March 2007 Mommies: First Trimester Fun!!

[shimmerstar]

Lady, that is too cute about your DS and the baby.

Yesterday I got a pair of khakis at penneys, and a pair of jeans and green khakis at old navy, so I have something to wear to work now. The jeans are super comfy, and they were on sale. I got them for 17 dollars and they gave me a 5 dollar gift card to use next month. So if you need jeans, Old Navy is having a big sale.

I also ordered a snoogle pillow. I'm really excited to try it out- I can't get comfortable in bed at all.

I can't wait until the end of this week!

And thanks for the info on the MMR shots (can't remember who it was!). The nurse at my school said no one gets in without vacs, so maybe no one has tried the religious exemption yet. Hopefully I won't have to worry about it.

[whitlockan]

Wow I'm doing a really bad job keeping up!!! In the meantime my drive by post to share my u/s pic from last week!!

Measuring 9 wks.......
http://images1.snapfish.com/3478%3B3943%7Ffp348%3Enu%3D3278%3E767%3E%3B63%3EWS NRCG%3D3233%3A77534495nu0mrj

Next Appointment September 13th

In the meantime I'm just waiting for my lab resultes to come back from the 5 :eek: viles of blood they drew, oh man I thought they were never going to stop!!!! But everything looks healthy and on track, so excited!!

[ieducate]

Just wanted to stop in and say hello to everyone. I was out of town this weekend at my SIL's, but just caught up on all the postings since Friday.

I am feeling the same these days...still nauseous all day and my bbs are still killing me. I go back to work in one week and AGH...I don't want to. I love teaching, but I have enjoyed being able to sleep whenever I need to. Oh well.

Whitlockan, great u/s pic. :)

I have an appt. with my ob on Friday to go over all the stuff we didn't go over last week at the u/s appt. because of all the problems with the machines, etc. We didn't get to finish our appt. because we left to go to the radiology center, so we had to reschedule. She will go over all the other appts. I will have from here on out and talk with more about things to do and not do while pregnant. This is the absolutely most exciting time in my life and sometimes I still can't believe I am actually pregnant. It seems like a dream sometimes.

As for my weekend, well, what a disaster. I don't get along real well with my SIL, but for my dh's sake and because I do love my SIL's kids, I put on a smile and deal with it. Plus, my IL's were there for the weekend too,...as we were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Anyway, she and I got into a huge argument on Saturday about taking some of her old baby stuff back to our house. I said we weren't taking it and she would have to hold it until the baby came and she got all pissy with me. I reminded her that it was bad luck for us to take the stuff into the house (religion) and that I would gladly take whatever she had to offer...but not until March. She threw a fit like a two year old and claimed my dh told her he was taking it. I said I didn't care what my darling dh told her and that I was telling her we would not take it. Needless to say, she gave me the silent treatment for the rest of the day. (Did I mention that she is 38 years old?) Okay, so all is fine by dinner she is speaking to me again, until Sunday morning when the issue comes up again. This time I gave in and told my SIL's dh that we would take the stuff to restore harmony in the family. Soooooo, he takes us into their bedroom and has us look at the stuff. We start picking out a few things we want and BAM, she goes balistic. She comes storming in and yelling at her dh about showing us the stuff without her in the room. Then we spent the next hour plus dealing with her yelling at her dh for showing us the stuff and then turned around and yelled at us (me and dh) for taking stuff without asking. WHAT THE ()*&*)(*??? I looked at her dumbfounded. I couldn't believe I was taking this crap for taking her crap that she INSISTED I take. AGH. After another hour we had to go in and ask her oh so nicely if we could kindly take a look at her stuff...after she had time to say "goodbye" to it. The whole thing was an absolute disaster. We ended up with a car full of crap I don't want and it has to stay in my dh's car until our friend Mike takes it to his house so it doesn't come in to our house until after the baby is born. Meanwhile, I got stuck with stuff I don't want because I left the room after she yelled at me again and I said, I can't take this crap...I can't handle the stress. This is supposed to be a happy time for me and she is just pissed off that it is no longer about her. She has THREE kids...it isn't like she hasn't had any. My goodness. Oh, and she made me look through maternity clothes she had, but made a comment that I was too fat to fit into most of her stuff. I can't tell you how happy I was to get in our car and drive the 5.5 hours home from her house. I told my dh last night that I would NOT be going back there for any reason whatsoever and that if she wants to see the baby at any time, she will have to get off her fat @ss and drive to VA.

Sorry for my venting, but I have not been able to talk about it since we left her house yesterday because my dh gets all upset with his sister's behavior. Everyone in the family just gives her excuses to act like that and I won't tolerate it. Noone at her age should behave like that. I am glad we don't live closer. :)

[whitlockan]

ieducate ~ OMG that is just ridiculous, sorry it was such a bad experience!

[happy1nuv]

Is anyone totally unable to sleep? I've always been a quick to sleep kinda person (don't let me lay down unless I'm napping kinda thing)... but for the past couple of nights I have seriously watched the clock turn...NO FUN...

:)

[Nanner]

Is anyone totally unable to sleep? I've always been a quick to sleep kinda person (don't let me lay down unless I'm napping kinda thing)... but for the past couple of nights I have seriously watched the clock turn...NO FUN...

:)

I had a few weeks of that, but it's gotten much better in the past week or so. But that probably has a lot to do with my son sleeping through the night again. :)

[Kanga]

ieducate - OMG, what a mess. How dare she insist you do something against your beliefs. I wouldn't go back either.

sleep - I've had the same problem too, but I don't wake up uncomfortable or anything - I just can't get back to sleep. I think I have ESP or something because it never fails - 10-15minutes after I wake up, she wakes up. I think my body may just be so used to getting up at those times that I just wake up automatically. I've always been a terrible sleeper though.

Love the u/s pics, and I promise to get a bellyshot taken soon.

I also recently weaned dd, lady. She was only 9 1/2 months and very used to a bottle of formula so it doesn't seem she has minded at all, but I do notice that most of the time she insists on being held when fed as before she didn't mind if I set her down to do change out the laundry or eat myself once in awhile. My supply also plummeted about the same time as my BFP, so I was having to give her a bottle after nursing anyways. I do miss it, but like you, I was getting to the point where I just didn't enjoy it like I used to.

QOTD, RO For those with dc who are too young to understand what big brother/sister means - are you worried for when you bring home the new baby? This is the thing I'm most worried about. Dd is 10 months now so I can't even really tell her she's going to be a big sister even if she wouldn't understand anyways. Also at what point can they understand the concept of a new baby coming home? I think it's a lost cause for dd as she will be 16mo when the baby is brought home, so I'm not really sure of what she will be able to understand at that point. She also has been great at independent play and sleep lately so I'm hoping she doesn't turn into a clingy overtired monster after the baby comes.

[Brink]

Well, I am finally working from home today. I'll be doing this once or twice a week to help with the commute.

ieducate - your SIL sounds like a nightmare. I guess the only good thing is she lives far away!

QOTD-RO - I really haven't thought about it much. My DD is 11 months old and will be 18 months when baby #2 arrives. I think by that age she will understand better what is happening. She has been in daycare since she was 3 months old, so she has always been exposed to babies that are younger than her. So, I don't think that will be a problem, we'll just see about the rest.

[MrsKinnison]

ieducate~ I am so sorry you had to go through that. Your SIL was completely out of line. I don't blame you for not wanting to go back!!

Brink~ Congrats on your first day working from home!!

We finally told the parents this weekend by giving them this framed picture. I knew they would be completely surprised and absolutely thrilled, but they were so much more than I ever could have imagined. Their faces and reactions were PRICELESS!! We also told any friends we saw yesterday, and emailed it to the ones we haven't seen yet.

http://static.flickr.com/82/221435427_1d862d770e_m.jpg

This is actually a recreation of the family picture we took when my parents were expecting my youngest brother.

[shimmerstar]

Mrs. Kinnison, cute picture!

Ieducate, I would throw her sh!t away and not go back to her house. She already said goodbye to it. She sounds like a psycho who only wants things her way. You don't need her stuff or her stress!

Ooh, I'm irritable today. My kids are a pretty good group, but one of them got on my last nerve today, and I've been ready to snap at everyone since school got over!

[Tandis]

MrsKinnison - That is such a cute idea! How ever did you manage to keep it secret from your parents for this long? Granted, my parents and IL's knew what all we were going through and when the blood test was, but I still don't think I could keep it from them for this long!

ieducate - Wow. Yeah, if you really don't need the stuff, get rid of it. You don't need to be reminded of that drama every time you see it.

Happy1nuv - I found that when I took a nap (or two!) in the afternoon, I was waking up at 4-5 am, and totally unable to go back to sleep. It's really rough to go all day without sleeping (and sometimes I do cheat and get in a quick nap), but I've been sleeping much better at night since I stopped.

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

Met with my regular OB/GYN today. He said that since there are twins, he wants me to start seeing a high risk specialist immediately, so I have my first appt. Friday morning. Then I go back to see my regular OB in two weeks. He said I'll be getting a lot more visits and u/s, which should be fun to try to manage my work around.

He also said that due to the risk of preterm labor, more than likely I'm going to be stopping with work around 7 months - which should be right after Xmas. I've already cleared it with my boss to work from home so I don't have to worry about taking maternity leave early, but I'm kind of already having mixed emotions about it. On one hand, I don't have to worry about driving/walking on snow and ice, but on the other, I'm going to be housebound in the wintertime, and we have to spring for a laptop and wireless router so I can work in a reclining position.

Oh well, it's all for the good of the babies, right?

No u/s today, but he did do a pap and a quick internal (fun!). Said "Yep, you're very pregnant!" Good to hear. :)

Oh, and according to their scale, I've only gained three pounds since the beginning of July! :D That means my scale is *really* off.

[Janey]

MrsK - I LOVE that picture! Such a great idea! :D You should post that in the "How did you tell him/them" thread in the Pregnancy forum.

ieducate - Your SIL sounds like a real piece of work. :/


So for the last 2 weeks, I keep getting excited because I think I'm in the 2nd trimester. On Sundays, B and I will read the next "weekly update" from Great Expectations. I was really excited to read that i'm in the 2nd trimester, and ... Nope! Not until fourteen weeks, apparently. Argh. Owell, 6 more days.

[goldengbridge]

Mrs. Kinnison- Great idea! That is so cute!

Tandis- It's good you'll be monitored very closely!

QOTD- I'm not sure what to expect but I think it will work out fine. DS will be 2 1/2 by the time the baby comes and he absolutely loves babies right now! He comes up to my belly and says hi baby and wants to kiss my belly. He is such a sweetie!

I'm feeling really good. This pg is by far my easiest so far! I'm hoping it continues this way! I've had a little bit of nausea but nothing to complain about. Its weird though because I'm 11 weeks today and I look about 4 1/2 months pg:eek:I don't really mind as long as the baby is fine!

[happy1nuv]

So... please tell me the m/s only lasts til 10 weeks or so... last time around it was NO WHERE near this bad... i was talking to dh's friends, who all have 2-4 kids and they all agreed that their second pg was the worst (sorry first timers, ignore me)...

:)

[mochi]

ieducate: Your SIL clearly has some issues. Sorry you had to go through all that drama! My SIL also dumped all her old yucky baby stuff on us. I'm about to donate all of it, I just don't need any of it...a lot of the stuff she gave me was already used when she bought it, and now it all just looks worn and grubby (not to sound snobby, but it's true!)


