Hellobee Boards

@Ajsmommy: Love the name. DS turns 2 in November (right after T-day) so you're definitely reminding me of how busy the next few months will be!
@NorthStar: Love that you're making your own crib sheet, etc. I'm enlisting my MIL to make DS's quilt for his toddler bed, and a matching one for this baby. Wish I had some sewing skills!

yay roll call! great questions!

(eta omg i wrote a novel....!)

How many weeks are you now? 21w+3d

What is your occupation? Do you like it? how did you get there? I'm a phd student, but at the ABD stage so done with coursework and qualifying exams--just teaching a course I designed this semester, writing my dissertation, and applying for grants. I love my work and teaching, though there are def pros and cons of being a grad student parent. on one hand, it is more flexible than a "typical" job--aside from teaching, I can set my own hours and have been able to work part-time since lo was born. On the other, it's less $ than a professor job will be, fingers crossed I even get a job since the job market in my field is terrible. And while my personal advisors are incredibly supportive, the administration at my university basically thinks it's ridiculous to have children in grad school and is not very accommodating. I technically get a paid leave, but we only are eligible to receive funding for a set amount of time, and parental leave doesn't push back that eligibility timeline. And I'll be reaching that cliff riiiight at the end of my maternity leave, so will have no funding after unless I receive an external grant--which are incredibly difficult to get. Suuucks!

Name of this LO (if you have it picked and if you are sharing).. yes this was asked before? Eleanor My fil was named Eliot and passed away last year, so it's after him

Since most of us are pre existing moms, what are the age(s) of your current kiddos? 2.5 this weekend! Barely a baby anymore

Do you have a birth plan? if so what is it? If not will you make one? I'm a little torn. My hospital has 2 delivery options--the far nicer Birthing Center which is only for unmedicated births, and the standard L&D floor. Last time, lo was induced so we were on L&D. I'd like to be in the Birthing Center, but then again I had a really lovely birthing experience last time in L&D, and really really appreciated the epidural after being on pitocin for 12 hours without, lol.

Any updates on nursery's?? Los will be sharing a room, so there's not much to change. We need to get a toddler bed for lo1 and turn our crib back into a crib for lo2 (we have a toddler rail on it now). I already got an extra dresser for the room--I had a really small one for myself that is already in there and got myself a bigger one!

What do you plan to do the SAME with this one as you did with prior LO's? probably a lot--if we're able to get lo2 into the same daycare as lo1 (big if--they only take 2 young babies a year!), then that will be the same starting in the Fall. we didn't sleep train lo1 or put her on a set schedule until she was older and falling into a routine more by herself, and we'll do that again--I followed her lead for the most part during the early days. I'll nurse again and supplement if I need to like I did with lo1.

What do you plan to do DIFFERENTLY with this one than you did with prior LO's? Get out of the house more (at least for lo1 daycare drop off/pick up!) and in general hopefully be a little more relaxed about that! I want to join a new moms group or nursing support group or something to help with that as well. We had nursing struggles last time and I had supply issues and I basically felt really stressed out about going out, and I don't want to do that again. I think I had some ppa about it in retrospect--it just felt like such a huge undertaking to simply get dressed for a walk or to get coffee. Plus this time, my best friend has moved, so she won't be able to come to me anymore, as have several other close friends (put that in the "con" list of being a grad school parent above--everyone moves away eventually!); if I don't get out I'm going to be super lonely and isolated, and that really worries me.

Will you dress up for Halloween? What will you be? lo will be a peacock (aaaah it's too cute!) so maybe something similar? not sure yet

@josina: love, love, love Emma. That was what I wanted for DD and I was UTTERLY shocked when DH vetoed it!!
Thanks, Tyler Thomas is bc of DH's family tradition to name the first son the fathers middle name. So DH's middle name is Tyler.. which annoys me bc he is called Ty.... they never ever called him by his first name so technically his mom bucked they system, agreed to put the name down on the birth cert but never used it (grrrr) so now i'll have a Ty and Tyler in the same house!!! All is ok though bc Thomas is my dad's name. So in theory my DIL will have to name her son Thomas.... oooo how she'll HATE me...
@NorthStar: I agree with trying to stick to a schedule. I never thought I'd be that parent but I think it really helps. And I remember the witching hour so well..DD would nurse from 430-6 pm every day or she'd just fuss.
@nana87: ooo I also love Eleanor!! How adorable! and I love that its for FIL

@Ajsmommy: We had chosen Emma with DS, just randomly both liked it. I don't like that its sooo popular right now, but I'm convincing myself it's ok - #1 name = only 200 babies out of 40,000/year in our state.

