January Baby Bears 2017 ~ 48 Momma Bears: 21 Blue, 17 Pink

[vrogers]

Literati- we have the same thing happening with the sitting up! I put her on her back and she always rolls to tummy almost right away and then will try to crawl before finally giving up and just sitting up. The first time I saw it was definitely surprising.
I would be feeling the same with daycare, it's so overwhelming! You want the best possible care but it's also expensive. I hope you get it figured out soon so you won't have to stress about it much longer.
I am with you on the never ending tasks! Laundry felt never ending because of all the spit up, but now that she's not spitting up as much it's the drool. And our dishes used to never pile up but now they do all the time! It's terrible how little energy I have by the time we put L down for bed, I just want a couple hours to chill.

Apple- poor Ollie, I hope the doc visit goes well and they have some ideas how to help! Good luck with the operation, I know that's got to be so scary! Let us know how it goes.

Afm- let L play in our bed and her crib when she woke up instead of immediately getting her, and by the time I did get her up she took 6 oz no problem. I decided instead of relying on our usual schedule to just let her "tell" me when she's hungry.
We are having a new roof put on today, we've been having issues with leaking ever since our city had a bad flood back in march 2016. I was going to go to my dads (he lives 5ish min away) but the baby was sleeping when dh would have had to leave, so I decided we will stay here unless it gets unbearable in which case I'll go on my own. L doesn't seem to mind the noise so far but we'll see how she does at nap time!

 

[Literati_Love]

VRogers - Oh yes, I never have energy by the time V is asleep for the night either. I don't blame you! In a way, it's a good thing that I have to hold Violet all night long because it's a good excuse not to catch up on housework at the end of the night.
Laundry gets especially ridiculous when you also have a toddler getting stains on her clothes constantly! Argh!!
That is cute about our girls both surprising us with their sitting up. They would be so cute to watch at play dates.

AFM - Violet has started pulling to stand on things. Ahh! I was changing dd1 in her room this morning, and then I came out to the hallway to discover Violet standing straight and tall just holding onto a laundry basket! She looked SO proud! I'm so glad it didn't topple over on her, because it was a concrete floor underneath her! :/ Now nothing is safe. With dd1 I was always excited for the next stage, but this time I wish V would just slow down a bit.
Also, I am feeling quite "done" mentally the last couple days. Just so exhausted and can't even handle using words by the end of the night. Blahhh.

 

[Ally2015]

haven't been on in days, catching up now...

midnight- hope ur eldest had a god 13th birthday party!

ali- i am so very sorry to hear the news of your MIL, how upsetting!
Well done to T for standing! Isa did it too the other day, but he isn't crawling yet.

lit- i hope you and the girls are feeling better soon! being unwell sucks. I am glad ur trip at the inlaws went ok. Hope u find a daycare situation that suits you... is it just the choice that is overwhelming? or thought of leaving the girls there? sorry you are feeling so tired, it really is hard working looking after young ones!



newbie- good luck with the new school year! well done to z for crawling and eating all his food, good boy Yah on hair cut, i need one too!

vrogers- i am sure it is just a phase, and if its teething hopefully she will pop a tooth soon! Isa is trying so hard to crawl as well, he gets so close but then gets upset and gives up.

apple- sounds very busy. Looking forward to update abot ur trip. Hope all the appts etc go well. Sounds quite stressful and full on, defo need that coffee lol. Poor ollie and his constipation, bless him.

AFM- Isa has been a little unwell, turns out was just teething and he has 6 pearly white shiny teeth now haha. He was being fussy with milk, food and clingy. But once the teeth popped out fully, he is back to normal and sleeping much better too. Bless him.
We got him a cot! he's getting to big for his crib and he moves around a lot so cot feels like next step up. We need to re-arrange our bedroom, to make room and make a little cosy area of the room for him and his cot.
DH is looking for a job, and so for now is home a alot more and it's been lovely. Last night we just stayed up in bed chatting for hours, and eating junk food haha. Tomorrow we are going to edinburgh as they have a big festival on and my aunts live nearby so we will have a nice day out.
I've been into uni a few days so that has been nice and productive too.
Raining lots today, no plans. DH has gone out to get a mattress, bedding, mobile etc for the cot and job hunt.
Isa is really trying so hard to crawl, he just doesn't move everything in the right order, but i am sure it won't be long now... when he wakes up from his naps or at night, he rolls over and gets on his all fours haha. so funny...

 

[Literati_Love]

Ally - it is both the choice and the thought of leaving the girls there. Last time I was lucky not to have to search because my cousin had a daycare and agreed to take dd1. Even though I was very stressed about leaving her and didn't have 100% confidence in the provider, at least I knew her character, had known her for years, had family who could speak to her character, etc. To have to go with some random person advertising for themselves makes me feel sick. There is absolutely no way to know if they are trustworthy, competent, or a possible child abuser or predator. That makes me sick.
But just the choice alone is overwhelming. The two I was looking at both had very different up sides and down sides. Neither were ideal. Now my one lead is gone because I can't get in contact with her now. Anyone else I have emailed has not gotten back to me. I basically have one choice, but it has some very serious downsides, one of which being she can't take the kids to school which means I will have to find a new dayhome before dd1 starts kindergarten, and I can't put her in preschool. Ugh. So stressful. I just don't feel I can handle it. Wish we would just win the lottery so I could stay home.