I had my first OB appt today (w/midwife), FINALLY!!! Everything looks good...all my blood test results were okay, blood pressure is fine. Heard baby's heartbeat, it sounded sooo cute!!!! She found it right away, I just couldn't believe my ears. I have my first U/S next Wed, 8/30 to date the pregnancy. The midwife also said my uterus feels larger than it should at this stage...not sure what that can mean :confused: Anyways, we'll find out more at the U/S next week, otherwise, everything is normal and I'm relieved to know for sure that I am indeed pregnant!! DS and DH were in the dr's office with me. DS was such and angel, so quiet but also very concerned about his Mama :)

I meet with my doctor on Sept 19th and again on Oct 18th for my next couple of monthly check-ups.

I'm feeling better, less M/S as of last thurs/fri (right at 10 weeks) but still hungry most of the time.

Now I really feel like this pregnancy is getting underway. I'm just hoping for everything to continue to move along smoothly for the next 30 weeks!

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here!

[betsyboop]

I think I forgot to say when my next appointment is way back when I booked it. I'm seeing my OB for the fist time on Monday, August 28. I had one other appointment, but that was just an interview and blood draw/urine sample/weigh in with a nurse.

I just got back from doing some maternity shopping at H&M. I had totally forgotten that they have maternity stuff until a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, not all of their stores have it, so I had to shlep into downtown Boston, but it was worth it because the prices there are so much better than Pea in the Pod and Baby Style, etc. Especially for basics like t-shirts and stuff.

Mrs Kinnison- What a cute idea! I can't believe you guys were able to keep the secret from your parents for so long- that's impressive!

[Brink]

Mrskinnison - very cute idea - especially tying it back to the way they did it years ago.

happy1nuv - wish I could say it went away at 10wks. I am 10wks 1 day today and still feeling sick. I don't think it is still 24 hours a day like a couple of weeks ago, but definitely there a good portion of the day. Just like you, my first was a breeze and this one is kicking my bu++.

Babymonitor - is anyone going to rent one of the doplars? We did last time and loved it. I'm trying not to order it too soon this time, but if I order it in the next week or two, I should be able to hear the h/b at home. I'm excited for that! We rented from www.babybeat.com last time and it worked great.

[Orion]

Hi Ladies:

Had my ultrasound today and got to see the little one. It didn't seem real that I was actually pregnant until today because with my daughter I was so sick all the time and I haven't been sick at all this pregnancy. They dated me at 11 weeks which puts my due date to March 13. I got to my ob appointment on Friday to get an official due date (after they look more closely at the u/s) so I will post my official due date (in red) then. The little bean is so cute and very active (according to the u/s tech) and has a h/b of 173 beats per minute. I am just so excited right now. My DH wasn't able to be with me during the u/s but he is so sweet that he came as soon as he could, even though he knew he wouldn't make it for the u/s, just so he could see me afterwards. I was able to get a picture of the baby for him and he was so excited that he took it back to work with him to show it off. This is a different pregnancy for my husband because there is a chance that he won't be around for the birth because he might be on the ship (he is in the Navy). We are hoping that he will be around but we won't know for some time yet. Hope all is well with everyone. I will be in touch after my ob appointment on Friday.

Cheers,
Jess

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here

[shimmerstar]

I asked my midwife about renting a heart monitor, and she said that with the ones you can rent you can't hear the heartbeat until the third tri. So my dh said no, because he doesn't want me freaking everytime I can't find it.

I got my snoogle pillow today. It seems comfy- hopefully it will help me sleep tonight!

[lady1297]

What about those dopplers you can get at like BRU??? Are they worth getting? I'd LOVE to try them, but don't want to waste my time.

[dollface]

The FDA actually regulates the use of fetal dopplers for in home use and it is against the law to rent or buy them (or sell them) without your doctor's approval in written form (a prescription). There are a lot of websites out there (and ebay sellers) selling and renting illegally so be careful!

[goldengbridge]

I agree with dollface. And the fact I'd drive myself nuts with one of those things. I'll pass!

Congrats on everyone hearing the h/b! Its so exciting isn't it? I cant wait till next Wed to go for my nuchal test! I love seeing the baby on the u/s!

Hope everyone has a great day!

[lady1297]

Just thought I'd share what i just wrote in my LJ (anyone else on there? I have the same username there if anyone wants to join):

I was just wasting valuable time reading the "When did you start showing" thread on CC and had the thought: If I hadn't lost 25 lbs, I'd be wearing maternity clothes right now!! I was slowly growing out of my shorts in June. I had quite afew I was ready to retire as a matter of fact. I only wore them because we have like NO money right now to spend on clothes for me. Joe needed work clothes so our clothes money was spent quickly. So I was just dealing. Add that to the fact that I was weighed and measured at Curves on Saturday and showed I was 3/4 a pound lighter and 2 inches wider in the waist. And my shorts still fit. So, I've grown, I obviously am starting to show, but because I lost the weight prior, I can still wear my regular clothes. Of course, I LOVE my maternity clothes that I had with Edward and were all summer things i probably won't be wearing at all now. But it is nice to know that I've given myself that ability to put off needing new clothes. I'm so glad I lost the weight. I hope to keep as much off as possible!

[MrsKinnison]

Just to warn you all, I'm feeling chatty this morning!!

So, I we are pretty much completely out now with the exception of my part-time job... not sure if I will wait one more week there or not. A women I work with said yesterday that she can't believe that I am already starting to show :D Granted, it was the end of the day & my belly seems to get bigger as the day goes on, but it was still nice to hear! Unfortunately, the scale seems to be showing a couple extra pounds too :( Oh well, guess I had better start getting used to that!

{Warning ~ a little TMI to follow}
I also think I am getting to the really fun part of pregnancy. I woke up really early this morning (surprisingly not having to pee yet again), after having some really vivid dreams, and feeling very, very "randy"! DH did not mind being woken up at all!!! Especially since he has had to be the initiator almost since getting pg, and about 30% of the time he was still getting shot down.
{end TMI}

I didn't share my mini-crisis a couple of weeks ago either... One of the reasons my part-time job is so great is that if offers pt benefits since DH and I are both self employed (the other is that the market is tanking and we definately need the $$:) ). They weren't great, but it was better than nothing.... atleast that is what we thought until my Dr's office called and said that my insurance was only going to cover $534 of my Doctors visits and only up to $700 for the hospital/delivery. OMG are you kidding me??? I burst into tears! Don't worry, there is a happy ending. I will have new insurance as of October 1st. Sure, it's expensive, but we will have almost no out of pocket expenses. This insurance women literall is my knight in shinning armour! Just finished the paperwork this morning ~ wow is that a HUGE relief!

Lets see, what else can I say.... Oh, DH is opening a flooring store next month (i think). He has been an installer for 15yrs, so this is very exciting for us (and a little bit stressful too). And this is the part where you all get jelous and wish you were me for a day (or for a week next month)... I am going to Cabo San Lucas all inclusive for 5 days for only the cost of my plane ticket which I booked yesterday!!! It's for my step-sisters wedding that we had decided financially we couldn't do with the store about to open and a baby on the way (which she will be surprised with when I get there). Well, very last minute a bridesmaid can't go. She was sharing a room with another girl, and my sister and fi had paid for the bridesmaid so they are giving it to me for FREE!!! Bummer that DH can't go, but he says he'll be too busy with the store and told my I would be crazy not to go. I feel bad, but I think I will get over it :D

Okay, I s'pose that is enough ~ you are all free to go back to whatever you were doing. I hope you all have a fantastic day!!!

[danalou]

MrsKinnison - I am curious what brand of insurance you ended up going with? My insurance at work isn't too bad as it is free, but I do have pay some out of pocket expenses with the labor and delivery. I quess it could be worse as I know the total for a VB is around $20,000!!

[MrsKinnison]

Danalou~ It is Harvard Pilgrim Health. I'm not 100% sure, but pretty sure you have to be self employed in order to get on your own group plan (I had to include my schedule C). If you can get it, definately look closely at the cost difference, because what you have may be better even w/out of pocket expenses. My premium is $427/mos and that does not include DH.

[danalou]

Thanks MrsKinnison!! I was just curious as the premium you pay would be more than my out of pocket expenses.

[miaclear]

Ladies....did you see there's a May thread already now! We are getting so far!!! So close to that 2nd trimester :D

My MS has gotten so much better. Last week was the worst and now it's very light and only when I'm really hungry!

[Nanner]

miaclear: glad to hear your m/s is better!

MrsKinnison: LOL at your TMI. Funny thing is, that happened to me the other night, and I rolled over and DH wasn't there! He'd fallen asleep on the couch! Oh well, his loss. :)

Me: Went to my monthly OB appt. today and heard the h/b. S/he was moving around so much, the nurse kept losing the h/b. But she finally caught up wtih it, and it was so sweet!

I had chicken and dumplings for lunch today, and damn, if they weren't the best chicken and dumplings I've ever had! Sometimes eating as a pregnant woman is the most satisfying thing in the world. :)

I have my NT screen on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

[lady1297]

okay, Easy Mac, salsa, Nacho Doritos and ice cream with hard coating are NOT recommended for lunch for a reason. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY stomach is reeling. I pity those of you who have dealt with MS...I'm on my way to puke-city if my stomach doesn't calm down soon. I feel like dying...


MAY THREAD!!! OMG!! We are far along, huh? Even typing 12 weeks is shocking to me. How am I that far along????

Tomorrow is my first official OB appointment. I have to take ds with me since my mom has to work. This should be interesting. I'm going to spend some time tonight writting out my questions, symptoms, etc so I don't get too distracted by DS. I have a lot of things for him to sit and do that he hasn't seen before, but that is NO guarantee that he won't mess with everything in the exam room (mental note, ask the nurse to remove the KY Jelly!!). I hope I don't have to do a lot of waiting. My appointment is for 1 pm, so I think it is an after lunch appointment. We shall see!

[lady1297]

Oh, and Nanner, while normally chix and dumplings is a fav of mine, I about lost my stomach reading about it...ugh...my tummy better feel beter soon...real soon...

[dollface]

So I broke down and bought half a dozen maternity tanks over the weekend. I bought a few of the Old Navy camisole/shelf bar tops in XS and S. I figured I could wear the S later since they won't be selling them much longer. I also bought a few of the longer ribbed ones. Luckily, being in So Cal I can wear tank tops almost year round. Plus I am going on a few hot weather trips between now and December so I can wear them then as well. I also bought the most COMFY bra ever! It's by Sassybax and I could live in it.
http://sassybax.com/

CF - DH tested negative as a CF carrier so we are in the clear as far as that is concerned! SO relieved. Tomorrow is my N/T screening. Very excited!

[betsyboop]

So, I seem to be noticing myself falling into a pattern. I have days when I feel almost normal, just a little tired, and then I'll have days when I'm so tired I nap all day long. I'll have 2 really good days in a row and use them to get tons of stuff done. They'll end up being really busy days because I let everything slide when I'm feeling yucky. Anyway, I ALWAYS crash on the 3rd day. Today is the 3rd day and I literally just dragged myself off the couch and took a shower- it's 3 in the afternoon! Is anyone else THIS tired? It's ridiculous.

On a related note- what are you guys eating for lunch (other than chicken and dumplings- I'm not 100% sure what that is:o )? I've been at a total loss because my lunches used to mainly consist of cold cut sandwhiches or tuna melts. Now, I've been eating junk- snacking instead of having a real lunch or just grabbing a slice of cheese pizza or something. I'm eating WAY less meat now than I did before I was pregnant and I'm wondering if I'm anemic, which would explain the extreme tiredness.

