My family started out with a bang ~ twins. Right off the bat we had two children and within a year we were blessed with another. Just two years later our fourth came along and I suddenly found myself a busy mother of four under four.

 

Since these precious children have entered the scene, my life has become interesting. I'll use this blog to share with you what a mom of four has to become accustomed to. I hope you'll enjoy my wild ride.

Do husbands happy when their wives are pregnant?

Create your own Pregnancy Blogs here guys!  Talk about your triumphs and challenges throughout your next 40 weeks!  We want to hear them!

This morning I was working on the computer when our doorbell rang. It was one of our neighbors who asked if the bag of used clothes in the shared basement was ours and if it was meant for charity (they picked up used clothes today). I said that I had nothing to do with the clothes but she said they were little kids clothes. We are the only family in the building with small children so I started to think that maybe I had forgotten putting them there or that maybe it was our laundry or something. Anyway, I went to check and they were definitely not ours. The neighbor realized then that they were actually her son's. He is ten and these were baby/toddler/preschooler clothes. I guess her husband had sorted them and put them out without telling her and because it had been such a long time since her son (he is ten) had worn them she hadn't even recognized them!

While we were down there and looking through the stuff she asked me whether I would like to take some of them as she was getting rid of them anyway. Most of the clothes were in really good shape and I have no compunction at all about hand me downs (as long as they are decent etc.). I figure that any money I save in buying clothes I can spend on other things for the boys. And I have to say that my kids are REALLY hard on clothes (digging in the dirt, painting, spilling stuff) so we need a lot. So of course I said that I would be delighted to take anything that would fit the boys and I ended up with a big pile of stuff. Lots of shirts, sweaters, socks (we need those - somehow we always manage to lose one of each pair), pants, etc.

I didn't get much work done on the computer but it was still a productive morning. I sure save a lot of money today!

Sorry everyone. I haven't posted in a day or so. Not because there is anything wrong but because I have been exceedingly busy. Last night we had our committee meeting which lasted from 8 pm until past midnight. I am also way behind on all the preschool stuff I need to do (and strangely enough, the teachers just insist on their monthly salary). I also have some work to do that is on a deadline and with all the normal stuff going on, I didn't get much of a chance. Anyway, this is just a quick update. I hope to post more later on and tell you all about Benedict's first days of school - which did go quite well!

This is my first blog as I just joined today. After teaching Child Development, Child Psychology, and Adolescent Psychology, among other psychology courses, for the last 30 years, I will be forever grateful for my decision to change majors in college from English to Psychology because studying psychology made me a much better parent! I also have an M.A. degree in Foundations of Education (one of which is psychology) from G. Peabody College, now of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Coincidentally, I was born at Vanderbilt University's Medical School Hospital.

Anyway, teaching and studying psychology (yes, teachers have to study, too, especially college teachers!) helped me to be a better parent because I applied what I had learned from the field to raising my children. Basically, this included lots of physical affection, being positive and non-violent, using operant conditioning, working always to develop and enhance their self-esteem, and being consistent. By most definitions, I was a physically abused child, and I knew from the field of psychology that if we as parents don't make a daily, conscious effort to do things differently than our own parents, then we become the same type of parent our own were! That was a scary thought, and my chief parenting goal was to do better than my own parents. The field of psychology calls it "observational learning" in that our main parenting role models are our own parents, whose phrases, practices, attitudes, and methods we automatically repeat unless we work at doing things differently. (This is why we hear, for example, so many say, "I sound just like my mother!")

As I used to ask my psychology students, "How do you feel about your parents? Do you like them as people? Do you respect them? Do you only call or go home when you have to, or do you like to spend time with them? Because whatever you feel toward your parents is basically how your children will feel toward you assuming you become the same type of parents as your own as the field of psychology so rightly predicts." And unlike my own mother, who repeated the physical abuse she experienced and witnessed in childhood, one of the first things I decided against was the use of physical violence. I know how much such treatment negatively impacted my own self-esteem as well as my relationship with my parents, and to this day, even thinking about those beatings, decades later, turns my stomach into a knot. I hated my parents so much when I was victimized by their violence and wanted to literally kill them, and once grown up, I recognized that this entire cycle of negative emotions, fear, intense anger and hatred, followed by guilt had been seriously detrimental to my emotional health.

I know that physical punishment of children, although declining, is still widely practiced and accepted, at least here in the USA. But because something is accepted doesn't make it right. Slavery was accepted in this country for over 200 years. Did that make slavery right? Physical punishment is barbaric, bullying behavior, nor does it teach children to control their own behavior. Punishment teaches children to control their behavior in the presence of those who punish, at least sometimes, for fear of punishment, but the true test of parenting is whether or not our children can control their own behavior and live the values they've been taught...when they're NOT in our presence!!

