May 2006 Mommies: Gearing up for Motherhood!

[May2006Mommies]

May 2006 Mommies -- The 3rd trimester :D

1st Trimester Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?p=165128#post165128)
2nd Trimester Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=10503)

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

CC Name
Me: Name, age
DH: Name, age
DS or DD: Name, age
Married: Date
TTC: Date (optional)
BFP: Date (optional)
EDD: Date
Gender Prediction:
Confirmed Gender:

**When posting, please put in the subject line how far along you are (i.e. 13w, 1d; 20w, 4d, etc.)!


Please put updates in RED to make it easier to find them!

*Your co-moderators are Guinness, Southlooper, Jen1098.*

[May2006Mommies]

Akachan93
Me: Angela, 30
DH: Todd, 39
DS or DD: DS Charlie, 2-13-04
Married: 4-20-02
TTC: 12-2004
BFP: 8-24-2005
EDD: 5-2-2006
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a boy!!

April1234
Me: April (24)
DH: Chris (32)
DD: Lily 9 months old Born November 20
TTC: Feb 05
BFP: Sept. 7
EDD: May 18 until we see the Dr.
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Boy!!

AttyGrl74
Me: Kelly, 31
DH: Jason, 33
DD: Eleanor (Nora) 1 last week!
Married: 1/11/03
TTC: ?
BFP: 9/15/05
EDD: May 27, 2006 (May 25 by O date)
Gender Prediction: none
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Girl!

Bloomwood
Me: C 33
DH: J 34
Married: 10.02.04
TTC: July 2005
BFP: 8.26.05
EDD: 5.5.06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Girl!

catJennifer
me: Jennifer, 30
DH: 31
Married: 10-26-02
TTC: January 2004
BFP: 9/05
EDD: 5/16/06
gender prediction: boy
confirmed gender: it's a surprise!!!

crazycaro
Me: Caroline (33)
DH: Jason (33)
DD: Ruby (18 May 2004)
Married: 20 September 2003
TTC: April 2005
BFP: 25 August 2005 (& 28 August as well!)
EDD: 11 May 2006
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Girl!


Em7.31.04
Me: Emily, 26
DH: Mike, 26
Married: 7.31.04
BFP: 9.16.05
EDD: 5.24.06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!

fats
Me: Fats, 36
DH: Eco, 35
DS or DD: Two adorable fur babies (dogs) - Nola and Emmitt
Married: May 29, 2005
TTC: since the honeymoon, but not really actively
BFP: 9/11/05
EDD: 5/22/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!

Flyerwife
Me: H, 32
DH: D, 32
DS or DD: Z, 4
Married:5/17/97
TTC: 07/05
BFP: 08/31
EDD: 05/11/06
C/S: 05/04/06
Gender prediction: Girl
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Boy!

futurelamgirl
Me: Emi, 30
DH: Dave, 31
Married: 8.8.03
TTC: 8.8.05
EDD: 5.8.06
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a boy!!

Ga Girl
Me: Laura- 31
DH: John-36
Married: 3/20/99
TTC: 6/04
BFP: 9/03/05
EDD: 05/14/06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!

Guinness
Me: Caroline (30)
DH: Tom (31)
Married: 04/25/03
TTC: July 2005
BFP: August 21, 2005
EDD: May 1, 2006
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: Surprise


HallyP
Me: Heather, 23
FH: Eric, 24
DD: Hally, 4 (4/23/01)
TTC: 1/05
M/C: 2/05 7wks 2days
BFP: 9/6
EDD: May 16, 2006
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:

Heather719
Me: Heather, 27
DH: DH, 29
Married: 8/2001
TTC: 1/2003
BFP: 9/17/05
EDD: 5/18/06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: Surprise

Ironhair
Me: Sidney, 30
DH: Jason, 30
Married: 9/25/02
TTC: 6/2005
BFP: 9/10/05
EDD: 5/16/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!

JAJ
Me: Jenn, 33
DH: Chris, 35
DS or DD: Emily 16 months
Married: 10/26/02
EDD: 5/19/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:

jarm
Me: Jodi, 27
DH: Ray, 25
DD: Arlyn 6/2/03
Married: 7/20/02
BFP: 9/10/05
EDD: 5/18/06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: Surprise

Jen1098
Me-Jen -30
DH-Paul-35
married 7/6/-02
DS=Josh7/3/04
TTC-wasn't
EDD-5/15/06
Gender Prediction: None
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Boy!

jennydinny
Me: Jen, 27
DH: Al, 40
DS or DD: Amber, 5
Married: 11.19.99
TTC: almost 3 yrs!
BFP: 8.25.95
EDD: 5.1.06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a boy!!!


Kat&Matt02
Me: Kathleen, 30
DH: Matt, 30
Married: June 2002
BFP: 8/23/05
EDD: 5/2/05
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:

Kim
Me: Kim, 26
DH: Max, 28
DDs:Ava (6.20.02), Morganna (10.22.03)
Married: 10/13/01
TTC: August 2005
BFP: August 24, 2005
EDD: May 4, 2006
Gender Prediction: Girl
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Girl!!

kmfroggi
Me: Keirstin, 26
DH: Joel, 27
Married: June 14, 2003
TTC: July 2003
BFP: Sept 9, 2005
EDD: May 12, 2006
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Surprise!

kristin9903
Me: Kristin, 29
DH: David, 27
Married: 3/1/03
BFP: 8/23/2005
EDD: 4/29/2006
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!

LiLi
Me: Lili, 25
DH: Capt, 34
BFP: 29 Aug 05
EDD: 12 May 06
Gender Prediction: None
Gender from u/s / amnio: Will find out soon

Lolly
Me: Laura, 31
DH: 30
Married: 9/28/2002
TTC: August 2005
BFP: 9/11/05
EDD: 5/22/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio: Surprise

lowcountrywed
Me: Melissa, 27
DH: Mark, 30
Married: 9/1/2002
BFP: 9/1/2005
EDD: 5/13/06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!

lmg159
Me: Laina, 28
DH: Dan, 28
DS: Ben, turning 2 on 9/7
Married: 6/02
TTC: July '05
BFP: 8/22
EDD: 5/5/06
Gender Prediction: Girl
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Girl!

Mak
Me: Megan- 31
DH: Jeff- 38
married- 11/22/03
DD: Mimi, 12/27/04- 9 months
BFP: 9/26/05
EDD: 6/1/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:

marchfamily
Me: 32
DH: 36
Married: 5.31.03
DD: E, 1.9.05
TTC: Since DD was born
BFP: 9.2.05
EDD: 5.10.06 (scheduled c/s)
Gender Prediction: Girl
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Girl!

Missy 329
Me: Lisa, 36
DH: Jim, 37
DD: Katherine, 4/16/04
Married: 5/17/03
TTC: 12/04
BFP: 8/23/05
EDD: 5/6/06
c/s- April 28th
Gender Prediction: Girl
Gender from u/s / amnio: Surprise


mrsk
Me: Melissa (26)
DH: Dave (29)
Married: 7.12.03
TTC: 8.05
BFP: 8.28.05
EDD: 5.9.06
Gender Prediction: Girl
Gender from u/s / amnio: Surprise

mrst2001
Me: Jennifer, 31(on Sept. 4)
DH: T, 36
Married: 10/13/2001
TTC: January 2005
BFP: August 26
EDD: May 5, 2006!
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:Finding out Dec. 16th

Mrs U
Me: Mrs U, 30
BF: Mr M, 37
Married: in the process of divorcing hubby
BFP: Sept 15th, but knew by instinct a week before
EDD: May 16th, 2006
Gender Prediction: None
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a boy!!!

Nettie
Me: N, 31
DH: K, 33
Married: 5/4/2002
TTC: 8/2005
BFP: 8/27/2005
EDD: 5/10/2006
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a BOY!

Nettreefrog
Me: Jules, 29
DH: Fabe, 31
DS or DD: DD -- "Cheese"
Married: 2/15/04
TTC: 5/23/05
BFP: 9/03/05
EDD: 5/10/06
Gender Prediction: DD says Girl or send 'em back :)
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Boy!!

Parrothead
Me: Parrothead
DH: Mr. Parrothead
DS or DD: This is our 1st
Married: May 11, 2002
TTC: May 2005
BFP: 9/2/05
EDD: 5/13/06
Gender Prediction: DH and most everyone else, Boy; I say Girl
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Girl!

Shortcake
Me: Rebecca, 31
DH: Ryan, 31
DD: Gabrielle, 11/29/03
Married: 8/18/02
BFP: 9/13/05
EDD: 5/26/06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!!

smiles33
Me - 29
DH - 30
Married - June 22, 2002
TTC - June 2005
BFP - August 23 2005
EDD - 5/7/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Girl!

Sneezy
Me: Sneezy (31)
DH: Squeegy (33)
Married: 2003
TTC: May 2005
BFP: 8/24/05
EDD: 5/3/06
Gender Prediction: None
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Surprise

Sourdough
Me: 27
DH: 28
Married: o8.o3
TTC: o7.o1.o5
BFP: o9.o2.o5
EDD: o5.1o.o6
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio:

Southlooper
Me: 35
DH: 35
married 8/2/02
Furrybabyboy: Kirby
TTC: 7/04
DX PCOS: 5/05
EDD-5/27/06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Girl!

Spellbound
Me: Jude, 31
DH: Patrick, 32
Married: 09/25/04
TTC: August 2005
BFP: 08/25/05
EDD: 05/02/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!


Standrea
Me:Andrea-25
DH:Stan-25
Married Since:7/26/03
TTC:7/26/03
MC: 6/9/05
BFP:9/22
EDD:5/25/06
Gender Prediction: Boy
Gender from u/s / amnio:It's a Girl!!

Always in our thoughts:

IndianaBride
Bottleored
Sinclair319
Mrs-Mac
Jenzen01

[May2006Mommies]

Early Expectant May Mommies
(April 28 - May 10)
Spellbound (4/28)
kristin9903 (4/29)
Guinness (5/1)
jennydinny (5/1)
Akachan93 (5/2)
Kat&Matt02 (5/2)
Sneezy (5/3)
Kim (5/4)
crazycaro (5/5)
lmg159 (5/5)
Bloomwood (5/5)
mrst2001 (5/5)
Missy 329 (c/s 4/28)
smiles33 (5/7)
Futurelamgirl (5/8)
mrsk (5/9)
Nettie (5/10)
Sourdough (5/10)
Nettreefrog (5/10)
marchfamily (scheduled c/s) (5/10)

Mid-Month Expectant May Mommies
(May 11 - May 20)
Flyerwife (c/s 5/04)
marchfamily (5/12)
LiLi (5/12)
kmfroggi (5/12)
Lowcountrywed (5/13)
Parrothead (5/13)
GaGirl (5/14)
Jen1098 (5/15)
HallyP (5/16)
Ironhair (5/16)
MrsU (5/16)
Shortcake (c/s, 5/17)
April1234 (5/18)
jarm (5/18)
Heather719 (5/18)
JAJ (5/19)

Late May Mommies
(May 21 - June 1)
Lolly (5/22)
fats (5/22)
Em.7.31.04 (5/24)
AttyGrl74 (5/25)
Strandrea (5/25)
Southlooper (5/27)
Mak (6/1)

[May2006Mommies]

WELCOME TO THE WORLD!!

Girls: 10
Boys:8

Nolan
ADD: 05/15/06, 6lbs, 12oz, 19 inches
April1234
Me: April (24)
DH: Chris (32)
DD: Lily 9 months old Born November 20

Macey Elise
ADD: 05/09/06, 7lbs, 6 oz
Bloomwood
Me: C 33
DH: J 34

Chloe Denise
ADD: 3/30/06 5.5 lbs
crazycaro
Me: Caroline (33)
DH: Jason (33)
DD: Ruby (18 May 2004)

Kyle Joseph
ADD: 05/04/06, 8lbs, 3oz, 21 inches
Flyerwife
Me: H, 32
DH: D, 32

Elliot Judson
ADD 4/18/06 7lbs 7ozs 19.25 in.
Guinness
Me: Caroline (30)
DH: Tom (31)

Kyle Robert
ADD: 5/10/06, 8 lbs, 10 oz, 21/1/2 inches
Jen1098
Me-Jen -30
DH-Paul-35
DS=Josh7/3/04

Joshua Martin
ADD 5/1/06 8lbs 8.5 ozs 21 inches
jennydinny
Me: Jen, 27
DH: Al, 40
DS or DD: Amber, 5

Lila Grace
ADD 5/2/06 8lbs 15oz 21 1/2 inches
Kim
Me: Kim, 26
DH: Max, 28
DDs:Ava (6.20.02), Morganna (10.22.03)

Ethan Eric
ADD 4/17/06 7lbs 7ozs 20.25 in.
kristin9903
Me: Kristin, 29
DH: David, 27

Mary Elizabeth
ADD 4/29/06 6 lbs 5ozs 20.25 inches
Lolly
Me: Laura, 31
DH: 30

C.L.
ADD: 05/09/06, 9lbs, 4 oz, 201/2 inches
marchfamily
Me: 32
DH: 36

Margaret Elizabeth
ADD 4/28/06 7lbs 7 ozs 19.25 inches
Missy 329
Me: Lisa, 36
DH: Jim, 37
DD: Katherine, 4/16/04

Ainsleigh Marie
ADD: 05/05/06, 6lbs, 6oz, 20 inches
MMHinCA

David Henri
ADD: 05/06/06, 3470 g, 151 cm
Mrs U
Me: Mrs U, 30
BF: Mr M, 37

Samuel
ADD: 05/08/067 lbs 4 oz19 inches
Nettie
Me: N, 31
DH: K, 33

Meghan Elizabeth
ADD: 5/4/06 6lbs, 15oz, 20 1/2 inches
Parrothead
Me: Parrothead
DH: Mr. Parrothead

Joshua Blair
ADD: 05/14/06, 6lbs, 10.2 oz, 19.5 inches
Shortcake
Me: Rebecca, 31
DH: Ryan, 31
DD: Gabrielle, 11/29/03

Jocelyn Pearl
ADD: 05/12/06, 8lbs, 2.3 oz, 19 3/4 inches
smiles33
Me - 29
DH - 30

Marlowe Reese
ADD: 05/05/06, 8lbs, 10oz, 21inches
Sneezy
Me: Sneezy (31)
DH: Squeegy (33)

Keegan
ADD 03/09/2006 4lbs 15ozs. 18 in.
Spellbound
Me: Jude, 31
DH: Patrick, 32

Abigail
ADD: 05/12/06, 8 lbs, 9oz, 20 inches
Standrea
Me:Andrea-25
DH:Stan-25

[smiles33]

YIPPEE! We're now going down the final stretch, ladies!

Thanks to the moderators for starting the thread and keeping us going.

Just wanted to report that I got my Kushies play yard sheets, changing table sheets and crib sheets from the website I previously posted. They are great quality (soft, 100% cotton with the elastic all the way around the edge) and have some cute patterns. I asked for colors that were blue, yellow, or white (I know we're having a DD but I hate pink). They sent some adorable prints with yellow ducks on white background, a yellow/white striped print, and a blue something (animals?) on white background print.

I also wanted to see if anyone else's DC has been kicking like crazy. She seems to be both punching AND kicking, as I feel them in rapid succession on different sides of my belly (it alternates left side is punched/kicked and then the right side) and I don't think her legs can spread that far apart at this stage. It only happens when I'm lying down on my left side. Weird, huh? I want her to be feisty and a tomboy, but hope this doesn't mean she's going to be exceptionally active and never sleep!

Also, can one of the Mods please change my age to 29? I totally forgot to update it when my birthday came and went. Thanks!

Hope you're all having a great weekend!

[Southlooper]

Thanks Bloomwood for setting up the thread (I got the PM too, thanks!)

Not long now...:eek:

[shortcake]

Thanks for setting up the new thread!

smiles - That's great about the kooshies stuff! And yes, this baby is kicking/punching a lot like you describe. Earlier today I was lying on my left side (lying down b/c I got DD's cold) and he was going nuts - it was actually pretty uncomfortable!

[jarm]

I just want to say how surprised I am that there are so many surprises. When I was pg with DD, I think I was 1 of 2 or 3 who were surprised. Crazy! Anyone else with a surprise getting lots of grief from others? OMG...if I get asked one more time by someone who knows that we're not finding out what we're having, I think I might just have to scream.

Thanks for starting this new thread for us.

[Guinness]

Subscribing. Thanks Bloomwood!!

Jarm I get tons of grief for my surprise. I just say I am really enjoying everyone guessing. . . . maybe we should start taking money for a pool ;)

[jarm]

When anyone asks my DH what we're having, he always replies, "A baby." It was really annoying at first, but I've started doing it and people just look at us like we're idiots. Well...that is what we're having, isn't it?

[missy329]

Thanks for the new thread. It won't be long now!

Yep, I also get a lot of suprised people when I tell them we didn't want to know what we were having with our daughter or with this one. I have even had people accuse me of really knowing but just not wanting to tell anyone:rolleyes: I also sometime answer- A Baby- when people ask me what I am having!

Not too much new with me. I had my 3 hour GTT yesterday so I am hoping to get the results from that next week. I have realized that I really need to get busy with my daughter's room since she is being moved out of the nursery for this baby. I also realized that I only have about 8 weeks left because I am a repeat c/s and my Dr likes to do them about 10 days early. But, since I have complete placenta previa he said he may do the c/s a bit earlier this time. I will find out the date at my next appt on March 13th! But I am guessing around April 26th.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

[Spellbound]

Thanks for the new thread. Yay we're all in the homestretch now! The nursery is coming along (slowly, but getting there). I need some help on figuring out how to make the seat for the window seat though, and lighting. I'm drawing blanks there. The window seat is large enough that we're planning to take mommy/daddy naps there but I don't know how to go about starting it so that it's comfortable enough to do so (DH is 6'5").

I'm also at a loss on light fixtures. Any suggestions? I prefer something on the sophisticated side. Which brings me to post our first QOD.

QOD - Have you decided on a nursery theme, if any? Our nursery colors are blue, green and black and pirate themed - Arrr! Whimsical and bright, me hearties! Our shower in a month is being based on this as well.

smiles33 – I am certain this baby is going to be a drummer. I too am getting the multiple locations in succession. This afternoon, I experienced something that made me even wonder if he was having a bout of hiccups? It was odd since it was different from the other sensations I’ve been feeling, and timed rather evenly except they were located just on the one side of my belly. I smiled when you mentioned some worry about DC being feisty, because I’ve been thinking the very same thing!

jarm – I have a slightly different twist to the DC surprises. One dear friend though I love her to pieces is pregnant as well and has been driving me insane with her endless, “You are so lucky you know what you’re having!” statements. I’ve gently told her that she could easily schedule another ultrasound and find out herself but I think she just really enjoys griping at me about it.

missy329 – good luck on your GTT results!

[fats]

Thanks for starting the new thread!!! I can't believe this is the last one before the babies come!

Spellbound: I LOVE the idea of a pirate theme!!! That's so original. Please post pictures of the progress!!! We're doing an animal/safari theme. Eco and I went to Africa about a year ago on safari, so it's kind of 'our thing'. We're not really going overboard with it - mostly it's just the bedding we chose and matching accessories, but I also want to have "King of the Jungle" put on one of the walls.

Speaking of our safari/king of the jungle theme, I found this stuffed chair on Ebay and lost the auction but then a friend found another one for me - I will NOT lose this time!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/lionchair.jpg

QOTD I've been feeling a lot more kicks lately, but I didn't feel much movement until about a week ago, so I'm not complaining!

We're getting our 3D sonogram done today so I'll have lots of pictures to post - hopefully he'll cooperate and smile for the camera!

[Em7.31.04]

Thanks for setting up the new thread, mods! Can you please change my age to 26?

smiles33: I feel you on the simultaneous kicking & punching...I've decided that Billy Blanks (of Tae Bo fame) may just be inside me...

Nursery Theme: We're doing a dinosaur theme, but mostly with the bedding and quilt that we'll hang on the wall. Wall colors are bright blue. Rocker will be red. Other accessories will be red and green.

[kristin9903]

Mods Thanks for the new thread!!! It looks great!

spellbound I, too, LOVE your theme! It sounds really cute.

Nursery theme We have an animal theme, too. DH is a veterinarian, so it just seemed appropriate. DH's cousin went to the zoo and took some amazing pictures of some animals to hang in his room.

We had a nice weekend. Took another trip down to College Station (home of my alma mater) for one of DH's meetings. Ate at our favorite pizza joint in town and just relaxed. :)

[shortcake]

Nursery theme - We don't have one picked out. The walls are blue (sky blue I guess) and I keep gravitating towards airplane things but haven't bought any. We are getting a red chair from a friend, so I guess there will be red in there, and probably brown/tan accents too. We didn't have a theme for DD's room, so we may not here either. I love both the jungle & pirate ideas! Today we hung the blinds and put up baseboards and the overhead light, so things are shaping up in there! Now if only we had furniture.

[May2006Mommies]

- Updated -

[fats]

shortcake I thought about doing airplanes at one point. If you're looking for bedding, I think PB has the CUTEST set of airplane bedding!!!

We had our 3D ultrasound yesterday and got to see our little guy! What a cutie - I'm glad we have these pictures for his baby book. It's really amazing how much detail you can see - especially considering that his head is MAYBE the size of a baseball right now. How can he be so fully developed? It's really unbelievable. Here are a few of my favorites.

I love this one with his finger under his chin - he looks like he's thinking!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/28%20Week%20Sonogram/BABY_15.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/28%20Week%20Sonogram/BABY_7.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/28%20Week%20Sonogram/BABY_10.jpg

And here's a picture of what he looks like from the outside
27 Weeks
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/113_1331.jpg

28 Weeks
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/113_1338.jpg

[shortcake]

Fats - omg I love the 3d ultrasound!! That is so cool. And yes, I love PBK's airplane bedding, that's what gave me the idea. I don't usually buy there stuff unless it is on sale, but I may give in. :)

Did I tell you guys I actually am having a shower? I didn't expect to, but a couple of my mommy friends want to throw me one. Hopefully it will be low key, as I don't feel totally comfortable having one when I have a kid only 2 years older. But on the other hand I am happy to celebrate witih everyone...and if they want to help me stock up on boy things I won't complain! So that's April 8th. Yay!

[Bloomwood]

Fats - you look awesome and so does your little guy!!

spellbound - what an original theme! can't wait to see photos!

We don't have a theme. It is pink, green, white and very girly.

anyone just feel exhausted ALL. THE. TIME? I went to be around 9:30, was up for about 1 1/2 hours in the middle of the night and got up around 7. You'd think that'd be enough, but my eyes are burning and I look tired. I stopped taking my iron last week to let myself regulate after the scare, but I am going to start taking them again today. I'm just so tired!

[Lolly]

Thanks Bloomwood!

Fats those pics are amazing!!!! (of you too, you look great!)

shortcake I have seen a bunch of other airplane bedding sets around as well (for a lot less than PBK). I recall one has a puppy dog flying a plane. Its cute!

Our Surprise - When most people ask if we know the sex I just say that we want to be suprised and most are happy with that. Though sometimes I throw people off when they say 'What are you having?' and I respond with 'A puppy'! LOL, I love their reactions. Then there is always a group of people who will tell me stories about other people they knew that found out the sex beforehand, then when the baby came it was the other sex. I've heard that line a gazillion times! Why they need to tell me that I don't know.

Nursery theme - yesterday DH finally agreed to a bedding set. He did not want anything with a theme on it, but didn't necessarily want a plain boring set either. That's so hard to find (unless I were to get it hand made). So, he agreed to a lime green gingham set. Our sort-of theme is frogs. So this color will work well with either sex, IMO. And if its a girl I'll add some pink and lavendar accents. If its a boy I'll add some blue (my favorite color, BTW) to the room. So the bedding is pretty plain but I'm just so glad DH agreed to something!

