new babies and old friends

Yay Em!!! Glad things are getting happier!!!
Kat
Mama to Maggie 11/03/01
and #2 EDD 02/01/04


"Em" wrote in message
news:a3Mzb.424251$Tr4.1198953@attbi_s03...
"Mary" wrote in message
snip
And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or
skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your
families? One of the most valuable part of this board, I think, is the
number of not-pregnant women who stay in the community, whether to give
advice, follow friends' progress, live vicariously, or cheer each other
on.

Lann is almost 11 weeks old now! I'm still lurking/checking in here and a
bit on MKB as well. I feel like I'm getting used to this whole mothering
thing at last :-) I had a few weeks where it felt so *hard,* but I feel
like
I got into the swing of things and everything is peachy now. Also, I cut
dairy out of my diet and, maybe it is coincidence, but Lann almost
immediately became a happier baby. I felt like from about 3-6 weeks that
he
was constantly unhappy and fretful--not much real crying, but
near-constant
grumbliness. I felt like something was bothering him. Anyway, things are
wonderful now overall! He smiles and "talks" like crazy! We've had a few
hints of giggles, but nothing really definite. He loves to ride around on
my
hip facing outward and pumps and pumps his legs and arms to "steer" me
around. DH & I & the extended family think he is the cutest thing *ever*
(of
course!).

I don't want to jinx myself, but so far he has been a really good sleeper
as
well. He goes to bed for the night sometime between 7:30 and 10:00 and
then
sleeps until somewhere between 7:00 and 8:30. He nurses up to two times
during the night, but for the most part only does so at about 2:00 in the
morning and again at 6:00 or so (which I don't count as a night-time
feeding). He doesn't even open his eyes during his night time feedings, so
it barely feels like it counts as night waking. Since he has been born, he
has only had one occasion where he cried in the night and had to be
soothed
back to sleep. I was a bit taken off guard by the fact that he doesn't
usually like to nurse to sleep at bedtime. Sometimes he does, but more
often
DH bounces him to sleep for bedtime on the birth ball. That has felt a
little discouraging to me at times, but I've heard about enough other
babies
that *must* be nursed to sleep, that I feel like I'll probably be glad in
the long run.

He has his first cold and so has been a bit cranky for the last two days.
Poor baby :-(

As for other things, I've started to pick back up more elements of my "old
life." I usually manage to squeeze in my daily yoga practice, have done a
few shifts at my volunteer job, and am working on my various business
pursuits.

--
Em
mama to Lann, 10.5 weeks old

"Mary" wrote in message
snip
And not-so-new moms, whether you're a beloved member or lurking or
skimming or occasionally checking in, how is everything going with your
families? One of the most valuable part of this board, I think, is the
number of not-pregnant women who stay in the community, whether to give
advice, follow friends' progress, live vicariously, or cheer each other
on.

I can't believe it but Annika is already a month old! The first two weeks
were wonderful, because DH was home with me, and a dear friend of mine also
flew across country to help me get settled into parenthood. Both the friend
and my DH were great about taking care of the housework and making sure I
was fed. The baby slept a reasonable amount and I was able to concentrate
on recovering from delivery and getting used to the idea I was finally a
mommy. Week number three was hard, because my in laws came out for a visit
just as DH went back to work, and his parents were definitely more guests
than help. In retrospect DH and I should have been less accommodating to
their needs and more selfish about what worked for us, in terms of their
visit, since by the time they left my energy levels and good cheer had
sagged quite a bit.

OTOH, having a stressful week with the in laws meant that my first week
alone during the day with the baby -- week 4 -- was something I looked
forward to rather than dreaded! After having so much company, being alone
is nice. Annika nurses well and in general is a great baby -- at least
during the day! Unfortunately, she's begun experiencing that spike in
evening fussiness that often happens starting at around 3-4 weeks. I hate
to utter the dreaded "c" word (colic), but last night she screamed from 8 pm
until almost midnight. I'm hoping that it's a short phase, though, and
grateful that she's growing so fast and seems happy in the mornings and
afternoons, at least.

And even though the evening crying jags are frustrating, I'm still floating
on a "nonpregnancy high": not having swollen feet, indigestion, heartburn,
and backaches is SO WONDERFUL! And I can have a glass of wine at night with
dinner again! Yes, I'm sleep deprived, but I was having a terrible time
sleeping starting around week 30 of the pregnancy, so that's not anything
new. I know some women miss being preggers, but for me, having a
semi-colicky infant is much preferable, LOL!

Erin, mamma to 4-week-old Annika

Hi-dee ho, folks. I'm an old old old timer, starting from 6-7 years back
and periodically since then, some times with lots of posts and sometimes
with long periods in between. I've been lurking the past few days, seeing
if there is anyone around that I remember.

