February Valentines 2012 - We have our first Valentines!

[Junebugs]

I didn't read ANY books on parenting etc when I was expecting Abbie. My plan was to "just wing it" so I'm no help with recommendations.

I was planing on starting to read soon..... but then i started thinking how did people do it before all these books were around?... does intuition start to kick in?.... did you find that you felt overwhelmed when your little one was born or did it just seem natural?

 

[Junebugs]

I didn't read any either... until she came! Nothing worked but I found The No Cry Sleep Solution worked best out of them all and sat best with me.

what is the no cry sleep solution?

 

[Almost Mama]

hi ladiesss
Yesterday was hectic with the scan and then calling everyone of course!

baby was super shy again! a 15 min scan ended up taking a full hour LOL...
but we did get to find out gender!!!!!!!




IT'S A GIRL!

She kept crossing her legs, and ankles, and when she'd uncross them, she'd put her little hands over her "stuff" LOL, she's very modest already.
She kept cuddling aginst the inside of my womb, the u/s tech said "she certaily loves her mama already, every time i nudge her off, she snuggles right back in", which MELTED me.

After the playing shy bit passed, she was quite the little tart, pulling on her cord, hiding her face, rubbing her eyes, playing w/ her ears, and sucking her fingers. she also seemed to enjoy putting her legs above her head, hahahaha.

I already miss seeing her! I WANT A SCAN MACHINE! lol

we are SO over the moon!!!!

The wifey REALLY wanted a boy, so she was surprised at how very happy she was, lol. I've wanted a daughter my entire life. My mum passed away last year and my dad passed when i was 12, and we got my RIGHT between the 1 year anniversary of her passing (june 11) and fathers day (june 15), so im sure they sent her to me to answer all of my childhood dreams of having a little girl of my very own.
When the tech said "you're having a girllll", I gasped so loudly and I thought my face would rip from the size of my smile. My heart raced for so long, and I haven't shut up about her since!

We've already begun to shop!!!!



I'm SO proud to introduce you wonderful ladies to my little Scarlet!!!!

I Love You Beautiful

 

[tiggertea]

I was planing on starting to read soon..... but then i started thinking how did people do it before all these books were around?... does intuition start to kick in?.... did you find that you felt overwhelmed when your little one was born or did it just seem natural?

It is such a cliche I know, but you really do just get to know your own baby. Had a few "argh?! What's she crying about?!" moments in the first few weeks but we worked it out. I had a friend due 2 months after me, who read every book she could get her hands on when her baby was coming and she completely freaked out if baby did something the books hadn't mentioned or explained "how to fix" etc. Now I'm in no way saying you shouldn't read up on different things if you want to - I just know from my own experience that winging it worked very well for us. In fact, we still wing it every single day coz just as you think you have it all worked out, the little monsters go and change again and you have to start over!

 

[tiggertea]

Congrats AM

 

[Junebugs]

I was planing on starting to read soon..... but then i started thinking how did people do it before all these books were around?... does intuition start to kick in?.... did you find that you felt overwhelmed when your little one was born or did it just seem natural?

It is such a cliche I know, but you really do just get to know your own baby. Had a few "argh?! What's she crying about?!" moments in the first few weeks but we worked it out. I had a friend due 2 months after me, who read every book she could get her hands on when her baby was coming and she completely freaked out if baby did something the books hadn't mentioned or explained "how to fix" etc. Now I'm in no way saying you shouldn't read up on different things if you want to - I just know from my own experience that winging it worked very well for us. In fact, we still wing it every single day coz just as you think you have it all worked out, the little monsters go and change again and you have to start over!

It's not that i wouldn't look up the important things, i was just wondering if i really needed to read EVERYTHING front to back.. i was just thinking of referring to the book when i needed.... i just didnt know if that sounded stupid or not?

 

[Junebugs]

Congratz Almost mama!!!

 

[TeQuiero]

Congrats AlmostMama!! Welcome to team !!

JuneBugs, the only book that I read when i was pregnant with Grant (DS1) was What to Expect When You're Expecting. You will learn what you baby needs, and you will be able to tell the difference in their cries (hungry, tired, over stimulated, etc.) and if you are having troubles you can always refer to the books or friends on here! You know we are all here to help give you (and each other) the emotional support and best advise we have from our experiences!!

