Jewel-8

Congrats Rachel!!!

Glad to read all the fun updates!! I'm with you right now Tracy. I'm back at work parttime and this working mom SH@$ sucks.

Rozzie is now 10 weeks old today. In-laws are coming from Scotland on Monday. I am terrified. They are pretty cool and should be drunk most the time, but the husband and I are locked in a state of constant disagreement. I hope it is just his work stressing him out because I'm hitting a bit of PPD and can't deal with him much more if he stays like this.

The drive to Vegas with us all next week might help relieve some stress. I sure hope so!!!!

I hope to post pictures soon, but Fussy Pants is screaming right now. Hope to catch up with everyone soon.

Awww, it's so much fun reading about your kids. The crying is no fun. Roslyn was born in water and normally those babies are the calmest and barely whimper when they are brought out - ours screamed for 30 minutes straight and I couldn't get her to stop. Then the next 4 days until my milk came in were a nightmare. Now she has mellowed out and I hope she stays this way.

Hope this picture shows up! It was taken by my 9 year old son and I think it is one of the cutest ever from those we took when she was 4 days old.

I had a baby girl last night at 11:29 MST!!! My husband claims she is on GMT. Six pounds eleven ounces at 2.5 weeks early!!!

She is doing well and loves to cry. APGARs were 9 and 10. The midwife I had attend my homebirth was shocked that I had such minimal bleeding. We are thrilled, but sleep deprived after a week of having false labor every single night.

Today was a bad day. 10 days before the Big Move, my son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy

So sorry to hear that! How old is he? I know there are many different degrees of cerebral palsy and for the most mild cases the average person would not be able to tell.

If you are moving here on CR1 is he considered a US Citizen? That might help get him medical treatmentsif you do not yet have insurance.

Also, when you move here check with your school district to see if they offer any early intervention services. In my area they begin to send out therapists to your home to work on even the most basic of motor skills before the child is a year old.

Yay for first birthday parties. Those are the best ever. You'll need to take about 100 pictures of your kiddos devouring delicious cake.

We only have a few more weeks left. This baby is still breech and I'm trying everything I can to get it to turn. Hanging upside down off the bed and anywhere else I can is NOT fun - especially with heartburn. One way or another the pregnancy is going to be over soon. Not sure I'm ready yet.

Though if I think of it in terms of when I can enjoy a nice cold beer it isn't soon enough.

Congrats on bdays! Glad Mad-Ag is no longer having tummy troubles and she looks like she is getting HUGE. So cute!!

I wore jeans and a nice shirt to have my friends sign our marriage certificate here in the US. I have a nice Maggie Sottero, but we never got around to having a ceremony and now I'm 8 months pregnant - oh well I rather have that house my husband keeps talking about.

Glad to here she is doing better! Milk allergies are no fun, but a lot of kids grow out of them by the time they are 5. I have always had breathing problems from milk and figured out that overly processed yumminess like cheese and chocolate is a very subtle allergic reaction compared to over unprocessed dairy.

BTW, anyone believe the study they had come out 6 months ago about pregnant women needing to avoid peanuts because prenatal exposure can cause allergies for the baby? PB&J was all I could eat the first couple months - hope this kiddo is ok!!!

I refused IVs and other things with my first. I snuck in cookies with my son's birth. Thank goodness! I checked in between noon and 1 pm and didn't start having contract until 8 pm. I had him at 10:45 pm. I read somewhere that there's some study saying eating while you're in labor can knock off 4-5 hours. Not sure where that came from, but I sure enjoyed my cookies and was lucky I didn't puke.

So cute that your husbands got you little gifts from the baby. Some guys get it!

Thanks for the link Lisa! I will look into it. That would be so neat.

Tracy, hopefully no bags to pack as long as I make it to 37 weeks. Instead I have a list of things I need to gather for home. Like snacks I want during labor, puke bucket, and a couple other small things. It's all very gross.. but that's birth!!!

