2009 Pregnancy/baby thread

[beeniesmom]

In daddy's arms:



Tummy mat.... hanging with Beenie and Frankie:




Outside with mommy:



Very mad.... Wasn't in the mood for pictures. I love this onesie though:

[beeniesmom]

6 weeks old already!!!


FIRST PLAYDATE on Friday with my friend's daughter Sofia.
Sofia's due date was 2 days before Laura's.
Sofia was born a week late though... Laura was born 2 weeks early.

This is boring mom!!!




Sofia says: Hey this girl is no fun... she sleeps all the time.



That's all for now....

[finn's mom]

Oh, Carmen, thank you! I can't believe how much hair Laura has! And, her eyes are so beautiful! I love the ones of her with the puppies, they look like they all fit so well together! You look wonderful, thank you for including the one of you and Laura, together! Two very pretty ladies! Yay for photos of Laura Grace! It **IS** is a good day!

[Karen]

I, too, love the one with the doggies. Beenie looks like she is on guard, watching over the two "kids" in her care! How proud she looks, and Laura is obviously right at home with the doggies!

And the picture of you holding her is a great one, she looks so much like you! Only time will tell, of course, if she gets to keep those blue eyes! My youngest nephew's eyes didn't finish changing color until he was two, now he has dark brown eyes like his Daddy (Lady's Human).

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Laura is SO cute! She has such beautiful eyes and hair. And you look great, too, you look like such a natural.

It is so cool that Laura already has a "best friend" her own age! (And two cute dog pals). Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Anyone have one or know of a good brand?

Lyra just started sleeping in her own room 2 nights ago (was in our room until then). She seems fine, but I worry when I can't see her. I'm probably crazy, but I worry about the weirdest things, especially when she isn't making any noise so I can't hear her on the regular monitor. And barging into her room during the night isn't helping my sleep or hers!

Thanks!

[popcornbird]

Laura is so adorable. I love her eyes.

[beeniesmom]

Thanks for the compliments!

As for the video monitor, I have no idea.

[Cataholic]

Anyone have one or know of a good brand?

Lyra just started sleeping in her own room 2 nights ago (was in our room until then). She seems fine, but I worry when I can't see her. I'm probably crazy, but I worry about the weirdest things, especially when she isn't making any noise so I can't hear her on the regular monitor. And barging into her room during the night isn't helping my sleep or hers!

Thanks!

I live in a very small house, and I am a very light sleeper. I did not use a video monitor and frankly, the baby monitor was a huge distraction to my sleep. Huge. J didn't sleep through the night until 14 or 15 months. I heard every night he cried. Or whimpered. I responded.

At 7 months, I would probably not advise a baby monitor.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I live in a very small house, and I am a very light sleeper. I did not use a video monitor and frankly, the baby monitor was a huge distraction to my sleep. Huge. J didn't sleep through the night until 14 or 15 months. I heard every night he cried. Or whimpered. I responded.

At 7 months, I would probably not advise a baby monitor.

Lyra started sleeping through the night on her own about a month ago (I didn't do anything- the first night I thought it was a fluke, but she's been sleeping from about 8 pm to 4-6 am pretty consistently). I can't hear her crying without the monitor at night because of the window fan, and I can't leave the door open or the cats would jump in her crib. I have been waking up though, not from the noise through the monitor, but from the lack of noise from the monitor. When I can't hear her (because she's asleep and not crying) or see her, I'm convinced that there's something wrong...so I think the video monitor would help me sleep rather than keep me up.

[finn's mom]

We have Clara in a co-sleeper, so I have no use for a monitor at this point, so I don't know which brand is best. Clara sleeps through the night inconsistently already, which is odd, but we're not complaining. We've had several nights that she's slept from 10 or 11 to around 6 or 7. If she wasn't eating so well and gaining so much weight, I'd wake her up at night to feed her. But, I'm not at this point! I wake her during the day, but not for nighttime feedings.

Good luck finding a monitor. When you do find one, let us know how it is. I'm sure at some point, I'll probably want one. We don't have to close her door, though, so we might not.

