New wrap coming/wild animals

I ordered a new wrap for the baby. The navy blue Moby wrap is too stretchy to work for us much longer. Also, I wanted a thinner material for the warm weather that is part of living in So. California. It is made from cloth from the Czech Republic, and it is called Vatanai, and I am ordering it in the 4.5m length in the Naglikti color (blue whales and fishes pattern). It is a woven cloth, so I will be able to tie the baby onto my back and it should be easier to clean up the kitchen and cook with him back there. We shall see. ;-) At any rate, I placed my order yesterday, and the Canadian middleman said that they could get it in 1.5 weeks from Europe, so hopefully it will get here by mid January.

There is a news story this morning about a tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo yesterday. One young man was killed and two others were wounded by an escaped Siberian tiger named Tatiana. One disturbing part of the story was that apparently there was nothing wrong with the door to the enclosure. So the 300-pound tiger must have climbed or leaped out over the fence or 15-foot moat.

At my house here we have 5-foot rod-iron fences that do *nothing* to keep out the wild coyotes. I do not have dogs, but I have found dog-type feces in the backyard on occasion, as well as disemboweled rabbit carcasses. Also, the next-door neighbor witnessed two coyotes attacking and consuming a neighborhood cat in her backyard (I had warned the owner previously not to let the cat go outdoors). The point is made to me that my kids are not safe in my backyard, even though we live in a suburban environment. Now we are not safe going to zoos. It's not safe to swim in the ocean (sharks). I don't think we are at the top of the food chain anymore. :-(

Picture day

Here are some pics from today. Baby A is 6.5 weeks and a little over 10 pounds. His medicine made all the difference. He still coughs occasionally, but he is SO much better. And he is easier to care for; his personality improved a lot. Before he couldn't be awake without crying/nursing. Now he is content to look around at things/me. And I felt thin today in my size 6 jeans, and wanted to share. ;-)

Baby has a cough

Baby A is the sickest one now. :-( We went to the doctor again today and they gave him a script for Erythromycin. I hope this helps him. He has trouble breathing through his stuffy nose while nursing, and he tends to pop off a lot earlier than he used to. He coughs and gags, sometimes spitting up from all the coughing. The doctor said his lungs were "crackly". He has not had a fever, though, and he continues to gain weight well. He was 10 pounds today, up from 9.5 pounds last Monday.

The other boys still cough, but not very often. My cough is still bringing stuff up from the left lung. I might go to the doc again this evening, depending.

Thinner

Bad news and good news.

The bad news is that my fever came back yesterday, I had body aches and a bad headache and not much appetite again. I even threw up a little, but I think it was from the violent coughing. Baby A threw up all over me twice yesterday. And J threw up at preschool after lunch.

The good news is that I fit into my size 6 jeans this morning. I need to get a pic, but Baby A is due to wake up any moment and I don't have time right now. I ate a decent dinner last night (roast chicken, fresh green beans and Japanese sticky rice), and ate the same as leftovers for lunch. I'm also being better about staying hydrated. And my milk supply was up last night and today, so I think I must be on the upswing. My supply was probably jolted because he was on a fussy/constant nursing jag the past few days and my supply was down.

Barak Obama update

I'm in a hurry this morning. Baby A is in his car seat and starting to wake up. I'm recuperating from a fever yesterday, still coughing and sniffling.

My friend called yesterday. You remember. The one who was on Harvard Law Review with Barak Obama. DS-17 asked what that was and I said it was a prestigious school newspaper. ;-) Her news is lately she has been doing a lot of speaking engagements around the Los Angeles area. When organizations call up wanting Senator Obama or his wife to speak, they are often not available, as they are in Iowa or some such place. So they offer one of his old law school buddies to talk instead. And that is what she has been doing. She will get 2 days off for Christmas, then she has been asked to go to Iowa for 10 days and help campaign over there. I can't wait to hear how that goes.

BTW, everybody else in the family is sick. The baby least so, thankfully. Good thing I am breastfeeding. It was REALLY hard to take care of him yesterday when I was feverish. I had trouble eating, my body ached all over, I was hot and cold and he wanted to nurse all day (as usual). So I breastfed him and we slept together on the recliner. Luckily DH came home early and I stayed in the recliner. He had to handle everything. It was all I could do to take care of the baby. I feel better today, but I'm going to take it easy so I don't have a relapse.

Hanukkah, A Wonderful World

The biggest shock came this morning. I woke up at 7am, realizing that I had just slept another 5 hour stretch. Baby A slept 5 hours, fed, then slept another 5 hours. The most he had slept before this had been 4 hours then 3 hours then 2 then 1, 1, 1. I was so much more rested this morning. The really surprising thing was that we had gone out last night to the Hanukkah party at the local synagogue and he had slept for 2 hours in the Moby wrap. I thought that was great, but I was going to be in for a busy night since he slept so well just prior to bedtime. The party turned out to be fun. We lit this giant menorah that is on a main street near me. The kids got "gelt", which was actually real money. A lizard man came to entertain the kids with a presentation of lizards and snakes. And there was a little video of the story of Hanukkah for the children. And there was food. The best part was seeing a wonderful group of the kindest people you could ever imagine. This is not my regular synagogue, and that is why it is so nice to pop in there occasionally for parties and such, because I don't get to see them all that often.

I got tears in my eyes driving in my car today when a nice version of "A Wonderful World" came on the radio, sung by Louis Armstrong. I listened to the words closely and I found them moving.

I see trees of green........ red roses too
I see em bloom..... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are also on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin.. how do you do
Theyre really sayin......i love you.

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
Theyll learn much more.....than Ill never know
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

getting chubbier

In the top picture, he is sleeping in his bassinet. Note the white blanket. I crocheted that myself over these past months. I did not put a border on it, as I ran out of time when he came 3 weeks early. I used a shell and cluster pattern.

The lower pic shows him in the Moby Wrap. He is really getting bigger now, he is about 9.5 pounds. That is 50% bigger than when he was born.

The importance of loving our babies

I have a theory. Babies deprived of love/cuddling early in life can develop major personality faults.

The reason I mention this is that there was another shooting yesterday. A 19-y-o boy shot a bunch of people in a mall in Omaha yesterday and then shot himself. He left a note saying he wanted to go out in style. Anybody who decides to kill innocent strangers is someone with no feelings of empathy. I think the term for that type of person is a sociopath. How does a boy get to that state? I bet he had a bad relationship with his parents.

I am not saying parents take the blame for everything. I am sure there are organic problems in the brain that can cause people to "go off". But my point is that hurting a baby early in life leaves a scar so deep that it can't be healed. Babies left to cry unattended learn not to trust the world. They learn that the world is a cold, uncaring place. Wouldn't this person be more likely to grow up angry and violent than a baby raised in a secure, loving environment?

I remember 2 toddlers who were adopted from a Russian orphanage. This might have been 10 years ago, perhaps in California, I don't exactly recall. The children had attachment problems and were very difficult to parent. The adoptive parents were too embarrassed to admit that they could not handle the kids, and decided to murder them instead, giving them oleander leaves and claiming the boys ate them when they were outside unsupervised. So tragic.

People running covert operations would be well-advised to hire as assassins young men who were abandoned by their family. They are the ones who will be willing to kill strangers on orders from someone higher up.

What about ladies who have to go to work when their baby is 6 weeks old and needs to sublet that portion of their baby's day to hired help? I don't know that is such a good idea. I suspect data may show that babies thrust into daycare at such a young age may have problems with bonding and anxiety later in life.

Which brings me full circle to baby-wearing. My affinity for baby-wearing is not simply because I like having a baby hanging off me for most of the day. It is the easiest way for me to be sure that my new baby is receiving the cuddling/security that he needs to grow dependent and bonded to his primary caregiver, me. He can then grow independent later, when that is developmentally appropriate.

My cough is going away

I don't know if you remember that I complained that the kids gave me a cold when I came home from the hospital with the baby? I was never able to throw it off, and in the last 2 weeks things got worse and worse. I was coughing all the time. Poor little A would be sleeping on my chest and he had to deal with me going through loud coughing spasms right by his ear. I was hoping to avoid antibiotics because I really did *not* want to have thrush this time, like I had with my last 2 kids. There is no good treatment for thrush that I know of, or at least none that worked for me.

