NOVEMBER ALREADY!

Hi Everyone - I just thought since I was here this morning I would start the November thread. I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween. We had a pretty good time even thought it was really low key. Cheesy Horror movies, pumpkin carving, Halloween cupcakes and cookies made up our evening. Today we are going to go to the Dallas Arboretum and take pictures. It's their fall pumpkin festival and it goes on until Sunday. So its like our Halloween is today too. We just couldnt squeeze it all in yesterday. Well I hope you all have a great weekend. I will try and check in here later. Who knows maybe I will have some good pics to post.

Take Care!

Amy- I hope you get some good pictures....


afm-we had a blast last night, it was the first year McKenna really got it, and of course Landree was just along for the ride. I can not believe she is a month old already!

Amy - have fun at the arboretum! I wish DF was off today or tomorrow so WE could go, but no such luck. Take lots of pics!

AFM - last night was hectic. I don't even want to explain it! lol And my mom bought all this candy for trick or treaters.. and guess what? We still have almost all the candy! We passed out candy to like 9 groups(which usually consisted of 2 or 3) and then turned the light off at 9. Most of the people in our neighborhood were not passing out candy, which really ticked me off. Next year, when Joey can trick-or-treat, we are going to the ritzy houses a few main streets over. My sister and her boys spent the night and I am watching my nephews while my sister goes to a birthday party for her friend(they will not all be spending the night again thank god). So she offered to take Joseph for a few hours so I could get some time to myself for a nap or something. So I am off to a midday nap! Wow... that is so weird! Okay girls, talk to yall soon!

We had a blast for halloween the baby stayed and helped daddy pass out candy and me I walked with my 8 yr old and 2 yr old about 6 blocks and then back and it was way overdoing it for me 2 weeks post surgery but ohwell. I had some vicodin left over...lol glad to hear everyone had a great time!

I posted this on anohter thread but wanted to share it with you all. my church group is doing this study called "Love Dare" it is from the movie "fire proof", yeah it is christian but it is more about the stuff then the scripture and stuff so if you aren't into the church part that is fine it still works. It is 40 days long and you do one thing a day it has like 2 pages to read a day so guys don't get lost either. My hubby loves it and he is not into that kind of stuff, but very cool and we are loving it if you guys are interested. it isn't all touchy lovee and feelings and so on it is about learning how to love your partner, like day one is not saying anythign negative to your partner, another one is to do something nice for them, another is to have dinenr and it gives you questions to ask to help you "study" your partner it is cool. the web site is www.fireproofmymarriage.com or something like that if I am wrong but you shoudl look into it.
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I am so glad you all had a great Halloween..I had a major breakdown/meltdown - Lexi screamed from 3-10pm and then DH took Robbie trick or treating for the first time and i missed everything..i lost it!

BUT - she didn't scream last night!!! WOOOHOOO! She has been restless today, but okay..hopeflly prevacid is kicking in. Please pray!!!

Anyone thinking of getting the Mirena IUD? What do you know about it?

Heather

Good to hear about everyones Halloween.Ours was hectic.As usual I try to do too many things but it went ok.Spent the morning in DS#1's kindergarten class with all the kids.It was fun.They all gave me hugs and Lucas was pretty well behaved for a baby.Then we got home to discover that my Dane had eaten a whole box of cereal...We went around our neighborhood trick or treating with my neighbors.We bring our little red wagon filled with popcorn, candy and drinks(yes some adult beverages-I didn't have any)It was fun until DS#2 started whining about his feet hurting and then it getting too dark, and his bag was too heavy and he was missing cartoons... When we got back my friend Jess and I took the boys out to my moms house(she had a party)and dropped them off.When I got back it was after 11pm and I figured that Lucas would be thrown off because we're usually in bed by 9pm.But he did well...Then yesterday he was up from noon until like 8pm and just wanted to eat eat eat...Same thing today...Only way I got him to nap today was in his bouncy chair.So frustrating..He didn't sleep well last night.So there's either something going on with my milk supply or something that I ate is bothering him...I have to say that I love breastfeeding him but sometimes I wish I could just give him a bottle of formula to fill him up and have him slip into a sweet little milk coma...I have to confess that yesterday and today I've done just that(have done it a few times when I was going someplace I didn't feel comfortable nursing)He tolerates the formula ok I think...Feel like a bad mom now..

