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

[terripeachy]

Just a quick check in. Hi!! Glad to hear everyone is doing well. I love all the names Wicky. You'll know when you know.

Ask- you're moving right along. Yeah!!

Nothing to report here except I am about to sign a few clients so I'm super stoked about that. I'm kind of just hanging until non-stop Olympics. Hee hee. Oh and we are not having a superbowl party this year. I like cooking tons of food but this year we'll probably get pizza and call it a day. I'll be watching just for you Wish. That doesn't mean I'm cheering for the Pats. I'll just be watching. 🙄😉😘

 

[Wish2BMom]

Hahahaha Terri!! That’s the old college try it’ll be a good game - them Eagles are scrappy and I haven’t counted Foles out yet. I actually hate not being the underdog - Pats seem to play better when they are counted out.

Miki - you sound like your head is in a good place re: BF. M doesn’t like to latch often but I just call him a stinker and pump for him so he gets the nutrition. We’ve had to figure out how to feed him formula too - he spits up a lot of it. We had to regulate by # of sucks, pull the bottle out, let him breathe and let it sink into his belly. He was going to fast and it would come out his nose and mouth. We also now have to sit him up at a good angle for a time before putting him down so it all settles in the little belly. Everything has a process, I swear!!

Now we are dealing with diaper rash. M’s poor bum is so sensitive, it’s a little chaffed. T’s is less so but both hate having their diaper changed now. Again, just more changes to the process!!

TTC - that’s so weird! A whole week early?!

 

[Wicky78]

It's so good to hear all the ideas everyone has for helping Miki with gummy's feedings! I am going to tuck away all these tips, because I know I'll need them in May

Thanks, also, for the feedback on names. I think DW and I are going to keep mulling them over and may try calling baby by one name for 24 hours and then trying another name for 24 hours, etc. and see if that clarifies anything. The good thing is, I think both DW and I would be happy with any of the names, so no matter what we pick, it'll be good. I am still kind of freaking out that I have less than 16 weeks left until the planned 39-week induction. It's starting to feel a bit panicky that our house is still in disarray and we have not even begun clearing out the space for baby's room!

Wish, it's so great to hear how you're doing with the boys. And the pictures!!!! So exciting! I, like terri, will watch the Super Bowl and think of you, but no, I'm not rooting for the Pats. I was really hoping the Vikings would make it in, but oh well. I'll just watch, not really cheering for one side or the other. I hope your boys' diaper rash improves soon. I am not looking forward to that piece of parenthood! Poor little guys!

Terri - yay for new clients! I'm with you on the Super Bowl food this year. Quick and easy is what I'm all about these days

Miki, I hope the lactation consultant is supportive and gives you "permission" to do whatever you think is best. I can't believe Kai is already almost 7 weeks old! How are you doing with getting ready for DH to return to work? I bet he'll be racing home every day to see you and gummy!

TTC - so weird about the CM a whole week early this cycle! Any other signs of Oing early? I love the Tinkerbell theme for the birthday party! Sounds like it'll be a great day!

AFM - just 4 days until V day! I'll be 24 weeks on Saturday. Yippee! My stepmom, dad, and two of my sisters are throwing a shower for me in March. I was able to get the guest list (with addresses!) to my stepmom on time. It's a small miracle and makes me feel like I'm making progress I also basically completed my registry set up, so just a couple of tweaks and we're good to go.

I had a little setback this week with terrible MS yesterday and today. Thankfully, it ebbed off this afternoon and I could go to work. At least the number of days I feel sick is significantly smaller than the number of days I feel well. That's a huge relief and it's definitely helping my mood. I'm batching it this week, as DW is in MD with MIL, but she comes home tomorrow. The kitties and I will be glad to see her!

 

[Ask4joy]

Hi ladies!

Wish - you have such a good attitude about everything! I can only aspire to be as easy going as you. Thankfully my husband is like that, so that makes one of us! Sorry to hear about the diaper rash - poor babes! Hope it resolves soon!

