***Lion Cub Mommies-Back In Action!***

[spidey]

oh my- those are both really bad places for pee! The only thing I have to deal with is poop in the bathtub Lucky for me the bathtub is relatively easy to clean up once I fish the turds out. Tonight was the second time this week

Keep us updated on Emma's potty progress. We're going to start next Wednesday. I talked to my friend at work who just potty trained her daughter 4 months ago. Her daughter goes to daycare, so she would wear a diaper during the day, and when her daughter came home in the evening she would change into underwear. If they were home on the weekends, she would wear underwear all weekend, but if they were busy, she would wear a diaper most of the day. But even with the inconsistencies and the more laid back attitude, her daughter is fully potty trained now.

 

[cleckner04]

How did your friend do it? I'm open to all and any tips. Today Emma has so far: 1 full pee on the potty by herself. 2 half pee on the floor and I hurried and put her on. She snuck upstairs once and by the time I grabbed the potty and rushed up there, she had pooped. I think she wanted privacy for her poop. And she's had 1 full pee on the floor while I was on the phone with my parents. I'm not happy about it because the potty was right in front of her. She could've stepped two steps forward and sat down. I'm frustrated but I plan to keep pushing through it because she is at least trying to sit on it after months of refusing flat out to sit. So I want to take advantage of the sudden effort on her part. I'm still not sure that she 'gets it'. But she does look very proud of herself when she makes it in time.


Totally different topic but I got Emma a little spongebob beanie baby toy from amazon and it arrived today. The first thing she did was ask me where his hat is. Since he wears a hat to work. I guess she wanted him to have a hat. But he didn't come with one. She must've got over it because she's now naked except for a tutu and is running really fast in circles with spongebob under her arm. I love toddlers. Such entertainment.

 

[Mary Jo]

thanks ladies. I am glad I can vent here...

Shiv, how's things? anything going on? are you sick of people asking/wondering yet? re your comment about being sick of being a mum - yeah, I sometimes feel that as well. not that often because the guilt sets in pretty fast, but yes. (and last night I wanted not to be a wife as well, I was on the verge of grabbing my jacket and purse and phone and going out to find a hotel for the night by myself.) when Adam's being demanding and wanting to be picked up and go outside when I am only in my nightie... and when he's wailing at the gate when I'd just love for him to come back to bed and let me have another 20 minutes... I have a had a few thoughts this week of "only 2 years till he's at school", but then when we hit that point Joel will be younger than Adam is now so I'll be going through this again! though maybe not, maybe having a big brother will mean he learns to communicate better at a younger age? not sure how that works.

spidey, I love the red in your hair, it's a statement but subtle at the same time. I like even better that you did it as a positive thing as opposed to something actually destructive. I need to find that sort of positive outlet as well, I was so self-destructive in the past, and I am not now (unless you count over-eating/eating junk) but I have really strong urges to do stuff. not drink, or even use food in the way I did, but I yearn to self-harm when I am in the worst stress. and the *only* reason I don't is because I don't want C to know, and I don't know how I could hide it. what I want to do - and I just have to let the moment pass - wouldn't be easily hidden, unless I started wearing nightclothes, which I just don't. so I don't. I don't feel good for resisting, but maybe I should. I'm so sorry you're under stress, it's been a bad year for you, really hope your mom is ok.

you're right, I do care too much about what other people think, and I do wish I didn't feel so uncomfortable at the thought that Chris is uncomfortable with my mum around. I do realise it is him who has the problem, if there is one time in my life I should be having whatever makes me comfortable (within reason, and within possibility, of course) it is now. I have wondered myself if he is jealous and it could be. I don't know for sure. It's not like she is an interfering person, she lets us get on with things, but tries to help (she's done wonders in my house, cleaning and sorting things, I swear, she rarely sits down. she's just one of those people, and this is even with a bad back). and she's brilliant with Adam, which is what I need the most. I couldn't give a flying fuck about the housework, beyond the bare essentials (laundry, food shopping, cooking, keeping the place fairly hygienic) but I do like it when it's done. (I am lazy, it doesn't take pregnancy to make me slack off, unfortunately.) I think he might feel uncomfortable because he knows I tell my mum most things, and she's seen for herself how vile he can be to me at times, never mind the things I have told her myself. he'd like to play the devoted husband and father, and he does when there is an audience, generally, but with someone living in the house, true colours tend to come out, and it doesn't suit him.

