S Minus About Two Weeks.
After the 800th commenter swore that she would sell her grandmother for a Miracle Blanket, I hied myself to the website and ordered two. My baby adores a swaddle, and I got a bit nervous when a nurse mentioned that once I am home I will only be able to swaddle Simone below the arms, because swaddling with her arms in and the blanket up to her neck is a SIDS hazard. Apparently babies can wriggle the blanket loose, get it over their face, and suffocate themselves. (Incidentally, between the catching fire and the suffocation, is anyone else getting the impression that babies are awfully accident-prone?) But unless Simone ties one end to a crib slat with her teeth and barrel rolls in the opposite direction, that Miracle Blanket isn’t going anywhere. She’s trapped! Just as nature intended.
I had so much fun reading through your comments and making my list of pre-homecoming essentials. I tried to sneak “pedicure” and “Nikon D40” onto said list, but Scott objected. (Of course with May 26th approaching, he has been trying to convince me that year one is “The Playstation 3 anniversary,” so he is not arguing from a position of strength). What your comments made especially clear is that I will need two or three hundred cloth diapers per baby-orifice, and probably I should just plan on scattering them liberally around the apartment to mop up any stray fluids. Your sling recommendations were helpful as well—I got a Baby Ktan (quite like a Moby-wrap-for-dummies), and it sounds like the Kangaroo Korner fleece pouch might be worth a look, irksome misspelling of “corner” notwithstanding.
Anyhow, I am in a much better position than I was last week, when a nurse asked whether I had “one of those vibrating chairs” for Simone yet, and if so, could I bring it in? and I thought she meant an infant-sized leather massage chair from Hammacher Schlemmer Baby or something. In my defense, I didn’t realize that bouncy-seats vibrated—I thought they were simply a spring-loaded receptacle in which to place the baby while you answer the phone or use the bathroom, a receptacle that you may “bounce” with your foot if you are so inclined. I had much to learn. Of course I do realize that all Simone really needs is a boob and my love and a dresser drawer lined with rags (well, besides her oxygen tank) but it’s lovely to finally, finally feel safe enough to shop for a carseat and mentally arrange nursery furniture.
Speaking of which, we got a call two days ago from our landlord, indicating that our new apartment was nearing completion. We picked up the keys today and start moving tomorrow, and also, we need to have our current place emptied and cleaned by Tuesday morning at nine. So, guess what I’m doing this weekend? If you guessed “moving,” you’re only half right—full credit goes to those of you who added “hyperventilating in the dark recesses of a closet.”
Of course the other thing I am doing this weekend is walking in the March of Dimes March of for Babies with Simone’s fabulous nurses. I suppose this means the babies will be all alone in the NICU, throwing a wild party ($3 cover, must be under 37 weeks, the breastmilk will flow like wine). The March is on Sunday, and this morning my iGoogle weather gadget displayed a picture of a christless SNOWFLAKE for that day. “Rain and snow showers,” they say. On the day of our noble four mile walk to keep babies alive! Really, April? Is that how you want to be remembered? As a babykiller? Let’s have a little sunshine. DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN.
56 Comments
I’ve been restraining myself from commenting, knowing you’d gotten much advice, but I feel inclined to add ’snow bib’ to your list of new mommy essentials… though I sincerely hope the clouds keep their moisture to themselves.
I applaud your wit and your strength, and I cheer loudly for you on your journey to Mommydom. And, for the record, I still use my changing table (38 mos.) though I wish to Dog I didn’t! Worth every craigslist penny.
Happy to hear that the shopping spree is going well. Try telling Scott that your well-being and by extension Simone milk supply depends on you having X,Y and Z … might work, can’t hurt :-)
Can you get ski attachments for strollers in your part of the world? If not why not? Sounds like a necessity to me! What truly awful weather you are having.
Good luck with The Walk and The Move. Try and fit in a few moments of sleep before the beautiful Simone comes home, don’t forget the need to take care of yourself too. You’ll be no good to anyone if you wear yourself to a frazzle. Friends and relatives love looking after small babies thereby giving Mommies (even remembered to spell it the American way) a break, time for a shower, a pee in peace, breathe, eat, drink - you get the picture I’m sure.
I’ve been ‘waiting in the wings’ to read this post! Shopping for baby things! Slings! Blankets! Yippee!
