March Moms 2006 - It's Raining Babies!

[MarchMoms2006]

Baby Count: 41
Boys: 25
Girls: 16
Proud Mamas: 37

Mamas Still Expecting: 2
Buns Still Bakin': 2

To join, please submit a post to this thread with the following information (in RED):

CC Name
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
Married: Date
TTC: Date (optional)
BFP: Date (optional)
EDD: Date

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

First trimester thread is here. (http://constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=1732&page=1&pp=10)
Second trimester thread is here. (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=6993)

[MarchMoms2006]

akwifeandmomma It's a SURPRISE!!!
I'm: Shanna, 24
DH: Nathan, 35
DS: Noah, 2, July 2, 2003
Married: April 27, 2002
TTC Date: January 2005
M/C: 05/12/05, 11 weeks, natural.
EDD: 03/31/05

ajb524 It's a BOY!!!
Me:Andrea, 24
DH: Jason, 27
Married: 05/24/03
TTC since January 05. Had laparoscopy in May to remove suspected endo. Conceived on first cycle after lap surgery.
EDD: 03/09/06
ADD: 02/10/06
Sean Jason, 5lbs 6oz, 18 3/4 inches long

amychris03 It's a BOY!!!
Me: Amy, 29
DH: Chris, 35
Married: 6/21/03
TTC: 9/03
BFP: 7/13/05
EDD: 3/26/06
ADD: 3/15/06
Sam, 6 lbs 9 oz, 18.5 inches long

aprilshowers It's a SURPRISE!!!
Me: 31
DH: 31
Married: 4/03
TTC: 4/04 (m/c 9/04 & 3/05)
EDD: 3/2/2006
ADD: 2/24/2006
E, 7 lbs 12 oz, 20 inches long

Bernie It's a BOY & a GIRL!!!
Me: Bernie
Age: 31
DH age: 35
Married: 1/03
TTC: 1/04
IVF #1: 6/05
Positive beta: 6/29/05
EDD: 3/8/06 (TWINS!)
ADD: 2/24/06
Amelia Sara, 5 lbs 15 oz, 19 inches long
Maxwell Philip, 5 lbs 8 oz, 19 inches long

brooke It's a SURPRISE!!!
I'm: Brooke, 31
DH: Eamon, 36
Married: August 8, 2003
TTC: June 2005
BFP: June 28, 2005
EDD: March 3, 2006
ADD: February 27, 2006
Declan Glennon, 7 lbs 9 oz, 19.5 inches long

ce_Kathleen It's a BOY!!!
me: Kathleen, 26
DH: Mike, 26
DS: Alexander (born 8/17/04)
TTC: 6/2005
EDD: 3/13/06
ADD: 3/7/06
Nathaniel Robert, 9 lbs 7 oz, 22 inches long

Christy5599 It's a SURPRISE!!!
Me: Amanda (Christy was my mom's name) 27
DH - Matt 30
Married 06-29-02
Off BCP - 01-03
TTC - 08-03
BFP 6-28-05
Due - 3-7-06
ADD: 3-9-06
Patrick Aiden, 8 lbs 8 oz, 19.5 inches long

dec27bride It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Ali/26
DH: Jay/30
Married: 12/27/02
TTC: 12/04
BFP: 6/20
EDD: 3/1/06
ADD: 2/28/06
Arleigh, 8+ lbs, 21 inches long

Elenitsa It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Eleni, 30
DH: Vasilis, 40
Married: 01.31.04
TTC: 06-2005
BFP: 06.26.2005
EDD: 03.10.2006
ADD: 03.08.2006
Melina, 6 lbs 10 oz, 19.5 inches long

ellybella It's a BOY!!!
Me: 30
DH: 31
Married: 9/1/02
TTC: 1/04 winging it until mc 9/04, more focused thereafter
BFP: 7/14/05
EDD: 3/25/06
ADD: 3/23/06
James Eleiott, 7 lbs 11 oz, 20.5 inches long

heidi0622 It's a SURPRISE!!!
Name: Heidi/29
DH: Mike/29
TTC: 03/04
Treatments: 50mg of Clomid this cycle and I had acupuncture for the past 3 months
M/C: 10/04 at 5.5wks
BFP: 7/12/05
EDD: 3/22/06
Guess on the sex: BOY (no clue why!)
ADD: 3/13/06
Benjamin John, 7 lbs 1 oz, 20 inches long

honey_bee It's a SURPRISE!!!
Me: Melissa, 24
DH: George, 31
Married: 8.28.04
TTC: June 2005 (not really trying, just not preventing!)
BFP: July 8, 2005
EDD: March 10
1st DA: July 20
ADD: March 2, 2006
Emily Ellen, 5 lbs 5oz, 18.25 inches long

IUAlum It's a BOY!!!
Me: 28
DH: 28
Married: June 22, 2003
TTC: 4/05
BFP: 7/11, Beta 7/12
EDD: March 14, 2006 (according to yesterday's ultrasound)
ADD: March 12, 2006
Seth Andrew, 6 lbs 15 oz, 20 inches long

Jen71 It's a BOY!!!
Me-Jen age 34
DH-Chris age 38
EDD: March 18, 2006
ADD: February 26, 2006
Ian Michael, 6 lbs 10 oz, 18 inches long

JennW It's a BOY!!!
Me: Jenn, 26 (27 in Aug!)
DH: Paul, 31 (32 in Aug)
Married: 6-14-03
TTC: June 2005
BFP: July 12, 2005
EDD: March 25, 2006
ADD: March 18, 2006
Owen Christopher, 6 lbs 14 oz, 19 inches long

JennZ It's a SURPRISE!!!
Me: Jennifer 35
DH: Kyle 38
Married: 7/08/2000
This will be baby number 3
EDD: March 9, 2006
ADD: February 28, 2006
Graham Sousa, 7 lbs 6 oz, 18.5 inches long

Jordan
Me: Jordan, 27
DH: Matt, 29
Married: 7-24-04
TTC: October 04
BFP: June 23, 2005
EDD: February 26, 2006
ADD: March 7, 2006
Nathan Dominic, 9 lbs 2 oz, 22 inches long

JulifromJersey
Me: Juli 29
DH: Steve 35
Married: 10/7/01
EDD: March 23, 2006
DS: Andrew Patrick born 1/4/04
ADD: February 12, 2006
Joseph Steven, 5 lbs 5 oz, 17 inches long

Junkinmytrunk It's a BOY!!!
ME: Lisa ~ DH: Brian
MARRIED: 11-17-01
TTC: 6-03 (3 m/c's prior to this pregnancy -- thinking VERY sticky thoughts!)
BFP: 7-8-05
EDD: March 21, 2006
ADD: March 7, 2006
Pierson Thomas, 6 lbs 14 oz, 18 inches long

kat It's a BOY & a GIRL!!!
Age: 36
DH age: 40
Married: 9/02
TTC: 12/03
M/C in 10/04 at 5-6 weeks
IVF #1: 6/05
Positive beta: 6/23/05
EDD: 3/2/06
ADD: 2/15/06
Alexander James, 8 lbs, 1 oz, 21.5 inches long
Audrey Caroline, 7 lbs 10 oz, 20 inches long

kdotp It's a SURPRISE!!!
Me: Kari, 27
DH: Nate, 29
Married: 9-6-03
TTC: 2-05 but we were supposed to be on a hiatus until Jan 06
M/C #1: 12/24/04 at 6w2d
M/C #2: 4/22/05 at 8w
BPF: 7/11/05
EDD: March 14
ADD: March 7, 2006
Grant Edward, 8 lbs 11 oz, 22 inches long

Kellymb75
Me: Kelly,30
DH: Kurt, 27
Married: June 2, 2001
DD: Morgan Nicole (April 19, 2003)
TTC: October 2004
BFP: June 23,2005
EDD: February 25, 2006
ADD: March 4, 2006
Benjamin Robert, 9 lbs 5 oz, 20 inches long


klm2klh It's TWO BOYS!!!
Me: Kristin
Married: September 15, 2001
EDD: March 26, 2006
ADD: March 10, 2006
Nicholas, 5 lbs 12 oz
Campbell, 5 lbs 14 oz

Kristine80 It's a GIRL!!!
Me:Kristine, 25
DH: Jeff, 31
Married: 7.5.03
DD~Natalie Grace: 6.9.04
TTC: June 05
EDD: 3.11.06
ADD: 3.12.06
Julia Isabelle, 8 lbs 7oz, 20.5 inches long

Losthoosier It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Candace, 24
DH: Mario, 30
Married: July 3, 2004
TTC: Went Off BCP March 05 to see what happen
BFP: July 16
EDD: March 24
ADD: March 17
Mackenzie Aileen, 9 lbs 10 oz, 18 inches long

Lovin'it It's TWO GIRLS!!!
Me: Emma, 25
DH: Stace, 31
Married: Nov 16, 2001
TTC: April 2005
BFP: June 29, 2005
EDD: Mar 12, 2006
ADD: Feb 15, 2006
Ella, 5 lbs 13 oz
Nina, 5 lbs 9 oz

mom2amelia It's a SURPRISE!!!
Me: Cyndi, 36
DH: Rob, 38
Married: 5.26.02
TTC: March '04
DX: Unexplained 2ndary infertility
BPF: 7/4/05
DD: Amelia Grace 6.11.03
EDD: March 15, 2006
ADD: March 17, 2006
Phoebe Sara, 6 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches long

MrsCantDecide (MCD) It's a SURPRISE!!!
Name: Stefani/28
DH: Shane/31
Married: 5/4/02
TTC: 07/04
BFP: 7/18/05
EDD: 3/25/06
ADD: 3/5/06
Lucas Wayne, 7 lbs 1 oz, 20.5 inches long

nicknack It's a SURPRISE!!!
Name: Nicole
DS: Brooks, 11/18/03
EDD: 3/16/06

phart It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Shannon, 30
DH: Alex, 29
Married: 05.25.02
DS: Aiden, 11.10.03
TTC: Eh, beginning of this year...on and off. 2 chemical pregnancies (unconfirmed by a MW/OB visit)
BFP: 7/11~~light line confirmed by MW/OB urine test and betas
EDD: end of March sometime
ADD: 3.7.06
Maura Rose, 6 lbs 11 oz

red_canuck It's a SURPRISE!!!
Me: Amanda, 25
DH: Rob, 27
Married: June 14, 2003
TTC: August 2003
BFP: July 13, 2005
EDD: March 17, 2006
ADD: March 13, 2006
Logan Simon Patrick, 8 lbs 3 oz

ShannonGH It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Shannon, 28
DH: Burton, 32
Married: 10/19/02
TTC: 6/05
BFP: 7/13/05
EDD: 3/26/06
ADD: 3/23/06
Noa Kayann, 7 lbs 15 oz, 20 inches long

tgal It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Tara, 32
DH: Chris, 31
Married: 9/02
TTC: April 05
BFP: July 3, 2005
EDD: March 6, 2006
ADD: February 16, 2006
Eva Amelia, 5 lbs 10 oz, 19 inches long

Tracie It's a BOY!!!
Me: Tracie, 29
DH: 30
Married: June 29, 2005
TTC: January 2005 (although we took a few months off - we tried for 5 cycles.)
BFP: July 7, 2005
EDD: March 15, 2006
ADD: March 2, 2006
Baby Boy, 6 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long

tray622 It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Tracy, 24
DH: Mike, 27
Married: 6.22.02
DD: Zoey, 10.6.04
TTC: defintely werent...
BFP: 6.18.05
EDD: 2.24.06 LMP / 3.2.06 O date
ADD: 2.11.06
Jocelyn Anne, 7 lbs 10 oz, 20 inches long

trm98 It's a BOY!!!
Me: TL, 30
DH: D, 29
Married: 6-22-02
TTC: April 2005
BFP: June 19, 2005 (Father's Day)
EDD: 3-1-06
ADD: 3-9-06
Kaden Danick, 8 lbs 2 oz, 20.5 inches

tunibell It's a GIRL!!!
Me: Jessika, 31
DH: Peter, 29
Married: 6.12.04
TTC: 5.05
BFP: 7.8.05
EDD: 3.20.06 (based on ovulation)
ADD: 3.4.06
Piper Jolie, 6 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches along

yby1 It's a BOY!!!
Me: Yvette, 31
DH: Christopher, 34
Married: 9/15/2001
TTC: 10/2004
M/C: 3/8/02 @ 14w
M/C: 2/10/05 @ 8w
BFP: 7/3/05
EDD: 3/16/06
ADD: 3/9/06
Mattias Martin, 6 lbs 10 oz

[MarchMoms2006]

March 1-8
tray622 – 2/24-3/2
dec27bride - 3/1
trm98 – 3/1
aprilshowers – 3/2
kat – 3/2
brooke - 3/3
tgal - 3/6
Christy5599 – 3/7
Bernie – 3/8

March 9-16
ajb524 – 3/9
Elenitsa – 3/10
honey_bee – 3/10
Kristine80 - 3/11
lovin'it - 3/12
ce_Kathleen – 3/13
IUAlum - 3/14
kdotp - 3/14
mom2amelia – 3/15
Tracie – 3/15
yby1 – 3/16

March 17-24
red_canuck – 3/17
Jen71 - 3/18
tunibell - 3/20
Junkinmytrunk – 3/21
heidi0622 -3/22
JulifromJersey - 3/23

March 25-31
Losthoosier - 3/24
ellybella - 3/25
MrsCantDecide (MCD) – 3/25
JennW – 3/25
klm2klh - 3/26
ShannonGH – 3/26
amychris03 – 3/26
akwifeandmomma - 3/31
phart - end of March...

[MarchMoms2006]

January
3rd: honey_bee (OB)
4th: MCD (OB/Glucose test and NST/U/S for the arrythmia)
9th: Christy5599 (u/s)
10th: ce_kathleen (u/s)
11th: trm98 (OB)
12th: ce_Kathleen (OB)
13th: heidi0622 (u/s), mom2amelia (u/s)
14th: Elenitsa (MW)
16th: heidi0622 (OB)
17th: mom2amelia (OB)
19th: losthoosier (OB)
20th: ellybella (u/s), kristine80 (OB)
24th: tunibell (MW)
26th: ce_kathleen (OB)
31st: ellybella (OB)

February

March

[MarchMoms2006]

Reserved for baby pics

[MarchMoms2006]

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[MarchMoms2006]

Reserved for baby pics 3

[MarchMoms2006]

Reserved for baby pics 4

[MarchMoms2006]

Reserved for baby pics 5

[MarchMoms2006]

The Third Trimester Thread is open for business!!!

[kat]

Cross-posted with some minor edits from the Twinmama thread:

Yay for the new thread, and happy new year everyone! Hope all is well with everyone!!

As for me.....I think I've finally confirmed that I do indeed have the pelvic joint "separation" that my doctor mentioned a few weeks ago when I explained the pain I've been having. The past few days it's gotten worse, and it's been really difficult to walk (I've been crawling to the bathroom). It takes me about three full minutes to change position because it feels like my pelvis is broken.

I checked out a few websites re: "pubic symphysis separation" and I've experienced just about every symptom on the list....including "may feel great discomfort during fundal height measurements at OB's office due to pressure OB puts on pubic area to take the measurement." So I guess my doctor was right, although there's not much they can do. My mom is bringing a cane to me today, which we hope will help; if not, I'll ask my doctor for a walker.

Other than figuring out what's wrong with me, that's about all that's new. We've made it through a month of bedrest. I think the bedrest has made the joint problem worse, but whatcha gonna do? I think my poor DH is especially happy that we're having twins, because it means I won't be pregnant again and he doesn't have to listen to me whine again :) (we'd always planned on having just two kids).

I've been talking to the kids a lot lately, trying to convince them that it's in their best interest to have a birthday as far away from Christmas & New Years as possible......and yet not on their momma's b-day (which is next week). I don't want to share birthday cake. :D

[tunibell]

I'd like to start off the new year by giving a special shout-out to all our twin mamas, whose exceptional parenting skills and repeated and obeyed demands that their babies stay in their wombs have made us all 2006 Mommies. :D

I went wild last night and indulged in 3.5 carefully measured ounces of sparking wine imbibed over 3 hours and chased frequently with water. Madness! The booze didn't seem to affect Piper in the least - little scamp was as thumpy as ever.

Not too much to report here. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find a comfy position to sleep in, and I'm making DH play fetch-me-this-won't-you? with regularity. Not sure if I've actively experienced any BHs yet - my uterus definitely gets tighter at times (to the point where it feels like I might explode if I were to sneeze deeply), but it stays that way for awhile, not just a few minutes.

Mostly, I'm just anxious to make it to 30 weeks (when my best friend's water broke) and then 32 weeks (when the baby was born). I think I'll be much more relaxed after that, knowing that all turned out well with a preemie I personally know. After that, I think I'll worry more about being an April mom!

Most recent belly shot (28 weeks):
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc07b3127cce96760c1c8d0d00000015108EctG7Fq2Z-

My midwife keeps praising me for my "excellent skin tone" - there's not a mark on me, despite the fact that my belly is so ginormous that strangers are starting to say "So, any day now right?" (Why? Why??? Shut up!!) I've started to be a little vain about the whole thing, which probably means that I will end up striped like a pink zebra by the time all is said and done.

[phart]

kat~~Yee-ouch. That's all I can say.

tuni~~The only place I got stretch marks with Aiden was on my butt/hips (and a couple on my boobs) and that was pretty late in the pregnancy. The cropped up pretty early this time but my belly is still unblemished...I check every day I think! And I don't think your belly is ginormous at all...looks pretty right on:)

Absolutely nothing new here...just the way I like it:)

[Bernie]

Yay! new thread! I can't believe we are finally in the home stretch!

I hope everyone had a nice new year's eve. Mine was very low key (given my semi-confinement to the couch), but still nice. It started snowing late yesterday afternoon, so it was nice to not have to drive around outside.

tuni -- you look fantastic! Hopefully the stretch marks stay far away!!

kat - the pelvic joint separation sounds awful -- I hope the cane helps to make it easier for you to get around. Congratulations on making it through one month of bedrest! I hope those kids are listening to you and staying put for awhile!

[mom2amelia]

Subscribing.

I've been gone for weeks now. My grandmother died on the 16th, which was also my last day of work. Then we were in Florida (funeral etc) until Christmas Eve, and now I'm home trying out this SAHM thing. It's been a crazy few weeks.

I look forward to catching up with everyone this week.

kat OUCH!!! I hope you get some relief with the cane. BTW, my DH really liked the legal writing books you recommended. He got them for Hanukkah, and has already used them several times. He said to tell you "thanks."

tuni you look great!

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy new year. 2006 will definitely be an exciting and eventful year for all of us.

[ShannonGH]

Happy New Year mamas and thanks for the new thread Tuni! You're looking great BTW!

Don't know about you ladies but I could barely keep my eyes open till midnight last night! We toasted at midnight and then quickly left the party after that. I was so ready for bed.

Here's my New Years Eve belly :D (I'll probably delete in a day or two).

*deleted*

[red_canuck]

Happy New Years ladies!!!! It's our babies Birth year! I couldn't be more excited :D Thank you so much to the threadmistress for starting a new thread! The new digs are so clean and fresh.

One of my resolution for this year is to be better at responding in this thread. I read virtually every post, but it feels like I never post!! so that has to stop :p

kat, i am so sorry to hear about your discomfort and pain. But an extra big yey to you keeping those babies inside baking till 2006!!!

tuni that is one pretty looking belly!! I'd be proud of it as well if it was mine!!

shannon, love you shirt!! you look so good!!!

i'm sorry to hear about your grandmother mom2amelia :( welcome back!


as for me, not much to report, which like phart is quite alright with me! I'm feeling achy and my hips don't like to work when I first stand up sometimes, but other than that....there just one thing - my boobs have gotton onboard the pregnancy train and are now leaking colostrum. I'm trying to make breast pads looks sexy ;)

I've been having to take my time unpacking from our move, so the nursery is still full of boxes for the office. this coming week I am determined to gete it all sorted out since our furniture will be here in about 3 weeks!! I cna't wait to get the nursery set up :D

Here's my Christmas picture from last week
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/red_canuck/baby%20related/28w2d.jpg

[tgal]

Mom: I am so sorry to hear about your grandmother.

Kat: I hope the cane helps. Sorry to hear that you have one more issue to deal with.

Great belly shots ladies!

red: I was going to ask anyone if they were leaking, so thanks for mentioning this. I noticed this a couple weeks ago.

Tuni: Hmmmm, looking at that picture, I'm thinking you have every right to be a little vain ;) !

[ajb524]

Hi Ladies!! Happy new year. It's been a while since I've posted. I've been enjoying my week off of work :D.

We had a very nice Christmas. I kept thinking about how it will be next year with a little one :).

Tomorrow is my last day off before going back so I'm going to spend it relaxing.

I did take a belly pic Thursday at 30w. I feel like I'm smaller now than at 28w. Go figure :p

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/285/285792/folders/219688/177453429w5d.JPG
30w
and then 28w
http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/285/285792/folders/219688/176377628w-2.JPG

[MrsCantDecide]

Ahhhh.... a brank spankin' new thread! Thanks so much to our dear threadmistress!

Nothing new here to report either. I've been feeling relatively normal still! Just bigger! Here's my belly shot from last night... 28w!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y68/stef842/28wside.jpg

Appt coming up: 1/4: OB/Glucose test and NST/U/S for the arrythmia

Have a great start to your year, girls!! We're having BABIES this year!!

[brooke]

Happy New Year All! Thanks for starting the new thread Tunibell!

Exciting to think we'll all be parents in the next few months...got a bit misty last night as DH and I welcomed 2006...

Great belly shots all! Everyone looks wonderful.

mom2amelia So sorry to hear about your loss..
kat Happy almost birthday...hoping the little ones are listening to you and DH... :D
red Good luck with the unpacking...no leaking here yet, though did think about picking up some nursing pads just in case. Which ones are you using?

No stretch marks yet..but I'm sure they'll arrive. I lost a bunch of weight in my early 20s and learned that my skin is predisposed...bring them on! ;)

OB appt. on Friday went well. They are a bit concerned with my small weight gain, which I don't understand myself at all. With the exception of the first 3 months, I've had no relapse of m/s - a few times I've been sick b/c of heartburn/acid reflux...but not enough to affect my weight. First time I'd ever been brought to tears getting on a scale (for number not going up).

Nonetheless, even though the baby measured ahead on my past 2 u/s and my uterus is on target...she did order a sonogram to estimate fetal weight, which is scheduled for Tuesday. A bit concerned, but looking forward to seeing baby again and hoping he/she is growing big and strong...

First shower is Jan 15th! A bit of a relief as we haven't bought much of anything yet... Nesting instinct has kicked in BIG time past few weekends... We moved all the furniture in our bedroom (we're in a 1br, baby will share br), cleaned all the closets, polished the silver, completed our wedding scrapbook and selected pics for album (almost 3 years later :rolleyes: ), washed all the crystal, dropped donated clothes at goodwill, sigh....feel like there is still so much more to do....

Hopefully everyone has one more day off to enjoy on Monday!

