Having four kids is one thing... but four in five years is an impressive feet my man.  Nice job

 

My brother and x skank-in-law had 3 in four years.  But both our parent come from large families. My immediate family of 4 is the small family on either side of my family. 

 

Both my parents have 5 siblings, I have 31 cousins and most of them have at least 4 children.

 

Yes...we're are a small army.

My brother and x skank-in-law had 3 in four years. But both our parent come from large families. My immediate family of 4 is the small family on either side of my family.

 

Both my parents have 5 siblings, I have 31 cousins and most of them have at least 4 children.

 

Yes...we're are a small army.

no wonder they're so interested in counting hispanics in the census...we've gotta keep track of this sort of behavior.

My brother and x skank-in-law had 3 in four years.  But both our parent come from large families. My immediate family of 4 is the small family on either side of my family. 

 

Both my parents have 5 siblings, I have 31 cousins and most of them have at least 4 children.

 

Yes...we're are a small army.

no wonder they're so interested in counting hispanics in the census...we've gotta keep track of this sort of behavior.

 

LATINO and only half of that number are Latino.

Hey, I guess this as a good a place for this as anywhere. Today's Cleveland Groupon is the a  one year family membership to the Cleveland Museum of Art for $30, it is normally $65. It is good for two 2 adults and any children in the household. I just bought one.

 

Go to groupon.com and select Cleveland. You can either sign up or link through facebook.

My brother and x skank-in-law had 3 in four years. But both our parent come from large families. My immediate family of 4 is the small family on either side of my family.

 

Both my parents have 5 siblings, I have 31 cousins and most of them have at least 4 children.

 

Yes...we're are a small army.

no wonder they're so interested in counting hispanics in the census...we've gotta keep track of this sort of behavior.

 

LATINO and only half of that number are Latino.

 

You shouldn't be so subtle.

Lots of interesting information on breastfeeding in the "Off Topic" thread:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,439.msg482497.html#msg482497

 

Kudos to RockandRoller for keeping it up this long and planning to do it longer! 

 

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend over a year ago.  She wasn't happy that she was still breastfeeding her toddler that was 18 months old.  I told her that I didn't think it was a bad thing, and in some other countries, it's very common to do so beyond that age. 

Thx for the support, xumelanie.  I have no intention of quitting now after making it this far.  My boy needs the milk.

Thx for the support, xumelanie. I have no intention of quitting now after making it this far. My boy needs the milk.

 

I think it's fantastic that you've kept it up this long, especially considering that you work full time and had to modify your diet because of the dairy allergies! 

 

I hope I'm able to do the same thing.  Of course, I still need to talk to my allergist about it.  I'm on a few prescriptions for asthma, and I want to see if there is any problem.  My OB doesn't think it will be a problem, but I still want to talk to another doctor.  :)  I hope my allergist is in agreement because going off of these meds is not an option.  I would be too sick to take care of an infant without them.

Thanks!  Working FT and pumping and the no dairy, no soy thing hasn't been easy, but each thing has come at a different time so I had a chance to get used to each thing in stages.

 

It might be possible to switch to something that's more BF friendly.  I would definitely consult with a BF friendly person like a LC or LLL group leader and not just an OB - they're great at the health of mothers of babies and in delivering babies, but when it comes to BFing, support tends to be limited as it's just not their purview.

 

See this chart:  http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/aap-approved-meds.html#Asthma

The meds listed are all L2 or L3 - means safe to moderately safe, would likely be fine for BFing.

 

You might also like this link: http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/aap-approved-meds.html#Asthma

Bronchiodilators are only supposed to be used on a short term basis, for example (like albuterol).

Thanks for the link!  This does make me feel better.  There are more meds on that list than I would have expected.  Most of my meds are inhalers, so I don't think high levels of it get to my blood stream.  I did mention something to the nurses last time I got my allergy shots, and they said that they had never heard of the asthma meds keeping someone from BFing.  They did suggest that I talk to the doctor to make sure.  My OB had said that any medications that are okay to take during pregnancy (which I'm taking now), are generally okay to take while BFing.

 

Fortunately, the hospital where I will be delivering seems to be very supportive of breastfeeding.  There is even a billboard compaign in Cincinnati that encourages BFing. 

My asthma doc was completely unhelpful about what to take. She said ask your OB.  My OB said to ask the allergist. 

