The Official New Mom Thread

[T16GEM]

Wow this thread moves WAY too fast!

I was in the process of changing the sheets and cleaning the house then Shelby got fussy so she is sprawled out on my while i am lying on our bed, it just so happened that the lap top was on the floor so I just thought i would have a bit of a DIS!!

SL - if you can't find a coat I can have a look what is available here for you if you like and mail it to you airmail prob wouldn't take very long - let me know if that's an option.

Oh I just noticed the new smilies!! where did they come from?

Justhat - your friend sounds insane ! How do you not tell her what you think?

Loretta - I love your new pictures so cute!

Joats - we are trying a new pampers nappy at the moment which apparently has "zzz protection" ??!! we are just going to put dd in them at night asthey are supposed to be 12 hr ones, she had her first on last night and .......was wet this morning, vest, sleepsuit, sleeping bag and bed sheet all in the wash today

right gotta dash my mom and dad are coming for dinner tonight and i really need to tidy up so i'm going to try and put dd in bed

sorry for the lack of caps etc in this post - im typing one handed!

gems
xx

 

[nucpharm29]

Morning all! Just sitting here having my morning coffee and doughnut--okay so I said I'd give up doughnuts after DS was born--but today has been my 1st day of weakness, and it's not like they're a food group anymore.

Well, our dinner last night went really well. I did some shrimp and cheese and crackers for an appetizer. Then I made bacon wrapped tenderloin and super stuffed potatoes (thanks to Rachel Rays new cookbook). Yummy! And then we had a chocolate torte (box mix from duncan hines) and chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert. But as soon as dinner was over, I could see DH's eyes closing. So much for the romance! I can't blame him though, he's been working 14-15 hr days ( I think he worked 80 hrs in the past 6 days). But today is his day off and we don't have any chores to do, so hopefully we can snuggle up some today if I can get DD off his lap. DD is definitely a daddy's girl, and since she hasn't seen much of him lately she is on top of him all the time.

Well, I got the humidifier set up in Emma's room last night and it worked great. No middle of the night coughing, but as soon as she got up the coughing started again. And now Matthew is coughing and sounding congested. I'm supposed to be getting these kids better before our trip to Disney and they just keep gettting sick! I think I'm going to call the dr. tomorrow if the kids are still coughing. DD has had this cough for going on 2 weeks now!

DH and DD are leaving for church now. DH teaches 1st grade sunday school and DD loves to go to "big kid" church. So I guess I should get ready for church myself; actually take a shower and dry my hair!

 

[DisKim]

nucpharm - your dinner sounds delicious!

Justhat - Your story made me want to cry. I have 2 boys and they are so wonderful. I don't understand how someone could be like that. I agreee with nucpharm, I hope it's a boy so her son doesn't get pushed aside. Oh, it just makes me so sad for that little boy.

DH and I actually got to go out on a date last night. We haven't been out alone since our trip to Florida in the beginning of November. We went out for Mexican (our favorite) and decided against a movie because we were both so tired we would have fallen asleep. We had a big discussion about relocating. We have been thinking about moving to North Carolina for over a year now. I am not a risk taker and I'm petrified of leaving NJ, but I think there would be alot of opportunity there for all of us. Housing is so much cheaper. We would have virtually no mortgage. I could quit working and pursue my master's and doctorate which is something I have been thinking alot about lately. Plus, we'd be closer to Disney (that's the real selling point ). Any comments? Are any of you familiar with NC. I like Chapel Hill, but it would depend on where DH could find a job.

 

[DisKim]

vald1977 - I had Emily's ears pierced by her doctor at 3 months and everything was fine. I have 2 friends who also just got their infants' ears pierced. They did it at places in the mall and both girls are fine and look adorable!

lissawynn - I think Le Celier is a great meal. I would also do a meal at the Poly. I love Kona Cafe, but Ohana's is more of an "experience". What about the Hoop Dee Doo? We loved that. Mmm... I could really go for some of that fried chicken. Your choices you made so far are great.