That sounds nice your DH has been home more. Sounds fun hanging out in bed eating junk food together! I miss those days.
I'm glad Isa is better now that he is finished teething.

AFM - Violet can properly crawl now, but not very far. She does very awkward, exaggerated movements. It's quite cute. She lifts her arms way higher up than she needs to like she's swimming. She has only maybe made it 6 crawl steps in a row, but she has done it! I don't think I was really ready for a crawling baby yet, but oh well.

 

[AliJo]

Seems like this forum is finally slowing down. I'd hate to lose touch with everyone, though.

Thanks everyone in regards to my MIL. It's been rough on DH. I'm sure he feels really isolated with it. I couldn't imagine just having to go on living life if my father passed. Then seeing everyone around me being the same while feeling lost inside.

Lite - Funny how they don't wait for it to be convenient for us! That sounds really cute! I wish I could see it! T likes to plant his feet and push off while crawling.

Ally - Did you have a small crib for him? I'm trying to imagine a cot and I'm sure it's not what I'm thinking of when I think of a cot!

Glad his teeth made it through! It's crazy how much it affects them sometimes. I was spoiled with O. He teethed like nothing was happening.

Apple - Oh no, so sorry your teenager cracked his tooth!! How did the operation go? Hopefully Ollie didn't cause a fuss!

Vrogers - Could you try pouches? T actually did really well with one and I was surprised. I had to hold it but he sucked it right down. I'm going to order some reusable ones for both boys to do applesauce and stuff like that for on the go with O then baby food for on the go with T. As for getting milk down her.. T has been not drinking as much during the day. He doesn't want to fall asleep and wants to be on the go. He makes up for it overnight, but that's not so great on my end. He's waking a lot. Maybe just find an area that isn't distracting to her. I think it comes with the age. They're just so interested in the world.

Newbie - I'm glad Z is doing so well. T is liking most foods. He likes things O didn't which I'm happy about.

I need to cut my hair. It's been awhile. I tend to just keep it short anymore. It's so thick and drives me insane. It's getting long enough I need to put it back which just gives me headaches. Time to get it chopped.

AFM - DH is still having a rough time. I'm sure it will be hard on him for awhile. I just don't know what to do for him. I'm not even in a good place myself to be there for him fully. It's frustrating. I think my issues with not being able to handle things at times is actually anxiety instead of depression. Read something and it sounded just like me. Made me really upset. I'm glad I found out why I'm having such a hard time at times, but it's really upsetting to know that my mental health is getting between me and who I want to be.. again. I do still struggle with depression, so this is just on top of that.

T is cruising along furniture now. Has his first tooth as well! Bit me today and it didn't feel too good, but it'll be worse once he gets top ones. It wasn't a smooth first tooth. He got pretty crabby. He also got sick before he got his first tooth. Threw up once and had fevers. High enough to not be teething. Lasted a little over 24 hours. O has had loose stools since Saturday. Finally went and bought yogurt with tons of probiotics to try and see if that would help. Just got him to eat one yesterday so going to get more in him today. He was sick, but it just keeps continuing. Then I'm sick again. Joy. I'm about to start talking about the times I'm not sick because that seems to be more rare now.

We went to the state fair Thursday. That was a good time. Put O on his first amusement rides. The second one was really fast and it scared him, but once it slowed down he laughed. He loves being scared. He's a thrill junkie. I had to brace him the entire time because it was wanting to whip him into the bar. I was hurting the next day from walking all day. I feel better today.

I've finally cracked. I'm so tired of being overweight I'm finally starting to do something about it. It's so hard, though. I want to be comfortable, though. I don't want to feel gross every time I go out in public eye. So, counting calories again. Fun fun. Need to look into it more so I'm getting enough since I'm breastfeeding, but not so much that I won't lose some weight.

Anyways, I don't want to reply too far back so I just went back a ways. I've been reading.. just not really finding the time to sit and reply.

 

[Angel5000]

Hi Ladies! I know I’ve been rubbish about logging on. I’ve been spending the summer playing with Melody, spending time with my sister and nieces & nephew, and not doing a lot on the computer (except excessive facebook on my phone as usual haha).

I’m really upset about having to go back to work in 2 weeks. I’m loving summer break and feel like it wasn’t remotely long enough.

Melody is doing amazing though. She’s been sleeping through the night since 6 months, although the last week she’s been waking at 5am every day :/ The last week of July she started full on crawling and by the end of that week / first week of August she was also pushing into a sitting position and pulling to standing! Now she’s cruising along the edge of furniture. It’s made bedtime a little harder because now she stands up and wails, where she used to let me put her down awake and she’d just toss and turn for 5 minutes before sleeping.