I've read all the articles and books that talk about how every child is different and develops on a different timeline.  I've tried pretty hard not to compare Jaxon to other babies thus far, and to just focus on what he's doing.  But today, as I was settling him in at the daycare, I noticed this tiny little girl just standing there all by herself and then I watched her toddle of as if she's been walking since birth.  I've seen her before at the daycare but I always though she was so much younger than Jaxon because of their size difference.  People have seemed pretty amazed lately when they've asked how old he is.  I tell them he just turned one and their jaws drop - they always think he is at least two.  So that just makes it all the more difficult to understand why Jaxon isn't walking yet or hardly standing by himself.  It really makes me wonder what factors cause some babies to start walking at the turn of their first birthday and others to begin a little later.  I'm curious mostly because I remember when he first started to crawl.  It wasn't until he was about 9 or maybe 10 months old.  I had taken him to his well-baby check up and the doctor was a bit shocked that he wasn't crawling yet.  Then, the very next day he started crawling.  I wonder if maybe, inadvertently, I just haven't been encouraging him enough to do what he needs to be doing.  It makes me wonder if I don't constantly work at it with him, if he'll be a late talker too.  Not that I still wouldn't think he was perfect in every way... It just makes me wonder. 

After writing my first post, it occurred to me that perhaps I should provide a small background. I know most people reading this could care less about the minutiae of my daily life, but it seems prudent to touch on a few things that other women might find relatable.

I'm a comparatively young mom; I did not expect to get pregnant my senior year of college, but as I didn't see myself ever really feeling "grown up", I figured it was as good a time as ever to start a family. I graduated only barely before my son was born. Michael and I have weathered some serious storms in the three years we have been together- multiple layoffs (I'm currently unemployed, and finding it disappointingly difficult to find work as a young mom with a BFA), financial instability, starting a family, etc..., but we will be celebrating our first anniversary in August, and we've been rather lucky so far. Lucky enough to want to start again- I'm in the first trimester of another pregnancy right now (another thing potential employers aren't too keen on).

I wanted to write this blog because I don't have a community of moms, most of my friends are childless and unmarried- I love them, but I need another social outlet for my parenting concerns. I love helping other women, commiserating, venting, being part of a community that is otherwise out of the realm of possibility in modern life. Even living in the city, one can feel lonesome with only a toddler to cry to.

I'm always the first person my friends come to for objective advice, mostly because it's rather refreshing to try to work through someone else's problems... I get a little sick of hearing my own all the time, and I genuinely love helping them. I know that maternity only exacerbates many problems, and it's easy to feel alone and helpless.

I suppose it should also be known that I suffer from a mood disorder that I am unable to medicate when pregnant, and have thus devised an effective, if demanding, treatment schedule for it that involves meditation, nutrition and LOTS of writing. Yet another reason for the blog. 

Looks like I've rambled on long enough, but if anyone has any questions, concerns, or relatable experience, I'm always happy to hear from other parents.

Okay, I have calmed down since my last post. I do think I might have overreacted a bit. B. does have some problems with social situations (one of the main reasons I decided against our public school) but hopefully things will settle down. He does do a lot worse when he is stressed or unsure. Once he has settled in at school it should get better.

Anyway, I did mostly get out of my volunteer work. It is funny how we always think we can not be replaced (because noone could work as hard, be as dedicated etc.) but there is always someone to step up and take over. Actually, I wasn\'t really surprised as I have seen this happen often before (and not just concerning myself). Still, it was a lot easier than I expected. I am honestly relieved. Sure, I enjoyed many aspects of this job, and sure in some way it would have been nice to be more \"needed\". But above all, I really couldn\'t do it anymore and I am so glad that I don\'t need to feel guilty about leaving the preschool in the lurch. I got a nice, quiet new volunteer job (writing the minutes for the parent-teacher meetings) which shouldn\'t take much time and, above all, shouldn\'t give rise to any fighting, disagreements etc. Woohoo, I am very much relieved!!!

It completely baffles me that now, since I no longer work full-time and have become a stay-at-home mom, I have what seems to be only 10% of the time that I had in my pre-baby life.  When I was pregnant I often daydreamed of all te plans I would make to have a fun-filled day with my son complete with neat learning activities, playgroups and walks in the park.  Then I'd get a little me time while he napped and when my husband came home we'd sit down to a nice mean maybe watch a funny movie here and there.  HA!  What a lovely though.  I really don't know where the time goes, but when I look around my home it is quite obvious that it did not go into housekeeing.  And when I walk into the family room and find my little tot standing two inches from the big screen, gazing at it in amazent, it becomes painfully obvious that my time time my time has not gone to my son the way I had planned either.  Te past couple weeks I've been trying hard to split myself in two to prepare for my upcoming job interview, start my thesis, keep up with my photography and keep my family-home life in order.  I seriously feel like I'm going out of my mind sometimes.  My only hope is that I never lose sight of what is truly important - my family. 

So, in light of my recent feelings of complete overwelming "workload" I decided to take a break today and finaly take the little one to the playgroup we've been so excited about.  It felt great to leave my messy home and all the books and computer work and just romp around of the floor with all the kids.  I did, however, bring along my camera equipment.  All the fun is just not worth it if I can't look back at all the funny pictures.