So I complained to my OB yesterday and they had me come in so they could listen to my lungs and stuff. I obtained a prescription for a Z-pack and took the first 2 pills yesterday afternoon. This morning when I woke up it was like a miracle had occurred. I felt 75% better. Yay! And my sore left breast is suddenly better, too. I must have had a low level of mastitis in the duct sinuses behind the nipple. Latch ons felt SO painful on that side. And now they feel normal. So hopefully this will take care of things for us without causing bad side-effects with yeast/fungus. I can hope.

I'm still learning

I'm still learning about nursing and taking care of babies too. Yes. After 6 babies and 19 years. Here is my newest stuff.

The picture above shows me trying to perfect my use of the Maya Wrap. I have been going onto the website called TheBabyWearer.com to find more creative ways to use the baby carriers I already have. Little A loves to be carried, so he seems to appreciate it. At least he cries a lot less than when he is put down between feedings. I read that it is best to keep the baby as high up as possible, and the rings as high up without them being directly on the shoulder. I must be doing something right, because I was never able, with any of my prior kids, to get them in the upright position in a ring sling. Little A loves being upright and he settles down so nicely whenever I am able to do it, so it is worth the effort for me. And it is easier on my back/shoulders. This is an old-style Maya wrap. No padding. But it works great and I feel so frugal using the same carriers for child after child.

The Moby Wrap is great too. I used it yesterday for my first LONG walk. I used to go for long walks, 1+ hours, through the hills where I live. I stopped after the second trimester. It was so great to get out yesterday, the weather was sunny and brisk. And there were a bunch of people out decorating their houses, so it was particularly fun. The Moby was good for the long walk because it was on both shoulders. I did find out something on that website that ticked me off about the Moby wrap. The moms said that it doesn't work too well for babies over 15 pounds because the wrap is made of stretchy material (t-shirt type material) and it sags. I am bummed to hear this because I SPECIFICALLY bought it to carry a heavier child because it goes on both shoulders. I guess I should have done more investigating beforehand. :-(

This picture also shows my newest thing. I saw on that website one lady who mentioned that she wears Old Navy tank tops under her shirts so that when she breastfeeds, she lifts up the outer top and pulls the tank down below that breast. A light bulb went on when I read that. Having my cold tummy hanging out all winter while bfing is a major pet peeve of mine. I ran down to Old Navy Saturday night and found that the tanks were on sale for 2 for $10. I got 6. You can see the long tank top below my other top and I am so happy now with the breastfeeding. This will help when I have to NIP (nurse in public) as well. I am getting less and less sore now, so I will probably get into more situations were NIP comes up. The tank top gives me SO much more confidence to do that. That way people walking behind me in the grocery store won't get a gander at my bare ribcage in the frozen foods aisle. Brrrr!

Continuing

Not much has changed since my last post. One step forward was that I followed through on my idea to bathe him at 9pm instead of during the day. I am usually dead-dog tired at that time of night and it's not my idea of a good time, but the plan was to experiment and see if he would sleep a longer stretch. It worked. He slept straight through until 1:30am instead of waking before midnight. *AND* he did it in his bassinet on his back, instead of prone on my chest. So much more relaxing for me to be able to sleep in any position and turn over. I had trouble getting back to sleep because dh and I are still getting over colds and coughing at night, but it was very successful. He then slept through 4:30am and after that nursing we stayed in the recliner and dozed until 6:30, when I needed to wake up ds for school. I did not want to get up at that point. It was raining hard (very unusual) and I was so cozy and warm with A all snuggled up on my chest. I do like dozing along with him, but it's nice to have a break and sleep alone, too.

I have some opinions on how to establish breastfeeding with a newborn, and I want to mention them. I know most of the ladies reading here are expert breastfeeders and don't need my advice, but I'm going to put a label below that might come up on a google search and perhaps my thoughts will help a beginner.

HOW TO BREASTFEED:

Step 1. In the hospital. Bring Lansinoh goop in a tube and smear a little bit, about the size of half a pea, onto your nipple just prior to the first latch after they hand you the baby. If you do this, you may be able to avoid the initial soreness that comes on like gangbusters at the *second* feeding. Make sure baby opens his/her mouth as wide as possible and flatten the breast into a little oval, crosswise to the baby's mouth, and present it like a sandwich. That way you get the nipple in as deep as possible to avoid baby sucking on the tip and hopefully avoiding more soreness issues. If you do get cracked, bleeding, scabbed-up nipples, understand that you can continue to breastfeed despite the scabs. Just work harder to get the nipple in farther, repeat the steps above, if the latch is more painful than usual, or if the pain doesn't subside after a few minutes of nursing, take the baby off and try to latch better, with a wider mouth and deeper nipple.

Step 2. Home with baby. My milk usually doesn't "come in" until day 3 or so. So expect baby to be hungry and fussy for the first few days. Know that baby is getting colostrum. Even a tiny amount of colostrum is very very healthy for baby. It is loaded with immunities and acts to help clear the black-tar poop out of their system. The sooner the black tar gets out of them, the sooner any jaundice/bilirubin issues will be resolved. Resist the urge to use a pacifier or give formula. Plastic nipples are the first step toward quitting breastfeeding. Same goes for nipple shields. Once baby gets a taste for plastic, it can be darned near impossible to get them back on the breast. All of my baby's pacifying was done on the breast. Despite sore/scabbed nipples. I knew he was getting colostrom/early milk every time, and I knew it was good for him.

Step 3. Milk comes in. There will be parts of your breast that become engorged. Some of the ducts may not empty as well as others. Frequent nursing is a way to help alleviate engorgement. If you can nurse frequently and keep most of the breast tissue soft, then you will avoid having your milk supply cut back on you. If your breast becomes painfully engorged and hard to the touch, know that it will get better on it's own in a few days, but that process will involve a drastic reduction in milk supply from the engorged duct areas. I was lucky with this little one. He was able to nurse for long periods, even while dozing, and he was able to empty my breast fairly well for a newborn. Many newborns are sleepy, and you may need to stimulate them to nurse better and not start to sleep after a few sucks. This is done by unwrapping them from the swaddle, or even undressing them from their clothes altogether. Whatever it takes. In a week or so their appetite will improve. And you want your milk supply to be there for them when that happens.

Step 4. Building up milk supply. Now is not the time for a drastic diet. Baby's appetite increases during the early weeks/months, and you need to increase your supply to keep up. This should happen without you even realizing. You might simply notice that baby's diapers are getting fuller and heavier over the weeks. If you see that your breasts seem "empty" and baby still wants to nurse more, go ahead and nurse. The breasts are never empty. And the extra nursing will stimulate more milk production. Also, remember to drink frequently. You should probably have a nice, tall drink every time you sit down to nurse. And eat healthy food and snacks. Never go hungry. And take your vitamins and extra calcium.

Step 5. Extra questions and other circumstances. Get yourself a support system. Get some good books. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a good one. It is the central book put out by the La Leche League. Join La Leche in your area, or seek help from a lactation consultant. It is even better to get to know your support people in late pregnancy, since the first week is the hardest, and it is easier to get help from people you already know. Keep an eye out for baby's diapers. The baby should have pee pee and poo poo in his/her diaper frequently. If this is not happening, seek help right away. Remember, the most important thing is to nourish the baby. Of course, the baby will not be filling up too many diapers until after the milk comes in, but after that if you don't notice a big change, seek help from your doc or lactation consultant right away. Breastfeeding is great, but nourishing the baby is the MOST IMPORTANT thing above all, and don't let pride stop you from making sure your baby is getting the food he/she needs. Just like we all want a natural birth but we are willing to have a c-section for the health of the baby, we all want to breastfeed but we are willing to use formula if it is necessary for the health of the baby. I heard of a case where a woman who had had breast reduction surgery exclusively breastfed her baby and the baby ended up starving to death. Inexcusable. If a mom is paying attention to diapers and the baby's weight, that should NEVER happen.

Verification. The baby should be back up to its birth weight by the 2-week pediatrician appointment. Very successful babies can be a full pound over the birth weight by then.

