The Official New Mom Thread

[vald1977]

I just noticed noticed Robin already answered the question of when the stent comes out. I'm glad it's soon!

 

[llij]

Hello Ladies!

I just got back from "Let's Dish" and made 9 dinners in a little over an hour. Yeah! It was so much fun! The last time I did "Let's Dish", I was very pregnant and it was a little uncomfortable to be standing up for an extended period of time.

I also wanted to pass along some great news. The insurance company called my husband today and they will cover JP's RSV shots. Yea!!! The lady who spoke with my husband wasn't sure why they rejected it in the first place, but we were assured that they will reimburse us for the 1st shot and cover all future shots. Yipee!

Valerie - Eeek! Your poor DH! I hope that his numbers go down so he won't need another vas.!

Tasha - Aaawww! That is so sweet that Kylie is giving kisses now. I love it when babies do that.

DisKim - That self-defense class sounds interesting! Do all teachers need to take one?

Alice28 - So glad to hear that the stent will come out soon.

Tamie - my punch recipe is similar to the others....1 large can of pineapple juice, 1 qt. orange juice, 1 qt. lemonade (opt.), 2 liter bottle of ginger ale, 1 qt. lemon,lime or rasberry sherbet. Enjoy!

Everyone have a great evening!

 

[lissawynn]

Too tired to post tonight...must get some rest...

Btw, Robin, YAY for you and your family!

Dreaming of WDW in July...(yes, I'm nuts!)

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Hi everyone, i have a question for you all.

We used Playtex Ventair bottles for our first which we LOOOVED, but of course since she has been weaned from the bottle we had to get a new design for our little one, and we went with Avent, but we have had problems with leaking, has anyone else had this problem? thanks!

Punch recipe:

1 can of pineapple juice
1 bottle of Fresca
1 can of frozen limeade concentrate
24 oz of Peach Nectar

this is soooo yummy! i just served it at my daughters 1st birthday party!!
I kept it cool by freezing orange slices and using those as ice cubes so as not to water it down with too much ice!

Have a great evening everyone!

 

[Daydreamer64]

Just wanted to drop a line to let you all know that I'm still following everyone's posts. I've been so busy with my kids and other family situations that it's all I can do to get through the day much less get to post . Benjamin has been home for 4.5 weeks now and we as a family are getting into a sort of routine. It'll all fall apart next Monday because Dad is back to work after a 6 week FMLA- so I'll have to start to balance all the school and after school activities and carpooling chores by myself again.

If any of you remember- Ben was a surprise baby and we were happy to have him but he was not planned- we went throught lots of health scares and finally both Mom and baby came through the birth process fine-

I kept saying that he was sent to us for a reason and now we know what it was- during the delivery the docs found growths on my right ovary- they wouldn't have found them until they caused problems (ovarien cancer is usually not found until it is to late ) so I think that Ben was sent to save Mom's life-I go to the docs tomorrow to get my final results and any information on treatment suggestions and follow up care.

I nursed both of my older boys for 17 months with no trouble but I need some advice from others who are nursing- any suggestions will be appreciated-....
When he left the NICU he was on formula because I had an incision infection and the meds that I was on were not safe for him to have through the milk. When he came home he weighed in at 6 LBS,12 ozs- he now weighs in at hefty 10 lbs on the nose. He has taken to the breast like a champ- actually he has such a strong oral grip on me that I'm gritting my teeth when he first latches on- I've tried every position, treated us both for yeast, pumped about 2 ozs to let him take it from a bottle first to try to lesson his "I'm starving let me eat now" attack, I thought it would make him a bit gentler. He grunts at me if I try to break the hold- my other boys were good nursers but they were easy to get off when the tiime came- Ben wants to use me as a paci and I can't let him- he won't take a real paci. He gets one bottle at bedtime after his brothers are in bed and it's quite time for Mommy ( I need the break by this time of the day from full time milk maker ) so I get a break from my little leach baby- Daddy gives him the bottle for me. I'm not sure how to get him to not be so frantic at feeding time- I do demand feeding so he's not limited - he eats when he wants- at least every hour and a half! I make sure that he doesn't miss or be late for a meal. I pumped to try to see if there is enough milk and got 4 ozs both times so he only takes around 3 from the bottle before he decides he is done- apparently I'm making enough milk/- I don't know what else to try- my brea... will never be the same after Ben is through with them! TIA

I love looking at all of your pics of the babies who are just ahead in age of Ben to see how they are all growing!

