March 2007 Mamas: Trimester Two!

[betsyboop]

QOTD: 9/22 ~ I'm definitely taking the childbirth class offered at the hospital where I'm delivering. There is a tour of the maternity ward included in that. Then, my ob office advises that people take the infant cpr course, so we might as well do that too. I'm thinking of breastfeeding and know nothing about it, so I may take that class. And then I also might take the one on taking care of a baby because I have NO experience with babies at all. (I've never changed a diaper in my life and I generally shy away from holding other people's newborns.)

I have another question for you guys- does anyone else feel like they're getting dumber by the day? Over the last week or 2, my IQ has definitely dropped noticably! I used to read a lot- like a couple of novels a week. Now I can barely get through a light chick-lit book before it's due back at the library because I simply can't concentrate long enough. I tried to use the vcr last night and I literally couldn't get it to work and had to call DH, who was at a Rex Sox game, to talk me through it. There are tons of other examples and DH is constantly laughing at me about it:p Anyone else?

[Janey]

Re: IQ On The Down-Turn - Betsey, I'm soooo glad I'm not the only one dealing with this! :p I am doing the stupidest stuff lately. I went downtown last week to meet B for lunch, and almost turned the wrong way down 5th Avenue!! How many times have I driven down 5th ave?! About a million! If someone hadn't been crossing the street and made the "no no you can't turn this way!" sign at me, I totally would've done it, too. There have been so many others that they're hard to list for you... but believe me, they're there.

B read in his The Expectant Father book that I'm supposed to be 'turning inward' and just chalks it up to that.


QOTD: 9/22 ~ What classes are you going to take through either you OB office or the hospital to prepare for the arrival/birth of your child(ren)?
My hospital has this thing called the "Baby Club" where you pay $199 and can take as many classes as you want for 1 year. We're planning on paying the fee, since just the Childbirth Prep class alone is $95, and there are a few others we're interested in. We're hoping to sign up for:
- Six-Week Childbirth Prep Series (we may also take another one called "Coping With Confidence" about labor since I'm completely freaked out about it but I don't know)
- Newborn Care
- Breastfeeding
- Newborn Preparation Seminar
- Infant CPR

There are a couple of prenatal exercise classes included as well, and I am planning on going to them -- one is "Baby Your Body Pregnancy Education Clases" .. and the other is just "Prenatal Exercise."

Of course, all of this assumes that schedules will allow it. :)

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to Here!

[Brink]

QOTD - Classes - Since DD is only a year old, everything is still pretty fresh - so no classes here.

Lady1297 - make sure to check and see if you can bring your son with you. I think many of the specialist offices don't allow more than one person and they don't allow children. Just my experience so far.

[dollface]

Dumbing down - definitely a little bit but it tends to be more of forgetfillness and clumsiness. Everytime I post in my LJ I had to preview it beforehand because my typos are out of control!

[lady1297]

Brink-Thanks for the concern, but our ultrasound is just at the local hospital, so it shouldn't be an issue at all. I will double check, but all the times I've been to various hospitals medical imaging departments with friends, my son has come too without issue.

[goldengbridge]

Hi girls!

We got home on Wed night. What a long two weeks! Surgery went well but Andrew developed plueral effusions (fluid around his lungs) and needed 2 extra chest tubes inserted. He still has a moderate amount of fluid that we're watching closely. There is a chance that if the fluid doesn't start to go down soon he may have to be re admitted but we're hoping and praying for the best. Its going to be a long recovery but we're all just so happy to be home!

I'm reading along but probably won't be able to post much. I had a perinatal appointment and it looks like this baby has a four chamber heart- YEAH! I have my fetal echo scheduled in 2 1/2 weeks. I just hope this babe's heart is perfectly healthy!

Other than being exhausted I'm doing ok. Its just going to take some time to get back to normal life. I hope everyone is well!

Jen

[dollface]

goldenbridge - so glad you checked in! I was actually coming in here to see if anyone had heard from you recently. Great news on the u/s! I hope Andrew has an uneventful recovery and is feeling better soon :)

[MrsKinnison]

goldenbride, I'm so happy you are back and things went well. Hopefully they will continue to go well too!!

Dumbing down, YES! I am so forgetful it is ridiculous! I figure this baby is going to be really smart because they are sucking the IQ out of me!!! I had the same theory about hair too ~ sucked the life out of mine, so obviously is going to have great hair :D

QOTD~ Holy Crap, classes??? I mean yes, I definately plan to take something, but I don't even know what, when, or where they are. I guess I better get on that, huh???

[MarriedaGoalie]

QOTD: I haven't even thought about classes!! Is that bad?! :(

[shimmerstar]

I wasn't planning on really taking any classes. Tell me if I'm crazy. They offer childbirth classes and probably breastfeeding classes around here. I have read a ton about both and watched informational movies, and read up on the net. I have a feeling I will have a c-section anyway, so I don't know if I really need those. Maybe I will if my doctor says "you are not having a c-section". Every time I read about something and then take a class on it, I am frustrated because I already know what they are talking about. Plus I'm not a social person at all.

[Nanner]

Classes: Since we took everything last time around, we won't take any, except maybe CPR. We didn't get to that one before, and I think it's pretty important to know how to administer CPR to your child.

Dumb: I don't feel like I ever even got my mind back after my first pregnancy!

goldenbride: I'm so glad everything went well! I hope the fluid clears out soon. Thanks for updating us.

Things with me are good. I've been laid up with a cold all week, so I'm pretty exhausted. I've also been having insomnia really badly. So between insomnia, the cold, being pregnant, and chasing around a 16 mo. old, I'm tired!

[MrsKinnison]

Questions....

For those of you who have mentioned they are most likely having a c-section, how do you know already. Is it something the Dr has talked to you about, or just a hunch? I'm just wondering because sometimes I think I know a lot less than lots of you!

Is this the baby moving around? I assume that it is, but since I am a newbie at all this and still in quite a bit of awe by all of this and I love to have it confirmed by all you RO's!! The last few nights when I lay down I have had a hard ball or "lump" (for lack of a better word) down low near my pubic bone. This morning when I woke up the "lump" had moved up just below my belly button. So tell me, this really is the baby moving around in there right???

[buffy]

shimmerstar ~ The only thing I got out of my classes was learning about the different stages of labor and what was involved in a contraction. I was hoping to get through labor without any pain medication so that was helpful. I'm sure I could have gotten that all from a book just as easily so I don't think you're crazy. It was kind of fun to go through the experience of classes but in the end I don't think it helped me with labor one bit except to be able to tell when a contraction was at it's peak and when it was tapering off.

MrsKinnison ~ I am assuming that is what I'm feeling too! But even though I'm a RO I'm not sure. I was going to ask my SIL who is a L&D nurse but I felt stupid so I didn't. :)

[happy1nuv]

dumbing down ~ Oh YEA!!! I don't think I ever got my brain back to where it was before Nic, so I'm even further behind the eight ball.. I won't even START to share stories...

C-sections: As someone who had a c-section the first time around -- just know that if you allow a c-section the first time, the next time you go to deliver a child, you are given SO MANY restrictions... but, if you DO happen to end up with it - make sure you take the recovery meds on schedule while you are in the hospital... my nurses were wonderful and they shared that once you let them wear off and feel the pain, they just aren't as effective. I think that helped my recovery speed up A LOT (I stopped prescription meds when I left the hospital, and only took advil (or whatever, i forget which one) for a few days... (worded badly... I know that you only have so much control, and sometimes the decision is taken out of your hands...)

[Kanga]

QOTD classes - I'm leaning towards a drug free delivery this time. Last time was an epidural (two actually as the first numbed me up to my thighs only:rolleyes: ) and phenerol so I'm looking into bradley or lamaze classes. The first time around we took a 6week childbirth class, breastfeeding and newborn care. The newborn care class was cmpletely useless, even for dh. I knew how to hold a newborn, what to feed them, how often to change and didn't care about circ care as we already knew we were having a girl. The breastfeeding class was useful for preparing to bfed but not actually on learning how. Actually I don't think it covered anything on actually bfing except different holds, but had much more info on pumps, bras, shells, shields, etc.

scheduled C-sections and epidurals- For those scheduling c-sections or planning on getting an epidural ASAP, you might want to consider reading up on relaxation techniques and how to deal with contrax just in case the baby decides to come before the scheduled date. By the time that you realize you are in fact in labor, you and the drs. get to the hospital, they set the room up, etc etc it could be a couple hours. Or in the case of epidural as soon as you arrive...they don't always take for everyone and sometimes the anesthesiolgist can get tied up in emergencies so it could be awhile before you get relief.

dumber by the day - I don't think I've gotten my brain back from my first pg

MrsKinnison– The hard lump is your baby/uterus, so yup, definitely has moved. Your uterus gradually moves from below your pubic bone to clear up to (and feels like under) your ribs towards the end of pregnancy.

Shimmerstar – Dh and I are so not readers, definitely need hands-on/visual type stuff to learn things so the classes were pretty helpful to us especially for relaxation techniques. So if you’re the type to learn things on your own by books and manuals, then you’ll be fine. I don’t think I learned anything in the childbirth classes that I couldn’t have found on the net)

[lady1297]

Mrs. Kinnison- yeah, that is your uterus. It moves a bit with gravity downward throughout the day. I never noticed this the first time around, but didn't sleep on my tummy at this point either. And I do notice it daily with this one. Just wait til you feel the baby moving inside- you'll LOVE it!

[Nanner]

The breastfeeding class was useful for preparing to bfed but not actually on learning how. Actually I don't think it covered anything on actually bfing except different holds, but had much more info on pumps, bras, shells, shields, etc.

See, our breastfeeding class was very informative, as far as how to do it. We had the little fake baby, and a fake nipple and all of that stuff. They actually even suggested the fathers come--since breastfeeding can be so difficult at first, and the mother can be going through so many emotions, it helps to have another person there that has learned how to do it, and can help--and also just for support.

You first timers that want to breastfeed, or even if you're on the fence, I would def. take a breastfeeding class. It was the only class I took the entire time that I felt was really worth it.

[littlemia]

Thanks for the welcome!

QOTD: Classes- We're taking the classes required by the birth center. Beyond that, I don't know. I haven't decided if I'm going to do Bradley or hynobabies or what but there's only one provisionally affiliated Bradley instructor in my area and I don't know of any for hypnobabies. I'll probably just end up trying to learn the pain management techniques on my own.

Mrs. Kinnison- I've been obsessed with my uterus from the time I could feel it at about 12 weeks. I've also noticed that the shape changes during the day. Sometimes it feels kind of low and wide and other times it's a lot higher and feels like a big ball. It's weird, isn't it?

[dollface]

For those of you who have mentioned they are most likely having a c-section, how do you know already. Is it something the Dr has talked to you about, or just a hunch? I'm just wondering because sometimes I think I know a lot less than lots of you!

