July05Mommies - Baby's are arriving everyday!

[July05Mommies]

Hello July 2005 Mommies and Mommies to Be!!!!

If you are due to have or have a July 2005 Baby feel free to join us. Even if you were not a part of our WC group during your pregnancy, you can still join our parenting journal here on CC!!!

Because not everyone has made the transition from the WC to CC, we are asking active members to rejoin the group (those of you who specifically said you would like to move here have already been added to the roster – if your username has changed, please let us know). To join, please submit a post to this thread with the following information:

WC Name
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
Married: Date
TTC: Date (optional)
BFP: Date (optional)
EDD: Date
ADD: Date
(fyi: New Stat -- ADD: Actual Date of Delivery!)

Please also note if you have any other children, etc.

Please post any requests for a change in roster info in red to make it easier for the thread moderators to see. Thanks!

Your thread moderators are:
docoNY & NewYorkNovia
**If you would like to help us maintain this thread, please email us through our individual profiles (not through the July05Mommies email address since we don’t check it too often). We are always looking for new moderators to help us so please let us know.**

Links to our pregnancy threads (on the WC):
First Trimester (http:// http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3931939�)
Second Trimester (http:// http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4125651�)
Third Trimester (http:// http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?threadID=489635&tstart=0)

[July05Mommies]

JULY 2005 MOMMIES � Member List

AirForceLove
Me: Jenifer, 29
DH: Lenny, 26
Married: February 15, 2003
TTC: Sept 2004
BFP: Oct 25, 2004
EDD: July 2, 2005
ADD: July 5, 2005
It's a Boy!!!- Frankie

char473
Me: Charlene (31)
DH: Eric (26)
Married: 3/07/04
DD: Shelby, 11
TTC: October 1, 2004
EDD: July 18, 2004
ADD: July 8, 2004
IT'S A GIRL!!! - Sydney

Danalynn
Me: Dana
DH: Matt
Married: 8/03/02
BFP: 11/26/04
EDD: 7/29/05
Children: Hayden 1/21/04
ADD: 7/23/05
IT'S A GIRL!!! - Emma Jaidyn

Deanergirl
Me: 39
DH: 49
Married: 5/4/02
DS: 1/9/03
TTC #2: 8/04
BFP: 11/14/04
EDD: 7/21/05
IT'S A GIRL!!!

DECEMBER27JJB
Me: Jessica
DH: Josh
Married: 12/27/03
TTC: Date Oct 2004
BFP: Date Oct 2004
EDD: 7/5/05
ADD: 6/13/05
IT'S A GIRL!!! - Parker Alexandria

dizylizy
me- Liz- 30
DH- Pete- 30
married - 11/8/03
TTC- July of 04
BFP - 11/15/04
EDD- 7/11/05
ADD - 7/1/05
IT'S A BOY!!! - Harrison Raymond

docoNY
me: Deirdre, 35
DH: Declan, 38
married: 6/6/03
TTC date: Jan/04
BFP: 10/30/04
EDD: 7/8/05
Prediction: Boy
IT'S A SURPRISE!!!
ADD: 7/9/05
It's a Girl!!! - Orla Margaret

heatherlynne
Me: Heather, 27
DH: Mark, 32
Started Dating: June 23, 2001
Engaged: May 24, 2003
Married: January 10, 2004
BFP: 10/31/04
EDD: 07/11/05
Prediction: boy
ADD: 7/3/05
IT'S A GIRL!!! - Sarah Liberty

jki
fka: mojito/HCK
Me: Jennifer, 32
DH: Hamilton, 32
DS: Jackson, 6 months
Wedding: July 5, 2002
EDD: July 13, 2005
Predition: boy (DH - girl)
ADD: July 9, 2005
IT'S A GIRL!!! - Cassidy Anne

Jodi AKA BostonTeacher
ME: Jodi (31)
DH: Chandler (32)
TTC since: August 2004
BFP: 11/8/04
Due Date: 7/12/04 (our 2 year anniversary)
IT'S A SURPRISE!!!
ADD: 7/23/05
It's a BOY!!! - Camden Joshua

jp'swife
fka: jp'sbride
Me: Jill, 27
DH: Jonathan (JP), 29
Married: October 11, 2002
TTC: Date Sept 2004
BFP: Date December 3, 2004
EDD: July 26, 2005
Prediction: Girl
ADD: August 7, 2005
IT'S A BOY!!! - Alexander Joseph

kakirk
Me: Katie (27)
Dh: Todd (32)
Married: 8/17/02
TTC: 11/02
IVF#1 in Jan. '04, pg with twins!
Lost twins Tess & Sam at 18 weeks due to incompetent cervix
EDD: 7/28/05 Twins! from IVF #2, will have cerclage at 12 weeks
ADD: 7/7/05
IT'S A GIRL!!! Camilla Margaret (Lily) & IT'S A BOY!!! Harrison Kirkpatrick (Hank)

kasia
Me: Kasia - 33
DH: Michael - 39
Married: 9/21/02
EDD: 7/22/05
Prediction: Girl
IT'S A SURPRISE!!!
ADD: 7/22/05
It's a BOY!!! - JACKSON KAROL

KLo
Me: Lois (30)
DH: Kevin (36)
Married: May 11, 2002
TTC: July 2003
BFP: October 25, 2004 (officially)
EDD: July 1, 2005
IF Info: Bilateral distally blocked Tubes, IVF#1 � Transferred two 8-cell Grade A embryos � Successful!! Pg with twins - one lost at 8wks.
Prediction: Boy
ITS A SURPRISE!!!
ADD: 6/16/05
IT'S A BOY!!! - Matthew Michael George

lil_nance
Me: Nancy, 35
DH: David, 32
Married: 10/12/02
TTC: 5/01/04
EDD: July 23, 2005
Prediction: Boy
IT'S A SURPRISE!!!
ADD: July 15, 2005
It's a BOY!!! - Connor Ryan

LIZNKEITH
Me: Liz, 26
DH: Keith, 35
Married: July 28, 2001
TTC: October 2003
BFP: October 12, 2004
EDD: June 24, 2004
ADD: 6/15/05
ITS A GIRL!!! - Caroline Elizabeth

maggieb
Me: Maggie, 33
DH: Auggie, 31
Married: 11.2.02
DD#1: Helena Elizabeth 12.2.03
TTC: we weren't
BFP: 11.7.04
EDD: 7.19.05
ADD: 7.8.05
It's a Girl!!! - Marisa Carmen

MareS
fka: MareB
Me: Mare (36)
DH: John (32)
Married: October 12, 2002
DS: Steven born 09/26/2003
TTC: 07/2004
BFP: 11/13/2004
EDD: 07/22/2005
Prediction: Boy
IT'S A SURPRISE!!! - Andrew John or Samantha Marie
ADD: 7/12/05
It's a BOY!!! - Andrew John

Montaukbea
Me: Deirdre, 28
DH: R, 28
Married: October 5, 2002
TTC: July 2004
BFP: November 13, 2004
EDD: July 23, 2005
ADD: 7/28/05
IT'S A BOY!!! - Jameson Robert

MsmarieB
Me: Marie
DH: Terry
Married: 11/02/02
BFP: November 15
EDD: July 24, 2005
Prediction: Boy DH - girl
ADD: July 9, 2005
IT'S A BOY!!! - Lexington Thomas

Myshel
Me: Michelle, 27 (28 soon)
DH: Chris, 25 (26 soon)
Married: June 6, 2003
TTC: Date March 2004
BFP: November 27, 2004
EDD: 7/14/05
ADD: 7/21/05
IT'S A BOY!!! - Luka Alonso

Nanner
Me: Dana, 35
DH: Scott, 32
Married: 3/27/04
TTC: 10/20/04
BFP: 11/3/04
EDD: 7/13/05
ITS A SURPRISE!!!Ava Jeanne and Samuel Ezra
ADD: JUNE 23, 2005
IT�S A BOY!!! - Samuel Ezra

newyorkgirl
Me: Erika, 30
DH: Joel, 31
Married: July 20, 2002
BFP: November 19, 2004
EDD: July 26, 2005
ADD: July 9, 2005
It's a Boy!!! - Bennett Lawrence

NewYorkNovia
Me: Teba, 27
DH: Anthony, 29
Married: 5/26/02
TTC: were not TTC yet!
BFP: 11/10/04
EDD: 7/15/05
IT�S A SURPRISE!!!
ADD: 7/22/05
IT�S A GIRL!!! - Catalina Michelle

PaulsGirl
Me: PaulsGirl, 33
DH: Paul, 35
EDD: July 26 2005
IT�S A GIRL!!!

SAMIKE32700
Me: SAMANTHA 26
DH: MIKE 26
Married: MARCH 27, 2000
TTC: WASN'T
BFP: 12/7/04
EDD: 7/26/05
Prediction: Girl (reserves the right to change her mind!)
ADD: 7/22/05
IT'S A BOY!!! - Jacob Michael

Tray85
Me: Tracie (33)
DH: Bill (33)
Married: June 21, 2003
TTC: wasn't!
BFP: 11/05/2004
EDD: 07/11/2005
Prediction: Boy
ADD: 7/21/05
IT'S A GIRL!!! - Katherine Brooke

[July05Mommies]

Member list by EDD

6/23/05
usafwife

6/24/05
LIZNKEITH

7/1/05
KLo

7/5/05
DECEMBER27JJB

7/8/05
docoNY

7/11/05
heatherlynne
dizylizy
tray85

7/12/05
Jodi AKA BostonTeacher

7/13/05
Nanner
jki

7/14/05
Myshel

7/15/05
NewYorkNovia

7/18/05
char473

7/19/05
maggieb

7/21/05
Deanergirl

7/22/05
MareS
kasia

7/23/05
lil_nance
Montaukbea

7/24/25
MsMarieB

7/26/05
SAMIKE32700
jp'swife
PaulsGirl
newyorkgirl

7/28/05
kakirk

7/29/05
Danalynn

***********************************************

Boys, Girls and Surprises

GIRLS
December27JJB (Parker Alexandria)
LizNKeith (Caroline Elizabeth)
Heatherlynne (Sarah Liberty)
Danalynn - (Emma Jaidyn)
Tray85 (Katherine Brooke)
jki - (Cassidy Anne)
Deanergirl
char473 - (Sydney)
maggieb - (Marisa Carmen)
PaulsGirl
usafwife - (S)

BOYS
dizylizy (Harrison Raymond)
myshel (Luka Alonso)
MsmarieB (Lexington Thomas)
SAMIKE32700 (Jacob Michael)
jp'sbride (Alexander Joseph)
Montaukbea (Jameson Robert)
newyorkgirl (Bennett Lawrence)

One of each - Boy/Girl Twins
Kakirk - Harrison Kirkpatrick (Hank) & Camilla Margaret (Lily)

BIRTH DAY SURPRISES
Klo. – (Matthew Michael George) It's a BOY!
MareS - (Andrew John) It's a BOY!
kasia - (Jackson Karol] It's a BOY!
Nanner - (Samuel Ezra) It's a BOY!
NewYorkNovia - (Catalina Michelle) - It's a GIRL!
docoNY - (Orla Margaret) It's a GIRL!
Jodi AKA BostonTeacher - (Camden Joshua) It's a BOY!
lil_nance - (Connor Ryan) It's a BOY!

