Week of 2/20

[starryfish]

Hey yall! How is it going?

We are doing good, I don't know HOW but my baby is 14 months old!!! 
She has had 4 ear infections in 2 months, so we went to the ENT yesterday and she is getting tubes on Friday! I am SO relieved bc the late night screaming is so sad! Plus it should really help her balance (she had been taking steps, as much as 10-12 and than has regressed with this latest ear infection-it is like she is drunk while walking)

[janegold]

starryfish, B got his tubes two weeks ago - definitely something to be excited about, IMO. It was a snap! And we took him to the doctor on Friday with a 104.2 fever and they naturally checked his ears - it was the first time since he was probably 6 months old that he hasn't had signs of infection or active infection. Such a relief, and he has just been such a happy, active guy ever since the procedure.

EXCEPT for the mystery fever/illness last week, which just couldn't have come at a worse time. H and I took the day off together, which is so incredibly rare that we can both find a time to do that since we both have crazy work schedules. It was only the second time we've been able to plan a day alone together since B was born last year. We had a whole day planned - spin class, lunch, spa, movies - while B was at daycare. We got through spin and lunch, but 15 minutes before our spa appointments, daycare called to say he had a fever. Being the stellar parents that we are, we told them we would be there after our (non-specific) appointment, but we had to rush through the spa, skip Black Panther (boo!) and spend the afternoon at the pedi's office. Thankfully it's not the flu, and the fever has come down. But he's been sleeping terribly for the last 5 days and I'm so exhausted. He's gotten into this habit the last few nights where every night at 2am he wakes up and wants milk. Not pacifier, not water. MILK. 2am. Every morning. I've given in since he's sick but I really hope he goes back to STTN soon.

[starryfish]

janegold, good to know thanks! I am READY! I want her to STTN again and not scream and wake up early!

Sorry about your canceled date! That stinks big time! S likes to get sick when its my off Friday which is good and bad. Good I dont have to take off work, but bad that I cant get anything done that day!

[knx9211]

my MIL was here this weekend and was acting like a complete nutcase. I now see why my DH acts the way he does. He's a tiny, tightly wound ball of anxiety about every little germ and potential WHAT IF with the baby. We had a short CTJ talk about it after his mother drove me nuts all weekend that OMG A TICKLE IN MY THROAT I'M GOING TO GIVE EVERYONE THE FLU I NEED TO SCRUB YOUR WHOLE HOUSE. Surprise: She does not have the flu. She is not sick. She's just here to drive me nuts.


We're flying with P to California next weekend. Yikes. Any tips? I'll be wearing him through the airport. He'll turn 9 months while we're on the vacation.

[janegold]

Feb 20, 2018 13:01:14 GMT -5 @daylily said:

starryfish , GL with the tubes! Hopefully this will be a nice turning point for her and you'll all be much happier and healthier.

janegold , I hope B is back to his usual cheerful self soon. For all of your sakes.

knx9211 , have fun! Wearing him through the airport is a great idea, that would have been my first tip. Does he have his own seat? We never took advantage of the lap baby thing with DS because he actually slept decently well in his carseat and I liked the peace and quiet that bought us on flights.



As for me, I'm just about 36 weeks, baby is measuring huge (somewhere around 39 weeks), and I'm officially over it. The house is ready, the carseat is installed, I'm working through my to-do list at work before leave, and I'm at that irrational pregnant lady stage where I think hateful thoughts about my kind, lovely, competent OB who won't schedule a (completely unnecessary) early induction.

WHAT.  No you're not.  How the hell did this happen so quickly?

[knx9211]

@daylily , We've booked him as a lap baby. We upgraded to "economy plus" so that should help - as of yesterday, no one had bought the seat next to us and most of the ones in economy plus were still available. I reeeeeally hope that we get our own row. We're not bringing his seat, stroller, or anything. That might be a terrible inconvenient idea, but we're renting a seat with our rental car and renting a stroller, crib, and high chair from one of those baby gear rental places to be dropped off at our rental house. Fingers crossed. He's way too heavy to carry in the infant seat any more and I don't want to risk damage to our stroller (I know that's stupid).

