April 2007 Mamas: Graduating to Trimester Number Two!

[kimthebride]

Though you may notice all my belly shots cut my head off. I used to be cute. Even when pg with DS. Not so much anymore. ;) And I kept getting it pointed out to me by people: "Oh yes, you are definitely having a girl, they take away your beauty". Gee, thanks!

This kid better be really, really nice to me after all these months of being sick and also making me look like sh*t. :D

[beinglizzy]

I know that I dont post at all but I thought I would post to ask to be added to Team Blue.

Now I guess it is just more baby baking for the time being.

[lauren f s]

Congrats on the boy beinglizzy!!!

Old Wives Tales - Looking Good/Bad: I don't buy it. I had the easiest pregnancy with DD and looked amazing. Skin was great, hair was perfect, felt amazing. Loved it! But this boy is giving me more hell than Ava ever did. My skin breaks out, my hair is crap, I'm always having some new, strange ache & pain. It's awful! Everyone keeps commenting on how he's going to be a difficult one when he's born and I don't doubt it one bit. Ava was the easy pregnancy and the dream baby - I had almost no problems with her. This one, I'm a little worried about ;) :( .

[Tonysweetie]

I know that I dont post at all but I thought I would post to ask to be added to Team Blue.

Now I guess it is just more baby baking for the time being.


Congrats!!!! :)

[happy1nuv]

beinglizzy ~ congrats on team blue

lauren ~ oh no! Don't ruin THAT old wives tale for me... (the one about hard pg, easy baby and vice versa)... Nic was a super EASY pg, hard baby. This baby is a hard pg... i'm really hoping for EASY BABY (cause if he's anything like Nic was/is... I'm doomed...) :)

[lauren f s]

Happy: Trust me, I'm hoping I don't ruin it! Ava was a dream and I really hope that this one will be too.

[basketcase]

Hi, I know I haven't posted in a million years, but we just got back from our BIG ultrasound...

And it's a........SURPRISE! (You can officially add me to Team Green)

OMG, the suspense was KILLING me on the ultrasound table. I don't understand how I can be so calm and collected for 20 straight weeks, totally logical about why we wanted to wait to find out the gender....then all of a sudden I lie down on that table and I'm a wreck!! I almost caved at least five times. At one point the U/S technician was talking and I wasn't even listening because I was so damn focused on trying to see what was between the baby's legs.

The hardest part was that our ultrasound technician has been doing ultrasounds for 28 years and has a 100% success rate in determining gender. 100%!!!!!! :eek: I waited until I had my coat on and was walking out the door before I asked her, "I still don't want to know, but can I ask....could you tell? Do YOU know?" She just smiled and winked and said, "What do you think?" AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

So although I'm still really, really, reeeeaaaaaaaallly curious, I'm glad we waited it out. I've been saying since the beginning of the pregnancy that I want to wait, so I'm glad we stuck it out, despite the massive temptation.

And the best news is that the baby looks perfect, totally perfect! 7-8 inches (from crown to rump) and about 11 ounces. S/he was really curled up in there -- waaay down low with the feet at my cervix (I knew this already just from the kicks I've been feeling). I couldn't believe how curled up s/he was! Half of my uterus wasn't even being used! I think we have a little yoga instructor in-the-making. ;) By the end of the U/S, the baby finally stretched out and gave us a great profile shot.

Now I'm off to examine and rewind our VHS tape of the U/S a million times!! :D

[kimthebride]

Femmie
Well, now you are torturing us! ;) We wanna know....

I forgot to mention how we learned the sex of our wee one. I thought it was of funny...

So I lay down and before putting the u/s on my belly she asks whether we want to know the sex.
Me: "YES!"
DH: "No, not really"
(tech looks from me to him and back)
Me: "But that doesn't matter. We're finding out. :D "
DH: *shrugs* and laughs

She starts at the head and tells us each thing she's looking at, all the while DH and I are staring at our kid's crotch. Once we both thought we saw a penis, but the tech wasn't looking that low yet.

Finally, about 35 minutes into the exam she says "I don't see a penis". She looked and looked, and said she didn't see one, but the baby wasn't being super cooperative so the doctor who reviews the pictures might be able to tell us.

She leaves, and comes back in with a doctor with zero charm, theinability to smile, and apparently no time to waste. Here's how it goes:

Doctor puts the u/s back on my belly...
Me: "Can you make a guess on the sex?"
Dr: "I won't make a guess, I will tell you what it is for 100% sure"
He pokes around a bit, and I say...
Me: "I don't see a penis"
Dr: "It is NOT the lack of a PENIS that makes this baby a girl, is the the presence of a VAGINA (points to it) and a VULVA (points to it) that makes it a girl"

DH & I smile at each other, then realize Hey this guy is looking at our little girl's vagina - stop it! :rolleyes: :o

beinglizzy
Congrats on your boy!

[lil_nance]

beinglizzy Congrats on your boy.
femmie Trust me the waiting is worth it. I'm so glad we did that for pg#1. Although I wanted a girl. I was convinced from early on it was a boy. I actually had to remind myself in those final weeks that it was a surprise and could go either way. Of course in the end DS popped out.

ROs I so agree with this being a harder pregnancy. I still have nauseau. It's been fairly constant at least once a day from 14wk until now. I find that a graham cracker usually calms things down. This morning I took a shower before eating. Not good. I ended up gagging and nearly dry heaving in the sink. Ugh. This little princess better be worth it. DS has been an easy baby but the u/s techs keep saying she's going to give us a run for our money as she hasn't been very cooperative.

Oh forgot to mention. I've done too good a job training myself to look at boy clothes. After wanting so badly to buy little girl clothes, I went out last night and didn't get a thing. :(

[kimthebride]

Baby Purchases
The other night once we knew it was a girl, DH came home with a Niketown bag. DS knows the orange bag usually means he has a new pair of sneakers, but DH said "Sorry buddy, not this time!" and it was a bag full of pink Nike onesies and hats. Very cute!
I got a pair of floral pjs for DD yesterday, and today at Target found a whote short-sleeved onesie that says "How cute am I?" on it. :)

What I can't WAIT for: my favorite store on the planet for girl clothes is Janie & Jack. Come spring, DH knows i will not be able to control myself. My DS may have lived in Target clothes, but DD is going to be J&J all the way - I don't know what is with my obsession, but I can't help it!

[Tonysweetie]

Hey this guy is looking at our little girl's vagina - stop it! :rolleyes: :o




LOL! :D

[April07Mamas]

Updated to here!

[happy1nuv]

LOL Kim... too funny! :)

I had a question I was coming to post, but... pg brain strikes again! Have a good weekend all!

:)

[Tonysweetie]

My back HURTTTTTSSSS! This baby needs to get off my pelvis and move back up so I can be comfterable again. My hips, back, bum, and thighs hurt. The Dr. said their isn't anything she can do for me. She told me take tylonal (doesn't work), and try heating pads. I had DH rub my back but that didn't do anything. I can barely sleep, walk, move around b/c of it. I'm trying so hard not to complain since I have another 20 weeks of this. Seriously my back can't hurt this much for 20 more weeks can it? :(

Bad news, DH can't go to the BIG U/S on Monday. I'm so bummed out! He can't get off work for a few hours. My Mom and Dad agreed to go with me though so that'll be nice for them. My Dad is super excited. Although I have to admit I'm a little nervous about my Dad going. I have no idea why it's not like I'll be doing anything werid but still. It's my Dad! lol. So only 2 more days! YAYYYY!!!! I hope everyone has great weekends. God Bless!!!


ETA: When does the 3rd trimester start? Is it 28 weeks?

I can't believe I didn't post this on Thursay, but we bought our crib!!! I'm so excited to set it up!

[herewego]

Hey Ladies-

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

So...not too concerned, but still, this has me a bit on edge. For the last two days I have had weird shooting cramps, basically starting from my belly button heading south to the nether regions, also on my right side. They aren't particularly painful, just catching me a bit off guard since I have felt great and haven't really had any pains for weeks. Usually if I drink water and rest a bit they go away.

Then tonight, I went pee and it seems like my CM was very slightly yellowish-orange....almost gelatinous too. Wierd huh? In general, I feel great and am not in any pain. I've definitely popped lately and have felt lots of stretching and the aches of getting bigger. I have also hit the gym pretty hard the last few days and my muscles are a bit sore. Maybe I overdid it a bit?

Baby has been moving a lot lately, but today has been rather quiet which also has me a bit nervous. My regular monthly checkup is on Thursday..what do you think I should do? Wait or are these sympoms out of the ordinary enough that I should call now? Is anyone else having cramps?

Thoughts?

[kimthebride]

herewego

My personal guess is that you may have overdone with working out. Don't forget that your abdomen muscles can seperate from each other in a line down the center of your belly from your belly button on down. This happened to me with DS, and it was a wierd, uncomfortable feeling.

Also, when I am a bit dehydrated my belly gets uncomfortable...not shooting pains almost a little stab-like & achy at the same time. If I guzzle water so my urine is almost clear, I never have the feeling. This happened at the mall last week. I *had* to sit down, I was getting so uncomfortable and realised I wasn't quite drinking enough. I spent the rest of the day on the couch on my left side resting and guzzling down water. Was fine the next day.

Maybe if you are working out and not really compensating on the water it could be contributing to the discomfort.

And as for the CM, mine changes consistency at times.

But to be sure, it wouldn't hurt to call your OB with your concerns. They will tell you whether it is reason to come in early, or normal and just come in on your appointed date.

[happy1nuv]

herewego...
I totally agree with Kim (i seem to be saying that a lot lately :) ) ... it's probably not enough water/too hard a workout. And, I've seen ummm, jello cm lately too (not lots, but some...) My CM is all over the place when pg though.. was this way for nic too... I just try not to look at it too closely... ;)

[Tonysweetie]

Herewego: I hope you feel better! I also noticed when I'm not drinking enough water I get uncomfy and werid sensations and have to sit down. Very werid. My CM has been all over the place as well. I would call your OB just to ease your fears. That is what they are there for. :)


Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!!!! :) :) :)

[MarriedaGoalie]

Tonysweetie: I'm jealous that your big day is tomorrow. We still have 9 days left! :( On the upside, we did get our crib set up tonight. Here's a pic... :)

http://static.flickr.com/102/313563667_c91fcebb59.jpg?v=0

[Tonysweetie]

Married: HOW CUTE!!!! I'm jealous you have your crib set up, lol. Mine won't be set up for a while. Not until we get this room cleared out. Who knows when that'll happen at the rate DH is going, lol. YAy for only 9 more days though!!!

[jeggink]

Threadmistress, please remove me from this thread, we lost Kayla last Monday. Thank you

[juliemag]

Hi Everyone,
I'm back from a nice baby shower weekend for my friend. We had such a great time. :) Tomorrow I have a 2nd Level II ultrasound. Since they scheduled me so early last time (nearly 17 weeks) - the doctor wanted to take a better look when I was further along.

Femmie - Congrats on your suprise! I dont know how you held out not knowing! You have some willpower girl!

Christmas card exchange - I logged in this morning to find my CC christmas card exchange list in my inbox.... and I saw happy1nuv and myshel were on my list! That will be fun exchanging cards with you guys!

Married - your crib looks great! I cant wait to pickup mine in January.

Here is my 22 week belly pic.
http://pics.livejournal.com/juliemag/pic/0008b889/s640x480

Jeggink - I just saw your post. I am so, so sorry. I will be keeping your family in my prayers. ((hugs))

[Tonysweetie]

jeggink: ((Hugs)) again I'm so very sorry for the loss of your daughter!

Julie: You look great!!! YAy for anther U/S!


Well t-minus 2 hours and 8 minutes but who's counting? lol. I'm soooooo EXCITED! I had a dream last night that the baby is a girl so we'll see! It was a very clear picture that it was a girl too.

[Sunshine]

Just wanted to share a photo of my crib! We picked it up on Saturday and had it set up later that day!
Now just to get a mattress and bedding set!
It turns into a day bed and a single bed with matching foot board! Sorry the pic is too dark, but it shows the color of the crib pretty true this way!
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a313/dellswife/of50590442-2.jpg

[happy1nuv]

jeggink ~ I'm so sorry for the loss of your little girl... {{HUGS}}

juliemag ~ Yay :) But, I didn't get my christmas card exchange list yet... think I should have?