Wicky - so exciting that you are nearly 24 weeks! Wow! And I love all of the names. I like your idea of trying each one out for a day and seeing how it feels. We are now on our 3rd favorite name. First it was Mila Alexandra, then Beatrice Kate, now our favorite is Kate Alexandra.

TTC - I once O’d on CD 11-12. Every other cycle in that year+ that I had been tracking was CD 14-18 (usually closer to 16-17). I guess sometimes it happens!

Terri - congrats on the new clients! What’s your favorite Olympic sport to watch? I think I like the Winter Olympics better than the summer olympics.

Miki - I hope you’ve started to get a little sleep and that things are getting a little easier!

AFM - had my last appt with my RE today! Baby girl is doing great! And starting to look like a tiny human! Hehe.

 

[TTC74]

Glad everyone is doing well.

The EWCM is so weird. I have no other signs of oncoming O. My OPKs are still quite light. So, maybe I will O on my usual CD14-CD16. We shall see soon enough!

 

[Taurus8484]

Congratulations Wish....sorry its so late. Im not on here much anymore. They are truly gorgeous xx

 

[Wicky78]

Ask, she does look like a tiny human! Your scan is so much clearer than mine were at that point. I love it! I really like the names you are considering. It is such a weird process, picking a name. I can't wait to learn what your tiny human will be called, once you and DH settle on THE name!

TTC - and people wonder why getting pregnant is so difficult... it's hard enough when everything goes as planned, but then the body throws you a curve ball...

 

[Wish2BMom]

Hi girls!

TTC - fx’ed!

Ask - I love your names too! Yes picking one is very weird. Naming the boys in utero was weird too, people asking how I knew the difference. I dunno! Just felt like ‘Malcolm’ was the one sticking his bum out by my ribs constantly and turns out, he’s totally a Malcolm! I absolutely loved hearing the doc announce ‘Happy birthday, Timothy!!!’ When she pulled him out too, and then Malcolm. I get all choked up when I think of it!!
Also, awesome scan!! It’s so clear!! What a little miracle.

Wicky - happy almost V Day!!! You’ll get the nesting bug soon, I’m sure! Then you’ll get it all done in short time and feel better. Excellent start with the guest list!!

Thank you, Taurus!!! Thanks for popping in!

Terri - meant to say awesome job on the clients!! Wooo!! You’re gonna kill it, become a wealthy financier, buy a gorgeous skyline apartment, eat caviar for breakfast and forget all of us

Diaper rash is going away. The boys are awesome. I don’t have much to report. Today is the first day I think we haven’t had a visitor which is great. People have been so sweet but it messes up our schedule sometimes, which stinks. So a breather is good.
Physically, I’ve lost all of my pregnancy weight already and now working on the IVF drug weight. I have a little pooch- like how Miki looked full term but it’s nothing. I can’t exercise still 6 weeks though. I’m still a tiny bit sore around the incision but it’s completely tolerable.

 

[Lee37]

Hi Wish! Congrats on your boys!!! So exciting. Feel bad i havent been around, Lily is keeping me soooo busy these days. I am looking forward to seeing pics of your little miracles! So happy for you. Ps all i use is coconut oil (making sure to put it on often, at least before bed and in the morning) and weve experienced very little diaper rash.

Hi girls!

TTC - fx’ed!

Ask - I love your names too! Yes picking one is very weird. Naming the boys in utero was weird too, people asking how I knew the difference. I dunno! Just felt like ‘Malcolm’ was the one sticking his bum out by my ribs constantly and turns out, he’s totally a Malcolm! I absolutely loved hearing the doc announce ‘Happy birthday, Timothy!!!’ When she pulled him out too, and then Malcolm. I get all choked up when I think of it!!
Also, awesome scan!! It’s so clear!! What a little miracle.

