Pregnancy Info HOME

Hi! Well, we just got back from the Island yesterday (for a week) and I am happy to be home again. We all got so spoiled this year. Caden has way too many toys and I will have to spend a day next weekend sorting and storing the old stuff he doesn't play with anymore. Today is the first day of the crib to toddler bed transition. He is napping in it as I type...and so far so good. No crying, getting up ect. The real test will be tonight I think. We bought him a little "Cars" themed toddler bed off Craigslist and his Grandma supplied the bedding/pillow as a Christmas gift. He thinks its pretty cool. I have a step stool next to him bed which I will move away during nap/bed time. He is becoming such a boy...looovesss cars. It's all he does all day long lately. Jaxon is 7 months old & getting so big (20.5lbs/29.5in). Blue eyes & fair hair. He is close to crawling. Very interested in his brother's toys and activities. I may start a few finger foods soon and his 3rd meal. He loves solids. He is an inquistive, determined little baby. He goes for his booster flu shot next week. mamagoose: I hope TYler gets back to norm nap times for both your sakes. Luckily Caden still enjoys his 2hr afternoon nap, and of course I love it to. I have planned it so that both boys are down at the same time and I get a breather. Hopefully you don't go overdue for to long, or you may be surprised and go before you due date. Feeling any serious Braxton Hicks? have they done an internal yet? I wish you luck luck during your labour if you don't manage to get on again before that. For recent pics check: babysites.com/sites/deannedt/

MamaGoose - Hope all goes well for the birth and you give birth soon. Nick still takes a 2 hour nap at nursery in the day but we may have to cut it down as we have started bedtime battles and we are trying to get him to sleep earlier. Sophie stopped napping really early on and seems to manage to be cheerful all day on about 9 hours sleep and she's been like that since 1. Wish I had her energy - lol. DDT - Glad you had a good Christmas. Glad the toddler bed is going well. Nick is still either in our bed or his cot bed though his cot bed lasts until 5. Tried to see your photos but couldn't get the page to load. As for us we spent Christmas at my parents which was nice. Sophie was so excited with all the presents, Nick was happy to play with whatever. Then came home for a few days then went back for my brothers birthday and New Year. Had a lovely meal, champagne, fireworks and disco event for New Year which was great - first time have done something like that. Was glad to get back home again though as the seasonal family arguments were starting - lol. Nick has just started saying "I love you Mummy" which is really sweet. He goes through phases of being an angel and phases of being a grumpy monkey each day at the moment. He is 2 tomorrow. Saw one house but think it may be a bit small so will keep looking - thankfully we have nothing to sell. Heard from SIL - apparently third IVF has failed and she has given up work to concentrate on IVF but only has one more state funded attempt. Trouble is she's 43 in March so chances it'll work aren't great. DH thinks they'll go to Italy after that to adopt as you can't adopt a young child at that age in France. My boss has left me incharge at work tomorrow, never done that before. DB - Hope you had a great holiday. Dedaa - Hope you had a good Christmas and New Year.

Hey everyone, slow around here lately! I'm just hanging out bored and waiting for this baby to show up... my due date was the 8th, although if she's as late as Tyler was I still have more than a week to go. They checked me at my 40 week appt and there is no dilation/effacement, and the doctor said it doesn't look like it will be happening in the next few days, so now comes the waiting game. She said the baby feels like she's about 8.5-9 lbs right now, so hopefully she'll decide to come soon so she doesn't get much bigger! They stripped my membranes on Tuesday, but now it's just about Saturday so I can confidently say it didn't work, lol. Tyler and I are really suffering cabin fever; there is so much snow still that I can't even get out for a walk, and it's been pouring so we can't go out to play. Luckily, he's decided not to give up on naptime just yet, after a week of boycotting he's back at it again, thank goodness. He's usually a pill in the late afternoon/evening, and sometimes he'll just scream "No!" repeatedly, even though he's not yelling at anyone or anything in particular. Lovely phase. He also thinks that getting in trouble is hilarious, and will giggle all through his time-out/punishment/being spoken to, so dh and I feel pretty useless at the moment.... When he's not yelling, he's EXTREMELY clingy, and just wants to be carried around while he lays his head on my shoulder and sucks his thumb. I can't help but feel the timing is awful for this phase, seeing as my arms are about to be occupied heavily in the next week or two! I think it's going to be a very rough adjustment for him once the baby is here, sigh. Anyway, I've got my 41 week appt on Tuesday so I'll update then and hopefully there will be SOME sign this baby may not live in there forever!

