Valentines Babies, 2013!

[wamommy]

Thank you, Dragonfly! I was wondering about what to expect and that helps a lot. I'll make sure to go alone so that the kids don't drive the entire Doctor's office nuts, too... It might actually turn out to me a wonderful break for me!!

 

[DragonflyWing]

No problem! Yeah, it was mostly an opportunity for me to sit and read for a while, although it was a pain to take off from work twice a week.

(warning- trip down memory lane hehe)

It got annoying when I went into the hospital, though. I had to be on the monitor 24/7, and keeping two dancing little monkeys on the monitors for that long is really hard! I remember getting about 1.5 hours of sleep in two days because every time one of them moved away from the monitor, the alarm went off and the nurse would come in to adjust everything. One night, my nurse actually sat on my bed and held the monitors in place for 3 hours straight while I tried to get some sleep. She was an angel.

After 3 days of that, plus complete bedrest (couldn't even get up to pee, I was catheterized), plus the IV magnesium that was (unbeknownst to me) giving me a pulmonary embolism, I was such a wreck. I was trying so hard to be strong and patient for the babies, but I was hyperventilating and sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, the doctors decided that the stress was worse for me and the babies than any potential benefit....they approved hourly doppler heartrate checks and 6x/day intermittant monitoring, plus they took me off the magnesium. What a RELIEF!!

Unfortunately, Gunnar's placenta abrupted less than 24 hours later and I had to have an EMCS anyway.

On the upside, the hospital had great food! They had a menu where you could choose any number of a la carte items to create your own meal, then they'd deliver it to your room.

 

[Jo_Bean]

Wamommy - here is my low down on the straw cup situation

- the oxo water bottle is free flow, this is the one we ended up using https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A...165_QL70#ref=mp_s_a_1_4&qid=1391931760&sr=8-4

- Momma make nice ones that don't tip over you don't have to bite it but having tried them all myself, this one is harder to suck - most babies have better sucking reflexes than adults though https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006...rtUVAFVQoHIDFeq96ihpapyy/QYOcK7RRXYAooooD/9k=

- Beaba do a good one that is inbetween the sucking power of oxo and momma

- this was recommended by our speech and language therapist as a good starter as you can squeeze it to encourage straw drinking https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005...5_QL70#ref=mp_s_a_1_27&qid=1391931599&sr=8-27 but we couldn't get it in this country which is why we went with juice cartons. My only worry with cartons is that the straw comes out and is harder which is why I searched for a plastic one with soft straw.

I'm in the UK so have just tried to find them on amazon.com for you guys. You seem to have a lot more choice actually.

 

[helena]

Oooh I am amazed at Taegans potty use! I told DH that a valentines baby has started on the potty and he joked "right, get the potty out!.." game for a challenge

But not quite yet, one challenge first - chicken pox ( I think)...DH was way this weekend and so it was me and my three kiddos. Kiara was feverish and so clingy, it was a tough weekend. I don't think Kiara left me for 30 hours at one point. Te boys were good and enjoyed lots of tv time...and we were in PJs for 80% of the weekend! DH was back last night, phew!
Then she seemed to get better for a day and then today little itchy spots..


We use a straw too

 

[Kellen]

Teagen is still working on trying the straw out. DH left her normal sippy cup at the memorial reception so we bought her a new one that was similar as well as one with a straw. The potty thing has been hit and miss while in a new place, but she still does really good with pooping on the potty.

I shall be incredibly glad to be home tomorrow. 12 people in a three bedroom house is not an ideal situation. Sleeping between your MIL, baby and DH is not ideal either, especially when said MIL snores like a freight train... ALL NIGHT LONG! DH would have had us all sleep in the car had it not been 20 degrees outside. The couches were occupied by FIL, BIL and a nephew... I miss my bed and quiet.

 

[SierraJourney]

Yikes Kellen! That does not sound ideal at all! I don't know if I could do that! lol Glad you'll be home tomorrow!

Helena---I hope poor Kiara doesn't have chicken pox! Poor girl!! Did you call the doctor?

 

[wamommy]

Jo, I'll look into getting a straw cup like those. Thank you! I think I like the Momma one.

Helena, poor kids! It's great that the boys are getting old enough to entertain themselves for a bit, though. Also, I've heard chicken pox gets harder to handle as you get older, so if Kiara got them out of the way early it may not be so bad! Still, I hope she feels better.

Kellen, you are a stronger woman than I. I couldn't take it! I'm a really light sleeper and sleep is at such a premium around here that I may explode, lol. Besides the sleeping situation, how has your trip been?

 

[DragonflyWing]

I got a video of Gunnar walking! I attached it here, not sure if it will work. Let's see...

 

[wamommy]

Dragon, that video is sooo cute! What a handsome little guy!

 

[SierraJourney]

Argh---I can't get it to play on my stupid computer!

 

[Kellen]

Dragon - That is an awesome video! He is sooo cute.