On a more positive note, I get my eyebrows waxed every other week and I had one yesterday and the girl noticed my baby belly! So that was kind of fun. I'm definitely in the phase where I look like I have a serious pot belly unless you know that I'm pregnant though. I can't wait to have an obvious belly because now I just kind of feel and look fat:p

[mochi]

Hi all,
Just wondering...did you all choose to do a Nuchal over an AFP test, or are you doing both? I still need to read up on the pros/cons of both. I'm concerned about what we'll have to pay out-of-pocket for these tests, but also don't want to skip something that might be important. Hmm... :confused: I know I have to decide soon since the tests can only be done within a certain window of time...

[Brink]

Doppler - With my last mommies group, I think most of us in that thread had them and loved them. Just from personal experience, I thought it was great. I would use every once in a while and it was really cool to let my parents hear the heartbeat (since they don't get to be at the appt). Shimmerstar - I don't know where your m/w got that info - the ones you rent are the same as the ones from the dr. office. I could hear the h/b from 12 wks and every time I checked, it was there. Lady1297 - the ones from BRU are not good. Those are the types that you can't hear until the very end, but if you rent one from babybeat, they are really sensitive. dollface - I had never heard about needing a prescription for it. In fact, I showed it to my OB and they thought it was great that you could rent them. I know we all need to make our own decisions, so I'm not trying to influence anyone, but I for one will definitely be renting one again. I loved it and I'm not worried at all (jusy my 2 cents)

Orion - I sure hope your DH is here when that baby is born. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you.

Mrskinnison - very jealous of your trip to Cabo. Wish I could fit in your suitcase!

Dollface - congrats on the negative CF for your DH. Bet that is a big relief.

[dollface]

Hi all,
Just wondering...did you all choose to do a Nuchal over an AFP test, or are you doing both? I still need to read up on the pros/cons of both. I'm concerned about what we'll have to pay out-of-pocket for these tests, but also don't want to skip something that might be important. Hmm... :confused: I know I have to decide soon since the tests can only be done within a certain window of time...


My doc *told* me to do the N/T test. The AFP isn't done til later (16-18 wk I believe), if at all and the N/T is done at 11-12 wks. I don't know for sure if I will do an AFP since they are known to not be very accurate. If there is a sign of trouble with the N/T, then i will consider further testing.

[miaclear]

What is the NT test? My Dr offered me the AFP and the Quad Screen. I'm not sure if we're going to do either test. What is everyone else's thoughts?

[danalou]

Dollface - So glad to hear that DH tested negative as I know how nerve-wracking it is waiting for the results!!

[whitlockan]

Good morning ladies,

For a long time now I finally feel like coming out from hiding........I guess I actually have the energy to type right now :)!

Me last week at my doctors the baby measured 9 wks so I'm a week further along than what we orginally thought, whats great about that is my ob said that I'm at my peak for M/S and those other crummy pregnancy symptoms and things should start leveling off now, which they are I have my good days and not so good days but its better than every day spending 10.00 on lunch just for it to all go down the toilet. Saturday I went to get my blood drawn, now I'm just waiting to hear back the results, not that I'll actually know what any of them mean but I can at least get my levels and look them up. What I did think was funny was how excited my doctor got when he found out my husband is O negative, because I'm positive, he was jumping for joy! In other news we were very thrilled to find out at the same visit that Cerebral Paulsy is non-genetic and even though they dont know the exact reason why babies get it, its mostly found in premies but he said now with all the technology we have if the baby is prem. the risk is still greatly decreased. Anyways now on to answer the questions about AFP testing..... I will say this with some caution, I have a very seasoned and old fashioned OB who doesnt beleive in unncessaary testing, so he told us that around 15 wks is when they do the test that we opt to have it if we would like however he does not recommend them for a few reasons:

They have been known to show too many false positives
If you were not going to terminate the baby in the first place then most likely when you find out you will still carry the baby to full term. However if the baby does end up with "open spine" then it will terminate itself as well.


Thats his perspective on it but he said we can choose what we want, if knowledge is power and knowing is what we want then he will be more than happy to do it, he just throws in a lot of caution performing the downs test simply for the reason of false positives hes seen over his years of practice that just creates disappointment in mothers and fathers. I personally dont know what i'm going to choose to do yet, either way our insurance covers the tests.

Food here lately (since saturday) I've been craving fruits, so I've been taking an apple, apple sauce, 2 bananas and necturine with me to work and chowing done on some of that to crub my cravings, but I will say I go from craving junk food then to healthy foods then back again, its such a battle sometimes, what I hate the most about it is I only used to go to the grocery store a few times a month, now its so unpredicitable with what I'll eat that I almost need to start going on a weekly basis.

Dopplers wont be getting one this would just cause too much stress if my life the day I didnt hear the heartbeat. I'm kinda of sad because at the last appointment we didnt get the chance to hear the heartbeat, he just showed us where i was, but I'm sure our next appointment we will.

Maternity Clothes okay I'm starting to get a belly, to some it may be small but to me it seems huge. Every morning I get up and button my pants my hubby is like we need to go get you some clothes that fit, ya know the XS and S just arent fitting anymore, even the 1 M shirt I have is starting to get tight on my waist. However, I know nothing about the sizing of these clothes, can someone provide me with a little insight. Will I end up buying a hundred different sizes, like a size now while I'm still early and then larger sizes when I get larger, I just feel like they might end up being a waste of money and dont want to start buying them until I really have to, dont get me wrong I'm really excited since its just another reason to shop but lately I just find myself being so cheap unless of course its FOOD :D !

Anyways, I think that covers everything for now, I'm going to try to become a little more activly engaged in this thread but I've just been so darn tired.

[happy1nuv]

Tests ~ I was offered the cystic fibrosis test and the quad screen. Turned the quad screen down (too many false positives, and we're keeping this baby regardless so I don't care). Took the cf test, but am still not sure why (last time, I didn't test positive as a carrier but it IS in dh's family, although he's never been screened...)


Maternity clothes ~ Supposedly you just buy your size only in maternity. I think thats true, except in pants. For some reason, all the pants I bought were wayyy tall... (so, i guess i did buy my reg size, just had to hem them...even the pair of petite i bought...ANd, I'm 5' 5"....not petite...I usually buy tall jeans...)

Food restrictions ~ ok... my mw's gave me a sheet of stuff to avoid... it's the usual stuff, but it also says no liver (although why you'd want to eat that anyway...ugh! (sorry if ya like it) ... due to too much vit a. AND, it says no unpastuerized juices or raw sprouts due to the possibility of salmonella and e.coli ... does that mean I can't go to the juice bar anymore??? (I almost wish I hadn't read that)... ugh!!! I LIKE my juices - and I'm good at getting green ones (otherwise green veggies are really hard for me right now...ugh!)

My mw also suggested to eat a handful of nuts before bed if you have really bad ms in the mornings...i forget why, and i forgot to try it last night, but i hadn't heard that one before so thought i'd pass it on...

My next appt September 20th where we'll get to hear the heartbeat! WOOHOO...

eta:
Lunches ~ I've been eating a lot of egg salad sandwiches... also, before ms hit, I would make huge salads... veggie wraps are also good with cheese, avacado, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes...yummy... and salad dressing for a bit of flavor...

[lady1297]

Maternity clothes-I found that buying your size was just fine, although the last month of pregnancy anything can happen. I just dealt with tight maternity clothes at work and slipped into comfy oversized stuff at home the last month. I'd say buy your larger size (if you run between two).

A hint for stretching pants is, if you have a button, do the rubber band stretch. Loop the rubber band through the hoop, then through the zipper hoop, and hook itonto the button. It buys you an inch or so until you are ready to wear maternity pants. I do caution that you only want to do this if you are wearing alonger top or jacket because if you stretch up, you could see it. But it bought me a month last time around.

Tests: I assume that will be brought up today at my appointment. I'll probably just refuse them again this time around. I didn't have them last time as I have no desire to terminate this pregnancy.

HB: I can't wait to hear the heartbeat today!! DS is going with me so I'm getting ready to pack him a bag of stuff to do to occupy him, but I think he'll love hearing the baby's heartbeat. He kissed my tummy last night to say good night to 'baby'. It was sooo sweet. He has no idea what it all means, but he'll figure it out soon enough!!

Dreams: I had my first bad pregnancy dream. It was that i was bleeding and my mom made me go to the ER to be checked out. I didn't want to go since i had DS, but i realized that DH could just stay home with him. It was such a bad dream for me that i woke up and had to go to the bathroom just to check to see if I was bleeding or not. Thankfully, no.

[miaclear]

I have energy and a steady stomach back!!!! I'm so excited! My friend who is pg and due within days of me is joining prenatal yoga and prenatal water fitness with me! The water fitness starts next week...the yoga mid Sept. I'm so excited to be able to tollerate being out in the world again!

[Tandis]

Nanner - You totally inspired me, and now I'm craving chicken & dumplings. Thankfully, my Dad enjoys making them, and hasn't done so in a while, so therefore, because the twinners want them, he's making them tonight! :D And I'm sure they'll be the best chicken & dumplings I've ever had ;)

Lady1297 - Have fun hearing the h/b today!

Dollface - Congrats on DH not being a carrier! That has to be a huge relief :)

Orion - Congrats on finally finding out how far along you are.

BetsyBoop - I think there are different ways to do chicken and dumplings, but essentially it's shredded chicken in a white gravy type sauce with dumplings, which consists of (I think) flours, water and butter, that are boiled. It's a very hardy meal, and considered "comfort food." Also, absolutely delicious!

As for what I'm eating for lunch, usually one or two pieces of fruit (plums, oranges, grapes, nectarines), yogurt, and sandwich - usually peanut butter and butter, but today's was a tomato sandwich. That is supplemented by fruit mid-morning, and mid-afternoon. Sometimes I also eat a granola bar and some nuts. Yesterday was an exception to my lunch, because I had DH make me scrambled eggs and four and half pieces of bacon (really wanted bacon!).

Food - I found that beef jerky appears to help my queasiness, and now I have a horrible craving for it! My SIL, who is seven months pregnant, was craving it last night, which prompted me wanting it. So I called up hubby at work and had him stop and get me some on his way home. I haven't felt that good in weeks! Of course, it might also be because I didn't overeat at night (eating tortellini, ice cream and cereal in the span of an hour and a half has a way of turning a stomach ;) ), but I'm attributing it to the healing effects of jerky. :D

Decaf coffee - So what's the lowdown on decaf coffee? Is it okay or not? Still can't stand the smell of brewing coffee, but I miss the taste (my acu. had me off of it since May, so I haven't gotten my daily fix in a *long* time!). Today I brewed a pot at work, but I'm wondering how much of it is safe to drink? A cup? Two cups? The whole pot? ;) Is it okay as long as I'm still drinking my water?

[miaclear]

Had the biggest fruit craving after work so I stopped to get a fruit bowl.....I am in heaven.

Honestly....I always wondered what pregnancy cravings were all about. It is more than I ever imagined. It's like when you get what you want you could just melt into a pile of warm happiness :D

[dollface]

Just got back from my N/T screening and all is well. It was such a cool u/s! They throw in some color so you can see blood pumping through the baby. Her N/T fold measured 1.3 which is great and all around she is measuring 4 days ahead -by the calendar I am 11 wks. & 3 days but by her measurements I am 12 wks. She was sucking on her hand and moving around quite a bit. We asked her to guess-timate the sex and she 70% chance it's a girl. We are hopeful but won't be painting the room pink anytime soon. We have the 2nd tri screening on October 10th and she can give us a 99% sex guess then. I also have a Sept. 12th appt with my regular OB so we'll see if she can see the sex then. The doctor we saw today (the perinatologist) said if we had done this screening next week then she would see the sex for sure (but you can't do it that far along). We are so thrilled! We get the blood test results back in a few days so hopefully all is clear!

