Baby Corner

[Nizzy 1]

Kelly: thanks girl. I am so crushed. My OB called me back and they said that the blood they drew just a few weeks ago said that I am in fact IMMUNE to rubella. They said they thought it is really odd that I am not immune now. It can wear off but they said it is unlikely to wear off in just 3 weeks. But- my OB said absolutely NO MMR shot during pregnancy and if I was really not immune then my chances are very slim to find a job in my prefession until after the baby is born. There is no waiver in NY state for this vaccine.

So I am going to pick up a copy of my blood results from my OB and take it to the occupational nurse at the hospital and hopefully she clears me or at least draws my blood again for a re-take. My measles and mumps titers weren't back yet so I am just hoping that when they come in they will be fine to back up my case.

I just don't know why everything has to be the hard way for me.

Stef: I hope that things work out. You have put in so much work to get to this point. I will be praying for you so that it all comes together.

[Eveline 9]

Stef, I'm so sorry ...let us know how the retake goes. Hopefully, something will come of that.

Nessa and Charles, Ben is TOO FRICKEN ADORABLE!!!

Anna - you got a swagger wagon!!!!

I got one too and i love it

[Staashi 371]

Stef...You're in my prayers, momma.

[Anna C. 4]

@ Steffi: I would present the titers from your obgyn's office, and claim that the hospital's lab must have made an error. If they insist on their results, I would ask for a retest, and if it really comes back as a low titer (they probably test for more than just a certain threshold as the obgyn's office does, they look for a specific IgM and IgG number, they did that at Kaiser e.g. too), I would break the news and say I'm pregnant. No sane health care provider would want to give you the MMR then, the package insert specifically excludes pregnant females, you are not even supposed to get pregnant within 3 months of receiving the shot... There are, even if rare, cases of vaccine-induced-rubella since it's a live virus, and I wouldn't risk that! I'm sorry for all those obstacles... Maybe it'll work out. Worst case, since you signed a contract, they might put you on hold til after the baby is born and then you are able to get the shot.

Tummy time: Jona hated it so I never pushed it. We carried him a lot in a sling/maitei and that counts too. He also slept on my chest a lot in the beginning... He could hold his head up pretty soon, but due to his fatness (lol), it took some time for him to roll over or crawl... I think the whole tummy time and how soon will my kid do this or that is overrated... My SIL totally pushes tummy time, crawling, sitting, walking - her daughters walked at 8 and 9 months - but I rather leave it up to the kids to decide when they are ready instead of making them cry all the time!

Hahah, the swagger wagon, yeah that's it... We love it. Still getting used to the gazillion features (how to sync our garage remote, bluetooth and such)... I love the heated seats!

[chnst 6]

soooo a ton of weight off of my shoulders! My OB/GYN's lab report said that my titer was 3.44 on september 20. The minimum for a + is 1.10, so that is pretty significant! It took me less than 30 seconds to convince the occupational nurse and she accepted it without a problem. Didn't even have to tell her I am pregnant but oh well there was the fetal AFP value on that paper to and the remark "1 fetus". So I'm sure she knows but they will know soon anyway.

Anywho, I am so so so excited! I can't believe that she didn't question that at all! I never thought she would accept that but she did. phew.

I will start Nov. 1st. I hope my legs will stay attached because I am working full time 13 hour night shifts but I couldn't be happier. It's such a great hospital. Now my next problem to tackle is to fess up about the pregnancy and somehow work something out for a maternity leave because I am not eligible for FMLA.

Thanks for your support mommies. I am one happy girl right now.

Hahaha @swagger wagon. It looks really cool but.... it's still a minivan!!! We just got one too, and deep inside I love all the room and how easy it is to drive and practical but- it's still a minivan!! I never thought I'd drive one but the practical aspect definitely won me over.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

YAY STEF!! Thats amazing!!!!!! Im so happy, I just knew things would work out for ya! That sucks about not being eligible for FMLA but im sure they will be able to accomodate something. Will Ben go to daycare full time now? How exciting to be a working women now! Having that much extra income has to be a huge contribution to the house! You outta be proud mommma!