I had to post again to say that you ladies are a bad influence on me. I just had to check out Gymboree yesterday since the restaurant we went to was right by a mall that has one. I spent quite a bit on clothes that Aidan doesn't need and I fell in love with their new whale line. I'm waiting for that to go on sale. If I had a baby girl, I'd be broke.

 

[justhat]

DisKim, I don't really have much experience with the NC area, but that was one of the states I was hoping we'd get to interview at to move to. I think it's a really nice place to live, relaxed lifestyle, milder climate, lower cost of living (though of course many people point out to me that the salaries are lower then too). It ended up not being on my husband's final list of places to apply to and I was really sad about that for awhile, but I think if it's an area you think you like too then I'd really look into it. Oh, and I wanted the Chapel Hill area too. The only thing is, are you guys near family now? I am sure you've considered this already if you are, but it can be really hard sometimes not having any relatives near us. Not only for the sake of having a babysitter around in a pinch, but also sometimes it just gets lonely missing out on lots of family functions. With that said though, I have no plans on moving back to NJ (unless my husband happens to end up getting a job in NYC, and if so we'd only stay there till his residency is done) so clearly it is not the be all, end all of my life.

Glad to hear that date night went well for you guys, DisKim and Nucpharm. I haven't been out with my husband without Madison since August, and even then it was just to a friend's engagement party (same friend I have to tell about having to back out of his wedding). Before that the last time was 2/25/05. So it was great to live vicariously through your stories. We are actually going to Nashville without Madison on Tuesday and won't be back till late Wednesday so I guess that sorta counts, but it's for an interview and so we won't really be spending much time together.

Speaking of that, I realized yesterday how soon it is coming up and how nervous I am about leaving Madison overnight for the 1st time. I think I'd feel so much better about it if my mom saw her all the time, and if I weren't flying out of state, but I'm just hoping everything will be fine. She loves my mom don't get me wrong, but she's always gone to bed with me there (or with Joey while I'm in the next room) and in WDW she would play in my mom's room, then when it was time for bed she'd say "Bye bye nannie" and run into our room. We left her with my BIL the other day when we went to pick up my car after it was serviced (she was napping when we left) and he said she started crying and pointing to every room saying "mommy daddy". I just hope things go okay with my mom cause otherwise it will be a long 2 nights for them.

Oh, 1 other thing I did when Madison leaked through diapers at night was to cover her whole diaper area with Aquaphor right before she went to bed. It didn't help the diaper stop leaking, but pretty much kept those crystals off of her body and made the ones that stuck on much easier to get off.

 

[zalansky]

Lissawynn - I agree with Diskim, Le Cellier is fabulous! I didn't see it on your list, but we ate there for the first time in December and it is now our favorite. Have fun planning, your trip sounds like alot of fun.

Diskim - I have never relocated my family, but I will say that I admire people who do it. Everyone I've ever talked to about NC loves it there. A huge factor wuld be no mortgage, friends of mine did this 2 years ago, they moved from Long Island (where I am from) and bought their house here in Tampa CASH, so they have no mortgage...and they got a much nicer home here. I would love that. And I like the fact that you would be able to go back to school...AND be closer to Disney! Big selling points. Why don't you guys take a vacation down there and see how you like the areas? I think that is something you should look into, there are so many selling points.

nucpharm - Happy to hear dinner went so well. It is early in the morning but I am drooling over here at what you made! Your lucky DH!

justthat - We have friends like yours...we wonder all the time where they get their money and we have concluded his parents. The husband sells life insurance and doesn't make a whole lot and the wife does not work...they are the ones who moved here from Long Island BTW. But they spend money like water and it baffles us!

Going to jump in the shower....and start this day. I asked DH if we could go to Outback tonight because nucpharms dinner got me wanting something yummy. DH said yes! Yippee!! Thank goodness the Bucs lost their playoff game yesterday so football is done in our household for the season, double YIPPEE!!! I am sorry for the Bucs and jon Gruden, but happy for me. More free time with DH!
Have a great day ladies.