I already had a c-section with my first as my hips would not budge (spread) during 15 hours of labor. Although it was many years ago, my doctor and I discussed it and we are both comfortable with me having another c-section. No part of me wants to go through a horrible labor all over again only to be told in the end that a c-section is necessary.

[miaclear]

My hospital offers so many classes and it's so convenient to me (the hospital is 2 miles from our house and happens to be next door to my office) so I plan on signing up for a lot of them. This being our first baby I want all the knowledge I can get, and if it's knowledge that I already have at least I'll meet new moms to be in the area. Plus I love class...it makes me feel like I'm back in college in a dorky way....aside from I didn't study breast feeding in college :rolleyes:

For Sure:
Hospital orientation and tour
Breasfeeding Class
Prenatal Aerobics
Infant CPR
Baby Care Class


Possibilities:
Methods of Mothering - eight week class on your baby from birth to year one. Taken after your baby is born.
Grandparenting Seminar - if availabe when my parents are down here I'll ask them to go. SO many things have changed since they were new parents 30 years ago.
New Dad's Boot Camp - given DH will attend Baby Care Class with me he likely won't go to this but I'll offer it.
Grandparent CPR - I HOPE this one is available while they are down here.

[Tandis]

Classes - How does everyone find out what classes are being offered? Does your Dr. tell you, or do you call the hospital to find out? So far, I haven't heard of anything, but maybe I'm not far enough along yet.

C-section - I haven't mentioned it, but more than likely I'll probably end up having one. With twins, it's more likely, but really it depends upon how the babies are positioned.

IQ - Yeah, I'm getting dumber -- and more forgetful. Pregnesia has so majorly kicked in, it's not even funny.

Goldengbridge - Glad your son is doing better. Hope that fluid leaves soon, and they give him a clean bill of health. Yay for everything looking good so far with #2.

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

I have an u/s scheduled for tomorrow with my OB, with the results next week. Is this normal? I'm so used to specialists who do the u/s themselves, that I'm not used to waiting to hear from the Dr.

Speaking of specialists, I also have an appt. next week with my peri to do my 14week appt. So I'll be seeing the babies twice in about a week! :D And this time, since we know a little better what to expect, DH will be accompanying me to both.

[miaclear]

Tandis....My Dr gave me a Maternity Program booklet for the hospital I will deliver at. It has info on their rooms and certain policies as well as the classes they offer. I plan on talking with my Dr at my appt this next Wed and likely signing up for classes after that.

[happy1nuv]

tandis ~ if your hospital has a website, they might be listed there...otherwise your dr's office should have a list or at least a number you can call to find out what is offered...

littlemia ~ hypnobabies.com has a home study course. It's pretty comprehensive (I read a few books in addition to it though for background info, so not sure how comprehensive the actual info is... the techniques/hypnobabies specific stuff is what I'm talking about more here) ... and I really liked it. It's a lot - you read something every week, then listen to 2 recordings a day...one is just affirmations (you are going to have a great pregnancy and birth type thing) and the other is actually an exxercise in prep for birthing... Take that for what it's worth though...I ended up with a c-section the first time around because I didn't listen to my intuition (bad word, sorry...cant think of a better one) when I thought Nic was turning... instead of paying attention to the lil voice, I made jokes and ignored it. Til I got to the hospital and they gave me meds to stop Nic from coming out cause he was breech and I was too far along/fast til they could get me to the OR. Ugh...

goldeng ~ I'm so glad your son is doing so well... hopefully he continues to speed towards a full recovery!!

[lady1297]

Goldenng-I hope your son is doing better this week. I've been thinking and praying for you daily.

Whitlockan- Just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you.

IQ- Yep, more forgetful and dumber in general. Frustrating.

Food/drink- how is everyone doing on their 'pregnancy diet' and water requirements??? I'm dying here. It's just not going well at all. I've gained another pound in the last week or so. I know this is the time to gain, but it is frustrating as I had lost over 25 pounds since DS was born. It's hard for me to change gears. And it's like I forget all that I have learned while changing my eating habits and regressed to eating bad foods. Any ideas??

[shimmerstar]

Lady, my diet has been atrocious lately. I told someone that I didn't think it was possible to eat worse than I was before I was pg. NOTHING sounds good, and if something does, it's something awful like a donut or fried chicken. I take my prenatals and extra folic, plus extra calcium. I try to eat fruit once a day but sometimes I just can't. I worry that I'm hurting the baby, but can't seem to force myself to eat any better. I will only eat one type of salad, from Panera, which is all the way across town. I buy healthy things and they rot in the fridge while I eat cereal and pizza rolls. :mad:

[Daniel's Kitty]

de-lurking

Lady, if you start gaining to much can I borrow some? I have been eating everything and can't gain weight (I would love it to be like this without pg, but chasing a toddler has killed any possible weight gain).

[buffy]

Add me to the list of people who eat bad foods! Sweets just sound so much better than salads. And I'm STARVING all the time. I had a bowl of cereal this morning, then 2 hours later I had to eat so I made a fried egg and cheese on an english muffin and even though I just finished it 30 minutes ago I'm wondering what I can inhale next. I'm trying not to worry about my weight so much this time. With DD1 I gained 50 pounds and lost it all within 4 months and with DD2 I gained 35 (probably more because I didn't let her weigh me at my last appt. :) ) and I lost it all within 2-3 months. But I wish for once I could gain in just my belly (and boobs) and not my butt, thighs and arms!

[MrsKinnison]

Okay, so I just read that from weeks 16 to whatever the end of the second trimester is we are going/s'posed to gain 1lb a week ~ eek!!!

As far as eating, I have become soooo picky. I can hardly eat meat at all, and really have to work at finding balanced nutritios things to eat. I seriously could live on bread, cheese, and eggs. I still like fish okay, but I can't make dh eat that everyday!

How's everyone doing belly wise? I still don't have much of one and really thought I would by now....

[MommyinPA]

Happy Monday!

I have a belly shot but I don't know how to post it. :( Help!

Eating: I have already gained over 11 pounds. I gained 55 with my last pregnancy, but lost it all within 5 months. I haven't been exercising due to exhaustion, and I eat like a pig. I am TRYING to be more careful. It's not working well. I am very conscious about my weight so I am confident I will lose it all for the third time and I don't stress about it now. I am normally almost 5'8 and under 140 so my doctor never said a word about my weight gain last time. And at my 6 week pp visit I had lost 30 of the 55 pounds! (I only lost about 8 pounds from the delivery.....all baby!)

Buffy: Most of my weight gain has been inmy butt and hips. From the waist up I don't look heavy, but from the waist down I am an Oompa Loompa.

IQ: Oh please, I have a 13 month old still not sleeping through the night still! I am lucky to make it through the day without totally flaking out at some point!

C-Section: Never had one. Hopefully won't this time either. Not that I look forward to the excruciating pain again, but at least with my second it was a lot faster! :) He made it out even before the doctor made it to my room. Thank god for nurses!

[whitlockan]

Tandis its very overwhelming but on my first OB appointment the nurse handed me a folder flooded with information, thats where I got what I needed and then to top it off they bug you everytime you go in about all this stuff. It has EVERYTHING you could imagine in it, from md state child safety laws for carseats to gosh you name it its in there.

Food ladies I'm a VERY bad pregnant woman!! As we speak I'm sitting here eating Mac and Cheese XL Easy Mac!! Gosh but I've been trying to do better, but honestly I am eating worse than I have ever ate before!! Drinking, huh yeah I hardly am drinking, I know dont yell at me, but gosh cold water sometimes makes me feel gaggy and who wants to drink warm right. I'm trying to do better but its so hard because good foods taste soooooooo bad!!

Sample of my morning:

6:00 am: Plain bagel w/whipped cream cheese
9:00 am: Bowl of Big Bite Frosted Mini Wheats
12:00 am: Bowl of Easy Mac XL packet (I know bad)

Now I'm considering eating my apple with carmel sauce and go home around 3 so i get home in time to eat somethign else. If I dont eat when I get hungry I start to gag really bad! Anyone else have that? I used to be an anorexic for 7 years and food was my enemy but man I've never loved food so much in my LIFE!!

Belly I have to put mine in a series tonight but man over the course of a weekend my belly has really grown, I actually look pregnant somewhat now!!

Me I'm doing well, being civil with my "husband" and just living with him until the baby is born and on a sleeping pattern, he is doing stuff for me like updating and remodeling my condo, which I'm sure I'll end up staying in whether he agrees to pay for it while I live in it or not, trying to talk my parents into helping me buy his half out but I dont know, we will see. I'm feeling so overwhelmed with everything there is to do with baby, I was thinking I only have 5 months left :eek: where did all the time go, feels like just yesterday I found out, but no that was 10 weeks ago.

Have a great day ladies!!

[happy1nuv]

whitlocan ~ {{HUGS}} ... don't know what else to say, but I'm thinking of you and hoping all turns out as best as possible...

Food ~ Add me to the list of bad eaters. I can eat a caesar salad(bottled dressing) and try to do that 3-4 times a week. Last night I was able to eat broccoli (a whole 4 pieces)... so I think I'm on the road to recovery...but, at my low point (and, I'm not sure I'm past it) ...I actually WENT to the market for (gasp, hiss) spaghettio's -- and i'm ITALIAN. We don't do sauce in a jar, let alone pasta in a CAN (no offense to anyone that eats either... ) (sshhh...only my 16 month old knows this...and he ain't talking...)
I'm not even taking my prenatal right now (although I think I'm gonna try that again tomorrow...we'll see how tonight goes) I finally reached a breaking point though. I'm sick of eating terribly and feeding my family terribly...so, I made out a weekly menu and went grocery shopping today. I'm determined to stick to it...even if I don't end up eating much of it. At least dh and nic can eat better...

[Nanner]

Eating--ugh, my eating has been bad. I went to lunch with some former coworkers today. One had grilled chicken breast w/ veggies & rice, one had fish w/ veggies & rice. I had a club sandwich and fries. :rolleyes: But just looking at their lunches made me queasy. On the plus side, at least my appetite is still pretty small, so my portions have been very reasonable.

[Janey]

Re: Food - My diet has also been in the crapper lately. We've been eating out way too much. Stuff keeps happening -- either we're out of town, or people are in town and we go out and meet them, etc. Restaurant food is usually both high in sodium & in calories, and so of course my weight is shooting up like a rocket. *sigh*

Re: Classes - I'm glad I'm not the only one who actually likes the idea of going to all the classes she can. I kind of feel the same way about them as miaclear does - going to class make me feel smart & educated. :p

Re: Uploading Pictures - MommyInPA - You'll need an account with a photo hosting site (Flickr & Photobucket are two popular ones, but there are probably others). You can upload your photos there and then link them into here by clicking the "sun and mountain" icon above the text box, and pasting the photo's URL in there. Let me know if you need any help.