I have found the perfect Father's Day gift already and I bought it today. It's a plush Xbox controller with a rattle that I found on Etsy. Genius piece of art. My husband never stops playing xbox so I thought it'd be funny. Other than that it's my bday the day after that hallmark holiday. (I'm only a little bitter about having to share the weekend.)

We might go do something fun to celebrate that weekend, like maybe go stay in a hotel Sunday night. A hotel with a pool, of course, so I can float around in my big black maternity swimsuit and make whale sounds.

Maybe Mom's Day isn't that huge in the UK? I dunno. I at least expected maybe an hour to have a bubble bath or something, but oh well. Takes the onus off me to come up with something big for Father's Day I guess.

My husband's response to if we're doing anything for mother's day: "You're not my mother." I felt like smacking him upside the head with a frying pan - that urge comes frequently now that I'm in the third trimester.

We did end up taking my mom out to lunch. I'm not big on celebrating anyways. Plus, my bday usually falls on or near Father's Day and I've joked that he can't have that weekend. Maybe he took me seriously.

BTW, Thanks for the list! We had a friend give birth a full 4 weeks early this weekend. It made me realize I better get a pack of diapers and something like a playpen w/ bassinet for the baby to sleep in before the end of the month. I am fully stocked up on gender neutral clothes.

Those kids are so cute together! Maybe next time you'll get twins!!

I had the "OMG, it's third trimester and I have nothing ready" anxiety hit me, but luckily I've already blown too much this month on birthing classes and a 3D ultrasound. The classes start in another week or two and the 3D ultrasound is the very last weekend of the month.

I have a cousin offering me her playpen, and I found a consignment sale and stocked up on yellow onesies. Besides diapers and things we will survive the first couple of weeks. But still, OMG! There's so much I *can* get to feel prepared, but I know as a frugal person(married to a Scot - no less) that it's not all necessary. We are having a party after the baby is born to welcome him or her, so if I buy everything that will leave nothing for anyone else to get the baby besides cute clothes. Not that I expect anything, but I know my mom and sister will want to shop.

Did anyone else survive on less until the baby was a bit bigger? I'm sure it's the way forward for now since we will be wanting a bigger place within 6 months.

We did the same as InsomniacDaze. My husband brought over the cash and we went the next day to deposit it. It was quick and easy. He later opened his own account and I wrote him a check to transfer the funds.

I just felt the need to try something new, heh

I heard of a delicious drink involving ameretto... wish I could try it now I have 69 more work days until my due date. Woohoo.

I am much more established in the US than he was in the UK because I own a home, 2 vehicles, etc. My total costs for my mortgage and utilities were the same as him renting a bedroom. I had a 7 year old son at the time and we didn't want to uproot him. We can survive on just one salary here - we did fine on mine and then he got his job that pays twice when mine does. I can finish my degree here. We can afford to have as many children as we want here. Health care and dental is better here according to him (just more expensive). He makes 50% more here than he did at his last job over there. I can't stand the rain.

Enough reasons?

What weight measurements would my British husband understand? When we get the e-mails to our joint account saying the baby has reached 1.5 pounds and 13.5 inches and such it seems to go right over him. Maybe because he's a bloke?

BTW, this kiddo goes crazy when he or she hears me and my husband talk, especially my husband!

Stupid n00b mom question - when is she supposed to be off formula? All I've found are articles saying you can introduce cow's milk slowly after 1 year but nothing about when to cut it out completely. Obviously I can ask the pedi but figured maybe you guys knew.

Every baby is different. I might not be able to help much, but my 9 year old was breastfed almost exclusively so I put him on real milk right after his first birthday and just gradually kept giving him more. It was quick to turn to just night feedings and then I was able to stop breastfeeding completely around 14 months. Mostly because I was young and ready to start working full-time and partying on the weekends. Maybe I would have done things different if money hadn't of been such a huge factor though. Good luck!