The new year at the preschool has hardly started and already the jobs are piling up for me. You may remember that I do quite a bit of volunteer work there, mostly all the personnel stuff. In many respects I enjoy it. The people are nice, it is challenging work etc. But.... yep there are quite some buts. First of all, doing the personnal stuff means I am the one that has to tell the teachers that there will be no pay rise, that they can not have the day off etc. You guessed it, it doesn't make me Ms. Popularity. Unfortunately I hate any sort of confrontation (so what am I doing with HR?). Even worse though is the sheer amount of work that needs to be done.

I am seriously considering stepping down from my position. I feel horrible about it as I have only had it for one year and started with the understanding that I could do it for several years. But I had no idea how much time I would have to spend on this. Last year I worked about ten hours per week - if no new disaster struck. I have been kind of hoping that I could keep on doing it and just scale back on what I would do. Unfortunately, today I already spent an hour on the phone with preschool business and it was just preliminary stuff. I honestly don't think there is a way to get everything needed done on much less than 10 hours. There is no way that I can continue to spend so much time on it even if I wanted to. It was a major stretch last year and I am scheduled for four months of training starting in October which will mean that I am gone from home from 7:30 am to 1 pm every day. Add in household chores, taking care of the kids, applying for jobs, trying to make a little bit of money etc... I just have no spare time left.

Wednesday we are having a committee meeting. Hopefully, by that time I will have figured out what I want to do!

 

This morning we used a couple of the green (unfortunately they hadn't been properly covered by soil) potatoes we had dug up the other day. I cut them in half and cut out some nice designs. We then used paint to make some wrapping paper. B. enjoyed it quite a bit, J. definitely didn't. I couldn't quite figure out why as it is quite easy and he could fully participate. However, I remember that B. didn't like it last time (a year or so ago) either so maybe it isn't fun until the age of five or so?

In the afternoon we went on a fairly long walk to another little village. It took about an hour each way. J. rode in the stroller as he insisted and it really is quite a hike (and I refuse to carry him unless it is an emergency). It was a beautiful fall day, sunny though already a bit chilly. On the way there was lots of opportunity for adventure: looking for frogs in a pond (didn't find any today though), looking for fish in a small stream (several trouts) and climbing up on a hunting seat (not really what I like to watch). We also spent about an hour at a very nice playground where the boys played birds, went on the slide, played in the sandbox etc. All in all it was really fun.

 

 

Hello everyone. My name is Kristina. I am 24 years old and I live near Chicago, IL. This blog will walk you through my life (starting at the point where my fertility became a concern!).

When I was 15 years old I was having irregular periods and horrible cramps. Sometimes they were so bad I would miss 2-3 days of school. I went to see an Ob/Gyn for the first time. She ordered some ultrasounds and told me I had ovarian cysts. I was put on Orthotricycline. I was on the pill until I was 16, I tried them for over a year and it wasn't getting any better. My doctor then suggested a "new" method of birth control, Depo-Provera. She said some side effects included hair loss and weight gain, but NO MORE PERIODS, therefore no more pain. I was thrilled...16 and not having to wear tampons or pads anymore...woohoo, at that point I was not sexually active so the 99.9% chance of not getting pregnant meant nothing to me. After getting 3 injections over a 9 month period I had to stop...I had gained almost 50 lbs! I went from 125 to 175 in that short of time and non of my habits (eating, exercise) had changed. I started to become depressed and felt disgusting. Now mind you, I am 5'7" so I wasn't really heavy looking...but I felt huge. I started not eating which I knew was wrong but I was so upset I wasn't hungry. I didn't lose any weight, in fact over the next couple of years my weight peaked at 225, I have since lost about 13 lbs (partially due to food poisoning about a year ago).

After I stopped the shot she said my period would return but it could take as long as 2 years. Still no biggie. I started dating Hilario when I was 17 and our relationship became intimate pretty quickly (we had already been really good friends for almost 3 years at that point). In December of 2002 I was having pain in my abdomen. I went to the doctor and she ordered an ultrasound. She called me into her office in January 2003 and told me I had a dermoid cyst, the size of a grapefruit, on my left ovary. It needed to be removed and there was a chance it would be cancerous. So in March of 2003 I went in and what they found was not a dermoid cyst. It was a VERY infected fallopian tube, they had to remove it but were able to save my ovary. My doctor explained that now I would have a 50% chance of ovulating on the right side every month to conceiving would be more difficult. Once I was told that Hilario and I decided to started ttc.

In 2005 Hilario and I were married, still no pregnancies, or period! I went back to the doctor because I knew it was not healthy to go without a period for more then a year! She prescribed me Medroxypregesterone and Clomid. Well, I took those medications until 2007, not once did I ovulate. I finally got a really good job with excellent insurance that paid for Infertility. My doctor ordered all the preliminary tests that needed to be done for Hilario and myself. We were finally ready to make an appointment to see the fertility specialist. In March of 2008 we went in to see the doctor. He ordered an HSG which revealed the reason I was not ovulating (besides the fact that my ob/gyn never told me I had PCOS) was because my right fallopian tube was completly blocked, so pregnancy was not possbile without help. He sarted me on Metformin (for PCOS, help my lose weight, and my insulin was kind of high). He then had me take a month of birth control. I went to his office on day 2 of my period for baseline bloodwork and ultrasounds and then the fun began!

