Chalice is back...

[megabyteme]

Nothing? All day? C'mon, Chalice is back. There should be a ticker-tape parade...someone should say "hi, welcome back" or "happy new year"...sniper fire, maybe?...at least someone break wind.

It is the least we can do. :)

Welcome back, Chalice. Good, bad, or ugly, it's good to see ya! :happy:

[Skweeky]

Can I have some of that pepto bismol in your avatar?

BTW, how long before the twins are due now?

[megabyteme]

Somewhere between 2 and 3 months. Hopefully it will be closer to 3, but we will take what we get. We have pretty much decided on cesarean.

I take it you are not feeling well, Skweeky?

[Skweeky]

Oh just the usual heartburn.. it's ok though, I managed to get some extra strong mints to keep it at bay.

[megabyteme]

My wife has trouble with heartburn too. We got her some Pepcid AC (it was on a Dr. approved list) that she takes about 15 minutes before meals and it helps her a lot. She says they taste pretty good too.

When she forgets, or just gets hit with heartburn, she takes Mylanta. That is kinda hit and miss, but does give her some short-term comfort.

One of my local friends has suggested (and he swears it works for him) is to take a "shot" (I am not sure how diluted it is) of vinegar for his acid reflux. He reasons (and maybe he heard it elsewhere) that the body is producing acid because it "is being told" to produce more in the system. Once the vinegar hits, the system thinks that there is no more reason to produce acid. He swears by it and has a pretty regular problem with it. IDK...

Honestly, I would recommend the Pepcid AC. It might be worth finding some collaborating info on the vinegar, but I have not won my wife over with it and have not had bad enough heartburn to try it myself... :)

Regardless, I hope you feel better. My wife gets pretty miserable looking when she has problems with it.

[Skweeky]

I just use milk of magnesia, it pretty much gives me instant relief, and you can just buy it over the counter.
If it gets really bad, I take some of my hubbie's anti-acid pills. He's had problems with acid reflux for years and gets these prescribed by his doctor. They are the same ones they give to pregnant women with severe heartburn.
I had just forgotten to bring my stuff in to work yesterday, bad move :s

[megabyteme]

My wife forgets to take her stuff before meals and then suffers for it. She has a lot on her mind right now. However, we are getting closer. :happy:

[Skweeky]

Yes, surprisingly, those little annoying ailments disappear the minute you have the baby (in your wife case; babies :D ).

[chalice]

Nothing? All day? C'mon, Chalice is back. There should be a ticker-tape parade...someone should say "hi, welcome back" or "happy new year"...sniper fire, maybe?...at least someone break wind.

It is the least we can do. :)

Welcome back, Chalice. Good, bad, or ugly, it's good to see ya! :happy:

Thank you.

However, I never left. I merely skim the perimeters to swoop viciously upon the bumbling stragglers.

Nevertheless, the unsettling progression of this thread as left me discombobulated to say the least.

Haven't you cunts achieved enlightenment as to this forum being all about ME ME ME?

Take your toddlers, double-foetuses, your sickeningly merry hopes for the future and deposit them as far within your colons as you can possibly muster.

Happy new year, btw. :smilie4:

[Skweeky]

I seem to be surrounded by people with a deep resentment and disappointment for this world.

Hmmmm.

[chalice]

I seem to be surrounded by people with a deep resentment and disappointment for this world.

Hmmmm.

Well get you.

Who got your snickers in a wrist?

[megabyteme]

Yeah. Sorry about that, Chalice. We kinda drifted, didn't we? :lol:

We'll set this ship on it's due course, ASAP...

All hail the mighty wordsmith, Chalice!

:D

[Skweeky]

No wayz, back to toddlers and double bellybabies!

[megabyteme]

We have started receiving our cribs, mattresses, dresser, etc. The wife says we can't hold off any longer on putting the babys' room together. I have even gotten out of my catatonic state from the first trip to "Babies R Us" (forever know to me as "Babies R Really Freakin' Expensive"). That trip showed us both (especially me) how little I know about...what are those little things in my wife's tummy called again? :idunno:

[Skweeky]

The worst thing is, that in about 6 months time, you'll realise how much money you've spent on stuff you don't need...