Shiv, other than the pushchair, everything is pretty much sorted for the baby now. I need to get my sling out and practise, as it's been a long time since Adam was in it. we washed the mattress cover today, and I still have to dig out most of my muslins, and the baby monitor, but we have clothes and nappies. and I don't feel anxious about the new baby. I mean, I am anxious that the labour etc goes well, and anxious as to how Adam will deal with everything, but I was totally inexperienced with babies before Adam, and now I don't feel scared of a newborn, though it'll be funny to change a very small newborn after my giant toddler. we need to go to Ikea and get Adam's kitchen as well. Chris is under strict instructions that he is *not* to set it up or let Adam see it before we arrive home with the baby. guess he will have to set it up but hide it somehow. I am going to get a small present for him to give the baby and one for the baby to give him, just in case we are still in hospital when he first meets him. I am not planning to be in, but you never know and I'd rather have all this done just in case.

as for meeting up with the babies, I would LOVE that, so I really hope we can do it

Jean, how did the sock puppets go? I bet Natasha loved it and how's the no smoking going? really hope it's getting a little easier. so admire you for doing it right now, for yourself, rather than making it a conditional thing, because you're pregnant. when I stopped drinking I had to do it unconditionally for myself, not anyone or anything else, because I knew that if the person or thing I stopped for ever let me down, I'd be at risk of starting again, whereas if it's for me, I feel less vulnerable.

also, you're totally right, my mum said only yesterday that it is no hardship for her to be here with us and helping. I feel bad that we need her when her bad back has flared up, but she's so stoic. and bless my little baby boy, he loves his gran ("Gan") so much and gives her kisses and cuddles (and he's only just started giving *me* kisses and cuddles) and he's so very well behaved 95% of the time for her. I'm sure it would be a different story if he was difficult but he isn't, for her he is an unmitigated joy to be around. I am learning a lot myself. which I sometimes feel weird about, he's my boy, I should be able to manage him the best, but the truth is, she has spent so much time in the last few years with my nephew and nieces, so she is just a lot more practised at handing toddlers. they even have fun cleaning his teeth, whereas I get frustrated and hate doing it.

cleck, wow, Emma is doing great with the potty training! good for her. guess she just got ready all of a sudden if she just decided it was ok to sit on the potty after all. I wonder if it'll be like for Adam? he only very rarely wants to take his nappy off, I was always led to believe that toddlers in cloth had the desire to be out of nappies earlier than toddlers in disposables because they were aware of the wet feeling, but it doesn't seem to bother Adam at all. oh well. he also doesn't have a predictable time when I notice he's held his wee, though he sometimes does. he always has a full nappy in the morning, though I do admit to not changing it or checking it the minute he wakes. I haven't tried sitting him on the potty in a while. not a fan of wee everywhere. I think that might be my issue to deal with.

so... I saw the special midwife (not sure what her actual title would be, but she's a regular midwife who liaises with mothers who have mental health issues) yesterday. it went ok. she was nice, and understanding of my stresses, especially w/r/t managing a 2 year old while being 8 months pregnant. she's referred me to the psychiatric liaison team, and said she'd rush the referral through because of my late stage of pregnancy (they want to see women before they have their babies to get a genuine picture of them before all the feel-good hormones from having a new baby kick in - or I guess the feel-bad hormones of PPD as well) and sure enough I had a call this morning offering me an appointment on Monday morning for an assessment. if I didn't know that they were keen to see me because I'll be almost 37 weeks then, I'd be extra worried that they think I am really bad and *need* a quick appt. it's not that, I think under normal circumstances it'd be a couple of weeks/a month. am also seeing this special mw in 2 weeks. and the normal mw on Monday afternoon. so many appointments. it's a really good thing my mum is still here, though she has to go home next week, on Tue, and she'll be away for 4-5 days (we're hoping to get Adam into his new room while she's gone). so I don't know what this assessment will lead to, but the idea is a plan will be put in place. guess I'll find out what if anything they can offer on Monday. I am not especially hopeful because I want what nobody can offer - someone to come and live with me and just be there and help if I need it when C isn't around. unless there is a medication that can help me cope. I don't know if going to appointments and seeing someone will help, it's possible if I have someone to mind the children, but if I have to take them, that would be an additional stress. it was bad enough trailing over to my parent-infant psychotherapy appts with Adam last year/early this year, and he was just one child and between 9 and 19 months old, not a bigger, more active toddler and a new baby.

