November 06 Mommies ~ The 2nd Trimester!!!

[Lydia]

Meredith That's the plan! This "southern living" just isn't for us when we've come from the North. We're Yankee's at heart (well, Red Sox fans when they're doing well :D ) and while we've gotten a lot out of living here, it's just about time to go home and be near family. I'll keep you posted though. Her MRI isn't until July 10th, so a few more weeks to go. Fortunately, she's been seizure free since the first episodes so we're happy about that. Thanks for asking.

Woo hoo!

[mermccau]

Quick update:
Went to the doctor's for my monthly check up. I have gained 8 lbs which the dr was happy with. My belly measure 20 inches which is right in range - she was happy with that too. We heard the heartbeat - 148 bpm – consistent of all the other times we have heard it. It is always around 150.

She mentioned that my placenta is in the front which is probably the reason I have felt no movement yet. She said that 22 weeks or so will be the time. I am 20 weeks on Saturday!

Ankle swelling? Well, it is all due to summer and my recent "salt binge". My blood pressure was low (104/60). I have always had really low blood pressure and it has not changed since. No protein in the urine either. I was not worried but I was thinking last night how much it would suck to find out I was at a risk for preeclampsia and toxemia.


Ausi – congrats on passing the glucose test and the great results on the screen.

Ellidew – why are you debating about Target? Good luck with the vision testing. I hope you feel better.

Ppwgal – good news!

Mimieliza – great find!! So cute too. Are you going to paint the walls? If so, what color?

Catgirl – thanks for the advice and info :) Come to find out, it was the salt.

Lisainpink – great bedding. Gotta love BPK and their cute stuff.

Brio – cheers for seizure free!

Franni – yay for your girl!!

Nic – I hope you are feeling better soon.


Breastfeeding – I have decided to not breastfeed at all. The sooner I can get back to boozing, the better! Ah, I am just kidding. ;)

[ellidew]

Not to keep rehatching the stroller issue but How the heck did you decide? I've narrowed it down to 6 strollers.

Stroller Info

All 6 meet this criteria:
*Compatible with an infant car seat
*Light weight
*Can be used for a child long term (eliminating the need for a 2nd stroller)
*Full seat recline.

Any opinons? The Combi appears to be the cheapest for a stroller/car seat combo but is it worth the extra money for the other models?

COMBI:

Cosmo DX: $100.
5 pt harness
Full seat recline
Tri fold
Removable and washable seat cushion.
Weighs 13 lbs
Holds a child up to 45 lbs
Compatible with the Centre DX Car seat


City Savvy: $100
5 pt harness
Full seat recline
Tri fold
Removable and washable seat cushions
Weighs 12 lbs
Holds a child up to 45 lbs
Compatible with Connection car seat
Taller handle than the DX

Combi Compatible car seats
Centre DX: $130
Connection: $150

PEG PEREGO

Aria: $150
Aluminum
5 point harness
Full seat recline
Hand wash seat cushions
Weighs 10 lbs
Weight limit?
Compatible with Peg Perego car seat

Pliko P3: ($250-300)
Aluminum Frame
5 point harness
Full seat recline
One hand umbrella folding
Hand wash seat cushions
Weighs 16 lbs
Weight limit?
Adjustable handle bars
Compatible with Peg Perego car seat and other name brands

Peg Perego Compatible Car seat
Primo Viaggio $150

Inglesina:

Zippy: $250
Aluminum with some plastic parts
5 point harness
Full seat recline
One hand umbrella fold
Hand wash seat cushions
Weighs 17 lbs
Holds a child up to 40 lbs.
Compatible with most car seats

Zooper:

Waltz: $200.
Construction unknown
5 point harness
Full seat recline
Tri Fold
Hand wash seat cushion
Weighs 17 l bs
Hold a child up to 40 lbs
Compatible with most car seats


Just in case no one else has looked into this... Hopefull this will help!! It's taken me hours to compile all of it!

ETA: Additional info and easier to read format.

[Sinclair319]

Congrats on your daughter, Franni!!! BTW, I PMed you to borrow that book you mentioned if you don't mind. I promise to send it back as soon as I finish it. :)

Popped?Several people have told me that I've definitely popped this week (I'm 20w4d today). It's so nice to start and actually look preg rather than just puffy. If my bbs weren't so enormous I would definitely look preggo!

[Rancid13]

Breastfeeding – I have decided to not breastfeed at all. The sooner I can get back to boozing, the better! Ah, I am just kidding. ;)
Hahaha, LOL! I love people w/a sense of humor. :D


Franni~Congrats on your GIRL!!!

Ellidew~That's awesome that you're feeling some definitive kicks. I can't wait to even feel some fluttering in there, something besides gas or my digestive system. ;)

Nic~Sorry to hear you're having a rough day, but happy anniversary and I hope things get better for you!

Popped?I've had a few people, including my only female coworker, our bookkeeper, and my husband, tell me over the last week or so that I'm definitely showing now and they can totally tell that I'm pregnant, not just looking bloated or however I looked before. :eek:

[mermccau]

Rancid - I was wondering if that was going to go over like a lead balloon or not. ;)

Anyway, I am a tried and true wino. I have not had a sip of wine since March 12th. The longest time in as long as I can remember!

[RubberSoul]

mermccau- When I read your breastfeeding and drinking comment I almost sprayed water all over my monitor! I have not had a drop of wine or beer and I am craving a Guiness lately! I might break down at some point and have one, but I know I will feel guilty about it. When I had the level II the Dr. told me that the placenta was in front too so he said it would be a while for me to feel movement. I could swear sometimes I am feeling some kicks or something, but I keep second guessing if that is really what it is.

ellidew- I have narrowed my stroller choice down to the P3 or the Zippy. Mostly it came down to - being able to use it for a few years, being able to snap a carseat into it, weight, foldability (is that a word?), adjustable handles (leaning towards the P3 for that), and rating in Baby Bargains. I am pretty sure that you can snap the Graco Snugride carseat into the P3 so I am leaning more towards it than the Zippy right now. I still have to go to a store and test drive them.

popped- No one has told me that it is more noticeable and honestly I can't see much difference in myself, but I see me everyday ;). I need to take a belly shot and post it to see what ya'll think.

[Sare79]

I couldn't wait much longer for my amnio results and decided to call the Obstetrics clinic this morning. She said she'd call the genetics lab and get back to me.
About 10 minutes ago she called back and said it could take up to three more weeks to find out. When I had the amnio, they said 10 days to two weeks for results. It was two weeks today and I have been really patient. The reason she gave for this delay is the type of testing they are doing. I am having molecular testing done and the regular one is phytogenic (don't quote me on that). I'm so disappointed that I have to wait that much longer.

[roberta]

mermccau ha! The running joke here is that I am craving a beer so badly. And I was not much of a beer drinker pre-PG. I haven't had one yet, but... it just sounds good.

ellidew Thanks for that stroller cheat sheet!

here are some links for those looking at car seats. The CC car seat thread http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=243
car seat and car model compatibilty website
http://www.carseatdata.org/selectseat.asp

eta: Sare so sorry to hear you have to wait even longer to hear both the gender and the amino/chromosomal results. how frustrating!

[neenbean]

Meredith! You are a hoot! Seriously, the baby kicked my belly button when I read your comment about BFing and drinking. I think he/she was sending me a message. ;) "Its OK, Mom, have a glass of wine and give me formula."

Sare~ sorry to hear about the long wait. Your nerves must be pushed to the limit!




I called to reschedule my u/s and the earliest the can fit me in is July 17th. :( I am super bummed because this means DH can't come. :( I am so sad because he will be at a conference in FL and we can't wait another week to have it done. :(

[Toonces]

franni ~ Congrats on another girl!!

[nic]

lilo- nice stroller

ellidew- I had such a hard time picking a stroller, you'd think I was making a life altering decision. I finally decided on the P3 because it's got most of what I'm looking for and it's gotten good reviews all the way around.

mermccau- Oh my God, thanks for the laugh this morning, I needed it. I'm also a tried and true wino. I haven't had a glass since February 26th, is it bad that I know that?

I went out with friends shortly after I found out I was pregnant (maybe 7-8 along) and they asked if I was having a glass of wine. I said I gave it up for Lent and that was pretty much a dead give away. They knew instantly I was pregnant. Surprisingly, my wine cravings haven't been too bad. Now that it's warm out I've definately wanted a glass but I don't think the guilt will allow it. I love sitting outside on a hot summer day with a glass of Pinot Grigio, oh well, next year. Ok, I just realized I wrote an entire paragraph about wine................

Sare, I am so sorry you've had to wait so long for your results. That's so unfair.

Neenbean-I'm sorry to hear they had to reschedule your ultrasound. Call back and ask if they have a cancellation list-maybe they can get you in sooner if someone cancels at the last minute.

I'm 21 weeks today! I've definatelt popped in the last week, it's nuts.

I'm feeling better today, both mentally and physically, thank you all for your well wishes.
I don't know if I had indigestion, constipation, growing pains or what but I feel crappy the last 2 days. I had a ton on pressure around my bikini line and a sharp pain on my left. My belly was also getting really tight, not painful at all just tight. Could that be Braxton Hicks? I thought it was too early but I'm not really sure. I think the pain and the tighening were two different things happening.

[mermccau]

Happy Friday, Ladies! :D

Life is pretty good – I am sitting in an air conditioned office. The day is mellow. I have kicked off my shoes and have my feet elevated. I am pretty cozy. My boss is leaving at noon also. Great start to the weekend. :)