 

[EngineerGirl]

The author of Babywise has been kicked out of three very good Christian churches for arrogance and lying about his credentials. There's a lot more info here. Plus many pediatricians disagree with his advice on parent-directed feeding. I've had friends who followed Babywise very, very loosely and did well, but they all had friends who followed it strictly and their children had growth issues. However there may be some ladies on here who've used it and had great results, and I am just going off of stuff I've read, but I know that Babywise is huge among young Christian parents in the US and so I've heard tons about it and am really cautious about it. Most of my friends who've read it say that there's some good stuff in there but they don't follow it closely.

That's good to know, I'm actually on a waiting list for the book from the library so I haven't read it yet. Honestly I didn't realize that it had as much of a religious base as it apparently does. I probably would have put the book down after 5 mins just due to that - now I will just save myself the trouble of not even looking at it. I'll stick with mishmashing information from the other bazillion books I've read together to come up with something that works. Thanks for the advice! =)

The religious version is called Growing Kids God's Way (yes, many Christians find the implication that there's one right way to parent just as offensive as anyone else, but not this guy!). He took all the religious stuff out and added a token doctor to the author list to make Babywise. Honestly I'm not sure the parenting principals really have a basis in Christianity. A lot of people find the Ezzo books a bit harsh, but I heard that it is useful that they remind you that not every cry means "I'm hungry."

 

[Junebugs]

Congrats AlmostMama!! Welcome to team !!

JuneBugs, the only book that I read when i was pregnant with Grant (DS1) was What to Expect When You're Expecting. You will learn what you baby needs, and you will be able to tell the difference in their cries (hungry, tired, over stimulated, etc.) and if you are having troubles you can always refer to the books or friends on here! You know we are all here to help give you (and each other) the emotional support and best advise we have from our experiences!!

Yes i have that book and i also have the 2nd one (what to expect when you expected..) i read most of the first book but the second one is all about the first year and i thought i would just skim though the important parts and just use it as a reference

 

[nightkd]

I hate the what to expect books.

I didn't really read a whole lot; some prenatal stuff... Nothing parenting though... It's handy to have certain info (like how breastfeeding works, if you intend to breastfeed...I found it handy to know about foremilk and hindmilk etc) but every baby is different and I prefer to go by intuition.

I just bought a woven wrap, so I can carry DD2 around the house and still mess with DD I'm excited to get it! I think my Ergo is too bulky to wear all day, so I like the versatility of the wrap... It's also pale pink/white! Haha, I passed up a nice pale green one, I couldn't resist the pink! Ahhh!!

 

[KellyC75]

hi ladiesss
Yesterday was hectic with the scan and then calling everyone of course!

baby was super shy again! a 15 min scan ended up taking a full hour LOL...
but we did get to find out gender!!!!!!!




IT'S A GIRL!

She kept crossing her legs, and ankles, and when she'd uncross them, she'd put her little hands over her "stuff" LOL, she's very modest already.
She kept cuddling aginst the inside of my womb, the u/s tech said "she certaily loves her mama already, every time i nudge her off, she snuggles right back in", which MELTED me.

After the playing shy bit passed, she was quite the little tart, pulling on her cord, hiding her face, rubbing her eyes, playing w/ her ears, and sucking her fingers. she also seemed to enjoy putting her legs above her head, hahahaha.

I already miss seeing her! I WANT A SCAN MACHINE! lol

we are SO over the moon!!!!

The wifey REALLY wanted a boy, so she was surprised at how very happy she was, lol. I've wanted a daughter my entire life. My mum passed away last year and my dad passed when i was 12, and we got my RIGHT between the 1 year anniversary of her passing (june 11) and fathers day (june 15), so im sure they sent her to me to answer all of my childhood dreams of having a little girl of my very own.
When the tech said "you're having a girllll", I gasped so loudly and I thought my face would rip from the size of my smile. My heart raced for so long, and I haven't shut up about her since!

We've already begun to shop!!!!



I'm SO proud to introduce you wonderful ladies to my little Scarlet!!!!