DDT-I'm glad you had a good x-mas! Sounds like the boys are doing very well! Justine I wish I had Sophie's energy too! I'm sorry about your SIL and her IVF failing. That must be so hard for her. Mamagoose-I thought for sure you would have had that baby! Bummer!!! Hopefully that is where you are right now! I don't think there is any "good age" to have another baby. Tyler will adjust. Audrey has gotten much more independent, thankfully...although she's had MAJOR sleep issues lately. I put her back in bed 13 times for her nap..and she finally gave in and fell asleep. It was awful, but I had to do it! She had been sleeping with us on vacation (ugh) and the last few nights. I have a feeling she is jealous that Owen is in our room...so I may move him to his crib soon. He is getting way too big for the basinett anyways! At his 2 month appt he was 13lb8oz (90%) and 24.5" long (95%)...he is bigger than Audrey was at 4 months!! Whoo hoo! He wore 6-9 month jammies last night (obviously a brand that runs smaller, but still!)...I start school next week...i'm so nervous! It's going to be a lot of work for sure. Ok, gtg!

DB - Hope you had a great holiday. MamaGoose - Hope the baby arrives soon if not already and all goes well! I'm not sure what age gap is best - I think kids love the closer the better but 3 years is quite a good age gap for the mother as the 3 year old will go to nursery half-time subsidised by the state. A friend of mine has kids 5 years apart so one is at school but then someone said to me that's just extending the agony - lol! DH has gone to France for 5 days with Nick so I went to my parents with Sophie this weekend then to work yesterday and am alone today - will collect Sophie later from my parents. I'll be glad when DH is back tonight - I hate being alone. DH got told by his boss he needs to use more holiday and DH got very worried about it - lol - so I booked us a long weekend in Centreparcs at end Feb (swimming pool/activities complex) etc as that isn't too expensive and the kids should enjoy it. We're going to South Africa in March so didn't really want to go anywhere expensive or far away before then. Though centreparcs started cheap then you add things in and finally it isn't so cheap! Oh well. My brother is buying a house. Got to go off to the dentist now - yuck! Hope everyone is fine.

Hi ladies! mamagoose: Sorry to hear you're still preggers but at least you know the end is near. You may not have another week...maybe little missie will at least come a few days earlier than Tyler did. Have you decided on a name yet? I think you mentioned Chloe before. That's a beautiful name. Glad to hear Tyler is taking his naps again. I hope he gets over his clingy period soon, and if not make sure your dh does his fair share once the new baby is here. I know with Caden he was fine for the first month or so once we brought Jaxon home...but then started acting up for about 2 months. Lots of tantrums, hitting ect. But once that past his relationship with Jaxon has gotten better with every month. They interact now...he loves making Jaxon laugh, shares with him, worries about him if he's crying, strokes him, hugs, holds. It's very sweet. How did your 41 week appointment go today? any news? Try to post up your birth story and some pics if you get a chance. Good luck! We should try together sometime in March maybe...when the weather is a bit better and when you have gotten into the swing of things with an additional baby. DB: Good luck with school starting...you are one brave lady. There is no way I could do school as well as looking after two kids. Hopefully Audrey is back to sleeping normally again. Owen is a big boy! good job BM!...how is he doing overall? Justine: Have fun on your mini-vacation...sounds like fun and I could use one of those right about now. Lol! Glad to hear your dh is back tonight...I don't like being alone either. Well, Caden is doing wonderfully in his toddler bed so far. No problems at all. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it continues. He is still not putting on any weight. He has just gotten his canines (all 4) now so they are making their way out of his gumline. And BIG NEWS...he peed in the toliet for the first time and few days ago. He prefers to stand and pee so Daddy has been practicing with him. And during one of these "practice sessions" he managed to pee a full pee right in the loo. I am very happy. I am going to have to grab the moment while it lasts and put him back in Pull-Ups. We will see how it goes. Jaxon is doing good. He has a bit of exzema on his face which we are lotioning up. He's just about crawling...maybe another 2 weeks. He gets onto his hands and knees and rocks and attempts to move but does a face-plant. Well, best be off.