Episode of pregnancy brain – I had my car inspected. I was waiting and the mechanic pulled it up in front of me. He asked me if it was my car. I was looking right at it and said, “no”. He was confused because he was pretty sure it was my car. It took a couple of seconds for it to sink in. I have driven this damn car for about 10 years! I swear I am going to have Alzheimer’s!

~~~~~

Ellidew – I cannot even look at your stroller list! It is like being a restaurant and deciding what you want but then looking at the menu and being tempted by more options. You did good work getting all that info.

Rancid – I realized I sound like such a drunk knowing the exact day I had my last sip of wine!! I only know because I know the exact day I had the positive pregnancy test and I was away at a ski/party weekend the very day before. Jeesh, I should like a lush – or maybe I just am one. Oh, well. I am not boring at least ;)

Rubbersoul – hahahaha. Well, I cannot be the only one who misses cocktails, so I thought I would throw that out there :) I plan on having a glass of wine on my birthday in August. I have probably elevated the idea of having it and it probably will not taste as good when I do. I agree with you. I am wondering if I will feel guilty. I can see myself only having a half glass or something. I guess we will have to see who feels a kick first.

Sare – making you wait that long is ridiculous!! In a world where everything is “instant”, that is just crazy.

Roberta – I am not a beer drinker either but I have to tell you this. A pregnant friend of mine left a couple of O’Douls at my house. They were bottles of the dark brew, not the original brew. I had one the other night and it was damn tasty. It hit the spot since it has been so hot here. The non alcoholic beer was chilly cold and had a nice full flavor to it. And this is coming from someone who does not typically like beer.

Neenbean – some of friends who have kids have used the term “pump and dump” – LOL

Nic – if it is bad then I dare say you are in good company. I know the exact day I had my last sip of wine too :D I love your paragraph about wine. I could have written it. People have never known me to down down a glass of wine so when I did, that was the hint to everyone. I do not crave it as much as I feared. I do not miss it day to day like I thought I would but there are times, like when we are out to dinner or I am at a cookout, that I really do miss it. Do you think you will have some during this pregnancy? Just look at it this way, we can indulge a little during the holidays.

[Rancid13]

Rancid – I realized I sound like such a drunk knowing the exact day I had my last sip of wine!! I only know because I know the exact day I had the positive pregnancy test and I was away at a ski/party weekend the very day before. Jeesh, I should like a lush – or maybe I just am one. Oh, well. I am not boring at least ;)

I was just gonna suggest you go out sometime in the days after you give birth and drink to your heart's content, then pump & dump, but then I saw you mention that phrase a few paragraphs down. :D

I fully intend on heading to my favorite local Mexican joint in the week after I give birth so I can fully indulge myself in the margaritas I've been missing so much that they make so well there. :cool:

Wouldn't you know that every time my family gets together (birthday, anniversary, etc) they plan to meet up at that very restaurant, making me suffer while they all order margaritas and I get stuck with water or lemonade. I think they enjoy teasing me. My mom suggested I order a virgin margie, but then I won't have that lovely tequila taste and after-effect. :(

[mermccau]

Who had the Pottery Barn Alphabet Soup bedding?

The rug is on sale on ebay and the auction ends in a few hours.

This may be pricey, but I saw it and thought that it could not hurt to post it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120000787706&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1

http://i14.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/76/8b/7a_1.JPG

[Franni]

for my fellow winos - a suggestion I would suggest breastfeeding the baby and having your drinks right after. That's what I have done. "pump and dump" will break your heart, especially if you have low supply problems.

That being said...I had a glass of wine last weekend. (I know I shouldn't have), but it was GOOOOOOODDDDD!

[scarlett74]

Congratulations, Franni!

Sare, I’m sorry for this long period of waiting.

[mimieliza]

winos - Yes, I'm one. I remember my last sip - and it was WAY more than a sip. I had four glasses of wine the night before my BFP. Whoops. I'm not worried about it since I got my BFP at 9 DPO, and there's no shared bloodstream then.

I'm planning to drink wine as I want while BFing (although never more than 2 glasses at a time). It's such a tiny amount that would get to the baby compared to what the baby can be exposed to in utero. I'll try to time BFing and whatnot, but I'm not going to worry too much about it.

I'm throwing a wedding shower/bachelorette party for a good friend at the end of July. We're going wine tasting to the Walla Walla Valley wineries. I'll be the designated driver, unfortunately. No tasting for me.

popped - Yup, I've popped. But I've been pretty popped since about 14 weeks - it's just the past week or so, it's definitely noticeable no matter what kind of shirt I wear.

mermccau - That's me with the Alphabet Soup nursery. I love the rugs - PBK is still selling them on their website. The round one is just $100, but I'm not getting it because we don't really need a rug, and I can use the $100 to buy diapers or something really necessary. But it's killing me because the rugs are so. cute. :)

DH and I have agreed that we are going to paint the walls pale green. We were debating between green or yellow.

Also, I never thought I'd say this, but maybe I'll try O'Douls. I do feel a little deprived when DH is enjoying his evening beer.

rancid - I've been ordering virgin strawberry margaritas - you're right, not quite the same, but they do put whipped cream on top, which is nice.

nic - So glad you're feeling better! :D

neenbean - I'm sorry you had to reschedule your u/s. I've been worried about having to reschedule ours due to DH's schedule. It is so hard to wait!

sare - I can't imagine how hard waiting for amnio results is. I've got my fingers and toes crossed that you hear back SOON.

ellidew - That's a great list! DH and I loved the Maclaren Techno (not carseat compatible) and the Peg Perego P3. I really like umbrella-fold strollers, and ones with large canopies that can be pulled all the way down. The Graco Safeseat or Snugride works great with the P3, as well - you don't have to get the PP infant seat.

mayham - I'm only taking the Claritin as needed. I took it three days in a row to get things back under control, and now I haven't needed it today. I really think my insane, out of control allergies led to the bad cold (or at least made me more susceptible).

lisainpink - I love that PBK bedding. DH and I seriously considered that set.

brio - I'm so glad Sarah's seizures have stopped and things are going okay!

[ellidew]

Dh and i went and started our registry last night! :D It was a lot of fun but i'm confused... how many of everything do we need? We're trying to be very practical about things since we can't afford to buy the moon and i don't want to over buy.

I registered for 6 3oz bottles and 6 9oz bottles but what's the real story on bottles? What's a good amount to have? We're going to hopefully be bf'ing but bottle feeding as well and i'll be pumping at work so that will be bottle fed.

What about crib sheets? 2? 3? 4? More?

How many hooded towels/towels?

How many sleepers/sleep saks? Sizes?

Pacifiers? We put 2 0-3mo sizes and 2 3-6 mo sizes... i'm hoping we don't need a paci after that.

Sorry for all the questions but, i have no idea what we need :p

I wish baby bargains had a break down of exactly how many of everything you need, realistically.

[Sare79]

Ellidew- there were a few good threads about this in pregnancy- people offered what they registered for:

http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=10345&highlight=register

http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=4481&highlight=register

Another good thing to look at, because i kknow you like research, is the top three lists in the 0-18 months parenting. Look at what they didn't need and what were the best things, and that should give you a clue. Most people say they wouldn't bother with registering for blankets because they always get a million..

[brio96]

Those lists that Sare linked to are a good reference and listed a lot of what you'll find as "must haves" from moms as opposed to BRU's "must have" list.

To answer ellidew specifically:

I registered for 6 3oz bottles and 6 9oz bottles but what's the real story on bottles? What's a good amount to have? We're going to hopefully be bf'ing but bottle feeding as well and i'll be pumping at work so that will be bottle fed. I think this sounds like the right number of each

What about crib sheets? 2? 3? 4? More? At least two, three is probably "better". There were nights when DD was a newborn that I could seriously go through 3 a week. One way I found to not go through so many was to lay a receiving blanket (ends tucked into the space between the mattress and crib) on the sheet and place her on that. It would often absorb enough of the mess that it wouldn't leak through to the sheet and I wouldn't have to change the whole thing

How many hooded towels/towels? 2 or 3 of the hooded ones are good. I liked the hooded variety only because it let me keep her head covered while transporting her from the bath to her room to get dressed. Skip the robes. As the baby gets older, regular towels work fine. We personally liked the baby washclothes (one package of them should work) because they were smaller than ours and it was easier to fold them when attempting to clean her smaller body

How many sleepers/sleep saks? Sizes? I'd say SEVERAL (at least 3 0-3 month and 3 3-6 month) sleepers for the beginning because you can go through many of them in one day due to diaper blowouts and spit up. You'll do a lot of laundry anyways, but it's nice to have replacements on hand at 3 in the morning. Sleep saks: we didn't really use these in the beginning because DD needed to be swaddled tightly in a blanket to sleep. Between the sleeper and the blanket wrapped around her, she was warm enough. Once she grew out of the swaddling stage (about 3 months in our case) I used the 3-6 month cotton sleep sak once. She didn't like it and screamed everytime I put her in it. That being said, I have a friend that still puts her 2.5 year old son in a sleep sak, so it seems to be child dependent. Maybe one in 0-3 and one in 3-6 in a fabric best suited for your climate???

Pacifiers? We put 2 0-3mo sizes and 2 3-6 mo sizes... i'm hoping we don't need a paci after that. Between those and the ones that you can get from the hospital, you should be okay although one more package of each probably wouldn't hurt because paci's seem to get lost more than any other object (we're still finding some from over a year ago that we thought were gone forever).

Hope that helps!

[ellidew]

Thanks, you ladies ROCK!

Sare- I am definitely a "planner". Is it that obvious? lol :D

brio- Thanks. That is a great starting point! I will add a few more pacis and maybe a couple more bottles. I will nix the sleep sak for sleepers... i already own like 6 of em. I am a self described sleeper addict :)

[bijouparvin]

Is anyone else getting a little depressed from time to time? I'm not a depressed sort of person but I get a little lonely and sad sometimes these days and I'm hoping I can just attribute it to PG hormones. Anyone?

[neenbean]

Is anyone else getting a little depressed from time to time? I'm not a depressed sort of person but I get a little lonely and sad sometimes these days and I'm hoping I can just attribute it to PG hormones. Anyone?
I have not been feeling that way with this pregnancy, but with DD, I had a LOT of moments that were lower than I normally would have. IIRC, you just moved, right? That can affect people a LOT, even if you love your new home and location. The change can add to the hormones already causing mood fluctuations. Also, if you are not around other women dealing with the same changes a pregnancy causes, this can also make you feel lonely. Having friends who you can talk to regularly about your pregnancy (and are dealing with it now, too) helps TREMENDOUSLY. Also, realizing the change a new baby is going to have on your life can be a bit traumatic and dramatic. Going out on a whim is not really possible (at least for a few months), you are going to forever be responsible for another person, your body is not your own for a while and the weight gain can really damppen one's spirits. I could go on and on, but those are all VERY legitimate reasons for feeling down and lonely.