Had the ultrasound this morning -- everything looks fantastic. :D I am measuring 18.1 weeks, and I am 18w1d today, so that is perfect. Also - they didn't find any markers which I am glad for! I had an OB appointment just after my ultrasound. My blood pressure was lower than last time so I don't need drugs (yet?) which is great. I did tell my Dr. that I was worried about my weight gain and he has set me up with a nutritionist to help me figure out what I can do. I am looking forward to joining WW after the bambino is born but I really don't want to dig the hole any deeper than I have to.

Here is the Ultrasound I'll add to the first page when I get a minute:
http://static.flickr.com/103/252578307_280e19b0d3.jpg?v=0

Three other ultrasound photos to share:
- Left Profile (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/252578253/in/photostream/) (not as clear as Right Profile, but you can still see what's going on)
- Foot (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/252578211/in/photostream/)
- Facing Front (http://www.flickr.com/photos/seahills/252578137/in/photostream/), AKA the "Alien Baby" shot.

[lady1297]

Okay, so I just read that from weeks 16 to whatever the end of the second trimester is we are going/s'posed to gain 1lb a week ~ eek!!!


That makes me feel a BIT better. But still. I hate gaining weight.
Janey, that is one cute baby. I love the profile shots. DS's was the alien baby head on shot and I honestly hate it. It doesn't look right at all. Poor kiddo.

[betsyboop]

Tandis- Like someone else said, my doctor gave me a huge packet of info at my first appointment that included all kinds of stuff of diet, approved drugs, important phone numbers and the list of classes offered at my hospital. If they hadn't given that packet to me, I'd have no idea about the classes yet either.

I read that about gaining a pound a week now too:eek: That seems like so much! I have my next appointment on Wed, so I'll be interested to find out how much I've gained since my last visit at 12w.

One thing I'm definitely surprised about is how long it takes to get an honest-to-goodness baby belly. I'm almost 17w now and I still just look thick around the middle. A stranger would never assume that I'm pregnant. On the one hand, it sucks to look fat, but on the other hand, I'm glad it takes a while to get to that uncomfortable stage- it's a mixed bag, I guess.

Like the rest of you, I'm definitely not eating as healthy as I did before finding out I'm pregnant, but I'm not that bad. I still like veggies and I can't get enough fruit, it seems. But I think I've had more fast food during this pregnancy than I did in the 5 years before it:o I mean, I probably eat fast food once a week now. It's awful!

[littlemia]

happy1nuv, I'm going to look into that hypnobabies homestudy. I got interested in hypnosis during childbirth after I watched some Dateline special when I was a teenager. But, I don't know if I'm a good candidate. I've never been able to get into meditation or yoga or anything like that, so I don't know if this will work for me.

Diet- I'm doing pretty well, I think. Definitely not perfect, but fruit and salads are really appealing now and greasy, fatty foods seem gross which is good. I eat a lot of cheese and crackers, though, which are only okay nutrition-wise. Unfortunately, I've already gained quite a bit of weight (8.5lbs at 14 weeks). And it's not all in the belly, either. I'm pretty frustrated and depressed about it but I'm trying not to stress too much. I hoping that it will slow down at some point.

Add me to the list of those without a baby belly. I thought I was starting to show last week, but I think it was just bloat. I'm not enjoying this just looking fat stage.

Janey, congratulations on having a great u/s! I can't wait for mine in a few weeks.

[shimmerstar]

I think I've gained about 11 pounds since getting pg. Today a lady said I look "Huge!". Guess what shirt I won't be wearing again. It isn't even a maternity shirt! I mean, I know I'm showing some, but huge? Gah! I will have to find a belly pic to post. I promise I'm not huge.

Speaking of bad eating, I just pigged out on mini candy bars on the way home. I bought them for treat day tomorrow and decided I needed some. Now I feel sick and dinner doesn't sound good either.

[miaclear]

Food: Ugh....Someone else said it before but I didn't think it was possible to eat worse than I did before I was pg. I guess the good thing is that I didn't go from eating really good foods to eatting bad foods. Just eating bad foods to eating more bad foods. Otherwise who knows how much I could have gained by now. Fortunatly I am a person who gains the majority of my weight in my belly. Even before I was pg I swear I looked like I was. Now I look like I could have my baby any day....well maybe not but you get the picture.

I have the greatest intentions and when I go to the grocery store I stock up on the good stuff but I seem to always find my way to McDonalds at least 3 times a week. Here's today's diet for anyone who wants to not feel so bad about theirs.

Breakfast:
Granola Bar
OJ
10 peanut M&Ms

Snack
Yogurt

Lunch (we had an office meeting and this is what was provided or I may have well gone to McDs)
BBQ Briskett
Mashed Potatos
coleslaw
beans
roll
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Coke

Dinner:who knows but I'm sure it'll not be the best.

My mom keeps telling me how she gained an awful 40 pounds during her pregnancies. She seems to not realize that things have changed and my Dr now would be completly fine if I gained 35. I think she's horrified that I'll gain more than 20. Yikes. Now I had a friend who gained 90 and that might be going overboard. Amazingly she lost it all in just over a year! That's willpower!

[MarriedaGoalie]

All I've eaten today is a Healthy Choice dinner at lunch. Is it bad if I am getting less than 1,000 calories a day? I really need to start eating better.... :(

[pewee9196]

Whitlocken- Tons of hugs your way!!

Food- I am horrible. I look at your meals and you all look pretty good. I eat small but lots of small!! Let me see if I can remember
5am
organic shredded wheat 2 homeade oatmeal cookies
7- banana and kashi granola bar
950- part of an apple - too sour (that is new for me!!)
1130 amy's frozen enchiladas
1230- 3-4 oatmeal cookies
230 huge gatorade
peanut mms
315 granola bar
5 tomatoe
3 okra pickles
630 pasta with red sauce

I am not good at eating meals. I graze all day. Maybe that is why I am getting a belly besides the pg!

[Tandis]

Real quick because my Dad is coming to pick me up in a few minutes to go get my brother from the airport:

Had my 13w u/s with my normal OB today. Babies look fantastic. Bert was moving around like crazy, while Arnie was just chillin', looking at the camera and sucking his/her hand. Too freakin' cute. Both are now 3 oz, but the tech didn't give me a crown-rump size.

Anyone know if there is a good place to see what the general weight of the baby should be at this point? I think 3 oz. sounds great, but I'm curious as to what a "normal" singleton would be.

[MrsKinnison]

Why isn't dinner ready yet??? Oh, seems I never turned the burner on!

[MarriedaGoalie]

LOL, MrsKinnison!!! You're definitely preggo!!! :)

[dollface]

Food - I can't say I've been all that good about food. I eat cereal for breakfast - either Raisin Bran or MultiGrain Cherrios - but it's all down hill after that...

8:00 - Raisin Bran
9:30 - 12:30: snack on trail mix (about 1 cup total)
1:30: mashed potatoes
3:30: 5 pieces of snack size dry salami
4:00: bite of pumpkin spice cake and half a can of cherry Coke
6:30: chips and salsa

Now I am deciding what (if anything) to eat for dinner. I am also only had about 35 oz. of water today and 16 oz. of Gatorade.

[pewee9196]

Mrs Kinnison!
I have done that so many times!! I am glad to hear it is not just me!!

[ieducate]

Hello. I just wanted to stop in and say a quick hello. My in-laws have been here since Friday and things have been super crazy at work. I am sorry I have not been posting and keeping up. I have been reading the posts whenever I can though. Sounds like everyone is doing well. :) I had my 13plus week check-up yesterday where they listened to the h/b on a doppler and measured my tummy. I was hoping for an u/s so I could see the baby, but I am content knowing that he/she is doing fine. I have another appt. on October 23rd for another check-up and then I will have my 20 week less than 3 weeks later. :) I can't wait for that one. My question for today is: Did anyone have the tripple screen test? I did not have the nuchal translucency and now my ob is asking about the tripple screen. Can't decide what to do. Any thoughts? My dh wants me to have the test done. Anyway, have to get to work, which is killing me these days. I love working with kids, but I am still really exhausted all of the time and all I really want to do right now is go back to sleep. :( Hope everyone is well. Have a wonderful day.

[danalou]

Marriedagoalie - I would say that less than 1,200 calories is a very low. This is right from babycenter.com

But eating better doesn't mean eating more — or rather, much more. Surprisingly, you need only about 300 calories more per day, for a total of about 2,500 calories.

Here is a link to check out for a healthy diet for pregnancy ->

http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregnancynutrition/3561.html

Ieducate - As for the tripple screen test we are going to have it done at our next ob appointment. We asked our friends expecting their second kid and they all recommended the tests.

Overall my diet hasn't been too bad lately!! I try to eat a salad for lunch a minimum of 3 times a week at work. I know that I need the greens and I am use to salads before the pg news. As for my belly it is starting to stick out more, but I am still not big enough for pg pants!! It is this middle stage that gets annoying as finding something that fits is getting harder each day!!

I hope everyone has a great day and as always be safe!! :D

[dollface]

The waddle - is anyone doing the waddle yet? I've only gained 4-5 lobs but i noticed I was waddling a bit this weekend. I have lower back pain alot though so I am attributing the waddle to that and not my growing belly :)

[MommyinPA]

Hello!

As far as my food intake, I would put all of you to shame, so I won't embarass myself by posting my daily food intake. It's embarassing!!!

Waddle: No, not yet. I have gained a consdierable amount of weight yet I am definately not waddling yet.

I was reading the April 07's thread and one of the questions was if you have friends who are also pregnant right now. So, I am stealing :) Sowwy April!
I have a friend due in December (boy), one in January (boy), one in November (surprise), and 2 in March (not known yet)!! I also have a friend who was due a few days ago (boy).

[happy1nuv]

Dollface ~ Funny you should say that. I caught myself waddling the other day...no clue why. I stopped short and then paid attention to how I was walking so I'd stop it... maybe the memory of last time? ...weird...

Food ~ Yeah, a lil better, but not really. Before I got pg, I was eating REALLY well...LOTS of veggies, nothing fried, no cheese (very little dairy actually), but now I'm happy as long as I'm eating... doesn't say much for me, does it? Ugh... I do a lot of reading about nutrition though... my two must reads at the moment:
Disease Proof Your Child by Joel Fuhrman
The China Study ...i forget who wrote this one...
both are written by md's though, which is weird because I don't usually trust any md when they talk nutrition...

[Nanner]

Pregnant Friends: My sister got a BFP about a week ago. It was a result of IVF--although I'm ecstatic, I'm also cautious. I'm waiting until she sees that little heartbeat on the ultrasound to really believe it's going to happen. They've been trying for 3 years!

