Baby Corner

[Fandango 1,440]

We have the same swing Lisa & Tracy! lol.. but Sam deosnt care for his.. and he out grow it so quick we only used it a few times... and now it's the place to put his toys and bankets lol.. I'm going to give it to my friend who's having a baby in April, so I dont feel like a douch buying $130 stuff that dont get use!

As for the circ topic - I got Sam's done but some how his doesnt look like he had it done.. as long as it doesnt hurt him I'm not going to sweat about it. We had his done becasue husband said the uncirc might have a little problem when they are teeneage (his experience) and he said it hurts for a long while then.. so he decided to have Sam's done.

I didnt know (well I couldnt remember) if I asked anything and I really feel bad about it. I think husband said they didnt give him anything to numb it becasue to give the anesthetic will hurt more than the actual procedure... I dont know poor little guy, at least he wont have any memory about it. And hope that it's not a problem that now it looks like it's half circ.....

Sam's beeing having an awful sleep pattern and I'm getting soooo tired

I'm going to see Harry Potter tonight YEYEYEY!!!

Nick loved his from the word go, so it has been a Godsend! Hopefully, your friend's baby will love it like he does, so someone gets use out of it!

Nick's numbing agent was a topical cream, and he didn't cry once during the procedure, which I would assume he would certainly do if he was in pain. He didn't really cry afterward, either. We did give him infant tylenol once, but that was it. Now, he went for the first part of his 2 mos shots (we've decided to separate them), and I can say that he had more discomfort afterward with that then with the circ.

Enjoy HP! hubby doesn't wanna be amongst the gaggle of kids, and since we have Nick, we can't do a midnight viewing either. So we're going sometime next week for a matinee. AMC over here was doing this HP marathon...$20 a ticket, but they were screening the last two movies, then the new one at midnight.* All back to back. Overall, would have been over 6 hours! Prolly something we would have done pre-baby, but certainly not post-baby, hehehe.

*and it came with a comemorative HP lanyard keychain! w00t w00t! hahahah

[TracyTN 237]

Well, for me, already being a recipient of the 'old lady cya package' (coined by the Empress, I think)...I realize that if we want another one, we really don't have much time left. At this point, I would love another, but if it's destined to not happen, I'll be ok with that, too. We say 'whatever God wants'.

Yeah, my doc told me that if she were in my shoes (read: old), she wouldn't wait much more than a year to think about conceiving again. I'm just really not into the idea, though hubby would love nothing better. Honestly I never thought I'd have kids at all, so to have even one is quite the feat. I did not enjoy being pregnant (although I was healthy and did really well considering) and I can't imagine doing that all again while having a child less than or around a year old running around at the same time. As tired as I was the first trimester, I would be unable to work or do much else and I don't think Emily should suffer because of my advanced age. LOL

[chri'stina 190]

We are still debating the idea of another baby. Even though Kavi is almost 3 now, and if we have another I wouldn't want a huge age gap. But we still aren't ready yet. If we have another, maybe next year we will think about conceiving. I worry thinking about having another c-section even though I know so many people have repeats. My labor was so bad that I don't want to try a vbac.

[Fandango 1,440]

I didn't enjoy being pregnant either...it was exhausting and I was sick for most of it...although I did continue to work, and live my 'normal life'. Don't even get me started on the thought of having another C section...that was such an odd and wildly uncomfortable, not to mention scary procedure. Knowing what I'd be in for? That kinda sucks, lol.

And Tracy raises a very good point about doing it all while having a little one at home....but at the end of the day, iI want to at least try for one more.

[chri'stina 190]

I liked being pregnant hehe. I did have a smooth pregnancy, I know difficulties are not fun if anyone had them. But I really liked feeling the baby move, knowing I was pregnant, even wearing pregnancy shirts! I liked looking up info about each week. I was a happy pregnant person. lol. The labor and c/s part is the part I did not like.

[TracyTN 237]

I didn't enjoy being pregnant either...it was exhausting and I was sick for most of it...although I did continue to work, and live my 'normal life'. Don't even get me started on the thought of having another C section...that was such an odd and wildly uncomfortable, not to mention scary procedure. Knowing what I'd be in for? That kinda sucks, lol.

And Tracy raises a very good point about doing it all while having a little one at home....but at the end of the day, iI want to at least try for one more.