I'll have to post what my allergist says.  He was pretty helpful when I told the nurses that I'm pregnant.  They ran a bunch of medications by him that I had recently and was currently using (including OTC stuff), and one of the nurses called me rather quickly to let me know what to continue taking and which OTC meds to not take.

I talked to my allergist and got some disappointing news.  One of the meds I take daily to control my asthma might not be safe to take while breastfeeding.  There is not enough data out there, and no one knows what the long-term side effects could be.  He acknowledged that some women probably have breastfed while taking it, but he does not feel comfortable telling someone that it's okay to do so.  This med in general has not been proven safe for children under 2 in general.  He did say that he could have me try a different med out.  My inhalers seem to be fine, though.

 

I'm leaning towards trying a different med out, and this would be a nasal spray instead of an pill.  I'll admit that I'm nervous about this because my worst season is the fall, and that starts about six weeks after my due date.  Who knows, the nasal spray might work out better.  However, if I have trouble and need to go back on the original med, then it will be formula for the baby.

Don't borrow trouble that's not there yet.  Try the other med, see how it goes.  All you can do is the best you can do to give it a shot.

I can remember with our first, my wife got an infection on the incision fron the C-section and was put on some type of antibiotics.  She had been breasfeeding successfully for 2 weeks, and then the Dr. told her she could not use pumped or breasfeed while on the antibiotic.  We had to switch to bottles and formula for about 2.5 weeks.  Long story short, that was the end of the breastfeeding with that one.  After two weeks on the bottle, she would not go back no matte rhow hard my wife tried. I was actually the one who asked her to stop because we were up all night after she started trying again to get the baby to latch on, and she wanted nothing of it.  The downer was, she was good with it from birth until the antibiotics, and it wasn't too hard. 

^ That is a bummer she had to stop so soon, especially since there wasn't difficulty before she had to go on the antibiotic. 

There are a lot more BF-friendly drugs now than there used to be, which is a good thing.  Most regular doctors don't really know what's safe for BF and what isn't, so it's a good idea to have a list with you or easily accessible if you will end up taking something so they can prescribe this but not that.  I took a list with me when I thought they would put me on antibiotics for my flu/cold that wouldn't go away this past winter, but they didn't end up prescribing anything.

 

It's really hard to get it going, I think most women are not told just how hard it can be.  And then dealing with whatever bumps in the road that come up along the way can really sink the ship, whether it's pumping at work problems, meds, infection, etc.  I read a LOT of books preparing for motherhood and have yet to read one that accurately depicts how difficult it is to establish, let alone keep it going for a long time.  If not for my sister, I wouldn't have been prepared for how difficult it was.  Now of course it's really a breeze and has been for awhile, the only challenge at this point is continuing to keep my milk supply up, but there are all kinds of things you can do there as well.  I was just thinking last night how glad I am that I stuck it out through the HORRIBLE "distracted nursing" phase where the baby gets the nip, bites down hard and/or twists their head from side to side because they are distracted.  MAN was that painful.  he doesn't do that at all now.

^ That is a bummer she had to stop so soon, especially since there wasn't difficulty before she had to go on the antibiotic.  

 

Yeah, but you have to remeber xumelanie, breasfeeding is not for everyone, nor every child.  We have had four.  2 did well with it, 2 did not.  And the last thing you want to do is live the first 2 months of your newborns life in agony and failure mode if it does not work. Those first couple months are probably some of the best, and to ruin it getting all over your self about it is not fair to yourself.  Just take it day to day, and if it does'nt work, so be it.  If it does, Great!  But, your no less a Mother if you don't.  Just remember that...despite what some nurses may tell you. 

It really depends on your facility re: nurses.  Some really push formula and don't encourage BFing because that's what they did, some are very supportive of BFing.  The important thing is a healthy baby and healthy Mom, for sure. 

 

I obsessed about the fact that I had to have a scheduled C for a long time and that I wouldn't really feel like a "mother" because I didn't go through the labor and delivery process.  I finally realized that this was akin to obsession about the details of your wedding instead of concentrating on the marriage you're about to enter into. 

C section.  Yikes.  As a man, that just sounds so scary. 

C section.  Yikes.  As a man, that just sounds so scary. 

 

my wife had 3. I told the OB to just put in a zipper.

C section.  Yikes.  As a man, that just sounds so scary. 

 

my wife had 3. I told the OB to just put in a zipper.

 

I know it's not suppose to be funny, but that is hella funny!

 

I mean they pick your guts up and lay them on a table pull the baby out and sew you up!