Also, I'm with janegold - I can't believe you're so far along.  SO CLOSE. 

[janegold]

Feb 20, 2018 12:55:27 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

We're flying with P to California next weekend. Yikes. Any tips? I'll be wearing him through the airport. He'll turn 9 months while we're on the vacation.

Bring 8 million snacks.

Nurse/bottle at takeoff and landing.

Dress him in easy to change outfit because plane changing tables are tight.

If you have a separate seat, you might want to bring the carseat on.  If you don't have a separate seat, ask if they are able to move you to a row with an open seat so you have more room to spread out (and even then, sometimes I ask to bring the carseat on).  

At that age, B pretty reliably slept for huge portions of flights, even long ones.  Good white noise.  FX it's the same for you.

[knx9211]

Feb 20, 2018 13:06:42 GMT -5 janegold said:

Feb 20, 2018 12:55:27 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

We're flying with P to California next weekend. Yikes. Any tips? I'll be wearing him through the airport. He'll turn 9 months while we're on the vacation.

Bring 8 million snacks.

Nurse/bottle at takeoff and landing.

Dress him in easy to change outfit because plane changing tables are tight.

If you have a separate seat, you might want to bring the carseat on.  If you don't have a separate seat, ask if they are able to move you to a row with an open seat so you have more room to spread out (and even then, sometimes I ask to bring the carseat on).  

At that age, B pretty reliably slept for huge portions of flights, even long ones.  Good white noise.  FX it's the same for you.

We've never done the food pouches (or any store-bought food, actually.  We do snacks though. Every inch of our home is covered in Puffs), but now might be the time to start.  Is there any issue with getting those through security?

[janegold]

Feb 20, 2018 13:08:06 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

Feb 20, 2018 13:06:42 GMT -5 janegold said:

Bring 8 million snacks.

Nurse/bottle at takeoff and landing.

Dress him in easy to change outfit because plane changing tables are tight.

If you have a separate seat, you might want to bring the carseat on.  If you don't have a separate seat, ask if they are able to move you to a row with an open seat so you have more room to spread out (and even then, sometimes I ask to bring the carseat on).  

At that age, B pretty reliably slept for huge portions of flights, even long ones.  Good white noise.  FX it's the same for you.

We've never done the food pouches (or any store-bought food, actually.  We do snacks though. Every inch of our home is covered in Puffs), but now might be the time to start.  Is there any issue with getting those through security?

You can bring "reasonable quantities" of baby food, per TSA, and I've never had any issues with a few pouches.  Would recommend ChooMe tops since he hasn't used pouches before - he can chew on them and you can help push the puree up a bit: www.amazon.com/ChooMee-Toppers-Silicone-Prevent-Cushion/dp/B00ERZ4AUA.  

I don't know how he's doing on solids but freeze dried fruit and veggies are also a super convenient and easy snack.  Blueberries.  Bambas if he's not nut-free.   Variety is key, lol.

[starryfish]

Feb 20, 2018 13:08:06 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

Feb 20, 2018 13:06:42 GMT -5 janegold said:

Bring 8 million snacks.

Nurse/bottle at takeoff and landing.

Dress him in easy to change outfit because plane changing tables are tight.

If you have a separate seat, you might want to bring the carseat on.  If you don't have a separate seat, ask if they are able to move you to a row with an open seat so you have more room to spread out (and even then, sometimes I ask to bring the carseat on).  

At that age, B pretty reliably slept for huge portions of flights, even long ones.  Good white noise.  FX it's the same for you.

We've never done the food pouches (or any store-bought food, actually.  We do snacks though. Every inch of our home is covered in Puffs), but now might be the time to start.  Is there any issue with getting those through security?

we got additional screening because of the darn pouches, but turns out that the TSA lady was wrong to do so. She said it was juice and over 3oz and I kept tellin her it was baby food and not juice. 

LOVE pouches!!! S could suck them like a bottle but we had to hold it for her or she would squeeze it everywhere. We tried the choome things and she didn't get the hang of it. But pouches are AMAZING especially when S gets HANGRY fast!!!