I think if you have even a small desire to have another one, you'll probably be less bothered by the 'OMG I'm so exhausted I can hardly move' thing while being PG and already having a little one. The fact that I don't see very much good about the idea tells me I'm probably not interested in another. But I'm only 4 months out so I'm trying not to say yes or no for sure either way.

I had a pretty easy time conceiving, too; so for me the decision is less about 'let's try' than 'we will be having one.' Unless I'll be so old by that point it would actually be hard to conceive.

[Fandango 1,440]

I liked being pregnant hehe. I did have a smooth pregnancy, I know difficulties are not fun if anyone had them. But I really liked feeling the baby move, knowing I was pregnant, even wearing pregnancy shirts! I liked looking up info about each week. I was a happy pregnant person. lol. The labor and c/s part is the part I did not like.

You are always so positive, and you know, I was remiss in mentioning a few things. I too enjoyed feeling him, experiencing the miracle of pregnancy, feeling him kick, the wonder of laying in bed trying to imagine what he or she looked like, etc. Thank you for reminding me about the good parts.

But for me, physically, it was hard....the constant nausea, heartburn, fatigue, the 'high risk' factors, developing GD, trying to show property when I have to pee a zillion times, and finally, being 8.5 mos pregnant in August in FL

I think if you have even a small desire to have another one, you'll probably be less bothered by the 'OMG I'm so exhausted I can hardly move' thing while being PG and already having a little one. The fact that I don't see very much good about the idea tells me I'm probably not interested in another. But I'm only 4 months out so I'm trying not to say yes or no for sure either way.

I had a pretty easy time conceiving, too; so for me the decision is less about 'let's try' than 'we will be having one.' Unless I'll be so old by that point it would actually be hard to conceive.

Heh, certainly sounds like you're not interested, but who knows what may happen in the future. At the end of the day, you have Em and no one says you need to have another if it's not on the cards! I just really want another because I am an only child...my mother actually almost died giving birth to me. Anyways, I grew up with my cousins a few houses away, so while I did have the only child upbringing, I still had pseudo-siblings that I grew up with. If we don't have another, Nick will truly be an only child, and while that's certainly not awful, I'd rather he have the companionship of a sibling. As I am older now, and I see how close my husband and his sister are, I really want to give that kinship and companionship to Nick.

I call Nick our 'little surprise' because we weren't trying at all But he decided he wanted us for parents, so I for one am so happy he surprised us!

I say 'try' for another cos I'm just not getting my hopes up...I'll be 38 in April (holy #######, when did that happen!!???) so I'm just trying to remain realistic.

[Autumnchik 6]

I am such a Baby Corner slacker lately. I always have tons of reading to do to catch up

Good information about the circumcision. We did not have an option of deciding, as Declan (like Kavi) had hypospadias and had surgery at 7 months to correct that, so he was automatically circumcised.

I am a slacker all around, as I haven't even started Xmas shopping yet. Declan's list for Santa is: airplane, car, truck, train .... so it shouldn't be too hard!

About the winter coat issue .... we live in a cold climate too. I usually have him wear a thin winter jacket we have and bring the thick one for outside play. We also keep lots of blankets in the car in case he needs extra bundling. I miss the days of the infant carrier and the blankets we had for that!

I am DYING to get pregnant again, and I feel a lot of stress about when to start trying. We keep pushing it back because of life circumstances, but I am also worried as I turn (gulp) 36 in a month and hubby is 47. I just started my new job a month ago and hubby will not be working for another year and a half. It would be financially tough to have a baby before he finishes school. Part of me worries that it will take forever to get pregnant, so maybe I should try now. But then it only took 4 months with Declan, and 4 months from now would be bad timing. Argh! Maybe I am just overthinking this

Anna - Wish you (and all the Baby Corner mommies) lived closer ..... we could totally have winter playdates. It is so hard around here in the wintertime if it is too cold to be outdoors. I live in a small town with minimal indoor activities for kids. I did read online about a children's museum that is about an hour away, so I will have to try that. Declan does do gymnastics on Saturday mornings now, so at least it gets us out of the house for a couple hours.

