[Kay]

Daney- Any news?! Hoping for a for you!!
Kay

[Kay]

Originally Posted by hopefull79

Daney - good luck on the test, keep us posted of course!!

Kay - thanks for all the info, sounds like you're well on your way!! What did your doctors say about transferring one embryo?? We only have 2 frozen, but I definately would rather not have twins. I just don't know about the success rate and all that, if it would be worth transferring them one at a time?? Anyway, I am so excited for you!! I'm sure weaning Clara will be hard - but so worth it in the end!!

Rennae- If it was up to me, I would rather transfer two, but I have been seeing a high risk OB who specializes in blood pressure issues during pregnancy. He says I have a lower risk pregnancy with one, but I would jump into a much higher risk area with twins. I have had PIH with three pregnancies. My RE would transfer two, but says there is just a slightly reduced success rate with a single emby transfer. I have two embies frozen as singles in seperate "straws" so I don't have to thaw more than one at a time. She says both of these embies are high quality. If we thawed two and both looked good, I would insist on having both transfered so we wouldn't waste any. My RE said we could also refreeze an ambie. I hope it doesn't come down to that. I have also heard that three SETs have the same success rate as one FET with two embies. I would like to get it done the first try though!
Kay

[infertilitynovice]

Again, there's more I want to say, but dinner's ready...quick post...

Kay, I bring Marlee's food with us everywhere I go. I'm often out with the moms' group during lunch time so it is a must. First, I bought a double bowl made by Sassy that has a snap on lid and holds the spoon in between. It's awesome! Since I make most of her food, I had to be creative with transportation. I freeze it in trays and then pop them out onto sheets of Press-n-Seal wrap. I then fold it over and create little baggies for each serving. I freeze them that way and just cut off a serving portion and take it with us in the baggy I've created. If I know I'm going to be feeding her soon the I defrost it before we leave (again, leaving it in the baggy I've created). If it will be a while then I leave it frozen and it defrosts during our outing. I put the serving baggies in each side of the tray just in case it leaks (never has though). When I'm ready to feed her then I squeeze the food out of the baggy into the the side of the bowl.

I also feed her string cheese which comes individually wrapped so that's easily portable too (she doesn't eat the whole thing, I eat the rest).

And on the meatballs, I used so much breadcrumbs that it ends up being fairly "bready" rather than like meat crumbles. It makes it softer and easier for her to eat, I think.

I also found a great cooler lunch bag at BRU that I put all her food in when we're out. The greatest thing is that the handle clicks open so I can attach it to my diaper bag rather than having to find space IN the diaper bag for it. I look like a packing mule, but it works

[Kay]

wow Melissa, you are a feeding on the go pro!! thanks for all the ideas. I have been so dependant on BFing when we are on the run, but now that we are weaning I need to get more organized. Clara wants to eat whatever I am eating, but this is not always possible.
I think you should write a book!
Kay

[chantalTTC]

Hi everyone! We're back from our Alaska cruise and catching up on life/work/house stuff. I hate having to think about meals again! I feel like such a short-timer at work. I'm SO unmotivated...7 more weeks, 7 more weeks...yeah!