PLEASE know you are not alone and we all go through this on some level. Right now, I am just worrying about balancing an active toddler and newborn- that is cause enough to be depressed! Fortunately, I am feeling pretty good (this week!) about things.

Good luck! (((HUGS)))

[RubberSoul]

I just wanted to drop off a belly shot comparison. I can see a difference in the pics. I can also say that I am definately feeling kicks and movement! I thought he was running laps in there this morning :).

http://images1.snapfish.com/3474489%3B4%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D3237%3E275%3E9%3C%3B%3E WSNRCG%3D323387496%3B%3B78nu0mrj

bijouparvin- I would say I feel more overwhelmed than anything else right now. I think that feeling is taking over and keeping me from feeling much of anything else at the moment. Don't forget you have plenty of people here to help you through the rough times!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

[brio96]

Right now, I am just worrying about balancing an active toddler and newborn- that is cause enough to be depressed!

I couldn't have put this better myself. Most days I'm really excited about having this second child and watching the relationship between DD and #2 but other days I get so overwhelmed that I feel like I can't breathe.

Is anyone else getting a little depressed from time to time? I'm not a depressed sort of person but I get a little lonely and sad sometimes these days and I'm hoping I can just attribute it to PG hormones. Anyone?

I think a lot of it does have to do with hormones but a lot of it likely can be attributed to what neenbean said. It's a very strange time in your life because while everyone else (DH included) knows your pregnant and may comment on it from time to time, you're the only one living it day to day. It's a reality for the mom in a way that it isn't for anyone else and that's a lot to deal with. I remember (with DD) feeling like I was the only person in the world somedays and there was no one I could talk to. Coupled with the fact that we had (also) moved to a new place, I didn't have any friends that were pregnant and my only resource for advice was the computer, I was definitely feeling depression for part of my pregnancy.

[Toonces]

Is anyone else getting a little depressed from time to time? I'm not a depressed sort of person but I get a little lonely and sad sometimes these days and I'm hoping I can just attribute it to PG hormones. Anyone?

Like neenbean I experienced mood swings and depression from time to time during my 1st pregnancy, but not with this one. When I was PG with my DD I almost had manic moments where I was totally excited and couldn't wait for her to arrive, to being scared to death and not knowing how on earth I was going to take care of a baby. What you're feeling is totally normal. It's also normal to feel some sadness after that baby arrives. I think something like 80% of women experience "baby blues" for 2-3 weeks after delivery. I certainly did. I remember crying many times/day after DD arrived; mostly because I missed being PG with her. I felt like she was so safe in my tummy and missed having her there.

RubberSoul ~ Great belly shots!! :)

Nothing new here... just dealing with my DD's strange eating and sleeping habits. She's been eating like a horse lately but doesn't seem to be gaining weight. She's also decided that she likes to wake up at 5-5:30am. Ugh! Maybe she's preparing us for a newborn. My big u/s is tomorrow so in less than 24 hours we'll know what we're having and I can't wait!! Other than that I had a fight with my mom, with whom I have a hate-dislike relationship and she thinks it's all love-love. In a way I'm glad b/c it gets her off my back until she calls in a few days and pretends like nothing ever happened. :rolleyes: She horned in on going to the big u/s appt tomorrow so if she calls today (hasn't since Friday) then I'm going to uninvite her. She'll find a way to ruin it for me. She can watch the video like everyone else. Anyone else have an irritating mom? It's worse for me now since I have DD. Now my mom wants to see her once/week and it's grating on my nerves.

[kadee_29]

Hi everyone. I have been lurking for a few weeks but I haven't been posting. Since I can't remember who I congratulated I am just going to say
Congratulations on your BOYS ~ ellidew, lisainpink, lisariv, Lydia, mermccau, nic, rubbersoul, scarlett74, sinclair319, citygirl and Congratulations on your GIRLS ~ Ilovemygeek, Kyrsten, katnbug, bijouparvin, Franni

We found out that we are having a boy as well. We are slowly getting used to the idea of another boy in the house. We have found a few houses that we are going to look at in the next few weeks and I have been busy packing boxes up and cleaning up our house. We also found out last weekend that our neighbor has been stealing from us. Not little stuff either. We are talking a gas grill and lawn mower. Then DH's uncle passed away so we have been busy with family stuff all week.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and can't wait to hear about all the u/s's that are scheduled for this week.

26~Calla Lily
27~catgirl1007, mayham
28~lisainpink
29~BethIrish, roberta, sare79
30~Lilla, civats

BTW...I think I have all the stats on the first page updated correctly. If not just let me know.

[CityGirl]

Just got back from a weekend with the in-laws, and am on my way to see my family, but I wanted to drop off this.

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/155832335X.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

FIL got this for DH and I REALLY want to recommend it. It's a small book, and very easy to read. It's written by Dr. Sears, and goes along with their parenting philosophies. DH has almost finished it in just the 1 hour plane ride home. It really urges fathers to just jump in and take care of their new baby, as opposed to just "helping" mom. It gives concrete examples of how to soothe, change diapers, bond, and support mom etc. I think my DH is really excited since getting his hands on the book.

[neenbean]

Anyone else have an irritating mom? It's worse for me now since I have DD. Now my mom wants to see her once/week and it's grating on my nerves.Actually, my relationship with my mother has improved since I had DD. She has advice about EVERYTHING and is very opinionated and stubborn. However, she has been less intrusive since I became a mother myself. I actually think she is surprised how relaxed I am as a parent and impressed with my reaction to difficult things. I have been known to be a bit dramatic, so my parenting skills are off character in her opinion. ;) I am just happy to not have her on my back about everything lately. :D

[Lilla]

Work has been keeping me MIA from this thread! CONGRATULATIONS to all the mommies who have had their big ultrasounds!! I can't believe we have so many boys! Time has really been flying by lately, which is good because that means that I finally have my u/s this week. I can hardly wait until Friday gets here. I feel like I've been waiting forever!! :) And since I'm feeling brave, here are a couple belly shots....any gender guesses? I was totally feeling boy from day one, but now I'm second guessing myself....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/berlymc/Belly/10weeks_share.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/berlymc/Belly/21weeks_share.jpg

Things have been quiet on my end. We are slowly making progress on the house (landscaping and cleaning out the nursery). Hope to start painting the baby's room in the next few weeks. And once we (hopefully) find out the gender, I can get my bedding picked out for the crib. I've been feeling movement more and more consistently. The little peanut has a daily routine for sure - dinner time is the favorite time for jumping jacks, apparently.

Hope you all are doing well!

[Sinclair319]

I'm still waiting to feel kicks from the outside. Usually it feels more like he's rolling over than kicking and it tends to be when I'm walking--he's really quiet when I'm just sitting maybe a good sign for the future?!

I feel like I've really popped this last week or 10 days, so here's an updated belly shot.

4w, 10w, 18w, 21w
http://static.flickr.com/60/160871502_e049cddc58_m.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/67/174589879_d7eeba61d3_m.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/76/160871503_eff0242a41_m.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/78/174589882_bccb078002_m.jpg

And a little peek at me! And yes, that wine rack is such a tease while preg! ;)
http://static.flickr.com/58/174589880_c9d8eb5e7a.jpg?v=0

[bijouparvin]

Thank you so much for the support, neenbean[/]b, rubbersoul, brio, and catgirl. I think you're right that the move and everything that entails are a part of it. Plus, my stepmom has been really struggling with her issues about this baby and it came to the surface on the day we had our u/s, sort of tainting that fun day. I'm feeling better today for a number of reasons, so hopefully it was just a temporary dip.

kadee_29 - congrats on your [b]boy!

citygirl - Ooh! I'll definitely check that out. I've just started reading their "Baby Book" and it's really making me ponder what our best parenting style will be. One of my friends is their daughter and she's the sweetest, most sincere, calm person you could hope to meet, so I guess the Sears' are doing something right!

Lilla and Sinclair - You guys look great!

[lisainpink]

Sinclair you look precious! Where did you get that top- and are those capris maternity? If so- dish! Where'd ya get em?!

Lilla I'm going to guess boy! You look great. I hope Friday comes quickly for you.

[roberta]

kadee Congrats on your boy! Sorry you are dealing with all of this stress right now. Hope you are doing okay!

lilla I am guessing boy for you.

bijouparvin I have been surprised at some of the feeling fluctuations I have had- getting angry, sad, lonely, frustrated really quickly and with intensity. It is normal and okay, you aren't alone. Stepmother issues don't help either- I know!

So I did a regular yoga class yesterday at my new gym. It was really nice to stretch and I missed yoga so much. note to self- fewer twisting/ ab streching poses. Serious round ligament pain last night. But now I know for sure the movements that I thought were baby movements were in fact baby and not ligament/muscle pain.

annoying mom? Currently my Mom is not sure she will be able to come and visit after the baby is born/ for the holidays because of the cost. Paying for her yearly vacation to Mexico with her friends apparenty comes first, no compromise. In the next breath, she whines about how she wishes I lived closer to her. Umm, we live so far away to help provide for your future grandchild. and with the way you act sometimes, no thanks!

I definately popped and look PG instead of looking maybe fat, maybe pg. It is noticable no matter what shirt I am wearing. The cashier at Home Depot got someone to help me out to my car with heavy bags of water softner salt after she saw me turn around to face her. Very excited about the big US. I keep dreaming about it, but never find out the gender. I still think girl, but I have been second guessing myself. who knows- maybe it is a boy? I hope everyone who is finding out the gender this week has cooperative babies!

[mayham]

I have so much catching up to do in here. I'll try to visit tonight to do SO's.

In the meantime I just wanted to say HI, and that we're finding out the gender TOMORROW!!!!!!!! I hope the baby is cooperative.

What would you do?
Also, I wanted to get some feedback on what you all would do in my situation. We're definitely finding out the gender tomorrow if we're able. My family wants to know the outcome asap. My MIL does not want to know since she wants it to be a surprise. She's pretty much the only one who doesn't want to know.

I want to be really excited about the baby and whether we're having a boy or a girl, because I want to be prepared and start some shopping! I can't tell if I'm being selfish or not because I don't want to have to be careful every time I talk to DH's family, because I might slip up. I feel that would be pretty stressful over the next five months... I mean, I'm sure we could do it, but I'd just rather not. I also think that if MIL doesn't want to know, I'd rather not anyone on their side know, because someone is bound to slip, and it would just get really weird after a while making sure we weren't talking about anything specific in front of MIL. Thoughts?

[katnbug]

kadee- Congrats on another BOY!

