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Noreen Claire

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Posts posted by Noreen Claire

    How to know if you're 'done'?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I don't agree that there may come a moment when you are ABSOLUTELY DONE! I know I am done, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like more kids. Dh is definitely done. I am so sure I'm done that I finally got my abdominal hernia repaired, which is not a great idea if a person thinks they might have more kids.

     

    Now, my absolute baby fever that I used to have is gone, so that helps me accept our "doneness". Baby 4 was a surprise, and that was pretty stressful for us, and that also helps me see that numbers 5-infinity would just be increasingly stressful on our marriage. So again, I accept our doneness and don't begrudge it at all.

     

    And now that we're done, here are some advantages I have found:

     

    - Baby is 3 years old. This is the first time in 11 years that I had not been pregnant or nursing, and the first time in 11 years that I am getting consistant sleep. Wow, what a difference this makes for me in terms of energy, mood, productivity...

    - I feel like I can take time for my own health now. I got an operation that I'd been putting off for 10 years (got the hernia during pregnancy with first kid) and that has made it possible for me to exercise more strenuously.

    - I started exercising again- running and lifting weights- which I was previously too worn out to do and/or couldn't do because of hernia pain.

    - I changed my look- new haircut, updated clothes.

    - I feel a bit younger than I have for probably the last 5 years because of the improved sleep, energy, and attention to myself.

    - I am really enjoying my big kids because I don't have a laser focus on baby's needs.

     

    I want things out of life that I didn't know I wanted until now. I want a career after kids, including going back to school. I want to regain some serious fitness and maintain it well into my senior years. I want to be an active grandparent. It would be incorrect to say I will love those things more than I would love another child. But it is correct to say that at this point, I want them more than I want another child.

    While the thought of not having another baby makes my heart hurt, this post makes me think it might not be *so* bad.. Sleep sounds lovely right about now!

    • Like 3

    Is Audible worth the membership?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I have never quite understood why people pay for Audible considering Overdrive is free. I listen to audiobooks constantly. I probably go through an average of 3 per week and I do not use Audible...only Overdrive. Hoopla is an option and I have an account, but I Still find Overdrive way more user friendly.

    I have 3 kids listening to audiobooks every afternoon. The library has lots of titles through overdrive but the majority have waiting lists. I always check the library first, but I'll buy titles that will be listened to over and over again (Harry Potter, Magic Treehouse, etc).

    • Like 1

    Food choices for low income

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    There is a ministry in my area that provides meals (dinner and breakfast, I believe) to anyone who needs them, everyday, for free, restaurant-style. Customers simply show up, are seated, choose from a small listing of options, and are fed, free of charge. Maybe there is something similar in their area?

     

    For what it's worth, it's run out of a Catholic Church and is called Cor Unum Meal Center.

    • Like 1

    How to know if you're 'done'?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I went through recurrent miscarriages between my second and third kid. When our fourth was stillborn in the third trimester, I knew I wanted to try for one my healthy baby and then we were definitely done. My pregnancy with my fifth was brutal and miserable. I can't live with that level of terror again. I can't go through, or put my family through another late loss. So, even though I'd love a huge brood under other circumstances, I'm done.

    I had 3 losses (four babies) between #2 and #3, including a 2nd trimester loss. I feel your terror. It never goes away.

    • Like 1

    How to know if you're 'done'?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Honestly, it sounds to me like you ARE done, you're just having trouble admitting it to yourself.

    If the last two pregnancies were that hard on your body you NEED to be done. I have two kids and with

    each one, I had pre-eclampsia. Pregnancy, while a natural process, is just harder for some people than others.

    You said with the last two pregnancies it was really hard on your body, you are 50 lbs overweight due to last pregnancy

    and haven't lost it, and during the last pregnancy your anxiety was through the roof. Give yourself a break, woman!

    Your dh asked, so answer, "No more babies. We're going to enjoy the kids we have and be thankful for them."

    HE is not the one dealing with the stress on his body for 9 straight months at a time. YOU are. Enjoy the kids you have, my friend.

    And give your body a chance to be REALLY healthy.

    You sound just like my best friend!

