General chatter while we wait (and commentary on the "pull out method")

[gigglebox]

Bdb you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm laying down right now while ds2 naps and ds1 watches veggie tales. Remembered there may be a PTO meeting tonight that i'm completely obligated to go to but I'm sooo tired

So much for not having the testing itch. I was looking at other tests and now I want to test...that lasted all of, what, 2 hours?

 

[Flueky88]

Gigs yay for early O! Oh and CD13 is a perfectly healthy O date. Here's hoping!

Hope Lev feels better soon! Sorry about meeting. Ugh, I dread those days.


CB ah poo. I hate you couldn't get that booked. Can't wait for an update. Do they still have CB digi with weeks estimator there? I think they are gone for good here. I still have 1 from my 3 pack.

Bdb hey sometimes you gotta do, what you gotta do. Seriously, have to take care of yourself to take care of others. Plus, you're pregnant and fatigue is awful pregnancy symptom.

Dobby lovely pics! I should have done one. Oh well.

Sorry if I missed someone. It's been busy couple of days. AFM...

I started training this afternoon. Feeling less anxious and more excited. I truly believe I'll enjoy this position.

Going on vacation next week and I'm so excited! Gotta get aquarium tickets soon. I've booked massags for DH and I though. It's been a little over 2 years since our last one.


No signs of O for me. My temp has been up slightly past 2 mornings but I think its stress and I slept poorly Saturday night. No opks til I see EWCM again. I'm just not going to worry about ttc for a bit. I think ntnp unless I see fertile signs and go ttc crazy (this will probably happen ).

I think I will step back a bit from posting as I am learning my new role and get comfortable with it. Thanks for all the support

 

[gigglebox]

More later but for now

Help I'm being held hostage by my baby

 

[gigglebox]

Omg Levvvvv ahhhh this baby knows not how to sleep! He was cranky tired around 6:30, but his usual bedtime is 8...so I FOOLISHLY tried to keep him up. Around 7:14 he for a sexond wind, calmed down and was happy...but when I tried to put him to bed at 8 all hell broke loose. He was crying for over two hours. I started stressing out that he had something wrong, so I pukles him out of bed and walked around with him; let him chew in my cell phone case (he isn't normally allowed to) and he calmed down and was content. So I knew he wasn't in any sort of weird physical distress or he wouldn't be able to calm down. I finally had to put him down to CIO. Broke my little heart but worked. He's finally asleep.

The whole thing just reminded me of a newborn and has me a but nervous...I reeeaaaallly have a hard time with the lack of sleep and am not looking forward to that. It's always when hubs and I are at our worst (we rarely argue/fight, but sleep deprivation can get us at each other in the middle of the night with a screaming baby amplifying everything). But I know it's a short phase and it passed...I just hate it.

Anyway.

Fluek so happy your position is feeling better as you train for it! Really hope it's an improvement. How will it differ from your previous role? Will you still see patients? Have regular hours? Will you have any employees under you? Sorry if you have already said.

Haha darn ttc! Cool as a cucumber until fertile window

 

[bdb84]

Flueky- Enjoy your vacation! I would love to take one soon.

Gig- Sorry you had a rough go with Lev last night I sometimes wonder wth we were thinking starting all over. DD2 is potty trained, sleeps wonderfully (longer than the older kiddos!) and we just have a really good routine around here. I do worry about the lack of sleep but hopefully this baby will follows DD2's footprints. She was an amazing sleeper from day one. The only time we ever had any issues was from the age of 4 months until about 5.5 months. She began waking to eat in the middle of the night during that phase but she would still go right back to sleep afterward.

I have to be honest, though- I am really struggling with whether or not I want to breastfeed full time/long term or not. I only nursed for a few weeks with my first. I then went on to nurse my second child for 2.5 years and, truth be told, I hated every moment of it I just felt like it was something I "had" to do. I hated being the only one who could feed her. I waited too long to try to introduce her to a bottle, so any time I tried to leave her with my mom for a date night, all hell broke loose. She would refuse to eat and screamed the entire time. I never got a break. I also hated the idea of having to pump anytime I was away from her for an extended period of time. But I stuck it out.

Then with DD2, things were a lot different. My ex-H left when I was 7 months along with her (although he was still active in the kids' lives, was there for the birth, and always wanted to see them). But my home life did a 360* so I knew I just had to do whatever I could to survive. I did not have an extra set of parental hands at home like I did with our first two. So I winged it by day. I nursed the majority of the time very early on, but when I felt myself getting stressed, I would make her a bottle of formula and either have my oldest feed her, or I would feed her but it would still give me a bit of a break to not have her latched on to me physically.

