Valentines Babies, 2013!

[SierraJourney]

Oh---and carpets being cleaned sounds like a fabulous idea! I wonder if DH would hire a maid to clean my house for me for Christmas?! That'd be AWESOME!

 

[wamommy]

Haha, for my birthday last year (which is 3 days after Max's) I got a co-sleeper, a set of bottles and a couple swaddle wraps! I don't think buying something for Max and giving it to me bothers DH at all... I have also seen Ergos slightly used on Craigslist and other online sites for only $50-$70! That's not too bad.

I would LOVE a maid to clean my house, but a part of me is too embarrassed to have a stranger go through my house. I guess I'm too private of a person? I'd rather deal with my own mess... I just can't clean the carpets myself. I tried to rent a Rug Doctor (those ones at the grocery store that you rent over night) but it doesn't work at all. We have berber in the family room, and it's FILTHY. It really needs replacing, but I figure why do it when we have small kids at home that will just stain it anyway?? I'm just afraid to let Max play on the family room floor because it's so gross. I have to take him in the other room to let him have floor time.

 

[SierraJourney]

I completely understand that. I'm that way, too, but the mess in my house has become so much that I would welcome someone in to clean it! lol. Or I just need a full day where DH takes Camden somewhere and I can clean all day long. . .Camden just gets too upset when he sees mommy but can't be near me because I'm cleaning. . .

Yeah, sounds like a professional carpet cleaner is the way to go. . .It shouldn't be that much for one room, I wouldn't think---plus, they have deals quite often, so you could just catch a sale.

 

[helena]

I love the ergo! Watch out for ones n eBay though - I saw something on tv about some being fakes and not safe at all.

I love it through, I love the flexibility of front or back carrying. The one problem with it is that you can't have them on the front facing out, they have to face in. Kiara likes that but I know some babies don't. Getting her onto the abck on my own took some practice and apparently I look very precarious but I haven't dropped her yet

I was lucky and bought it second hand from a friend.

We now have 6 teeth - top two middles finally broke through. They are small and there may be some more crying to be done yet but I am happy. It's like playing baby teeth bingo, I can't wait to get a full house and have it all over and done . Funnily enough, my eldest has just lost one of his top middle teeth and the other is super wobbly. It's like one in, one out here

They eat lots of rabbit here.

 

[wamommy]

Thanks for the info about fake Ergos, Helena! I think I'll stick to local sellers or maybe even convince DH to spring for a new one (ya right! ) He thinks all of the studies showing the correct hip placement of the new soft carriers (vs Bjorns) are bunk, and doesn't buy into it at all. SElfishly, I just think the bjorn is so darned uncomfy! I would also love the option of baby on back.

Helena, yay for new little teeth!! We still have only 2 here. Your oldest is only slightly younger than my oldest, and I didn't know they could start losing teeth this early! I better stay on the lookout for wobbly ones. How fun. I know that we watched a cartoon about the tooth fairy and DD started TRYING to wiggle teeth out so the tooth fairy would come... I told her she wouldn't leave a dollar if you make your teeth fall out before they're ready.

So, I have apparently sprouted a bump overnight. Maybe it's bloat? Who knows, but I look 4 months along! I guess I AM 4 months along, but you know what I mean...lol. Luckily I finally found the perfect maternity jeans! It only took 4 pregnancies to find them! They're from H&M, and there was literally ONE pair left in the store. They were a little big, so I went to another H&M a half hour away and bought the ONE pair in the correct size there, too! Now I have one that fits now, and one for when I gain some weight. I'm so excited! They're actually long enough, and don't fall down. It's a miracle!!

 

[Kellen]

Hello everyone!

Life has been a little bit crazy here, but in a good way. I drove up to Portland early last Saturday morning and met DH at my uncle's house. My uncle and aunt are rather thrifty people and the inside of their house was a balmy 48 degrees. We turned on the heat and went out to breakfast. When we got back it was up to 58. Tried to nap with Teagen... everyone was shivering. Long story short we ended up coming home the same day. Teagen was a trooper as we stopped at a couple of playgrounds along the way and let her run around.

My mom had knee surgery on Monday and is currently high as a kite on morphine, which is fairly hilarious. On Tuesday DH and I went and bought a new-used vehicle to replace our stolen car. We ended up with a Saturn Vue which is a lot roomier than our car was, but still gets fairly decent gas consumption. I also posted my motorcycle on Craigslist because I just don't have the time for it. If I want to go riding I'll just take DH's.