I wanted to watch, but they wouldn't let me. I'm just like that. 

I wanted to watch, but they wouldn't let me. I'm just like that. 

 

Are you serious?  If I was a woman I would asked to be knocked out! I want you to knock me out once my water breaks and wake me up after the kid is a day old!  All the pushing, screaming, and pain is too much for me.

Yep, I'm serious.  Anyway there wasn't any pushing and screaming because it was a c section and I was not in labor.  It was just spinal, lay you down, cut you open and take out the baby.  What I really wanted to see was what things looked like in there in terms of scar tissue, as the scar tissue (from previous surgery) is what prevents me from getting pregnant (we went through IVF).  They excised quite a bit of it and I would have liked to have seen what it looked like in there.  I also wanted to watch how they were stitching me up to make sure it was a plastics close, which it was.  I also had to remind them in the surgery not to use steri strips OR staples - I'm very skin-allergic to the adhesive in steri strips and have a skin allergy to metal as well so staples weren't an option.

Yeah, but you have to remeber xumelanie, breasfeeding is not for everyone, nor every child.  We have had four.  2 did well with it, 2 did not.  And the last thing you want to do is live the first 2 months of your newborns life in agony and failure mode if it does not work. Those first couple months are probably some of the best, and to ruin it getting all over your self about it is not fair to yourself.  Just take it day to day, and if it does'nt work, so be it.  If it does, Great!  But, your no less a Mother if you don't.  Just remember that...despite what some nurses may tell you. 

 

Thanks, that is a good way to put things.  I know women have many different experiences with BFing, and I like the attitude the instructor for our childbirth classes had on the issue.  She covered all the benefits for mom and baby, but she acknowledged that sometimes BFing isn't possible.  She was very open-minded on the whole issue.

 

I obsessed about the fact that I had to have a scheduled C for a long time and that I wouldn't really feel like a "mother" because I didn't go through the labor and delivery process.  I finally realized that this was akin to obsession about the details of your wedding instead of concentrating on the marriage you're about to enter into. 

 

I read so many options about childbirth, whether it's epidural  vs. no epidural, different methods, c-sections, etc.  But, I agree, that the important thing is that you have a baby.  It really doesn't matter how the baby was born.

Happy Belated Mothers day to all of you UO moms.

Thanks!  Our plans got completely derailed since little RNR spiked a fever, but I guess that's what being a Mom is really about, taking care of your sick, clingy baby.  Poor little guy.

Happy Mothers Day....

 

My wife got stuck working a double at her restrauant. How was that for a Mothers's Day present...

This thread seems like a good place for this:

 

New study reveals that 'family flight' is reshaping Cleveland and Northeast Ohio

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/05/new_study_reveals_that_family.html

 

They state that "no one" is coming in.  Really guys, really?

Just had to brag.  Little RNR turned 1 this past weekend.  It has sure been a whirlwind of a year and it's true what they say about it flying by.  On his birthday, he was sleeping in my bed after nursing and I went and got his "coming home" outfit from the hospital and laid it out next to his sleeping body.  It's amazing that's the same person; that little tiny outfit was absolutely hanging on him when we brought him home (a onesie with peace signs on it) and now it looks like it's doll's clothes next to him.  It made me cry!

 

As an aside, I was pretty proud of myself for making it an entire year of BFing, it has been tough.  I celebrated by buying myself a pedicure; a rare indulgence.  I have only had 2 pedicures my entire life.  One was after I brought the baby home as my first outing without him and the other was the one I had Sunday.  Maybe I'll get one once a year around his birthday every year.  That's about the only way I can justify the expense.

Just had to brag. Little RNR turned 1 this past weekend. It has sure been a whirlwind of a year and it's true what they say about it flying by. On his birthday, he was sleeping in my bed after nursing and I went and got his "coming home" outfit from the hospital and laid it out next to his sleeping body. It's amazing that's the same person; that little tiny outfit was absolutely hanging on him when we brought him home (a onesie with peace signs on it) and now it looks like it's doll's clothes next to him. It made me cry!

 

As an aside, I was pretty proud of myself for making it an entire year of BFing, it has been tough. I celebrated by buying myself a pedicure; a rare indulgence. I have only had 2 pedicures my entire life. One was after I brought the baby home as my first outing without him and the other was the one I had Sunday. Maybe I'll get one once a year around his birthday every year. That's about the only way I can justify the expense.