 

[zalansky]

Evening everyone....

Where do I begin with this lightning fast thread???

Ryleesmom - Welcome - I remember you posting about the cancer on the moms to be thread. to you, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Disneymommymichelle - Welcome to you too! My son was born on December 28th also and by c-section as well, but in 2002.

Alice28 - after seeing your post that you have not seen DH since last April, I am even more excited for you guys to be reuniting soon! That has got to be so difficult on you both (and the kids) to have him gone so long. I really admire your positive attitude, I think I'd be moaning all the time but you are always so cheery! GYMBUCKS in only 2 more days! Yippee!!!!

nucpharm - sorry to hear about DH's step grandpa. As far as DVC goes, we bought into it in Sept 2004 but had buyers remorse on our way home and cancelled right away. We had gone with friends to tour DVC while we were vacationing at wilderness lodge and they offered us each $100 Disney dollars. We loved it...and ended up buying 200 points at Saratoga Springs. I think the cost was almost $20,000. My friends parents work at Disney so she got a 20% discount which saved them a few thousand dollars. The reasons we cancelled, there were many. I got on the DVC board here and asked lots of questions. Could we trade out easily? Most people said no, that if we were buying this timeshare with the intent to try and trade out, to not buy, that DVC ownership was best for people who wanted to use it just for Disney. Also, I considered the fact that our children will not be young forever and will probably outgrow Disney within about 10 years. I also felt that as much as I love going to Disney, if we commited to DVC that meant we would vacation there even more than we go now and I was concerned I'd grow very tired of it. Naturally there was the cost as well and the fact that the annual dues were almost $1000 and subject to go higher at any time. I couldn't justify it for those reasons and we live so close. If I lived far away maybe I'd feel differently.

Jill - I am so, so happy that insurance will take care of JP's shots. That made my night to see that!

Tasha - What a cutie Kylie is giving sloppy kisses. I can't wait till Cameryn starts that! You'll have to post a new pic with her new teeth!

Valerie - I hope that your DH's vas issue takes care of itself eventually, the sooner the better! He has some determined little guys, huh? Be careful! And like the others have said, those pics of Katrina, WOW is she beautiful...what gorgeous eyes!

Off I go, DH is whining I am always online. Gimme a break. So I must go watch TV with him now....I'd rather DIS and catch up on this thread. I am sick! Hi to Tkyes, SL, lissawynn, 2sweetangels, bellacam, diskim, Hillbeans (who must be busy as a bee back at work!) J&D and anyone else I may have missed, sorry....only 8 more days of work for me! Yippee!!!

Oh, real quick, my best friend is 33 weeks pregnant with a girl, her 2nd baby...she is 36 years old. Her OB has been watching her fluid level and when she went tonight for her regular checkup, he told her he is referring her to a specialist because the fluid level is too high...when she asked if there could be something wrong with the baby the OB said maybe? She had an amnio at 20 weeks and a level 2 sono and those came back fine. The OB also says she has a cyst near the placenta as well but didn't go into detail. She is, of course, worried sick about this. Does anyone know anything about this, or has heard of it? I looked it up on babycenetr but it didn't seem too serious?
Anyway, have a good night all....off I go.

 

[J&D]

I'm looking for an easy pink punch recipe for Jenna's b-day party.

we went with Avent, but we have had problems with leaking, has anyone else had this problem? thanks!

Here are some tips that I had read before starting to use the Avent bottles:
1. make sure to pull the nipple all the way through the ring- sometimes it catches on the side and causes leaks
2. put the cap on top of the nipple and ring and then screw it on top of the bottle, but don't screw it on too tight
3. when using the variable flow nipples, turn the bottle to align the position marker that is on the nipple with the baby's nose

Hope that helps. I've never had a big problem with them leaking.

Speaking of bottles, I need to get off of here and go wash some bottles so I'll have some clean ones for tomorrow.

Good night, everyone!

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

llij - Glad to hear your DH's insurance will cover John Paul's shots. You must be so relieved. Good luck returning to school also.