Heather-Sorry to hear that your Halloween was awful.But at least your LO seems to be doing a little bit better now.Hopefully it'll all just get better...

Time to go give Luc a bath and hopefully he'll sleep tonight...

Shannon

Halloween is so much fun! Glad to hear most everyone's went well! We headed out right at dark. Brenden slept the ENTIRE time so he didn't even get his costume put on...I wasn't waking that baby for nothing...not with the time we've had with reflux and poop! Anyway, we made it home about 9pm so Dawson could hand out candy for a few minutes and Brenden even slept thru that...probably because he was up nearly all night the night before and most of the day. I called the dr last week and asked them to switch his zantac to prevacid since it didn't seem like the zantac was working...turns out hubby wasn't giving him is 11pm dose so he was missing 1 dose of 3. I've heard so many good things about the prevacid I figured we'd just stay on it....NOT A CHANCE IN HELL! We were up nearly all night with him crying in reflux pain last night and he was trying so hard to sleep today but was full of gas from the crying (that's our theory) so I switched him back to zantac this afternoon. He's had TWO doses and is already showing improvement. I feel your pain Heather! Brenden is now on Nutramigen and he'll continue with the zantac. I really don't think they can get the full effect of the prevacid considering you have to disolve the tablet and give it to them that way...zantac is liquid that I mix with Mylacon and give him in a nipple.

Shannon - I commend you for the commitment of breastfeeding! I've never had any desire to and even if I did I think I would go insane being the only food provider of a kiddo that eats every 2-3 hours.

Bekah - We didn't have many trick or treaters either and to be honest when we were out ourselves we didn't see nearly as many lights on as in years past. It was quite disheartening. :-(

Kim- That first halloween when they just get it is just the best one! I'm sure ya'll had fun!

Amy - Your kiddo is in for a lifetime of awesome Halloween activities...I can just see it! :-)

Good Morning Ladies!

I am so glad to hear everyone had a good Halloween. It is sad to see the amount of houses who no longer participate for trick or treaters. We were one this year but that is just cuz Nate is so little. Next year we will be back to it.

Well we went to the arboretum and sweated our butts off. Why in the heck is it 86 degrees in November? That is just wrong. Everyone was there in shorts and tank tops. I felt so bad for Nate. We dressed him all fall-ish and it was way too hot. We ended up taking his pants and socks off. We did take some pictures but they are on DH's camera which means I will never get to see them. He is a procrastinator and had it set to where he could alter the photos - blah blah blah. Anywho - I will post them if he gets them taken care of.

I am a little bummed that we are back to having Sunday lunches with FIL. i only got 2 weeks off. I know I probably sound ungrateful and I dont mean to. We just got to where we had time to get things done on the weekend. Now we dont. Its amazing how going to lunch takes up a whole day. So we said now that we have the baby we are going to have to hold off on going to lunch for a while. So instead he comes to our house and we go out to lunch. DH just cant say no to him but if its my mom he has no problem. I am just aggravated with it. Ok enough of my complaining. Sorry I just had to get it out and this was the only place I knew of.

Well, I guess that is it. I hope you all had great weekends. Today we are going to DH's work to show Nate off to his coworkers and then go to lunch with everyone.

Take Care!

Well.......more screaming last night from 5 until 10:30pm. Then she was soo restless all night long.

I called and left message for ped yet again.

Tried pumping this morning and I think my boobs have had it I could only get an ounce. I think from all the stress and my chest cold my body is giving up.

She is sleepy *very lightly* in her bouncy now but is still restless.

our halloween was ok very windy and rained on and off. we were home by 8p and our little girl was up from 10-2a crying nonstop. Abby has been more colicky than David. The colic has slowed down but maybe every 2-3days we have one episode.

I am typing one handed...I just wanted to give big hugs to all of you who hve upset little ones.

