Growing a Human - Again!

[susanm9006]

I am guessing a beautiful baby girl on 12/31. 6.6 pounds

 

[Jewely]

My guess is December 21 at 7.2 lbs and a girl

 

[Lari]

I think the latest recommendation is to keep a child rear-facing until the age of 4. The bones in their neck aren't fully calcified until that age, and forward-facing could result in a broken neck on impact. I, too, am planning on rear-facing as long as possible.

Oh wow. I, as a 26 year old, am under 5'4...and I use no sort of booster seat. Yikes...maybe I should.

The law, at least in my state is until 2 (24 months), but recommendations is until they outgrow their seat. I know a lot of people who forward face as soon as they legally can, but I think I'm going to go with the outgrow the limits!

I know there's a reason adults who are shorter don't need boosters (also, I can adjust the height of the driver's seat of my car, so it doesn't matter), I think as long as the belt isn't going across your neck you're good.

I think it probably depends where you live since I remember when I left the hospital the nurse went down to the car with us and made sure our seat was rear facing and that was 30 years ago. I delivered both babies in the city which may or may not have had different rules than in the suburbs. Glad you were able to meet with the police officer for the car installation safety check.

They said they think they had a rear facing seat for my younger sister, who is 30. But not my brother who is 34 (and I'm older than him!), so I think it must have been in the late 80s they started requiring it.

I think rear-facing from birth to 6-12 months has been the recommendation for a long time. The new recommendations for 2-4 years old have been around probably for 15 years? I think I remember my brother talking about that when my first nephew was born, and he just turned 15. And my brother has massive children, so let me tell you that trying to cram a tall 40-pound 2-year-old into a rear-facing seat is no fun! Maybe newer cars will have a removable panel on the seats for their legs.

See, as a passenger, I hate having my legs dangling. I'd almost rather have the back seat for them to brace against or sit criss cross! I mean, it's not like I generally sit legs down at home.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

I was wondering Lari if you clean the litter box? I heard pregnant women aren't supposed to but don't know how true that is...

 

[Lari]

I was wondering Lari if you clean the litter box? I heard pregnant women aren't supposed to but don't know how true that is...

I did until my first appointment wearing gloves because the book Expecting Better, by Emily Oster said it was fairly low risk. But the midwife I saw the first time insisted I stop, so my husband has been doing it since. I promised I'd take it back over once Bebe is born.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Oh wow. I, as a 26 year old, am under 5'4...and I use no sort of booster seat. Yikes...maybe I should.

You probably can’t wear a kids size 12 pants though. Her body hasn’t grown hips. I’ve been very concerned she’ll outgrow the girls sizes in height before she fits womens in the waist. My cousin has ended up in a friend’s kid’s booster seat when she had to give her a ride after a night out; so some adults definitely fit! My DD is in the 99th percentile for height and I think it was 65th for weight. They have a 5 step test to move out of a booster. The belt needs to sit across your lap, not your stomach. And mid shoulder; not outside that or across the neck. Your knees need to reach the end of the seat so you can sit properly. Etc.

The law, at least in my state is until 2 (24 months), but recommendations is until they outgrow their seat. I know a lot of people who forward face as soon as they legally can, but I think I'm going to go with the outgrow the limits!

I think it was 1 when DD was a baby. I waited longer with both; but not quite to 2. My old car was awful for fitting a rear facing convertible seat. I couldn’t do 2. So we bought the Subaru when I was pregnant with DS.

My cousin had an awful time trying to extended rear face because her son was so heavy! He outgrew the rear facing seats by weight; so they turned him early. He was exclusively breast fed as a baby and ate healthy; he was just a chunk. Even his fingers had rolls as a baby. We joke our kids are opposites because my son is tall and was underweight.

I did keep both kids in 5 point harnesses for as long as possible though. If they fall asleep it keeps them in place. It holds them snugly when they want to wiggle. I used to get DS the sherpera hoodies from The Childrens Place to wear in the car instead of a jacket. I also kept cozy blankets for their laps. That was always enough. I brought their coats along of course. But DS often didn’t bother if it was a short walk.

 

[Lari]

38 weeks

Bebe is the size of a half baking sheet of meringues (yum!), a spaghetti squash, a ukulele, a Pomeranian, and these two tortillas. Bebe probably weighs about 6.75lbs now as well.

As of my appointment yesterday, they're still head down, chilling on my right side with their bum shoved up in my ribs when I sit, facing to my left. Hopefully I can convince them to turn and face my back since it's more ideal. Otherwise, they're fine tuning their brain and lungs to get ready for the outside world, and I'm getting a bit terrified of both having the baby and also bringing them home permanently.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

The ease with which they allow you to just take your baby home is pretty crazy. Everyone I know feels like that with their first! It’s like “They’re just letting me leave with her?!” Then you get home and is like “Ok now what?!” My high school best friend said they got home and took their daughter from her seat. She turned tomato red and screamed and they looked at each other like:. I kept a feeding log for both kids because it helped me see patterns and things. Especially while pumping.