franni- Congrats on another GIRL!

pacifiers (from a few pages back)- My DS didn't take to them at all. He used the hospital issued one, but only while in the hospital. Once we got home he never used it again. I'd say just get a couple in different styles and see what/if your DC likes before buying more.

irritating mothers- Sorry to hear your mom is being a pain catgirl. Hopefully she'll forget about inviting herself to the u/s so you don't have to deal with it.
My mom is so wishy-washy about things, I've just come to deal with it. For the first 3-4 months of my pregnancy she barely acknowledged it. One day I mentioned the baby and she looked at me like "what are you talking about" so I said "you know, I'm pregnant again... nobody seems to acknowledge it" Since then, she's always at least asked me how I was feeling when I talk to her. She loves to hang out with DS and my sister's little girl, but she doesn't go crazy about her grandkids or anything. Sometimes it's fine since she doesn't interfere much, but sometimes I'd like her to be more excited about it.
Now that I'm having a girl, I know that all of the bad things I've done/said to my mom are going to come back and bite me in the butt!!! I'm trying to be more understanding so I don't get too much of that bad karma back!!! ;)

belly shots- Love all of the belly shots ladies!!! Looking like true preggo's!! :D

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

Recovering from a weekend garage sale at my sister's house. It was a neighborhood thing & they're all friends so I got to raid all of their baby clothes for free!! Lots of little girls in their neighborhood, so I've now got a stock-pile of girl clothes. Plus, my sister is giving me all of her daughters clothes.
I figure if I can make DH see that I'm saving so much on clothes & he won't complain too much that the baby bedding is costing us about $450!!! :eek: Not including the guy I'm hiring to remove the old wallpaper in the soon-to-be nursery & re-paint it. I'm just lucky that we can re-use DS's nursery furniture so I don't have to spend on that.

Good luck to all of the u/s ladies this week!!
Can't wait to hear the news.

[Franni]

For ellie

What about crib sheets? 2? 3? 4? More? We have 2, but it really depends on how often you do laundry. It also depends on whether your baby poops a lot or not (DD is a non-pooper) and whether baby spit up a lot (DD never did). But 3 should be a safe number.

How many hooded towels/towels? I registered for one and got 3. I have really only used 2 at a time. One to wrap the baby in the minute she is gets out of the bath and another to do the total drying. Again, this also depends on how often you do laundry. We are generally a once-load-a-week family.

How many sleepers/sleep saks? Sizes? TONS of sleepers was my norm. DD lived in sleepers (especially the ones that opened from top to bottom, because it was easier to get her in and out.) I would 5 to a size except for 0-3 though. Because who knows how big this baby will be. Sleep sacks - I had only one/season. Since it didn't really have contact with the baby, so I treat it like a blanket and it doesn't get washed as often. Based on the temperature in your house and where you live, make sure to get the sleep sack that suits it. There are cottons ones, microfleece, etc.

Pacifiers? We put 2 0-3mo sizes and 2 3-6 mo sizes... i'm hoping we don't need a paci after that. - IMHO, hold off on the pacifiers. This is something you should really think of buying on your own. DD (after many, many tries) never took to a pacifier AT ALL. So I have 3 different kinds at home that have never touched her lips.

Bijou I go through peaks and valleys, but I don't know if it is really pregnancy related. I think it is more life-change related in my case. I know I already have DD, but this second one has made me really take a long hard look at my life and what I want to achieve. It's been a sobering thought process. Hopefully yours is just the hormones.

catgirl My whole teen life I have had MAJOR problems with my mom. I didn't really want her nearby when I gave birth, but she had to come because of some issues that need to resolved and I was the only person who could house her. Well, she turned out to be everything that I thought she wasn't. My mom was so respectful of my wishes as a parent even when she disagreed with it. It turned out to be such a bonding experience for us. I am sorry that your relationship with your mom hasn't improved any.

mayham I think that it would be nearly impossible for you to keep this information from your MIL especially if you know yourself. What would you do with your registry? Keep all your items gender-neutral. How about shower themes, nursery themes? Again, are you just going to keep it gender-neutral? Then you would have require other people to follow that protocol and not have that discussion in front of your MIL. If I were in your position, I would try my "best" to keep it a secret, but wouldn't be too crazy about it. I would still register for the things that I need, have the nursery done the way I want. If she infers that the baseball theme is for a boy, then that'll be her guess, right?

[Rancid13]

kadee29~ Congratulations on your boy !!!

sinclair319~You are quite the adorable pregnant woman, I must say!!

lilla~I'm gonna guess girl, because your belly looks similar to mine, and everyone that's guessed what I'm having has said mine looks like a girl belly. You shall hopefully find out on Friday, and me next Wednesday! :)

Annoying mom~Not at all...I feel quite blessed to have what may be the least annoying parents and in-laws ever. No complaints about anyone. Of course, FIL and MIL live in Hawaii now (we're in CA) but even when they were living within a few miles of us, there was never any sort of animosity between us and them. I'll welcome any and all visits from family during the first few years of baby's birth, I'm sure. It helps that my parents live so close~my mom has said that she's looking forward to being a full-time grandma by the time December gets here. :)

[Sinclair319]

clothes--The top in that pict is from (gasp!) Walmart! I didn't realize they had a maternity section, but found it when I walked by. The capri's are maternity capris, I swear I live in them! They're Gap, but I got them off ebay. Good luck shopping!

[Toonces]

Just a quick drive by to say I had my 20 week u/s today and everything looks great, and we're having a.... BOY!!!

I'd write more but my DD is screaming her head off. If I don't pay 152% attention to her she throws fits these days. I'll write more after DH gets home.

[Rancid13]

Congratulations on your BOY, catgirl!!!

[kadee_29]

Congratulations catgirl!!!

[ellidew]

Congrats catgirl!!

[Sinclair319]

Another boy?! Congrats, Catgirl! Can't wait to hear about your u/s!

[Toonces]

Sinclair & Lilla ~ Great belly shots! You both look so cute. I look freakin' huge, but I got huge with DD, too.

Thank you to everyone who replied about their moms. My mom and I have always had a strange relationship (she doesn't think so). I just pray that my DD and I have a much different relationship. We should since I definitely won't be divorced, dating, drinking and relying on my DD to be my best and only friend. :rolleyes:

Mayham ~ I struggled with whether I wanted people to know the sex of our baby with my first pregnancy. We ended up keeping it a secret for several weeks and then told people. It was nice for it to be something that just my DH and I shared for those few weeks. This time around I've felt completely different and we've already told everyone and their brother what we're having.

Okay... now that DH is with DD (watch out for the terrible 2's starting early - it can be a nightmare!)... the u/s went really well. Since I'll be 37 when this baby is born I had a level 2. There are no signs of any genetic abnormalities including Down Syndrome or Spina Bifida. After we found all that out I asked the doctor to go back and check and make sure it was a boy. He ended up checking 3 times. :) I wanted to make sure b/c now I need to buy a bunch of boy stuff. He pointed to the penis on the screen and said, "I don't know what that looks like to you, but that's definitely a boy organ." After that the baby peed and we could see it on the screen - typical male! ;)

Okay... now I'm off to search through the Baby Name Wizard book to figure out a name for this little guy. Thanks for the congrats and support about the mom stuff!

[mayham]

catgirl1007 - Congrats on your BOY!!!!!!!! So funny you saw his boy parts in action :) I'm like you this time, I want to tell everyone when we find out! I guess we'll just wait and see how we'll handle the situation with telling/not telling my MIL.

Franni - Thanks for your thoughts on this. You're right, I can only do so much, and I shouldn't drive myself nuts over this. I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this than I should... I blame it on pregnancy hormones :rolleyes:

katnbug - Score on all of the baby girl clothing! I think your reasoning totally makes sense... all that savings seems to warrant a lovely crib bedding set to me!

Sinclair319 - Cute preggo outfit, you look great!

Lilla - Great belly pics. My guess is girl. I feel like I've been waiting forever for the u/s too... this is our week, finally!!

[katnbug]

WOO HOO CATGIRL!!
A BOY to complete your family!! I'm very happy for you - they're a bunch of fun & not as dramatic as girls! :D Well... even little boys go through the terrible two's. (early in our case as well!! :rolleyes: )
OMG!! I never knew you could see them pee on the u/s! That's so funny & typically male!!!

[Calla Lilly]

It is a boy!!!! We stopped off and bought some cute boy's clothes on the way home! It is very exciting to know one way or the other...makes it seem more real to me. I did ask the tech several times if she was certain (catgirl-can't believe he actually peed), but I felt foolish because it was clearly a penis sticking up. I could tell what it was before she even said what we were looking at. Most likely we will stick with the name Jonathan Lee.

Congrats to everyone else too! All of the belly shots look great! It is amazing how differently everyone shows.

This past weekend I took my first prenatal yoga class. Most people were further along then me (and were doing way better in the class). There was even someone who was 39 weeks and 38 weeks pregnant!

Hope everyone is doing well! I can't believe all of the boys on here!

[kadee_29]

Congratulations Calla Lilly!!!!

[Toonces]

Congratulations on your boy, Calla Lilly!! :) I can't believe how many boys are in this thread.

[Esq.]

congrats catgirl and calla lilly! I know it has already been said, but I am just astounded at the number of boys in this thread!

[kadee_29]

If I have the numbers on the first page updated correctly, there are now 13 boys and only 5 girls. There is still time for the girls to catch up though. There are 16 in the group waiting to find out the gender.

[lawgirl4]

hi from an October 2006 mommy! I just wanted to let you guys know about a thread I started last month when the Oct. mommies were finding out the gender of our babies, entitled Post your "it's a girl/it's a boy ultrasound pics here (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=20433). I know it's been helpful to lots of other moms - it would be great if you guys would share your ultrasound pics there too. Thanks and congrats to all of you! :)

[katnbug]

Congrats calla lilly on your BOY!
It is true that you can really see that little penis when you know what you're looking at! Now that I've had a boy and have seen my girl on u/s - I can say that it's much easier to tell the boy parts!

[lilo]

Congrats catgirl and calla lilly on your BOYS!

Wow, 13 boys already!

calla lilly: how did you like the prenatal yoga class? I've been thinking about signing up for one but wasn't sure how hard it would be. I've taken a few yoga classes in the past but I'm not very good at it.

[Toonces]

ITA Kat. This is kind of funny in a twisted way... regarding boy & girl parts. When they did the u/s of my DD, one of the docs told me that they call the girl part a cheeseburger b/c it looks like two little buns with a piece of cheese in the middle (like I said, funny but twisted). :)

[roberta]

Catgirl and calla lilly congrats on your boys!

[bijouparvin]

Holy BOYS, Batman! Congratulations, catgirl and calla lilly! At least our girls will have plenty of cute boys to choose from! ;)

mayham - It seems a little unrealistic for your MIL to insist on not knowing when everyone else will know. FWIW, I think you should just go about your business. Don't say anything directly to her, but don't go out of your way to try to conceal it. She'll probably find out sooner rather than later but you can't modify all of your plans to cater to her desires in this case. Just my two cents.