I Love You Beautiful

Oh wow ~ Thats amazing I love the part about your Mum & Dad sending her to you

My Dad passed away 2 months ago & i'd like to think he sent me my little Girl too

Many Congratulations on beautiful Scarlett ~ Adorable

I just bought a woven wrap, so I can carry DD2 around the house and still mess with DD I'm excited to get it! I think my Ergo is too bulky to wear all day, so I like the versatility of the wrap... It's also pale pink/white! Haha, I passed up a nice pale green one, I couldn't resist the pink! Ahhh!!

Im thinking about something like this too, what one have you gone for in the end?

 

[geogem]

Hi ladies,

anyone struggling to sleep? I am just sooo uncomfortable - never been like this with previous pregnancies but I am sooo irritable!! soo tired and had a headache for 4 days now!!

congrats on pink team almost mama, 13days until my gender scan now!! cant wait!!

 

[amandad192]

I'm having an absolutely terrible time at the minute. We have 4 cats that I didn't put enough thought into decided to get them. We got the 1st 2 as mum and 6 week old kitten when SIL's OH left her last May/June and she was homeless. Krystal soon became pregnant again and we kept 2 kittens from that litter. As much as I love them and would never get rid of them, I'm currently wishing we hadn't got them. I seriously look from the neck down as if I have chicken pox. We have a SERIOUS flea problem upstairs. Downstairs is no where near as bad because we have laminate, but as soon as you step into either bedroom we're being attacked by fleas. We tried flea powder, flea spray but this week I've decided enough is enough, me and Liam went out for the day and OH flea-bombed. After he'd hoovered I came home and we've scrubbed pretty much the entire house. The cats have had a treatment of spot-on and or the next 3 weeks I'm going to be hoovering AT LEAST twice a day. Once I'm sure the fleas are gone I'll cut back to once a day, but at the minute I imagine my electric bill will be quite large.
I HATE FLEAS!!!

Fear not.....I have the solution Frontline, I have done a quick google & found it for less than £10 for 3 pipettes (cats have to be over 8 weeks old)

https://www.petdining.co.uk/frontline-spot-on-cat-3-pipettes-8142.html

Please do use this, it really really works, lasts for ages too & ive had 4 cats & 2 dogs over the years...Ive also told my Mum & Sister about it & they wont use any others now

^ ---- very true. I am a nurse at a vet hospital and i can tell you that none of the flea bomb, baths, shampoos and so on work... flea live though all of it and your not going to get rid of the whole cycle that way. You need to go to the vet and get medication (like Frontline, although we do not carry that in Canada). Fleas need a host and they will want to jump on your cats so your cats will be the best treatment for all the fleas in the rest of the house. You will have to treat for 3 months to get rid of the WHOLE flea cycle or they will just keep coming back.

3 months WOW!! We ripped up the carpets and are getting laminate on monday. I've just returned my hoover and got different one. Hopefully this one will be much better quality. The 1st one was overheating and cutting out and I'd only managed to hoover up half of liams bedroom!
I have 24 weeks supply of bob martins for the cats so hopefully my problem will be solved soon.

I was planing on starting to read soon..... but then i started thinking how did people do it before all these books were around?... does intuition start to kick in?.... did you find that you felt overwhelmed when your little one was born or did it just seem natural?

It is such a cliche I know, but you really do just get to know your own baby. Had a few "argh?! What's she crying about?!" moments in the first few weeks but we worked it out. I had a friend due 2 months after me, who read every book she could get her hands on when her baby was coming and she completely freaked out if baby did something the books hadn't mentioned or explained "how to fix" etc. Now I'm in no way saying you shouldn't read up on different things if you want to - I just know from my own experience that winging it worked very well for us. In fact, we still wing it every single day coz just as you think you have it all worked out, the little monsters go and change again and you have to start over!

I must agree you really do get to know your LO very quickly. And some things take practical practise...like you can read how to bath a baby, but in reality it's a bit more complicated, but after couple of baths you'll feel like a pro.
Some things are good to read about though, Like we did CIO with Liam at 6 months because we we're both REALLY suffering from lack of sleep and it was very helpful to read up about other peoples experiences.

I think if it makes you feel more prepared to read, then go ahead and read as much as you want, but remember every child is different so you'll also need to use your own intuition to decide what would be best for you both in some circumstances.

Hi ladies,

anyone struggling to sleep? I am just sooo uncomfortable - never been like this with previous pregnancies but I am sooo irritable!! soo tired and had a headache for 4 days now!!

congrats on pink team almost mama, 13days until my gender scan now!! cant wait!!