My history in brief -- 8 pg losses -- 1 late term loss at 24 weeks due to
major physical anomalies back in 1998, 5 chemical pregnancies (lost between
3-5 weeks) and 2 blighted ovums (lost around 8-10 weeks, the heart never
began to beat). We did a donor egg IVF (one of the blighted ovums) and a
regular IVF (negative) and finally moved to adoption in 2002. Six months
later we brought home our daughter Taylor Marlys, who turns one year old
today, and I guess that puts me in a reflective mood.

What along strange trip it's been. I've said it before and I'll say it
again, I truly ended up with the baby I was meant to have. She just had to
come to me through another woman's uterus. She is exactly the baby that I
always imagined that dh and I would make together. We couldn't have made a
better baby ourselves. She's beautiful, she looks like us (not a necessity,
but a nice perk), she's cheerful and happy and smiles all the time. I never
envisioned this as my path to being a mother, but I always kept sight of the
goal, being a mother. And it has been the most awesome thing ever -- as
wonderful, hard, scary, and WONDERFUL as I always imagined it would be. It
is the best thing on the planet, and I'm so glad that I'm getting to do it.
I can't imagine my life without children in it. Having Taylor has truly
helped to heal the past 5 years of losses and depression. I'll never forget
my son, Nathan James, or the other 7 losses, but Taylor makes them all seem
worth it, to get to her.

We're planning to start the process again to adopt another baby after we get
our tax refund back, probably in April. I am excited and scared, just like
any soon to be mother of 2. How long will it take? Will we have a boy or a
girl? How will it be, practically speaking, to have 2 kids in the house?
How will I cope with the lack of sleep and running around chasing a toddler,
etc. I have no worries about the love factor...that's the easy part.

Anyway, just thought I'd pop in to say hi. "Hi." Now I've got to go make a
birthday cake.

Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03
Celebrating today, like no other.

Check out Taylor Marlys -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clark_guest,
Password: Guest
Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

Handmade Baby Blankets -- www.geocities.com/digit_the_cat/Blankets.html

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Hi-dee ho, folks. I'm an old old old timer, starting from
6-7 years back and periodically since then, some times
with lots of posts and sometimes with long periods in
between. I've been lurking the past few days, seeing
if there is anyone around that I remember.

Hi Jamie,
Great to hear from you! I'm glad things are going so well. Happy
Birthday to Taylor and good luck with adopting #2!
--
Cheryl S.
Mom to Julie, 2 yr., 9 mo.
And Jaden, 3 months

Cleaning the house while your children are small is like
shoveling the sidewalk while it's still snowing.

"Jamie Clark" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Hi-dee ho, folks. I'm an old old old timer, starting from 6-7 years back
and periodically since then, some times with lots of posts and sometimes
with long periods in between. I've been lurking the past few days, seeing
if there is anyone around that I remember.

Hi!!!!


Taylor Marlys, who turns one year old
today, and I guess that puts me in a reflective mood.

1 yr old - oh my goodness Time flies.

We're planning to start the process again to adopt another baby after we
get
our tax refund back, probably in April.

Oh wow, good luck.

So glad you stopped in

Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03
Celebrating today, like no other.

"Jamie Clark" schrieb im Newsbeitrag
hlink.net...

It's great to see you around, Jamie! Wow, one year old already :-)

Good luck starting the adoption process for #2 - you are an inspiration!
We would have started it ourselves a long time ago if we didn't have a
major move and change of life coming up next year. As it is, I'll give
TTC some more time but we'll be pursuing adoption as soon as we're
resettled.

--
Tatjana
PCOS - TTC #1 for 2.5 years

Jamie Clark wrote:

Hi-dee ho, folks. I'm an old old old timer, starting from 6-7 years back
and periodically since then, some times with lots of posts and sometimes
with long periods in between. I've been lurking the past few days, seeing
if there is anyone around that I remember.


Hi Jamie - great to see your update, hope to see more of you around! And Happy
Birthday to little Taylor.

cara

Sophie,
Hi back at you, and congrats on number 4! Yes, time does fly!
--


Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

Check out Taylor Marlys -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clark_guest,
Password: Guest
Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

Handmade Baby Blankets -- www.geocities.com/digit_the_cat/Blankets.html

Tatjana,
Let me know when you are getting ready to pursue adoption...I've started an
online support adoption group, and would love to have you with us... keep my
e-mail handy....good luck on your move!
--


Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

Check out Taylor Marlys -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clark_guest,
Password: Guest
Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

Handmade Baby Blankets -- www.geocities.com/digit_the_cat/Blankets.html

Thanks Cara. It's fun to be back.
--


Jamie & Taylor
Earth Angel, 1/3/03

Check out Taylor Marlys -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clark_guest,
Password: Guest
Become a member for free - go to Add Member to set up your own User ID and
Password

Handmade Baby Blankets -- www.geocities.com/digit_the_cat/Blankets.html