Don't take baby off the breast too early. The hind milk is the richest milk. If the baby only gets the early stuff and pops off too soon, then they will get "too much soup and not enough cheesecake" somebody said. So let them doze and suck as long as they want, getting multiple let-downs of milk if possible.

busy with baby

Here are 2 pictures that illustrate what I have been doing the past few weeks. Nursing and caring for baby. The first pic shows A nursing. He is an avid nurser. I weighed him yesterday and he was 8.2 pounds with his clothes on. I am so proud of both of us. Proud of him because he is really a great nurser. He does not fall asleep after several sucks as some babies do. He can go 30 minutes on each breast while he is dozing, and continue to get more and more milk, especially the rich hindmilk, as the milk lets down again and again. And I'm proud of myself, because I am still struggling with soreness, and I don't let that interfere with nursing. The soreness is getting less and less, but at the first latch-on, it still feels like stepping into a hot bath with an open sore on one's foot. Ouch! Tomorrow is his actual due date. Yay! So from now on he will start getting more "mature" instead of going through his fetal development. I am looking forward to seeing his smile in another month or so. You will be the second to know. ;-) I'll try to get a pic when that happens.

Breastfeeding Success!

Baby A weighed in at 7 pounds 3 ounces on his 2-week check up today. That is really good! If you recall, he was 6 pounds 4 ounces at birth, then by the 3rd day he was down to 5 pounds 14 ounces. They want the babies back up to their birth weight by 2 weeks. We exceeded that by almost a full pound! Woohoo! I must be producing cream. :-D

My daughter and her boyfriend

I forgot to mention that dd and her boyfriend dropped by last weekend while they were on their way back to Camp Pendleton to see baby A. They looked so cute together. DD is now 19 and her boyfriend just turned 21. He has been on 2 tours of Iraq since they started dating 2 or 3 years ago. He just signed on for one more year and another tour of the middle east. They look remarkably well rested considering they were out late the night before at the military ball in San Diego, then drove north to his parent's early the next morning for some sort of Veteran's Day observance where he was honored for his service (hence he showed up in uniform).

I'm a new woman

I forgot what my personality was like before I got pregnant. I don't do well with pregnancy hormones. The high levels of progesterone make me anxious and snappish, like a bad case of pms for 9 months. It is very hard to be nice around the house to my family during that time, especially at the end of pregnancy when walking around the house becomes a chore, much less bending over to pick up after everybody.

But now everything is better. I have so much more patience. When ds asks me questions, it is so much easier to respond kindly and even to suggest ways he can "help" me in the kitchen, etc, even if his help means things take a bit longer. It is good for him and for the family. Maybe it is a mixture of lower hormones and higher prolactin. I'm a super-mothering machine. ;-)

Getting organized

I am finally feeling more organized, and like I can handle my life. What I mean is, I was able to run a few errands with the baby yesterday, and it wasn't as bad as I feared. He cried a lot less in his carseat than I imagined he would. And he was a picture of contentment in his sling, which I used when picking up the boys at school and at La Leche League.

Speaking of La Leche, I had a moment there where I thought of my online friends. Well, a couple of moments. There was a pregnant mom sitting next to me who told me that she was due any minute. I asked her exact due date and she said November 18. I said, "oh my gosh! I was due November 26! You are due BEFORE ME!" Well hopefully her time will be here soon. She will be tandem nursing her baby with her toddler. But I remember feeling the frustration with my other pregnancies as time went on. I was so shocked to give birth early this time. Definitely not like me. But my fears did not come true about an early birth. I knew the pushing would be easier with a small child, but I worried that nursing would be SO painful. Well, I did have some soreness, but that has almost completely gone away now and things are going well. I even weighed him on our home scale using the subtraction technique, and he was 7 pounds even with his clothes on. So maybe he is 6.5+ pounds without clothes, meaning that he has surpassed his birth weight 0f 6.25 pounds (he was down to 5 14 last Wednesday). He feels heavier.

I took a pic of myself with A in the Moby Wrap. I love the Moby Wrap. And he loves it too. It is now my favorite carrier. He is my contented little snuggle baby, just like I had hoped. :-D

Back in blue jeans

Here I am today, day 8, in my fat jeans. These are size 10. Two more sizes to go for the size 6'es.

peaceful

typing one-handed

with my left hand! A is nursing great. Still painful at latch, but improving. his bilirubin was 10.4 on day 3, which was good. anything under 12 is good. my cbc showed plenty of hemoglobin ans rbc's. thing is, the second day I came down with a sore throat. the whole family has a cold. great timing, huh? sunday is bris, or circumcision. tons to do here. no time for posting. i will update more later.

postpartum bleeding and lactation

My milk is really coming in today. I think I might try to pump what A doesn't eat for himself. I don't want to lose my abundant supply because of his youth and inexperience. ;-)

I passed a clot yesterday the size of a walnut. And there was one I found the day before the size of a pistachio nut. I wonder if there was retained tissue from the placenta. In 5 prior kids, I have never passed tissue like that before. The good news is that after that happened, the bleeding finally slowed down and the cramping is about 1/4 of what it was. The bad news is that I think I might have lost a lot of blood. We are going to get a CBC run on me today to make sure I have enough red blood cells and to make sure the white count is not too high. I also have night sweats, but that could be from the changing hormones, not necessarily a uterine infection. I have been a little dizzy the past 2 days upon standing up. Good thing I am not driving a car this week. My neighbors, MIL and everybody is pitching in to help get the kids to and from their classes so I don't have to drive. And MIL is driving all the way from Los Angeles, a 1-hour drive to take me to the well baby visit and the lab.

The well-baby visit will figure out what is going on with A's weight and bilirubin. They do a scan of his skin color with some sort of device. Not as exact as a heel stick, but it gives a ballpark figure, they told me. And with that information, I can call the rabbi to get a firm time on the circumcision Sunday afternoon. The rabbi got a little spooked when I told him that A was born at 37 weeks gestation. I am glad that he is cautious with the baby's health. Only it makes a problem calling the caterer and making invitations. Oh well. We do what we can do, right?

New BABY!

Here are some pics of A's birth. I guess those crampy contractions I felt on Saturday night into Sunday were the real thing after all. I went to the hospital to get checked. I was worried because I had a little bloody show and I realized I had not felt kicking for a number of hours. I drove myself to the hospital to get monitored. At that time the contrax were frequent but mildly crampy. That was around 9am.

Got there and when they checked me, I was 2.5 to 3cm dilated with some thickness left in the cervix. That was a big change for me from long, closed and 3cm thick just 3 days prior. The nurse suggested I walk the hallways for a bit and see if things changed. They did. Next check I was 3+cm dilated and fully thinned out. I did more walking, and the contrax came closer and harder. I called DH to get the kids with grandma and get over and meet me in the hospital.

I also decided to get medication. I think I was really not in the mood to be in labor. It was a complete surprise. I didn't want to be there, at that time, going through all that pain. So I got an injection of Nubain when I was about 4cm and that really helped. The lingering pain between contractions completely went away. I continued to make progress quickly and as the Nubain wore off 2 hours later I was 7cm and asked for an epidural. It went in easy and the contrax totally went away, except I got the shakes. That was annoying, but a lot easier to deal with than unrelenting, painful contractions one on top of another. I decided that I had done all natural birthing in the past and I didn't have anything to prove. ;-) The nurse said to call her when I felt the contractions in my bottom. I thought I felt something on one contraction, then called her on the next one. They checked me and yelled for the doctor, the head was *right there*. I pushed exactly 1/2 push and the head was out, followed by a gush of water that soaked the doctor's clothing and the body came out with the gush. The baby came out so smoothly that when they put him on my he was a light gray color, not the deep purple many babies are. He had a full knot in his cord. He must have swam through it at one point in the pg. I was glad that I declined to have my water broken. I think it broke accidentally on my last cervical check at 9 to 10cm. But there was plenty of water up there until the end, giving him a nice cushion. He cried right away and pinked up quickly. He weighed 6 pounds 4 oz., at 3:05pm, at 36w6d gestation. He nursed there on the delivery table and I'm already in love with him. He is so small and sweet. He is quiet and good, too. He barely even squeaks or cries when his diaper is changed.

Lots of amniotic fluid

I had my OB appointment today. The uterus measured 39cm today, and so the doc and I looked at each other, and he seemed worried. I asked if he thought there might be too much amniotic fluid, and he decided to send me down the corridor for an ultrasound. The ultrasound was fun. Baby measured right on for the due date of November 26, 2007. He appeared to be 6.5 pounds. My cervix measured a full 3cm thick (cast iron, remember?). His head circumference was right at the 50th percentile. The amniotic fluid measured 18.8cm, which is a high-normal measurement. Over 20 would be polyhydramnios. {Edit: a quick read around the internet states that over 25 is polyhydramnios. Normal measurements are between 5 and 25} I asked the doc what that meant, where it came from and what it would change with regard to the treatment of the baby and delivery. He said polyhydramnios could indicate diabetes, and the baby's blood sugar would need to be watched carefully after delivery. My blood sugar 2 mornings ago was 78, so I told him that. He said maybe I should take a few readings 2-hours post-meal, which I said was fine.