[loira]

knx9211, the first time I ever flew alone with A was when she was 9 months old. It actually wasn't too bad. I had 3 flights in 1 day, with the longest flight at just over 4 hours. Snacks were a good distraction. I brought a couple of new toys and books. She was still young enough/small enough to be able to sleep on me on the plane - she seemed to like the motion for takeoff. Wearing her also helped her sleep. When she was awake I told her a ton of stories, mostly reciting books from memory (it cut down on having to actually BRING all the books). We also played peekaboo friends on the iPad. You'll have your H with you so you can tag team. It will be totally fine.

[knx9211]

Feb 20, 2018 13:25:59 GMT -5 loira said:

knx9211, the first time I ever flew alone with A was when she was 9 months old. It actually wasn't too bad. I had 3 flights in 1 day, with the longest flight at just over 4 hours. Snacks were a good distraction. I brought a couple of new toys and books. She was still young enough/small enough to be able to sleep on me on the plane - she seemed to like the motion for takeoff. Wearing her also helped her sleep. When she was awake I told her a ton of stories, mostly reciting books from memory (it cut down on having to actually BRING all the books). We also played peekaboo friends on the iPad. You'll have your H with you so you can tag team. It will be totally fine.

I wonder how many episodes of Sesame Street my iPad can download...

GREAT idea on the NEW toy. He’ll be so fascinated with a new toy or one he hasn’t seen in a few weeks. But the toys he sees every day? They keep his attention for approximately 15 seconds.

[loira]

knx9211, my friend swore by something like this when she took her babies on planes (maybe not this exact one but she had something really similar that wasn't too bright and made no noise): www.amazon.ca/Awesome-Lighted-Spinning-Party-Disco/dp/B003AGIJ86

[pandora89]

@daylily - so close!

My shower was Sunday, ah I never thought I would get one of these. All of the big ticket items that we hadn't purchased yet were purchased (convertible car seat, high chair, carrier, pack n play). We had a few smaller items that we still needed to get and purchased most of them with gift cards this weekend. I am just so grateful for all the support. H and I went through the closet in the nursery which was FULL of our clothes and purged everything. Between the two of us we have 2 large moving boxes full of clothes to give away. I decided after the closet clear out that I want shelves in the nursery closet so now H has to work on that.

[Mushe]

pandora89, I am so happy for you! I’m sure it felt like you’d never make it to a shower, and I’m glad you had such a lovely experience when you did! I hope your MIL kept her trap shut.

[pandora89]

@daylily - She didn't say anything but kept to herself and was super quiet the entire time. I don't know why she is like this, but she loves the drama. I just pretended I didn't know anything/notice anything different.

[Mushe]

I am a complete stress mess this week. My last appointment was before my later loss milestone, and I don’t go back until next Monday, due to my work schedule this week and his surgery day on Friday. I keep forgetting to tell him about this pinchy feeling on my left, but maybe that’s where implantation happened?

I ordered a Doppler and it arrived last night, but without the gel, and we have no aloe Vera gel here. I have some coming today. Ugh! I couldn’t find the HB for sure, but I know it takes some practice, so I’m not freaking just because of that.

I just checked the portal, and my Panorama results are pending review. I hope they’re released soon! For anyone that did this particular test, was it released to you, or your OB?

ETA I’m trying to remember the mantra I always shared on TTTC, about not borrowing trouble, worrying about things I cannot change.

[pandora89]

Mushe - how far are you again? I remember when I first started using the Doppler it took a LONG time for me to find the heartbeat. And then I realized after awhile that I was actually listening to the placenta (I think?). So many hugs.

My panorama results were sent to my OB and family doctor (my family doctor ordered them but put my OB down as a contact as well) and then my OB called with the results as soon as they received them.