also, the special mw checked me and baby, and she is *certain* he's head down. though he was a total monkey and she couldn't get his hb. at least, she could get the echo of it, but not the loud noise of it right at his back, because he was wriggling around so much. she tried three times, had me up and walking around in between times. I'd have been beside myself with stress if I hadn't been able to feel and see him moving so much. she mentioned he might be back to back and that's why it was harder to find. I have decided not to stress about that. if he is, he is. fingers crossed he can figure out the optimal position for exit by himself. as long as his head is down, that's fine. there is *still* this lingering doubt but I am trying to dismiss it.

we had an ok day today. probably helped that I didn't go out other than a walk round the block with Adam in the pushchair while my mum was vacuuming (Adam likes to help and it holds things up) and so I haven't over-tired myself. Adam was also pretty well- behaved, or perhaps my tolerance levels were just a bit better than they have been. and tomorrow I am at work and C is taking Adam to see his cousins, so I have a day off (it is how it feels) and Chris gets to do the coping. (and my mum gets a dy off to go and meet a friend.)

time is ticking down so fast. I am telling myself I will go over 41 weeks - and I really think I will. Adam was 4 days over, and my due date this time is 4 days earlier than the one I calculated from temping (and we only dtd once so it's not like I might have messed up the temping, because I couldn't have got pregnant 3 or 4 days before we did it). so my due date is calculated on LMP and the 12 week scan confirmed that, but baby must just have been 4 days ahead. actually when I had the 4D scan, I saw on the screen where the EDD was calculated going on measurements, and it came up as Oct 15th, which is 4 days BEFORE my official due date. baby will, of course, come in his own time (I hope and pray anyway, no induction this time) and so any time from the 15th to the 27th is my guess. it's quite a big window. but they plan to induce at 40+12 here, which is, eeek, Halloween. really hope he is here by then!

 

[spidey]

Cleckner, how is the potty training going? I said to my friend that I hope after 4 days of trying it'll be obvious if Kira is ready, and she gave me a look and said "give it longer than that" She said to expect to clean pee off the floor for weeks. As for poop, her daughter did not want to poo in the potty, and she would ask for her diaper to be put back on so she could poop. Finally her mom said no, and she must poop in the potty. She wasn't happy, but finally pooped in the potty and then was okay with it after she realized it wasn't bad. I'm going to start this Wednesday

MJ, I understand what you mean by finding positive outlets when you're stressed. If you did self-harm, it would only make you feel worse in the end. I do understand how you feel though Let us know how your appointment goes on Monday. Oh, and I would totally go off your predicted due date! So you're definitely going to be "over due"

My midwife appointment is Monday so fingers crossed they can help with basic fertility things when the time is right. I'm not planning to pursue any fertility treatments right now, but perhaps when I get so desperate that I can't stand it anymore . I guess my issue is that I want to trust my body to decide when the time is right. Obviously nature hasn't intended for me to have children very close together, and perhaps there is good reason for it.

 

[cleckner04]

Emma won't poop on the potty either. In fact I think she's ashamed when she poops because she sneaks off upstairs and poops in the hallway but today I caught her midpoo and she got the saddest most pathetic look on her face and than started crying. I told her it's okay even though you're not supposed to say that to them but I felt so bad for her. I offered her a diaper earlier because it looked like she had to poo because she snuck off to the other side of the dining room hiding behind the chairs. I told her I can get a diaper so she can poop but she yelled NO! So I think poop will be an issue for us.

Okay, now the good stuff about the training. She now goes twice a day on her own. After sleep times. She now knows that as soon as she wakes up she needs to pee on the potty. So she pees in the morning, than she holds it ALL day until after her nap. That has been consistent each day. But now after the nap she sits right on the potty and pees too. So we have the mornings and early afternoons trained when it comes to pee. She also has consistently not peed overnight but I already knew that part. So now we just have to get her to focus on the potty more in the evenings and poops. No clue how to get past the poop embarrassment for her. And I get lazy in the evenings too because I'm always tired and just want to be lazy at night so I'm not as quick about getting her on the potty. But we are only on day 5 I think so I think we are doing pretty good. I stopped writing it all down every day. I probably should keep at the little journal I started. I just don't think about it at the time and than I forget by the end of the day when she went.