 

[vald1977]

Good morning everyone,

Thanks for the experiences with the earrings. DD has her 6 month check-up next week so I think I'll ask her dr. what he thinks but I am leaning strongly towards doing it.

Justthat,
I feel bad for your friend's son. I'm sure he feels the resentment from his mom even though he is still young. I just think about all those who have sick babies or can't even have babies and people like your friend make me shake my head .

Nucpharm and Diskim,
I'm glad you both had nice times last night with your DH's. Diskim, I don't know much about NC but it sure sounds like something to look into. I wish you luck no matter what you decide . Nucpharm, Your poor DH working so much! I'm sure he is ready for Disney and a break.

Joats,
Katie has some size 9 month Carter's sleepers. On the tag it says size L (9 months) and 16.5 - 20.5 pounds. I just double checked and that is what it says. I think I got them at Kohl's. I hope the bigger diaper helped.

zalansky,
Enjoy your dinner at Outback . We have a gift cert. to there to use but still haven't made it there yet. We are big football watchers in our house so we go all the way until Superbowl even when Dh's team is done (he's a Dolphins fan so they were done last week). Then it's only a couple of weeks until Nascar season starts . I guess it's good that I enjoy watching too . Actually, I'm bigger into the racing than DH but we both like it.

Lisawynn,
You have some good restaurants already planned but one I would add is Ohana's (although I heard they changed their menu so don't know how good it is now). Try and plan your ADR when there will be fireworks. This is what we did in Nov. 2004 and we ended up with a table right in front of a window facing the MK. It was incredible!

Well, I am off to read the paper and enjoy a lazy Sunday. All I HAVE to do today is a couple of loads of towels and our sheets in the laundry and relax .

 

[nucpharm29]

zalansky--I wish football season would be over at our house when DH's team lost. He's a Brown's fan and they never win! But football doesn't end here until the Super Bowl. I guess I only have a few more weeks!

Diskim--I love NC. DH has cousins that live in Charlotte, and one that goes to school at NC State. And I had a couple of friends who did residencies in Chapel Hill. A good friend of mine is from Raleigh and we were there for her wedding and loved the area. We would love to move to that area of the country. Right now, if DH loses his job (god help us if that happens) we would probably move to Greenville, SC. It's just south of Asheville, NC and just beautiful. We're so far away from family now, that we want to get a little closer to somebody. DH has a brother that lives in Charleston and then all the cousins in NC. We also love to vacation in Hilton Head, SC and Disney, so we'd be closer than up here in the frozen tundra! Good luck with whatever the decision!

Glad to hear the good reviews on Le Cellier--we're going there in just a couple of weeks--our first time. I know this is last minute, but does anybody think it would hurt to try to get ressies for the Princess Lunch in Norway? DD loves princesses and I dropped the ball on getting CRT ressies. Bad mommy! Well, it's off to church for me.

 

[bellacam]

Morning Mommies! I am so glad its Sunday. DH is home all day today and he stole Aidan. I love the weekends because he takes Aidan and does everyting for him and I get to do what ever I want. We have no other plans so I think I'll clean the house and lay in bed reading after that! Maybe if I feel like getting dressed, I'll go do groceries.

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday, too!

 

[DisKim]

Thanks for the replies regarding NC. Justhat - family is the big issue. My mom would go with us and my brother is moving to California in a few months anyway. We hardly ever see DH's family as it is, but it is nice knowing his parents are close by when we need them. They go to Florida every winter, so I'm assuming they could stop in NC on their way down each year and stay with us for a while. That only leaves my aunt and uncle who we are very close to. They are also looking into relocating to NC so they would probably follow us down. The rest of my family lives in Georgia and Florida so I'd be closer to them. The main pros are the fact that I would have NO MORTGAGE (our is 1400/month right now) and I wouldn't have to work and could work on my master's degree full time. Also, the in-state tuition programs in NC are way better. NJ stinks for help with college education. We just got a program last year but it is only for the top 20 % of the graduating class. That's it. Otherwise, if you stay in state, you get no perks. Finally, my DH is looking into working for a college once he is done with his master's and there are plenty of colleges there. The main negative is really moving away from my 3 very close friends. I don't know what I would do without them. It's funny, I'm more concerned with my friends than DH's family. I'm horrible!