How many weeks are you now? 21 weeks and change

What is your occupation? Do you like it? how did you get there? I'm a transportation planner, and I do usually like it! I work for a city and I'm transitioning to a similar position in the city where I live...bye commute! Very excited.

Name of this LO (if you have it picked and if you are sharing).. yes this was asked before? We have 2 or 3 that we're considering. I have a favorite, and a friend just named her son the same name. I've decided I don't care if they have the same name

Since most of us are pre existing moms, what are the age(s) of your current kiddos? DD will be 3 in November, 3y3m when DS arrives.

Do you have a birth plan? if so what is it? If not will you make one? Not really. Healthy baby, healthy mom. I have a minor blood clotting disorder that makes me want to avoid surgery if feasible, and did med free for DD so I guess I'll go in aiming for the same.

Any updates on nursery's?? Ha. No. They'll be sharing a room and I'm working on emptying it out.

What do you plan to do the SAME with this one as you did with prior LO's? Haha I was lying in bed last night thinking "we need to get another sound machine so he gets to used to the same white noise!" Otherwise, cloth diapering at first, hopefully breastfeeding, working with a lactation consultant early on, baby wearing.

What do you plan to do DIFFERENTLY with this one than you did with prior LO's? I hope I can relax more with this little one. I was very anxious with DD, and part of that is my personality, but I hope I can be more sure that I won't break him and that he's fine and u can enjoy the newborn days more since he's our last baby.

Will you dress up for Halloween? What will you be? Not sure. I have a tank top with a pumpkin belly so I'll probably wear that. More thinking about what DD will wear

@nana87: We tend to gravitate to older names. DD's name is Amelia

I hear you guys on relaxing and trying to not get too anxious. Someone said it above, but I think that I had post partum anxiety last time and having this baby in February in northern MN is not going to make it any better this time around. Amelia was born in June. I just have to try to get out of the house more, but will be difficult until it warms up some.

We had our anatomy scan, yesterday and saw a healthy little boy! Thrilled to join Team and truly had a feeling, all along. DD is over the moon and is already lining up her dinosaur toys to show the brother she was so hoping for.

How many weeks are you now? 21 weeks, today!

What is your occupation? Do you like it? how did you get there? I've been a SAHM since DD was born. While it wasn't the initial plan, I am quite happy with how things worked out. Prior to babies, I worked in special education and behavior analysis. Once this babe is born and a bit older, I'd love to return to the field.

Name of this LO (if you have it picked and if you are sharing): We will be honoring my father (he passed away, last year) in a semi unique way, but are sleeping on it to make sure it's official.

Since most of us are pre existing moms, what are the age(s) of your current kiddos? DD turned three over the summer and will be 3.5 when DS is born.

Do you have a birth plan? if so what is it? If not will you make one? Not exactly. I just want a relatively drama-free experience that results in a healthy baby. We'll be using the same birth center and I hope to have another vaginal birth. Haven't decided if I'll opt for an epidural. I ended up with a spinal tap, last time, and the recovery was pretty awful. Ouch!

Any updates on nurseries? We're going to have a nursery nook in our bedroom, to start. I think I'd like to do a solar system theme. Eventually, the kids will share a room until we move to a larger home. 

What do you plan to do the SAME with this one as you did with prior LO's? I don't think I'll do much differently, in the parenting realm. I'm pretty content with how DD is turning out, hah. We'd like to babywear and bed share, again, but it's all up to him.

What do you plan to do DIFFERENTLY with this one than you did with prior LO's? We'd like to cloth diaper, this time. If breastfeeding doesn't work out again, I won't hesitate to supplement and won't give myself hell for it. 

Will you dress up for Halloween? What will you be? I'd like to say I will, but we shall see. We tend to make our costumes, and things have been busy, busy, busy. DD wants to be a dinosaur, so maybe I'll be a mama dino, on an egg.

Feb 5 - MrsA (#2) ; Beehive (#2)
Feb 6 - Gilmoregirl (#2) A/S: 10/4 ; nana87 (#2)
Feb 7 - Maggierose (#2)
Feb 9 - deerylou (#2)
Feb 11 - LML (#3 & #4) ; TBUZZ (#3 & #4)
Feb 14 - gentlelunette (#2)
Feb 14 - babybean404 (#2)
Feb 16 - NorthStar (#2) U/S: 10/6
Feb 16 - pumuckl (#3 & #4) A/S: 10/7; MFM Scan: 10/11
Feb 22 - josina (#2) A/S: 10/5
Feb 23 - Ajsmommy (#2)
Feb 24 - Wyattnewbabysmama (#2)

Oooh so excited to see some action on this board!