[kristine80]

Hello ladies, Happy New Year! Haven't been in here in a while, it's nice to see a new thread for our 3rd Tri! :) Things have been going ok with me.... still lots of lower back pain, and problems with my sciatic nerve, yuck! It had actually been pretty good the last few weeks until the last 3 days or so, when I have been walking it will just shoot down my right leg and I almost fall over! Yes, such a graceful pg woman I am! :p Mostly when I am at work too with lots of people around... Go figure... Loving all these belly shots ladies, made me decide I should take some more... Didn't realize the last time I took them was at 22w, and boy what a difference! Here are my 30w1d shots...
http://images.snapfish.com/34593%3A%3B%3A6%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D3236%3E992%3E6%3A%3 B%3EWSNRCG%3D3233434%3A5793%3Bnu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/34593%3A%3B%3A6%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D3236%3E992%3E6%3A%3 B%3EWSNRCG%3D3233434%3A59%3A46nu0mrj
Yes, gotta love the stretch marks! Those are mostly from my first pg with Natalie... Tuni, I didn't have any stretch marks with Nat until the last 2 weeks, I was hoping I would be in the clear, but she was 10 days late and it seemed like I didn't get them till I hit my due date.. Hopefully you will escape without them! And ditto on the people commenting on how big I am! I work for an airline checking people in for flights and such and I can't tell you how many people just before Christmas said "Oh, are you having a Christmas baby?" Um, no lady, if I'm lucky it might be St. Pat's baby though! Why do people have to open their mouth before they think?? :p

Phart~ Can I get your opinion on my belly?? The first u/s (at 16wks thanks to DH's cousin in Cali) which looked much like a girl was still pretty early, but my reg. one (at 20wks) was pretty much inconclusive. Many co-workers still think it looks like a boy and DH and I are kinda thinking the same thing... I know you are pretty good at guessing the sex by belly pics so I was wondering if I could get your professional opinion?! :p TIA!

Well, its getting late for me (I have to wake up at 4am for work!) but I wanted to stop by the new thread and say HI! I too, am glad we all made it to 2006! Here's to a wonderful year of beautiful beginings!

[ShannonGH]

I am LOVING all of these belly shots!!!

[red_canuck]

Good morning ladies!! I'm still so excited that it's 2006. good times this year, good times :D I'm excited to beging going to the midwives every 2 weeks. I start this thursday. I feel I'll be able to get to know them all that much better by seeing them more frequently. Although, I know it's silly, but I sometimes still feel like an imposter when i'm there. Like I'm not really pregnant and I'm just waiting for someone to find out! You'd think by 29 weeks I woul dhave gotten over that, but I guess 2 years of TTC will leave it's mark on you.

I am having another u/s in 2 weeks to check baby's weigth and position. I can't wait to see the baby again! I'm dying to know the sex, but hubby is being stubborn :p.

Thanks for all the lovely belly shot comments!!

I am so glad to know I'm not the only one tgal! All my books say it's normal, but it still took me by surprise!

I don't think you look smaller ajb, just leaning forward a bit. You're glowing!

stef you look fabulous!! I think you're got a boy belly on your hands :D

Thanks brooke. Luckily I had some disposible pads on hand, but it felt so wasteful to be using those everyday, so I went out and bought some reusable ones from a local baby store. I really like them, they have fleece inside and are uber comfy! I'll see if I can find the packaging for the name. Isn't it funny to be hoping for a weight gain at the scale? I always have a little laugh at myself when I'm relieved I've *gained* weight! You'll have to tell us all about your shower!

kristine, I am by no means the expert shannon is on this, but your belly instantly said "baby girl" to me. Gorgeous belly :D

[julifromjersey]

kat- Sorry to read about your pelvic problems. I can totally understand what you posted about having the birthday be as far crom Christmas and New Years as poosible. My stepdaughter (who lives with us) was born on Dec 29 and DS's b-day is January 4. I just plan on never having money or a free weekend for a month or so around the holidays.

tunibell- I'm having a hard time getting comfy to sleep too. It just started last week. Have you found anything that really helps?

mom2Amelia- Sorry to hear about your grandmother.

Gorgeous belly shots (tunibell, ShannonGH, Red_Canuck, ajb524, MrsCantDecide & Kristine80). I really need to take one...

Brooke- Don't let the small weight gain make you worry. When I was pregnant with DS I actually lost 20 pounds over the course of the pregnancy because I had GD and was eating much better. DS was 6.5 lbs at birth and now, a few days before his second birthday, he's 40 pounds!

On Thursday I have my level II ultrasound ( a little late, insurance problems!) and also an OB appointment. I can't wait for the ultrasound.

The belly bean is so darned active, I'm beginning to feel like a punching bag! At my last appointment he was still breech and he's kicking downward at my cervix. A couple of times it's hurt so badly that I literally cried.

[tunibell]

Just wondering if I am working for the only organization (a school, sadly enough) that did not realize that today is a national holiday (observed)? I am sooooo bitter. Not one other school in the area is open today. And no one is admitting that a mistake was made, which is just fueling my ire.

tunibell- I'm having a hard time getting comfy to sleep too. It just started last week. Have you found anything that really helps?
1/2 tab of Unisom usually works wonders for me. Unfortunately nothing helped last night - I had insomnia plus heartburn, restless legs, and a hiccupping fetus to contend with. Am exhausted.

[amychris03]

Thanks for the new thread Tuni!

kat
Sorry to hear about all the pain you are in! You are almost done!! Hang
in there!

momtoamelia
Sorry to hear about your grandma:( Glad to have you back though!

Brooke
I'm kinda glad that my weight seems to have leveled off a bit too. I
was scared with the holidays and what not, but so far so good!

So this isn't a QOTD type question, just an "Amy's Stupid" kinda question.
How does the dr know if the baby is in the right position if they haven't
done an ultrasound weekly? Is this something they can tell by feeling
around? My dr hasn't really told me, all I know was that Sam was in
the right position way back at 19 weeks, and I dont get another
ultrasound to check until 37 weeks! I am getting the horrible rib pain and
most of his kicks seem to be further up, so does that mean he is in
the right position???

Nothing much going on here these days... Just waiting for my darned
furniture to come in so I can start the organization!!! We pretty much
have everything we need (the essentials anyway), just no where to
put it all!!

[Christy5599]

Hi Amy,

While I'm no expert... my doc felt around last week (30 weeks) before listening for the HB. Though I didn't ask and she didn't say, it seemed as though she knew exactly where to position the doppler based on her feeling around because the HB was there immediately. I think once we get big enough they can just feel around and tell what is what. HTH! :D

[kristine80]

Amy~ That's not a stupid question at all, if I hadn't know because of my daughter I would have no clue! I think it was around 34 or 36 weeks when my dr started checking Natalie's position, and yes, they can do it just by feeling your belly, it's kinda a lot of pressure but they know what parts they are looking for! Natalie was laying sideways (horizontally) and I had no clue, luckily she turned herself into the correct position about a week before they were going to have to do an external version!

Thanks Red for your guess! I am hearing mostly "boys" from girls at work, but some girl guesses too and I'm just curious since we wanted to know but aren't really positive! :p Thanks :D

[phart]

Amy~~Yep, they can tell without u/s. My midwife felt either side of my belly and said "your baby is sideways". At this point I guess she couldn't tell which hard part was the head because she put the doppler on one side and no HB so she went to the other and it was right there. This kid is a nut and is constantly changing positions, thankfully. He big brother was breech from 20 weeks on and I'm fairly certain he never ventured into another position based on the movement I'm getting from this baby.

Kristine~~I'm not getting a "definite" vibe from you but my first thought was boy. Post pics every couple of weeks and I'll let you know if I change my mind:)

[lovin'it]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/emmabarrus/DSC02988.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v504/emmabarrus/DSC02989.jpg

Threadmistress...my husband is now 31.

[phart]

lovin'it~~Whoo-doggy! That's a big, baby belly:)

Completely OT here but I want to share some undergarment love. A while ago (pre-pg) I bought some Body By Victoria undies. I also have some cheap, cotton Hanes or somethingerother. The Hanes currently do not fit my butt* but the VS undies have fit just wonderfully this whole pregnancy. Must be the lycra:) So I went and picked up a few more because they're on sale but still aren't cheap but now I have a week's worth so I can pitch those crappy Hanes.

*I don't buy maternity undies.

[lovin'it]

lovin'it~~Whoo-doggy! That's a big, baby belly:)

I loooove that kind of a comment! :D I love feeling so big...although it can be painful sometimes...

Thank you.... :)

[ShannonGH]

For all of you ROs (ie. experts ;) ), I have a question. Was your "bringing home baby" outfit the same one you used for when the hospital took your DS/DD's picture? When does the hosptial usually take baby's pic? the day you leave?

[IUAlum]

Happy New Year everybody! I can't believe it's the year of the babies!

We FINALLY ordered our nursery furniture today- was I the last one? I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders! The glider probably won't be here in time, but I think we'll manage! ;)

Great bellies Tuni, Shannon, AJB, kristine, MCD, and especially that lovely twin belly lovin' it! Everyone looks great and you've inspired me to post these:

These are from 12/14 (so 27 weeks)
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df23b3127cce961bf53e445200000006108CZtmzVw5cE

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df23b3127cce961bf513c54f00000026108CZtmzVw5cE

And this one is from a couple days ago (29.5), not as great of a belly shot, but a nice one of my pup.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df23b3127cce961bf5f5c5a900000016108CZtmzVw5cE

Like Shannon, I'll probably delete these soon, I don't know why but I have issues with my belly hanging out all over the internet! :)

Bernie and Kat, you take care of those babies and hope the bedrest is going as well as can be expected. Kat, so sorry to hear about the pelvis pain. It sounds awful. ((HUGS))

Mom2Amelia, I am so sorry about your grandma. :(

amychris- Thanks for asking your stupid question- I've been wondering myself!

I haven't had any leakage yet, I'm pretty thankful for that! More to look forward to!

phart- I've been all about my Old Navy Maternity underwear for a looong time now. It's really darn comfy and cheap! (And not too old-lady like, though yeah, they're bigger than my normal undies by a lot!!)

QOTD: Have you picked your pediatrician yet? How many are you "interviewing"?

[heidi0622]

Woo Hoo...our 3rd trimester thread! Thanks Tuni for a beautiful new thread!

kat: so sorry about the horrible pelvic pain. I hope the cane or walker will help! Yay for your peanuts making it into 2006. I will continue to send you the STAY PUT vibes!!!

tuni: beautiful belly! Yay for no stretch marks, I've been religious about checking as well!

phart: glad to hear all is status quo for now...I agree, that is a very good thing :) I've just been wearing my regular VS cotton undies and so far they have been alright. I am curious if I'll be able to get away without having to buy maternity undies.

Bernie: a low-key New Years is a good thing. Hope you're surviving the semi-bedrest alright.

Shannon: beautiful belly shot! Where did you get that top? So cute!

Red: pretty, pretty belly! No boob leakage here yet, but I think you're totally normal.

mom2amelia: sorry to hear about your grandma. Hope the adjustment to SAHM goes alright.

ajb: cute belly!! I've been off this past week as well. It will be an adjustment going back tomorrow...knowing the next 3 months will fly though is helping me get through :)

mcd: you have a great belly as well...I definitely see some poppage from before! So exciting to think this is the year we are having our little babies!!!

kristine: glad to see you back here. Beautiful belly! My guess would be girl...I'm no huge expert though, so take from it what you will.

JulifromJersey: yay for an active baby. Sorry about the pain when it is kicking, but my m/w always tells me an active baby is a healthy one.

amy: I don't know exactly how OBs or m/ws know what position the baby is in, but I'm pretty sure they're able to tell pretty well from just feeling.

lovin' it: Wow, holy BABY belly batman! You look phenomenal, so I hope you know I mean that in the best way. Grow babies grow!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Not much to report here...as Phart said, that is the just fine with me right now, especially after last Friday's scare. I've been doing my kick counts the past few days...baby has been cooperative and given me 25 or so when I am looking for a minimum of 5...that makes me feel better!

Our New Years was good. We just went to another friends house for dinner, instead of having people at our place. I was pooped the next day though as we were up until 2:30am!

Went to the fabric store today and picked out my curtain and crib skirt fabric. We bought a cute rug for the baby's room last week, which caused us to change our paint colors for the room. DH has to repaint one wall that we have already painted in the room...oops. In any case, it is nice to have all the pieces picked out, now we just need to get the room painted, then set things up, fun, fun!

[ShannonGH]

Shannon: beautiful belly shot! Where did you get that top? So cute!


Thanks! I actually got it at Target for $12 in the non-maternity section. It's an XXL! I think it's called a seamless undershirt, or something along those lines. They had a lot of cute colors/styles and they were all really long, which we all know is great for maternity wear!

IUAlum great belly shots! I love your pup!!! My dog is too nervous/neurotic to lounge on the couch with me ...although I still love her.:)

Lovin'it, great twin belly!!!

[kristine80]

Shannon~ We didn't change Natalie into an outfit for her hospital pic... I guess I had just forgotten ;) So she was just wearing the white onesie the hosp had her in and they had a cute little pink hat we put her in for the pics and got to keep. They took her pic on the second day, and we didn't go home until day 3... Depends on how long your doc wants you to stay though, 2 of my friends recently had babies and both only stayed 1 night after having the baby. My doc wanted us to stay 2 nights, no specific reason everything was fine with me and Nat, just wanted us to be able to rest as long as possible with nurses around and such I guess.
Heidi~ Thanks for the guess on the belly! It's neat to know what everyone thinks, and they all have their different reasons for thinking it! How I am carrying, what I have been craving, how different this pregnancy has been, etc... I'm glad everything is going good with you, nice for baby to be cooperative with the movements, they are always so fun to feel too! :)

[ce_Kathleen]

ShannonGH - we didn't have DS's pic taken in the hospital. They wanted to charge WAY too much for us and we had taken enough pics of our own.

Not too much to report here. I flew all the way here to Reno and now I may not even get to do the work I am supposed to! There are really bad storms that came through here and the roads I need to travel to get from my hotel to the plant (which is 45 min away) are all closed! I am going to see what the news says tomorrow and hope that I can get to the plant otherwise what a waste of my time.

Sorry I haven't done new SO's in our new thread but I need to get to bed! My flight left at 5:45am EST so I have been up way too long for me!

[kat]

Drive-by to answer the QOTD (pediatricians): we didn't actually interview anyone (I figured if we end up hating them, we can always change later). However, I looked at the list my hospital gave me re: pediatricians admitted to that hospital and cross-checked it against the (long) list of referrals we had from our friends with kids.

There were three groups that were on the list and recommended by people we knew. I nixed one immediately because I didn't like the location (not convenient to home or anywhere, really) and because that office was recommended by someone I work with (and I'm not crazy about that person).

So it was down to two offices, and honestly we made the decision based on two things: the location of the office (small factor) and the "feel" we got from the two practices' websites (big factor). I reviewed the websites first and made my decision, but before discussing it with DH I wanted him to review them himself and see if he reached the same conclusion.....and he did. By the way, the office we "rejected" was the office of the very famous pediatrician, Marc Weissbluth (who wrote one of the leading sleep habits books out there). We just got the feeling (just from the website) that (a) his ego is the size of Manhattan, and the tone of his advice a bit patroniizing and (b) the other doctors in his practice don't matter (there's virtually nothing about them on the website; instead it's all about how great and famous Weisbluth is). :rolleyes: I've worked with far too many hugely successful men with hugely annoying egos in my day.....and so has my husband.....and frankly we just didn't want to deal with it.

Now I hope no one who lives in the Chicago area has chosen the Weissbluth practice!! I'll have to eat my foot.......although we *do* have very good friends who see another doctor in that practice and are very happy. :o

[phart]

I loooove that kind of a comment!"

Oh good! I figured you'd take it as a good thing coming from another pg lady:)

Was your "bringing home baby" outfit the same one you used for when the hospital took your DS/DD's picture? When does the hosptial usually take baby's pic? the day you leave?

Yes. They came by a few times and we were always busy nursing or sleeping. They finally took his picture the last day and he was sleeping, they woke him up and it's an awful picture (just doesn't look like him as a newborn) so we didn't order any. And the lady annoyed me.

qotd~peds~~We didn't interview any, actually. Slackers. We used the hospital ped while there and then took the ped rec of our favorite night nurse. One office happened to be close to us so we went with them and still see them. I think the most important thing to look for is someone supportive of BFing if that's what works for you. Next would be someone who will offer you medical advice and not parenting advice.

[mom2amelia]

QOTD -we interviewed the one ped that most of our friends recommended. We went with his practice and are still there. There is one other ped in the area that I wish I'd met with, but we're happy with our current practice, and we can always switch later.

we didn't have DS's pic taken in the hospital. They wanted to charge WAY too much for us and we had taken enough pics of our own.


Ditto!

Just got back from the OB. Everything is fine. I'm up 25lbs total. I'm fine with that. I go back on Jan 13 (yeah, Friday the 13th) for an ultrasound and then on Jan 17 for my two week visit. I'll be having NSTs and ultrasounds regularly because of the GD. I also see my endocrinologist every other week, so my calendar is getting full of doctor's appointments. Unfortunately, my DH is out of town again this week, and leaves for a month starting the 15th, so he'll miss the rest of my appointments. I think he's made it to 2 so far. Last pregnancy I don't think he MISSED 2 appointments. He's missing our Bradley Class refresher too. What can you do?

Thank you to everyone for your symapthies about my grandmother. It's a devestating loss to our family, but she died without pain or suffering, and for that we are all grateful.

[JennW]

New thread!!! YAY! Just subscribing.:) Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I cannot believe we’re all in the third trimester! I saw those posts that said “saved for baby pics” and I couldn’t believe it! Our babies will be here so soon!

Great bellies everyone! I have yet to take belly pics this entire pregnancy. Should do that soon I suppose.:)

Reminder: Kegels:)

[tgal]

Wow, look at all those beautiful bellies! Everyone looks great!

Red: Knocking on wood, but I am hoping this is a good sign that we won't have BF'ing problems.

IU: Nope you aren't the last one. I spent 3 hours looking at nursery decorating books at the bookstore over the weekend and still no luck on my end trying to find a crib that is within our budget that I like!

Heidi: Are you making your curtains and crib skirt?

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


Not much happening here either. I met with the dietitian yesterday, which went well. I also looked for more nursery furniture and fabric over the weekend. I found fabric and am waiting for it to go on sale, but still am pressed to make a decision on a crib. How long can I keep the baby in the bassinet? Has anyone bought their crib from JCPenny?

[trm98]

Bernie and Kat- Still thinking about y'all a lot being on bedrest. Hang in there! It isn't too much longer!!!

Junk- If you are still reading along, I just wanted to say that we are still thinking about you. I hope that your holidays were happier than you expceted! Take care of yourself!

Kat- So sorry to hear about the pubic seperation. OUCH! It makes my complaints look so minor! I hope that the cane does the trick for you!

tuni- THank you so much for a new thread!!

mom- My sympathies on your loss.

Red-I have a very similar top as you have on in your pic! When do you start back school (or are you taking this semester off)? Would you mind posting the Birth Buddy list again. I have been so far behind and never contacted my buddy. I think it is heidi. If not, I will go back and find it in the old thread!

brooke- You will be having a shower soon! How exciting!!

amy- As everyone else has said, they can tell by feeling. When I went to my appt. last week, I asked about my 2nd u/s results. The dr. said that the placenta was fine now and everything looked good. He said that the only thing was that the little guy was breachat the time of the u/s, but that he had turned because "he is head down today". He also knew right where to put the doppler. It was the first time that the HB was in a different spot.

heidi- GLad to hear that your little bebé is so active. I am sure that it puts you at ease!

IUAlum- Love your dog. He wants to steal your thunder!

tuni, shannon, red, lovin'it, ajb, mcd, kristine, and IUAlum- LOVE the belly shots! It inspires me to post my latest.

30 weeks
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5cc03b3127cce963d7a5e0e5200000005108AaNHLVu4cNk

I have definitely gotten bigger over the past two weeks. When I went for my appt. right after Christmas, I had only gained 1 lb. over the two weeks. But, I think that I have put on quite a bit more since. I will see next Wed., Jan. 11, at my next OB appt.

DH and I were busy over the past week moving things around to make room for the little guy. We thought that we would have been in the new house by the time the babu came, but that is not the case. So, we aren't really doing much of a nursery (no decorating). He will have his own room, but it is the guest room as well.

As for comments about the belly, I have noticed that everyone is different. Some people comment on how big I look, while others tell me I look so small. I have learned to let them not bother me.

I have still been having issues with the ribs and sternum nerve. It is really bad at times. This shooting pain sucks! I have also been graced with the presence of pregnancy iduced carpal tunnel in my right hand. I keep telling myself only two more months!

I can't believe that I am in the single digits for the countdown! It isn't long now ladies!!!!

[tray622]

All the bellies are so cute!!

trm98 Yikes! Carpal tunnel stinks. At least you have the right mindset... only 2 months left ;)

tgal I know most people are able to use the bassinet for the first 4-6 months or so. For us, we were so prepared for it but Zoey hated it! We ended up cosleeping for the first few months. I bet you would do fine not getting a crib right away. Good luck!

mom2amelia I was just telling DH how weird it has been that he has been to so few appts unlike last time. Either he needs to work or he watches Zoey. It feels weird sometimes :)

Anyone else having major battles with insomnia? It is horrible. I cant sleep all night but could nap all day. Unfortunately, I have a one year old and that doesnt work too well :rolleyes: Otherwise, things are fine here. So far I have NST/us 2x a week and a doctors appt 1x a week. It keeps me busy but I am starting to feel they are unnecessary. Things are staying very stable this pregnancy.

[JennW]

I cant sleep all night but could nap all day.
tray - I agree 100% I could have written this about myself! I dread the sleepless nights and tired days! I almost fell asleep in the car this morning!

[yby1]

Look at everyone's bellies! How gorgeous! Y'all look gorgeous :D
I'll have to take a 30w picture of my triplets - my belly and large breasts. I wear a DD cup right now and they are only going to get bigger *sigh*:o :(

sleep - I wake up every two hours now. It's like my body is preparing itself for the baby already. It's hard to get comfortable. I either have to get up to use the bathroom, or I feel too hot or too cold, the baby starts moving and I feel like I need to flip over....ugh, it's just hard to sleep through the night.

pediatrician - I have a couple of peds recommended to me that work through our hospital. I need to meet with them if I can.

from the old thread:

yby1 Love the name! Do you mind me asking how you are going to pronounce it? I am not sure if the accent is on the first or second syllable?

Thanks! It's pronounced muh-tee-us. :)

[Elenitsa]

Hi girls! I love all those belly shots too! Just checking in to the new thread. Looks great Tuni! You girls a moving faster than ever.

QOTD- I'm going to set up a consult with the ped my midwife highly recommends. If I like her, my search is over.

We haven't bought a stitch of baby stuff. We actually went out looking at strollers and car seats and all sorts of stuff over the holidays, but didn't start a registry yet. We are definately holding off on crib and furniture for while. Figure the munchkin will be in a pack n play or co-sleeper for a while. I think that should be okay for a few months.

Insomnia is hitting pretty hard.

No leakage here.

Next M/W appointment is 1/14 - I'm officially on 2 wk appointments. Had my last one on 12/31. Only up 13 lbs so far. I started off over my ideal weight, by a lot so I want to keep it to a minimum. I also got my first belly measurement, I am measuring at 26 cm.

I am so tired today. It rough being back after the new year. I wish I could unplug and go into zombie mode -- anyone else?

[yby1]

I am so tired today. It rough being back after the new year. I wish I could unplug and go into zombie mode -- anyone else?

Full blown zombie here! lol! I was planning on working up to my due date, but now I think I'm going to start leave the month before I'm due. I have a feeling that my last month is going to be hard and that getting up at 6am to get ready for the long commute to work will be nearly impossible...and if my brain feels fried now, I can imagine how I will be next month.

[jen71]

Tracy- ditto on the insomnia! It is so frustrating. I have called in to work once because I was so tired & mad from being up all night. I have a problem with restless legs too, so that drives me nuts! My daughter is 17 months, so yes, it is hard to nap, plus you sit there & think about all you have to do around the house when they go down for a nap!

Sunday night I was so tired, ended up with a nosebleed that lasted almost an hour, could not fall asleep until almost 1:30, then when my alarm went off at 5, turned to shut it off, & got one of those horrible leg cramps!! GRRR!!!