She absolutely loves food. Everything I give her she eats. She’s at 3 meals a day. She’s okay with finger foods, not great, but we are making a lot of homemade purees. I find it’s more cost effective for me to buy the produce on sale and make up food and freeze in large batches. I spend about 1-2 hours in the kitchen and can make up 30 meals worth of food for her.

She starts with her new daycare the last week of August. I’m a little nervous leaving her with strangers for longer peiods of time (versus the gym daycare which I use but she’s never there more than an hour or two).


Vrogers – OMG that arteriovenuous thing sounds terrifying. Glad to hear it isn’t as bad as it sounds though!

Regarding carriers – have you tried a Lillebaby Complete with the lumbar support? When I get the fit right I feel no pain in my back at all while front carrying. M isn’t huge by any means but she’s 18lbs now and I still have no problem front carrying her for hours (we were just at the renaissance fair today and I carried her 3 hours no problem) but whne I used to use the wraps back when she was itty bitty I had back problems after just 30 minutes.

Ally – wow ! So many teeth already! Melody keeps acting like she’s teething but nothing breaking through yet.

Ali – The screaming from nap sounds awful! Melody has done that once or twice, I’m sure it was a nightmare. I can’t think of anything else. It took me a long time to calm her down too. I hope it doesn’t lead to many more for either of our kiddos.

I’m so sorry to hear about your MIL Mine passed not too long ago, and it was really rough on us.

As for weight loss - I am there too. I weaned M off of nursing for all but the before-bed session and jumped up a ton. was back up to what I weighed when I gave birth. I started a 28-day reset for now. No dairy, gluten, alochol or processed foods. It's actually a lot easier than I thought once I got some recipes and I lost 2lbs the first week. The only exercise I'm doing is "blogilates" daily calendar (I'm using the beginner calendar too), which is less than 30 minutes of working out and most of that is broken into 6-12 minute workouts. Easy for me to do while M is napping or get in a quick workout of 6-10 minutes while she's playing. I am not counting calories for now while I focus just on clean/healthy eating. After a couple week I'll start counting calories again. I think I read that you can count calories while nursing, you need to assume an extra 400-600 calories necessary for the day for nursing. One of my apps recommended inputting it as exercise for 500 calories burned and just use it like that. Good luckw ith the weight loss. I'm hoping I can get down too - I cannot keep wearing pregnancy clothes.


Slammer – good luck with the new job! How is that going?!

Lite – Vi sounds so cute! Love that she’s starting to get around! I’m there too with tasks/laundry/etc never ending. I’ve decided I have to stop stressing about it. I go back to work in a couple week and I’m freaking out. I barely keep up with stuff now, when I go to work I want to dedicate my evenings to M, not to housework. It’s making me all very depressed.

Sorry about the daycare troubles. It’s so hard to find a good caregiver. I went with a local daycare center instead of an in home place. In the end I decided I wanted a place that was state certified because I knew they followed very specific laws and they do background checks on their employees (my mom ran certified daycare centers for most of her life, and I worked for her for years, so I’m well versed in the laws). I’m really excited/happy I found the center I did as their director and baby teacher seem great. I’m still nervous though about leaving M with a stranger. I hope it gets easier after the first few days.

 

[Literati_Love]

Angel - so great to hear from you! So sorry that your summer holidays are coming to an end. I am feeling depressed about summer ending as well. That's amazing that M is such a good sleeper for the most part. Sounds like you've mastered baby food making as well.
I am with you on having no idea how I'll stay on top of laundry/housework when I'm back at work considering I'm already drowning in it! It's quite overwhelming. Best of luck to you as you transition back to work.

Ali - great to hear from you. So sorry you're struggling with anxiety as well as depression. I've been struggling quite a lot with depression since having V. However, the last few weeks things have considerably improved. I still don't feel like myself or really happy or anything, but at least I don't feel as low as I was feeling before. I hope you can find ways to reduce your anxiety and depression. I'm so sorry your DH is having an awful time and that you're not able to help all that much. Lots of hugs!

Also best of luck to you and Angel on your weight loss journeys! I've taken a break from caring as of late but I have been trying to eat HEALTHIER but just not LESS. I've sort of given up on losing those last few pounds...Bleh.

 

[Apple111]

Hi ladies,
Sorry not been on in a while. Been so hard with one thing or another then I tried to post this morning and it somehow got lost !! How annoying 😣 So I'm going to try my best now. If I miss anyone I'll pop back on soon as I can.

Ally, can't believe how many teeth isa has , bless him, I hope it's not been too difficult for him whilst they have been cutting through. Glad you have managed to get some uni work done. Hope your dh gets a job that he wants.busy times ahead for u but exciting . chilling in bed just chatting sounds really nice, u guys sound like u get along great and have a good laugh. It's the little things that make a good relationship x we have a bit of a crazy day today and just sat in bed tonight for ages chatting and putting world to rights ha.. I must have bored him tho as I'm now on here and he is flat out 😂...