[fats]

shortcake My shower is on the 8th too!!! How far along will you be? I'll be 34 weeks at that point.

[shortcake]

fats - neat! I'll be 33 weeks or so - I'm due the 26th. Looks like I'm only a few days behind you!

Lolly - thanks! I'll keep my eye out for other bedding I like. I'm really only looking for crib sheets and maybe a wall hanging or something - I won't be getting a quilt/bumper/ruffle or whatnot. So I'm sure I can find something I like!

[Standrea]

Hey everyone! I'm finally in the 3rd trimester!! I'm so excited!!

the baby has been moving and kicking like crazy. I think she had the hiccups yesterday too!!

Happy Belated birthday everyone!! I can't believe how many february birthday's there are!!

My dr.'s appointmetn went well. I passed the gestational diabetes test and am so excited i do not have to take the 3 hour test!! I gained 2 more pounds, for a total of 5.

Theme: WE are going with a sea life theme. Its pretty gender neutral, although we have been told we are having a girl, you can never be 100% sure...so we will paint the walls a light teal, and have pretty curtains up...if it comes out to be a boy then we will only have to change a few things....and a closet full of clothes!!

Mods-can you please update?

My next doctors appointment is March 23rd.

Also, can you change my age to 25, as well as DH's?? (his birthday is this saturday!!)

I hope everyone has a great day!

Fats-the ultrasound pictures are amazing!!

[Em7.31.04]

For those of you having boys....I just saw this adorable onesie on www.oldnavy.com:

http://www.oldnavy.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/336/336345/big/on336345-00vliv01.jpg

I think it is SO cute! :)

[Southlooper]

My 6-7-year-old students shared their wisdom about child birth today:

"Teacher, when you have a baby it hurts a lot. You will be screaming."

"When you have a baby they cut you right there (she draws a smile line across her tummy)"

Just when they get on your nerves they do something cute...

[May2006Mommies]

Updated

[Mrs U]

Hi all! Happy Mardi Gras/ Fat Tuesday/Fasching Dienstag!:D

Last night I finally felt little D having hiccups. Too funny cause I thought it was kicks, but realized that it was more rhythmic like a slow heartbeat. Must have been from the Grand Marnier strawberries that I made.;)

Fats You look marvelous! Love the 3D shots of your boy!

Em I'll have to email that to my mom since I cant order from ON online for some reason.:rolleyes:

Shortcake Cool that you are having a shower! I think I'm the only one not having one- it's just not a Swiss tradition and my family is too far away.

Bloomwood I need as of lately my afternoon nap. Thank goodness the dog likes to snuggle! :)

Nursery Theme No real theme, but we have been using navy, light blue, lime green, spring green and orange as the colors. We'll paint stripes as soon as we move into another apartment. I'll have to take some pictures of our nursery soon since it's done for the time being. Cant wait to see how everyone's turns out!

Off to make some blueberry muffins and then clean the apartment. We have a parade this afternoon that goes by our house, so maybe I'll see the other 2 moms-2-be neighbors that are due just after me.

[Standrea]

Good Morning! It's one of my favorite days of the year!! I'm off to buy puczki's for the office. I'm so excited that I can eat them and not feel guilty this year!! :)

I hope everyone had a great night. I have a QOTD:

-How many people are getting really tired of having to get out of bed at 4am to go pee? It is so tiring to me; and such a process. Buy the time i get the covers off, crawl out of bed (we changed our room, so now we are downstairs in a smaller room so the bed has to be up against the wall, and i have the wall:rolleyes: ), and stumble to the bathroom...pee, then do it all again backwards, I'm wide awake...it's terrible...

-Has anyone else NOT started their nursery yet? We still havent. It's really starting to make me upset and stress me out. I can't move the furniture out of that room (It's currently a spare bedroom with a bed, dresser, and nightstand). I am at DH's Mercy for this one. I think I'm going to take a week off of work to get it done...

Em-That is the cutest onesie...I'll have to look and see if they have anything cute for little girls.

Southlooper-That is so cute...definately put a smile on my face this early this morning!!

Mrs U-Care to send me some blueberry muffins??;)

[AttyGrl74]

Hey everyone - and thanks for setting up the new thread!

I'm kind of in shock (and perhaps a little bit in denial) that I'm in the 3rd TM already. Geesh, I feel like I need a few extra months tacked on to get everything ready!

Nursery theme We're moving Nora to a big girl room and leaving her nursery as-is for #2 (who still doesn't have a name - arg). I think I already posted photos, but if anyone wants to see them - I'll post again. We did bright blue, yellow & green polka dots.

Here is my 27 week Belly Shot
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/attygrl74/DSC00312.jpg

As you can see - my belly looks pregnant with a singleton baby but my arse definately looks pregnant with triplets! :D

[Guinness]

Time to catch up!!

Missy Hope the 3 hr went well! Did you get your results? I am a little jealous that you will know your little one's b-day soon. That is the most anxiety provoking for me.

Spellbound OO I want a window seat!! Have you looked at lamps plus online (if that is what you mean for fixtures). I have found some nice reasonable stuff there. Although you do have to weed through a bit.

Fats Love the chair, I have a similar one that is a frog. You look great and your u/s pics are so precious. It took me a while to get the 1st one, but now that I see it I am not sure how I couldn't at first :) I was trying to make it a profile shot instead of straight on. Cute little button nose and chubby cheeks :D

Kristin One of these days I am going to run straight into you in cs and we won't even know it ;) It was actually a beautiful weekend, and now it is starting to turn green - a little.

Shortcake Your nursery start sounds like the style I love. Never seem to be able to put it together easily, but those blue/beige/red combos I think are so classy looking. Yay on the shower!!

Bloomwood Let's see pics of your nursery. Sounds very cute. I am with you on exhausted. Not sure if that even captures how I feel. . . ugh how much longer??

LollyYay frogs!! LOL on the puppy response. I am going to start saying, 50% chance of being a girl :rolleyes: This gender neutral present buying kills people. I say keeps me from getting 1 million of the cutest pink dresses.

Standrea Yay on passing the GTT! And happy birthday to you and DH! 5 lb gain - boy am I jealous. Good for you.

Emily Cutest onsie. I might have to get that and store it or give it away if we have a girl. Too cute.

Southlooper Kids bluntness cracks me up. Love it.

Mrs.U Your nursery sounds great too! I am loving all the creative themes.

AttyGirl You look great. Your arse is NOT holding triplets! But I can totally sympathize with the feeling. I am feeling huge and so not attractive. I hate catching a glimpse of myself in mirrors or windows :eek:

QOTD's
Nursery Theme Ours is pretty non descript, some animals and I guess primary colors, although more rich dark than bright.

Nursery is started, but far from finished.

Sick of late night trips Count me in there. I feel like an 80 year old man trying to roll out of bed. What a pain.

Update on me:
Well I had a horrible night. I couldn't fall asleep so I went in the other room so to not keep DH up. I woke up at midnight with projectiles shooting out of me. Glad I caught all of it in a quilt and could wash it - UGH. Then at 4 am I woke up with the most major calf cramp. I am putting soap in my bed tonight no matter how silly it sounds. Needless to say I feel pretty out of it today.

We had our 4th childbirth class last night. It was okay. I have decided I don't want any of the techniques done to get the baby out (meds, no meds, c/s). Since that is my conclusion, I think I will try no meds if I can. . . since none of them look appealing, might as well go for it. It is funny to watch all of us preggos try to get comfortable all night. The chairs are awful and you can totally tell we are just feeling huge.

The good news is we are almost to March!! So exciting. Our month is really right around the corner. Sorry this was so long winded, guess I am procrastinating. Hope everyone has a good day.

[shortcake]

Anyone know much about Fifth's disease? Apparently DD was exposed in her preschool. I've looked online, and it is somewhat risky to unborn baby (5% of pg women have serious problems like m/c) so now I am really concerned! I will call my doc today but they are not open yet. The incubation is ridiculously long (during which time they are contagious) so I'm also annoyed b/c we hung out with a friend from preschool last week, which in my mind means we have to start the "quarantine" time over again! What I'm trying to decide is - G and I both have nasty colds. I can't tell from online whether that can be an early symptom of it or not. Well I guess it's silly to over analyze - I will talk to the dr. today anyway. Guess I just wanted to vent b/c I am worried and frustrated.

[AttyGrl74]

Anyone know much about Fifth's disease?

One of my co-mamas from September 2004 had her son diagnosed with it and she is currently 12 weeks pg with her #3. I believe it is along the lines of chicken pox and if you were exposed to it when you were younger, you would catch it now.

I believe that the risk is really highest during the first trimester and isn't so much during the 2nd and 3rd.

But I would contact your doctor.

ETA - I'm sorry that you're scared - I hope that it is nothing!

[missy329]

Well, I got the results back from my 3 hr GTT- unfortunately, I failed.:(
So, now I am waiting for a call from the Maternal Fetal Medicine Dr for an appt with them to discuss what's next. I have been seeing them every 6 weeks for u/s follow-ups on my placenta previa. I guess I will be seeing them more often now!

[Guinness]

Sorry to hear that Missy. At least you found out and can work with the doctor to make sure it is controlled. Keep saying the phrase -'the goal is a healthy mother and baby'. So hard to remember with the ups and downs of the process!! {{HUGS}}

Shortcake Hope your doc has info. {{HUGS}} to you too!!

[Parrothead]

Missy - Sorry about the GTT :(

QOTDs:

Nighttime trips - Fortunately, I have gotten a break from those since about month 4 or so. I am sure I'll be back to doing them again, soon...

Nursery - Ack. We have the bedding and ordered the furniture. But, we haven't started the actual nursery. We are *supposedly* closing escrow on 3/6 and moving on 3/11. The nursery room will be the dumping ground for a lot of our stuff until we get the call that our furniture is actually in. At that point, we'll clear it out, paint, and get it all set up. I hope that our little one doesn't try to come early...

[shortcake]

Missy - I'm sorry about the GTT!! That really stinks.

Attygirl - Thanks for the info on your friend whose kid has fifths disease. That is reassuring! I still haven't heard back from my OB - called them when they opened this morning, so a little annoyed - but it seems that consistantly my friends' (who were also exposed) docs have told them not to worry if they are past the 1st tri. So I'm feeling much better.

Guinness - Thanks for the hugs! :)

Parrothead - Ugh, trying to move this late is so difficult! We did that with #1 (though into an apartment so no escrow issues or anything). I'm sure you'll get it all done in plenty of time though. Make sure you don't work yourself too hard (like I did)!

[Em7.31.04]

Fifths Disease: It's something that most adults have immunity to, due to childhood exposure. My immunity was tested during my initial pg blood test - but that's because I work in a childcare center and am at a higher risk for exposure. Turns out I'm not immune to it...so if I was exposed at work I'd get a few days off. :-) But it's more of a concern during the 1st tri.

Here's the link to the exposure notice we'd use at our center (I hope the link works): http://www.psesd.org/ecfs/documents/fifthsEN.pdf

[fats]

Thanks for all the compliments - on me and my little guy!!

AttyGrl You look great!! you're glowing! And I can't even see your butt.

Missy That really sucks about the GTT - I don't know why, but it never occurred to me that one of us might actually fail the 3 hour test. I should be finding out in the next day or so. But like Guiness said, if you have GD then you have it and it's better to know than not know.

Getting Up to Pee Man, this has really sucked. Sometimes I get up 3 or 4 times a night. And sometimes the pressure is so bad that it's actually painful to walk to the bathroom!!

QOTD Anyone feel a constant tightness in their belly? I had this again last night. I'm wondering if it's BH, but it doesn't come and go. It just comes and stays. Sometimes I feel like I'm walking around wearing control top panty hose - in a size too small. But my clothes aren't too tight, it's just like my body is too tight.

[lowcountrywed]

Nursery theme We are doing a sailboat theme with blue walls and green accents. I was just emailing a friend of mine about doing a mural for us. I'm very excited about that. We have our bedding and this weekend I went to HomeGoods and scored some great accessories: a lamp, a painting, baskets with liners and storage boxes.

Other than buying stuff- we haven't done much with the nursery. We have it almost cleaned out (Our desk is mammoth and it will be quite a challenge to move it), but we haven't painted yet, we're getting new carpet, so there's a lot to still be done.

Did you ladies help your DHs paint or did you stay away to avoid the fumes?

[fats]

Yay - I passed my 3 hour GTT!!

lowcountrywed My doctor didn't want me in a room being painted. I know plenty of pregnant women paint without problem but I stayed out.

[crazycaro]

Subscribing!

I can't believe it is freaking 1 March!!! The babies are going to start arriving like SOON!

I am 30 weeks tomorrow, and feeling every week of it.

My baby is frank breech at this point, so a (repeat) c'section is looking likely unless she turns (not likely in my case) or we try a version. I need to think on it because I would like to have a VBAC but a version scares me.

I don't know how she isn't uncomfortable!

This is a description of frank breech:

" The fetus's buttocks are aimed toward the birth canal and the legs stick straight up in front of the body. The feet are near the head. "

Ruby was like that too, it took a couple weeks for her legs to settle down and not look like a froggy. :)

We had an u/s yesterday and she is so cute. :) Measuring at 60% (3 pounds 4 ounces). Ruby was 3 pounds 10 ounces at birth, she is close to that weight, eek! Crossing fingers I don't have another prem baby, well not as prem as 31 weeks, I would be happy to reach 36 weeks.

I'm so over my weekly appts, just because I have to wait at least an hour to be seen and Ruby cracks it and it's just frustrating, especially as I am in and out. My poor doctor is apologising to me every week!

DD1 is driving me nuts today, oh what fun all you new Mums have to look forward to. :D

[Southlooper]

More 6-year-old wisdom:

"Teacher, how many kids do you have?"

"This will be my first."

"You should have 2 or 3, but not 5. My Tia has 5 and their house is always messy."

Anyone tired of going to work? I am SO OVER working. I am counting the days 'til my maternity leave starts. We had a brawl a work today between 2 mom. Seems Kid "A" hit Kid "B". Kid "B's" mother heard about it and HIT Kid "A". Kid "A's" mom lost it. The police had to be called, it was a nightmare.

[smiles33]

Hi ladies! I'm actually supposed to be compiling info for our tax return, but just wanted to pop in and say hello! Looks like we're all progressing, though I can't believe I still have 9 weeks of not being able to breathe! I'm short of breath any time I take a flight of stairs or walk fast, and it's painful to sit for too long because I can't breathe.

I just had an appt today and I'm actually measuring at 31.5 weeks, even though I just started my 30th week! So my OB GYN thinks the girl will be big--8 pounds or more. WOW. Still in shock over that.

Jocey's room is almost done, as the installers are coming Friday to put up her plantation shutters. Then I'll take some photos! We went with the Starry Night/Starlight theme from Wendy Bellissimo. It's gender neutral with the pale yellow walls and blue wallpaper border, just in case Jocelyn turns out to be a boy.

Hope you are all doing well!

[Em7.31.04]

Belly Tightness: YES!!!! The first thing I do at night when I get home is take off my work pants (sometimes jeans) and put on comfy sweats. But it still feels like I have the restrictive band around my tummy...Good description, Fats, it's like my body is too tight.

Painting: I painted the first coat in our nursery all by myself...It took me forever and a day to do it, because I was so slow and tired...DH and I worked together for the 2nd coat. I've read some things that say not to paint at all while pg...and others that say it's fine w/latex paints and with good ventilation. I'm too picky and wouldn't have been happy w/DH's paint job if he'd done it alone (crazy, I know), so I figured I'd just get it started on my own. It was more tiring than pre-pg, but otherwise fine.

I work at a preschool, so I have some additions to the "out of the mouths of babes" collection:

"Teacher, are you having a baby?"
"Yes."
"Oh, because your tummy is really big." Gee, thanks! :p

"Is your baby coming out yet? Why not?"

"Your tummy looks like a basketball. It's getting really big. Are you having a basketball? Do you know that I play basketball on a team?"

:D

[shortcake]

Em - Thanks for posting the Fifths letter. I think I may be in the clear! :) Our exposure was about 2 weeks ago, and the doc said that the cold we currently have does not sound like the early symptoms at all. Also that this late there's really nothing to worry about. Yay!

Painting DH did nearly all of it (we have done all 4 bedrooms and 3 doors so far) but I did do touch up painting all around the edges of the doors, etc. But it's hard to get good ventilation here b/c it has been so rainy that we don't usually get to open the windows while we paint.

crazycaro - That sucks so much about your weekly, always late appointments! I hate taking Gabrielle to appointments with me. At first I thought it would be no biggie but she is so scared of the dr. she cries the whole time thinking she's up next or something. Once a week the dr. offers a 5:30 appt and I've been getting it whenever I can and making DH come home early to watch her. I didn't know Ruby was so early...what was the reason, do you know? DD was also small - 4 lb 13 oz - but 36 weeks so pretty close to term. She was induced b/c they were worried about her size. (She was bigger than they thought based on u/s and should have just stayed in for the full term!)

fats - Yay on the GTT!!!

Oh no - I just realized my GTT is on Tuesday...that means starting this weekend my plan is to eat less sugar & simple carbs for a few days (the doc said that as a tip since I told her last time I failed the 1 hr and passed the 3 hr). BUt I will be craving sugar so bad!!

[Mrs U]

Happy March 1st!:D It snowed here last night. I wish it would stop so spring can finally arrive.

crazycaro My boy is still frank breech as well. *fingers crossed* that he turns by the 14th or we'll be trying the version. I've tried to find more info about how they do it here in Switzerland, but to no avail.

Southlooper Never a dull workday eh?

Missy Sorry to hear that you failed the GTT.

Standrea I'd love to send ya some muffins, but they go quickly in this house.;)

Belly Tightness: I tend to get this if I walk too quickly or do the darn stairs too many times in the day (we live on the 3rd floor which makes laundry day a ton of fun :rolleyes: ).

Painting We'll paint if and when we move. Not worth it for the 2 small walls in the baby's room. The rest is horrible wood paneling.

[Standrea]

Anyone tired of going to work? I am SO OVER working. I am counting the days 'til my maternity leave starts. We had a brawl a work today between 2 mom. Seems Kid "A" hit Kid "B". Kid "B's" mother heard about it and HIT Kid "A". Kid "A's" mom lost it. The police had to be called, it was a nightmare.

You have no clue-Actually, you probably do. We have a radiothon on thursday/friday/saturday this week, and then a telethon on Sunday. There has been so much "rush" around the office, it makes me full of anxiety. I cannot wait until late sunday night when everything is over. My dr. DID ask though, how I was feeling about work. If I said it stressed me out, would she have pulled me? Personally, I would LOVE to work part time right now until the baby comes, but I know that is NOT going to happen.

Mrs. U-We got snow too...I don' t know if its from the pregnancy, but I definately think I've had S.A.D. this year. I'm thinking because any activity is off limits, and we haven't really had MUCH snow, but its been FREEZING...

I hope everyone has a fantastic day. I can't believe it's wednesday alreayd and how fast time is flying.:)

[Jen1098]

Again I've fallen quite behind. So I"ll do my best to catch up.
I also can't believe it's March. So many March mommas have already had their babies. Once the April moms start having babies then it will really hit me that this is coming quick.

Anyone else's clothes not fitting. I swear it's so annoying, my pants and underware keep falling, my shirts aren't covering my huge belly. Gap.com was having a sale so I ordered a sweater for $4 and a shirt for $5. I don't want to buy to much more b/c this is our last baby.

I'm wondering if I have Pupps. I did some research on line last night and I seem to have what they describe. I have a Dr. appt on Monday so I'll bring it up then.
My belly, butt, and lower back are red and itchy and I have these purpleish bumps on my thighs. Very odd. DH kept saying it's dry skin but now I'm not so sure.

Mrs U Crossing my fingers your little one turns. I am also so tired of the cold weather. I'm ready for some warm weather. I want to break out my flip flops.:)

shortcake Ack a full weekend without sweets. Good luck. :) I'm glad to hear it sounds as if you're in the clear for fifths disease. It's the last thing a pregnant woman needs to worry about.

Em7.31.04Very cute comments from the kiddos. At least they aren't getting more in depth and personal.;)

smiles33 I hear ya on the shortness of breath. I told DH I'm going to start using the delivery service for our grocery store b/c I'm getting tired of going up and down the stairs.
Don't let the Dr. freak you about what the size of the baby might be. It's so hard for them to be accurate. Josh was 8lb 5oz and my Dr. was shocked and said he would never have guessed it and said that's why he doesn't try and measure how big babies will be.

Southlooper My goodness I can't believe those moms. Insane.

crazycaro I also have to take Josh to my Dr. appts. and I hate it. Luckily they don't keep us waiting as long as you. Do you have a laptop that plays dvds or a portable dvd player she could watch videos on? I think I'm going to try that next time.

fatsYay for passing your GTT. Love the pics of your little one. So cute! Oh yeah I get the tightness when I do to much walking. Not comfortable!

I know I've missed so much more but Josh is walking around eating a slice of bread and I need to make sure he isn't leaving any surprises. Oh don't worry I feed him breakfast but if I leave the bread on the counter he wants a slice. Oh well could be worse he could be crying for cookies.:D

[shortcake]

Jen - Ugh about the itch! It could be pupps. But regular lotion (in case it is just dry) won't hurt anything and might give you some relief either way!

Names - Can I take an informal poll?? :) We have decided on Joshua for the first name, and are debating between Trent (which DH wanted for a first name but I rejected in part simply b/c my family didn't like it and I couldn't get over that, but I think is a nice name) and Michael (which we both like but it is obviously much less unique - but it also could be "after" someone in my family which would make people happy) as a middle name. So the choices are:

Joshua Trent
Joshua Michael

And frankly if you have any other brilliant middle name ideas I'd take those too! So...which name do you prefer? Thanks!

[Bloomwood]

shortcake - I think I prefer Joshua Michael only because "Trent" sounds like it is short for Trenton and feels unfinished. But, Michael has always been one of my favorite boy names - ever since a 3rd grade crush :o I love the name Joshua too!

Jen1098 - yep, clothes not fitting. I had to ask a gf for some of her shirts from late in her pgcy. Now, my "favorite" (casual and I can wear them w/o heels) jeans are sitting too low. I REFUSE to buy anything more maternity.

southlooper - that is a crazy work day. As of today, I have 45 days of work left. But, who's counting?? :p

standrea - sorry you have been down this season. I am certain that if I gave birth in winter, I would have SAD and PPD. Good luck pulling through this last big project!

Em and southlooper - love the kiddo sayings!

smiles - I love that theme. I can't wait to see pics!

Caro - good luck keeping this little one baking!

That's as much as I can read on this page...Hi to everyone else!! Sorry for no SOs!

=================

Well, I have to say the 3rd tri is not my favorite. I have loved being pregnant, but the aches and pains are beginning to drag me down. I FINALLY got a good night's rest last night. Amazing how much better I feel. I am still achy, but just feel more alert. I was also rear-ended yesterday. No damage was done and I wasn't hurt, but my neck and back definitely absorbed the shock as I was turning my head to look at oncoming traffic. Ugh. Not what I needed to add to my list of ailments!

I'm not much of a complainer (I leave that to my mom), but let me just say:
My clothes don't fit
I am congested
My friend had to move her car parked next to mine b/c I couldn't open my door enough to get in with my belly
My back, neck, and FEET hurt (walking the pooch is becoming burdensome)
I have a bit of acid reflux
90% of the time I feel like all I want to do is sleep, but I can't b/c I have to live my day
I hate taking the iron supplements b/c they make me constipated

I'm sure there are more, but that's a start.