 

[spidey]

my friends little girl was the same way as Emma about poop. She would retreat under the dining room table to poop, and if her mom came close she would yell "NO MAMA GO AWAY!" I'm not sure how to get past the poop embarrassment part. My friend basically cornered her daughter in the bathroom and forced her to poop on the potty- yes, it sounds mean and she felt REALLY bad for doing it but there was no other way. I know she tried encouragement and bribery, but her little girl refused to poop in the potty. When I was a kid I remember my mom reading us a book about pee and poop in the potty (she must have been gearing my brother up for potty training at the time), so a potty training book from the library might plant some positive seeds in Emma's head regarding poop. Whenever I poo (TMI!) Kira is always there and I clap and cheer and we say goodbye to mommy's poo poo. When Kira poops, I will dump it in the toilet and we wave bye bye, and sometimes I'll put it in the potty chair and let her dump it in the toilet. Kira has no qualms about poop though- she poops in the bathtub and then orders me to scoop it out

It sounds like Emma was ready to start potty training! She's doing a wonderful job with peeing in the potty and I can only hope Kira does that well! I can't believe she holds her pee for that long in the morning. Maybe once she gets used to it, she'll go pee mid morning too. Do you have her in underwear, or is she bare bottomed?

 

[cleckner04]

We wave bye bye to the pee but I guess I could have her look at my poo and wave to it. I'm leaving Emma completely naked all day. Although today I put her in a dress and let her play outside without bottoms and she peed on the patio Which is better than the carpet I guess. But I really wish she'd learn to come in and pee on the potty. The evenings are not progressing so far. I really am trying not to beat myself about all of this. Because I want her to do it in her own time. But I do get really frustrated when she has accidents.




Completely different topic but for halloween this year Emma is going to be pebbles from the flintstones, I'm going to be wilma, and DH is going to be fred. Well I asked my mom if she had patterns still because I remember as a kid I was wilma for my twirling competitions(Yes, I twirled baton for like 10 years.) Anyways, she couldn't find patterns but she did go out and buy fleece and ended up making the fred costume and the top for pebbles. She didn't know how to make the bloomers for pebbles though so I found a woman on etsy that was willing to make it. Mom left the length really long on each but tonight I finally cut them shorter and did the ragged edging on the bottom. So I now have the finished pebbles costume and finished fred costume. For mine, I have a white dress that I really don't wear very often so I've decided to modify it into a wilma dress. But I wanted to show you guys the finished ones. In the picture that Emma is pissed off, it's because she peed herself. In the brand new bloomers that just arrived yesterday.


Edit to add: Notice she used seashells for the buttons!! Which is an awesome idea but I might change them to plain black buttons because the seashells keep coming out of the hole when Emma moves around.

 

[cleckner04]

After just saying she won't poop on the potty, she just stood a few inches in front of the potty and I could see her straining so I hurried and put the potty more under her although she wouldn't sit down. I'm not sure she knows how to poop while sitting cause she is always standing to poop. But anyways, I caught it in the potty!!! A small victory because she's had like 4 accidents on the floor today but that's 2 pees a 1 poop we managed to catch on the potty today. Although the poop was more me instead of her sitting. But I will take it!

 

[Shiv]

Cleck - you and emma are doing SO well with the potty training - you make it sound easy!
That costume is really cute.........I think it's fun that you make such a big thing of halloween over there, I was never even allowed to go trick or treating when I was a kid.

Spidey - good luck with the potty training next week!

I really like your hair as well, dramatic but not scary!

how did the Appt with the midwife go?

MJ - how you doing? SO you must hit full term at some point this week right? Then it's all systems go!

As for me, well I was getting pretty fed up, yesterday I managed to persuade myself I was in labour, but I wasn't! SO today i woke up with a differernt attitude of well baby will come when they want. I decided to make an effort for once and put some make-up on (not that I was going anywhere in particular!) and took some photos of me with a due date bump. I've attached them below although you've prob seen them on fb already. And i did feel better today. I went to the docs for my 40 week appt, everything normal. Babyhead down but not engaged, migh tbe back to back she wasn't sure, but as long as head is down I am happy

I have been losing plug all day. And miraculously I lost more weight this last week (and I have been eating SO much bad food!) so I am 11st 11lbs (although I have poo'd so much today (TMI!) that I bet I've lost another 1lb at least! So at 40 weeks I have put on 30lbs which I am very happy with!