 

Congratulations on your accomplishment RnR!

 

My wife has always had a pedicure a couple weeks before she has a baby.  Just because she is soooo uncomfortable at that time. 

Just had to brag.  Little RNR turned 1 this past weekend.  It has sure been a whirlwind of a year and it's true what they say about it flying by.  On his birthday, he was sleeping in my bed after nursing and I went and got his "coming home" outfit from the hospital and laid it out next to his sleeping body.  It's amazing that's the same person; that little tiny outfit was absolutely hanging on him when we brought him home (a onesie with peace signs on it) and now it looks like it's doll's clothes next to him.  It made me cry!

As an aside, I was pretty proud of myself for making it an entire year of BFing, it has been tough.  I celebrated by buying myself a pedicure; a rare indulgence.  I have only had 2 pedicures my entire life.  One was after I brought the baby home as my first outing without him and the other was the one I had Sunday.  Maybe I'll get one once a year around his birthday every year.  That's about the only way I can justify the expense.

 

Awwwwww.  I'm all verklempted!  How sweet.  I hope you took a picture.  Why am I tearing up?

I didn't take a picture because I didn't want him to wake up. :)  It was so sad.  It's such a happy thing to see him growing and doing well and all, but it's so sad because the tiny boy who needed me for everything is changing so rapidly.  However, there are so many awesome things now that I didn't have last year at this time. He is really like my buddy now instead of this helpless, screaming thing that never seems to recognize me or acknowledge me in any way.  He loves to do things that make me laugh.  As you probably know, at this age, diaper changes can be a real challenge as they just scream and twist and carry on and throw things on the floor.  Well, I've figured out a little game that makes it fun. I put a piece of clothing next to his head that I'm not going to use, and then he grabs it, and, watching for my reaction, throws it off the table.  I stand there with my hands on my hips and my mouth open in fake shock and surprise and then pick it up and put it back on the table and carry on. Then he does it again. And he laughs and laughs hysterically when I pretend to be outraged.  It's just hilarious.

 

Yesterday morning I stayed home as he had his 1 year doc appt and in the morning, he woke up and was still sleepy.  I covered him with a light blanket as I held him and took him out our apartment patio, which was still cool in the early morning hours, and just held him and listened to him breathe.  He fell back asleep after noticing some birds chirping and squirrels running about.  It was the nicest 20 minutes I can remember.

I didn't take a picture because I didn't want him to wake up. :)  It was so sad.  It's such a happy thing to see him growing and doing well and all, but it's so sad because the tiny boy who needed me for everything is changing so rapidly.  However, there are so many awesome things now that I didn't have last year at this time. He is really like my buddy now instead of this helpless, screaming thing that never seems to recognize me or acknowledge me in any way.  He loves to do things that make me laugh.  As you probably know, at this age, diaper changes can be a real challenge as they just scream and twist and carry on and throw things on the floor.  Well, I've figured out a little game that makes it fun. I put a piece of clothing next to his head that I'm not going to use, and then he grabs it, and, watching for my reaction, throws it off the table.  I stand there with my hands on my hips and my mouth open in fake shock and surprise and then pick it up and put it back on the table and carry on. Then he does it again. And he laughs and laughs hysterically when I pretend to be outraged.  It's just hilarious.

 

Yesterday morning I stayed home as he had his 1 year doc appt and in the morning, he woke up and was still sleepy.  I covered him with a light blanket as I held him and took him out our apartment patio, which was still cool in the early morning hours, and just held him and listened to him breathe.  He fell back asleep after noticing some birds chirping and squirrels running about.  It was the nicest 20 minutes I can remember.

 

The time between the day your kid(s) start to walk and the day they start Kindergartern can be some of the best.  They are so innocent at that time.  They are little sponges and soak up everything.

Just had to brag. Little RNR turned 1 this past weekend. It has sure been a whirlwind of a year and it's true what they say about it flying by.

 

Wow, that went by fast!  Happy Birthday, Little RNR!

congrats to lil rnr! truthfully though I would think the closer they are to using the toilet on their own the better.

congrats to lil rnr! truthfully though I would think the closer they are to using the toilet on their own the better.

 

Amen to that. I've got 2 down and 1 to go. My disposable income increases at a proportionate level to my reduced use of disposable diapers.

 

Third one is presenting more a challenge. She's a little p!sser, that one. Both literally, and figuratively.

congrats to lil rnr! truthfully though I would think the closer they are to using the toilet on their own the better.