I think all of our LOs have been talking behind our backs to act up at the same time! Logan has been really fussy the last couple of nights and most of today. But he had a massive poop today, so I'm hoping that the fussiness was related to that and will subside.

Halloween was okay - we didn't get a lot of trick-or-treaters, so my freezer is now full of candy! All that matters is the kids had fun. Then the in-laws came up for a visit. They were supposed to arrive around noon, but didn't show up until about 2:30pm, stayed until about 7:30pm, went to their hotel and then came back at about 10:15am on Sunday and left at noon. They were just about here! And then they complain about how they never get to see our kids...sorry - had to vent a bit.

I can't believe Logan is going to be 6 weeks in a few days....time is flying by!

Ok - time to get stuff together to go pick up ODS from school so I can drag all 3 of them to the afternoon activities.....and then come home and collapse...

I'm with kim {{{Hugs}}} to all with upset little ones! I am praying for you all.
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I've got like 12 seconds to check in but I just wanted to let ya'll know that Brenden is doing SO MUCH BETTER on the zantac and nutramigen!!! He went to the dr with me today and even grocery shopping without a hitch! He is sitting in the chair with hubby right now watching the nightly news!!!! Last night was FABULOUS...he went down at 8:30 and up at 12 and 4....I feel so rested! Not to say we won't have more nights of crying but for now we are so thankful our little one doesn't seem to be in any pain! I hope those of us with cranky/pain/poopy little ones find solutions quick!

Just wanted to check in again..not much really new although Jeremiah's blocked tear duct seems to have went away and his eyes seem to be getting bigger (maybe its just because he can open them all the way w/o all the blockage from the duct?!?) so he may end up having the big precious moment eyes like my little girl.. he still has his yucky cough poor lil guy.. has an appt on the 10th for 1 month check up so I ll see what his ped says then about it all. I think he may be getting ready to go up to 4 oz bottles maybe...but he still wakes up every 2 hours once in awhile he may sleep 3 hours in between feedings.. We took our kids out to different churches for "trunk or treating" they got massive amounts of candy. My son was The thing from fantastic four and daughter was to be either a butterfly or tiger but wouldn't put either one on so she was just herself ....Jeremiah I dressed him up in a bear outfit that has lil ears on the hood of the jacket. I have a pic of Jeremiah in his costume that I can post soon but my son Elijah his costume was borrowed and we had to go get it so lo and behold I forgot to take my camera when we went to the churches so I didnt get any pics of him :-(.. Other than that not much going on just figured I would check in

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ug! my little daniel is not eating regular at all. one night eh will eat and sleep for 4 hours, then the next it will be every 2 hours. Tried more bottle sometimes he wants 4oz sometimes only 3oz (he is 3 weeks old) so ug i mean if he woudl settle in on a schedule i could work wioth him but this all over th eplace stuff is driving me nuts! I can't even plan or go to bed accordingly or anything. ug not sure what to do with him. anyone have any ideas? He si on enfamil AR alraedy and is all over the borad durign the day time too so not sure any idceas would help!

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Eileen- I am sorry...I have no idea's either...I (knocking on wood furiously) have gotten really lucky again this time. Landree is like clock work, 3 to 4 ounces every 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Her last bottle is usally around 9:30 and she sleeps until about 2:30 and than sleeps until 6/6:30. If there was a special secret I would deffinitly share...but I think it is just lots of luck....the only thing I have noticed is if she drinks all 4oz at bedtime she sleeps better than say if she only finishes 3oz.

Heather - I spoke to my doctor yesterday about getting the Mirena IUC. She wants me to wait until I start my period again and then she will put it in during my period. She said if you put it in during your period, it doesn't give you a crazy cycle. She also told me she did the Mirena thing for another woman who just said, "It's fine, just put it in." and the woman bled for 6 months straight. So, I'd say if you do, do it in the middle of your period. I was told my uterus was a bit big still and to wait for it to shrink a little more and to get rid of an infection I have, but other than that, it is supposed to be safe and harmless. I am hoping my body will not overreact to the hormones. Here's a site to check it out - http://www.mirena-us.com/index.jsp?WT.srch=1