 

[spidey]

very nice bump Shiv. The picture with you, Sophia and bump is very cute I guess with all the impending baby talk and knowing I had to see the midwife today, I had a dream last night that you had your baby! I was at your house and you decided to push the baby out on the bed and your birthing pool was in the bedroom. I don't know if it was a girl or boy though. It wasn't a long dream- so don't get too creeped out that I dreamed of you

My midwife appointment went okay. She said she can't do any fertility stuff, but they can refer me to a specialist AFTER Kira is fully weaned. I asked about getting a blood test to check my progesterone levels when/if I get pregnant, and she said they can do that around 5-6 weeks if I want, but they don't normally offer that to people. She also said that when I see my LH spike, it means I've just ovulated. That doesn't seem right from what I've been reading, but oh well- it really doesn't matter. She didn't comment on my vagina, so I'm assuming its not as messed up as I thought She was brutal with the pap smear though- my poor cervix! I'm not planning to force Kira to wean, but I might start pushing the issue when she turns 3. So who knows what'll happen over the next year. I need to plan on NOT being pregnant though.

Shiv, tomorrow you'll be in the overdue club, and as a member myself (+10 days) it's a good idea to enjoy every extra day you get. Don't forget to nap too to save up your energy. And don't be a total pig like me and eat an entire cake every day or you might end up with a 10 pounder! I was testing out new recipes and DH doesn't like sweets. Can't let them go to waste, right? The constant pooing sounds promising though- your body is getting things ready

 

[Shiv]

I forgot to say earlier that Sophia has almost mastered the alphabet Not as in the song but as in recognising the letters. We have an alphabet snake puzzle

https://www.elc.co.uk/Alphabet-Adder/123335,default,pd.html

and I can ask her where is the letter a - and she'll find it and the same for all the letters apart from a couple (L seems to be an issue for some reason).....I was amazed. So now if we show her a word we can say what letters can you see, and for example if it is her name she will say

S- for Sophia
o- for orange
p - for penguin
h- for hello
i -for igloo (where pingu lives )
a - for apple

how cool is that!

 

[spidey]

very impressive Sophia!!! She's a little smarty pants

I forgot to talk about Halloween in my last post! Cleckner, your costume idea is so neat and Emma makes a perfect Pebbles! Kira is going to be a puppy this year. I'm going to take her trick or treating too My street is a dead end off of a highway so I'll have to drive her to a neighborhood near my parents where the houses are closer together and there is a sidewalk. She might have the energy to walk to 3 houses Shiv, that's a shame you never got to celebrate Halloween! If you ever visit the states, plan a trip at the end of October so you can join in too.

 

[Mary Jo]

heh, Spidey, speaking of dreams, I dreamed about you last night! we were talking about going overdue, but I don't remember any real details, in fact I forgot all about it till you said you dreamed about Shiv.

glad your midwife appt went ok, maybe that's the best strategy, expect not to get pregnant and then when you do you'll be so happy and surprised. did the mw indicate that she thought you wouldn't before Kira is weaned? sorry about the awful pap smear, I hate getting those done (and actually cried at one once, the doc - a man - was vicious). I actually had a letter come in the other day saying I was overdue mine, and I guess I am but only because I am pregnant. my last one was Dec 2007, and the letter I had then said next one was due in 3 years. so of course NOW it's coming up to a year overdue, but it was only 1 month overdue when I got pregnant again, and they don't do them in pregnancy here as far as I know. not exactly looking forward to that. but I won't skip it because I had cell changes evident after my 1st test (which was very late, I was 29 I think) and had to have a LEEP done (where they cut out a chunk of cervix). ever since I've been clear, but I don't take that for granted.

Shiv, love the pics, you look gorgeous. 30lb is a brilliant weight gain, right on target, yay! good idea to get dressed up nice and not to stress any further. you're right, baby will come in their own time. was the 26th the due date you first calculated yourself or one from a scan? because I am going from my ovulation date not my dating scan date. just because it is later so I don't get stressed when the 19th comes and goes, as I am certain it will. I don't actually mind going later this time, probably because I am not posting in a due date/month thread. I *was*, but I decided not to any more, because I didn't click with anyone else in it, and so there didn't seem any point. and to get all "wah-wah" about it, I didn't think anyone would notice if I dropped out. and I am glad I did because now I'd be feeling stressed to be the last one to have the baby (it was a due date thread) whereas posting in here, and on FB, there isn't anyone so close. well, Samstar is, but she doesn't count as she's having a c-section anyway so she *will* go early. the main reason I don't want to go over too much is because I don't want to be induced.