[whitlockan]

Waddle hahaha no not yet, thank goodness

Friends who are prego unfortunatly, I say this because as soon as she found out I was getting married she decided to finally set her wedding date after years of dating right before mine and then virtually tried to do everything I did, thank goodness I had enough time to change mine but she always has to make things about her, but its my sister-in-law she is due 5 weeks before me :(, I'm kinda sick of it because all she does is send me e-mails about how perfect her pregnancy is and all the things she is getting (mostly ages old, like were talking around 24 yrs old) nothing wrong with that but dang you can stop trying to think that is making you better than me just because your ENTIRE family is within 5 miles of you, ugh I'm sick of hearing about it, I cant stand people who try to "show you up" its really freaking annoying. Thats another reason why NO ONE in his family will know baby names until the birth because she would steal it.......ahh it frustrates me!!!

Food wow compared to some of you my eating is super healthy ;P just kidding I'll enjoy it now because I'll never be able to eat this much crap the rest of my life and not have to really *worry* about weight all the dang time!

[whitlockan]

Peeing okay this might be a TMI topic but gosh I'm so darn tired of peeing all the time, I get up at all hours of the night, by the time I make it back to my desk its time to go again...........anyone else tired of it yet!! HAHAHAHA :p

[littlemia]

ieducate, I declined the triple screen. It's just tells you what the chances that your baby will have certain disorders are. To tell anything definite, you have to have an amnio (although first they will do an u/s to see if an amnio is recommended). I don't want an amnio unless there are extreme circumstances, so I would've likely refused further testing regardless of my results. That, and we decided that the only disorders we would definitely terminate for are anencephaly and Trisomy 18 and anencephaly should be picked up on an u/s.

[betsyboop]

Peeing-Nope, that's the one pregnancy symptom I think I've avoided so far:p

Waddling- Not yet, but my lower back has started to ache after walking the mall or standing for a long period. I'm sure the waddle is just around the corner.

Pregnant friends- My DH and I are pretty good friends of his co-worker and his wife. She just gave birth to a baby girl on Friday night/Saturday morning of this past week. We actually helped them pick out a name because they are Chinese and have only lived in the US for 5 years. They didn't want to accidentally choose something like Bertha or Gertrude for the baby's american name:p They came up with a short list and we helped narrow it down to Caroline.

Nanner- That's so exciting for your sister! Wow, that must be such an unreal moment to realize you're pregnant when you've been trying for 3 years!

My diet's been ok, I guess. Here's what I ate today:

9am- wheat chex w/ skim milk + 5 cut up strawberries
2pm- elbow macaroni w/ butter, parm + pepper
a dill pickle
an orange
a single serving bag of Cheezits
5pm- an apple
8pm- we're having a pot roast w/ onions, carrots + potatoes
glass of skim milk
dessert- left over apple pie w/ vanilla ice cream from last night (we went apple picking over the weekend)
probably another glass of skim milk

It's always lunch that is the problem area. Cutting out lunch meat and most tuna sandwiches has thrown me for a loop!

[shimmerstar]

Waddle- sometimes if I'm really tired I notice myself doing this.

Friends- nope, not even one. I'm trying to get one knocked up- she's been trying for a long time and I've been telling her about charting and some other tips. There is a boom in my family though. No babies for 6 years or so, and now a bunch of my cousins are having babies.

Triple screen- I am having a level II u/s tomorrow. I don't know if I will have the trip or not because I think they do a level II if there is something wrong with the blood test. It might not be necessary. We'll see.

I'm nervous! I just want everything to be okay, and I want to be able to tell what it is!!

[miaclear]

Waddle: not waddling yet but I have noticed it's harder to get out of certain positions than before (like sitting or laying positions).

PG Friends: My MOH is due with #2 a week after me, and another good friend is due with #2 a day or two before me. It makes it a lot more fun to have some to shop with and go to water aerobics and yoga with.

Tripple Screen: We declined all testing as there is no reason at this point in either of our families to think that we won't have a healthy baby. I was kinda on the fence about it and DH didn't want to so it was easy to convince me to not do it.

Peeing: I used to go in the middle of the night fairly freqently, now I go rather frequently. Nothing to drive me crazy yet

I think I popped some last night! My belly is a lot firmer today than it has been in the last week or so. I have my appt tomorrow so hopefully I can blame weight on the baby and not on the Big Mac I had for lunch :o

[pewee9196]

Friends- Wow- my BF just had her 2nd. My office mate and 2 spouses are due- we were all in grad school together talking about having kids. Then one of my oldest and dearest friends is due the same time. A new girl at work is due 5 days after me. The running joke is don't drink the water in our building. Only one female is not preggo (mainly male office)

I am with whitlocken. I am normally a very concious eater esp since I teach wellness but I made a decision to not obsess over food/working out while pregnant. I am loving it!

Hope everyone is having a great night!

[MrsKinnison]

Waddle ~ nope, not yet.

PG Friends ~ my step sister is having her baby on October 10th, we are really close and are hoping we have the same sex (both surprises) because hopefully they will be really close too!

Triple Screen ~ no idea! We don't really think or talk about this stuff much, we just go by my mw recommendations. I am very luckily because my mw and us share the same views, etc, so we trust her completely.

Eating ~ overall I have been eating good stuff, just some days its a lot of good stuff. Today has been a hungry day for me. Here is where I am at so far:

8am – muffin
10:30 – pear
1pm – Tuna sandwich and chips
3 – single pack of All Bran snack bites
4:30 – another tuna sandwich
7:00 - slice of cheese

And I am currently STARVING!!! I am just waiting for Chris to get home so we can have dinner together (he better hurry or I'm eating w/o him :) ). We are having spaghetti ~ homemade sauce by me with tomatoes from my garden (this is new for me) with angel hair pasta and roasted garlic artisan bread (not made by me). I will have a big glass of skim milk, and will try not to have dessert, but I do love pudding snack cups so that could be tough!!


QUESTIONS:

I really want to attempt a drug free delivery. My friends think I am crazy and all loved the epi! I'm not going to think I'm a failure or anything if it turns out I need them, but if I can do it w/o I would really like to. We are only planning on having one baby, so this is my only chance at doing it. So, my question is what methods should I be looking at, and where can I get info on them?

[shimmerstar]

Mrs. Kinnison, I'm not going that route, but I read a book by Sears (The Birth Book, maybe). It had a lot of general information about how your body will react to labor and how contractions help you and stuff. You might check that out. That's the only one I can think of, though.

[Kanga]

Pregnant friends - just found out today one of our friends is pregnant. It's funny because we were just talking the other day about my pregnancy and they kept joking about having 2 so close together, were we trying to race, and just giving us a hard time about in general. Now they're eating their words because they are expecting twins. I must have laughed for 5 minutes straight when she told me and couldn't stop throwing it right back to her. I'm hoping she stays home after the babies and I think she might becuase of daycare costs (although she does really love her job) so I have somebody to meet up and do stuff with during the day as all of my friends work during the day.

Waddle - not yet, but I haven't really paid attention. Nobody's said anything though. I started waddling towards the end of the 2nd tri last time. As much as I hated, it was just too much darned effort to walk normal.

Peeing - It never hit me til the 3rd tri last time but came almost right away this time. An it's annoying. Wouldn't you know it, when dd stoped getting up in the middle of the night, I started waking up to pee:rolleyes:

Eating - It's never really something I pay attention to, although I do try to aviod drinking my calories (juice, soda, etc) and not eating frozen food. *ducks flying objects* I must have good genes or something because I don't really exercise or watch what I eat as I've never really had a problem with weight. I don't really care how much I gain as with dd I gained 40 pounds and lost it all by about 8 weeks (although, I didn't have my pre pg shape back, so it didn't look like I lost all the weight...that didn't happen til about 4 months)

Drug free delivery - I'm also going to attempt a drug free delivery. I never really researched epidurals with my first but after finding out about all the possible side affects for me and baby, I've decided I'd like to avoid it if at all possible. I'm looking into a water birth as they say water is almost as powerful as an epi for some women. Other methods are bradley, lamaze, and hypnosis but I'm sure there are more. Call me crazy, but I didn't really think labor was *that* painful. I asked for the epi because I only though I was 4-6cm still as my labor progessed abnormally fast for a first timer. Had I known I was closer to 9-10 I would have skipped. Because I was ready to push almost immediately after the epidural, I didn't feel any of the pushing pain (but I could feel when to push) which is what I'm scared of most. Even with epidurals though, they like you to feel it so you know when to push.

I had my dr. appt yesterday and it was pretty routine. I was up 3 pounds, and the dr. said he'd like me to try to get closer to 4, but it wasn't a big deal. I asked about my u/s and he said they generally don't do one until 22-24 weeks rather than the 18-20 for most unless there's a history of birth defects:( Oh well, that's when I have the glucose test too, so at least it will give me something to do for that hour. So long as I know before Thanksgiving. My next appt is October 24th.

[pewee9196]

Has anyone planned on banking the cord blood? I am leaning towards donating it. I come from a family that is big into science and anatomical gifts after death but am still interested in hearing others opinions.

[goldengbridge]

Quad Screen- I am getting this done this week actually! Since Im high risk the Peri recommends all tests be done!

Peewee- I am absolutely banking this little ones cord blood!! I'm glad you brought that up. When I was pg with Andrew I thought it was a waste of money and now I know it could one day help grow new heart muscle, etc so we're definately doing it!

I have my 16 week apt at the OB tomorrow. And next week I start going to the Peri every 2 weeks for a cervix check. Only 3 more weeks till my big u/s! Hope everyone else is well!

[shimmerstar]

We were going to bank the cord blood, through cryocell. The midwife gave me a pamphlet that said it would be something like $325 a year, plus $90 to start, or maybe it was the other way around. Then when we got the packet from cryocell, the price was over $1000 a year. So I don't really trust them if they are going to change the price that much. How do I know they are even taking care of the cord blood? They just seemed shady to me. I would be interested in other companies if you all know some.

I'll be at my u/s in a few hours. I dread not being able to pee!

[buffy]

Waddle ~ nope. I didn't waddle at all with either of my pregnancies. Hoping to avoid it this time too. :)

Pregnant friends ~ none! Last time I was pregnant with my neighbor which was fun. Our babies were born 2 1/2 weeks apart. Another friend was due 6 weeks before me and another was due 6 weeks after me. Unfortunately we moved a couple years ago so most of our close friends are 1000 miles away anyway.

Peeing ~ UGH! I am up all the time! I've finally got it down to twice at night I think, if I stay up late enough and make sure to go before I go to sleep. I don't remember being like this until the 3rd trimester though, it sucks.

Drug free delivery ~ I had drug free deliveries both times and hope to this time too. I didn't really prepare for it though, I was just open to whatever happens. Two things helped me the most. The first was really concentrating on relaxing during contractions. I didn't the first time and they HURT! I clenched my teeth, cursed up a storm and hyperventilated. I don't recommend this. ;) The second time I closed my eyes and breathed out through my nose and told myself the contraction would be over soon and then I was done with it. I really don't remember it hurting that bad, and in between contractions I joked with my midwife and talked about the show on tv with my husband. I never noticed when I went through transition either. The other thing that helped was staying home as long as possible! My water broke with both pregnancies but I stayed home and relaxed, cleaned up, did whatever. I was 8cm when I got to the hospital with DD1 and ready to push about 5 minutes later. With DD2 I was 7cm when we got there and she was born 40 minutes later. So even if I had caved there wasn't really time for an epidural.

cord blood ~ I've never done anything before and I probably won't this time. I'd be willing to donate it if my hospital gave me some info on it.