But...the good news...it's March! We're getting close. (but is that good? for all the belly aching the babes are much easier to deal with in our bellies that once they are out!!)

[shortcake]

Bloomwood - ugh about being rear ended! And I hear ya on all the complaints about the last trimester. Thanks for the thoughts on the name!

[Mrs U]

Shortcake I like the sound of Joshua Michael.

Bloomwood Hope you are ok after the fender-bender. I find that I sleep really well if I DTD just before sleeping.:p I must admit it's becoming a bit harder with the belly, but so worth the sleep.

Jen I have a limited selection of clothes that fit and I need something better than sweats/PJ bottoms for Friday's meeting so I need find something ASAP.


So I received the most ironic phone call this morning from my lawyer. I have to meet up with him, my ex, and his lawyer on Friday- 3.3 which is our 3rd anniversary to discuss this whole bloody divorce. Should I bring some cake? :p

[fats]

Wow - I just posted last night and I already have over a page of posts to catch up on. In no particular order (sorry - can't remember who said what):

What is a version and what is pupps?

The kids comments are hilarious - so cute, it makes me that much more excited about having one!

My clothes are starting to get tight - the pants not the tops. I hate thinking that I need to buy MORE clothes when I only have 3 months left, but I'm going to Destination Maternity next weekend so I'm going to take an inventory of my closet first and then buy only if I absolutely have to. The main problem is work - I need to be presentable here.

Speaking of work - I am so done!! I feel like I'm counting the days and I'm actually starting to wonder if I should change my plan and stop working before my due date. Originally I wanted to work up until I went into labor, but I just don't know if I can make it. What are you all planning? When will you start maternity leave?

The fact that it's March is freaky, but even more freaky is that fact that some of us are now in single digits in terms of how many weeks we have left! I think that's when it's really going to hit me - when I reach single digits.

Discomfort - it's like clockwork. Last month was my best month of pregnancy and once I hit the third trimester it's all been going downhill. First the tightness that I get on occasion and now I'm suffering from really bad reflux. I've had it before but I didn't know what it was because it didn't burn so I figured it wasn't heartburn or acid reflux, but it basically feels like I swallowed a pill and it got stuck in my throat. But it never gets better and it takes forever to go away. Last night was the worst - I actually had something come back up (sorry if TMI) and that burned - maybe that was acid reflux, but the 'stuck in my throat' feeling never went away and I had to try and sleep sitting up. And I still have it this morning. I think for me this has been the worst symptom to date. It's so uncomfortable.

Progress: I found a mohel yesterday (to do our ritual circumcision - jewish ceremony). I'm so happy because not only was I having trouble finding someone who would come to our area, but I really like this woman (strange that it's a woman) and she's also a licensed physician which makes me feel a bit more comfortable about the fact that she'll be weilding a scalping near my baby's little penis. And she makes a real effort to personalize the ceremony as much as possible. The best part is that she informed me that it doesn't have to be done on the 8th day (which was totally surprising to me but another mohel I spoke to said the same thing) so this way we can schedule it on a Sunday and have friends and family there. Otherwise it would have been just us and maybe my mom, which was kind of sad to me.

We're going to see another pediatrician today and then we'll have visited all of the practices we wanted to see. Phew - this is hard work!

Oh yeah - shortcake - I like Joshua Michael better. But you should go with what you and DH like and not worry about the family as much - it's a middle name so it's not like it's going to be used constantly.

[Lolly]

Mrs. U, lol! hope the meeting goes well.

Shortcake, I like Joshua Michael too!

I have my GTT test tomorrow at noon. I haven't been restricting myself in what I have been eating. I figure I would eat as I normally would, sweets and all. I'll either pass or I won't but I didn't want to change my diet just for the test. If I don't pass on what I would normally consume then I figure I would have to change my diet for the longterm anyway.

We'll see how it goes though!

[AttyGrl74]

Hey Lolly - One of our name choices is Laura - did you have any nicknames/teasing names that you hated as a child? :D

edited - apparently can't spell today

[Mrs U]

Fats A version (External Cephalic Versoin) is where they try to turn the baby in the womb from the outside so the baby is in a better birthing position. It's risky- could result in an emergancy C-section if something goes wrong (cord is compressed or the placenta is disturbed) so it's usually done in conjunction with an U/S and fetal monitors. Most dr's will only attempt this once- if it doesnt work and the baby doesnt turn on it's own, one will have to have a C-Section.

[Jen1098]

So tired, quick post then it's off to nap for me. I hope Josh decides to take an extra long nap!

shortcake I like Micheal also, I think it flows a little better. And I love your choice for a first name.:D

BloomwoodSorry about the accident but luckily you weren't hurt. Very scary though.

fats I was wrong it's PUPP w/o an S. From what I've read, it's basically a very itchy rash that spreads from your belly to thighs and legs. From what I understand it pretty much goes away once you deliver the placenta. It can be pretty bad from what I've read so hopefullly with me it's just dry skin. And this is why the doctors hate the internet. I'm already self diagnosing myself.:)

[Spellbound]

Thanks everyone for sharing their plans/themes for the nursery! I loved reading about them all. I promise to share photos of the pirate nursery as we move along (means I need to finally recharge those camera batteries!) and hope to see yours as well.

Fats, awesome 3D and belly photos! You’re absolutely beaming.

Soutlooper I loved the childrens’ wisdom. Our nephew told me at Xmas something similar about the doctor getting a big knife to cut my belly wide open.

Attygrl74 you’re too precious in your photo with DD! I’m sad that we haven’t been taking pictures of my evolving belly/body. Yet another good reason to finally charge those batteries.

Guinness thanks for the suggestion about going to Lamps Plus – I will probably do just that! The chairs in our child birthing class are also incredibly miserable. My DH and others are constantly complaining about them too, so it’s not just the pregnant ones! I’ve gotten up a few times to plop myself on the floor with my pillow while everyone else stays seated.

Missy329 I’m sorry to hear about the GTT failure.

Smiles33 I am dreading to hear how big this baby is going to be. My MIL has told me multiple times how big DH and his siblings were at birth…and how they all had HUGE heads! Arrgh.

Shortcake I like the sound of Joshua Michael!

Bloomwood I'm sorry to hear you were hit, I'm glad you/baby weren't hurt in any way.

Painting - DH insisted on painting the walls but I was impatient and stayed with him (just opened up all the windows for ventilation) after I looked it up online and felt comfortable with what I had read regarding using latex/water-based paints. I painted the changing table recently (it was new and natural wood, but inexpensive enough that I felt okay painting it), a shelf and I'm starting to paint images on the walls as well.

[kristin9903]

Bloomwood Sorry about the wreck and that the 3rd tri isn't treating you very well.

Shortcake Another vote for Joshua Michael!

Guinness I know! Not that we'd find each other...that town has exploded in the past 3 years. I remember when half of the shopping centers there were fields!

Just got back from my 32 week appointment with some not so great news. The baby's doing great: he weighs 4.3 lbs now, is head down, and is practicing his breathing. Me: not so much. My blood pressure and weight gain are fine, but I'm getting a lot of edema in my ankles and some cramps every now and again, too. Turns out my body isn't handling pregnancy well anymore and I'm developing toxemia. He said the baby was definitely going to be early, but he had no idea how early...although he suspected it would still be a few weeks until my body gives out. After my next appointment, I have to be seen every week to check the progress. I have 2 weeks to get everything done (including my completely empty, non painted nursery) before I have to start bedrest. Argh.

[Lolly]

AttyGrl74, I of course love the name Laura! :D I can't recall any nicknames. And its not a name you can shorten to make one out of. Lolly is a nickname for Laura, but honestly no one called me by it. I happened to find it when looking up my name on some baby website years ago. Anyway, I think its a PERFECT name! Oh and if you are thinking of middle names mine is Colleen. (altough my mom also liked Beth or Elizabeth as a middle name). CUTE pic BTW.

~ Laura Colleen :)

kristin9903 sorry to hear about your bed rest.

Bloomwood so glad you're OK!

Painting, my DH won't let me paint, pregnant or not (he feels he does a much better job, probably true). I think he'll start painting the room as soon as I pick the perfect shade of lime/granny smith apple green.

[ga girl]

AttyGrl74- My name is Laura and the only nickname I've ever had from it was "Lo"- not even sure how that started but one of my college friends has always called me that. Laura's a pretty nickname- proof choice.

[Em7.31.04]

kristin9903: You're in my thoughts as you make your final preparations for bedrest...Just remember that the end product will be so worth it.

shortcake: My vote is for Michael, because that is DH's name. :)

I'm having an "I'm huge and uncomfortable" day today...But on a brighter note, tonight was my last class until after the baby is here! I'm taking spring quarter off. No more Wed nights getting home at 9:30...Yeah! :D

[Guinness]

Bloomwood Glad you are okay, and hope your neck and back are hanging in. Take care! I am so with you on 3rd trimester aches etc. I just am ready to have a baby! Everything hurts :(

Kristin Good luck getting ready for rest. So sorry to hear that. Have you found someone to cover your classes etc. It will all be worth it!

Crazycaro Keep her a bakin'!! I just saw a frank breech birth on TV. Those little ones are flexible

JenSorry about the PUPPS! I am with you on clothes shrinking. Hard to find shirts that cover the whole belly and top of pants. We got a ways left.

Spellbound LOL at the pillow. We don't bring pillows or believe me I would be down there. The floor is kind of gross.

Fats Wow you have gotten lots done!! I hear you on so done with work. My focus level is -100%:rolleyes:

QOTDs
Discomfort This is on high for me. Just uncorfortable a lot. I did finally get a great nights sleep :D

Progress We have lots to do, nursery is done but we aren't ready for a little one. My shower is March 25th, so waiting until that and we will fill in from there. Appointments with peds are in a couple weeks, but we don't have many choices so it should be easy.

Maternity leave I am supposed to be teaching through my due date. I have rescheduled my class so my last day is April 21. Plan to make it until then. I will probably go into work some after that, but to finish up grades and get organized.

Alright, off to get ready. Have a great day everyone!

[shortcake]

Only time for a quick post right now so -

Kristin - ugh sorry to hear about the upcoming bedrest, and that your body isn't handling this well. Glad baby is doing good though!

Names - wow, overwhelming majority for Michael. I will have to have a talk with DH! I am such a sucker for "what other people think." :rolleyes:

[Lolly]

ga-girl, I had a friend who called me 'Lo' too! He started calling me that in college too and still does call me that. Not sure where he got it from but I thought it was because my maiden name began with an O. So that's where I thought he got L.O. from. Too funny we have the same nick name. (although attygrl74 only one person calls me that).

Guinness we have the same shower date!

[nettreefrog]

Well we got back on Saturday from Puerto Rico, but I just have not been in the mood to post here. I did do a write up in my LJ about our trip, the family drama, and my horrible sunburn. After getting back, I have created a long to do list, and have been successful in checking a number of things off of it. The only baby related item is the ongoing search for day cares… Other than that, we got our car back from the body shop, are registering my DD for summer camp, are constantly trying to make my depressed father happier, and so on. Preparations for the baby will come –but I need to concentrate on the stuff going on right now—work, family, and the day-to-day activities.

At my appointment today, Gabriel’s HB was 152, and my blood pressure was 100 over 60… My GTT was normal –and the doctor said that everything looks perfectly normal. There is still side pain after I have been sitting, and Gabriel is constantly moving. My next appointment is March 21st @ 8:30 am –and I will be having an u/s at that time. Lastly, moderator please update my age to 29.

Hope all is well with all of you… I will do SOs later…

[Em7.31.04]

Has anyone noticed a difference in their hair since becoming pg? Or extra hair growth in other areas...? :rolleyes:

My hair is really dull and limp these days...I'm getting a haircut this weekend and just want to chop it all off. Probably not a good idea though. I also have a ton of wispy hairs on my belly that stand straight up. Ugh, so not attractive!

[jarm]

Yep...keep getting hair on my belly! What is up with that? I had them with DD too! And man does the hair grow fast...crazy!

[May2006Mommies]

Updated to here

Happy Birthday Nettreefrog!!

I also added to the baby count posting (saved for) our expectant due dates. I just like to see who's where sometimes . . . Hope nobody minds :)

[Em7.31.04]

Has anyone started thinking about birth announcements?

I've come across these websites so far:

www.inababycarriage.com

www.metrobabycards.com

Do you recommend any others?

[nettreefrog]

Going to check out a daycare... My b-day was in December, but it was not updated...I do appreciate the wishes though :D

[flyerwife]

Not much time for individual so's today. I hope those of you that have to adjust diets and prepare for bedrest are doing well, as well as those of you that are not.

Haven't even thought about Birth Announcements yet, heck we haven't even decided the nursery color yet. Guess we'd better get rolling. Although I did pay 20% of my delivery fee to the doctors office yesterday. They have a policy that it must be paid 2 months prior to the due date, so that's done.

I had a doctors appt yesterday. All is still fine, some more weight gain and my blood pressure was up from where it has been but he wasn't concerned so I'm not either. Could have been the annoying women sitting next to me in the waiting room. She was annoyed that her appt was running late, so she chose to complain to me, while I was reading a book. I almost laughed when she told me which doctor she was waiting to see since the last time I scheduled with him I was told he can run 45 min. - 1 hour behind. Needless to say I got called back had my appt and left and she was still in the waiting room. Gotta love people like that! Anyway, the c/s will be scheduled soon since the May doctor schedule is out. Talk about making things feel close!

Have a good weekend. We hope to get the rest of the babies room cleared out, clean the carpet and at least pick out the paint this weekend.

[marchfamily]

I must have pg-brain. I totally forgot there was a new thead. I thought it had been slow the last week...

Changes for page 1:
DH: 36
Due date: May 10 (scheduled csection)
Could you please remove our names?

30 week belly shot (please don't post, I will remove later)
http://photobucket.com/albums/v331/marchfamily/th_Baby230weeks005.jpg

[fats]

marchfamily: that's a great shot - you look so good!!!

Baby Announcements: Yay! One of my favorite things to surf for!! I think my favorite site is www.tinyprints.com but I don't like the picture announcements, so that's part of why I like this one - they have a great selection of non-picture announcements.

I'm actually having a friend of mine design my announcements. She's got a side business creating stationary, cards, invites etc. This is what she did for me off the cuff and she promised to come up with some more ideas, but I think it's just perfect given our Safari themed nursery (and we're putting "King of the Jungle" on one of the walls).

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/HunterAnnouncement-blur.jpg

Obviously, she made up the birth stats, but I love how she put "Hunter" in the crown of the lion since that's what we're planning to call him, rather than by his first name, Stephen. (if anyone wants to contact her about designing something, let me know. She's really creative - I actually know her from WC/LJ)

I've got a doc's appointment this afternoon. I start rotating through the practice now, so I'm seeing someone new. Not even sure if it's a man or woman!

[Bloomwood]

hair in other places - uh, yes. I got light hair on my belly very early on. In general, it seems to be growing slower now though - all over. My hair doesn't seem any different. I was secretly hoping I'd be one of those women that suddenly gets lots of weight and volume with pgcy. Didn't happen. :rolleyes:

baby announcements - No surprise, I'm sure, but I ordered mine last weekend. :D I went with a letterpress style from Page Baby. They have a pink bunny at the top and are adorable.

Fats - those are adorable!

marchfamily - cute little belly!

nettreefrog - welcome home! Also, FYI, for this tri, we decided not to track appts since we're all going to have so many now.

flyerwife - glad all is going well.

mods - I like the adjustment to the baby count! Love seeing where everyone is too. Thanks for doing that.

My update:
I'm doing well. Just got on the scale for my 31 week weigh-in. It says up 21 lbs. I've been trying to eat less and more healthfully so I'm bummed, but like I've said before, I just don't think I have control over what my bod does.

In about an hour I go pick up my girlfriend from the airport. She is spending today through Monday with me. She has two daughters so I expect lots of good tips. My shower is this weekend, so my mom comes in on Sunday too. Our crib arrived yesterday - I LOVE it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

[marchfamily]

Announcements-We did simple 4x6 photo cards (that can be mounted on larger cardstock) for our first announcements. We did something similar for our holiday cards and heard rave reviews. If anyone is interested, I can pass along the name of the designer that did our holiday cards (please PM me). She can do a jpg file that you can print yourself or she can do printed cards. I can highly recommend her.

[nettreefrog]

Day care: We found a day care...and will be putting down one month payment as a security deposit to hold our space for September.

Announcements: We are designing our own in Photoshop -- like we did for our wedding invitations. Knowing my husband's creativity, they will be unique!

Hair: Not as far as I know...aside from the linea negra.

Discomfort/Sleep: I wake up at various times throughout the night to readjust myself. The side pain has continued when I am sitting --but goes away when I lay down on my side. I do have some stretching on my upper inner thighs.

Progress: I bought the Baby Bargains book--and went through it. We have not bought anything, don't really know what specific products we will buy, and I already said no to a shower and gifts. Oh and I as you all know, I am not registering. Happily though, the doctor indicated that I am progressing quite well physically.

Maternity Leave: As I wrote a few weeks ago, my organization changed the maternity leave policy. We now get 12 weeks paid leave --but I am not planning on taking all of it. My MIL will be taking care of Gabriel this summer, so I will going back to work when Gabriel and I seem ready. I am planning on working up until delivery... As you might have guessed or surmised, I am one of those people who has a hard time relaxing and likes to be busy --so if I am not at work, I cannot imagine what I would be doing sitting at home.

Bloomwood – Okay about the appointments… I may still add the info to my posts because that way I know that I am documenting it somewhere ;) Have fun at the shower!

Fats – I like the name on the crown… I started the rotation between the different doctors and really enjoy getting multiple perspectives.

Marchfamily – The 10th is a great day ;) Mexican Mothers Day …

Flyerwife – Hmmm there are a few scheduled C-sections here… My boss’ wife is having one on Thursday. Is there a specific doctor you want?

[fats]

[copied from my LJ]

Just got back from the OB and it looks like we might be having a BIG BOY!! According to the tape measure he's looking big so the doctor wants to send me for a growth scan. Basically, that just means another ultrasound, which of course is cool with me. Having a big baby on the other hand, ain't so cool. I was listening to the receptionist make my u/s appointment and while I'm 28 weeks and 5 days, based on the fundal height, the baby is measuring at 31 weeks. Of course, the fundal height measurement is a total approximation, but if it's accurate what does that mean? Does that mean that maybe he'll be 'done' early and come out early or does that mean he'll still have to 'bake' until his due date, he'll just be really big when he comes out?

It wasn't until now that I realized how much I want to have a vaginal birth. I always thought that I would and knew I would prefer it, but I also thought, "Gee, at least with a C-Section (not emergency) you don't have to go through all the labor and you won't feel a thing. And you can schedule it." But I really don't want a C-Section. As much as it scares the shit out of me, I want to experience labor and delivery. I want to go through that with Eco. And I REALLY don't want to go through major surgery and the recovery afterwards.

Otherwise, in case you didn't believe in miracles I've got one for you - I only gained ONE POUND!!! Woo hoo!! I'm still way above where I 'should' be at this point, but at lease I feel a lot better about the idea that I'm not destined to gain another 20 pounds by the time this pregnancy is over! And it's also given me some more motivation to keep eating well. Seeing that sliding weight on the scale stop right about where it stopped at my last visit was a really nice experience for a change!

And the baby's heart beat was "perfect"! In the 160s. I was a little nervous because she was listening for a while and moving the machine around to get a better sound and my usual doctor never does that, but I guess she's just more thorough. Also, she said he was moving around a bit.

I also discovered that I have GERD. Basically, reflux disease, which is what I thought. But actually seeing it on the internet made me feel better. It's something real. I wasn't positive what I had because I never had any burning sensation, but this is what I read online:

"The main symptoms [of GERD] are persistent heartburn and acid regurgitation. Some people have GERD without heartburn. Instead, they experience [a bunch of symptoms I don't have]. You may feel like you have food stuck in your throat or like you are choking or your throat is tight."

This is exactly what I have. I told the doc about it and she confirmed that it's totally normal. She said that I should try to eat my big meal around 4pm instead of when I get home from work. And then just have a little snack when I get home. And she said not to recline for at least 2 hours after I eat. Hopefully this'll help because it really is so uncomfortable.

The other great thing was that I really liked this doctor. I'm rotating now so I am seeing all of the other doctors in the practice over the next few weeks. There are six doctors total, any of whom may be on call when I go into labor. I have seen 2 of the other ones so far and I really liked them both. I feel really lucky. It's one thing to find one doctor that you like, but it's that much harder to find 6. Hopefully I'll like the other 3 as well.

[Heather719]

Checking in very late!

I only have a second, but all continues to go very well! I've hit the 20 lb mark up- not sure where the rest of the weight is going to go! :eek: Babe is still doing great- growing right on schedule, very active for all measurements. I feel terrific except for my poor aching back- but I guess that is to be expected.

Here is the latest belly shot taking Wednesday night:
http://images.snapfish.com/346464946%7Ffp335%3Enu%3D3242%3E596%3E734%3EWSNRCG %3D3233564589496nu0mrj

And here is one of the coolest pics from my most recent u/s- this is the baby reaching up for his/her foot. Love it! :)
http://images.snapfish.com/34646497%3A%7Ffp337%3Enu%3D3242%3E596%3E734%3EWSNR CG%3D3233568266%3B28nu0mrj

[marchfamily]

so if I am not at work, I cannot imagine what I would be doing sitting at home.


nettreefrog - You are surprisingly busy the first few months. I remember feeling accomplished because I had showered and brushed my teeth one day in the early weeks. All kidding aside - It's great that you'll have flexibility to go back when you are ready!

[nettreefrog]

nettreefrog - You are surprisingly busy the first few months. I remember feeling accomplished because I had showered and brushed my teeth one day in the early weeks. All kidding aside - It's great that you'll have flexibility to go back when you are ready!

Marchfamily... Hahaha ... I meant that I did not want to stay at home before the birth twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the big moment...whenever that might occur. My DD was induced, and I really don't know if I should expect the same with this one. I will be home with Gabriel for 6-8 weeks, and then we'll move over to my MIL's house... I will commute to work from her house. In September (my MIL is a teacher and goes back to school then), Gabriel will start daycare.

[Southlooper]

Happy Friday Everyone!

I just got back from the OB. I passed my GTT, but am anemic, so another pill to throw into the pill box.

I'm on an every 2 week schedule now which sucks scheduling wise because I cannot get any afterschool appointments. I don't want to take any days off because that will eat into my maternity leave. I have to do some sweet talking on Tuesday.

Off the Detroit for my mom's...I mean our baby shower. ;) I'm glad I can give her a reason to throw a party.

[jarm]

So sorry to hear about the bedrest Kristin! At least you have some time to prepare instead of being put on immediate bedrest. Sorry...might not be helpful, but I try to see the silver lining.

I'm wallowing a bit here. I have reached the uncomfy stage. I can't sit comfortably at a table and eat anymore. We went out to dinner the other night and I was so stinkin' sore that I laid down with the heating pad for a while. I could barely move. In any event, FIL won tickets to go see Monsters, Inc on ice next week. There is no way that I'm going to be able to go and sit through it. Stinks! I also was supposed to go to a dinner to honor our school nurse and I can't go to that either because I know it'll be at least 3 hours.

Then this afternoon DH tells me that MIL was picking up DD and DD would spend the night there. Great! I'm missing her big time because I didn't see her much today...maybe an hour. She is my life as stressed as I can get from her. I'm just missing her and now doubting myself that I am going to be able to share my time with her and the new baby.