[scarlett74]

catgirl and calla lilly, congratulations!!! :)

tummy - today for the first time a coworker said "but are you expecting?" so I thought "well, it will be 19 weeks tomorrow, I can't hide it anymore".
Then in the afternoon I said to be pg to another coworker and the comment was "what??? but you'll seem at least at the second month, you don't show it!"
... ;) !!!

[Rancid13]

tummy~I got my first pg comment from a stranger today, finally! And from the UPS guy to boot. He was delivering an Old Navy package to my office and said it was either for me...or for the baby. !! There was nothing on the packaging (I thoroughly inspected it) that indicated it had anything to do with maternity or baby stuff. :D I was thrilled that someone realized I'm not just fat of gut!

I'm gonna be brave and post my first official belly shots, taken last night at 17w4d. Apologies if the pics are large, I resized them 3 times and it doesn't seem to change a thing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/JenniferPictures010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/JenniferPictures003.jpg

And this one is really cool and weird. Prepregnancy when I was lying on my back, no matter how poochy or flabby my abdomen was it still looked flat when lying down. Now I have a huge mound in my lower abdomen that my dr says is all uterus & baby. :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/rancid13/JenniferPictures002-1.jpg

[bijouparvin]

Scarlett - Congrats on finally showing enough to get recognized!

Rancid - You look great! I like that pic lying on your back where you can see what is "just" baby. I've always been able to do a scary/icky trick where I breathe all the air out of my lungs and then suck in my belly so all my guts go up behind my ribs and my stomach looks scary and concave. Now when I do that trick, my guts disappear but baby stays put so I can exactly where she is. Same sort of thing.

[RubberSoul]

Kadee, catgirl, and Calla Lilly- Congrats on your BOYS!!!!

I too am shocked at the amount of boys in the thread. When I had my level II the Dr. said that it seemed to go in cycles. He will see all boys for a while and then all girls. Strange isn't it.

I had my 20 week appointment today. All is well and I got to hear the heartbeat which is always cool. I have gained about 10 pounds overall and forgot to ask the doctor about my rate of weight gain. I have been concerned that I haven't gained enough, but he didn't say anything about it so I figure it is nothing to worry about. I don't have to go back for another 6 weeks because they figured it would be best for me to come back when I can do my 1 hour glucose test.

Next appt. is August 7th and I will have the 1 hr GTT

Lilla, Sinclair, and Rancid- Great belly shots. Ya'll look great!

[Sare79]

Make it 6 GIRLS!

We just found out we are having a baby girl. And we couldn't be happier. The geneticist phoned and told me that the baby is unaffected by the genetic disorder in my family and asked if we wanted to know the gender and I said yes. And she said "You're having a little girl." I just started crying and thanking her because I couldn't have prayed harder or wished for something more in my life.

[Esq.]

OMG Sarah, I am so happy for you! It is absolutely terrific that all is well with your baby girl!

[mimieliza]

Sarah! That's WONDERFUL news! Yay for your HEALTHY little girl! :D

[Calla Lilly]

Thanks everyone for the congrats!!!! Finding out the sex, has made things feel a lot more real for me (in a good way).

Sare- Congrats on the healthy little girl! That must be such a relief!

Mayham- I forgot to comment too. I agree with what bijouparvin said. I wouldn't worry too much about her finding out.

Lilo-The class was more difficult then I had expected...my prior yoga experience is probably similiar to yours. I had thought it would be an easy class, but we did do a lot of really good stretching....hurt some at the time, but I felt really good after the class. They did a good job modifying the poses, provided blankets, pillows and blocks for comfort. I think it is worth trying...I bought a package of 7 sessions.

[scarlett74]

Congratulations, Sare! That's wonderful!!

[Toonces]

Congratulations on your baby girl, Sare!! I'm glad she's healthy, too. :)

[Lilla]

I can start rounding up to 22 weeks today! ;)

Kadee, catgirl, and Calla Lilly Congrats on your little boys!! The blue is taking over in here!

Rancid I love the picture of you lying down - I'll need to try that, too. You look great!

Sare I am SO happy to hear that you have a healthy baby girl growing inside you!!! Congrats!

RubberSoul I've been wondering about the rate of weight gain as well. At 21w, I finally reached a 10 lb overall weight gain. Part of me is concerned that I haven't gained more, but then again, my OB hasn't been concerned at all. We'll see what she says this Friday. Maybe it's one of those things that just differs from woman to woman.

tummy I have yet to get any comments from strangers. I still think I'm in the stage where to a stranger, I just look a bit chunky. But from those people who know I'm pg, I keep getting comments like "Where are you hiding it?" and "Are you sure you're that far along?", etc. :rolleyes:

Not much new on my end. Wearing a new outfit today - it's nice to wear things that look cute vs. just looking frumpy these days! The pants I have on are actually white. I've NEVER dared to wear white pants before - who would have thought I'd wear them while pg to boot?! They were a great find at Motherhood. Otherwise, just antsy and waiting for Friday to get here!

[ellidew]

Congrats on your healthy baby GIRL, Sare!

Calla Lilly Congrats on your BOY!

[nic]

Sarah, Congratualtions on a healthy baby GIRL!!!!
It's about time you got your good news, you certainly had to wait long enough for it.

Ok, I've got to go back and do some updating to the thread and then I'll be back to post.

[RubberSoul]

Sare- Congratulations on your GIRL! Great to hear that she is healthy!

Lilla- I hear ya on the white pants. I never buy white pants and now I have a pair of maternity capris that are white. They are one of my favorite things to wear!

Tummy- I haven't gotten any comments from strangers. I think the clothes I wear make it hard to tell that I have a baby belly.

[kadee_29]

Congratulations Sare!! That is wonderful news.

I've been wondering about the rate of weight gain as well. At 21w, I finally reached a 10 lb overall weight gain. Part of me is concerned that I haven't gained more, but then again, my OB hasn't been concerned at all. We'll see what she says this Friday. Maybe it's one of those things that just differs from woman to woman. It is definitely something that differs from woman to woman. At my first 2 appts with the OB she stressed that I should only gain about 25 lbs because of my height and weight. As much as I don't want to admit this, at 21w I was still about 6 lbs under what I started at. I did the same thing with my other DS. (Its still weird to say that. LoL ) I only gained about 7 lbs total with him. He weighed 6lbs 13oz at birth. But a friend of mine gains at least 50-60 with each of her pregnancies. If your dr becomes concerned over too much or too little weight they will definitely let you know. Mine has yet to say anything to me other than shes happy to see that I finally stopped losing weight.

I seriously wouldn't worry about any amount of weight that you gain. This goes for everyone. As long as the baby is happy and healthy then that is all that matters.

[November06Mommies]

Updated to here

There are currently 13 BOYS and 6 GIRLS

Today's Ultrasounds- BethIrish and Roberta

[neenbean]

18 weeks today

weight gain~ I put on a lot of weight during my 2nd tri last time and my doctor expressed her concern at that point. I saw a dietician and they told me I was not doing anything really wrong and should just eat slightly smaller portions. In the end, I gained 46lbs, I think, maybe 48. A lot of that was water- I was SUPER swollen. I had lost 38 of that by the time DD was one. I would have lost more, but I wasn't really dieting and also got my BFP the next week. :D According to my home scale, I still weigh the same as I did the week I got my BFP. :) My new doc has not mentioned my weight once during this pregnancy- not how much I should or should not gain, or that I have maintained my weight. So, I agree it definitely depends on your doctor and your body.

[nic]

Rancidgreat belly shots

Rubbersoul I think 10lbs sounds wothin normal range for 20 weeks. If you average a pound a week from here on out that will put you at a 30 lb weight for your pregnancy.

I've had numbness/tinglin down my entire arm since Sunday night ans ending up in the emergency room Monday night because of it. Funny times.
Anyway, the ER doctor didn't know what was causing it and he said he'd typically either do an MRI or X-Ray but couldn't because I'm pregnant. So we pretty much went for nothing, although it did ease my mind a bit. I have a follow up appt. with my primary care physican tomorrow but I don't expect any answers from her either.

I hope everyone is doing well and I can'r wait to here from BethIrish and Roberta!

[katnbug]

Congratulations Sare on your healthy baby GIRL!!! I'm sure that wonderful news was worth the wait! :)

[Sare79]

Thanks so much everyone!

Weight gain- My doctor mentioned something at my first visit that I should try not to gain any more than I lost in the first trimester- 16 pounds. I am very overweight to begin with and I felt it was totally reasonable. I've been back twice and he hasn't said anything. I'm now up 5 pounds from the first visit.

[lilo]

Sare- Congratulations on your GIRL! I'm happy to hear that she's healthy too! :)

Tummy: Depending on what I wear, I get more and more "Congratulations" comments from people at work. It doesn't really bother me since I wear pretty fitting tops and there is an obvious 'bump' that I didn't have before. I was thin to begin with so I guess it's fairly obvious at this point. Noone has (yet) asked any rude or personal questions. I'm sure it will happen as time goes by though.

Weight Gain: I agree that it depends your doctor and you body. For me personally, I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle with exercise and eating healthy food. If I still end up gaining 40+ pounds, so be it, as long as the baby is healthy. However, I had a good reality check at my last appointment when the doctor told me how much I gained (she was as surprised as I was!) so I cut back on desserts, fried foods, fruit juice, etc. And it worked. I haven't gained any more at this point and hope to stay the same weight by the end of the 2nd trimester, which I know is possible. Typically they say that average weight women should gain about 25-35 pounds over the course of pregnancy. As someone else said though, as long as the baby is healthy, that's all that matters in the end. We have the rest of our lives to be on a diet! ;)

[mayham]

I finally had my u/s yesterday, and found out... It's a GIRL!!!!!

Yesterday was a draining day for us. We went in for the u/s appointment in the morning, and was surprised when my OB wanted to talk with us first. She had just received results from my quad screen, and I had screened positive for downs syndrome. So by the time we sat down, she had already scheduled us an appointment to meet with a genetic counselor, and to have a level II u/s done at the hospital in the afternoon.

Originally I wasn't going to have the screening done, but I did, and figured no matter the results I wouldn't get worked up about it, b/c after all, it's just the probability, not a diagnosis. Nevertheless, I spent the rest of the day in tears until the appointment. It was weird because mentally I was fine with everything, but I guess with pregnancy, all bets are off when it comes to emotion!

We had the appointments, and the doctor said he saw no markers for downs, and that everything looked fine. The u/s tech was positive we have a girl in there, but unfortunately I don't have a print out of the money shot. I kind of thought it was a boy when I saw it, but as my DH likes to point out, I'm not the expert. So I'll trust the u/s tech and start planning the nursery for our baby girl!

I'm so behind at work now so I should run, but I'll be back tomorrow for shout outs. Congrats to Sare on your girl, and Calla Lily on your boy!

[Sinclair319]

So glad to see more pink joining this thread--congrats to all the mama's expecting girls!

mayham-Hopefully your bloodwork had a false positive. I think it's great they didn't see anything on the u/s, but I'm sure it helps to know they'll do a Level II (and hey, you get to see your *daughter* again!) Congrats!