In May of 2008 the specialist had me start twice daily injections of Lurpon, which is a medication that stops early ovulation. I was taking 10 iu's twice a day. Then on day 7 he had me start 75 iu's of Follistim twice a day. After about 5 days of this he lowered my Lupron to 5 iu's twice and day and raised my follistim to 100 iu's twice a day. 3 days later he raised my follistim again, this time to 150 iu's twice a day. On March 29th I gave myself the trigger injection and went in to day surgery on June 1st for my retrieval. After the procedure I was told that no eggs were retrieved. The trigger shot had not done its job and the eggs were still attached to the follicles. We were so upset.

Due to the thick lining of my uterus from all the medications in June I got my period. I went in for a couple of tests because the specialist thought he saw something in my uterus that could cause a problem, it was nothing. In late June I had a medical emergency and had to take some time off work, so I asked the doctor if I could try the medications again. He stated he usually prescribes a cycle of estrogen and prometrium between cycles but due to my scheduling he agreed to try again and on July 14th I started my period (with the help of the medroxyprogesterone this time.) This time he gave me a VERY dilluted form of Lurpon and started me at 5 iu's twice a day. He then started me at 150 iu's of follistim twice a day. This time things were happening quicker. Last time I was on the stimulation medications for almost 13 days, this time I was ready in 8. On July 24th I took the trigger injection and on July 26th I went in for the retrieval. This time the news was great. 14 eggs were retrieved, 10 were mature. On Sunday he called me to report that of the 10, 7 had fertilized. 5 made it to the transfer day of July 29th. They transferred 2 and were able to freeze 2 others three days later. I then had to go through the 2 week wait, which is UNBEARABLE!

I sat around and was afraid to cough, sneeze, hiccup, or anything else. My husband would not allow to do ANYTHING, which was sweet, but rather annoying at times. I was due to have my blood test on 8/11/08 to find out if the iVF was a success or not. The Friday before (8/8/08) we bought some HPT's and I took one...one line showed very faint and the other dark. The next day I did it again...only 1 line. I was frustrated so I made my husband by me a digital test...I took it and within 15 seconds it flashed PREGNANT. I was super excited. Monday the 11th I went in for the blood work and sure enough they called me that evening and said "Its good news!" I was sooo excited I wanted to scream!

So as of now (9/11/08) I am 7 weeks and 6 days pregnant. I have had some spotting and some cramping but I have ultrasounds every weeks with the specialist and the baby is growing like it should and the heart is at 146 bpm and sounds strong and healthy.  A couple of days ago a VERY close friend of mine sent me a text saying she had lost her baby. She has 2 girls, one is 7 and one is 2, this was going to be her boy, she was due to go in on 9/16/08 and have him delivered by c-section like she did with her other two, but she went into labor on 9/8/08 and he was stillborn, so RIP Aayden Paul-Michael! That made me so sad and scared. I can't imagine that feeling, having to go home to a nursery you won't be using, it broke my heart.

I am going to include my blood work results in this blog so you can see my progress and if you are going through anything similar you can compare. Take care and if you want to chat let me know!

 

Date:                                   HCG:                          Estradiol:                      Progesterone:

8/11/08                               97                                1983                              107

8/15/08                               595                               2800                              158

8/22/08                               4732                              3071                              195

8/28/08                               12715                            2273                              163

9/4/08                                 27325                            2123                              92 

 

We are really struggling with bedtime/getting up in the morning now. As we skipped naps, Johnny did go to sleep by seven yesterday and I think we are well on track there (of course he is a morning person and that makes it easier). I also managed to shave about an hour off the time when Benedict goes to bed but it was still 9:30 pm. Now he has gone to bed for a while around nine and was fine in the morning but today he was again so hard to wake up. It takes me the longest time to even get him to hear me and as I don't get up that early myself my patience wears out fairly quickly. I pretty much end up dragging him out of bed and getting him straight out of the door. No wonder he is grumpy as can be! However, to have more time I would have to wake him even earlier.

I guess I am mostly concerned because we have all these problems in order for us to get out of the house around eight. Next week he will have to be at the bus station a couple minutes before seven (departure is 7:02 but I definitely do not want him to miss the bus as I do not have a car and if he misses the bus he can't go to school that day).  Which means he will have to get up at 6:20 at the latest. Once he starts school he will have to eat at least some breakfast before he goes. I usually let him go to preschool without breakfast because they have a second breakfast there fairly early on (around 9:15) and Benedict doesn't like to eat right after he gets up.

Anyway, there are some fairly big chances ahead. Hopefully, everything will work out fine.