[Em7.31.04]

Latest belly shots taken yesterday @ 28w, 2d:

http://images.snapfish.com/346473282%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D3239%3E6%3C5%3E%3B%3A5%3E WSNRCG%3D323356%3A645655nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/346473282%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3239%3E6%3C5%3E%3B%3A5%3E WSNRCG%3D323356%3A64388%3Bnu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/346473282%7Ffp339%3Enu%3D3239%3E6%3C5%3E%3B%3A5%3E WSNRCG%3D323356%3A645657nu0mrj

[Standrea]

Nice Jeans, Em...I have the same ones!!;)

So, I set out on a mission today. We have a telethon for work tommorrrow, so i needed a dress. I must say, most maternity dresses are UGLY...very matronly. I went to motherhood, and the cute ones wouldnt fit my boobs:rolleyes: ...and I bought my first nursing bra today...IN A SIZE E!!! I didn't even know they went that high!!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Today is DH's birthday, and we are both so tired, so its going to be a very early night!

[smiles33]

I just slept 10 hours, after having worked all day from 7:30 am (waking up at 6:30 am) until 6 pm for the annual conference we organize. I don't think I've been this tired in YEARS. I was still mentally alert when I got home around 7, but my body was just numb, especially my poor feet. And I even chose my most comfortable loafers instead of nicer dress shoes.

Anyhow, just popping in to say hello! Hope everyone else is enjoying the weekend!

[catJennifer]

I hope that I can still join. My info is:


CC name: catJennifer
me: Jennifer, 30
DH: 31
Married: 10-26-02
TTC: January 2004
BFP: 9/05
EDD: 5/16/06
gender prediction: boy
confirmed gender: it's a surprise!!!

This is my first pregnancy (achieved after much IF work). Finally got pregnant with injectibles, IUI, and acupuncture. I'm feeling great. Aside from the constant peeing and heartburn. :rolleyes:

We've started the nursery (circus theme in pastel colors) and are waiting on the furniture to be delivered.

I'm sure I will back with lots of questions!!

Jennifer

[May2006Mommies]

catJennifer: It's never too late! Welcome!:)


- Updated -

[Jen1098]

Just popping to share my misery. I have never been so uncomfortable as I have been today and tonight. My stomach has been so tight all night. The inlaws are here and DH and I were supposed to have a big night out but only lasted two hours. We hit DSW where I got two pairs of shoes then dinner which we had to leave early b/c I was so uncomfortable. I have a dr. appt. tomorrow so I'll mention it.

Welcome catjennifer

smiles33 Ugh I can only imagine how tired your poor feet are. I can't even enjoy shopping now b/c I get so tired and sore.

StandreaI hear ya on maternity dresses, some are cute but most are very matronly.

Em7.31.04Looking good!

Heather719Great belly shot and I love the u/s picture.

KristinSorry to hear bedrest is in the future for you. I hope you're feeling good.

nettreefrogWelcome back! I read your update in your LJ but as usual was to tired to post. How's your sunburn?

I hope everyone had a great weekend, off to relax on the couch!

[nettreefrog]

Is everyone sitting down? Good. The three of us (DH, DD, and I) just got home from Babies R Us where we decided on the baby gear that we will be purchasing. This was after we bought an online subscription to Consumer Reports to find out the specifics behind the car seats and strollers. We will not be buying anything until the end of March or beginning of April (although I really feel weird buying anything at all before the birth)... but when we do, we are [most likely] getting the Graco Snugrider (carseat) and the stroller frame (stroller) it pops into. I had a heavy stroller with my DD --and hated it, but the stroller frame is relatively light and folds up quite well. We'll eventually get a Britax Marathon or something similar --and a Maclaren--but my goal right now is safe and light. My DH (who can at least tolerate shopping) decided that he also wanted a Baby Bjorn baby carrier, a backpack version of a diaper bag, and a soothing comfort bouncette with netted canopy. He is very intrigued by the pack n' plays--which is okay as we'll need one for the stay out at my MIL's house this summer as well as the myriad of other trips we'll inevitably make. We did take a look at cribs and dressers --but we'll most likely go with something simple (hopefully in a light wood color) from Ikea. I did create a list of other stuff we'll need for Gabriel too --so when the time is right, I'll trudge out to the store and pick it all up--or go online and have it all shipped here.

We did this after shopping for new clothes for my DD --who is now almost 5'4" tall! What we are not spending on Gabriel, we are def'ly spending on my DD... Oh you all have such fun to look forward to in 12 years...

I joined a Yahoo parents group for the area in which I live. I wanted to recommend that there are some really helpful groups online and off for parents. The one I joined has two parts --one for advice/information and the other for classifieds.

The pregnancy books were correct in saying that my body would retain more water and that I would swell --even slightly in various places. Normally, I wear a size 0 or 2, but even my socks have been tight lately (when I get home at the end of the day, I have an indentation where the sock top started to squeeze in my leg.) Like some or many of you, I have been slowing down --and my coworkers and husband believe they see a waddle coming on. I don't sleep well --and never feel really comfortable. I will say that my husband has been an angel, cooking, helping out even moreso around the house, and in a multitude of other ways.

Jen1098 - Thanks... I haven't even responded to my journal posters or posted in anyone elses yet... I feel like I am molting now from the sunburn. You should def'ly mention your discomfort to you doctor though--. Do you have any indoor swimming pools in your new area? I found that being in the water was absolutely the most comfortable I have been in months.

catJennifer - Welcome!

smiles33 - It is fabulous that you were able to get through the conference--and just collapsed afterwards! I don't think they even make shoes that would have felt completely comfortable after even a few hours.

Standrea - LOL about the bra. My friend --who normally wears a 36D just bought a 36F. She was completely shocked!

Em7.31.04 - You look great --even the belly button. My button is now referred to as my third nipple!

jarm - My DD is worried about us not being able to divide our time fairly between her and the new baby too. So, I understand where you are coming from. I have explained that I think we'll be able to find a good balance --and I would guess that for all of us having another child, it will a learning process.

Southlooper - How was the shower?

[Southlooper]

Happy Casmir Pulaski Day!

To those of you who are saying "Who?", Casmir Pulaski was a Polish Revolutionary War General. The city of Chicago, which has a huge Polish population, comemorates his birthday every first Monday of March meaning a day off for all city employees. Thank you General Pulaski...

Sorry, I don't mean to brag, at this point I'm just so greatful fo any day I can rest.

Our baby shower was really fun! Most of the people who came were friends of my parents, either of whom I'd never met or haven't seen in a LONG time. I got to reconnect with some cousins and two of my closest friends came in from out-of -town to celebrate. DH was overwhlemed by it all, but was able to hold up.

It's amazing how generous people can be. Right now it looks like a baby store exploded in our living room. The word got out that the baby is a girl so we got a lot of pink baby clothes (so cute.) We also got 5 baby bath robes/bath sets and some things that were on and not on our registry. Also lots of gift cards and checks, diapers, baby wipes, and baby bath stuff, along with a box full of hand-me-downs from my friend. We were able to sort through eveything before we left my parents' place. We're keeping most of it, returning a few items, and donating the stuff we had multiples with no gift receipts. I am hesitant to wash all the gender specfic clothes because I am afraid that on my next u/s it will turn out "she" is a "he."

I also got to spend time with my 14 month old nephew, aka, the center of the universe. My hats off to all you ROs!! It was hard keeping up with him and being pregnant, and this was only for a few hours. I can't imagine this 24/7.

So today its all about returning stuff and thank you notes...

Standrea: LOL about your nursing bra! I am now a DD. This from the girl who in 6th grade was bestowed the "honor" of being the President of the "Itty Bitty Titty Committee". I never thought this would happen to me; there are days I feel so top heavy. DH, on the other hand, thinks it's great.;)

Em: Great shots!

Nettreefrog/buying stuff for baby: If your're bargin hunting you may also want to try craigslist and ebay. Yesterday I bid on an infant rocker that was prices at 1.99 ($24.99 retail.) On craigslist there was a glider that looked in good condition for $50.

Anyone developing weird obsessions to cope with the waiting? I am obsessed with weddings! I cannot leave the grocery store without looking through bridal magazines. I also surf WC for atleast an hour everyday and I've been fighting the temptation to put on my wedding dress. My co-worker just got engaged, so I'm all over her. (sigh) gotta get a life...;)

[Mrs U]

Hi Ladies!

Uggg we received a butt load of snow over the weekend. Seriously a half a meter in 2 days. :eek:

One of my friends had her daughter on Sat afternoon- 2 weeks early. Scary cause she was 10 weeks ahead of me (due on 3/16). She doesnt want any hospital visitors, so I'll have to wait til she's back home and settled to go and visit (by that time I'll be popping out this lil one ;) )

Anyone developing weird obsessions to cope with the waiting?
My only obsession besides cleaning everything so it shines is baking. I baked a killer carrot cake yesterday (partly since there was nothing better to do). I think sugar cookies may be in the works later on this week. No wonder I'm up another kilo.:p

Welcome catjennifer

Standrea Welcome to the size E club! :D

Southlooper Happy Casmir Pulaski Day! Enjoy the day off!

Em Nice round belly!

Kristin Sorry to hear about the bedrest. Better than the lil one coming too early.

Ok better look like I'm doing something before the man gets home.

;)

[Guinness]

Good morning! I have hit 32 weeks and feel like I am so ready to get this baby out - but I know it needs to bake longer.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Welcome catJennifer!

SOs aren't going to happen. I am for some reason exhausted these days mentally and physically. Sat night I went to take a nap at 7pm and woke up Sun at 8am (well with a few potty breaks of course). Then yesterday afternoon I took a 2 hr nap and still went to bed on time and woke up tired. This kid is sucking it out of me!!

It has warmed up here (70-80's) so maybe that is part of it. Just feel swollen and huge. Anyone else getting some swelling?

Obsessions None for me, except the couch and CC. I really could happily stop working, although it might make the time go by even slower . . .

I am the proud owner of E's too :eek: It was definitely shocking!!

1 week until I have spring break!! After that I think things will come quick. Watching all the March mommies have babies and we really aren't far behind. Have a happy monday everyone!! (Southlooper I am very very jealous!!)

[Jen1098]

Just got back from my quickie doctor appt. Somehow I managed to gain 5 lbs in two weeks. I am going to blame the new sneakers I was wearing. I think they added about 4 lbs.:D She said maybe slow down on the sweets like ice cream etc. I said and maybe the half decaf cafe mochas with whipped cream. She said it's okay once in awhile and to use skim milk instead. Then she asked if I'd tried the cinnamon flavored one. Funny.:D
I saw a different doctor and she was very nice. I told her about my tightness in my belly last night and I wasn't sure what it was. She said usually in cases like that it's your body telling you you've done to much. She said don't do all my errands in one day, do a big one a day and if I start feeling like that again to drink plenty of water, rest and lay on my side.
She said next time if the feeling is rhythmic and coming every ten minutes or so then she'd like me to call.

Guinness I hear ya on the exhaustion, no swelling but I am feeling quite huge!!

Mrs UHow exciting for your friend. Sorry about the snow-I'm ready for spring here that's for sure. I'm tired of this cold.

Southlooper Yay for all the goodies at your shower. It's definetly harder being pregnant the second time around. Enjoy your day off.

nettreefrog Whoa you went into a babies R Us. Wow. LOL:D It's still quite overwhelming isn't it. We have the snugride and it's the best=also very safe. I'll have to check into the indoor swimming pools-but then that means putting on a bathing suit. Not so sure about that. :D

[Em7.31.04]

Welcome catJennifer!

nettreefrog: We're also getting the Graco Snugride & stroller frame to start out. We also bought a Zooper Waltz, which the Snugride can snap into...but we'll likely wait to use it until DS is old/strong enough to ride in it without the Snugride. Sorry to hear you're getting so tired.

Jen1098: I absolutely second nettreefrog's idea about swimming. DH and I try to go several times a week to our local indoor pool, and it is just amazing how good it feels to me. I don't even feel pg when in the water - it's that good. :)

Standrea: I'm afraid I will be in the same boat as you re: nursing bras...I'm going to BRU and Motherhood Maternity today with my mom. At MM I'm going to look at nursing bras, and I can only imagine the size that will be recommended for me...:eek: I used to get teased endlessly as a middle schooler, about being "flat as a board." Ha ha, they should see 'em now!!

[fats]

Nothing to add, but I just can't stand that we're on the second page!!!

Oh wait, I do have something to add - my nursery furniture is in!!! It's being delivered on Thursday - I can't wait!!

[Jen1098]

Everyone must be working real hard today.:D My mil is taking Josh for a walk so I have some free time to myself.

I forgot to mention that when my OB felt my belly yesterday she said it felt like the head was down already, his butt was up and his back was on my right side. yay. Hopefully he stays that way.


I've decided once I get the okay from my Dr. after I have the baby I have to get in shape. I plan on doing www.strollerstrides.com-it's still a way to get out of the house and get some excersise. My gf tried a class and said it kicked her butt.

fatsthat's so exciting about your furniture.

[fats]

Jen When I went for my 3D ultrasound, she said the baby was head down. I wonder if he'll stay that way. I think they still move around for a while until closer to the middle of the third trimester.

I was just looking up Stroller Strides a week ago and I was so psyched that they have one not to far from my house. I think it sounds like a great plan and really good wayto meet other moms. I plan to try it too - and we're lucky that we're having spring/summer babies!

[flyerwife]

welcome catJennifer!

THe date has been set for the babies c-section. May 4th at 8 am, which means I have to be at the hospital at 6 am. I must say when they called to say that's when it will be it hit like a ton of bricks that I'm going to have a second child!!!

Someone asked before if I wanted a particular doctor and the answer is yes. The practice is made up of 6 doctors and I went through the cycle last time around, but didn't have to this time. There are 2 doctors that I really like and trust, the only 3 are okay and I'm sure would be okay, 1 I can't stand and of course as luck would have it that's who was on when I was sent to the hospital with DS #1. Now that being said that's just a plus of scheduling the c-section, it was recommended after last time.

Anyway, I'm kinda freaking out and now trying to figure out what we should do with DS. I have a feeling I won't want him to go stay with my mom or dad the night before knowing that I'll be away from him for at least the 3 or 4 days and then there will be a baby coming home (although he can come visit...). I'm hoping that even though my parents only live 10 or 20 minutes away that one will be willing to sleep here the night before, so that I don't have to get my son up at 5:30 to drop him off somewhere. Also, not sure what to do about him and preschool, I'm not worried about him missing a day, but rather him being bored waiting at the hospital when he could be having fun at school (he loves it!) and then having a grandparent pick him up to come see his new brother. Anyway, decisions, decisions!

Gotta run since I need to start dinner, but I thought I'd throw it all out there.

Hope everyone is doing well!

[jarm]

Tired with tons of things to do so I'm copying this from my LJ last night.

My morning started with me driving Ray to work, taking Arlyn to Becky's and then going to work. At work I had to make copies and then found out that I had no special today due to the state standardized testing for the upper grades.

All of a sudden, I felt a headache coming on, I felt like I was sweating, and I got very nauseous. I was sent by a para to the nurse's office where my BP was up again. Great! I started to feel better, though, so I went on with my day.

I had class tonight and about half an hour into it, I felt headachey, my vision was a bit distorted and I felt nauseous again. I just couldn't wait to get out of class. This feeling lasted until class ended and I walked outside. I wasn't better in an instant, but pretty darn close. Nonetheless, I called Ray at work and told him I needed to get my BP checked, thinking that I could stop by his work and he could check it for me. Nope! His BP stuff was in his truck which was at home because it's not working properly. So instead he sent me to MILs house and sent the rescue there. Great! Great! Great! But I know it was in the best interest of my darling baby! They came, BP was high and they made me call my OB. OB told me to come get monitored at the hospital (or as Arlyn calls it, the hostible). So that's where I spent my night. And now I'm exhausted!

[May2006Mommies]

- Updated -

[crazycaro]

So I failed that FFN (test for pre term labour within the next 2 weeks) test today, it came back positive. I have a 50/50 chance of going into labour in the next two weeks. My cervix is starting to change as well. It is still closed, but I guess starting to efface/soften. I have had a steriod injection and go back tomorrow for the second one. If I do go into labour now they won't stop it because I have had the steroid shots to strengthen her lungs.

I feel numb and upset. I can't believe this is happening all over again. I mean, realistically I knew there was the likelihood of going early again, but not just yet. There will be no more kids for us, I can't do this again. It's too hard and it's just not fair.

I'm to take it as easy as possible now.

I'll try to stay positive but it's hard, especially knowing my cervix has changed in the past 2 weeks. I would perhaps feel a bit more confident if it hadn't.

Caroline

PS - I'll be 31 weeks tomorrow. I had Ruby at 31 weeks and 2 days. Hopefully I'll beat that then go from there.

[jarm]

crazycaro - You are in my thoughts to NOT have this baby in the next couple of weeks.

[flyerwife]

jarm - I hope that you are feeling better, sounds like a rough day and night. I hope that they can get the blood pressure under control for you.

crazycaro - I'm sorry to hear that you failed the test today. I hope that you are in the 50% and that you have the baby later rather than sooner.

Sending good thoughts to everyone else!

The nursery now has 1 painted wall thanks to my husband and 4 yr old son. It was amusing watching the two of them paint the one wall.

[Jen1098]

Caroline I'm so sorry you failed the test. I remember reading in the summer thread all that you went through with Ruby. I'm glad though you were able to test for it so at least you can get the steroid shots for Chloe.
Keeping you guys in my thoughts that she stays put for much longer.

[Guinness]

Flyerwife Congrats on setting a baby birthdate. Very exciting!!

jarm Things have not been easy for you. So sorry. Hang in there and take care of yourself!!

Crazycaro Sending lots of stay in vibes. Just take it one day at a time. Each day will make a big difference!! Take car of yourself too. We will be thinking of you lots.

I am having lots of BH contractions I think. Parts of my belly get hard and tight, but it doesn't hurt. I didn't expect them to be so strong so early. I hope everything is okay. I am exhausted in general and my mind can focus on about nothing. It is really hard to work and get anything accomplished. . . .oh well, day by day.

Have a good evening.

[smiles33]

Just wanted to let jarm and crazycaro know you're in my thoughts. Hope you both have many uneventful and restful weeks ahead of you!

[Em7.31.04]

I've gotten both of my baby shower invitations in the mail. They're scheduled for April 1st (in CA) and April 15th (in WA). I can't wait!! My only gripe is that on the invitation for the local one thrown by my girlfriends...is that they spelled my last name wrong!! It's a tricky name and they just mixed up two letters. My feelings were really hurt when I first opened the invitation and noticed that...although now I just worry that people won't be able to find our registries if they look them up w/the mis-spelled name. Shallow, I know, but I just feel like my friends should remember how to spell my last name. :confused:

We ordered our crib yesterday. We went with the one that you all liked the best...but not just for that reason. ;) We also liked it the best. Thanks for your opinions, though! DH's parents bought it for us, which was a nice surprise.

jarm: Sorry to hear about the BP...no fun...Hope you're feeling better now.

crazycaro: Holy cow!!! Sounds like you'll be the first of our group to deliver. You're in my thoughts for a healthy delivery...whenever & however it happens. Let's hope the little one stays baking for just a while longer!

Guiness: I too am having more frequent BH contractions...I noticed about 5 today at work. No pain, just an uncomfortable tightness. Maybe I should up my water intake...

Off to get some much-needed zzzzzzz's...Yawn.

[crazycaro]

Thanks ladies. :)

I'm going to wallow in self pity for the rest of the day and try the positive approach from tomorrow onwards. :)

Jarm, thinking of you!

[fats]

jarm: You've had such a tough time with this pregnancy. I really hope things lighten up for you a bit.

caro: Thinking of you. At least you have a beautiful, healthy daughter at home to remind you that even if this one comes early, she'll probably be just fine!

Em: Were the invites printed or a "fill in the blank"? Maybe if it's the latter they just made a mistake on yours? That would really be annoying though - especially the part about looking up your registries.

My Shower is planned for April 8 and the invites went out this week. I'm so excited - I can't wait to see everyone!! We're having a co-ed shower so it'll be more like a party with our friends than a baby shower type thing (I hope).

I also decided to go for the Professional belly shots and I scheduled the shoot for April 2, when I'll be 33 weeks (the photographer recommended doing them 6-10 weeks before my due date). I forgot who said it, but she was right - as I get further along and look more pregnant, I'm much more happy with the shape of my body. Those first two trimesters I just felt like a big fat whale. The ironic thing is, now that I finally have a more pregnant shape, I think I look better naked (where you can actually see that it's mostly belly) than with clothes on. I think it's just one of lifes cruel jokes.

Is anyone else doing professional pictures?

[Guinness]

Emily Ugh on the name misspelling. That is so annoying and one of my pet peeves. Get it right people!! People should still be able to find you on the registry though. It usually picks up names that are 'close'.

Fats Yay for a shower date. Co-ed will be fun. I hear you on enjoying my shape a little more now. I still look bad with clothes on, and unfortunately I have gained/swelled a bit in my face. That is what is the hardest to look at - especially in pics.

Hence, no pro belly shots for me.

[Mrs U]

Can any of ya'll use a Carter's 20% any one item coupon? It's good in store from March 9-22nd. They constantly send me them via email, but I cant use them since there is no Carters here and my mom already receives them via email as well. Leave an email addy so I could foward it to ya.

CrazyCaro Fingers crossed that your lil girl bakes a bit longer.

Jarm Sorry about the blood pressure battle. I had that between 18- 25 weeks and it sucked.

Fats I thought about professional belly shots, but I just might buy a roll of B&W film and do some ourselves.

Anyone else just uncomfortable? I have this feeling like someone is pulling the skin around my waist/ribs to the point like it feels like my belly could explode. Doesnt help when DS starts his kicks/hits routine.
:rolleyes:

[Guinness]

Just found out some overwhelming news. My shower is March 24th. I live in Texas but just moved here recently from Phoenix, and most of my family is in California. My friend from AZ just called and said she has a free ticket to come out for my shower. My mom is coming so I called her to figure out airport times. Turns out two of my Aunts from CA are also coming out :eek: :D It is going to be a huge party. . . . just had to share. . . I am so excited :p

[Lolly]

Jarm Hope that BP issue resolves itself soon. So glad that you're taking care of yourself though.

CrazyCaro I hope Chloe bakes in there as long as possible too. Thinking no labor vibes for you in the next month and a half.

Guinness My shower is March 25th and it is a large party. Excited but overwhelmed. I even have guests suggesting (to me) other guests to invite!!! And I think my SIL has sent about 90 invites so far! Thank goodness they rented a hall.

Fats Not sure my DH would go for me getting pro belly shots. I'm actually hoping I could get my sister to do them for me. I believe she'll be up for my shower on the 25th so I guess I should talk to her now about shots. She got a degree in photography and she doesn't do anything with it. Why not use those skills on me and my belly?!

[Em7.31.04]

fats: The invitations were printed, not filled in. Hopefully it's just a typo that wasn't proofread...Ugh. ;-)

I totally agree about looking better naked now. I feel much less self-conscious now than I even did pre-pg. DH better enjoy it while it lasts!!

I've decided to get professional pictures taken by our wedding photographer. I just emailed her today to find out when she recommends taking them. I'm excited about it now.

[Lizard]

Caroline - I happened to be lurking in the thread and saw your post... just wanted to send you STAY-PUT BABY vibes from one of the 9/20/03 folks across the pond. :D Bake baby bake!!

[shortcake]

Hey guys - sorry no time for SOs right now but wanted to pop in and report on my ultrasound today. I am a bit bummed because the low-lying placenta is still definitely low. I have yet to hear back from the dr to find out HOW low, and what this means (not sure if it often moves up after this point or not - suspect it's pretty likely to stay low).

Caro - haven't read back to your post yet but I am going to real quick...sounds like stay put vibes are needed so I'll send those your way!!

[smiles33]

Hi fats! I wasn't going to get pro pictures, since the few shots I've taken thus far all feature a double-chin. :( Every time I gain weight, it goes immediately to my face.