Within a couple months we had a routine where she was nursed in the mornings and early afternoons, but her last couple of feedings each day/night were exclusively formula. I *loved* this routine. It was the best of both worlds. But by the age of 4 months I made the decision to wean her from the breast because I was about to start allowing her to begin overnights with her dad. I know she was still so young, but 1- I wanted her to know him, 2- the older two were already going with him every other weekend, 3- hell, I just NEEDED the break since 100% of the day to day child rearing was all on me, and 4- I didn't want my free weekends to be spent hooked to a pump. So we switched exclusively to formula and I never regretted that decision for a second.

So here I am now with #4 on the way. I am with an incredibly helpful man and I know it will be totally different this time around because he will always be willing to help me out. But I just do not know if I *want* to nurse exclusively even though I'm fully capable of doing so. It's always come easy for me. Never had mastitis, never worried about my supply, etc. So I'm contemplating doing combo-feeding from the get go like I did with DD2. Only this time I'll stick it out the entire year.

Anyways, that was long and pointless. Sorry

 

[gigglebox]

Bdb you have to do what makes you happy and keeps yoir baby fed. If exclusive breast feeding is exhausting, I think combination feeding is a good alternative. That way baby is still getting the breast milk goodies.

I am not sure if you mentioned it but will you be finding out the sex of thos baby?

Taking Lev to the dr later. He is acting ok but still redusihg bottles (mostly) and barely wetting diapers consequently. The lady who schedules me suspects ear infection, which may be the reason sucking hurts but eating is ok (he's been ok with cereal/purees/puffs).

 

[bdb84]

Poor Lev Hoping you get an answer.

Yes, I will definitely be finding out the sex! I think surprise genders are so exciting, but I, personally, could never do it.

 

[claireybell]

Yay for new training Flueks hope we see an update very soon saying bfp hehee!!

Aww bless Lev, has he been fiddling with his ears or anything? Hope hes ok & you get some answers

I really dont know about the feeding of newborn, i bf the other 2 but i kniw it’ll be hard with no3, esp with school runs & Nuala being attention seeking & being so little still, i was thinking bottle but i know il get very pg & be like.. oh maybe for just a lil bit lol i feel so calm & lovey nurturing when i bf its weird, bonding thing i think.. but i want a good sleeper from the beggining that recognises that after milk you go to sleep & not asleep on mummy lol Nuala was terrible for sleeping & she still wakes loads now, im PRAYING that when shes 2.5 when babe arrives she’ll be sleeping through.. fx!

Bdb do whatever works best for you & newby

 

[pacificlove]

Bd, do what works for you, we won't be judging you for that!
I bfd L for a year. I never introduced a bottle, once I tried but he did not take it from. When we left him with my mom for the first time he took some hand expressed milk from her in a bottle. But never from me
After a year, I loved getting my freedom back, as much as I miss the many cuddles. They are just different now

Sick, cuddly kid, gotta go

 

[claireybell]

Hope Logans ok Pacific

 

[gigglebox]

PL sorry you've got an ill little too hope he's on the mend!

Lev jist has a virus of some sort, sore throat. He seems better today so fx he keeps on that trend!

Oh yeah I can't do "team yellow" either. I need to know. It helps me connect to the pregnancy.

Forget who asked but I'm stocked up with 5 wally cheapies and 2 FRER's. It still hasn't sunk in that I can test within a weeks time...I still kind of feel like I'm waiting to ovulate. Unfortunately if I am not pregnant this early ovulation means I will have my period at its heaviest when I have a disc golf tournament which is going to suck! Might have to try J's double tampon trick

 

[pacificlove]

Gigs, fx Lev will feel better soon!
Logan had 2 naps today, first 1 1/2 hours in his bed, woke up, ate some crackers snuggled into me. Then he pushed himself into the other side of the couch to snuggle into the blanket and fell asleep for another 45 minutes. He only woke because the dog barked as dh came home early. He was better after, but still sick.... congested, etc

Fx for this months pee test! Have you looked what Amazon has to offer for pee tests?

As for me: next month I'd really like to start TTC! But if it happens this months, that's fine

 

[shaescott]

Sorry about all the sick kiddos!

Bdb combo feeding sounds smart. My mom couldn’t produce enough with me due to working during the day so I got both breast milk and formula, bf at night and mostly formula during the day. I was a terrible cluster feeder at night.

AFM- dealing with quite a difference in opinion with SO. He insists that I be a stay at home Mom because it’s good for the kids. I insist that I at least work part time because I’m not going to waste all the time and money I’m spending on a bachelors degree. His mom was a SAHM, mine worked 4 days a week and I spent those days in daycare. He insists that he had it better and I wouldn’t understand because I never had it. He thinks our kids won’t understand why mommy doesn’t want to spend time with them and take care of them. I say I did fine with a working mom, I understood, they’ll get over it. At one point during his childhood his parents separated temporarily and during that time his mom ran an in-Home daycare. He didn’t understand why his mom wasn’t focusing on him anymore and it made him angry. I always had a working mom, so I didn’t have that problem. I missed her, but I wasn’t upset about it, and when she was late getting home I blamed her workload, not her.