 

I'll start by introducing the family to everyone.  I'm a 25 year old wife, stay at home mom, and college student.  I'm not even sure if I actually qualify as a stay at home mom since I do go to school.  I have two beautiful daughters Summer and Cayle.  Cayle is pronounced Kale as in the green leafy thing that nobody seems to eat or buy for that matter.  Everyone always gets her name wrong and it irritates me, but I guess I should have seen that coming when I spelled her name the way I did.  Summer is 2 going on 3 in December.  Cayle is 1 going on 2 in February.  Yes, they are that close together, 14 months apart.  I was pregnant for almost 2 years.  I don't recomend it for anyone else.  My husband is Cale and his profession is an aircraft mechanic.  You would think, wow, he must really bring home the bacon.  He could, but where we live they are paid almost nothing.  So, we're living on one income that's barely sustaining us, but somehow we get by.  I give mad props to all the stay at home moms, especially those who, like me, live pay check to pay check wondering which bills they're going to pay and which ones will have to wait.  We make choices like; food or diapers, electricity or phone, and rent or eh, you get my point.  Cale and I call our family ' our little nuclear family'.  I have no idea why, but we do.  My family is always being faced with some sort of disaster or problem. . . it seems like nothing can ever run smoothly.  I'm sure a lot of you feel that way, too.  I, however, enjoy hearing (or reading if you want to get technical) other people's woes.  I find it amusing and relatable.  Maybe you will to.  So come back often and get to know us!

Hello everyone. I am new to this site. My name is Chris and I am 33 years old. I am a single father of four kids. I have 3 sons aged 7,6, and 2. I also have a daughter that is 10. My story goes like this, the edited version. I had a bad past with battling addiction and served my time for my crime. I was imprisoned for one year but seen my kids every weekend. There is a great deal more behind all that but I try to keep the past in its place. I was paroled May 8th of 2007 and on Fathers Day of that year my wife of 10 years leaves. She left in the middle of the night out the back door. She ended up in Arizona with someone she met off the internet. I am not troubled by her leaving me. The trouble is there are no birthday cards, no Christmas cards......nothing. So now its just me going up againmst 4 kids and feel like pulling my hair out at times....hence why its cut short. But in all seriousness I feel like I am fighting a neverending uphill battle. I dont know what to do. I get pulled in four directions every day. Every day brings a new challenge, but yet seems like the movie Groundhog Day.

It's been 7 years since I first gave birth, but the labor that I went through during that time is still very vivid in my memories. It was a typical Wednesday, my scheduled pre-natal check-up. My stomach was around 38 weeks then, but it never occurred to me that it would be the start of an excruciating process called labor.

During the whole 9 months of my pregnancy, my friends and relatives who already gave birth kept describing me how labor felt. Some said it was painful, others said it was bearable, while a few said that they hardly noticed that they were already going through the process. Although bits of information regarding labor were already given to me, still I had no single clue as to how it will start for me.

Around 2pm, I got dressed to go to the hospital for my scheduled pre-natal visit. When I arrived, there were already expecting moms outside, waiting for their numbers to be called. Why there’s a number? Because I was in a public hospital, where many patients were being entertained everyday. Moving on, I got my number and waited for my turn. It took me an hour before I was accommodated. But that’s understandable; anyhow it was a FREE prenatal checkup.

Okay, so after entering the room, the obgyne looked at my record and she immediately instructed me to lie down so she can conduct an internal exam, or better known as IE. I felt nervous because I heard rumors that IE is a bit uncomfortable. And indeed, it was. After inserting two fingers, the doctor then asked me if I was feeling anything, like painful contractions of some sort. I said no. She was surprised because according to her my cervix was already open, 2cm if I remembered it right.

2cm what? I did not react in an instant because I had no clear idea what that meant. So, the doctor explained that I was already going through labor, and that I should not leave the hospital anymore because I can give birth in a couple of hours. After hearing that, fear invaded me in an instant. So, what will happen next? Should I stay or should I leave? My husband then didn’t have a clue as to what was happening so I told the doctor that I need to inform him first. The doctor allowed me, but only after I signed the paper indicating that if anything happened to me, they would not be responsible.

While on my way home, a lot of things were running through my mind. Why there’s no pain? Where will we get money for the hospital fee? We were not yet prepared for that, though we already have some of the baby things that we need. But what I feared the most was the thought that I’ll be giving birth in just a couple of hours. After 9 months of waiting, finally, the time has come. I was scared, yes, but I was excited at the same time because I wanted to see my baby already.

When I arrived home, my husband was not there so I just contacted my sister in law. She told me to just go to the hospital and we will meet there. So I got my stuff, (nice idea that I already put my things and the baby things inside the bag), rented a tricycle, and off I went. Upon arrival at the hospital, my sis in law was already there and she was asking me if I was already in pain. I said no, and she guided me towards the emergency room. The attendant took my information, checked my record, and told me to proceed to the delivery room. At exactly 5pm, I was admitted at the hospital.