Lit/ yay for V crawling and standing, she sounds such a little cutie xx love how she was proud of herself standing lol x these babies on her are all doing so well.. sorry about the daycare situation. What a nightmare. It's such a worry isn't it. I was suppose to be putting O in with ds for the odd hour this month to give him chance to get used to it slowly but with ds having op and other things it's just not happened. I understand the concerns u have as I get the same thoughts even when the daycare I use for ds gets new staff. Hope u are all feeling well nowx

Slammer/ hope the new job is going ok hon.. sure u r really busy with it all at the min, hope jack and Ava are doing ok x

Ali sorry to hear about your MIL and the impact on your dh. Grief is such a horrible thing but he has you and your boys to focus on. You are both in my thoughts ..hugs x

Sorry to hear you are not feeling so good yourself. I know it might be worrying when you read things that you relalate to but in the long run it will be a good thing. Insight is definitely the best way to overcome anxiety. Sorry hon not going into work mode 😣.. But I am really passionate about mental health. A high majority of people that come and see me in clinic are working mums and it's very rare we don't have positive outcomes to sessions. Even just looking at work, rest play balance. Maybe if u feel any worse think about talking to someone if u feel you are struggling. You have a stressful job and two young boys. You are doing an amazing job x It's amazing the difference you could feel in yourself if you found someone you could work through things with. Ive had anxiety and depression myself, so understand the battle, this being reason I do the job I do but u can come out of the other side. I do get moments of stress and feel a bit low but who wouldn't with 4 boys ! Working full time Lol.. but I very rarely get anxious or depressed anymore and Ive not had a panic for years. The reason I don't is because I now understand what makes me that way. I now ensure I have things in place to prevent me going back there. Me time is definitely a biggy for me. Relaxation, and accepting it's ok not to be ok at times. I don't set myself unrealistic expectations.. and if the pots are not washed they can stay there. I learnt my world actually doesn't end if I leave them lol x

Anyway back to kids ! T sounds like he is doing amazing. I hope he hasn't had any more of the night screaming. My teenager used to have night terrors when he was about 6 that was really horrible but seems to have stopped now. Glad O liked the fair x

Angel / nice to hear from you hon, M sounds like she is doing great. Sorry u are having to go back to work I'm dreading it and Ive got a bit left yet. I hope M settles into daycare for u quickly so don't worry as much. I do the same with food prep. Just make loads at once and freeze. Not sure how far u have read back but O had been struggling with constipation since solids so trying lots of combinations at the min to see what might help him. I just seem to put prunes with everything at the min! M sounds a good weight, really glad she is doing so well and is loving her food x

Midnight , yay happy teenager ! The fun really starts now lol.. i always show my kids the Harry Enfield scetch on YouTube. Kevin turns into a teenager , So funny worth a watch if U haven't already see it. Honestly it really is my 14 year old at the min haha..hope V and rest for family doing ok x

Vroggers / how's the roof going ? ! Is it finished now? I can't imagine being in the house with that going on, did You stick it ? be worth it in the end.

I'm with u in the never ending lundry and house tasks. Me and oh are the same in the evenings , just too tired to be bothered sometimes. When I eventually get the boys to bed it's like ' silence ' bliss and sometimes just want to sit lol x

Newbie, hope u r doing ok hon. Z sounds like he is doing great. Yay for crawling and loving his food x glad u got some time to get your hair done. It's amazing isn't it the difference we feel just getting our hair done. X

Froggers/ hope u and little man doing ok and dh job situation going the way u want x

Bit of an update ,
We we went away for a couple of days with the boys last week, it was really nice although I wasn't happy with the amount of homeless people walking around, made me a bit edgy at times. That was mainly in the city though. We spent some nice times in the parks and had picnics etc. Ds had good time and Ollie was no problem at all. Just smiley little self and slept well in travel cot. We stayed bed and breakfast so was nice to be cooked for

When we returned home me and oh went away for night together on our own. Eeek😬 We were both considering not going as didn't want to leave boys but in the end it was me that made decision as I knew that oh needed some head space with having loads on at work in recent weeks and it just seemed like we hadn't been able to have proper conversation for weeks.

It was to a spa hotel. We went in pool and jacuzzi and there was an outside pool which was quite cool , and a sauna. That was all really nice, I just thought I'm here , the boys are fine as we had loads of contact and mum kept sending us pics , so we made most of it.

Once oh knew kids were ok he relaxed. Let's just say oh found his younger energetic self which I didn't mind at all lol , with no kids to worry about disturbance was quite a treat ! X x then as u do, we ended up in Asda buying the kids toys lol.. we went to an Indian restaurant which is with out a doubt my favourite and went back and sat and had a glass of wine at the hotel, it was really quiet so was only us there in the bar so we sat outside. The next morning we had a wedding show around at the hotel. We were actually quite surprised and liked the venue so are now considering booking a date for next year ! x the dates that would work for us would be either end of May or December, I really like the idea of xmas wedding but May is £3000 cheaper ! So not sure. We have to let them know by early sept so I'll update if we decide

O is doing great, still cheeky chappy full of smiles, no teeth yet but not far off. Liking his food but still having to use lactalose but it's helping so I'm not bothered I'll just use a little when needed. O is sitting up and rolling but not trying to crawl and way off standing. He is proper cuddly and I think he just likes to sit and chill lol..very vocal and adores his big bro

Ds had his op on Thursday , poor little mite had to wait 9 hours from 7.30 am admittance with no food or drink since 2am b4 going to theatre. I won't bother U with all the details but wasn't straight forward and was told they might not fit us in. Oh heard staff discussing there was 17 ops needed to be done but only 11 spaces ! Joke 😣but we stuck to our guns and he was taken down at 4.30 pm. He seems okish now, had a dressing in his back but just hyper from the pain meds 😣. Trying to keep him from running and jumping around is the hard part now. Him going to sleep wasn't too bad. One of the staff was really good distracting him with his jet planes so he didn't really notice. I was the nervous one.