[Cataholic]

Lyra started sleeping through the night on her own about a month ago (I didn't do anything- the first night I thought it was a fluke, but she's been sleeping from about 8 pm to 4-6 am pretty consistently). I can't hear her crying without the monitor at night because of the window fan, and I can't leave the door open or the cats would jump in her crib. I have been waking up though, not from the noise through the monitor, but from the lack of noise from the monitor. When I can't hear her (because she's asleep and not crying) or see her, I'm convinced that there's something wrong...so I think the video monitor would help me sleep rather than keep me up.

Have you considered a crib tent? J always slept with a crib tent on his crib, cats can't get in, and he couldn't get out, well, until he was about 2 anyhow. I had a lot of comfort in knowing I could keep the door open, and not worry about the cats.

[wolfsoul]

Great pictures of Laura. Do you think her eyes will stay blue?

I'll be 38 weeks on Saturday. The pain I was having in my belly while working has come back. Dr is not sure what it is -- could be a hernia, could be placental abruption.. I guess at this point we don't worry much because baby is still active and growing, and if it's a hernia there is nothing we can do right now anyways.

Question -- how did all of you feel about getting checked for dilation? I don't understand why my dr wants to check me once a week. She did it again yesterday and I actually told her to stop, it was too much, it hurts, it felt like I was tearing, and I'm afraid it will induce me. What difference does it really make if I'm dilated? I'm 38 weeks, obviously it's bound to happen any time now, and frankly I don't need someone poking around down there to tell me just how far along the dilation is.. I simply don't care!! lol. So I think I'm just going to refuse it from now on.. Either way, I'm not dilated yet.

Otherwise things have been okay. Sleep has gotten ALOT better. Belly is growing. I've gained about 20-22 pounds. Everyone keeps telling me I'll have a 5-7 pound baby because I'm so small, but dr still says she's expecting an 8 and a half pound baby, maybe more, based on my growth so far. It's common in my family to have 10-12 pound babies and not grow very much or gain much weight. I have my mom's body more than anyone else's, and my brother was 9.15, and she only gained 28 pounds and wasn't very large (though I carry higher and more outfront). So who knows. I definatly expect in the 8 pound range though. I wish she would drop already, breathing is so diffcult.

[beeniesmom]

Great pictures of Laura. Do you think her eyes will stay blue?

Thanks! I'm not sure but we are hoping. So far they seem to be the same color as my husbands so you never know...

Question -- how did all of you feel about getting checked for dilation?

Not sure why they are checking you so much.... You need to ask if there is a medical reason for them to do so. Believe it or not I was never checked. The only time they needed to go 'down there' was when they did the strep B test swab and that was it. They didn't know 100% if I was going to have a C-section until a few days before so they could have checked me for dilation...

I dunno, if you are uncomfortable then tell them you'd prefer not to be checked unless they are checking if you are in labor or something.

Don't be shy, that's the one thing I can tell you. I wish I was a little more firm with some stuff but hindsight is 20/20. If I had insisted they bring me the baby as soon as she was born and that they not give her formula I wouldn't have had such a difficult time with the breastfeeding... she never wanted to latch on so now, I am stuck pumping 4 - 5 times a day and feeding it to her with a bottle.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Have you considered a crib tent? J always slept with a crib tent on his crib, cats can't get in, and he couldn't get out, well, until he was about 2 anyhow. I had a lot of comfort in knowing I could keep the door open, and not worry about the cats.

I hadn't thought about it before but I could see the cats thinking it was a new toy made for them to try out. They have been sleeping in the crib for nearly a year (I think it was last October that we bought it and set it up), so they somewhat rightfully think of it as "theirs." They are also not shy about sharing with Lyra if need be, even though she delights in trying to grab them. I could definitely see Desmond trying to jump on a crib tent, repeatedly, with Lyra in it, even if he fell off a few times....

And anyway I made the mistake of mentioning a video monitor to my husband who is now convinced we should get a webcam instead. In the mean time, I have Lyra back in my bedroom.