[BusyBee]

Jeggink, I'm so sorry for your loss - your family will be in my prayers.

[ali_ohli]

Please remove me from the list as well. We lost our baby girl yesterday morning. We are devastated, but hopeful for the future. I wish you all the best in your pregnancies.

[April07Mamas]

Updated.

jeggink & ali_ohli, you are both in our thoughts & prayers.

[Tonysweetie]

ali_ohli: HUGS! I'm so very sorry for you loss!!! God Bless!


Sunshine: Beautiful!!!


You can add me to TEAM BLUE! It's a baby BOY!

Pictures...


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Tonysweetie/BabyBoyJones.jpg

Boy Parts!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Tonysweetie/BabyBoyJones2.jpg

[Sunshine]

I'm so sorry for your losses jeggink & ali_ohli...

Tonysweetie~CONGRATULATIONS on your BOY! I had a feeling you were having a boy by the way you were carrying;)

[juliemag]

ali_ohli - Oh my goodness, I am so terribly sorry. Please take care. :(

happy1nuv - I found the message in my CC private message inbox. Yours might be in there!

tonysweetie - congratulations!

[kimthebride]

jeggink
I am so sorry that Kayla didn't make it. My heart goes out to you.

ali ohli
I have been thinking of you and hoping your cerclage would do the trick. My condolences on losing your little girl.

Nice cribs, ladies....makes me want to get a new one!

juliamag
Nice bump. :)

tonysweetie
Congrats on your boy!

My OB Appointment Today: 19 fetal/21 gestational weeks
I am now finally getting into this pregnancy. DD is wiggling around a lot, and I feel so blessed to be able to have a healthy girl in there, despite the m/s and migraines etc.

Today's appointment went well:
- OB confirmed all looked perfect on my Anatomy Scan last week
- Baby's head is down
- My cervix is sealed tight
- The placenta is up (it took a while for it to move up with DS, so this is good)
- He gave me a Rx for my terrible post-nasal drip. I have asthma, and when I was pg with DS I couldn't take anything, so never asked this time til today. OMG I can't wait to start this, since every morning (sorry TMI) I wake up with a pool of pnd in my throat that makes me gag/dry heave when I try to swallow or spit it up. Nice way to start the day. :rolleyes:
- An 'edge' is coming off my nausea, and my weight gain has been steady so he wants me to try and cut down on the Zofran soon. I am nervous, but will try maybe next week. In all, I gained 15lbs, but am only up 10lbs from my pre-preg weight. I actually gained 6lbs the 2 weeks I was away, since I didn't do anything/go anywhere and my only food choices were fat & carbs. I'm fine with this, but since my OB is high-risk he wants to keep my gain around 30lbs.

And we got an decent 3D of my DD's face. Pretty cool, though apparently she was doing some yoga when we peeked in so her legs are in the way :p :
http://static.flickr.com/106/314197685_9557640a6c.jpg?v=0

Her face is so much softer and rounder than DS's was in his 3D at the same time. Its cool to compare.

[Tonysweetie]

Kim: How cute is that little nose!!!

[Tonysweetie]

Tonysweetie
Me: Lesile
DH: Tony
Married: 3/26/05
TTC: sorta, SWH
BFP: 8/22/06
EDD: 4/24/07
Gender Prediction: Girl
Actual Gender: Boy
Any other children:This is our first

Just wanted to update

[myshel]

jeggink:Love and peace to your family on your loss.

ali: Thought and prayer to you and your family during this time.

tonysweetie: Congrats on the little man!

I leave in 15 minutes for our big u/s. I was a little nervous because DH was called up for jury duty today. He was selected for the jury, so he wasn't going to be there. I just got a text from him saying that a plea bargain was struck, and he'll be there after all. Yay!

[lauren f s]

jeggink: I am so very sorry for your loss and am keeping your family in my prayers.

ali_ohli: I'm very sorry that all the extra efforts weren't enough to help your baby girl and you and your husband are in my prayers.

Tonysweetie: Congrats on the baby boy!!

Kim: Sounds like you had a good appt! Glad to know all is well with your DD.

juliemag: Great belly shot!

I feel awful. I have some sort of stomach bug and virtually spent the night in the bathroom. DH went out at midnight for ginger ale and crackers. I feel okay today, just very tired and only slightly queasy. I'm counting the hours until 5 so I can go home, crawl into bed, and rest. DH has promised to take care of dinner and Ava this evening so I can rest. I'm hoping it'll clear up soon, Ava's birthday party is Sunday and I have lots to do this week to prepare.

[annielynn]

I haven't been in hiding I promise. I have been going through a funk and I have just started to come out of it.

First off I need to send my prayers and thoughts to ali_ohli and jeggink on the loss of their daughters. My heart is breaking for both of you. :(

Congratulations to everyone who has found out about their girl babies and boy babies. That is so exciting for all of you. Due to holidays and scheduling conflicts I will not be able to find out until January 9th. My DH and I have finally decided that we want to know if this is a little girl or little boy.

I had an OB appt last Thursday and everything was great. BP was 100/70 the best yet, I gained 3lbs finally (I am still under my PrePG weight though) the baby HR was great. Getting easier to find since he/she is getting big. I feel him/her everyday now. Great feeling. I cannot wait to share this feeling with DH and DS.

I am sorry I have been so distant. I promise to be around more now that my funk has gone.

[kimthebride]

...I gained 3lbs finally (I am still under my PrePG weight though)...
I am sorry I have been so distant. I promise to be around more now that my funk has gone.
Are you really ill? Have you seen the Hyperemesis & Severe M/S Thread?

Hope you feel better soon.

[myshel]

I am pleased to announce that we are officially members of Team PINK!!!

The u/s went well. The hb was 150, and baby girl cooperated for almost all of the shots. We had some trouble with the diaphragm and kidney shots. Everything looks great though.

[Sunshine]

myshel~CONGRATS on your girl!!!!!!!!!

[myshel]

annie: I hope that you're starting feel less funky soon. Let us know if there's anything we can do for you in the mean time. {{HUGS}}

[herewego]

Condolences to ali_ohli and jeggink for your loss. You are both in my thoughts and prayers. I hope that you are able to find support in your family and friends during this difficult time.

[herewego]

Just wanted to say thanks to those of you who posted yesterday about my weird cramps. Happy to report that I feel much better today...no wierd shooting pains, and CM seems to be normal. I think that the discoloration was a total fluke because I never saw it again.

I do think that I may have over-exerted myself at the gym the last two days because I am very sore and am feeling it all through my abdomen and thighs. I'm going to take a few days off just to make sure that I'm feeling normal again. I have also been downing the water which helps significantly.

I have to say that I am so sad about the recent losses here in our little community. I may not post alot, or really even know much about you ladies, but I still feel tied to you all through this experience and I really feel for those who are going through such a tough time. And I won't lie...it's also scary and reminds us all what a true blessing and miracle a healthy baby is.

[lil_nance]

jeggink & ali_ohli my sincere condolences. HUGS

sunshine Beautiful crib

Kim My girl is a yoga master too. Why do they like to kick themselves in the head?

myshel YEAH!!! I actually said that outloud although the only one here to hear it was the dog. LOL

Well it's been an eventful 24hr in our household. The good news is my spotting is lessening substantially. It's weird because it started letting up after 2wk which is about the same as I had when pg with DS.

The bad news is DS is in the hospital for pnuemonia. I'll post details in the July '05 board if anyone wants more info. Let me tell you ladies though, it's tough being a momma. DH is spending the night in the hospital so I can be home, sleep, and watch out for myself & #2.

Off to get some sleep.

[Tonysweetie]

myshel: Congratulations on your baby girl!!! That is so exciting! :)


Herewego: I'm glad your feeling better. Enjoy your few days off from the gym. :)

I think I'm going to start excercising tomorrow. I was walking with my Mom a few days a week but it's just getting to hard to keep up with her. I have some DVDs I'm going to try. Well see how that goes. Have a great night everyone!


ETA: LilNance: I hope your DS feels better soon!!!! Take care of yourself!

[wendstress]

jeggink & ali_ohli - I have been thinking about you both a lot lately. Although I don't post often, I do read nearly every day, and was always watching for updates from both of you.... I'm so sorry for the loss you are both experiencing. You are sincerely in my heart, thoughts, and prayers tonight!

[happy1nuv]

ali_ohli ~ I'm so sorry for your loss! My heart goes out to your family...

tonysweetie ~ congrats on your boy!

myshel ~ Congrats on your girl!

lilnance ~ OMG... I hope your son feels better soon and is able to come home from the hospital!

[kimthebride]

Nancy I can't belive Connor got so sick so fast. I hope he gets better quickly and comes home. Thinking of you....

[annielynn]

Are you really ill? Have you seen the Hyperemesis & Severe M/S Thread?

Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks Kim. I am actually not ill, I have had zero appetite for weeks. It is just as easy for me to NOT eat as it is TO eat. I guess this little one is getting big. :)

I am feeling really good today.

My funk has eased off. I am finally getting in the Christmas spirit. I have put my tree up and have decorated the house. My DH and I are going to decorate the outside this weekend and I am really looking forward to it. Also, we are going to take DS to see "HO HO" (Santa) on Sunday. I hope that he is stays just as happy to see him as he is right now.

Nancy - I hope that Connor gets better really soon. As a mom of a asthmatic I understand your worry. I have spent 2 nights in the hospital with my DS because of these same issues. Take care of yourself and baby #2! Keep us updated.

Myshel - Congrats on your baby girl! :)

[mili04]

jeggink & ali_ohli: I am so, so sorry for your loss.

lil_nance: I hope your little boy gets better soon! Take care of yourself.

Its been a while since I posted in here so I'll just say big congrats to everyone who found out the sex of their babies. I read this thread just about every morning before work, but by the time I finish reading, I don't have time to write anything. :) Everything is going fine on my end. We ordered the Britax companion car seat this weekend - our first major baby purchase. Next will be the crib. I'm starting to get anxious about getting everything done. Has anyone made their registries yet?

[myshel]

Please keep Nancy(aka lil_nance) in your thoughts today. She mentioned that her son, Connor, was ill. She posted in the July 2005 thread that Connor may need to be moved to a PCIU unit because his condition is not improving. Maybe if we combine our positive thoughts with those of the July 2005 Mommies, something good will happen today.

[basketcase]

jeggink & ali_ohli~ I was so incredibly sad to read about your losses. I've been thinking about you two a lot lately. I wish there was something I could say that would help the healing process. Please take care of yourselves and know that my heart goes out to you and your family.

Nancy ~ Please keep us updated on Connor's condition. I will say a prayer for him today.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Congratulations to myshel on your baby GIRL and to Tonysweetie on your baby BOY. Thanks to Tonysweetie, I am not officially convinced we are having a boy. haha Oh well. :)

I am so sad to hear of those who have lost their little ones... :(


Things are going well with me. Nothing really new to report. I'm boring. :( Oh, our big ultrasound is a week from today!!

[April07Mamas]

Updated to here!

[Tonysweetie]

Praying for little Connor!!! Feel better soon!!!

Married: I still say Girl for you! :) 1 week! WHOO HOO!!!!

[lauren f s]

Myshel: Congrats on the little girl!!!

lil_nance: I'm keeping your DS in my prayers and hope he starts getting well very quickly :).

[sunni76]

jegginkand ali_ohli I am so sad to hear of your losses:( I lost a baby in May, and I know how incredibly hard it can be. Hang in there.

[juliemag]

Myshel - congrats on your baby girl!

Lil_nance - I'll definitely be keeping your little boy in my prayers. I hope he has a quick recovery!

Yesterday afternoon I had my 2nd Level II ultrasound at the perinatologist's office. They just wanted to get a better look at the brain, organs, and heart...b/c they scheduled me so early last time. Good news... he's still a boy! And better news... he already knows how to make his mama's heart melt. Would you look at that smile? What a love!!!

http://pics.livejournal.com/juliemag/pic/0008hkg5/s640x480

And more pictures from the session:

My beach lounging baby
http://pics.livejournal.com/juliemag/pic/0008efh2/s640x480

Sweet profile
http://pics.livejournal.com/juliemag/pic/0008gc04/s640x480

And finally... he became mr shy-pants
http://pics.livejournal.com/juliemag/pic/0008fz46/s640x480

I swear, nobody loves this little guy more than I do right now. :)

[kimthebride]

Nancy
I am so sorry Connor took a turn for the worse. I hope he avoids the PICU and makes a fast recovery. I'm thinking of you.

juliemag
Adorable!!!

