Mums/Moms after Recurrent Losses (MARL) - Come join us!

[puppycat]

Loving the pictures girls.

Can't believe Grey is rolling! That's awesome.

Let me go upload some recent pictures to photobucket and come back

 

[puppycat]

https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j369/puppycat72/20130204_181257.jpg

https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j369/puppycat72/20130129_214603.jpg

https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j369/puppycat72/20130204_174307.jpg

https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j369/puppycat72/20130129_202657.jpg

https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j369/puppycat72/20130128_154624.jpg

 

[Justkeeptryin]

Aww Puppy, Samuel is absolutely gorgeous, he looks so grown up. Loving all the pics of such cute babies on here.
Looking at some of your tickers I cant believe how old some of your babies are now, time completely flies by with a baby dosent it, or it is for me anyway.

I cant believe I've been on maternity leave for 3 months already, really dont want to go back to work...ever. Im hoping to have this whole year off so 14 months in total but just need to see how money goes.

 

[KatM]

Davies,
6 month and 9 month growth spurt. Sorry it sucks right now.

Puppy,
He is growing nicely. Love the pics, especially the messy face one.

Just
You have amazing mat leave.

AFM,
I actually feel rested. DH ans I split shifted again. He is sleeping with G in the ergo on our recliner after bouncing him to sleep. I took G into bed as safely as possible. I don't want to bed share but we need rest and my body was wrecked from craning it into the cosleeper. I feel alert enough by morning to watch over Grey in bed.

 

[hoping:)]

I’m loving all of the adorable pictures!

Hopeful- I hope you have an amazing trip! You deserve it

MrsMig- Too bad about the house. I hope you find one you like really soon

Just- I hope you get the whole year off. I would love to have had that time with Penny but the US maternity leave sucks big time.

Kat- it’s pretty impressive Grey can roll at this stage. I like that you do learned play

Davies- I hope you survive the teething phase ok. It goes on for ever but at least you get breaks between each new tooth. I remember when Penny learned the high pitched shrill scream. Its no fun but you will get through it. The good days more than make up for the bad.

Croy- I feel for you on the teething as well. It sounds like he is reaching all of his milestones perfectly. Penny’s 1st word was “mama.” It made me so happy even though she didn’t always associate it with me. He will definitely be crawling any day

Puppy- how are you and the two little ones?

I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to read all the way back. Hi to everyone I missed!

Surrogacy update from my journal:

Spoiler

I’m doing great but I’m a little bummed about the surrogacy update. So like the last couple, the same sexed couple in NYC loved us and thought we were adorable but their doctor doesn’t want them to work with me. My surrogacy counselor seems to think this is a blessing in disguise because the doctor they are working with is a pain to deal with apparently. They feel like if we did go with them our experience might not be what we wanted.

I totally get that the doctors are turned off by my history because we are dealing with couples who have waited a long time to have a child. I’m actually surprised that we got this far without any trouble. My counselor doesn’t feel like this will stop me from being a surrogate but told me it could take longer than we want. I have already been approved by a doctor in CT and CA so we just need to find a couple that is using one of those doctors or who wouldn’t mind switching to them. My counselor said that I could get a couple tomorrow or weeks from now so it is just a waiting game. I truly feel like things happen for a reason so I am going to take this time to work on myself and just enjoy spending time with my family without having to worry about a pregnancy in the mean time.

AFM- I’ve been busy with toddler activities, party planning and all my other life events. Penny and I are getting super excited for our train trip to New Mexico next week. We have lots of fun events planned with my family and Penny will even get to go to preschool for a day and hang out with her big cousins.

I’ve also been working on Valentines day stuff for Tim- he will be on the east coast and we will be in the south west. I made him a travel mug and valentines day card complete with pictures of Penny. We also made him tracings of Penny’s hands on hearts and wrote 10 things we each love about him. I’m going to hid them in his luggage, clothes, note book etc… And of course Valentines day would not be complete without a beautiful bouquet… of beer that is! I’m making home made “lovey” lables.

here are a few pictures of the photo shoot I did for Penny for Vday. Its hard to get a toddler to sit still for a few minutes! I'm sad to say that I did bribe her with chocolate

https://i1161.photobucket.com/albums/q515/amljunggren/vday8_zps767e0110.jpg
https://i1161.photobucket.com/albums/q515/amljunggren/vday6_zps6631ad98.jpg
https://i1161.photobucket.com/albums/q515/amljunggren/vday2_zpsac36bf4a.jpg

there are more in my journal

 

[KatM]

She is gorgeous! A little chocolate never hurt anyone. Sorry that the surrogacy match is not going as smoothly as you hoped, but I trust the right couple will come along. You don't want to work with a difficult dr, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Please keep us updated.

 

[sara1]

Wow!!!!!! So many gorgeous babies!