No results on my 3 hr test yet today, I expect a call today or tomorrow. I am going to ask them about going on light duty at work too.

[ajb524]

Pediatricians- I've gotten several recommendations from friends that have recently had babies. I plan on checking them out soon.

Insomnia- I've got it too! It seems like I wake up around 3:30 or 4:00 (to go to the bathroom) and after that I can't go back to sleep. It's torture! Last night I took 1/2 of a tylenol PM and that helped me sleep, but didn't make me feel groggy this morning. Also helped ease my back pain.

We start our childbirth classes Saturday. We go this saturday and then again next Saturday and we're done. I also want to take a breastfeeding class (my hospital only offers one a month :mad: and I can't go this month. HOping next month will work out better. If I don't end up making it to that one I may try to go to a la leche leauge meeting since they are weekly and fit into my schedule a little better.

Anyone else having odd dreams?? I dreamed I had an u/s and they saw 3 kittens and the baby. They said not to worry that the kittens were just his pets ;), but I was totally concerned about carrying kittens. Then I dreamed that I was living at home with my parents again. It was so weird because I was married and pregnant, but DH was coming to visit me just like he did when we first started dating.

[kat]

My mother is here taking care of me this week (because DH has business visitors to entertain & train all week), so I don't have as much CC time as I'd like, but here's the drive-by re: the QOTD re: insomnia: I wouldn't call it "insomnia" in my case, because I wouldn't have any trouble falling asleep if it weren't for physical pain.....but I'm as big as a 40-week singleton mom so trying to find a comfy position is really hard (especially when the "bottom" baby doesn't like being on the bottom -- unlike a singleton, s/he can't move "up" in the belly because there's another baby taking up that space). So it takes me a while to find a position that's comfy for all three of us :D.

Then I wake up every 2 hours (almost on the dot), needing to roll over because my joints (usually my bottom hip) needs to move. Rolling over is really painful with the pelvic separation, so I usually wake up "all the way." And then I spend another 15-20 minutes trying to find a comfy position on the "other" side. And so on, and so on. So it's not really insomnia, but I am definitely not sleeping well. I just chuck it up to being good practice for when they're born and I'm sleeping in small chunks!

Thankfully, though, unlike most of you I'm not working out of the house any more, so I try to take a short nap later in the day to make up for it. I am amazed at how you're able to function at work if you're not sleeping well, night after night -- I'm a total wuss in that department.

[JennW]

Sounds like we are all having difficulty sleeping! This is the pits! I need a good long nap (like 2 days;))

kat – How nice that your mom is there. Enjoy that time.:)

ajb – Your dream about the kittens made me LOL. That was great.:D

[tray622]

Jen71 Your dd is 17 months? Mine is almost 15 months and it iss nice to see I am not the only one crazy enough to do 2 so close in age :)

[ShannonGH]

Thankfully, I haven't had much trouble sleeping lately...am I the only lucky one? There were a few weeks awhile ago where I'd wake up at 4:00ish and not be able to go back to bed but that was also around the time that I was sick so I attributed it to that. Lately, I still wake up a few times through the night to turn over but I'm ususally able to go back to sleep. Now that I say that, I'll probably jinx myself! I'm the crazy one too though that can usually make it through the night without having to go to the bathroom! Don't know how that's possible!

Andrea, your dream was hilarious!!! Thanks for the laugh!

[tgal]

Shannon: I am right there with ya!

I did have a 4am wake up this morning and I finally got bored at 5am. I don't want to jinx myself either, but I do get annoyed when the only reason why I wake up only has to due with having to use the bathroom. Even that only happens a couple times a week. Usually, I hold out until 6am. I know this goes back to my obsession with gender, but I am wondering other than the twin mamas (as I can totally understand the insomnia for you ladies) whether or not others having girls are making it through the night. Another thing that all my other friends warned me about (all of whom have had boys), gosh I hope I don't jinx myself with this either, are leg/calf cramps. Not getting those either. I do have the issue of my little girl laying low most of the time, which makes it feel like she is going to drop out.

Also, did someone mention snoring? DH told me the other day that he has left the room twice in the past month because I have been snoring so loud. This is all new, I've never snored before :D , at least to the best of my knowledge!

[ShannonGH]

gosh I hope I don't jinx myself with this either, are leg/calf cramps. Not getting those either

ditto! Haven't gotten a one!

but I don't think I've been snoring either though :)

[tunibell]

QOTD - Lately I can't even get a good night's sleep after taking 1/2 Unisom. Might have to try some Tylenol PM. I too can nap like a champ, but sleeping at night is a whole different story - back pain, restless legs, etc. Also, if I so much as attempt to roll even partially on my stomach, Piper starts thumping her objection.

I was planning on working up to my due date, but now I think I'm going to start leave the month before I'm due.
I totally hear this. I'm uncomfortable sitting at my desk now; I can't imagine how I'll feel in 10 weeks.

Andrea - I would be totally psyched to give birth to kittens. Since I already have two boys (ages 2 and 4) I think this would be the only way my DH would let me have another one. :p

[JennW]

Oh those leg cramps are the worst! I’ve only had them twice but have woken up screaming both times. They scare the heck out of you when they wake you up.

Tylenol pm? Unisom? We can take these? Oh there may be a light at the end of the tunnel after all.!!!:)

elenitsa – I am definitely a zombie these days. Nothing more, nothing less.;)

Tuni – Same here. One attempt to go partially on my stomach sends the man thumping away at the mattress. And yes, I am uncomfortable now. I can’t imagine how bad work is going to get!

[Bernie]

QOTD re: insomnia and other complaints - Glad to hear I'm not the only one who has been having problems at night. I seem to have no problem falling asleep, but find myself waking frequently because I am either in pain (rib or back pain) or because I have to use the bathroom. With all of my pillows and aches and pains, turning over seems to take forever, and usually prompts one of the babies to kick in protest. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that their current nocturnal habits do not carry over outside the womb!).
I really have no right to complain since I'm not going into work anymore - but it is amazing how even just doing a little bit of work now tires me out. I was on conference calls for about 2 hours this morning, and now I am completely exhausted.

I love all of the belly shots ladies! I haven't taken any in a couple of weeks, but I'll try to get some on here this week. As of last week's appointment, I had gained 43 pounds! My belly button has also offically popped!

QOTD re: peds -- My Ob gave me a few recommendations, as have a few friends in the area. There is one practice that is really close to my house. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I like them as much as my friends do because it would be super-convenient to use them.

tgal - My DH also told me that I've been snoring a lot lately. I think it has a lot to do with my constant nasal congestion (which my OB said is all horomone related). I just hope it goes away after the babes come out!

Kat - glad to hear that your mom is there to take care of you. Did she bring the cane for you? How is that working out?

ajb - Your dream is hysterical - although I'm not sure what it means. I have been having bizarre dreams throughout the entire pregnancy. A couple of months ago - I had a dream that I gave birth to puppies - not sure what that one meant either.

jen71 - hope you get good news about the 3 hour gtt!

trm - sorry to hear about the carpal tunnel!

[MrsCantDecide]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one lagging on the baby's furniture! I haven't bought or picked out A THING! I tried looking at cribs again this weekend... I feel like a defective parent-to-be! I can't pick anything out! My poor baby is going to be sleeping in a dresser full that's full of my clothes if I don't make a decision soon! ;)

As for sleeping through the night... no problems here yet. But I'm also one of the late Marchers... I discovered over Christmas break, that I can sleep for 10 hours straight if I allow myself to! :o

No boob leakage yet for me either, but there's still time. :p

And I haven't really even thought about peds... I'll ask my OB eventually for a recommendation.

[phart]

I haven't slept through the night in months. I'm usually up two times to go to the bathroom. Same thing while pg with Aiden.

No real leg cramps...I usually catch them quickly.

Never had any boob leakage while pg. Hell, rarely had any boob leakage while nursing and when it did happen it was because Aiden slept all night and my boobs were full! I consider myself lucky that I never had to wear pads yet had a very successful nursing relationship. So, those that aren't leaking don't fret:-)

I'm nesting today and Aiden is being terribly cooperative.

[dec27bride]

Hi girls-Haven't posted in a while, but I have been faithfully reading along! Things here are going well, for the most part. Like most of you, I am having lots of trouble sleeping, which is making for one cranky pregnant lady. I almost had to kill DH yesterday, when he told me how tired he was about 17 times. Hello, growing a whole other person here!! ;) I called to make the rest of my appts today, can't believe we're getting to that point! A friend of mine had her baby on Christmas, she wasn't due until the last week in February, but so far things are going okay. She was just under 4 lbs, and has to stay in the hospital for a while, but otherwise it's looking good!

phart-Thanks for the panty rec's, and I do believe that VS's Semi Annual Sale begins today, so I just may have to check that out!
tuni-Thanks for the new thread, it's beautiful!
ajb524-Oh my gosh, your kitten dream made me LOL, that is hilarious!

qotd-Peds-Don't know yet, will get some rec's from OB soon.

Loving all the belly shots! I have to remember to take some one day before I get right into my pj's after getting home! :p

Talk to you all later!

[klm2klh]

Just a quick hello to all! I can't believe we have made it to the 3rd trimester!

We got back from our "ski" vacation this afternoon. Of course for me it was more of a "sit on the couch" vacation. I did manage to get out for a few walks in the fresh air. It was really nice, but I really don't feel as rested as I hoped to. Like many of you I am having trouble staying asleep. My MIL did get me a body pillow for Christmas (I finally got it today) and I look forward to trying it out.

I have to go back to work tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it at all, but I also have a doctor's appointment tomorrow which I am looking forward to. And on Monday we finally get to have another ultrasound - it has been almost 10 weeks since we have seen our boys and I am very impatient!

I still have a lot of reading to do to catch up on the last few days! But here are my 28 week belly shots:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df22b3127cce960f6d56ddf700000016108BbMmTJm4c8

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df22b3127cce960f6d7adddb00000016108BbMmTJm4c8

[jen71]

Yes, 3 am & here I am! I wish most nights I could fall asleep! I would rather fall asleep at least & wake up at 3 or 4, then lay there till then & then fall asleep for just a few hours. At least DD is sleeping until 7:30-8 now.

I got a call that my 3 hr test was ok. Yeah!

Kat- I cannot imagine what you are going thru! I have a bad hip from a back injury that is giving me trouble, & is so bothersome, but nothing like you! Sounds like you are keeping your spirits up about the whole thing though.

Tracy- Yes, she will be 198 months now in January. Actually, crazy or not, this was not planned. Cassidy is adopted, we TTC for 2 years, were lucky enough to adopt this beautiful, wonderful baby girl. Then right around her 1st b-day, I guess I got pg. Who knew? We are still in shock about it, still don't get it, but, here we are. I cannot even tell you what we went thru, the thoughts we had! But, I am freaking out about having 2!! I really am. I quit my nurse practitioner job, & went back to bedside nursing to decrease to 2 days/week at work. But, at times I think, "um, maybe I should just work, I will go batty." How about you?

[kdotp]

We're back from our trip! It was fun, but a lot of walking for someone who's 30 weeks pg! Rang in the new year in Trafalgar square with about 500,000 other people and then attempted to watch the fireworks over the Thames. I was kind of sad we didn't drink anything at all to celebrate, but it was definitely a new year's to remember.

Had my glucose test before we left. I haven't heard anything and they said no news is good news, so I guess that's good! I'm up 35 lbs :eek: and measure right at 29-30 weeks.

I need to take 30w belly shots, was too tired to do them last night.

And today, I'm officially 27!. I don't think we'll do anything as we just spent a boatload on our trip, but maybe we'll go somewhere for dinner tonight. The only reason I'm going into work today (we didn't get back until 11 last night) is because I get cake! :)

[JennW]

Happy birthday kdotp!!!:D:D:)

[JennZ]

Good Morning everyone!

Tracy and Jen, Mine are also very close- 14 months, and we did plan it that way (well, we planned to start trying when our first was 5 months old)
TTC #1 for a year, and lo and behold, #2 only took 1 month! And of course, then #3 took another year!
But I just wanted to say that even though it is a LOT of work, my DD and DS are having so much fun together! They just turned 3 and 2, and they just adore each other! The early months were a little complicated with BF and dividing my time between the two, but just so worth it! Since DD was so young when DS was born, we never had any jealousy issues or any problems with bringing in a new baby. I sure hope that holds true for bringing home #3! (I have a feeling they might not be so accommodating this time around!) :)
DH and I are already thinking we need to have #4 as soon as we can so the younger two will have a chance against the older two!
I think siblings are such a gift!

Have a great day everyone!
I get to see my OB today! Yippee!! :D

[JennW]

Wow JennZ – You sound like Wonder Woman to me with all those young kids.:) But I have to agree that siblings are a blessing. I would love to grow up with brothers and sisters all that close to my age. Your kids are lucky!:) Siblings are such special relationships!:D

[ShannonGH]

Well, I think I did jinx myself a little yesterday by saying that I wasn't having much trouble sleeping.:rolleyes: I woke up at 3:30 and took about an hour to get back to sleep. Dh is out of town all week so I think I sleep much lighter when he's gone.

I finally take my glucose test tomorrow. I think I may be the last one of the group.

Here's a pic of what I've been doing in my spare time lately. I know I probably won't have much time to do this kind of stuff after DD arrives so I'm trying to squeeze it in now. One is for my neice (who is due 3 wks after DD), one is for my co-worker's baby (also due in April) and the Cute as Daddy one is for my DD.:D I've also made our DD one with her name on it but I can't post it since that would ruin the surprise!
http://images.snapfish.com/34595%3B%3B43%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D3236%3E237%3E8%3C8%3E WSNRCG%3D323343%3B%3A7452%3Anu0mrj

Happy birthday kdotp!!!! Your trip sounds awesome!

klm2klh, I can't believe there are 2 babies in there! :eek: You look great!

[tgal]

Happy Birthday Kdotp

Shannon: Those are too cute! Now you have to share how you made them! I know how to crossstitch, but how did you get the letters straight on the onesie?

I really like personal things like that. A friend of mine makes burp clothes and gives them to people. They are very simple, basically just a nice cloth diaper and she sews satin or silk ribbon down the sides to make them look pretty!

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

We had our first birthing class with our doula last night. She went over a pain threshold scale with us, to see how I thought I would deal with the pain verses how dh thought I would deal with the pain. It was a fun little exercise and we talked about it more after she left, having quite a few laughs of course. It is really hard trying to predict how you are going to feel about so many unknowns. Other than that, some other topics came up as discussed here, she said that eating before going to the hospital is alright, just to remember I may see it again later. I am really looking forward to our next class in two weeks.

[ShannonGH]

Thanks! I use a piece of waste canvas cut to size to cross-stitch straight lines. I just masking tape it on the onesie, do my cross-stitching, and then to remove the waste canvas you just have to dampen it with a wet washcloth and pull out the "threads" with tweezers. Then I iron fusible webbing (I *think* that's what it's called) on the back to make sure the stitching stays put. This is what the package of waste canvas looks like, but be careful because it does come in different size grids.
http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=waste+canvas/v=2/SID=w/l=IVI/SIG=131ng0oji/EXP=1136477172/*-http%3A//www.purplekittyyarns.com/ProductImages/mfgs/charlescraft/waste14ct.jpg
And this is what the actual canvas looks like:
http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=waste+canvas/v=2/SID=w/l=IVI/SIG=124bs1acv/EXP=1136477219/*-http%3A//www.cameoroze.com/101/too_wastecanvas.jpg

I won't take the credit for knowing how to do this. I learned it all on the cross-stitching thread on the WC way back when. They do make for very cute gifts and of course, everyone is always so impressed that it was homemade. :) It gives me something to do on Sundays when Dh is watching countless hours of football. At least I feel like I'm being productive while lying on the couch.

ETA: Hmmm, for some reason my images aren't showing up. Maybe you can just paste the link into your browser.

[kristine80]

Happy Birthday Kari Dairy On The Prairie!!! :D Hope you have a wonderful day... I am feeling ya on the cake! Sad as is sounds, that would make me want to go to work, I have such a sweet tooth! :p Your trip sounds like fun, I'm sure you and Nate had a great time... Can't wait to see some belly pics! :)

Jen and Tracy~Our DD is 18 months old, so these girls will be less than 2 yrs apart.. We also planned it that way, I'm kinda surprised though at peoples comments about them being close in age! :confused: You can tell they obviously don't agree with their tone of voice when thay say "Wow, that's close"! SIL has 2 girls that are 13 months apart! They were not planned that way, but now that the youngest is about 20 months it's a little eaiser for SIL and they get along really well and are good friends.

[trm98]

ajb524- That kitten dream is hilarious!

dec27bride- That is scary about your friend. She was due very close to me and you. Glad that she and baby are doing well.

klm2klh- I am amazed that you have two little guys in there. You really do look AMAZING!

jen71-Sorry that you couldn't sleep. Hopefully tonight will go better.

kdotp- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! You are a trooper for going to work after just getting back!

JennZ- I am the youngest of four, and we are all VERY, VERY close (relationship wise). My brothers (the two oldest) are 18 months apart. Then there is almost 4 years. My mom then had my sister and I (15 months apart). I LOVED growing uo with so many siblings. Like you said, they are truly a blessing! I have nephews that are 13 months and 1 day apart! Not planned, but they get along so great!

Shannon-Those are too cute! I really like the "Cute as Daddy" one. Nice job!

tgal- That class sounds interesting. I will have to think about what I eat before going to the hospital now!;)


I slept the best that I have in weeks on Monday night (actually through the night!!!). I sat here yesterday reading about y'alls problems and felt blessed. But, last night was a different story. Still not bad, but frustrating. I woke up quite often for no apparent reason. I was able to get right back to sleep though. So, I can't really complain too much!

With all the heartburn I am having lately this little guy better have a buttload of hair!;)

[tunibell]

kdotp - Happy birthday! Your stats are exactly the same as mine - measuring 29-30 weeks and up 35 lbs. I'm now just a couple of pounds shy of what my DH weighs! :eek:

Shannon Love the onesies! What a great gift!

Here's something crazy - the Feb thread has two babies already (both singletons)! We're really getting close now!!

[ShannonGH]

Here's something crazy - the Feb thread has two babies already (both singletons)! We're really getting close now!!


Oooooo, I'm so excited for our time to come!!!!:D :D

[julifromjersey]

Hey everyone--and happy birthday kdotp! Today's my DS's second birthday too!

Things seem to be getting tougher for me and I'm wondering if I'm going to make it to the two-weeks-before-my-due-date scheduled c-section. I seem to be having a lot of BH contractions and baby boy is still breech and kicking downwards. It hurts so bad!

Did someone mention leg cramps?!? OHMYGOODNESS! I woke up with leg cramps three times last night. They woke me up from sound sleep. My mom said that her doctor told her to eat a banana before bed to help with those but bananas are the one fruit I hate to eat. Something about the texture... anyway.

Oh, and the heartburn I had in the first trimester is back.

Pediatricians- I love the woman I take DS too but she's a solo practitioner with strange hours so sometimes, when I feel like DS needs urgent care, she's not available. Also, she's kind of out of the way. We're shopping around for a new group practice but I hate letting her go. She's older, Russian and has been a pedi for decades. When she moved to the US she earned her medical degree again, this time from Columbia.

Off topic but worth sharing... She gave me the best remedy for diaper rash and I tell everyone about it. DS had a seriously raw, evil rash. Apparently he pooped right after a diaper change at day care and they let him sit in it for too long. (He is no longer at that day care!) Anyway, she said to mix equal parts of the yellow colored A&D ointment, original desitin and MYLANTA. It doesn't hold together in emulsion for very long because the ointments are very oily, but it cleared up his poor little tushy within an hour. She said the ointments heal the skin and the mylanta relieves the pain because urine is acidic and the mylanta is an antacid...

[amychris03]

Happy Birthday KDOTP!

Pediatricians
No clue what I am going to do... Need to get on this. I have made a
list of ones in the area that my insurance accepts and am going to
ask my landlord about recommendations. We will only be here about
8 months so I dont have to *love* them I guess. As long as I find one
that seems to be supportive of breastfeeding and I feel comfortable with,
I think that will be fine!

[phart]

Happy Birthday KDOTP!!

amy~~Just remember that you and your baby will be seeing that doc a bunch in those 8 months.

[amychris03]

phart
true. Here's our quandry. My neighbor says that they dont even
go to a pediatrician here, they use a family practice, because the
peds in this town are infamous for having long waits. Chris would
prefer to have a Ped vs. a family practice, so basically that leaves
us with one single practice dr to use, or one group practice.
OR, we could go to the pediatrician on base at no charge, but thats
usually long waits as well. I just can't decide what to do. Im going
to talk to the miltary wives around here and see what they think
about the ped on base (which would be totally free, no copays)
and the landlord about the other practices (that would have a
copay). How often do you go for well baby visits anyways?

ETA: Chris is being of no help either, he has no opinion and
is really clueless about the medical world outside of the navy.

[Christy5599]

Hey girls,

Do we have a copy of the buddy list on this thread? All this talk of getting close and I'm putting together my call list/birth plan for the hospital! I'm pretty sure MCD is my buddy but I want to make sure!

Hope all is well.

[brooke]

Here's something crazy - the Feb thread has two babies already (both singletons)! We're really getting close now!!

Yikes!

Quick drive by...all that worry for nothing...baby's size is fine, estimating at ~3.5 lbs...with plenty 'o time to get bigger...and head is down and ready to go... Scary thing is that, given measurements, machine was estimating the delivery date as 2/27...gulp.

[Elenitsa]

Happy Birthday KDOTP!!!

I don't think we had a reminder for this today so .....


do your KEGELS!

[tunibell]

brooke - Glad everything turned out okay. I had meant to tell you that a friend of mine only gained 4 lbs. by week 30, and she delivered a totally normal-weight baby.

[red_canuck]

here's the pairing list!! Sorry it took me so long to get it back up, i'm still getting used to having important things store don the external harddrive. I was drivin gmyself insane looking for it on the laptop before remembering I'd saved it elsewhere. D'oh!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/red_canuck/eddbuddiesdec2.jpg

[jen71]

Well, all you mom's out there with kids so close, in your opinion will this theory work?: We are holding off on getting this baby a crib, because we were thinking maybe we could use Cassidy's. We kept her in a bassinnett for 3 months, so if we can do that with this baby, she will then be 23 months old, & I was thinking we could transition her to a bed. Now, if it works, great, if not, then we go buy a crib, but I hate to go get one & not need it. Any thoughts?

Brooke- glad the appointment went well.

Juli= hope you are doing ok. I had B hicks yesterday from about 3 pm until almost 8pm, about 3 an hour. I have had a few on & off today too. It is starting to bother me/worry me too. Are you drinking enough fluids though? That can make a difference, is what I have been told. Especially with leg cramps too. Thanks for the diaper cream recipe!

I almost called the doctor today to talk about the contractions, & I am concerned about working saturday & tuesday, but my appt is on wednesday. I guess if I go in Saturday & don't do well, I will call in tuesday if I have to. Just, my hip & pelvis hurt, & with the contractions, I just don't feel that working the 12 hrs is worth it. Plus, you never know how busy you will be, can't eat & drink all the time, just seems this far into the game why hurt myself or the baby? I know when I go in he will take me off regular duty, it is just the 2 shifts before that I am worried about. Not even working & I feel lousy.

Happy b-day KDOTP

[ShannonGH]

Doh, I thought according to the old list my buddy was Elenitsa. :confused: I guess I just looked at it wrong.