[lady1297]

So the appointment was a bit disappointing today. The doctor had to leave to go upstairs and deliver a baby, so it seems that he was a bit rushed with us. DS and I did get to hear the heartbeat for a split second, he didn't leave it on long enough for me, but it was beating at 163. The rest was boring chit-chat about if we wanted the AFP testing (no) and if we had the CF test (no, and no thanks). Literally that's all. He did decide ot adjust the due date to March 3 since I convinced him that earlier was better! (DS was a due date baby, and htis way,if the the baby is 'late' I can say, remember, we went with the ultrasound, not LMP and maybe avoid the induction talk a bit longer.)

DS did great. I gave him stickers while the doctor and I talked and that did the trick at keeping him happy long enough.

[goldengbridge]

Tests- I'll be having both the nuchal and AFP. I'm high risk so they recommend having it done.

Dollface- I'll be curious to see if they are right. I had my first peri apt last week and mentioned something about predicting the gender during the ultrascreen and both the tech and Dr said that there would be no way to tell that early. :confused: I know they really really tried to see the gender of DS #2 at 14w 5d and it was still early then.

I have my nuchal test on 8/30. I forget who but someone else is having it done that day also!

I also scheduled my fetal echo to check the baby's heart on Oct 9th. I scheduled it today. I'll be 18 weeks exactly and they said they'll tell the gender while their checking the heart if the baby's isn't being modest so heres hoping:)

[tipsy]

I wish I could write more often, but don't feel comfortable posting at work. By the time I get home and cook dinner, I'm wiped out. Love reading all your posts though!

BetsyBoop I noticed we have the same due date, 3/7. With regard to being tired, I seem to have the same schedule as you. Every two or three days, I feel totally exhausted. Quite often I can be found sleeping in my car on my lunch break.:D

It's funny to hear so many other ladies are craving fruit. I can't get enough of it.

[whitlockan]

Good morning ladies,

WOW I cant believe it, it just seems like yesterday we were all sharing our BFPs now we are talking about gender being recognized at the next few appointments its all so CRAZY :eek:. Just goes so fast, I was telling DH that in 10 more wks only I'll be half way, yet I'm still grasping my hands around the fact that I really am pregnant. Ahem, and I thought this would be a long and slow process....guess thats how it feels until the m/s passes.

[mochi]

I just read a bunch of readers' comments (http://www.babycenter.com/comments/pregnancy/prenatalhealth/118?_requestid=102746) on BabyCenter regarding the NT test. While most people commenting are probably those with borderline test results, it seems like the test just adds a lot of stress on everyone as they try to make sense of it all! I think I'll skip this test. Not even sure if I'll do the AFP, either, I think I'll just see how my first U/S goes next week and decide from there.

Things have been going well for me this week. I think my mood has been lifted since hearing baby's heartbeat :) I'm just looking forward to next wednesday's U/S! Although, I'm DREADING having to fill my bladder beforehand! It's just pure torture!!! They told me to finish drinking 40ozs. of water an hour before my apopintment. Waaaahhhh :(

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here!

[miaclear]

Mochi....I agree.

DH and I decided we are not going to do any of the optional tests either. We have no reason to think that we wouldn't have a healthy pg and baby so why stress it. Anyone else out there not doing it???

[Janey]

I opted out of the nuchal translucency as well. The results would not make a difference to me with regards to keeping the baby. If the test showed a high probability of having a Downs baby, I might enjoy the pregnancy less, and I don't really want to feel that way about this amazing time in my life. What will be will be; I'll deal with whatever happens when it's time for it to happen. People have been having babies for thousands of years without nuchal translucency; I'll be okay. :)

[Tandis]

I haven't been offered the tests yet, but more than likely I'll opt out of them as well - for reasons others have stated. If there is a problem, we're not terminating, so why ruin one of the happiest times in my life?

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

Heard the h/bs today! A was 173 bpm, and B was 153 bpm. Both are now nearly the same size, with A at 25.4 mm, and B at 25.3 mm. So they are right in line with how far along I am. B has also done an amazing job of catching up because at 7w he was 1.4 mm behind, and last week he was 1 mm behind. So I'm quite happy about that. My Dr. also gave me a videotape of today's sonogram. Haven't gotten to see it yet (heck, I was there!), but I can't wait to watch it tonight with DH. He's really looking forward to it, since he couldn't be with me this morning.

We're now feeling good enough about this pregnancy that I've given my Dad the okay to start spreading the word amongst family members. He is so extremely excited. It's been next to impossible to get him to keep his mouth shut the past five weeks. By the dinnertime I expect most of America to have heard about it ;)

[goldengbridge]

I just wanted to say something about the tests. Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion. I didn't have alot of the tests when i pg with my son. The reason I changed my mind and have decided to have them done because i just want to be prepared. Like the Nuchal also can red flag heart defects too. Now, some heart defects can even be corrected in utero! I think thats amazing! And we weren't aware of my first son's heart defect and he was born blue and not breathing and had to be life flighted to Phila. They missed it on u/s and should have picked it up and I should have delivered down in Phila. It would have certainly made things easier. I would never terminate either but I just want to be prepared. Just wanted to explain myself a little:)

[dollface]

I have to agree with goldenbridge. Even if termination were not an option (which I would not make that decision til necessary), I would want to be prepared - do my homework and prepare my life for raising a child with disabilities.

If there is a problem, we're not terminating, so why ruin one of the happiest times in my life?

I guess I don't understand how it would be ruined? If you've already decided that termination is not an option - wouldn't you still be happy about bringing your baby into the world? I can understand that you would be sad about the disability, but you still love the baby just the same and are still excited about having a child, right?

IMO,I feel like knowing, rather then not knowing, is a more responsible decision for the future of your child. That being said, I don't plan to do any further testing if everything comes back normal from this screening. My doctor agrees. It was a simple, non-invasive ultrasound and another chance to see my little one again :)

[ieducate]

Hey ladies, I am sorry I have been out of touch lately. My dh and I just got back from Cleveland, where he had business and I went along to visit with my mother and older sister. I need to go back and read all the postings done since Tuesday, but for now I will fill you in on me. :)

I went back to the ob today for the second half of my appt. from last week that was all messed up. She did another u/s, which I wasn't expecting, to see for herself the baby. There it was. It was delightful to see it again. :) Anyway, I am 9w1d today and still feeling lousy. She gave me some anti-nausea medicine so hopefully that will work. I have actually been losing weight because I can't eat. I have never (before today) heard anyone tell me to stop losing weight. :) Anyway, I go back to work on Monday and the students come a week and one day later. AGH. I am really hoping that my energy level increases by then and/or at least my nausea disappears. I have included my u/s pic from today. It seems to really be taking shape in my opinion. Last time it seemed like nothing, but today we could see the head and all. It was cool. I can't believe I still have so long to go. :( My older sister says it will go by so fast.

I hope everyone is well and I will read through the last few pages of postings and then hop back in. Hope most of you are past your m/s days.

NOTE: I cannot seem to get my u/s pic to be anything but gigantic. I am trying to fix it and then I will post. Anyone else use photobucket and have the same problem?

[ieducate]

Here is the u/s pic from today. :)

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n311/ieducate/Ultrasound8-25Labeled2.jpg

[miaclear]

ieducate. My worst week was week 9-10, at 10 weeks 3 days I suddenly felt better and my energy is back up (maybe not 100% but a good 85%). So I have high hopes that by the time your students are back you'll be feeilng much better :D

[ieducate]

Thanks Miaclear, that makes me feel a world better....you have no idea. I am so nervous that I will not be up to par for my students. I have had numerous nightmares about it in the past few weeks. I guess that is normal for the beginning of the year, added to it that I am now pg. makes it seem worse. Thanks again...your words have relaxed me. :)

[pewee9196]

Good Morning Ladies
Sorry I have been MIA. I have lurked a bit. Our internet connection at work has been messed up and I am just to tired to get on at night.

I am at 10 weeks and for the most part starting to feel a lot better. I get tired teaching. I teach 3 hours straight at the University level. Next week my day starts at 530 am and ends at 7pm. Hope I can get through it !

Anyone start looking at furniture yet? I fell in love with really $$ stuff so now I am trying to be realistic. We have a tiny nursery so it is not like we can put a lot of $$ huge pieces in there.

Hope eveyone has a wonderful weekend.

Appt 30 August

[MrsKinnison]

Can this be right??? I have only gained about 2lbs, yet all of my fitted tshirts are too small??? Seriously, I have gone up an entire size in shirts. I had put on a couple lbs over the winter, and they still fit then, what is going on???

[ieducate]

Not to be too personal, but Mrs. Kinnison, is it possible your shirts are not fitting because of your bbs and not your stomach? :) Most of my shirts are feeling tight because my bbs have grown a HUGE amount. I had to go up in shirt sizes to accommodate for the bbs. :) Just a thought. I wouldn't stress about it either way, as I have heard that the body reshapes in funny ways when pregnant.

[miaclear]

11 weeks 3 days

I agree with ieducate Mrskinneson. I was just reading last night how clothes might not fit even though little to know weight has been gained. Simply on our changing bodies. Sucks. Which is why I'm off maternity clothes shopping with a pg friend today! I hope to find some good deals. Spring/Summer clothes are on sale right now and living in Dallas I can wear those till Octoboer easily! We're also going to Babies R Us to check out furniture and baby gear!

Last night DH and I had the what to do after the baby talk and we're going to try living on one salary for awhile and see how that goes. I'd be kinda scared to quit my job and be so dependent. We'll have to see how it plays out I guess.

[Tandis]

I guess I don't understand how it would be ruined?

"Ruin" as in adding a lot of stress, worry and anxiety to an otherwise happy time in my life. Of course I would love my child/ren no matter what, but this case I consider ignornace to be bliss. There is time enough afterwards to research whatever needs to be done - and no amount of research can actually prepare you for life with a special needs child. My niece is special needs due to being a twin. I've seen what my sister has and is still going through with her. Nothing can adequently prepare you for that.

So therefore I'm opting to skip many of the prenatal tests, especially the invasive ones. Except for maybe the NT test, since I missed the fact that it can also check for heart problems. :)

[goldengbridge]

Tandis- I can understand your way of thinking. Just to clarify with the NT. If the nuchal fold is bigger than normal that can sometimes indicate congenital heart defects. They've found the babies with CHD's have the thicker fold. I didn't have NT done with my son who does have the heart defect. I found that interesting but they also missed it during my 20 week u/s which they should have picked it up. I don't want to scare anyone but just make sure when you go for your 20 week you make sure they can see all 4 chambers of the heart!

Off my soapbox. I hope everyone has a great weekend. We're off to get DS's haircut and then to get dinner!

[miaclear]

Back from maternity clothes shopping! We hit, Motherhood, Japanese Maternity, BabyStyle, A Pea in the Pod, Old Navy, The Gap....and for furniture Babies R Us. My friend bought a LOT. I think I did very good.

3 new skirts
1 pair of courdory pants
3 regular teeshirts
1 fancier V neck shirt
1 light sweater

I need some more nicer shirts but other than that I think I'm almost good to go. Probably get another pair of pants too to go along with what I curently bought. I love the sales at the spendy stores. One of the skirts I bought was $120 marked down to $20! In fact one of the most expensive things I bought was at Old Navy!