***********************************************

Member list by ADD

6/13/05
DECEMBER27JJB – Parker Alexandria

6/13/05
LIZNKEITH – Caroline Elizabeth

6/16/05
KLo – Matthew Michael George

6/23/05
Nanner – Samuel Ezra

6/28/05
usafwife - Sarah Olivia

7/1/05
dizylizy - Harrison Raymond

7/3/05
Heatherlynne – Sarah Liberty

7/8/05
kakirk - Harrison Kirkpatrick (Hank) & Camilla Margaret (Lily)
maggieb - Marisa Carmen
char273 - Sydney

7/9/05
msmarieb - Lexington Thomas
jki - Cassidy Anne
docoNY - Orla Margaret
newyorkgirl - Bennett Lawrence

7/12/05
MareS - Andrew John

7/15/05
lil_nance - Connor Ryan

7/21/05
Tray85 - Katherine Brooke
Myshel - Luka Alonso

7/22/05
NewYorkNovia - Catalina Michelle
kasia216 - Jackson Karol
Samike - Jacob Michael

7/23/05
Jodi AKA BostonTeacher - Camden Joshua
DanaLynn - Emma Jaidyn

7/28/05
montaukbea - Jameson Robert

8/7/05
jp'swife - Alexander Joseph

[July05Mommies]

Delivery Announcements - Birthdays!!!
(plus other stats)

To have your baby's stats added, please submit:
- baby's birthdate
- mother's WC name
- baby's name
- time of birth
- weight
- height
- any other pertinent info you'd like included

Please submit any request for stat changes in red.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL NOT POST ANY BABY PICTURES UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY REQUEST IT!!!

***********************************************

June 13, 2005
December27JJB...Parker Alexandria
6:00am
6lbs, 6oz
19 inches
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d928b3127cce929d1d070ad800000026108EbNXLdoxam

June 15, 2005
LIZNKEITH...Caroline Elizabeth
3:23pm
6lbs, 13oz
20 inches
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SQAAAP8U4eL1cd8k5!cyuuekPpmyjcjUXlAMHMeusR4GW3UUo dTJVOGgkdKH8ontXhzMDr1CZsLAzObY9R!CigKnpeX9CmK20mz 6Vv1zNBO9TQYBCQorSg/P1010022.JPG?dc=4675527431821863464

June 16, 2005
KLo...Matthew Michael George
1:58pm
6lbs, 12oz
18 inches
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d804b3127cce923510a9f1cf00000066108BcN2TFs2Zi

June 23, 2005
Nanner…Samuel Ezra
6:30pm
6lbs, 8.5oz
20 inches
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d920b3127cce92d36f538f9f00000016108QaMW7Zw0as

June 28, 2005
usafwife...Sarah Olivia
8lbs, 7oz
20 inches

July 1, 2005
dizylizy...Harrison Raymond
5:32am
7 lbs, 15 oz
21 inches

July 3, 2005
Heatherlynne...Sarah Liberty
4:40pm
7lbs, 13oz
http://images.snapfish.com/34438%3C2%3B23232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2337%3D833%3D627%3 DXROQDF%3E2323947%3C58685ot1lsi

[July05Mommies]

July 8, 2005
maggieb...Marisa Carmen
2:55PM
8lbs 3oz
20.5 inches

July 8, 2005
Char473...Sydney
3:36pm

July 8, 2005
kakirk...TWINS!!!
Harrison Kirkpatrick (Hank)
11:02pm
7lb 2oz
Camilla Margaret (Lily)
11:05pm
6lb 5oz

July 9, 2005
docoNY...Orla Margaret
2:20am
8lb 6oz
21 1/4 inches

July 9, 2005
jki...Cassidy Anne
10:21am
8 lbs., 8 oz.
21 inches

July 9, 2005
msmarieb...Lexington Thomas
10:45 am
6lb 11oz
20 inches

July 9, 2005
newyorkgirl...Bennett Lawrence
11:40am
6lbs 10oz
19.5 inches

[July05Mommies]

July 12, 2005
MareS...Andrew John
8lbs, 3oz
21 inches

July 15, 2005
lil_nance...Connor Ryan
10:48pm
6 lb, 11 oz
19 1/4 inches

July 21, 2005
myshel...Luka Alonso
8:17pm
7lb 15 oz
19.5 inches

July 21, 2005
Tray85...Katherine Brooke
5:55pm
9lbs 3 oz
21 inches

July 22, 2005
NewYorkNovia...Catalina Michelle
11:12am
8lbs 5.5oz
20.5 inches
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d907b3127cce935a48c325d600000015108DZuWLNs0U

July 22, 2005
kasia216...Jackson Karol
6:03PM
8lb 1oz
21 3/4 inches

[July05Mommies]

July 22, 2005
Samike...Jacob Michael
9lbs 2oz

July 23, 2005
DanaLynn....Emma Jaidyn
9:31 a.m.
7lbs. 7 oz.
20 inches

July 23, 2005
Jodi AKA BostonTeacher...Camden Joshua
9:56 a.m.
9lb 1 oz
22 inches

July 28, 2005
montaukbea...Jameson Robert
8:00PM
9lbs.
21 1/2 inches

August 7, 2005
jp'swife...Alexander Joseph
6:22 a.m.
8 lbs. 2 oz
22 inches

[July05Mommies]

MASTER SITE REFERENCE LIST
Members, please notify us of any links that have stopped working, or if you have anymore to add.

Parenting
www.sleepbaby.com
www.parentstages.com
www.inventiveparent.com
www.babywhisperer.com

Slings
www.thehiphugger.com
www.aboutbabiesinc.com
www.mayawrap.com
www.newnativebaby.com
www.prenatalcradle.com
www.babybjorn.com
www.babywearer.com
www.hotslings.com

Invitations/Announcements
www.achildsown.com
www.babygrams.com
www.babyseeds.com
www.celebrationcottage.com
www.classiccard.com
www.cuscraft.com
www.inababycarriage.com
www.invitingsmiles.com
www.mommysmiracles.com
www.naptimecards.com
www.storkavenue.com
www.sonicstefdesign.com


Thank you very much: to all the group pregnancy journals on the WC that have contributed their links and information to this thread. We are very grateful. :D

[July05Mommies]

BREAST AND BOTTLE FEEDING RESOURCES

Breast feeding
Dr. Sears Breastfeeding Page (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T020100.asp)
kellymom.com (http://www.kellymom.com)
Mothering.com - Getting Started Article (http://mothering.com/community_tools/toolbox/new_baby/latch-on.html)
Mothering.com - Breast Feeding Boards (http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=23)
Handouts, articles, etc. by Dr. Jack Newman (http://www.bflrc.com/newman/articles.htm)
Promom.org (www.Promom.org)
La Leche League (http://www.lalecheleague.org/)
The Militant Breastfeeding Cult (ignore the name) (http://www.militantbreastfeedingcult.com/index_a.html)
www.breastfeeding.com
www.whisperwear.com
www.medela.com
www.ameda.com
www.boppy.com
www.blis.com
www.maternalconcepts.com
www.pumpmate.com

Formula Feeding
www.similac.com
www.enfamil.com
Nestle Good Start (www.verybestbaby.com)
www.brightbeginnings.com

[July05Mommies]

CC Parenting/Informational links
*please let us know if you run across any others that you'd like us to add.

Eating
Breast Feeding Help and Support (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=198)
Which formula for supplementing a breast fed baby? (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=2575)
Formula Feeding Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=573)
Mom's with Pumps (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=1540)
What is your child eating today? (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=191)

Sleeping
Sleep Teaching/Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=133)
The "I need sleep" thread. (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=2390)

Other Group Threads
Cloth Diapering Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=102)

Moms of newborns to 6-month-olds meet here. (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=126)

What Parenting books do you suggest? (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=2226)

Baby carrier and sling info. (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=402)

Master Diaper Bag thread. (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=2202)

Support thread for moms of high-needs babies. (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=2212)

[July05Mommies]

okay ladies, here it is. let me or doco know if you want anything added/deleted. i will update the resource threads as soon as i can.

changes:
1. i didn't add belly shots figuring that it'd be best to save page 1 for pictures of our babies but please keep on adding belly shots to the thread until the very end. :D
2. i only moved members who recently posted over to this thread. if i missed you, please don't take offense. i didn't want to move anyone over here if they didn't want to join this community.

thanks ladies! let us know if you want to see any changes.

[DanaLynn]

I guess I am the first to join.
Thank you ladies for setting this up for us. :D

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

Yippee! A friendly familiar format. It feels like I just got home from a very bad vacation! I'm so glad we made the switch to these boards and thank you for setting it up.

I noticed that both of our "surprise" babies that were born are boys. My theory was that they would be to balance out the crazy % of girls we have. I've been thinking boy for myself all along so we'll see!

[msmarieb]

Just wanted to check-in so you know I'm here... :)

My feet are SO SWOLLEN. It does hurt to bend them at the ankles. I woke up with swollen feet yesterday and had to wear flip flops to work which ends FRIDAY, I work 3 days at the end of next week and then I am DONE :D :D I did put my feet up in my office yesterday, they didn't look visably smaller but the did stop hurting when I bent them. I've been feeling great though...which is really surprising. I mean my back and hip joints just feel good. It's scary, and makes me want to feel for the baby each time I think about it! Other then that I'm cool!

[heatherlynne]

Hello ladies! I am officially moving over! Looks like I'm already on the front page, so let me know if I need to do anything else! Thank you for setting this up!!!!

Had my m/w appointment this morning and I'm still only 1cm dilated. I'm trying to wait patiently, but am getting more and more frustrated with the constant BH contractions and feeling so uncomfortable.

Going to try to post a picture just to see if I can...

http://images.snapfish.com/3443454%3B23232%7Ffp45%3Dot%3E2337%3D833%3D627%3DX ROQDF%3E232393375777%3Bot1lsi

Wow, it's just like it should be!!! I'm feeling spunky now! Hope everyone is happy with the new thread!

[myshel]

Hey, ladies! I'm here too. I saw the thread last night but decided not to post until today. Not much has changed in 24 hours. Like I said yesterday, my body feels different than it did, like there's been some extreme droppage or something. In an effort to maybe kick start something, DH and I walked all over creation (okay, just one of the big Midwest chain hardware stores and our neighborhood). While I did contract quite a bit, it subsided once I laid down for the night. We also tried DTD, which DH was grateful for, but that didn't do anything in the way of labor type activity. Darn!

My MIL wrote me yesterday, saying she hoped I didn't go late (as she did with all of her kids) and that she and my FIL were concerned about the birth process for me because they think I might be "too small" to deliver a "big baby head." Gee, thanks...

[Montaukbea]

Thanks for moving the boards over here! Please add me to the thread! Thanks so much! :)

[MareS]

I'm here too! Now known as MareS (formerly known as MareB). Being a bit of a novice when I first joined WC, I had tunnel vision and used my maiden initials so I changed my B to an S cause I figure I'll probably be married for a little while ;). Plus I figured there'd be less confusion between me and msmarieb!

This place is like coming home again, but I kinda feel like a traitor to the WC too! :o

I just wanted to do a drive by to let you know I'm still with you too! I have to go to the doctor again this afternoon so I'll probably be back later with an update.

[deanergirl]

Thanks to those that went to the trouble to move the boards over here. I feared that the new WC format would give me the push to stop with the message boards already - but I DON"T WANT TO!!! Especially not when so many babies are about to be born! So, administrator, if its not too much trouble, please move me over as well.
Nothing new happenin' on the baby front - I think I am the only one here who is actually glad about that (we have been a scheduled, repeat C/S from day 1 and my mind is not prepared for laboring). Starting to get serious about baby prep, however. Last week I went to BRU and spent $$$ on basics (what a difference not having a shower for the second one makes in my basics supplies!); last night, DH and DS put together the cradle (that was too cute. DS happily pounding away on DH's fingers with his Bob the Builder tools while DH was sweating and cursing under his breath about the crummy instructions...); today I ordered some cute, girly things for her room. I am really just focused now on getting all of my work obligations completed in the next two weeks. Seriously wishing I had taken the last week off before the birth, but too late to change that now.
SO glad to come back to familiar folks and a familiar format. Good luck over the holiday weekend -
QOTD:
How many "Patriot" babies will we get over the long, holiday weekend: I vote for 1.
Cheers!