[chnst 6]

YAY STEF!! Thats amazing!!!!!! Im so happy, I just knew things would work out for ya! That sucks about not being eligible for FMLA but im sure they will be able to accomodate something. Will Ben go to daycare full time now? How exciting to be a working women now! Having that much extra income has to be a huge contribution to the house! You outta be proud mommma!

YES! We were doing ok on just one salary but having 2 incomes really helps with paying off student loans and putting it into the house etc. aaahhh Peace of mind! I guess we will have to spend some money on childcare especially with 2 kids but I am hoping to work something out that Ben will only do part time because I only work 3 night shifts a week. My husband has a crazy schedule so we will need daycare, babysitter and back-up childcare for when he gets sick. They have a salary scale so if I happen to stay there I will get a frequent raise and they pay extremely well for overtime/night diff. etc. so that is really sweet on top of working my dream job.

wow I just realized looking at your ticker that Ben and Zaid will be 2.5 years old next week! Time flies so fast! I was unpacking boxes today and I found footprints of him when he was 1 year old. I can't believe how fast he is growing.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

2.5...yep! Its still very bittersweet for me. Zaid just started going through a very bratty stage. He doesnt want to be nice to other kids and when he is scolded he does this "spitting" thing at you. I really was hoping we bypassed terrible 2's..sadly im afraid they just hit. Potty training is still NOWHERE in sight. He is now boycotting the toilet. Wont even go near it. Im afraid im going to have my hands REAL full when this baby comes. He does still have tons of sweet moments, It just really bothers me when hes not nice to other kids. I never wanted a bully kid but i guess from what I hear most kids go thru it!!

[Eveline 9]

I was talking to another mom yesterday and we compared our three year olds. Adam was easily 10 inches taller than the other little boy (who is also six months younger than Adam) and that's when it hit me...Adam will be FOUR in five months...OMG...he'll be FOUR...as in: only one year short of Kindergarten...only two short of starting school...FOUR. He's a brat too...he's terrible. I can't control him. He's the cutest kid when he's with me but in public....holy cow...he gets other kids to do stuff for him, like climb up on kitchen counters or park benches etc and jump off of it. He also calls Allie if he wants something and he knows he's not supposed to get it. He'll be like "Allie...come here...can you climb on the chair and get me the nutella?"...and then Allie says "OK" and climbs up on the counter and he'll be like "Come on Allie...you can do it...get the Nutella"...ARGH. He's also started spitting at stuff, he breaks his friends' toys etc. It's embarassing at times.

Same goes for Allie. She's not as bratty but if there's a lunchbox around somewhere or any kind of food I'm not able to get her away from it. I have started leaving lunches in the car when we're at the park because otherwise she won't play but drag the lunchbag around and try to open it the entire time. It's so frustrating.

They both got into my makeup on Sunday. They colored all over the upstairs walls, blankets, mattresses, windows, doors, tables, dumped my makeup in the toilet, had the plunger out, smeared my mascara everywhere, toothpaste on the mirror, my lotions in the sink, my cleanser all over the chair and powder on the carpet. It was beautiful. So beautiful that I took them into their playroom and stuffed all their toys neatly into four big plastic bags and put them on the curb. HA...you should have seen their faces when "Stella" the doll and a big ol dinosaur disappeared in that bag. Their faces were even more precious when the trashpeople came and picked up those big black bags (that were actually the neighbor's leaves and grass bags LOL). I - in the meantime - hid their toys in the garage. They'll just reappear.

Oh...while emptying out the toybox I noticed that Allie had peed in it...argh. That's another thing. She was pottytrained a few weeks back and I don't know what happened. I guess we started pushing her too much to go potty because Adam was trained at that age (he did it alone though). She has started peeing into sippycups, breakfast bowls, toyboxes, measuring cups etc. She's very good in that and can aim like crazy but it's still annoying. She'll pee when she's naked but as soon as she wears pants, it's over. I got my cloth diapers back out now in hopes that it'll make her feel yucky when she's wet. So far, she doesn't care though .