But its so fun to just stare at them and see whose ears and nose and toes they got. And the squeaks! Oh man! And then theres the stretching and kicking. (Don’t worry; I’m not giving myself baby fever at all. It just is super cute!)

 

[neely]

I'm getting a bit terrified of both having the baby and also bringing them home permanently.

That's a perfectly normal feeling and one all parents go through but don't worry I promise you'll get the knack of it in no time. You will feel instantaneous love from the moment he or she comes into the world.

 

[maggiedemi]

Pomeranian, and these two tortillas. Bebe probably weighs about 6.75lbs now as well.

2 of my favorite things! My neighbor's Pomeranian and Mexican food. Bebe weighs more than I did when I was born, so it sounds like he/she is doing fine.

I'm getting a bit terrified of both having the baby and also bringing them home permanently.

Have you ever babysat an infant before? I did, a billion times when I was younger, so I think I could handle it. I might be a little rusty after 20 years though. It would be nice to be around babies again!

 

[rubysmama]

38 weeks

Almost done. Does it feel like the time went fast? Or does it feel like you've been pregnant forever?

 

[Lari]

Have you ever babysat an infant before? I did, a billion times when I was younger, so I think I could handle it. I might be a little rusty after 20 years though. It would be nice to be around babies again!

When I watched my friend's two kids this summer and fall, the daughter went from about three to seven months. I'm pretty sure I've never babysat a fragile newborn, never had them 24/7 and never breastfed. So it'll be different.

Almost done. Does it feel like the time went fast? Or does it feel like you've been pregnant forever?

Right now it feels like it's gone too fast, though there were times in the moment it felt like it was dragging!

 

[maggiedemi]

I'm pretty sure I've never babysat a fragile newborn

Yeah, now that you mention it, maybe they weren't exactly infants. 3 months old was the youngest I babysat I think. It was a long time ago. I need to get some babies back in my life! A lot of my friends have grandchildren now, maybe I can borrow one.

 

[susanm9006]

Babies, even newborns are tougher than you think. They will let you know if they aren’t happy
Feeding, diaper changing or holding works 95% of the time.
Breastfeeding is great but you have options if It doesn’t work for you.
You will make mistakes, but your baby won’t remember it when he or she grows up

 

[Lari]

Babies, even newborns are tougher than you think. They will let you know if they aren’t happy
Feeding, diaper changing or holding works 95% of the time.
Breastfeeding is great but you have options if It doesn’t work for you.
You will make mistakes, but your baby won’t remember it when he or she grows up

I think it's the properly supporting the neck thing I'm most worried about. Once they have a bit more control in that area, I hope I'll feel better.

 

[susanm9006]

That little head will fit so naturally in the crook of your arm or your husbands that after a day you won’t even think about it any more.

 

[Elphaba09]

I have never been wrong guessing a friend's or relative's baby's sex. The only thing is that I have to be around them before they are pregnant and during because they smell different. Weird, I know, but even before they have taken tests I mentioned to them that they smelled differently than they usually do. Around 12 weeks, I can usually tell if it is a boy or a girl. I can 100% tell (so far!) by the time they are 20 weeks. I could tell my grandson's sex when my daughter was about 8 weeks. Probably because I smell her often. Normally, she has a bit of a carnation smell. She then smelled kind of peppery, like a peony. Then, at 8-weeks, she suddenly has a mossy undertone to the smell. She is back to carnations.

I could tell with all of my pregnancies as well. It could be a coincidence, but, as I said, I have never been wrong. (I have an exceptional and odd sense of smell. My husband smells like petrichor, which is one of my favorite smells. No matter the soap or detergent, I can always smell the petrichor on him. Also, his sweat does not stink. Ever. It is so weird, but I guess there are some people like that. It makes me wonder if they all have a bit of a petrichor smell. Anyway, he took antibiotics for a sinus infection a few years ago, and his smell went away for about two weeks. Well, his normal smell did. It became a sort of sandy smell. It was awful for me!)

Without sounding weird: Since I have not smelled you, I am going to have to go with just scentless guessing! My guess is a girl with a wee bit of hair born 27 December. Likely in the morning. 7 lbs 6 oz.

 

[Lari]

Without sounding weird: Since I have not smelled you, I am going to have to go with just scentless guessing! My guess is a girl with a wee bit of hair born 27 December. Likely in the morning. 7 lbs 6 oz.

At my last ultrasound, she said Bebe only had a little bit of hair! Which is a bit disappointing because I was hoping they'd take after me in that regard.

 

[Elphaba09]

At my last ultrasound, she said Bebe only had a little bit of hair! Which is a bit disappointing because I was hoping they'd take after me in that regard.
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Oh, my goodness! Look at that hair!

 

[mani]

Oh, my goodness! Look at that hair!

I was just coming on to write the exactly the same thing. Beat me to it.