[NYN]

hey ladies!! so glad we are making our way over here. i agree that this format is much more familiar. try as i might, i just couldn't get used to the new format on the wc.

i can't believe i am 38 weeks today! that is so crazy. i am exactly 15 days from my due date. i used to feel like this day would never come. i will take a belly shot when DH gets home tonight and post it this weekend. i am pretty sure i dropped a little bit (may be wishful thinking).

yesterday was DH's 30 bday and i got him this diaper dude as part of his gift:
http://www.diaperdudebag.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/prd_dragon_lg.jpeg
it is a really nice bag in case any of you were feeling iffy about it. i will actually use it more myself than he will.

we are also getting a skip hop duo (http://www.skiphop.com/) from a friend as a gift so i think we are okay for now in terms of diaper bags. i hear it's really best to buy one after the baby is born anyway since you're not sure what you'll need exactly.

oh, and before i go to shoutouts, i just wanted to pimp out my friend who just launched a new children's clothing line:
Hampton's Child (http://www.hamptonschild.com/)
and while i'm pimping her out, let me pimp out my other friend's too, :D:
appaman (http://appaman.com/)

okay, now back to replies :p

jodi: i totally realized that about the surprise babies. i am so convinced i am having a girl anyway that i would be in complete shock if i had a boy. i suppose we'll have to even it out somehow but remember at first how everyone was finding out they were having girls? it was so uneven for a while!

marie: i have a great cure for swollen feet: maternity leave!! i am not kidding you. my mother marvels at how skinny my legs are again ever since my last day of work. it's incredible. and all i do all day is clean and walk and move and yet they are still about 5" thinner than they normally are. i think i had an allergy to my office. HAHA

heather: i moved you over b/c i secretly thought you might be in labor. sorry you're not - i know this must be so frustrating for you!

myshel: i'm sorry but your post about your MIL had me laughing. what are people thinking when they say things like that to someone who is days away from her due date? lol

montauk & deanergirl: i will get you added right now and mare i will change your username.

i hope everyone else makes it on over!!!

[July05Mommies]

okay montauk and deanergirl have been added to the stats and MareB is now MareS. :D

[jki]

I'm here, too... formerly HCK/mojito.

I'm glad we've moved over here! :D

[lil_nance]

I'm HERE! :)
Woke up early this morning, kiddo was kicking and wouldn't let me get back to sleep. Had breakfast and then was able to get a nap before my dr. appt. Boring appt. (pee, weigh, measure, heartbeat). Everything is good. Haven't gained any weight in the past week. No internal, she didn't want to aggravate the spotting which finally calmed down last Friday. Have another appt. on Wednesday and will probably get an internal then. Feel ok except for the carpal and I tend to be more swollen and uncomfortable at night. Lots of last minute preparations going on here. My glider should come in next week. It shipped from Dutailier on 6/29. I can't wait.

[maggieb]

I'm here too. I didn't post much on the WC thread, but plan to keep up a little better here. Isn't is great here??? :D

maggieb
Me: Maggie, 33
DH: Auggie, 31
Married: 11.2.02
DD#1: Helena Elizabeth 12.2.03
TTC: we weren't
BFP: 11.7.04
EDD: 7.19.05
It's a girl...Marisa Carmen

I'm feeling pretty good. I guess I am 37w3d now. I had my first internal on Wed and I am 2cm dilated, but still really thick and only a little soft. Hopefully, she'll stay put for a little while longer. I'm not quite ready yet. My mom arrives on 7/5, so after that I'll feel better about Marisa arriving. I need someone here to take care of Helena.

It's getting harder and harder to bend over or even sit upright. I find that my huge belly gets in the way so much. It's frustrating.

We finally got a dresser last night and DH is going to put it together this weekend. I just need to wash clothes, fill the dresser and clean her room. Oh, and I need breast pads and to get the bassinet from my friends. Other than that, I think we're set.

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

Myshel they think I might be "too small" to deliver a "big baby head." Too Funny! I fear my husband's big head will be passed on to the baby and I'll pay the price via the birth canal!

Welcome to all the girls who've made the switch!

Hope you all have a great long weekend. I'm guessing 2 Yankee Doodle Dandy babies!

[December27JJB]

Yay! Its so good to see you guys over here!

Can you guys believe it's JULY!?!? I still cant believe my baby came before July! :p

I hope you all are doing well and have a great 4th of July weekend! I hope to come back and find that someone had a baby!!!! :D

-Jessica

[Tray85]

Hey everyone! Still can't figure out how to add a ticker...but so far, this site already seems easier. Happy 4th to everyone! :p

[myshel]

I think there'll be one Yankee Doodle Dandy babe from this thread. I don't want to give away my guess as to who it will be but... her name starts with an H. ;)

[docoNY]

NewYorkNovia
didn't get the email!? I will send you a PM now
thanks for moving the boards over!

update
well due to my forever increasing bp but everything else ok (baby hb, amnio fluid, baby movements, no protein etc) my doc decided today that I will be induced on the 8th - my due date

of course I have an apt again with her Tue and another NST on Thu so that could change - or if I get any headaches/blurred vision/baby stops moving, etc

so have another week left - doing ok - I usually have a crappy night sleep 1 night but then sleep pretty good the next week so doing ok

our gross humid weather is supposed to leave after today so it should be nice here.. plan on doing some walking - might help things next Friday :)

hope everyone has a good 4th of July weekend!!

[Daniel's Kitty]

Congrats on making it to July, and welcome to the babies that came early.

[char473]

Hello Ladies! It has been FOREVER since I posted (in the other board's thread), but I check in often. Congrats to all the new mommies!! The babies are BEAUTIFUL! Here is my original info:

Name: Charlene
EDD: July 18, 2005
DH:Eric
Having: Girl (already have one daughter, Shelby agae 11)


Just found out today that we will be inducing on Friday the 8th, due to my ever growing inabilty to breathe:(

So good luck to everyone, and keep the healthy happy babies coming!!

Charlene

[NYN]

driveby post to tell doco to check email and PM for messages from me.

the rest of you ladies have been [re]added to the first page.

as for 4th of July firecrackers, my guess starts w/ an H too. :D

[SAMIKE32700]

Hi ladies!! Yeah we have a much easier place to post. Hope everyone has a good weekend and a safe 4th.

Yippee our babies will be born this month!!!! :D :D

[PaulsGirl]

Hey guys, I'm here! What do you need again? Stats?
Me: PaulsGirl
DH:Paul
Due Date: 7/26/05
It's a girl

[jp'swife]

Hello! I'm here! Ok, under JP'swife now because idiot me gave the wrong email address to register jp'sbride and I can't figure out how to change it. Oh well.
Not really a bride anymore and I couldn't really think of a catchy name.

I have to get to bed now....I'm exhausted! Long week, feet swelling like hell....just need some rest! So glad to see everyone here!!!
:D :D

[docoNY]

NYN - I was going to come in here to update PaulsGirl and jp's wife but I can't log out/log in as July05mommies?!

nevermind - I finally figured out how to log in and then realized they were updated! :)

[msmarieb]

I'm waiting to hear from Heather! Things we getting a little close as of yesterday, 5 mins apart and such. SO I am waiting to see If I get a phone call saying she's had SARAH!!! I totally hope so :D So we'll have two babies around the 8th huh? YIPPIE!!!!!!!!!

[myshel]

I knew my guess would be right. Go, Heather, go!

Oh, and for the record, I dropped a huge amount of mucous plug today. Ugh! DH thinks we'll be going to the hospital soon but I highly doubt it.

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

MUCOUS PLUG QUESTION FOR THOSE WILLING TO SHARE: Is this something I should be looking for when I wipe (Lord knows I'm peeing enough) or is it one of those things I probably won't miss?

I'm getting so nervous about how close it's getting.

[myshel]

Jodi: Mine is something I've definitely noticed but I've read that it's not always that way. This may be TMI but... this morning I was lounging around in my pj pants and tank sans undies (to air out at night) and I felt really wet between my legs. I got scared because I thought maybe my bag of waters broke but I checked and found this stuff along my legs that was the consistency of snot. Mine looked about like snot but was tinged brownish/brick red/ pinkish in color. Of course, this is just me and may not be the same experience everyone has had.

[Nanner]

Hi, ladies! NYN, thank you for moving my stats over!

Life has been pretty hectic since Sam was born. He's already gotten the nickname "Shmez." Samuel in Hebrew is pronounced "Shmuel," so together with Ezra, you get Shmez. Thanks to BIL for that one! :)

And here's a picture! He's just starting to open his eyes a lot more, and seems to be trying to focus on things.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d920b3127cce92d36f538f9f00000016108QaMW7Zw0as

My husband's siblings have been in town since Wednesday. We had the bris on Thursday (the ritual circumcision--it was hard for me, but I made it through). His brother left this morning, and his sister is staying until Tuesday! She's driving me insane, just like I knew she would. She was only supposed to stay until Sunday initially, when we thought he'd be born on the 7th. But when she found out that she'd be here over 4th of July weekend, she took it upon herself to extend her stay until the Tuesday after. Without asking us. Yes, she's staying in a hotel, but she's here ALL DAY, and just sits around and wants to hold the baby. I feel like I don't have any time to just myself and my baby and husband. That's why I'm typing this up quickly, because she's due back any minute. :mad: She's helped out a bit, but just her presence stresses me out. I said yes to her coming this long because I knew Scott wanted his siblings here (they live in NY and San Francisco), but she's even stressing him out, too.

Anyway, on to the good stuff. Sam is wonderful. He's strong and sweet, and eats like a horse. Which brings me to breastfeeding--it is so much harder than I ever expected. It's getting easier since he's getting older, but he had a lot of trouble latching on at first. He still falls asleep while nursing, too, so it's hard to tell if he's really eating, or if he's just sucking. So we've been pumping, and also supplementing with some formula, just to be sure, which has made for some stinky diapers! But things should get much easier here in the next week or two. I'm trying to stick it out.

Oh, and about swelling--I don't know if it's because of my c-section or what, but it is 20 times worse than it ever was during my pregnancy! I called them Fred Flintstone feet back then, and now I call them Cabbage Patch Kid feet! (Remember, they were just stuffed things with the toes sewn in by threads?) They're so swollen, the tops of them are now joining up with my toes in a mound.

Anyway, just wanted to check in with everybody! It sounds like Heather might finally be having her little girl! I hope you're all doing good, and I hope to check back in later!

Dana

[heatherlynne]

I wish I had this baby already!!!! I would love a firecracker!! I got my first baby (my dog, Bailey) on the 4th of July!!

Been having a lot of trouble with false labor with this kid though. Horrible pain in my lower back and hips too. Thank goodness for my sweet husband and an icepack! I also have had some bleeding issues which make me wonder if my cervix is doing anything at all in there! Wish I had better news to report, but I'm getting the run-around from this little girl!!!!

Jodi-With the mucus plug-mine actually came during the horrible bloody issue I had a few weeks ago, so I don't know what color it would have been normally, but it was stringy and kinda tissuey/mucusy. Mine passed when I was in the shower and it wasn't something I could have missed, even with all the blood. It was much more solid. HTH.