Tasha - How sweet of Kylie to start giving sloppy kisses.

Valerie - Sorry about your DH. I hope you can get some answers soon.

DisKim - Self defense class sounds interesting. Not being a teacher, I didn't realize how important self defense and knowing how to break up a fight must be.

DisneyMommyMichelle - I used to use Avent bottles and I agree with J&D, especially about putting the cap on before screwing the top on. Also, I used to shake the bottle a little (or at least turn it upside down a few times) just to check if it was leaking or not.

zalansky - Sorry I don't have any advice for your friend, but I hope things turn out okay for her.

J&D - Pink punch: mix 1 bottle of Sprite and 1 container of raspberry sherbet. You can also float strawberry slices on the top.

My parents want to take a trip, either to Italy or a cruise through the Panama Canal, sometime this fall and we're trying to schedule our Disney trip to coincide with theirs so we won't have to worry about daycare while she's away. Well, they're finally looking at trip info...the sooner they book, the sooner we can!

 

[Hillbeans]

Hi - Sorry i've been MIA - my Father in law passed away on Sat. evening so we've been out in PA with his family. The funeral is in a couple of hours, but i'm at their house with the kids and i'm going to meet them at the church. I didn't want to take my son to the funeral home again.

I'm driving home tonight with the kids, but i'll be back at work tomorrow/Friday while my DH stays here to help out his mom and siblings get her things in order. Take care everyone and i'll catch up with you all soon.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Hillbeans - I'm so sorry about your FIL.

 

[vald1977]

So sorry about your father in law, Hillbeans .

 

[nucpharm29]

Hillbeans--Sorry about your FIL, you'll be in my prayers

Daydreamer--I don't know if I have any advice for you--my DS, who is now 9 weeks, is still like a baby barracuda sometimes, especially at night after going 6 hrs. between feedings. He did lighten up some, though, around the 1 month mark. Could you maybe let him suck on your finger for a little before latching him on? I would give DS his pacifier if he was really hungry before attempting to latch on, b/c I just knew he would attack me!

zalansky--thanks for the DVC advice. We are really thinking of buying next week. We got a friends/family referral for a 15% discount. DVC really appeals to us b/c if we vacation (which we do frequently, this is our 3rd trip to WDW in a year ) we either end up in Flordia or Hilton head (both of which have DVC resorts). So, we'll see what happens!

Hope everyone else's day is going well! I'm going to try to get both kids out of the house in the next 2 hours--yesterday we never made it out of our pj's, so we'll see if I can manage a shower today! We haven't heard anything about DH grandpa yet. Apparently DH step-grandmother is in denial that her husband is so ill.

Will check in later!

 

[tkyes]

Hillary - I'm so sorry to hear about your father in law. My sympathies to you and your family.

tasha - congrats on the sloppy kisses. They are the best!

Jill - that's sooo great about insurance!! yeah!

alice - glad to hear the stint comes out soon.

val - sorry to hear there are still swimmers. Determined little buggers!

zalansky - all my best to your friend!

michelle - Don't screw the cap on too tight. I heard Advent bottles were designed for parents to screw on with one hand. If you do it too tight it leaks all over the place.

daydreamer - You'll be in my thoughts.

OK - I have to run. I have a little monkey trying to crawl all over my legs here. Thanks to everyone for the punch recipes. Now I just need to decide which one to use. Today is grocery day for the party so I have my looong list ready to go!

Tamie

 

[DisKim]

Hillbeans - I'm so sorry about your father-in-law.

Jill - No, all teachers are not required to take a self-defense class. It was a workshop that I elected to take. Technically, it was called "nonviolent crisis intervention", not self defense. The emphasis was on trying to deescalate the situation before it becomes violent. I just can't stand that part of my job. Sometimes I realize that I went to college in order to be told that I have to stop girls from pulling each others' hair out.

Alice28 - I'm getting so excited for you. I can't believe you haven't seen your DH since April.