[Mushe]

Thanks, pandora89! I’m 11w today. I figured it would take a while to figure out the Doppler. I watched a few YouTube videos, and it looks hard! 😆

[pandora89]

Feb 20, 2018 15:16:57 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Thanks, pandora89 ! I’m 11w today. I figured it would take a while to figure out the Doppler. I watched a few YouTube videos, and it looks hard! 😆

All the videos I initially watched when I first started using the Doppler told me to check around the pubic bone and angle down. I tried that for days, couldn't find anything. Then watched another video that said to look a bit further up. I tried that once and found the heartbeat right away.

[thoseareradishes]

knx9211, let us know how the flying goes. We're flying in May and I'm dreading it - E doesn't sleep anywhere except her crib and maaaaybe the carseat. And when she's done, she's done and is very hard to calm.

pandora89, glad your shower went well! I never ended up having one. It felt too weird to have it after she was already here.

I just realized E's 1 year pedi appt is during naptime, boooo. They don't have any other times. She's going to be a mess. Plus, she's so big now that she needs 3 RSV shots, plus whatever 1 year shots she needs. I think we may be coming back anther day for those.

[oneslybookworm]

knx9211, flying with G was a breeze at 7 months. We bought him a seat because he sleeps in his car seat, and we weren’t renting a car, so we had his seat and stroller with us. G had a double ear infection when we flew, so I was terrified it would be horrific for all involved, but he didn’t make a sound! The doctor recommended we give him a small amount of benedryl to dry up his sinuses (she recommends this even for babies who don’t have ear infections before flying, just in case), and he sucked on his pacifier the whole time. He slept a little in the way out and just smiled at everyone while awake, then slept the entire flight on the way home. We took formula on the flight (no purees or anything), and just popped a bottle in his mouth if he got hungry. Overall, no new toys, no tons of snacks, just normal bottle and us.

Good luck!!!

[oneslybookworm]

All in all, things are ok here. My father is still holding on, though they anticipate he has maybe a few days left. J has his surgery on Friday for his hip labrum tear, and G is home with us this week in an effort to get him over his latest illness prior to the surgery. It’s crazy, but what can you do.

[mpc]

I had my first OB appointment today. She gave me an order for an ultrasound and I already called and scheduled it for tomorrow afternoon! DH can't make it with me so I hope it's not bad news...

They gave me a bag full of formula samples which was pretty sweet cause I can use them all now for DD, lol.

[Mushe]

Fingers crossed, mpc! I’m glad they got you in so soon.

[Mushe]

Holy cow, oneslybookworm, that’s so much. 😥 I didn’t realize J needed surgery on top of everything! Hugs for you as you’re navigating these last days with your dad.

[loira]

I'm sorry oneslybookworm. That's a lot to deal with at once.

[shauni27]

starryfish, good luck with the tubes! I hope they make all the difference.

knx9211, I think that janegold covered everything. We flew with S when he was much younger but we have three flights coming up with him over the next 3 months. He mostly sleeps in my arms. I made sure he had a bottle at takeoff and landing. A trick my parents always had for us as babies was a separate box of toys JUST for flights or restaurants. That way they seemed new and we were more excited about them.

Mushe, I am sure you must be so anxious and freaked out. I never used gel with the doppler; I would use lotion, lube, coconut oil...all worked fine. Good luck and keep us posted! I continue to think of you.

oneslybookworm, huge, huge hugs friend. I wish there was something I could say or do that would make this easier for you.

[shauni27]

S has had a cough for weeks. We were seen by his pedi twice but then he got really wheezy and feverish over the weekend. We got a call to pick him up from daycare on Monday and yesterday we spent a few hours at the hospital getting a nebulizer treatment and chest x-rays. Turns out the RSV he has turned into a mild case of pneumonia. He is just so miserable and upset. He is also refusing to take tylenol or the steroids the doctors gave him which makes it really tough.

I hate missing work and I hate seeing him so miserable but I do love those cuddles.

[janegold]

Feb 20, 2018 15:34:12 GMT -5 oneslybookworm said:

Overall, no new toys, no tons of snacks, just normal bottle and us.

At that age, we didn't need tricks of snacks and toys either, but distraction has become more necessary as he has gotten older.  Particularly for longer flights.