Sigh... five days overdue and still no baby. Have tried curry, sex, walks... but not so much as a twinge yet! I’m booked in for a membrane sweep by the midwife tomorrow, anyone had the joy of one of these?
On the main forum I use there’s a useful FAQ on membrane sweeps here http://forums.ovusoft.com/tm.asp?m=6541601&p=1&tmode=6 and a list of other useful threads to read here http://forums.ovusoft.com/tt.asp?appid=36&tmode=6 which should keep you busy if things don’t start happening soon. Hope you’re not feeling too uncomfortable and things kick off soon...
Vicki, Rufus was 2 weeks “late” — it’s very normal.
Well, midwife wasn’t even able to do a membrane sweep this morning ’cause my cervix is still well and truly closed. So now I’m booked in for induction next Monday (which will be 12 days over my due date). I’m kind of glad to have a final deadline for giving birth but sincerely hope I will go into labour naturally before then.
I mean Meg (not Vick
y). Just having my first cup of coffee.
Yeah, our Sarah was two weeks late too, according to the doctor, but right on time according to when we figured she must have been conceived.
I was THREE weeks late! They finally did the caesarian. I think this was mainly due to the fact my mom was sick (toxoplasmosis) and her health was a risk? I don’t know, I was there but unaware. ;-)
Three weeks is way too long. Usually +2 weeks is the upper limit because the placenta will stop functioning properly so the baby doesn’t get enough nutrition or oxygen.
Sorry, that should have read that there is an increased risk of that—I made it sound like a certainty.
Yeah, look at me. Not enough oxygen and you get me. hah. Food I had plenty of: I was 4,50 kilos. heh.
The OBGYN was a professor, I don’t think he put my mum at risk though.
How do you work out the due date from conception? We’re pretty sure what date we conceived, would be interesting to see if it corresponds to the date from my last period.
There’s due calculators online, Meg!
Ah yes—managed to find one that calculated it from conception, not LMP. And it says I was due on 11 Feb, so if that date’s right then I’m even later than I thought!
Well, they calculate from the first day of your last period which is not that trustworthy (if you want to be exact) as your ovulation is not *exact*. Sorry, headache, not talking properly. Now with me I can’t even remember my last period! I’m crap at dates. :-(
I lied to the doctor and the midwife, otherwise they’d have put my due date two weeks early (I was charting so know within a day or two when conception was) although early ultrasounds are meant to be pretty darn accurate for dating purposes.
How Not to Talk to Your Kids
The Inverse Power of Praise.
Wow. I just emailed that link to my wife. I wish I could get it to my bro-in-law without seeming too critical of him.
Yeah, it’s a bit Freakonomics, but it is at least intriguing. Happily for me, I don’t have any kids to praise, but I saw it and thought of this thread (although it’s _not_ directed at any of you!)
On a lighter note, here is my baby brother (25 years my junior). He’s just about to crawl, by the looks of things.
WE PRAISE YOUR EFFORT, young Caekling!
Personally, I praise caek senior’s effort! 59 this May, and a wife of 32. RAWR.
that is one cute kid!
So tell me everything about having two kids. I need positive experiences here!
Ooh so is the bun officially in the oven or are you still just thinking about it?
Well, the rule is to wait three months, right? Maybe on some planet there’s a three week rule? If so, then I can officially say I’m PREGGERS. We decided in January and now, yes, I’m already pregnant. Fingers Xrossed that it’s going be as easy as with Ophelia. It was quite a surprise but we’re both—Ophelia doesn’t realize it yet (hah!)—very happy. :-D
Congratulations!!!!! Aw a little brother or sister for Ophelia, she will love it I’m sure!
She better! We’re doing this for her. ;-) But yeah hopefully all goes well. :-)
How are YOU doing? Is she sleeping through the night yet? I think that is one of the most important things that make it much easier for the parents: a good night sleep. :-) Shit, at the end of the year I’ll have to give this up. Oh dear! :-)
What I am thinking about is taking the baby to a daycare (?) a couple of days a week. Most of my friends keep saying I should keep the baby (like I did with Ophelia) but I know how hard that wat (running a shop while taking of the baby). I don’t think I’ll cope with two kids... I feel guilty saying it but I do have to stick with the plan. I feel a bit like a bad mommy though.
Funny you should mention sleeping through—Alice went 8 hours last night! Unfortunately it was 6pm to 2am haha. I was expecting her to wake for a 10pm feed—and with luck skip the 2am one—but she didn’t, and I was asleep by then too, oops... but it’s progress.
She had her first vaccinations yesterday as well—barely blinked, the brave little tinker :)
Oh man, that’s great! I mean, it’s not the ideal time, but still now you know there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t be so stupid like me, I stayed awake and did everything I wasn’t able to do before (like read books and stuff).
How is old is she now exactly?
Yay for not crying! :-)
nathalie goes for round 2! congrats!!
She’s ten weeks tomorrow!
Oh wow, you’re lucky! Soon she’ll be sleeping through,don’t worry about it. Ophelia did from about four months (seven PM till 6 am).
Yay! Congratualtions natalie!
Awesome news! Congratulations Nathalie!
Here’s something great about having two kids: they play together. Sometimes this devolves into fighting (at our house they even fight about imaginary things), but sometimes they play together so nicely and it’s really great.
oh fanks. it’s a bit overwhelming really. :-)
Gefeliciteerd, Nath! Don’t feel guilty about daycare. There are pros and cons to both staying at home and going to daycare. We’ve seen our boys linguistic and social skills jump just by virtue of input from other kids and care-givers. You’re not a bad mommy.