To keep up with the in-laws problem, my DF's sister called twice last night to talk to him and we were ready to go to bed. It was near 10 and we had just put Joseph down. He is finally sleeping 3-4 hours at a time, just enough for us to get some sleep together. Except, DF doesn't ever put him in his crib... grrr. Anyway, so she calls and I know her, she likes to talk your ear off. Well, DF hadn't slept all day or even the night before and I told him(softly so she wouldn't hear), to tell her he was getting ready to go to bed. He told her three times he would call her today instead of talking last night because he had to get some sleep. He said she sounded all upset cause she thought he was blowing her off. Well, she married a guy who already had two kids and she is now on her third(that brings the total to 5!). She should know that if you get the baby to sleep at all, you have to sleep when they sleep! Well I think the bigger issue is that she is estranged from the entire family. DF's father did some stuff to her in the past so she is estranged from him, and then she removed herself from the other side of the family for god knows why! apparently she had a little argument with her aunt about the treatment of her mother while she was in the hospital(her aunt knew too well how to take care of her sister since she was there by her side throughout everything). Well she doesn't talk to them anymore and her cousin that she used to be REALLY good friends with has like 6 kids, so she doesn't have time to call anyone, let alone a cousin she hasn't seen in forever. Anyways, so she guilt trips Cory into thinking its his job to cater to her family needs, when we have a life of our own too! She expects us to take some time and come see her in Oklahoma City. well, she has 5 kids, and a husband who thinks he's a gangsta and smokes pot. I don't think we will be staying with them. But we also don't want to waste money on a hotel either!. I told him we'd plan a day where we'd go up there and stay for a few hours, then come home late that night. The thing is, I know she has 5 kids now, but y'know you got yourself in that situation, not us! So if you are so keen on seeing us, then you pack up a couple of kids and come here! It's not like she couldn't leave the kids with her husband for a couple of days! Anyways, I'm done venting. I had to get that out...

Hey ladies! Sorry to those babies that are having reflux and colic, it's no fun at all! We are doing pretty good, Alyssa for the past two nights has slept for 5 hours which has been very nice! She has been doing pretty good, She does have her Fussy times! I do have some bad news, my DH was laid off on Friday so we are without a job at our house and are trying to get the kids on Medicaid especially Branson since we have to fill his precription here soon and without insurance it will cost us about $200 So hopefully we can get that taken care of before we run out of medication! We have been hangin in there, Hopefully DH will get a job soon! (he drives me insane when he's home all day every day)

Well that is all for now! Hope everyone has a good week!

Tera

Lucas was crying in his crib after a nap so I went in there and talked to him before I picked him up..The tears turned into a smile...Makes all the lack of sleep so worth it...

Bekah-Sorry your DF's sister is being a pain...I have a cousin who is the same way...When she calls I won't even answer, but I'll usually respond to her texts...How's your grandma doing?

Kim-I to was lucky with my first 2 kids...you could almost set the clock by their eating and sleeping habits...But they were formula fed, wonder if there's anything to that...

Eileen-Sorry to hear Daniel isn't cooperating with schedules...Lucas isn't either...We have no routine whatsoever and I have no idea how to set one with nursing...Hopefully it'll get better as he gets older...

AFM- Not much here..Feeling restless today...Not really sure why, just like I'm stuck in life, anyone else know what I mean?I love my boys and my husband but I'm just not satisfied being home all the time...I've never been good at being in one place for too long...Maybe because growing up we moved every year or two and that continued until DH and I bought this house.I'm very independent by nature and sometimes I just want to leave(of course I'd be back)for awhile, not like days or anything but for a few hours...But I don't know where I'd go...I just feel like I'm drifting and don't really have a purpose, again please don't get me wrong, I love my family, but I miss going to work at a job I love and then coming home to my family and enjoying them too...I hated my last job but I loved the one I had before that.The only reason I left is because no matter what I did my boss did not like me...I tried changing branches and she would tell the other branch that I wasn't ready for those type of changes...My customers LOVED me and always came back in to see me even when they didn't need help...They were always telling my boss that I was great and she'd basically roll her eyes...So things came to a head in February when my boss did my review, which was very personally written by her and not professional at all and I walked out.I wanted to be able to give notice(I'd been looking for jobs for awhile because of her)and leave the right way so that I could come back.So now I doubt that I'd ever be able to go back to the company...DH and I have basically decided that finacially it's smarter for me to stay home until next fall when the 2 older boys will be in school and then I can go back to school during the day(during school hours)and bring Lucas up to the daycare there...It would cost around $1500.00 per month to have Lucas and Brady in daycare fulltime and before and afterschool care for Dylan...So I'd have to make double that for it to be worth it. Ugh...ok I'm doing venting for now...