Also - man, this is a novel here - Allie graduated into a big girl toddler bed and she loves it. No issues with the transition etc. I sold her crib yesterday to my friend, yay. That also means that she can get up and let me know when she pooped in her diaper, rather than grabbing what's in it and smearing it on the mattress.

Wow..this rant sounds like I hate my kids but that's not true. While they are little brats and I can't leave them unattented for one second they are still great kids. Adam's German is really coming along and he knows he can make me happy when he says something in German (he sings the ABC, counts, knows a few sentences and plenty of words). They both are very active. They are little monkeys, I teach them gymnastics lol. They both can balance free standing on my hands like little cheerleaders. Allie even blows kisses like that, soo cute. They love to read, color, play outside in the dirt, run and EAT...yes...we don't have food fights. They just eat. OK, that's it. Sorry for the long post haha.

Keep the 'brat-stories' coming..that way I don't feel so bad anymore . CHNST...anything new from Ben in that department???

[chnst 6]

Ben is a little brat too. Actually, he is brat-captain. haha. He knows not to act up around us but as soon as we have friends over or we're not there he will test the limits on anyone. He sticks his tongue out, calls people names (poopyhead is a favorite) and oh yeah that reminds me of a nice little story when we bought the soccermom van at the dealership. the guy who sold it to us had this cute picture of his 8 year old boy in his baseball uniform on hsi desk. Ben walks up to it with greasy chocolate hands ,picks it up before we could do something and says to the picture "dude you look like a dork" The first time I was hoping the guy didn't hear him but he repeated it over and over the more I tried to shut him up. Pretty damn embarrassing.

One of our friends was watching him yesterday when I had to go to the hospital and she is a teacher at a high school so she took him to school and he would go through the whole "I drink beer with daddy" WTH??? "poopy" tongue-sticking process. The problem is- most people start to laugh when he does it so he thinks he is funny and he knows he will get away with it when we're not there. He will also steal random people's food, smack random people on their "hineybutt" OMG, so so embarrassing. Or put random people in time out for no reason "I count to "f-ree" one, two, free, four, ten,eleven, twenty, go sit in time out"

I always cringe when I see people who have their kids on a leash, but I swear one of these days I'm going to get one for Ben.

Most of the time he is really really good, I guess he is acting his age and he loves to copy adults but he just doens't get the concept yet of what not to do/say in public.

[Eveline 9]

Ben is a little brat too. Actually, he is brat-captain. haha. He knows not to act up around us but as soon as we have friends over or we're not there he will test the limits on anyone. He sticks his tongue out, calls people names (poopyhead is a favorite) and oh yeah that reminds me of a nice little story when we bought the soccermom van at the dealership. the guy who sold it to us had this cute picture of his 8 year old boy in his baseball uniform on hsi desk. Ben walks up to it with greasy chocolate hands ,picks it up before we could do something and says to the picture "dude you look like a dork" The first time I was hoping the guy didn't hear him but he repeated it over and over the more I tried to shut him up. Pretty damn embarrassing.

One of our friends was watching him yesterday when I had to go to the hospital and she is a teacher at a high school so she took him to school and he would go through the whole "I drink beer with daddy" WTH??? "poopy" tongue-sticking process. The problem is- most people start to laugh when he does it so he thinks he is funny and he knows he will get away with it when we're not there. He will also steal random people's food, smack random people on their "hineybutt" OMG, so so embarrassing. Or put random people in time out for no reason "I count to "f-ree" one, two, free, four, ten,eleven, twenty, go sit in time out"

I always cringe when I see people who have their kids on a leash, but I swear one of these days I'm going to get one for Ben.

Most of the time he is really really good, I guess he is acting his age and he loves to copy adults but he just doens't get the concept yet of what not to do/say in public.

We actually have one and never used it. My kids will just lay on the floor and then I can't just drag them around on the leash

[Autumnchik 6]

SO glad things worked out for you, Stef. What department are you working in? I am even more impressed with all you have done to get there, after seeing how difficult nursing school is. 5 people out of Ron's class of 40 did not pass onto Nursing 2. I am counting down the days until I have a husband again (only another year and a half!!!).