Yesterday DH and my dad went and picked up 5 chickens and a chicken coop. Today we go pick up two four month old sheep whethers. This is what happens when your mom has knee surgery and way too much time to browse Craigslist. DH and my dad had to clean out on of the stalls in the barns and buy supplies to create a yard for the chickens to run around in. Teagen hasn't seen the chickens yet.

Still only two teeth here, but massive teething symptoms. Poor baby is trying to bring in her molars and top two teeth all at once. She is also working on cutting out her morning nap and taking a long afternoon nap around 1 or 2. I just follow her tired cues rather than watching the clock.

Wamommy - I would look at Groupons for your area. That is how I got our carpets cleaned before the big move. I think it ended up being $45 for three rooms and a hallway.

Sierra - How is the night time cloth diapering working or have you transitioned yet? We are still using a disposable as Teagen is a heavy wetter when she first wakes up.

 

[helena]

Fnally i have time to write properly!


yaaaay for jeans that fit wamommy! Oh I so remember that feeling of constantly pulling up my trousers. Urgh. You must feel great when you wear them how's any sickness, fatigue etc going? Oh I can't imagine it all now. I guess the second tri blooming period should be coming soon?

Kellen, we have chickens! We did have three this morning, but then we went out and left them (as usual) free ranging around our garden. When we got back my eldest said "daddy, look at that big bird!" And a big bird, maybe a buzzard, flew away revealing a dead and half eaten chicken!....poor chuck. It's all a lesson in life for the kids I guess, but we were so shocked a bird would come and attack them!!

Today DH and I took the kids into the city (Geneva) on the tram, for a little day out. We played at a park and then went to a restaurant for lunch. For my 3 year old and 5 year old this is a massive challenge - they never ever sit still and mostly don't listen to me and DH when we ask them to. Kiara was by far the easiest and best behaved child, but my 5 year old did great too. The 3 year old had a mini melt down as he was tired and managed to a break a glass (why would they serve kids juice in wine glasses!? Even if it was a short stem) but otherwise it was pretty much a success and I even managed to eat all my lunch. A miracle! I live in hope that one day we can visit a restaurant with it being the easy carefree eperience I dream of....one day. My 3 year old isnt a big fan of food in general so maybe when he grows and realizes how yummy it all is it will be easier. My eldest loved it since he announced the carbonara was better than mummy's...

DH is off out tonight, he has been invited to a students house warming party (the student is working at his place of work for a while). I can't help but laugh at the idea of him being the grandad (ok he is only 38 but these are early 20s students!) in the corner! Heheh. I will be interested to see how he gets on..though he is the so of person everyone likes so at least he will be a like able grandad lol. Personally. Am more than happy to stay home with a glass of wine and X factor
As DH left he joked that someone may announce "someone's dad is here to pick them up" as he walks in! I laughed a lot!!
We dug out all the strange bottles from the back of our drinks cupboard for him to take.. Lemoncello that had been lurking for years it seems and some other spirit that smells like cleaner. Surely students will make some cocktails or other!? Lol..

DH got a gold star this week for buying me the most beautiful bunch of flowers. Just for being a good mum and working hard he said. Bless him. I think he does worry about me being a bit down all the time because of my mum, and my stress levels are increased further as my eldest is mostly a big handful, but I thought that really sweet of him. I hardly ever get flowers.

Hope your weekends are going well xxx

 

[wamommy]

Kellen, it sounds like you've been very busy!! Congrats on the chickens and the new car. It sounds like a lot of positive things are going on in your life. That's very good to hear! Thanks for the tip on looking at Groupon, too. I found a cleaner that had a 50% off coupon, and I think we'll go with them after they give us an estimate. I'm sorry to hear you had to sell your motorcycle, but it sounds like you can get your "fix" using DH's. I sold mine when I was pregnant with DD#1.

Helena, your DH sound positively amazing! Want to trade? I'm so glad he appreciates you. The trip to Geneva sounds amazing. It's funny that your 3-year-old doesn't much care for food. My DD#2 is the same. She likes to grab a bite or snack here and there, but never eats a whole meal. I'm hoping she grows into liking food!

As for the sickness, it's mostly passed. The fatigue is in full swing, though! I'm so exhausted. I'm hoping I get the 2nd tri boost of energy sometime very soon. I could use it. We finally told DH's daughter about the baby 2 days ago. She glared at me and grumbled, "congrats..." and then said, "so you're going to keep it?" I laughed and said "of course!" thinking it was a joke. She said, "there are other options." DH and I got quiet and she got up and left the room. Ya, it didn't go so well... not that I expected it to. Sigh...