[chnst 6]

Mommies: our babysitter has just finished her first week. Ben had a cold so I told her to stay home with him this week, she has been asking for a carseat so that she can "take him out". Well she told my husband this am that she found an old carseat in her mom's attic (her mother is in her 80ies) and that next week she really wants to take Ben out for a ride, some errands, to her house to meet her dog etc. She lives 20 minutes away from us. And he said "sure!"

To be honest I really really don't want her to drive him around, take him to her appointments and run errands. The library or playground would be fine but I am the most paranoid mother in the world I don't think I could stop worrying where the heck he is when I am at work all day.

Do you think I am too crazy? She watches him 10-11 hours a day 2-3 times/week so I kind of understand that she doesn't want to be stuck in the house all the time. But so far we don't know her very well yet, I am so worried that she could get in an accident or just drag him all over town all day. How do I tell her in a nice way that I'd prefer her to only take Ben to child-related outings in her car?

She is really a great lady and Ben seems very happy when I get home so I really don't want to upset her.

Kelly: aww I love to bake with Ben. I'm so mad, my MIL has a huge dinner planned next wednesday. Both the hubby and I are off on Thanksgiving and I was really looking forward to our first thanksgiving in the new house (in fact our first Turkey day together bec hubby was always working in the past!). we were planning on going upstate next week to visit (its a 3hour drive) and now she has this dinner planned so we can't go home til thursday morning and I have to get up at 0430 friday so I guess we will be having leftovers for Thanksgiving. I tried to explain to her I'd like to have Thanksgiving with Ben and hubby but she is kind of selfish when it comes to that. Can't win. And I don't think the next few years we will ever get this lucky to be off of work together! oh well. I better get some good deals online to make up for that! I got my first paycheck today, yeaaah! It's so nice to have my own money again.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Yay Stef! Congrats on your first paycheck! Disappointing your not getting the thanksgiving you hoped for but theres ALWAYS comprimising when it comes to in laws right? lol Im so glad mine are in another country! haha

We didnt make cookies tonight bc Zaid was being awfully bad. He is getting out of control lately with hitting and idk what to do. He will raise his fist at you sometimes out of NOWHERE. If he doesnt like something you say he will come charging at me. I dont know if it has to do with being pregnant or just the age he is at but im about fed up with it.

[Eveline 9]

@Chnst: I can see where the babysitter is coming from. I babysit my friend's little girl and I told her that one of my 'requests' is that I can take her along with my kids. But that's the difference..I have kids and your babysitter doesn't. Hmm I think I'd ask her to write down or tell you in advance where she wants to go. That way you have some kind of control. Or maybe you can suggest her going to storytime, the playground etc on certain days. I'd also ask her to be back in time for a nap or some down time in the afternoon, just to keep some kind of routine. Have her call you and leave you a message from your homephone so you know she's back home or something like that. I'd also make sure she has a current carseat in her car even it's only a cheap costco scenera or something like that that keeps ben safe rather than an expired seat from way back when.

[tnh9479 1]

@Kelly It's the age. We are dealing with it nonstop. After a week of timeouts (more than 30) we resulted to spanking Hana. She would come up to Zak when mad and she wanted something, and push him face first into the floor. She finally knows it is "not nice to push" and says that when Zak pushes her away. She also now says not nice to me when I tell her no. She won't even be two until January. :{

[Vi Mazzella 4]

Chnst@ I babysat two kids here in NYC, they used to live in Manhattan and I used to take them with me all the time BUT it was something the mom wanted, I was ok abt staying at home with them but they had tons of activities to attend (swimming classes, music classes, playdates,etc) and the mommy was one of those Upper east side mom's (rich lady) who had lots of things to do. She called me every 30minutes to find out what we were doing, how were the kids, talked to them. I think if you don't feel comfortable abt her taking Ben you should tell her, you are mom and if you don't feel comfortable ith that tell her in a very nice way, you don't want to hurt her feelings.

We are talking abt baby #2, just talking.... maybe next year

[chnst 6]

thanks Evi&Vi! I understand her point of view but I don't want to pay her for taking care of Ben when she is running around all day doing her thing and he has to tag along. Plus I am so paranoid not knowing where he is and if he is safe etc. I have such a hard time trusting people with Ben. It's going to be so much worse with 2 I guess.. But that's a good point, I will have a talk with her about nap time, letting me know in advance where she is, calling the house etc. Thank you! We have a spare car seat, no way I would let her use whatever she found in the attic. OMG. haha. It's going to be a pain to install it every time because she is the only american I know who drives a 2 door car...