Wicky - happy almost V Day!!! You’ll get the nesting bug soon, I’m sure! Then you’ll get it all done in short time and feel better. Excellent start with the guest list!!

Thank you, Taurus!!! Thanks for popping in!

Terri - meant to say awesome job on the clients!! Wooo!! You’re gonna kill it, become a wealthy financier, buy a gorgeous skyline apartment, eat caviar for breakfast and forget all of us

Diaper rash is going away. The boys are awesome. I don’t have much to report. Today is the first day I think we haven’t had a visitor which is great. People have been so sweet but it messes up our schedule sometimes, which stinks. So a breather is good.
Physically, I’ve lost all of my pregnancy weight already and now working on the IVF drug weight. I have a little pooch- like how Miki looked full term but it’s nothing. I can’t exercise still 6 weeks though. I’m still a tiny bit sore around the incision but it’s completely tolerable.

 

[TTC74]

My OPKs are finally starting to darken - right on time. Guess the EWCM was a fluke.

FF gave me “questionable” crosshairs. Sigh. Guess that will straighten itself out when I actually O in a couple days. What a weird cycle!

 

[mikihope]

Rain- Haha, yes, these babies definitely are lacking in survival instinct. They’re so adorable and helpless. Thanks for the continued encouragement, I’m still struggling a bit (darn triple feeding!) but it’s a lot better.

Terri- Congrats on signing new clients! I’m glad that you’re doing well.

Wish- If you thought I looked small at full term, my sister was even smaller during both her pregnancies! Thanks for your support, my head is indeed now in a better place, but I’m not completely happy with how things are yet. I need time to do stuff or at least sleep! Poor M, it must be so uncomfy to have milk coming out of his nose. We are finding out that everything is a learning process too, and things are ever-changing. Luckily, I’m laid back and flexible in general (except for this breastfeeding dealy... strange!) and I simply adapt. DH feels the need to control things more, but he calms down when I remind him to go with the flow.

Wicky- Thanks, actually gummy is almost 8 weeks old! Where did the time go? I didn’t have the time or energy to prepare for DH returning to work, so I was really anxious last night. The day went pretty well, mainly because we bought a rocking sleeper a few days ago. There’s no way I could triple feed and still get any sleep without it. Yeah, DH was so upset about having to leave gummy. He took 2 months of leave, and he wishes he could take more. He did race back home today!
I hope that you feel less panicky about being prepared as time goes on. If it helps, we didn’t buy anything or clear space until 2 weeks before my induction date! And we still don’t have child care, but I believe that we’ll work something out. It somehow always goes fine. I think you have quite a few weeks left to prepare stuff, and I hope you don’t spend them all feeling worried. And I’m sorry that MS is affecting you from time to time. I can sympathize with how much it affects your mood. May your well days increase!

Ask- I’m getting a little more sleep now, thanks! Your little baby is so adorable in that scan! My favorite scan of gummy is similar to that one. I thought it looked like a gummy bear, and that is how he got his name.

TTC- Fx weird cycle means lucky cycle!

AFM- I now have to be home alone with gummy while DH is at work. Luckily, I have some easy-ish options for settling gummy like wearing him in a wrap, or setting him down in a rocker. Triple feeding (BF/bottle feed/pump) on a schedule is a massive pain, and I have decided that there is no way I’m continuing for much longer. Especially without DH’s help with bottle feeding. Doing everything (including waking him up and putting him back to sleep) takes up most of the 2-3 hour interval. The lactation appointment was phenomenal, and I really wish that we had gone during the early days. I’m convinced that we would have been successful with BF if we’d done that. Oh well, there’s probably a next time! Anyway, the lactation consultant helped a lot, and there has been improvement in pumping output and gummy’s milk transfer. But it’s so difficult, and the improvement is not big enough for me to think that it’s worth continuing down this road. The consultant and DH are both very hopeful, but I’m exhausted and ready to throw in the towel. I've tried basically everything, and today I realized that the most fun part of the triple feed was the bottle feeding. BF has become so hard, it's probably not worth continuing. It's hard to give up the hope of making it work, though, after putting so much into it.