ETA: Okay, I *wasn't* losing my mind. :) (which wouldn't be out of the question) I went back and checked and this is the chart that was posted in the old thread on 12/2.
*deleted* as to not confuse anyone

Sorry to confuse everyone by posting this. but I just wanted to make sure that the one that red posted above is the final chart...cuz Elenitsa and I have already exchanged info but not that that's a big deal. I can notify her AND honeybee! :)

[Tracie]

Hi Everyone! I've been MIA lately. I've been really busy and I haven't been sleeping well, so I've also been cranky, and not much in the mood to do anything but veg in front of the TV. I haven't had time to read every post in detail, but hopefully I will do that soon!

Had the 3-hr glucose today. It went a lot better than the 1 hr. They let me lay down almost the entire time, I just needed to get up when another patient needed the bed. (Good to know I am far from the only one who needs to lay down for needles.) It wasn't fun, but at least I didn't pass out. Now let's hope I passed!

We start our childbirth class tomorrow!

Threadmistress - Could you update my age to 29, please? I was 28 when I joined but I had a birthday!

[kristine80]

Jen71~ DH and I bought Natalie a toddler bed for Christmas, hoping that would give us enough time to transition her into it and have the crib for the baby, knowing baby would probably be in the bassinet for about 2-3 months as well... We had ordered the bed early, end of Nov., cause it was on sale so we have had it almost a month now, and she has finally accepted it just within the last week. We also moved her into another room though, so I think that had a lot to do with her getting used it. So now she is all set in her new bigger room with her toddler bed and sleeping through the night again, and the nursery is all ready for her little sis! Your DD is 17 months, right?? Natalie will be 19 months on Jan. 9, so she was 18mo. when we first put her in her new bed, so about the same age as your DD depending on when you might get her a bed. The first few weeks we had to lay on the floor next to her bed until she fell asleep, and she would still wake up in the night and not fall back to sleep herself. I think most of that was because of the new room though, not just the bed... When we first got the bed, she was really excited and was loving playing on it which was a good sign! Hopefully this will work out as well for you as it did for us! :)

Tomorrow is my "Spa Day" and I could not be more excited!!!! On my 25th B-Day I cashed in some savings bonds my grandmother had left all her grandkids when she passed away and I decided I would take a little of that and treat myself to a nice relaxing day! I am scheduled for an one hour massage, a body polish and a facial, so about 3 hours of pure bliss! I'm even more relaxed just thinking about it! This pregnancy has been pretty wearing on me, as compared to my last, and my body is just exhausted (already, I know! :rolleyes:) and I'm sure this will help me unwind and rejuvinate!

Threadmistress~ Could you also update my age to 25?? My B-Day was last month, thanks! :)

[tunibell]

While bored at work today, I figured out that at 29w2d, I am X days away from when the following babies in my life were born:

Lola (best friend's baby, born at 31w5d): 17 days
Nicholas (nephew, born at 35 weeks): 34 days
Megan (friend's baby, 37 weeks): 48 days

All of the babies above were born to first-time mothers with no health complications. This got me thinking about how few women in my life have actually delivered past their due dates, as is usually predicted for first-time moms. So, while bored tonight "watching" the Rose Bowl with DH, I decided to do a little investigating.

I looked at 6 months worth of CC Pregnancy & Beyond Groups (July - Dec 05) and compared the actual due dates to the estimated due dates of first-time moms of singletons (117 total). Of these 117 women, 62% delivered before their EDD, 5% on their EDD, and 33% after their EDD.

Anyhow, I found all this interesting, but I'm geeky like that. :) Thought I'd share.

[red_canuck]

shannon, I'm not too sure why honeybee and elentsa got switched for the final version, unless to allow a few extra days between your EDD and your partners. I know I did add HSSweetheart later than everyone else ( i don't think she had made it to the thread during the initial conversations for this) so I could have changed things around that final day. December 2 was the last time I made changes to the pairing. Sorry for any confusion. Pregnancy brain has not been kind to me :p

[red_canuck]

tuni, this - Of these 118 women, 62% delivered before their EDD, 5% on their EDD, and 33% after their EDD. Just helped me make up my mind whether to take classes next semester or not! I had also always heard first time moms go late, but those stats sure do speak for themselves. kinda scary when I have no nursery furniture in the baby's room yet!! Thanks for doing that! One question...Did you happen to calculate the average amount of time between actual birth date and EDD of the early moms? I'd be interested to know *how* early those moms went.

[MarchMoms2006]

Updated to here. :)

[tunibell]

One question...Did you happen to calculate the average amount of time between actual birth date and EDD of the early moms? I'd be interested to know *how* early those moms went.

I did indeed...

Of the 72 moms who delivered before their EDD, the average number of days prior to the EDD was 11 (the range was 1-54, median was 9).

Of the 39 moms who delivered after their EDD, the average number of days after the EDD was 5 (the range was 1-14, median was 5).

[red_canuck]

Holy shitaki mushrooms batman!! Those are some crazy numbers tuni!

[JennW]

Tuni – You are a statistics goddess. I love stuff like that. Thanks for sharing. Nice to put some data to the questions I’ve been wondering about.:)

Reminder: Kegels:)

[tray622]

jen71 We are doing the exact same thing as you!! Our crib is not convertible and we have decided to leave Zoey in it and then look at options a few months down the road. If we have too, we will buy a cheaper version of our crib that is convertible for her or go to a big girl bed. She wil be 15 months this week and sleeps so great in her crib that I think it is too early for us right now to move her. Plus, I dont think I am ready for her to get up without me knowing :)

Be back later to get to everything else, but I must say Tuni you are awesome with all those numbers and they are quite interesting! I have a feeling I will be in the 33% of late arrivals ;)

[phart]

Those numbers are fun. But I'm skeptical, of course. I'd want to know how mnay were scheduled cesareans and inductions (not that these aren't needed in some cases but I've seen stories on here where they weren't...really weren't).

Re: Big beds for toddlers. We put Aiden in his tein bed at 18 months. Wehad originally taken the sideof his crib off but he fell out twice (once we didn't even know until I went to cover him up before we went to bed...there were pillows on the floor) so the second time I put him up in his big bed and he slept all night and had almost no issues. At first he would play on his bed for a while afer he woke up in the morning, then he figured out how to get down and he'd play in his room for a while. Then at almost 2 he figured out how to open the door and would wake us up at 6:30 after usually sleeping until about 8. A few weeks later he wouldn't stay in bed when we put him to sleep. We tried supernanny's silent returns and after at least 30 (one right after the other or him just getting down while we were still in the room) we put him back in his crib and he's been there for a few months. We're just now trying to transition him back to it and it's going alright but not as smooth and easy as the (beginning) of the first time. Not trying to scare anyone at all...just sharing our story.

Apparently I'm Debbie Downer today:rolleyes:

[trm98]

So tired this morning. Thank goodness I am still on holidays. I of course had to stay up for the Rose Bowl. Yeah Texas!! I never thought I would say that seeing how I am an alumn of their rival school Texas A&M. Then I was awoken a few times between 3:30am and 6am by stupid snow plows. We live on about 2 acres of land. Our neighbor lives at the very back of his land (on the water) and our house sits at the front of our land (near the road). The neighbors driveway is literally right outside our bedroom window. One of two things is happening. Either our neighbor drives one of the snow plow/ salt trucks or has a very close friend that does, because from 3:30am - 6am I heard that darn truck scraping, lifting it's plow (sounds like a dumpster being emptied by a trash truck), backing up, and doing it again.:mad:

I slept wonderfully between 6-8:30am however!

brooke- Glad that the appt. went just fine.

red-Thanks for posting that list again. Now I need to contact my buddy!

tuni- That is very insteresting. I wouldn't mind being one to come about 10 days early! But, I just know I will come late. I have had a ton of RL friends have babies recently and only 2 delivered a few days early. 2 were on time (EDD), and 10 were past the EDD. I just know I will be in the coming late category, especially since my parents are flying in from the States. I would prefer to have already had the little guy though and be at home when they come. Sitting around in the hospital all day won't be fun for them.

I went to check out the Feb. mom's thread, and one of the ladies who delivered early was at 32 weeks. Holy crap that is where I am now. CRAZY!!!!!

[ShannonGH]

tuni, nice job! VERY interesting to know!

phart, geesh ya big downer! ;) No, seriously, that is a good point to consider c/s.

red, no problem on the chart. I think I'll go delete the one I posted yesterday as to not confuse anyone.

As for who I'll notify, Elenitsa, since you're already saved on my birth announcement email list, you'll probably still be notified by Dh when the time arrives. Hope that's okay. Now I'll just get in contact with miss Honeybee too. :)

Along the line of statistics, I read a somewhat reassuring one in my book from the American Academy of Pediatrics last night. It said that 8 out of 10 babies born at 30 wks will be born perfectly healthy and won't have any delays of any kind.

Hope everyone has a great day! Wish we could all just go with Kristine on her spa day!!!

[jen71]

Thanks for the advice. We have a twin bed in Cassie's room now that we use to xhange her on & stuff so we thoufght we would get siderails for it. I am just not sure when to try? I was thinking that I don't want to do it right when the baby comes & all, but maybe after he has been home a month or so?

I slept pretty good last night! I was SOOO tired by yesterday afetrnoon. DH wants me to call the doctor today & talk to them about work, & is there something we can do before my appt next week, to get me off the 12 hrs I have left before then. The BH contractions are worrying him!

We still have not signed up for birthing classes. DH thinks we can wing it.:rolleyes: This coming from the guy who left me the 1st night at the hospital when Cassidy was born telling me I could handle it! (course he had to go, with the dog's & all) I called him up at 5 am & woke his a$$ right up! Thank God my mom stayed with me. She screamed all night. He is so clueless.

[JennW]

Hope everyone has a great day! Wish we could all just go with Kristine on her spa day!!!
Isn’t that the truth! That just sounds like heaven to me.:D

[julifromjersey]

Transitioning to Toddler Bed: We put the toddler bed in the room with DH at around 18 months. He still slept in his crib, but the bed was in the room with him. After a week or so, we'd put him on the bed for naps. It was only on weekends because he's at day care during the week. It was kind of a hassle because we were taking the mattress out of the crib and putting it on the toddler bed and then replacing it in the crib at night. After a month or so of naps only in the bed, we put him in the bed to sleep at night too. He only got up and left the bed for the first two nights. On the third night he laid right down and fell asleep. We left the crib in the room for another two weeks and then dismantled it. No problems so far...

I don't have a notification buddy because I'm new but I can get my husband to post a prewritten message when Joey is born.

[MrsCantDecide]

Dang. I just found out I failed my 1 hour glucose test. :( By 1 point. I was at 141. Now I have to take a freakin' half day off work so I can go do the 3 hour next Friday on Friday the 13th!

[ShannonGH]

Dang. I just found out I failed my 1 hour glucose test. :( By 1 point. I was at 141. Now I have to take a freakin' half day off work so I can go do the 3 hour next Friday on Friday the 13th!


Gosh darn it MCD. I'm so sorry. :(

I take mine this afternoon. I'm kinda nervous to get the results.

[JennW]

Sorry MCD. That sucks. Hopefully you’ll pass the three-hour no problem!:)

Good luck at your appt, Shannon!:D

[tgal]

Tuni: Ya know, I've been a lurker in some of the other threads and was thinking myself that so many women went ealier than their due date. Very interesting and thanks for sharing!

MCD: Sorry to hear about your test results. I hear ya on taking off from work. PITA!

Shannon: Good luck on your test this afternoon. Try not to stress though, relax and you will pass with flying colors!


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

Anyone had a headache that won't go away using Tylenol? I am wondering if I should call the doctor. I was thinking it was sinus for the past couple of rainy days as it has happened before, but today is nice and sunny and it hasn't gone away. Just curious!

[phart]

MCD~~I think I failed the 1-hour by 2 points with Aiden. Then only 1/4 numbers was up at my 3-hour and I was just given a diet to follow so it wasn't bad at all. Hopefully you'll pass with flying colors!

tgal~~Have you tried coffee? I had some bad headaches in the earlier weeks and all it took was a cup of coffee.

[heidi0622]

tgal: I agree with Phart's suggestion of a cup of coffee. I'm trying to limit my caffeine intake, but usually a bit of caffeine does the trick (also when I'm really tired too :P )

tuni: interesting stats. I'm still not setting myself up to go early, but it still is interesting nonetheless!

mcd: sorry about failing the 1-hour. good luck at the 3-hour!

trm: sorry about being woken up by the plow...no fun. I'm jealous of you not being at work today though.

kristine: enjoy your spa day! I am jealous!

tracie: glad the 3-hour test wasn't so bad.

shannon: adorable cross-stitching! what a great little hobby!

Pediatricians: Haven't thought about that one yet. There are literally hundreds that are covered by my insurance and located near me, so that is not so much of a worry. My neighbor mentioned a recommendation a while back and my midwife's office said they have some they recommend as well. I'll probably start with the m/w recommendations.

We start our childbirth classes next Tuesday. I'm excited for them!

Question? Not really QOTD, more just random thoughts...For those that are working, is anyone having a REALLY difficult time staying focused at work?! I have been a little off the entire pregnancy, but now that we are in 2006 and we're in the 3rd trimester...it has gotten really bad! Its not that I don't have work to do because I have a million things on my plate, just NO motivation to do them. It also could be because I am not crazy about my job, but ugh...not a lot is getting done these days...I'm surfing around here, updating my registry, baby shopping online, etc...you name it. I need to get my butt in gear or I will end up really screwing the people that are doing some of my work while I'm gone...that is not a good thing because I HAVE to come back to work after the baby is born. If it is like this now, what is it going to be like when I am thinking about my little one at daycare throughout the day?!

[julifromjersey]

I just found out I failed my 1 hour glucose test.

I get my results today. I'm pretty sure I failed it. I had GD with my son. It's really not that bad...

Question re. focus at work:
I am right there with you- though here we're still a little slow from the holidays and just starting to pick up. ? I try to fill my day by reading old files and then I end up surfing the Web, reading and posting to my LJ, yahoo groups, researching baby stuff (like my new cloth diaper obsession) etc etc.

[tunibell]

researching baby stuff (like my new cloth diaper obsession)

juli - I am so with you on this one. I am anxiously awaiting a shipment from Cotton Babies at the moment.

[trm98]

Heidi- I am so procrastinating!!! I was supposed to use this week to finally get caught up with grading all my papers and writing final exams. I have spent the better part of my day online and doing baby stuff this week. I am setting myself up for a fristrating month. I am so glad that I am taking mat leave so early. I don't think that I could really care about work or the students if I worked up until the due date. I'm just suddenly sooooo ready tp meet this little guy!!

MCD- Sorry about the GTT test. Hopefully the 3 hr. will go better.

[IUAlum]

Just got back from the Dr. for my 30 week appointment!
I almost fainted when she said I only gained 2.5 pounds. Not sure how that is possible but I'll take it. Especially since I found my first stretch mark on my BUTT yesterday! But they think I'll gain less than 30 total. Wahoo! My mom says she was the same with me and thenw ith my younger sister she gained like 50. So I guess we'll see.
Everything was normal, hurray. The Dr. said he thinks the baby is breech right now, but there's plenty of time left.

Sleeping: The past 2 nights I've tried something new: 3 pillows under my head, 1 under my tummy, 1 between my legs. So I'm a little propped up and it seems to help. I actually made it the whole night last night without getting up! It's a miracle!

Concentrating at work: Don't get me started. It's awful. I really need to get better at this. My boss is noticing!

Happy belated B-day kdotp!

[JennW]

I just talked to my HR dept. Turns out what I was told about maternity leave was misinformation. So it looks like I am getting more time but less time paid. Who knows. They are so unreliable. I am meeting with them tomorrow and will know more.

work focus: Yes, I agree. This is getting bad. I am getting my work done but am no where near as efficient. I also am having lots more trouble sitting at my desk due to back/neck/leg pain so it doesn’t make working any easier. I have no idea how bad it’s going to get here waiting for baby!!!

[phart]

Yay for cloth diapers!:-)

IUAlum~~I gained about 28 with Aiden. I've almost gained that at 29 weeks:( I started out about 120 with Aiden and about 125 this time (128 at 4 weeks but I'm a compulsive *weigher* and I know what I weighed after my period:)) I'm trying to not be too concerned as it's all in my belly ( and a little in my butt and hips)...when it ends up in my face and arms I'll be annoyed.

[kdotp]

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, ladies! It was a pretty relaxed birthday. DH took me out to eat at a new restaurant and we stuffed ourselves (really the last time he can before he goes on his diet). I considered our trip and some of the things we bought there as my Christmas/birthday present, so I'm not expecting anything else from him. He likes to surprise me, though!

sleeping I'm so tired it's usually not been a problem to fall asleep, but I'll wake up a few times a night because I'm either uncomfortable or have rolled on my back or need to pee. Annoying, but not horrible yet.

ped Haven't found one yet. I *think* our family doc also does Pediatrics which would be nice as both DH and I really like our doc, but I know he might be difficult to get into sometimes. I'll have to ask some of our friends who they see.

work As I told DH, I feel like I have the "next day stupids" (how your brain feels/works after you drank the night before) all the time. I kept getting us lost on our trips because I kept misreading the map and sending us in the wrong direction. Everything just feels like I'm going so slow!

Tuni Those are very interesting results! I don't know how family history plays into things, but I know my sisters and I were on or near our due dates by less than a week; my oldest sister's boy was born right around his due date and my middle sister's girls were both born ON their due dates! DH was born 3 days late, so I'm not thinking I'll go early. But who knows?

[amychris03]

Question for moms- Whats the deal with them wanting to do the
Hepatitis vaccine at birth? I know I don't have to have it done on
Sam, and I highly doubt I will, but why do they push this, as long
as it's done before school age (which is required in my state).
Just curious!

[phart]

Amy~~I have no idea why they want it done so early but my hospital didn't say anything when we told them "no". You just have to sign a waiver on any newborn stuff you don't want done. Why did they put eye *goop* in Aiden's eyes when he was born via c/b? Why do they want to give a vit K shot then do the PKU test that requires them to bleed? Dunno but I don't like any of it:)

[kat]

My understanding (and I fully admit that I could be wrong) is that they do the Hepatitis vaccine that early because they know they have a "captive" parent (otherwise they have to trust you to get it done later, and many parents will forget or blow it off later).

********
Nothing new here.....pelvic pain has been better the last two days (still bad, but not as excrutiating -- I don't scream so much when turning over, for example). Mom is here until tomorrow, and so far she's cleaned two of our bathrooms, mopped the kitchen floor, and vacuumed some of the downstairs rooms. She may clean the third bathroom later today. Also, she's done about five loads of laundry. My DH may actually get to RELAX for a few minutes this weekend!!! Gotta love mom.

Tomorrow is 32 weeks....and I have an u/s and a doctor's appointment. Can't wait to see the estimated weight on these two munchkins. I'm guessing 4.5 and 4 lbs. At 27w4d (4 1/2 weeks ago, when I was in the hospital), they were guesstimating 3 lbs. and 2lbs. 13 oz.

Because it seems to me as if I'm always complaining, let me list the "typical" pregnancy symptoms that I *don't* have:

-swelling
-constipation (though I *am* taking Colace per doctor's orders to go with the iron supplements she prescribed)
-hemorroids
-stretch marks
-leg cramps
-skin discoloration (or any change in skin, really)
-heartburn
-frequent urination

So that's my feel-good list of the day. :D

[phart]

kat~~How on Earth do you not have frequent urination with two babies? This one is killing me and my TP allowance:) I get your reasoning on the vax but then it would make sense for them to offer the others as well, no? And you figure that most people who aren't taking their kids to WCVs aren't having their babies in the hospital anyway (at least the few I know of).

I love how far our twinmamas have made it!

[Elenitsa]

About the Hepatitis vaccine, my M/W actually brought that to our attention, along with a list of the state mandated testing done in NJ. Ladies become informed about what is required in your state.

Hepatitis vaccine is not one of them, but it is recommended sometime in the first year, and our M/W basically said this was a JOKE b/c Hepatitis is tranmitted sexually or through blood (needles, being the primary mode) -- correct me if I am wrong here. Basically, she couldn't see why any infant would need it. Maybe a teenager, but not an infant. Getting it as an infant affords no protection as a teen. It must be repeated later on. This is a pet peeve of mine... can you tell?

Shannon - don't mind being informed of your birth too! But, yes I was also a little confused by the new list. No worries!

Bernie - I'll be catching with you later!

[ellybella]

found out today that i failed my 1 hour glucouse test from wednesday. dr. likes to see the number at 130, mine came in at 142. i have my 3 hour in the morning. fun fun. also had my rhogam shot which hurt more this time than last. after tomorrow my poor arms are going to be pretty bruised.

peds haven't thought about it yet. maybe i'll get a recommendation from a friend or nurse at the hospital.

hep b vax thanks for the info. don't think i'll get it now.

sleep sleeping ok, wake up to roll over since i have to maneuver the body pillow and around the dog.

leg cramps got my first one early this morning. scared dh half to death, "thank god it's only there" (in my calf) were his exact words.

tuni love reading those stats

kdotp happy b-day!

shannon great work on the onsies, they are adorable!

kat good luck at your u/s

[ShannonGH]

Had my ob appt this afternoon. Glucola wasn't so bad except for the fact that I had heartburn at the time I had to chug it down which wasn't too comfortable. I'm having heartburn more and more lately it seems, regardless of what I eat. kat, I can't believe you haven't had problems with this! Between that and the 'roids, I'm starting to feel like a woman in her 3rd trimester.:rolleyes:

Anyhoo, at my appt, my ob said my uterus is measuring big. She said that it's probably because of my big ol' mesenteric cyst that's also in there (in my abdomen, not my uterus ;) ) but if I continue to measure big, she'll want to get me checked out by u/s. I'm trying not to worry....

Weird thing is that a lot of people say I "look small." I guess it's all relative to body size cuz I was a tall/big gal to begin with.

ellybella, I'm sorry for your test results. :( Seems like there are a lot of us who didn't pass and I thought that the overall prevelance wasn't all that high.:confused:

[tray622]

I wanted to drop off my first belly shot I have really taken. I am horrible with this pregnancy :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v637/tray622/DSC01344.jpg

Gotta go but wanted to say that like Phart I found so many things they do at birth odd and we waived most of them. I just ordered a book recommended to me, What your doctor may not tell you about Vaccinations, and the hepatitis one is discussed in there too.

BBL

[tray622]

Is anyone here in human resources or know if disability is payed out before or after taxes? I dont have state disbaility but pay into a personal plan and am trying to figure out what I will make.

[Bernie]

Not much to report here --

Still trying to wrap things up at work from the comfort of my couch. It would be a lot easier if people would actually return my phone calls - but a lot of the partners I work for don't seem all that concerned that there are cases going unattended. Oh well -- I guess as long as I put in a few hours a day, I can hold off on officially being out on leave, which means more paid time after the babies get here.

Next week is a busy week, baby-wise. I have an OB appointment on Monday, the hospital tour on Tuesday, and an u/s on Friday. And all of our nursery furniture should be arriving. :D I'm really looking forward to getting the nursery organized (or at least directing DH as he gets the nursery organized)!

tray - great belly shot!

shannon - sorry about the heartburn. I've been getting it too - but I think I'm still at the point where tums is helping. Have you tried zantac or something stronger?

ellybella - good luck with your 3 hour test!

kat - good luck at the doctor today!

kdotp - happy belated birthday!

speaking of which, I realized that I haven't updated my stats in awhile. Threadmistress, can you change my age to 31 and DH's to 35? thanks!!

Happy Friday everyone - hope you all have a good day and a great weekend!

[tgal]

Thanks for the info on the hep vac. I had no clue. Anyone have a good resource that informs us more of things we can waive in the hospital?

Tray: Very cute belly! I just shot an email to a friend who collected twice, hopefully she will get back with me if no one else can respond to your question.

Ellybella: Sorry about your test results. I hope everything turns out good for you.