Well, I am jealous of all of you who are planning lazy Sundays. I'm trying to get myself together to take DD to the park to play basketball (she's obsessed with it) and then we have to go for that family portrait (oh joy, 13 people in a picture at once). Well, the rest of you enjoy your day. I thought I'd be able to relax on the weekends once the holidays ended but DH's family is keeping me jumping!

Zalansky - mmmm... the Outback sounds heavenly. I just went out to dinner last night so I can't go tongiht but now you've given me the urge to go there.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

joats - Sorry Jace didn't do well with the chicken.

nucpharm - Glad your anniversary dinner went well.

DisKim - Glad you had a good time on your date.

justhat - Your friend sounds like a piece of work. I really don't understand people sometimes.

zalansky - DH is a Bucs fan, too. (His family is originally from Tampa.) I don't really like football so I'm glad it's over. For being to far away from Tampa, it sure seems like we get a lot of their games up here.

lissawynn - I agree with the others: Le Cellier is a must-do. We just discovered it on our last trip and can't believe it took us so long to try. We're definitely going back there when we go to WDW in October.

vald and bellacam - Enjoy your lazy Sunday!

We're off to a late start this morning ourselves. It's almost noon and none of us is showered or dressed. I have to get to Little Me, because believe it or not, I actually found a coat. I just have to drive up to the store and get it (and hope they still have his size). I'm off to take a shower. Sorry for the lame-o responses, I'm still tired this morning!

 

[lissawynn]

DisKim - My youngest sister just moved back to PA after living in NC for almost 4 years. She LOVED it and wants to move back. She's currently living in Philly and hates it (but I don't know a ton of people who love Philly). She lived in the "triangle" (last address was Durham). She said the people are so laid back and polite. If you have any questions, I can ask her. She was quite the girl about town.

My sis and I were considering Ohana for a meal but will probably end up at Kona Cafe for bfast like we did on our last trip. We loved it. We really aren't all you can eat kind of people. We'd rather do CG and Le Cellier (we did it in August and loved it!). We're unsure about what to do at MGM. We've been to PTC, MM, and HBD (loved that too). We think our dad would get a kick out of the themeing (sp?) at Sci-Fi and PTC, but I don't think he'll like the antics at PTC (anyone else have Cousin Mark as a server?). We still have some time to make our ADRs. The more I think about it, the more I'm loving the dining plan. That's usually where we spend the most $$$.

We took down ALL of our Chirstmas stuff today. I put most of it away (DH took the tree down and put it away). I am exhausted. I have 120 spelling tests to grade and record. I'm also doing the wash. Jimmy is enjoying the heck out of his Christmas toys. He's playing so well in his pack n play.

justthat - I hope your friend gets her stuff together with her son. How terrible is that to just dump your kid with someone else b/c you'd rather a daughter? I just don't get some people.

val - My pediatrician pierced my ears when I was 3 or 4. I had surgical string in them for a few days so they didn't get infected. I don't really remember it hurting at all.

nupcharm - Glad to hear your anniversary date went well. DH and I are going to his company's holiday party next Saturday night. Haven't been to anything like this before. I'm nervous that I will be over or under dressed. I hate that!

Ok, time to get to work. Have a good afternoon all!

 

[tkyes]

This weekend was a busy one on the DIS wasn't it?

We are hanging out this afternoon. Trying to get Tyler to take a nap. He was at my parent's house last night and they don't try very hard to do naps so we have a tired boy when we pick him up. Probably an overtired boy.