I’m wondering about a health issue. Cyrus, now 1.75, likes to carry around a bottle—it’s his comfort item. It’s time we should make him switch to a cup, but we haven’t had the fortitude to deal with the crying. My real question is not so much about that, but about the volume of liquids he drinks. I know it’s best not to give a kid that age more than a measly 4 oz. of juice. We only give him 100% juice and we water his bottles down so much that he only has a bit of juice. But he wants to have a bottle of milk or juice all the time. He wakes up in the middle of the night asking for a bottle a few times a night. Last night he drank 4 bottles during the night. He wakes up with his diaper soaked through. He cries and cries for it. He’s also had sort of chronically loose poop, which makes me think he needs the liquid.
I know the answer already — we have to be tough and just limit his bottles. But I’m wondering if maybe he’s got some digestive/intestinal thing going on that makes him thirsty all the time.
Yes, it sounds cruel, but you really have to let him cry. It’s not good for his teeth either, I think, no? That said, I find it difficult to say no to Ophelia: she wants to be held so much. I just can’t help it, I let her on my arm way too much probably. But I figure that one day she’ll stop and that I’ll regret not having her carried more. hah.
I find it hard about daycare but I know that it’ll be a good thing. In march OPhelia will go two days a week. A friendn said that she’ll make big jumps as they are stimulated* a lot. My mom and best friend however are adamant that keeping a baby as long as possible is much better. Hmm, I think I’ll contact the daycare and see if I can still reserve a place. It’s quite difficult.
I didn’t put either of mine in daycare, and honestly, I kind of regret not doing so. Eight years of being a SAHM was kind of driving me nuts. (Maybe it would have been different if I had a shop and therefore had more interaction with adults, but on the other hand, that sounds pretty stressful.) Once I got Julia (the younger one) into preschool—finally!—she was happier and so was I. She has friends there and a lot of fun. I’m sure she would have loved daycare, too.
Maria, can you ask a doctor about the intestinal/digestive question? Because that has got to be really hard on your son’s teeth. One possible compromise to make the transition easier: switching to water only bottles at night. Then he still has the bottle but at least it’s not anything that is going to cause dental caries.
holy moly nath! congratulations! #2 scares the shit out of me, I would totally not feel guilty about getting some daycare help, don’t be a martyr.
oh and regarding gestation, pregnancy lasts 40 weeks from date of last period, 38 weeks from fertilization.
Yay Nathalie!
We have discussed whether there might be a no.2 one day, but we’re going to see how we get along with one—right now I’m really not convinced I could go through pregnancy again (and I haven’t even done childbirth yet). Mind you, I was doing fine until I went overdue—it’s just this past week I have been somewhat miserable.
Congratulations Nathalie!
Meg, our family lore for bringing on labor is to go to the diner and order the BLUE PLATE SPECIAL!!!!! Who knows what the Blue Plate Special was. Probably a lot of greasy food!
Congratulations! We got two at once, and frankly, it’s pretty hard. We are looking forward to the playing together part.
Congrats!
Our kid’s going to daycare at six weeks. I sure hope you don’t feel guilty about sending a one-year old to daycare!
There were things about having two kids 21 months apart that were easier, but mostly I remember in the early years there was just so much stuff to deal with—diaper bags and toys and car seats and high chairs and changes of clothes. Wrangling all the material goods of two small people was occasionally overwhelming.
Congrats, Nath!
It seems like so many people I know are pregnant now, and I’m finding that I really really really want another one. Clearly not going to happen, and come on, I’ll be 35 this summer, I’m already at the “advanced maternal age” period of my life, but wow, I WANT ONE.
Learning to live with “yeah, probably not gonna have any more” is sort of sad and a little hard.
There were things about having two kids 21 months apart that were easier, but mostly I remember in the early years there was just so much stuff to deal with—diaper bags and toys and car seats and high chairs and changes of clothes. Wrangling all the material goods of two small people was occasionally overwhelming.
As the dad of two kids 21 months apart, this rings so many bells with me it’s practically a campanologists’ convention.
It’s very tough at the moment; I’m not sure we’d have coped so far without the network of neighbourhood mums (people Pam met at the weekly drop-in centre when Ava was very young) who helped us out when Pam was in hospital and occasionally give her a break by taking Ava for an afternoon. Ava loves her sister very much but has a tendency to express it in a slightly unrestrained manner—the other day she almost gouged Tallulah’s eyes out in her enthusiasm. I look forward to when the dynamic of their relationship is a bit different to the constantly dangerous scenario of the rambunctious 2-y-o running wild vs helpless 3-m-o tot who gurgles happily even when 2-y-o is dragging her off the couch to “play” with her.
Free time just vanishes when you have two, I find. One child might seem draining of your time and energy but you will pine for those days of just one kiddie. And, as Jaq says, the logistics of looking after/transporting/doing anything social with two is massively complicated vs one child.
No one should ever give you grief for relying on daycare or other outside help even if you have just the one child. Whatever helps you get by, whether financially or emotionally. Parenting seems to be this continuous balancing act between what you need to do to just to cope and what the prevailing expert opinion on any specific topic is telling you to do (whether feeding, sleep routine, weaning, toilet training, etc).
It’s all worth it, though. I think.
One of the big stressors with two kids is the constant monitoring of “fairness.” Someone always feels like the unfavored child. Christmas is a nightmare of parity-calculation.
Michael, STOP, don’t make me doubt. ;-) I know what you mean, though, even though I’m not experiencing it yet. It scares me a little but I know that it’ll only last two years... I think. Hope. :-)
I’ll be 35 this summer
Hell, I’ll be 34 when the second will be born. Do I care? Hell no, I wanted two and that’s what I’ll have. Hopefully. :-)
Yes, but O. is also wee herself as opposed to the 9.5 year old I have, and um, you’re married. Hi.