[danalou]

Pregnant friends - My cousins is due on Christmas Day, but she lives 1,000 miles away. A coworker is due a week before me which should make our maternity leaves interesting at a company with less than 10 employees!!

Peeing - What an strange thing as it seems to be neverending, but it could always be worse!!

Cord Blood - I looked into it early one and it is really expensive. I would do the donation thing if it was presented as well.

QOTD - What kind of maternity cloths is everyone wearing right now? My clothes are getting tight, but the maternity pants are still to large to wear to work. I am trying to stretch my PPC with a bella band and it is working for the time being.

[Nanner]

Cord Blood: I donated mine last time. When I was in the prep area, waiting for my c-section, a person from MD Anderson came by and talked to me about it, so I decided to donate it.

Maternity clothes: The one or two pair of pants I've gotten out of my maternity clothes stash so far are too big. I've been wearing my dresses a LOT. So much easier, and more comfortable. I may have to go get some more here soon. The thing that kills me is, the couple of pairs of maternity jeans that I had that were smaller, I wore post partum for a couple of months. I packed them away separately from the rest of my maternity clothes, and now I can't find them! Grr! I actually really loved those jeans. I wish I could figure out where I put them.

[betsyboop]

Cord blood- I'd curious about the donating of cord blood. How does that work? Do you become like a member of the place you donate it to and then you have access to someone else's blood in the future if you need it? Or is it simply donating it for donating's sake? Just curious.

Pregnant friends- I forgot to mention before that, in addition to the friends that had a baby over the weekend, my aunt and uncle are adopting a baby girl from China sometime this fall. They're not really friends per se, but we will have kids right around the same time. Which is pretty weird, to be honest. (Their oldest kid is a year younger than me)

Call me crazy, but I didn't really think labor was *that* painful.

You know, my mom has always said the same thing. Her labors were both under 4 hours long though. I'm leaning towards trying to go med free just because I'm really curious about what it's like:D And I'm REALLY hoping that I take after my mom with the short labors! I'm not really planning on doing anything special to prepair though, other than the normal birthing class offered at my hospital.

Does anyone know if there's any reason to worry about going to a loud concert while you're pregnant? I haven't seen anything about it in my pregnancy books, but I just thought I'd ask. We have tickets to see my all time favorite band this Friday night, but I'd hate to damage the baby's tiny ears with all the noise or something:eek:

[happy1nuv]

danalou ~ Motherhood makes a pair of pants they call miracle pants I think... they were my saviour last time around when I was working... I don't remember if they had an elastic waist, but they had zippers on either side and a cinch belt thing...so in the beginning I wore them with both zippers closed, and let them out as needed. LOVED those pants... Right now I'm living in Target t-shirts (they are longer than the ones I usually had) and a pair of early maternity jeans (elastic in back, but normal front of jeans)

Cord blood ~ Too expensive for us... but, if I'd had the birth I wanted we wouldn't have cut the cord til it stopped pulsing anyway... it's a gentler entry into the world for the lil one, so not sure if it would have been possible anyway...

Peeing ~ Oh yea...and I'm so not drinking as much as I should either...

Birth books... I totally recommend the Ina May Gaskin book...but I can't remember the title and I loaned it to a friend... I think the other one I liked was the Thinking Womans Guide to a Better Birth (but don't quote me on that one). I'm the one that won't shut up about the hypnobabies home study kit, so I won't go through that all again unless someone has questions... (loved it, will do it again)

Pregnant friends~ When I was pg with Nic, one of my college roommates was due 10 days after me. Now due with #2, another college roommate is due with #1 10 days before me. The joke is who will I be pg with next... (I only have 3 roommates left, one is married and waiting a bit, one is not even seriously seeing someone, and the other is done having kids)...

[MarriedaGoalie]

Okay, I'm confused at what this "banking the cord blood" thing is.... can anyone explain it to me?

[buffy]

Is the book Ina May's Guide to Childbirth? I've heard good things about it but haven't read it.

Oh yeah I forgot my cousin is due a month before me but she also lives 1000 miles away and I hardly ever see her.

Maternity Clothes ~ I have a couple of the pants that are the elastic back or adjustable waist but look regular in front. They work well right now. So do my yoga pants. :)

[Janey]

Goldengbridge - Glad to see you back and hear that all is well at your house!

MarriedAGoalie - Cord Blood Banking is where you pay a company money to store and take care of your cord blood in case your kid has a disease where they need it.

Cord Blood - I'm donating mine. I don't fault others for storing it... I feel that people should do whatever they feel is in their family's best interest. If there's a family history of disease or something, then that would be a good reason to keep it for the family. That being said, I feel about the cord blood companies the same way I feel about those "Payday Loan/Check Cashing" places -- they are preying on fears and taking advantage of people who really can't afford to be taken advantage of. There are people out there who already do have diseases that my cord blood could help, and the chance that my child will need his/her own cord blood is really, really small. I'd rather give it to the people who need it now, rather than waiting and seeing (and paying some pretty big money to these sharks to keep it safe for me in the meantime) if my child turns out to have a terrible disease. If it turns out that we hit that # on the roulette wheel, I'd hope that somebody else will have donated so that my child could take advantage of their generosity.

Betseyboop - I think when you donate, you're donating to a blood bank, to be used where it can be. The place I'll be donating is to the Puget Sound Blood Center (http://www.psbc.org/home/home.htm).


Waddle - Not yet - thank goodness!

Peeing - All the freaking time! Especially since I've been trying to hit the water hard due to my blood pressure.

Maternity clothes: I have a pair of jeans from Old Navy, a pair of black lounge pants (but I could pull them off as nicer pants) also from ON, and a pair of stone cords from JC Penney. Since I don't work outside the home, I'm pretty much in pants and knit tops. I got the knit tops from Sears, Motherhood, and JC Penney. I also bought 2 cable knit sweaters (I couldn't decide on color so I bought 'em both :p) from ON, and I'm done buying clothes now. I think I got the whole shebang for less than $300. I do still need to buy some sort of a sparkly/fancy top to wear to B's work Christmas party.

Pregnant friends - None. I have a cousin who is due Dec 24 with her second, but she is 6 hours away by car.

Natural Childbirth - I loooove the idea of it, but don't think it's for me; I'm too big of a wimp! :o MrsK I think if you search for "Natural Childbirth" or "NCB" in the pregnancy section you'll get a whole bunch of hits back on resources too.

[MommyinPA]

Maternity clothes: Most pants right now. My arse has expanded so a lot of my stuff is tight. I bought stuff from Motherhood that I love.

Peeing: Frequently, get up a few times a night now.

Natural Childbirth: NO WAY! LOL I think that the level of pain people experience with labor WIDELY VARIES. For some women, it is tolerable and "not that bad" . For others, like myself, it is severe and unmanageable. I have 2 children. #1 I did not get epidural relief because they were too slow to offer it and my labor progressed quickly.=. It was the most intense, undescribable pain I have ever experienced. (no, it was nothing like "severe menstrual cramps!") #2 I got an epidural at 4-5 cm. I was having somewhat painful contractions, but they were NOTHING like the ones I got when I dialated 10 naturally the first time!!!! My second delivery was quicker, easier, I felt great afterwards. The first time I was traumatized emotionally for a long while. I thought about not having nay more kids. I am NOT detering anyone from a natural childbirth. MANY MANY women do it, and are happy they did! I just think we all need to be aware that labor is very different, and one person may not experience much pain, but I personally have a high tolerance for pain, and I could not handle it. I think waterbirthing and hypnobirthing would be a much better option for natural childbirth than the traditional standard hospital delivery. Thats just my humble opinion I admire women who do it naturally! You go girls! You can make a safe bet I will be the first in line for the epidural though....and have no regrets about it!

[March2007Mommies]

updated to here!

[pewee9196]

Here is some info on donating it through the national marrow donation program. http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Donate_Babys_Umbilical_CB/index.html#how lI agree it is a very personal decision. I was just curious if I was the only one not planning on storing it. Janey summed up how I feel perfectly.

[shimmerstar]

x-posted from my livejournal, cause I've already written it out about five times.

We went in this morning and after I drank all that water, the doctor said I don't have to do that anymore. YES! He was nice and he said I was a superstar patient. The tech was nice and she had a cool british accent. We got to see the stomach, kidneys, brain, bones, eyes, and everything. They said HE looks very healthy and happy. It's a little Noah! She was 85% sure that it's a boy but she said "don't buy out baby gap yet, promise?". We will get to look again in 6 weeks. I'm so relieved that he has the top of his head and his spine looks good too. He was sucking his thumb, putting his hands in front of his face, and at one point he raised his arms above his head and punched the air like a boxer.

I'm pretty happy that it's a boy. I tend to relate better to boys and my favorite students are always boys. It's exciting to know. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that our girl middle name was after my sister. Hopefully we'll get to use it in a couple of years. I bought a little blue sleeper at the store, but that's all. I was making Neil nervous wanting to buy everything!

I have another U/S November 8

[MommyinPA]

CONGRATS SHIMMERSTAR!!!!!!!!

I have 2 boys, and I promise you won't be disappointed. I am glad the ultrasound went well!! :) I can't wait to have mine.

[March2007Mommies]

Congratulations, Shimmerstar!
Woohoo! We have our first member of Team Blue!

[MommyinPA]

Names, Revisited: We have our boys names narrowed to TWO now, neither of which was on my last list. Now to decide between the 2. Hubby likes one better, I like the other. But overall I would be fine with either choice.

[whitlockan]

shimmerstar yahoo I hope it holds true for you, I LOVE boys, even though the only boys I have are dogs, they are great such a different personality.

Cord Blood I dont know if we are going to bank ours or not, its something we agree with, however, I think its so overly priced, thats my thoughts on it right now.

Okay ladies I need a little secret I'm dazed and confused, I know if you visit the belly shots page and I think even one of you did it here, how do you make that nice little small "flim strip" so to speak, I've tried and every program I have even photoshop it puts in on a template that ends up with a white background....do you crop it out?

[buffy]

Congrats shimmerstar!!

I just saw the tiniest baby boy at the gym this morning. Makes me want one!

[MrsKinnison]

Congratulations shimmerstar!!! I love the name too! I can't believe we are starting to find out the sex already. Time sure is flying by.

Cord Bood - all I know about this is that I've seen commercials on tv. Honestly, I am kind of appalled that it would be so expensive. Something just sounds morally wrong about that. If I can donate it, I'm sure we will.

I've been reading through some NCB posts, and transition keeps getting mentioned. What exactly are they talking about? Sounds kind of scarry if you as me!