Hi everyone- I'm still here, still preggo. 40 weeks, 6 days now. I had my appt today, still no sign of progress (0cm dilated, no effacement) It might be a blessing in disguise; I have something flu-like right now. My whole body aches and I had a temp of 101.5 yesterday, and congestion & coughing. So maybe it would be better if the baby stays in there until we're all healthy out here. At any rate, they scheduled an induction for Sunday unless the baby comes before then, which it doesn't look like will happen. My mom is coming to stay starting tomorrow to help out with Tyler, which will be great because I have no energy between being ginormously pregnant and sick. DDT- Yay for Caden, peeing in the toilet!!! I have no idea if Tyler would go for it if I tried; I don't want to spring potty training on him just yet, with the new baby coming, but I'm thinking of trying in April or May. I'd love to get together in March-ish, now that the boys are older they'll have a blast playing together, and I'd love to see you and Jaxon! DB- i hope Audrey's sleep issues were short-lived, and she's back to her old self again. I'm so nervous about how I'm going to get a baby to nap while having to watch a toddler; it used to take me 45 minutes to put Tyler down, and he had 3 naps a day; how will I do that again with a toddler to look after?! Justine- have fun on your holiday; it sounds like you'll have a great time! Tyler loves swimming, he gets so excited if he even sees his swim trunks in his drawer. Well I'm off to sleep and hopefully this cold/flu will be better when I wake up tomorrow!

MamaGoose - Hope all goes well or has gone well for the labour. Glad your Mum is comng to stay - its really useful to have help. Hope you are feeling better soon. DDT - Glad Caden and Jaxon are getting on well. Sophie and Nick get on very well for the most part and Sophie loves to mother Nick and calls him "my love". Just had the vaccines for South Africa today. Getting Sophie back from my parents tomorrow then off to view two houses. I think they are out of our price range though but the ones I show DH in our price range he doesn't like. Trouble is he doesn't want to move or budget up either but he's going to have to do something as these houses are about 25% more than the budget he's set. Most houses are selling for 11% less than asking price now but there's still quite a difference. He won't talk to me about money but wants me to negiotiate - argh. I'm happy to negiotiate but I need to know what I can go up to as they always reject your first offer. House prices fell 19% here last year and are predicted to go down again by 10% this year and maybe next so I don't even know if we should be buying though it is nice to have a place of your own.

Hi everyone, just checking in quick to tell you Chloe is here! Here is her birth story: ................... Well, where do I start? On thursday (the 15th) I went in for my 41 week NST to check that the baby was ok, and to schedule an induction for the 18th if she hadn't arrived on her own by then. The NST went great, and it showed I was having tiny BH contractions roughly every 20 minutes, so small I couldn't feel them. I was sent home to be pregnant for a little longer.

That evening, I was sitting around watching TV and I just couldn't get comfortable... the baby was SO low, I had to pee every 5-10 minutes, and it felt like I was sitting on a knife! I was having some contractions that were not uncomfortable, and it seemed they were happening every 15 minutes, but I didn't think they'd go anywhere. Around 10:30pm I went to bed. I was in bed a few minutes and the contractions were getting stronger, to the point where I was starting to admit to myself they were probably real labour contractions. I tried to sleep, but they were strong enough to keep me awake, so I told Mike I was going to time them on ContractionMaster to see if there was any pattern. By the time I got on the computer, they were now shooting pain down my thighs and through my back, and I was having to focus and rock back and forth. I timed them until 11pm, and in that short space of time they became 3-4 minutes apart and 1 minute long!