As for swaddling, I personally think it’s nonsense to say it’s a SIDS risk! (But then I’m old and out-of-date, and I actually used to put all five of my now-adult sons to sleep on their fronts! Shock! Horror!) Although I don’t hold with the old Russian way of wrapping babies up so they can’t move at all, and look like Matrushka dollies! But done properly, I don’t see swaddling should be a risk. Just remember to fold the sides of the blanket down before you wrap, so they are well away from Simone’s face.
But my advice would be to use that sling LOTS! You have lots of missed cuddling to make up, and that’s what you BOTH need!
I’m so pleased and happy for you all. But what a roller-coaster it’s been for us, your readers, too! :-D
I can’t believe that gorgeous wee Simone is coming home! You and S. must be totally overjoyed - and totally terrified. I remember when we brought our son home from hospital (he was not a preemie, it is pertinent to mention). I remember this incredibly surreal sort of feeling as we walked out the doors of the maternity hospital. I was shocked that they were letting me leave with a real, live baby. No background checks?! No monthly payment plan?! And sweet lord, what the HELL was I going to do at home without a capable (if slightly beleaguered) nurse to hand? It was all very overwhelming - but totally fabulous.
Here’s a question — how long will Simone need the oxygen for? (I mean, the obvious answer is “For the rest of her life, duh,” - I mean the extra supply.
Slings are a total godsend and I have a stupidly large collection of them. I have a Hoppediz wrap (organic! German and therefore supposedly efficient, but in actual fact, the seven metres of material are intensely, crushingly confusing. The BOOK included with said sling [yes, it is an actual book], displaying page after page of fabric origami performed in still photography by bland-faced Germans is almost worth the hefty sling price alone.) I also have a Moby which I used on our daughter until it was plainly ridiculous. She’s now 18 months old and loves being carried on the back. We had a Mei Tei which, although fabulous to look at, was not exactly my cup of tea. Go for the wrap slings!
More photos of the wee girl, as well, please!
x
Angeline
I have come out of lurkdom because I nearly peed I laughed so hard–do it for the children! I too am marching and of course for me the forecast is for “A chance of showers in the morning…then partly sunny.” Bastards.
As for things that we needed for our baby, I must say we didn’t need much…she slept in her carseat the first few weeks, but after that would only sleep in her crib if we put her on the diaper changing contour pad. I know, very odd. If they don’t send you home with an apnea monitor we couldn’t have gotten any sleep ourselves without the Angelcare monitor. Oh, and blankets be damned, our baby uses sleepsacks, and they are wonderful.
Really the only other things she needed early on were her Playtex drop-in bottles (love them! and PBA free!) and a pacifier. I know pacifiers are considered taboo, and we didn’t plan to use them as I was trying to breastfeed, but we couldn’t have lived without them, or rather I couldn’t have done anything other than be a giant pacifier.
Sorry to ramble.
You may complete the 4 mile walk somewhat quicker than the first car journey home with Simone! The road around you is immediately populated by speeding idiots and getting above 2nd gear requires intrepidity & nerves of steel. But very fine things await you at the end of both journeys: a warm sense of accomplishment (and the NICU’s cash, naturally) and a beautiful snugglesome baby daughter IN HER OWN CRIB.
Simply can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to the first photo of Simone AT HOME.
Nature’s not so much for the babies, I’ve discovered.
I think you need to revisit the Nikon D40, and possibly your husband’s testosterone levels. I’ve never seen a man turn one down once in hand. Never.
Everything is a SIDS risk, you’ll discover. I don’t understand how crib bumpers made the list, but those overly swathed moses carriers did not. Just for starts. It’s a tricky road to navigate, but as a rule, your gut and common sense are almost always right. Hang in there, can’t wait to see Simone (and y’all) in your new digs.
I am certainly not overriding your NICU nurses’ advice because I am not able to give medical advice on a wee one that I have not met, but we send a lot of parents home from the NICU still swaddling. When she first comes home, she probably will not be able to break free of a good swaddle. Once she is more active, she will, but by that time, she might not want to be swaddled anymore. Often, once babies are past the swaddle, they start liking their hands near their face (one way they self-soothe), so the swaddle would make the hands-to-face thing an impossibility.
That said, I am remembering that Miracle Blanket thing. I don’t have a baby yet, but when I do, I am getting me one of those…or several! However, my time as a NICU nurse has made me an A+ swaddler.
I am coming back to these pages in a few weeks from now- I need all the advice i can get.
I good luck moving.
I am inspired and in awe of your fantastic strength and knowledge.