We got all our nursery furniture out of Ikea, including mattresses, curtains, sheets, blinds etc. Other stuff we got off ebay, or TKMaxx (it's a shop that sells overstocks, you get some brilliant stuff in there).

I think all in all, we spent about £800 on everything.

[megabyteme]

We went to "BRRFE" to register for my wife's showers. We left without scanning a single item. I got online and did quite a bit of reading- reviews from other parents mostly. That helped. We also recruited a couple of knowledgeable, no-nonsense mothers who had been through it in the past few years. Did you know that people put their children in "car seats" now days? I would bet people would get upset if I put the kids in the back of a pickup, too... :unsure: Things have sure changed since I was a kid (38 years ago).

Our budget is limited, but my wife has squirreled away money (read that as kept it out of my hands) for this. We did not expect twins in the "planning" stage, but at least it was not a complete "surprise". We have also been together for 15 years, so it isn't like we are just starting out ourselves. It is more of an anxiety thing than an inability or an "oh, shit" followed by hyper-ventilation. If I had any doubts, the trip to "BRRFE" let me know that this is indeed real. :D

My wife's family is local (or is that loco) and are very excited and willing to help. I trust them and know that they will be good, supportive caretakers when we need them.

[Skweeky]

The things I could't have done without:

* my changing table: make sure it's at a comfortable height, there is nothing worse than having to change explosive nappies whilst folding yourself into an uncomfortable position
* my video baby monitor: especially when Ben just started sleeping into his own room, it was nice to have a quick glance at the baby monitor and know he was perfectly fine
* breastpump: not sure if you guys are planning on breastfeeding, but if you are you WILL need this to get rid of excess milk.
* baby sleeping bag: even though they are tiny, they move around so much when they are asleep. Like this you know they are nice and cosy no matter what

[megabyteme]

Thanks for the advice. I think we have at least headed in the right direction.

The dresser is actually a dresser/changing table. Which we have one of the changing table pad thingies- and everything is measured to a comfortable height. I even tested the measurement against the height of my table saw. :)

We are looking into the baby monitors. That seems like a very good idea. Also, with the way technology and public surveillance are heading, it will be good to get them comfortable being monitored at all times.

Yes. My wife is quite excited about the opportunity to breast feed. That is one of the things that she was quite happy about, that I had NO thoughts on whatsoever. As long as she is happy with it, great. :)

The sleeping bag is something we have not thought about and will now look into. Thanks for the heads-up!

We are also looking into tandem strollers/car seats (all-in-one systems), play pens that now have a new name, and either a SUV or a mini-van. The mini-van seems to be the direction we are currently thinking.

[Skweeky]

Yeah, with regards to the baby monitors, we used to just have the normal sound one, and I would wake up all paranoid and have to run through to make sure he was still breathing. Irrational, I know, but it's a nature thing.

If she is going to breastfeed, get her a good nursing pillow; they are basically u-shaped pillows, but are so easy, because the babies can comfortably lie on them, without you actually having to support them.

For travel systems, I would recommend a 3-in-1. They usually come with a car seat that attached directly to the base of the pram. That way you don't have to wake up the babies every time you get out of the car; just grab the car seat, attach it to the pram and you're good to go. It was an absolute godsend for those first few months!

Haha, I have turned into such a mum. You'd be laughing if you had been here 6 years ago and knew what I was like.

Kev still thinks it's hilarious.

[megabyteme]

I will let my wife know about the nursing pillow. Maybe we can find one for twins and get everyone "served" at once...:D

We have narrowed our travel system search down quite a bit. A lot of the dual systems are made for children that are of different ages. Finding one for twins has been a bit more difficult. We did find one though. It also has both seats that are detachable and then lock into the back seat. Slick little design. The strollers are pretty nice, too. We were getting some ultrasounds done the other day and had to do a bit of a walk between offices. We saw some mothers who were packing their kids in the car seats. Seemed like too much work.