How many weeks are you now? 19

What is your occupation? Do you like it? How did you get there? government lawyer for NYC

Name of this LO (if you have it picked and if you are sharing).. yes this was asked before? WOW. So many Eleanors! We are between Carter and Eleanor (nn Nora) for this baby girl. Leaning towards Eleanor because I still like Carter a lot for a boy and who knows if we have a third.... Middle name will be for my husband's mom who passed away when he was a teenager.

Since most of us are pre existing moms, what are the age(s) of your current kiddos? 13 months right now. Will be almost 18 months old when baby girl gets here.

Do you have a birth plan? if so what is it? If not will you make one? No technical plan per say but I'm delivering at the same hospital and with the same OB practice as before. I definitely plan on getting an epidural. Baby boy was an emergency c section followed by NICU stay so I'd love to avoid both of those again, but I'm far more concerned about avoiding needing the NICU and hoping for a healthy baby than I am worked up about trying for a VBAC. My doctor has told me that there's no reason I can't VBAC from a lack-of-progression-perspective since the first time I progressed fine and even pushed (my c-section was due to fetal distress--it turns out I had a very sick little boy for a while there) but the births will likely only be 17 and a half months apart and they normally (at least at my hospital) don't allow a trial of labor unless you're at least 18 months apart. My doctor said she could refer me to a high risk doctor for an evaluation because if we want to try for a VBAC then she'll need to have high risk's sign off so she can present it to some hospital board. I would love a VBAC because I'd love to not have to recover from a csection again all while taking care of a newborn and a toddler, and I actually would just like to experience a vaginal birth, and I hope that we may have future child(ren?) and I know that they like to limit the total number of csections one has total. But, there is also some appeal to figuring out the childcare for my first in advance and not having to worry about unexpectedly going into labor. And you know the devil you know.... All that is to say, I'm going to go with the flow and see what my doctor ultimately thinks is the best way to go when we get a bit closer to it.

Any updates on nursery's?? Not really. We'll start baby girl in our room and at some point buy a 2nd crib and move her to share a room with my first.

What do you plan to do the SAME with this one as you did with prior LO's? Uhm. I'm sure I'll do more the same than differently.

What do you plan to do DIFFERENTLY with this one than you did with prior LO's? I'm going to echo someone else and say no stressing about having to supplement! Also as I mentioned, I'd like her to be healthy and be able to come home from the hospital when I do!

Will you dress up for Halloween? What will you be? I don't know what I'll be but my little guy has both a dinosaur concert and a pumpkin. He'll wear one for our neighborhood halloween parade!

Loving all the updates!

How many weeks are you now?
20w today!

What is your occupation? Do you like it? how did you get there?
I am a consultant that works on the verge between IT and business. I've been doing it for a long time now so I do really like it.

Name of this LO (if you have it picked and if you are sharing).. yes this was asked before?
No idea! Especially girl's names are giving us a headache. We chose DD name about a week or two before she was born so I think it'll be awhile until we figure out two names.

Since most of us are pre existing moms, what are the age(s) of your current kiddos?
My first (DS) is turning 3.5y in a couple of days. My second (DD) is 20.5m. We hope to celebrate her second birthday before the twins arrive.

Do you have a birth plan? if so what is it? If not will you make one?
I would love to have an unmedicated vaginal delivery with the twins just as a had with my first two. But then they're twins so I am trying to be fine with a c section too.

Any updates on nursery's??
No, they'll room in with us for the first months and then we'll see how we'll let the kids room share. Either the older ones together or the boys and girls together. We'll see how it goes.

What do you plan to do the SAME with this one as you did with prior LO's?
Hmm, we had pretty chill kids so I suppose we won't change up too much. If it works out I'd love to breastfeed them just like the other two.

What do you plan to do DIFFERENTLY with this one than you did with prior LO's?
I guess a lot of things because well it's twins
Joking aside though I had already changed a lot of things up with DD, like not nursing to sleep at night, getting her to sleep right around witching hour was a lifesaver.

Will you dress up for Halloween?
No, don't think so but Halloween isn't a traditional holiday here.

How many weeks are you now? 20+2

What is your occupation? Do you like it? how did you get there? I work in Early Intervention, so with families of littles 0-6 with developmental delays/needs. I love it! Lots of experience doing lots of different work with kids and families over the years got me here.

Name of this LO (if you have it picked and if you are sharing). Front runner for me is Juliet. Second choice is Amelia. Third choice is Alice.