I am coming out of lurking to say congrats on everything - it is so exciting to know that Simone will be coming home soon! I am one of those moms who took her preemie home on oxygen. Everyone asked me how long we would need to lug around the tank, the O2 sat monitor, etc. I wish I had known it would only be a short 6 weeks - it was so wonderful to get him home, to have my baby to myself. And then it was a whole new world when we shed the oxygen - he was a whole new baby, with no tehters, no added equipment, no struggles to get out the door!
Congrats again - and feel free to e-mail me if you want to ask any questions regarding the home on O2 situation!
Amanda
now i want a miracle blanket, just for me!
it’s got to feel so good to have reached the point where you can (gasp!) almost feel safe buying things. throw the Nikon in. babies deserve fine photography. :)
and walk tall on Sunday, for Ames and Simone and all the little ones, k?
I’m amazed that anyone survives infancy, what with the hazards of dry cleaning bags and electrical outlets not to mention the giant TVs that a dozen or so tots last year managed to pull over, squashing themselves flat. Most infant equipment comes with a label bearing the baleful message: Never Leave Child Unattended. The label might as well read RIP Spontaneity.
Babies are very much worth the price of eternal vigilance and sleepless nights, however. You and Simone are going to have so much fun!
BTW is there room in the nursery for the blood recirculator? I hear they’re rather large.
I got the Nikon D40X just before my daughter was born and I LOVE it!
Soory i am late but I second the Angelcare monitor. It is fantastic. If baby stops breathing in 15 second it beeps a warning, hopefully jaring baby into breathing if she forgot and in 20 seconds it wakes the whole house so you can rush in and move baby (who hasn’t woken up) back into the center away from bumper and god forbid it is anything worse then that. So angelcare all the way!Oh and congrads on getting Simone home soon!
wait…after a four mile March for Babies a pedicure is not a legitimate item on the list? really?
your posts usually do me in with some surreal combination of laughter and pain, and this one is no different. i’m sobbing with happiness. new life, here y’all come!
Alexa you are too funny. I am so happy that you get to bring Simone home soon. Sending lots of happy thoughts your way.
Have I mentioned how amazing you are?
I do so wish I could be there to help haul boxes and insist that you simply mandate from your reclined position at the cheese table.
Incredibly, hopefully, wonderfully excited for you.
And here I was thinking that you write so much tongue-in-cheek, when you turn it all around and write something TOTALLY SERIOUS AND TRUE: “and probably I should just plan on scattering them liberally around the apartment to mop up any stray fluids.”
You should see photos of our living room in the early days. It neared 100% coverage.
Fantastic! I can’t offer any more advice then everyone here. Though I’m not sure if someone mentioned a bassinet. It was terrific to have right by the bedside, so much easier to get to them - and to hear them breathing - and to peek in on them every 5 minutes while you are “sleeping”. Also wanted to say - you might have an overload of emotions when you bring them home. During my hospital stay (2 months) and my sons (1.5 months)I just put my head down and powered through (I cried, but I also was a woman on a mission). When my DS got home, I was so overwhelmed - I kind of thought after all the drama I deserved a easy-peasy time, a blissful introduction to motherhood, a baby that only cried when he was hungry. Found that first time motherhood was hard - and that’s when my emotions overwhelmed me. I cried in the closet for 3 months everyday. It was just then that I got to realize all that we’ve been through. You will DESERVE good cries. But I also know you will know more grateful joy too. So, so happy to read your last two posts!
Our weather is nearly mirror exact of what your weather will be for the Walk tomorrow. I believe “our” March For Babies was today - the 26th. I participate in other such fundraising walks - Heart Walk, Diabetes Walk, Cancer Walk, as these entities have touched my life.
Might be a good idea to get that apnea monitor, as well as the foam thing that positions babies on their sides. A safe moving, musical mobile will be a blessing, attached to her crib/bassinette - babies are so darn cute trying to reach for teddy bears or whatever is floating over their heads, and “talking” to them.
If by chance you are rocking Simone when she is a little older, and you hear her gooing and making cute noises, then you stop rocking and she stops, and then you start rocking and she starts cooing and gooing again - it’s commonly called “The Sleepy Song”, and according to my parents, all my siblings including me did this. My daughter sang the Sleepy song when she was a babe, and her kids did it too. So precious. They’re usually very tired when they do this and will fall asleep pronto! If she doesn’t sing it, no problem, Simone is cool, she’ll do what she wants to do. :)
happy marching, snow and all. know we’re all cheering you on (and sending virtual hot chocolates– with baileys, of course)
I’m so so so happy for you guys!