I am currently sitting in the airport while DH is walking Teagen about. Our flight was supposed to leave at 3:00pm, but it has been rescheduled for 3:55pm. No telling what delays we might encounter during our layover. At least the roads home are clear as long as the temperatures remain above freezing.

The dual birthday party went really well. There were a bunch of bigger girls there (10-13) who fell in love with Teagen and played with her the entire time. I actually got to visit with some of the adults and enjoy a piece of cake. But I am really, really looking forward to being home. Glad we took this trip, but I will be glad to get back home and to our routine.

 

[helena]

https://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/roseola.html

Pretty sure this is what Kiara had, not chicken pox. I almost wish we had got the pox out of The way a bit, but never mind.
We never made it to the doctor. I tend to wait three days of fever before going to the doc and after day two or three the fever stopped. The rash appeared then but as I was sure it wasn't meningitis I didn't feel panicked and was pretty sure it was a virus so sat it out. She was still eating so I guessed if she was seriously ill she wouldn't want to..she does love to eat!

The symptoms sounds just right for this sixth disease - cough for a week, two days of high fever and fussyness, then that stopped and two days of rash. She is ok now, no rash just tired and sleeping more (every cloud has a silver lining right? She slept soooo great last night! Just one tiny wake up in 13 hours!)

Oh Kellen I hope you are home. Sounded seriously awful sleep situation wise!!

Wamommy, I am a light sleeper too. It's not fair since we have so many children is it!? If any one of them stirs I wake. Even if they just yawn. Meanwhile DH can sleep on even if they are in bed with us trying to wrestle him!!
Most nights I tell myself that one day I will buy ear plugs and have just one night off!...

 

[DragonflyWing]

Sorry Kiara's been ill, I hope she feels better soon!

I went to a book discussion event at our local library on Saturday, and it was a lot of fun! I got to meet more of my neighbors (I live in a very small town- just 1100 people and 1 square mile...so everyone is sort of a neighbor hehe) and feel more involved in the community.

I was also really impressed with myself...normally I'm very reserved and quiet, and I don't participate much in social situations. However, I really liked the book we were discussing, and I had a lot of things to talk about. Everyone seemed receptive to my ideas and opinions, and we had a really great discussion. It was so nice to have an adult conversation. I talk to DH, but 90% of the time we're talking about the kids.

This is the sort of situation that in the past would have me breaking into a cold sweat. I used to have considerable anxiety in large groups like that. So I was really happy to find that I was comfortable speaking up in front of everyone. I'm hoping to attend more events at the library in the future.

This evening I have a doctor appointment. I've had an enlarged lymph node in my neck that has gradually been getting bigger over the past 7 months or so. I kept ignoring it and figured it would go away, but it's about 3cm across now, so I guess I should get it checked out. I'm sure they'll tell me I'm being paranoid and it's nothing, and DH doesn't think I should bother going, but better safe than sorry.

Let's talk about babyproofing- do you ladies have latches on the cabinets and drawers? Gunnar has decided that drawers and doors of all kinds are fascinating, and he keeps pinching his fingers. We have moved dangerous items out of reach, of course, but I'm not sure how to keep him from opening things enough to catch his fingers. Even the latches let you open them slightly.

 

[helena]

We have latches on the drawers in the kitchen, but yes they can still open a bit. I am assuming that after a few trapping of fingers they will give up!? I cant remember it happening often with my sons..
I must get a lock the cupboard under the sink. Kiara loves opening that and tries rummaging in the bin...yuk!

We have magnetic locks on some cupboards, they are brilliant and very child proof and no opening at all by the little ones, so no trapped fingers. https://www.amazon.com/KidCo-Adhesive-Mount-Magnet-Lock-Starter/dp/B000WX5JXS

I have them on the cupboards where I keep rice and pasta. Kiara looooves it when I have forgotten to love that. S many nice rattley packets!

 

[wamommy]

Kellen, I'm so glad you guys are headed home! I know that no matter how wonderful a trip is, it's always SO nice to be home to your own bed and your own routine.

Helena, I'm so sorry Kiara has been so sick! I'm glad she seems to be on the tail end of it, though. Hopefully it will be gone altogether soon. I totally understand the light sleeping! I used to wear ear plugs to sleep before having kids, because DH snores so terribly. Once we had babies I miss being able to block out the world and just SLEEP! Ahhh.... someday...

Dragon, we still have leftover childproofing from DD@1, and have discovered which things they ALL seem to gravitate toward. We have latches on all of the kitchen cabinets, except the one that has "kid safe" plates, bowls and cups. THey all have free access to that cupboard. We also covered all of the outlets and put all dangerous chemicals on the top shelf of a closet (since the girls can open the baby proofing, obviously... and Drano and stuff can be deadly before I could run across the room). The only thing we have to do is put the baby gates back up. We put one at the bottom of the stairs to keep them from climbing up during the day, and a bunch of panels from a play yard go across the sunken living room (now messy playroom) to keep it escape-proof. This time around it's a bit different because we have to worry about the girls leaving Legos, little balls, and other small toys around for Max to pick up. We have to have "MaxSafe" zones where they girls know they can't put their little toys. So far it's the living room and the play yard.