I thought having a babysitter is such an advantage over daycare because of the flexibility and sick days etc but at least I never had to worry about his safety while he went to daycare.

Anna: where do you order PO Vit K? Is that available in the US?

Kelly: that's normal. Ben doesn't do that thank God but he isn't going to daycare right now I'm sure he'd be doing the same thing. When he gets mad at us he tells me " I don't like you anymore" or "Go away" or even better "I throw you in the garbage" haha. We are very very serious and strict with him when he did that (although the first time I couldn't help but laugh) I tell him how much it makes me sad and hurts my feelings when he acts like that and that kind of shifts his attitude. Then I make him say sorry and if he doesn't - TIME OUT. He knows that it's going to have a consequence when he says mean things and he is trying to bite his lip, but he is only 2 so I guess its normal for that age to act out in that way. Hang in there!!

One thing I have learned from my MIL (she is probably the most patient woman in the world) is to try to distract them as soon as you sense a temper tantrum coming. She is so good at diverting his attention in a really calm way, she hardly ever has to use time outs with Ben. I really have to give her so much credit for that. But then again she has raised my hubby and she takes Zoloft, she must be friggin patient.

[Anna C. 4]

@ Kelly: It's normal. Jona has his phases when I really want to rip my hair out, and then he is fine again. Mostly when things are changing he gets more likely upset (like when we flew so much recently, changed locations all the time and different people). He had a biting stage, but it seems to be over now. It depends on the situation, but tantrum occur only when he is tired or hungry. So I let him graze a lot and know not to take him out close to nap time or lunch/dinner time. He calms down relatively quickly when I talk to him about the situation, like you have to get into your car seat now so we can go home and eat, like when I explain what's going on he accepts things more easily. With everything I say no to, I tell him why, which hubbie had to learn cause I find it important. Sure, I'm the parent and say don't touch the hot stove, but it helps a toddler to hear why it's not a good idea. I must say it does work for us. If he gets really mad, I remove him from the situation and take him to a calm, somewhat emptier place (like our guest bedroom, our staircase) and we sit down til he calms down. Then I say calmly what wasn't ok, that it makes me sad, and that usually does the trick. He unfortunately saw me cry twice last month (hormones!!! stress - I was stressed out about hubbie never being there, and I dealt with a whole lot of things, running the entire household and being sick forever, I felt really low) and he hates that, so he doesn't want to get mama sad. I feel really bad though that he saw me cry, cause he started crying to and probably thought it was his fault (it wasn't!). I think our children pick up way more than we think!

@ Steffi: I got it here last time and this time too: http://www.birthwith...1+%29Oral+Vit+K

Our birthing center uses the same stuff, but since there are 2 doses later in life I'm not willing to drive down to Denver for a drop of vitamin, I rather spend the money on the bottle. Maybe somebody else I know can use it after me! We used the same stuff with Jona and when he latched for the first time I put the drop on my nipple, so he took it in with a little colostrum. I'm not worried that it messes with the virgin gut like some people suggest.... My sister offered to get me Konakion (the oral stuff they use in Germany), but it's the same amount of vitamin K per drop in there and Konakion actually has some preservatives while this stuff is free of it, so I like it better!

Well daycare isn't really on my horizon right now, but I think it is ok for a sitter to take my child to the playground, story time or something, but in a safe car seat and she should give you her exact plan when to go where. She shouldn't be running errands, I completely agree, then she's not sitting really. I am considering some in-home daycare, like maybe 3 hours twice a week for Jona for me to get a break when the baby comes. It's usually 2-4 kids there. But we shall see... He can't do preschool til age 3 in town plus he needs to be potty trained, and that still feels like climbing Mount Everest to get there.

Oh - MIL drives a 2 door Explorer. What a PAIN. Each friggin time, get the kid onto the bench, then climb myself with my somewhat pregnant belly in there, get him into the carseat and repeat procedure to get out. I was cursing quietly during that week. I don't know how city dwelling Germans with small cars do this, and then even with like two kids in there. A 4 door car is a must. I LOVE the minivan, just push a button on the remote and the door slides open, pop toddler into car seat, all done. So accessible!

Edited November 20, 2010 by Anna C.