Happy marching, I will be there in spirit! Let there be sunshine! I am so happy for you guys! I will send pics of the tiles we made in name of Simone the other day shortly.
I defy any baby of the recently born variety to break free from the strait jacket, er, I mean Miracle Blanket. The best my (very hale, hearty and strong) kid could manage was to rip a bottom seam and get a foot out… Once…
Ooh! I thought of something else you need if your apt has carpet. Cheap vinyl tablecloths. Use them this way: If Simone decides to vomit while she is sleeping, and said vomit flows out of crib (it’s possible, I know from experience) it will drip onto the carpet around the crib. And you’ll be scrubbing and scrubbing and that’s no fun. So first time she pulls that trick, after you clean it up, put a vinyl tablecloth on the floor so future vomit drips onto THAT. Keep several around. Because when she’s older, say 2 or 4 or 6, and gets sick, she will lay in bed, or on the couch, and perhaps not aim for the trash can, or not be fast enough to the bathroom, and the vinyl tablecloths come in handy. Believe me.
I hate to make you think that children do nothing but puke, but they do it more often than we’d like. And vinyl tablecloths are my defense.
My husband and I celebrated the ‘Playstation 3 Anniversary’this past december, it as a lot of fun..for him.
I have to admit that that Miracle Blanket is cool looking. I’ve never had one though, I’ve always done swaddling the old fashioned way. We’ve been in the NICU 3 times with 3 seperate children and if I learned nothing else in there in that time(and 5 kids later) it’s how to do a good swaddle.
Have a great weekend! Try and sleep for at least 5 minutes in there somewhere ;).
So does this mean I can stop holding my breath? Because the particular shade of blue that I have been every time I see a post is not the most flattering with my complexion. Also, this is my awkward way of saying “YAY!” and “good luck” with the moving.
I saw the snow out my window this morning and thought of what you’re doing tomorrow. Its not fair.
Wish I had known about the miracle blanket with the Sprout, that thing looks cool…
That blanket looks amazing.
(Oh, and I love Zoey Deschanel. LOVE.)
That blanket looks pretty cool in a scary sort of way. I had no idea babies liked to be swaddled so thoroughly.
I hope Aril pulls out a nice one for you. It’s the LEAST it could do after all the crap you’ve been through.
I see from your twitter that it was snowing sideways. I hope it clears up and is a balmy 50 or so degrees for your walk tomorrow!!
Excellent job inventing moving companies.
Shopping for a baby is so exciting once you actually can.
Yay! Neonate party!
Congratulations and what a long way you both have come!
My 2 cents on gear (now that I have a 10-month old):
*Graco Safe Seat car seat, goes to 30 pounds so it will last rear facing for a long time (18 months or so) and it is very easy to install and to take from car to car
*huge vats of vinegar, I throw 1/2 cup into an extra rinse cycle for the baby’s clothes and diapers
*Earth Angel Mama diaper cream and baby soap, very mild with none of that bad stuff
*nightgowns with elastic to hold the feet in, Baby Gap has them and they are easy at night
*Putamayo’s Children’s Salsa and African Playground cd’s, our baby only liked to be held upright and we had to dance with her to get her to sleep
*a mobile — she loved that thing way more than me
*I have a kind of roll filled with buckwheat to fit around my body for breastfeeding, and it was great to prop the baby up for tummytime which they all hate
Good luck and enjoy the countdown to home!
I love the miracle blanket, although i also have a 7 month old who needs swaddling to sleep, so bear that in mind.
One thing you DON’T need is shampoo, baby bath etc. Babies just don’t get that dirty and a wash with warm bath water is all they need for a while. Much better for their skins. You start using soap, they get dry skin (often). If you really want to put stuff in the bath, I recommend the Weleda stuff, it doesn’t contain soap. THeir nappy rash cream is brilliant, too.
So very excited that Simone will be home soon. What a fantastic day that will be.
Alexa,
I have been following you & Simone here for a short while now and I cannot express how elated I am for you that she will be home with you, in your arms, so soon. When you’re crouching in the corner of the dark closet this weekend, just spend some delicious moments imagining all the lovely times ahead you have denied yourself from imagining until now. Early motherhood, in my experience, is a total bitch, and since you have already had it much worse than most of the rest of us I am pretty sure your experience here is going nowhere but uphill. You & Scott hang in there, love each other a lot, and the rest will come.