However, I found a local Stanford photography student (and a mom of 2 kids so it's not some weird guy with a fetish for pregnant women) who needs to do b/w maternity shots for her final project so I signed up for a session. I loved the samples on her website and it sounds like it will be fun. Plus, since I don't have to pay, I won't feel as badly if the shots do turn out to prominently feature my double chin.

Mrs.U, I have been feeling more and more uncomfortable. My back has been stiff, my belly hurts when I sit too long, occasionally the BH actually hurts so much I grab my lower belly, and I can't breathe as well.


As for showers, mine will be small, only about 10 women and will not be until April 9--when I'll be almost 37 weeks pregnant! I know it's incredibly late, but it's at my MIL's house since my girlfriends don't have houses (they're in small 2 bedroom apartments/townhouses that would be too crowded for 10 people to comfortably sit in) and MIL has finals and then a vacation in March (she's getting her MA). I just hope Baby Jocelyn doesn't decide to come early and make me miss seeing my girlfriends!

[missy329]

Good Morning Everyone!

Smiles- Glad to hear you are getting preg pictures- for FREE! Can't resist that offer. I hope Jocelyn holds out until after your shower.

Shortcake- sorry to hear about your low lying placenta. Hopefully it is not too low to interfere with delivery.

Em- glad to hear that you are having preg photos also. You girls are a lot braver than me! Sorry to hear about the typo on your invites- that would bother me too.

Lolly- WOW- that's quite a shower you are having. Man, you will be rolling in baby presents!;)

Guiness- Hooray on all the "suprise" guests you will have at your shower. I am sure you will have a great time!

Mrs U- Sorry that you are so uncomfortable. I know that those kicks sure can be uncomfortable at times. Makes you wonder how much more you can grow.

Fats- Hooray for the upcoming shower. A co-ed shower sounds like a lot of fun. Glad you decided to get the photos done. I agree with you about looking better without clothes on- it's kind of fun to see my naked belly, but not so much fun to see my "fat" belly covered by a shirt.

Caro- Sorry to hear about your negative results. I hope you are in the 50% that don't deliver in the next 2 weeks!

Jarm- Sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well. Hope things start to get easier for you.

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

Well, I went for another u/s yesterday (I think this is my 6th now). I still have a complete placenta previa and the Dr doesn't think there is any hope that it will move this late in the pregnancy. I am not too upset since I am scheduled for a repeat c/s anyway. I am just worried about bleeding which can happen when if I start to dialate. I am still on "pelvic rest"- my poor DH, we have not been able to DTD since I was about 7 weeks pg! He has not complained about it though. He really is very supportive- has yet to miss an appt with either pregnancy!

I also met with the Gestational Diabetes counselor yesterday. Now I have to meet with a nutritionist at the hospital, probably early next week. Then I will be all set to start monitoring my glucose levels. My Dr wants me to test 4 times a day and send the results once a week. Everyone is hopeful that I can control the GD with diet alone and not have to go on insulin- I hope they are right!

The u/s yesterday showed that the baby is measuring about 2 weeks ahead- most likely due to the GD. But, my daughter was a big baby (8lb11oz and 2 weeks early). Anyway, this baby is measuring 4lbs8oz right now- I know that is just a "best guess" and can be innacurate. I go back in 3 weeks for another growth scan and to check my placenta previa- this kid is going to have more u/s pictures than newborn pictures at this rate;)

Other than that things are going well. I am so tired of working and I wish I could take off a few weeks before the baby is due. But, I will probably end up working until the day before I deliver. Hope everyone is doing well!

[nettreefrog]

I may post again later... but just felt like posting now. We are heading to Dallas tomorrow morning for my cousin's wedding. This should be our last trip pre-baby --although you never know.

The wife of my boss is in the middle of a scheduled C-section as I write this. He should be out on paternity leave for the next few weeks as a result. Yesterday, I was going to pick up a present for him when my coworkers decided (last second) to do a collection for a group gift. People contributed paltry amounts (sometimes $1 or $2), and we ended up with a giftcard for $100 and a card that everyone signed. He was disappointed --but this is his second child (the first one yielded a few thousand dollars and a shower) and we got him a $200 giftcard for Christmas. I feel a bit uncomfortable about the entire situation --because he is my boss and so I may get him something when he gets back--although I think it is wrong to expect anything. I stressed to my coworkers that I do not want a shower or gifts --and reiterated that fact --hopefully they listen. Usually, I am the one who organizes the gift giving and showers --but I don't feel comfortable with stuff being done for me.

Okay --so we are all now just waiting for the big day... I think about it constantly --and my DH also just wants to see what his son will be like. My DD is still less than enthusiastic about the entire situation though--but I remind her that baby Gabriel will be here in less than 9 weeks (8 weeks and 5 days --but who is counting???)...

Oh and yesterday I had a sharp quick pain in my side. At first I thought contraction --but I think it was Gabriel! And yes --I am not comfy --The belly gets in the way, my clothes are not comfortable, etc. etc. etc.

Professional photos? -- Count me out. We take lovely ones with the digital camera though!

I will do most SOs later too... but CrazyCaro --I think about you often and really hope that labor doesn't start now!

[Bloomwood]

just popping in quickly...

Have you all seen the babies being born in the March thread? Over half of the babies are already here. They're all coming a week to 3 weeks early. Holy cow!

[Em7.31.04]

I had an appt today and things are looking pretty good. Total weight gain of 9 lbs - which means 5 lbs in the past month. Baby is measuring a week ahead. He's still breech, but has some time still to flip. I just want his head out of my ribs, ugh.

My placenta previa has cleared up and is now just considered to be low lying. This means no restrictions, and I can still go ahead with (at least attempting) a vaginal delivery. That totally made my day.

Next appt is in three weeks...I have another u/s to check on my placenta in three weeks too. Will go to every other week appts after that.

It snowed here overnight - enough to stick this morning. Very exciting!

[shortcake]

Em - glad your previa has moved to low-lying! I haven't heard from the doc yet (I don't think she has gotten the results from the tech u/s people yet) as to what it means that mine is low-lying. That's good that for you it means no restrictions; hopefully I'll be the same. I am really hoping it won't interfere!

I did get the results from my GTT and am SO happy I passed the 1 hour test! You should see my arm from where they stuck me - I am so badly bruised. Apparently I"m difficult to get blood from, so I was not looking forward to the 3 hour test.

[ga girl]

Bloomwood- I noticed that! I didn't see one person on there who even reached their EDD date before the baby came! Ours could start coming next month.....

[jarm]

Wow! Not only do the March mommas have a bunch of babies already, but they had a bunch of twins! Whoa! Big twin month! Am I right that no one here is expecting twins?

[Em7.31.04]

Just a quick post to show off some pictures of my cat sleeping in the stroller...So cute. :)

http://images.snapfish.com/3464%3B9%3B96%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D3239%3E6%3C5%3E%3B%3A 5%3EWSNRCG%3D323357%3B6324%3A5nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3464%3B9%3B96%7Ffp343%3Enu%3D3239%3E6%3C5%3E%3B%3A 5%3EWSNRCG%3D323357%3B63666%3Anu0mrj

[smiles33]

That's so funny, Em! Cool stroller...I have the same one in black. :)

Anyhow, just came by to bump this thread up. No news here, other than we're FINALLY getting our plantation shutters installed in the nursery so I hope to post a photo later this weekend. I have to work all day tomorrow (another conference, but at least I'm just a participant this time), but hope to have something up by Sunday!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

[Southlooper]

It's 3:49am, insomia time. Actually I had a dream about a friend of mine and wanted to e-mail him quick before I forgot it. I have a nasty head cold. I guess I've been fighting something all week and didn't realize it until DH came home early today with a fever (he was in a training session last week where 2 other guys ended up very sick.) I thought I was just tired from the pregnancy.

Quick SOs:

Em:Great stroller! Great picture! I hope the cat realizes that it's for the baby! Glad that the previa cleared up.

Shortcake: That sucks about the placenta. You and I are on the same boat. Hoping that it will defy gravity.

Caroline: I've been sending baking vibes to you. I hope you're doing well.

Jarm:: Hope you're feeling better as well.

Showers:Enjoy your showers everyone!

[Guinness]

I am up with insomnia too. At least it is Saturday, so a nap will be in order :)

I had my dr appt yesterday. Everything looks good. Baby we think is head down, but the heartbeat we found in the butt LOL. Probably just how the baby was laying, but we were both kind of stumped. The Dr. says the baby is right on target size wise probably 4-4 1/2lbs :eek: It was a feel measurement, so I know it doesn't mean a ton, but wow!!

Next week is Sprink Break for me :D I am going to sleep and relax - lots.

SOs . . . .

Lolly 90 invites :eek: You are going to have a blast. I can't wait for my shower. I keep checking the registry and nothing is gone . . . oh well, just glad lots of people sound like they can make it.

Shortcake Sorry to hear your placenta is low lying. Here's 'move it on up vibes!!'

Smiles You'll make it to your shower. It is so weird how we are getting closer and closer to that 'might come anytime point'. I keep saying if I can for sure make it until the end of march, then we could deal if bebe decides to come early. There is no way I am ready now!! Yay on the shutters. Can't wait for pics. We just upgraded all our blinds and I love the change it made.

Missy Sounds like you had a brain overload type of appointment week. Hang in there and try to remember the end result we are working towards is a healthy baby and mommy. How we get there are just 'the details'. Hang in there you are doing great!

nettreefrog I can't believe your boss was dissappointed with a gift amount!! That is what happens when you start to expect. I bet your office will do something for you . . enjoy. I know it is hard to be the center, but enjoy if it happens :)

Emily Good news on placenta movement! Your kitty is so cute in the stroller. Great stroller! Are you in the nursery? I love your wall color!

Southlooper Joining you in insomnia :( Hope you get to feeling better soon.

Have a good weekend ladies. It is definitely spring here, so we are going to spend lots of time enjoying it. . . yay!

[jarm]

Well, the rest of my week went well. No migraines, although I did feel one coming on and so I went and had my BP taken. It was up slightly. I took my kids to a special and had some downtime so I think that might have warded off the nasty thing.

Last night stunk, though, because I was so sore. That pubic symphisis thing was bothering me a little bit, but then my daughter decided it would be fun to go bolting through the parking lot so I had to run after her, and after that, it was killing me all night. I just could not get comfortable because of that and back pain.

This kid has been in my ribs (I don't care if the doctors say it can't be there...it definitely is) the last couple of days and I just can't get comfortable sitting, standing or laying down. This morning is better so far, so I'm hoping that it stays that way.

It is gorgeous here. In fact, my jacket is still in my car. Too warm to wear it at the end of the day yesterday. We have our tax appointment this morning and then it's going to be a tough decision between taking Arlyn to the park or going to check out the new wing of the mall. Such a tough decision!

I don't remember if I posted the other day, or if CC was a bit wacky. What are you guys doing for lunches? I'm worn out of ideas.

[shortcake]

Em - I love the stroller! Cute with the cat going for a ride. :)

Southlooper - Thanks. Let's think move-on-up vibes for both of us. I do feel fortunate that it's not covering the cervix which is a whole other level of trouble.

nettreefrog - To me that seems pretty ungrateful of your boss. I was always annoyed when people took up b-day collections for my boss. They're the boss! They have way more money than any of us anyway!! And sounds like he's been given lots of nice gifts from his team already recently.

[smiles33]

Wow, I'm jealous everyone is having nice weather while here in California, I've had to deal with 30 degree weather and hail/sleet! Yes, in "sunny" California! I'm sitting here because I'm hesitant to drive on Hwy 17 across the Santa Cruz Mountains (which was forecast to have 2-4 inches of snow by 4 pm today). They actually closed it down for 90 minutes yesterday because of snow.

California drivers can barely drive in rain, what the heck is going to happen when there's snow? Case in point: there was a 32 car pile-up on Hwy 101 yesterday and 2 people died. I'm scared....but I'm going to wait another hour to see if it warms up enough to melt the ice on the road before heading out.

[Standrea]

Sorry, no time for shoutouts, but CrazyCaro-I've been thinking of you!! Sending stay in vibes your way!!

I am exhausted. We cleared out the sparebedroom last night and first thing this morning. I just finished sweeping the floor while DH is at the gun range. When he gets home, he is going to FINALLY START PAINTING:D :D !!! I found a really pretty teal green called pond water. Hopefully it looks as pretty on the walls. It was between that and "swimming pool", but that was awful bright, and very distracting.

My house is disgusting. While DH paints, I am to clean the rest of the house. We pretty much took everything from the sparebedroom (now Abbey's room) and moved into the dining room/kitchen/livingroom. I dont know if i told you, but 3 weeks ago we moved our bedroom from upstairs to downstairs. We have a bungalo, so there is one BIG room upstairs and 2 regular size rooms downstairs, so we feel better with us being on the same floor as the baby. WE have made a den upstairs, with all the computer stuff, and are buying a couch with a pullout bed, since we lost the spare bedroom. I need to go to HomeDepot today and buy some sort of shelving unit as well...:rolleyes:


It's gorgeous here, almost in the 60's. I hope eveyrone enjoys their day!!

[fats]

Hey Everyone!!!

This pregnancy is going faster than I thought - I woke up yesterday positive that I was 29 weeks and then I got my BabyZone email telling me about 30 weeks - I had to look at a calendar to see how far along I was. I don't know how I lost a week along the way!!! It's unbelievable to me that I only have 10 weeks left - scary!!

We got our baby's furniture on Thursday (somehow "baby's furniture" sounds so much more significant than "baby furniture"!!) It looks great and I couldn't be happier with it. We got a Dutailier set in Cognac and the color is beautiful and the quality is awesome. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to fit into the room the way I envisioned so I'm still working on that. The glider sticks out into the room a little more than I'd like, but since we're getting the closet doors replaced I have to wait until that's done to see how we can reconfigure things (the doors are sliding doors now but the new ones will open out). I'll post pictures when it's done.

I had a bit of a scare on Thursday night. I woke up in a lot of pain but I can't even really explain it. It kind of felt like the baby was lodged up under my ribs - like really, really high up. I was having a lot of trouble breathing and just experience a lot of pain in general. I kept waiting for it to pass but it didn't and when I went to get Eco he insisted we call the doctor. So at 2am I'm on the phone with the doc on call and he said it couldn't be the baby that high up and it was probably gas. It wasn't like any kind of gas pain I've ever had, but a few farts did relieve the pain a little bit, so I guess he was right. I was up for another hour or so before I could finally fall asleep. Eco and I both stayed home from work the next day just to be safe. The scariest part was not knowing what it was. I'm petrified of labor pains, but at least I'll know that they're expected and normal. Some sort of unexplained pain makes me worry about my health or the baby's health. I don't know what caused it, but I'm definitely going to be really careful about what I eat from now on!!

Friday night we went for our Infant CPR class which was pretty good, but kind of scary. Just the thought of this little guy not breathing or choking on something freaks me out. I feel like I'm going to want to wake him up every 10 minutes just to make sure he's still ok!

Did I mention my cooking frenzy last weekend? I cooked up tons of meals to freeze for after the baby's born. I know I'm way ahead of the game, but we won't have a free weekend again until mid-April and judging by how tired I was being on my feet cooking all day last week, I don't know if I'll be able to do it a month from now!

Our Shower Invites went out this week and we got our first gift yesterday - our bouncy seat!
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0002GTFNU.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend - we're also having great weather here, but I'm afraid it looks like rain today.

[Southlooper]

How things change when you become a mother: When I was a teenager I remember my mom and her sisters having a conversation about being sick and having children. The gist of the conversation was a mom can be dying of pnuemonia but still have the energy to clean the house, cook dinner, and tend to the children. I got a taste of that this weekend as DH slept all day yesterday while I cleaned and tried to finish thank you notes (granted he is more sick than I am.) Today I went grocery shopping and cooked. I have to finish the thank you notes and do some work for this week.

One thing, I was able to make my first successful batch arroz caldo. It's basically chicken and rice porridge. My brother and I would eat it everytime we got sick. Honing in those mommy skills...

[Jen1098]

Southlooper I hope you and your dh are feeling better. I have to knock on wood b/c I've never been really sick while Josh has been here. I know it would be so hard trying to take care of him while sick.

fatsLOl-I did the same thing in regards to how long I was, for the life of me couldn't remember. Pregnancy brain. I'm glad your scare ended up just being gas pains. It is scary when there is a little person involved and you aren't sure what's going on. Very cute bouncy and good for you for freezing all those meals-you'll be happy you did come May.

smiles33I saw that pileup on the news-crazy. I would have stayed inside too.

jarm I can certainly relate to being so sore. As for lunch ideas, I'm probably the worst person to ask. Since I stay home with Josh I"m usually eating sandwiches or leftovers. Not very exciting.

I'm 31 weeks this week, hard to believe it's single digits now. I just feel huge and uncomfortable. The worse is trying to roll over in bed. Luckily once dh is asleep he usually doesn't wake up. I've noticed by the end up the day my back and stomach are so sore.
We made a trial run to the hosptial yesterday,very easy drive. DH said next time I won't be going this slow. :) I also signed us up for the maternity tour since this is a new hospital for us.
I have a feeling when I go back to the Dr. my weight will still be climbing b/c I just can't give up my ice cream at night. Oh well. With two kids at home it shouldn't be to tough getting the weight off.

Oh here's my 30 week belly shot. DH asked me the other day-where did your belly button go?
http://images.snapfish.com/34654898%3A%7Ffp346%3Enu%3D323%3A%3E693%3E5%3A9%3E WSNRCG%3D323357%3C497569nu0mrj
http://images.snapfish.com/34654898%3A%7Ffp335%3Enu%3D3233%3E48%3B%3E3%3C8%3E 232448%3B4%3B959%3Bot1lsi

[shortcake]

Jen - cute belly shots!

Jarm - yikes about the traffic pileup. When I was in highschool we loved bad weather because lots of the teachers lived "over the hill" and would be absent on days like that.

Fats - sorry about the scare - glad it was just gas! I've had some bad gas pains this pregnancy too.
I love your bouncy seat! It looks so cozy. And hooray for the cooking frenzy! I need to do that soooo badly.

[Parrothead]

2 months to go...crazy.

Phew. What a weekend. We moved into our new house!! It is a disaster area right now, but at least we are in :) Now, time to start the unpacking fun...then, in a couple weeks, I finally get to start working on the nursery. The main portion of the furniture has arrived at the store (crib, changing table), but the rest isn't here yet (glider, hutch). At least we have a little bit of time.

QOTD - Anyone have pain in their rib cage area when the take a deep breath or sneeze? I am and it HURTS!

[nettreefrog]

Hey all --we're back from fabulous Dallas, Texas now (I cannot wait to explore more of Texas --and just drive), and I just figured I would do a quick posting. I am feeling large, and random people are commenting that it looks like I am having twins... First, I think that random comments are rude...and second, has no one seen a woman in her 3rd trimester before? I was going to post these to the new belly shots page...so I figured I would post them in both places:

http://moogit.com/cc/TUMMYS_SMALL.jpg

[Bloomwood]

Hi everyone!
Way behind as usual. I'm just going to do a quick one-sided post/update and try to catch up later.

We were visiting my parents this weekend. My last plane flight before the big arrival.

Last weekend was my shower. It was fabulous. The girls threw a great party and everyone was so generous. I even got a tutu for the little girl!

The nursery is just about finished except for awaiting one more bookcase from PBK that will be here Thursday. I'm very proud of myself - I put together the changing table and a bookcase all by myself. I knew it'd be 2 weeks before DH got to it, so I took matters into my hands.

I have developed sciatica. :( It hurts. I can't walk too far or sit too long. I did have a nice massage this weekend that helped it quite a bit.

Anyone else having severe RLS? I hate it. I get in bed an fidgit around for about 45 mins before I can get to sleep.

I also feel like I can't eat without gaining weight. The pounds just seem to be packing on. I am up 24.5 lbs with 7+ weeks to go. Speaking of...My mom had me at 32 weeks; I was in the hospital for 5 days while they wanted me to reach 5 lbs. I didn't have any other issues though. Even though everything seemed to be okay with me, I don't want to repeat that. Week 33 will be a huge milestone for me. That said, I am having crazy frequent BH. I'm trying not to freak out, but they make me nervous. I have an appt next Tuesday, so I'll be sure to ask again. In the meantime, I am packing my bag and DH is installing the car seat at week 35.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'll be back later!

[Guinness]

Great belly shots!! All baby bellies :)

I am on spring break and overall being lazy. Feels good! However my neck is incredibly sore and I am not sure if it is because I slept wrong or not. Also this baby is changing postions lots and stretching. Pretty painful - but as long as their comfortable :p

So I can tell my hormones are changing again. Yesterday Cyrobank called to tell me I can't donate cord blood. I had a relatively rare autoimmune disease when I was 2, but have always been told it is a one time thing and not genetic. Well for stem cell stuff I am out because they basically use my immune system to rebuild someone elses and they don't know if that disease would transmit or not - they can't risk it. Anyway, this news sent me into major tears :confused: It sortof came from nowhere. I am going to blame it on hormones. Anyone else feeling more hormonal these days?

Rib pain I am not sure. I can tell you that my back where my ribs connect has been really sore. One night I couldn't sleep it hurt so bad. All I could think was my ribs were being pulled out.

Hope everyone is having a good week. It is quiet in here which hopefully means everyone is plugging along smoothly. March mommas are almost all done, and there are some April mommas with serious progress (some even due at the end of April). Makes it feel really close for us :eek:

ETA - crossposted with Bloomwood. I was having RLS but I tell you that soap trick really does help!! I know it sounds foolish, but my legs have been much calmer since I put it in the bed. . . worth a shot.

[AttyGrl74]

Hey everyone! Happy single-digit weeks to some of you!

Since Nora came at 38 weeks, I'm now considering myself single-digits despite only beint 29w, 3d. :D

Wishful thinking, I know!

I'm VERY VERY hormonal. I seriously feel completely unbalanced.

I hope y'all are doing fabulously! I've been reading along despite not posting!

[Em7.31.04]

Parrothead: Congrats on your move being over!!

nettreefrog: Love the pics - thanks for sharing. And I think you look great - just ignore those disrespectful comments. Some people, ugh!!

Rib Pain: I have this almost constantly. The baby is breech and his head is shoved up underneath the ribs on my right side. Never the left, just the right. Ugh, it's so uncomfortable and painful. I can barely even sit up straight anymore.

I feel like I'm going to have to start driving w/my seat in a full recline just to feel comfortable. I should probably blast the music if I'm going for the full image, right?! Yo, yo, what's up... :p

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

I got a call today from BRU and our crib is already in. I'm flying to Georgia tomorrow with my mom to visit relatives...so I'm hoping that DH will go pick up the crib while I'm gone. Cross your fingers that I won't have to be part of that "adventure."

[missy329]

Another one here that has been reading along but not posting much!


I had my appt last Friday with the nutritionist about my Gestational Diabetes. I am eating a bunch more food now- but it is also much healthier. I am testing my blood glucose levels four times a day and the numbers have been looking really good! I also have to test for ketones in my urine every morning. That is not going as well- I have had at least moderate every morning. My Dr said to give the diet a week and then we will start worrying about the ketones if we need to.

I also had my OB appt yesterday. Let's see- I lost 1 pound. So, I am now up 4 lbs from my pre-pg weight. My BP was good. The baby's heart rate was good. I went in with a long list of complaints/questions to which the answer to every one was - you're pregnant! I also found out that I have to have weekly non stress tests (due to the GD), so I had my first one yesterday. Oh, we set date for our c/s- April 28th! I had thought my Dr would want it earlier due to the placenta previa and the GD but he was fine with that date (we asked for a Friday to make it easier on my husband's work schedule). So, that is only 8 days before my due date- the Dr said, "we'll see if you make it until then".

