June Angel Baby Mommas Hoping for Rainbows!!

[StefNJunk]

Meli, this time I couldn't walk on my own until... I don't even know. Had to be maybe 9-10 hours? It was a long time because they had to use SO much to stop the pain. Learned I have scoliosis (how has no one noticed before?!), and that is why, both times, it took a lot of extra work to get my right side numb.

We almost always change Sienna on the changing table because she tries to roll over and get up, and it helps, but doesn't stop her! Just makes it slightly easier because she has nowhere to go. We have to give her toys / books to look at while we're changing her. Booger. Connor I've just been changing in the living room wherever.

I called TurboTax for some help, got a couple more IRS numbers to try and some advice for mailing them with proof of payments. I'm going to try the numbers tomorrow before I mail the stuff out... FX I can get ahold of someone, but not holding my breath... What's crazy is I made the payments through a payment processing website I found on the IRS's website, the first one on their list!

 

[vegasbaby]

Stef: I hope you get your tax issue resolved quickly, but the IRS tend to be slow and difficult to give you your money. A friend of mine accidentally overpaid last year (he sent two checks) and it took him about nine months to get his money back. So if Connor didn't have issues with the EBM do you think you could have a forceful letdown that causes him to overeat? Again, I'm just guessing.

Meli: that is awesome that your children get free tuition at such a prestigious university. I'd stay for that too. I work for the county, but am thinking of going back to the private sector. I don't like how government works (or doesn't in my opinion). Im not worried about benefits when changing jobs, but what I'd really like is to find a part time position. Not sure if I can find anyone willing to let me work part time, but with three small children working full time is going to be hard.

I thought of you today when I was at the doctor. There was a couple with the cutest newborn girl. When I asked how old she was the mother replied that she was four months old, three weeks age adjusted. She and her twin were born at 23+5. The twin sister should be coming home in a week. Little miracles. I'm always amazed to hear such stories.

Afm: I called the doctor about my pain and they wanted me to come in. I'm fine, it's just a bad muscle strain. Baby is head down and my cervix is super closed so no concern there. Although not official, we are planning the c-section for May 27th. The date/time cannot be recorded with the hospital until my 30 week appointment. Now I need to start thinking about names.

 

[Meli_H]

Stef,

In my early 20’s, I was diagnosed with a slight case of scoliosis. I blame it on the insanely heavy bookbag I had to lug around my hilly high school campus, not to mention I usually walked to school in the morning and home afterschool, and it’s about 1 mile walk each way. Doctors said it was so slight and NBD. Im so glad it didn’t affect the efficacy of my epi!!!

Hopefully you reach someone live for assistance, but if not, send out your proof and keep your copies. I cant imagine it will get any easier to reach someone live the more time passes and it gets closer to tax time…Good luck!

oy yah Stef, I have always meant to ask you this question but I keep forgetting. I just remembered it again right now: Remember when I went into labor with X? How did you find me on fb and my birth story? I remember I delivered X on Friday and set up FB on Sunday. I didnt have a chance to post on bnb but I saw at one point that you posted on bnb and pointed everyone to my fb page. I was (and still am) so impressed! How did you find me? Good job! Maybe you should be a private eye lol.

Vegas,

I hope that you are able to find a part time job. I am sure it would be so much easier for you to keep the household running. I love having 1 day off a week. I would really love 2 days off, but 1 day is better than nothing, and my workflow and responsibilities don’t allow for more than that. It’s amazing how much stuff you can get done in that 1 weekday.
Wow..twins at 23+5 IS truly amazing..figure those babies usually weigh less than 1 pound each, since there are 2 of them. God bless them!

Remember that little girl you noticed that I am following on fb with DIPG? It looks really bad…,it’s been almost 1 year since diagnosis and supposedly, that’s about how long the child lives after the diagnosis. She’s had lots of symptoms that suggest she is getting close to the end. If everybody could say a quick prayer for her, that would be awesome!!! It breaks my heart…all sick children break my heart. IT’S NOT FAIR!

I’m so glad to hear your pain is nothing serious. How in the world did you get a muscle strain?? Did you pull the same trick on Ben, that Raul did during our NY eve celebration lol? His rib has just started to feel kinda back to normal the last 3 weeks.

Do you have a short list at all for names?

Oh, and do u have any gut instinct as to what gender baby Goodin is???