You’re a real trouper (I hate it when people spell it trooper) to march AND move all on the same weekend. You’re clearly made of sterner stuff than I am.
You won’t need a quarter of the stuff proposed by your devoted fans. Yes, a sling of some sort is great. We had something called a Baby Bag from L.L. Bean that looked like a small sleeping bag with feet. It zipped up the middle and it kept baby snug. Mine is still going strong, being used by friends of friends 19 years after I bought it for my son.
As for swaddling, a few of those little cotton receiving blankets do the job very well. You just lay baby near one end and roll ‘em up.
You’re not going to believe how freaky it will feel when you and S. leave the hospital with Simone and no nurses or support staff to assist you. My MIL hired a baby nurse to come to our house for two hours a day for the first two weeks. My husband and I nearly wept with relief when the nurse finally arrived, having spent almost 15 hours ON OUR OWN with the baby. As I said, our son is 19 now and we’ve gradually gotten used to it.
I love your blog and they way you write. You are always so funny. I am so excited for you to bring little Simone home!
I’d never heard of a miracle blanket before, but I’m wondering if it would work on my 7-year old.
Hope the walk went well. And as for Simone’s wild NICU party, I’m sure it’s a BYOB, bring your own binky!
Alexa,
As a mama to a 24-weeker I was right where you are 1.5 years ago, and upon reading your last post I grew nostalgic over coming home from the NICU– O2 tank and all, un-baby showered, trying to figure out how to enter Consumers R Us without hyperventilating. The latter is why I was so business-like in commenting on your last post, getting right down to list-mode, and neglected to celebrate with appropriate wild abandon Simone’s imminent trip HOME– so: HOORAY for Miss Simone!
Also, I want to add the one thing which turns out to be maybe the MOST useful purchase for a baby when one is partial to wood floors, and that is a decent sized rug for the living floor. You’ll be spending a lot of time down there with the kiddo, more than you might think, as will almost everyone else you know, in which case it’s obviously ideal to sit on carpet(and put her down on a blanket with carpet underneath), esp. given Minnesota winters.
I knew this from nannying(they didn’t have one and you know, it kinda inhibited things) and found a great persian one on Ebay for decent.
Finally, one day I will wax eloquent on the freakish things we have in common(late twenties. miscarriages. am lay gynecoloist. talked self into college after not finishing high school. finished 2 yrs of college. went into professional world. now want MFA. have delightful nerd husband. daughter was born at 24 weeks, 1.5 pounds. am now lay pediatric neurologist)
BUT, for now I just wanted to de-lurk and send some love your way,
And tell you that Simone is absolutely stunning(not to mention very alert).
And that I am so very, very sorry for the loss of your sweet son.
Oh, I just thought of 2 more things.
I did get a Cool Flow Back Sleeper (findable via search at the T@rget website) and found it helpful once my little one started to flip over.
Also I was much more a fan of the Halo sleepsacks (try that same website…) than of the gowns others have mentioned. My guy would kick his feet when he was tiny, while sleeping, and the gowns would ride up. The sleepsacks are like sleeping bags you (or, more likely, Simone, unless you are very, very, very petite indeed) get zipped into, not snug (not like swaddling), but warm and secure (available in fleece or cotton, and no, really, I’m not an ad…). And they unzip from bottom (feet) to top, meaning you can undo them enough to get a diaper changed without needing to strip the baby.
Again, here’s to having Simone safely home. Very excited for you!
I am so happy to read this post!
I’ve been following your story very closely. My daughter has an apnea monitor she wears 24/7 and we’ve found that not all baby stuff works when your infant is attached to a light and sound show like mine is!
So I suggest trying things out with a model when you can (We brought along a box the size of the monitor to pick out a click-in stroller - the kind you just stick the carseat in. It happened to be a Piperlime box - I wonder how many people went away thinking my husband was buying a stroller based on it’s compatibility with shoe shopping.).
you’re posts are so fun to read.
p.s. the day we walked out of the hospital with our baby, i hoped, nay… prayed a nurse would stop us for taking-a-baby-without-knowing-what-we’re-doing.
i think that’s normal. am i right? right guys? :( (note: ours is still alive and will turn 5 in a few months. so far, so good)
so, at this point i’ve had two drinks… and i realize that ‘you’re’ was the wrong your. i know there are different ones, and which goes where. sorry.
*exhale*
This post has been so long in coming! I am thrilled to hear your plans for sweet Simone’s homecoming. I hope your walk of babies went well today.