Nanner-your baby is beautiful! Congratulations!!! :D

[PaulsGirl]

Nanner!! Your baby is adorable!!!!

My maternity leave has started, and it's really nice to just be home & have time to take care of things. Hubby actually had dinner waiting for him twice this week. LOL- It's been hard to cook lately!

I bought a mattress for the crib, and we put it in and it's too small. I can literally stick my hand down the sides! :eek: So hopefully I can kind one that fits...

My shower was last weekend and we got everything we need. I stocked up on diapers & wipes, desitin, and Mustela products for her...washed all her stuff (clothes, blankets, bedding) and now I just have the fun stuff left, finishing touches (art for the walls, shelves, etc).

Thursday I went in for my regular non-stress test and my doc wasn't happy with her movement patterns, so off to the hospital labor & delivery I went for an emergency ultrasound. All is well. :) I guess she's less active in the mornings.

I think I'll pack for the hospital and write thank you cards this week...and try not to scrub down the house. LOL

Here are some pics from the shower:
Centerpieces:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce923fb094016000000025118ActWrFozctL
Cake:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d806b3127cce923fdbc9419000000016108ActWrFozctL

:) We had fun.

[kakirk]

Sign me up please! I'm still here, still pregnant. 36w2d w/the twins.

The docs are taking out my cerclage on Tuesday morning, and there's a decent chance I could go into labor right after that. Of course, there's an equally decent chance that I won't, so who the heck knows?? :rolleyes: Either way, I am SO DONE being pregnant. I'm READY for these babies.

Katie

[DanaLynn]

Nanner - Sam is gorgeous. Thank you for posting pictures. :)

Paul'sGirl - your pictures are great. Your cake is making me hungry.

Kakirk - good luck with the cerclage removal. I can't wait to see pictures of your twins. I have twin nieces and they are loads of fun.

Still pregnant 36w1d.
I am on weekly visits now. My next appointment is on Tuesday.
Have a wonderful 4th.

Good Luck heatherlynne.

[msmarieb]

Thanks for posting an update Heather, that was yesterday and all I had is the "I'm bleeding and having contrx post " to go by. But it's cool we'll be waiting for Sarah

Kakirk wow you are still here! That is great, are both of your twins presenting head down? That would be awesome if they were, I know they have the tendency to be one up and one down...

Pauls girl your shower looked great! That cake is sooo Adorable! It reminds me about what I learned about diaper cakes last night... They're cute but a huge PITA! I got one with over 100 diapers over 50 in the bottom layer alone, so last night I started trying to unroll them :mad: I couldn't just let that many diapers sit there! So anywho we ended up having to sandwich them in between some phone books and hope they regain they're normal shape.

Nanner Dana Sam is SOOO CUTE! UUUGH about your SIL I would feel the same way! It's almost Tuesday right? And the swelling is normal, All that water that was moving all that extra blood around for those 9 months has to do something...I've heard alot of people sweat it out at night...so you got two choices cabbage patch feet or sweaty nights...sounds about right pregnancies 11 months long! LOL

I'm so glad that Sam is healthy and beautiful!

Jodi It can come out all in one or it can trickle for weeks. For some people (like me) it is a very small amount intermingled with other discharge, it is very hard to tell. Don't worry about color that might be really hard to distinguish, the consistency is different like mucus, our stretchy. Where as the other stuff up till now has been like lotion... :confused:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm 37 weeks! ANd this house is so damned clean! :D I mean it is spotless, I still would like to have another week to relax though. I'm still not feeling totally done with pregnancy. :confused: I don't know why but I have a feeling he will come sooner then later and that feeling just makes me feel like I'm running out of time to prepare. The nursery will be done today (finally) and I'll post pictures hopefully sometime tomorrow, I'm still waiting on the art I ordered We've gotten so much done this weekend! I even redid the window treatments in my bedroom to let more light in :p I was crazy preggo this weekend!

I have an appointment on Tuesday, to go get an U/S still monitoring my placenta as it is still low, I hope it has moved up some, my doc agreed that as long as I didn't have any bleeding he would let me go to the very end keeping an eye on it. I also get to see how big my little lima bean has gotten. I can't wait to kiss his face! :D

[heatherlynne]

Good morning!!

I have been having contractions like I've never felt before. My hips and back are giving me a horrible time, and I told Mark that I know what a spider feels like when a kid pulls off his legs...

Most of my contraction pain now radiates through my lower back and right hip. Since 1am, they have been about 5-7 min apart, but vary in intensity. I am still waiting for them to regulate before I get my hopes up too high... TMI, but I have had 4 bowel movements in the past 8 hours!!!! I heard that your body may try to clean itself out, but I think that's carrying it a bit far!!!!

Also still having blood tinged mucus, but not too much, so I am not worrying myself with it. I just went for a walk with DH and am having some fresh fruit for breakfast. Hopefully these contractions will buck up and I will have my baby soon. :cool:

Marie, I can't wait to see your nursery!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend! Pray that I get my girl soon if you would!!!!

[myshel]

Nanner What a sweet, sweet boy! He looks amazing!

Heatherlynne: Boo! No baby yet! I'm sure, based upon your reply today though, that it's going to happen soon.

So far, not much to report here. Yesterday was awful. I could barely walk, let alone dress myself. I woke up in the night with horrible cramping (think menstrual cramps) that were spreading into my back. I tried really hard to sleep and I woke up this morning feeling okay. Other than that "false" alarm, I keep dropping my plug but that's it. I think DH was really hoping for a holiday baby but I just don't see it happening.

[NYN]

nanner:omg, he is so cute!! i'm going to put his picture w/ the stats on the front but let me know if you want me to remove it and doco or i will get rid of it asap. and about your SIL - i don't know what to say other than i'm so sorry. i have no idea what posseses people to do things like this. on the plus side, at least she is not sleeping in your apartment.

re the swelling: i heard that after a c-section you will be very swollen (much moreso than during pregnancy which is hard to believe right now). is this true for a vaginal birth as well?

heatherlynne: thanks for updating us! i can't believe you are having contractions that are 5 to 7 minutes apart and you are not rushing to the hospital but i guess this baby has cried wolf so many times it's understandable. i really hope something happens today. hang it there!

PaulsGirl: your shower looks like it was so cute. that cake is adorable and so are your centerpieces.

katie: i already carried you over to the front page. i figured you would want to since you were an active member. congratulations on making it this far. i can't believe those two babies are still so cozy in there but i'm so glad they are. i would love to see a belly shot if you are willing to share. i know a lot of twinmamas don't feel comfortable posting one.

marie: i am going through the same thing as you. my house is so clean. i love it. :) good luck on your u/s.

myshel: i had a bad day yesterday too so i feel you. at least you lost your mucous plug. i am having contractions and i'm sure i'm still tight as a drum (TM heather :p).

-----------------

here is my 38 week belly shot:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d920b3127cce92d177164e7e00000025108DZuWLNs0U
as you can see, i haven't grown and i haven't dropped. :rolleyes: i have been feeling great, just having frequent bowel movements and a little bit of nausea. then yesterday i started getting contractions every half hour to 45 minutes. they were painful enough that i had to stop what i was doing. i took a long shower and then a nap and they seemed to go away. then at night they started again so we took a long walk and came home to do the shower/bed ritual again. i had a pretty hard time sleeping b/c of all the pressure on my lower back so i did a lot of rolling around on the birthing ball trying to take some pressure off of my pelvis. i have a feeling that birthing ball is going to be a life saver. anyway, they stopped again at around 5am this morning and i was able to get some sleep in.

i'm hoping that i don't have the baby until next week (right around my due date). DH will be working until friday and i would like to go into labor while he is home since he is my coach and we have trained for this after all. :p i still harbor hope that i'm going to be able to labor at home for most of the time. i am not yet at that point where i really want pregnancy to be over (i know some of you are at the "get this baby out of me!" stage) though i am really dying to meet this baby.

anyway, i hope you guys have a great July 4th. heather, good luck and i hope you have someone lined up to let us know when little sarah arrives!

[kakirk]

Just for NYN -- :)

36 Weeks
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/katie_rose/DSC00385.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/katie_rose/DSC00387.jpg

And the swollen feet:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/katie_rose/DSC00395.jpg

Katie

[lil_nance]

Kakirk Congrats on making it this far. I'm so happy for you. You look great.

Heatherlynne Hoping for Sarah soon. I sympathize with all your false alarms. My spotting and contractions have calmed down for the past week. I think stopping work early helped.

msmarieb Want to come clean my house? Although I've gotten a lot done this weekend. The full nesting must not have kicked in yet because my house has a ways to go.

Nanner "Shmez" is adorable and I like the nickname ;)

Anyone have any tricks for relieving carpal? My hands are sore and fingers are numb all the time. I'm wearing a brace to bed which helps the pain but then my fingers are really stiff in the morning. Next dr. appt. is Wednesday. I think she'll do an internal. I'm curious to see if anything is going on down there.

HAPPY 4th!

[msmarieb]

Sarah Liberty

HEATHER HAD HER BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah Liberty made her grand entrance at 4:40 today weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz and she is absolutely GORGEOUS...waiting for pictures!

CONGRATULATIONS HEATHER!! I'm sure she was worth the wait!:D


Any bets on who's next?? :)

ETA: The next one has to be a boy to keep things even ;)

[NYN]

oh wow, i'm so happy for heather!!! welcome sarah!!!

katie, you look GREAT!

[maggieb]

Welcome to the world, Sarah Liberty! What a fabulous name!!!

kakirk: You look phenomenal!!! Way to go!

[DanaLynn]

Congratualtions HeatherLynne!!! That sure was fast.

Kakirk - You look wonderful. I love the picture of yor feet. Keep us posted.

Swelling - I had a C-section with my son and I don't remember being swollen at all. I think everybody is different too.

Happy 4th!!!!

Bring on the babies!!!!

p.s. Who do you think will be next???

[Klo.]

Hi ladies -
I'm finally checking in here! I've been lurking for a couple days and finally just got around to registering, etc.
I have a couple minutes while my munchkin is asleep.

NYNovia - The new thread looks awesome!! And so do you!

Heather -
Glad I popped in just in time to say Congratulations!!! Can't wait to see your little girl. I'm sure she is beautiful.

Katie -
You look awesome!! You're almost there!! I'm so excited for you.

Nanner -
Samuel is beautiful. The first time I glanced at his picture I thought he kinda looked like my Matthew! funny.
I soooo know what you mean about the BF'ing. I had NO idea what I was in for and its so much more difficult than I ever thought.

Hello to the rest of you. I hope you are all well, you are almost there.

***************************************

Matthew and I are hanging in there. He's been sleeping really well and only woke up once a night for the past 3 nights in a row...until last night! We were staying at my IL's and he was up ALL night and I finally had a major meltdown when we got home today. I've heard babies kind of "wake up" after the first 2 weeks esp. when they are a little early and I feel like we've approached that. Until today he only cried when he needed to be fed, now he seems to fuss a lot more and be awake a lot more. I love when he's awake because he's so dang cute - but not at 4am!! Anyway, he's generally a pretty good baby and I think we are just going through a growth spurt because he is eating like a madman too.

I can't believe he's 2 weeks old already!! Crazy. He was back up to birth weight (surpassed) and seems to be growing and doing fine. The midwife gave him a "perfect" bill of health. :D

Do you mind if I show off a couple pictures of my guy?
(you can use this picture for the front page)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d804b3127cce923510a9f1cf00000066108BcN2TFs2Zi
Dad cutting the cord:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d804b3127cce92351e9ef1ff00000025108BcN2TFs2Zi
Our first walk at our favorite park at 5 days old.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d804b3127cce92351021f14700000036108BcN2TFs2Zi
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d804b3127cce92351010704600000026108BcN2TFs2Zi

Sorry don't mean to get carried away there. I just love him. :D

I have my birth story written out too. Do you want me to post that? I have to warn you though, its a little long.