Anyway sorry for the long post.. this better post now ! Taken me over an hour x hope this thread doesn't fade out too much , I know we are all busy but I will keep trying to update and rad along if I can't x

 

[Apple111]

Lit/ we must have posted at same time hope ur doing ok. Ive struggled lately also with the weight thing but I think I must have more to lose than u. I'd like to lose at least another stone and half to feel comfortable in myself. Ive started again today, x gonna do a proper shop tomorrow with healthy foods 😣

Oh and forgot to mention earlier the new job other oh went for emailed him today and said he had not been selected for interview. !! He was so gutted ! It makes no sense at all. They actually offered him the post last year. He is more than qualified, , we r totally stunned by it we thought he would def get an interview. He has emailed them so hopefully we might find out why tomorrow. Fingers crossed there has been a mistake. If not this just means he is stuck in his bloody job longer 😣 I just hate the pressure it puts him under. Ive decided to look again for another ! X

 

[Apple111]

Thought just check in .. but seems to be really quiet on here .. hope u r all well tho ladies x

 

[Angel5000]

M is killing me right now. For a week now she's been waking up between 5 and 5:30am. Her previous morning wake up was 6-6:30am, which was fine, but 5am is TOO EARLY! Trying different things to see if I can get her to stay asleep longer.

I've been exceptionally lazy today. I'm going into hermit mode. happens every year about a week or two before school starts. I don't want to do anything, just sit and watch tv. :/ It'll be better once I'm back into the swing of things at work.


Lite - The making food making is made easy with a book I found. Lots of super easy recipes. I just double or triple a few of them and then I run it through the steamer for about 10 minutes, blend it with my ninja blender, and then put it into the containers. While one batch is blending I start the next set on the stove. Honestly, sometimes I wish I was just buying store bought (and I have a stash of store bought when I forget to thaw out some) but with my paycheck still less than 1/3 of my normal pay, I can't afford it. Especially now htat I'm doing formula and that's crazy expensive.

I was joking with DH that we need to hire a maid for the school year.

I know you weren't talking to me about your depression, but it's concerning that you are still finding htat you don't feel happy about anything. I know you've expressed before that you aren't really interested in drugs, but have you thought of some herbal options? Prior to starting on sertraline I was using a product called Luminex. It's a blend of herbs - primarily is St. Johns Wart. It worked really well for me. (Not recommended if Breastfeeding, because St Johns Wart is very dangerous while pregnant or BF). Just a thought.... It's okay to get help.

I'm also not eating any less. LoL I decided if I'm going to be on a reset where I can't have gluten, dairy or alcohol, I'm going to eat as much as I watn. I'm still managing to lose weight with it though so cutting out those things (plus processed foods) must be helping.



Apple - I'm sure M will settle into daycare just fine, it'll probably be me that's more upset than her. Sorry about O's constipation, that's so hard. M had a lot of constipation when we first started her on solids. What I found helped was using less banana and apple (both of which can be binding) and made sure to try and include prunes, peaches, pears, or sweet potatoes in each meal. Those seemed to be really good at helping "move things along"

Sounds like you had a lovely weekend away! Love the spa hotel idea, it sounds amazing! I need to get away to one!

 

[Apple111]

Angel/ oh no , the early waking a are not good are they. O goes through phases when he is waking at 5.30 am but it does seem to only be for a few days then he will go back to 6.30 ish. It really depends on what kind of night he has had.. also when he wakes that early he would normally fall back asleep again about 40 mins later and I'm up for the day 😣Lol..
Ive noticed that when I have a run of rubbish nights it definitely starts to have an impact on me. Ive had a rough couple of weeks sleep wise with ds op and O teething and Ive started to get mouth ulcers😬 I always do when I have lack of sleep. Annoying!

I'm glad the eating plan is working for you I def need to stick to something , I am trying sort of, but as soon as I see something sweet, especially when I'm hungry I'm rubbish. I did some baking with ds yesterday and couldn't leave the cakes alone after lol..

Thanks for the food advice I might try the sweet potatoe instead of normal and cut out the apple and banana although he doesn't have a lot of banana.. i remember it def used to bung up ds.