Kay, the cruise was fun and so easy with Linnea. The cruiseline provided a portacrib, which made it challenging in the small room (ours was a bigger room with a balcony and it was still a bit cumbersome). If you don't have a room with a balcony - I highly suggest you upgrade to one. It is worth it - the views are incredible. We saw whales, waterfalls, eagles, icebergs, all from our own balcony and away from the crowds up on deck. There were rows of people standing 5 people thick to see the icebergs, etc. We did the Whale Watching and Wildlife tour in Skagway. It was incredible. We saw a pod of 8 humpback whales feeding - they surfaced over 10 times. Truly majestic. Also saw seals and sea lions that day. Only saw one bald eagle - just flying by our balcony one day in port. But I wasn't scouring the shoreline as I could have I guess. The towns seemed to be really, REALLY touristy and didn't seem to offer much aside from tourist shops, but maybe we didn't see the parts we should have. We went horseback riding in Juneau - it was disappointing because it was a horse-to-tail walk only trail ride up and back the same trail in the forest. It only opened up for 15 mins before heading back into the forest. I would have liked more 'open spaces' instead of being stuck in the forest, you know? The whale watching was well worth it, though. We took the bigger boat instead of the small jetboat. My niece went earlier the same day, to the same location on the jet boat and didn't see as many whales and they were farther away. Based on this info, plus knowing how it worked out well to be on the bigger boat (they had coffee/tea/hot chocolate and donut holes, 2 bathrooms with sinks and soap, big chairs with tables and room for us to leave our stroller up for Linnea to sit and even sleep in - all great things for baby and the parents), I'd recommend you do the whale watching on the bigger boat. It was perfectly safe for Linnea (just in case, we brought the baby life jacket from the cruise ship) and it worked out well. She even slept in her stroller for 30 mins at the end as we returned to the dock. I did have to hold her on my lap during the 10 mins bus ride to the dock. Wasn't thrilled with that, but there were no seat belts so didn't bring her carseat.

We also did a horse-drawn tram ride around Ketchikan. It was $30/pp and was probably only worth $5, but it was a great way to see the little town safely with Linnea. The town was so chock full of tourists it was hard to push her on the streets in the stroller. OH - that's something you cannot forget. Make sure you bring a sling or baby bjorn. You'll need it. We ended up not using the stroller too much - on the ship you will get tired of waiting for elevators and off the ship, you'll get tired of battling the crowds. Strap her on and you'll be a lot more mobile.

The cruise waiters were very sweet - always offering a highchair with a tray and cut up bananas or something. That helped a lot. I did bring 20 of those plastic 2pack of baby food, plus a thing of puffs and a thing of wheels. I only had 4 plastic baby food things left (and had to buy puffs halfway through!). I brought 50 diapers and came home with 8 or so (Fri-Sat). Bring two baby blankets - one that's nice and cuddly and one for the ground/as a backup if the nice one gets dirty/spit up on. I did laundry in the room every day and that helped extend her wardrobe, fyi.

Linnea adapted well to sleeping in the same room with us. By the 4th day, we put her in her crib just to play, with all the lights on and noises from outside and after 5 mins she rolled over, grabbed her blankie and fell asleep.

All in all, it was a fun cruise. I think I prefer the 'warm' cruises better because I love water sports, but actually this was probably a better cruise with Linnea... I hope you have a great time in August!

Linnea's still not crawling, but like baby Eggy (hi Eggy!!!), I think she'll try soon. She can push herself up from lying down into a seated position, which she loves doing. I went to get her after her nap yesterday and she was sitting up happy as can be. Also, still no teeth, which is great since I'm still nursing... She babbles and squeals a lot, but I think that's more common for a girl than for boys. She does mamamamama often, and mostly when she really wants something, so I like to think she associates her wants and needs with me... :-)

[Kay]

Kristen- welcome back. I am glad to hear your cruise went well! Thanks for all the good info! It sounds like it would be better for us to bring her small, stowable "tent" bed instead of using the crib from the ship. Would you suggest we just keep the stroller home? Where do you keep the stroller when not in use? We do have the balcony room so this is good. I have heard the towns are obnoxiously busy and touristy YUCK!
I am sure as it gets time to pack, I might have more questions. Thanks for your input.
Kay

[hopefull79]

Glad your cruise went so well, I'm jealous!!!

I think Avery will be crawling in the next week or so. She goes to all fours from sitting, but then doesn't know what to do. Usually she gets frustrated, collapses and cries. She also threw her first total fit at Walmart tonight. We were shopping and I was letting her chew on my grocery list. When it began to fall apart and I thought she could choke, I took it away from her. She screamed - loud, and sobbed - loud, until DH picked her up. Everyone turned to stare. It was pretty amusing, it didn't bother me at all - except maybe my child is a tad spoiled.