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

Thanks for the caffeine rec. I stopped by Starbucks on the way home yesterday and after being on a restricted diet for the past 3 weeks and being fairly strict about what I am eating, this was the best dang coffee ever! Plus, it did help with my headache, thank goodness and I woke up this morning feeling much better!

[phart]

tgal~~Glad Starbuck's worked for ya! With as strong as their coffee tends to be you could probably get away with a 1/2-1/2:)

Anyone have a good resource that informs us more of things we can waive in the hospital?

No but you can waive anything, really. The hospital doesn't *own* you and your baby, ya know? We didn't get the Hep B or Vit K with Aiden and this time will waive the eye gel as well. With Aiden that went fast so we were caught off guard. The nurse just sort of came in and mentioned it/did it all in one step while I was nursing. I don't see any point in it if I know I don't have chlamydia or gonorrhea. I still have a hard time understanding why they routinely do this. If we leave the hospital before or around 24 hours (hopefully) then we'll wait to do the PKU since it's best for baby to have had 48 hours of milk or formula.

[julifromjersey]

Just a drive by to leave one of yesterday's photos of my little guy...

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6df27b3127cce963c958b46da00000016108RbtmTRu1Y

[trm98]

Great belly shot tracy! You look really good especially since it is your second!!!

Shannon- I hae told that I look small as well (by some, not MIL:rolleyes: ), but I have been measuring two weeks ahead the whole pregnancy. Crazy huh? Also, I have been having bad heart burn. I am taking TUMS like crazy. A friend that recently gave birth told me to drink milk at night. I was skeptical, but I have drank a glass around two hours before bedtime the last four nights and I have been able to sleep laying flat on one pillow!!! It's worth a shot!

kat-You are too good to look at the positives! I can't believe you aren't going to the bathroom like crazy either! Yea mom!! Your DH is so going to love her!

elly- Sorry about the 1 hr test. But, I'm sure you will pass the 3 hr.

Speaking of the test. I took mine about 5 weeks ago, and I haven't heard a word! So, I know y'all are saying no news is good news. Not neccessarily! I started going to my two week visits at the hospital the week after my test. At that first appt. I met one of the drs that could be on call when I deliver. He had NO results for me. My OB office had not sent my file over yet. So, I didn't know how the 2nd u/s or the GTT went. Last week, I went for another appt. They had the u/s results but still no GTT results. So, we are going on almost 5 weeks now, and still no news. Thing is that noone has a report to give me news. I could have failed and noone knows! Very frustrating!!!:mad: They are supposed to be looking for it. I go back this Wed. which will have been 5 weeks and some days. If they don't have it then, I am going to loose it!

[ShannonGH]

trm98, that is crazy that it's taken this long to get results to you! And thank you for the recommendation on the milk. I will definitely give it a shot. I'll give anything a shot at this point. I was up from 3am to 5am this morning just because of heartburn.:(

Bernie, Up until now I've just been taking Tums but maybe I should look into something stronger. I'll have to look and see what's on my safe meds list at home.

juli, adorable little guy you have there!;)

[lovin'it]

I was up from 3am to 5am this morning just because of heartburn.:(

Shannon...I have noticed that whenever I feel heartburn, it's a sign of hunger...I agree with the milk recommendation. My Grandma is a Doctor. She said that back in the day, when she was in Medical School, she said that there were studies that connected the amount of heartburn on the mom and the amount of hair on the baby. She said it is no direct science...but, it usually accurate. Last month, my Doctor said my babies were bald...and I do have very little heartburn if at all.

[IUAlum]

shannon~I also agree with the milk recommendation for heartburn. It has helped me a lot!

tray622~I am by no means an expert, but my understanding is this: if you pay for your STD policy in your paycheck, you are NOT taxed on the benefits. In general, insurance payouts are not taxable income. But if your employer pays for it, I think you can be taxed on it. I know when FIL was on STD last year, he did not have to pay any income tax on his disability pay. Your medical benefits and 401(k) and stuff will probably still come out of the check as usual. But I am not 100% sure of this!!

Happy Friday!

[heidi0622]

IUalum: yay on the low weight gain. Glad your new pillow configuration is working. I am slowly overtaking more of the bed each night :)

jenn: sorry about the maternity leave miscommunication. Nice that you may have more time, but I hope it doesn't cut into your paid time too much!

kdotp: Happy belated bday! Sounds like you had a great day!!!

phart/elenitsa: thanks for the info on the hepatitis vaccine. I am learning new things every day.

ellybella: sorry about failing the 1-hr. Hopefully since your number didn't seem too bad, you will pass the 3-hr.

shannon: sorry about the 3rd trimester woes that are creeping in! People tell me I look small all the time as well...I think most picture just picture pregnant women in their 9th month and expect you to look like that from about 5 months on. I'm tall as well, so I don't have a huge belly...I've made up for it in other areas though (this baby is growing in my thighs and butt more and more each day!). I'll keep my fingers crossed all is ok with your cyst.

tray622: beautiful belly!

bernie: glad to hear all is well in your twinworld! Good luck wrapping up loose ends at work! Lots of exciting things happening next week, good luck with all of that!

tgal: glad the coffee did the trick!!

juli: beautiful u/s! Those 3D ones still amaze me!

trm: argh, so frustrating about your test results! Are you able to call your lab?

Not much to report here. My health insurance company has given me a huge headache the past few days. We have this program at work where you have to go through two telephone checkpoints to get a better benefit (5% copay vs. 20% copay - huge difference!) for your delivery charges. Apparently the company that manages this program switched over 1/1 right at the time of my second checkpoint. I have spent hours on the phone getting the runaround, getting disconnected and no one knows what is going on. ARGH! :mad:

I still have to figure out all of my FMLA and short-term disability paperwork as well. We have someone in our building to help us, but everyone I know that has had to deal with this has had a huge headache. So frustrating because I work for a huge company and probably over 1000 women have babies each year, why is it so difficult every freaking time?!

Ok...vent over for today! Hubby is signed up to paint the baby's room this weekend...I'm so excited to get that done so we can start setting things up! YAY!

[JennZ]

Hi Ladies!

Well, I just got back from my OB appointment and we have a date for the baby!!
Just 8 weeks from today- MARCH 3rd!! :eek:
I am so excited!

Just to recap- I will be having a scheduled c-section because this is my third c-section, and my doctor does not believe in v-bac for a third try due to the risk to Mommy and baby.

Anyway, I only gained 1 pound, which only puts my total up to 4 pounds. So I was a little disappointed that all my Christmas eating didn't put on more weight than that!! And I was measuring a little small- 29 1/2 weeks instead of 31, but he wasn't concerned about that.

Regarding heartburn, my OB gave me Zantac which I take before bed and it works WONDERS! The heartburn has been killing me too- to the point of making me want to throw up! But the Zantac has really helped at night! Just FYI... :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

[JennW]

heidi-
So frustrating because I work for a huge company and probably over 1000 women have babies each year, why is it so difficult every freaking time?!
I was just saying the same exact thing. Why don’t they have a maternity leave specialist or something. If so many women take ML every year why is it always so confusing and such a PITA?

Shannon – yes, the milk will help. Also helps me when I’m nauseous. I’ve found that chocolate milk is a nice treat too.:) Don’t worry about measuring big. There are a million “nothing” reasons to measure big and I’m sure you fall into one of those categories!

trm – Sorry about the test result issue. What a pain!

juliefromjersey – Great pic!:)

tray – It is probably different everywhere but taxes come out of our disability (or so they tell me:)) Great belly shot!

ellybella – Sorry to hear about eth GT test. Hope the next one goes better. Just curious – why did you have to have a 2nd Rhogam? I’ve only had one and just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing a step here…

JennZ – Congrats on having a date! How exciting.:)

Happy Friday and do those Kegels!:)

[junkinmytrunk]

Hi Ladies ~
Checking in to see how everyone is doing. Love all the belly shots, nursery shots, updates and stuff.
I'm doing OK - still haven't taken a belly shot - maybe I can do that this weekend. It would be nice to have a photo of my little guy in the belly.
I get my free 4D Ultrasound so I'll definitely post that ASAP.
Not much else cooking. Feeling fine - the little guy is more squirmy than kicky these days - and my little orange tabby cat loves sleeping on him - maybe my belly is super warm?
Oh -- crib and changer are being delivered on Friday of next week so that should be exciting. Have the Snugride installed in my car already - and the Kolcraft Universal is all set up.
TGAL - I loved your statistics. Here's something interesting for you -- Since August I had 6 friends give birth. Of those, all but 2 went early. One at 30 weeks, one at 32 weeks, one at 34 weeks and one at 28 weeks. My informal sample is what pushed me set up the carseat / stroller / crib so early!

Have a great day, ladies.
Kisses to you all ~

[tgal]

Phart - Thanks for the info. I am finding out how conservative it is medically in my area, so it scares me that they would just simply do things at the hospital without asking first. And the coffee, I was buzzing around the house all night, so next time it will have to be a 1/2 and 1/2!

Shannon: I'm thinking a full head of hair on my end as well. I notice it most when I get hungry. Milk works on occassion for me, but sometimes I have to use a Zantac when it gets out of hand.

Junk: Glad to hear from you! I have been thinking about you and hope you are hanging in there! ETA: I would love to take the credit for statistical calculations, but I believe Tuni did the in depth discovery! ;)

Tray: I asked a friend about her short term disability. I worked with her at company x and we did have payroll deductions for our STD plans. Here was her response on using it for maternity leave.

Regarding the disability question – yes – taxes are taken out but the % that is taxable depends on the plan… with "company x" it was 20% taxable and with "company y" it was 40% taxable….

[losthoosier]

Glad to see everyone is doing good….. Life is getting exciting. I can’t believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by. Had an OB appt yesterday, everything seemed ok my BP was a little high but no protein in urine so they aren’t too concerned. Just told me to come in if I have any headaches. I also lost 7lbs in 2 weeks. I was really sick with the flu and just could not keep anything down. I am doing much better and the Dr wasn't concerned with the weight loss. I am on the heavier side and was trying not to gain more then 15lbs. So far I have only gained 2lbs with the loss of the 7 so I can’t complain. I too am having a problem with heartburn/ acid reflex. I get sick every-night because of it. I have tried everything including milk and nothing is working. The Dr. told me to take pepcid but it doesn’t work. Anyone else have any other suggestions. I passed the 3 hour test but am anemic so Iron pills for me. I am just happy to have past the sugar test as I have low-blood sugar to begin with and it was a 50-50 shot as to having GD or not.

We are going this weekend to pick out the furniture for the nursery. I am getting really excited. Everything is just moving along so fast that we have stuff planned for the entire month of Jan. and part of Feb. We are taking a weekend childbirth class Jan. 14-15 and I have a breastfeeding class on Jan. 13. My shower is scheduled for Feb. 11 and invitations are ready to go out. We have gone for a 3-d ultrasound 2 times now and she will not cooperate. She insists on keeping her hands over her face the entire time. So we gave up….. She is as stubborn as her father. Its funny though as her body positions on the ultrasound are identical to the way I sleep at night. So I wonder if she senses that and emulates the moves in the womb.

Sorry to have written so much, but I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

My next OB appt Jan. 19

[phart]

tgal~~I don't think the nurse would have given A a vax without our consent and she already new we were waiving the Hep B and the Vit K so perhaps she just thought we were OK with the eye gel. I'd rather it have been that than a vax or shot. Go in with a birth plan and have it all laid out so there aren't any questions.

car seats~~I don't know if I've mentioned this and perhaps it's silly to but please get your car seats inspected. I knew my base was loose but had no idea how loose until the inspector fixed it. Wowee. Now I'm a pro at it:) We didn't put ours in until 37 weeks with Aiden (right before our external version just in case) but for some reason I am totally itching to put the base back in.

My HB has been awful the past couple of days so I think I'm calling the office today. I could easily pop more Tums than the bottle says to. I'm having a hard time digesting milk these days so that won't help me. I did just buy some Lactaid milk to see if it helps with the digestion issue but I'd like to hear what the doc/MW says too. I don't back in until next Thursday and I can't wait that long. I had pretty bad heartburn with Aiden too and he did have (dark) hair but not a ton. Then it all fell out and came in blond.

[brooke]

Nothing much new to report here…next OB appt. is next Friday, 1/13…then every 2 weeks after that. These stats are starting to get me a bit concerned – I’ll be 32 weeks tomorrow and all we have is a few books! Another co-worker said she went 5 weeks early with her first. Yikes. DH is picking up the bassinet at his parents this weekend, so at least the little one will have somewhere to sleep if I go early… These showers can’t come too quick. ;)

Can’t recall if I posted this but I too failed the 1 hr GD test….passed the 3 hr just fine…so to all who failed the first one, there is hope!


JenZ Think we may be having the same child.. lol. I’m also due 3/3 and have only gained 4 lbs… :)
================================
Posting a ‘pad’ recipe a friend forwarded me…god I hope I won’t need it…but looks like it would help if I did..

Frozen Pad "Recipe"

If you're having a scheduled c-section, you won't need this. But if you're planning to push a small human out of your even smaller pelvis, you're going to love this.

Here's what you'll need:
-16 - 24 overnight maxi pads
-witch hazel
-lavender oil
-aloe vera gel (this is an edible liquid, not a topical ointment. Lily of the Desert is the most popular brand. You can find it in any health food store)
-tin foil

Unwrap each pad, and pour a little witch hazel, a little aloe vera gel and 3-4 drops of lavender on each pad. She didn't give specific instructions on how much of each to use, so I winged it. You want the pad damp, but not soaked. Wrap each pad in tin foil and stick them in the freezer. Witch hazel and lavender are natural astringents, so they'll help reduce swelling, and the aloe and the cold are very soothing. Not to mention the improvement in odor.

I was so glad that I had these when I got home from the hospital. Actually, I found that they tightened things up a bit too much, so I was alternating these with a regular pad and the anesthetic ointment the hospital had given me. Hopefully you'll be more intact than I was (I had a 3rd degree tear), but no matter what, you'll be glad to have these.

[phart]

I've heard witch hazel is good for hemmies (thank God I haven't had to deal with those yet!).

I'm already going every 2 weeks. Well, next Thrusday will be 2 weeks and I'll be 30 weeks then (wow, did that make sense?). I thought it was a little early for that but didn't ask. Maybe they just like seeing my shining face:)

[IUAlum]

Phart, yesterday was my 30 week appt. and now I'm on the 2 week schedule for the next 3 appts. So I guess we're consistent!

[klm2klh]

Well, it looks like I will be joining the other March twin moms on the couch. I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday (my regular doctor was away, but I saw someone else). Apparently my blood pressure was still a little high. We had a quick ultrasound and saw that both the babies are now head down (yeah!). She also checked my cervix, which she thought was thinner than she would have liked it.

At that point she told me that she wanted me to stop working. I was pretty shocked. Not that I have a problem with stopping, but I honestly never expected that I would have to. I had planned to work another 6 weeks or so. She also wanted me to get some bloodwork done. She then came back and said that she thought that it would be best to admit me to the hospital so we could get an ultrasound and the tests done as soon as possible. I was extremely upset, but agreed that it was the best thing to do.

So we went over to the hospital (the clinic is at the same location) and I was admitted to the antepartum unit. Almost right away they sent me for an ultrasound. It took a while because there was a student doing the measurments on the first baby, but they are about 2 lb 12 oz and 12 lb. 10 oz. They also did a vaginal ultrasound to check my cervix and the tech told me that she thought it looked okay.

We went back upstairs and I had my blood drawn and we finally had a chance to meet with my nurse. Eventually my DH left and went home to get me some things.

I was there until around lunch time today. Apparently all of my tests came back okay and my blood pressure was great the whole time I was there, the doctor also said that my cervix measurement was borderline. So I have been released into a home care program where a nurse will come to my house check all the things they were checking at the hospital (weight, temp., pulse, blood pressure, and babies heart rates). It is so nice to be home.

I am not sure what will happen with regards to working. I have been told that my time off is "ongoing", but for at least 2 weeks. I talked to the human resources people from work and they are couriering over my short term disability stuff. I have a feeling I may not be going back.

But everything is good, I am feeling better about the whole situation and the babies are doing well and that is what is most important.

Of course, now DH and I are a bit panicked about getting the rest of our baby stuff picked out in case I have to go on more restrictive bed rest.

[Bernie]

klm2klh - I'm so glad everything is okay with you and the babies!
I'm sorry you have to join the couch club - but I know that I was so happy to be on the couch after spending some time in the hospital.
Not sure if they have tivo and netflix up in Candada - but that has been helping a lot so far.
I hope you're feeling okay - rest up and take good care of those babies!!

[IUAlum]

Just sending lots of "Stay in your womb" vibes to our twin babies! Are you guys all on some form of bedrest now? :(

Glad everything is going well for all of you, and know we're all here cheering for you!

[phart]

IUA~~But my last appointment was last week at 28 weks and my next is next week at 30. So only 2 weeks there. Maybe because it would put me off *schedule* if I were to go to 32 weeks...dunno.

klm~~Good to hear the babies are donig well and doesn't sound like you're doing too shabby either. Hope the couch treats you well and those babies stay in for a while longer.

[ellybella]

sending more vibes to our twin mamas. rest easy and hang in there!

so i had the 3 hr today which was more like 4 1/2 because the lab was busy. i have all of my numbers expect the last one and i'm so curious. may even stop in tomorrow. not sure if i can wait. the fasting draw was 86, 1st 119, 2nd 127. so what do you look for in that last number? to stay the same? drop?

can't believe how i keep hearing/reading about all of these singleton moms going early. i've always expected i would be going late. it's a little scarey.

[jen71]

Kim- take care.
What I found out about my STD is, you get 20 weeks/year. 6 weeks for maternity. If I go out early or on light duty, even though I am going in, it counts against my 20 weeks. Since I have worked there over 7 yrs, I get all 6 weeks 100% pay, the rest is 67%.

PHART- I agree about the car seat. We had no clue how loose ours was until my dad took theirs to a check sponsored by the fire dept.

[phart]

Elly~~My info says:

fasting less than 95
1 hour............... 180
2 hour............... 155
3 hour............... 140

[heidi0622]

phart and IU: I'm another one that had my 28wk appt., then started going every 2 weeks, so my next appt is at 30wks. My midwife schedule is:

1x every 4 weeks until 28 weeks
1x every 2 weeks until 36 weeks
1x per week until 40 weeks
2x per week if you go past 40 weeks

klm2klh: yikes...sorry about the couch club. Sending some more stay put vibes to all the twin-mommies.

junk: thanks so much for checking in, I've been thinking about you.

brooke: thanks for the 'frozen pad' recipe.

[lovin'it]

Just sending lots of "Stay in your womb" vibes to our twin babies! Are you guys all on some form of bedrest now?

IUAlum...I am in no form of bedrest yet. I feel great, but these last few days I have started to feel uncomfortable to the point that I am looking forward to having them here. I haven't slept in 4 days...catnapped at the most.

I do have a bunch of appointments next week...we will see what the Dr. says!

:D

[ellybella]

oops jenn i had my last rhogam after i miscarried in '04.

[kat]

My back is screaming at me to lie down, so I'm going to forego most shout-outs tonight......but I wanted to post a quick update after the u/s and OB appointment today.

(But first....klm2klh: so sorry to hear you've joined the Couch Club!! But like Bernie, I'm also glad to hear you're out of the hospital. Let us know if you want any advice for coping, 'kay?

And junk, I'm glad to hear you're still doing well. Good job getting everything ready already!

********

So today we had an ultrasound......both babies are still head down (yay!) and will likely stay that way (well, at least the bottom baby will....the little girl may flip around after he's born).

At my OB's office, we learned that I am still 3+ cm dilated, so no change there (yay!). My cervix has shortened a little (boo!) but not enough for my doctor to do anything about it (yay!).

And the funniest/best part of today? Take a guess at how big the twins are measuring (by ultrasound). Are you sitting down? :D Twin A (boy) is 5 lbs. 11 oz. and Twin B (girl) is 5 lbs. 5 oz.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

That is ELEVEN POUNDS OF BABY and I'm only at 32 weeks. My doc had a good laugh because the ultrasound report came back with a note that said "at risk for macrosomia," (they're each in the 90th percentile for size) which is next to impossible with twins. But we're all thrilled, even if it is scary to think how big they might be at birth.

She also told me that once we get to 34 weeks, they won't attempt to stop labor any more if I go into labor. She'd like me to get to 36 weeks, but 34 weeks is also a huge developmental milestone.

Oh, and Twin A (boy) has moved waaaaaay down (he's at -2 station). Let's just say that in order to find his head, the u/s tech had to ask me to take my pants completely off. Feels like he's moving into my leg! :D

Happy Friday!

[tray622]

Ugh. Crapola. Things were going so well... with bedrest and new bp meds it was perfect. Then my doctor takes me off of bedrest and onto "take it easy" mode and what happens? NST - bp 150/90 on meds and AFI levels at 6 1/2 (normal technically 5-23 but should be in double digits until at least 36 weeks). Jocelyn looks fine but I will go back in tomorrow to recheck everything and possible change my medication dosage. I drank a gallon of water today and kept my feet up ALL day. I swear I will do anything it takes because I WILL NOT be induced again. I am so, so petrified of that. Darn it... I want a March baby!!

Okay, there is my vent fest for the day... back to regular scheduled programming :)

BBL for so's - I am way late in having dinner and my stomach is reminding me!

[tray622]

Thanks to everyone who had expriences or some info about disability! I had nothing with #1, so I am just really curious how all this will work out. Thanks again!

[jen71]

Tracy- oh, I hope your follow up appt goes ok!

What is the earliest they are ok with delivering? I have not talked about it with my doctor.

Gat- Holy Batman! Wow! Alot of baby!

Well, here I am at 3 am again.
I am kind of upset, because the docors ofice called this morning & said they would talk about my work stuff at my next appt next week. So now I am screwed for these 2 shifts left to go.

[phart]

kat~~Yay for big twinnies! Probably not so fun for you but they'll be good to go when they're born, right? My friend's twins were 7lb 2oz and 6lb 5oz. I think she got to about 36 weeks maybe...it was fairly far along. A friend of a friend had triplets that were about 36 weeks as well and those kids weighed over 7lbs each! Can you imagine?

[tgal]

KLM: I hope you are doing better! Hang in there!

Kat: That is wonderful news! Yeaaaaa for those little babies!

Tray: That is definitely crapola! Sorry to hear, but do keep those feet up and relax. I am praying that we all have March babies!

[kristine80]

Kat~ Yay for your big babies! I think that's great, just as long as you are still comfortable! ;)

Tracy~ I'm so sorry about your appt yesterday, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that today's appt will be better! Hopefully a new med dosage will bring you back to where you should be and keep you from getting induced!

Checkup freq~ I have been going every 2 wks since my 26 wk appt, as I did with DD.. I don't know if it's cause my doc is family practice or that it's just his preference... My co-worker who just had a baby didn't start her 2wk visits until 32 wks, then weekly at 36wks... So I guess it just depends on your doc? :confused:

Kim~ Sorry to hear about your stint in the hospital, glad to hear that your are home now, even though you had to join the couch club!

Had my 30wk appt yesterday and everything looks "perfectly boring" as my doc likes to say! I have gained 24lbs so far, which isn't so bad considering at my 26wk appt I had gained 12lbs that month! :eek: That was scary!