Ok so - riddle me this, Batman.

Emily has had 2 nighttime baby sitters in the last month; my best friend Linda, and last night, my sister Debbie. Both of them had Emily WAILING crying while bathing her. With us - she is happy as a lark, all smiley and laughing. What the???

She's starting to develop her fear of strangers, which is a GREAT thing really. Look up 'stranger anxiety' as it's really common. I'm no doctor, but I just read somewhere that it can start as early as 3-4 months and it just means they're extra perceptive and know when things aren't quite right. Developing this means that weirdos would be a lot less able to walk off with your kid when your back is turned for 5 seconds. My son loved everyone and it was a bit scary!! He's 8 - turning 9 on Friday - and still has very little fear so I have to watch him extra carefully.

They do not cooperate when you're having an U/S, do they? There was one where Emily never wanted to face the camera and all we wanted to do was see her cute face. LOL. Congrats though, Jewel - you must be so excited!

Thanks!! I totally understand how frustrating that must have been to have Emily be so camera shy. It turns out my placenta is anterior so I can't feel most of the movement and it was hard to get the pictures. I finally had to lay on my side to get these, so hopefully it moves a bit by the time we go do the 3D scan.

I took them off...I didn't want you to think I was trying to 'steal your thunder' so to speak. (Since I've had my pregnancy days and now it's your turn, lol)

Here they are again:

I *want* to see them! Besides, I'm stealing everyone's thunder by butting in on the Tracy/Empress thread - but it's so much fun!!

He is so cute in those. Our baby doesn't move much during ultrasounds, but this one s/he was tucking it's hand under it's chin like it was posing. The husband has me talked into doing a 3D ultrasound around 30 weeks, for his parents back in the UK OF COURSE!!

I don't see an ultrasound. That sounds funny though.

Alas, the little man at the time didn't want to move at all, and kept his arm or hand in front of his face the whole time. The tech was also pushing on my stomach to get him to move, and it was the funniest thing: he'd move his arms and legs (like when you startle someone) as soon as she'd push, but then he'd go right back to the position he was in.

The least obstructed pic was of him flipping us the bird.

LMAO.. isn't that how it usually goes?! Did they make you pay for the ultrasound? I've heard some companies here don't if they can't get the pictures they promised. We're going to have to look into it in a couple more months.

My husband was upset also! It was when we figured out that USCIS had slowed down and the greencard was going to take awhile. We could have really used the extra cash.

On the other hand, I'm definitely not able to donate in the UK because of the blood transfusions I've had. Kind of a strange concept to me because I've only received screened blood that cost my insurance $500+ a pint.

Guess what? Our child is a brat!!!

It wouldn't give us a clear pic and was right up against the placenta or had the cord in front of it's face the whole ultrasound. It also had it's feet tucked under it so we couldn't have found out the gender if we had wanted to. On top of that, it headbutts my bladder all day long. The ultrasound tech thinks that is funny. I DON'T!!!

ETA: Sorry about the size. I should reduce it a bit.

The good news is that the pediatrician said I can start her on cereal. I'll probably wait a day or two until she's back to normal (I hope) and then give it a try. I suspect she'll like it. She's always had a robust appetite.

Glad to hear she's getting big, sorry to hear she's not been feeling well. As for the cereal, YAY!!! That is such a magic time. I loved how well my son took to cereal and then it was interesting to try out all the fruits when he was ready(after 6 months I think?). When he was about 18 months we handed him a pickle - now THAT I remember well.

If you are holding off on getting engaged because you don't like the fact that you will have to wait for the process to be complete before you can work, please spend some more time thinking about this arrangement. I thought my husband would have to wait 3 months before he could get a job, but that quickly turned into 6 months. It would have been more, but we did not waste time getting married. I'm glad that the doing things legally for the right reasons worked out for us, because that hard time waiting for the his income to return was somewhat expected and we got through it. Good luck!