    • Like 2

    How to know if you're 'done'?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    DH looks at me today and says, 'Are we going to have another baby, or what?'

     

    Yikes.

     

    I love babies. I love nothing more than being pregnant and having a newborn at home. But...

     

    I'm 43 now. (DH is 37.) I'm nursing the 10mo old, and will be for at least another 18 months. I have been nursing babies/toddlers for the last 5.5 YEARS without a break. I'm so touched out. I have been pregnant and/or nursing for the last 9 years. Also, my oldest is nearly 22!

     

    I would have another in a heartbeat if I had been able to lose some (any) weight after the last baby, but I'm 50lbs overweight and the last two pregnancies were just *hard* on my body. My anxiety was through the roof the last time, too. That all being said...I would love another baby..

     

    I just can't figure out if I am done. Will I look back and regret not having another, or will I get pregnant again and regret it?

     

    So, how do you determine when you're DONE?

    How Northerners Think Of The Civil War

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I was never interested in history, so I remember nothing of my history education. This is something that I'm trying to rectify right now, as I am trying to teach my DS8.

     

    I live 30 minutes north of Boston, on the NH line. My dad's next-door neighbor's kid has a Confederate flag on his truck. We see a few here and there, moreso as you enter and go north into NH.

    • Like 1

    Best NFP app or tracking website?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Me too, so not sure how clear my cycles will be. But...I nurse for 3-4 years each time, so I need to try anyway.

    I reliably get pregnant immediately after the baby sleeps through the night for the first time. I would kill for 8 straight hours of sleep right now, but I don't think I would get pregnant again for it. :-\ I'm too tired!

     

    I had one cycle at 6 months which was totally bizarre, but that was 4 months ago and hasn't happened again. I may try temping next month when DH goes back to work, but I know that alone won't really be good enough. I need to reread my copy of TCOYF soon.

    • Like 1

    Rant! My fertility is NOT a disease!!!!!!

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    If they're too far apart you get questions too, it seems. I witness this a lot in my neighborhood, because there are many mothers who had one child as a teenager and then had the rest of their kids once they were in their late-20s, early-30s. People ask "Is this baby your firstborn" and then get weird when told that no, the firstborn is in high school!

    I get this a lot. When I'm out with the four younger boys, I inevitably get asked 'You have four boys?', to which I respond, 'No, I have FIVE boys.' If I'm asked his age, people often just stare at me, dumbstruck. (Youngest was born a week before oldest turned 21.)

     

    What really gets me is when people say that I really have 'two families', because of the age gap between DS21 and DS8. That always makes me stabby...

    • Like 1

    How to help my 7yr old fall asleep

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    My DS8 also would stay up for hours after lights-out before he was able to fall asleep. I bought him a  small book light and he brings a book to bed to read until he feels tired. (He shares a room with DS5). He's been doing this for nearly a year now. His regular bedtime is 8:15-8:30pm, and he wakes up around 7am. Some nights he's asleep by 8:45 and others he's up until 10, but at least he's rested and not stressed out anymore about not being able to fall asleep.

     

    Just don't let him read Dracula before bedtime - ask me how I know.  :banghead:

    • Like 2

    Selling a condo and a tenant who is dragging his feet.

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by Noreen Claire

    DH and I both still own the condos that we lived in before we were married. We lived in my condo until 2 years ago, when we bought this house.

     

    I've had tenants for the last year years who are fairly uneventful and always pay their rent on-time and in-full. However, we've had a streak of terrible tenants in DH's condo for the last 8yrs and it's just time to get rid of it. The current tenant's lease is up in October, and we have informed him, multiple times and in writing, that we are not extending his lease and he has to go. We have told him that we are selling it. DH just spoke to him, and it sounds like he's not really putting much effort into finding a new place to live. (The guy is a *real estate agent*, for crying out loud.)

     

    What can we do now, with two months left before he has to be out? Can we list it with him still living there? I'm assuming it's going to need some repairs and cleaning, as well as new paint (and probably new rugs AGAIN.) I'm trying to talk DH into calling an agent this week. Any advice as to how we proceed?

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