Tyler has 9 month Carter jammies too. That's what size he's in right now. I think I got ours at Babies R Us.

lissawynn - have fun planning your trip. I think the atmosphere at sci-fi is fun. Unless things have changed we didn't love our food though. From everthing I've read stick with a burger and malt. I love the restaurant choices at MGM. We are eating at Mama Melrose and 50s on this trip.

I agree as well, LeCellier is a must do. We always say we are going to try other places around world showcase, but we can't skip LeCellier.

Beaches and Cream is fun for a first timer. The whole Boardwalk area is in my opinion. My parent's loved the Boardwalk.

nuchpharm - glad your dinner went well!

alice - I hope you are doing better!

zalansky - I'm glad football is over too. I can hear it on in our living room, but DH went outside to let the dog out and check on the ice on the pond (we're anxious to go skating) so obviously football isn't important anymore. I did have to adjust our WDW schedule because I realized we'll be there during the superbowl. Heaven forbid we miss that!

lissawynn- was it you who said you have a maclaren? We looked at that same one to bring to WDW - it was on clearance at Target for $100. They also had a lightweight Combi on clearance for $50. We ended up going with the Combi. It was actually 2 pounds lighter than the Maclaren. I just couldn't spend the extra $50 when we already have a perfectly good regular stroller. I'm so cheap sometimes!!

joats - sorry to hear about Jace leaking! Not fun! When Tyler leaked it was always time to move up a size for us. He wasn't sleeping that many hours at a time though.

I think Tyler is sleeping. I'm going to switch laundry and I have 2 more Christmas things to take down. My house is such a disaster, it's driving me crazy!

Tamie

 

[lissawynn]

tykes - The big selling point for me and the Mac was that it holds up to 55 lbs. Jimmy is almost 26 lbs. now, so it was a no brainer. I really like it for trips. It's so light and doesn't take up much room.

I'm recording my grades to my website. I'm also trying to recover from working like a madwoman today.

 

[Alice28]

Well, 24 hours in the hospital & 1 scope surgery later....I'm home & doing better..just wanted to check in!

 

[J&D]

Alice28- Sorry to hear that you had surgery, but glad you are doing better! Best wishes for a speedy recovery! Enjoy the reunion with your DH!


We took our Christmas stuff down today as well. Isn't it depressing?

lissawynn- I don't miss grading papers at all!

Strawberry Lemonade- Why didn't your egg hatch? I've been curious about it.

Justhat- That is such a sad story about your friend.

vald1977- I don't think we will get Jenna's ears pierced until she is older.
Have peds always been in the ear piercing business, or is it something new that they are doing?

DisKim and Nucpharm- Good to hear that you got to spend some quality time with your DHs.

Loretta- Hope you enjoyed Outback. I am hungry, so that sounds so good.

Joats- I've seen lots of 9 months pjs around. Target currently has some on clearance. I'm having a hard time finding 12 months. If Jace was a girl I'd send you some that Jenna has outgrown.

Gems- I've never heard of Pampers Nappy. Is that something sold only in the UK?

Bridget- Hope you enjoyed your "duty free" day.

No lazy Sunday for me. In addition to taking down the Christmas decorations, I did some house cleaning. I'm the type who tries to clean the entire house all in one day. Not fun.

I'm so jealous of those of you who have been or are going to WDW with your babies. I've been trying to schedule a trip, but things haven't worked out yet.

TTFN

 

[justhat]

Alice28 I hope you're feeling better. Did you get to make it to your 6 hour meeting?

I don't think I mentioned this, but we brought our Maclaren to WDW last week and the front right wheel broke off at 6:45am on our first day there! Not that it was Maclaren's fault in anyway, I'm sure the airline probably tossed it around so much that it broke, but I was so annoyed that after paying $300 for the stroller that the wheel broke off. We've only had it for about 1.5 years and typically only use it on vacation (it stays in my husband's car otherwise and we just use our Graco or Combi when we got our from the house or in my car). Madison's only 24 pounds right now so we had lots more use out of it. What annoys me even more was that we were considering getting a double stroller, but then sorta decided that we wouldn't really need it as Madison was never in her stroller as an infant, she was always in the Bjorn, and now she much prefers to walk than use the stroller, really only uses it when she's napping, so we figured we could get away with keeping the new baby in the Bjorn and Madison in the single stroller. We had to bandage it at First Aid in the MK, and it's held up really well actually (though it looks pretty funny, like it has a broken ankle) so we're gonna hold off for the time being.