Me
I just got over a horrible 24-hour stomach virus. Nothing like stomach cramps, the runs, body aches, exhaustion and even MORE nausea on top of my usual m/s. :rolleyes: At least my m/s Rx actually helped a bit - i can't imagine how bad it would have been without it. I guess it was in a way a perk to still be sick, lol.
When DH got home last night (early, thank God) DS started running around the room yelling DADA DADA DADA DADA! thrilled he finally had someone to play with him. My poor boy.

[Tonysweetie]

Julie: How cute is he!!!! I know what you mean, at my U/S on Monday I just totally fell in love. I'm more in love with DS now than I was before. I think it's b/c I know he's a boy. It's such a great feeling!

Kim: I hope you feel better!!! That has to be the pits. Hang in there!


Christmast is fast approaching! I said a few months ago that I would at least have the babys room cleared out by Christmas so incase I get things over Christmas I have a place to put it. The crib is just sittingi n the box in our dining room. DH wants to get the travel system we picked out for me for Christmas. I'm soooo excited! So I think tomorrow I'm finally going to get started in here. I know when the holidays are over April will be here quickly!

I'm sorta stuck in a bind. My MIL has a cradle that was DH and SIL when they were babies and she wants to pass it down to me. I think it's a really sweet gesture but I don't really want it. I want to get a co sleeper for our bedroom. I don't want to hurt her feelings though. It means so much to her. I guess we'll just take it and use it somehow. Well I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!!!! God Bless!!!

[Tonysweetie]

Julie: How cute is he!!!! I know what you mean, at my U/S on Monday I just totally fell in love. I'm more in love with DS now than I was before. I think it's b/c I know he's a boy. It's such a great feeling!

Kim: I hope you feel better!!! That has to be the pits. Hang in there!


Christmast is fast approaching! I said a few months ago that I would at least have the babys room cleared out by Christmas so incase I get things over Christmas I have a place to put it. The crib is just sittingi n the box in our dining room. DH wants to get the travel system we picked out for me for Christmas. I'm soooo excited! So I think tomorrow I'm finally going to get started in here. I know when the holidays are over April will be here quickly! Also I found out a couple days ago my shower is going to either be the last week of February or first week in March. I'm super excited!!!

I'm sorta stuck in a bind. My MIL has a cradle that was DH and SIL when they were babies and she wants to pass it down to me. I think it's a really sweet gesture but I don't really want it. I want to get a co sleeper for our bedroom. I don't want to hurt her feelings though. It means so much to her. I guess we'll just take it and use it somehow. Well I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!!!! God Bless!!!

[MarriedaGoalie]

Tonysweetie: I know what you mean about not wanting to hurt her feelings. My MIL had my SS's crib from 10 years ago still and she was wanting me to use it. It was a really nice thought, but when I saw the crib for the first time, it looked like it was old when they purchased it 10 years ago. It was bad... Luckily, she understood where I was coming from. :)

[lil_nance]

Having a good day so far. Connor is still in the PICU but doing better. He & DH got some rest last night. He ate & drank well this morning, then sat in my lap and watched cartoons. He's crashed out napping now. If things continue improving, they'll move him back to regular peds. Dr. said it seems to be a virus so it needs to run it's course. I'm a little congested so I'm probably getting it too. But DH has been doing the overnights in the hospital so I'm actually getting sleep at home. Ahhh sleep. :)

Thinking of calling DD, "Thumper". She's been kicking away last night and this morning. Spotting is finally lightening up. I'm so glad because I was worried the stress with DS was going to make it worse.

Kim hope you feel better. You don't have the e. coli stuff that's going around do you? The S. Plainfield Taco Bell is the one closest to my house. Scary.

Tonysweetie can you put the cradle in the living room? I have a PnP for the bedroom but am thinking about getting a second one for the living room. Sometimes it's just nice to have a safe place to put the baby if you need to use the restroom, fix dinner, etc.

[diedra1027]

I'm sorta stuck in a bind. My MIL has a cradle that was DH and SIL when they were babies and she wants to pass it down to me. I think it's a really sweet gesture but I don't really want it. I want to get a co sleeper for our bedroom. I don't want to hurt her feelings though. It means so much to her. I guess we'll just take it and use it somehow.Could you maybe take the 'not safe for baby to sleep in due to how old it is' route (Doctor's orders!!), but take it and use it for stuffed animals or something? At 18 months old my DD has become very interested in putting stuffed animals to bed and other emulating behaviors - eventually your DS may want to do the same with DH's old cradle. It will get used, just not for him to sleep in...

[annielynn]

Nancy I am so happy to hear that Connor is doing better. He will be coming home before you know it. I would also have to agree that my little is a "Thumper" lately he/she really makes their precense known! :) Great to hear abou the spotting too! woo hoo

Tonysweetie How does one say no to such a gift? I wish that I had an answer for you. I would agree with Nancy though. There has got to be something that you can use it for. OR even better tell her that you would like to leave it at her house for when you visit them. That was your little man will have a place to nap.

Kim I hope that you are feeling much better today. What a nasty little bug you have. Your son sounds like mine. I am so tired by the time that I get home from work at night that I am not the best person to play with. When DH actually makes it home at a decent hour DS goes nuts. They play for hours. It is a wonderful thing.

Julie Those u/s pictures are your son are absolutley precious. What a great gift to see those. He is going to be a lady killer. ;)

I am doing great today. Work stinks but that isn't anything new. I am just waiting for 5pm to come around so that I can get outta here. I am going to meet my best friend to do some Maternity Clothes shopping (she is due Feb 9) and grab some dinner. I cannot wait!

The good news of the day was that I was able to return one of Jack's duplicate gifts from his birthday. I took it Walmart and they gave me a giftcard worth $43! WOO HOO that will really help with Christmas shopping.

[kimthebride]

Nancy
Glad to hear Connor is doing okay AND you are actually getting sleep!

I don't eat at Taco Bell (aka: Taco Hell ;) ), someone came to playgroup with a stomach virus and didn't tell us until the end. A few of us caught it.

My little girl is also a crazed, wiggly kicker. Love it!

Tonysweetie
Easy fix: Tell MIL you are all set for your home, but you'd LOVE to keep the cradle set up at her place so baby can nap during your many visits. How can she say no? :)

Christmas
I just placed a big Amazon.com order (my AMEX is smoking!) and tomorrow plan to hit both target and the local mall for the last bits. I hope I feel well tomorrow, because I have no idea when else I could get it all done. Ak!
Since we have an Open House here tomorrow, I hope we can manage getting a tree on Sunday and put it up. I miss all the decor I normally haveup by now...

[Tonysweetie]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I like the idea of leaving it at MIL house. I'll have to decide and then just tell her. If we have room I might put it in the nursery for extra blankets and stuffed animals and stuff. That is a really cute idea. :)


Lilnance: I'm glad Connor is doing better! :)

[lauren f s]

Tonysweetie: I'm chiming in late, but I like the idea of using the cradle at home to store blankets and such for the baby. I think it's very sweet of your MIL to offer that to you and think it would be special to have something that was your DH's when we was baby.

lil_nance: I'm so glad to hear Cononr's doing better!

Kim: I'm sorry you were sick! I had a stomach bug Sunday night and it was awful. I hope you're feeling better today :).

Christmas: We have no decorations up. DD's birthday is the 16th and we don't decorate until after her birthday. I hate it, but do not want her birthday lumped together with Christmas. Her stubborn butt was due on Dec. 5 but made us wait 11 days for her appearance :rolleyes:. I picked up her last birthday present today (Candyland!) and am about halfway finished with our Christmas shopping. She needs clothes and then we'll need to get our nephews a toy to go with their outfits and we are done!

[kimthebride]

I forgot to mention...

This weekend I hit the new babystyle store that opened not far from me. YIPPEE!!! I have been shopping thier website since I was pg with DS in 2004, so am thrilled one finally opened that I can go to in person.
Anyway, I bought 3 of these t-shirts I was so impressed with the fell, fit and quality:
Essential Mom-To-Be Tee
http://a940.g.akamai.net/7/940/449/0013/www.estyle.com/images/product/19028_MID_r.jpg
There are more colors in the store then online, plus last season's colors are only $9.99 right now. On the website the price is $21 each, on sale from $30. I think in the store they are $30, buy 2 or more at $21 each.

So far I am really impressed at how well cut these are (I used to work with a designer who got into maternity wear right when I was pg with DS, so I know fit!). I'd really recommend them.

Registries
I have one with BRU that's small. Some friends are throwing me a little informal shower, and my mom/MIL wanted a list so they can treat us to something.
I also have a few things listed on babystyle.com because they have some really unique items. I also had a few with DS, and were really happy with the products and service. Also, I'm a huge fan of swaddling, and this weekend also picked up this 42"x42" cotton flannel swaddling blanket (mine has dots):
The Ultimate Swaddling Blanket $24
http://a940.g.akamai.net/7/940/449/0000/www.estyle.com/images/product/19164_MID_r.jpg
Its fairly pricey, but the fabric quality is great and its just a bit bigger than your typical recieving/swaddling blankets. Just a suggestion in case you decide to do a babystyle registry ;) .

[happy1nuv]

Nancy ~ Continued prayers for Connor. I hope he continues to recover quickly!!

[MarriedaGoalie]

I went to the dentist this morning and she said I had a little bit of gingivitis (from the pregnancy, most likely). She recommended I use a special mouthwash to help take care of that. I do have to go in to get a crown on the tooth that had a root canal done last month. Other than that, the appointment went well. The baby was moving around the whole time! :)

Only 5 more days until the BIG ULTRASOUND!! :)

[Tonysweetie]

Married: Good luck with the dental work. I always get so nervous going to the dentist. I'd rather go see my OB for a pelvic, lol. I'm strange I know. Yay for only 5 more days! I'm anxious to know myself!!!!

[MarriedaGoalie]

Tonysweetie: See, I'm the other way around. I've had so much dental work done, it doesn't even phase me anymore! Is that bad? LOL

Question for the RO's: Did you guys do anything during your last pregnancy to keep the stretch marks at bay? If so, did it work? I need some suggestions! I know the key is slow and steady weight gain. I've only gained 7 lbs so far this pregnancy, so I think I've been doing okay on that. I just want to know if there is anything else I can do to keep them away!

[Tonysweetie]

Married: I'm not an RO obviously but I did get some that expensive cocoa butter stuff just for stretch marks and so far it's not working, lol. My family is known to get them though so I think I'm doomed. :(

[lauren f s]

Married: From what I understand, a lot of it is genetic. I slathered myself in all sorts of stretch mark preventing creams and still got them. I actually didn't know I had any until after DD was born because they were so low (at my panty line) and I certainly couldn't see that far past my stomach! I'm pretty sure I got mine at the end of my pregnancy because I didn't gain much weight at all until the last month. Once I started to gain weight more rapidly, the stretch marks came. It really bothered me at first, but now I don't mind, esp since they've faded to pale, silvery lines. I figure it's a part of having kids. Some people get them, some don't. I haven't spotted any this time around and am hoping to avoid them but if I get them, I'm not going to stress it.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Yeah, I've pretty much decided it is mainly genetics, just wanted to get a feel to see if anything is worth trying. haha I'm very protective of my tummy. :)

[michael'sbride]

Married I didn't get one with #1 and got a ton with #2. I thought I was in the clear but I'm alright with them. They faded a lot after the pregnancy and aren't even bad yet with this one.

Hopefully they stay away for you!

[BusyBee]

Stretch marks The only place I got them was on the underside of my boobs - big, dark red ones which have already faded completely, as far as I can see. I think they showed up in the 1st trimester. This time they haven't returned.

[diedra1027]

Question for the RO's: Did you guys do anything during your last pregnancy to keep the stretch marks at bay?I used a lot of body butter, but just because I was so itchy. I have fibroids that like to come out and play during pregnancy, so up until the halfway mark I measure as if I'm carrying twins! I just grow too fast, I had no hope of holding off the stretch marks - plus I think it's all luck of the draw anyway (i.e. genes!). Mine pretty much go from my sides all the way across my front - from a few inches above my belly button down to my bikini line :(.