Oh, and is it true that Gracie resembles like you? I saw someone comment that on fb. Does Charlotte look like Ben? It’s hard for me to tell from pictures…

 

[vegasbaby]

Meli: of course I'll pray for the girl with DIPG. Such a horrible disease. I know they say it's rare, but how rare can it be if we both know children with it within the same year? My heart aches for the families of these children. I can't imagine having a child with incurable cancer. To watch your healthy child decline so rapidly is a burden no family should have to shoulder and something no child should ever have to suffer.

On a much lighter note, no my muscle strain is not from dtd. Pretty sure it's from exercising too much. Guess I need to slow it down. I really wanted to keep up my workouts until the end, but even I knew I looked silly when I went jogging a few weeks ago.

Our list of girls names is do short that it doesn't exist. I think we are planning on using the same boy's name as last time. That being said, I'm confident that this is another girl. All suggestions are welcome.

Charlotte used to look exactly like me, but now I can see bits of Ben in her. I still think Grace has Ben's eyes.

Does everyone have exciting weekend plans? I don't, but I hope everyone else has something fun planned.

 

[Meli_H]

Vegas,

LOL at "but even I knew I looked silly when I went jogging a few weeks ago". i wish I had some of your motivation

So I hired a new Monday only nanny. She's a 23 year old and I love her so far! She gets things done (has X take his morning and afternoon nap). She also loves taking him in his little push car around the neighborhood. I pray that she turns out to be our long term nanny!!!

that stinks that those losers have decided to clean out your empty LV home. Some people!!!

I hope everybody's doing well!

 

[StefNJunk]

Vegas, it might be partially forceful letdown, he does seem to guzzle to keep up sometimes. We ended up taking him to the doctor yesterday because I called their nurses to get some advice and she was concerned he might have reflux. The doctor agreed that he feels it's both reflux and gas, and he prescribed the same meds we got for Sienna when she was about a month old. We're trying Maalox first, because that worked for her while the prescription didn't (and Blake's mom said the same thing happened with one of her boys), so we'll see what happens, and then we have the prescription to try if not. So far so good, the Maalox helped him sleep the best he's slept since we were in the hospital - a good 7 hours straight. I was able to change his diaper and everything without him really waking up. Unfortunately it didn't get me a straight 7 because it started at 6pm, lol, but it's good to know he's capable of it!

How did your doctor's appointment go? As for girl's names... I have a lot that I love, but here are a few off the top of my head that were on my list for if Connor was a girl - Lana, Rowan, Rory, Ellie. If I think of more, I'll share

Meli, I found out from my mom that she's known I have scoliosis for a long time, which I apparently forgot about.

I found you on FB because you hadn't posted on here in awhile and I was getting worried about you, so I searched your name. I wanted to make sure everything was ok!

Good luck with the new nanny! I hope she can become your FT nanny soon

AFM, my parents were here visiting last week. We all went to the zoo the first weekend, had a lot of fun. It was SO hard when they left... Sienna LOVES my dad and my dad got super attached to her (it's the first time my parents have seen her since they were here the week after she was born).

Sienna has been so good lately. I'm amazed with her - she's very helpful and absolutely loves Connor. Of course she throws her temper tantrums and has the normal toddler issues, but overall, she's pretty much an angel. I couldn't really ask for her to be any better.

So I'm desperately searching for a work from home position. I have the two jobs now, but one of them is very likely ending. My boss told me to "hold off on working" and I spoke with him today and he said to give him until Friday to see if he can find me anything "of value" to work on, and if not, I will not be working for him anymore. This is BAD, it's the job that pays more (my other job is only $100 a week), and if I lose it, we are seriously, severely screwed. I don't know what to do and I'm freaking out.

 

[vegasbaby]

Meli: congrats on finding a new nanny. Is this the same person who didn't show up that you mentioned in your FB post? Hope not. I also noticed in your post that Xzavier is having separation anxiety. Grace is the same. I think it's pretty normal at this age. They are really becoming their own little people.

Stef: hooray for the seven hour stretch of sleep. Let's hope he keeps that up. Sorry about the job situation. I'm impressed that you can even get work done from home with two little ones. I tried to bring work home the week Grace was sick and she needed me almost constantly.

I like your name suggestions, but Ellie is out of the question as I have a cousin named Ellie and her mom's name is Grace. Ha! My bff's mom is Rory (short for Aurora) which I always liked. I think I'm just going to come up with something at the hospital and register it before Ben can protest.

AFM: I think my body is falling apart. I can't even go on long walks anymore without my bump feeling like it's going to fall off and then it aches for days after. Ugh. I do have a c-section date. May 27th!