[chantalTTC]

Rennae - I know exactly what you mean, and Avery's not spoiled, she's just learning how to express herself! I read on BabyCenter that this is the age that LOs start to throw themselves back (Linnea's been doing it for a few weeks) and 'throw a fit' when they aren't getting their way. It makes me laugh when she does it. I just think it's my little independent daughter deciding how she wants something and when she doesn't get her way, she is trying to tell me she's unhappy. It cracks me up (though of course I'm not encouraging the behavior - I try now to ignore it so she doesn't learn that it's working, etc.). It's apparently another developmental milestone.

[infertilitynovice]

Yup, Marlee is doing the tantrum thing too. She cries when I take away something she wants, like my car keys. She'll throw an out and out fit if I do this while putting her in her car seat. She's also started throwing fits before bed while pushing me away...or pushing herself away from me while I'm holding her, anyways. She throws herself backwards and would fall right out of my arms if I let her...silly girl. I find myself laughing too.

It is showing their independence...

Kristen, so glad to hear that your cruise went so well. We'll be traveling to my mother's in TN again in a few weeks. This will be the 4 time since she was born. I think this time will be more complicated than the last since she doesn't fit across my lap, while on the plane, to nurse anymore.

Marlee's not crawling but she too will lean forward on her hands and is just about to get herself on on 4s. She is also starting to pull up on me, but not anything else yet.

Can you believe they are almost as old as the length of our pregnancies?...man, time flies!

[chantalTTC]

Linnea had her 9 month checkup yesterday. She's doing great. Developmentally she's more mature emotionally and verbally than she is physically. Talks a ton and interacts well but lacks teeth and has yet to crawl. Doc gave the green light to feed her whatever we're eating, so will be buying less baby food going forward. It's fun introducing her to new foods. She loves everything she tries!

Question for you - do you worry when your LO goes off in a car with someone else? I just kissed her goodbye as she goes shopping with my sister/brother-in-law and niece from Germany. I cannot help worry that they'll get into an accident...my niece has a paper in her wallet saying to call me in an emergency. It freaks me out thinking that my LO could be hurt and I'm not there, you know? Maybe I'm just paranoid...

[Kay]

Kristen- Glad to hear Linnea is doing so well. I think it is very typical for a girl to be more advanced verbally.
I can relate to your fears. I get nervous having Clara out of my sight period .
Are you close to being off work?
Kay

[infertilitynovice]

Marlee crawled for the first time last night. She's not consistent though...she mostly just creeps but she does have the one-legged crab crawl thing going on So cute!!! She pulled herself up on the gate between the kitchen and family room. Life as we knew it is over...

She's got 4 teeth, 2 top, 2 bottom...I think I can see evidence of the ones on either side of her top teeth too...CRAZY!

I found her sitting up in her crib yesterday too, so down the mattress went.

Suddenly it seems like it is all happening at once.

Marlee pretty much eats whatever I have on my plate, with very few exceptions. She LOVES food! She's still not that big though...dunno

Kristen, I think girls do tend to be more verbal then physical though. Glad to her she's doing so well though!

[Kay]

Hi Melissa- Welcome to the hectic world of mothers with crawlers. It really is cute though to see them getting around! I just LOVE seeing each new thing.

Clara had a trip to the ER on Sat. she had a temp of 103.7 for more than 24hrs. At the hospital her temp was 104.5 It turned out she had double ear infections . I can't help but feel guilty thinking it is because I have weaned her. Now today she has broken out in a rash all over her body. I am heading into the ped in an hour. I just hate it when she is sick.

Hope all you other Nov moms are doing well!
Kay

[chantalTTC]

Kay, I hope Clara is doing better! Don't feel guilty; I'm sure there's nothing you did to cause her illness. It's really common at this age to get ear infections!

[Kay]

Thanks Kristen! Some how I think it is in our nature as moms to feel guilty about something. Clara is doing much better now. Just in time....
We leave on our cruise the 15th of Aug. The same day I start my Lupron injections for my Sept FET I really can't believe I am starting all this again. Well this will be the VERY last time. Then my family will be complete (unless there is another adoption in our future... only God knows).
Is your DH away at another exotic location filming?
You must be close to your last day of work?
Hope you are enjoying your summer!
Kay