[kimthebride]

Stretch Marks
I figured i'd get them with DS since I have old faded ones on my hips from puberty.
Well, from the 1st trimester I FAITHFULLY massaged Mustela stretch mark cream on my boobs and belly every day after the shower and usually before bed too.
http://www.babystyle.com/images/product/825_MID_l.jpg
http://www.babystyle.com/images/product/823_MID_l.jpg

And i really did massage the skin, not just slap it on.
In the end, I did discover some short 1" red, really thin stretch marks right under my butt cheeks at my inner thighs (I didnt see them til i was recovering in the hospital oh-so-ladylike laying spread eagle on the bed, adjusting my sexy hospital-issue mesh underwear). Those faded really fast...maybe a month? Otherwise, I got nothing, not a single mark.
I was suprised, so I figured I'd do the same thing this time to fight the same battle.

Oh, and you know: genetics, gain weight slowly, don't gain too much weight, eat healthy & hydrate, blah blah blah.

[juliemag]

Stretch marks The only place I got them was on the underside of my boobs - big, dark red ones which have already faded completely, as far as I can see. I think they showed up in the 1st trimester. This time they haven't returned.


I'm not an RO, but I've got them starting on the underside of my boobs as well. I'd already had them on my boobs and hips from puberty so I was expecting some to show up. It's good to know that some of you didn't get any though, even though you'd had them in the past with puberty. :)

[lil_nance]

I don't have stretchmarks, I have "mommy tatoos" ;)

Connor is home. He got released from the hospital today. I'm so glad. Now we all just need to catch up on sleep. DS is doing well. Still kicking. She doesn't like it if I sit on the floor and bend too far forward. That always results in a nudge.

[kimthebride]

Great news, Nancy! I was getting worried about the little guy. now log off and go get some rest. ;)

[Tonysweetie]

Nancy: Thanks great news!!! I hope he continues to feel better! :)

[basketcase]

Great news, Nancy! You must feel so relieved!

[happy1nuv]

Nancy ~ That's wonderful. I'm sure he's glad to be home too... :)

Stretch marks ~ I'm going with genetics. My mom didn't get any, and I didn't get any with Nic (I was terrible at using those creams too, although I at least bought them last pg). This time around, I haven't even bought any...

[annielynn]

Nancy so great to hear that Connor is home! YEAH enjoy your weekend.

Stretch Marks - I never used any creams because I figured I was going to get them anyway. I have them on my tummy and boy are they sexy! My mom has them too. In the same place as me. Genetics I do believe.

[Tonysweetie]

I've got a question....Am I really suspose to avoid lunch/deli meats? I haven't so far and this morning I received a thing in my email about avoiding soft cheeses and lunch meats. I knew about the soft cheeses but my Dr. didn't really seem to be bothered by the deli meats. The only time I really eat it is when I go to subway. Should I be avoiding it?


I hate days like this when the baby doesn't move or barely does. It worries the crap out of me! He hasn't been moving around as much as he was last week. On my U/S Monday he was moving tons but I wasn't feeling it. Sometimes I think it'd be nice to have an U/S done every week just make sure things are still good. *sigh*

[lauren f s]

Deli Meats: I eat them. For a while I was craving turkey & swiss sandwiches and would have one every day. I think the concern is if the meat has been sitting in a deli counter all day. I ate them when I was pg with Ava, too, and she turned out fine.

[diedra1027]

Deli meats - I also eat them. My OB says they are OK if they've been heated, but I've never bothered :o.

[MarriedaGoalie]

lil_nance: Yay for Connor being home!! That must be such a HUGE relief!!!

Tonysweetie: You must get the newsletter from BabyFit. I also got that in my inbox this morning. I've heard it before and asked my doctor about it a while back. She said that it was best that I avoid them. I have to admit I've probably only had them once or twice since being pregnant. I don't want to take any chances.

Only 4 more days until our BIG U/S!! :)

[herewego]

Deli Meat-I will premise this by saying that I think what you do or don't eat is an entirely personal decision. As for all do's and don'ts with pregnancy, knowledges is power, so do some research, look at statistics, talk to your doctor and make the choices YOU feel comfortable with.

That being said, I have not had any deli meat for the last 6mos. Bacteria (listeria) that we can tolerate is much more difficult and dangerous for a growing fetus. Listeria grows in those slicing machines, cutting boards and in the containers where they keep meat (especially at fast food places.) I've also steered clear of sausage/pepperoni and hotdogs for the same reason...the machines they feed that stuff through when they are being made may not necessarily be cleaned properly. For me, the risks aren't worth it.

But obviously people eat deli meat, soft cheese, drink caffiene and alcohol while pregnant and have perfectly healthy babies. Again, it's all a personal choice and what you decide to to with the information that is out there is up to you! :)

[michael'sbride]

I don't eat deli meats for the same reason as herewego. The blades that they use to slice the deli meats are littered with bacteria and germs. They aren't cleaned between uses (for obvious reason) and for that reason I have chosen to avoid. I also stay away for all soft and unpasturized cheeses.

I do, however, have caffine once a day and take medications for Asthma. I think we all weigh our risks and choose accordingly.

[lauren f s]

lil_nance: I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier, but I'm so glad Connor's home!!

[kimthebride]

Deli Meats, Etc.
I avoid them because I don't like them ;) , but I agree with what the others said about the bacteria on the slicers and lack of sterile environment. However...can't you buy packaged "deli" meats that are pastuerized and sealed? I swear I bought some in the refrigerated section near the deli part of my grocery store for a playgroup I hosted. Maybe those are ok?

Soft Cheeses
My OB is fine with soft cheese as long as its pasteurized. I used to love on goat cheese with DS, and he came out just fine.

On A Related Note: The Litterbox
Something I do take seriously is if you have a cat that has ever gone outdoors, it is not worth the risk for you to change the litterbox. If you have to, get the cat checked for toxoplasmosis. You can easily contract it via cat poo and its not a good thing to have, since it can transfer to your fetus. If your cat is in the clear and is an indoor-only cat, your OB will be fine with you changing the litterbox - though its not a bad idea to wear latex gloves while doing so.

[BusyBee]

Nancy - so glad to hear he's home and feeling better!

Question - What are you wearing for all the holiday parties coming up? My company party is next Friday and the only thing I can fit in is the huge pantsuit I wore at 8 1/2 months pg. I really need to do some shopping.

[kimthebride]

I have nothing too formal to go to, but if any holiday parties come up I'll stick to my safety outfit of babyStyle black dress pants and a nice sweater.

I had a big 1st Communion party to attend when i was about 8 months along with DS and picked up a pretty faux-wrap shirt from Mimi. imagine a collared button-down dress shirt combined with a wrap-top. It looked nice and was dressy enough for the occasion, since I added nice jewelry.

[Sunshine]

I bought some cute brown maternity dress pants and a nice maternity brown, green and black sleeveless top to wear to my DH's Christmas party.
I am pairing it with my sexy Bernini heels....as I doubt I will be able to wear them.....possibly ever again:(

Dressy but not a dress:)

[annielynn]

We are going to my DHs Christmas party tonight. I am wearing a black wrap around dress that I got when PG with my DS and a pair of new black pumps. Also my mom just finished crocheting me a wool poncho since I have no jackets or coats to wear and it is supposed to be in the low 40's tonight with a wind chill of 30. OUCHIE

[wendstress]

Nancy - Glad Connor is back home!

Deli Meats - I asked my OB with PG#1 and he said that he doesn't advise his patients to avoid them, and that in 20 years of practice he'd never seen one case of listeria. While I don't ever crave deli meat, I'll eat it in a sub sandwich from time to time.

I almost totally avoided caffeine during PG#1 and ended up with a premie (not that there is a connection...point is doesn't matter how well you take care of yourself, sometimes things just happen). Now, I'm letting myself have a can of soda a day. My Doc is fine with it.... We all make choices, I guess.

Stretch Marks - got them mildly during #1, on my hips and bum mostly. None yet. I used some cream from Motherhood Maternity when the mood moved me, but I wasn't particularly religous about it. They disappeared over time.

[Tonysweetie]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm not too worried about it since the only time I eat it is at Subway which is only about twice a month maybe. If I eat it at home it comes from the packaged meat and not the deli but even that is rare. My Dr. just didn't seem very concerned so that is why I was wonderful.

Now caffeine...goodness I have at least one a day if not 2. I'm addicted. Especially since I got pregnant.

Christmas Party: Well we were suspose to be going to DH company party which is a formal event tomorrow night but were no going now. Dh doesn't really want to participate this year. Ohwell. When I thought we were going I went out and bought a black wrap around dress from JcPennys for about 15 dollers. It's really cute and I plan to wear it to a rehersal dinner I'm going to at the end of the month.

Speaking of the rehearsal dinner...I'm still in that wedding. Remember that strapless dress I have to wear...well the Mom of the bride made it a lace back dress and added fabric to it to make it maternity. I really hope it looks somewhat decent, lol. Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

[MarriedaGoalie]

Agreed, Tonysweetie. I have craved caffeine more since I've been pregnant than I did before I was pregnant. I still have my morning coffee (or cappuccino). I'm really not too worried about it.

[kimthebride]

Coffee
Two of my girlfriends laugh at the "no caffiene, it stunts their growth" thing because we all had our morning (ahem..and afternoon) coffees with our 1st kids and they all TOWER over the other toddlers their ages. :) Alas, I must get back to my own cup of joe now....

[lauren f s]

Caffeine: I craved it with DD. I'd have 2 cokes a day and would want more. Everyone said I'd end up with a jittery baby, but she was very quiet and calm. This time, I can't stand cokes. The thought of them makes me a little sick.

Holiday Parties: DH's was last night and I wore a black dress from Motherhood. I bought it for our anniversary and plan to wear it for holiday parties and anything else that comes up between now & April.

DD's birthday party is tomorrow and I really ought to be cleaning the house, not typing away on here....

[lil_nance]

caffeine With DS I didn't have any during the 1st trimester. This pregnancy I have it when I want it and don't worry about it.

deli meats ate them with both pregnancies. That said, I did get food poisoning once from Subway. It was the Thanksgiving I was nursing DS. We were visiting my BIL. I spent all night in the bathroom and most of the day in bed. Not fun. So yes eat it if you want but do be careful.

clothes I'm trying not to buy too much since this will be our last child. BUT...I just want stuff I like and feel good in. A lot of what I had with DS is not warm enough or more work oriented than I need now. Today I went to Gap and found a cute pair of jeans. Having trouble finding cheap long sleeve t-shirts that aren't made of nearly see thru fabric. How is Motherhood's stuff this season? I haven't been there yet.

[Tonysweetie]

lil_nance: I hear ya on the clothes. If I find something decent it's too expensive and if I find my price range all the shirts are basicly see through. :rolleyes:


The baby moved around tons today! I just love that! It really calms my fears when he's active during the day/night. All day today we went Christmas shopping. I am WIPED out! We left around noon and just got home at 11:30 pm. I'm so tired! But I'm happy to say we are just about done. I have 2 more people to buy for am I'm done shopping! WHOO HOO! :) The best thing we got today was the travel system! YAY! I've been eyeing for weeks and it was on sale so we bought it today. I'm so anxious for DH to put the crib and stroller together!!! lol.

[kimthebride]

Maternity tops
It is so hit or miss. I love my babystyle ones posted a page or so ago and I actually have a couple from Gap Maternity I bought with DS that still fit well and are holding up - those weren't expensive at all. They don't have them on their website anymore, but I may pick up a couple similar ones to see if the fabric quality is the same.

BTW Gap Maternity has some decent maternity sale prices right now plus there are these coupon codes floating around in case anyone is interested:

15% off your purchase when you use your Mastercard as
payment.
Coupon: SQ11WWMB8DC4
Expires: 12/14/2006

Free Shipping on $75 purchase
Coupon: BC822ZTNFR53
Expires: 12/15/2006

25% off your purchase of $100 or more when you use
your Gap, Banana Republic, or Old Navy card.
Coupon: GAPHOOD
Expires: 12/14/2006

I will say this to the 1st-timers: if you want more than 1 kid, don't go too cheap on the clothes since you'll want good quality to last through tons of washings! I'd say stick in the moderate-priced level. I bought good tees and jeans with DS but not sweaters, so now all my maternity sweaters from last time are just shrunken and misshapen....so I have to buy new :rolleyes:. But then again, I did get some nicer jeans (not Sevens, but you know nice) and because my belly is so differently shaped I can't wear half of them! So you don't want to spend too little and only get 1 pregnancy out of them, but not too much because there's a chance it won't fit the same - even if you lose all the baby weight.