[msmarieb]

Awww Klo he is soo cute & cuddly, wow he is two weeks old already? Man time is flying by! He is a gorgeous little boy!

ETA: You look good too! Way to bounce back mommy! :D

[NYN]

yes Klo, please post your birth story. i'm all about the details. thanks for updating us. your son is gorgeous!

[kakirk]

Lois, he looks so much like you!!! I love the picture of him sleeping. :)

K

[PaulsGirl]

Congratulations Heather!! We can't wait to see pics!

Klo!! I am so happy for you! What a sweet little guy! And you look GREAT for five days post partum!!

[maggieb]

KLo!!! You look incredible! WOW! And your little guy is very handsome. Congratulations. It's an awesome journey.

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

Lois Congrats! He is soooo cute. I can't get over how amazing you look though! It is inspirational seeing you out walking and looking so svelt just 5 days after the birth! I'm impressed.

Heather: WELCOME SARAH! I see you posted in the morning and had her in the afternoon. I know you had a very long road before that though so I'm so glad your "happy ending has arrived!"

HAPPY 4thOF JULY

The weather here has been beautiful and so accomodating to lil' ole pregnant me. The sky is sunny. The temps are in the 70s. There is no humidity and there is a great breeze.

The downside is that I am SO unbelievably tired! I swear I wasn't this out of it in the 1st trimester. I normally get up at 6 everyday. DH just dragged me up at 9:30. This is after sleeping for 12 hours. I nap every afternoon too for several hours.

[docoNY]

Heather
Congrats on baby Sarah!! I had a feeling you were going to have her soon!! :)

Klo
Matthew is adorable and I give another vote for the birth story! :)
and you do look great in that park shot!

kakirk
you look great!!

who's next question
hmmm.. char473 and I are both being induced on the 8th (my due date). I am fine with going sooner and have been walking everywhere but not much going on

haven't lost my mucus plug yet and I am already 39 wks 3 days! and just get BH about every 15 min every night the last few days.. they are just uncomfortable and just hoping something is going on down there so that the induction Friday isn't from 0 to 10!

I think kakirk and the twins will be next :):)

[myshel]

Heather: Yay! Congrats. Sarah Liberty is such a beautiful name. I hope you're doing well.

Katie: You look fabulous, my dear.

KLo: Matthew looks so sweet. What great pictures!

_______________________________________________

Last night, DH and the rest of my family in town went to the "small" fireworks, with a larger display coming tonight. I had to walk quite a way but I tried to not complain about it too much. My sister, who is not pregnant, did complain. Funny how that happens.

This is a picture of DH and I at an outdoor wedding on June 25th. I was just over 37 week here. I look pretty decent though some of the pictures from that day make me look like a runaway parade float.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d925b3127cce92c451bc14ea00000016108AaNXLJu4aNh

[Tray85]

Congratulations Heather!!! Can't wait to see pics!!

KLO - What great pics of your little munchkin. Thanks for the warning on the 2 weeks! :eek:

Seems like nuthin' is going on with me! According to my original July 19th due date - I'm 38 weeks today. I swear I still haven't had any contractions. I have lots of aches and misc. pains - but nothing that I think is a contraction. What do they feel like?!?!? I so want pregnancy to be over with.

Anyway - happy 4th all!

[char473]

Doco: Only 4 more days:)

I have to work tonight and tomm night. So maybe being on my feet all night will do some magic. ( I work in the NICU, so if I go into labor, I'm only a bit away from L&D.) I lost my mucous plug last night, so maybe that will speed things up too.

I am just so ready to meet her!!

Congrats to Heather:)

And happy 4th to all of you mommies!

[Klo.]

Hello ladies -

I hope everyone is having a great holiday. I love 4th of July. But just chillin' with my little guy right now. DH is working on his school project so we aren't doing too much this year.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful compliments. You sure know how to make a new mom feel good. :D

OK, here is my birth story. I warned you it was a little long - don't feel obligated to read it all but I really enjoyed writing it.
(wow, looks like its REALLY long! I have to split it up into a couple posts.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday, June 15 -
I went in for my weekly check-up at 1:00. I was very anxious to see if I had dilated anymore since the last check a week ago when I was 4cm. I had had some contractions but nothing regular but it kinda felt like the ones I was having were doing 'something'. When Kelly (Midwife) came in we didn't chat much like we usually do, we decided to just cut to the chase and see what my dilation was at. She said I was at least a 5 but could be stretched to a 6 and 100% effaced. She suggested we do something about it. She said we should probably start an induction, but just breaking my waters to begin with and the other steps if that didn't get things going. She said she had to coach her daughter's softball game that night but we could do it afterwards, like at 10pm or wait until morning. I decided I would rather wait until morning. I was secretly hoping that if I went on a long walk and did a bunch of work around the house that things would get going on their own. I called Kev when I left the clinic and said, "how would you like to have a baby tomorrow." He thought that sounded like a great idea and was very excited to get things going. I still had very mixed feelings about all this. I know I had been whining for the last week that I was sooooo ready for this baby but now I was nervous. I didn't want an induction and it mostly it scared me. He assured me all would be fine and that this was definitely a good thing.
I got home and talked on the phone for a bit. A couple other people had called and of course they assume since I didn't answer the phone I must be at the hospital. I didn't call them back, mostly because I didn't anyone to know that we were going to be at the hospital the next day but I just didn't feel like explaining it over and over. I talked to my best friend Kristin and she was just giddy with excitement. I didn't have the same excitement, I was excited but I was also scared. I took Eddie for a nice long walk to the park and had quite a few contractions but as always nothing regular. I was very sentimental on my walk with him, I couldn't stop thinking of all the changes that were about to come. I was very sad for him because things in his world were about to be turned upside down. I told him over and over how much I love him and that would never change. After our walk I vacuumed out the truck, picked up around the house and vacuumed as much as I could around the house.
Kev got home from class around 10 and by that time I was pretty tired. We continued to get things ready around the house and talked about the next day. Around 11 I started having a lot of anxiety about doing an induction. It just kept going through my head - induction leads to epidural, epidural leads to C-section. What if they break my water and I don't have contractions? Then we would have to use pitocin. Kev kept assuring me that I didn't have to do this if I wasn't comfortable. He said lets not make a decision right now, lets get a good nights sleep and we'll make a decision in the morning.
We went to bed around midnight. As I laid in bed I prayed and prayed for God to help us bring our baby to us and for a safe and healthy birth for both my baby and me. I fell right to sleep after that and slept pretty good for the most part.

Thursday, June 16 -
I was awake before the alarm rang at 5:30. I immediately showered and started getting myself ready and packing my bags. Kev came and asked me if I was sure about doing this and I wasn't but said we should go to the hospital anyway and at least talk to Kelly. I just had a half bagel and some fruit for breakfast and thats about it. I was anxious but not horribly nervous. I was overly emotional about everything. I took my time saying good-bye to Eddie. We left the house a little late but it wasn't too big of a deal. It seemed like we had an obnoxious amount of stuff for just leaving for 2 nights!

We got checked into the hospital and they put us in OB room 2. The nurse told me to get undressed but I told her I wanted to wait until Kelly came because we weren't sure about doing the induction today. She gave us about 10 minutes and came back to talk to us again, Kelly hadn't arrived yet but she wanted to see if she could help in anyway. She talked us through the induction again but was clear that it was absolutely our decision. She left us alone for a bit and we decided to go ahead! It was definitely time. And all would be ok.

I got into the gown and they hooked me up to the monitor and took my vitals, etc. bambinO was as active as he had ever been!! He knew 'something' was up. He was literally about to bust out of there!! Kelly came in about that time and we chatted some more and she still said the choice was mine to stay or if we wanted to wait. I finally said yes, we would stay - lets get this party started! She broke my waters around 9am. There was no pain involved with that whatsoever, but what a completely strange sensation that was! The warm fluid just gushed out of me. She asked me if it was ok if she stretched me to 7cm dilated, but warned me it would be a tad bit painful. umm, yep. After all that, all we could do was wait and hope the contractions would get started. Kev and I walked around for a bit, we played some CD's that we brought along, I read a little bit from my Ina May Childbirth book hoping for a little inspiration - I had marked off some of my favorite stories so I read those. Kev had had about 3 cups of coffee by this time and was in rare form. I loved it though because he kept me laughing the whole time. The new nurse came in and introduced herself - Shelly, she was very cool and Kev and I both clicked with her right away. She was asking me about IVF and my surgeries and stuff because she is facing basically the same stuff so I definitely felt a good connection with her. She went through my birth plan step by step and complemented on me on it, said it was very well done and well researched! They brought me some breakfast and i ate a little bit of that. I was feeling contractions about 10 minutes apart. I could feel them but they weren't anything worse than period cramps, just enough to stop me and breath through them. They hooked me up to the monitor and that showed that I was actually having contractions about 5 mins apart but I wasn't feeling all of them, or if I was just a tiny bit. She also said that the contractions were lasting a lot longer than I was feeling too, I just wasn't feeling them until they peaked. Shelly assured me I was doing great and to just keep walking around, said to try some nipple stimulation and encouraged me to sit on the peanut (instead of a round exercise ball they have one shaped in a peanut - its a bit more stable than the round ones).

I straddled the peanut and suggested to Kev that we play a game of backgammon. We started the game and I was feeling fine. He was totally kicking my butt and it looked like no possible way I could win. The contractions started coming on a bit stronger and I started catching up. By the end of the game contractions were only 2 minutes apart and getting VERY intense - and I made the greatest backgammon comeback of all time and won!!! (I swear he didn't let me win either!!)

[Klo.]

Noon: Kelly and Shelly came back to check on me and contractions were starting to come one on top of the other. Things had changed quickly and significantly since the last time they were there. I thought I had to poop and tried but couldn't. They hooked me up to the monitor again real quick and Kelly checked me. I was at 8cm. I didn't know what to do with myself at this point. She said if i felt the urge to push I could but if I wanted to just ride the contractions out a little bit longer that would be ok too. She said this was what they call transition. Everyone's voices were bothering me and I couldn't really talk, I wanted very little stimulation. She said that I could push if I wanted to, but I didn't quite understand. I had to hold my breath to push but yet I was supposed to breath through contractions. They asked me if I wanted to get in the tub and that sounded good so Shelly filled up the tub for me. Her and Kev helped me get in and it felt oh-so-good, it definitely lessened the pain of the contractions! The tub had jets so I turned those on but hated the stimulation so turned those off quickly. Kev just sat beside me and held my hand and helped me through the contractions. I laid in the tub and the contractions kept coming. I felt kind of high at this point. I wondered how I was going to take the pain of pushing this baby out. I had wondered if it was too late to get some drugs, something to take the edge off, but I never said anything out loud. I had made up a little mantra for myself over the last several months while I was on bedrest and preparing for birth. I kept saying, "My body will not fail me." I remembered that and kept repeating it to myself over and over. I remembered from the stories in Ina May's book about calling the contractions "rushes" and riding them out like waves. I moaned and breathed through them as best I could. I kept my eyes closed most of the time. Shelly came back to check on me and we decided it was probably time to get out of the tub. I said something about going back in but she thought it was probably a good idea to get me in bed.