baby bump--I work at a community college and was in the bathroom today (imagine that!) One of my former students walked in and said, "Hey, how have you been?" then looked at my belly and said, "I guess I know the answer to that!" I definitely get more comments in certain outfits than others. My bbs are so big that normally shirts just hang straight down and hide my belly, but now the bump is getting as big as they are so I guess it's more obvious. :)

[RubberSoul]

mayham- Yay for a GIRL!!! Sorry to hear that you had to go through the Down Syndrome scare with your quad screen. I am happy to hear that there were no markers and that your Doctor had everything scheduled for you the same day and you didn't have to wait days to get more info.

Sinclair- you made me realize that people probably can't see my belly because my boobs still stick out further than the bump.:)

[nic]

Mayham-Congratulations on your GIRL!
I'm sorry to hear about your scare. I hope the doctor was able to ease your mind a bit after the Level II.

[lisainpink]

I just had my 20 week appnt. and we were right- it is absolutely a BOY!!! He is quite... ahem...proud of what he has;) . All is well. :D

[Rancid13]

Oh wow, lots of gender-revealing posts!

sare~Congratulations on your GIRL!!!


calla lilly~Congratulations on your BOY!!


mayham~Congratulations on your GIRL!!!


lisainpink~ Congratulations on your BOY!!


lilla and nic~ Thanks!

[roberta]

Sare Congrats on your healthy baby girl!

This totally made me tear up. I just started crying and thanking her because I couldn't have prayed harder or wished for something more in my life.

mayham Congrats on your healthy baby girl too! Sorry you had to go through the afternoon of waiting and worry.

lisainpink Congrats on your baby boy! I don't remember if you gave an update, but has your cervix problem resolved?

Sorry ladies, my US is tomorrow afternoon, not today. I must have given you the wrong date.

weight gain I have gained about 7 pounds so far. I only know what I weighed at conception because I weighed myself before and after our cruise (where we concieved) to see how much I overate! I expect the rate of weight gain to pick up.

the bump is just now sticking out farther than my giant boobs. :rolleyes:

[Rancid13]

weight gain~Per my doctor, I've gained 7lbs thus far. Per my bathroom scale (which I deem to be more accurate since I weigh myself once weekly at the same time of day each time) I've gained 3-4lbs. I'll be at 18w tomorrow. :cool:

[Toonces]

mayham ~ Congratulations on your girl!

lisainpink ~ Congratulations on your boy!

nic ~ That's scary about your arm. Which arm is it? Does it happen throughout the day? I've been waking up to find that my left arm is asleep. That usually happens when I've accidentally rolled over and slept on my back. Pregnancy does weird things to your body, doesn't it?

Weight gain ~ My pre-preg weight with my DD was 130-135, but I gained weight after our honeymoon and weighed 146 at my first pre-natal appt. One day before I delivered her I weighed 204!! :eek: I've never even been close to weighing that in my life. I did get back down to 146 after she was born. I didn't try too hard to get back to 130-135 b/c I knew we would TTC within 1-2 years. I have a feeling I'm going to gain a lot with this pregnancy, too. Seeing what everyone else has written re what they've gained, I don't even want to share how much I've gained as of my 20 week appt. My OB wasn't concerned though. I had late term (around 32 weeks) GD with my DD so he told me just to watch my sugars and carbs.

Nosebleeds ~ Has anyone else had nosebleeds? I had them with DD, but this time around they're much worse. TMI alert... I just had one that was so bad that it immediately started running out my nose and got all over my shirt. It also ended up going backwards down my throat (I know, so gross). Is there anything that can be done about this? I've never had nosebleeds in my life other than when I'm PG and it's always only my left nostril. Weird...

[neenbean]

I have a feeling I'm going to gain a lot with this pregnancy, too. Seeing what everyone else has written re what they've gained, I don't even want to share how much I've gained as of my 20 week appt. My OB wasn't concerned though. I had late term (around 32 weeks) GD with my DD so he told me just to watch my sugars and carbs.
Honestly, I weigh a LOT closer to your delivery weight normally, so please do not be ashamed of your weight gain!!! It is just what your body needs while pregnant. I am sure you look fabulous, no matter how fat you may feel. :)

Sorry to hear about your nosebleeds; unfortunately, I have no advise. What does your OB say???



Congratulations sare and mayham on your GIRLS!!!

Congratulations on your BOYS calla lilly and lisainpink!!!

nic~ I experienced a lot of numbness while pregnant with DD. I also had carpel tunnel syndrome, so that explained a lot of it. However, my feet and legs would go numb on occasion, too. Sorry to hear you are dealing with this. I hope your PCP can give you an exercise or something to find relief.




We have been so busy lately, I am rarely on line. We leave again this weekend to visit family and friends. I am so excited to see everyone!!! Most, I have not seen since either October or Decemeber. :( Anyway, I am thrilled. :D Just hoping DD behaves for the 8+ hour car ride. :)

Anyone have nice plans for this weekend?

[kadee_29]

Congratulations mayham on your little girl. I am glad that everything is ok.

Congratulations lisainpink on your little boy. Isn't it funny how even in utero they are proud of their manhood?? LOL Both my sons went spread eagle for us during our u/s's.

[mayham]

Sinclair319, Rubbersoul, nic, Rancid13, roberta, catgirl1007, neenbean, & kadee29 - thanks for the congrats! I definitely feel more at ease after the Level II. I'm so excited we're having a girl, though at the time I was also a little sad we weren't having a boy. If only I could have twins, with one of each! :D My dad is still convinced there's another baby hiding behind the one we saw... wishful thinking.

Weekend plans - not too much, just a few 4th of July BBQs, and hopefully a lot of relaxing!

Weight gain/ baby bump - I think I've gained about 9 pounds, according to my home scale. Since I still haven't gotten a visit from the boob fairy, my belly has looked popped out for a while now.

neenbean - good luck on the long car ride with DD!

catgirl1007 - ugh, those nose bleeds sound awful. Sorry I don't have any advice either, but I hope your OB can give you some tips.

lisainpink - Congrats on your baby boy!!!!!

[November06Mommies]

Updates done to here.

Baby count ~ 13 boys, 7 girls, 2 surprises, 14 still waiting
Today’s Ultrasounds ~ BethIrish, roberta, sare79
And tomorrow ~ Lilla, civats

I changed around some of the first page. I just can't leave it alone. LoL While I was doing it I realized that in about 4 weeks some of us will be starting the THIRD trimester!! :eek:

[ellidew]

When does the third trimester start?

Just wanted to announce that my sister had her baby! Audrey Marie was born at 3:45am this morning. My sister asked to be induced and went in at 8am yesterday morning. Her doctor is a moron but that's a different story. :p She weighs 6lbs 10.3 oz. Both are doing well.

Does this make sense to anyone else? I've never given birth or even been pg before this so maybe i'm missing something. First, they gave my sister 5 different due dates throughout her pg. FIVE! They ranged from 6/28 - 7/8. It's my sisters fault for not going to the doctor for months and months. So, when my sister asked her doctor to induce her because she's sick of being pg her doctor said that she would because she's worried about the baby since she's been measuring small. Now, my other sister and i think that's crazy. Is there a reason why they wouldn't leave the baby in a bit longer to get bigger? Maybe she was measuring small because her due date was a couple weeks later. They were constantly having her do stress tests and everything with the baby was always fine.

Around 32 weeks they did an u/s at the doctors office and they freaked out that the baby was only in the 10th percentile for size. So they kept her there for 5 hours freaking her out about what could be wrong and running tests and what not. The next day they sent her for a level II and that tech said that she didn't know what the doctors office was talking about because the babys size was more in the 35-40 percentile.

Maybe i'm confused but i didn't think doctors agreed to inductions unless the baby or mother are having problems or you are PASSED your due date. Like i said, i'm new to this so maybe i'm not correct.

[kadee_29]

Maybe i'm confused but i didn't think doctors agreed to inductions unless the baby or mother are having problems or you are PASSED your due date. This is correct. I haven't really discussed it with my new OB but I am sure they don't induce for no reason. It really sounds like your sister had a very cracked out dr. I can't imagine going through all your sister did. Thank goodness its over. And congrats on being an aunt.

Oh and the 3rd trimester starts at the end of week 26. Well at least thats what most books say.

[Rancid13]

nosebleeds~I haven't experienced my nose actually just up and starting bleeding on its own, but when I'm blowing my nose (I've been feeling congested the last couple weeks~gotta be pg related) I've noticed some blood on the tissue so I try not to blow my nose too often as a result.

Any plans for this weekend?We don't get Monday off for the holiday, just the regular Sat/Sun weekend and the 4th. Saturday morning I'm off to a nearby rink to see my almost-2-year-old niece's first ice skating lesson. Sunday I'll get to relax with the husband since it's the only day we have off together. Monday I'll work. And Tuesday since it's the 4th we'll likely go to a BBQ and watch fireworks at a friend's house nearby.

[bijouparvin]

What does everyone do for a living? If you're not already a SAHM or SAHW, will you continue to work after baby? Modify your schedule?

I just wonder how people make it work.

[katnbug]

Has anyone else had nosebleeds? I had them with DD, but this time around they're much worse. TMI alert... I just had one that was so bad that it immediately started running out my nose and got all over my shirt. It also ended up going backwards down my throat (I know, so gross). Is there anything that can be done about this? I've never had nosebleeds in my life other than when I'm PG and it's always only my left nostril. Weird...

catgirl- Without going back through the horror story that was my experience w/nosebleeds during pg#1, I want you to know that I totally sympathize - especially with the "going backwards down the throat.." eew.
My nosebleed episodes ended with my going to the ER & they cauterized (sp?) a blood vessel inside my nose. It sounds like you have one suspect nostril, and possible one little blood vessel that is causing all of this chaos. It may be worth a look by your dr. to see if it needs cauterization (again, sp?? I should just look this up ;)) It wasn't pleasant, but they did numb the inside of my nostril before hand so the discomfort came after the medicine wore off for the most part. Just an idea, since they sound like they're getting worse.

mayham- Congrats on your GIRL!!

lisainpink- Congrats on confirmation of your BOY!

weekend plans- Lots of July 4th activities.. our city has a festival that starts tomorrow and runs all next week. The Charlie Daniels Band is playing on Sunday night, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on Monday night. :) I think we're going to see Charlie Daniels... can't beat a little Devil Went Down to Georgia.. it is DH's favorite song to do karaoke!! :eek: He's a country boy afterall.

My friend's twins are being baptized Saturday. Must go shopping for a gift.
Twist my arm... shopping is such a chore!

Oooh, and my bedding should ship this week!! I'm too excited to get it & get started with decorating the nursery. I'm not very excited to clean out the closet in the guest room/soon-to-be nursery! I don't know what's in there.

Are there more u/s's today?? I know Roberta's is.. Let's get some more PINK in the group!!!

[roberta]

Nosebleeds- I have had a few nosebleeds. Mostly it is just blood when I blow my nose (which I have to do often- darn allergies without meds). Yuck.

Career/job- not going to be much help but thought I share. Right now I am a SAHW, soon to be SAHM. We have always planned for me to be a SAHM after our child was born, but assumed I would work through my pregnancy. However, we just moved to a new area in May because DH got a new job with a new company. We actually found out we were pg 3 days after he moved and started his new job and the same day we sold our old house! Since we just moved and planned on SAH, I am not looking for a job. I am really lucky that we can afford to do this. Before this I worked as a case manager for developmentally disabled children.

