British Bun in the Oven

[Gemmie 142]

Ahhh sorry it's been a while, ladies!

I've been so busy. Work has been both stressful and jam-packed full of different projects, it pretty much takes up most of my time. We also just moved. So far, we absolutely love it here and I can't wait to explore all of the beaches and parks that we can take the baby to as he grows. We haven't decorated the nursery yet, right now it's just a storage room, but getting there!

I'm now nearly 29 weeks! It's gone so fast.

I had a couple of months where I was feeling great, and then bam- I had SI joint pain so bad that I could barely walk. The hormones, plus the added weight, and my joint was jammed. I saw a Chiropractor for a month, but now my insurance has stopped covering the sessions, so a bit worried about that. They said a misaligned pelvis can make for a difficult birth. But for $80 a week, I don't know if I can keep it up. Other than that, just dealing with heartburn, aches and pains, struggling to breathe, bruised ribs, stretching skin, restless sleep, and I'm also anemic so need to start taking extra iron. The joys! Plus I think I failed my glucose test as we've been playing phone tag trying to discuss my result. That means I have to take the 3 hour one next- lovely!

Pregnancy has been both a joy and a pain. Our baby is doing well. We've decided to call him Leo Christopher Keeping it quiet apart from close friends and family, as when we were discussing names, everyone had an opinion. No one liked Leo, most of all my MIL- she keeps hoping we will change the name and suggesting other ones, but I finally just thought 'sod them- we like it, and that's all that matters'. He's a little wriggler, I feel him moving all the time, especially when I'm hungry. It's so strange seeing a foot pop out when he really gets going. My husband just rests his hand over me every day for about an hour.

I hope everyone is doing well. I wish I could keep up with VJ!

[DiZZyLoX 114]

Good for you. No one liked "loxley“ but now he's here 8 months old and no one could see him any other way. Almost there!!

[DiZZyLoX 114]

loxley at 8 months

[DiZZyLoX 114]

I am mummadukez on instagram if any of you are on there. Gazillion pics of my ameribrit there

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

loxley at 8 months

What gorgeous boy!

[Jewel-8 21]

We had a baby. It's a boy.

Now we are done having babies, yay!!!! My oldest is turning 11 this month and my other two are 19 months apart.

This last labor was crazy easy. We hired midwives for a home birth and I felt like I was starting labor nearly daily from 36 weeks on. When I was checked during the 'false' labor I was always at a 4. At 39 weeks on the day I actually had him I begged the midwife to come over because things felt different, but I was definitely not in hard labor as contractions were sporadic still. Two midwives showed up and I was at an 8(!!!!) with still no horrible pain. The exam must have helped set things off because they went to mail a package and I called them with real labor when they were on their way back. About 45 minutes later he was here.

Can you see any of these pictures?

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/385875_10200630288017005_1088992109_n.jpg

Little miss attitude a.k.a. photobomber!

Edited March 4, 2013 by Jewel-8

[TracyTN 237]

I can't see any pictures because my stupid work blocks everything.

But I am so happy for you Jewel - how exciting! And boy that went fast - 4 to an 8 and you weren't screaming down the walls? I think you're a better woman than me.

[Jewel-8 21]

I can't see any pictures because my stupid work blocks everything.

But I am so happy for you Jewel - how exciting! And boy that went fast - 4 to an 8 and you weren't screaming down the walls? I think you're a better woman than me.

I think it was pure luck. A small part of it was doing Hypnobabies as my prenatal class for the middle kid. This labor really barely hurt at all besides one contraction when I was at 10 and they had to move the 'lip' that was keeping his head from being able to move down. I only freaked out as he was crowning and said "I CAN'T DO THIS." They laughed at me, then told me to breath. It was over within 3 minutes after I said that though. His shoulders got stuck. Thank goodness for having really good people there to take care of me or it would have been a much longer and more painful labor.

[Alex & Rachel 78]

Congratulations Jewel! He is gorgeous!