Kelly came back to check on me. I was dilated to 10. It was time. Kelly said I could stay in the bed or if wanted to squat or try pushing while sitting on the toilet at any point I had that choice and just to let her know. The thought of moving at that point did not sound like fun so I just stayed in bed. Her and Shelly got their scrubs on and got everything set up for the baby to arrive. Contractions were very strong and very intense. I was pushing with each contraction but nothing was really happening. Turns out I was pushing wrong. I was trying to push through my stomach and not through my butt (so to speak). At a certain point I figured out the whole pushing thing and things started to get moving. It hurt like nothing I could even begin describe. Unlike some people, pushing did not feel good - it HURT!! With each contraction I had to lift my legs up, get my chin to my chest and push with all my might. Shelly would count to 10 with each push and I would take a quick breath and push again. She even asked me if it was ok that she count which I thought was nice of her. Funny side note - as intense as everything was at this point I also remember feeling hunger pains! Wierd. I was so hot and sweaty I couldn't deal with anything. They put the fan on me and put a cold washcloth on my forehead which helped but my hands were slipping off my legs so I made them get me some towels to put under each leg. I just kept pushing and pushing and wondered when this baby was going to come out. At a certain point I couldn't lift my legs everytime a contraction came so Kevin and Shelly, who were on either side of me, had to hold my legs up the whole time. I screamed and cried several times but all 3 of them in the room were so encouraging and helped me through. Baby's heartrate started changing (up or down, I can't remember) so they started giving me oxygen between each contraction. They didn't hook the mask to my face, (which was nice) but they just had Kevin hold it a couple inches from my face and I would breath it in. That also helped me focus on getting in some nice deep breathes to keep the oxygen flowing to my baby. The head started to crown and they could see a little bit of dark hair. I was pretty out of my head at this point and I was in a completely different world and i couldn't open my eyes. We were almost there. I have no idea of the time frame or how many more pushes it took. Eventually his head came out. I remembered reading about "the ring of fire" and I was definitely feeling that!! OUCH! doesn't begin to describe it! Kelly was telling me to reach down and touch him because he was here and for some reason I couldn't. I couldn't move my arms and I was just in shock over the whole thing. A few more intense pushes and at 1:58 pm he came out. He let out a big cry and they immediately laid him on my stomach and he stopped. I was crying and I looked up at Kevin and his eyes were welled up with tears. They wiped him off a little bit and clamped the cord. He was laying on me and I didn't know what to do with him. I was totally in shock. I couldn't believe my eyes were looking at my child. Someone said, "should we see if its a boy or girl?" Kev was like, "yeah, I almost forgot!" They picked up his tummy and there it was - we had our boy. I looked up at Kevin again and he had the hugest smile and was crying happy tears. We weren't all that surprised, it was what we thought from the very beginning. They laid a warm blanket over the two of us and I just looked him over from head to toe. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. One of the coolest things I've ever seen: Kev was standing beside me and said something and Matthew moved his head and looked right towards him, it was a very familiar voice and he wanted to see who it belonged to. I still had to push out the placenta. It didn't hurt but felt very strange but almost felt kind of good. They asked us if he had a name and we gave him his name: Matthew Michael George O'Brien. The next 20 minutes or so were not very comfortable. My whole bottom was ultra, ultra sensitive and I didn't want to be touched! Unfortunately, I had some stitches that needed to be sewn up. I had a second-degree tear that required 5 stitches. I did not like this part but Kelly went as quickly as she could so Kev and I could enjoy our sweet little miracle. Once she was done we tried to get him latched on my breast, which wasn't as easy as I thought it was be. He eventually got on and it hurt. I wasn't expecting that, his suction was really hard.

Kelly asked me if I had to do it all over if I would still do it without any drugs or anything. I wasn't so sure! I said to ask me again later. I'm so glad I did but dang that hurt! I dealt with the contractions just fine but that pushing part was not so fun. She agreed. She said she never understood that part about how some women say it felt good to push because it was hard for her also.

I don't really remember much about the next couple hours. I held our sweet little boy and Kev and I just took it all in and just stared at him.
A new nurse came on about an hour or so later. She was a handfull! She informed us that she has worked OB since 1980 and sometimes parents don't like the way she handles babies but they aren't going to break, yada, yada, yada. She was nice but a little obnoxious. I didn't mind so much the way she was handling Matthew it was her stupid loud voice! He would just scream every time she came around and she just kept talking so freakin' loud to him. It was driving both Kev and I crazy. We decided it was finally ok to get Matthew weighed and measured so she did that (all right in the same room) plus gave him his eye ointment and Vit. K shot. He weighed in at 6 pounds 12 ounces and was 19 inches long and his head was 13 in.

Around 4:00 I finally got up and took a bath and a shower and we brought Matthew in to have his first bath with me. He didn't like it so much. Kev started calling people. We had a list and the order in which everyone was to be called so we wouldn't piss anyone off. Unfortunately not everyone - or anyone for that matter was answering their phones when we needed them to so we some calls out of order. Aunts got called before Moms and friends before sisters and feelings were hurt. ah well, they all got over it when we told them the good news. Kev also decided he didn't like calling the women, after 2 of them shrieked on the phone he decided I could call the women. Our first visitors came a little after 6 and just they were leaving another family came we had about an hour break and then my oldest sister Shelly, her husband and 2 girls came about 9. It was so fun to show him off. Everyone passed him around and admired our son.

[Klo.]

Looking back about a week removed from the whole thing. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. My husband, my midwife, the hospital, everything. It was amazing and beautiful. I wouldn't change a single thing. Giving birth the way I did is the single most empowering thing I have ever done. I feel like there is nothing I can't do right now. I did it. My dreams came true. Not only did it go almost as I had imagined it - it was better. Was it all worth it?? The tears and pain we went through to get pregnant, the months of waiting, the strain on our marriage, every surgery and procedure, every needle prick, every dull and shiny penny, all those weeks of bedrest, all the worry and discomfort. Everything. It was worth every little and big thing.
I look at him with such amazement and wonder. God gave us the most perfect baby. He is simply the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on and he is simply perfect. I can't believe I am finally holding this little miracle in my arms - and he is mine to keep.
I can't help but think of how differently things would have been had the other baby survived and we had twins. It would have been a completely different experience. I think with my cervical issues I wouldn't have been able to carry both of them, but God wanted me to have this perfect little one and he was what was meant to be. I dunno. I don't try to make sense of God's plans but I know there is definitely a reason for me having THIS baby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK, so I guess it was 'rediculous' long and they made me put it into 3 posts. Sorry. :o

[lil_nance]

My dad sent this to me and I had to share. :)


Baby Power
Hello, my name is Quinn, and I'm nine months old. This is powerful advice for all you babies out there. Parents, please leave now, or you will be punished. Okay, now that the minions are gone, let's get down to business.

Do you feel like you have no control over your life? Do your mommy and daddy make you do and wear things you absolutely hate? Are you at the bottom of your family's power structure? I'm here to tell you that all this can be a thing of the past. By following my ten simple rules, you'll be wearing the diaper and the pants in the family in no time!

Rule #1, You have absolute power.
Repeat this to yourself on a daily basis. You are the ruler of your universe. Your parents are there to serve you, not the other way around. You have unlimited power over them.

Rule #2, Cry.
Tears are your biggest asset in your arsenal against your parents. If you don't like something, cry! Parents have absolutely no defense against this wet onslaught. They will do anything to get you to stop. This is especially useful in public places. For maximum effectiveness, increase volume every fifteen seconds.

Rule #3 , Be cute.
This is your number one defense mechanism. You're going to pull a lot of crap most people would never get away with, and your cute factor is the only thing allowing this. Flash a smile, and your parents will go weak in the knees with gushing admiration of your blessed existence, even after you've just broken half the stuff in the house.

Rule #4, Keep them weak.
I don't care if you have to set an alarm clock for yourself, but you need to wake your parents up at least three times a night. A rested parent is a strong parent, and that means bad news for you. The more weary they are, the more malleable to your intricate plans of global domination.

Rule #5, Pee on them.
Once out of every ten diaper changes, you should let loose your golden stream of glory. This shows them who's boss, and keeps them on their toes. If you can, aim for the face for maximum effectiveness. At the very least, you should be able to cover yourself as well as a portion of your parent's clothes. This works well for those situations where they've put you in an embarrassing outfit, or they're in a hurry to get somewhere

Rule #6, Make them carry you.
Do not let them put you down! This is very important. The moment they realize you can get around by yourself, they will no longer want to carry you. If you are put on the ground, see rule #2. Your parents are strong, and there's two of them. They can carry you forever.

Rule #7, Smack them around a little.
Parents are under the false impression that we have very little control over our arms and legs. Use this to your advantage! Every now and then, just randomly slap them in the face, and then smile and laugh. They may curse a little, but I guarantee no harm will come to you. They are powerless against the smile and laugh combination.

Rule #8, Women and grandparents love babies.
Capturing this key demographic can bring you joys beyond your wildest expectations. Toys, food, and attention can all be yours when you manipulate this segment of the population. Gramps will even let you watch the Spice channel if nobody else is around!

Rule #9, Siblings exist for your amusement.
Your brothers and sisters are the court jesters in your vast kingdom. They are there for your personal entertainment, and nothing more. Laugh at their crazy antics, but the moment they get out of line with that "the baby gets all the attention" crap, pull their hair. One word of warning though. Make sure a parent is nearby when you do this, as siblings are immune to your cute defense mechanisms. Be sure to cry, so your parent is alerted to your mortal danger.

Rule #10, No private time.
This is perhaps the most important rule of them all. Do not let your parents have private time! If you hear these evil words uttered, alarms should go off in your head. Nothing good can come from private time. At the very least, private time rejuvenates them, making them more resistant to your powers. And in the worst possible scenario, private time could lead to a new baby replacing you as the ruler of the house! This event needs to be stopped at all costs!

That's it, troops. Follow these simple rules and you should have a long and fruitful reign as ruler of your household.

You have the power!

[DanaLynn]

KLo-
That was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

[kakirk]

Congrats Heather!!! Looking forward to pictures!!

Doco, I think kakirk and the twins will be next BLESS YOU!! I certainly hope so because I am D-O-N-E!!!!

Cerclage comes out tomorrow ladies...hoping it will bring on labor right after, but we'll see! Hopefully I can sleep tonight too! :eek:

Katie

[SAMIKE32700]

Welcome Sarah Liberty!!

I went to Daytona this past weekend for the Nascar race Saturday night. It was a last minute deal but glad I went. I was concerned about the noise at first but then I told myself that I wasn't standing in front of those cars so the noise wouldn't be too hard on the baby. Then I see not just 1 but at least 4 women bringing in their little infant babies in there. :mad: The one bad thing is the feet swelling. We walk a little more than normal & now I can feel the liquid in the tops of my feet. :eek: So I am calling in this morning and putting my feet up for the day. I go back to the Dr tomorrow and will be deciding on a b'day for my little guy. :D

[jp'swife]

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been MIA! these boards have been tough to get on today!
I have off today as an extra 4th of July scheduled vacation day (per work) so I'm trying to find things to do to pass the time.

The house is pretty much clean since we had family and friends over this past weekend but I've been feeling like crap!! My lower back was killing me yesterday and my feet have been pretty much swollen to hell since Friday. I had my first bout of BH Friday afternoon at work and was wondering if stress egged them on a bit. I don't think that my work fully understands that my last day of work with them is the 8th. UGH! I don't know what to do. There is a million things going on there and they really need my help. But, I honestly don't know if I can comfortably make it another week or even another few days after this Friday.

I just want to have Alex now! I want to meet him and I want to be done!!!

Klo -Matthew is so gorgeous and I loved your birth story!!

Nanner-You too! Sam is beautiful!!!