Weekend plans- no big plans since we are in a new city. Most people we know here are going out of town and one couple is moving. Our neighbors just moved here from CA, so we are going to BBQ with them. DH wants to do some landscaping, I want to start on baby stuff. We agreed to do a little bit of both (if the weather holds). I think he will be really excited about the baby stuff after our US this afternoon.

[nic]

Good morning~

catgirl- It's my right arm that's numb. I just got bacl from my PCP and she said that it's either a pinched nerve or carpel tunnel but she couldn't say for sure without doing an MRI or X-Ray. She gave me a splint to wear though.

I'm sorry to hear about your nosebleeds-that doesn't sound fun.
Don't worry to much about weight gain, everyone is different. I've gained about 6 1/2 pounds so far but I weighed 20 pounds more than you to begin with so I'm sure you still weigh a ton less than me;). I'm really hoping to stay in 20 pound weight gain range, we'll see.

ellidew- I thiink most doctors only induce for medical reasons or if you're overdue but I have heard of some doctor's doing it if a woman if close enough to her due date. I do think it's strange that they;d induce her if they thought the baby wason the small side though, very weird.

Weekend plans Saturday I'm going for a Mani/Pedi and eyebrow wax, I can't wait. We've got a couple of BBQ's to go to but that's about it. We took Monday off so we'll have a nice long weekend.

Roberta- Good luck today

OK, this registry business is difficult, Who knew I'd be up at night trying to decide betwwen the Ocean Wonders and Papasan bouncy chair!

[bijouparvin]

roberta - Thanks for responding! Good luck on your U/S this afternoon. Can't wait to hear the results!

[RubberSoul]

nosebleeds- no nosebleeds here. I hope those that are dealing with them find relief soon!

weekend plans- My Dad and Stepmom invited me to go to the mountains with them this weekend. They own a house up there. However, my stepmom will not allow me to bring my dog, but she takes her cats :rolleyes:. So, I probably won't go since I don't feel like dealing with the hassle of finding someone to watch my dog. Most likely I will end up hanging around the house contemplating working on the yard.

working after baby- I am an HR Administrator for a video game developer. I am going to take about 12 weeks off and then come back to work. If I didn't work it would cut our income in half and we have gotten very comfy with our two incomes. Right now I am the bread-winner. Cutting it down to one would be a struggle. However, DH and I have discussed him not working for a while if he can't find a job around here after the baby gets here. Him working in Canada while I work and take care of a baby is not going to happen. If we buckle down and save as much as possible between now and then we can probably swing it on my income alone for a little while. In an ideal world I would take a year off to stay home, but I just don't think it can happen. Plus I have a lot of concerns about getting off the career train and then trying to jump back on. I have worked hard to get where I am at my current company and I worry about having to start all over again if I stop working for a while. The industry I work in has very few females and gaining respect is difficult to do. It has taken me four years to make it this far. So, that was a very long answer to your question bijouparvin, but that is where I stand right now :).

[ellidew]

working after baby: I'll be coming back to work after 6-8 weeks. However, i work Monday-Thursday for 9 hours a day and 4 hours on Friday. I hope to cut out Friday entirely and just work 36 hours. Shh, don't tell dh. :D I just don't see the point in dropping our ds off for day care or what not just to come into work for 4 hours and pump breast milk. I'd just assume stay home.

nosebleeds: Nothing major. I've noticed some blood when i've blown my nose from time to time but that's about it.

weekend plans: No plans really. We were going to go sailing on Saturday and watch fireworks but our friends cancelled so now we are deciding if we want to go or not. It's an hour and a half there and back and we can't leave the dog alone for too too long and unfortunately dogs aren't allowed at the sail club. I'm leaving the decision up to dh. Otherwise dh's cousin and his wife and son are in town for the weekend and they are staking out prime seating for our downtown fireworks. We might just go down there for those. Other than that we are installing or at least attempting to install a drop ceiling in our basement. Wish us luck! ;)

nic - I hear ya! We started our registry last weekend and then Monday at work i used the BRU checklist they gave us when we started our registry and i crossed off all the things we don't really need, checked off the things we already have enough of or that we registered for. Now when we go back all we have to do is fill in the blanks using the checklist. The first time out registering i was seriously lost! good luck with it!

Can you use lubricant while pg? Things are a little dry, is that normal?

Can i take anything for constipation? Though i had this problem yesterday and it seems to be mostly gone today so i'm probably asking this question a day late. I instead just suffered through it yesterday. I'm such an idiot!

Really low pain... I've been getting a pain really low down in the vaginal area. Any ideas? It kind of comes and goes and just feels like a strain or a spikey pain that only lasts a few seconds maybe a minute until i adjust. Anyone else with this? Know what it is? Could it just be the baby sitting funny and pressing on a nerve or something?

Sorry for all the questions. It seems like we all had a lot of questions at once!

[Rancid13]

working after baby~I plan on taking 6-8 weeks off for the birth and postpartum, but am definitely going to be working if not full time, than at least a bit more than part time. We're a 2-income family living in a very expensive part of the country (Orange County, CA) and wouldn't be able to afford our mortgage and bills without both our incomes. We love it here and have lived in the area all our lives, so we wouldn't consider moving elsewhere. :)

My mom has said she would like to be a full time grandma now that the school she was teaching at has officially closed as of the end of this summer, and she lives a couple of miles from where I work (actually she lives right smack in between where we live and where I work, so it's very convenient).

I also work in a very small real estate office (4 full time employees including myself) and both of my bosses and my coworker have said it wouldn't be a problem for me to bring the baby (if I wanted to) to the office for the first few months to the first year or so because we have an extra suite in our office that's not being used at all.

Can you use lubricant while pg?I'm pretty sure it's ok. I use a water-based lube we got at a nearby Condom Revolution store that's supposed to mimic the natural lubrication made by the female body. It feels very silky as opposed to slippery, and both DH and I give it a big thumbs-up. It's called Pur Eros and can be ordered from their website www.conrev.com if you can't find it locally.

I found this phrase "A water-based lubricant may be used during intercourse if necessary" here:
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/51/40796.htm

[ellidew]

Stupid internet! I was dumb and went searching for something to explain my 'symptom' of a small pain that kind of comes and goes every so often and being 'dry'. Yeah, that wasn't smart since i didn't like what i read. So, i called the doctors office and spoke to the woman that handles pregnancy questions. She is going to talk to the doctor but said i could come in today for an appt but i can't really get out of the office today so i took a 9:15 appt in the morning and said that if the doctor thinks it's something to look at right away that i will make sure i get in there today! She's going to call me back later.

I was totally calm about it until i looked online. I should be banned from self diagnosis! lol.

Typically i just suffer through things like yesterdays constipation (though i've been informed i can take metamucil or citracel to relieve that in the future). That's really when this pain started so i don't know if it's just a risidual or what but i freaked myself out. Someone should really come to my office and smack me! :D

[nic]

Job- I work as a legal assistant for a state agency and I plan to take 12-14 weeks off after the baby arrives. I wish I could go back to work part time but I don't see that happening. We actually have to get on the ball about looking for daycare. Alot of daycares in the area have a lengthy waiting list.

Nosebleed- Just one and it was pretty mild.

ellidew, take care of youself and stay off the internet!

[Franni]

working post partum With DD, I took almost 3 months off. I returned to working full time after that. I think I will have even less time off with the 2nd one since I have switched jobs. Right now, my salary is better than DH's so in that sense, I am the breadwinner. I work as a PM and used to do theatre every other moment I could spare. Now all I could really manage is my full time job. Theatre and performing is on hold until the babies are bigger, I guess. I would very much like to be a SAHM, but I don't think that's in the cards.

constipation You could take colace for it, especially if you get it often. I have been taking the target brand colace semi-regularly since the start of this pg since I have had such a difficult time with constipation the last time. TMI Alert It was so bad that I developed hemorrhroids that required minor surgery to take care of. So a constipation can get really serious.

[bijouparvin]

Franni - Do you mean you are a Production Manager for a theatre company or does PM mean something else? I didn't realize there were other theatre pros in our group! My DH is a production associate (basically similar duties to a PM) for an upcoming B'way show. I've also put performing on hold while trying to pay the bills and now that I'll be getting bigger, I wouldn't be castable anyway.

[Sare79]

Here's a pic from this morning's ultrasound:

http://images1.snapfish.com/347483%3B87%7Ffp342%3Enu%3D324%3A%3E8%3A8%3E659%3E WSNRCG%3D323387%3B354535nu0mrj
It's just a profile of her little face. :)

They said she is healthy and a feisty little jumping bean. She did something that looked a bit like a somersault while they were measuring her and she had a good heartbeat- 133. She's now only measuring 3 days smaller, so she's growing a bit more! YAY!

Noesbleeds- I've always had nosebleeds when the weather changes but these are particularily bad lately. On top of that I've had a cold for a week so I blow mu nose every 5 minutes.

Working after baby comes- Here in Canada, we get one year of maternity leave paid at 55% of our wage. On top of this I get an additional 30% paid by my employer, so I will be receiving 85% of my pay while off for the year. My hope is that I can job share when I go back to work after that year, however, I am unsure if my employer will be able to accomodate this.

I work for the Provincial Film Commission doing their accounting and Community Affairs (which really means if someone is angry that their neighbour is getting paid to have his house filmed and they aren't, that I field the call, calm him down and see if we can get some sort of compensation for his azalea bush to be in a film. :rolleyes: )

[mimieliza]

career - Right now I'm a social worker - I do community support services for adults with severe mental illness. But Friday is my last day at this job. Next week I'll be starting my new, part-time job as the Executive Director of a community orchestra and youth music program. When I have the baby, I will take 6-8 weeks off, and then I'll be bringing the baby in to work with me. I also play the French horn, and now that I'm not working full time, I'll be doing more of that. I play in the orchestra, sub with a few other groups, play some weddings, and will be playing in a chamber music series.

[mermccau]

Not much new here - feeling pretty damn good - I almost forget that I am pregnant sometimes.

One symptom I have is larger breasts. I have always had a rack but now I am down right voluptous! Those boob job girls have nothing on me. I keep going up to my husband and saying, "are these fabulous or what?!??!" I am obsessed with my own cleavage. I think it is a bit weird that I love my chest my than my husband does! ;)

Oh, and I swear, I am not vain :D