I am so jealous of those of you planning Disney vacations. I decided to take this year off. I will only go if there is a really good deal this summer. Our trip with Aidan in August was difficult and I want to go vacation somewhere that I can drive to this time. We will definitely vacation in NC if we don't move ther first! DH is annoying me with that one. We discussed moving down there at length, but he does nothing to move forward with the idea. He is the one who has to find a job down there. It is understood that I will not teach in a new state. I'm not giving up my honors classes to start over again in a place I'm unfamiliar with. I would go back to school so I could eventually teach college. On top of that stress, I was worried that I was pregnant again. I was a little late and was in a panic. Thank goodness it finaly came today. Can you imagine?? It would have been my fourth!!

 

[justhat]

There have been way too many scares lately about pregnancies! I hate to admit it but I'm kinda glad to hear that cause it doesn't make me feel so bad about having 2 surprise babies. I guess what they say about more babies born in Sept and Oct than any other months is true!

DisKim, my husband is the same way. He really likes Cleveland and wants to rank that #1 on his list (so far anyway) but has not done 1 bit of research about the area. Well that's great that he at least has an idea of where he wants to go, but what neighborhoods are nice, how far is the commute, etc. So I completely sympathize with you on not being able to forge ahead with new plans.

Hillbeans, sorry to hear about your FIL. I always think it's especially hard when something like that happens around the holidays cause it always leaves somewhat of a stigma. Hopefully you're all getting through this time okay.

Tamie, good luck with the party and the punch recipes. And thanks for the question cause now I have some great punch recipes too!

Nucpharm, sorry about your GFIL, hopefully he'll pull through. My stepGF was the same way when my GM got very ill right before she died. He was completely in denial and kept talking about when he 'takes her home from the hospital". Must be really hard for them to come to grips with something like that. I'll keep him in my prayers.

About DVC, we looked into it in 1/03 and almost bought it on the last day of our trip, but then decided to go home and think it over. I'm saying we, but I really mean my mom and me more than my husband and me cause it was her who was going to be making the purchase. We ended up deciding against it for many of the reasons that Zalansky mentioned. The yearly 'maintenence' was $1200 for the points we were getting (would have been at the BCV) and I think $30,000 for the points. Then we started thinking about what we spend on our Disney vacations (like you we go often and live out of state) and realized that we'd be better off just saving that money that would go to DVC for our 'Disney vacation fund' and using it when necessary. You can't claim the maintenence even though taxes are included cause they call it maintenence so that annoyed us too. Another thing that turned us off was on the DVC board so many people say they have to stay in a regular resort Friday-Sunday and then switch to DVC Sunday-Friday, then back to a regular resort for the weekend again just to save points cause weekends are so high. Well if we go for a week we often arrive on a Friday night or Saturday morning and then stay till the following Sunday so the idea of switching resorts twice in a week long stay did not make us too happy. Now with Madison that would be even less fun, and with another baby, gosh, way too much stuff to move. And the no housekeeping-trash/towels only thing didn't really appeal to us, and on this last trip a waitress at the FFC told us that you have to pay $6 if you want new towels (not sure if that's true or not, but she told us she was looking into it for her family and her friends who do housekeeping at BWI/BWV told her that). We also realized that we really enjoy staying at different hotels each trip and with DVC we'd feel like we had to stay at our 'home' resort all the time. And the biggest thing was that after 40 years or so (a little less now I guess) it goes back to Disney and you have nothing. I know it's a long time from now, but they market DVC as being deedable and willable, but how can you leave something in your will that is no longer yours in x number of years. I know you can, but I mean, what's the point. Like you put in all this money, and then Disney says "okay, it's not yours anymore, thanks for paying to upkeep our hotels but now it's ours again". Now that I've said all that I feel like it's all really negative, and I don't mean to sound that way at all. If it's something that seems good for you then go for it, but I just wanted to share the reasons we decided it wasn't right for us since you had asked for opinions. I hear a lot of people say they like it though so definitely don't just go by my opinion.

Well we're in Nashville right now and even though I cried a little when I left Madison at school yesterday, I admit that I enjoyed going to sleep when I wanted, sleeping all night (other than a trip to the potty) and waking up when I wanted to. It was very refreshing. Of course now that I'm sitting in the hotel room alone I am sorta bored and want to go home, but our flight isn't till 8pm. At 1pm someone from Vanderbilt is coming to take me on a tour of the area and tell me about schools, housing, etc. And then my husband should be finished with his interview around 3pm and we dont' leave for the airport till 6 so we have a little time to explore the area. I should go pack up our stuff now since I have to be out of the room in 45 minutes.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Hillbeans, i'm sorry about your FIL, you and your family are in our prayers.