[Skweeky]

This is the one my friend used:

http://www.ababy.com/itempage.asp?CategoryID=0&mirid=&itemno=2730

[megabyteme]

Thanks, I sent her the link. That shows how little I know about this whole thing. I meant it as a joke. So much to learn...:(

[Skweeky]

:lol:

You'll pick it up soon enough.

[Skweeky]

I take it someone warned you about the black poos?

[megabyteme]

The Black Poos? I thought that was an urban legend. :fear2:

[Skweeky]

:no:

My husband thought they were so horrific that he bought me a diamond ring if I promised to change the nappies for as long as they were black :lol:

[megabyteme]

We thought about cloth diapers, but all of our friends say it is something you just want to get rid of. We are now leaning in that direction. Just not looking forward to the reoccurring cost of disposables.

I know that black is a sign of internal bleeding in adults. I take it that "the black poos" are normal, but EVIL? :fear:

[Skweeky]

To be honest, I considered cloth nappies as well, and you'd probably spend as much money/ do as much damage to the environment, with all the detergent and water you'd be using to get them clean.

The black poos are normal for the first two days, it's called meconium, and it's basically the baby's first stool. Leftover placenta if you like :D

I always found that the one thing they don't tell you enough about, is what happens after you have the baby.
No one tells you about how you won't be able to poo for days, about the bleeding that will last for weeks, about the bloody discharge the size of a thumb and about intestinal spasms!

[megabyteme]

My wife is taking 3 months+ off from work. More than likely she will have a cesarean because of the twins. She doesn't want to go through any more than she has to.

That is a good heads-up. I imagine doctors get A LOT of very concerned calls during that time. Especially if no one tells you about it. You are right. We (at least I) haven't heard of all that before. Sounds awful.

[Skweeky]

I know, it's ridiculous, it's like they try to keep it hidden because it's not very nice.

As for the c-section...obvious there are considerations like twin-to-twin syndrome in your case so it's probably the safest option, but I think you should know that a section, under no circumstance, is the easy option...
Sure, you don't have to go through the whole labour thing, but your wife won't be able to walk for a few days, let alone pick up the babies by herself, hoover, drive a car (for at least 6 weeks).
I was up on my feet a couple of hours after I had Ben, and despite the above mentioned discomfort, I could do whatever I wanted.
Everyone I know who has had a section has sworn that they wished they'd done it the natural way.

Anyway, not trying to scare you or anything, just saying, that if you have the option of sitting it out and waiting and seeing, then it might be something you want to take into consideration :)

Labour really isn't that bad, the drugs are good these days, and they have an amnesic effect as well :D

[j2k4]

Has Chalice gone again or something else.

[Skweeky]

We scared him off with talk of toddlers and babies. Who knew that was the key to defeating chalice all along? :unsure:

[megabyteme]

We all have our Achilles heel, don't we?

[chalice]

We all have our Achilles heel, don't we?

I hope that that's the Royal 'we'.

Personally, I have no legs to speak of whatsoever. You'd be hacking at a cadaver, my friend.

No, really.

I have no legs. I used to have legs but not no mores.

Y'know, I kinda miss them fuckers, like.

[Skweeky]

Did you get yerself a pair of wooden ones? Because that would be well cool for going to the pub.

[chalice]

Did you get yerself a pair of wooden ones? Because that would be well cool for going to the pub.

Pragmatic NHS practicality saw to it that I had to make do with a corrugated cardboard pair.

I can't go out in the rain, but I can belt out the accordion version of Stairway To Heaven whilst doings squats.

Saves on Walkman batteries, like. Socks too.

[megabyteme]

People may criticize socialized medicine, but here is a case where not only was there an inexpensive solution, that solution also made it possible for you to begin a new career.

Hopefully they were wise enough to use recycled cardboard, you know, for the environment.

I am sorry to inform you that cardboard legs do not qualify you to carry a parrot on your shoulder. The Pirates Council has strict guidelines for such things. You are allowed a parakeet, though.

[Skweeky]

What about a cardboard parrot?

[megabyteme]

Recycled, maybe. I'll have to look it up.