Not too much else is new with me. I know have my official countdown- 6 weeks from Friday!

[fats]

Just popping in to say Rib Pain - count me in. It's horrible and almost constant. I feel like for the past month or so, this guy has been parked right below my ribs on my right side. Sometimes I can actually feel a big lump and I try to push it over (weirdest, but coolest feeling ever!!) but I am constantly uncomfortable. And I wonder why it's always on the right side.

[Pink_Converse]

I'm a June mommy who is just lurking, but just wanted to say glad I'm not the only one with horrible rib pain. I'm only 26 weeks and I'm dying already. My ribs hurt on my back alot. Just wanted to commiserate with you all :).

[smiles33]

I've been trying to post photos to Flickr and Photobucket and nothing works. ARGH! I have so many photos I wanted to share! Our shutters are installed and the nursery is nearly done. I just need to pick up the pine nightstand for next to the glider this weekend and get a low bookcase for Jocey's books. I also have some belly shots I wanted to post.

Anyway, back to trying to find another photo site. :(

[Jen1098]

smiles33Have you tried snapfish? That's who I wish and haven't had any problems.

missy329 Wow April 28th doesn't seem so far away-guess you'll be having an April baby huh.

nettreefrog You look great, I love seeing the progression shots. Bah on the rude people. I think people feel seeing a pregnant woman allows them to say whatever they like to them. I saw a woman at story time the other day who is having twins in June and I swear I looked bigger her.

Sorry for those of you having rib pain. Luckily at this point that is one pain I don't have. But I do think it's time for me to purchase one of these:

http://www.motherhood.com/Images/Products/7305.jpg

maternity support belt
the maternity support belt is designed to relieve back pain during your pregnancy. simply wear the belt just below the belly and feel relief as the maternity belt supports your belly weight.

I'm hoping this will help with the back pain and the soreness in my belly I always seem to have. Granted it doesn't help that I'm still picking up my 26 lb son.:)

[Mrs U]

Hi Ladies!

Good news! David is out of breech position! Finally the boy is head down and his feet/ hands are poking me on the left side constantly. Now I know that the thumps on the right is his bum! At least the chance of a c-section is now greatly reduced. The Dr. said he's measuring a bit on the big side- must be from my good cooking cause I'm now up 12 kilos (26.5 lbs) since Sept.:eek:

Ugg I hear ya'll on the back rib pain- it seems it's worst for me when I sit and watch tv at night.

Anyways gotta take the carrot cake out of the oven and go for a walk while it's nice outside. Finally the snow has melted and the little snow bells/crocosis are coming out!

[fats]

smiles: Have you tried reducing the size of the pictures before uploading them to Photobucket? I was having a hard time with that site because my pictures were too big, so I changed the image size (usually in the 500 mp range) and now I don't have any problems.

[Bloomwood]

Guinness - I'm intrigued by the soap trick. what kind of soap? Where do you put it?

Jen1098 - my doc recommended one of those for my sciatica. I'm too vain to make the purchase though...

Em - I really like that image. :p

Missy - so cool you know the latest date at which your babe will arrive!

Mrs U - congrats on getting him out of the breech position!

Smiles - hope you figure it out because I'm dying to see your nursery pics!

======================
not much to report. Had my RLS last night. :mad: Woke up to a very active baby this morning and laid in bed a few minutes just enjoying feeling her kick around.

Call me naive, but it still boggles my mind that there is a viable little being inside of me. I'm getting so anxious to meet her!

I forget who is having the shower with 90 guests, but I don't know what I would do with that many thank yous to write. I am down to my last 7 out of 26 and DYING to be finished. My MIL told me she has a few gifts to bring down from her friends and my first thought was "Not more TYs to write!"

Hope everyone has a happy hump day!

btw - Today is the middle of March and only 9 March mamas have left to give birth! I can't wait to see what happens with the April thread!

[missy329]

Bloomwood- I know that feeling well (about a baby being inside of you). When I was pg with my daughter I never could "grasp" that there really was a baby inside me. I remember when they were wheeling me into the room for my c/s thinking this is so silly, there is no way I am really pregnant. Goofy, I know- I guess I was just overwhelmed by everything:rolleyes: Anyway, this time around I am able to believe that there really is a baby in there.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

[AttyGrl74]

I'm behind - has there been any convo regarding delivery-buddies?

With Nora - I was able to come in the Sept04Mama's thread and post that my water had broken, but just in case - does anyone want to buddy up and pass on info?

[Jen1098]

Good idea about the birth buddies. Guess it's almost that time to think about it huh.

Is everyone else up for that?

[Guinness]

Bloomwood Sny kind of soap (except dove I think) and you just put it under your sheet. I put a little travel size in a sock and tied a knot in it. It is by my feet so I don't feel it. My mom safety pinned hers and has an extra in case she feels crampy, she just rubs it on her calve. Who knows how or why it works, but it is a cheap solution for a really annoying problem if it happens to work for you. Try it and let me know if you have any success!

Birth buddies is a good idea for those interested. I am probably going to skip it because I will be home in a day or two and it will only take a sec to update, or I can have DH do it. I will do it when I send the e-mail to the rest of the world. I as a moderator can facilitate pairing people up though who are interested. . . . so post in Red if you want a birth buddy.

Hope everyone is having a good day. I pampered myself with a pedicure (and they had the BEST massage chairs), a Starbuck's, and a movie (Failure to Launch is very cute mindless movie).

[Bloomwood]

Guinness - thanks! I have a few guest soaps taht I will try tonight and report back. I'll try anything!

I am for having a labor buddy. Sign me up! :D

question for the ROs:
If my water doesn't break, how will I know I'm in labor? I already get tons of BH, sometimes really close together. Maybe they'll become painful? Is it one of those "you'll just know" situations?

[AttyGrl74]

question for the ROs:
If my water doesn't break, how will I know I'm in labor? I already get tons of BH, sometimes really close together. Maybe they'll become painful? Is it one of those "you'll just know" situations?

The contrax will hurt - maybe not a ton, but like menstrual-type cramps. They'll come and go and be sort of rhymic.

I had also lost a good portion (if not all) of my mucous plug the day that my water broke.

I'd also like a labor buddy - maybe someone who is also on LJ b/c I plan to do a phone post to my LJ when its my turn!

[nettreefrog]

Well, I just called the hospital because my DH was curious whether my 12-year-old could participate in the L&D. I spoke with the head nurse there (who was awesome), and she encouraged all of us to come take a tour and see if she was interested. So, we are going to try to do that on Saturday --. As you all know, my DD has been experiencing some major jealousy issues --so we are hoping that participating (if she is ready) in the birth will be an amazing bonding experience.

I'd love a labor buddy!

I must do SOs soon!

[April1234]

Time is a flying. Sorry I havent by much to update but between PTL and gallbladder attacks I JUST yesterday got off modified bedrest. Nolan is still doing well and cooking away. We had a growth scan yesterday since I was measuring 4 weeks ahead and he weighs a whopping 3 1/2 lbs already. Crazy to think about since I delivered DD at 4lb when I was 35w.

Other than all of that things seem to be going pretty well over here. My sister is throwing me a surprise shower on April 8 that no one thinks I know about. Nolans room is pretty much finished (I must get around to post pics when its 100% done)

Of course I have the same old pregnancy complaints times 2 because Im chasing after my 15 month old all day but its not that bad.;)

I dont have time for SOs right now and I dont think i could even catch up if I tried but know that I am reading along everyday with you girls.

Kelly, You wanna be my labor buddy? Since you already know my phone number:D I plan to do a phone post in LJ too but Im sure I could call you also. I know your due one week after me but Im pretty sure this big boy is going to make his appearence early.

[Jen1098]

Guinness First let me say how jealous I am of the day you had. It sounds like heaven. I won't go into my day but dealing with a toddler who didn't want to nap isn't any fun.

nettreefrog That would be so exciting if your dd can particpate in the birth? Has she mentioned any interest in doing so?

If my water doesn't break, how will I know I'm in labor? Well my water did break but even still I wasn't sure if it was the real deal. It wasn't a gush and I didn't hear a pop. Finally after a million trips to the bathroom I figured this must be it. I got my first contraction soon after and I knew-it stopped me in my tracks and I had to hold onto the door frame. I hated when people told me you'll know when you're having contractions but they were right.
Luckily I didn't have to many b/c I was already 4 cm by the time the triage nurse checked me.

alright off to relax my sore aching body before I clean up the kitchen. I know DH understands that the house can't be to clean but I feel quilty still.

Count me in as wanting a labor buddy

[Bloomwood]

Thanks for the insight on labor starting!! I am just totally convinced I am going to go early. No basis for this, of course, just a feeling.

Nettreefrog - that would be pretty amazing if your daughter was able to participate!

I just made appts to interview 2 peds. I met a ped based up in SF a few months back whose approach aligns well with my desires, so I asked her for a couple of names. One of them had been referred to me by another mom friend, so I feel confident that one of these two will work great. Funnily, they both want to meet on the same day, different times.

[crazycaro]

Hi all

I am updating from HOSPITAL!!!

Yesterday I woke up feeling a bit icky, I threw up and felt like I had bad wind/poop pains.

I had my appt and MUm was with me and well we noticed a pattern to these 'wind pains' - yeah like every 6 minutes apart!

My doctor did and internal and I am 2cms dilated and 75% effaced. Yowsa!

So I was admitted and spent a bit of time in the L & D ward. They decided to give me Nefitidine to stop labour. It worked. So far no more since. I will be here a week or so and dishcarged if nothing happens. My intuition tells me Chloe will come in this time though, I am past the point where I had Ruby, I kind of feel like I am on borrowed time.

If labour restarts they wont stop it and I will be given a c'section (she is breech).

I am doing fine, and am at peace with whatever will happen. We've had one prem baby so know what we are in for, we got through it last time, we will again. :) Fingers crossed I am wrong though and we get a few more weeks yet.

Chloe is doing fine.

Thought you would all like to know.

Will try and keeo you updated!

Caroline

[Bloomwood]

Hang in the Caro! And, tell Chloe to as well. Thanks for checking in.

[jarm]

So yesterday I was at work when one of my students, who doesn't talk, starts crying. I ask him what's wrong, and it's always hard to get him to talk. He answers, "The baby's going to die." I asked him, "What baby?" His answer? "Your baby!" I freaked! I had no idea what to do! Luckily someone was walking by so I could get them in my room and go tell the social worker. It just freaked me out.

Had my 30 week appointment yesterday. All was good. BP was fine!

Today was the repeat u/s. The legs are still "weird" but the abdomen is fine. The baby is measuring at 59%ile and already weighs 3 lbs. 11 oz. That just seems big to me, but maybe I'm wrong!

Sign me up for a labor buddy too. Although I'm pretty sure I'll post from the hospital.

I'm absolutely exhausted so I think it's going to be an early night for me.

Caro - Thinking good thoughts for you!

[Guinness]

Caroline and Chloe Keep baking vibes to you both!! All the best thoughts for a healthy baby and mommy.

[Southlooper]

Caroline and Chloe: Hope you and the family are doing well. Sending good vibes your way.

Jarm: I would be freaked out too if one of my students (well anyone) said that to me. Luckily you could get some coverage to get away from the situation.

Netreefrog: What a wonderful experience that would be for your daughter. I remember my kindergarten teacher gave birth to her second child, a son, at home. Her 10-year-old son was there (they let him cut the cord.) She said that the experience really bonded them. Also, great belly shots collage!

I'm taking today and tomorrow off. I'm still dealing with the cold and being at work is not helping me get any better. I'm probably going to have to postpone maternity leave for a week, but it's better than killing myself now. Yes, a woman/mom can be sick and still accomplish a great deal, but at the expense of herself? It's not worth it. Something my hyperactive self needs to be reminded of from time-to time. I did finish my thank yous for the shower. 47 cards. My hands need a rest.

Count me in for a labor buddy

[May2006Mommies]

- Updated -

We're thinking of you Caroline and Chloe!

[fats]

Hi all! I feel like I'm so far behind!

Caroline - I hope the baby stays in there a bit longer!

Sign me up for a labor buddy - I'm also on LJ and one of my friends will be posting there when I go into labor, so an LJ person would be good for me too. Kelly - how do you phone in a post to LJ?

Update on Me
We had an ultrasound this morning and the little guy is measuring 4 pounds - the 70th percentile. It's amazing to me to think how big he is - he's already bigger than a lot of premature babies!!! It's a good feeling to know that if something happened and he came early, he'd probably be just fine.

Meanwhile, he's moving around like crazy and last night I think he got stuck up under my ribs (again on my right side!). I woke up at 4am in so much pain. I was able to lay a certain way and he moved over after a while, but if labor pains are anything like that, I don't know how I'm going to make it to the hospital.

I'm also starting to get really scared of going into labor. Not just the pain, but getting to the hospital in time (we're an hour away). I know I've been told over and over again that I'll have hours, but I'm starting to worry that I won't recognize the contractions. I'm petrified of having this baby in the back seat of my SUV on the Palisades.

The nursery is really coming together. We have all of our furniture but I'm waiting for our closet doors to be replaced so I can move things around and see the best way to configure it (we have sliding doors now, but the new doors need some room to open out). I've also become obsessed with the closet and decided that I hate the way the shelves are organized in there. I called California Closets and they are coming in 2 weeks to give me an estimate on installing new racks and shelves and stuff like that. It's actually not as expensive as I thought it would be so I'm hoping that we can do it before the baby's born.

Oh, I also got a picture of my finished letters which are being sent out to me today. She did a great job and it matches are bedding - I can't wait to see them in person.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b131/fatsella/Baby/huntersmall.jpg

[AttyGrl74]

Kelly - how do you phone in a post to LJ?


You're a paid member right? Here is the FAQ on it - I've done the initial setup but haven't tested - maybe I'll try it out this weekend: http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=183

[Bloomwood]

aiy yi yi! The first April Mom had her baby yesterday! Next month at this time, one of us could be a mom! Get your bags packed!

ETA - her due date was 4/2

[smiles33]

WOW, the first April baby is already here? Haven't much time, but wanted to send out good thoughts to CrazyCaro!

Still haven't figured out why my home computer won't let me upload my photos or attach them to emails, so no photos from me yet. Hope you're all having a good Friday!

[Lolly]

Sorry, not in the best mood today. One of the guys I work for died at work this morning. I've been reading along this week though, juts haven't had time to post really.

I'd like to be a/have a labor buddy! I'm on LJ too.

Yes, Jane, had her little boy yesterday! I'll have to see if pictures were posted. her husband sent out an email with the attachments.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a better Saint Patricks Day than I am.

[nettreefrog]

Hi everyone! Phew --I am so glad that CC is back up...I really needed an activity that allowed me to temporarily distract myself from the 1,001 workflow diagrams and system designs that I have been concentrating on! And I keep thinking about one of my coworkers who is marching in the big Parade today!

Let's see --All of my maternity clothing is getting too small or not fitting well anymore, I have been having a harder time pushing myself to do stuff but there is always more to do (work, cleaning/organizing, alumni crap, family/friends stuff, etc.), and little Gabriel is still active all day long (at any point during the day, I see my stomach contorting)! Luckily --despite all of that, I like being productive and busy --and am glad that Gabriel must be healthy. We have an u/s on Tuesday at our regular appointment.

The online message board for parents in my region had a really upsetting posting about a mom who recently delivered at NYU. She described the horrific experience, and then many other moms said that their experiences were equally as bad. She is writing letters and following up with the media because no one should have such a bad experience during birth (waiting for an hour to be admitted, nurses who were no where to be found, rooms that were not cleaned, delivery room that was missing equipment, etc.). This is supposed to be one of the best hospitals in NYC --but I am very happy that I am not going to deliver there.

Okay...SOs...

crazycaro - I am still thinking about you and wishing you good things --no matter what happens...

jen1098, Bloomwood, and Southlooper - My DD is not interested in participating and actually said that she wanted to enjoy her time without the baby... I guess we're hoping that the tour might help though...

Bloomwood – I think there may be 2 April babies soon ;)

AttyGrl74 – That’s an interesting idea… I had not really thought about a phone post.

Fats – Groovy about the size! I totally understand your fear about being far away from the hospital… I figure though that if we cannot get to our designated location in time, there are a number of great options that are closer. But really, unless the labor goes amazingly fast, we’ll have enough time to get ready and get to the place of delivery!

Southlooper – Hope you feel better… Feeling under the weather is the pits!

Jarm – Your story would freak me out too. I hope that the legs are just weird u/s photography!

Smiles – Cannot wait to see the pictures :D

Lolly – That’s horrible about the guy at work. Can I ask what happened?

[Jen1098]

Really quick-make that two April babies here! :D Wow

[Lolly]

nettreefrog - It was a heart attack that he did not recover from. It happened about 1/2 hour before I came in today and I think he was in his office when it happened. Its sad though. His wife died a few years ago and he just got a new dog in the last year. He loves this dog so much and even last night before he left the office he stopped by my office to chat about some work stuff but mostly dog stuff. The whole thing is just so sad though.

[fats]

Lolly, that's so freaking sad!! What's going to happen to his dog?

I just had my OB appointment today. My weight stayed the same again, which I am SHOCKED about, but of course very pleased. I really think that I may be able to keep my gain under 40 pounds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. If not under, than I shouldn't be too far over and I can live with that. (It's those additional 10 I post-wedding that I started out with that are killing me!). My blood pressure was right on target. The baby's heartbeat was perfect. He's head down, facing my back and likely to stay that way.

The doctor said that I'm measuring about 32 weeks so I asked him once in for all what that means - that he's likely to come early or that he's just going to be big when he does come. He said, no - he won't come early, he'll just be on the big side. (I mean, it doesn't mean he WON'T come early, but measuring ahead isn't an indication of that). I also asked how much more he's likely to gain and he said that in the last two month the baby usually gains between 1/4 and 1/2 pound per week, so anywhere from 2-4 pounds. Not too bad. I was figuring about 8 pounds. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be less.

In the meantime - for those of you growing out of your maternity clothes, I must recommend these pants. They are THE MOST COMFORTABLE pants I have ever worn - maternity or non-maternity.

Old Navy (Maternity) Fold Over Gaucho Capris
http://www.oldnavy.com/Asset_Archive/ONWeb/Assets/Product/360/360143/main/on360143-00p01v01.jpg

I bought 2 pair in black (unfortunately, I didn't like the other 2 colors they have or I would have gotten more) and they're awesome - great for the spring (even though I'm wearing them today and it's pretty cold out) too. They'll be my hospital pants for sure.

[shortcake]

Just quickly - DH's dad died last night. We are off to Sacramento to be with family. It was a big shock - he was only 62 and it was a heart attack. Lolly - sorry to hear it sounds like the same thing happened to the guy you work for. It just sucks. My poor DH is devastated.

I am not sure when we'll be back but I will probably read along now and then but may not have time to type. I am just glad we were able to get a ticket to get down and be with family so quickly (same day!). That will be very good I think.

[Lolly]

shortcake I'm so sorry :( Sending big {{{hugs}}} to you and your DH.

fats not sure what's going to happen with the dog. Apparently he had someone from church look after his dog if he was away for a day or two. Maybe they'll take him? His daughter lives in canada but maybe she will take him. I would but he is a one dog household type dog (and I have 2 already).

[Bloomwood]

Lolly - that is terrible. I'm very sorry. I'd like to think he is now with his wife.

shortcake - I'm also very sorry for your and your DH's loss. It is sad to think he was so close to meeting his new grandchild.

My thoughts are with both of you. Please take care of yourselves and your family - and let them take care of you.

[lowcountrywed]

shortcake- I'm so sorry to hear that. My thoughts are with your family.

Add me to the list that wants a labor buddy

[fats]

Shortcake I'm so sorry to hear about DH's dad. I lost my dad a few years ago (same way - sudden heart attack) and it still hurts. My thoughts are with you.

[ga girl]

shortcake- I'm so sorry for your loss, the same thing happened to my dh a few years ago and it was heartbreaking.

Lolly- I'm sorry to hear about your co-worker, that's so sad. I'm a huge dog lover, we have 2 also.

Fats- Where did you get those letters? We haven't even chosen a name but I'd like to look around for some of those to hang above the crib. Also, those gauchos are also at Target in the junior section- I got them on-sale for $10.99.

Question- has anyone thought about what they'll wear after the baby is born? The reason I ask is b/c I've had a lot of ppl tell me they were up 2-3 sizes for a few months and since I'm going back to work at 12 weeks I'm wondering if I'll have to buy new clothes in a larger size and some things to wear around for the summer. All of my smaller maternity clothes I wore awhile ago are winter clothes.

I had the coolest thing happen today, I was standing up talking and felt a sharp pain in my side so I put my hand against my stomach and felt what I think is an elbow stick straight out of me, I could hold onto it. Up until now I've felt lots of thumps and have seen my stomach contort but never an actual body part, it made it seem much more real :)

Happy St. Patty's day to everyone!! This is the first year we've missed the big parade/ party in Savannah so I'm feeling a little sad but it's all for a good cause...

[jarm]

I'm going to wear sweats, sweats and more sweats...probably maternity for a while. That was the only thing I was most comfy in. I'm not looking forward to that part. Also want to suggest to ladies that in case of a c-section, you might want to make sure you have the big briefs around because the bikinis hit right on the scar.

I'm so sorry to hear about your FIL, shortcake. My father passed away suddenly due to complications from heart surgery (really long story) two weeks after DD was born. It was definitely a rough time, and I resented my DD for a bit afterwards...thought it was her fault he was gone. If you need anything, there's a grieving thread on CC and please feel free to email me.

[Southlooper]

shortcake- I'm so sorry for your loss. Regards to you and your DH and your family.

Lolly- I'm sorry to hear about your co-worker too.

Nettreefrog: Too bad about your DD, hopefully she'll change her mind.

Question- has anyone thought about what they'll wear after the baby is born? Funny you should ask that. Today after my appointment I decided to wander around the State Street shopping district. All the stores were transitioning to their spring merchandise. Oh, such great stuff, and the colors! In addition to buying a nightgown to wear when I'm in the hospital (which was my promary goal) I also bought this embroidered sleeveless blouse that I can hopefully fit into nicely after the baby is born. Maternity wear has been fun, but I am looking forward to getting back into my non-maternity clothes (crossing my fingers.)

[Jen1098]

shortcakeI'm so sorry to hear about your fil. How sad for your family.

Lolly How sad about your co worker.

fats Thanks for posting those pants. I've got to get some more comfy pants. I swear I've been wearing the same jeans over and over again. Luckily DS doesn't notice.:)

Question- has anyone thought about what they'll wear after the baby is born?
I lost my weight pretty quickly so I was able to wear most of my clothes again. Well actually my shirts were tight due to my enourmous boobs-not usually the case at all.
One tip though-don't wear your dh's shirts before your milk comes in. It was about 3 days after having Josh and I was taking a nap while wearing one of DH's shirts. Well of course I didn't have breast pads on and wouldn't you know that's when my milk came in. Suffice to say he wasn't pleased about having two stains on his shirt.
Also I remember constantly sweating for a few days afterwards. My gf warned me this would happen. Said her nurse told her it was basically the hormones being realeased or something to that effect.

Well it's 10:00 and I should get to bed since it's my turn to get up with ds tomorrow.

HOpe everyone has a great weekend!

[crazycaro]

Hey girls!

I am still pregnant, still in hospital!

NOthing has really been happening of note pregnancy wise for a couple of days now. I am a boring patient for them, which is a good thing. :)

I will be disharged on MOnday or Tuesday if she keeps hanging in there.

Will keep you updated!

Caroline

32 weeks 2 days and counting! YEAH!