Today
I am so happy right now. I have been feeling well for most of the week, plan on cutting back on my m/s meds starting tomrrow, and have begun my day today with Williams Sonoma pumpkin pecan pancakes, dunkin Donuts coffee with Gingerbread Coffeemate in it, and DH & I will be taking DS to go pick a Xmas tree and build a gingerbread house today. I just am in such a good mood. :)

[myshel]

clothes I'm trying not to buy too much since this will be our last child. BUT...I just want stuff I like and feel good in. A lot of what I had with DS is not warm enough or more work oriented than I need now. Today I went to Gap and found a cute pair of jeans. Having trouble finding cheap long sleeve t-shirts that aren't made of nearly see thru fabric. How is Motherhood's stuff this season? I haven't been there yet.

I've had pretty good luck with the Liz Lange long sleeve tees from Target. They are on the thin side, but I'm usually wearing them underneath something or I wear them doubled up. I think I have three or four of them. I actually plan on buying a few more. I figure they'll work well after DD is born too.

I wanted to echo what Kim said about moderate priced maternity clothes. Some of my really cheap items look like complete crap now. Surprisingly, many of my Target items (Liz Lange) have held up nicely. I should mention, though, that I'm super picky about clothes, so I only dry my maternity tees. I never dry any of my pants.

Now that I know the sex for #2, I want to buy stuff, but I'm so not motivated. DH even said, while we were at Target the other night, "Wanna buy some stuff for the new baby?" I was like, "Meh." What's wrong with me? Anyway, I think the big thing is that I need to go through DS's baby stuff and sort through it. My big issue right now is whether to save DS's stuff in case one of our friends has a baby (there's only two couples that seem close and both have DC #1 so...) or to sell it to consignment. I probably could consign many of the items at nice stores because we went really cheap when DS was little, but... I'm just not sure. What are you other RO's doing?

[Tonysweetie]

I had the rudest thing happen to me so far yesterday. When DH and I went to the mall we decided to stop in the coffee place to take a break. DH was up ordering a dessert and drink and I was sitting at the table and this older man walks past me and says "Almost time! What 2 more hours?!" I just sorta smiled and he went on. Then I was thinking to myself "goodness do I look THAT big?!" lol. Then a few days ago I was in WalMart and in the checkout line and this lady behind me had a toddler in her cart and she asked me "When are you due?" I told her "April." and she smiled and then said "Do you plan on BFing" :eek: I would've loved to see the look on my face when she asked me that. I did tell her "yes" and she went on and on and on about how great it is the breastfeed that she still BFs her 15 month old and so on. I just felt that was sorta personal. I get these questions just about everytime I go out somewhere, lol. Does anyone else?


Were going to officially start working on the nursery today. DH had to work today but he emailed me and told me that when he gets home he is going to move the computer and start clearing out the office so we can get the carpet cleaned and set the crib up. I'm so excited!!! It'll take us a while just to clear out the room and the closet. We have soooo much junk in here it's ridiculous. It almost looks like we just moved in. I would like to get the crib up before Christmas and have the room totally cleared incase we get stuff for Christmas we'll have a place to put it all. Right now it's all in our dining room, lol. Christmas is 2 weeks away! HOLY MOLY!!!!

[kimthebride]

DC#1's Clothes: What To Do
I am way too unmotivated to consign :o ....but I do have a handful of friends with kids younger than DS plus 4 friends who are due with a boy or "mystery" baby between Jan-May, those 2 who are ROs had girls the 1st time. So I will likely just sort through the boxes and bins of DS's clothes (they are boxes by size range, like 0-3mo, 6-12mo, etc) and give away as much as I can to those who want it. I'd LOVE to get it all out of our storage unit and make room!

Buying DD stuff....well, DH got some onesies etc, I picked up a couple small things but I feel like we have just no space for anything here. ARGH I need someone to buy our condo and for us to buy a house - I feel so restricted space-wise, you know? And it is so not like me to not be shopping ;) .

[myshel]

Kim: I forgot about how you guys are trying to sell your condo. My guess is that you aren't going to be buying a whole lot until you move.

I would love to give my clothes away to a friend. We do have a friend that has a DS that's almost a year younger than my DS. I suppose my 6-9 monthsclothes could go to them. I know what you mean about wanting space. Our basement is over-cluttered with crap and I'd love to just toss a lot of it.

Tonysweetie: There is something about pg that seems to make your body community property. People feel the need to comment and give advice all of the time. I think in most cases, people are just trying to be friendly or funny. When I was pg with DS, I got a lot of comments. I remember once when I was 8 months pg, I was waddling into a Kohl's, looking for some slip on shoes to wear to a wedding. A man held the door open for me and asked me what I was doing out. I told him that I was buying shoes. He, trying to be nice, informed that I reallt should be at home, resting. I smiled and said, "thanks," and kept going. People just like babies, and they want to be nice to pg women. They just don't always realize that something are out of line.

[happy1nuv]

Well, we're having another boy and he'll be close enough to same season that we're hopefully re-using nic's wardrobe...BUT, a friend of the family recently gave me a TON of toys that her highschooler had outgrown (they were cleaning out the basement). I sorted through them and kept some, but wanted to give away the rest (this kid wanted for no toys, and had lots of the same thing... and we just have NO room to store it for when nic grows into it). I got them for free, didn't want to throw them away, but didn't want to give them to anyone who would sell them. (And, no one I knew with older boys cared to even look...MAN, is it hard to give away used toys!) Anyway, I called a local food pantry/help center and asked them. They referred me to a place that referred me to a place that takes used household items and gives them to whoever needs them for no charge(in freehold nj if anyone local is interested). Anyway... I lost track of my point. It was probably that there are places that will take stuff and sell it if you want to get rid of it but can't give it away/don't want to trash it... but I'm not so sure anymore... pg brain:rolleyes:

Cold cuts ~ I avoid them, but I don't really care for them, so its not like I'd really be eating them anyway (and, pg actually gives me a good excuse to not eat them when we're at my il's, who ALWAYS run out for subs for lunch...REALLY not my thing :)) . I eat soft cheeses as long as they are pasteurized, and won't eat hot dogs (but I'm too grossed out by the thought of what is in them to actually eat them anyway)... I do eat soy dogs though. I'm avoiding pepperoni type meats too (not hard, cause the only time I'm tempted is when someone has a tray out somewhere, and they are kinda along the lines of hot dogs)... I do have the occasional caffeinated treat (usually chocolate) and don't sweat it. I wouldn't chug 5 cokes in a row - (and its a good thing choc brownies are nowhere NEAR as caffeinated as those cokes), but you know what i mean... moderation in all :)

Man, I'm longwinded today. I'll stop now before I write a novel...
Have a good weekend everyone!

[Tonysweetie]

happy1nuv: Congrats on your BOY!!! The boys are overpowering the girls! lol


I think I felt the baby move from the outside today! So COOL!:D

[lil_nance]

#1's clothes DS was a surprise so some of the early stuff is gender neutral. I belong to 2 different moms groups and a bunch of people are pregnant. I'll pass on what I can of clothes we won't be using. I got some of it hand me down myself but it's still in great shape. The rest I'll either donate or possibly consign or eBay. Not sure yet. Need to sort and see what is there.

Fell in love with this girls outfit at babyGap. Controlled myself and haven't bought it...yet. There are matching sweatpants and onesies too. http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=17847&pid=418314

[April07Mamas]

Updated to here!

[Sunshine]

Just wanted to let you all know that baby wouldnt give up the goods for the 2nd time:p
But we are kind of happy....as we really didnt want to know in the first place...LOL! Its just like being a kid in a candy store tho when they ask!

Also, a few days ago hubby felt 2 small kicks from the outside, and 1 today! We were both so shocked!!!

[lauren f s]

We had DD's birthday party today and my body is aching. 2 days cleaning and baking and an afternoon with 2 & 3 year olds really wears a pregnant body out! But it was a fun, Little Mermaid filled afternoon, DD's happy and has more toys to crowd our apartment. (I can't wait until we move!)

Maternity Clothes: I really like Gap's long sleeved t's and the Liz Lange line at Target. Motherhood has decent stuff, but their t-shirts are crap (IMO) and I bought a beautiful skirt there that literally unraveled while at work one day. :rolleyes:

#1's Clothes: I actually went through a box last night and gave a friend all of her 18 month-2 year things that didn't fit. I saved everything else and will keep them with the hopes of a 3 child that's a girl. I was hard giving up the clothes I did. She had the cutest stuff and I hate to think I'd give them up only to need them in a few more years. Of course DH says we're only having 2, but he'll change his mind ;).

New Baby's Clothes: I have felt so bad because I know we need things for this baby but we've only bought a few diapers, 2 clearance t-shirts, and a pkg of onesies. I have no clothes, blankets, bedding, anything for this boy - my house is a wash of pink & purple, yet whenever we're out shopping we end up getting things for DD and not DS. I feel a little guilty about it :o, but it's more fun to buy things for DD right now because all of the girl stuff is so cute! Baby boy stuff is just okay; I mean really, how exciting can a onesie or sleeper get?

[diedra1027]

Maternity clothes - I refuse to buy anything new this time around. I bought one new (Old Navy) top and had the see-through problem :mad:. Most of my stuff is from Old Navy. The shirts have held up OK, but the pants (jeans, specifically) have not. I haven't found a pair of jeans that stays up!! I actually ripped the maternity panel seam of my 'best' pair of jeans from hitching them up so much :mad:.

#1's Clothes - I gave mine to my sister, but she's going to give them back. I might consign or e-bay the nicer things and donate the rest.

New Baby's Clothes - Kid spacing with my sister is really working out well in terms of sharing clothes :). 2004 - Boy (hers), 2005 - Girl (mine), 2006 Girl (hers), 2007 - Boy (mine). I have three HUGE bags of hand-me-down clothes from my sister, so I don't really need anything. I did see one Carter's outfit that I MUST have - although my sister was shopping with me at the time when I expressed a great interest in it so it may show up as a gift later. DD lived in Zutano booties as an infant, so I will definitely be buying a pair (or two) of those for DS.
----
I had this wonderful conversation with a Home Depot clerk this weekend. I thought some of you might appreciate this one.

Home Depot Clerk: When is your baby due? Before Christmas?
Me: <chuckle> No. April.
HDC: <starts counting months left on her fingers> Oh My GOD!! You have so much longer to go!!
Me: Yeah.
HDC: YOU ARE SOOOOO HUGE! Is it twins?
Me: <laughing> Ummm. No, just one in there.
HDC: Oh. I've never been pregnant before, so I guess I have no idea what's huge and what isn't...
DH: Believe it or not, she's actually smaller right now than she was at this point with this one!! <pointing at DD>
HDC: Oh REALLY??!? WOW!!!

Fun Huh?!? It was more amusing than offensive. Even though she just kept talking (sticking that foot further and further in her mouth), I could tell inside she was saying to herself "Oh my god, I'm still talking! I can't believe I'm still talking! I should really shut-up now!!". Or maybe that's my wishful thinking ;).

[happy1nuv]

diedra ~ Ha... but, at least you can laugh about it (hd):)

[lauren f s]

Dierdra: People can be so rude, can't they? I was at DH's holiday dinner Friday and another woman there was pg and due in Feb. and everything kept looking at me funny since I'm due in April and bigger than her.

Old Navy Jeans: I have a pair and the panel is ripping, too, and the fit is bad :(. I have a few pair from Gap, though, that are great and actually got a pair at Kohl's that I'm loving.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Good morning, all! This is my 24 week belly shot (my last one before the big ultrasound). We find out the sex of the baby tomorrow (hopefully). Any final guesses? I'm going to keep an updated list in my journal!

http://static.flickr.com/131/319557807_e5ad529c7d.jpg?v=0

[basketcase]

Tosha~ I'm really crossing my fingers for a girl for you. However, you have one of the cutest preggo bellies I've ever seen, which means you're having a BOY! (Sorry, that's probably not what you want to hear! :) )

[lauren f s]

Married: I agreed with Femmie, I know you want a girl, but your belly looks an awful lot like mine so I'm saying boy. I'm never good at guessing, but I've done pretty well in this thread, I think, so we'll see. Good luck tomorrow!! I hope the little one cooperates!