I think it's a Chicken McNugget kind of night. I'm starving and DH isn't ready for dinner so I think I'll make a run for McDees.

[miaclear]

This is already over four weeks old but I just figured out the whole Flickr and Picassa stuff so I'm able to post my own images :)

I'm fairly certain I am carrying a gummy bear....I hope it's a red one :D

http://static.flickr.com/89/225695425_e704a269f3.jpg?v=0

[dollface]

I'm fairly certain I am carrying a gummy bear....I hope it's a red one :D


LOL!!

[miaclear]

Stolen from the Sept 2006 Mommies....I thought it might be interesting to post these now, and then see how we may have changed six months from now :)

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon?
Are you planning to breastfeed?
Are you planning to co-sleep?
Are you planning to vaccinate?
Are you planning to circumcise a boy?
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital)
What's in your birth plan?
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!)

[miaclear]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Undecided. Would love to be a SAHM for the first year(s) but might try and work PT. We will see what happens.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes, not only because it's best for the baby but also because I'd love the extra help with loosing weight and it's cheap :D
Are you planning to co-sleep? Nope. Never wanted to and don't think I'll change my mind about this one. DH is on the same boat as me.
Are you planning to vaccinate? That's the plan but I still have a lot of research to do on this.
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Absolutely!
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital
What's in your birth plan? To early for specifics but I know I want drugs! Thinking I don't want an episiotomy.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposable

[mochi]

I totally appreciate Goldengbridge's point-of-view about the NT test...I didn't realize that it also screens for heart defects. I wish my doctor spent more time talking about the test with me, she just said a quick blurb about it at the end of my appointment, not really explaining anything and I didn't research it enough before my appointment to have any questions ready for her. Then, in the literature she gave me (a big book about pregnancy), it describes the NT test as only screening for Downs with no mention of other chromosomal disorders or heart defects.

I discussed it with my DH, and I think we decided to just do the AFP, sort of a compromise I suppose. I guess since we did that same test with DS, we feel okay doing it this time around too. I just don't know enough about the NT test, I'm not sure how I'll handle interpreting the results.

Thanks goldengbridge for the info about asking about the four chambers of the heart in the 20-week U/S. I will definitely make sure the radiologist can confirm that for me! We can all learn from your experiences, and appreciate any other info you can provide us! While I know it's a far cry from heart surgery, when my DS had an inguinal hernia (http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/baby/babyills/babygenitalprobs/1176787.html) at 5 weeks old that required two surgeries, I just wanted to let everyone know what it was and what symptoms to look for in their child because what new parent knows what an inguinal hernia is? Anyways, thanks...we all learn from eachother :)

Now the fun stuff:

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I'm currently a SAHM, as of March of this year. I worked from the time DS was 4 months until 21 months.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes, at least I'll know what I'm doing this time around! I hated it the first 3 months (it hurt!), but after that it was fine, and I lost a ton of weight doing it.
Are you planning to co-sleep? Uh, we still sleep with our two-year old and love having him with us (even though we swore we wouldn't co-sleep before DS was born!). I think we might try to get baby#2 to sleep on his/her own. DS is going to get his own bed very soon. We're open either way...
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes.
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? No.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) hospital
What's in your birth plan? No one but my hubby and maybe my sister-in-law to take photos in the room. Pretty open to everything else, I'll have to review all the specifics again to make sure.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposable

[pewee9196]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I don't get a choice on this one. My employer paid for my grad school so I am legally bound (Army Officer so no I don't have any rights! :o I get 6 weeks but I think I can get away with doing very little for the 3 months after that! Gotta love teaching at an Academy! :D
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes at least until the semester starts back up
Are you planning to co-sleep? Nope
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yep.
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? DH won't hear of anything else
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital)Army doesn't give us a choice- Hospital
What's in your birth plan?Not natural is all I Know at this point
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposible. Day care won't allow anything else

Must sign up for Day care Monday!! Keep forgetting!

[shimmerstar]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I am a teacher, so the plan is to have the baby in March and then stay out the rest of the year. I am planning to go back in the fall.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes
Are you planning to co-sleep? Yes
Are you planning to vaccinate? On the fence about this one
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) I have to do it in a hospital, since I'm "high risk".
What's in your birth plan? Honestly, I think I would rather have a scheduled c-section. I don't know if my doctor will do that though. There are just so many factors that I think I could control my blood sugars better and things would go more smoothly if I did that. If I do go for a VB I will definitely be having drugs. I just know I don't want to be induced!
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposies.

[Nanner]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? No, I'm a SAHM.
Are you planning to breastfeed? I don't know. I tried with DS, and failed. He never could latch on because I have a funky right nipple, and he never liked the left side. I might try again, but I'm not sure.
Are you planning to co-sleep? No. The first couple of months, s/he'll stay in our room in a bassinette, but then s/he'll go to his/her room.
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes, religious reasons.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital. I have to have a c-sec.
What's in your birth plan? Don't have one. C-sec.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposable, baby! Like I don't have enough to do without washing diapers!

[shimmerstar]

TMI alert~

So this morning I've noticed that my discharge is a lot more watery. On the info sheet from my doctor's office, this is a sign of preterm labor. I also feel a little bit of pressure in my uterus. I called my doctor, who was really grumpy, and he said it's probably not preterm labor, and if it gets bad enough that I'm soaking a pad or something then I should go to the ER. Did anyone else notice this, ever? I'm still kind of concerned about it.

[goldengbridge]

Thank you Mochi! That made me feel good! And I agree, we all can learn from each other!



Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? No, I'm a SAHM.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes. I had to pump with Andrew because we had to watch how many calories and ounces he was getting. Pumping is so tedious but very much worth it. I'm def BF this time!
Are you planning to co-sleep? No. The first couple of months, s/he'll stay in our room in a bassinette, but then s/he'll go to his/her room.
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital.
What's in your birth plan? I definately know I want the epidural again!
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposable

[MrsKinnison]

So, I officially bought some bigger pants today. I know I'm pg, but it was a little tough picking up those bigger number bottoms. My sister also gave me a big bag of maternity shirts that she is too big for now. A couple are smaller and perfect for right now. Unfortunately I could never in a million years wear her pants! Oh, and the boobs are definately bigger so it makes more sense why my shirts are too small know...silly, but a big relief!

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I'm sure I will have to go back to work... there is some things happening in the next few weeks that will affect where and how much I will be working,
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes, I just hope I'm good at it
Are you planning to co-sleep? Absolutely not ~ sleeping with me can be very dangerous!
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes.
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes. I would anyway, but DH is adamant about it.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Just DH and I in the room, other than that I just plan to roll with things. I would like to go natural, but if I need the epi then so be it.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposable

[ieducate]

Interesting questions. I hadn't given much thought to some, but here is my best guess at this point.


Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? No, dh does not want me to. If I do go back it won't be for a very long time.
Are you planning to breastfeed? I am seriously going to try, barring any problems.
Are you planning to co-sleep? The baby will be in a co-sleeper next to our bed for 6-8 weeks, depending on how long I can convince dh to let me keep him/her in the room with us. Then it will be off to the crib in another room.
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes.
Are you planning to circumcise a boy?Yep, but not until 8 days after the birth...religious ceremony.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital)hospital for sure...I have too many health issues to risk not being near a doctor or two.
What's in your birth plan?Hmmm...can I get the epi now? :) I originally wanted my mother and dh in the room, but recently decided that when it is time to push I just want dh and I to be there.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) my older sister would be disappointed in me, but disposibles for sure. She claims the cloth are better but who has time (or patience) for that?

Hope everyone is well. I go back to work tomorrow and am quite nervous. I am so nauseous all the time that I have no idea how I will make it through the day...and this is without the students. AGH. I am also nervous about the lack of sleep I will be getting during the day. :( It is going to be a rough one. At least I know that I won't have to worry about it after March something. :) Then I will have other sleep depriving issues. :) Talk to you all soon.

[Brink]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Minimum 8 wks, maximum 12 wks. I'm the breadwinner in the family, so I don't have a choice.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes, made it six months last time. That's my goal again.
Are you planning to co-sleep? NO
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Scheduled C-Section
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposible for sure!

ieducate - good luck tomorrow. I'm sure you'll do better than you think. Hang in there.

[dollface]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Yes, I run my own business which gets busy in May/June so I will start seeing clients again then. I also work part-time for a doctor and I plan to return to there after 12 weeks.

Are you planning to breastfeed? No

Are you planning to co-sleep? No

Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes

Are you planning to circumcise a boy? yes

Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) hospital

What's in your birth plan? Scheduled c-section

Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) disposable

[tipsy]

You can go ahead and take me off the list.:( Unfortunately, I had a miscarriage this morning at 13 weeks, 1 day (according to the ultrasound). Started bleeding heavily, cramping and passing clots last night. Went to the ER thinking the miscarriage had already occured, but we were shocked to see the baby was still in there on the ultrasound. It was kicking, flipping, etc. and had a heartbeat of 182 which was great news. Plus my cervix was still closed according to the ultrasound.

We were sent home around 2am and told it was probably a blood clot. Continued to bleed and cramp all night. At 9am, just before getting in the car to go back to the ER, I had a worst cramp yet, felt like I was going to pass out and needed to throw up. Then felt something was about to pass, which ended up being a fully intact 4 inch little baby. My hubby passed out cold on the bathroom floor after seeing it. After reviving him, I had to fish the baby out and bring it to the hospital so they could do testing to see what went wrong. I spent a little time looking at the little guy and I'm pretty sure I saw boy parts.

We'll hopefully get some answers in the next few weeks. Unfortunately we told pretty much everyone we know that we were expecting just a few days ago. Not looking forward to sharing this news and this weekend I'm helping to throw my cousin's baby shower.

Good luck with all of your pregnancies. I'll miss being a part of this group and will be lurking here to follow your progress...

[ieducate]

Tipsy, I am sooooooo sorry for your terrible loss. My thoughts and condolences are with you and your dh. I am so sorry.

[lady1297]

tipsy- omg. hon. i'm so sorry. I'll be praying for you, your husband, and your son. How awful for you all. Hugs.

[lady1297]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I'm a sahm, so yeah, i gotta go back to work, about 72 hours after birth!!!
Are you planning to breastfeed? hell yeah! I've nursed my son for 2 years, this one gets that much too.
Are you planning to co-sleep? probably off and on
Are you planning to vaccinate? yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? i'd rather not. ds's was very traumatic for me, he screamed for hours. literally.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital), hospital
What's in your birth plan? natural birth, just DH and me and the nurses until doc needed. labor at home as long as possible, no major interventions unless needed.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) cloth!!!
__________________

[goldengbridge]

Tipsy- I am truly sorry for your loss. I'll be keeping your family in my thoughts and prayers!

[Ericka_Jarett]

Forgive the lurker:

Just wanted to say so sorry to hear of your loss Tipsy. Hope you can get some answers quickly. Take care of yourself and hold tight to hubby. Your in my prayers

[Nanner]

Oh, tipsy, I'm so sorry. I am so saddened to hear your story.

Take care of yourself.

[whitlockan]

Tipsy, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, our thoughts and prayers with you and your family during this time of sarrow.

Take care of yourself and I hope answers come soon.

[MrsKinnison]

Tipsy, I am so sorry. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

[Janey]

Tipsy - Oh my goodness gracious. I am so terribly sorry for your loss. I hope that you will find the support you need during this time.