Heather-Huge congrats to you!!! I'm sooo happy for you and proud of you! I can't wait to see Sarah Liberty!!

Ok, I'm wondering who the next one will be!!
I have my next doctor's appointment tomorrow and I'm hoping that they say that I'm dialating. I've been feeling so horrible lately and little pains here and there down there. Hopefully that means things are progressing.

[myshel]

KLo: Thanks for sharing your birth story. I'll be honest; it did freak me out a bit but I think it's because it the real deal and not some Hollywood version of birth. Your birth story opened up a great line of discussion between DH and me.

[NYN]

hey ladies, drive by post here...i have been having contractions since saturday. they are not consistent but they are very strong. i will have them every 45 minutes or so for a few hours and then they will go away for several more hours. i feel like i can't go anywhere, though yesterday i didn't get any at all and today i only got some in the afternoon for two hours. it's very frustrating and honestly, very painful. while it is happening the only thing going through my mind is epidural! epidrual! epidural! i am very curious to see what active labor is going to be like.

anyway, i went to the doc today and he wanted to do an internal and do some "stretching" down there and i turned him down. i'm just not interested in doing any interventions until next week so we agreed that next tuesday we (well, he) will do some "stretching" and then if i don't go into labor by friday (my due date) we will induce on sunday, the 17th. originally i was planning on fighting him on this whole "you can't go past 40 weeks" thing but now i just decided to go along w/ it. i think the only reason why i'm so relaxed about it is b/c i can't imagine getting to the 17th w/out going into labor on my own but we will see if i am right about that or not. :p

otherwise, everything is fine. waiting for my crib (it arrives on friday) and once that is up we are all set. DH will be home starting this Friday for two weeks and then he starts school so i am looking forward to spending time w/ him.

question: do you guys notice that the baby is much more active than in previous weeks?

-----

Klo: thanks so much for posting your birth story. you did an excellent job writing it.

jp: hang in there and don't give in! if they want you to stay past the 8th say no way!!! i am telling you - maternity week is like a cure-all. my feet have not swelled once since i've been home!

samike: good luck at the doctor's...what day do you think you'll pick?

char: any news?

doco: we are all thinking of you!!!

myshel: btw, i meant to tell you, you look great in that wedding picture!

[jp'swife]

jp: hang in there and don't give in! if they want you to stay past the 8th say no way!!! i am telling you - maternity week is like a cure-all. my feet have not swelled once since i've been home!

Thanks honey! I know...I've been feeling good these last two days completely off my feet and my cankles haven't shown up! Plus, the heaviness goes away a little bit. Sitting the whole day at work isn't the best thing for me right now and I honestly don't think I can take another week or even another extra 3 or 4 days of it...mentally or physically.

Look at you with the contractions!! So nice that you have a date all set! How exciting!
:D

My doctor's appointment this morning is at 9 so I should be back later for any updates (hopefully I will have something to share

[docoNY]

question: do you guys notice that the baby is much more active than in previous weeks?

since my bp keeps going up they have me paranoid about the baby movements and yes - I have noticed mine is more active.. some nights my insides are getting a beating! last night wasn't too bad!

klo.
thanks for the birth story!

NewYorkNovia
I have been getting a lot of contractions too but they are all over the place.. haven't even bothered to time them since they seem so sporadic.. hopefully they are doing 'something' for Fri!
good luck with the crib and hopefully your baby will arrive soon too so baby gets some quality time when your husband is home!!

SAMIKE32700
enjoy your day with your feet up!

jp'swife
good luck with your last few wks! don't let them stress you out!!

dizylizy
congrats on your baby boy!! since the cc boards are finally up I am going to update page 1 for you and took the post from WC & posted it here for you since I am sure your too busy to get back in here today

here is dizylizy's post:
Spud is here! Harrison Raymond
Ladies!
Yeah! it was the most amazing experience ever! I still have trouble believing it wasn't a movie and it happened to me!

Stats:
Harrison Raymond
Born: 5:32am on July 1st after 15 hours of labor.
7 lbs, 15 oz
21 inches
brown hair, blue eyes (but kinda grayish blue)

Had a c-section. My water broke at 3pm. called doc. at hospital by 5pm. started pitocin at 6:15. contractions were ok until about midnight when they really started to hurt. at 4:30 I was still only 4cm. decided to do a c-section as baby would not drop into my pelvis. and his heartbeat was dropping after the contraction not with it. Not too disappointed to not delivery vaginally. b/c some of the contractions HURT!!!! 80 on the internal monitor. delivered at 5:32am. nursing my 7:30. what a day!

[char473]

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d927b3127cce92e10830c4cf00000015108IaNmjNm5aM Congrats again on the babies:)

I am still here with child. The L&D girls at work were trying every trick to make me go into labor on my last night at work, but Sydney is just too comfortable! I'm still contracting, still with ALOT of pelvic pressure, but still pregnant :rolleyes: So it looks like Friday is still the day. I go in at 7am, and hopefully by afternoon will get to meet my baby girl!

And isn't the feet (and everywhere else for that matter) swelling fun?? My fingers look like little sausages. DH and I went for a walk last night, and by the end I felt like every bit of fluid in my body was in my "cankles".

Klo: Your birth story was amazing, and inspiring! Thank you for sharing.

Take care ladies, and bring on the babies!!

Charlene

Editited to show a belly shot, finally;) Granted it's an old one: 35 weeks, and I'm 38 now:

[December27JJB]

KLo Congrats again! You look great and Matthew is beautiful! Thank you for sharing your birth story, it was so touching. I admire you for going through it all with no drugs!

Samike Keep your feet elevated when you're sleeping. Someone once told me that your feet should be higher up than your head so try propping some pillows underneath your legs. I hope you feel better soon!

HeatherLynne CONGRATS! And Welcome to the world Sarah!!!!

dizylizy Congrats on your little boy! Welcome to the world Harrison. Funny, before we found out Parker was a girl we were thinking of naming a boy Parker Harrison. Love that name!

NewYorkNovia Wow, you poor thing. Make sure DH gives you lots lots of massages!!! It does sound like the baby will come soon. I wish you all the luck on L&D and I cant wait to hear all about the birth of your baby!!!

char473 You look great!!!
_________

Not much has been going on here. DH, Parker, and I all went to my parents' lake place for the weekend of the 4th. We basically relaxed, watched movies, read books, and ate a lot of junk food. Unfortunately, for me, I cant go swimming for another month because of my c-section. Parker was sooo good the whole time we were there. She rarely cried and everyone was holding her. She just loves being held! Before we left to go there, I told DH to bring the whole bag of diapers well, DH went like, "No we dont need THAT many diapers" Well, we ended up having 4 left and the nearest town was about an hour away! My mom and sister went out and got more.Now, there is a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic and it may head this way, I told DH if it does I am buying all of the newborn swaddlers at Publix! It's funny because I have never been a mother before and I know what to do. Almost like it comes naturally as soon as the baby is born. It's weird!

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

Good Morning Girls,

If there were any truth to the "nesting" instinct then I most certainly should have gone into labor last night. Secretly I'm glad I didn't though.

I told myself in the morning that I would be productive, but man I never predicted I would spend 8 consecutive hours cleaning and scrubbing. I even used a toothbrush in corners. I cleaned on top of the ceiling fans. I washed the windows. It was insane!!! I thought for sure it meant I was going to find myself in L/D by morning, but alas I am now off to my 39 week appointment.

I'm hoping he does an internal and can give me some more insight. Last time he told me "I was on a need to know basis and that there was nothing to know at the moment."

Hope you are all feeling well. The weather here is calling for rain and temps in the high 60s low 70s for the rest of the week. It's like a gift for the pregnant women in the area. Take Care girls!

[heatherlynne]

Thank you all very much for the warm wishes and congrats. I am so thrilled that she is finally here. I am feeling very good-better each day, and I am happy to report that sleeping on my stomach is so wonderful!!! :D For the crap labor I had, delivery was a dream. Couldn't ask for anything more.

After I last posted, I decided to take a nap. I had one contraction where I felt a stab in my left side, then pain going through my right hip and down my leg. I screamed and panted through it and then closed my eyes again. The next contraction came, a second or so later, there was a pop, and then woosh! I called to Mark to bring towels, but thankfully my yoga pants were super absorbers! Trust me, there was a TON of fluid. I got into the shower while Mark tried to call the midwife. I knew that once my water broke the contractions would be stronger, but I could barely stand them as it was, so I tried to hurry. The midwife's service wasn't picking up, so we just tried to get out of the house. My mom beat us to the hospital because I couldn't get my clothes on for the contractions, so she took care of having the midwife paged by the staff.

On to the hospital. I knew I couldn't do a drug-free delivery with the pain in my back and hips, so I asked them to please let me have an epidural. They checked me and I was at 4cm and they did my blood draws and started my IV so I could have the epi. The pain was so bad, and thanfully I asked if I could labor in the shower because Mark was rubbing my back so hard that I knew he'd give out soon. They brought me a stool covered with towels and I sat on it while Mark aimed the hottest water on my back. I was able to put another towel on the handicap bar and lean my head on it and try to drift throught the contractions. I felt like I was having my legs ripped off my body. I did manage to labor fairly quietly for about 1-2 hours in there.

When the nurse said that I could have my epi, I was just starting a contraction, but I tried to get out of the shower and back in to bed asap because I didn't think I would last through too many without my precious shower. The dr came in and began preparing me for the epi. I was just about delusional at that point and could barely move. I knew it might take a while for the process, but I was praying for something fast and easy-my prayers were answered. I was a prime candidate and it only took a few minutes. I started to have one contraction about the time that Mark decided to fink out on me and headed to the hall to keep from passing out. I made it through and everything was smooth after the next few contractions. :D At that point, I was in heaven-7cm dilated. I managed to get my hair brushed and my makeup on and visited with my mom, sister, and Mark for a while. The nurse came in and said my midwife would be in at 4:10. She checked me and said the baby was in the birth canal and I was 100%! They turned me on my back and I got ready to push.

When the first contraction came, I pushed too much with my face b/c I couldn't feel it, but she managed to crown and I could feel her hair. They brought out a big mirror and stood it at the bottom of the bed. Trying to keep my eyes open during the contraction helped with my push, but then my contractions slowed down and we were sitting there wondering if there was a problem with the machines. Had some laughs about what time she might actually be born and waited for the next one... It was amazing to watch and during my 5th contraction, I managed to push out her little head. They turned her, pulled out her shoulder, and said to reach down and pull her up. Mark announced the name he chose, and the phone calls started. I pulled her onto a pile of blankets and they wiped her off and pushed up up close to my face while they did the chord blood and delivered the placenta. I did have two tiny tears that they stitched up for me, but I think they said I only have 3 stitches or something like that.

The nurse took Sarah to a warmer right next to me and did her apgar tests and took her weight and such, bundled her and brought her back to feed. She took to the breast like a champ and I was very happy. Because of the shift switch in staff, I stayed in that room for a bit longer, but Sarah stayed with me and they didn't take her to the nursery for almost 3 hours!

During that time, Mark's parents and my sister's husband (James) arrived to visit. Mark went to the nursery with Sarah when the time came, and I moved to my new room. Amber and James brought me Longhorn for dinner, and my aunt, uncle, and Mark's friend Dave came for visits. After that, we were on our own.

Everyone came to visit on Monday because of the holiday, so there was a steady stream of people all day and into the night. Sarah was so sweet and in a really good mood and not fussy at all.