cleck, Emma looks super cute as Pebbles and hooray for pooing on the potty Adam escaped from me while I was changing his nappy today and he ran outside and wee'd on the patio. he then stood in the wee, well, danced is more the word, and shouted "uh-oh!" and examined his winkle. so I think he totally knew what he was doing. then a little later, I decided to go get the potty and put it outside, and he didn't want me to go and tried to drag me outside, well I went up and got the potty anyway, and he sat on it, at least his bum brushed the edge of it and left a smear of poo. so I thought, aye aye he needs to poo, and encouraged him to sit, but he stood up and ran to his playhouse where there was a poo on the ground inside. he'd done it before I got the potty and I think that was why he wanted me to come outside, to show me. I am dreading proper potty training because the thought of all that on my floors in the house makes me sick, just wish we had a few more months of summer so he could run around in the garden without his nappy.

he likes going into the bathroom and pressing the flush, and I tell him that's where the wees and poos go, but I don't know if he understands. he's getting there, I can see each day he's twigging more and more stuff.

so, as for me - I am ok, full term on Wednesday. had two appointments today, one with the midwife, who said baby is in exactly the same position as yours, Shiv, head down, not engaged, might be back to back but not 100% sure! she thought initially he was definitely back to back going on the dip when I lie on my back, but as I am not getting backache, and because the student who was with her had a feel and asked what the hard thing was running down my left side was and she thought ok, that's his back, he's lying sideways, so not entirely back to back. I also don't care, back to back won't stop me going to the birth centre, and there is loads of time for him to get into the right position, just as long as he is head down. I'm just so relieved about that. I mentioned about Adam not engaging till I was well on in labour with him, and she said she thought it would happen again, so I *have* to call and go in if my waters start leaking, as they did with Adam. which I didn't want to, unless a lot went, because I am scared they'll induce if nothing happens. this is what is worrying me now. but fingers crossed it'll all be different this time. I won't be allowed to go to the birth centre if my waters break and I am not in labour after I think it is 18 hours.

the other appointment was for this psychiatric evaluation. it went on forever, I was there almost 2 hours, and the upshot is she clearly thinks I am depressed and has prescribed antidepressants, and she thinks I'd benefit from proper psychotherapy in the future, and she's looking into what the community mental health people will be able to offer. however. I have decided not to take the antidepressants for now. I looked them up - sertraline (Zoloft) - and found a load of stuff about the risks of taking it in 3rd tri, and all these potential problems. so I'm going to get the prescription, and even might get it filled, but won't take anything quite yet. apparently it's really safe in breastfeeding as very little gets through, but I need to look further into that. I read something about how if you take it in pregnancy and don't plan to bf, you should taper off by 36 weeks or the baby will have withdrawals; if you do plan to bf the baby will be ok as it will get a very small amount from the breastmilk. thing is, I didn't bf Adam exclusively, much as I'd have liked to, and it worries me that if I am in the same situation of having to supplement because of lowish supply, the new baby mightn't get enough breastmilk to counteract withdrawals. so along with the stuff I read about breathing problems and tube feeding, not to mention irritability and restlessness, I just don't want to do it. I'm going to have help for the next few weeks, since though my mum is going back north tomorrow, C is taking Wed, Thur and Fri off work, and my mum is coming back next Mon, so I'm just going to have to cope.

I know the chances of problems are probably very very low but I just don't feel right. I'll see how I am after having the baby. also, I wasn't planning to tell Chris about the antidepressants, but this was when I thought I'd feel 100% ok with the safety aspect (going on what the psychiatrist said and before I did some research myself). if I don't, I don't see how I can not tell him (if I was planning to take them anyway). he wouldn't understand. he'd think I was taking them to get some sort of high, or worry that they were addictive, and even if he was fine, it would only take 2 mins with Dr Google for him to be freaking out. so I'll just deal with it for now. if I have to take them once baby is here and I am maybe breastfeeding, I feel ok with that. situation might be diffeent if I had a long long way to go in the pregnancy, but with 3-5 weeks max, it's not a long time and I'd feel absolutely awful if baby was affected and I couldn't get my act together for such a short time. if I was competely non-functional, again it would be different, but with help I am getting what I need to get done, at least Adam is well cared for. and it does help that I generally have the bar set very low when it comes to housework, so I don't feel like I am slacking off too much when I do practically nothing.

feel like I am getting a cold or sore throat tonight. really want to have a Lemsip but don't think it's allowed... and I don't think we have any paracetamol left. grrrrr!