And HI ALL! I'm sorry it's been so long! Surprising how busy one gets once a kid comes along. Anya is nearly one!

Gem, I LOVE the name Leo. My mother would also approve.

Fabulous bedhead:

and chilling in her new chair:

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Hi, ladies

I hope everyone is well! Belated congrats, Jewel! Love the new pics of the wee rugrats...everyone looks awesome. I wanted to say hello and share the news that my sister had her baby last week. Little Leo was born April 10, and mom and baby are doing well. He's a cutie, and the elderly parents (har har) seem to be adjusting just fine.

Mad-Ag is doing well--2 1/2! Here's a pic from a few weeks ago, taken at the zoo.

She hasn't seen her new cousin yet because she had a tummy bug last weekend and seems to have a weird cough this weekend, but I'm looking forward to seeing how she reacts to him. "Baby! It's a baby!" is my guess, followed by some poking.

How is everyone?

[Gemmie 142]

A quick post to say that baby Leo arrived 3 weeks ago.

He weighed 8lb 12oz. I was told I was being induced at a routine ultrasound- scary! But the birth went smoothly, not nearly as bad as I thought. I made it to 4cm with horrendous back labour all night and day and then got an epidural. 2 hours later, I was ready to push! Was a great experience. No side effects, was up within a couple of hours.

It's been challenging to say the least. Leo is hard work! For the first 2 weeks, he screamed all night and we were running on empty until we found that letting him sleep on our chests was the only thing that kept him quiet. It's not something we want to keep up, and in a couple of weeks when we're both home for a long weekend, we will start the process of getting him to sleep in his crib in his room. Any tips anyone??

[Alex & Rachel 78]

No way, Mad-Ag is SO big! It's crazy how time has flown! Congratulations to your sister!

Gemmie, huge congratulations! Wow, Leo is a really handsome newborn.

If he's only content while sleeping on your chests - does he have reflux, or have you had him checked for reflux? It might be worth putting the crib mattress at an incline (obviously by placing something underneath the mattress, not on top - reduces SIDS risk) or using something like the Fisher Price Rock and Play in the meantime. There was a mother in my group whose daughter only slept on her chest - she switched to a non-dairy diet, and her baby's sleep patterns changed instantly. I'm so sorry - dealing with a newborn is tough enough, let alone one who screams all night!

[TracyTN 237]

SO glad to see your picture Gemmie! He's adorable!! I wondered the same as Alex & Rachel about the reflux? No ideas other than that.

The 'grand dame' of this thread, Emily, will be 3 on July 3rd. SO hard to believe!! Her favorite thing of late is her Nabi Junior tablet, which has also saved us a lot of grief. LOL It's funny to watch her navigate on it like a pro. If you've not seen them, have a look. They run on an Android system and have puzzles and games they can play. What a lifesaver! Here is a recent picture of her sipping on her new Minnie Mouse cup that one of my friends sent for her. Sorry it's a little dark but you get the idea.

Our other big news is that we are in the process of selling our house and building a new one! LOL We close Wednesday on our current house so we're moving into an apartment this weekend while we wait on ours to be built. We are not only building one with more space, but in a different town (slightly better schools) and a neighborhood with a lot of young families with kids. Em really needs that interaction since she's an only child, so we're happy there will be so many kids around for her to play with and have as school friends one day. We're really excited. The apartment is only about 50 square feet less than our current house, plus there is a pool in the community so - we won't be suffering too hard this summer. They estimate our house will be done around the first part of October so we'll at least be in well before the holidays.

Anyway - sorry I've been away a while - I love seeing all your pictures and hearing the updates too!

[DiZZyLoX 114]

I am resurrecting this thread to show you guys how big Loxley has gotten after 2 years. Can you believe it? How are the other little guys doing?

[Pooky 3,365]

I am resurrecting this thread to show you guys how big Loxley has gotten after 2 years. Can you believe it? How are the other little guys doing?

Definitely NOT a zombie thread

Kids' beach pics are just what summer needs.