I’m thinking of working on a plan B with the lactation consultant. I would like to continue to be able to pump breast milk for gummy, but I don’t want to do triple feeds all the time. I want to enjoy my time with gummy, who seems to be changing by the day. He’s such an easy and happy baby, and I feel bad constantly forcing him to wake up for feeds. Ever since I let go of the thought of being completely successful at BF, he’s been getting basically all of his milk from the bottle, and he’s very happy and goofy. He smiles and laughs at me during diaper changes and quite often at other times, so I hope that he’s content these days. He makes sounds that sound like "ha" "ha" while breaking out into a huge toothless grin. Today, I swear he said "bwahaha!" in an evil voice. He's hilarious! Here’s a pic of him chilling out on the couch.

 

[TTC74]

SO excited to share this news! My 25 year old DD just found out she’s pregnant! My LO will be a one year old aunt! Praying I join her in her journey in a more real way this month!

 

[Wish2BMom]

TTC - congrats!! I e honestly been wondering when one of your daughters would get preg since they just got married. How exciting!!

Miki - you sound so much better, I’m so happy! I can totally empathize with the feeding taking up the entire 2-3 hr segment. When I have handled the boys alone - first feed of the ‘regular’ morning while DH logged into work and had meetings - it took about 1:45 to do it all: BF Timothy, pump for M at the same time, change both, feed M his pumped milk and feed both their supplemental formula. Crazy! And maybe one or two more changes bc poop happens. I am not even attempting to try to get M to latch anymore. I don’t want to get frustrated and in the end, he’s getting the breast milk anyway, just via bottle.

Lee - thank you!! I’ve posted a few pics alreadynif you want to scroll back a page or two. they are the absolute best!! Thank you for the coconut oil tip - I actually thought of that and figured it would work since it seems to work for everything! We already had a tube of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste so we’re using that first. I have coconut oil in the cabinet.
You sound like you have your hands full with Lily - would love a pic if you have time!!

Speaking of - Kai is so adorable!! I wish we were closer to be able to meet up and have a rainbow baby date, Miki!!

 

[TTC74]

Anyone gotten a bfp on ClinicalGuard ICs and found them to be exceptionally faint compared to other tests? After DD got a Digital positive yesterday, she took a couple of these today and barely saw anything. So, she’s not sure if it’s a chemical or cruddy ICs. She’s going to pickup an FRER for the morning but until then, I was wondering about people’s experience with ClinicalGuard.

 

[Wicky78]

Anyone gotten a bfp on ClinicalGuard ICs and found them to be exceptionally faint compared to other tests? After DD got a Digital positive yesterday, she took a couple of these today and barely saw anything. So, she’s not sure if it’s a chemical or cruddy ICs. She’s going to pickup an FRER for the morning but until then, I was wondering about people’s experience with ClinicalGuard.

I used these and they not anywhere near as sensitive as the ones in the drug store. I used FRERs and Wal-Mart cheapies first, then switched to the ClinicalGuard at about 14 dpo and was uncertain if the line would even show up yet. It did, but was very faint. It didn't look like a strong line until somewhere around 21-23 dpo. I want to say they are sensitive to 40 units HCG. I hope that helps!

 

[TTC74]

Thanks wicky. Unfortunately, she got a negative FRER this morning and just started bleeding. So, it was definitely a chemical. They’re young, though. So, hopefully they won’t have any significant problems getting pregnant with a sticky bean.

 

[Ask4joy]

Aww so sorry to hear that TTC. It’s so hard when you see that positive and your whole world changes and then it’s taken away so quickly. I hope she gets her sticky baby soon!

 

[mikihope]

TTC- I’m so sorry that your daughter’s good news was taken away from her. I hope that she’s doing ok. I think it would be great if you and her got sticky beans at around the same time, and soon!