 

[ckc]

Hello Girls!
So many messages to catch up with!!!!

I am having a rough week, and it is only Tuesday!!!! I am only gonna share the good news!
My ultrasound went well!! I was so nervous at the beginning I couldn't see anything, it was scary, but then there it was! with fingers, toes, 175 bpm and measuring almost a week older! I was so relieve and happy! it made things more real. Although I get scared some times cause I don't have a bump yet and my sister has the same time as me and she is getting big by the day. But anyways I feel nauseous enough to reassure me!

Cleckner : About the babysitting thing, I wanted to say that you need to think about it really careful before making a decision. My sister was taking care of one little girl ( her friend's girl) for half day and she was charging 300 a week. Having another child to care for and in the house put a lot of stress in my sister's relationship with her daughter, who soon became aggressive and started acting out, whereas before she never had that problem. The other little girl was constantly with colds which means my sister's toddler was constantly infected. The other little had a fever once and they took her to the doctor ( her own parents) she was also having a greenish vaginal discharge ( she was two years old) the Doctor said that they had to explore the probability that she had been molested or abused!! as my sister's place was the only place she went to, her mom had to ask my sister about it. My sister's husband works for the government so they started freaking out with the possibility of being investigated, even if they are not guilty, being involved in such a thing remains in your reccord and carry consequences. Of course like everything in the US , the system and doctors always try to scare people and make them fearful ( that is my personal point of view and please don't take offense to it ) at last the little girl tested positive for a bacterial infection caused by stools on her vagina. But my sister still blames her M/C to all the stress that taking care of her caused. After that my sister realized how liable she could be and how even if she needed the money she thought it wasn't worth it. Also my sister's friend, so the mom of the little girl had another baby and was literally begging my sister for her to take her daughter back and also the new baby. Needless to say that she wont longer consider it. Cleckner all I am saying is that if you are gonna be ding something like that, at least the money has to be pretty damn good, and 175 for two children, the whole day, doesn't make much sense to me. Your home is better than any day care so you can't compare prices that way. You will be engaging emotionally, you will be teaching them, educating them, offering all Emma's stuff and not to mention that Emma wont get all you attention, not even close, and she will suffer. I am not trying to discourage you, I only wanted to share this with you because this is not a commitment that can be taken lightly, I was actually at my sister's when she started it and it is no what she said " oh I am already taking care of one and they are friends so this wont be much work" it as nothing like it! and that was only half day. Anyways just think about all the possibilities and liabilities. Good luck!!

Keep it up with potty training!!!!! good job!!!

hugs to all of you, I will try to catch up soon, I am back to school so I don't have as much time.

 

[spidey]

ckc, I'm so glad everything went well at your scan I hope the m/s lets up soon. Don't worry about a bump- the baby is super tiny right now, so any bump would just be weight gain and not baby.

MJ, I hope you're feeling better today. Being sick and not being able to take medicine is awful and I HATE breathing through my mouth at night. With them not knowing the exact risks of taking an SSRI in the third trimester, I would try to hold off on taking Zoloft until the baby is here, but if you really needed it now you shouldn't feel guilty for taking it, because it's also not good for the baby if you're completely stressed out and feeling really low. I'm glad the appointment was long and they took you seriously. If it were me, I would feel better just having the filled prescription nearby just incase suddenly things got worse.

The midwife seemed to think I won't get pregnant until Kira is completely weaned. But there is no way of knowing for sure. For the first time, I've thought about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays without stressing about "what if I'm pregnant". So that's a start

Shiv, you were quiet on FB today (it's not like I'm stalking you or something ) so how are you feeling??? I'm assuming you took a little break from all the pregnancy talk, but I like to think you're in labor

 

[ckc]

Hi Spidey,

How much are you nursing now? I have a hard time believing that nursing is the main reason why you aren't pregnant. I am still nursing too. I find at this age she doesn't nurse very much. What did the midwife explain to you?