[kimthebride]

MarriedAGoalie
I was feeling girl earlier, but for some reason my gut said boy for you today. LOL - I guess either way i'm right, huh? Can't wait to find out!

Jeans
A shocker, but I actually got 2 pairs of really great panel jeans from Motherhood (of all places!) that stay on, hold up well, and are actually cute! When I tell my other pg moms what brand they are, they don't believe me. So you never know....

diedra
LMAO at that girl just digger the hole deeper and deeper. Don't people know that no matter how much longer you have to go, you always say "Wow you look fantastic!" ;)

lauren
Hmmm...I may have to cause you some financial damage and point out that there are cute things out there for boys, but they are usually more expensive! Such as:
http://a116.g.akamai.net/7/116/2088/infinite/www.janieandjack.com/media/images/products/20061113_LOAD/1000-04174_Image_Close_v1_m56577569830744148.jpg
http://a116.g.akamai.net/7/116/2088/infinite/www.janieandjack.com/media/images/products/20061113_LOAD/1000-04199_Main_v1_m56577569830744206.jpg
http://www.gap.com/Asset_Archive/GPWeb/Assets/Product/399/399860/main/gp399860-00p01v01.jpg

Plus if you & DH are into any sports teams, some of the team uniforms for newborns are just too funny and cute. You'll see, it can be fun!

sunshine
How exciting! I just know its going to be any day now that we'll be able to see the kicks. I was exactly 5mo with DS when we could see them, and I'm almost there with DD.

happy1
I can't believe how hard it is to give stuff away! Geez. If it doesn't work out, there is a group up here that takes donations. We could make a day of it. :)

XMas
DH has asked me a few times what I want for Xmas, and I decided to send him the link to Destination Maternity & Edamame Spa. This way he can swing by there during the week while working and pick me up a clothing gift card to spa treatment, and when I go to redeem the giftcard (pray for a massage, ladies) I can maybe ditch DS with DH for the day and meet some girlfriends in the city after I have my treatments. Oooh la laaaaahhh. I have heard some great things about the spa, so if there's one for you maybe pop it onto your list to Santa. ;)

How ABout Me?
I have been feeling better with the m/s, so today is my 1st day I have cut my dosage in half. I'm nervous, but so far so good.
I just can't wait to feel normal-pregnant all the time, since i have been getting a taste of it for the last couple weeks....ooooh I hope its over!

[Sunshine]

MarriedAGoalie~I TOTALLY say boy for you:D

kimthebride~We were totally shocked we felt it already! I'm glad you are starting to feel better:D

[Tonysweetie]

diedra1027: Don't you just love that. I get that all the time. :)

Tosha: Already guessed in your journal and in belly shot but I'm sticking to girl. Although I'm hardly ever right if at all. Best wishes!!!

Kim: I hope you make it w/no more m/s!!


Went shopping today and got 2 new maternity tops. I got them both for less than $25.00. YEA! Also got more Christmas shopping done. 2 more gifts and I *think* I'm done. :)

[CMW02]

peeking in from the May group to say:

Kimthebride..is that onesie outfit from the GAP? (the "good looks" one)
I *heart* it!!!!! So cute. :)

[kimthebride]

Kimthebride..is that onesie outfit from the GAP? (the "good looks" one)
Yep! You can get it for your little JC. ;)

BTW: the 1st outfit is Janie & Jack....

[herewego]

Tosha-Our bellies look almost identical (the stereotypical "basketball belly") so I have to guess boy! Can't wait for you to update us all tomorrow. Enjoy the u/s..it's pretty amazing!

[Cohl]

I just want to pop in and say congrats to everyone who has found out what they are having. We found out tonight that we are also a member of team BLUE!! DH and I are both really happy!!

Anyway, Gotta run. DD is sick and I want to spend some time with her.

[Tonysweetie]

Cohl: Congratulations on your baby boy!!! How exciting! :)


Just curious what is everyones weight gain so far? I saw this question in the May thread and I got curious myself. I'll be the first to admit I've gained 14 lbs. I'm certainly feeling huge these days! But I guess my body is doing what it needs to b/c I'm being as healthy as I can....most of the time. :rolleyes: Infact I've grown out of a few of my maternity clothes. Well not totally but some of my tops are getting too tight for my comfort. Ohwell I'm enjoying it anyways! :)

[lil_nance]

Cohl Congrats on your boy

Clothes I went to Motherhood tonight. Bought 2 long sleeve t's, a turtleneck, and a pair of black chinos. I had to get the pants, they made my butt look cute. :D Spent more than I planned but a lot was on sale and FIL makes us do our own Christmas shopping so I'm just claiming it as an early gift.

DD has been kind of quiet today. I'm used to the kicking and forgot how these quiet days can make you worry. I think I'm a bit dehydrated so that could be part of the issue. Time to go chug some water.

[happy1nuv]

cohl ~ congrats on your boy! :)

weight gain ~ well, i go back to the drs on thursday, so we'll see the official number then. If i had to guess I'd say I'm somewhere around the 15 pound mark...

[wendstress]

I've been MIA for a few days....been busy as always.

Had a little scare this weekend that, thankfully, ended up being nothing....

Saturday afternoon I napped when James napped. When he woke up, I had a terribly strong cramp, followed by the need to go to the bathroom. This repeated itself about 4-5 times over the next 20 minutes or so until I finally had a BM. I felt somewhat better, but for the next 30 minutes or so, I kept having consistent cramps, albeit not as strong, but persistent.

Having had a premie with James, I got pretty scared, as everything felt a whole lot like contractions. So, we packed up and went to L&D so they could monitor me for a bit. Luckily, none of my continuing cramps registered as contractions, so we chalked it up to an intestinal bug. The Dr. was cautious though, and did order a test for fFN (fetal fibronectin), which is a relatively new test that measures for a protein released by the cervix within a week or two of going into labor. Test was negative (good!). I ended up cramping up on and off for several hours, but it wasn't uterine cramping, so that's OK.

So, basically I over-reacted to the stomach bug. But I don't regret going to L&D for one minute. All of the fears and concerns experienced during James came rushing back to me.... I'm literally terrified of that happening again.

BUT.... My Dr. is proactive. This week Thursday I'll have a trans-vaginal U/S to examine my cervix and makes sure everything is tight as a clam. I have no history of an IC, but better to be proactive. Then, also this week, I'll start weekly progesterone shots for the next 10 weeks (through week 34). AKA P17, these injections have shown moderate success in reducing the occurrence of premature births in women that had previously experienced one. If you're interested: http://www.hydroxyprogesterone.com/ and http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18221

Weight Gain and Showing - I've gained 14 lbs so far, but I'm still not showing much, despite the fact I'm almost 24 weeks. Still once a week I get the comment, "Oh, I didn't realize you were pregnant!" Starting to give me a bit of a complex, because I was definitely showing more with James at this point. Depending on the clothes I wear, I can still pass for not being PG. However, give me a belly-hugging maternity shirt and there isn't much doubt.

[lauren f s]

Wendstress: So scary! I'm glad that things turned out okay, though, and good for your dr for taking action and not letting this pass.

Cohl: Congrats on your boy!!

Weight Gain: Technically I'm at the same weight I was when I got pg, but I was so sick in the beginning that I lost 10 pounds and have just now gained it back.

I had a dream last night about DS :D. I was starting to worry because by this time in my pregnancy with Ava I'd had several about her and so far have had none about DS. But last night I dreamt he was blond with blue eyes, running around and playing with Ava.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Cohl: Congratulations on your BOY! :)

Weight Gain: According to my home scale, I've gained 7 lbs thus far. We'll see what the doctor's scale says.

[pg_jess]

I've been kinda MIA for the last several weeks. I was doing some serious traveling for work (a 10-day trip) and I've spent the last couple of days since I got home just sitting around soaking up my DH and cats! Ten days is a long time to be away.

maternity clothes
Most of my stuff has come from Motherhood and Target. I like the Target long-sleeved shirts too. I tried Old Navy, but as usual hardly found anything I liked. They had the see-through shirts too. What is with that?? Who wears that???

weight gain
I don't really want to know because I think it's a lot. I was doing WW right before I found out I was pg (we weren't trying) and I got really used to seeing the numbers go down. :) I do think 99% of my weight gain is boobs and belly. The boobs are seriously out of control.

cohl
Welcome to the boy club! :)

wendstress
I'm glad your scare wasn't anything too dangerous. I have yet to experience anything scary like that, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will stay that way!

married
I know how much you want a girl, but I think I have to second all the boy guesses. I'm excited for you to find out today. I know you've had to wait for ages! :)

movement
A week or so ago I started feeling lots of baby movement (hadn't felt any prior because of an anterior placenta), which has been fun. It's a strange sensation though...it feels like a fish flopping around in there. Sunday night as DH and I were watching tv, the baby started kicking hard enough to feel it from the outside. DH got to feel a couple of his kicks, which was neat. Up until that point he hadn't really felt anything.

So is everyone done with Christmas shopping yet?? :) Ha! I'm not even close...

[Tonysweetie]

I said a few days ago I thought I felt the baby from outside but wasn't totally sure, well he was just kicking up a storm and I felt him! I hope DH can get a kick feel tonight maybe! He was kicking way high, like almost at my ribs. He must be feet up or something ,lol.

[myshel]

Cohl: Congrats on a little guy!

Weight Gain: From the time I got pg, I've gained 9 pounds. From my first OB appointment, I've gained 5 pounds. I'm trying to be careful with my weight as I was too heavy before I got pg. In fact, I was trying to loose weight when I got pg. Go figure! :p

[happy1nuv]

wendstress ~ Glad it turned out to be nothing... but, how scary!

[Tonysweetie]

wendstress: I'm so glad everyone is okay! How scary!!!


21 week Boy Belly shot!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Tonysweetie/DSCN5647.jpg (my stretch marks are getting worse! ICKY)

[kimthebride]

Tonysweetie
Nice round bump ya got there!

Weight Gain
Lol - I was up then way down then way up then the flu made me go down now I am back up. Follow that? :rolleyes: As of today, I am up 8.5lbs from my pre-preggo weight (but up 14lbs from my m/s-casued lowest).

My goal is to finish the pregnancy at around 205lbs, which would be a total gain of 30lbs from my pre-preggo weight. I gained almost 45lbs with DS (and was 10lbs thinner pre-preggo with him), which was fine but I was also working out like a fiend so some of that was muscle weight. But honestly, I haven't enjoyed food or eating since July, so now that it is December and I can actually enjoy eating again I'm not going to kill myself to stick to that goal. Long live Xmas cookies!

Xmas Shopping
Oh pg_jess, you are just too funny! NO I AM NOT DONE! :p DH's family breeds like rabbits....I am done with most of it after two marathon sessions, but his parents 45th wedding anniversary & mom's 60th Bday are all within a week of Xmas so we have those gifts to get as well. I can't wait to be done...so close, yet so far away...

wendstress
I had the same exact virus, and totally understand why you went to L&D! What awful pains they are. I knew who gave it to me and when, so when it began I knew it was the virus. Not happy about it, but at least if I was going to suffer I knew it was a bug and not the baby.
So glad it was just that nasty bug - hope you're all better now.
I was just reading about the fFN test - did you have to wait 24hrs or can you get results faster? I don't recall how early James was, but its great that there is something out there to see if early labor is happening and the shots to help prevent it. I hope you get to enjoy the whole 38 weeks of pregnancy this time! Even the fat, achy, cranky parts at the end.

Cohl
Congrats on joining team blue! I hope DD gets better fast.

Belly Pics

My GIRL bump today:
http://static.flickr.com/126/320638999_8de708ef02.jpg?v=0

And 2 weeks ago:
http://static.flickr.com/102/308776935_65b608ce69.jpg?v=0

Anyone notice what's missing in this week's picture? :D Anyone?? :D

[Tonysweetie]

Kim: No more sea sick band! YIPPIE!!!! :) You look fantastic!