Otherwise, my blood pressure was 105/67, the baby's heartbeat was 153bpm, and the urine was negative for protein and sugar. I had read up on the meantime about the urine dip tests, and took the sample differently this time. They said that the urine should not be overly concentrated, so make sure to take a drink 1 hour before the test. I think my prior samples were concentrated because I usually have my doc appts first thing in the morning, only after eating cereal but having nothing extra to drink. Also, they said to make sure it is a mid-stream catch, so that the "protein" found isn't from any leftover pregnancy discharge in the area. It worked better, apparently.

I got one picture from the ultrasound. I will have to see if it will scan in. It is really hard to see what it is. There is a large circle on the right, the back of baby's skull, and a little of the spine from the neck. She could not get a face shot because he is locked into the pelvis right where I said he was, with his face to the back/right.

I was a little bummed to see my cervix was still 3cm thick and closed. I have SO many contractions. I guess this will be a typical pregnancy for me with little to no cervical changes until after 39 weeks. Except with my uterus measuring ahead, I'm lumbering around like I am ALREADY 39 weeks. Oh well. Just a few more weeks to go. I'll try not to complain too much. :-)

Falling in love again

I'm ready. I'm ready to meet this baby and fall in love with him. In my imagination, he is cute, with perfect tiny parts and a sweet face with full cheeks. I can't wait to snuggle him on my chest and smell his hair.

I can't believe how old my other kids are. And I'm still in love with them, after all these years. It is amazing our capacity to love. In families, love only multiplies, never subtracts.

Locked and loaded...

...and ready to go! The baby is now in the proper final birthing position. He is head down and his body is lying on the left. And he has been stuck there for at least 1 full week now. For the prior couple of weeks before that, he was head down but his body swiveled from left to right, depending on which side I slept on. And before that he was flipping head up/head down. He is right on time, compared to my other children. They were all birthed from that same position. It is great that he is being so cooperative. I don't want to need a cesarean section for my 6th birth, and almost no docs will deliver a breech baby any way except a c/section.

I read something online yesterday that made me think. This gal had given birth and she had taken her heparin shot that morning, not knowing she was about to start real labor. So she was not allowed to have an epidural. That makes sense. Bleeding into the spinal area could be bad. Nobody had mentioned that yet. Good thing I read around a lot. I was planning on doing it without an epidural anyway, but that is one more thing to take into consideration if I don't get much warning of the labor.

My bag is finally packed. And I have a list of last minute items to throw in. I'm beginning to feel more organized. I even picked up extra cam-corder tapes. I love birth videos. We have a nice one of our youngest right after he came into the world. It is so precious to see his first moments again.

Today is officially 4 weeks to go. 28 days. I expect to deliver between 3 and 4 weeks from now. Time is getting close.

Struggling in the muck

My pool is finally getting cleaner. There is a layer of silt along the bottom of the pool now, but the 3-inch deep pile of leaves is gone. I figured I would have to do this all by myself. The pool man came today, I caught up with him as he was on his way out. I asked him if he vacuumed the pool and he said no. There were too many leaves. Just keep emptying the bag from the Polaris and eventually the leaves would be gone. OK, I had removed most of them by hand using the net and pole the past few days anyway, so whatever. I asked him if he shocked the pool with chemicals as well and he said yes. He says he has too many pools all in the same bad condition to spend all day vacuuming a few. I think I have emptied that mucky Polaris bag about 15 times in the past few days. Not to mention untangling it in the first place from the concrete-anchored basketball hoop that had been blown into the pool. This is the second time I have had to fish that horribly heavy contraption out of the pool. And I know I was in the second or third trimester of pregnancy the last time too. Good thing I only have 31 days to go with this pregnancy. If all this strenuous activity brings on labor things should be fine.

Oh, you ask, why is my husband not doing all this? Well, he hurt his back putting topper on our lawn a month ago. And he works from dawn till dark so forget it. Also, if the pool becomes too much of a problem, he might decide to drain the thing and be done with it. He doesn't really like the pool. But the kids and I do, so I try to take care of it so he doesn't have to think about it.

I'm looking longingly at those piccies at the bottom of this blog of the pool from June and August. I wonder how long it takes to get all the silt filtered out of the water? The Polaris is usually only running 1 hour per day. I have it on all day now and I am checking the bag every hour or 2. Also, I think by running it, it kicks up the silt into the water so the filter can get rid of it. I just finished using a house broom to sweep the silt off of the steps into the center of the pool because I don't think the Polaris reaches over there too well.

Now I just need to get the gardener to cut down the tree branch that's hanging half into the water of the Jacuzzi. It's no hurry, I guess, since the water quality is not up to par right now. But I'm determined to get my pool back by next weekend.

Today's OB appointment

The "bad" news (I use quotations because while I find it disturbing, my OB says it is standard) is that there was a trace of protein in my urine. No sugar. I looked carefully at the strip myself, and saw the one square was clear yellow, and the other square was yellow with a greenish tint around the leading edge. My blood pressure is 115/63 though, which negates any concern related to protein in the urine. As spilling protein and high blood pressure could indicate toxemia/pre-eclampsia, but that does not appear to be the case for me. So what *does* it mean? Doc says my kidneys are working overtime to filter for 2, and that they will tend to spill protein/sugar off and on no matter what I eat, and it is not related to what I eat. Not to over do the sugar, of course, but I don't have to completely stay away from it either. I mean, I HAVE to eat SOMETHING. I'm HUNGRY. OK, I'll stop shouting. But don't stand between a pregnant woman and her food. Really. ;-)

Otherwise, the baby's heart beat was 143 and the fundus measured 37 cm, still 1.5 weeks ahead. This is on par with the measurement of my youngest, who, at 2 days before his due date weighed a little over 8 pounds. That is good. Oh, and my Beta Strep was negative, so I won't have to take IV antibiotics during delivery. Yay!

I also had some questions for the doc. I mentioned the hypoglycemic episode last week and he didn't think it was a big deal. Just don't go hungry. And I asked him if I would be in danger if I went into labor so quickly that I didn't have time to skip a heparin shot. Would I bleed to death? He said no. That is not generally a problem, and if my uterus bleeds too much, they can inject some stuff called Hemabate directly into the uterus. This might be a type of prostaglandin, I'm not sure. I'll have to do a search and find out more about it.

So it was a good appointment. Baby is healthy, growing on schedule. My weight is good. Up 20 pounds since I started weighing in. I'm still on schedule for a 25 pound weight gain, which is perfect for me.

This weekend the 8-y-o and 4-y-o go to their sibling class at the hospital. They are to bring a baby doll or teddy bear for diaper changes. I am really excited about this. It seems so much more real to me with the family involved in going to the hospital to learn about the new baby. :-)

Lamaze refresher class and belly pic

Here is today's belly pic at 35w2d, with a pic of my youngest DS.

Went to Lamaze refresher at the hospital last night. It was nice. Only a couple of hours, including a tour. I really wanted the tour because I had to switch my care to a different hospital. The one where I delivered my 2 youngest, you may recall, got rid of their maternity wing. So now I have to drive much farther, 35 minutes as opposed to 10 minutes. I guess in a pinch I can still go to the old hospital and deliver in the emergency room, but that doesn't sound good to me. So I will try to leave the house earlier in labor this time and see how things go.

Too much wind!

Here are some pictures I took this morning, all within a mile of my house.

This giant pine tree fell half into the tennis court of a local park.


Here is another downed tree in the same park.




















I will have to call the electrician after the winds die down. I wondered why the light never came on last night.


Pretty dramatic walk to the bus stop with DS this morning.


Another local tree.














I noticed the neighbor did not trim their tree this year.