I went back upstairs to find Mike drugged out on sleeping pills (the last time he took a sleeping pill was the night Tyler was born... this should have been my biggest clue!), but as I walked into the bedroom I had a contraction so strong that as soon as I could move again I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. My dainty retching woke Mike, and after he had a peek at my ContractionMaster record, he told me he was calling L&D. I said no, wait awhile, maybe they'd go away... I had only been in labour 30 minutes, surely I had days to go! Then I fell over groaning with a huge long contraction and the pain changed my mind.

It was just past midnight when my Mom (who is staying with us to help out) and Mike managed to get shoes on my feel while I lay beached and incoherent on the couch, trying to get through my contractions (now less than 3 minutes apart). On the ride to the hospital, I was having huge pressure and pain in my back and legs, I was getting desperate for that epidural! We got to L&D at 1:00am, and after waiting forever in Triage, I was checked and at 4cm, so they decided to admit me (gee, thanks). About 5 minutes after me, another woman came in, in early labour, and I heard them say to her she was 1cm, but her baby was breech and they were going to do an emergency c-section on her. Why did this affect me? Oh, I'd soon be finding out!!

At 2:00am I was told to walk myself down to my delivery room, which was pretty cruel because that knife in my bum was feeling bigger and contractions were one on top of the other. The walk took 5 minutes, stopping for contractions. My delivery nurse met me there, and decided to check my dilation for her records. I was 7cm... 7cm! I'd gone from 4 to 7cm in less than 10 minutes! She asked me if I wanted pain medication, and I said I really, reaaaalllly wanted my epidural now. She said OK, and made a phone call...... only to be told the anaesthesiologist would be approximately 1 hour, because he was doing that emergency c-section on the woman who'd walked in behind me. The nurse said, "Um... You probably won't be able to get an epidural, he's not available and you're progressing quickly." In my mind, I knew she was right, but I wanted something for the pain so badly, I was holding onto any hope I could get one. She offered me the laughing gas, which did nothing for me with my last labour, but I was so desperate I agreed.

As she was setting it up, I had this feeling I was about to pee myself, so I got up and went to the bathroom. Nothing. I walked back and as I did, I had this HUGE pressure feeling, like I had to push. I jumped back on the bed yelling, "There's so much pressure! It hurts!" So the nurse checked me again and said "You're 8cm and I can feel your membranes bulging." With the next contraction, I had this feeling like someone was filling up a water balloon inside me, and suddenly it broke... Niagara Falls, gushing out onto the bed!

The nurse called for another nurse to help her set up the bed and get me cleaned up, and as they were trying to get the sheets out, I felt like I had to PUSH. I yelled, "I have to push, I can't stop it, I have to push!" The nurse said, "OK, I'll check you again and see how far you are." I rolled onto my back for her to check, and as she lifted my gown, she and the other nurse looked at each other in alarm, one ran and hit a green button on the wall, picked up the phone, and said "I have a delivery in progress, we need the doctor!"

When she said this, I'll admit, the thought on my mind was "What about my epidural!?" Anyway, about 8 more people suddenly rushed into the room, including the doctor who said, "Why isn't the bed set up?" The nurse said, 'She just got in here! The baby is crowning!" So the doctor said, "Well get a blanket or something, this baby is coming!"

The doctor said to me, "OK, give me a trial push and we'll see what happens."

I didn't have a choice at this point, there was nothing I could do to stop myself from pushing. I started, and felt huge, huge pressure in my back and bum, and the doctor and nurses (and Mike, who was standing there gaping like a goldfish) all said, "Ok, stop! Stop!", like I could have stopped myself. I couldn't stop. I kept pushing one continuous 1-minute push, and then suddenly the urge left me.