Christmas Shopping: Almost done, I need to get 1 more gift for my friend and 1 more gift for MIL's bf. I also need to get a "dirty santa" gift for something were doing at my Grandmothers house over New Years. Other than that I'm done. I think???!!! lol.


2 more weeks until my trip! I'm really looking forward to getting away for a few days. I'm also excited to finally get to be a BM in someone's wedding. Although I'm not to estatic about the dress I have to wear but that is okay. I hope this acne problem on my back goes away prior to going since the dress is strapless. Yikes!

Also want ad a picture of our travel system...sorry it's still in the box, lol

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Tonysweetie/DSCN5655.jpg

[wendstress]

I was just reading about the fFN test - did you have to wait 24hrs or can you get results faster? I don't recall how early James was, but its great that there is something out there to see if early labor is happening and the shots to help prevent it. I hope you get to enjoy the whole 38 weeks of pregnancy this time! Even the fat, achy, cranky parts at the end.


fFN results came within the hour. It was a relief to go home knowing no fFN had been detected. My water broke at 32+3 weeks with James, and I was induced at 33+6 weeks (one of the proteins indicating infection was starting to rise, so my Doc didn't want to prolong delivery). He was born at 34 weeks. Lucky for us, he was still 6lbs 1ounce and was able to come home with us. Not the norm!

Nice belly, Kim!

Tonysweetie - our stroller is very similar. Not the biggest on the block, but that's why we chose it. It's been well used by us! (Except that James hated it for the first 6 months, but that's another story. Now he loves it!

[lauren f s]

Beautiful bellies Kim & Tonysweetie!

I'm pleased with myself - I went to Target at lunch and instead of getting clothes for DD (which I wanted to, they had cute stuff) I got 2 onesies for the baby :).

Christmas Shopping: Not at all done! DH & I have no self control and gave Ava her play kitchen for her birthday party Sunday instead of saving it for Christmas :o. So now we have to go and find something big and new for her Christmas, along with finishing up her smaller things, 2 toys for our 2 nephews, and I have to pick up my parents gift.

[juliemag]

I'm not even gonna pretend to be fully caught up on this thread...it just moves too fast for me sometimes! I'm a lot busier at work these days, so I haven't had much time at all to post - and I apologize to you all for that!

Everyone's belly's look GREAT! Kim, I'm looking almost identical to you at this point.

Tonysweetie - Nice travel system! I'm hoping to get some more baby stuff for christmas...perhaps some of the relatives will feel the need to buy us stuff! :p

Christmas shopping - I'm done.

Weight - I've gained 9lbs so far. Although I have an appt Thursday and I fully expect to have gained another 4-5lbs. We'll see....

Wendstress - What a scare you had! I'm so glad the dr is being proactive to try and prevent the PROM again.

...Alright, I need to get some dinner. Sorry for all of you that I may have missed. :)

[MarriedaGoalie]

Well, add me to TEAM BLUE, we're having a BOY. I'm still in shock.

Here are some photos.

http://static.flickr.com/123/320922251_df60a90f59_m.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/134/320922244_599d0c8c7f.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/135/320922239_eaffa3ce7c.jpg

(The money shot!)

They also changed my due date to March 27th, but this ultrasound had me measuring at March 18th, so I honestly have no idea how far along I am at this point.

Our little guy is weighing in at 2 lbs right now, but he is doing really well. She seemed very pleased with everything she saw. Now on to pick out a boys name since I only had a girl's name picked out... :o

[April07Mamas]

Updated to here!

[herewego]

Congrats Tosha! So funny how they outlined the "money shot" for you...just in case you missed it!

Neat that you got to have a 3D image of his face too...the detail is amazing!

[happy1nuv]

congrats on the boy, married :)

Xmas shopping ~ I'm almost done. I've got all the big stuff, now its just the details... and I am SOOO bad at details right now...

[juliemag]

Congrats on your boy Married! I'm sure you'll find the right name (even thought we haven't yet!)... all these boys are going to be fun!!

[lauren f s]

Congrats on the boy Married!! Good luck picking a name, too. DH picked ours and I'm still struggling with choosing a middle name :o.

More Clothes Info
We talked about this a few days ago, but I went to Target yesterday and got 2 long sleeved Liz Lange t's in white & black and I LOVE them already! We'll see how they hold up after being washed, but right now they are the perfect long sleeved t. Easy to dress up or down and super comfy. They had several colors and I'm thinking of going back and grabbing one in each - they were just $10!

[lil_nance]

Names Since we're sort of on the subject anyhow. Please give me your opinions ladies. DD's middle name will definately be Elaine after my grandmother. Our last name is Anglo-Saxon/Irish, 2 syllables, starting with D. For first names DH would like something with a C/K sound to go with Connor but we're open to other names too. Here are some we have so far.

Rachael (if DS would have been a girl)
Avery (had a dream about this)
Kaylee
Kiley
Kaelin

Katherine is a family name but a close friend who is due in Feb and we see often is most likely using this. I love Katelyn but it seems a bit overused.

Movement I'm still not getting as much as I had last week. Getting nervous. I'll probably call the nurse today just to see what she thinks. My next appt. isn't until the 22nd.

[MarriedaGoalie]

lil_nance: I really like Kiley!

Names: Since we're on this subject... What do you ladies think of Beau Thomas? DH is firm on Thomas and he caved on Beau, finally! Our last name begins with an L and ends with a Y.

[Tonysweetie]

Tosha: Congrats again on your boy!!! I love Beau Thomas VERY CUTE!

Lil Nance: Agree with Tosha, I like Kiley!


Names:

Michael is DH middle name so we will be using that as his middle name. So far were between...

Alexander Michael

Andrew Michael

I vote Andrew and DH votes Alexander so this will be fun! lol.


I'm finishing my Christmas shopping today! Thank goodness!

[pg_jess]

married
Congrats and welcome to team blue! My first thoughts were that I'm not going to know what to do with a boy and that I am going to spend the next fifteen years of my life constantly worrying about what "stupid boy" things he's doing. But I think we'll figure it all out. :)

lauren
I have four of those Target shirts and I love them. I have it in white, black, blue, and brown. Everytime I'm in Target I contemplate picking up more of them in different colors. :) They're the perfect weight to wear around Southern CA right now, considering we're still having temps in the high 70s. All of my other maternity shirts (i.e. sweaters) are too hot to wear.

lil nance
Avery is the name we had picked out if we were having a girl. I am so in love with that name. I actually like all of the names you posted. I think Rachael goes really well with the middle name Elaine. Good luck! DH and I had a surprisingly easy time picking our names. We almost wondered if it was too easy... :)

[Sunshine]

MarriedaGoalie~CONGRATULATIONS on your BOY!!!!! I KNEW it:D
He looks beautiful! And WOW at the change in due date!!!!!


I am finally at the 20 week mark! Woot!

[lauren f s]

Jess: I love that they're so lightweight, too. We have mild winters and it's in the 70's all week (I'm in TX) and these are perfect!

lil_nance: I really like Avery.

Names: DH decided on James months ago and it's fine by me. We had a deal that he could choose this baby's name since I picked Ava and he wasn't crazy about it. Now I just have to come up with a middle name (I get to pick this since he picked Ava's middle name). I'll more than likely use Brian, my dad's name. He had 3 girls and I know he'd be really touched if his grandson shared part of his name. I really do like James, the more I hear and use it. And Ava calls him "Baby James", which I adore.

[diedra1027]

Names - Love all the names you ladies are tossing around. We're stuck between Reece Charlton and Ian Charles. Charlton is DH's grandfather's name and DH's middle name is Charles, so we are set on using either one of those. Charlton is suprisingly difficult to match with a first name and not sound clunky!! I like both names equally, so I'm thinking about just telling DH to pick his favorite (Avery's first and middle names were my suggestions!).

[myshel]

Married: Congrats on your boy!! They're a lot of fun. I think Beau Thomas ia a cute name.

Nancy: I think I like Avery the best. To me, it has the best chance of aging well.

Tonysweetie: I like Andrew Michael the best. Plus, Drew is a cute nickname for Andrew.

lauren: James is so cute! I love that name.

diedra: I think both names sound good. Which one works best with your last name?

Baby Names here: I thought DH and I had this squared away months ago, but it seems as though the discussion is not over. Here's where things stand right now:

Our last name is Hispanic, starting with an "F." It's two syllables and sounds similar to the names Perez (which obviously isn't our last name). DS's name is Luka Alonso.

Choices:
First name--
Carolina (pronounced Caro-lee-na)
Aurelia

Middle Names:
Carolina Elise
Carolina Jocelyn (DH's deal)
Carolina Marin

Aurelia Johanna

Yikes! Any insight?

[kimthebride]

MarriedAGoalie
Congrats on your little BOY! They are so fun. :) Great shots BTW - I love how clear his face is in the 1st one. Who does he look like?

Boy names were tough for me, too. I'd say if you like Beau & DH likes Thomas go for it!

That's such a change in due date...what are you going with?

Target Maternity
I have been pleased with the Liz Lange tees. I am a little tall so sometimes they aren't *quite* long enough, but on normal-sized people they'd be perfect. I have 3 great sweaters from there I live in!

lil_nance
I can't remember your last name, but I do love Kiley and think it goes really well with Connor. I've only met one Kiley, she's in T's Little Gym class, and she is such a doll. I associate it as a really sweet girl's name!

tonysweetie
Why not wait to see if DS looks more like an Alex or an Andrew once he arrives?

pg_jess
Oh, you'll figure out what to do with DS. :) I have a blast with mine every day!

sunshine
Welcome to the halfway point!

lauren
James Brian is such a strong, masculine name!

deidra
I bet when you see him, you'll know which name fits best.

myshel
Hmmmm....I'd say if your last name is strong, go wtih Carolina (which I love, BTW!) but if its soft Aurelia would be really pretty. You have too many good options for me to decide, lol.

Names for DD
Our last name is very Italian, 3 syllables.

I've always wanted Isabella, to call her Bella (which goes GREAT with our last name) but DS's best friend is Bella and my DH just can't get over that...

My #1 pick right now: Ava Isabella . I had "Ava/Eva" (both pronounced ay-vah) in mind ever since I was a teenie bopper dreaming about what Kirk Cameron and I would name our future children :o .

Other ideas:

Alessa - this sounds good with our last name
Amara - means "lovely forever"
Camellia - a mouthfull, but so pretty
Isabella - can't let go! DS was going to be this if he was a girl
Sophia - DH really likes this, too

DH & I fought about what to name DS since we met, before we were engaged or married or pg. It was like WWIII when we found out I was pg with a boy, and in the end I gave in and still wish he had been more flexible. It took me a long time to accept naming DS after DH & FIL (1st name only), and I really stress the point of calling him "Thomas" instead of Tom/Tommy and most people are good about that. I genuinely wanted all my kids to have original names, not named after anyone (like my name) and DH always wanted to name his son after himself (like his dad did). After 5 years of arguing, I finally gave in as a gift to him.

Anway, after 5 months of m/s and migraines, dealing with an active toddler while so sick, being on drugs and overall having a pretty crappy pregnancy I have claimed all naming rights on this kid ;) . He seems pretty in line with me, though he has brought up about 4-5x naming her MIL's name. I DON'T THINK SO!!! Love her, but that's just a trip to Crazy Town. Who the heck names their daughter & son after their MIL & FIL? They could all share stationary :rolleyes: .

In the end, I'm going to pick 2 names and see what she looks like/seems like before choosing.

Any combinations or similar-sounding name ideas are more than welcome! I can use the help....

[MarriedaGoalie]

kimthebride: Surprisingly, we can actually tell some things from his facial shot... he definitely has my upper lip and DH's nose. I think he's going to be a little bitty guy... :)

I think as far as my due date goes, I am going to go with March 27th and then plan maybe to go early... I don't think it will be any later than that. (Especially at the rate he is growing... haha)

[juliemag]

I'm glad everyone is in the same name predicament as I am! We had 4 names we liked initally, but then ruled out two of them. But now I'm kinda wanting NOT to rule them out again. We know one thing... we aren't naming this boy until he is born! I can't handle the stress!!! :p

Here are our choices:

- Jackson Henry
- Brogan Elliot
- Mason Elliot
- Ethan Henry

Henry is my DH's middle name, along with his father, and his grandfather. DH and his dad both are JHT for initials, so if we chose option 1 - that would fit in there nicely. Elliot is my grandfather's middle name, so we want to use it at some point. DH made up the name Brogan and it's grown on me. :) Mason and Ethan are the two names we dropped, because we didn't LOVE either of them more than the other two.