I agree with the herbal suggestion,when I was at uni I used to take something called 'quiet life' u can just buy it in shops for few pounds, Ive always got some in. I get other half to take it if work is stressful. Would still check when breast feeding tho. I know this may sound a bit random and apologies in advance to any vegetarians on this thread but a family member had a heart attack a couple of years ago, thankfully now ok but since has been really health conscious and reasearches everything in great depth. They told me recently about the benefits of bone broth, id never heard of it b4, u guys might have but he told me about the pros of drinking this every day. They have been doing this a few weeks now and I must say both he and his wife look really well and both report better skin which is really obvious to see and loads of energy and sleeping better. I was initially like .. that just sounds yuk but thought what the heck and Ive been trying it a while now and I'm sure I can tell a difference..def lot more motivated and increased energy which is always good for improving mood and it's a totally natural way of getting a blast of healthy nutrients.. when I went away a few days I could tell the difference when not drinking it, I started drinking it again 2days ago just 2 mugs a day like a hot drink and Im definitely feeling the benefit. I just add tomoate purée and Italian herbs and it tastes like a cuppa soup..it might be worth googling health benefits of bone broth if anyone is interested. When I looked into in more I read it has been used for treating depression for 100s of years in certain cultures.. u never know might be doing some good lol..

Ali/ lit hope u are having better days xx hope all other ladies and babies doing ok especially all the little crawlers lol..O still chilling in one spot 😂 n slammer hope job going ok

I'm hoping weather picks up today as I'm planning to take ds and his cousin to a place called maize maize, it's really good fun and I just want ds to have some chill time after his op.. and there is a coffee shop for mummy ! Ha
O def being troubled by his two bottom teeth bless him I wish they would pop through !

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I am really holistic and I don't use mainstream suncream/body products/make up etc because I hate putting stuff in or on my body! ....That said I have been on Sertraline (anxiety drugs ) since February. My dose has increased 3 times and I am SO happy. My life feels purposeful, I feel so much happier and content. I realised how low I was before and I didn't know how bad at the time until I look back now. I feel interested and excited by going out and finding new hobbie's. I feel motivated and so full of love. No matter what I think about drugs I believe quality of life comes first.

I did have good moments before but nothing like I feel now. They have changed my life and I am glad I lessened my pride as I am finally living. Xx

Violet has one tooth!

 

[Apple111]

So loverly to hear midnight, glad u r in such a good place, yay V for 1st little Peggy x

 

[Literati_Love]

Apple - your night just you and oh sounds amazing! I'm so glad you did it! Hope it was refreshing.
So sorry your DH never got that interview! That must be very disappointing for you, especially with him being so burnt out at his current job. I really hope something better comes along soon.
Very interesting about the bone broth! So glad it's working well for you.

Angel - oh gosh, the early wake ups sound awful. You must be so tired! I am so not a morning person, and if I have to get up early, I am way more tired even if I've technically had enough sleep.
Thank you for your concern and your suggestion of the herbal supplement. Unfortunately, so few things are safe while breastfeeding. I've been wanting to try some herbal supplements for a different health problem I suffer from, but unfortunately none are safe for breastfeeding so it's a bit discouraging. I'll keep that in the mind for the future, though.
I totally understand feeling really lazy lately, especially with work starting again soon. I go through phases like that too, and it makes a lot of sense that you would just want to hole up and relax when your holidays are coming to an end, since you won't have time to do that again for a while. So sad.
Great job saving money making your own food! Buying it definitely is so expensive. I agree it's good to have a bit of store bought stuff on hand in case you forget to take your freezer stuff out.

Midnight - I'm so glad your meds have helped your quality of life so much! That makes me happy.
I definitely don't have a fear of getting help or feel like I need to be brave and get over things by myself. Personally, it is the side effects & long term dependency that concern me. Just from the people I have known who have been on meds, they have really suffered from side effects and have eventually had to go through a lot of work to go off of them and they actually felt better in the end. I know that isn't everyone's experience, and I'm so glad they work so well for you!

AFM - DH was offered and accepted a different job (well, same sort of job, but with a different company). His last day at work was today and he will get paid for his two weeks, so he now has two unexpected weeks off before he starts his new job! The new job we think is a good opportunity for our family. Not only is there a pay increase, but he will get more holidays and should have to work significantly less overtime. He will also have more support in his role which hopefully means lower stress. I can relate to Apple's husband being so worn out from his stressful job as my DH was burning out really fast lately. I hope this is a positive change for us!

On a sadder note, today we are going to visit my grandpa. He is dying of cancer and his condition has gone downhill recently, so we are worried he doesn't have much time left.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Sorry about your grandpa

Yes long term worries me, but that's not a worry for today I guess xxxx hugs xc

 

[Apple111]

Lit/ great news about your dh new job. Brilliant that you have some time together and it will be better pay, good job all round ! so pleased this has happened for u guys. Family time is so important x
My oh is pretty annoyed that he didn't get selected for interview as it's a bit suss as he got offered the post last year out of o lot of people, never mind we have sent a few emails to see if it makes any difference. It's getting a bit close now though as interviews are tomorrow. We will c
Really sorry to hear about your grandpa Ive lost 3 grandparents over the last 5 yrs to same thing so understand how things speed up.. I hope things are peaceful for him and your family x

Planning to spend time with boys today. Ive been having a sort through ds toys and bought new toy boxes to get them in some sort of order, mainly to babyproof the front room..oh dear .. wish I had never started ! They are everywhere and every time I put some in a box he gets them back out !! O sat in middle like it's Christmas .. lol x
O was up every hour last night 😣Silly teeth !!