I can't comment directly on the wildfires ravaging the southern California area because thankfully there is no fire currently burning in my area. The smell of smoke is strong, though, and the sunlight has turned an amber color. I would like to send my wishes for everybody affected by the fires that their houses and family and friends and the brave firefighters all stay safe. :-(

blood sugar; blogging

I have had low blood sugar episodes in the past, and they seem to come on very quickly during late pregnancy. No surprise there, with another little being sharing my blood glucose. I was at home yesterday when I felt the symptoms starting, so I went into the bathroom and used the blood glucose monitor, curious what blood sugar level trigger the symptoms of dizziness, sweating and shakiness. My blood sugar was exactly 60. An online search showed that was hypoglycemic, but not dangerously low. I ate a meal, as I was hungry, along with some candy to bring the numbers up. I still didn't feel very good afterwards, and 45 minutes later my blood sugar was up to 137. Anything under 140 after a meal is OK. This morning I checked my fasting level upon awakening and it was 82, which is perfect. I think my problem is that I am insulin resistant. It showed up on my 3-hour glucose-insulin test. I recall the second hour of the test showed elevated insulin levels, and the blood sugar was resisting coming down. The first and 3rd hour numbers were more normal. If someone is insulin resistant, or somewhat insulin resistant, their body can secrete too much insulin, and the blood sugar can dip too low after meals. Yesterday I had eaten a bowl of cereal at 6am, and by 9:15am I was hypoglycemic. I used to be able to wait until 10 or 10:30am before needing my mid-morning snack, but I guess little bub needs more food than that. And I need to remember to keep snacks in the car and my purse so I don't have any "episodes" while I am out. The good news is that I am not diabetic. And while I have relatives, my mother in particular, who have problems handling sugar like I do, nobody in our known family tree ever had diabetes. I won't rest on those laurels, though. I'd hate to be the first one.

I read an opinion article this morning about posting on sites like facebook and blogging. About how we show a whitewashed/airbrushed version of ourselves, hiding our flaws. I was thinking about that recently. Yes, this blog is whitewashed. Of course it is. It is a publicly accessible record of my thoughts and family pictures. It is sort of a diary, but even with "private" written diaries, they don't tend to remain private. I want a blog that can be read by my family members someday. They don't all know about it right now, but if something were to ever happen to me, I would hope that they would find it and find comfort in being able to read more about me. So if I leave out certain lesser incidents and thoughts that happen in my life, I think that is OK. Some things are nobody's business. And personal details of the interactions between myself and my husband, for instance, should and do remain between us. So from time to time I may post about things from my past. This will be an effort to document some of the more memorable moments of my life. I may have forgotten to mention them to my kids. Or it may be that it feels more comfortable to write about them than to talk about them. I don't want all the fun/scary stories to be lost. I hope to live to at least 90, of course, but I am not going to count on it. So in that regard, those of you who know how to contact my family, if something happens to me, please do, and feel free to tell them about the blog. Thanks.

Forgot to mention

Doc is having me start every week now. I guess because I am of advanced maternal age. So Thursday mornings are IT. And the FFN test results from yesterday are negative. That's good. I don't really want to have the bub this early. I think he must be head-down because the contractions I have cause SO much bladder pressure. Eeeek!

OB appt update

The appt was mostly good, but a little bad, in my opinion. I spilled a trace amount of sugar into my urine. I know my body has a hard time handling sugar, and I haven't exactly been an angel about the sweets, but in 6 pregnancies, this is the very first time this has happened. I asked the doctor about it right away. He said as long as my fasting glucose is under 105 that I don't have gestational diabetes. My last 3 readings were 90, 88 and 80. On the other hand, I feel that I probably should lay off the frozen Snicker bars and other chocolate confections. It was probably a bad idea to buy them during pregnancy in the first place. I hope I don't develop GD. To do that would put me at high risk for diabetes later in life, and that is one horrible disease. I remember when I was taking differential diagnosis examinations in chiropractic college. I told a friend of mine if the question was multiple choice, choose diabetes because diabetes causes *everything*. I'm not there yet, but I had better watch my p's and q's. So that was the bad news.

On the good side, the baby's heartbeat was 146, and my blood pressure was 106 over 67 (immediately after the nurse told me about the blood sugar). The fundus measured 1.5 weeks ahead at 36cm. Doc asked me if I felt bigger this time. I said that I usually feel miserably large at the end of all my pregnancies, so it is hard to tell. He seems to be under the impression that this baby is big. I'm not sure to set much store by that, though, as I recall he may have said that in the past and it didn't come true.

They ran a FFN test again, because I have been getting a lot of contractions. And as long as they were at it, they went ahead and ran the beta strep test as well. Doc said my cervix was neither dilated nor effaced. Typical. My cast iron cervix isn't budging, no matter how many practice contractions I have. Fine with me. A full term delivery is fine. FINE! ;-D

And I had them call in the prescription for heparin and syringes. I am supposed to switch from Lovenox to heparin at 36 weeks, so a week from Monday. That way it only sticks around for 12 hours instead of 36 hours, and so it should be easier to stop the shots when I detect that labor has started. Hopefully.

Today's Joke

Here is a joke sent to me via email by my mother in Washington State.

HUMOR FOR LEXOPHILES (LOVERS OF WORDS):

I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was resisting a
rest.
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off?
He's all right now.
The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was
Sir Cumference.

The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a
little behind in his work.
To write with a broken pencil
is pointless.

When fish are in schools they sometimes take
de bate.
The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a
small medium at large.

A thief who stole a calendar got
twelve months.

A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a
hardened criminal.
Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be
charged with stalking.
We'll never run out of math teachers because
they always multiply.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles,
U.C.L.A.
The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a
number on it.

The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on
shaky ground.

The dead batteries were given out
free of charge.

If you take a laptop computer for a run you could
jog your memory.

A dentist and a manicurist fought
tooth and nail.
A bicycle can't stand alone;
it is two tired.

A will is a
dead giveaway.
Time flies like an arrow;
fruit flies like a banana.

A backward poet writes in
verse.
In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your
Count that votes.
A chicken crossing the road:
poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist you
can get repossessed.

With her marriage she got a new name
and a dress.

Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you
A-flat miner.

When a clock is hungry it goes
back four seconds.
The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine
was fully recovered.

A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France,
resulted in Linoleum Blownapart.

You are stuck with your debt if
you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia:
The LAN down under.

He broke into song because
he couldn't find the key.

A calendar's days
are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted:
'Taint yours, and 'taint mine.

A boiled egg
is hard to beat.

He had a photographic memory which
was never developed.

A plateau is a high
form of flattery.

Those who get too big for their britches
will be exposed in the end.

When you've seen one shopping center
you've seen a mall.

If you jump off a Paris bridge,
you are in Seine.

When she saw her first strands of gray hair,
she thought she'd dye.

Bakers trade bread recipes
on a knead to know basis.

Santa's helpers are
subordinate clauses.
Acupuncture:
a jab well done.

Comments from the ladies

Today it started. I walked into the mommy-and-me class with my youngest and the ladies looked at my belly. One of them said, "are you *still* pregnant?? Haven't you had that baby YET???" I said, "Thanksgiving." So is that in 3 weeks? 2 months? No, closer to 5 weeks. Then another mom chimed in "you look so small." I plastered my dress to my belly to show how large the bump was, assuring her that the baby measured average like all my kids, then she said, "I mean the rest of you is so small". That one made me smile. I said "that's the whole idea. To have the baby and be back to my normal size." I know the first gal didn't mean any harm. It is just that I want to try to savor these last weeks of calm before the "baby storm" starts. And to parade my huge 8-9 month belly around town. I was thinking today of the preemie moms who miss out on that part of the third trimester. I am determined to enjoy it without ruining this special time with negative thinking. Of course I have my aches and pains. It is hard to turn over at night. I had a lot of contractions yesterday and one of my uterine ligaments was very sore. I even took the day off work because of it, and that is highly unusual for me. I have my OB appt tomorrow, so I am sure they will check things out. I might even be due for my Bstrep test. I had been avoiding watching those TLC channel shows about ladies giving birth, but with my day off and resting in the recliner, I decided to tune in yesterday. Of course, it turned out to be a most devastating show. The lady was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer around the time of her positive pregnancy test. When she was in labor, she mentioned that she was having "pregnancy pain" below her waist, and deep nerve pain of some sort above her waist. That sounded like a very bad sign. Cancer is not supposed to be painful unless it has spread. Then on the last moment of the show they said that it was in memoriam of her and she died in 2005. :-(

I need to take a new belly shot. I want one with the kid(s). I have a cute one from 34 weeks in my prior pregnancy with DS all smiles hugging my belly. He (the 8-y-o) gets SO excited about the new babies. He kisses my tummy every night when I hug him goodnight, and he says goodnight to the little baby.