I think I've had a few contractions over the last few days. Last night I thought I was going to get sick to my stomach as I had such intense cramps along with my usual Braxton Hicks, but when I went to the bathroom nothing would happen. This occurred about five times over about 30-45 minutes and then went away. Never had that problem before.

The saga of the two houses continues. The addition here got delayed, but the guys start officially on Monday. We thought we had a buyer for the Vegas house, but that fell through on Monday. Someone tried to break into the lock box again in Vegas so I'm having the alarm reactivated at great expense. Just what we needed. Oh how l love spending money on a house I'm trying to get rid of.

 

[Meli_H]

Stef,

I still can’t believe how much Connor looks like Blake lol. I’m so glad to hear that Sienna is being a great big sis.

I am so sorry to hear of you possibly losing your gig!! How scary. I’m crossing my fingers that it worked out for you and he found something "of value" to keep you on!!

And I second what Vegas said—IDK how you CAN wfh with 2 littles, much less 1 little!

Vegas,

Sorry but I don’t have any girl names to share…I got as far as Grace & Rameli (for Raul and Meli LOL) before we found out he was a he~ Lol at your plan to register the name before Ben can protest.

Any leads or possibilities on a new part time gig for you?

No, our new nanny isn’t the one that didn’t show up. Our new one is pretty good, I have a good feeling about her and high hopes lol.

I can’t imagine how it feels for your bump to feel like it’s going to fall off! That’s crazy. You poor thing! I would think all you skinny chicks feel that way once you get to a certain threshold. Angel and Stef, did you feel that way towards the end with either of your pregnancies?

I would be freaking out if I had such strong contractions and felt sick! Take it easy woman!

I am crossing my fingers that your LV house sells ASAP. Such headaches and expenditures that you don’t need right now, I’m sure!

Ohhh, and God bless you. Lately I have been thinking about you with THREE little ones….not 1, not 2, but 3!! I don’t know how you do it (and how Angel, Stef and Jasmine do it). I’m sure my advanced maternal age has lots to do with it LOL.

AFM,

Nothing much going on right now.

I took X to his eye doctor appt yesterday and his RX went down a little, so that's great news. EXCEPT that I now have to buy him new glasses out of pocket, and I want to get him 2 pairs (one with transition lenses for the sun and 1 without). Goodbye, at least $700...it was nice knowing you.

Question: I feed X his nighttime bottle and rock him to sleep without brushing his teeth. Is that bad?

Totally random, BUT I think it’s hilarious how men change history. Raul now takes credit for “naming” Xzavier. The reality is that what he did was find the spelling of the name (with the “z”). But I am the one that thought of the name Xavier and mentioned it to him. NBD but I thought it was hilarious! Ohhh, and he also takes credit for me posting X’s FB postings as written from his point of view. When it was my idea LOLOL!

Angel, Jen and Jasmine!!!!! What's going on? Miss you guys

 

[vegasbaby]

Meli: I'm totally lol'ing at Raul taking credit for naming Xzavier and your FB posts. Men! I'm so glad you are loving your new nanny. As far as teeth brushing goes I wouldn't worry too much unless you have a history of bad teeth in your family. I've never brushed Grace's teeth nor did Charlotte start brushing her teeth until she was three and no cavities (yet). On the other hand I've known people with kids who have had root canals at the age of two. Crazy, right? Maybe try to wean him off the nighttime bottle. I sleep trained Grace about three weeks ago because she still wanted a bottle in the middle of the night to fall back asleep and it has been the best thing ever. She now sleeps through and goes to bed without a bottle or pacifier. She only cried the first night so that part wasn't too bad. I just couldn't deal with the thought of getting up with her and the new baby.

Stef: loving those adorable baby photos!

Angel: where are you?

AFM: the bump continues to grow. Today I felt some sort of angular body part poking out. Monday I go to get an ultrasound to see if my placenta has moved away from my scar so they will have easy access come eviction day.

The Vegas house is currently in escrow. We have a new buyer and should close on May 8th. Fingers crossed that everything works out.

The addition is on its way here. Tomorrow they pour the new slab. The worst part of this whole addition is that we had to shut down the air conditioner that cools our living and dining rooms. We have one of those portables, but it can't keep up with the Florida heat and a pregnant lady. Luckily, we have a second system that cools my bedroom and the room the girls are currently using, but I'm tired of hiding out in my room. Ben thinks the addition should be move-in ready the weekend before baby is due. Ugh.

 

[Meli_H]

Vegas,

Thanks for the info about the bottle. Whew, I feel lots better now. Luckily, no history of bad teeth on either side,,so that’s a plus.

