Weekend madness

[chocolate]

morwen do you do oatmeal or rice cereal? I still do oatmeal mixed with fruit purée. Perhaps you want to try that in the evening to add some bulk before bed?

[rivers and roads]

morwen, sorry if this is covered. X eats dinner pretty close to bed time, so his belly is still full. He still fully empties both sides after that, too. Maybe bump dinner closer to bed time?
Or maybe you already do. I'm mobile, typing and scrolling is hard.

[eyelashedviper]

Jan 7, 2017 10:40:44 GMT -5 tkford216 said:

morwen chocolate Do gas furnaces have filters? I don't know how any of this works, lol.

Yes! At least all the natural gas furnaces I've had contact with. The disposable kind need to be replaced up to several times a year depending on what you buy. It's also possible to have a permanent one that needs to be washed (2-4 times a year when my mom had one). These were on furnaces from the 70s and 80s era so it's not just new ones.

[tkford216]

Jan 7, 2017 13:24:10 GMT -5 eyelashedviper said:

Jan 7, 2017 10:40:44 GMT -5 tkford216 said:

morwen chocolate Do gas furnaces have filters? I don't know how any of this works, lol.

Yes! At least all the natural gas furnaces I've had contact with. The disposable kind need to be replaced up to several times a year depending on what you buy. It's also possible to have a permanent one that needs to be washed (2-4 times a year when my mom had one). These were on furnaces from the 70s and 80s era so it's not just new ones.

Ours is a 1986 model according to our home inspection report. We're going to have to do more research because my H can't figure it out, lol.

[eyelashedviper]

tkford216 I also wanted to add that if you have a furnace that old that is already struggling it's worth it to start shopping around/doing your homework. The new ones are way more efficient so while the expense up front is painful it might save you down the road. I know there are a lot of incentive programs/reimbursements for energy efficient home upgrades here but I have no idea if such programs exist elsewhere.

For now, getting someone in to do maintenance might increase its performance and/or lifespan (if the filter doesn't help) and they might be able to give you a better idea where you stand. I've been in a situation where the furnace died in December and it took several days to get the part to get it up and running again. Thank goodness it was a small house with a gas fireplace. We camped out in the livingroom and it generated enough heat to keep the pipes from freezing!

[eyelashedviper]

Jan 7, 2017 13:29:58 GMT -5 tkford216 said:

Jan 7, 2017 13:24:10 GMT -5 eyelashedviper said:

Yes! At least all the natural gas furnaces I've had contact with. The disposable kind need to be replaced up to several times a year depending on what you buy. It's also possible to have a permanent one that needs to be washed (2-4 times a year when my mom had one). These were on furnaces from the 70s and 80s era so it's not just new ones.

Ours is a 1986 model according to our home inspection report. We're going to have to do more research because my H can't figure it out, lol.

The house we're renting was built in 1987 and I'm pretty sure it's sporting the original furnace. Which reminds me, we haven't done our filter in a while...

[trtlcrzy]

My dad told us we should replace our filter monthly. I think that might be a little excessive and we definitely go longer because we forget.

[chocolate]

tkford216 you can buy the filters at Walmart. That's what I do. They are cheap. If you can manage to get yours out, along the edges there should be the dimensions and then you can get new ones. It's pretty easy.

[chocolate]

When we remodeled 4 years ago we ended up putting a separate furnace upstairs (our other one is in the basement). It has helped tremendously with keeping the heat and temp even throughout the whole house. I guess most 2 story newer homes do that nowadays.

[leahks77]

Thanks to this conversation, I just changed our furnace filter. There were spares in the basement (thanks previous owner!). tkford216 I actually just got all my paperwork yesterday for a new furnace through an incentive program. It's a 0% loan for 6 years, and a $1K rebate (since our furnace is still functional). I can't wait for a new one. But maybe this new filter will help!

[leahks77]

I feel like I've barely been here lately. Sick kiddo is so sad. He went to bed at 530 last night. After a 3 hour nap. His fever has been over 102 every evening since Monday. I'm really hoping he turns the corner today Lu is a snot faced fussbucket but so far no fever.
chocolate we have teeth visible but still only 1 through! They're going so slow. These poor babies!

[tkford216]

eyelashedviper this was my thought too. At some point before we sell the house (we aren't planning to spend forever here.. maybe another 5 years?) we will have to replace it, so why not get a new one now and be able to enjoy it (and the efficiency value) while we are still here for a while? But my H isn't thrilled with getting a new one until this one dies.

[trtlcrzy]

I forgot that I was training today. So that's fun. The girl is just training in our area to help cover so at least it's not starting from scratch. Plus I think I get a little extra pay, not going to complain about that. So far it's been a little crazy but not too bad.