Kat- So sorry to hear Grey hasn't settled to sleep yet. I can sympathize-Eva's not sleeping either I keep trying to keep positive but it''s tough. I hope he gives you guys (and himself) a break soon.
Grey's weight is fabulous! We're almost 3 months old and only 11pounds! I love the rolling thing... It's so cute too. Eva started mega early as well. At 6 weeks she was rolling front to back. She does it to get out of tummy time every time I put her on her belly! Then she loks at me and smiles

Bumpy- OMG he's gorgeous! It's great that he's sleeping and eating better !

Davies- Poor Lexi, teething sounds miserable. Its good she's still taking her milk though.

Just- LOVE the pics. Especially the one of Emelia in the bath. You really are very lucky that she's a good sleeper, although I know ALL babies are hard! She'll start pushing herself up more in her own good time. Kat's advice sounds very good in that regard.

Croy- Sorry Levi is so unsettled. It sounds like your having a rough time of it right now. Spinning in circles on his belly sounds adorable.

Puppy- what a little man. I agree he looks very grown up!

Hoping- I love your Valentines ideas... Beer bouquet I like to hide things in Dh's luggage when he goes away too... It's fun and I like the romantic stealth quality of it. Sounds like you've got a great trip planned too. Penny is stunning in her pictures.

I'm pretty sure I'm missing people... I claim brain fry

afm- My sister was supposed to come visit for a few days but her flight was cancelled due to the blizzard on the east coast. Looks like she wont be able to make it at all and I'm seriously disappointed.
Like so many other ladies on here we're really struggling with sleep issues. Eva wakes up 20 to 30 minutes after I put her in her basket. Then I have to start calming and soothing her to sleep all over again, which can take up to an hour. She's only getting an average of 8-9 hours in a 24 hour period. As the night wears on and I get more and more tired and frustrated all my good intentions about consistency go out the window and eventually I end up with her in bed with me sleeping on the boob... not that she sleeps for any period of time there either, but at least I'm lying down.

 

[melfy77]

so many beautiful babies!! We did a great job!!!! But wow do they grow fast!!!

I will try to catch up with all those pages, but I have a feeling it's gonna take forever lol.

MrsMigg: Sorry about the house. I can imagine how much this must sucks for you guys. I really hope you'll find something you like

zoe is getting better and better at breastfeeding. She is latching on quite nicely, my boobs are not longer the size of a basketball so I can finally sleep on my stomach again She feeds about every 2 hours or so during the day and 3-4 hours at night, although two nights ago she woke up at 3, 4 and 5 and wanted to be fed. Last monday she was still not gaining any weight, but hopefully with all the milk she's getting she's putting up some weight. We'll see on monday. Last night, I got up to feed her, and no idea how, but she rotated 90degrees in her crib!! She's not even 2 weeks!! We'll need the big crib sooner than we thought

 

[sara1]

Mismig- so sorry about the house! I imagine you must be terribly frustrated! hopefully something even better will come along.

Melfly- Its amazing that Zoe is moving around like that so young. fxed for some good weight gain

 

[Justkeeptryin]

Hi ladies,

Hoping, those pictures of Penny are stunning, such a beautiful little girl. It sounds like you put lots of effort into valentines day, hope you enjoy.
That is disappointing on the surrogacy front, I hope it turns around for you.

Sara, it sounds like you are in a similar boat to Kat on the lack of sleep front! I hope its only temporary and changes soon for the better.
I do consider myself very luck on the sleep front which Im grateful for but as you said I agree that all babies are hard each in their own way. What you have easy in one way you usually have tougher in another I reckon.

Emelia hasent been herself since her second lot of injections on Wednesday morning. She slept the whole of the day on Wednesday and I actually had to wake her up for feeds. Again yesterday she slept loads but today she has cried all morning and not been wanting her bottles and much more dirty nappies than normal.
She has came around and guzzled a bottle this afternoon and then finally went for a sleep as she is shattered. Im not overly concerned as no temperature of anything but Im assuming it has been an after effect of the injections.
Also she has still been sleeping through the night for about 2 weeks now with the exception of last night/this morning waking at 5am for a feed. I hope this was a one off and not a backward step, we'll soon see tonight.
I was back at the baby sensory class today and chatting with other mums there, all babies really are different with regards to who's still sleeps during the day and when they started sleeping through the night. also at what age they had to start going on solids, some babies seem to be hungrier than others and need to be weaned early.

Melfy, it sounds like Zoe is doing well and very mobile at a young age. I hope your enjoying motherhood. I remember that Emelia kept putting herself onto her side in her moses basket for the first couple of weeks and the health visitor said that its obviously been the way that she was lying in the womb and not much we could do about it.

 

[KatM]

Hi Ladies.