Anyway, I told him if it means so much to him that our kids have a parent at home, he can be a stay at home dad. Of course, as expected, he views SAHDs as lazy and unemployed versus SAHMs as hard working. He claims if he didn’t have to work he’d love to stay home and raise the kids, but I don’t think he would.

I respect SAHMs sooo much, but that’s not what I want. I’d rather go to work and save lives than stay home and do dishes and spend all day every day without adult conversation. He thinks working 2 days a week is still unacceptable. I think that’s insanely stupid. He’s super old fashioned about work and it makes me want to scream. His mom is super hard working, she keeps their house running, and she says she wouldn’t change it for the world, but I’m not her. I feel like he’s always gonna be comparing me to her. Being Italian, he’s such a mommas boy. I just get so angry that he thinks I would be neglecting my child if I worked and had them with a babysitter or in daycare some of the time. I have a friend whose mom was a SAHM and she was a raging alcoholic and completely neglected my friend. On the other hand, I never felt unloved just because my mom wasn’t with me 24/7. I feel like his mom being a SAHM caused him separation anxiety when she couldn’t be there 24/7 anymore.

Idk, it pisses me off that he thinks he can make the decision for me of working or not with kids. This isn’t the 1950s. Why is his career more important than mine?

Okay end rant.

 

[DobbyForever]

Idk I think it’s to each their own regarding working or staying at home. It’s an opinion or preference, everybody is entitled to their own. But that’s a HUGE difference that, if it is honestly how you both feel, could be dealbreaker status.

BUT I will say I always felt I could never be a SAHM. My mom was one, and I loved her for it and I had a wonderful life as did my brothers. However, I just thought i’d Go crazy and be bored. Then I had A. I literally cry once every few weeks at least leaving him. Maternity leave or vacations where I get to be with him 24/7 are the best. If I won the lottery, i’d Quit my day job in a heartbeat to be with him. And I happen to love my job.

Bdb I had to combo feed A. You do what you got to do to keep them healthy and fed. No shame in that.

Gigs can’t wait to see the tests

Fluek congrats on the official word!!!

I only read this page and I missed a bunch. Open house tonight and I was at work 13 hours. I barely got to hold A today

 

[claireybell]

Breeaa i can see u lurking lol :wave:

Dobby was this your first day back to work or your first week? It’ll take a short while to get back to routine, are u p/t working? As much as i adore my babies loved going to work for my 2 days a week

Aww poor Lev, no doubt he be up & about to his normal self in a day or 2 Gigs

I do too respect stay at home mums & whilst its a must when you take Maternity leave because they are so little i just couldnt do it fulltime, love my babies but i need space away, its the only time i get to myself haha & its nice to know i am good at my job other that being a Mum. I personally think it does little ones good to have some kind if childcare, teaches them to be around others the same age, social & sharing skills, intteract with adults who arent a parent, you know that if you had to leave them with another family member they will be perfectly fine. I found Riley & Nuala advanced loads quicker in day nursery/childcare for small things like speech, eating, using spoon to mouth etc, at home mine just want to play about because its Mum haha! My opinion obvs, you do whatever you feel Shae, i know its a few yrs away for you yet & theres no right or wrong, until you become a Mum you may feel diff about it all you’ll be a fab mummy no doubt!

Gigs im reeeeeeally hoping that as you ov’d early this us your cycle eeeee!!!!! I want to test for you ha! asked how many tests you got at 1dpo Lol! Nice mini stash u have heh heh

Fx its your month Pacific! Are u due to ov anytime soon?? Hope Logan starts feeling better in a couple days aswell! If your able to get your hands on some, the Calpol (or could be called something else in usa) Calpol plug ins, they are menthol, thyme & chammomile scented plug ins for the bedrom that helps them breathe easier at night, Nuala sleeps TONS better when shes full of cold if she has one in her room, the menthol filter slides in/out & lasts upto 8 hrs, brilliant! Not that expensive either

 

[shaescott]

Dobs hopefully we can figure it out. I really think working 2 days a week is a good compromise, and hopefully he’ll come around. Plus, if they go to daycare it’ll give them more interaction with kids their age. I might be able to make that argument, like CB said, her kids advanced more in daycare. All about compromise in these situations, right? I mean, I know there’s some situations where compromise isn’t possible but I feel like we’ve made enough compromises in the several years we’ve been together, and I’d hate to give up now.