Shannon

Tera- I am so sorry...here, everywhere I turn someone I know is loosing their jobs...RI, now has the highest unemployement rate in the US, we passed Michigan which has had the highest forever. My job is secure but I worry about DH's constantly. I hope this economy turns around soon and you can get the medical insurance figured out...btw, doesn't his former employer have to over COBRA for so many months when they let an employee go?

Shannon- I wouldn't be surprised if the fact that mine are formula fed had anything to do with it...I know it is heavier than BM so it could deffinitly be why they sleep better. What about joining a gym or some type of hobby class...just for now to get you out of the house....or what about selling some sort of product, Avon, tupperwear, sex toys....something like that, you could just book a show in the evening and only a few a month and it would bring you in some extra cash and get you out with grown ups?

AFM- I am getting so freaking frustrated with the state!!!! I have been out since June on temporary disability...well periodically you get sent paperwork requesting an update on your status, if you are still out of work they send paperwork to your Dr. to verify why you are still out...anyway, I got one of those updates shortly after I delivered and was expecting it...well because my Dr.'s office took their sweet time in faxing it and the state is slow as heck in proccessing it I have not been paid in two weeks...it is starting to kill us...our bills are stacking up waiting for this money to come in, it really sucks because I always pay my bills on time...DH's check is covering our essentials but at this point in time the state owes me $1400!!!

Kim I'm so Sorry the State is being slow, I think most states are that way! I know Ut is slow with stuff like that! They do have COBRA, we haven't got papers for it yet but I'm sure they have it but we simply can't afford it. I did call His Nureologist and they have some free samples that I'm going to go get so Hopefully they give me enough to cover me until we get Medicaid!

Shannon I totally know how you feel! I went through that when I had my first child and started staying home, I went stir crazy because I didn't like staying home at all, I had one day a week where i'd go down to my mom's just to get out of the house! It did get better and now I have days where i need to go out but all I want to do is stay home! Good Luck!!

AFM I have had a very productive day today! I have gotten 5 loads of laundry done and put away and got most of my house cleaned! I still need to clean bathrooms which I HATE doing but they need to be done since we now have two kids potty trained!!! Well I'm going to go and get stuff ready for bed!

Have a good Night ladies!!

Tera

I'm at my wits end...last night was another horrible night...Logan will not sleep in the snuggle nest for more than hour, and that hour is only if DH puts him in. When he got up to eat, he nursed and then was screaming so I switched sides, he was fine and then he started screaming again. I finally got him to finish nursing and fall back asleep, but I don't understand it! I almost feel like my milk production has decreased somehow instead of increased...I don't know...I think lack of sleep is affecting my brain more than usual...i wish i knew what was the problem because then maybe i could fix it...i don't think he has his days/nights mixed up because he does sleep - he's not up to play, just to scream....i just want to crawl back under the covers and not come out for a week (and not just because of exhaustion)....

Today officially sucks -- my DH found out today that his office is being closed this summer and he'll know later this afternoon exactly when he will be out of a job!! ARGH!!!!!

Hey Ladies,
It sounds like it has been a rough few days for most. To those whose dh's have lost their job and Kim-sorry the state is taking so long.

Madison has had a few rough nights in a row, last night being the worst! She had been sleeping and getting up for every 3 hours. But she's been getting gassy, last night she would fall asleep and then kick her legs out and wake up. She woke up every hour! I am so tired! What kinds of things are you all using for this?


Have a good day!
Kristen