I am soooo not in the mood to wean X from his nighttime bottle. He still has 5 bottles a day (for a total of 25 oz) plus 3 meals and maybe 1 or 2 snacks. He’s kinda a bad eater and I think I am just going to keep doing as I’m doing for the next few months. That’s why a portion of his bottles are Toddler Transitions; there is NO WAY that he is getting proper nutrition with his solids.

Good job on sleep training Grace! YAYY~ Now u can get a little break for a few weeks.

Good luck on Monday’s ultrasound, crossing my fingers that your placenta will provide easy access next month~!

SOOOO crossing my fingers on your LV sale. YESSSS~

You poor thing….portable A/C? yikes! I guess you just have to keep keeping along and just have your eye on the prize at the end…and of course, be glad that you’re not dealing with this in the dead of summer! That would be a disaster! I know what you mean about “hiding out”. I hate having to do that when the housekeeper comes to clean.

BTW, I just bought a step stool for X to use in the bathroom sink. I was prompted to by the cute pic you posted of Grace and her low hanging pants LOL. I was like “oh yah, hey, I guess X should be using one of these soon”.

Any plans yet for your mom to come visit when Baby G makes their appearance?

 

[vegasbaby]

Meli: sorry Xzavier is still being a bit of a picky eater. I've found Grace's appetite picked up once she started in the toddler room and she saw all the other kids eating well. Monkey see, monkey do! That is also the reason she uses the step stool. She sees her sister using it to get to the sink and then she climbs up and says "wash". She still can't reach the water, but it's super cute. I'd keep up with the bottles too if I was afraid calorie intake was low. Have you tried making him smoothies? That way you could get him to take milk along with fruits and veggies. We have a sippy with a straw that I use for smoothies. The smoothies make the straw hard to clean, but she does love them.

Not sure when the grandparents will visit. I like to have a few weeks to acclimate with a new baby before receiving guests. I'm very type A and want to make sure the house is in order and that I can cook for my guests while they visit. Pretty sure we are going to finally hire a housekeeper as it is all becoming too hard to keep up with. I hate to admit defeat, but.....

 

[Meli_H]

Xzavier refuses to drink anything EXCEPT milk or water, he refuses to drink anything but milk from a bottle and refuses to use a sippy cup.we have to help him drink water from a regular cup.
I've tried to give him juice diluted with water in a sippy and bottle but he isn't having it
I dont think he will drink smoothies but it's totally worth a try. Good idea! I think I will buy a Jamba Juice smoothie this weekend and see how he does with it. If he likes it, then I will buy the ingredients to make him some at home. Any favorite and easy recipe(s) that you can recommend?
i know what you mean about being a type a. I used to be like that but mellowed out a bit with X's arrival. I totally know what you mean about admitting defeat by hiring a housekeeper. I felt the same way--like a slacker or loser. But it's been for the best! Of course, we still do regular clean up here and there,and she helps with stuff that I cant get to and its not prioritized very high--like, dusting the blinds, dusting the ceiling fan blades, cleaning the windows, dusting X's nursery top to bottom, moving the area rugs outside and cleaning them really good. We/I still do the toilet cleaning, sweep and vacuum and mop and cleaning of the bathrooms. Once a month we make the effort to move our bed and vacuum under it and move our sectional and vacuum under it and on top of it (the sectional arms attract so much dust). But we do the major moving and dusting on the days my mom comes to watch X.

 

[vegasbaby]

Meli: here are two kid favorites: banana, strawberry, milk and ice blended together. Smoothe 2: Banana, peanut butter (if you've introduced it), honey, milk and ice. You can even add chocolate syrup to the peanut butter one, but if you do eliminate the honey.

For me personally, I like banana, ice, almond milk, 1/4 avocado, date paste and a handful of spinach. You can use anything, but I like the texture better if I use at least a half of a banana. They get too icy otherwise. Sometimes I use mangos, pineapple, blueberries, kale, cucumbers, chia seeds, oatmeal (uncooked), almond butter, yogurt, cocoa powder, or whatever I have on hand (though not all of those at once). A lot of people love raspberries, but the seeds bother me. Sky's the limit! I drink one every morning to ensure I get a good start (the day usually goes downhill from there). Also, I just have a regular blender, nothing fancy. The key is to never put the ice in first (and I do use the so-called crushed ice from my fridge) and use enough liquid that everything blends nicely. Good luck!

 

[Meli_H]

Vegas!
Thanks so much for your recipes. Unfortunately X didnt like them, but I did! I will keep trying for him
They were delicious, btw!