It's taking me AGES to get to sleep at night...then I'm waking up desperate for the loo (I really should stop drinking so much in the evening)
Then the past 2 days Liam has slept in until gone 7 and I've been waking up between 6 and 6:30.

 

[tiggertea]

I think if it makes you feel more prepared to read, then go ahead and read as much as you want, but remember every child is different so you'll also need to use your own intuition to decide what would be best for you both in some circumstances.

put so much more eloquently than my addled brain did!

 

[EngineerGirl]

I must agree you really do get to know your LO very quickly. And some things take practical practise...like you can read how to bath a baby, but in reality it's a bit more complicated, but after couple of baths you'll feel like a pro.
Some things are good to read about though, Like we did CIO with Liam at 6 months because we we're both REALLY suffering from lack of sleep and it was very helpful to read up about other peoples experiences.

I think if it makes you feel more prepared to read, then go ahead and read as much as you want, but remember every child is different so you'll also need to use your own intuition to decide what would be best for you both in some circumstances.

This is so helpful to be reminded of as a first time mama-to-be. One of my friends who has 3 (a girl and girl-boy twins) also reminded me that my husband and I are our own family with our own way of doing things and that's more important than what anyone else says. So nice to have supportive people around!

 

[Junebugs]

Thanks Girls on all the comments!!! You are all really insuring me of what i felt already. I started to feel that i would be a bad mother if i didn't read all the books front to back, but i feel so much better now! I would really like to take some classes on breastfeeding etc..... i feel like i really need to find out more information on that.....

See i was feeling like i should read everything because what if there is something i am not doing right... like not feeding enough or so on.... i have a girlfriend that said that her 10day old newborn sleeps all the way through the night (from 12-7am).... this is her second child but i started to think.. isn't that to long for a newborn to be sleeping without a feeding???? Then i started to think maybe my intuition won't be right after all that's why i started to ask you girls what you did...

I am just so happy i fould you girl because you have helped me so much already!!!

 

[TeQuiero]

Thanks Girls on all the comments!!! You are all really insuring me of what i felt already. I started to feel that i would be a bad mother if i didn't read all the books front to back, but i feel so much better now! I would really like to take some classes on breastfeeding etc..... i feel like i really need to find out more information on that.....

See i was feeling like i should read everything because what if there is something i am not doing right... like not feeding enough or so on.... i have a girlfriend that said that her 10day old newborn sleeps all the way through the night (from 12-7am).... this is her second child but i started to think.. isn't that to long for a newborn to be sleeping without a feeding???? Then i started to think maybe my intuition won't be right after all that's why i started to ask you girls what you did...

I am just so happy i fould you girl because you have helped me so much already!!!

With breastfeeding, your baby will eat until they feel full, they may stop for a moment here and there, but if they are hungry they will eat. Each baby is different, but I have always been told that babies need to eat about every 5 hours or they can begin to feel ravenous when they are fed. But at the same time you want to sleep when they sleep, so if your body wakes you up (say at hour 5) and the baby is still asleep you could wake the baby up to feed. Back to breastfeeding on the subject of sleeping all night, for the first few weeks it would probably not be the best idea to let the baby go a full 7 hours without nursing, it will cause you to feel full and breastfeeding is a supply/demand production, the more your baby demands your body will learn to make more!

Just remember, if you feel overwhelmed with information, I can almost guarantee that someone on here has experienced what you are wanting to know about!

 

[ZombieKitten]

Hi ladies,

anyone struggling to sleep? I am just sooo uncomfortable - never been like this with previous pregnancies but I am sooo irritable!! soo tired and had a headache for 4 days now!!

congrats on pink team almost mama, 13days until my gender scan now!! cant wait!!

i'm also having a lot of trouble sleeping. i can never seem to stay in a comfortable position for long. When I do get comfy, the baby usually starts kicking me and then I re-position myself so that DH can feel her kicking. By the time I actually fall asleep, it's time to wake up. I think I'm just having a hard time getting use to new sleeping positions with this growing belly. Not to mention I have a 20lb cat that is ALWAYS trying to sleep on my belly

i hope your headaches go away soon could be the change in the weather?

 

[TeQuiero]

Geogem, I am also having a lot of problems sleeping!! It is terrible. I haven't found anything to help with it yet!