[goldengbridge]

Congrats shimmerstar!!!!! Boys are awesome!!!!!

[betsyboop]

Congratulations, Shimmerstar!! I actually got a little teary when I read that because it's so exciting that we're all going to be finding out what we're having in the next few weeks. I'm obviously a very hormonal pregnant lady, but whatever:p

I had an OB appointment today. I gained 4lb from my last visit, so my total weight gain is 8lb. That sounds like quite a bit to me, but my doctor didn't seem phased, so I'm not going to worry about it. She used that dopler thing on my belly today and we heard the heartbeat and she said she would hear that it was moving and kicking a lot, so that was kind of cool. I also gave blood for the afp test. I figure, if insurance is paying for it, I might as well just get it done.

My next appointment is October 26.

[ladybug0525]

Congrats SHIMMERSTAR - BOYS ARE FUN!!

Hope everyone doing well, I have been a CC slacker since I have been going to bed at 8 every night. I had an appt yesterday and I gained 4 lbs for a total of 6lb but feel like it is a TON more. THe big ultrasound is scheduled for October 31st!! I am really have girls vibes but we shall see!

Pregnant Friends - Have a few but not as many as last time. My very close friend of mine in which our boys are 3 days apart is due 5 weeks after me so that will be fun!

Maternity - Still not there but getting awfully close! I squeezed my behind in normal jeans and a cute top Saturday night but might be the last. I work from home so half the time I am in work out clothes or gouchos so not sure I really count with this question.

Quad - Declining because of my age and most everything can be seen at the 20 week ultrasound.

[dollface]

Congrats on the boy Shimmerstar!


Maternity clothes - yeah I finally graduated to maternity clothes on Sunday. I am probably spending about 50% of my time in maternity wear now. I am still using my B-Buckle on my favorite jeans though :)

Pregnant friends - I currenlty have one good friend who is pregnant with me. She became pregnant in April and I am so glad we can go through this together. In our group, our other 3 friends were all pregnant with their first together and 2 of them were pregnant with their seconds together (born one week apart), so we always kinda felt like the outsiders with no kids. Now it's our turn!

[lady1297]

Pee-when I have to go, there is no waiting, but I'm so tired at night I don't wake up until hubby gets up at 4:30. So, not too bad.

Maternity-slowly going into both pants and bottoms. Need the bottoms for sure, the tops just cover up the maternity parts.

cord blood- we aren't banking or donating. We aren't delivering at a hospital that does it regularly, so we are opting out.

natural child birth- we are aiming for this. Last time I caved for an epi and it did NOTHING to help my pain. I wasn't having a hard time with the contraxs, it was back pain that was killing me and the epi did nothing to help. Even after it, i couldn't move from the back pain. So, this time, we're going to brush up on our lamaze and go for it.

pregnant friends-several are pregnant. My dh's best friends wife, his co-worker, one gave birth two weeks before I found out I was pregnant, two local friends...it's cool to be pregnant with someone else!!

[MarriedaGoalie]

Congratulations Shimmerstar!!! I'm so jealous that you already know what your little one is going to be!!! That's so exciting!! :)

Cord Blood: Thank you for all the information on the cord blood. I mentioned something to DH about it tonight, but he didn't act real enthused about talking about it, so I guess we will discuss it at a later time.

Natural Birth: Oh heck no!! They make drugs for a reason... so I don't have to feel any pain. haha :)

[Brink]

Wow, you ladies have been busy over the last few days. Just stopping by for an update. We had my DD's birthday on Saturday and the whole family has been sick ever since.

Cord Blood - We banked our daughters and "pre-paid" for 20 years of storage. We will definitely bank with these two. I know it is like a "scare insurance" and I've always hated those. But, on the other hand - we have the financial means to do it and I don't want to ever regret not banking it if needed. Everyone has different view and if you are not going to bank it, it is great that they have a system set up for donations. What a difference it could make in someone else's life.

Shimmerstar - Congrats on the BOY.

We had our meeting with the new specialist today. Quick visit but he did look and said our "boys" are doing great. Looks like you can add me to the Team Blue as well.

[pewee9196]

Congrats Brink and Shimmerstar and your little Boys!!

I am a little jealous being at the end DD. I won't know until the end of OCT! Pooey!

[shimmerstar]

Congrats Brink, and welcome to team blue!

[whitlockan]

Brink congrats on the boys!!

Okay I'm super jealous!!! I want to know NOW I can hardly take it any longer, only 5 weeks to go, maybe I can talk them in to doing it at my next appointment on the 17th of October.

[happy1nuv]

Congrats on the boys brink and shimmerstar!!

Last time I wasn't really in a hurry for the big u/s -- we weren't finding out anyway. This time... I am counting down the days, and I don't even have it scheduled yet...

:)

[MrsKinnison]

Congratulations on the your boys Brink!!!

So, I spent pretty much the entire afternoon up on Natural Childbirth. I started in some old threads here, which left me reading up on hypnobabies & bradleyThe nearest bradley and hypnobabies classes were each an hour or more away, and I know I need to take DH to a class if he's really going to make the time for it. I coud do home study, but not DH and I'm pretty sure its going to take 2 of us if I am really going to do this. About 2.5 hours into this, I realise that there is also hypnobirthing. Still not totally sure what the difference really is, but it is different. On that website I found the name, number and email of a women from my area and the email address was at the hospital I am delivering at. I tried some google searches to find out more on her, which lead me to an article where a Dr from my practice was quoted. So, I end up on my own practices website and low and behold, they teach the classes there! Thank God I didn't really have anything else I was s'posed to be doing because I basically wasted 4 hours searching the web for something needlessly - doh!

[MrsKinnison]

Oops, even my edits are wrong!

I wanted to add that at least I know my Dr has the exact same views. He was quoted as saying he supports it but that women shouldn't feel bad if they decide they need pain meds (he said it much more eloquently). My apt is Monday so I'm sure I'll get all the info I want then.

[MommyinPA]

Brink: Yay! 2 BOYS!! Boys are fabulous!
Man, you are making it hard to stay on TEAM GREEN! I can't wait to see the babe regardless. I can't even schedule my US until my next OB appt on Oct 13, which I will be already almost 18 weeks at that point!

[buffy]

Congratulations Brink!!

My u/s is Tuesday and I can't wait for it to get here!!

[danalou]

Congrats Shimmerstar and Brink!!

I have to tell you all that I found out some horrible news yesterday. I found out that my MOH and best friend from grade school died in a car accident over the 4th of July weekend. We had lost touch over the past year which isn't too uncommon with us, but to find out that she died is still a huge shock. I really don't think it has registered yet and I sort of hope it doesn't. I talked with her mom yesterday and I need to get over and she her as I think it will help both of us. It is just so strange to think that the one of the happiest weekend of my life (we got our BFP that 4th of July weekend) is also the weekend my girlfriend died. I know if I make it to Team Pink I will have a little girl with the name Danielle or Lynn in part of it.

I don't want to make this a bummer day girls, but please make sure to tell your loved one how much they mean to you as you never know when you will not have another chance!! As always be safe girls!!

[MommyinPA]

{danalou}

I am VERY sorry to hear about your friend passing away. What a shock that is! It is very difficult losing a loved one. Our thoughts are with you!!!

[MrsKinnison]

danalou, I am so sorry to hear about your friend. How very, very sad.

[Tandis]

Danalou - I'm so sorry to hear about your friend.

Shimmerstar - Congrats on your boy!

whitlockan - On photobucket you can create a film strip of your pictures. There might be something on Flickr too, but I'm a novice and have yet to figure out the site. :)

Peeing - I'm still waiting for this supposed slow down of running to the bathroom that is supposed to happen once your uterus rises out of your pelvis. I'm still going 2-3 times a night, and about four times immediately before I go to bed!

Waddling - I've caught myself doing this occassionally for about the past five weeks. Usually it's when I'm tired and towards the end of the day when my tummy gets larger anyway.

Cord blood - I haven't really researched too much into this yet, but probably not.

Pregnant friends - My SIL is pregnant - due at the beginning of November - so it's been fun to compare notes on where I am and where she is.

Natural childbirth - Speaking of my SIL, she's reading the book Ina May's book right now, because she has a terrible needle phobia and is thinking about going natural. She highly recommends it and wants me to read it. However, the chances of me being able to go natural (even if I wanted too, which I don't, cause I like drugs ;)), are about next to nothing so I'm not rushing out to buy it.

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

So like I very briefly mentioned on Monday, I had my latest u/s and the babies look fantastic. As soon as I get batteries for my camera I'll post their pictures. I can't believe how much like real babies they look now! DH was fascinated because he got to see the whole u/s, while I only got to see a little bit when the tech turned the screen towards me. And even though I'm on Team green that didn't stop me from looking to see if I could detect anything :o Which I couldn't.

So that leads me to my question: Now that DH has seen the babies moving around and sucking on their hands, I think it's dawned on him that there are little people in my tummy. Therefore he doesn't want to have sex for fear of bopping them in the head. :rolleyes: Even though I told him that they are well protected and can't feel anything, his exact quote, I believe, was "If I was floating around in some fluid, minding my own business, I wouldn't want my Dad bopping me in the head" To which I replied "He probably did and you didn't know it." Which I'm sure didn't help my cause any ;)

So therefore, anyone's DH now reluctant to have "relations" now that they've seen the u/s of the baby? Or is mine the only weirdo out there? :D

[Kanga]

Does anyone know if there's any reason to worry about going to a loud concert while you're pregnant? I haven't seen anything about it in my pregnancy books, but I just thought I'd ask. We have tickets to see my all time favorite band this Friday night, but I'd hate to damage the baby's tiny ears with all the noise or something


I forget all the reasons why but looked this up with my first, but you'll be fine going to a loud concert. Heck, some people bring their newborns to concerts or other loud events. Also IIRC, the baby can't hear until the 3rd tri.

Janey – You just reminded me, I’ll have to find something to wear to dh’s company xmas party as well.

Transition phase - starts somewhere around 6-7 cm and lasts til it's time to push. If you didn't know/weren't sure you were in labor before, you'll know it when you hit transition. The contractions up until then aren't nearly as painful (though they do still hurt). They also start coming closer together and sometimes, like with my first, the contrax start piggybacking - meaning you don't really get a break from the last contrax before the next one starts.

cordblood - We have no history anywhere in our family of diseases that cord blood could cure, and since it'd take major cutbacks to be able to afford it, we're passing. Not sure even if we could because like a pp said, we will not be cutting the cord until it stops pulsating (it allows ~40% more blood to the baby so I'm not sure if there would be enough left) I don't even think the hospital does donations, so in all likeliness I won't be able to donate it. God forbid something should ever happen where I'd need it, I'd hope somebody is willing and able to donate theirs to us. Janey pretty much summed up how I feel about those type of companies, although I can see why some people would need it.

Congrats on the boys Brink and Shimmerstar!