Her breastfeeding has continued to improve and now she latches on with the first try usually, but she seems gassy to me, and is fussy at night. On our second night, the nurse took her to the nursery because she was pretty bad, but we did manage to get some rest last night and she is nursing now. I have an appointment in an hour with my chiro to see what went wrong with my hip, so I will post pictures very soon, but they're not all up yet...

[adoredh]

Heather I'm so excited for you, Mark and Sarah! I'm glad that they were able to get the epi in quickly for you, I know the wait for it must have seemed long, but it sounds like after you got the epi, everything went smoothly from there!

I'm so thrilled and I can't wait to see your first family pictures!

Congratulations Momma!

Hugs,

Alisha

[myshel]

dizylizy: Congrats on Harrison! What a super name!

Heather: What an amazing story! I'm sorry things were so painful but it was totally worth it. I can't wait to meet Sarah.

Jodie: I totally feel you on the nesting thing. I've been carrying around furniture, laundry baskets, and cleaning like it's nobody's business. Maybe things will be soon?

Teba: Yay for contractions. Boo for the fact they aren't regular. I have noticed, too, that the babe has been very active lately. I read somewhere that some women mistake contractions for baby activity. Maybe that's the deal because I've been getting it too.

Well, not much to report here. DH keeps asking me if I'm having the baby today (except he's asked every day since July 1). Every morning, he leaves for work, giving me a kiss, and then says to my stomach, "Luka, can we please meet you today?" I'm starting to think this kid is stubborn.

We walked for a while last night and while it did induce some contractions, once I got home and relaxed for an hour, they quit. I have tried almost every old wives' tale way of inducing but nothing has really worked well for me. Spicy foods don't work because we eat like that all of the time (DH is Hispanic). Walking helps but things fade quickly. DTD hasn't really worked either. Argh! I have a 39 week appointment tomorrow. I guess we'll see what's up then.

[Tray85]

klo - thanks for posting your birth story. You had me in tears!

heather - wonderful birth story. Glad Sarah is doing well bfing.

QOTD - Baby is really active lately. Its almost comical how much she's boogeying in there!

[MareS]

Hey Gang! I'm so far behind!

Nanner ~ Samuel is so cute! Congrats again!

Katie ~ You look great and they could be my feet in that pic!

Heather ~ Congratulations on the birth of Sarah! I loved your birth story too! Can't wait to see pictures!

KLo ~ Matthew is so sweet! Thanks for sharing your story, you made me cry!

Samike ~ I was b1tching about staying awake to watch the race and you went to it??!! :eek: Brave girl! (By the way, I didn't even make it to half way!)

Liz ~ Congrats and Welcome Baby Harrison!

activity ~ Little Bugger seems kinda quiet today. Then again, he's been shaking his booty when I'm trying to sleep too, so it might just be too early for him!

37wk,5d: Not too much going on here. I have to go to the doc this afternoon for another NST and the usual stuff. Tomorrow is my last day at work, WOOHOO!! Didn't think it was gonna be this bad, but I definitely should have stopped last Friday! This Friday I go to the hospital for another growth scan and my pre-admission tests. Tuesday is showtime! I'm filled with mixed emotions about it too. It's a cross between excitement and totally overwhelmed!

Happy Wednesday! :D

[MareS]

I have a question about the loss of the mucous plugs. I never lost it last time so I really don't know, sorry if this is gross. Does it happen when you're going to the bathroom or does it just happen? Currently, I only wear a pantyliner, should I be using something a little thicker? Thanks!

[December27JJB]

MareS

Mine never made it to my underwear, I only found it on toilet paper when I wiped. It looks like snot, sorry TMI, mine was brown. I dont know if people have found it on their underwear so I guess it wouldnt hurt to wear thin pantyliners. Hope that helps?

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

I had my 39 week appointment today. All is well, but there is no sign of a baby's arrival on the immediate horizon. My doctor told me to schedule my appointment for next week with his collegue because he will be away at a conference all week!!!

EXCUSE ME?

Did he forget the fact that I am due next week? Now granted the baby could come this week. Perhaps that baby will come the following week. Regardless I am shocked to find that he didn't call and ask me if it would be OK if he were to leave the state for a 7 day hiatus when I am expected to deliver smack dab in the middle of it. Would it have beem so hard for him to speak to the people in charge of this nation-wide conference and kindly request that it be rescheduled for August? With today's technology had it not even crossed his mind to set up a satellite and give his lecture and presentation via live internet feeds between contractions? After 9 very intimate months together I deserve at least that.

I feel like I've been stood up for the prom. :)

[lil_nance]

Heathlynne CONGRATULATIONS! I'm so glad Sarah didn't keep you waiting any longer. Thanks for posting your birth story.

dizylizy Congrats! Welcome Harrison!

KLo Thanks for posting your story, I had DH read it. I like to hear these real life non-TV stories.
---------------------
I just got back from my appt. I'm 37 1/2 wks, measuring closer to 36. Nothing is going on. The spotting stopped and I am not dialated at all :(. I'm kind of glad since my parents don't arrive until 7/19. I'd like them to be here before kiddo arrives. Dr. said that when I do start contracting, I may have a heavy show based on my previous spotting experience. Nice that she warned me. Also, if things don't change, they will induce. They won't let me go more than a week past my 7/23 due date. :rolleyes:

[Tray85]

Jodi Sorry your doc is leaving town. :( Hopefully if you have to deliver w/ the other doc he/she is super nice.

lil nance Sorry you aren't dialated at all. Its good the doc warned you what to expect though.

Had another OB appt. today. I am 1 cm dialated. Doc "agitated" my cervix. Holy hell did that hurt! She said she hoped I got some spotting from it and I certainly did. I'm almost worried that its too much spotting. Now I'm pretty crampy. Blech. She said she didn't think I'd go soon and that I'd be in there for my next week's appt. I'm half glad and half not if that makes any sense.

[NYN]

WELCOME HARRISON!!! :D

tracie: why in god's name did your doctor "agitate" your cervix? i have never heard of that before. i wonder why she wanted you to spot. did she say to call if you start cramping? (sorry for all the questions).

lil_nance: you sound like i did last week and now this week things seem to be moving along so have patience. ;)

jodi: that SUCKS!!! but your post had me LMAO. :)

Mare: congrats on your last day of work. i never thought i would be this "into" not working but man, i'm loving it.

myshel:
I read somewhere that some women mistake contractions for baby activity. Maybe that's the deal because I've been getting it too.
i read that too and after you said it i started to pay more attention. i'm pretty sure i'm feeling more movement than contractions though b/c when i feel the contractions that aren't painful (if you know what i'm talking about) it's more of a "tight" feeling where the baby seems to be trying to come out my side. who knows. i am probably totally wrong.
DH keeps asking me if I'm having the baby today (except he's asked every day since July 1).
HAHA, that sounds like my DH.

heather: great birth story. after all that you went through, i'm glad that it went so well for you. can't wait to see pictures of beautiful miss sarah!

December:
It's funny because I have never been a mother before and I know what to do. Almost like it comes naturally as soon as the baby is born.
thank god you said this b/c i have been getting so nervous lately. like how will i know what to do??? this is very reassuring.

char: you look great but i was going to say "wow, she is small for 38 weeks," LOL. are you an L&D nurse? that's so convenient.

-----
i am still here. i have been having very mild contractions - nothing like this weekend and yesterday - and have just been going about doing my things. it is crazy that you can have a contraction while in the super market and all you have to do is stop for 30 seconds or so and wait for it to go away. ;) i am looking forward to cleaning the bedroom floor tomorrow so that the delivery guys will just be able to set up the crib for me. i know i keep talking about this crib but i'm really looking forward to getting it. :D

[maggieb]

Welcome to the world, Harrison! Great name!

Had my 38 wk appt today. I am 3cm dilated, but still high and only a little effaced. I had several contraction before I got out of bed this morning and thought that the time had come, but as soon as I got out of bed, they stopped. That's a good thing...I'm not ready. My mom just got here last night and I'd like a few days with her before #2 arrives. And, I'm savoring my time with Helena as my first baby right now.

Tray85: With DD#1, dr 'agitated' my cervix too at my 39 wk appt and I had DD the next morning!

[kakirk]

Bah...I'm still here too! :mad:

Yesterday's cerclage removal was successful in that the stitch is out, however it failed to put me into labor! ;)

As of now, we wait for the next eight days to see if I'll spontaneously go into labor. If not, I'm scheduled for an induction/c-section (my choice) on July 15.

One way or another, these monkeys are arriving by the 15th!!

Katie

[jp'swife]

Hello again!
I am just beaming here reading about what is going on with everyone!! I really can't believe our babies are here or are on their way here!

heather-what a great story! you are a champ! I can't wait to see pictures of the beautiful Sarah!

dizylizy-Congrats on Harrison! Great name! can't wait to see him too!

----------------
Can't say too much about baby Alex right now. Super active but more like stretching and pressure. DH and I keep asking him politely if he could come out sooner than later because we really want to meet him.
I had my weekly doctor's appointment this morning. I tested positive for the Group B Strep. Son of a.... oh well. I guess I can't do anything about that. All the doc said was that they will give me some antibiotics in my IV. No biggie. He wasn't worried whatsoever so I guess I won't be either. Not diggin' that I tested positive for the last damn test taken for the pregnancy though. Ugh!
:mad:

[heatherlynne]

Finally some pictures of Sarah! Thank you all for the support. I hope all of your deliveries are quick and easy!!

Just after delivery...
http://images.snapfish.com/34438%3C2%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2337%3D833%3D627%3 DXROQDF%3E2323947%3B%3A96%3B3ot1lsi

The next day...
http://images.snapfish.com/34438%3C2%3B23232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2337%3D833%3D627%3 DXROQDF%3E2323947%3C58685ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/34438%3C2%3B23232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2337%3D833%3D627%3 DXROQDF%3E2323947%3C44743ot1lsi

[char473]

Heather: She is beautiful!! What an angel:) So glad everything went well. Like I said earlier, I haven't posted much, but have pretty much kept up with you ladies regularly. I'm so happy for you.

NewYork: No such luck on being small, this little gal has popped out big time in three weeks! I am a respiratory therapist and I work in the NICU, and go to all high risk deliveries, and all c-sections. So I know the L&D gals quite well:) They have promised to treat me like a "super-star!" ;)

JPswife: Don't worry about the + test. They will treat you, and Alex will be fine. I go to deliveries all the time with + mommies, and the babies are beautiful and healthy!

Basically 1 more day till the induction. I keep walking like crazy, trying to get her to come earlier, and on her own, but she seems to have my DD's stubborn streak already.

[Tray85]

Newyork - Doc said she was trying to stimulate contractions. She didn't mention cramping - but I do feel like I have bad menstrual cramps. I "think" I've had a couple of contrax tonight, but as you were discussing w/ Myshel - I find it hard to tell the difference between the baby stretching like crazy and a contraction.

maggieb - WOW! Uh oh - tomorrow could be an interesting day for me then!!!

heatherlynn - What cute fuzz hair! I love her going home outfit too. :P

If anyone needs to kill some time waiting for their munchkin - here are pics of the nursery:
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAM2zlm5aOWbFfg

[SAMIKE32700]

heatherlynne~ What a cutie!!

Good news for me. I have scheduled my c-section for July 22nd!! :D :D He was still very much breeched and he's weighing in at a whopping 7.8 pounds already!! :eek: :eek: I am going to work til next Friday and then have the wek off before the baby. That is if he doesn't come any earlier. I was hoping for the 15th but Dr said no. They like to do the C-sections in the 39th week if possible. But if I go into labor before just make sure to tell the on-call doc that he's a breeched baby.

Yeah only 16 more days. Almost 15 now. :)

[maggieb]

Tray85: I forgot to mention that