Since most of us are pre existing moms, what are the age(s) of your current kiddos? DD is 18 months. She'lol be 23 months when DD2 is born.

Do you have a birth plan? if so what is it? If not will you make one? Not really. I'm open to an unmedicated birth if it's not as long as my last (36h). I had an epidural last time and certainly am open to doing it again, but I'm open to going to the local birth centre and doing it unmedicated if possible. All I care is healthy baby, healthy me!

Any updates on nursery's?? Thinking of doing coral/navy and sort of a zen yoga/mandala theme. This is the bedding I want to get (minus the bumpers) (see below)

What do you plan to do the SAME with this one as you did with prior LO's? Hmm, breastfeed if I can. And sleep train when it feels right. DD is a rock star sleeper thanks to sleep training. Lol.

What do you plan to do DIFFERENTLY with this one than you did with prior LO's? Probably have DH take a more active role in the night wake ups and bedtime routines. I'd also like to stress less and not worry so much about every tiny thing!

Will you dress up for Halloween? What will you be? No, probably not. I haven't even figured out DD's costume yet!

@deerylou: congrats on the baby boy! And I love the solar theme idea for your nursery nook!

@MrsA: We are considering Carter as a girls name. But I actually like it as a boy or girls name. (Our families are both southern and we like the last names as first names thing a lot. We have a lot of it in our families.) I just think that if used for a girl we will have to pair it with something obviously feminine for middle name. One of the reasons though that I'm leaning heavily towards Eleanor (nn Nora) is that I kinda want to "save" Carter b/c if we have a third baby, we could use it, girl or boy.

@gentlelunette: GORGEOUS crib bedding. Seriously love it.

@nana87: Eleanor is such a beautiful name! Anna is actually pretty high on my list of girls names. I have a cousin who used it, but we see them so rarely.

Ok, I know I'm late to this party, but I'm finally at my laptop and I want to play too.

How many weeks are you now? 22 today!

What is your occupation? Do you like it? how did you get there? I'm a high school English teacher. I like it a lot most days, but I teach remedial test prep literature in the fall which can be very draining. I spent four years working in pr/communications jobs before going back to school for a master's in education.

Name of this LO (if you have it picked and if you are sharing).. We haven't even talked about names yet!! Yikes.

Since most of us are pre existing moms, what are the age(s) of your current kiddos? My son is 2.5.

Do you have a birth plan? if so what is it? If not will you make one? My birth plan last time was to get the baby out safely, and same goes this time. I feel like things worked out pretty well for me, so I'm ok with whatever is best. I am pro epidural, but waited as long as I could last time because I was nervous about it.

Any updates on nursery's?? We have a guest room that will become the nursery once we clear it out and switch the full-size bed into my son's room. I'll make more concrete plans once we find out the sex (tomorrow I hope!).

What do you plan to do the SAME with this one as you did with prior LO's? Breastfeeding I guess? I also used the swing a LOT for sleep cause it was like, the only thing that worked. I want to try a rock and play this time, but I'm hoping to just do what works and not worry about the baby sleeping in the crib at first.

What do you plan to do DIFFERENTLY with this one than you did with prior LO's? I reaaaaalllly want to relax and go with the flow a little better. My son was colicky and barely napped and I stressed about it so much. In retrospect, I definitely had some PPA that I wasn't recognizing, but I held myself responsible for our struggles like it was all my fault things were tough. Or like if I was just better at parenting then I'd have been able to tote baby along with me to events or whatever. I understand now I just didn't have that baby.

Will you dress up for Halloween? What will you be? Not sure. My son wants to be Luke Skywalker; he's also decided that my husband will be Chewbacca. He wants me to be "the captain" which I guess means Hans Solo, and I'm not sure how hard I'm willing to try.

@gilmoregirl: @josina: good luck with your u/s's ladies!

So I'm 20 weeks on Friday and still haven't felt this baby girl! I can't remember when I first felt my son but I feel like for sure it was by now. I saw my doctor today and asked about it--she said it was fine and that heart beat sounded great. But has anyone else gone this late without feeling baby?

@WyattnewbabysMama: both with this pregnancy and lo1's, I've had anterior placentas and didn't feel much movement until late. With lo1, I think I felt her for the first time around 18 weeks, but not more than an occasional flutter until later. Dh could never feel her unless she had hiccups. This time, I felt her for the first time closer to 12 weeks, but it hasn't started to get regular until like last week, or 21 weeks-ish. My dr said she doesn't even ask about movement or have patients do kick counts until 24 weeks because it's just so sporadic before then.

@WyattnewbabysMama: oh totally! I hope you start feeling flutters soon