There are a couple of threads you may want to check out/bookmark; I've heard wonderful things about them. The first is Support for Ladies who Have Miscarried (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21130), and when you're ready for it, there is a TTC After A Loss (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17579) thread.

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to Here.
Tipsy, you will always be in our hearts.

[tipsy]

Thanks for all of the prayers and well wishes! They really mean a lot. I'm doing really well physically, emotionally, I'm kind of numb. I may go talk to someone, just to make sure I'm dealing properly with the loss.

Mrs. Hill I will definitely check out those links. Any kind of support I can get right now would be really helpful.

Thanks Again

[Nanner]

Question for you all: I am making up my grocery list right now, and trying to figure out what to do for dinners this week. The problem is, meat is really not appealing to me right now (in fact, the thought makes me nauseous), but my husband is a big carnivore. What have you guys been eating lately? Any ideas for me?

[danalou]

Tipsy - I am so sorry for your loss!! My thoughts and prayers go out to your and your husband in the days and weeks to come!! Make sure to take care and as always be safe.

[MrsKinnison]

Nanner, stir-frys have been great for me. I put a little bit of chicken in mine, which makes it easier for me to eat, but lots of the veggies. DH is still able to load up on the meat. Ground turkey meat has still been pretty easy for me to eat, so I've been using that in different pasta dishes too. If we have steak or something, sometimes I just skip the meat and eat the veggies/starches....cottage cheese is always a good substitute.

I am having a hungry day. I can't wait for lunch!!!

[MrsKinnison]

Oh, and I forgot about beans. They are great for protein too. DH will eat them as a side dish and I can make them my main dish. This way we don't have to eat totally different dinners.

[Tandis]

Nanner - Making up my dinner list for the week has been next to impossible, because what sounds good now, doesn't necessarily sound good later. But we've been eating a lot of chicken and pasta - plus more takeout than usual since most days the thought and smell of cooking makes me sick. Tonight we're having roast in the crockpot, but I'll probably be eating mashed potatoes - after I air out the house ;)

Tipsy - I am so extremely sorry for your loss. You and your DH are in my thoughts and prayers.

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

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I'm taking four months off - but I might go back sooner and work PT to stretch out my sick leave
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes, which should be a lot of fun
Are you planning to co-sleep? No
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes
Where are you planning to give birth? Has to be a hospital
What's in your birth plan? I would like to deliver vaginally, with meds and no epi - but more than likely it will end up being a c-section
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposable for at least the first week or two, then switching to cloth once I get the hang of the whole two kids thing.

[danalou]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Minimum 8 wks, maximum 12 wks. My company doesn't offer any Maternity leave, so it is going to come down to what we can afford. Not that daycare is that much cheaper around here as it averages $200 full-time per week -> OH MY GOD!! :eek: :eek:
Are you planning to breastfeed? I am going to try as I would really like to as long as possible
Are you planning to co-sleep? No (My sister is still having a hard time getting her boys age 2 & 4 out of their bed!!)
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital
What's in your birth plan? If all goes well a VB
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) still trying to decide

[lady1297]

For those of you thinking about cloth diapering, can I just reassure you that it is not much harder than disposies! Tandis, I think you'll want to be using cloth a LOT sooner with 2 kids. They are just so much easier in the long run. You don't have 2 am runs to the grocery store because you ran out or have to figure out where to get the money to buy them from...And laundry isn't any harder than throwing in the diapers and soap and pressing start. Can you tell I LOVE my cloth!! :)

[lady1297]

Oh and one last hting, the kids potty trainer MUCH earlier in cloth. My son is 2 and was potty trained a 23 months. Could have been easier but all my disposie friends told me he was too young. Poppycock. He was ready and so was I! :)

[betsyboop]

Tipsy- I'm so sorry to hear about your loss:( I'm sure it's even more heartbreaking after reaching the second trimester. You and your husband will be in my thoughts.
----------------------------------

I had my doctor's appointment this morning and found out that I am not a carrier for cystic fibrosis, I am blood type AB+ (which is the universal recipient- kind of funny since DH is O-, the universal donor), I am immune to rubella, and my weight gain so far has been 4lb. The doctor took some sort of vaginal culture, but did not do a pap smear since I had one less than a year ago with my pcp.

The exciting news is that she couldn't find the baby's heartbeat with the dopler, so I had another ultrasound. The baby looked SO real compared with the 8w ultrasound! We could see it's profile, the arms and legs, and it was sucking on it's hand. I cried:o It was too early to tell if it was a boy or a girl, but I kind of think the face looks boy-ish for some reason.

My next appointment is Sept 27 and my big ultrasound where we find out if it's a boy or a girl is Oct 11.

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I'm unemployed now and don't plan to work until the baby is at least a year old, but ideally I'd stay home until #2 is in school (we're planning on 2 kids)
Are you planning to breastfeed? I'd like to since it's free, but I know my mom was unable to breastfeed, so I'm going to play it be ear.
Are you planning to co-sleep? No way. I don't really get how the baby doesn't get smothered by the blankets, to be honest. Plus DH is really against it.
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes- DH feels very strongly about this and since I don't know what it's like to have a penis, it's his call.
Where are you planning to give birth? Hospital
What's in your birth plan? I'm not a big planner. I'm going to just see how it goes.
Cloth or disposible diapers? I never even thought about it. I guess disposable.

[betsyboop]

Nanner- I have been having the exact opposite problem as you. All I crave is meat and I'm trying to get myself to eat more veggies (which is weird because I used to eat tons of veggies before I was pregnant). I've been making steak au poive (sp?), stuffed pork tenderloin, tacos, baked chicken, etc. I don't know if that's much help to you though:o

[Tandis]

Lady1297 - I'm also thinking cloth is going to be *much* cheaper than disposables with two kids, plus I like the fact that it's more ecologically favorable. Originally, I had planned on doing it from the beginning, but when I was home sick a couple weeks ago, I was watching "Bringing home baby" on TLC and seeing how often those new parents changed their (one) baby's diaper kind of freaked me out. Plus I've heard it's like 25 diapers a day with twins. So I'm just wondering how much I want the added stress of washing diapers on top of everything else those first couple days.

But then that's what DH is for, right? ;)

I've also heard that about potty training. Anything that gets them out of diapers quicker, well I'm all for! ;)

Do you mind giving me a few pointers on CD'ing? Like how many to stock up on? Where's a good place to buy them? What kind you use? I occassionally check the thread in parenting, but it's still just so confusing - plus that thread is super long. Thanks :D

[dollface]

Tipsy - I am so sorry for your loss.

[happy1nuv]

tipsy ~ I'm soo sorry for your loss... you and your family are definitely in my prayers.. {{HUGS}}

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon?
I'm a sahm, so I'll be working again just as soon as I leave the hospital :) We thought that I'd work with #1, and then stay home when we had #2... but I only made it 3 months in the work force. Nic is very hands on (read that as liked to be held A LOT) and was MISERABLE at daycare... and I was MISErABLE knowing he was miserable (probably made worse by me visiting to bf every day at lunch and seeing how the ladies easily ignored crying babies...UGH!!) Note for those looking for daycare: See if the centers will let you spend an hour or two observing the room. It's VERY eye opening!

Are you planning to breastfeed?
Yup. Still nursing Nic, plan to bf this one a year or more too...

Are you planning to co-sleep?
Hmm, probably in the beginning. We coslept with Nic for a while and it made night awakenings soooo much easier...

Are you planning to vaccinate?
Maybe. If we do, it will be a VERY delayed schedule. None til at least 4 months or later.

Are you planning to circumcise a boy?
I hope not. We did with Nic and it was traumatic (more for me than him but oh, those accusing eyes when he got back), but its the one thing that dh feels really strongly about. Hoping its a girl actually, so we don't have to even go there...

Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital)
Hospital. As far as I know there are no fsbc in Jersey, and I don't think I'd qualify, since im going for a vbac.

What's in your birth plan?
As natural as possibly, using hypnosis for pain free childbirth. Its gonna be a struggle, since they have all these rules for vbac :(


Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!)
I'm going to try cloth for the beginning anyway... i bought a bunch of small fuzzibunz last time around but didnt really use them. (i bought them more for #2 when i wasn't working anymore...).

[Orion]

Tipsy: So sorry for your loss.

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

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Nope. Still on Mat leave from #1 but needing to go back to work in order to get another Mat leave but won't be going back after.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes. I am still breastfeeding #1.
Are you planning to co-sleep? No. Baby #2 will sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first month or so just to make breastfeeding easier.
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? No
Where are you planning to give birth? Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Hoping to have DH there during the delivery but he might be away (in the Navy). We are planning to have DH's mother come out to take care of DD and the dog while we are in the hospital. Other than those details, I am hoping to have a natural, unmedicated birth. Had an epi with DD but was also hoping for an unmedicated birth but couldn't handle the pain after being awake for 48 hours.
Cloth or disposible diapers? Please forgive me environment...disposible.

Had my first appointment with my new ob last Thursday and I just love her. We still don't have an official due date because she didn't get the report back from the radiologist but she still thought that 11 weeks sounded right (putting me at 12 weeks now). She tried to find the heart beat but couldn't find one. I would have been freaked out if I didn't have the ultrasound two days before. She said that it is not unusual to not be able to find a heart beat at 11 weeks. With DD they tried at 10 weeks but couldn't find one until I was past 12 weeks. My next appointment is September 15. Hope all is well with everyone. Have a great week.

[Nanner]

Lady1297 - I'm also thinking cloth is going to be *much* cheaper than disposables with two kids, plus I like the fact that it's more ecologically favorable.

Yes, with disposables there are more materials going to landfills. But on the flip-side, you're using more water, electricity and laundry detergent to wash the cloth diapers. So, to me, it's really a toss-up, environmentally.

Thanks, everyone, for the meal tips!

[lady1297]

nanner- I respect your opinions,but I do believe that it has been shown that the processing of disposables is actually more dangerous as far as chemicals and such. And washing diapers is just like wsahing clothes. One wash usually does the trick each time. So it's just like adding a wash load beacuse you are adding a child. And you use 1/4 the laudry soap as a clothing load. So it's much more enviornmentally friendly than say, your own clothes where you use a full scope of detergent each time. I do it for hte cost factor. Tons cheaper than buying diapers weekly for me so I don't even factor hte environmental costs in there. And wow will I be saving money by reusing the diapers I have for Ds on #2. Talk about cheapie, cheapie! hehe!

Tandis- i'd love to help you a bit. Yes, with twins it may be a bit intimidating, but so would the pails of used disposies, it's all relative. I used bleached prefolds and pro-rap and bummis super whisper covers for DS. They were relatively cheap and easy to use. I did just make my girlfriend 3 dozen fitted diapers for her daughter though and those are NICE! But they can get expensive if you are buying diapers from a website. If you make your own (can you sew even a little bit??) It would be really cheap. I think she and I made those 3 doz plus 8 covers for less than $100. now that expense will be for each size (newborn, s, m, l), so your looking at 400 or so dollars. I spent about that buying prefolds and covers for my son and they only come in two sizes, well, three I guess, preemie, newborn and regular. Covers are by n, s, m, l, etc. I LOVE fuzzibunz nad they are by far the most friendly to non-cloth diaperers like aunts/baby sitters/friends. They snap into place and have pockets in them to add inserts that will absorb the pee. They are soft on babies bumms too which is nice for nighttime which is when I use them. PM me if you want even more info. Oh, btw, I ordered mine from www.naturalbabies.com, but there is also www.katieskisses.com which I used for somethings.