Science Center Day

We had a blast at the Science Center in Los Angeles yesterday. My oldest DS turned 17 last Monday, and this is where he wanted to go. We baked cupcakes, got the gang together, and headed out. I asked DH to take care of the youngest, because I didn't want to worry about him running away in the crowd, and we were going to watch an IMAX film. We ended up watching one about Dinosaurs in 3D. I have some pictures from the science center, and a couple from DD's college apartment too. It was the first time I had been there. I had driven by in the past, but I couldn't help her move in because of my condition, and I have been avoiding long drives, too. She says she is OK there for now, but she looks forward to finding a place next year with fewer roommates (there are 10 there now counting her).

Here is the birthday boy (17) on the high wire bicycle:






















Little brother (8) was also barely tall enough to ride the bicycle. He had been turned down based on height last time, so he was really happy this time.


The kids loved playing blue-screen volleyball. It is where your body shows up on a computer screen and you wave your arms around to "hit" the ball over the net. All the kids are mine except the kid in the tan t-shirt.


Here is DD's top bunk bed in her apartment. She made and hung those curtains behind her and bought and hung the little shelf on the left all by herself with the tools we bought last summer.


Here is DS (4) climbing onto the bunk:

DS posing with Stanley Cup

Here is a piccy from my camera phone. It had a few strange artifacts, probably due to other people using flash photography at the same time, but I think DS looks SO cute in his little snow suit. He was waiting for ice skating class to start last week when they showed up with the Stanley Cup and let people pose with it for 30 minutes before leaving again. So here is my 4-y-o.

Edited to add: DS is the boy in the red cap. And the Stanley Cup was won by the Anaheim Ducks hockey team this past season.

Halfway through baby to-do list

Here is the list from before:

Here are the things I have accomplished:
* finish potty training youngest DS (age 2.75) He is doing great on this. Very few accidents.
* purchase a Moby Wrap. Done.
* purchase a Miracle Blanket. Done.
* locate the newborn boy clothing, launder and place it in baskets under the changing table. Done.
* call the caterer and get things set up as much as possible for the bris (Jewish circumcision get-together on baby's 8th day). I'm excited, my favorite caterer is still in business and has me on his calendar. Yay!

Still yet to do:
* ask oldest DS to set up the bassinet again.
* pack hospital suitcase including Maya wrap ring sling and Over the shoulder baby holder ring sling. Pack baby's bag with coming home outfit.
* type up Thanksgiving recipes/menu for my mom in case I'm not available to help out on T-day.
* make and freeze lasagnas/casseroles.
* wash and install newborn car seat.
* boil parts for breast pump.

Blast from the past

Going to the Karate Tournament yesterday reminded me of old times. Soke Kubota was kind enough to introduce me, on one occasion, to Mr. James Caan, a movie star and student of his. This picture was taken of the 3 of us around 1997, after Soke and "Jimmy" Caan had a workout. Imagine my surprise when Soke gave me this signed photo to remember our fun Chinese lunch. The signature reads, "To Mary Ann, my best always, James Caan" :-D

Went to the annual Karate Tournament today

I try to go to the Karate Tournament every year. This is the group that I used to practice Karate with before moving away from the area when I got married. These people are amazing. And none of them seem to age for all the years that have passed. I think it is because they are in such incredibly good shape from the heavy Karate workouts. Soke Takayuki Kubota was kind enough to pose for a picture with me. So here I am, at 33 weeks of pregnancy, sitting with one of the top Karate masters in the world.

For the curious, here is his official website:
http://www.ikakarate.com/

OB checkup

Everything went great at the OB checkup yesterday, by the way. My ffn test was negative. Good thing I avoided you-know-what before the exam, lol. My blood pressure was around 90 over 60, typical pregnancy bp for me. The urine had no protein or sugar. The heartbeat was 150. And the fundus measured 1/2 week ahead at 33cm. So all systems are go. Doc says if we can keep the baby in until after Oct 15, he will feel *very* confident about guaranteeing the baby's health. I don't think it will be an issue. My cervix was long and closed when he checked it. And my usual pattern is lots of practice contractions, no movement of the cervix until the last week, which should be around mid-November, not mid-October.

Organized my closet today. That is where I found the potty lid. Piled under loads of junk, bags, boxes and wrapping paper tubes. Here is what it looks like now. I think I'm "nesting". :-D

I found the potty seat!

Here is the closest picture I could find on the net. My potty lid is actually from 18 years ago. I remember I had it for my oldest kids. Joseph already tried it out and I think this will help us when we are out and he has to go potty. He is doing great this week. Only about 1 accident per day. Sometimes he ends the day in the same pants he started with. I'm so very proud of him.

And he is also learning to sleep in his big-boy bed. We set up a twin mattress on the floor of his room, since he started sleeping on the floor anyway and ignoring the crib. And I read to him in a reclining position now, instead of hunched over on the floor. I think he is beginning to see how nice it is to have a big boy bed and pillow, with sheets and blankets. Except last night I still found him on the floor wedged behind his door and had to carry him to bed.

She is starting to appreciate me

DD says that the biggest adjustment to apartment living is getting used to getting her own meals every day. Every meal. Every day. Day after day after day. I laughed. Last year she was in the dorms and could swipe her meal card twice a day for an all-you-can-eat cafeteria situation. Then she comes home to visit and after she gets her cereal in the morning, there was usually some sort of lunch happening and home-cooked meals for dinner. I always prided myself on serving decent dinners for the kids. I want them to get used to it so they will cook for their families when they are grown up. My mom did it for me and I want to pass on the tradition.

I think part of her difficulty lies in the fact that she likes to eat nutritious food. Many students simply eat lots of fast food. It is cheap and filling. But she wants to do better than that, and that takes effort, especially when one doesn't own a car. The supermarket is a few block's walk away from her apartment, and she can only buy what she can carry.

Weight is still OK

I am up 18 pounds total as of today. I was a bit shocked to step on the scale, but when I put the data into the weight tracker and saw it on the graph, I realized that I had not weighed in for 2 weeks. I had gained a full 2 pounds, but that is appropriate. With 8 more weeks to go, that keeps me on track to gain 26 pounds in the pregnancy. Baby is gaining 1/2 pound a week now and it has to come from somewhere. I guess all those frozen Snicker Bars and Dove Chocolates didn't kill my weight gain pattern like I had feared. Only 7-8 more weeks of indulgence, then I'm back on my stricter eating habits and watching my weight. Until then the mice will play....

Sukkot

Did you know that we are in the middle of another Jewish holiday right now? It is called Sukkot. As Jewish people we eat our meals and sometimes even sleep outside in "booths" called a Sukkah. It commemorates a time long ago when there was so much work to do at harvest time, the farmers would actually live in the fields in booths until the work was done. It also commemorates the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, when the Hebrews lived in fragile booths and didn't have real homes.

The boys were so excited to see the walls and roof of the Sukkah up. They were even more excited when I told them that they were old enough to decorate the Sukkah themselves. It is traditional to hang fruits/vegetables from the ceiling. We use plastic fruits/veggies from Michael's Crafts. And we like to also hang twinkly lights. It is very pretty out there eating our meals under the lights.

Here is a picture of my crew in the middle of decorating. I took the pic through the kitchen window.

Newest belly pic, 31.5 weeks

Here is my belly. The top of the fundus has been in contact with my ribcage for over a week now, and the reflux is fairly constant. But this is pregnancy stuff. Same as when I was in my 20s.

Devan's potty training summary ;-)

Anything for you, Devan. :-D

New potty training update first. HE USED THE BIG POTTY AND IS SO PROUD HE KEEPS DOING IT!!!!! This may not sound like a big deal, but it really helps with my feng shui, so to speak. Now when DH or I want to take him out with us, we don't have to drag a full potty, although it is convenient to leave it in the minivan on the floor between the seats, but all we really need to bring is the potty seat insert. So picture us at any restaurant or store and we hear the dreaded words, "I have to go potty" 80 I know I even have a folding potty seat insert stored in some box somewhere. Ah well, I'll probably locate that after he doesn't need it anymore.