It's been confusing lately trying to figure out all this insurance crapola... We just had a new hospital open up in Vancouver in August so now the new hospital is the "in network" hosp for DH's insurance while the old one (where we had DD) is the "in network" hosp for my insurance! So I have been crunching the numbers lately trying to figure out which would be a better bet for us financially.... I am amazed the new hospital is about 3k cheaper! After the insurance coverage we would only pay about $500 out of pocket, $400 of which is insurance deductables, which isn't bad. I wouldn't think it would be such a big diffference, but I guess since it's newer it's trying to get more patients up there to deliver... My doc said he knows one of the nurses there and they are just thrilled when the get a delivery since they aren't getting much buisness yet, like 1 every few days! So of course the service will be wondeful with the staff to patient ratio! When we went there for the pre-registeration and tour everyone was really nice and of course the place looked wonderful.... They have a state of the art NICU, which is really good to know if we should need it!

Other than that everything here is good... My next appt is Jan. 20th

[yby1]

Kat - Wow!! :eek: I'm very glad that the babies are big, but your back must be killing you!

[trm98]

klm2klh- Sorry about the bedrest. But, I am glad that you are at home instead of at the hospital.

kat_ Holy cow! Those are some healthy sounding babies!!

tray- Sorry that the appt. didn't go as well as you ahd hoped.

jen71- That sucks that they couldn't see you earlier so that you could have gotten out of the two shifts. But, maybe they will fly by. Up at 3a, again! You need some sleep girl!

kristine-Sorry about the insurance headaches. Sometimes I really love the fact that we don't have to deal with that here (universal health coverage). Of course I pay through the roof in taxes!

Have a great Saturday ladies!

[Tracie]

The doctor's office called with the results of my 3hr glucose challenge, and yep, I failed that one too. So I have gestational diabetes. :mad: I'm meeting with a diabetic educator on Tuesday where we'll go over diet and blood sugar checking :eek: and all that stuff. I was talking to my dad about it, and it turns out I have a much stronger family history of diabetes on his side than I realized. I knew my grandfather had it, but I didn't know that his brother and sister have it. (We're not close to that side of the family.) He keeps putting off being checked because it's a fasting test and he doesn't want to give up his morning coffee. :rolleyes: I'm going to have to get on his case for that.

[ShannonGH]

Tracie, I'm so sorry about your GD results. :(

junk, so good to hear from you! Sounds like you are well on your way to being prepared for Pierson! Definitely post a belly shot if you get one taken!:)

klm2klh, sorry about the bed rest but it sounds like you and babies are healthy which is the most important. Take care!!!

kat, I am so impressed with the size of your babies!!! Sounds like they are definitely healthy! And yay for making it so far! It was so touch and go for awhile that you had us all concerned but now, it looks like all is great!:D

kristine, I'm feeling your pain with dealing with insurance crap. I'm going through insurance headaches right now too. As for check-up frequency, my ob wanted me to start going every other week once I got to 28wks. It is interesting to see different obs preferences.

tray, thinking of you and hope that you're taking it easy today!!! We all want you to have a march baby too!!!

Thanks to all who suggested milk for my HB! I drank milk with my dinner last night and I didn't wake up through the night at all, which we all know makes a pg mama happy!!!:D :D I'm sure it also helped that I ate dinner earlier than what I normally do to have time to digest more before I lie down for bed.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

[kat]

tray: sorry to hear about the NST and AFI testing. How'd the re-check go?

jen71: sorry to hear about your work sitch.

phart: yeah, the goal is definitely to get multiples as big as possible (and average for twins is just over 5 lbs. at birth). And to get them to at least 34 weeks.

I am in pain just THINKING about carrying those triplets! Youch!

kristine: what an insurance nightmare! But yay for new hospitals (having just spent 10 days in a very old one -- with a new, wonderful-sounding replacement one under construction across the street -- I am all in favor of new hospitals :D ).

yby1: oh, you betcha my back hurts! And that's just from some small walking yesterday (see below).

Tracie: sorry to hear about the GD.

Shannon: so happy to hear that the milk (and earlier eating) helped the HB!! I cannot imagine having to deal with that.

********

Today I am sooooooo incredibly sore. Pelvis separation is bad again, back is a disaster, neck & shoulders hurt, too......and all of this is because I had to walk from outside my OB's office to the elevators and then to her office. :rolleyes: I take tiny, tiny baby steps but still it hurts the pelvis, so I know that despite my best efforts, I'm tensing up in the back, neck & shoulders. (In fact, FOUR people asked me if I was "okay" on the walk to her office).

We had to go from the hospital (where I have my ultrasounds) to my OB's office (which is across the street, basically, from the hospital) and for that, we borrowed a wheelchair from the hospital. DH dropped me off at the OB's office building door and then ran the wheelchair back. If there ever is a "next time," we'll take the wheelchair all the way in and THEN have him run it back!!! :D

So that's my complaining for today. :) I'm doing the complaining here on-line because my DH is sooooo excited about watching the Patriots game and I don't want to spoil the moment for him (he is absolutely adorable, sitting on the couch wearing his Patriots sweatshirt, hat, watch, and t-shirt). :)

[losthoosier]

So today was productive we went and picked out the crib. I was planning on just ordering it but the one we picked out they had just received on in stock and it was in the cherry color we wanted. So we got to take it home. It was more then I wanted to spend, but DH fell in love with it..... Its a convertible crib and we will be able to get use out of it for future children. I am going to try post a picture.

http://www.bonavita-cribs.com/thumbs/sheffcrib.jpg

[ellybella]

lost your crib is beautiful!

tracie sorry about the gd. i could be in the same boat. i had my 3 hour friday so i'll find out tomorrow. do you know what your numbers were?

kat yeah for big babies! crazy that you could safely go in a couple weeks. so exciting. i'm finding myself counting the weeks!

shannon glad your hb somewhat subsided.

qtod when does a baby "drop"? i have been really sore right above my pubic bone. i'm carrying low anyway, but i'm wondering if he's dropping?

[jen71]

Tracie- sorry about the test results.

Lost- that crib is gorgeous!! Are you getting any other furniture yet? It really is beautiful.

Thanks for the insomnia pity. Last night was horrible too, my hips hurt reallly bad & I could not egt comfortable, finally went into the other room, where usually I do ok. But, I tossed & turned, just could not lay still or get rid of the aches. Finally fell asleep but my right hip was so sore for a few hours this morning. Hopefully tonight will be better.

[ajb524]

Hey Ladies! I just realized that my due date is exactly two months from today :eek: :D !

We took our childbirth class this Saturday and I can't express how disapointed I was in it. It started at 9:00am. DH & I got there at like 9:04 b/c we couldn't find the room. The lady had already started showing a video! I can understand if we didn't get there until 9:30! I didn't feel too bad though b/c 2 more couples came in after us.

So she starts off by talking about when to know when it's time to go to the hospital. I pretty much knew that from books I've read, but figured the class would pick up speed. Then we went and got on mats on the hard concrete floors to practice breathing. Then we got back up to watch one of the video's. Then we got back on the hard mats to learn "deep relaxation". She turned the lights off and played this nature music CD and was trying to to get us to release all of the stress and tension from our body. We stayed like this for an hour. I was so uncomfortable because after about 20 minutes the mats didn't make the floor very comfortable. I did have 2 pillows, but they didn't really help. At noon we breaked for lunch. We started not to even go back b/c I felt like I had spent most of the time on the floor.

We went back anyway though. One (smart) couple left and didn't come back. After lunch we watched another video (which was very old) and talked about pain medication. This was the most informative part of the whole class. I was never really sure how the epidural worked and I now I know.

Then at 2:30 she decided to review the breathing and relaxtion techniques again. We had to get down on the hard a$$ floor again :rolleyes: . We moved our mat over to the place where the smart couple that left had been so we had a wall for DH to lean his back against. We started doing the deep relaxation with the lights off again and about midway through I hear someone snoring. Thank god it wasn't my husband ;). We stayed on the floor until 3:40 when we finally got to escape 20 minutes early from class.

I think everyone in my class thought it was crap. I doubt anyone will even come back for the last session this Saturday. We didn't really learn much of anything and my back was killing me when it was all over with. And while I believe the breathing will help between the time of labor begininng and the time I get pain meds, I don't think that the deep relaxation will really help. If I had wanted to take a relaxation class I would have.

This instructor really needs to restructure her class. We are not going back this Saturday. I think she could have touched on everything we went over plus what she is going to do this coming Saturday in about a 3-4 hour class. I'm planning on telling my doctor this since I hate to be a total b*tch and call the hospital b/c my luck this lady will end up being my L&D nurse. My doctor has just started using this hospital so I don't know that many of her patients have taken this class here. I just really hate for her to refer people to this class and them feel like I did.

Sorry for the long vent, but I just had to tell someone.

In other more fun news, we're going to get our changing table and dresser from Babies R Us this Saturday and go to the furniture store and order a love seat and new coffee table. We moved into a new house in September and our poor living room looks so empty b/c our other house was so tiny we didn't have room for anything but a sofa and our two recliners. Then the next weekend I'm having my first shower. It's getting so close to time now!!!

[JennW]

Happy Monday March Mommies and we’re off to another week. Anyone else just have hip pain that is unbearable? My left hip hurts all the time lately – when driving, sitting, standing, trying to sleep. This sucks!!!

Another question for twin mommies: a friend of mine just announced she is pregnant with twins. Any good resources (i.e. sites, books) I can pass along to her?

ajb – Sorry the class was such a bust.:( That stinks. What a waste of time. Yay for new furniture. What fun!

tracie – Sorry about the test results.:(

lost – GREAT crib! Wow. Beautiful!

Shannon – So glad the milk helped!

kat – Sorry about the pain but yay for big babies.

kristine – Yay for a good appt.!

[yby1]

Tracie -I'm sorry you have to join us in the GD group. :( It's actually not that bad, but it feels like meal planning and testing my blood is ruling my life right now. :rolleyes:

[amychris03]

I'm way behind on SO's so I will do what I can remember and hope you
guys will forgive me otherwise ;)

Kat
YAY! for the big babies! Sorry you've had a lot of pain recently!
You are doing a great job and it's almost over! It sounds like
at this point, even if they come early they seem pretty healthy!

Junk
Good to hear from you and glad you are doing ok!

yby1 and Tracie
Sorry about the GD diagnosis.

jen71
I'm with you on the insomnia- I feel like I wake up every hour! It's a
vicious cycle because then I nap at some point during the day which
makes the insomnia worse later on!

[B][ajb524/B]
Sorry about the sucky childbirth class. We have ours in a couple weeks
and Im scared the same thing is going to happen. That's exciting that
you get to pick up your furniture soon! I can't wait til ours comes in!

---
So- I've gone through some major nursery restructuring/organizing this
weekend and have decided that I can not wait for the furniture to come
in so I am washing baby items as we speak!!! I just want to get as much
done now as I can while I still feel like walking up and down the stairs
from the basement to the 2nd floor! I also put together our bouncy
chair and played around with the carseat some to try and figure it out.
Oh, and put together a basinette, which was REALLY HARD. It is one
that I borrowed from my cousin and we didnt have the instructions
so it took at least an hour and a half to figure it out! The furniture
was supposed to be in two weeks ago- DH is going to call tomorrow
and see what the status is! Im just glad we ordered it early!

Hope everyone is doing well!:)

[heidi0622]

kat: yay for the big babies still baking. So sorry about the constant pain...ugh. Hope your hubby was happy about the Patriots win. I have a lot of family in New England area, so I kind of cheered for the Patriots, but I've had enough of New England teams winning for a while. I'm just excited about the Bears this year (my hometown team :) )

losthoosier: great crib. Yay for it being in stock too!

ellybella: I'm sorry I have no idea when the baby drops...I think it tends to be a little later though...maybe later 30s week mark?

jen71: so sorry about the continued insomnia issues. I wish I had something to offer to make it go away!

ajb524: ugh, so sorry about the labor class. They should know that laying on a concrete floor is NOT good for a pg woman. I always had problems with the last 10 minutes of my yoga class, I can't imagine being on the ground for as long as you were. Too funny about the snoring though! I think you are smart to let your drs. office know!

jennw: so sorry about the hip pain...not fun at all!

~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was a good weekend here. DH got the nursery painted, so now we just need to set our stuff up. I'm still debating what I want to do for the glider purchase. The Dutailers seem best, but a little too pricey for our budget. I've been scouring Ebay and Craig's List for deals.

Our childbirth classes start tomorrow. I'm actually kind of excited for them...makes everything seem so much more real. I hope I'm not disappointed.

aches and pain complaint from me for today: I have terrible pain right in my crotch area. I don't have any pressure or cramping, so it doesn't seem like pre-term labor, just terribly uncomfortable! It is really bad after I've taken a long walk, sit down, then get up or when I wake up in the morning. I also sometimes wake up rolling over at night because it is painful. Ugh, I guess it is just one of the normal aches and pains of being pg.

[kat]

ajb: I cannot believe she just left you on mats on the hard floor for all that time!!! Has she never been pregnant or does she just not remember what it felt like? Yikes.

You know, I'll bet they pass out some sort of anonymous "rating" sheet at the last class (at least, that's what they do at the classes at our hospital). Maybe you could get your hands on one of those??


Another question for twin mommies: a friend of mine just announced she is pregnant with twins. Any good resources (i.e. sites, books) I can pass along to her?


I would highly recommend Dr. Barbara Luke's book on nutrition for multiple pregnancies: When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads...

I have a gazillion other "twin" books but none of them stand out as much better than the others, so she's probably okay with any book geared to twin moms. La Leche League publishes a special book for nursing multiples; she may want to pick up a copy of that (we got ours free at the "breastfeeding multiples" class at our hospital).

Also, there's a list of great websites, etc. on the old WC Twinmamas thread. I don't have the link on my laptop, but I *do* have it on my desktop upstairs (unfortunately, due to bedrest that means I won't be able to get it until tomrrow morning, assuming I remember). If I don't post it in the next day or two, please remind me!

And, of course, she can also join the Twinmamas thread here on CC! http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=13291

[kat]

How quickly this thread grows! While preparing my post, two other people posted! :)

amychris: Yeah, by 30-ish weeks they expect a decent outcome; by 32 weeks even better, but they don't expect any major problems. Of course,, even 32 weekers often need ventilators and will spend several weeks in the NICU, but it isn't as touch-and-go as it would've been if I'd had them at 27 weeks.

Yay for the nursery progress!

heidi: Yep, DH was super-happy about the Patriots win; although he doubts they'll make it to the Superbowl, he's just happy to see them playing decently again after a rough start.

And since MY "hometown" team is the Packers, I'm ambivalent about the Bears season. :) Even though I've lived in the Chicago area for 15 years, I would be thrown out of my family if ever I became a Bears fan. :D

And you're right that your pain could be "normal pregnancy stuff," but I gotta tell you: that sounds an awful lot like the way my "pubic symphysis separation' started......I hope to heck that you don't develop that, but I would definitely mention it to your doctor just in case. Mine referred me to a physical rehab specialist (MUST CALL HER TODAY) but it may be too late for me.

[ellybella]

amychris and heidi how exciting that you're getting your nurseries together!!! i'm so jealous! i can't wait to see pictures. heidi sorry about your pain. seems like there are more creeping in everyday :(

ajb we had our childbirth class last tuesday night (once a week for five weeks) and it was very unstructured. the teacher kept going off into tangents. the parts i'm looking forward to the most are the tour of L&D and the visit from the anethesiologist. other than that i hope we'll survive. dh won't be pleased if it doesn't improve.

still waiting to hear my 3 hour results...don't they know that i'd like to know!!
i've been reading along in the thread http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=2346show me your coming home outfits and was surprised to read how many wished they had brought smaller sizes w/ them because the 0-3 months size was way too big. now i'll definitely be bringing a few size options so it fits well.

diaper champ vs. diaper genie i registered for the diaper champ, but took it off my registery and decided to use the individual bags to dispose of the diapers instead. thinking it was just something that really wasn't necessary. in the meantime i received the diaper genie. baby bargains rates the champ better. should i keep the genie? exchange for the champ? or return and stick w/ the decision i had already made and use the bags? i'm home today so i'm kind of bored. hopefully some of you are bored too. ;)

[kat]

ellybella, do you live in a two-story house, or do any relatives live near by (relatives you will likely visit often with the baby)?? I registered for the Diaper Champ b/c it's rated higher in Baby Bargains and because I had a helluva time trying to figure out how to use the "old" version of the Diaper Genie when I was babysitting my friends' kids a few years ago (her oldest, then three, had to show me how to use it! :D ). But I hear that they've re-designed the DG, so both my opinion of it and the Baby Bargains rating might already be outdated. But the reason I asked about "two stories" or "relative's house" is because you could always have two.....

[JennZ]

elly,
I would definitely recommend buying either a Preemie size, or an outfit sized Newborn (Talbots Kids carries that size).
DD was 7 lb 10 oz, and the 0-3 month clothes were huge on her for about 3-4weeks. She ended up coming home in an outfit one of my friends gave me in the hospital as a gift. Now on the other hand, DS was 9lb 9 oz, and the Preemie outfit we brought him home in was a little small. But it didn't have feet in it, so we just put socks and slippers on him and you couldn't really tell. :)

[junkinmytrunk]

OB appt today...my little guy is 3lbs 7 oz, and looking beautiful with "very large testicles!" per my OB. I've gained a total of 21 lbs myself (ugh) and hope to keep it down to 31 lbs total.

I've got a few take me home options - I have 2 preemies outfits and 1 newborn outfit that I plan to bring, along with a gown in the event I totally freak out and can't get his little legs in "pants".

I'm totally behind on EVERYTHING around here but hoping everyone is happy, healthy and doing well....

Oh yeah, has anyone read "THE WONDER WEEKS" - it's a parenting / milestone book.

[jen71]

Elly- definitely look for newborn size! I think several stores carry them, babies r us, Kohls, & maybe Target.

ajb- that stinks about the class. That is why I have been thinking about not going to one. I got info from the doctors office on labor, breathing, etc. I don't know what to do, but most people I know that took one said it really is not needed. Sorry you feel it was a waste of time. Was it expensive?

Heidi- I think alot of the pain is different ligaments starting to stretch more, & then all the extra weight on your pelvis. Just take it easy & do not overdo anything. I have had this pain since I 1st started showing, but I think mine started early because my right hip has shortened ligaments in it from a back injury. Just take it easy, I found that just doing some mild stretches can help for a little while.

[Bernie]

Hi everyone-

I had a pretty uneventful OB appointment this morning. I'm up 45 pounds - which, while expected, was scary to see on the scale. Other highlights included learninng that they will likely schedule my c-section date at my next appointment (unfortunately, baby A is breech and doesn't seem interested in moving), and my OB said it was okay to get a maternity massage if I need it (my back has been killing me lately!). Hopefully Friday's u/s will be a little bit more informative - we'll at least get to see how big the kids are now.
Tomorrow night we have our labor & delivery tour, which should be fun. I'm just looking forward to getting out of the house!

Kat - I am so impressed with those weights! That is fantastic! Sorry to hear about the pain/discomfort. I've had a lot more pelvic pain lately, but it hasn't hit the point of unbearable yet.

junk - glad to hear that your little guy is looking good!

elly - like kat, I registered for the diaper champ based solely on the baby bargains rec. - so I don't think I'm much help. sorry!

jennw - I second the recommendation for the Dr. Luke twin book. I have a bunch of twin pregnancy books, and it has definitely been the best by far.

ajb - that class sounds horrid! I can't believe they expected you to sit on the floor for most of the day!

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

[phart]

ajb~~Ugh. So no learning about the different stages of labor? Weird.

clothing~~Aiden was 8# 1oz and he came home in a 0-3 month outfit. It wasn't huge but it didn't fit perfectly either. Then again we didn't care too much what he came home in (I realize some people do and that's dandy as well:-)). All depends on your baby's body type, I guess.

[aprilshowers]

LOL! Lisa, that is so funny that your OB commented on that! Good to see you posting in here again!

ajb, that's a bummer that your class was so bad. I think it all depends on the teacher bcs mine was actually really fascinating. Like phart mentioned, the stages of labor was really interesting (and, I imagine, extremely useful!).

Gotta get back to work but just wanted to check in and say hi to everyone! Also, I just have to report that we finally ordered our crib yesterday - it should be here next week. Feeling like we're finally getting things done!

[honey_bee]

Hi All!!! Coming to join the thrid trimester party (:eek: ) albeit a little late! Our server was infected by a nasty virus at work last week so I havn't had reliable internet access in a while. Finally got reconnected today! Yipee, I was going through withdrawls! So, I have a lot of catching up to do in here already.

Baby M and I are doing just fine. My sister threw us a beautiful baby shower over the weekend (pics in my journal if interested) and we truly felt loved. Starting to get uncomfortable with sore back and hips, plus there isn't a bra on the face of the earth that will both fit and feel comfortable right now. Great, it's only going to get worse in that dept. :rolleyes:

Okay, I'm off to do some major catching up. Hope you all are doing well and having a good Monday.

[Christy5599]

Heidi, your pain is almost exactly what I'm feeling and described to the doc today. She said it's a normal part of things getting bigger and not to worry about it though it can be uncomfortable!

Kat, good to know that that's how your pelvic troubles started... I hope we aren't on that road either! Glad to hear you and the babies are hanging in there!

Elly, do you mind me asking what hospital you'll be delivering at? DH and I are on week 4 of the Elliot Hospital's labor series. So far we've enjoyed it but our instructor is pretty focused so I'm sure that helps.

Update on me... We had our follow up U/S today as at my 20 week one there was a little too much fluid in the baby's kidneys. All looked great today, the problem had cleared itself up which they told me it probably would. The crazy news is that this kid is measuring 3 weeks ahead! They aren't changing my due date though because I was an infertility patient so we know exactly what day was what... apparently my kid is just an over achiever already! They are estimating it's weight to be 5lbs 7 oz. The baby was also doing practice breathing movements which was cool to see... it's chest was pumping up and down just like it was breathing air but for now just fluid.

I also passed in my birth plan today! Holy cow!

My shower is this weekend and I'm looking forward to it. I got some color/dye free detergent so I can get all the goodies washed next week as I'm getting anxious to have everything 'just so.'

Tonight is the second and final night of breastfeeding class... next Tuesday is the 5th and final night of the labor class. Anyone else in disbelief that this is really going to happen pretty soon? :)

Take care everyone!

[ellybella]

christy we're delivering at lawrence general. glad your classes are going well. so jealous you're finishing up breastfeeding. LG only offers it every other month and it conflicted w/ childbirth this month. so originally it was march 10th, they just called to reschedule to march 21st :eek: um hello that's 4 days before my due date if i make it until then! i may need to seek out a LC in the meantime. just in case. so exciting your little one is thriving!

kat yes, we have 2 stories. i may just exchange it for the champ since it does have the better rating and does seem a little less complicated to operate. i'm sure dh will thank me on that one. i need to take a look at the genie and see what they've changed.

might as well drop off a belly shot. the due in march t isn't fitting so well these days ;)
29w2d
http://images.snapfish.com/3459%3A8589%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D3235%3E8%3A5%3E989%3EWS NRCG%3D3233456%3A7789%3Cnu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/3459%3A8589%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D3235%3E8%3A5%3E989%3EWS NRCG%3D3233456%3A87%3A%3B9nu0mrj

[lovin'it]

Ellybella - You have one of the cutest tummies I have ever seen! :)

[Christy5599]

Elly, that stinks about the class! My sister and I were just talking about her breastfeeding experience with her boy's tonight. She was saying that the class for her was only ok and that the support after the baby (x2 singletons) was born was so much more important and helpful to her. I did find I picked up somethings from the class but it was only ok. Have attended the class I can see how she would be right especially where we don't know our baby's personalities as of yet. Maybe the LC is the way to go in general if you are feeling stressed about the timing of the class? Just a thought. I am really surprised that a hospital that large would only offer a breastfeeding class once a month!

[kdotp]

DH and I were all excited about going to our first class tonight and when we got there we learned the instructor was sick and it was canceled! :( Oh well, we have another one tomorrow night. I also need to call and reschedule our Birthing class as DH won't be able to attend the one I originally signed up for.