[eyelashedviper]

Has anyone else dealt with constipation? DD2 has been having less frequent, harder, has to work at getting them out poops for about a month. I've been trying to feed her a bowel friendly diet and have even given her some diluted pear juice. Today she was straining so hard she was shaking and threw up. It was heart breaking to watch. Should I make a doctor's appointment for her at this point or should I be trying something over the counter? Is there anything else I can do to help her in the meantime?

[chocolate]

Jan 7, 2017 17:19:49 GMT -5 eyelashedviper said:

Has anyone else dealt with constipation? DD2 has been having less frequent, harder, has to work at getting them out poops for about a month. I've been trying to feed her a bowel friendly diet and have even given her some diluted pear juice. Today she was straining so hard she was shaking and threw up. It was heart breaking to watch. Should I make a doctor's appointment for her at this point or should I be trying something over the counter? Is there anything else I can do to help her in the meantime?

I've dealt with this over the last couple weeks, but with DS who is 4. You're talking one of the twins is having this? Pear or white grape juice. Prunes/prune juice if you can. Does she have any bottles? My dr told me to even mix an ounce of prune juice in with breastmilk several months ago when had a little phase that she slowed down a bit.

[chocolate]

Jan 7, 2017 17:19:49 GMT -5 eyelashedviper said:

Has anyone else dealt with constipation? DD2 has been having less frequent, harder, has to work at getting them out poops for about a month. I've been trying to feed her a bowel friendly diet and have even given her some diluted pear juice. Today she was straining so hard she was shaking and threw up. It was heart breaking to watch. Should I make a doctor's appointment for her at this point or should I be trying something over the counter? Is there anything else I can do to help her in the meantime?

Also to add, I think if you keep up with the juice for a couple days it'll start working. How long/how much juice have you given her? DS had prune juice for a few days and it finally really loosened everything up and cleaned him out good.

[auchick913]

Jan 7, 2017 17:19:49 GMT -5 eyelashedviper said:

Has anyone else dealt with constipation? DD2 has been having less frequent, harder, has to work at getting them out poops for about a month. I've been trying to feed her a bowel friendly diet and have even given her some diluted pear juice. Today she was straining so hard she was shaking and threw up. It was heart breaking to watch. Should I make a doctor's appointment for her at this point or should I be trying something over the counter? Is there anything else I can do to help her in the meantime?

We've dealt with it since we started solids at 6 months Poor kid was literally shitting bricks and sometimes bleeding. We started with fruits- pear, peach etc. No luck. We moved to prune juice mixed in baby oatmeal and breastmilk, which helped at first but then stopped working. Then we went to straight up prunes mixed in the baby oatmeal/breastmilk. Which also worked at first then I kept having to increase the amount he was getting as time went on. Finally we seem to have stabilized when I added 1/2 tbsp of Bob's high fiber oat bran to the prune/baby oatmeal/breastmilk mixture. His poops are now mushy and easy to pass every other day or so. I try to push water as much as possible also.

We also have to avoid bananas like the plague which is unfortunate because it's his most favorite food. 

[trtlcrzy]

Jan 7, 2017 17:19:49 GMT -5 eyelashedviper said:

Has anyone else dealt with constipation? DD2 has been having less frequent, harder, has to work at getting them out poops for about a month. I've been trying to feed her a bowel friendly diet and have even given her some diluted pear juice. Today she was straining so hard she was shaking and threw up. It was heart breaking to watch. Should I make a doctor's appointment for her at this point or should I be trying something over the counter? Is there anything else I can do to help her in the meantime?

I would reach out to the pedi. If it's that bad they may have you give her miralax.

[leahks77]

Jan 7, 2017 18:42:33 GMT -5 trtlcrzy said:

Jan 7, 2017 17:19:49 GMT -5 eyelashedviper said:

Has anyone else dealt with constipation? DD2 has been having less frequent, harder, has to work at getting them out poops for about a month. I've been trying to feed her a bowel friendly diet and have even given her some diluted pear juice. Today she was straining so hard she was shaking and threw up. It was heart breaking to watch. Should I make a doctor's appointment for her at this point or should I be trying something over the counter? Is there anything else I can do to help her in the meantime?

I would reach out to the pedi. If it's that bad they may have you give her miralax.

This. They can have small doses. They may not want to see her but a call would be good. I hope it gets better soon!!

[leahks77]

Jan 7, 2017 12:16:33 GMT -5 chocolate said:

We went from 0 to almost 4 teeth real quick. Her second top tooth corner tip seems to be trying to poke through. Her 2 bottom are finally there. Can't say for sure if they've broken through but I can see and feel them.

Apparently L heard other baby girls from the 11th had teeth, so 2 popped through tonight. I think number 4 is there but not sure. I mentioned to her that they also sleep through the night, just in case....