Dinner is about ready, so I better go! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.

 

[helena]

Oh wamommy, what an awful response...how old is she? Guess she feels threatened.

 

[wamommy]

Oh wamommy, what an awful response...how old is she? Guess she feels threatened.

She'll be 17 at the end of this month. I think you're right that she feels threatened. She's never liked or been close to any of the little kids, and I think another one is exactly what she doesn't want. It's a super long story, but her Mom abandoned her when she was 5 and left her with her Dad. I think in some ways she resents the relationship between me and the girls. I can understand why that would be hard, and why she would hold onto anger about her own childhood. I don't understand taking it out on children, though... She does mean things, like tell them there's no Santa, or that we can't afford to go to Disneyland because "Mom is too lazy to work and stays home all day." Ya, she can be really mean and awful. I try to understand where it's coming from, but to be honest at this point I'm just counting the months until she's off to college.

 

[Kellen]

Helena - Your husband sounds so sweet. Glad that you all had a fantastic time on your outing. Giving a child a wine glass just sounds like a recipe for disaster. There is a rather funny song from Veggie Tales Silly Songs with Larry called "Sippy Cup" that immediately comes to mind.

Wamommy - It sounds like your step-daughter has some serious issues. Just because she has history doesn't mean she should take it out on the little kids. That is just cruel. I don't blame you for counting the days.

I got go grocery shopping all by myself yesterday. I pawned Teagen off on DH while he was building the chicken's yard for their run. Helena, we have little flashing lights that we have installed that scare away predators. We mount them at different levels so that they affect raccoons, coyotes and birds of prey. So sorry that one of your chickens was killed. It is a hard lesson, but one that is learned sooner or later. We had barn cats that were constantly running out in the road and getting hit when I was growing up. It didn't affect me until I was 14 when my puppy, Anna, was run over (on purpose) by some local high school boys.

Teagen's sleep is currently awful. She goes to sleep like a dream, sleeps until 1 or 1:30, goes back to sleep until 3 or 3:30 and then refuses to sleep by herself. She'll go to sleep in her crib, but if you walk away she will wake up and stand up and stare. We tried leaving her, but she bounces up and down and knocked her head on the side of the crib. She finally went back to sleep at 5 when we caved and brought her to our bed. Yesterday I ordered the No Cry Sleep Solution book and am about halfway through it. Hopefully it will help.

 

[helena]

We have big waking and wanting to be held sleep issues. I blame teething. It will pass. I hope!? I can't remember the last time I didnt have to wake in the night. I think only once has Kiara gone until 6am. Now she usually wakes around 11, then again 4 ish when she may be awake for up to an hour chattering..Urgh. Tired isn't the word.

(Sorry wamommy, I bet you really know the meaning of TIRED? Xxxx )

 

[Kellen]

Teagen seems to go to sleep around 6:45-7ish, then wake up at 11:30 for a feed, sleep until 2:30 or 3 and then want to be WITH mommy. Daddy just doesn't cut it... even though he is trying. Only one nap here today so DH is dealing with a fussy girl. Had a great time at the park. Now I'm fixing dinner and putting clean sheets on the bed.

 

[helena]

Kellen that is exactly how Kiara is when she is unwell or teething. Exactly.

 

[helena]

Oh wamommy, what an awful response...how old is she? Guess she feels threatened.

She'll be 17 at the end of this month. I think you're right that she feels threatened. She's never liked or been close to any of the little kids, and I think another one is exactly what she doesn't want. It's a super long story, but her Mom abandoned her when she was 5 and left her with her Dad. I think in some ways she resents the relationship between me and the girls. I can understand why that would be hard, and why she would hold onto anger about her own childhood. I don't understand taking it out on children, though... She does mean things, like tell them there's no Santa, or that we can't afford to go to Disneyland because "Mom is too lazy to work and stays home all day." Ya, she can be really mean and awful. I try to understand where it's coming from, but to be honest at this point I'm just counting the months until she's off to college.

Thought about counseling? Seems sad to take so much anger or bitterness on in life...sounds like her mum has a lot to answer for! I kind f feel sorry for her. But I don't have to live with her...