Have nice day ladies x

 

[vrogers]

Literati- how crazy V is pulling to stand! I basically said the same thing to dh, nothing is safe anymore. It really is crazy how fast they go from staying where you put them to becoming more mobile.
I'm sorry about the blah mood, I have been right there with you. I hope it passes soon!
Congrats on the new job for dh! It definitely sounds like it's a much better fit. I hope it goes well. As for your grandpa, I'm so sorry. It's really heartbreaking to see grandparents that way. I lost 3 of my grandparents in the past couple years, 2 to cancer and it really makes you hate what cancer does to people. I hope you are able to have a lovely visit with him.

Ally- wow 6 teeth! That would definitely explain fussiness/feeling unwell. Hope he's feeling better now! That's nice you are able to have extra time with dh while he's in between jobs.

Ali- you know, someone else just suggested pouches today so I will get a couple from the store tonight, not sure why I haven't thought of that till today. I think you are correct about the milk issue being an age/phase thing. She is back to eating normal again, thankfully. It helps to keep the lights off and no noise. I'm really sorry about the anxiety/depression. Ive struggled as well, it definitely got more pronounced after having a baby. Are you able to talk to anyone, a counselor or even friend who's a good listener? I have found (since I personally don't want to have to go the med route again, i didn't do well) talking it through with someone who will just listen to me vent/cry helps so much more than when I internalize it. Definitely just a suggestion though, you may know what works for you.
I also feel you on the weight! I barely go out in public because I'm so ashamed of how I look, we have been watching what we eat. It is incredibly hard especially after getting into the habit of "eat whatever" when I was pregnant, so I'm breaking a horrible habit. I hope it goes well for both of us!

Angel- I'm sorry about having to go back to work! Sounds like you and melody have a great routine. Good luck on daycare, I imagine I would feel the same way, but I'm sure she will do great and adjust well!
Oh no, 5am would kill me. I complain when L wakes up before her usual 7:15. When L went through the 4 month sleep regression she was waking up around 5-5:30, but thankfully that was just a (horrible) phase of maybe a week or so. I hope you can get it sorted soon, or it passes!

Apple- thank you for asking about the roof, thankfully it was done that day! I was amazed how fast they went, and L did just fine with her naps. The getaway with your family and then just dh sounds amazing, I'm glad you were able to go. Seriously sounds like a dream. A May wedding sounds pretty. I wanted a Christmas wedding as well but we ended up doing October because I love autumn. Can't wait to hear what you decide! I hope ds is back to himself soon, feeling better. I'm glad it went well.
I'm so sorry about the job, that is frustrating! I hope he finds something even better.

Afm- feels like I haven't been on in ages, I miss coming on here daily! We had L's chest X-rays yesterday, she did okay until they made her get on her side, then she lost it. The older people in the waiting room beforehand got a kick out of her little squeals and happy noises. Then we had her cardiologist appt today. A nurse did a few things to her before we saw the doctor (checked her pulse/oxygen level, blood pressure, put those cords with tape on her) and she was not a fan. Anyway, the doctor said she looks perfectly heathy, X-rays from yesterday and u/s from a few weeks ago look perfect and her heart sounds great. She has to have an echo (spelling?) on sept. 6 but if that's healthy like he thinks it will be, we don't have to come back until a year from now unless the lump gets bigger. I asked if it would go away or stay and be said most likely stay, but not impossible to fade. So it looks like it's a wait and see, though he thinks based on what he's checked it shouldn't grow (treatment for that would probably include surgery).
Anyone still have a toothless baby? There's still swollen looking areas where I can see teeth WANT to pop out, but nothing yet.
She can sort of crawl, doesn't go very far and it looks funny. She also gets up on her feet and hands and sticks her butt in the air, it looks hilarious.
Last thing, as I mentioned to someone above, L has gone back to eating like she did before. I think she really was just more interested in moving and would go 4 hours between first and second bottle of the day, but now she's back to wanting not more than 3 hours between bottles. There are so many phases with babies, everything is always changing and it is definitely keeping me on my toes!
Okay I lied, ONE more thing-question. What do any other stay at home moms do during the day? I've been feeling really guilty because I don't really know what to do. We have her jumper that she loves, she likes baby Einstein, and we play in her room with toys and her trying to crawl around. I have two toys coming from Amazon, one is a Bright Starts frog that spits out balls and plays music/lights, the other is a turn and learn driver toy but Vtech, as most of her toys are teething toys. I want to do outside things but that will have to wait another month or so, as it is still SO hot and humid here (I'm in the Deep South US). Anyways, just wondering what everyone else does, it gets so monotonous!
Sorry this was so long winded, really do need to get on here more often!