[chocolate]

Jan 7, 2017 19:34:07 GMT -5 leahks77 said:

Jan 7, 2017 12:16:33 GMT -5 chocolate said:

We went from 0 to almost 4 teeth real quick. Her second top tooth corner tip seems to be trying to poke through. Her 2 bottom are finally there. Can't say for sure if they've broken through but I can see and feel them.

Apparently L heard other baby girls from the 11th had teeth, so 2 popped through tonight. I think number 4 is there but not sure. I mentioned to her that they also sleep through the night, just in case....

Ha! Peer pressure!

[eyelashedviper]

Thanks for the suggestions! I gave her a pouch of prunes and some pear juice in her cup at dinner. She ate a good amount and then ended up pooping before I even got her out of the highchair. She had to work at it but she was successful. So successful she filled the back of her shirt too (and I'm still just happy she's moving again)! Now to try and keep her going regularly!

It's amazing how different kids can be. Her twin brother is a little super pooper, nothing slows him down. I told him to give his sister some pointers.

[trtlcrzy]

I'm annoyed. My lunch break is from 5:30-6. I get my last pump break at 7. The girl that is covering me showed up at 6:30 wanting me to go to my pump break. I sent her back and told her to come back at 7.

[chocolate]

There's a monster truck event semi close to us next weekend and H wants to take DS. Like already mentioned it to him tonight, so we're going. We really haven't discussed specifics or anything (it's 2.5 hours away so I assume we'll all go). I'm trying to decide if we should all go and DD and I find something else to do during the event? (We could shop or my brother lives there we could probably hang at his house). Or should we all go together to the event? I would for sure get ear muff protectors and DS would be wearing some as well. Wonder if she'd do ok? She was perfect during the Paw Patrol Live but I realize a play and monster trucks are on different levels.

[rivers and roads]

X's poop has recently become solid solid. Like a ploppable turd, not the liquid poop. He still poops at least once every day or so- is that okay/normal?
I'm assuming so, since he's only recently decided he actually likes to eat solids.

Swim class was fun! He did great. The indoor play place this afternoon was a mad house because it's so cold outside, but he actually had way more fun than I expected him to! I think this was the first time we've ever taken him someone purely for his enjoyment and he's actually shown that he enjoyed it. Pretty awesome.

I really need to find a dentist out here and make an appointment. I'm sure I have a cavity (or two..meh) and now I have this bad taste in my mouth that won't go away.

chocolate, does she keep things on her head/over her ears? Or would that be a fun dad/son thing to do? I think I'd base that decision on whether or not YOU want to go. If not, you have an easy excuse.

[kellybenelly83]

Omg. Those with 3 kids? You're brace and Tough and I can't do it. Holy hell. Im zonked.
Then our hot water tank leaked like nuts, so we had to call an emergency plumber to replace it. $926 later.....urgh. So not needed today. At least we seem to have caught it early before it flooded our basement

[morwen]

Jan 7, 2017 21:22:52 GMT -5 rivers and roads said:

X's poop has recently become solid solid. Like a ploppable turd, not the liquid poop. He still poops at least once every day or so- is that okay/normal?
I'm assuming so, since he's only recently decided he actually likes to eat solids.

Swim class was fun! He did great. The indoor play place this afternoon was a mad house because it's so cold outside, but he actually had way more fun than I expected him to! I think this was the first time we've ever taken him someone purely for his enjoyment and he's actually shown that he enjoyed it. Pretty awesome.

I really need to find a dentist out here and make an appointment. I'm sure I have a cavity (or two..meh) and now I have this bad taste in my mouth that won't go away.

chocolate , does she keep things on her head/over her ears? Or would that be a fun dad/son thing to do? I think I'd base that decision on whether or not YOU want to go. If not, you have an easy excuse.

Ds's poop alternates between plopable and sorta mushy, I assume based on diet. He was a once a day pooper until a week or two ago when he's upped his output.

yay for good swim lessons!

[swivelchair5]

chocolate, I go to monster jam whenever it is town and it is really loud. In my experience, 50% of kids under age 5 leave early. Definitely the ear protection is important for all kids, but have an escape plan ready anyway.

[chocolate]

Jan 7, 2017 21:53:52 GMT -5 swivelchair5 said:

chocolate, I go to monster jam whenever it is town and it is really loud. In my experience, 50% of kids under age 5 leave early. Definitely the ear protection is important for all kids, but have an escape plan ready anyway.

That's good to know. I figured it would be really loud and for sure both kids would have protection. DS will keep his on no problem. As for the babe, I don't know. It's something I'd love to go along for to experience it with DS, but it's not ideal for DD. Maybe she can stay back with one of our moms while we just take DS for the day and don't make it an overnight.

[tkford216]

Omg the mom hormones. We are watching a movie, and a child went to visit her mom's grave and was crying, so naturally I started bawling, all while my H is sitting next to me eating Nutella and looking at me like I'm crazy. Lol. Ahh.