I was nervous the whole time, especially when I started seeing other moms going through labor. Some have happy faces, while others have “can’t explain” faces. I was one with a happy face, but one of the student nurses said that in a couple of hours, I’d belong to the “can’t explain faces”. She got my blood pressure, and told me that I have rather high bp, 160/100. She asked if I was tired, I said not much. She told me to relax and that she’ll again check my bp. Second check, still 160/100. The doctor now explained to me that they’d have to give me medications because I was experiencing pre-eclampsia. I did not understand what it means so she explained further.

(For expecting moms out here, I advise that you ask your doctors about this condition. Or if you want to know more, you can check the web for information.)

Okay moving on, the doctor injected something in my IV, I forgot the name, all I could remember was I felt so hot after that. She said that it would prevent convulsion. Aside from that, I was injected with this big syringe at my upper thing, or perhaps buttocks. I was injected every 6 hours, if I remember it right, until my bp return to normal. Then, I also remembered having a catheter because I was not allowed to move to and fro and tire myself from walking around.

At 7pm, another IE was done. It was 4cm. The doctor said that my progress was rather slow, so she induced me. At 8pm, there I started feeling the painful contractions. Long interval at first. But after a few more hours, around midnight, I could feel the contractions coming at a closer interval. The contractions were too painful. I could hardly bear them. But all the time I was just thinking about my baby, that I wanted to see her already. I kept praying during that time, asking for strength.

 

Then came 5am, the pain was too much already. I cried out in pain and told the nurse to again check if I was fully dilated, they said it should be 10cm. The doctor told me to lie down, I obediently opened my legs, and when checked, yep it was 10cm. Just in time for the baby to come out. The doctor told me to push, I did with sound, She told me that I was doing it the wrong way. So, again I pushed, this time with my mouth closed. The doctor already felt my baby’s head, but I stopped from pushing. I was tired. I was out of breath. I was in pain. But I was not ready to give up, so for the third time, I pushed really hard. Then, suddenly I felt the baby’s head came out, and the full body followed.  I was tired. I was in pain. But I felt relieved. Joyful. Excited. And then the doctor laid my baby on my chest. It was an indescribable feeling of being a CERTIFIED MOM.

 

My first labor experience is truly a memorable one. How about you? Feel free to leave a comment and share your story.

Many parents keep their memories about their children. Well, when i was pregnant i also think about it. I am so excited about this whole things. Julia is my first baby and it's been so long before i had her. So i keep all the memories she have when she was still baby. This are the things we have done:

Picture her Every month

      We always picture her every month because i want to see the changes on her face and body. Now, looking all those picture makes me say "She is more beautiful girl'

Keep her First Cutted nails

      Grand Mother advice us to keep the first cutted nails. It will help Julia to know every thing when she is still a baby.

First Cutted Hair

      I keep the first cutted hair. I want to show Julia on how she causes me too much stretchmark
because of her hair. ha! ha! ha! Seriously i want her to see and touch her first hair

Keeping Baby clothes

      Aside from the reality that we can use it again. I also want to show how cute she is.

Drawing of feet and hand

        We drew her feet and hand so that she can see the big changes she had done.

There are still many things we keep to remind Julia about her first year on earth

 

Does anyone else love watching their tummies? From one day to the next right now it seems to get bigger and change. It's truly an exciting time for me. I remember the first time I heard my babies heartbeat at a check up. Hearing the 'dom dom dom dom dom' sound made everything so much more real for me! Everytime I go for a check up, hearing my baby's heartbeat is also rather reassuring.

 

Just to think that there is a life inside you, growing and maturing, a little human who is alive and real is just mindblowing to me. 

 

To every Mother and expectant Mother out there, I salute you! There is no greater achievement than your children.

 

Quality Time with your Child

Spending time in the same four walls is not enough. You should be interacting with your child on an emotional and bonding level. This is the quality time that children desire and deserve. Life takes its toll on all of us with its curving ups and downs. Do not let that keep you from putting on a smile and spending time playing, reading or other fun activities. Take a trip to the park and enjoy pushing your little one on the swings. Take a trip to the zoo and tell them about the animals. Take a swim at the local pool or swimming area together. Take a trip to the library to check out books to read to your child together.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to spending quality time with your child. Most children are not so wrapped in what you do, as they will joyfully remember that you did it consistently. 

I am pregnant and starting to have doubts about whether to keep the baby. The father of the kid is not being nice. We really have only been dating for a few months or so. He absolutely does not want this child. He is being a real jerk already. I really could care less about him marrying me, and I have no grand fantasties of us being together. However, I do care about the quality of life that my child would have with a father that does not want to be around.

I was raised by a single mom and it was not easy. To be perfectly honest, it's still not easy. We have lived poor for most of our lives. Her dreams and education were cut short by having a baby unprepared and I am worried that mine will be too. Besides my concern for my future, I am concerned for the quality of life I could give the child.

The only reason that I would keep the child is because it "the right thing" to do. But really, I don't want it. Abortion is a tough option, but it may be the better option. Today is a depressing day for me, and I am just not sure what to do.

Maybe tomorrow will be better...

I read an interesting thread in a forum that gave me an idea for this post. Basically, someone asked what the best part of pregnancy was.

