Sticky Feet (Part Deux)

This couldn't be MORE true! Amen!

2010-07-29T21:05:23.194-05:00

This couldn't be MORE true! Amen!

I talk about this quite frequently. I want to hav...

2010-07-29T20:27:04.600-05:00

I talk about this quite frequently. I want to have no responsibilities, switch roles and only have to worry about me. A man would be so much easier.

That picture is priceless! I love how how Bo opene...

2010-07-29T07:27:02.594-05:00

That picture is priceless! I love how how Bo opened his mouth wide for a scoop of yummy cookie batter.

I love, love, love that first picture of Bo. How ...

2010-07-28T21:25:08.303-05:00

I love, love, love that first picture of Bo. How close do I have to get, to get one little lick? LOL!

That first picture is priceless!!

2010-07-28T21:24:11.837-05:00

That first picture is priceless!!

I love that first picture! I'm glad to see other ...

2010-07-28T13:52:45.079-05:00

I love that first picture!

I'm glad to see other parents let their kids eat the batter too. We made cupcakes this morning and after I let LG lick the spatula I was certain I'd get some sort of bad parenting award.

The way the hormones affect each person is very in...

2010-07-25T16:59:18.853-05:00

The way the hormones affect each person is very individual so what happens for one person may not be what happens for you. For example, some people gain weight with the hormones (I did :-( and some lose (I wish!). Also, with my first cycle I had such severe overstimulation my estrogen was over 24 000 on day 10 of FSH when they don't like it to be over 10 000 at time of trigger. My cycle got cancelled but the nurse couldn't believe I was still at work and seemingly functioning ok with those levels of hormones (and 50 follicles). Of course I didn't feel great but I must say that I was able to work. I also made a very different choice re: who I told and who I didn't. For instance, I didn't tell anyone at work what I was going through. I just wanted to keep my professional life separate. It made some things challenging (esp with all the appointments) and I work in an office which is definitely easier to work it all into than a school but I was glad I had one area of my life that was kind of being kept separate. Of course it is probably going to be difficult for you to do that with teaching but I guess my point is that everyone has a different tolerance as to how the hormones affect them so, if you can, schedule your first cycle for outside the school year so you can see how you go and then, if you need to do further cycles you may have a better idea as to whether you will be able to cycle during school. Good luck! It's not easy but.... if you get a BFP it is ALL worth it.
Clare

WOW. You were SO AWESOME to donate to Jasmine and ...

2010-07-23T21:48:23.652-05:00

WOW. You were SO AWESOME to donate to Jasmine and Ken-but I know the feeling of knowing you are "done" with the process. God bless you for being so wonderful!

Your "hormones" post was my most popular outclick ...

2010-07-23T19:27:08.666-05:00

Your "hormones" post was my most popular outclick - ever. I don't care if you post this comment. I just thought that you might find that fact interesting.

I think I may be one of the lucky ones. In total....

2010-07-23T10:24:20.649-05:00

I think I may be one of the lucky ones. In total...I did 6 medicated cycles...3 medicated IUI's, 2 Fresh IVF cycles and one FET. Other than headaches from the Lupron...I was pretty much unaffected emotionally by the stims (I was on Gonal F ~325IU per day). BUT....I am not a teacher...I work in an office and could pretty much just work independently when needed, even though there were some pretty high stress projects at the time. Everyone I know is different. I tend to be very rooted and pragmatic most of the time, although very outspoken when I feel passionate about something...so who knows.

Now...being pregnant is totally different...I am an emotional time bomb...I cry at everything...but get over it pretty quickly.

kd

Stacey- first of all good luck! I had my first IV...

2010-07-23T10:18:34.194-05:00

Stacey- first of all good luck! I had my first IVF when I was in college full time. So, somewhat similar situation. I didn't know then, but compared to my friends who did IVF after me, I should have been counting my lucky stars. I didn't really have a reaction to all the meds-but I was also on a low dose. I did a follistim/menopur combination, plus the estrogen and progesterone during the transfer process. I definitely had a witching hour around 11pm HA! But other than that, I had no other side effects....hopefully you'll have minimal side effects too. I definitely agree with Jamie- having a support system in place is definitely key. All my teachers and friends knew what was going on and that was very helpful. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that you CAN do this, but there's just no way to plan this stuff. Just roll with the punches and that will make this process so much more manageable. Good luck!

Looks like everyone had a wonderful time.

2010-07-21T16:25:07.287-05:00

Looks like everyone had a wonderful time.

I'm sorry for Jasmine and Ken, but that does nothi...

2010-07-20T16:11:13.249-05:00

I'm sorry for Jasmine and Ken, but that does nothing to diminish your generosity or the gratitude that I'm sure they feel toward you.

I love the Healthy Sleep Habits book too. I've re...

2010-07-19T21:14:08.718-05:00

I love the Healthy Sleep Habits book too.

I've read Babywise and intended to follow it with #2, but never really did. I do feel like it was informative though.

We are very consistent with bedtimes and naps, and I think it makes all the difference. Bedtimes are 7:00 for the baby, 7:30 for the 2.5 year old. The baby is 7 months and usually right now has her last bottle around 6 and typically sleeps until at least 6:30 but we are working on getting her to stay in her crib until 7. I dropped the middle of the night feedings with both kids around 4.5 months, but really they did it on her own just by sleeping longer each night. I never did the dream feed with either of my kids, but my best friend swears by it.

I love this post. We followed Babywise loosley wi...