Max had his one year appointment yesterday! The Doctor says everything looks fantastic. He's a little chubby (duh) but nothing to worry about. Apparently his head size has grown off the charts!! They showed me a chart and he's WAY above the 99% line, lol. Poor huge-headed children. I blame my own genes, unfortunately.

 

[DragonflyWing]

What's Max's height and weight? I'm actually worried that G & L are getting a bit lean. Lily lost her little belly roll, and Gunnar doesn't have as many creases in his arms and legs. I think she's around 19 lbs, and he's about 22 lbs. They have their 1 year appointment on 2/26 (2 months late! oops!), so I suppose I'll find out then.

I think they need to eat more solid foods. DH feeds them one meal while I'm at work, and I usually feed them something high protein in the evening (last night it was cheese cubes, beans, and some bread). Sometimes they have a snack at some point...but overall they're still mostly on formula. They still drink 30+ oz a day each.

DH says he doesn't have time to feed them solids more than once during the day. I'm worried that it's just not enough. Although they don't seem hungry at all, they might not be getting enough calories to gain weight at the right pace. We'll see what the doctor says.

Speaking of doctors, my doctor had an emergency last night and had to cancel my appointment. I saw one of the other doctors in the practice instead, and I was less than impressed with him. He felt the lymph node and agreed that it was significantly enlarged. He didn't do any further examination at all. He asked me some questions, and then said "So, have you been looking stuff up on the internet? Let me ask you, do you have an agenda?" I was confused and didn't know what to say. I just said that I wanted to get it checked out because it had been there for so long, and was growing.

He was completely dismissing my concerns until I mentioned that I've had 3 CT scans over the past year due to enlarged nodes in my chest and lungs. He hadn't even read my chart! With that info, he decided to do some bloodwork and a chest x-ray. He looked at the x-ray and told me he'd send it to the radiologist to read, but that "it looks boring." I left feeling kind of dumbfounded, he had such a strange bedside manner.

 

[wamommy]

Dragonfly, what odd comments by your Doctor! I would be livid... I think he was completely inappropriate and I would complain. I want to tell him off for you!!! "Her AGENDA is to get quality care, which apparently isn't possible today." Jerk.

Max's height was 30 inches and he's 24 pounds... His head circumference was 49.5cm, for reference when you go in. I wouldn't worry too much about the twins' weight. They just started walking and being mobile which can lean them out SUPER quickly. I'm actually hoping Max leans out a little now that he's cruising. He does eat a lot more solids, though. He eats at the table about 5 times a day. It totally varies in amount from a small orange to a whole meal that we're having. He also still drinks about 30 oz of formula a day! No wonder he's a little chunker...lol.

 

[SierraJourney]

I have Camden's 1 year checkup tomorrow---very anxious to see what he weighs! Camden eats 3 meals of solid foods a day and eats 2 snacks. So far today, he has had baby cereal and a slice of toast for breakfast, a whole banana for snack (he LOVES bananas), and a big bowl of soup for lunch. He'll probably have black beans for his afternoon snack---have any of you tried that with you babies? Camden LOVES black beans---they are perfect size for them to pick up and super good protein!

As far as baby proofing, we only have a gate at the top of the basement stairs so he doesn't fall down. I'm looking into getting a couple more gates for the upstairs and safety locks on the cupboards (I'm so tired of having to tell him "no" when all he wants to do is explore! Safety locks will put my mind at ease).

We had Camden's birthday with just DH and I on Monday----gave him a small gift and let him eat a cupcake. His eyes lit up when we gave it to him and he smashed it all over his face. . .he was having so much fun! His "big"birthday party is on Saturday---with grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins. We kept it to immediate family only, but that still totals 18 people! I'm a bit worried about the chaos for the poor guy---he's a quiet-loving person like his parents. We're quite a somber family.

 

[SierraJourney]

Dragon---it might not hurt to go to a ears, nose, throat doctor if you get no where with your regular doctor. Not to scare you, but I had lymphoma when I was younger, and the regular doctor kept telling me it was nothing. We went on for 4 years without knowing and finally demanded to see a ears, nose, throat doctor---only to find out it was lymphoma. Lymph nodes swell all of the time, so I wouldn't get too worried, but just make sure they are giving you the time of day you deserve. How rude of that doctor!!

 

[DragonflyWing]

Thanks! I got most of my lab results today. It was normal except for the sedimentation rate (ESR), which was somewhat elevated. They said that means there's inflammation somewhere in my body, but it doesn't specify what or where it is. The nurse said the normal range is 0-20, and mine was 29...so not really that high. It sounded like the doctor didn't think it was cause for concern. Still waiting for the results of my x-ray.

Sierra, that's scary! What were your symptoms before you were diagnosed? If this doctor is unhelpful and the lymph node doesn't shrink in a couple weeks, I'll see about going to an ENT.