Let's see. It is easy to come up with many things that weren't so great: Nausea (luckily not too bad), the constant need to pee (I think I know every bathroom in West LA), shortness of breath after climbing two steps (slowly) and an excruciating backache towards the end of pregnancy (not even to mention delivery itself - ouch!) are just a couple things that come to mind. Don't get me wrong. I was ecstatic to be pregnant but let's face it the physical side effects are not all positive.

Many of the other posts put shopping (maternity clothes and baby clothes) or increased attention from their husbands down as the main positives. Now I am NOT into clothes shopping for myself and the thought of spending money on stuff I would only be wearing for a couple of months was definitely not a highlight for me. Baby clothes are cute but not only was money a bit of an issue but I am also a worry wart and was a bit afraid of jinxing things by getting too many things before the baby was safely born. The husband thing of course didn't work as I am a single mom (wouldn't have minded a foot rub though!).

Still, I did come up with a couple of good points:
- Funny as it may sound, I loved showing off my big belly.

- I think it is just the greatest thing to feel the baby kicking inside of you (well, maybe not so much towards the end of pregnancy when baby confuses your bladder with a soccer ball)

- The biggest thing for me (and I know I am in the minority) were the pregnancy hormones. For some reason they made me feel as if I were on some major drugs (not that I would know how that feels but I do have my imagination). Things that would usually upset me no end didn't bother me at all. I just felt like everything barely concerned me. I have to say I could use some of that calmness in my everyday life!

 

How about you? What part of pregnancy (if any) did you enjoy most?

Poor little Jake is still stuffy & congested.  Today you could just tell he doesn't feel well.  I guess my positive attitude, just hoping he was only teething again, didn't work this time.  It looks like he has a cold.  And I think he is losing his poor little voice.  When he cries, he whines a bit & his voice cracks.  I'm going to call the advice nurse tomorrow, just to be sure I'm not missing anything.  He doesn't seem to have a fever, but it's so difficult to tell with the ear thermometer....he screams & turns his head back & forth so quickly, it's almost impossible to hold it in long enough to get a reading and with the underarm one....he wiggles & cries so much I feel like I'm poking him with it.  We'll see how he's doing tomorrow.  As for me, my throat is hurting and tonight I have a sinus headache.  Maybe he & I can get some extra rest tomorrow.  Laney & Dave are doing OK right now.  Dave & I took our airborne tonight.  I like the nighttime one, apple cider flavor and a good feeling of getting a lot of extra vitamins.  Hopefully the sickies will get better quickly before the healthies get sick too!

 

Hi All,

 

I was hoping some of you moms with infants could help me out. I will be seeing my granddaughter in about ten days for the first time in almost a month. I'm already getting so excited about it! I would like to bring her a gift and want some suggestions of a toy that would be age appropriate for a 3 ½ month old.  I have a hazy recollection of what my kids liked at that age, but I know there are so many new things available now, and I'm wondering what you have found that you love for your babies.

 

Her parents tell me that my little sweetie is grabbing for things now and becoming more and more aware of what is going on around her. It would be great if I could find something that would keep her attention for a few minutes and give her mom a little break. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

So my daughter has now entered a stage that is quite scary for me - almost walking!  We've had several bumps and bruises along the way, and my husband assures me there will be even more in our future.  It just kills me whenever she gets hurt!  Wednesday we went to the library and she slipped and bumped her head against the plastic crate that holds books.  She got a little gash under her eye, and I felt just awful.  How do you deal with the bumps and bruises of life?  Do you feel guilty about them?  

When my baby's nanny told me about my mom-in-law cutting my 9-month old baby's hair days back, I freaked out! Who wouldn't? As far as I know, babies should not have a hair cut until they reach 1 year old. I don't really know the main reason, but some of my friends said that baby will have speech difficulty when given a haircut prior to 1 year. I know, I know it's an old wives' tale, but then still I didn't like what my mom-in-law did because in the first place she didn't ask me whether it's ok for me to cut my baby's hair or not.

 

So let me ask you, will you let your baby's hair cut before she/he turns 1? Hope to hear comments from you.

I think Benedict was pretty happy with his presents. Remember, he isn't too much into toys so I mostly got him arts and crafts stuff.

 

The biggest birthday present was of course the book bag with accessories that he needs for school. He like it, but of course he was there when we bought it so it was hardly a surprise. Johnny however had a blast playing with the school bag today.

 

A friend of mine got Benedict a really cute apron with a frog on it. Again, he liked it but Johnny was the one who really enjoyed it. That little one is really into dressing up and pretend play.

 

Benedict got a bunch of soft stones (soapstones?) with files and sandpaper. You can cut/file the stones into different shapes. Be sure though to put a wet towel underneath or you will have a tremendous mess on your hands as the fine stonedust will go everywhere.

 

The next presents were two jigsaw puzzles. A smaller one from Grandpa's girlfriend that is quite fun, and a big one that we will do together.