We went to BRU this weekend and checked out a few strollers and car seats. We think we found a system we like -- the Graco safeseat and Quattro deluxe stroller. We'll also probably order our furniture in the next few days.

[heidi0622]

kat: thanks for the heads up on the pubic symphysis separation. Makes me nervous, but I'd rather be precautious and bring it up to the dr. rather than ignore it and let it get a lot worse.

A Packer fan?! My opinion of you has totally changed now!! LOL! I was born and raised in the Chicago area and I have been a life long Bear fan (as painful as it has been in recent years), so I am pretty excited about the team this year!

ellybella: I registered for the diaper champ because of the baby bargain ratings and the ability to use regular bag. Not sure what you meant when you said you would use just regular bags...no diaper disposal system at all or regular bags in the genie? I think the diaper champ got good ratings on the stink factor as well. That is purely based on what I've read though, no personal experience yet.

Cute, cute belly as well. At first when I saw it, I was going to post that your belly was screaming GIRL to me, but then I looked back and remembered that you are having a boy. You have the cutest watermelon belly and I always thought that meant girl belly, what do I know?

Lisa: thanks for checking in. Glad your little guy is looking good. 3lb 7oz...great, we are due at the same times, so now I'm curious how big mine is. LOL at the big testicles comment! Thinking about you lots...

jen71: thanks for the advice on the stretching. I try to do it a few times a week, but need to make it more of an every day habit since I always feel so much better after I do it. I hope the insomnia is getting better for you. Would a warm bath before bed help?

Bernie: great job with the weight gain...isn't that right along the lines of what a twinmama should gain? Grow babies, grow! Hope your L&D tour was good and that you enjoyed getting out of the house.

aprilshowers: thanks for checking in! Yay on getting the crib ordered.

honeybee: good to 'see' you again. Glad you enjoyed your shower this weekend!

christy/amanda: have fun at your shower this weekend. Wow, you're finishing your class already, so exciting. We're just starting tonight. I don't know if it has hit me yet that this is really going to happen...maybe because I'm towards the end of March? I also could just be in denial until I actually start going into labor. Thanks for the sympathy about the aches and pains...glad to know I am not alone. Wow, 5lb 7oz...go baby go!!!

christy5599/ellybella: I signed up for a breastfeeding class. I was talking to my acupuncturist's wife last night though and she used to be a director at the La Leche League and recommended that I give them a call. She said there are support groups you can go to even before you deliver or LCs that can come to your house after the baby is born to give you more personalized support. The classes are good for teaching you the basics, but the LLL group can help while you're actually going through the process. Anyway, food for thought...

kdotp: sorry about your class getting canceled! Yay for picking out the car seat and stroller at BRU though. I saw the SafeRide seat and thought those looked great as well.

Coming home outfit: my grandmother has knitted a boy outfit and a girl outfit in newborn sizes, so I'm really hoping that will work. Good advice though on getting a few newborn things to get through the first few weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~

I was downstairs chatting on the phone with a friend for over an hour last night and DH was upstairs being very quiet...I went to check on him later and he had been setting up the crib. He was so excited about it, which was so cute. So now we have the room painted and all of the other furniture in there, we just have to figure out how we want to arrange it. So fun to see it all coming together!! My aunt is making curtains and we still need more of the "finishing touches", so when it comes together more, I will post some pictures...I won't bore you with the work-in-progress ones now.

[JennW]

Coming home outfit – MIL actually gave us the outfit that DH came home from the hospital in. It’s a summer outfit (DH was born in August) but I think it will do just fine. I think it’s cute that our son will wear the same thing he did.

---

heidi – Can’t wait to see pics of your room! How cute that DH set up the crib.:)

kdotp – Sorry about the class mix up but yay for choosing a crib.

ellybella – So cute!

Christy – So happy the fluid problem was cleared up this time around. That must have made you very happy!

Reminder: Kegels:D

[IUAlum]

heidi and kat~ Had to join in on the Bears discussion. Kat, I'm a little sad to hear you're a Packers fan... :D Anyway, we're very excited about the Bears this year, DH is going to the game on Sunday and could not be more excited about it! My sister made a CD of songs she thinks the baby should hear in utero and the first one is The Superbowl Shuffle! So, GO BEARS!

Diaper Genie/ Champ~ I'm like everyone else it seems, registered for Diaper Champ based on Baby Bargains! :) Anyone heard anything about Diaper Dekor?

[honey_bee]

Diaper Disposal- I registered for the Diaper Champ and then changed to the Diaper Dekor based on a recommendation from my cousin. She's had three children (youngest is 2) and said this one worked the best for her. She had the Genie, 7-8 years ago, and hated it. She said the Dekor worked much better at minimizing odors and ease of use. Just her two cents.

Have a happy Tuesday, Ladies!

[aprilshowers]

heidi, and anyone else looking to rearrange furniture...Here (http://www.jordans.com/roomplanner.asp) is a cool program you can use for this. Enter your room measurements and add your furniture and its measurements, then you can move it all around and try out different scenarios. It was a life-saver for us in our small space!

Anyone have any stretches to do for back pain? Mine has been killing lately - it's making me totally miserable :( And definitely contributing to that insomnia everyone else has been complaining about!

[ce_Kathleen]

WOW I have missed so much in the past week! I have been reading to try and catch up but not sure I will be able to do individual SO's.

Well last week on my trip to Reno I had some issues, not too major. I was getting some swelling (which I had with DS and it put me on bedrest) so I called my OB and they told me to rest up as much as possible. I went in today and then I go back tomorrow to see if things are better. Things already look a million times better than they did last week so I think I am ok for now.

I had my u/s today too! The baby is measuring 5 pounds! Fluid levels look great and baby is looking great to and he is head down! Based on the measurments taken the due date should be March 1 (rather than my current date of March 13). Not sure if the Dr is going to "officially" move my due date, I will talk to him on Thursday. I am more and more thinking of going with the scheduled c/s so I may talk to my Dr about this on Thursday and see what he thinks, especially given the size of the baby at this point.

That is about all that is going on with me right now. I have some catching up to do!

[kat]

Drive-by to post this link for JennW -- on the first page there is a long list of websites helpful for those expecting multiples:

http://boards.weddingchannel.com/thread.jspa?forumID=254&threadID=479784

Back later to read and catch up....

[Christy5599]

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43c3f678z2a0334b2/8657/__sr_/4bf1re2.jpg?phomAxDBmACjxims

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43c3f678z2a0334b2/8657/__sr_/1170re2.jpg?phomAxDBC3kunhzN
My dog Molly doing her best frog impression.

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43c3f678z2a0334b2/8657/__sr_/122are2.jpg?phomAxDBMXkplc3W

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43c3f678z2a0334b2/8657/__sr_/aabfre2.jpg?phomAxDBztpTP1U.
The rocker will go in this corner once it's reupholstered. That will be in a pretty green too like the valence but the color looks too much like an 'olive' in these pics... it's not doing it justice!

http://us.a2.yahoofs.com/users/43c3f678z2a0334b2/8657/__sr_/ca80re2.jpg?phomAxDB68aS7Pl6
And finally a posted belly shot! This one was taken this am (32 weeks). I've been taking them all along but we only recently switched from dial up to DSL so it used to be a bear to upload... not anymore!

We've still got a ways to go in the nursery with all the little details. DH has a project to stain some unfinished floating shelves we bought cherry, I want to replace the hardware on the old dresser, etc. Besides getting the bedding and all the registry stuff in place of course! It's in the lime family too, very cute gingham fabric.

Hope all is well!

[yby1]

Christy5599 - I love the paint job in your nursery. It looks fantastic!

Here's a (big, round) belly shot of me from this past Sunday. I was 30w 3d.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/sumama/30w3d.gif

[Christy5599]

Beautiful belly, YBY!

[JennW]

So I changed our childbirth class. We were supposed to meet every week for 5 weeks on Wednesday nights at 6:00 (which was a stretch since getting there at 6 was going to be difficult). So I finally got in for a Saturday one-day class. They said it isn’t as much in detail since it’s less hours but I think that will be OK. BUT… the kicker is it isn’t until ¾, 3 weeks before my due date. YOu guys think I’m safe?:confused:

yby Great belly shot!!!:D

Christy – That paint job is gorgeous! My dog also does the frog thing all the time too! That is her favorite position! LOL. I thought she was the only one.:)

kat – Thanks so much! I will be sure to pass these along.

kathleen – yay for a good u/s and glad you are feeling better now. Rest up.

aprilshowers – I don’t have stretches but I do use the heating pad every day and it helps tremendously!

[ShannonGH]

Am I the only one that can't see Christy's pictures? :(

Beautiful belly yby!

[tunibell]

I am totally obsessed with cloth diapering at the moment. All I want to do is read about cloth diapering and buy cloth diapering supplies. I would also like to abandon all fiscal sense and buy a house in San Francisco so I can get my own non-coin-operated washer and dryer and wash my own diapers (although I've bought a little bit of everything to try it out, in reality we'll probably have to go with a diaper service if we cloth diaper full-time, and that kind of narrows the choices.)

Other than that, not much going on in my world at the moment. Piper seems to keep moving up (bad) and down (good) in the old uterus, so I never know how tight my chest is going to feel on any given day. She also hiccups like crazy, which is fun.

DH and I took our last baby-related class this past Saturday. It was an all-day childbirth class. Can't say I learned much more than I have from reading books, but it was good to see an epidural insertion (not bad!). One of the videos was absolutely hilarious - it was clearly from the late 1970s, and the dad had a mustache, a perfectly coiffed do, and was sporting baby blue micro shorts. Priceless. I was so proud of DH - he knew soooo much more than the other husbands, many of whom looked like they'd wandered in the room by mistake.

[phart]

I can't see them either (in mozilla or IE):(

I'm happy your belly has rounded out Y!

I can't look back that far but I thought *girl* too for someone's belly (Heidi maybe?)!!

[JennW]

Question – Who are you supposed to send birth announcements to? I was going to send them to just about everyone on our family and close friends list. Someone mentioned some people think announcements are looking for gifts. I never thought of it that way. What do you all think???:)

Shannon – I couldn’t see all of them either.

[aprilshowers]

tuni, you are way ahead of me then. No matter how many times I read the CDing thread, I am still clueless. Guess I better get something before DC is here!

Jenn, thanks for the suggestion! I should give that a try. I've been slathering on the Motherhood pain relieving gel like it's going out of style but I can't reach some parts of my back so can only get those spots when DH is around.

I can't see Amanda's pictures either :(

[ajb524]

JennW- Thanks. I really hope everyone else has a much better experience than I did.

amychris03- I'll cross my fingers that your class is better :D

Heidi- The hard floor was no fun! I'm so glad I don't have to do that again

Kat- Yes, she has been pg before, which is why I can't believe she didn't know how uncomfortable we all must have been.

ellybella- I'm glad to know my class wasn't the only one that wasn't structured very well. Maybe it's because I work at a University where students evalute professors each semester, but it seems so strange to me that they would keep letting this lady teach this class! Maybe no one has complained. I was looking forward to the L&D tour as well, but our hospital does offer a tour once a month. We're hoping to go to the next one offered :)

Junk- That's too funny what your OB said :D.

Jen71- Thankfully we didn't have to pay for the class. If you deliver at the hospital it is taught at they don't charge the $40 fee. I would be really mad if I had wasted my $$ on the class!

Bernie- I can't believe they expected us to sit on the floor either. I'm so glad it's over with now.

phart- The only part of labor stages she went over was transition and that was only because it was mentioned in the video. She pretty much just told our husbands that nothing they did during that time was going to make it any easier to get through :rolleyes:

aprilshowers- She went over transition, but that was pretty much it.
----------------------------------------------------
I think I got everyone :).

I woke up this morning feeling really large. It was confirmed when two people stopped me in the hall at work to ask how much longer I had b/c I look like I've grown a lot. My back has also been bothering me a lot here lately and I've been walking kind of slow and feeling like I'm waddling.

Coming home outfit- I'm not really sure yet. I need to go through the few outfits I've bought to decide if there is one I like well enough to use.

I got so exicted the other day. I was checking my registry on target.com to see if I had taken a comforter off that I had put on their when I originally set it up (I have since bought a crib set). I saw that 4 items had already been purchased and I was so excited! My work is having a little shower for me next Tuesday. It will be my first and I can't wait.

[Christy5599]

Hummm, I posted them through yahoo photos and then just copied the url... anyone have suggestions on what I may be doing wrong? I can see them so I thought it worked! :-)

[phart]

tuni~~It's fun, isn't it? Once you figure out what everything is then it can totally consume you! I had a variety of things in the beginning and just sold the extras on Ebay. But now that I'm having a girl the itch is coming back! I need some girly diapering supplies:)

[junkinmytrunk]

Anyone heard anything about Diaper Dekor?
That's what I registered for, on recommendation from a friend. She loves it.

Love all the belly shots, but I couldn't see Christy's photos either.

Kat, am I crazy or is your birthday very soon? Haven't been reading posts too carefully so belated happy birthday if I missed it and if not....happy birthday to you!

Met with a prospective pediatrician today - I did like him quite a lot. I didn't know the OB performs the circumcision, not the pediatrician. Maybe I should be doing a little more reading....sort of embarrassed that this tidbit has escaped me.

I think my DS has grown a LOT over the weekend -- people at work are commenting on how "big" I am....yikes...I am so terrified of overgaining. I'm mildly obsessed with it. Must chill, must chill.

Okay, back to work.

Kisses to all and someday, I am going to shout out again. I swear!

[ajb524]

I meant to post this pic earlier :). DH decided to practice dressing the baby by using our cat. As you can see he got the overalls on (although backwards ;)). Ginger (our cat) wasn't too happy about having to pretend to be the baby.

http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/285/285792/folders/224358/1774540overalls.JPG

[heidi0622]

I can see Christy5599's pictures just fine. Not sure why others can't??? Beautiful progress so far too. Your belly screams girl to me...you'll have to tell me in March if my guess is right (if I remember correctly, you know if I'm right or not now :p )

Phart: you did guess girl in the belly shot thread for me. Hmm, I'm curious to see if you're right since you have such a good track record.

Tuni: fun, fun on the CDing...if you don't have a washer/dryer at your place, then I imagine a service would be your best bet.

junk: if it makes you feel better, I had no clue who performed the circ either?! I guess I have some reading/updating to do!

aprilshowers: thanks for room design website. I'll have to enter some measurements and figure things out.

yby1: such an adorable belly!

ajb: hilarious picture...we may have to try that one on our doggy :) I admit I'm a registry peeker too...invites haven't even gone out for our shower yet and some things have been purchased, so I'm pretty curious.

jenn: rule of thumb I've heard is that you should be done with your classes at least 2 weeks before due date. Its a little risky, but you'll probably be fine. The good thing is that all of this info will be fresh in your mind!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have my next follow-up u/s on Friday...SO tempting to find out the sex, but I REALLY don't want to know :)

[IUAlum]

ajb- that is HILARIOUS!

[ellybella]

i passed my 3 hour glucose test! what a relief! i don't know if i could have been disciplined enough to improve my diet.

:confused: i can't see christy's pictures either.

abj that picture is too funny! cute overalls by the way!

lovin' thanks for the compliment. so curious as to what it'll look like over the next 11 weeks.

kdtop it's so exciting to get those big purchases, it makes it so real.

christy you would think those classes would be offered more often at LG. just realized i have infant cpr tomorrow night.

heidi funny comment on the watermelon shape. everyone IRL says it looks like a basketball. maybe it's the angle of the shot? here are the bags i was talking about. a friend of mine, who has 2 kids, got them for my shower. she uses them instead of a pail of any sort.

http://images.snapfish.com/3459%3B673%3A%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D3235%3E8%3A5%3E989%3E WSNRCG%3D323345%3A798629nu0mrj

cute that your hubby was being all quiet while setting up the crib!

yby1 nice belly shot!

[phart]

you did guess girl in the belly shot thread for me. Hmm, I'm curious to see if you're right since you have such a good track record.

Ahhh...yes. Then it was ellybella I was thinking of because it was in this thread.

I didn't know the OB performs the circumcision, not the pediatrician.

We didn't circ Aiden so it was interesting to see that line on our OB's bill. When I called about it she basically said that they just "put it on there"!!! So, look at your bills carefully:-)

[Bernie]

ajb - I love that picture! Too funny!

JennW - I don't think that sending out annoucements means you're fishing for gifts. I've received plenty of announcements and not sent gifts in response, and I plan on sending out annoucements to a lot of people - I don't want or expect most of them to send gifts. I've been working on my list - in addition to family and friends, it also includes some of our parents' friends and some business colleagues.

ellybella - congrats on passing the 3 hour!

[amychris03]

heidi
How cute that DH was assembling the crib:)

ce_Kathleen
Sorry to hear you were having some swelling but glad
all is ok for now. Wow, if you're possibly getting your
due date changed, maybe we should swap info since
I'm your buddy ;) You can PM it to me if you want!

Amanda
I can't see them either... Weird that some people can and
others cant! It sounds like you are getting a lot done in
the nursery though!

yby1
Cute Belly!:)

JennW
My instructor gave us the option of doing our Class that
weekend in March and when I questioned it being so close
to our due date, she said she thought it was ok. We ended
up getting it in February instead though, there ended up
being an opening.

tuni
Sam seems to be doing the same thing as Piper, moving up
and down!! Today he's right up under my ribs!

ajb524
Isn't it fun when stuff starts coming off the registry! And
just think, there's probably other stuff that people bought
that you don't even know about;) Cute kitty picture!

junk
Im not sure if I knew that or not either- but thanks for
the info- I have a meeting with a Ped next week and
would probably ask the same question!

ellybella
Congrats on passing the 3 hour!!

birth announcements:
I'm not sure who we'll send them too... Probably family, and friends
since we are so far away from most of them right now and they
wont get to see little Sam in person for a while!

---
I got our first Pediatrician appointment today for next Wednesday!
Can't wait to get the ball rolling on this! Hopefully I like her,
I've heard nothing but good things so far!

[Tracie]

I had a huge scare today! When I went to take a shower this morning, I was bleeding! I immediately called the doctor and they told me to come in right away, so of course I did. They listened to the heartbeat and it was fine. (Phew!) She did an internal, and the cervix was thick and closed, so that was also good. She was concerned about my placenta, since it had been low-lying. The last u/s showed that it was not anymore, but she worried that might have been wrong, so she sent us to the hospital. There they had me on the monitor and an IV and they took bloodwork. They did an u/s and everything looked perfect, including the placenta! He's measuring 3 lbs, 14 oz. So they monitored me some more and we waited for the bloodwork to come back. When it did, everything looked perfect!

They're not entirely sure what caused the bleeding, they said maybe it was a popped blood vessel or something. I'm supposed to stay off my feet for two days and call them if the bleeding starts up again.

I missed my appointment with the diabetic educator about my GD, so that's been put off until next week.

[ShannonGH]

I'm happy to report I passed my glucose test! What a relief!

ajb, HILARIOUS photo!!! I laughed out loud and my Dh heard me from the living room and asked what I was laughing at!

junk, good for you for meeting with a prospective pediatrician.

Does anyone plan on doing a modified vaccination schedule? I want to read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations before I meet with any prospective peds so I can be armed with questions so I guess I need to get on the ball.

Tracie, So glad everything is okay! What a scare!!!

announcements, I've already printed out address labels ready to affix them to the envelopes when the time comes. Although I find I keep thinking of new people I need to add to the list.

JennW, I used to think that about birth announcements (birth announcment=gift request) but I don't think it so much anymore. Although one thing we are doing is adding the name of anyone who gives us a baby gift to the birth announcement list. Dh's coworker just sent us a gift and she wasn't on the original "list" but she is now.;)

[tray622]

Only have a second but shannongh we are doing a modified schedule for Zoey based on knowledge I just acquired through my own research, but I just got that book last week and am dying to read it!

I am trudging along. Amniotic fluid is staying low but stable, so that is a good thing! My bp shot up but my doc adjusted the dosage of my meds and the last couple days have been pretty good.

Zoey and hubby are both sick :( therefore I am going insane!

Be back tomorrow to get caught up with everyone...

[ShannonGH]

tray (and anyone else), would you mind sharing your schedule or how you came about deciding what vac to give her and when? I'm getting overwhelmed thinking about it.

Okay, I have another question for everyone-
What highchair do you have/will you be getting?

[phart]

Shannon~~I'd have to go back and look but I'll try to get you what we did with Aiden. We basically waived some, delayed some and spaced them out. My mind is blanking on exactly how we spaced them right now.

highchairs~~We never got one. We used this reclining feeding seat and it's worked out great.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DEW8P.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

We also got this to keep in the car for trips to our parent's.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005QXPE.01._PE35_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Tracie~~So glad all is well!

[trm98]

Hi ladies. I actually have an ob appt. this morning, so I am not going in to work until after the appt. Therefore, I am actually able to get on here and post!! To make the day better, busses have been cancelled due to freezing rain and we have a snow day!!! NO kids!!!! We still have to go in, but I will use the time to grade papers and try to finish up some of my final exams. Hopefully the Dr. will have my GTT results today. 5 weeks over due, but at least then I can either stop wondering or go take the 3 hr (just a little late--33weeks).

The sleeping problems have started. I am often woken up in the middle of the night by my carpal tunnel. My whole right arm will be numb. It had just been my right arm, but lately it is spreading in to my left as well.:( Mornings are especially hard. Other than that, I am still just having the pain in my ribs and sternum. I really think that part of that pain may be the stretching of skin and connective tissue. I told DH it is even senstive to the touch. It almost feels like I am breaking a lot of blood vessels. A little bit of back muscle spasms still, but not too bad. I have been using A535 and it works wonders!! Other than that, I feel great! After reading what is going on with some of y'all, I feel like I have it easy!

I live in a community that is LARGELY French speaking. So, they only offer classes (child birth and breast feeding) in French. Now, I have picked up some French while living here, but I know that I could not take a course and really get it all. So, I am out of luck on that front. I had been pretty upset about it, but after hearing what so many of you thought about yours, I am feeling better.

yby, elly-GREAT belly shots!!!

heidi-So sorry to hear about the pain. Hopefully it isn't the seperation and the stretching will help. That is too cute that DH was assembling the crib.

junk- Glad to see you here!!!:D That is such a funny comment about the testicles.:p

Shannon, elly- That's great that y'all passed the GTT!!

Tracie- That is such a scare! I am happy that everything looks great. Take it easy ok!

ajb- Your cat looks a little humiliated!:D


Diaper disposal- We had registered for the Diaper Champ (b/c of Baby Bargains like other have said and the fact that we would save money on regular trash bags instead of refills). Thing is that a friend got two diaper pails (the diaper genie). She wants to give us her extra one for free (not as a gift). I am really thinking about taking it. What do y'all think? I would prefer the diaper champ, but free is free right?

High CHair- We registered for the Fisher Price Healthy Start
http://www.toysrus.ca/TRUCA/images/common/prod/F89CA755_1d.jpg
My SIL has this one and I have loved it the few times that I have been down in TX watching her boys for her. It is so easy to use and clean.


OK, I have to go get ready for my appt. Have a great day ladies!!

Have fun to all the ladies who have your showers that are coming up!!

[ce_Kathleen]

highchairs - we have the same exact one that Phart posted! It has worked well for us thus far and it was not too expensive either!

announcements - we sent them to all our friends and family. We used announcements that used a photo of the baby and since we are so far from all our friends/family we just sent them to everyone! I never thought about an announcement being asking for gifts.

tray622 sorry to hear about your sick family! That doesn't make it easy on you that is for sure.

