wish! Such happy babies. I'm amazed that you could get a photo of them together and posing with pumpkins! They look so well behaved, and like little men. That dinosaur photo of T is so cute, even though I had to turn my head to look at it

Thanks, gummy did look so ridiculously adorable in the bear costume, especially when he was crawling around. I captured videos of him being a real life teddy bear, and I can't get enough of them! Yeah, he makes me melt all the time with his animated round face. Too bad he isn't as much a of a cuddle bug as T is, though. Face hugs... so sweet -- I'm so envious! When I lay down near gummy, he breaks into loud cackling laughter and rushes over to smash my face. I can sometimes get him to plant a kiss on my cheek on command, but usually he laughs and says (a long and drawn out) "aaaahhhh..." while he grabs my hair on both sides of my face.. hard!

New house is great, even though it's old and we're doing things like sealing windows and stuff. And it's only 2 minutes from daycare and 12 minutes from work! I feel that deserve this, after spending the past few years sometimes commuting 1.5-2 hours one way, and DH working on weekends. Oh, we're not that near the fires but we're suffereing from an extended period of horrendous air quality. DH's lab is closed and he's been working from home.

Poor T, I'm glad that he's so much better now. It must have been so sad and scary for all of you. I've been terrified about gummy getting croup, it sounds so distressing for all involved. I had severe asthma as a child, and I'm always wondering how my parents coped with that. It's so hard to watch your baby suffer. It's nice that T is now well, and you get to enjoy face hugs and cuddles from him

 

[TTC74]

Love reading these updates! Have I told you all about oldest DD? She’s 35 weeks and has choliostasis of pregnancy. They are monitoring her twice a week and intend to induce at 37 weeks (right after thanksgiving). So far the baby is doing great, though.

 

[mikihope]

I had cholestasis too, and that was why I was induced at 37 weeks. I went through all the monitoring too, and I guess it's at least a comfort that they are taking good care of both momma and baby.

Your poor daughter, does she have the intense itching? I somehow managed to skip the itchy part, no idea why. I'm so glad that baby is doing great. I hope your DD is doing fine too. Only 2 weeks left, it'll pass in a flash! Keep us posted!

 

[TTC74]

Will do. Sadly, she learned that her best friend died yesterday of undetermined reason. So, she’s going through a lot.

 

[mikihope]

Oh no... I'm so sorry to hear of your DD's loss, TTC. What a terribly difficult time for your DD, I hope she stays strong. Hugs to the both of you and your family.

 

[Wish2BMom]

oh no that's terrible, TTC!! I'm so sorry for your DD's loss and situation with the baby. I'm super glad that the baby is ok, though. Not long until you can snuggle your new granddaughter!

miki - that's awesome that everything is going great for you guys! Oh, do not be fooled, I get my hair pulled, face smacked, face scratched MANY MANY times a day!! I know that's all out of love too - they just get so excited and don't know how to control their extremities when they do! It was a rare occasion that T leaned in for a hug instead! I also brought M into bed the other morning around 5:20 just to get us through to 6am without crying and he must have been mostly asleep when I did this. He woke up, looked around, saw my face and leaned in for a kiss with a huge smile on his face, like he was pleasantly surprised to have woken up in my bed instead of his crib. SO cute!
and thanks!! those pics with the pumpkins are their school pics so they did whatever they could to get them to sit still together, smile (for the most part) and get those shots! I'm so thankful! I heard squeaky toys were involved.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

 

[mikihope]

Lucky you, those are adorable pumpkin pics, Wish! And M's reaction to waking up in your bed is so unbearably cute! Ah...I like your theory, I now understand gummy's need to slap our faces. It's love!

I can't believe the air quality is actually getting worse here. DH is still working from home as his lab is still closed. I feel bad that I'm getting upset about the air quality when so many people are suffering from the devastation from the fires. I'm just so upset that gummy will not be able to have his last swim class of the year this Saturday, and his swim class last Saturday was also cancelled. I so look forward to it, it's so cute and he enjoys it.

 

[Wish2BMom]

it's totally out of love, miki! He wouldn't do that with a stranger, probably. Enjoy every slap!
Ugh, the air quality - that's like LIFE so I get your annoyance with it. These fires are so disastrous, I feel TERRIBLE. I cannot even fathom that being my life. I wish we could send some of this rain we've been getting all fall over there. We have flooded streams and such. It just snowed last night - HAPPY to send that over.
What are you doing for Kai's first birthday??

I've had to already pick a date to have the boys' b/c my family needs to book flights and such. So it'll be the 2nd weekend in Jan, before the 15th (since that's mid-week). Other than that, I have no idea what we're 'doing'. It's really just going to be a party for everyone else b/c the boys won't remember or care, there are probably going to be a lot of people that want to come (or read, will be offended if they aren't invited) and our house can only hold so many people. So do we rent a place? The boys will only be ONE! And maybe we'll ask that people donate to the WWF or ASPCA in lieu of gifts. Oy, so much to think about!

 

[TTC74]

DDs induction date has been set for the Monday following Thanksgiving!

 

[Gemma James]

Hi there I'm on the tww I've been trying to conceive for 5months I'm 6dpo atm and my period is due in 9days fingers crossed for me ladies I've been feeling different from how I normally do on the tww

 

[mikihope]

Wish- Haha, it's true that gummy wouldn't slap a stranger's face! Wow, T and M's 1st birthday is already coming up. And you're so prepared, already with the date set and starting to think about the logistics! We still haven't decided what to do yet. We don't have family here, and we've moved every year since we've moved here to the US. We could invite some friends and DH's cousin and family, maybe...
Yeah, the devastation from the fires is so terrible. I'm relieved that rain is finally on its way; I guess your kind thoughts helped. Wow, snow already... I hope you and family are keeping warm!

TTC- How exciting, and so close to Thanksgiving! I hope she has a smooth delivery!

Hi Gemma, I hope this is the month you get your BFP!

Gummy is so animated these days, and he is always on the move. He's loud and he throws things around, but he's really funny and cheeky. He sounds so cute when he says "baba" for "bottle" and "dada" and "hella" ("hello". It's so funny when he says this when standing in the crib and looking at us sleeping nearby.). He waves and says "byebye", and he does this to daycare lady and to DH. It's really cute. But he doesn't do this to me, and he still only says "mama" when he's crying. If I try to tell him to call me "mama", he just laughs and says "dada". Sigh. DH is supposed to teach him French (basically his native language), but he hasn't done much talking to him in French, so there's no sign of gummy saying any French words.