 

[cleckner04]

I think some women just can't get pregnant while nursing. No matter how often the child nurses. Emma still BFs quite frequently here. So I'm certain it has something to do with my messed up cycles too. Although spidey, your cycles seem to be correcting themselves so I have a feeling you WILL be pregnant in the near future.

I had a rough evening. Too many pregnancy announcements on here and facebook and I just can't take it anymore. People that don't even try, people that try a month and it just happens that easy. It's driving me crazy. It just seems like some people get things so easily. I hate being jealous like this. I really do. It eats away at me. I should be happy with everything I have. A husband that loves me and treats me right and a daughter that I seriously can't imagine my life without. But than I think of the negative things. Like the fact that I've only seen my husband 4 months in the past year. And the whole baby issue where I want it so bad sometimes. But obviously it's not easy with a husband who is only here 4 months of the year. Okay, enough feeling sorry for myself. I'm glad I got it out.



On a happy note. I think Emma may have cracked it! She only had one small accident today. The rest of the day she went over to the potty whenever she had to go. At one point while we were upstairs she even searched it out saying 'wheres potty' and than she found it and sat down quickly and said 'bye bye pee pee!' before peeing on it. We even caught a poo on it today. Although it was her standing a foot from it squeezing and I hurried and put the potty under her and managed to catch it. I think that will be a bit harder to learn still. But it's a step up from her running upstairs and hiding to do it. I just looked at my 'potty journal' and she started last wednesday the 21st. So today is the week milestone. I am seriously keeping my fingers crossed that it just gets better from here. Although I know I am probably just jinxing myself after I've went on about it and tomorrow she will probably pee on the floor a million times to make up for my bragging.

 

[spidey]

Kira ALWAYS nurses in the morning when she wakes up (if I'm not at work), at 2pm for nap time, 4pm when she wakes up, and at 9pm before she goes to bed. Many days she'll nurse 10 additional times, but only for 1-2 minutes or so.

From what I've read, even once a day nursing can prevent some women from getting pregnant. I know my mom got pregnant with my brother when I was still nursing 1-2 times a day, so that's promising for me. The midwife said since I already got pregnant once, she thinks it's the bf and not something else. But they won't look into a secondary infertility cause until I wean her completely.

YAY for Emma!!!! Potty training starts this afternoon for Kira! I hope she gets it as fast as Emma. I took my rug up last night to prepare

Shiv is in labor now, so send her some fast labor vibes

 

[spidey]

Potty day #1. Didn't start till 5pm since Kira was in defiant 2 year old mode earlier in the day But we decided to have her naked. She went from 5pm until 8pm and then made 2-3 dribbles in the floor. She was sort of grabbing herself so DH moved her to the potty and she peed!!!! Then she took her bath and almost pooped in the bathtub, but we got her in time and the poop dropped off in the potty I don't count that as a success though, but we made a huge deal out of it. Then after her bath she squatted on the floor and made a few dribbles. I think she was testing things out.

DH has her all day tomorrow as I work, so he's going to be all alone in potty training her, and then I have her Friday, Sat and Sunday. I'm exhausted and it was only a partial day. Cleckner, when Emma pees on the floor, what do you say?

Shiv....... do you realize I reloaded FB a thousand times today!?? I can't wait to hear your birth story. I was having overwhelming emotional moments today thinking about you. It makes me want to have another baby so bad!!

 

[cleckner04]

Shiv had the baby?! Boy or girl?!!!


No accidents at all today. She even backed up to the potty to poop. She got one turd in and one hit the edge and fell onto the floor but I still count it as a success because she really tried. I don't even have to ask her much anymore if she has to pee because she automatically goes over to the potty on her own. I am going to buy a second potty to put upstairs though because I'm sick of hauling it up and down a few times a day.

When Emma has accidents on the floor I don't tell her it's okay. I tell her we don't pee on the floor, we pee on the potty. Than I get the carpet cleaning stuff and spray the floor and hand her a rag and she cleans it up. With me doing the real cleaning after her effort of course. I'm doing what it said for the fellom method that ckc recommended. She's naked all day and everything. The only thing I haven't been brave enough to try is taking her out of the house with loose clothes on like it says. Actually the method says to take them out the second day of training but there was no way because Emma was still having accidents like crazy than! So I think we will see if she has any accidents in the next few days and than I'll try to work up the courage to take her to the park for half an hour or more behind my house.

I'm so worried our trip across country and new living situation will wipe all of this away though. I really hope this doesn't all hurt her too much.