I lay there for a minute and asked Mike, "Can you see the head?" He looked at me, bewildered, and said, "Uh, yeah... the baby is out."

Chloe was born at 2:49am, less than 4 hours from my first contraction to delivery. She weighed 8 lbs 2.7oz, is 20.75" long, and has a perfectly normal sized head, unlike her big brother, lol.

The nurse lifted her up for a brief inspection, and then handed her off to be weighed, etc. I was pretty much in shock. I'd been in labour with Tyler for 36 hours and pushed for 2 hours, what had just happened?! I looked at Mike, who was equally shocked, and said, "What about my epidural?"

They stitched me up (the doctor felt it necessary to lecture me: "If you had stopped pushing when I told you we probably could have gotten her out without a tear."), cleaned and weighed the baby, and then sent me off to have a shower since the bed (which had never been converted for delivery) was a mess. The doctor asked me, "Did you feel a lot of labour pains in your back?" and I said yes, she then said, "The baby was sunny-side up, these are usually much slower deliveries. Not this time!"

The whole recovery was so different... for one thing, I could walk and pee, which I couldn't do after Tyler was born. I have practically no swelling, minor afterpains and minor bleeding. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop!

If anyone had ever told me I'd have an unmedicated natural delivery before this day, I would have called them a terrorist and booked myself a tubal ligation just in case! Anyway, I would have gotten my drive-through delivery and been checked out after 6 hours, but since I was GBS+ and they didn't have time to give me the antibiotics before she was born, we had to stay 24 hours. Everyone is home, healthy and happy, and even Tyler is adjusting well so far.

MamaGoose - Congratulations on the birth of Chloe! Glad your labour wasn't too long and well done on managing without an epidural! I had a short 5 hour labour water birth with Nick and a good recovery but had an extremely long one with Sophie - I think it was Mon at 7 until Wed morning! Your hospital sounds like ours - you have to argue you are in labour! Hope everyone is fine and you can get some rest and Tyler loves his new little sister. As for us just found out yesterday my colleague, who is the nicest person you could wish to work with, isn't having her contract renewed. They are going to try and move me 2 of my 3 days to the other office so I won't be alone in our team. I feel really sorry for my colleague - she was only on a fixed term contract and that makes you vulnerable here. I'm happy to be moving to the closer office though as it takes 20 mins travelling time off each day. Put a very low offer in on one house we saw and we are waiting to hear back this morning. Would be surprised if we get it for that price as its a lot less than they paid for it though it is the fair market value for now. We're not in any rush though so will just keep looking if they don't accept it. My Mum gave Sophie bottles all day everyday when she was there (she thinks its child cruelty to take them from a 3 year old!) so now we're having battles but I seem to be winning. DH also thinks she should have bottles now but I've finally got him to back down. My Mum and DH are so much harder than Sophie - lol.

Congrats Mamagoose!!!!!! What a birth story! Sounds sorta similar to Owen...I barely pushed and he was out! Gotta love the differences! And Audrey was sunny side up, and very hard to push out, so you did awesome!! I only have a minute...both kids are asleep and I need to go take a shower! I'll try to check back...school starts tomorrow and I've been sooo busy...No time to myself as you can imagine! Hi everyone!!!

Hello ladies! CONGRATS mamagoose on the arrival of little Chloe! Your labour sounds like it went really well, and your pushing and recovery sound like mine were with Jaxon. Fast & easy. After I had Jaxon I felt absolutely no pain within a hr of having him. Imagine what a 3rd labour/baby will be like! haha. Jaxon was sunnyside up to and I had excruiating (sp?) back & bum labour pains with him, but managed to push him out within 13 mins. I hope you are all settling in nicely at home together. I can't wait to see some pics. DB: Nice to hear from you again...good luck with school. Justine: Sorry to hear about your work colleague...with the way the economy is these days no one is absolutely safe with their jobs unless they belong to a Workers Union (which I thankfully am). Hopefully you get that house for the price you want, but it's a buyers market right now so you guys can take your time picking and choosing. Caden is at daycare today and Jaxon is napping at the moment so I am busy getting dinner ready in the slow cooker and making up batches of baby food. Beautiful day with the sunshine. Caden is still doing wonderfully in his toddler bed...no problems yet. Jaxon is such fun...he appears to be over his fussy, "hard-to-please" phase and the boys "play" nicely together.
I can't believe our lo's 2nd birthdays are coming up soon (except for Nick who already turned 2 this month). We are going with a "Thomas the Tank Engine" theme. Well, I best be off and finish up things before Jaxon wakes up.