[Southlooper]

Great new Caroline!!:)

[fats]

Jen: You said you stained DH's shirt. Does breast milk stain - it doesn't wash out? I didn't know that.

What to Wear After I plan on wearing sweats and my maternity clothes until I'm back in my regular clothes, but GA Girl, you make a good point. I don't know what to do about going back to work if the seasons are different. I guess I'll have 3 months to figure it out and I can always buy some stuff if I need to.

[Standrea]

Shortcake & Lolly-You are both in my thoughts...I'm so sorry you are going through this.

Question- has anyone thought about what they'll wear after the baby is born?Not so much after the baby is born...I know i'll be fat, but i just never really thought of it. In the summer, i live in my comfy shorts, so, i'll assume they'll still fit me. God knows I'll have to get some new tops anyways, so I'll probably wear them.

New Question-Is anyone starting to get really "freaked out" so to say?? Dh and I were sitting on the couch the other night, and he looked over out of nowhere and said...do you realize in a few weeks, we'll be in charge of a life? It kind of made me think, OMG!!


I just want everyone to know, I FINALLY found a dresser/changing table that matches the crib. It should be in within the next week or so...very excited!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend...It's cold and cloudy here today...

[Standrea]

Add me to the list of wanting a birthing buddy as well!!

My whole reason for posting, and i forgot!! Pregnancy brain in full effect today!:rolleyes:

[kristin9903]

Checking in...I've been following along with you all, just haven't had much to say!

crazycaro Yeah for being boring!!!! Good to hear that you'll be released soon and still preggo!! :)

shortcake So sorry to hear about your DH's dad. I hope you both had a safe trip and are handling things as well as you can.

Lolly So sorry to hear about your coworker.

QOTD - freaked out This has been me the entire pregnancy. I have no idea how to take care of a baby...I can't believe they're just going to let me walk out of the hospital with him!

I'm hanging in there. Everything's going well, other than the swelling, which is getting harder to control. I've started going into the dr. every week to get checked. He's threatened the hospital to me...but I think he was just being cranky.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

[Spellbound]

(This is mostly a post taken from my LJ as I don't have much time to spare online these days due to spending hours at the ICN.)

Our little Keegan was born on Thursday, March 9th at 7:44PM weighing 4lbs 15oz and measuring 18" long. That's right I delivered at 32 weeks...2 whole months early!

Our lives forever changed on Friday, March 3rd at 1:10AM when I frantically awoke P to inform him that my water broke. In a stupor of "this can't be happening, it's much too soon," he followed me back to the bathroom where panic set in as further proof was shed onto the floor. By 1:20AM we scurried out the door with strict phone orders by the OB to meet her at the hospital.

2:15AM I was admitted as a patient and told I would not be leaving until delivery, which would be actively prevented for as long as possible, with a target of 4 weeks. This was serious biding time and many crossed fingers to help mature still undeveloped lungs. Not only was it confirmed that my amniotic sac had broken but I was indeed in pre-term labor - TWO MONTHS EARLY. My heart fluttered in terror as I clutched P's hand while lying flat on my back. The remainder of that night was the beginning of a week of pure horror as a menu of tests and drugs were administered to me to prevent what my body was naturally contracting to accomplish.

Saturday, March 4th at 12Noon it was confirmed on ultrasound that my AFI (amniotic fluid index) was at 0...not a single ounce of protective fluid surrounded the baby. The days to come were excruciating. Filled not only by much intense physical pain, the emotional roller coaster of not knowing whether baby K would make it caused further agony. The best science experiment of our lives was now precariously dangling before our faces. Tears roll down my face just thinking upon the events of the last week and a half. These very same days that seem much more like an eternity ago.

We are on a new clock however, where each oncoming night marks a new day for our son. The little fish knew he had to come out and soon - not only had he had miraculously fashioned a double knot in his umbilical cord halfway up to the placenta but he came out with the cord wrapped around his neck twice. It is doubtful that he would have made it had he been content and gone full-term to 40 weeks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/TheWickedWench/Keegan/firsthold031006.jpg

The three of us were meant to be together with a sure destiny to escape his future threatening cord predicament. As long as he already was, combined with my own size that was a sure thing. And I cannot even begin to tell you how much we already love this kid. Under watchful eye in the neonate unit for at least a month our preemie has already felt the intense love of our tight circle of family and friends. The next few weeks will continue to be exhausting with more endless hours spent in the hospital but it is so well worth it.

We love you Keegs. Keep our little family in your thoughts. As of today, Saturday March 18th our little boy is doing TREMENDOUSLY well. My heart has been stolen forever. I cannot guarantee when I will be back to post/read next in this thread but I will do my best as time is made available. We have so much more to complete in the nursery before he comes home and we also still have our baby shower coming up next weekend!

If anyone would like to keep tabs via LJ please PM me. Love to you all!

[nettie]

Shortcake and Lolly Thinking of you both!

Crazycaro Being a boring patient is probably one of the few times where being boring is the best that you can ask for. Hope the baby hangs in there a bit longer.

QOTD What to wear after ~ I'm hoping to pick up a few more pairs of yoga/track pants. I have one pair from my pre-maternity days that are still one of my favorite things to wear. I'll probably buy a few different nursing tanks too, and I have a couple of hoodies/cardigans that will get me through the first couple of days/weeks. After that, who knows. I have a wedding to go to 6 weeks after baby boy is due, that should be fun to shop for.

Freaking out ~ Yes and no. Sometimes I still think what in the world have I gotten myself into. I have a few new parent books, one Dr. Spock and one from the AAP, that cover everything, so if I'm freaking out in the middle of the night I'll have something to reference. :) But mostly, I expect I'll be making lots of phone calls to my mom and friends who are moms. Millions of other people have figured this out, we can too!

I'm just over 32wks, which in many ways is a huge relief. If the baby comes now, I get to go to the hospital I like more as opposed to the one with the better NICU. Baby boy is active, sometimes almost painfully so. His legs kick up toward my ribs, and I try to gently push them down. Of course, when he's not kicking I wonder if he's OK.

ETA

Spellbound

Congratulations!!!!! What a birth story! I'm so glad to hear that you and baby are doing well. The first May mom!!! You and Keegan are definitely in my thoughts. Hope you get to go home soon!

[Spellbound]

I wanted to add a few reflections before I log off. First of all, I do not want anyone to feel undue stress/worry about their own babe from my post. If there is anything my husband and I have learned over the past few weeks it is that preemies are incredibly cared for today. Not only are they incredibly resilient, but the medical care and monitoring they receive is superb. We have bonded with multiple couples who are in the neonate unit with us and I cannot begin to stress how much these little ones prosper.

I had a normal, healthy pregnancy from day one with no issues. I don't smoke, drink or do drugs. Though I did indulge in a little fast food from time to time :D. It just goes to show you that some things were meant to be. We truly believe Keegs needed to make his entrance when he did. We're simply the better for it.

[kristin9903]

Wow! We have our first baby!

Congratulations Spellbound and welcome Keegan!!!

All the best to you and your new family! :)

[nettreefrog]

Wow...I came here to post about my hospital tour, but gosh our first May baby already!?!

Congratulations Spellbound! Keegan was big for 32 weeks! Just wanted to send you my best thoughts for a healthy happy future!!!!!

nettie - I agree about it being great to be over 32 weeks now. With each passing day, I wonder how he is changing and filling out --getting further and further away from the ICU.

kristin9903 & Standrea - I am sure that your motherly instincts will kick in the minute you hold your new baby for the first time... and then, you'll be a natural!

fats - Maternity clothes --especially the pants are great to have around for months afterwards. My coworker still sports some of hers 6 months later because they are so comfortable and she has not lost all of the baby weight. I am keeping up with you in terms of weight gain though as I am up around 32 pounds already! It seems to be mostly belly, bbs, and tusche though...

crazycaro - Yeah for still waiting!

Jen1098 - You make a great point about leakage... Then, there's the whole joy of wearing breast pads--Ugh!

gagirl - I know exactly what you mean about seeing weird things shoot out from my stomach that I can push back. At times Gabriel seems to respond if my DH taps, he will tap back. He calls him "alien baby" at those times...

jarm - Great recommendation about the panties... A friend's sister found the light boyshort granny pants most comfortable.

Lolly - That is horribly sad. Hopefully, the end was quick and painless.

Shortcake - Please give your DH a big hug from me. I am sorry this happened.

Southlooper - After today's tour, I hope you are right.


QOTD:

What to wear after the baby is born?
I really have not given this much thought--I'll grab a pair of comfortable pants, a shirt, and a nursing bra... There will be discomfort no matter what...

Freaking out?
Given that this is time #2, I am definitely not freaking out. Whatever will be --will be.

Hospital Tour: We just got back from the tour at our hospital. My DH drove, and my DD came along. We were the last ones there, and my doctor was on duty as I walked in. The group was huge --at least 20 parents-to-be + at least one large stroller. The nurse showed all of us an example of a birthing room, a shared room, and I think a private room (which can be ours for an additional $600/night--not covered by insurance). The group walked past the nursery and then we sat in an auditorium of sorts where she gave a briefing about what would happen and then answered questions. I really did not have any, so I just listened to mostly new parents ask various things. It amazed me that there were a number of women there that were showing --but barely --it looked like they were around 20 weeks (maybe). The nurse was quite knowledgeable and said that all of the nurses were trained (by her) to assist with breast feeding and that each of us would be allowed two support people during delivery. I had already mailed in my pre-admission forms, but she advised us to bring the mostly completed birth certificate with us when we come for delivery. I need to follow up with my doctor about the choices of pediatricians who will examine the baby at the hospital (our pediatricians will see Gabriel post-delivery, but the one at the hospital will have to accept my insurance from what I understand--I am calling them later today). After responding to that horrible posting that I told you all about (on the online group forum), I got multiple messages from women who had delivered at this hospital. One of the women said that the rate of c-sections is quite high--and I am going to address/stress the fact that I want a natural birth with my doctor on Tuesday. (I'll post this later to my LJ too.)

[May2006Mommies]

CONGRATULATIONS SPELLBOUND!!!

Welcome Keegan! :)

-Updated-

[Southlooper]

*** WELCOME KEEGAN ***

Spellbound: One of my bestfriends growing up is named Keegan. The name has good Karma. :)

I just finished watch In the Womb on the National Geographic Channel. Of course the program culminated with a birth. The women who gave birth started on all 4s then eventually standing up, supporting herself on her hospital bed. This birth did not happen in the US (her accent sounded English.)

International May Moms: Are you given a choice on birthing positions?

I never asked my OB about alternative birthing positions. I should remember to do that.

[Bloomwood]

Spellbound - congratulations on the birth of your son! I was born at 32 weeks (4 lbs, 10 oz) 33 years ago and have fared pretty well. I'm sure little Keegan will be just fine. I agree, from what you posted, it does seem like he knew what he was doing by insisting he be born rather than sit there with a lethal cord. My very very best thoughts and wishes are with you, your husband, and especially your son. I'll look forward to the update when you get to bring him home!

[fats]

Congratulations Spellbound and Welcome Keegan!!

I'm so happy everyone is doing well!!!

[smiles33]

Congrats, spellbound and welcome Keegan!

That's great that Crazycaro is still preggers and hope you'll be released soon!

I finally figured out that my photos were just too large, even at 300 pixels per inch, so I reduced them. But I still wasn't only able to upload one of them. This is from March 13, when I was just starting my 32nd week. There's a glare from the camera's flash as I aimed the camera at the mirror, so ignore the weird shadows.

http://static.flickr.com/45/114443978_fff96495b2_m.jpg

I don't know why my photos of the nursery still won't show up. ARGH!

QOTD:

What to wear after the baby is born? I'm taking 4 months off before returning to work, so I'm hoping I'll be able to fit into some of my 1st trimester clothes by then.

Freaking out? It comes and goes. Sometimes I can't wait to see her and welcome her, while other times I think to myself, "How can *I* be qualified to be a mommy? I've changed less than 5 diapers in my entire life!"

NEW QOTD:

What supplies are you stocking up on now and how many?

I just bought my first jumbo pack of newborn diapers (a 40 pack of Pampers Swaddlers) and picked up some baby wipes, but am not sure what else to pick up to have ready at home for the first few days.

[maryanne]

hi, just a soon to be end of june/july mommie stopping by to wish spellbound and family a healthy and quick recovery, i hope that the next month will go quickly and you get to take him home as soon as possible!

[Jen1098]

Spellbound A huge congratulations to you and your family. Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like Keegan certainly knew what was best. I'll be keeping him in my thoughts for a quick release from the hospital. It sounds like he's getting the best care possible.

Smiles Love the belly shot.

As for the freaking out. I wouldn't say I'm freaking out persay. Granted we did this not to long ago but each baby is different. I'm more worried about making sure Josh still gets his mommy time and still gets to get outside and play b/c that's what he loves more than anything. So on top of caring for the baby I'll have the whole quilt issue.

stocking up-Well we have a bunch of diapers left over from Josh. But they're huggies and huggies didn't work for us b/c he kept leaking out from the back. So I"ll probably buy some more pampers just to have both on hand. Other than that I haven't stocked up on anything.

I had a gf come over yesterday and dh and ds went to her house to hang with her dh and kids. We did some walking around Princeton, ate lunch and did some shopping. I can't even tell you how beat and sore I was. I'm only 32 weeks-pretty sad I can barely walk two blocks. I don't know what Im going to do when we go to Philly Easter weekend. We plan on taking Josh to the aquarium. Oy-looks like I'll be on benches the entire time. Oh well.

[nettreefrog]

Southlooper - I'm not an international mom (I feel like I should say, but I play one on tv...:D) --but that's (birthing positions) a great question to ask the OB during one of the next appointments.

Bloomwood - It is great to know that early babies turn out well! Is it me or were both you and Keegan large for that many weeks? I thought that 32 weeks corresponded to around 4 pounds...

Smiles - You look fabulous! Are the other pictures also on flickr?

NEW QOTD:

What supplies are you stocking up on now and how many?

Jen1098 brings up a great point about the Huggies leaking. I talked to my friend who had a son a little over a year ago. She tried out a variety of diapers and found that they were not all the same. We were chatting online, so here is what she said:

Me: did you try various types of diapers? if yes, did anything work best?
Her: yes i did. i have tried them all. pampers are the best. followed by huggies, then luvs. little tykes just started a line--they're just as good as pampers, but super cheap so they always sell out. stay away from babies ru us diapers.
Me: hmmmm leaky?
Her: yes and super thin, but not absorbant.

We're going to tour a condo this morning, and I have been thinking about it all night. Thank goodness for CC once again... I ran out of productive stuff to do and this lets me channel my nerves into something interesting.

[Mrs U]

Congrats Spellbound and Welcome Keegan!

/running to the store tomorrow for waterproof mattress cover :eek:

We had our partner birthing classes this weekend. Went fairly well- only thing new for me is that with natural births the hospital releases you after 4 days- so not quite a week thank goodness. Also learned about massage to help prevent tears which will come in handy hopefully.

Southlooper in our class we went over the different birthing positions- on all 4's, using a rope hanging from the ceiling, the birthing stool, water birth, normal bed birthing, laying on one's side, ect ect. There are plenty of options out there as long as your dr/ midwife's are open to alternative ways (it's a big thing over here)

Smiles Sweet belly shot!

What supplies are you stocking up on now and how many?
I'll be doing the Toys R Us run in April, unless P's mom already bought some pampers. We have a little stash from all the free samples that we received as well as samples of wipes.

What to wear after the baby is born?
I'm a SHAM so maternity until my normal clothes fit. I did puchase a Glamour mom's tank top so at least I have something to wear for the way home.

Freaking out? Only when I hear that some of ya'll gave birth/ or are close to it ;) 2 in our birthing class had their babies (class was with EDD end of April- mid June) Lately just when he kicks like mad/ stomach turns hard the fear comes out and I wonder how the hell am I going to handle the actual birth!

Lolly & Shortcake Sorry to hear about your losses.

Ok time for bed. My allergies started up yesterday so I need to get some sleep before my head feels like it will explode. Night All!

[Bloomwood]

Glad everyone seems to be doing so well!

smiles - I'm so jealous of your 32 week belly. Mine looks like I'm carrying around a line backer at 33 weeks.

nettree- yeah, I feel like I was big for 32 weeks based on what it says in all the baby books, but I think that some of us just have growth spurts at different times!

Jen1098 - I'm so with you on not being able to walk. We went a mile to our Starbucks today and I had to sit and rest my poor sore feet before we did the mile back.

QOTDs:
Supplies: I have 120 newborn swaddlers and 80 or so size 1. I have a pack of Lasinoh wipes, lasinoh cream, aquaphor, butt paste, vaseline and a random assortment of bottles. Anal much? :p

Freaking out: uh yeah. I'm at 33 weeks and ready to not be pregnant anymore, but cannot fathom taking care of an infant right now. I think smiles has me beat with her 5 diaper changes, too! I know I'll be fine and less qualified women/girls than me get through this, but holy cow is it scary!

What to wear: probably the same thing I wear now which is what I wore before getting pregnant! Sweats, tshirts at home. I can't wait to pack away the maternity wear and return what has been leant to me!

Went to a brunch with lots of moms today. My first "everyone has an opinion" experience with strangers. Oh well...

My hospital bag is mostly all packed. I am struggling with what to wear home. I have some stretchy pants that I wore in the first tri (and forgot about), but still need a top. I ordered a couple of glamourmom tanks and also have a majamas nightgown in black for the hospital (black in case of excess blood). Our hospital suggests we bring gatorade, so I packed vitamin waters and also Larabars for DH. Have you tried Larabars? They're made from raw ingredients and not processed at all. The Cherry Pie is delish. This coming from someone who despises all of those energy bars.

I posted my nursery pics in the nursery thread, didn't want to suck up bandwidth all over CC, just leaving them there. They are on page 76.

[crazycaro]

Oh my goodness! We have a baby! Congrats Spellbound! Please please please feel free to talk to me if you want. Ruby came at 31 weeks so I know all about the preemie experience. I'm adding you to my LJ (jasbella) - would love to be added back.

So here is MY update now. :)

I'm HOME!!! WOOHOO!!! :D

Got my marching orders this morning, yay!!!

32 weeks 4 days today, freaking fantastic don't you think? I feel so bloody good to still be pregnant, especially given the scare last week. Not only good but kind of proud to be honest. Go me. :) I seriously think the only reason I am still pregnant is my hospital stay and mostly being off my feet. So as much as it was boring as bat sh*t to be there, it was so damn worth it.

I have my usual weekly check up on Wednesday, then again a week later.

Jason is working from home today, tomorrow and Wednesday. Mum is going to come get Ruby Wednesday night and keep her until Saturday morning. We'll see what happens from there.

I have BIG plans - get comfy on the couch and rest rest rest!!! Let Jason look after Ruby for the most part. I will be in charge of meals though. One of my first thoughts when being told I could go home was phew, at least I know Ruby will eat ok now! Jason can't cook and I was resigned to just letting it be, and to not worry about what he fed Ruby, given it was just a few days. Don't have to worry about that now. :)

I have a craving for Mexican food so will make that for dinner tonight, making enough for leftovers tomorrow. Not going to overdo it!

So now we just wait! I have nothing going on, knock on wood. No pains of note since Thursday, my green discharge has stopped (was told it was probably membrane leakage given I am 2cms dilated, I had a spec exam Thursday evening and that could have stirred things up a bit), it's all good.

I am so ecstatic to be this pregnant guys, just so so so ecstatic and grateful. You can't imagine how blessed I feel.

She could still come whenever, and that's ok, every day I wake up still pregnant is a bonus now. :)

Caroline

[Guinness]

Wow Congrats Spellbound! We are thinking of you are baby Keegan :)

Yay Caroline and Chloe for continuing to bake!! Very happy for you.

I am sooo behind. I will catch up on QOTDs, and just give big SOs to everyone. Grow babie grow!!. I can't believe we have a May baby, and April births are almost in full swing. We are in the homestretch!

What supplies are you stocking up on now and how many?
We haven't done any stocking up yet. My shower is Sat and then after that I figured we can fill in what we need and stock up a bit. I admit I am overwhelmed on what we might need. This kid hardly has clothes, so I bought some body suits on gap.com last week :p

What to wear after the baby is born?
I will be home until Aug. My plan is maternity until I fit into the other and then back to reg. clothes. I started at a much higher weight than I wanted anyway, so maybe I will lose more than baby weight. That is my lofty pla - but I figure summer and baby equals lots of walks and maybe running.

Freaking out? Only by not feeling totally prepared if they come soon. I really need to make it 2 more weeks for teaching and then someone could take over my class if need be. April is filling up though, so it will go by fast. I am more excited than freaked right now. It is getting very real.

Hospital Bag DH and I almost got in a ridiculous fight over this this weekend. He says pack your bag NOW. I said, I don't really know what to put in it, and I have to wear everything that fits. We compromised that I will pack it after my shower this weekend and he will help. He know where the list is now.

Alright, off for my morning walk. I have hit the 34week mark today - unbelievable.

[Lolly]

Thanks for the thoughts ladies. I'm going to the viewing this morning and a mass at noon. I think the reason why they are having everything so quickly is because they are sending the body to Canada (where he is from and where his older children are now) for burial.

Congratulations Spellbound! Welcome Keegan!

[Guinness]

Wanted to add . . . Lolly and Shortcake thinking of you during this time. Take care of yourself and your loved ones!

[flyerwife]

I tried to post before, but we've had computer problems, so hopefully this will work this time.

Lolly and Shortcake -- I'm sorry for the losses. I hope that all the families involved are doing as well as can be expected.

Spellbound, congrats -- welcome Keegan!! Sounds like he is getting great care, thanks for sharing your experience and words of wisdom with us!

If this posts correctly I'll be back later to answer QOTD's.

[flyerwife]

crazycaro -- so glad to hear that you are back home and the baby is still baking. hope things continue to go well.

[Bloomwood]

crazycaro - glad Chloe is still baking and you seem to be doing GREAT!

I have been playing with our stroller, making sure I know how to collapse it, fit the carrier, etc, so I get used to it before I'm out and about with a crying baby and trying to get it packed up or unpacked. I definitely need some more practice!

I have a QOTD:
Anyone else feel these weird pain/shock sensations once in a while way down "there"?

It is usually when I am walking. I get this stabbing shock that stops me in my tracks. My guess is it's her head down there bouncing on my bladder or my cervix. I have an appt tomorrow, so I will ask, but it is weird.

Also, just wanted to add a follow up to the supplies QOTD. Totally silly, but I unpacked a pack of the newborn daipers to put on the changer. OMG! They are so tiny! Like I said, silly, but it got me!:)

[fats]

I feel like I get so far behind so quickly here!!!

nettree: SH measured about 4 pounds last Friday before I hit 31 weeks. It was the 70th percentile, but still considered within 'normal range'.

smiles: Love the belly shot - you look tiny compared to me! I hope you can post your nursery pictures soon - I can't wait to see!!

We had our birthing class this weekend and it was really wonderful. I'm just going to copy this part from my LJ (sorry so long):

First off, the woman who taught it was phenomenal. She was so engaging and smart and funny and super super knowledgable. There was not one question that she couldn't answer and none of the information she gave us was meant to influence us in any way. It was just a genuine desire to make sure that we are as informed as possible about all of our choices.

Secondly, the fact that it was "Childbirth with an Epidural" led me to expect a class full of couples who are planning to get an epidural as soon as they enter the hospital (like I am) and there really wouldn't be any need to discuss alternatives. Not so. There were some women in the class who were willing to try and give birth without the epidural but were obviously, open to the idea of having one. She also gave us (me) some great insight as to why someone might not want an epidural - something I had absolutely no understanding of whatsoever. I actually was somewhat surprised at my own reacation when I told Eco, "You know, NOW I understand why someone would want to give birth without an epidurual." At the same time, I am still pretty intent on having one but, big shocker, I actually want to hold off on getting it for as long as possible. As long as I can get it and have it take effect before I hit the transition phase (and by the time my contractions are getting really bad), I think I'd like to get through most of my early labor without being confined to my bed.