Wish- I’m so amazed and happy at how well you’re doing with the two little guys to take care of! I think that you’re smart to not think of getting M to latch. I went down the slippery slope of trying hard to BF and getting frustrated, and it did taint my enjoyment of my time with gummy a little. Thanks for the kind words, I think gummy is cute, but that’s because I’m hard-wired to find him cute! It would certainly have been so awesome to live close enough to meet up along with our adorable little guys

MsR, Vonn, how are you and your LOs doing?

AFM- The last lactation appointment went so well! I had finally come to terms with not being able to BF gummy, and I was trying to come up with a plan which included pumping some breast milk for him and supplementing the rest with formula. The consultant was so incredibly validating and supportive, and she made so much sense. We came up with a plan, and I left the appointment with a huge weight off my shoulders and a spring in my step! That lactation consultancy is so amazing, I want to sing their praises to everyone! They are so compassionate and so knowledgeable. And there is no pressure, just support. They have a free clinic/social gathering once a week, where women gather to eat cookies and chat. You can weigh your baby, BF if you want, and see how you’re doing and get some feedback. It doesn’t matter if you take out a bottle and feed, it’s a social sort of gathering. The consultant told me that there is a woman with a 6 month old baby who never managed to latch on, and she goes because she enjoys the company of the other women. I am so grateful that DH signed us up for a session with these folks, while I was at rock bottom. I thought that it would prolong my agony and they would keep making me try to get BF to work, but instead I found validation and support for my decision to move to formula/pumping for gummy.

While it is sad that I can’t nurse in order to provide gummy with a source of nutrition, I am so happy and most importantly -- he is happy and chunky I finally am getting more rest, and I feel like I have finally climbed out of my depression. I spent the first 6-7 weeks with barely any sleep, I literally had a max of 2 non-consecutive hours of sleep per day. A block of one hour was like heaven to me. The issue was that I had to make sure that the bottle feeds didn’t go faster than the BF, as I didn’t want him to have a preference of bottle over breast. This made the sessions super long. Plus he was very hard to wake for the crazy feeding schedule, it often took half an hour to coax him out of his slumber. I was not producing enough, and he was an inefficient nurser. Trying to get things to work (I had tried basically everything!) was taking me down a path to madness. I didn’t have enough rest to see how to get off that crazy train. I’m so glad I managed to take that leap.

Now gummy is so hilariously charming. He laughs at everything. He even laughs at my boob as he approaches it, when I introduce it to him for comfort nursing. I do this for a short period of time a couple of times a day, just to keep the nursing relationship for as long as I can. I’m so glad that he’s now happy about nursing, and it is no longer a forced thing. He sits still and laughs while I clear his nostrils with the nasty mucus clearing bulb. I had so much trouble when trying to take his passport photo because he kept laughing. He smiles and laughs when he sees me. He’s happy, and I’m happy! I pinch his chubby, well-fed cheeks and look into his adorable eyes while I hold him close while I bottle feed him, and I think to myself how true that "fed is best"!

 

[TTC74]

I'm 4 DPO and have a ton of creamy CM. I usually dry up during the TWW, but I know it should be too early for symptoms . . .

 

[Rainshiny]

Miki- that’s fantastic that you found an acceptable approach to feeding your cutie pie going forward!! What you were doing before was not working for you and needed to change and I’m so glad you found support and feel better about everything. It hard when reality doesn’t meet our romantic expectations but all we can do is adapt as gracefully as possible ( or be drunk most of the time, which is also tempting, haha).

Ttc- fxfx that this cycle works for you, and your daughter too!!!

My girl decided she wants to pee on the potty a lot all of a sudden! Far from perfect track record, but we are doing our best to encourage it. Potty training is so messy. But it’s so neat to see how proud she is when she succeeds!

Anyone else still have Justin Timberlake in your heads? Anyone eyeing the Olympic s? The snowboarding kid from Colorado was so sweet- happy for him.