My new job is good. I'm excited about the work and honestly blown away by all the benefits! I've mostly worked at nonprofits, so being a federal employee is amazing. Declan has adjusted well to his new daycare. The only difficult thing is that he has been waking up at 2 am and screaming for mommy or daddy. We had spent that week in CT where I slept with him every night, so it has been an adjustment getting him to sleep on his own. He is good until 2 am. We don't like the "let him cry it out" method, but we are honestly at our wits ends. Don't want to keep going in there to sleep with him, which is what he wants, but don't want him to be screaming hysterically either. Advice please!!!!!

[chnst 6]

SO glad things worked out for you, Stef. What department are you working in? I am even more impressed with all you have done to get there, after seeing how difficult nursing school is. 5 people out of Ron's class of 40 did not pass onto Nursing 2. I am counting down the days until I have a husband again (only another year and a half!!!).

My new job is good. I'm excited about the work and honestly blown away by all the benefits! I've mostly worked at nonprofits, so being a federal employee is amazing. Declan has adjusted well to his new daycare. The only difficult thing is that he has been waking up at 2 am and screaming for mommy or daddy. We had spent that week in CT where I slept with him every night, so it has been an adjustment getting him to sleep on his own. He is good until 2 am. We don't like the "let him cry it out" method, but we are honestly at our wits ends. Don't want to keep going in there to sleep with him, which is what he wants, but don't want him to be screaming hysterically either. Advice please!!!!!

thanks! I don't know anyone who made it through nursing school without a huge amount of support from family and friends. It's going to be tough for you but time will go by so fast and its all worth it in the end. I work in OB in labor and delivery. I'm a little nervous about being in the OR for c-sections and tubal ligations, I've only ever seen that as a nursing student in Germany, so I guess there is lots to learn for me. To be honest I even have to learn all the english words for all the OR instruments... Most of the guys who went to nursing school with me now work in orthopedics, ICU, psych or med-surg. I think being a guy RN definitely has advantages in the job market. Good luck to your hubby!

As for the crying at 2 am- welcome to the club! We got Ben to go to sleep in his own room but every night around 2 he gets up and cries for us. It usually doesn't take long to get him back to sleep but from there on he will wake up every 30 minutes so he ends up in our bed and sleeps there til 8 or 9 am. I am really hoping that someday he will learn to sleep in his bed but I am totally against letting him cry too. He is at an age when he gets scared of the dark, or noises it just doesn't seem right to leave him in his room when he is scared. I think if we were more consistent it would probably work but we're too exhausted to get up every 30 minutes and he sleeps pretty good in our bed.

[Nessa 23]

I'm going through the same thing with Ben, and I hate to let him cry. If I bring him to the bedroom he'll fall right back to sleep, he won't go back to the crib after he wakes up crying, unless I let him fall asleep and I carry him. But in the middle of the night I'm just too tired, I just want to go back to sleep.

Sometimes I think I'll mess it up, because he's been sleeping on his crib since he was like 12 weeks old and I don't want him to get so used to sleeping in our bedroom that he will never go back to sleeping on his crib.

[chnst 6]

Hi Mommies, how is everyone? My belly got huge over the last days, and the baby is kicking a lot. I am really nervous about telling my boss about the pregnancy next week. I haven't seen her since the interview in august... I am really excited to start on monday.

We had a really hard time to find childcare. The good daycares in our areas don't have any spots and really long waiting lists. Or they don't take children under 3 years. The in-home daycares we looked at were horrible!!

So I put up an ad for a "nanny" and last night we got a really nice email from an elderly lady in our area, she came over for an "interview" this a.m. and I think she is PERFECT! Ben loved her. I was a little worried she'd be too frail to watch our kid but she picked him right up and wrestled him on the floor. I love her! She's fitter than I am! And we don't have to worry about Ben getting sick at daycare or needing back up care for sick days because she comes to our house. It's such a huge burden off of my shoulders.

On the flip side I cannot believe how much we are going to pay for childcare for 2 kids especially when Ben starts pre-school next year.