I also learned some more about induction and I'd like to avoid the use of pitocin as much as possible. Originally, I always just thought, "Yeah, pitocin. Whatever. If the doc wants to bring it on faster, go for it. No biggie." I've heard about the contractions being more servere, but that's not an issue if I have an epidural. The main thing for me is that pitocin can cause you to retain water, which may make breastfeeding more difficult (super engorged breasts - more than normal - making it hard for the baby to latch on). Fortunately, my doctor's practice tends to avoid any type of induction so I'm cool there.

Same with episiotomy. I'd heard so much conflicting info about what heals better, but after this class I'm pretty set on avoiding one unless the baby is in distress and isn't getting out quickly enough. Again - that's my doctor's practice anyway.

I want to avoid the use of narcotics, which I had pretty much decided already but I had heard about people getting stadol and I didn't know much about it. Apparently, they'll only give it to you early on in labor to "take the edge off" before you get (if you're getting) an epidural. But it's like taking demorol and it will affect the baby as well as me so I don't want it.

And I definitely want to avoid supplementing with forumal if at all possible. Not that we discussed breastfeeding, but it was just something I spoke to her about during a break. It's party so that SH gets the benefits of breastfeeding, but moreso because I don't want him to develop a preference for the bottle.


About stocking up - I have another long post so I'm going to start a new one.

[fats]

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to answer the question about stocking up on baby stuff with a list and I didn't want the last post to be so super duper long.

I bought some stuff a few weeks ago because BJs was having a sale - a jumbo box of diapers in Size 1 (pampers swaddlers) and some unscented wipes (also pampers). I've also picked up some toiletries that my Baby Nurse told me to get. She gave me a list of things to buy for the baby so I thought I would share it here. As far as diapers go, she said not to buy too many Newborn size - only a pack of 40 and we could buy more later on if needed, but the baby often grows out of them very quickly. (I thought the Size 1 were for newborn and that's why I got such a big box, so I was glad when I found out the Size 1 is post- newborn!). Here's the rest of the list from my baby nurse in case it's helpful to anyone (the stuff "for bris" is because he's being circumcised)...

1. A&D Ointment (in orange, white and brown packaging)
2. Q Tips
3. Rubbing Alcohol (to clean belly button)
4. 2 boxes of sterile pads 3”x3” (for bris)
5. 4 tubes of Bacitracin (for bris)
6. pampers wipes (sensitive kind)
7. one box of pampers diapers for newborns (they grow out of it quickly)
8. Neosporin (original antibiotic)
9. Purell hand sanitizer
10. sterile cotton balls (Johnson & Johnson)
11. tube of baby aquaphor (for acne)
12. mylecon or gripe water (not the cherry – it stains)
13. manicure kit (including thermometer, aspirator, etc)
14. Vaseline
15. J&J Original Baby Shampoo
16. J&J Baby Milk Lotion
17. 3 receiving blankets
18. 6 onesies (preferably the ones that don’t actually close b/c of belly button healing)
19. 3 stretchies (pjs) with feet
20. 1 package of wash clothes
21. bath towel
22. 1 package of burp cloths

[AttyGrl74]

CONGRATS SPELLBOUND!

Welcome Keegan

Yeah - I'm behind!

[AttyGrl74]

Hey Fats I noted that you'd asked whether breastmilk stains. It can - although mine didn't so much. I think it depends on the fat content - i.e. hindmilk will stain more than foremilk. Breastpads will be your best friend!

[Em7.31.04]

I've been out of town since last Wednesday, so I'm going to do my best catching up with SOs and other QOTDs, etc. As much as I truly love my extended family, I am so happy to be home.

My aunt and uncle had a baby in August and are done having children (had twins already). So...they're mailing us a bunch of things: bottles, car bottle warmer, car seat base, Baby Bjorn carrier, sleepers). My aunt also gave me a gift of her favorite things, to include breast pads, Baby Einstein lullaby CD, cloth diapers, toys, and a sleep sack. We feel so blessed! She also took me shopping for nursing bras, and I bought 4 Bravado ones.

Jen1098: A parent on my caseload at work gave me her maternity support belt. I haven't worn it yet, but she said it was a lifesaver for her in the last few weeks.

crazycaro: Oh my goodness, you are in my thoughts for a happy & healthy delivery of little Chloe. But in the meantime...hang in there!!

fats: Love the letters!! I have a similar pair of pants from Target, by Liz Lange Maternity. So comfy - I might wear them every day from now on. :-)

Bloomwood: Wowza on the April momma...that really makes it feel real for us...

Lolly: So sorry to hear about your co-worker.

shortcake: I'm thinking of you and your DH...what a difficult situation. Safe travels and {{hugs}} to your family.

Spellbound: CONGRATULATIONS on your little Keegan!!! Oh my goodness, you're the first to have her bebe! What a rollercoaster that must have been. Take care of yourself and your family...

Southlooper: I've seen that show too, and think it's wonderful. Noticed the birth positions too. I know that I want to labor in whatever position is comfortable for me and recommended by my midwife. Assuming I don't have an epidural, that is...Laying on your back really isn't the best way to go from what I've read and been told...

Stocking up: We've gotten a few things here and there as samples...but we haven't gone out and bought anything such as diapers...I'm going to wait until after my showers (3 in April!) to see what we'll still need.

[Standrea]

hello mama's!!

I just got done with a workout and feel fantastic. I'm so full of energy right now, but i'm sure that will end shortly!!

Bloomwood-I saw your nursery in the nursery thread, and it is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!

[nettreefrog]

fats- I had an epidural and was induced for #1 with pitocin. The epidural did not help at all, and after the problems my coworker experienced (continued pain and problems caused by it), I am opting against it for #2.

On the induction... Honestly, the process was not one that I hope to repeat. I received the pitocin through an IV drip --and it took quite awhile for my DD to be delivered. I cannot compare it to a normal birth (my water was broken by my doctor when she felt that I had dilated sufficiently), but the entire process took from 8:00 am (around 8:30 once the IV had started) until 1:34 am when my daughter made her entrance. I don't recall my breasts being too engorged and with a little help (from a lactation nurse), my daughter latched on.

Bloomwood - Maybe BH contractions?
--
I have my OB appt. tomorrow. I am creating a list of questions for the doctor --this is what I have thus far:

1. I want to ensure a natural birth (no C-section). What can I do/say to ensure that --as long as there is no fetal/maternal distress?
2. What are my measurements?
3. What is the current position of the baby?
4. Size of baby (weight, length)?
5. Chances of delivering early or needing to be induced? (When will you have a better idea?)
6. Who are the pediatricians at the hospital that you recommend? (These are the doctors who will examine the baby...)

If you all have any other questions that you are asking, please post away.

[Southlooper]

Happy Monday everyone!

Hope you had a good start to the week.

Fats: Your class sounded great! I'm looking forward to our birthing class now. Thanks for sharing, especially about the pitocin. Everyone I know who has had pitocin had problems, but they always blamed it on the epi.

Crazycaro: Welcome home! Enjoy the rest.

Em: Aren't hand-me-downs great? We got a whole bunch of stuff from our family and friends too. The advantage of being one of the last to have a baby.

Freaking out: Honestly I'm still in a state of disbelief. I think this is keeping me from freaking out. DH on the other hand is starting to freak out a bit; the shower is what put him over the edge. Every so often he he says, "this is really happening." It's cute.

Stocking up: We are planning to use cloth diapers. I have already stocked up on my diaper stash and ordered covers yesterday. We are also making our own wipes and have already bought spray bottles to store the wipe solution. I spent my "sick" days sewing flannel wipes. We also have a stash of disposable diapers and wipes thanks to the shower as well as a variety of baby toiletries. We're going to wait and see what works with the baby before stocking up on products (which we plan to purchase with the gift cards we got from our shower.)

It's 8pm and I'm sleepy. Good night everyone!

[Mrs U]

Well I guess it comes in 3's- P's grandma passed away only a couple of hours after our visit on Sunday. It hit us both pretty hard since we just saw her.

I'll post shout outs at another time.

[Guinness]

Sorry for your loss Mrs U :( I am glad you both just got to spend time with her. Take care of yourself!

[marchfamily]

Congrats Spellbound!

Pitocin/Epi - With my first labor, my water broke at 2am and I didn't have any contrax to speak of. I had pitocin on/off from probably 5-6am until I delivered - at 12:30am.....the next day. I was a VERY slow progresser - and never progressed past 5cm (I was at 5cm for 7 hours). I ended up having two rounds of narcotics before I was even at 4cm and could get the epi. I can't imagine that I ever would have really started labor without the pitocin. RE: BF after pitocin - I had no trouble. I was very swollen (from pg, labor and csection) and DD latched right on.

[Jen1098]

MrsU I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Like Guiness said it's good you guys were able to spend some time with her.

nettreefrog Good list of questions. My old OB never guessed on measurments so it's possible yours might not also.

Em7.31.04 You're getting some great stuff. Nothing is better than free baby stuff!

BloomwoodI get that pain quite often. Is your baby head down? IIRC last time with Josh the Dr. said it was him moving around down there getting into position. It hurts doesn't it?

Well I have a Dr.'s appt in an hour. I'm wearing my aerosoles shoes b/c I know the sneakers made my weight gain seem so high. Should be interesting.
I have to bring Josh with me which isn't any fun. He's been a pill this am so hopefully he's good.

As for the pitocin. I had a small dose last time b/c even though my water broke my contractions were pretty irregular so we did it to get things going. I had an epi. pretty soon after though. Luckily I didn't have any problems afterwards bf or other symptoms.
I've also decided to forgo the induction. Since my mom is coming on the 5th of May I'm just going to let nature take it's course. Of course the baby could decide to come before then but if he doesn't I'm going to go on my own. I'm just afraid of jinxing myself b/c with Josh I had such an easy labor.

Alright gotta get ready. Hope everyone is feeling great. Not to much longer now.

[May2006Mommies]

Here is who I have for wanting labor buddies:

Bloomwood (5/5)
Attygrl75 (5/27) - LJ
April1234 (5/18) - LJ
Nettreefrog (5/10)
Jen1098 (5/19)
jarm (5/18)
Southlooper (5/27)
fats (5/22) - LJ
Lolly (5/22) - LJ
lowcountrywed (5/13)
Standrea (5/25)

Anyone else? We have lots towards the end of the month, and I will try to put LJ people together. I might also have to do groups of 3 in some cases. . .

Thoughts? Additions?

[fats]

Thanks for those of you who shared your pitocin experiences!

Jen - I don't even wear my shoes when I get weighed!! The first thing I do when I get in the examination room is take them off! Every little bit counts!!

Labor Buddies How exactly does it work? Do we email our labor buddy when we go into labor so that they can post it? I figure if I'm on the computer I can post it myself. In terms of announcing the birth though, I've already got a long list of friends and family to email so I guess it'd be easy to just add my labor buddy to that list (thinking out loud here). I also think that you might want to pair up early EDDs with late EDDs because chances are the later EDDs will still be around posting. The only problem is, the early EDDs might be too busy with their babies to be checking email and posting on CC for their labor buddies.


One other thought I had from reading the April (or maybe it was March) thread - when the babies start coming, maybe we should start a new thread so that we can have all the babies in one place - maybe reserve a few posts on the first page for pictures and what not. Any thoughts?

[Guinness]

Labor Buddies Fats, I am not completely sure how labor buddies work, I think it can be up to the buddies themselves whether they want to share phone numbers or be added onto an e-mail list announcement. I am just going to facilitate pairs. . . not sure how much sooner news will get to us.

I would ideally like to pair up early and late, which I have a tentative list going - however, most of our moms EDD who want labor buddies are after the 10th, so I am really not sure how well it will work. I will do my best, but we all know babies will come on their own time - and there are many circumstances beyond our control (drives me nuts ;) ).

I also think it would be great to start a new thread when the babies start coming - except they have already started :D. I think maybe it would be better, and less work for mods, to continue with this one and try to keep the baby count up (and let people post pics as they come), and then once all the babies are here combine and start a new thread perhaps with another group - similar to Jan/Feb mommies. I just think keeping up too much in the next month + is going to be difficult as we have babies and get ourselves situated. I think it is something we should discuss though and get a consensus of what people might want!!

[Bloomwood]

Just wanted to drop off a morning laugh. My MIL sent this to me. I've never seen it before, but it's probably making the rounds.

The Middle Wife
By an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher.

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back. When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame - Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pics of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday. First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh!' " Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" - doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this."
Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.

"And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" This kid has her legs spread and with her little hands are miming water flowing away. It was too much!

"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.' They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff, they all said it was from Mom's play-center!, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcord, just in case another Erica comes along.

[Jen1098]

I knew it was the shoes!:D Went to the Dr. today and I was only up a 1/4 of a pound. Hah. Nobody believed me but here's proof. So I can enjoy those tagalong girl scout cookies Paul is bringing home today.
Appt. went well, everything looks good. Baby is still head down so that's good. Josh was an angel, flirting with everyone.

Labor Buddies I'll probably just add my buddy to my list of people that DH will email out once the baby is here. I'm on LJ but don't want hubby going there since I vent about mil quite a bit on there.;)

I agree about waiting to combine threads until the babies are here. I'm in a summer 2004 thread with babies from May, June and July and it worked out great.

Oh and on the buddy list my dd is listed as the 19th but it's the 16th. Not that it matters b/c as we know the dates are really just a number.

[nettreefrog]

Just got back from my u/s and everything looks good. Gabriel is 4 lbs, 15 ounces now, the amniotic fluid is good, I am measuring ~33 cms (belly), I am up 31 pounds overall, BP is 100 over 60, my doctor gave me the names of two potential peds who will be visiting Gabriel post-delivery, the head is in position, and there is no way now to know whether I will need to be induced. The doctor theorized that the reason that the c-section rate is so high is because the hospital is on the upper east side, and many of the women delivering are older.

Labor Buddy: I forgot to mention that I am also on LJ--but am happy with whoever needs a labor buddy--on LJ or off.

[Lolly]

Mrs. U So sorry about your loss. :(

Let me see if I can catch up on QOTD's...

stocking up: we haven't bought anything yet. My shower is this weekend though so I'm sure once we figure out what else we need we'll start stocking up. I too plan on cloth diapering (most of the time, and I still need to get my DH on board with it), and I plan on stocking up on that stuff soon as well. My plans for diapering and pumping include renting a pump for the first month and getting a diaper service for the first month. Then if things go well I'll buy a pump and buy the diapering supplies.

what will I wear after the baby is born?: I plan on wearing yoga pants and my jersey knit shorts for the first few weeks. I'll wear maternity if I have to though. I'm just hoping I'll be able to loose all the baby weight and then some while I'm on leave for the summer. I'd really like to be able to fit back into my regular clothes when I return back to work (but I think I'll have to buy a few new tops though). My plan is to walk alot and exercise at soem point during the day while the baby is napping.

[Em7.31.04]

Mods: Would you mind changing DH's age to 26 please? Today is his bday. Thanks!

[Bloomwood]

Had my appt today. No big deal. Baby's head down. I didn't gain as much weight as I had at the last appt. (I never pay attention to that scale. I was talking to my GF that also went there and we agree it is way off. Not to mention I always go there after breakfast and fully clothed.) I guess BP was fine, she said I look "good on paper." Heart beat was strong. They gave me a Similac sample bag with all sorts of goodies in it. I was reading the BFing info once I got home and fell asleep. Woke up to DH calling to tell me he was on his way to a dentist appt. I think I slept about 40 minutes. I think I could go for another 40 or so!

Somehow I managed to get to my appt early, so I drove by where the entrance is for the children's hospital (where I'll deliver). Our hospital doesn't do real tours, just virtual ones, so I figured this was a good use of time rather than figuring it out in the heat of a contraction.

Anyone else feel like today should be Wednesday instead of Tuesday? s-l-o-w w-e-ek!

[Bloomwood]

Sorry....me, again.

I forgot I had a question too!

I have two ped appts set up for 4/4. They both come highly recommended as folks that will be open to doing a modified vax schedule for me and generally taking a holistic approach. One is used by a GF (same one as above) and the other is super close to my house (although the other is only 10 minutes away). Do the ROs have any good questions for me to ask to get a sense of how to really find a way to click with them and differentiate one from the other? I'm guessing I can't go wrong with either, but want to ask enough questions that I am not wasting anyone's time. Thanks.

[crazycaro]

Had my check up this morning, boring, all is well. :)

I have a c'section date set! Hee! 27 April, I'll be 38 weeks on the dot. Who knows if I will make it, but it's kind of cool to me to even have something like this!

27 April is my sisters birthday. :)

[Em7.31.04]

Well, today has been a repeat of my incident in early February when I ended up being admitted for IV fluids...I drank a hot chocolate this morning when I got to work, and started feeling nauseous about two hours afterwards. I came home early and slept for 2 hours. Still felt nauseous and was in the bathroom every 10 minutes, so DH made me call my provider. Was told I can take Kaopectate & something else for my nausea. Went to the drugstore and also bought Powerade. Came home and took the Kaopectate w/a small amount of Powerade. Threw up 30 minutes later and have been doing that consistently ever since. Ugh, not again. I really hope I don't end up back in the clinic getting IV fluids for dehydration...This sucks!! Anyone else want to come to my pity party...? :(

[ga girl]

Em- I feel your pain. I had m/s until 19 weeks and was SO happy to see it go, my midwife warned me it could come back at the end and wa la on Monday I woke up to yet more m/s...at least this time I know it can't last over 7 weeks!

[nettreefrog]

QOTD-

New QOTD --> Has anyone else noticed new stretch marks? And, are you applying any creams that help? I have been applying cocoa butter, but noticed new stretch marks on my belly...

Differentiating between 2 peds - I'd would go through the normal run down of questions (board certification, schools attended, where residency was completed, time in practice, other doctors in practice, insurance issues, etc.) first. Then, I would propose 2-3 situation questions and ask each doctor how s/he would handle them. Ex.: If my son developed a rash on his stomach, what steps would you take in diagnosing the problem and resolving it? Hope that helps Bloomwood...

crazycaro - So happy for you!

Em7.31.04 and ga girl- So sorry that you are both experiencing this again. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it goes away again.

[kristin9903]

Em7.31.04 I'll join your pity party!!! You poor thing...get to feeling better!!

MrsU So sorry to hear about your loss. Like others have said, it's nice that you got to spend some time with her.

Crazycaro April 27th sounds like a nice birthday!! So glad to hear everything's going well.

Had my appointment today. Up 4 lbs in a week...probably due to all the swelling. I feel like my ankles will explode if you touch them! Other than that, all is well. Dr. wants to induce labor at 38 weeks, so we'll be meeting our son in only 3 weeks!!! :eek:

[smiles33]

Just popping in quickly to say I had my "photo shoot" last weekend with the Stanford photography student and she put up a shot! I can't link to it because it's a Macromedia gallery type site, but go here:

http://www.catherinesnow.com/

Click on maternity shots, and I'm number 3. She's going to give me a CD of all the best shots but this was her favorite so far. I like the way the denim shirt shows so many textures in b/w photography! And, I love how she got the heart pendant necklace in, as DH gave that to me when he proposed (since the ring is from his grandmother).

OK, gotta run off to a meeting now! SO's later, but Flickr only let me upload that 1 belly shot so I couldn't get my nursery shots up. ARGH! Will have to play with it some more this weekend.

[Bloomwood]

smiles - so cute! I love your lopsided linea negra and popping out belly button. I have the same thing and never ever would've thought it could be cute - but it really is in that photo! thanks for sharing.

[shortcake]

Thanks everyone[B] for your kind thoughts about my FIL. We are back now. It was really good being down there, and I think it helped a lot. DH seems to be doing well. He is heading to Canada today for work :eek: it's a trip he has been looking forward to and I just hope DD does ok with him gone for 5 days...sometimes after being together with him for a while (as we were down in CA) she has a hard time with him going to work for a few days! But it will be good for him I think.

I can't really catch up properly, but...

CONGRATULATIONS [B]spellbound!!

Stocking up -
Haven't yet. Of course I have some stuff but the little things - diapers, lanisol, etc, I need to get. I have a small shower April 8th so even though I'm sure that will mostly bring boys clothes, I will wait until then and then make a BRU or Target run.

Diapers - I preferred Huggies swaddlers when she was an infant and Pampers Cruisers as she got more mobile.

ped - I really like Nettreefrog's suggestion for proposing some scenarios. I think also just go with your gut - pick the ped you feel most comfortable with.

[kmfroggi]

guess how bad i am, i didnt even know till now that there was a new thread! gosh i am sooooo behind. sorry for that ladies.

hope everyone is doing well.

so for an update.........
its still a suprise, we are 33 weeks tomorrow-edd May 12, 2006.......pretty freaking scary
we had another u/s last week, it was amazing to see our lil one!!
we have been taking an expectant parent class for the last month- love it
the nursery is almost done, only 1 more piece of furniture left to refinish
our shower is April 8, i am so anxious to get all the baby stuff and fill the room
i am just starting to not sleep, maybe for the last 3 weeks
waking up at 3:30am to pee and not being able to fall back asleep really sucks
the baby really enjoys playing with my bladder these days

our last dr appt- almost 2 weeks ago- i was down 3 pounds, i had that nasty stomach-vomiting virus. but they dont seem to be concerend, cause they didnt say anything. the babys HB was 144 which is where its been the whole time. i now am going every 2 weeks to see the dr's.

as for stocking up- i have 1 pack of diapers and 2 packs of wipes. no so much stocking up. i have a few of those free sample things of dreft and desitin, but not much.

freaking out- hell yes. i am worrying about almost everything- delivery, being a mom, money. that might also be why i cant fall back asleep at 3 in the morning.

diapers- my sister liked the swaddlers, so i am going to try those.

peds- i am going to use the group that i went to when i was a kid. at our parenting class, another couple said they went and interviewed them, and they really liked the doctor, could tell that the dr they interviewd really cared for kids. so that made us happy. and that dr is the one that my sister uses too. so good recommendations are coming from them. plus they are local.

ok, did i write a book. sorry for all that. i am going to try really hard to keep up here now, so sorry for being such a bad poster!

[Em7.31.04]

I'll catch up on previous posts when I'm feeling more energetic...but I just wanted to check in and say that I'm back to about 90% after a really bad week of being sick. But I'm on the upswing now. Good thing, because DH and I have our childbirth prep class all weekend - 9:45am-6:45pm both Saturday & Sunday. Will be very tiring I'm sure, but we're really looking forward to it. Early to bed tonight... :-)

[May2006Mommies]

- Updated -

[nettreefrog]

Hey moderators... I was wondering if you could update the information for each May Mommy's information on the front page as she gives birth...similar to what is done on the March Mommy's board? This has really helped me determine how early or late women are delivering...For example:

Spellbound
Me: Jude, 31
DH: Patrick, 32
Married: 09/25/04
TTC: August 2005
BFP: 08/25/05
EDD: 05/02/06
Gender Prediction:
Gender from u/s / amnio: It's a Boy!
ADD: 3/09/06
Keegan -4lbs 15oz and 18" long.

[May2006Mommies]

Updated

[Southlooper]

Good idea Nettreefrog!

Nothing to exciting report. I need to get caught up with work, but have been doing everything I can to avoid it (including cleaning the house, cooking and baking.) March Madness is the latest distraction.

How tired are you? I've taken 2 naps today and am ready for another one. Is it just me or do you need to sleep every 2 hours?