 

The boys also got a game where you have to solve riddles and then collect the correct wooden objects from a pile. They liked it, but I am not sure if it will be worth the money. There are only a very few riddles, and the boys will soon have memorized them. Still, you can also decorate the wooden objects and that might be fun. Also, for Johnny it is nice because it is easy enough for him to play, and he gets easily frustrated with some of our other games.

 

The last present was a construction set. You take out a bunch of precut wooden pieces that you stick together to build a total of three models (plane, truck, boat). Benedict definitely needs help with those (the instructions are pretty bad) but enjoys it very much. I would say so far that is his favorite amongst the gifts.

 

Preschool kids are capable of learning a lot of life lessons from stories and applying them to their own lives. I have often used books as a parent and a teacher to help illustrate concepts like perseverance, friendship, and respect. The discussions that followed a reading of these tales were enlightening for my listeners and me, as well. I was also able to remind my four and five year olds about some of their favorite storybook characters when they were faced with a difficult life situation. When they worried about the first day of school or a visit to the doctor, for example, we would reread some of the Berenstain Bears books that covered those topics. When they were tempted to give up on a difficult task, we talked about the Little Red Hen and the work she had to do in order to eat a delicious loaf of bread. Here are some of my favorite books for four and five year olds that provide entertainment and food for thought at the same time.

 

Ø      Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

This classic tale is a perfect illustration of how hard work and determination can lead to success. It has the drama and tension of a race against time and a very satisfying ending.

 

Ø      Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel

This is part of an entire series about Frog and his friend Toad, two endearing and comical characters. Despite the fact that they are written in a simple vocabulary that is great for beginning readers, these books contain many concepts that teach valuable lessons about life and friendship.

 

Ø      Bedtime for Francis by Russell Hoban and Garth Williams

Kids (and their parents) will surely identify with the struggle that goes on between Francis and her dad at bedtime. She tries every excuse she can think of to avoid going to bed (a drink, a light on, a door open, etc). The whole situation is handled with love and humor.

 

Ø      If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

This is a humorous story about a mouse that is never satisfied with what he receives. He keeps asking for more and more until his human friend is completely exasperated. A great discussion starter about setting boundaries and being grateful.

 

Ø       Ø      The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

I remember reading this one with my mother when I was a preschooler, but it has not lost its magic over the years. The little train that says "I think I can, I think I can," can still inspire youngsters trying to master a difficult skill.

 

 

I'm not sure if it was the pears, the apple juice or the water...but Jake had a huge poop this morning.  I'm hoping that we've gotten through our first bout with constipation.  But since I know nothing happens quite like I plan, I'm probably wrong!  When I looked at his food from lunch yesterday, I was happy to see that it wasn't a mixture with banana.  It was actually a mixture with pears, which were recommended in the www.babycenter.com article I had posted yesterday.  Then I fed him the same pear & strawberry mixture for dinner.  I mixed it with oatmeal that I had made with apple juice & formula.  He really liked it and I hoped it helped him.  He woke up to eat about 1am, just as I was heading to bed and then ate again at 7:30am, so it was a pretty good night for him.  Today I think I'll give him the apricots for lunch.

 

We've got to go pick up Laney from her last camp of the summer in a little while.  Today she started Miley Dance Camp, she was so excited.  It's a 1/2 day camp for 4 days with a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus theme.  She loves everything Hannah or Miley and gets to dress up and do her hair like a rockstar in the morning then at camp they put sparkly spray in it and teach them a couple dances to her favorite songs.  Of course we were in a hurry before her friend's parents picked her up this morning to get the hair all "rockstar" before she left.  Today's "do" was a pony tail high on one side, very cute.  I don't know what to do tomorrow or how to do it 4 different ways this week.  But I've got so many other things going on that will have to wait until tomorrow.  Maybe she'll see someone today and want to do it that way tomorrow, that will save my brain cells thinking about hairstyles for 7 year olds!

I was never the girly, girl who enjoyed doing my own hair and make-up.  My sisters would sit at their vanities for what seemed like hours doing their hair.  They would experiment with curly styles, straight styles, up-do's, and braids.  I was always totallty exasperated by the whole process.  I wasn't patient enough to figure out how to use the round brush or figure out how to "tease" my hair to make it "big."

Now I have two girls...with hair.  Not just any hair either.  See, I married a black man and inherited his child from a previous marriage.  She has nappy hair...curly, course, nappy hair.  A lot of it.  We have one child together.  Her hair is a little bit different but its still curly, very, very curly.  Doing their hair is one thing I can really, truly say I loathe.  They are both what folks call "tender-headed."  I think every child is tender headed, but what do I know? 

Doing hair, I can safely say, is nobody's idea of a good time in our house.  With the youngest, she's five, first comes the bargaining.  "Please, Mommy.  Let's do it tomorrow."  Sometimes tomorrow becomes next week.  I'm a sucker and I don't want to do it either.

Woman-child wants to be cool.  My hair styles are not that cool but they'll do in a pinch.  She really loves it when a black woman intercedes on her behalf, offering in a kind but slightly condescending way to do her hair.  Usually it starts with a look I can't quite describe, then a comment something to