I'm so jeaulous, 6 1/2 weeks until I find out. And I'm due at the beginning of the month. I practically begged my dr. to do it 22-24 rather than 18-20 but since I have no history of birth defects they like you to wait. I think they enjoy driving pg women nuts:cool:

Maternity clothes - haven't gone there yet and really dreading it. I wear sweats most days unless I have to go out of the house or am expecting company. Then I wear my pp jeans/pants from dd, which are just regular clothes in a couple sizes bigger.

A friend of mine is due with her baby girl anyday now. She's starting school in a few weeks as well and since she can't find any daycares that will take babies under 6 weeks I offered to watch the baby for her at least until she can get her enrolled in daycare. I think it'll give me a good idea of what to expect when #2 eventually arrives and how dd will react to a new baby. Part of me thinks I'm crazy for having two babies around that close together but it's only for 3-4 weeks max unless I want to do it longer. Plus it allows me to spend more money on my dd's birthday party:D :o

[lady1297]

Transition- You'll know. Just trust me, you'll know. :) (Don't you hate that!) usually it's when you start to lose it, control-wise and need someone to refocus you (this is where lamaze, bradley, hypnobirthing all come in VERY handy).

We're solidly staying in team Green right now, but it is great that you all are finding out! Congrats on all the boys!

Guess that's all....trying to get the ambition to do SOMETHING today-it's cold and rainy...ugh..

[MarriedaGoalie]

WOW, Congratulations on the two boys, Brink!!! How exciting!! :)

[whitlockan]

danalou I'm so sorry to hear this, my thoughts and prayers are with you and their families.

[Tandis]

Does anyone know if there's any reason to worry about going to a loud concert while you're pregnant? I haven't seen anything about it in my pregnancy books, but I just thought I'd ask. We have tickets to see my all time favorite band this Friday night, but I'd hate to damage the baby's tiny ears with all the noise or something

Gee, I hope it's not bad. DH and I just went to a concert on Sunday, where we were 6th row, right in front of the speakers! Told him that if our kids are born with a hearing problem, we know why. He said if they're born with a marjuana problem, we also know why ;) Like Kanga said, I don't think babies can hear outside the womb until farther along in the pregnancy.

[Janey]

Danalou - I'm terribly sorry to hear about your friend. :(

Party Outfits - If you gals find anything great, I hope you'll post it here... or at least in the CC Maternity Clothes thread in Pregnancy! :) Kanga, I have a pair of "Travel Knit Pants" from Chicos that are kind of shimmery, and they are elastic waist. I tried them on yesterday because I wanted to make sure I could wear them to the theater on Friday (we're going to see Wicked - I'm sooo excited!) and they fit great. The bonus part - they make me look sooooo skinny. :p I'm just going to try to find some sort of a sparkly top to go with those pants; hopefully that'll save some $$.

[ieducate]

Danalou, I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear about your friend. My sympathy is with you.

I don't have time to chat today, but caught up on the postings. I will hopefully be able to post a bit over the weekend. Hope everyone has a great day and a wonderful weekend.

[happy1nuv]

danalou ~ I am so sorry about your friend...what a shock!

MrsKinnison ~ hypnobabies and hypnobirthing are basically the same thing...there's a very chatty yahoo group you can join that has had a discussion of the differences...if i remember correctly (and Im going back 15-20 months now) ... that the hypnobirthing classes were wonderful, but they didn't give you enough stuff to take home. Like, you had to record(write?) all your own scripts... so, if you wanted to practice at home it wasn't as easy. I think the best combo was the hypnobirthing classes and the hypnobabies home study course for the materials (there might even be an option for just materials or something like that, not sure)... the yahoo group was WONDERFUL last time for answering specific questions and stuff...

[lady1297]

Hubby, inlaws and parents and I are going on a dinner/dance cruise tonight and I'm already stressed about what to wear. I have like nothing cute and dressy. Ugh. I'm sure I'll come up with something, but it isn't looking great at the moment. I hate this size stage of the pregnancy, although I love being pregnant at this stage. Can't wait til I grow into my maternity clothes better and don't feel like they are hanging off my thights...

[buffy]

I bought this
http://www.japaneseweekend.com/web/jpegs/232465.jpg
that I hope is dressy enough to wear to everything I need to go to this year. I have a dressy dinner to go to next weekend, a trip to New York in November with a nice dinner planned and a Christmas party in December. It seems to work ok whether I have a big belly or not so hopefully I'll get my money's worth!

Otherwise I have my gray shirt and black dress pants from Mimi Maternity to fall back on. But after 2 pregnancies plus loaning my maternity clothes out to a friend last year I felt the need to buy a few new things this year. :)

[Orion]

Danalou: Sorry to hear about your friend. You are in my thoughts.

To Those Who Found Out the Sex: That is so exciting. Congrats...team blue is pulling ahead already!

So I am using up my 'poor me' post for the week. :o This week has been horrible. I just started back to work last week after being off for a year on mat leave. No big deal but a bit tough to leave my little monkey at the sitters everyday but things were going smoothly...until Tuesday when my sitter (who just happens to be my next door neighbor and my friend) decided that she didn't want to do it anymore. No notice or anything...she just quit. I panicked because here on Vancouver Island, getting childcare for a baby under one is nearly impossible. I called all the daycares and their is at least a year and a half waiting list for most of them (needless to say if I was planning on putting this new baby in daycare, I would have to sign him/her up now). I was so upset because I thought that this meant that I had to quit my job. One of my other friends came to our rescue and said that she would watch Sophie until we found daycare for her but she could only do it temporarily as she is in between jobs right now and actively looking. At least that meant that I could keep my job for the immediate future. So yesterday I got a call from one of the daycares and they said that as of 9 am yesterday morning they just got approval and their license for infant daycare and they had a spot open and we could get Sophie in their as early as Monday! So DH and I are going their tonight to check the place out and make sure that it is ok and that we are comfortable enough to leave her their. This situation just sucks and it is so hard because I only need someone to watch Sophie until about February because that is when I will go on mat leave and than I am going to be a SAHM so I won't have to worry about daycare or sitters! Oh did I mention I went to the Doctor on Wednesday too (when all of this happened)...I have a bladder infection and a bacterial infection to go along with it! But my blood pressure is back down to normal....I don't know how but it is 120/70...pretty good! After a really hectic two days, it seems as though all is working out. I've decided to be a bigger person (no pregnant pun intented here) and to forgive my neighbor for being an a-hole!

Weight Gain: So far I am down 5 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight but the doctor isn't concerned since I still had about ten lbs to lose from my DD. She said that she wouldn't even be worried if I didn't gain all that much weight with this pregnancy since I just had a baby nine months ago. Although she would be concerned if the baby wasn't gaining weight, which it looks like he/she is....so no worries.

My appointment for October the 12 has been cancelled since I had to go in early for the infections but my next appointment is October 25 and my big ultrasound is on October 16. Can't wait!

[Brink]

Orion - glad to hear everything worked out with daycare.

Danalou - I am so sorry for your loss. Will you be traveling to the funeral?

Tandis - "relations" - you are too funny. I didn't see anyone else respond to your question about DTD with DH. So, my DH has not touched me since we found out we were pg! With our DD, we found out halfway through that I had partial previa. So, we were on a no nookie hold for the last 4 months of the pg. So, this time around he was so scared that I would have the partial previa again, that he refuses to touch me. I keep telling him at this stage it is not an issue, but it doesn't matter to him. Then to top it off with our high risk twins - he definitely won't get near me. It's going to be a very long few months.......

[danalou]

Thanks girls you are all really sweet and I appreciate it greatly.

The worst part about the whole thing with my friend is that she died on the 4th of July. We have been friends since grade school and every once in awhile we have those fallling out fights. That was the case this time and it just really sucks. I wonder if she knew how special she was to me and that I loved her. I know deep down that she did, but it still hurts!!

So again girls please remember to let your loved ones know how important they are to you ever chance you get.

Have a great weekend and as always be safe!! I have a couple M2M sales to attend this weekend so keep your fingers crossed that I can find some go bargains.

[Tandis]

Hee, thanks Brink :D So maybe it's not the thought of bopping the babies, so much as just the thought of twins and possible complications that's freaking them out? What's annoying is that I'm finally in the mood and he's "shut down" :rolleyes: But I'm glad I'm not the only one with a "freak" for a husband ;)

Orion - Wow, I can't believe your neighbor just bailed on you like that with no warning! What did she think you were going to do? Glad it worked out for you in the end and I hope you and your DH like the daycare.

Buffy - I like that dress! Do you mind if I ask where you got it from?

[shimmerstar]

Danalou- I'm so sorry about your friend. I hope you are able to see her mom soon.

Orion- ((hugs))

Buffy- I love that dress. It's so pretty!

Well, it looks like my suspicions were correct and I will be a Feb. mommy after all. I'm going to stick around here, though, since this is the thread I have been keeping up with. My OB today said that they will probably induce me a week or so before I'm due. We were looking at Feb. 22, but not as a hard and fast date. One of my students has impetigo, and I freaked, but doc said they could treat it and not to worry too much. My blood pressure has been better lately too. So I'm a happy camper. We are signing the babe up for daycare this weekend, to start in September. It's crazy to have to plan this far ahead!

[happy1nuv]

shimmerstar ~ Yeah, isn't daycare crazy? Nic was due in May, and I wasn't planning to go back to work til December. I forget when I was looking, but one of the centers I was at was booked til after January...ummm, I was looking before I had Nic... they were booked up with babies that weren't conceived yet.... ugh!

DTD ~ Oops, missed that one. We've dtd once since we found out. DH wants to, but between the m/s at night esp, I haven't been in the mood... it sucks. I'm starting to feel better, but still not ready yet (it kinda puts me out of the mood when the last thing I do before going to bed is to lose supper)... Poor DH... I think I can count on 1 hand the times we dtd when I was pg with Nic...We were trying a LOT before conceiving Nic, so I think dh was secretly glad of the break in the beginning and then skeeved by the thought of hitting his kid... so it didn't make for a whole lot of relations... One day... maybe if Nic would sleep in one morning...

Buffy ~ That is a great dress!

[MarriedaGoalie]

(From My Journal)

Hey everyone!! I had my appointment today with my new doctor. It went *really* well. I actually met with a midwife that works there in the office and she spent a good 1 1/2 hours going over everything with me. She went over my paperwork and medical history pretty thoroughly. She then did an exam and listened to the baby's heartbeat (about 150 beats per minute). While we were listening to the baby's heartbeat, we also got to hear the baby kick, which was a cool little sound. After the baby kicked, his/her heartbeat increased, which she said was a good sign of a healthy baby. So glad to hear that! :) All in all, I was really impressed with all the personal attention and attention to detail that they gave me. I will definitely be calling and cancelling my doctor's appointment at my other doctor's office and sticking with this new doctor. They are also testing my urine to see that I still have my bladder infection that I've been dealing with for the past few months. Hopefully I will have those results on Monday. She said that if I didn't hear anything from them, then everything was fine, but I am sure that is an unlikely situation. I know I have something going on. I'll keep you all updated on that. Also, I scheduled my next appointment with them which is November 6th.