Cheers on the big move!
Tell Scott the Nikon D40 is SOOOO worth it! I just got one and love it. And all those coming home shots in your future….
Hoping your walk went well.
Woohoo!!!!
And snow? Really? It’s snowing sideways there? Good godamighty.
Hey!!! Glad to hear Simone will be home soon!!! Our youngest was in the NICU for two weeks. He was 34 weeks and weighed in at 7lbs 9oz. So, while I have been there and done that, I know I had nowhere near the experience you had. (he was christened in the hospital after he crashed for the second time and we were told there were no guarantees he would recover) I remember Quinn would only sleep on his tummy in the NICU and the nurses told me in no uncertain terms that under NO circumstances EVER should I put him on his tummy. They could because, well, all of the monitors. Really. I came home and layed him on his back. He fell asleep for maybe 6 minutes only to wake up screaming. This went on for about oh 2 months until my neighbor came over so I could regather any ounce of dignity I had left and shave my legs and take more than a 30 second shower. She rolled him on his tummy and he slept for 6 hours. It was 6 hours of me continuously checking on him, but it rocked. He still sleeps on his tummy and he is 4. So don’t be afraid to swaddle her with her arms in her blanket especially since you will be constantly checking on her. As long as someone is around, she won’t have the chance to smother herself in her blanket.
It is so great that you can make all these plans for Simone’s homecoming! YAY, so excited for you.
Hi, I’ve been quietly lurking these many weeks. Sometimes crying but always hopeful that Simone would be home soon- such happy news. Even if you will be hyperventilating in the corner some of this weekend. You must convince Scot that a Nikon D40 (got one for xmas) is a must. I can’t tell you how many fabulous photos I missed out on because of the slow shutter speed of my point and shoot- the new one I bought right before Squidge was born so that I wouldn’t miss any fabulous photos!!
First of all, I think I love you. Not in the stalking-I-want-to-be-you kind of way, but in the admiration kind of way. I concur with so many of the comments….feeling like you really shouldn’t be going home. Freaked OUT that you are, then there is the lonesome, quiet time which you think you longed for but find yourself looking around for your ‘friends’ the NICU nurses… but eventually you quit showing up at the NiCU when they call security, your husband and the psych ward….People don’t often understand that part, but if you’ve been there you usually do.
Oh, and then there’s the swaddling AND sleeping on your tummmy…um, well, there are a whole slough of “underground tummy sleepers” out there. You will do what you need to. And it’s not like you’re going swaddle sweet Simone, place her on her tummy and go about your merry way. You will stand over her watching every breath, holding yours and loving every second of it.
Congratulations. And thanks for sharing, and walking for MOD. YOu RoCK!
YAH! Now we’re cookin’ with some heat! It’s so awesome to hear that Simone is going home soon - you have all endured SO much. Asking for advice on baby item purchases was a very smart thing to do - I wish I had heard of the Miracle Blanket-it sounds awesome. But since I didn’t have a chance to throw in my two cents about what to/what not to but I’m going to do it now. My first baby LOVED, LOVED his baby wipes warmer. I know - sounds crazy but he freaked out when I used cold wipes on him. I’m now using it with my second son and he loves it too, so it was worth every penny. And, yes - you will want piles and piles of burp rags around the house- in every room - because stuff comes outta little babies quite often and always it seems at unexpected times. Plus they are handy for wiping up tears when you break down sobbing because you’re picturing Simone walking down the isle or holding her own baby etc. etc. Also, Dr. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste is THE BOMB for diaper rash. They also have a product called Dr. Boudreaux’s Baby Kisses - Infant and Kids chapped lip and cheek moisturizer which also rocks. I swear by the stuff. Lanolin works miracles too - use it on yourself since you’re going to breastfeed. Okay - I’ll shut up now. Bye.
I came across your blog in a very roundabout way. I was searching for “low rising E2 during IVF” and it popped up to the page where you were discussing how your E2 was failing to rise appropriately during your IVF #2.
The exact same thing is happening to me right now. My E2, after 6 days of stimming, is only 120. The RE nurse called to tell me there was a possibility for “cancellation” and the 1st thing I did was google for success stories. Your amazing blog popped up and I am hooked. Your story is so touching and amazing and you write with such wit and intelligence.
Wishing you and your husband and the perfect little Simone a wonderful, happy life together as a family.
Just wanted to put a little thank you out there for sharing your story. Please know that by doing so you are touching complete strangers’ lives. :)