2010-07-19T12:09:20.606-05:00

I love this post. We followed Babywise loosley with our son. My main advise is to feed on a very rigid schedule during the day (every 2-3 hours) so that baby gets all the calories needed then...it then allows his/her body to rest and sleep longer stretches at night. Our son began dropping his own night time feedings by 8 weeks and was going 11 hours by 11 weeks. He was also a reflux baby so the laying down drowsy but awake part was delayed as we had to keep him upright 20-30 minutes after every meal and by then he was dead asleep...so we didn't start that until about 6 months old...but he did pretty well. He did sleep in a separate crib in our room for 6 weeks...but he was so loud I moved him out because I was not getting any sleep. I actually found the hardest part of sleep training to be about 9 months when he was then able pull himself up in the crib but couldn't quite figure out how to get down....it took a good week of sleepless nights to get that back on track....

As for the transition from crib to toddler bed...I am just beginning that...we just ordered the bed over the weekend and it should be here next month. I asked many seasoned moms about this and they all gave about the same advice...have the child be involved in the new bed purchase, picking out sheets etc. Make very strict rules in the beginning that getting out of bed is not allowed, you must call for mommy or daddy and we will come to you. You can always relax the rules later. Put a baby gate or baby door lock on the room to reduce any unsafe night time wandering. Treat it just like any other transition and watch for your child's cues about fear, readiness or any other issues. I am hoping it goes well, but I am dreading it to be honest. Good luck!

This is a great post. I wish I would have asked th...

2010-07-17T12:35:14.439-05:00

This is a great post. I wish I would have asked these questions and thought more about sleep before having Drake.

We followed Babywise as well and think it worked well for us. At 5 months, Drake takes 2 naps a day (2-3 hours each) and sleeps through the night consistently (7pm-7am). He goes down awake each of these times and soothes himself with a paci and lovey.

I recommend baby whisperer, but not her advice on ...

2010-07-17T09:29:39.086-05:00

I recommend baby whisperer, but not her advice on breastfeeding, it makes no sense. My doctor told me after 2 weeks to never let the baby go more than 3 hours between feeding during the day, to encourage longer stretches at night. Cluster feeding right before bedtime is good. Also, if you eventually bottlefeed, we also did a dream feed right before our normal bedtime (my husband always did it) , that way you can just work on pushing out the 3 am feeding to 4, 5, 6, and then hopefully whatever your wake up time is. We would slowly take the dream feed away (it was the last bottle between 8 and 8 to go for us). for the first baby it happened at like 11 weeks. For our younger one it was more like 14 weeks. So much of it also depends on the child. I think a cosleeper or basinet next to the bed is the way to go for at least the first 3 months. For SIDS safety they recommend that the baby stay in your room for 6 months.

Can't help with the toddler bed issue, but I highl...

2010-07-16T22:25:41.935-05:00

Can't help with the toddler bed issue, but I highly recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (or the twin version). We put them down drowsy but awake from the moment we left the NICU (even having to wake them up sometimes when they were sleepy preemies). They slept through the night much earlier and more consistently than almost everyone else I know.

Personally I am not a fan of the Babywise scheduling system and prefer to let each baby's natural rhythms emerge, but I know others aside from Jamie who are fans.

I highly recommend paying close attention to the baby's natural patterns. We use an online record system, which I love, but most people write things down in a book. If not for the records, I never would have figured out that my twins sleep best when they're put down by 6, or that that their need to nap is based on how long they've been awake rather than time of day, etc. Their bodies know what is best for them much better than I would have.

My twins have always slept in their own room (separate cribs, same room). Certainly adult sleep is better this way; even if one parent gets up with them, the other one can still get some sleep. One of my twins is very sensitive to sounds like sneezing, so I'm sure it's saved her some sleep by not being in the same room with us all night.

Newborns can sleep whenever and wherever, but once the baby is a few months old with a clear schedule, don't let anything interfere! Every now and then we keep the babies up far past their bedtimes due to social engagements or travel, and I'm always kicking myself after because it usually messes them up for days or longer. Like the trip that permanently changed their waking time from 6:30 to 4:30 -- and now settled at 5:30. I never thought I'd be grateful to sleep "late" until 5:30!

Good luck with the baby, Lea!

I'll admit: I HATED the transition to a toddler be...

2010-07-16T19:29:50.356-05:00

I'll admit: I HATED the transition to a toddler bed! I was ready to throw the towel in after night #1! (I was 32-ish weeks pregnant with #3, had a 3 and 1.5 year old). It took 3 nights for a good transition for all of us.

We close our boys' bedroom door (big two who are now 4 and 2.5 share a room) and have a child lock on the handle. This prevents wanderers, and also prevents loud noises or lights waking my boys up. We have a 3 bedroom ranch, so it's easy to do around here...;)
We've closed our boys' doors since the beginning though, so no transitions needed in that area.

Good luck!

Good post Jamie! I plan on making the kid sleep ...

2010-07-16T16:21:51.658-05:00

Good post Jamie!
I plan on making the kid sleep in its crib....but I'm afraid I'll get lazy and put it in bed with me.... Yikes!! I guess I'll figure it out as I go!

So cute. We went to the zoo yesterday. It was too ...

2010-07-16T15:07:58.135-05:00

So cute. We went to the zoo yesterday. It was too hot. All of the animals were laying around looking half-dead and the kids had more fun feeding Kix to the native sparrows.

Bo is so cute! And getting so big (tear). I love ...

2010-07-15T11:21:38.440-05:00

Bo is so cute! And getting so big (tear). I love taking time to go on dates with Piglet too. Good for you!

What a fabulous water play area.

2010-07-15T09:37:22.270-05:00

What a fabulous water play area.

Cute--but it looks like her paci is getting the be...

2010-07-14T18:05:52.261-05:00

Cute--but it looks like her paci is getting the best of her poor little face

adorable!!!!

2010-07-14T11:57:47.335-05:00

adorable!!!!