I need to go to bed. I fell asleep at 7 for 3 hours when I was laying down with Madison. She fell asleep in the car at 6:30, but I didn't want her getting up when she woke at 7 so I went to lay down with her and fell asleep. So of course I am not tired, but I have to be up in 6 hours so I should go to bed. That and I feel so, so nauseous right now I need to lie down.

 

[Alice28]

No, I had to miss the meeting.

DH is in Kuwait now. How bout that for a HUGE sigh of relief?! He starts his trip in about 24 hours his time.

I went to the ER yesterday (SAT) morning and was there for several hours and on very heavy pain pills. They did a CT scan and could see a 4-5mm stone stuck in my left ureter (tube that goes from kidney to bladder). They gave me more narcatics and I went to my mom's house. About 3 I started violenting throwing up again, could keep any liquids down, so back I went. They started an IV for fluids and pain control and I was admitted. Saw a urologist this morning and he was able to schedule a surgery where they just sedated me and put a scope up my urethra (sorry if TMI) and he lasered to stone to oblivion. He said there were a lot of other stone up in both kidneys though. I have a stint in on the left side that gets taken out on Thursday. It feels like a tampon in the wrong place! Not horrible, but weird.

Now there's talk I may not get to go to Ft Lewis on Weds to see hubby. Apparently I missed a HUGE uproar at the meeting yesterday when they told the families that. I was able to talk to DH today; he had no idea what was happening to me and I could tell he was quite upset he was so far away. He said I shoulda called the Red Cross but I said I didn't even know I was having surgery until right before he called.

Anyway, I am off to look at the new lines on the Gymbo website and decide how to spend my gymbucks once and for all. I cannot believe that in a few days (even if it's next Sat now) I will have my DH in my arms.

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

Alice28 - I'm glad you're feeling better even though you had to go through all that. I've never had surgery for mine, but at least you don't have to go through the agony of waiting for them to pass. Just a few more days until you see your DH! You must be getting more and more anxious by the minute!!

J&D - I had a whole paragraph typed out about those eggs and noticed it hatched when I posted the message. I don't know what that thing is and I don't think I'll be keeping it in my signature much longer.

tkyes - Poor, tired Tyler. Hope he got his nap.

lissawynn - Sounds like you're having a good time planning your trip. I've had great luck with the Birnbaum's WDW guides in the past. They have each resort, park, attraction, and restaurant listed with info on each one. I don't know if you can get that book at Target or Walmart, but I'm sure you can find it at Borders or Barnes & Noble if you were interested.

justhat - I hope you feel better soon. During my first trimester, all I did was sleep and eat Froot Loops. I give you (and all moms of more than one child) major credit for still being able take care of your little ones while suffering from M/S and being exhausted all the time.

Last night we had a neat development. Lucas was on his tummy and got up on his hands and knees. It was only for a few seconds and he didn't go anywhere, but I guess that means he'll be trying to crawl soon.

And for those of you I've been boring with the complaints about not finding a coat, I did actually buy one yesterday. I got it at Little Me and it's light blue with puppies on the front.

 

[lissawynn]

Alice28 - Glad to hear you're feeling better. Such good news about your DH! I hope you're taking it easy!

It's official...We're taking our dad to WDW on July 23-29! I am SO excited. Now we have to figure out all the details. It's nice to be planning another trip. DH and I talked about baby #2 last night. We're going to start trying after the WDW trip. It would be nice if I didn't have to take a bunch of time off school. I don't have many sick days left! I just don't know what it would be like to spend an entire school year pg.

Have a great day everyone!