Potty Training Synopsis (for boys--girls tend to potty train themselves)

1. Encourage the little one to sit on the potty and try to tinkle. Find a time, such as when you are drawing his bath, that it will be almost irresistible. There is something about the sound of the rushing bath water that makes boys want to tinkle into the bath. So sit him on the potty instead and see if he goes. Keep trying this off and on before bed or 1 hour after drinking juice. He needs to have some control over letting the pee pee out before he will be ready for the intensive program. The last thing you want to do is to set up a power struggle with the boy. He will win. That that will be a bad thing. He can't realize how important this is to you. Try to keep your voice light-hearted and do nice high-fives when he is able to make it work.

2. When he seems to have some control, usually starting about 2 3/4 years, you will need to pick a time where you have 2 or so days with little scheduled. Plan to stay home and spend a lot of time chasing your little one and watching him like a hawk. On that day, place the potty in the family room where all the playing/TV watching and family action takes place. Take off his diaper in the morning and place him in only a T-shirt. He may complain and ask for a diaper. Think of some excuse. "The diapers are tired, they need a rest" worked over here. Then start on your morning routine, eating breakfast, and suggest sitting on the potty about every 30 minutes or so. He will eventually dribble a little in there. The moment that happens, make a big celebration and get him a sticker. He can put it on his shirt or on the inner potty lid. Every half hour or so keep suggesting sitting on the potty. Depending on how much he has been drinking, he will probably not potty every time. But each time he does, another celebration and another sticker. The stickers work well to enlist his enthusiasm. That is essential.

3. Next step is to see if he will potty without your prompting. Keep an eye on him and if you see him peeing on the floor (you may want to place comforters over the couch because he might forget when he is sitting and relaxing) pick him up and race him over to the potty. Hopefully, though, he has pottied enough that he will take himself over there and use it, even if you are off typing on the computer or fixing dinner. This is a very big step. Another celebration and sticker, of course. Your question will be, what about poo poo messes on the floor? This is rarely a problem. Of the youngest 3 boys I have potty trained, there was 1 poo poo mess, and that was diarrhea. I don't think he could help it. And the stain eventually came out of the carpet with numerous passes with the Bissel steamer. Mostly they wake up poopy in their diaper, so you don't need to deal with it. And who knows. You may discover a poop in the potty one of these days. Isn't that a wonderful thought? Then move the potty into the bathroom. Be sure to show him where it is and bring him to it a few times.

4. After a week or 2 without pants (diapers only for nap and sleep time), try some loose pants. Maybe pajama bottoms or absorbent sweat suit pants. No underwear. The underwear, even cloth training pants, will make his mind think "diaper", and he will wet. He will have accidents in the loose pants, too, so have a bunch of them available. The cloying wet feel of wet sweat pants is unpleasant. He will probably take off the pants himself and you will find them around the house. Eventually he will have fewer and fewer accidents.

5. At that time, you will want to place him in regular big-boy underwear. This is harder to pull up and down as there are 2 layers of clothes. But I know that some preschools will insist that they wear underwear and pants. You may want to suggest that he potty at times, to keep him in the habit of having dry pants. So have him pull them down and maybe help him pull them up until he gets the hang of it. He may have more accidents, but don't lose heart. You have gotten this far. Each accident is a learning experience. Bring lots of back-up clothes when you are out. Bring the potty with if you have a big enough car. Every time you place a diaper/pull up on him during the day, you are *un-training* him. Resist.

6. Make sure you do not teach him how to pee in the standing position right away. He may find this fun, but it will make it much longer before he learns how to make poo poo in the potty. So have him pee in the seated position, pointing himself downward so the spray doesn't come forward onto his clothes. The next step is using the large water toilet. A potty seat insert and a step stool help a lot. That way they aren't teetering on the edge. Encourage him to use the big potty, but allow him the choice of potties.

7. Eventually he will learn how to use the big potty without the stool and insert. You may want to help him learn to balance this way. That will make leaving the house even easier. And you can introduce peeing in the standing position, but only if he has mastered making poo poos in the potty. Otherwise wait a month or 2. There is no hurry.

I hope this helps. GL and remember that every kid will potty train eventually. :-D

Making progress

I feel like my life is revolving around the countdown for baby. 9 more weeks and counting. The potty training is going well. We have made it to level 4. He is wearing Fruit of the Looms under his pants now. He is still afraid of the big potty, but I just located the padded toilet seat insert from the garage that he can use to sit on the big potty. Hopefully he will find it cute and want to try it out. I'm pretty relaxed about the whole thing. We went to the park today, and I brought the potty in the car. I was pretty sure he would have an accident during play, though, which he did. He was wearing corduroy pants which were very absorbent. His socks didn't even get wet. He looked so shocked and walked bow-legged all the way to the car. I think it might have been a "learning experience". :-)

I also went through all the older boy clothes and divided them by sizes and donated a bunch of stuff that was not to my liking. For example, all the "camp" t-shirts that nobody wants to wear anymore. And the wide-waisted pants that never fit anybody until the legs were too short. None of my boys were husky like that. I had to look for the clothes because I knew there was a bunch of size 5 stuff that DS needed, and if I didn't dig it out, he was basically out of clothes. I found the mother lode, and now he has tons of pants, shirts and sleep wear. Yay!

The sock drawer was out of control, too. Does anybody want a bunch of cheap, never-used socks that cut off the child's circulation around the ankle? Me neither! :-D I tossed those.

I also found the boxes of baby clothes. I will have to go through them another day. I'll have somebody move them upstairs so I can do it slowly, then launder them. I know there are about 4 preemie-sized outfits that work on newborn babies. I like them in those for the first week or 2, otherwise they are swimming in the 0-3 months size.

The nurses rolled their eyes...

...when I told them that the ffn test had been performed about 4 hours after DTD. They later told me that the ffn tests for protein, and that semen or blood *will* cause a false positive. Not maybe. Will. I didn't know. I had heard rumors on the internet, of course, and mentioned it to the doc office in the afternoon, not the morning, but I guess doc was CYAing.

So there were a couple of good contrax and a few very small ones. More of an irritable uterus. And the little guy had a nice heart rate that responded well to his kicking and the contrax. She said his tracing looked "beautiful". Another good thing was that I got to go scope out the parking situation. I haven't been down there for my official hospital tour yet, and I didn't want to have to walk a mile to L&D in full labor. They have these nice parking spots in front of the ER that are for maternity drop-off. I'm still a little perturbed to have to be going to a new hospital this time. The hospital I had delivered my 2 youngest boys at closed their maternity ward last year!!!! It was a 10 minute drive to that hospital. And so now I have to drive 35 minutes. Which may not seem like a lot, but in full labor, every block and bump while driving is agony. And my labors go so fast. I better get into the car a little earlier than I did for the last one. 6cm when I got into the car and 7cm when they checked me at the hospital. A longer drive would *definitely* have affected things.

Off to labor and delivery

It's not as dramatic as it sounds, lol. I tend to get preterm-ish bh contrax with every pregnancy, and never delivered before 9 days before the due date. I had been getting more this past week and complained to the doc about it at my checkup this am. I told him that they were coming sometimes every 3 minutes in the evening about every 3 days. Which is really typical for me. He did an ffn test to be safe, and told me my cervix palpated as long and closed. I just heard from the doc office that the ffn was positive and I need to report to l&d to get on the monitor. I asked if BD 4 hours before the test might cause a false positive. They said even if it is a false pos, I need to be monitored. I'm not too bothered, because I really have been worrying about the little guy. I'm a worrier, and the little one has been having a lot of hiccups, which I also told the doctor about. He assured me the hiccups were fine. So now I'm waiting 45 minutes for dh to get home from work. No way I'm dragging 3 boys to l&d, ages 8, 4 and 2. I'll bring my crocheting and a reading book and maybe get some shut-eye. ;-)

Ooops. There was a mild contraction. Maybe I shouldn't have vacuumed my car out just now. But I couldn't STAND the crumbs anymore. :-?

DD is adjusting to college life

This is my daughter's first year in an apartment. She has been calling me more often now, and the former attitude is gone. I'm glad. She and I had always been close. Maybe staying here all summer just got on her nerves. Of course, now it is her roommates who are getting on her nerves. She ended up with a group of party animals, and she feels out of place. She is stubbornly refusing to stay up until dawn smoking and drinking with the rest. I told her I was proud of her for being herself, and not feeling like she needs to "be cool" like that. She goes to sleep at 10pm with ear plugs in her ears so the partying doesn't bother her. Hopefully the kids calm down when classes start next week. In the meantime, her roommates cook in her pots and pans and then "forget" to wash them. I asked her about the vacuuming situation and she said that though her room is spotless, the rest of the apartment is in "squalor" with so many fast food wrappers on the floor that there isn't room to vacuum. She can't wait to get a smaller place with more normal/mature roommates and live more up to her standards.