[miaclear]

Good morning ladies! Why is it that during the week when I HAVE to get up at 7:15 I just can't but on weekends I'm tossing and turning and just can't sleep in? My allergies were bad this morning too. Stupid Texas and the allergies down here. I never had them in MN. Last night DH had happy hour and in his drunken buzz I told him I was ready to move back to MN and he said it was too soon....five more years. I said three....he said we could probably do that. Not sure if he'll remember but I'm buying a 2009 calendar and writing it down! Likely it'll be after baby #2 comes which is perfect timing for me.

Baby talk. I had my 16 week appt this last Wed and everything was good. She found the HB right away and it was in the 150s. I've gained a total of 8 pounds however I had just eaten a large lunch a couple hours before weighing so I think it's a little less than that. Either way my Dr was quite fine with the weight. I'm going to try to eat healthier this next month before my 20 week appt which is Oct 25th for the big US (which we're still declining to find out the gender). I have a friend who's due just a few days before me and she found out she was having a boy. It was very anti climactic for me, and seemed so for her too so that sealed the deal on us not finding out the gender.

Names. We've narrowed it down and I think we have our boys name and I'm stuck on the girls name I've picked out, DH likes it but not his favorite. I budged a lot on the boys name though and gave him my second choice cause he also didn't really like my favorite boy name either. I don't think I'll budge on the girls. He really likes the name Madison but I went to school in Madison WI and to name our daughter Madison just seems odd to me. Plus it's so popular right now I want something that's not at the top of the list.

DTD. Must have missed this one too. We managed to about once a week, sometimes a little less. There were many of these times I could have passed but I feel for DH and will put out for the good of the marriage :D

Danalou- I'm so sorry about your friend. I lost my brother almost five years ago and I do realize how it important it is to let your family and friends know how important they are in your life. I'm sure your friend knew how you felt for her even if you hadn't spoken for quite some time.

Nice pg clothes- Very cute dress buffy. I bought one kinda similar from target when I first found out I was pg. I have two weddings to go to in October and November and at least one fancier Christmas party so I'm guessing I'll get use of it. Granted it was only like $19 so if I only wear it once I wouldn't feel bad. It's also going to double as my halloween costume since I'm going as a witch. I just need a cape and a hat and some black and orange striped stockings :)

[March2007Mommies]

Updated to here!

I didn't delete the Sept Appts yet but if everyone's fine with it we can to make room for more :D

[buffy]

Three more days until my u/s! Woo-hoo! I am so much more excited to find out the sex this time than I ever was. I guess because it seems like such a huge thing this time. Will I have 3 girls? Or will I actually have a little boy? Hopefully we'll be able to tell on Tuesday!

Tandis ~ not at all! I got the dress at a maternity store in Atlanta (not a chain) but it's Japanese Weekend so I'm sure they sell it everywhere.

shimmerstar ~ it's kind of exciting to have a date, isn't it? I really thought I was going to have a Feb. baby my first time - I was due January 28. I was kind of hoping too because I like the birthstone better than January's. :D

Married ~ congrats on the good appointment! I saw midwives for my first two pregnancies and loved them. Unfortunately the midwife around here quit and I don't really want to drive an hour to the next closest one so I'm stuck with an OB but she's not that terribly bad. :)

miaclear ~ where in MN are you from? We moved to GA from Minneapolis (about 5 miles south of downtown) 3 years ago. I miss the city a lot but we get back there once or twice a year. What I don't miss is the weather! I think that's the only thing keeping us from moving back. When we go back at Christmas and it's 0 degrees it makes it hard to think about living there again. We thought about naming our first daughter Madison but like you said it was so popular plus I'm from WI and it seemed strange so we settled for Addison. A slight variation. :)

[MrsKinnison]

DTD ~ add us to the once a week club. We have both just been working so much, and are so tired, there just simply isn't energy left at night. We opened the store this week, which means Chris isn't working so late at night getting it ready to open anymore, but now I have to be to work (there) at 8am! I'm used to rarely being anywhere before 10-10:30. I have been spoiled by real estate for the last 3 years!

names ~ we always thought girl names were easier, but now we have a pretty firm short list for boys and nothing for girls! As far as Madison goes, if you love the name its not a big deal that it is popular, however if it was the name of your school that might be a little too much "spirit" :D


This could include some TMI, so sorry!!! Anyone have stomach issues? I know a lot of people seem to have troubles with constipation, but I seem to be going too much. I had a roast beef sub for lunch yesterday ~ I had been thinking about it for 2 days, and since I don't eat much for meat these days I figured what would it hurt? Well, it didn't agree with me at all, and practically went right through me. Ofcourse I think I know have Listeria (j/k), but honestly this has been a problem all week. Maybe just something left over from my stomach issues of last week since I'm back to eating normally??? I have an apt on Monday anyway, but I was just curious if anyone else had troubles?

[miaclear]

Buffy- I'm from the Brainerd area. Moving back there since it's such a small town would likely be hard (job wise and such) but we're thinking the St Cloud area would work. Close to my parents and other family. Smaller town (although growing up in Brd I thought it was HUGE), yet plenty of choices when it comes to shopping and employment. The one thing I get disapointed with when I go back to Brd is the lack of selection. I couldn't imagine finding maternity clothes there, Target would be the one stop shop! As for the weather, after living in texas for almost 7 years I think I've decided I'd much rather brave the cold, than melt in this heat. It's OCTOBER tomorrow and we have nothing but 90+ degree temps in sight. WHEN will I ever get to wear all these fall maternity clothes (cause that's all they sell?).

MrsKinneson- Depends which day you ask me. Constipation one day, bowels running a little too freely the next :o . I'm fairly certain it's my inconsistantly bad diet. I was kinda like this before pg so I think being pg is just making it worse. I always have such high hopes that I'll eat good, but then I go and bind myself up with cheese or eat a lot of beans:rolleyes:

[happy1nuv]

Mrskinnison ~ Ditto... my diet doesn't change too too much from day to day (the baby is still dictating what I'm able to eat, and gets rid of anything too healthy I try to eat... ugh) ... so I'm sure it pg. Constipation one day to the other end of the spectrum the next... yeah, fun...

Names ~ I totally agree that girls names are soooo much easier. I think because there's more choice there... like, there are almost no "rules" when it comes to girls, but you have to be way more careful with boys... i'm just PRAYING this child is a girl. I'm out of boys names. Totally. I'm a one hit wonder with that... (of course, I'm also the girl that was SURE she was going to have lots of little girls. As a young teen, I collected Madame Alexander dolls. I INSISTED that I couldn't stop collecting until I had a number divisible by 8...since I was going to have 8 lil girls (and named/renamed them on a pretty regular basis)... yeah, now I'm hoping for 4 total... but not even sure that will happen...)

[miaclear]

I just woke up from a 3 hour nap! I wish I could take those every day :D

[MrsKinnison]

I just got up from a 3 hour nap too. My stomachs just not right to day, lots of burping and a pain across my midsection. Maybe a bug, or maybe just gas???

[pewee9196]

Am I the only one that can't think of a girl's name? Yikes! We do have one we like but it is so trendy- Isobella! Not sure of a Middle name though. Anyone else have completely different taste then DH? How have you dealt with this? I think I came up with a compromise for a boys name (Dylan Alexander (i wanted Patrick Alexander) but I don't know if he will like it (he won't discuss names until U/S) ARG. DH is 1/2 irish 1/2 italian - raised by italian granparents that came over during WW II. I want to honor that. If we went with my family I would want William but he says the kid will be picked on. Our last name is the end of this phrase "danger will ______"Pooey.

DTD- I have very little drive to begin with but I have been trying to once a week or every other. DH is not too unhappy because he thought he would not get any for 12 months.

[goldengbridge]

Hi Ladies. Just a quick note to let you know that Andrew was readmitted back to the hospital on Friday afternoon. His fluid is much worse. They changed him over to a no fat diet in hopes that it would dry him up. It the fluid doesnt get better by the end of the week hes going to need a heart cath. We're praying that is not the case. Please keep him in your prayers!

Thanks,
Jen

[MarriedaGoalie]

MrsKinnison: I haven't really been having constipation problems, but I've been having a lot of stomach pains that feel like gas pains, but I'm not sure they are... I don't know what they are. Anyone else having these?

[miaclear]

Pewee...I like the name William but with the last name I can see where your DH is coming from. It's so hard to figure out a good strong name that will last a lifetime and cover a whole lotta bases depending on which direction your child takes. Ugh. Fortunatly mine and DH's tastes aren't really different, but we just don't have that one name we both love.

Goldenbridge...I'm so sorry to hear about Andrew. He'll be in my thoughts.

Belly Touching...I had my first unwanted belly touches last night. Ugh. She's the bride to be at a shower we went to and about the skiniest thing you could imagine. I wanted to pull the "it's my turn now" line on her and touch her stomach but I didn't. I'm saving that for people who I REALLY don't want touching me.

[MrsKinnison]

Stomach problems ~ well, it is either gas or something left over from the Mexico illness. I saw some people I was in Mexico with, and they all have been a little off. At the same time, I feel like burping all the time and tums help. Either way, I have a Dr's apt tomorrow so I'll see what she says. At least using the bathroom has slowed down some.

Girl Names ~ so much harder than I thought, and we have very different tastes in names. Chris has twice suggested the name Heidi, which is fine except that is the name of my parents sheepdog!

Belly touching ~ doesn't bother me in the least. I know I am in the minority, but I think it is amazing and have not problems sharing. Who knows, my opinion my changed sometime after the 100th touch. Also, no strangers yet so that might be weird.

goldenbridge ~ Andrew will be in my prayers!!!

[ieducate]

Goldenbridge, you and your family are in my prayers. I hope that everything works out perfectly for Andrew.

[danalou]

Goldenbridge: I will keep your family in my prayers!!

[MommyinPA]

Goldenbridge: My thoughts are with you for Andrew. My friend's daughter has similar issues. They have been through so much, as a I am sure you have too!

Girls names: This was very easy for us. After 2 boys, we have ours leftover from last time. And we finally came up with a definite boys name too! :)

Buffy: I am excited for your Big U/S. Having 2 boys, as you do 2 girls, there is definately a bigger excitement about this third and the gender! We are not going to find out but this is our last baby so it's really exciting! I think we just assume it will be another boy since we made 2 already. But who knows? We could be surprised. I think choosing a boys name and a girls name has made us more ready for either. We are excited either way!

Belly touching: This drives me crazy. Hands OFF!

Shimmerstar: My birthday is February 21st! I would LOVE a February baby, but I am due on the 19th of March so it is very unlikely I would actually want that to happen.

Maternity Jeans: I would love to hear what you guys p