 

Amen to that. I've got 2 down and 1 to go. My disposable income increases at a proportionate level to my reduced use of disposable diapers.

 

Third one is presenting more a challenge. She's a little p!sser, that one. Both literally, and figuratively.

 

LMAO!

Well speaking of potty training my wife got frustrated with our 3 year old daughter and decided to try bribery. Now she gets 2 M&Ms everytime she uses the toilet. It seems to be working better than expected. Our 2 year old son got jealous because he wasn't getting any candy, so now he's decided to try and potty train himself. We might have them both off diapers at the same time soon. Of course then they'll be addicted to chocolate, but M&Ms are a lot cheaper than diapers.

Well speaking of potty training my wife got frustrated with our 3 year old daughter and decided to try bribery. Now she gets 2 M&Ms everytime she uses the toilet. It seems to be working better than expected. Our 2 year old son got jealous because he wasn't getting any candy, so now he's decided to try and potty train himself. We might have them both off diapers at the same time soon. Of course then they'll be addicted to chocolate, but M&Ms are a lot cheaper than diapers.

 

Brings back memories.  When the kids lived with me, we bribed them with Grapes, Raisins, Cranberries, Plantians, Mangos, Kiwi, etc.  My middle nephew is a year younger than my oldest niece and what you're going through is exactly what happened to them. 

 

He would potty and make sure everyone around knew he pottied, so that he could obtain a "uva".  This was good for us as it also forced them to learn Spanish.

 

Seems as if you have two kids in close age the younger kid(s) pick up things faster since they want to copy.

If you had influence over what kind of play structure was in your neighborhood playground, what would you ask for?

 

I am talking with people about redesign of our local park, and my ideas are:

 

Swings with long chains or maybe a rope swing

treehouse of some sort

tetherball, basketball, hopscotch

sandpit or townscape playtable for matchbox cars

mini soccer goal

 

The preliminary plans show a climbing hill with a slide down and a sand area, and a water stream, but I am worried that the rest is just standardized play structure stuff.  I want them to mix it up and add some stuff for slightly older kids. 

 

 

congrats to lil rnr! truthfully though I would think the closer they are to using the toilet on their own the better.

 

Amen to that. I've got 2 down and 1 to go. My disposable income increases at a proportionate level to my reduced use of disposable diapers.

 

Third one is presenting more a challenge. She's a little p!sser, that one. Both literally, and figuratively.

 

Our third was the easiest, for what ever reason soon after he turned two the older two taunted him with chants of "diaper pants" for a few weeks then he decided to basically toliet train himself.

I like some of the ideas on this site: http://www.thecoolhunter.net/article/detail/1577

 

Here's a photo of my little guy born April 28th...

 

 

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!  Congratulations!!

Here's a photo of my little guy born April 28th...

 

 

 

How cute!  CONGRATS!

If you had influence over what kind of play structure was in your neighborhood playground, what would you ask for?

 

I am talking with people about redesign of our local park, and my ideas are:

 

Swings with long chains or maybe a rope swing

treehouse of some sort

tetherball, basketball, hopscotch

sandpit or townscape playtable for matchbox cars

mini soccer goal

 

The preliminary plans show a climbing hill with a slide down and a sand area, and a water stream, but I am worried that the rest is just standardized play structure stuff.  I want them to mix it up and add some stuff for slightly older kids. 

 

 

 

Beachwood has this kick-@ss water park they put in for the residents. I'm sure it cost a mint, but the one thing there that my kids always love is the ground based splash pads that they can run through. Don't know what the cost of installing is, but it always is a crowd pleaser.

 

Here's an example

 

^There are similar splash areas in a few parks around so I'm guessing they aren't horribly expensive in comparison to other playground equipment.

 

My wife and I like it when parks put a small fence around the playground so you can get away with taking your eyes off of your kid for a second and not worry that the damn 2 year old is sprinting full speed for the parking lot for the 13th time because he's obsessed with "vroom vrooms". 

^There are similar splash areas in a few parks around so I'm guessing they aren't horribly expensive in comparison to other playground equipment.

 

My wife and I like it when parks put a small fence around the playground so you can get away with taking your eyes off of your kid for a second and not worry that the damn 2 year old is sprinting full speed for the parking lot for the 13th time because he's obsessed with "vroom vrooms". 

Grumpy...sounds like you need that kiddie leash system.  LOL