Sara,
The whole point of tummy time (imo) is to have them roll over, so Eva graduated at 6 weeks. I can't believe Eva doesn't sleep on the boob for extended periods of time. I guess I am lucky that Grey likes to sleep at the boob. When does she sleep best? Have you tried the exercise ball?

How have things been with BF? I know you were frustrated at one point, but it sounds like it all resolved.

That sucks about your sister. Damn East Coast weather!

Melfy,
Don't worry about her weight. Grey took the entire 2 weeks to get back to his birth weight and now he is a bit of a chubbers. They can scoot immediately. I did not know this until I kept waking up with Grey pressed against me after putting him to sleep in his co-sleeper, that one blissful week he slept in it.

Just,
Hope the vaccine after effects wear out soon. I am nervous about them.

AFM,
I gave up and took Grey to bed ALL night last night and DH slept on the floor next to the bed. Grey was super happy and so was DH (he felt selfish because he got to sleep from 8:30 till about 8:15 except for 3 diaper changes). I did all the safety things I could think of. I leaned back against my teddy bear so I was almost lying on my back with my bottom boob in Grey's mouth. Bottom leg bent under Grey and top leg straight on the bed. All of this, so it would be super hard to roll over him. I put Grey's head on my poor arm all night, so he would be elevated from the mattress. I woke to check on him frequently. No excess bedding. Just a bamboo knit robe with lots of holes that you can breathe through and my pillow because I have a sensitive neck. It worked for us. I did not want to bed share, but this is what Grey wants and it was nice to cuddle all night long.

 

[sara1]

Kat- bfing has definitely improved, though I still top her up with a bottle of formula before bed most nights. Co-sleeping can seem unavoidable and it certainly sounds like you're taking lots of safety precautions. Eva sleeps in my bed with me often, and I just make sure she's uncovered and there are no extra pillows around. I'm not actually worried about rolling over onto her because I don't sleep particularly well when she's in bed with me so I'm always half awake and checking on her. It sounds like it worked well for you guys last night... even if it wasn;t in your plan at least you can get some rest this way.

 

[KatM]

Sara,
You must be beyond exhausted with Eva sleeping so little. Grey naps a lot in his Ergo on DH during the day, so I get me time. How are you showering and eating? Getting outside help? Take care of yourself. I'm still able to sleep and dream with Grey in bed with me. It sounds like you are getting almost zero sleep.

 

[sara1]

Kat- Alex takes Eva for a 3 hour stretch in the evening so I can sleep, then again from around 5:30/6:00 am till 8am before he goes to work. I've outside help Mondays and Thursdays during the day and Saturday night ( though obviously we use this to socialize). It's ok actually. During the day she's always up after20-30 min. But a night she may sleep for 1 stretch of 1,5 hours or more. As I type this it's 1:30am and I'm feeding her in the dark since she just woke up after sleeping 2.5 hours I'm praying she goes back down without her usual 1-2 hour awake time.

 

[KatM]

Good to hear that you split shift with Alex... Thank Goodness. How is she with the sitter? We didn't dare leave Grey with my parents. DH and I look forward to dating again in the future.

 

[filipenko32]

Gosh Kat poor you with that sleeping arrangement!! Grey was super safe though and it does sound nice that you got cuddles all night long - glad it worked for you. xxx

Hello everyone, just popping on to check in. Having loads of fun with Lexi and getting out and about everyday with her and new mummies that I now know but I'm tired!!

We had Lexi weighed a couple of days ago when she was 4 weeks 1 day old and she was 9lbs 11 exactly right and in the 50th percentile - so average! . I'm bottle feeding only now.

Josh takes Lexi 8pm till midnight/1am so I can get a chunk of sleep - miss my nights though!!

 

[sara1]

Thankfully Eva and her sitter have a mutual love affair. I've known her for years and trust her completely so it really is a godsend!

Fili- great to hear your having fun Lexi's a great weight too!

 

[filipenko32]

Sara glad you got a great sitter! I am training up my SIL she's great with Lexi xxx

 

[KatM]

That's great. A sitter you trust is priceless I have a friend that is a nurse. I might ask her. My issue with her is that her and her hubby are always ill.

 

[heart tree]

Hi girls! I'm reading but have very little time to post these days. Delilah has had one cold after another. This most recent one is awful. She's so stuffy, she can't lie down for extended periods. Soooo...last night I resorted to letting her sleep on me as I slept upright in bed. Tim slept on the couch. I felt like she was a newborn again. We'll be doing the same tonight. She was up every 1-2 hours. She's not napping well either. It's really hard at the moment.

I also enrolled in an online course that I need to take before I can apply for my therapist license. It's a full semester course. I have my hands full. I'm reading and loving all the pics. Just wanted to pop in and say hi. Will try to respond when she gets better.

Gotta run, she's screaming right now. Sigh.