ShannonGH we did not modify our vac schedule and so far have had no problems either (DS has never had a reaction at all to his vacs)

Tracie good to hear you are doing OK after your scare this morning! I can't imagine how freaked out I would have been! Take it easy these couple of days.

amychris03 I guess I am kind of board illiterate! I don't know how to PM? You would think that since I joined WC all the way back in 2001 that I would have learned the ins and outs of this stuff but I guess not:rolleyes:

ellybella congrats on passing your 3 hour! So does that mean that they consider your sugar levels "normal" and that your one hour results were incorrect?? Just wondering if since you "failed" one test and "passed" another will they do any kind of follow up or if passing the 3 hour automatically means you are good to go. We also have those dirty diaper bags, we use them when we are out in public or at friends/family house.

ajb524 what an adorable picture! My kitties would never let me try that.

junkinmytrunk good to hear things are going well with you! I don't know anything about the Diaper Dekor, we used the Diaper Genie and I loved it until DS turned 1 and now it stinks (literally).

Christy5599 I don't know what you may/maynot being doing right/wrong but I can't see your pics either!:(

yby1 love the belly shot!

[JennW]

Thanks to everyone about the announcement responses! I never thought of it as gift-asking either. Glad none all of you agree! Now I can plan to send to everyone. I can’t wait to announce the lil’ guy’s birth.

No time for shout outs this morning but wanted to tell Tracie I’m glad all is OK. What a scare. Phew. Take care of yourself and rest up!:)

We registered for Graco Harmony Windsor highchair:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007A2KBU.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Reminder:Kegels:D

[Bernie]

Hey folks--

We had our hospital tour last night. We got to see the labor/delivery/recovery rooms (which, thankfully, were much nicer than the room they gave me during my visit a few weeks ago). We also got to see the babies in the nursery - they were so adorable! - made me feel incrediby excited about getting to meet my own babies. But then they took me and DH and another soon to be twinmama to the NICU, which made me very thankful that these guys are still baking on the inside! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I won't be visiting the NICU again.


We also registered for the fisher price healthy care high chair:
http://www.buybuybaby.com/images/products/viewlarge/27084210313rd.jpg

and the healthy care booster seat, for travelling:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DEW8N.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

tracie - glad to hear that everything is okay!

[ShannonGH]

For those of you that registered for the FP Healthy Care...does BRU only have the one fabric pattern to choose from (the ocean one that's posted on their website)? I'd prefer something less busy, like the ones you posted above.

Bernie, I registered for the FP healthy care booster too. It got great reviews on BRU!

[IUAlum]

Chiming in with Shannon's question- if anyone has a link on BRU to a Healthy Care highchair that isn't aquarium or whatever.

Pediatricians~ We're meeting with one today and I'm not sure what to ask. Can those who have done this already give me some pointers?

[julifromjersey]

Hello everybody... things are crazy here and I'm stressed out as usual. I'm having a really hard time dealing with my blood sugar numbers and they just don't seem to make any sense.

Here's yesterday: Fasting 126, Post-breakfast 77, post-lunch 129, post dinner 101.

This morning my fasting was 126 again! How did it go up from last dinner when I didn't eat anything. Is it because I brushed my teeth and used listerine before testing? I can't figure it out!

Ellybella- those bags are great. We never used a diaper pail because I hated my sister's diaper genie and just didn't see the point. Wet diapers were wrapped up and put in the kitchen trash, which goes out daily, and soiled diapers went into the little blue plastic bags for smell control and then into the kitchen trash. We never had any odor problems at all.

Birth Announcements- We're sending them out to our Christmas card list and anyone who gave us a baby gift. I don't think of them as gift requests either-- it's just information and bragging about our happiness.

High Chairs- We've been through a few different options. At first Andy was fed on a Boppy since he was BF. If he was getting a bottle of EBM, we fed him in his bouncy seat. When he was more in control of holding his head up we used a Babee Tenda feeding table.

http://www.babeetenda.com/gif%20images/kitchen.gif

We bought it after attending a "Baby Safety Seminar" where the Babee Tenda salesman outlined all of the things about a highchair that could potentially kill your baby. Granted, we love our feeding table, but in retrospect, I'd have rather spent $150 for a highchair than the $400 we spent on the feeding table.

Now we use a booster at the kitchen table.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005QXPE.01._PE35_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[tgal]

Wow, I have quite a bit of catching up to do and will get to SO's in a bit, but thought I would post first.

So, yesterday morning, I told dh that I was a little nervous going back to my old OB's office. Just felt a tad bit uncomfortable. I had never canceled my apt. as the new Mid Wife asked me to keep this last apt, but didn't need to let them know I was leaving her practice. DH just picked up my records for the switch and I never told them why. When I got there yesterday the receptionist was a little rude and said I thought you weren't coming back, which of course I don't tolerate nasty people and tend to give it right back. DH looked at her and asked "did we never canceled our apt.?" She said no, but you picked up your records, which to us means you transferred and I jumped in and told her I had a right to a second opinion (not that we are, just using that as a reasonable excuse). She then explained to me quite rudely that I should be aware that insurance won't cover separate consults and I reminded her that it was really none of her business. So, anyway, this is the crap in their office that I've been dealing with from day one and with the complications I've had, it is best that I found another practitioner. However, once something is under my skin, I have a hard time letting it go.

When I went back for my visit with the new Nurse Practitioner (wonderful woman and gosh, why isn't she an OB, I just wanted to give her a big hug because I actually felt for the first time with this pregnancy as though this women cared and she was so comforting) who did all the standard checks and my bp had sky rocketed. She told me she was going to call the OB on call from another office and she would be back. Ironically enough, she called my new Mid Wife who sent me straight to labor and delivery to be monitored for the rest of the day. I didn't even have a chance to make my second doctor apt. for the day or eat lunch which can I tell you skipping meals is highly not recommended when you are pregnant, let alone have GD (I've never felt so hungry in my life).

DH was a little freaked out, but I know this is crazy, but because some of you have shared your intimate experiences I felt comfortable and was fairly relaxed. So, thank you to those of you sharing, it really helps when another is in the same situation. Had I not known what to expect, with everything else, I think it would have sent me over the edge a little.

I have to say that I was actually thankful that I would finally get some info on whether or not any of the BP or GD complications are effecting Eva. So, being hooked up to all the heart monitors, being pricked for blood draws, providing all the urine they needed, and getting a very very long ultra sound made me feel so much better because if anything was wrong all of these tests would tell us.

Funny story though, I am thinking everyone working there thought we were crazy or something. The heart monitor for the baby was so loud, when you laughed or moved it it sounded like someone blowing into a microphone. I sneezed and it was so loud, which then sent dh and I into giggles making the most horrible noise ever and I just couldn't stop laughing. Making light of the situation and having a good sense of humor always makes for less stress. Plus, the nurses got a kick out of it too!

Anyway, the nurse finally came back into the room around 5pm and told us that everything looks great and we could go! Eva is measuring at 4 pounds 15 ounces and she is kicking like a champ, so we were sent home with one more test to do today and I have to go back this afternoon. Can I tell you how awesome the nurses were in L&D! I was getting really scared about delivering because I just assumed everyone was like my old OB. I am definitely going to send them a little something for being such wonderful women because seriously despite the circumstances they made our visit enjoyable!

I am feeling so much better though knowing nothing is effecting the baby right now! HUGE RELIEF! DH told me that I need to stop wishing for stuff. The night before all of this, I told him if I could only see her again, I would feel so much better. That wish came true yesterday!

[ajb524]

IUAlum- I just met with a peditrician for the first time today. He was really nice and went over all of his information and then asked if I had any questions. I asked him how soon would he come and see the baby in the hospital, how often we go back for check-ups, and what to do if we have an issue during the middle of the night. Hope that helps!
------------------------------------------------
I met with a pediatrician this morning and I've decided to just go with him. I know 2 other people that use him and are really pleased. He's a younger guy (early 30's) and has 2 kids of his own so I figure that he know's what he's doing ;). He also treats adults so if me or dh get sick with the baby he can treat all of us.

Well, I've got bunches of stuff to do at work today so I better run :)

Andrea

[JennZ]

IUAlum,
Peds-
Also check and see how fast your baby can be seen if he/she is sick.
And we like the fact that our ped has a "sick child" side and a "well child" side of the waiting room. That wasn't a deciding factor, just a bonus! :)
What are their hours- any nights, weekends or early mornings...

tgal,
Glad everything turned out okay!

trm98,
I had carpal tunnel with DD. My OB gave me a couple wrist braces to wear at night, and they really helped. But mine was definitely just in my hands and wrists, and not up my entire arm. I feel for you- it really is painful!

For those of you waking up with leg cramps, have you found anything that helps?
Hope everyone has a good day!

P.S. Happy Birthday Kat! (Didn't know until I saw Amy's post!)

[amychris03]

Just dropped by to say...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAT :)

[tgal]

Tracie: Sorry to hear about your GD results! Hope you are doing well!

Lost: Fantastic crib choice.

Abj: Sorry to hear about your experience with the class. Hilarious kitty pic!

Aches & Pains: I had the hip/under the left side of the crotch pain a few weeks ago. It lasted two weeks, ob told me it was round ligament , couldn't get comfortable no matter what I tried. Then it went away and I am now left with a pain/tingling sensation that runs from my tail bone down my left leg. Nurse told me yesterday it was a nerve issue.

Diaper Champ: Selected this based on being able to use your own bags. We bought two one for the nursery on the second floor and one for the basement livingroom.

Junk: LOL regarding the u/s comment!

Yby1 and Elly: Awesome bellies ladies!

Coming home outfit: I am trying to find a cute sweater outfit, but haven't had enough time or from what I've seen nothing has jumped out at me.

Christy: I can't see your pics either. I had issues posting pics with yahoo on the WC, so I switched to shutterfly and flipdog.

Birth Announcements: Probably only those we receive Christmas Cards.

Shannon and Elly: Congrats on passing your GD test!

Vaccination Schedule: Absolutely, but I need to read more. Thanks for the book rec, but if you have any websites that have useful info please post. I am running far behind on everything lately!

Trm: I hope you are feeling better.

Highchair: We registered for the same one Bernie posted at Walmart!

[ellybella]

ce_kathleen appartently the one hour was a fluke. not like it was too too high to begin w/ 142, dr. likes it at 130. i had a granola bar w/ yogurt before going in. the test probably caught it when it was spiking? who knows. all of my 3 hour numbers were in the normal range 86, 119, 127, 85.

tracie so glad everything is ok! what a scare. must have been great to see your baby boy!

trm sorry for the sleeping issues. i have good nights and bad. what is A535? dh is having some back issues and wondering if this may help?

birth announcements we are sending to friends, family and whoever has given us a baby gift. looks mostly like those who received our wedding invitations. shannon good girl for printing your labels already. i need to get the envelopes and start printing and sticking. when should you send them out?

tgal your ob's office sounds terrible! glad you made the switch. also glad everything w/ you and baby are ok!

ok girls, no more scares!!!

ok, all of you "girl belly" guessers, phart and heidi, you are FREAKING me out! :eek: two ultrasounds, both w/ shots of the "goods" should be accurate right!?! if not this girl is going to be wearing lots of blue!!! YIKES!

we received this high chair from the ILs at the shower.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000BF2VNI.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

we also liked the FP Healthy Care High Chair in this fabric because of the baby bargains rating and would have purchased it ourselves had we not received the other one from the ILs.
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/02/70/84/21/0002708421031_500X500.jpg

you can get it at http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3544003 $88.64 online and in stock.

several of my girlfriends have the FP Healthy Care Booster and highly recommend it. many take it to restaurants instead of using the dirty high chairs. it's on our registry yet to be purchased, but for $24.99 we'll probably get it ourselves w/ our credit.
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DEW8N.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[phart]

It's ok Elly...I'm carrying like I'm having a boy:-)

Happy Birthday Kat!!

[ellybella]

phart phew!

diaper bags? i still don't have a diaper bag. can any of you share what you've received or use that you LOVE? i really like this, but not so sure about the vinyl, is it too shiney?! i would like it to be a little less conspicuous and not scream here is my diaper bag!

http://www.missfitzinc.com/Folders/lib173/Store_Product_Images/whitecord.jpg

or

http://www.missfitzinc.com/Folders/lib173/Store_Product_Images/blueicefleurville.jpg

i also like this from llbean. similar to a baby bag they used to carry, but now it's called the touring bag. would just need to add the pad and wipes case. this is probably a lot more practical. (the larger one in the back)

http://cdn.llbean.com/products/travel_gear_apparel/35996/images/M35996_Powder_Blue.jpg

happy birthday kat!

[ellybella]

sorry if i'm OVERPOSTING today. i'm quite bored.

check these out. a customer of mine put me onto them a while back! oil cloth fold up changing pads w/ pockets.

http://patemm.com/graphics/img_product02.jpg

http://patemm.com/index.html

[jen71]

Happy birthday Kat!

Tgal- glad things are better. I can completely understand switching offices. You so do not need extra stress, & incompetence. My friend was going thru similiar times with her OB, & she just switched to. YOu have to do what you have to do,.

Highchairs- we have a graco harmony for Cassidy. It has winie the pooh on it, we got it at walmart.

Diapers- We thought of cloth diapers, but just never did it. But, I could not handle the extra work, I am glad we did not do it. I give anyone credit who takes the time to do it. We also had a diaper genie someone gave us, & it lasted about 8-9 months, then DH got tired of emtying it & we got rid of it. We just throw them in the trash now, now biggie. PLus her room started to stink alot with it.

Tracie- glad things are going ok. That must have been scary.

Jennz- as far as leg cramps, I just make sure I am taking in enough water, calcium. I have had a few, but not too many, & to me that is the only way to stop them is to make sure you are hydrated & taking in enough electrolytes.

Heidi- I have been thinking about a bath/shower before bed, but sometimes I feel TOO tired! BUt I do think it will help.

[amychris03]

ce_kathleen
I just figured out how to do it a couple weeks ago so don't feel bad;)
To send a private message you just go up to the top right where it says
Welcome, ce_kathleen in bold. Just under that you click on the link for
private messages and then once you get to that page, on the right under
private messages there is an option to "send new message." You just
type in my username and your message and submit it! I will send one
to you to see if you can figure it out... When you get it, it should say
you have an unread message at the top! HTH!:)

---
Well, Im off to my drs appointment in a bit. I swear my drs appointments
are like 10 minutes in length. Don't get me wrong, I love my dr, and I guess
I should be thankful that there is nothing else really to discuss because
I'm healthy and what not, but you'd think they'd be longer! When do I start
bombarding him with the million questions I've come up with in regards to
labor? ;)

[phart]

A good friend loves her oilcloth changing pad (just like that one) and I'm hoping she gets me one like she mentioned she might:)

Cloth diapers~~Lord knows I like to talk about the subject but it's really not that hard. A couple more loads of laundry a week and even then the folding and putting away is so much easier than clothes (which I hate).

Amy~~My appointments are short too. I chalk it up to having a *boring* pregnancy:)

[kdotp]

Happy Birthday KAT!!! :D

high chairs Haven't registered (I know, that's on the goal for this week) so we haven't decided on one yet.

diaper bags See above. :) I'm kind of picky about my accessories, though. I want something neutral and versatile. Or cute but not cutesy. I keep telling DH I would love a Kate Spade diaper bag (even though some think they're overrated), but I know that probably won't happen.

We finally ordered our furniture today! We got it from JC Penny and it looks like almost everything is in stock and could be at the store within a few weeks. Unfortunately, Track season has begun which means DH is busy pretty much every weekend from now until the baby is due. It's going to be difficult to get everything done, especially as I've reverted back to my first-trimester habit of falling asleep on the couch around 8-9 pm at nights.

[ShannonGH]

Happy Birthday Kat!!!! Hope your dh brings you a cake to the couch! ;)

tgal, definitely sounds like it was time to switch obs. Your old one's office sounded awful! So glad you have such a better feeling about your new one!

Leg cramps--anyone know what causes them? Cuz I haven't had a one and I wonder why.:confused: Not that I'm complaining because I have plenty of other crappy symptoms.:rolleyes:

On that note, I think I'm going to have to buy some Tylenol PM after work today. I had my second night of insomnia last night (not due to heartburn which is usually why I've been waking up lately). Woke up at 1am, finally fell back asleep around 3:30am. And tonight I can't go to sleep early cuz our pediatric CPR class is 6:30p to 9:30p. I'll be exhausted by the time that's over.

[Bernie]

Amy - My OB appointments have also been short, and I think I'm technically a high-risk pregnancy at this point! I don't think it's ever too early to start bombarding them with questions - and now that we're in the 3rd trimester- labor questions are totally legit!

kdotp - I actually got a Kate Spade diaper bag over the holidays, but I wound up returning it. I loved the look of it, and it was nice and large, but I didn't think the straps would ever stay on my shoulder when I was lugging one or both of the kids around.

I ordered two bags from nordstrom last week - an oioi and a caden lane. I couldn't make up my mind without seeing them in person, so I figured I would just return the one I liked least. elly - I really liked the mothership bag until I saw it in person. I was playing with it in the store and wound up getting the velcro in the front stuck to my sweater - making it all pilly and fuzzy. It soured me against the bag!

Happy Birthday Kat!!

[aprilshowers]

Happy Birthday Kat!! How've you been feeling? I get nervous when you're so quiet!

QOTD, You guys are freaking me out with all this high chair and booster seat talk. When does a baby start using those? I hadn't even considered registering for them bcs I figured they wouldn't need it until starting solids at 6 months? Am I wrong?

tgal, glad to hear everything is alright! You had me cracking up at the thought of the sneeze & giggles in the microphone.

Tracie, glad to hear you're alright too. Please take it easy!!

ajb, that photo is hilarious! But I hope your DH learns how to put clothes on the right way by the time baby is here ;)

[ce_Kathleen]

HAPPY B-DAY KAT!!!:)

aprilshowers - for DS we did register for a highchair and booster but then when he came and we realized we weren't going to need them for another 6 months and there were some other necessities we hadn't gotten we returned them to exchange for the necessities and then when DS was 5 months we went back and bought our chair.

amychris03 - I replied back to your PM I think I got it figured out and I hope it worked! Have fun at your (short) Dr appt! Mine are always short too and I just keep telling myself that its good to be in and out so quickly b/c I am not having major complications requiring more of the Dr's time.

[amychris03]

aprilshowers
I didnt register for highchairs either, we just dont have room for them
right now, so I figure we will get them as we need them!

Shannon
I read somewhere once that low potassium can cause leg cramps...
Im not sure ive been eating any potassium rich foods though and
I havent had any either, thank goodness!

----
Appointment was short and sweet again. I really really like my dr
and the fact that he says I look great and things are going perfectly:).
Evidently their office likes to see Glucose levels below 140 and mine
was 108:eek: Totally surprised me as I took the test the week after
Christmas when I was eating a lot of sugary treats:) We start with
the two week appointments as of now!

[kat]

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone! I gotta tell you, though -- I'm unfortunately in a lot of pain today (not as bad as yesterday, which was terrible) so frankly I'm not much in the mood for posting. All I'd do would be to complain and whine anyway. One of my friends sent me a b-day card that said something about behaving yourself on your b-day, and she wrote "Something tells me I don't need to worry about you doing that this year." :D

Anyway, I have an appointment on Friday with a rehab medicine doctor and then an appointment with my OB.

As for the QOTD re: highchairs: we didn't intend on buying highchairs right away since they won't need them for a while, but when I saw this deal at www.babyage.com, we couldn't pass it up:

http://www.babyage.com/icons/localhost/products/medium/1573176.jpg

Fisher Price Healthy Care Deluxe Highchair (deluxe = 3 trays) for $69.99. Cheap or free shipping (I don't remember) and no tax.

I hate the ruffles, but it got great ratings from Baby Bargains and I've read elsewhere that you can easily cut off the ruffles.

[heidi0622]

Happy Birthday Kat!

Sorry you're spending the day in so much pain. Yay for keeping those babies baking though!!

AmyChris: glad your appt went well. Yay for good glucose levels!

Shannon: sorry about the insomnia issues. Hope the Tylenol PM works. Good luck with your infant CPR class tonight. We don't take ours until early March.

kdotp: yay for getting your furniture ordered. BRU has pretty good hours, so hopefully you can drag your hubby there on a Sunday afternoon sometime. You can also get a lot of research done online to make things quicker when you're there (unless you're like me and change your mind the instant you enter the store).

elly: I'm so sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I am by no means the resident expert in belly guessing. Its just fun to see whether old wives tales come true or not. My Lamaze instructor last night said she had 4 boys and carried every single one differently. Your u/s's are right :)

tgal: so sorry about the scare! Thank goodness you had a very proactive dr. as opposed the jerk you dealt with in your old practice. Funny about giggling at noises the HR monitor makes. When our baby would roll around sometimes, it would sound like a large fart...DH and I were giggling too...you're right, great way to relieve a stressful situation.

ajb: yay for picking out a pediatrician. Sounds like a good one! I admit...the thought of interviewing them makes me so uncomfortable (totally stupid of me, I know), I keep procrastinating on doing it.

juli: sorry about the blood sugar issues. I'm sorry I can't offer any specific advice. Is there a nutritionist associated with your OB's office that you can call?

trm: sorry about the carpal tunnel issues, not fun! How frustrating that all of the classes are in French. Are there any options in a nearby community? Honestly though, there are a lot of good resources in books and online. You shouldn't be in bad shape if you read up on those. Also, you can try to contact someone from the La Leche League regarding BFing support. If there is no one in the local area that can offer support in English, I'm sure they'll be able to provide you support on the phone. Good luck!

tracie: yikes, what a scare!

announcements: I think I'm in agreement with all of you, I don't think Baby Announcements are a way to troll for gifts. We're sending them out to the majority of people on our Christmas list and both my mom and MIL want me to send some out to a group of people on their lists. I by no means expect any gifts from the vast majority of people on the list. I just think it is a nice way to share our excitement. I need to start pulling together my list, so I can create labels. I'm pretty sure we're just ordering a picture card from Snapfish or Shutterfly, so I can't preorder the envelopes. It should be easy enough to stick the labels on and stuff the envelopes with the pictures when the time comes. Some of the other announcements are so darn cute, but I won't have the time or $$ to send the fancy ones out since we are sending out over 100 of them.

diaper bags: we just registered for this at BRU by California Innovations...
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002XO5OC.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

It looked nice and simple, so hopefully it will work out. I may splurge and get a Kate Spade or something else a little more trendy once the baby is born. I want to wait until I figure out what I really need to bring in the diaper bag on a regular basis before splurging.

high chair: we just registered for the FP Healthy Care Booster seat and no high chair. My neighbor said they hardly used theirs and if we really decided we needed a high chair eventually, we could just use theirs. That is the plan for now.

Ok, have to get back to work now!!!

[Elenitsa]

AprilShowers - for back pain try doing some pelvic rocks / tilts. Basically you have to do the excercise on all fours and raise your back (round your back like a cat) and release. I'll try to find a better description if I have the time. Maybe doing a search will yield something. But those work great for me and my Bradley Instructor recommends them for a long life of a healthy back.

Leg cramps and a remedy - my M/W recommended eating bananas, along with lots of water and maintaining your electrolytes. I'm sensitive to them, so I only take in like a 1/2 or so, but it seems to help. Also, you have to remember that when you get one, do not try to bend your leg and massage the cramp. The best thing to do is to stretch out the leg and Flex your foot (***do not point your toes**)


Kat- Happy Birthday!!!

highchair - I'm looking at the FP Healthy Chair also.

Shannon - Thanks for the vaccinations book recommendation.

I would be equally interested in those of you who have come up with an ammended vaccine schedule.

I just wanted to mention that DH picked up this month's Mothering magazine for their coverpage article on Autism and he was reading about the links b/c the higher rates and vaccines. I really need to subscribe to that magazine. I found their Pregnancy book (from the editor) really wonderful too.