It’s very possible I’ll be like you and when I actually have kids I’ll want to quit my job and be a SAHM. I think SO’s mom was like that. She didn’t want to give up her career but when she had them she chose to stay home and she says it’s the best decision she ever made, and she’d do it again in a heartbeat. But she had the option, cuz their dad worked full time and made enough to support them. Obviously you don’t have that option, which sucks ass.

But if I’m anything like my mother... though my dad was a SAHD so I think that’s the only reason she worked full time. She also loves her job, but of course so do you. Idk. Even though my dad was a SAHD I still went to daycare some days before I started going to school. Not until I was around 3, though. I stayed home with him until then. Once I started going to school I was always with him in the afternoon. My sister went to daycare starting when she was a few months old, then after school some days when she was older. He would’ve gone crazy with both of us that much I guess. He didn’t have a college degree and didn’t have any marketable skills. He worked in a deli as a teenager. Occasionally he would get paid to do art when I was a kid.

Anyway, SO’s career has more salary growth potential so he thinks he should get to be the working partner. Mine has more stability and job security, which I think is equally important. His has quite the lack of stability and job security. His parents actually said whoever made less money would stay home, and his mom made less money. I guarantee at entry-level I’ll be making more money.

I know I don’t need to defend my argument to you ladies but idk I need to vent I guess sorry. Anyway, Dobs, thank you for your perspective, I appreciate it so much

CB thanks for the validation of how I’m feeling I know I shouldn’t need it but I kinda do lol, I’m young and not completely secure in myself yet haha. Also I’ll need to remember that plug-in for colds idea for the future haha

I went out to Taco Bell at 1:30 am and got a Baja blast freeze and nachos bell grande with guacamole and creamy jalapeño sauce haha I’m a mess, I accidentally slept all day and woke up at 8 pm whooooopsss I meant to go to classes I swear I just slept through my alarms and, well, didn’t go to classes cuz I was asleep.

 

[pacificlove]

Shae: my mom was sahm, but only after the second kid. She went back to full time work after #1.
For now it doesn't make sense for me to go back to full time work due to childcare expensive, but we also need a second income, so I started my own home business. Eventually we are planning for me to work with dh as his office administrator when his business has grown.
If right now, I'd be 100% sahm, I'd go crazy. Like CB, I enjoy my space and adult time even though I love Logan so much! It's healthy for me.

Thanks CB! I hope L will feel better today,but I am hearing quite a few coughs tonight.

 

[gigglebox]

More late but for now I'm a bit offended as being viewed as an anti-social dish washer.

I feel like raising yoir kid is important if that's something you feel you can do. You can always stay home the early years and put your degree to use later.

Shae there are moms groups you can attend for adult interaction.

Crap i really have to go but I will write more later!

 

[bdb84]

My mom has worked full time for as long as I can recall. She longed to be a SAHM but my parents have always been very working class and they could never swing living off of just one income. There were times my mom took a night job just because they couldn't afford daycare for us kids. My maternal grandmother ended up moving to be near us and then she took over childcare so my mom could work a day job along with my dad. The one thing I can say about my mom is she was ALWAYS there. She was never absent from a single extra-curricular activity. She would switch shifts with other employees so that she could attend our every event. I'm a SAHM and even I do not know how she did all of that while maintaining a job that required more than 40 hours a week from her. She truly is my idol.

I've been a SAHM for most of my time as a mom (12 years) and while I'm so thankful for the opportunity, there are days I long to work out of the house. I loved being at home with my babies, but now that I'm over a decade into it, I long for something different.

I recently just re-took my dental board exam to get my certificate up to date so I could go back to work, and then a month later I found out I'm expecting again Working and paying for full time day care for TWO kids would eat up 100% of my paychecks, so here I sit. But it's a good situation to be in because it means I have options. I can very well go back to work and only make enough to pay for daycare, if it's what I choose to do.

You have to decide what's right for you. Your opinion may change as you become pregnant and get closer to delivery. There is NO shame in not wanting to be a SAHM. I have very dear friends and relatives who CHOOSE to work because it's what they want to do. And then I also have friends who long to SAH with their kids but it's not financially possible. So it goes both ways. For now be thankful for the options. Never allow a man to tell you what you need to do, though. That would be a hard deal breaker for me. He's your partner, so he's *part* of the decision making process, but you get the final say when it comes to your livelihood. My opinion, of course.

 

[claireybell]

Ladies im having a FREAK out moment! I just did a Clearblue Digi wks indicator.. its been 3 wks today since i ovulated & a week later implant blah blah so max it shpuld say is 1-2 wks pg... errm no!!! Freaking out i have twins in me, i keep getting weird feeling & probing twinges on either side inside me!!

https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1031751&stc=1&d=1524056820