 

[SierraJourney]

Awww wamommy---I'm sorry she responded in that way. I agree with helena---counseling might be a good idea if she'd be willing. Sounds like she has a big weight on her that counseling might be able to lift. And it would benefit you as well if she got some counseling!

Sorry about the sleep trouble, ladies. . .Camden's been extra fussy lately (what's new ) but so far sleeping like his usual self!

Kellen--I am hoping to venture into nighttime cloth diapering this week. . . I've been a little wimpy about starting it because I do enjoy my sleep and he sleeps so well in a disposable. . .but I bought everything to try it, so I need to just bite the bullet and see if it works! I have hemp inserts I am going to be using in the nighttime diaper (I also use these in long car rides too because Camden tends to get compression leaks if he wets a lot all of the sudden!), and I also bought a fleece soaker cover and a wool soaker cover (basically like wool and fleece pants you pull on over top of the cloth diaper to catch any leaks when the cloth diaper gets full at night). So, I am well prepared, but just have to delve into it! I'll keep you posted! Have you bought any more diapers? I've become quite addicted to all of the cute cloth diaper patterns. . .so Camden has a good collection now and I only have to do laundry with them every 3 days.

We had a big storm here last night. . . tons of trees blown down and houses and business ruined. I stayed up half of the night worried a tree would fall on Camden's room! (We have some really old huge trees all around our house---they are gorgeous, but scary in wind storms!)

 

[wamommy]

Sierra and Dragonfly, I'm watching the news about the storms in Illinois. It's so sad and there is so much destruction! Neither of you are in Illinois are you?? I'm hoping not...

As for sleep issues, Max is his same old self. I have an admission, though... I've started taking him in my bed around 3am and that way I can feed him or rub his back to get him back to sleep without having to sit up for half an hour several times a night. Obviously I need to get him back into his own bed (especially with the new baby coming!) but for now it's really helping me get a bit more sleep!

I also put him in a 1-size-up diaper last night, and it held SO much pee! I don't have to change him twice during the night. I swear it was about 8 pounds when I changed it this morning.

Max is almost crawling now.. finally! He's rocking on his hands and knees and lurching a little. He usually ends up going backward, but at least it's a start! I watched a video of DD last night where she's walking around the house saying, "kitty? kitty?" at 10 months old!! I guess I didn't realize how early she walked and talked. I know Max is a bit "behind," but I'm not too worried. I think he's just spoiled because either his sisters or I go and get whatever he needs, so why learn to move?

 

[Kellen]

I don't think Max or Camden is all that far behind. I didn't bother to ever learn to crawl and simply "swam" around the house until I started cruising at 12 months and walking at 13. I also had delayed speech and real trouble pronouncing a lot of words until I was around 7 and started making a conscious effort to enunciate.

Teagen is still getting up around 5 times a night, but with the No Cry we have cut the awake time down to around 5-10 minutes before we can put her back in her bed. We have also started following a more structured bed time routine and dimming of the lights to help slow down for the night. We are only three days into phase one... Only a week to go. We'll see what happens as we move forward.

I too heard of the terrible tornado's in Illinois and Indiana. I bet it was scary, Sierra. I remember growing up in Missouri and having some pretty close calls. About a year after we moved back to California two different tornadoes hit two different properties that we had previously lived at. I hope everything is good in your neck of the woods, Dragon.

Teagen still only has her two bottom teeth. Her top gums are REALLY swollen and you can see where the molars are really wanting to pop through as well. Even being in what I can only imagine as terrible pain she is a sweet girl. She is having a lot of fun with our new animal additions. The two lambs we have have been christened "Larry" and "Bob" whereas the chickens remain nameless.

 

[wamommy]

LOL about "Larry" and "Bob" Kellen! We are Veggie Tales fans here, too. Oh great, now the theme song will be in my head all day...

How do you like the No Cry book? I've heard of it and thought of trying it.

 

[Kellen]

So far the book has been awesome. Three days ago Teagen would cry and fight tooth and nail just to get jammies on because she didn't want to go to bed. Now we dim the light, put on jammies, nurse, sing and then put her in her crib. It takes anywhere from 15-30 min whereas it used to take 60-90 min just to calm her down.

I like it because it gives options of BF, bottles, pacifiers, co-sleeping, crib sleeping and any combination of those five. So even though she is waking 5 times a night still we are actually getting more sleep because it only takes 10 min tops to settle her back to sleep. There are also ways to get her to nap better once nighttime sleeping has been sorted out.