~~~~~


What does everyone do for a living? Will you continue to work after baby?
I actually have three jobs right now. I work full time in HR at an office, part time at a medical building and I have my own little business. My husband has a similar schedule (full time job, part time firefighter, picks up contracting side work). Obviously, our schedules are going to have to change and we are going to have to figure that out. We are a good team so I think things will be fine. We are both going to work full time after the baby comes, I strongly assume. My husband is lined up for a new job that has weird, rotating shifts so that may be a good thing or a bad thing (He will be around days for periods of time, but I will not see much of him). My company is pretty cool so I can probably set up flex time or something like that. My mom is going to be day care when the baby is born and she lives about 10 minutes from my work so I can go there at lunch and visit Connor.

I do not think that staying at home and losing an income is doable for us. We are on the verge of buying a house and our mortgage payment is going to go up a good chunk. Also, I need a new car. The 15 year old clunker is a great car but I would not feel 100% safe driving a baby around in it. I also have the same concerns as Rubbersoul in regards to “getting off the career train”.

~~~~~

Franni – good advice about sipping right after feeding. How long does it take for it not to affect the baby?

Ellidew – wasn’t registering overwhelming? I am happy that I can go back online and adjust things. It was just too much to think about all at once. Congrats for your sister but the poor thing! Her doctor must have been driving her crazy!!

Bijouparvin – how are you feeling? I forget – are you having a girl or a boy?

Rubbersoul – you look great! Regarding your comment about not gaining enough weight – I have gained about 8 lbs and am at 20 weeks. My dr was happy with that.

Catgirl – sounds like your daughter is preparing for a growth spurt with all that eating :) You had me cracking up about the dr saying, “I do not know what that looks like to you…” and the fact that you could see him peeing! Bwahahaha!

Kadee – that is horrible news. What are you going to do about your thieving neighbor?

Lilla – I am guessing girl :)

Rancid – I forget, do you know what you are having because I think that looks like a boy belly! Looks like we are in the same boat in regards to our moms being full time grandmas. Can I ask you a personal question? Are you going to pay your mom? My mom wont take money but I feel like I am imposing otherwise. We were thinking of starting a savings account for the baby and then “pretend” to pay my mom (put it into savings). What are you going to do?

Sinclair – you look fantastic! That Walmart shirt is adorable. :D

Mayham – my thoughts on your MIL? Well, last time we all checked, your friggin MIL was not having the baby! It is not her call at all and not your problem. If it slips, it slips. This situation is not supposed to move around what she wants. Jeesh, she has some nerve.

Nic – enjoy your mani/pedi. I am so jealous! :D

Sare – but I am more jealous of your maternity leave!!

Congrats on your boy, Kadee and Catgirl and Calla Lilly and Lisainpink!

Congrats on your girl, Sare (great u/s pic!) and Mayham!!

[Rancid13]

Rancid – I forget, do you know what you are having because I think that looks like a boy belly! Looks like we are in the same boat in regards to our moms being full time grandmas. Can I ask you a personal question? Are you going to pay your mom? My mom wont take money but I feel like I am imposing otherwise. We were thinking of starting a savings account for the baby and then “pretend” to pay my mom (put it into savings). What are you going to do?


We don't know yet. We're hoping for a girl, but our big u/s is next Wednesday, so hopefully we'll find out then. We can't wait!! I'll be sure to report on here as soon as I can get to a computer.

I don't think I'm going to pay my mom, but we haven't talked about that yet. She already helps take care of my brother and his wife's toddler free of charge quite a bit of the time (but then they also live at my parents' house). I have a feeling if I do bring it up to her, she'll just wave me away the same way she does when we all go out to dinner and I ask how much we owe for our portion. Besides, she's the one who offered to watch our little one when we first announced we were expecting, we didn't even bring it up in the first place, and she's so excited about it to boot (and it will help us out a lot), so it works for us if it works for her. :)

[Sinclair319]

sare--I'm also jealous of your maternity leave--that's awesome! Makes me wish I lived in Canada!

job-I have a master's in social worker and work at a community college with our at-risk student population. I've been here for 5 years and love it! I'm going to take off until Feb 5th (hoping the little one comes a couple weeks early for an even longer time!) then I'll work Mon, Wed, Thurs in Feb and come back full-time in March. We're also a two-income family and I really do enjoy my job--I'm sure that'll change once Corbin is here though.

daycare-We have daycare arranged, some places in this area have close to a year waiting list, so I'm glad we called early. It's not cheap--$230 a week! :eek: But it's a really good daycare compared to some cheaper so-so ones. Plus it's right in between home and work.

weekend plans-not really sure. In the summers we only work Mon-Thurs (which is great for hitting garage sales Friday mornings!) and I'm taking Monday off and Tues is a holiday, so I have a 5 day weekend staring me in the face! I really wish my bedding was here so I could pick out paint colors and start on the nursery, but I guess I'll just have to wait.

[Toonces]

neenbean ~ I hope I didn't offend anyone. Your post didn't sound like I did, I just mean in general. I wasn't ashamed of the weight of 204, I was ashamed that I had gained around 65 lbs. That's such a huge amount. I guess I'll fess up... I've already gained 30 lbs. with this one. I was down 14 from m/s and am now up 30 from that.

kat ~ The cauterization you went through sounds awful/icky! It's good they numbed that nostril. I haven't mentioned it to my OB but I will at my next appt. Sounds like it's something along the lines that you had. Must be a baby boy thing... :)

nic ~ I've heard that carpal tunnel can flare up when you're PG. I hope the numbness goes away soon.

Constipation ~ I didn't have this with my DD but have it BIG time now. TMI alert... last week I felt like I had to go but had such a hard time... ahem... completing the task. Yowsers! It hurt like giving birth! Well, probably not that bad, but it freakin' hurt. Now I'm afraid when I have to go. I think I need to drink more water.

Vaginal pain ~ I had this 1-2 weeks ago for 4-5 days. It'd come on so quickly it made me want to grab down there. It felt like nerves or something. I chalked it up to a weird pregnancy ailment. I haven't had it since.

[Rancid13]

sare--I'm also jealous of your maternity leave--that's awesome! Makes me wish I lived in Canada!

I'm jealous too!! :o

[roberta]

quick drive by post... We are having a boy! The tech was looking and asked if we saw anything. I said, "I think I see boy parts!" (thank you ultrrasound thread!) She confirmed it is indeed a boy. The heart rate was 136 and I am still measuring a least a week ahead. My due date has changed to November 20th Apparently there are like three due dates on my chart. This is the one in the middle. It is subject to change again when I see my midwife next week. I also have placenta previa, hopefully it moves outta the way. be back tomorrow with US pics.

[kadee_29]

Congratulations roberta!!!

[katnbug]

Congratulations roberta on your BOY!

[Franni]

Bijouparvin I am actually a Project manager. A great job to pay all my bills and then some. DH is a film editor and finally has found something in his field that pays him ok (not well, but a decent wage). Like you, performing is on hold but I am afraid of a long term hold (as the other mommies-to-be have said about "falling off" the career track) that it'll be too hard to go out there again. I have tried to practice often (singing mostly~2-3 x/week), but other than that, performing has not happened since the birth of DD. My own nagging question is how to handle the non-traditional schedule if I do go back to performing with a nursing baby and a toddler. Yeah...guilt-galore.

roberta Congratulations on the boy. You and I are on the same boat. It seems like every time I show up at the doctor's, they have a new due date for me. The last one that they were using didn't match up at all with my ovulation. So my attitude has been that this baby will show up when she wants.

mermccau I think it takes 2-3 hours for the alcohol to work itself out of your system. I try to down a couple of glasses of water after imbibing to get the alcohol out sooner. Not scientific at all, but I always seem to get over the drunk feeling faster when I have gone to the bathroom a couple of times.

sare I have been jealous since my last pg of the wonderful maternity leave that Canada has. Too bad that just does not apply in the US.

[BethIrish]

Hi Ladies!

I had my U/S yesterday -everything looks great! We are staying in the surprise category :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

[Rancid13]

Congratulations on your BOY roberta!!

Glad to hear that your u/s went well, bethirish! :)

[nic]

Roberta- Congratulations on your BOY

Catgirl- try not to get too down on yourself about the weight gain. Everyone's body is different, I'm sure you'll be back to your pre-pregnancy size in no time.

BethIrish- Glad to hear the little one looks good.

I just got back from meeting DH at Fuddruckers for lunch (I've never been). We had a yummy lunch and then played video games ( yup we're both in our 30's but we sure don't act like it) for a couple minutes before heading back to work.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!!

[Rancid13]

I just got back from meeting DH at Fuddruckers for lunch (I've never been). We had a yummy lunch and then played video games ( yup we're both in our 30's but we sure don't act like it) for a couple minutes before heading back to work.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!!

I recently ate at Fuddrucker's for the first time ever, it was pretty good! I had a turkey burger~I think the thing was 1/3 lb!! SO yummy though. :)

My best girlfriend and I love going to Dave & Busters (for those who don't know, it's basically an arcade for adults complete with appetizers and alcohol) and play video games for hours. Lucky for us, our 10-year HS reunion in August is being held at a D&B's. :D

[RubberSoul]

roberta- Congrats on your little BOY!!!

BethIrish- Happy to hear that your u/s went well. I admire your ability to wait until the birth to find out the gender...don't know how you do it!

Questions for RO's- Baby Bargains says to go ahead and stock up on diapers ahead of time. They say to buy about 600. So, I was wondering if you agree with this since you have done this before. If we should stock up is it best to buy mostly the Newborn size and then a package of size one's? I would be getting them at BJ's, so it would be the economy size packages. I am just worried that the baby would outgrow the newborn size if he is big when he is born. Thoughts?

mermccau- you are cracking me up with you boob fascination. My boobs have gotten larger too and I really didn't want them to. I tried on my bathing suit last night to see if the top would fit - I'll just say that it was a struggle to cover the nipples and leave it at that.

weekend plans- my best friend is home from Spain! So, I am going to go visit her and her parents. Her family is pretty much my family too. We have known each other since we were 6 years old :). Her parents are just as excited about the baby as mine are!

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

I ordered a Dutailer today and can't believe I spent so much money! The chair and ottoman cost almost as much as my crib and dresser combined! I have tried to justify it by telling myself we will use it in the living room when it isn't needed in Ian's room anymore.

I can tell already that I am going to be spending more money on Ian than on me from now on. My justification for spending the money - it's for our son! I can now see how it was easy for my Dad to spoil me as a kid. My mom would ask him why he bought me something - his reply "she wanted it."

Have a great 4th everyone!

[Sare79]

Did I mention we decided on a name for our little girl?

We're calling her Carys Kendra P.

[ellidew]

My mom would ask him why he bought me something - his reply "she wanted it."

HA! lol. My dad was similar. My mom always wondered why it seemed like he always brought us home from formal dress shopping in highschool with what seemed to be the most expensive dress in the store. His reply 'It was the best one on her! I didn't even look at the price tag!' My dad was the best!

Diapers: I'm not an RO so they will know better but i've read to buy 1 package of newborn size and a couple packages of size 1 just to get a leg up. We'll be buying ours at Sams Club, i've heard they have the best pricing?

Happy Independence Day!!

[ellidew]

Cute Name Sare! We've narrowed our selection down to two but i can't put them on here because i've promised dh it is a secret between us and i know some people irl that read this thread. :)

[kadee_29]

Diapers ~ I think newborn sizes go up to 12 lbs. I honestly would only buy one or two packages to get started until the baby comes and you know how big the baby is. I will also suggest buying more than one brand as odd as it sounds. My dd couldn't wear pampers because they would break her out so she wore huggies. We started with huggies for ds and he kept leaking all over so we went to pampers. I am probably the only one with odd children like this but just so everyone knows that is does happen. As for the size ones I would buy a pretty good amount of those. My son stayed in those for what seemed like forever. He is now 2 and still only in a size 4.

Names ~ I have noticed in a few different posts that the name of the baby has been slipped in. I do love all the names I am seeing though. I think I am the only one who has yet to come up with a name. DH and I just can't decide on anything.

[Lilla]

Just checking in very quickly before going out for a celebratory dinner.....

Ultrasound today was GREAT. Everything looks perfect with the baby, thankfully. And we found out that we are having a GIRL!!!!! We are thrilled beyond belief and feel so very blessed. :D

I'll come back and post some u/s pics once I get them scanned in this weekend.

[kadee_29]

Congratulations Lilla!!!