A belly pic and random updates

Here is my belly at 30 weeks. I barely fit into this dress, which is really a nursing dress. But with my wardrobe dwindling quickly, I need to squeeze into all the random clothes I can. Only 2 more months (or so) and I'll have a lot of my wardrobe back again. Or at least the pieces that are amenable to nursing an infant.

I'm feeling mostly good. I had a little tummy upset a couple of days ago. Not fun when the intestines are cramping and the little one is kicking right into the spot. 8O Otherwise I have not reached the completely miserable stage yet. I am able to bend over to pick up toys off the floor, but I prefer to make the boys do it as good training for them. I can still run errands, but if I overdo it I tend to get a lot of contractions afterwards. I'm not too worried about the contractions. Of course I'll run to the hospital to get checked if they come too close together, but the painless contrax prior to 38 weeks never led to anything with me in the past 5 pgs. I refer to it as my "cast iron cervix". Never birth a baby before it's time. :-D

I'm not looking forward to labor and delivery. I can handle most of it, except the the last 30 minutes. Eeeeeek! That is the point that I lose control and decide to run away. But there's no place to go. :-(

Potty training is going well finally. The youngest has graduated to level 3 potty training. Level 1 is the potty in the living room and he is undressed from the waist down. That lasted for 2 weeks. Level 2 was wearing loose pants with no underwear (underwear makes him think it is a diaper). Level 3 is wearing loose pants with no underwear and moving the potty into the bathroom. The next step will be levels 4 and 5, transitioning into underwear under his pants and then learning how to use the grownup toilet. But I really am content to take things slowly at this point. No rush. I am no longer perspiring and chasing after him. He rarely has accidents. He runs to the potty and handles things himself when he has to go. He only wears 2 diapers/pullups per day now, at nap and bedtime. And he went poo poo in the potty a couple of times last week, which is a big step for a boy his age.

Busy week

I have a lot to do this week.

Yesterday, I hardly had time to catch my breath. I got up early, got myself and everybody dressed, got DS to the school bus and went to work at the office. When I got home after lunch, I pulled together the snow pants, jackets, knit hats and gloves for the 8-y-o and 4-y-o for their ice skating class. They had a great time. Then home again, rushing to cook dinner, and greeting the babysitter because it was back-to-school night for the 3rd grader. Good thing I went because this is going to be a challenging year. DS will need to pass tests at school on material that we never studied at home. He will need to extrapolate from prior spelling tests to spell new words altogether.

And tonight is Rosh Hashana. I already baked the special bread, Challah. The house is smelling good. And there is a nice beef stew in the crock pot. I got some apples and honey as well. Apples dipped in honey is a traditional food for a sweet new year. I told my 4-y-o about it before naptime and he ran around the house telling his little brother "HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" I love the enthusiasm of children. :-D The 3rd grader is happy because he gets to have Thursday and Friday off of school.

Yesterday was September 11th. I felt bad because I had *no* time to sit and reflect. Thinking back to that day, I feel desolate. So many innocent lives lost. I remember I had just dropped the kids off at school and turned on the radio driving home to hear the DJs gasping and talking about New York. I rushed home to turn on the television. I watched the news all morning, in my apartment, while spending some time on the patio applying stain to a new toy box. I remember my anger at hearing that this was done on purpose by organized teams of Arab terrorists. In addition, an upstairs neighbor of mine sang LOUD Islamic chants for about 3 hours straight, the type you would hear at a mosque. This man had never before prayed publicly and never did it again after that. Only on THAT DAY. I could not understand the words, but on a day like September 11, 2001, it sounded an awful lot like a VICTORY DANCE! :-( I was so angry I was seeing red, so I held back from searching through the complex for who it was. I later called the FBI tip line and reported the incident.

Underwater adventures

Also, the question was asked, exactly how did I get all the kids to post like that underwater? Here's how it went.

I wanted to make sure that I took a good group shot of all 5 kids before September, so I could include it in my Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) cards. All of my kids love the water, and I thought an underwater shot of the entire crew would be unusual and fun. In June all of them came to live with me from their various locations. DD returned from college, and DS-16 from his Dad's house. One problem was that DS-8 was scheduled out for a 3-week vacation with his dad from mid July through the first week of August. Also, earlier in the summer, both of the youngest boys were unable to hold their breath underwater. They were in private swim classes, though, and that program emphasized how to hold breath underwater, among other safe-swimming strategies. So I decided that mid-August would be a good time for it, and made a mental note. I needed all 5 kids to be *home* in mid-day when the sun was at it's zenith as well, because evening shots in the pool are too dark. There was a day in mid August when both teens were off work on the same day and all the little ones were home from classes/camps. I informed them that I had heated the pool to 82 degrees and that it was time for our group picture. I went that morning to get a waterproof disposable camera, and they were sold out at the first store, so I had to go to another store, where they had one left. Then I asked the kids to please put on their "long" suits, because I would want to share the picture widely, and I didn't want to feel like I was showing their little chests/bodies around on the net or to all the relatives. I made DD wear my black swim shirt over her bikini, and she wore jogging shorts. Everybody else wore their wet suits. The hard part was that I, too, had to suit up for the water, because *somebody* had to take the shot. I had a brand new pair of goggles, too, that turned out to leak like a sieve. I didn't realized it until then, but leaky goggles are worse than no goggles at all, because they hold the water on your eyes, even after you come up for air. All the other goggles were in use by the kids, so I found an old mask of DS's and it was water-tight, although I don't like my nose plugged up. But anything for art, right? ;-) So I got them into position, DD holding the youngest and DS holding the next-youngest, and the middle one in the middle. We took about 10 dunks total. There were only 2 shots where dd was looking at the camera instead of ds, and I liked the look of that better. That really narrowed it down. Then between those 2 shots, I picked the one where the most kids were smiling. I had 30 pics printed at the drug store, and I've been mailing out 4 by 6s in cards this past week. The relatives love them. And DS-4 got an assignment from his preschool to bring in a family picture for back-to-school night, and that is what I'm sending with him. I bet *none* of the other kids have a pic like that. :-D

To Do

Someone on another site asked for pre-baby to do lists. After I posted, I thought it would be fun to share it here:

There isn't too much to do before baby, as this is my 5th boy in a row. But I do have some plans:

* finish potty training youngest DS (age 2.75)
* purchase a Moby Wrap
* purchase a Miracle Blanket
* ask oldest DS to set up the bassinet again.
* locate the newborn boy clothing, launder and place it in baskets under the changing table (still set up from prior ds).
* pack hospital suitcase including Maya wrap ring sling and Over the shoulder baby holder ring sling. I love to have slings in the hospital. The nurses can't believe that the baby is so happy and content. :-D
* type up Thanksgiving recipes/menu for my mom in case I'm not available to help out on T-day.
* call the caterer and get things set up as much as possible for the bris (Jewish circumcision get-together on baby's 8th day).
* make and freeze lasagnas/casseroles.

DD is off and away

I know it is the natural way of things. Teenagers' relationships with their parents grow in friction until they feel driven by a need to move out of the house. I don't know why I hoped to be spared this little ritual. But I swear it was tough having my dd here all summer. Most times when I would say something to her she rolled her eyes. I could site a laundry list of further transgressions, but you parents of teens probably already know the story.

So she wanted me to meet her dad today with all her stuff in the car. He wasn't available at a convenient time for me, so we set the rendezvous for Thursday evening (last night). DD said that was fine, but she figured I'd want to spend one more day with her. Ya. I really want to spend ONE MORE DAY with a sullen, moody, hermit who only emerges from their inner sanctum (bedroom) to eat all my popsicles. So I got a babysitter to come over and watch the boys because we had to remove all the seats from the van to get all her stuff loaded in.

She is moving into an apartment with 10 other kids. And is sharing her bedroom with 2 other girls (5 bedroom apartment). I wish them luck. She had a hard time here having a room to herself. I hope she learns a lot of politeness in the next few days or it's going to be interesting over there....