Hi everyone. DB - Hope school is going well. You must be busy with 2 little ones and school. MamaGoose - Hope all is going well with your new baby. DDT - A third labour doesn't worry me either, but a third child to add to two little monkeys well that's a different matter lol. Glad your job will be safe. The economy is terrible here and were in recession but my job (famous last words!) should be safe too. Glad the boys are playing nicely together. Our two are a bit variable at the moment from the very civilised Sophie says "Could you hand me a piece of Jigsaw Nick" and Nick says "Thank you Sophie" for each piece she does to to the snatching the toy the other one has and the other one screaming. Thats sounds like it'll be a really good party for Caden. I have to confess we didn't do that much for Nick just a cake with some friends a couple of times and he had a cake in France. It's just so soon after Xmas. I'm just going to give him some money as they have more toys than we can fit in this house already but his account invests in the stock market so I'm waiting for it to stop falling. We liked two houses we saw a lot and one is at a very good price but it's all a bit scary as people are forecasting the market will go down 10% this year and possibly next which is a lot of money to lose. On the other hand it would be nice to have our own place and its difficult to find somewhere to rent that take 2 kids, a cat, is unfurnished and not terraced. Still we have until September before we register Sophie for school and house prices are only going one way at the moment so there's no need to rush. Nick was funny last night - he said "I like bras!" - he's still obsessed with them.

Well it looks like we're buying a house. I put a bid in on the 4 bed house we saw to the north of London and got a lot of the asking price - we got it for 27% off the first asking price and 10% off the new asking price which they've only had for a week. The property was sold for 10% more than we are paying at the end of last year but the buyer pulled out after exchanging contracts. I appointed a surveyor and solictor today so all going well we'll be moving in March. I'm sure its not the best time to be buying but we need to be settled by September for her to register for a school and it'll be nice to have a place of our own. I'm 5 mins walk to the tube (metro) and its 2 mins to the shops, cafes and restaurants and only one neighbours house joins it. When we saw the house both the kids loved it as the living room is huge and there's a big window from which you can see for miles. Nick said "I like that house" and its the first house he said that about - when I asked him if we should buy it he said "Oh yes" and he's the little man that likes to say No! Sophie loved it when we went round and wanted me to buy it too though she said she preferred a second house. I asked her why and she said it was because "it had lots of mirrors and I like looking at myself in mirrors" Lol. The other day she was looking at herself in the mirror and she said "I look like a princess". Such modesty! Hope everyone is fine.

Hi everyone... A quick check-in, BOTH kids are napping at the same time! Tyler's really hit and miss with nap time these days, so I love it when he does nap. Otherwise my day is exhausting. Chloe's days and nights are still a bit mixed up, but last night I did manage to get her back to sleep when she got up at 4am, which is the first time that's happened. We kept her up until 8:30pm, so that might have helped. Justine- Congrats on the house, you must be so excited! And that's so convenient being walking distance to the tube, that's one thing missing from my neighborhood (no public transportation) DB- it must have been Audrey's birthday just this last week, happy Big 2 to her! Tyler's birthday is on Monday (the 9th) but I don't have anything planned. I'll be lucky if I find time to make instant cupcakes... he doesn't know the difference. Oops, looks like my nap time break isn't meant to be, one of the beasts is stirring. Oh, i put up some pictures if you'd like to see: erinlyn(dot)piczo(dot)com, under 'Chloe 0 - 3 months'