J&D & Strawberry Lemonade--> Thanks for the tips! i was getting soo annoyed! haha...I will try this all on the next feeding!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[llij]

Hello ladies!

Well it looks like I spoke too soon about the insurance with JP. The head of one department who handles appeals had called my DH yesterday and said everything was fine and they should never have rejected the vaccine in the first place. Okay Dokey then! We got the ball rolling to order the shot for the next month since it is an involved process. Lo and behold, some other group rejects it again and says we are still under appeal and we can't get it done. Ugh! My DH and the head of his HR department spent literally an hour on the phone going in circles with the insurance company. There seems to be two different divisions within the insurance company who can't seem to communicate with each other. It is a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. They better get their act together b/c this is so frustrating.

I also got a call from my University telling me that they are cancelling one of my classes due to low enrollment in the class. That is frustrating as well since I am on a deadline to graduate. I am trying to be philosophical about it though and say that it was meant to be. I am only going to take one class this semester then. Since it is only 6 weeks long it may be for the best that I don't overload myself at the moment. Although, now I really need to go to summer school and I wanted to relax this summer.

Hillbeans - I am so sorry to hear about your FIL. You all will be in my prayers.

Justhat - I hope that your DH's interviews went well. That is great that you got to sleep without interruption although I can totally relate to you getting a little teary eyed when you left Madison. It is hard to leave your babies.

DisKim - Your class sounded interesting. Nice to know that it was an elective. I was wonderin g if I needed to take something like that for my license. I hope that it all works out for you all regarding NC.

Tamie - Let us know how your punch recipe turns out!

SL - I love the new picture of Lucas!

Nucpharm - Let us know if you do decide to buy into DVC. I have a few friends that own DVC and they really enjoy it. A few years ago, we took a tour and decided against it. Mainly b/c of the cost and the maintenance fee. I was hoping that my parents might buy it, but they decided not to. Good luck!

Zalansky - My SIL had the same thing that your friend does. They monitored her closely b/c she had too much amniotic fluid and they couldn't figure out why. She ended up having a c-section and my nephew is an active 5 year old today. I hope that everything works out well for your friend. I'll say some prayers for her.

DisneyMommyMichelle - Good luck with Advent bottles. I don't use them, so I am not much help there.

Daydreamer - It is so good to see your post! Sorry, I don't have any advice for you since JP is the opposite of your dear little guy....he can't suck that well at all. I'm glad that they caught what was on your ovaries. You are right that you had him for a reason! Take care and I look forward to seeing your updates!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Tykes-> thanks for the Avent Bottle advice!
Justhat-->Have a safe trip!
DisKim--> it is soo hard to have to listen to others planning trips cause we too are thinking about taking this year off from Disney since we will have 2 little ones now and not just the one. we have a THanksgiving trip booked, but are still not sure...i don't know if i have the will power to just say no!!

 

[J&D]

With sympahy, Hillbeans! May you and your family find comfort in this time of sorrow!

Thanks for the recipe, SL. I couldn't remember what to mix with the sherbert.

llij- Sorry for all the bad news you've received today!

justhat- Hope you have a nice flight home.

DisKim- I also hope to teach at the college level some day.

Speaking of babies, one of my friends just found out that she is having twins.

FYI- childrensplace.com is having a very good sale, especially in the outlet section. Use code ACCESSB5 for an additional 10% off. They have red plaid holiday pjs on sale for $4.89. I bought Jenna some for next Christmas.

Jenna just woke up, so I need to go!

 

[mommytotwo]

Hi ladies, I'm back and joining all of you again.
My DH and I found out at the ending of last year that we are expecting. Because of my past history of having a stillborn and a miscarriage-April 2005, I am a high risk patient. So my doctor is keeping a closer eye on me and I was able to already see a picture of my baby.
I am now 8 weeks into the pregnancy, and my EDD is 8-23-06.
Hope to hear all of your stories, congratulations to those of you had recently had a baby or to those of you who are pregnant.....