 

[Apple111]

Hi vroggers nice to hear from u hon. I know what u mean with it being difficult to get on here at times . I go through phases where I can't get on for ages. Recently Ive just been popping on, like now Ive just been up with ds but it's now 2am n just struggling to get back to sleep but it can be sometimes a week between login on.
Glad your roof got sorted quickly ! That must have been a relief. I remember the first house we bought. We didn't have a lot of money at the time so the survey we got was a basic one. Loved that little house until it started to rain!! There was water coming in everywhere lol...I can laugh about it now thinking back it was like a comedy scetch pans everywhere but at the time it ended up being 7k I could have done without having to spend on full new roof !! We learnt from that lol..

So glad all the tests were ok with L, bless her it sounds like she did so well x I know from experience u kind of just kind of get on with it as a parent but after if can feel like a mental drain as we are so focussed on baby so hope u and dh are going ok yourselves , good that you dont have to go for a year after next test

As for things to do with little ones, that's really difficult that u can't really get outside with the heat. I tend to go into garden with O most days as he is really interested in the trees and I take him to see the ducks and swans at local park. Ive got a playpen set up in front room. O likes to go in there a few times a day, not for ages but he likes to just sit and play in there and now he is sitting up it allows him some space and he isn't being handled all the time. I just change the toys to make it interesting for him. He loves books , playing in bath. Singing with action etc.. but I suppose the little helper i have is his big bro.. although I def find it stressful most of the time as ds can be so excitable and he can sometimes get a bit much it does have some a advantages as O just cracks up laughing every time ds is around lol.. O also has a big rubber ring that he sits in and plays but L might try to crawl out of something like that now. O just sits and chills like a little pudding ha.. sure that won't last much longer..that's it really apart from I have a brother and mum near by so I pop to theirs for a change of scenery a couple of times a week as O gets loads of attention and I can have a coffee whilst someone else holds and plays with him but he loves the attention from his little cousin and ds can play in garden x oh and we have a little soft play area that I'm planning to take O to x

Well, O really suffering with his teeth coming through, none through yet but bottom two won't be long he is so frustrated biting things but it seems to be taking ages poor little mite.. we r off to the zoo this afternoon , looking a bit grey outside but hopefully brighten up.. hope u ladies have nice day x

 

[Ally2015]

ali- we had a small bedside crib, and now we have a cot which is much bigger. Maybe we have different terms for these things between UK and USA? not sure.
Sorry about your dh, it will take time. Good luck on the weight loss, don't be so hard on yourself. Glad u all had a good time at the fair.

angel- melody sounds like she is doing great, and well done to her on sleeping through the night! isa is mostly good at night, but i still get up multiple times.
He wakes a 8am, and that is good for me, i hate the sound of 5am wakes! Glad she is eating well and crawling, good for her

apple- aye me and dh are so close and have a really good relationship. We said yesterday that its been nice him not working as we have had more time to chill out together, go out and chat. If only money wasn't an issue haha.
Your trip away sounds great and the spa sounds lovely. Its so nice when you can get alone time with your oh, and not worry about kids.
Glad ds op went as well as it could go...
sorry about oh not getting the job... hopefully he can find something else soon.
Hope O's teeth come soon... teething is defo a tough time

midnight- i am sooo glad you are feeling good, and that life is purposeful for you! i am also holistic, and liek the idea of natural remedies and healing etc. but drugs have their place and role

lit- congrats to your dh!! sounds like a great change! and lovely that he will have two weeks off now, any plans?
very sorry about ur grandfather though... it will be nice to have some time with him though before he passes.

vrogers- it can be hard to get on, but its nice to hear from everyone!Glad it went well with her, bless her. Not nice having tests done, especially to a wee baby!
Glad she is back to eating well and i agree, so many phases!! isa goes through some many little things, im always confused and worried haha.
Ok so im not a sahm, i've started back at uni etc but thats only part time so i am home most of the time!
o be honest i agree, it can be monotonous! i don't do much, i let him play on the floor and try to crawl, or put him in the walker and play nusery rhymes on the tv, he loves that. And i try to take him out to the park for a walk. H'es got plenty toys, and always seems quite interested in playing with them and putting them in his mouth haha.

AFM- isa has been sleeping better in the cot, he moves a lot so i think the more space in it helps and he can maneuver himself. His daytime naps are much better too, thank god he is over the catnapping phase! he normally does one long nap and two short ones, other days two long ones and one short one.
next week dh starts his course, so mon and tues i will have uni and wed thu fri he has college. weekends are free until he finds a weekend job, so we can get some family time in. although hope he gets job soon as we are just cutting more and more into our savings.
not much more to update, i think im enjoying isa being 7 months, it seems like a nice age, they are interactive and playful, and he has a good routine and seems easier to handle. he is also such a lovely boy, honestly, he is normally very quiet and not noisy unless he needs something or is upset.
when he wakes up from a nap he just lies quietly playing with his hands until someone picks him up. And he goes to everyones, never that fussy unless hes tired, really lovely natured boy. My dh was is quiet and my mil said he was a very easy, quiet, chilled out baby.
wish he would sleep through the night though! don't give him a night feed unless he didn't drink or eat much in the day, just need to re-settle him normally.

anyway i've got to go get laundy done and tidy the bedroom!