[Nanner]

lady; we'll just have to agree to disagree. :)

[lady1297]

nanner-sounds fair enough!! :) Good thing we're adults, huh?!

[Sherb]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Yes. Probably around the 6-8 week post baby mark
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes.
Are you planning to co-sleep? No. We're looking at bassinets for our room to save stumbling down the hall in the middle of the night.
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? I think so - I told my DH that it was his ballgame there.
Where are you planning to give birth? Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Not going to have a birth plan - but will be asking for two things - access to a TV to watch NCAA basketball tourney (if applicable) and an epidural.
Cloth or disposible diapers?disposible.

I had my second OB appt today. It was kinda a snoozer... but I'll take that! Heard the baby's heartbeat with the dopplar, no problem. Got permission from my Dr. to 86 the iron supplements for now. (Like I would have done anything different. Those things make me sick, can't-function-sick.) He'll re-run my iron levels at 20 weeks and if it is still low, he'll come up with a different solution. (The initial bloodwork showed an iron level of 34 where he likes to see at least a 35.) We discussed the AFP test. I think we're leaning against not having it done. We're both healthy, pretty young, and there are no known genetic problems in either of our families.

My next appointment is September 25.

Sorry for your loss, Tipsy.

[Janey]

Tipsy - Talking to someone is a great idea. I hope that if/when you get some answers, you'll let us know what they are. I've been thinking about you all day, and making this face :confused: ... You had all of the "good milestones" and were right there on the edge of the second trimester. I just don't understand it. :(


Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? No. Well, Yes. :p I am a SAHW now; just the last initial will change after the baby is born.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes. The fear of breastfeeding failure scares the crap out of me, however.
Are you planning to co-sleep? No. Bassinet in our room for a while; then we'll move the baby into the crib.
Are you planning to vaccinate? I don't know; probably selectively. I have not started researching this issue.
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? We're undecided on this.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital
What's in your birth plan? I don't have a birth plan yet. I am not gung-ho on going natural; I will probably opt for the epidural. Something in my gut tells me that I'll end up C-section, however.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Disposible. At some point I would like to try gDiapers (http://www.gdiapers.com/), though -- the little gPants are sooo cute! :)

[dollface]

U/S from last week's NT screening. The little nugget seems to be sucking on her hand :)


11 weeks & 3 days, measuing 12 weeks
http://pics.livejournal.com/superdoll/pic/0003f387/s320x320

Got all the NT bloodwork and it came back as:

Trisomy 18 & 13 - 1:4,301
Downs Syndrome - 1:4,584

If it was just the bloodwork, without the u/s, it would have been different for my age:
Tri 18 & 13 - 1:216
Downs - 1:343

The u/s was worth it!

[MarriedaGoalie]

Tipsy: So sorry to hear about your loss. I can't imagine what you went through. I started spotting and cramping this morning and don't know what I would do at this point (since the ultrasound) if something were to happen to my little one. My thoughts are with you and your husband. I know this can't be an easy situation for you guys. :(



Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Yes, I'm only taking 6 weeks off.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yep. I hadn't before I got pregnant, but now I think I am going to.
Are you planning to co-sleep? No, we will definitely be investing in a bassinet for the first few months.
Are you planning to vaccinate? yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes. I definitely will be.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital)? Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Give me drugs!!!
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) Definitely disposable diapers.

[whitlockan]

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? Yes,only taking 6 weeks off.
Are you planning to breastfeed? We will see
Are you planning to co-sleep? Yes and No, going to try a bassinet first
Are you planning to vaccinate? yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes.
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital)? Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Drug me up ;)
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) disposable diapers.

Sorry its so small but the bigger image I cant get the properties to carry over form snapfish properly.

http://images1.snapfish.com/3479%3A8893%7Ffp348%3Evq%3D3278%3E767%3E%3B63%3EWS NRCG%3D3233%3B59778%3A53vq0mrj

[betsyboop]

Sorry, this doesn't have anything to do with anything that anyone is talking about, but I just thought it was funny:

I was grocery shopping yesterday and got to the end of the aisle when a teeny tiny old asian lady was trying to lift a 24pack of water into her carriage. She saw me coming and went "oof, heavy" and put the water back down. I then asked her if she wanted help getting it into her carriage and she said yes. So, there I was, a pregnant woman, doing the heavy lifting for a stranger:p Something's wrong with that picture!

whitlockan- I'm jealous of your smooth, round belly. Mine's all lumpy and odd looking:rolleyes:

[Janey]

Betsy - Don't apologize! I love those sorts of antecdotes. :)

And FWIW, my belly looks like I've swallowed a balloon. :rolleyes: Not the cute tiny little lump that others have, certainly.

[lady1297]

Baby belly-defintily getting one. Def not as cute as Tandis and whitlockan... but if i keep losing weight, I may just end up with one. I'm still losing pounds instead of gaining. Not complaining just wondering why...

[miaclear]

Sorry, this doesn't have anything to do with anything that anyone is talking about, but I just thought it was funny:

I was grocery shopping yesterday and got to the end of the aisle when a teeny tiny old asian lady was trying to lift a 24pack of water into her carriage. She saw me coming and went "oof, heavy" and put the water back down. I then asked her if she wanted help getting it into her carriage and she said yes. So, there I was, a pregnant woman, doing the heavy lifting for a stranger:p Something's wrong with that picture!

ACTUALLY....this weekend I was doing some grocery shopping and bought a 24 pack of bottled water. Manged it in the cart and onto the belt just fine. The lady rings it up and says to me "I have a bad back, can you put this back in your own cart?" I really felt kinda peeved but I guess it's not like I look like I'm pg or anything.

Excited for tomorrows appointment! :D

[mochi]

Tipsy: I'm so sorry for your loss :( You've been in my thoughts!

= = = = =

I just started putting together my belly shots...here I am at 4, 6 and 11 weeks:

http://static.flickr.com/67/228386475_9f5a187610_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56355847@N00/228386475/)

When I looked back at my 1st pregnancy belly shots I was totally showing by 13 weeks, so that's not too far away!

I threw up for the first time last night :( while brushing my teeth, I knew one day it would happen since I gag big time when I brush my teeth. It was not fun :p

Tomorrow is my first ultrasound!! I think someone here said it before...it's like waiting for Christmas morning! I'm just hoping everything is okay in there...

Oh, I have one cute story...my very best friend called me the other day, we had not spoken since July 4th, which is unusual, we usually talk every other day, and email 5x a day!! When I answered the phone she said that my son is going to have a new cousin in March! I was totally laughing, and I said, my son is also going to be a big brother in March!!! Turns out she's due 4 days before me! We hadn't talked for so long because we've both been in hiding sufferering from M/S! The other neat thing is that OUR birthdays are only two days apart. Unfortunately, she lives in Hawaii so playdates will be a little difficult. We used to always joke around and say, how cool would it be if we were pregnant/had a baby at the same time!? And now it's happening :) We were definitely meant to be best buds. Just imagine if we both had girls...they'd be mini versions of us!

[shimmerstar]

I am jealous of your cutie bellies! My belly shots look the same in every picture- fat! I have gained a lot of weight right under my ribs already, which I still can't figure out, so I just have a huge two-part belly!

[Tandis]

Dollface - Your baby looks so - well - babylike! :D I didn't realize that only a couple weeks could make such difference between a blob and a baby on the u/s ;) Aww, how adorable that s/he is sucking on its hand. That's so darn cute! Congrats on getting great results back from your test.

Belly shots - So glad that I'm no longer alone in the belly shots on the front page! :D Everyone looks so cute with their little tummies.

Lady1297 - Thanks for the info re: CD. The majority of what you said, unfortunately, was greek to me, but at least it gives me a good starting point for my research :) I can't sew, but my Mom can, and since she's the one who initially pushed the cloth, I'm sure she wouldn't mind doing it for me. Thanks again - and trust me, as soon as I figure out what to ask, I'll be PM'ing you! ;)

[dollface]

Belly shots! They aren't much but there is something there :)

8 weeks...
http://static.flickr.com/63/228782943_72236d7b66_m.jpg

11 weeks...
http://static.flickr.com/95/228782944_5f6faf6183_m.jpg

I wear the same skirt everytime for pictures because it has a huge drawstring waist which I think I can get away with the entire pregnancy :)

Update: I think my appts. are messed up on the first page. I have one Sept 12th and Oct 10th (not oct. 12th). Sorry!

[Janey]

Dollface - It appears that Livejournal-hosted photos don't work. If you're looking for a photo hosting service, I use Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) and love it.

[happy1nuv]

lady ~ I have a question for ya, if we can go back to the whole cd thing... what do you do with the diapers in between taking them off baby and washing? That was always the part I didnt get...

:)

[lady1297]

happy1nuv- I have a diaper pail in both my bathrooms (first floor and second) and each has a waterproof bag in it. Every other day or so, I grab the two bags and throw them in the wash. When DS was exclusively breasfed, I just took all diapers from his heiny directly to the pail. Once he started food, I would swish the diaper in the toilet (our downstairs toliet was great for this, it is an OLD style toilet with LOTS of water) and fling them into the pail. As he got more into solids, the poop usually just plopped off, so no need to swish. (sorry if that tmi).

tandis- it is intimidating. I had about 30 lists when I was deciding what and how many to buy when I was pregnant with DS. It was scary, but i just bit the bullet and ordered what made most sense to me (prefolds and covers) after looking at three or four sites and their starter packages. That's a great place to start. Naturalbabies.com was the best price for their infant starter kit. You'd just double or triple it (more is better, trust me). There is a new cloth diaper thread (clothe diaper II), maybe you'd be less intimidated. Start reading along. Maybe someone there lives near you and you could hook up for a crash course?

[dollface]

Dollface - It appears that Livejournal-hosted photos don't work. If you're looking for a photo hosting service, I use Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) and love it.

really? that's so weird because I can see them! I will try flickr though since photobucket is terrible.

[happy1nuv]

thanks lady. I really want to make the cloth work this time... last time, i just couldnt figure out how to store them til I had more than 5 at a time to wash...

(vent ahead:)
And ladies... before getting pg, I had SUCH a great diet. Now, if I even think of eating a veggie, I am running to the bathroom... I can handle fruit, but you know what fixes my queasies? Icky, fat-loaded, proccessed food. I'm not talking processed cheese here either.. I'm talking swiss cake rolls and elio's pizza. I haven't eaten this stuff in YEARS... (since the college days). I was actually considering a store run for SPAGHETTIO's. GROSS. What is WRONG with me...UGH! (k, vent over)

[mochi]

Just got back from my ultrasound. Wish I had some information to post here, but at our clinic, the radiology techs are apparently not "allowed" to relay any info to the patient, I have to wait for the doctor to review the results and report back to me. I also wish I can tell you how cute it was to see the baby, but the way the room is set up, I can't see the screen...at all. Had my hubby not asked for a printout of the U/S, I'd never know what the heck the baby looks like right now. And when DH did ask for it she was all bitchy and said "We prefer not to give a printout, but do you want one?" WELL, YAH! OF COURSE WE WANT ONE!

It was a very disappointing experience, so much so I got all emotional in the car and cried...just because I've been waiting for this day, I went through the hassle of drinking all that water and my bladder bursting at the seams, only to be treated this way? UGH! For my 20-week U/S I want to see if I can request a certain Radiology Tech, I've seen the guy who did my U/S's with my first pregnancy around the clinic and while he has to abide by the same rules, he was a lot nicer and saved images for me so that I can see MY BABY.

Hubby did confirm he saw the baby moving and that overall, the images he saw weren't much different than the printout, but still, I would have loved to see my baby move around with my own eyes!

I'll post the U/S image once I get it scanned. And supposedly, I'll be able to see the images online (I have access test results and doctor visits online)...yah, we'll see if that happens. Things could be worse, I know, but I'm just a little bummed, that's all :(

[Kanga]

Tipsy - I am so very sorry for your loss, and of course, you are always welcome here.

Are you planning to go back to work? How soon? I'm a SAHM, so about 2 days after the birth. I'm hoping to leave the hospital earlier than normal, so maybe even 24 hrs after. Dh is training for a promotion that in all likeliness he will get shortly after this one is born. If for some reason it falls through tho, it's back to school for me as we can't survive long on his income and 2 kids.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes, baring any problems
Are you planning to co-sleep? We will use either the pnp or a arm's reach co sleeper until baby is sleeping longer stretches and until we move to a 3br.
Are you planning to vaccinate? Nope
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? No
Where are you planning to give birth? (ie home, FSBC, hospital) Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Water birth if the hospital and dr. will let me, hopefully no drugs, baby to be with me or dh at all times, no vit K unless it's a traumatic birth, hep B, or eye goop, leave ASAP barring any medical problems.
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) cloth if we can afford the startup costs, otherwise disposies. I love the idea of ec (elimination communication) because most are out of diapers by 12-15mo but frankly, I'm just too lazy.:o

Question for you all: I am making up my grocery list right now, and trying to figure out what to do for dinners this week. The problem is, meat is really not appealing to me right now (in fact, the thought makes me nauseous), but my husband is a big carnivore. What have you guys been eating lately? Any ideas for me?

Well, I'm no help but I've been eating a lot of chinese beef and broccoli lately with rice. Unfortunately after I od'd on crab ragoons last pregnancy I still can't bare to even see or smell them, so all chinese must be delivery or home-made. I have also been loving sloppy joe's lately too. There is a vegetarian thread in the cooking forum that might give you some ideas though, or maybe you can go to allrecipes.com - I would think they would have a veggie section.

Cloth diapers - they're really hardly any more time consuming than disposies if at all. After you get the hang of it, they don't take any more time to put on the baby. Then just dump them in a trash can lined with a washable liner if baby is 100% bfed. If not, then there are flushable liners you can buy. If it is only peed on then they can be washed with diapers and reused, if pooped on, then just dump in the toilet. Or there are mini sprayers that can be hooked up to the toilet to spray it off. Instead of taking out the trash can of diapers every couple of days, you just take the bag, dump it inside out into the washer and wash it with the diapers. Most can be either line dried or put in the dryer.

Do you mind giving me a few pointers on CD'ing? Like how many to stock up on? Where's a good place to buy them? What kind you use? I occassionally check the thread in parenting, but it's still just so confusing - plus that thread is super long. Thanks


You'll probably want about 2-3 doz or so per baby for the newborn stage. By the time they're about to grow out of them, you'll have an idea of how many diapers you'll need per day, so just times that by how often you want to wash diapers. Greenmountaindiapers.com was the site I learned the most on for cding. They have pictures of the diaper itself, teh diaper on a baby, and give both the manuf. discription and they're own thoughts on the diapers. We like fuzzibunz the best because they're so easy and have a great re sale value, although you do have to be very careful of the detergent used to wash (we use Sun) You can get them for $10 each new on the fuzzi bunz seconds (although the inserts are seperate) site (i don't have the address, but you'll be able to find it on a google search.

Note for those looking for daycare: See if the centers will let you spend an hour or two observing the room. It's VERY eye opening!

I looked for daycares when I was considering going back to work. For me it was the ones I was just 'meh' about I was really impressed after observing, and the ones I was excited about I was dissapointed and felt like they made their center to be more than what it was. One said they always had a 1-4 for ratio for the babies, but when I went to observe there was only one for about 15 babies. When I asked about it, the one teacher said "well, the other one is at lunch right now, she'll be back in after that.":eek: I think I left skidmarks as I was leaving. After observing in the first one, I refused to sign dd up at any daycare without observing first.

I was actually considering a store run for SPAGHETTIO's. GROSS.


Mmmmm, i may have to get some when I do some shopping this afternoon. I haven't had those in forever.

I had a dr. appt yesterday and according to the dr. I'm a pretty boring patient medically which was really good to hear. We declined all genetic tests. We were undecided on one, but it turns out our insurance doesn't cover it anyways. I've now gained 2 pounds which puts me at about -8 total. I'm very petite to begin with so I was glad to hear I had gained some instead of losing. We opted to do the big u/s a little later than normal so I would have something to do while waiting for the GTT (at this office you drink the juice type stuff then wait an hour for a blood draw). It's one less appt to go to and one less day dh has to get out of work.

The hospital I delivered dd at recently built an entire new L&D wing and had their grand opening about a week ago. I am so in love I have to brag for a mintue. :p Both the delivery and recovery rooms are good size (about the size of a small -medium bedroom) and the corner ones are HUGE. Bigger than the average bedroom. I'm hoping to get that one:D They had wood floors in the rooms (well, they weren't really wood, but probably the snap in laminate kind), decent sized beds, and the larger rooms had double beds. A pull-out futon (rather than a pull out chair they used to have - dh is very happy about that), whirlpool tubs in the delivery rooms, and fridges in the recovery rooms. Oh and they also have room service whenever you want it for both mom and labor partnerrather than picking from 2 meals at the set times only for mom as the old one did. Did I mention I love it?!

ETA - Mochi we cross posted - so sorry to hear about your u/s - I'd be upset too. I never have understood why they don't position the screens so that the patient can see them.

[goldengbridge]

My nuchal went well and they said things looked good but they'll call once they get the bloodwork back! I'm releived! The baby was moving all around and sucking on its fingers! So cute! Here's a pic-
heartrate was 162 and sounded great! Sorry to big!


http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i125/prugh12/baby001.jpg

[miaclear]

Just got back from my appt. Everything was good. I gained 3lbs which was good...swear it feels like I gained 10! We heard the HB, 165 bpm!

[happy1nuv]

mochi ~ Sorry your appt was so awful. What was that tech thinking??? Ugh... don't they think that mom would be EXCITED to see the baby, even if they can't comment on what you see??? Ugh...

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here!

Goldengbridge - If youc an resize that photo, I'll stick it in with the ultrasounds at the top, there. If you can't get Photobucket to work, I recommend Flickr (http://www.flickr.com). It will save various sizes of your photos for you automagically.

[dollface]

mochi -sorry your appt. sucked :( With our regular u/s I could barely see the screen but with the n/t u/s they gave me these weird glasses that mirrored what was on the screen. Maybe you can ask for a re-do?

goldenbridge - glad to hear everything went well!

[mochi]

Here's the ultrasound image from today:

http://static.flickr.com/84/229740862_1b965f01d7_o.jpg

A little alien-like, but cute :)

Thanks dollface, kanga and happy1nuv..I felt pretty bothered all day long about my experience, but I'm snapping out of it now. I just wish the doctor would call me so I'd know that everything looked okay. I'm sure everything is fine, though.

goldengbridge: glad all went well with the N/T!!

kanga: the new L&D wing sound nice! i like the room service thing. With my DS, I was starving at 2am. To my surprise, the nurses brought me a sandwich and lots of snacks, but having full-on room service is a nice thing to have!

[pewee9196]

Good Morning
Tons of great pictures! My appt yesterday was long but good. We were lucky that instead of just trying to hear the HB she did a quick ultrasound. DH was very happy about that. That is not the norm for the military so I am really happy. Everything is going well. I have gained 1.75 lbs. I will post pix later.

Wow, what a nice L and D!!

Mochi- We have been told to expect exactly what you went through when we do our 20 Wk ultrasound. They say the tech has no bed side manner and really dislikes patients. I think it stinks that hospitals woudl keep people like that around. I hope you can get your old one for your next one!

[lady1297]

mochi, I have very strong feelings about ow one should be treated in a hospital. And because of that, I would highly recommend lodging a complaint. I would just write a letter about how you were treated and how it doesn't seem that these are 'normal' ways to be treated during this time of your life. Nothing may come of it, but then again, maybe sit will wakwen them to a problem...

[MrsKinnison]

Had my apt today!! First, let me say that I absolutely love my midwife!!! DH wants to find a way to make sure she is the one to deliver the baby no matter what. She is funny, warm, sensitive, and just so happy & smiley all the time.

Anyway, she warned us that they just start listening for the h/b at 12 weeks, and that it can take a little time to find this first time. If she doesn’t find it, she said not to worry and that she will just tilt my uterus up a little. So, she puts it on my belly and there it was!! No searching or moving. As soon as it touched my stomach we could hear it loud and clear. It was the most wonderful sound in the world & of course I cried!!!

Other good news, I’ve only gained 1lb since my last apt. Big relief since the way my old pants fit now I would have sworn it was at least 15lbs :D

[ladybug0525]

Gosh I haven't been here in forever, I am heading to my second OB appt at 11weeks right now. Hope everyone is feeling better! Everyone's bellies are cute will have to take some pictures here soon since I have been a slacker in this second pregnancy!

Are you planning to go back to work? Debating right now, I get 10 weeks full pay but will take 12 weeks off no matter what. A business opportunity has presented itself so hoping that pans out and I would not return to work.
Are you planning to breastfeed? Yes, no doubt!
Are you planning to co-sleep? No
Are you planning to vaccinate? Yes
Are you planning to circumcise a boy? Yes
Where are you planning to give birth? Hospital
What's in your birth plan? Repeat C-section
Cloth or disposible diapers (or other!) - disposible

My due date is March 20th, I am listed 2X for some reason.

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here!
Sorry about that, Ladybug -- it's fixed now!


Also - I'm going to be working on setting up the 2nd Trimester thread this afternoon. Please don't post in it until tomorrow -- I want to get with the other threadmistresses to make sure I'm not missing anything. :o If anybody has anything they want to add to the new thread -- post it here!

[MrsKinnison]

Seems I have 2 due dates too, the 13th & 14th...the 13th is the correct one. I also forgot to add before that my next apt is October 2nd.

[lady1297]

Speaking of the 'other threadmistress', I've been seriously lousy at updating. Is there anyone out there with time that they want to use to take the position?? I'll stay on otherwise, but I hate for one of us to be slacking and other doing all the work... :)thanks gals!

[March2007Mommies]

Fixed, MrsK!

If no one else wants to help, I think between Miaclear and me (MrsHill) we have things covered ... but if anyone is itching to update, fine w/ me! :)

[lady1297]

Thanks MrsHill. I just didn't want anyone to feel overwhelmed. I'll still help update. I just don't seem to be on long enough often enough...:)

[March2007Mommies]

The New Thread is Open! (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24356)
Please take a moment to look over your information in the first few posts to make sure it is correct. There are a few of us missing fromthe Due Dates section, so if you look through there and don't see your name, please post your Due Date in Red when you check in, and it'll be added.

Also, when checking in with the new thread, please check in with this new information (if you'd like to, of course!):

1) Update your Gender Predictions! It'll be fun to see if women's intuition holds true.
2) Let us know what Team you'd like to be a member of.

Team Blue = Having a boy
Team Pink = Having a girl
Team Green = Having a surprise
Team Yellow = Don't know the gender yet.


I'll have a mod lock this thread. Looking forward to seeing everyone over in TRIMESTER TWO (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24356)! :D

[jennylou]

Thread closed per request.