Kim - I'm loving Camellia - I think that is so pretty.
myshel - I love Carolina Elise. Although Marin is very pretty too!
deidre - LOVE those names!!
lauren - I love the name James. Its sweet, but also masculine. My dad's name is James.
Tonysweetie - both of those names are nice! I like that ya'll are keeping the Michael in the family.
Married - LOVE the name!!

[kimthebride]

DH and his dad both are JHT for initials, so if we chose option 1 - that would fit in there nicely.

We did that for DS. Even though DS, DH & FIL have the same 1st name we gave DS a different middle name with the same initial...so they all share a monogram.

[lil_nance]

movement again I ended up going in to the dr. just to be safe. I would have worried until my appt. next week otherwise. Of course the only dr. avail. was the one who is the most brusque and has poor bedside manner. Oh well, she found a heartbeat and you could hear DD move on the doppler. So she said that babies sometimes hide and you just don't feel them move and sent me on my way.

pg_jess You will figure out what to do with a boy. Although I suggest brushing up on your knowledge of trucks, etc. DS is 17mo and all I hear is "car, car, car". As much as I wanted a little girl, I LOVE my guy. :)

tonysweetie I love both Alexander(and spelled Aleksander) and Andrew.
lauren f s James is a great name
diedra I like Ian
myshel I love Carolina Elise
kim Back to comment later, I'm pretty sure I have your last name somewhere.

[lauren f s]

Married: I never said anything, but I like your name choice!

Dierdra: I love both Reece & Ian, good luck choosing!

Myshel: I love, love, love Carolina! Beautiful!

Kim: I vote Ava, and not just because I have one of my own. I do think its a really lovely name and I think of all the names you picked, Ava goes best with Thomas. I really like sibling names to go well together.

Julie: I like Jackson and love the middle name Henry. I like the idea of narrowing it down to 2 choices and deciding when the baby is born.

[Tonysweetie]

Sunshine: Congrats on the 20 week mark!

lauren f s: I really like James! I think it's a strong hansome name.

diedra1027: I really like Reece. My DH wanted Reece for a while too.

myshel: I love Aurelia Johanna

juliemag: Jackson Henry! I'm biased to Jackson b/c that is my Dads name, hehe.

lil_nance: I'm glad you got some relief! I get my days like that too. Infact today is one of them.


Me and a friend went to the Mall today. She bought me some maternity jeans as an early Christmas present and I got a sweater to go with them. I should be covered on clothes until the end! At least I hope so. I also got all my shopping done except for 2 more things. I need to get the friend I was with a present and my MIL bf a gift too. It's a never ending thing! Have a great night everyone! God Bless!!!

I got this sweater in red

http://zoom.jcpenney.com/is/image/0900631b80ff17a8M.TIF?wid=150&hei=150&op_sharpen=1

and maternity jeans

http://zoom.jcpenney.com//is/image/0900631b81002123M.TIF?wid=250&hei=250&op_sharpen=1 they came with this cute belt too!

I also got some cute earrings and some sweatpants. :)

[happy1nuv]

Ugh names are such stress...

I'm liking everyone's so far. And I so get the whole terrible middle name thing. There are suprisingly few names that work with Jeffrey as a middle name (I have the whole list of THREE, if anyone else is constrained that way) ... so I feel your pain that way!

Kim ~ I feel your pain on Isabella. It's one of my favorite names too, but sooo overused. Every class we've taken, the moms club... EVERYWHERE we go there is at least one Isabella (not that I need a girls name, but...)
You have Alessa on your list... I LOVE Alessandra (nicknamed either ally or andie) Oh... and if I'd known you back then... I would have fought you for Kirk Cameron!

Julie ~ As much as I used to hate the name Henry, I'm really digging it right now :)

And I'm sorry... I forget who's thinking about Beau Thomas... just wanted to say I really like that!

We are so avoiding the name talk...
Dh really likes Tyler (ummm, YUCK!)
I really like
Salvatore Roberto (my dad's middle name, fil's first name with an added o to make it sound better)
Vincent (or Vincenzo) Charles

I'm also digging Nicholas Charles (nickname Cole) but with a Dominic (nicknamed nic) I don't think thats a good choice... bummer. I was planning for ONE boy and all girls... who knew that meant I'd get TWO boys...

:)

[lil_nance]

OK Kim I found your last name ;)
DH and I both like Alessa. I think it's pretty. He said it was "interesting, different, and unique".

Happy Ummm sorry but I'm with DH. I like Tyler. Or what about just Cole without it being a longer name? I love the way it sounds with Dominic or Nic.

[SarahKatG]

You all have great taste in names!

Julie, Jackson Henry sounds great. I also really like Mason.
Kim, Alessa is beautiful! I've also been a fan of Camellia but dh won't go for it.
Happy, I think lil nance has a good idea of just going with Cole. That's a strong name on its own.

We've got our names narrowed down to four:

-Rebecca Diane (works well because Diane is mil's middle name, her initials would match dh's which we were planning if we had a son, and because Rebecca sounds good with Samantha)
- Katelyn (cute name, like the nicknames, close to my middle name and my grandma's first name but I feel bad that she'll always have to spell it for people since there are so many different spellings)
- Juliana (love this name but dh will need some convincing)
- Alexandra (like the nicknames Alex and Aly, cute to have daughters named Sam and Alex??)

[happy1nuv]

lil_nance ~ I shouldn't have said yuck really... I actually really liked tyler before I found out how popular it was... I have a normal sounding, but uncommon name and I really like that. And, I'm warming up to just Cole... I would prefer to give him a longer name with a few variations of nicknames, but... oh well.

SaraKatG~ I LOVE LOVE LOVE the name Juliana :) DC would have been Julianna Marie if female (or alessandra marie... never had to make that choice tho)

:)

[kimthebride]

Names
The more I see the name "Alessa" or "Allesandra" written out the more its moving up the list. Mind you, I haven't even said this option to dh yet but then again...he has so little say this time :p ...I know, I am terrible! LOL!

Name Spelling
I hear you all on the name spelling thing. My proper name is Kimberley. Yeah, with an extra "e" at the end. I have to spell out my common name all. the. time. Debit/credit cards, medical forms etc get misspelled so frequently, even when I spell it right on forms or over the phone like "k-i-m-b-e-r-l-E!-y. Its rather annoying!

happy1
I really like your name. Original - sounding but not kooky. That's that I like, either the really traditional names or something like you have.

A Bad Night
UGH!
I had a physical day yesterday, not enough sleep, and didn't drink enough. I know I know I know. So during feeding DS dinner around 5:45pm, I started to get this uncomfortable tightening on the right side of my belly - like what happend during a marathon mall day when I got dehydrated. I knew I needed to guzzle water and lay on my side....but tell that to my 18mo who needed to finish dinner, take a bath, get in his pjs then play a bit before being put to bed.

I called DH, but he was stuck at the client's at ended up not getting home until about 9:30. I tried to go downstairs to run the bath, but when I walked down I got crampy. I gave up on the bath, just decided to bring up his pjs and get his crib ready for bed. But alas when I needed to not move from the couch to ease my crampiness and headache, he managed to:
- open the xmas gifts under the tree
- pull off ornaments from the tree
- found a quarter and tried to eat it
- ripped the gate off the wall into the kitchen
Then after I got him cleaned up and in his pjs, i popped him into the Pack N Play so I could go pee. Well, I put him in, walked the 15 steps into the bathroom, and mid-stream I hear BANG! AAAAAAH!! WaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHH!!
I run out and find him walking across the livingroom floor, picking up a pacifier and a blanket to comfort himself: he managed to throw himself out of the PnP! Never before!

So I cuddle him on the couch til he calms down, and after a few minutes he takes his head off my shoulder...and there is blood EVERYWHERE. I pull his pacifier out and its dripping with blood. I manage to look in his mouth and he bit the inside of his upper lip, thankfully it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
Finally I manage to get him to bed at 8pm and lay down again...now with a bad headache. But I am so scared he'll jump out of his crib I can't go shower. :rolleyes: DH calls to tell me he's on his way, i tell him what happened, he orders me into the shower and to relax. I go and crank up the baby monitor to listen for crashing sounds, put the heat pack on my neck and take a migraine pill.

I get to bed around 10:30, finally.
Then I wake at 1:30.
Then I wake at 2 til about 2:45.
Then I wake at 5am...and DS wakes up and starts whining for me "Ma? Mama?" After about 15 minutes, I go to him and he curls up with me on the chair and we doze off together. I wake up, he's asleep so I put him back in his crib and lay down. The second I close my eyes DH's alarm starts going off.
What. A. Night.

Needless to say, I am rather cranky today!

[Tonysweetie]

Kim: (((HUGS))) What a night you had. I hope you get some rest today!


Sorry so short, gotta run, have my LAST final today! YIPPIE!!! :D

[Sunshine]

kimthebride~Thank you!!!
I LOVE the name Alessa! I suggested that and Aleese to hubby, but he didnt like either one of them :(
I agree on naming your daughter after MIL as well......I wouldnt have any of it.
My MIL actually has the same name as her Mother...I thought it was so weird! A woman being a jr.....
Sorry about the long night last night......I hope you are able to have a bit more rest today!

Tonysweetie~THANK YOU!
What a great pair of mat jeans and sweater you got!!!!! Such a nice gift from your friend!


Names~We cant agree on a girls name whatsoever:( And it is DRIVING ME NUTS!
We have agreed on Marcus for a boy, and will use his GPa and my Gpa's names as middle names......but we REALLY think we are having a girl........sigh.
I dont think we will get this one figured out until birth day:p
I LOVE Aleeya.....but DH Doesnt. He likes names like Mercedes (Had a dog with that name), or things like Hope, Justice etc......and I just wont name my girl a name like that.
Its been fun! Ha!

[lauren f s]

Oh Kim! I'm so sorry you had such a rough night! I hope you're able to get some rest today! And as far as names go, I had no say in what we named DS. DH picked it, telling me that he got that right since I picked DD's name. My method for getting DD's name was to just use it as often as possible. I knew DH didn't care for it, but it was my grandmother's name and I was not backing down. It got to the point where everyone we knew - his family included - referred to DD as Ava. About a week before she was born, I caught him calling her Ava and knew I'd "won". ;)

Tonysweetie: Good luck on your final!!

Sunshine: Good luck picking a name!

Today is my company's Christmas party. Everyone's exchanging gifts and eating sweets, very little work is getting done. We put up our Christmas tree last night! We usually wait until after DD's birthday (Saturday) but I've been dying to get ours up. Ava will be 3 Saturday and this is the first time she's actually been able to help us decorate. It was fun to have her help hang ornaments on the bottom part of the tree and to get excited over how pretty it looked. She kept gasping and telling us "Aaaah! It's beauitful!" It makes me even more excited for next year, when the baby's here to do it with us. :)

[MarriedaGoalie]

Names: So, I thought of another name last night that DH really likes (which surprised me). Unfortunately, I have an uncle that no one in my family likes that has the same name. The name is Jack. What do you guys think? (Actually, I think someone on this thread or one of the others said something about it and that got me to thinking.) Also, I really like the name Theo. ??

[lauren f s]

Married: I love the name Jackson. One of the few boy names I'm actually crazy about. If I could have convinced DH, I'd have used that and called the baby Jack. Could you maybe use that? Name the baby Jackson, so he'd be different from the unliked uncle, but you could still call him Jack?

[MarriedaGoalie]

That's a good idea, lauren_f_s! Unfortunately, I dont' really like the name Jackson... sorry... thanks, though! :)

[diedra1027]

Kim - I think you deserve naming rights this time around :). When BIL/SIL were expecting their first son, BIL went ahead and started telling people what the name was when SIL thought they we're still trying to make up their minds! SIL got to pick son #2s name all on her own ;). Oh and so sorry about the rough night! We had a similar night a few days ago (including the bleeding injury!!).

[annielynn]

Boy you all have busy around here! ;) I love reading all about the new baby names and the ones up for consideration. I really do love them all!

My DH and I have finally come to the decision that we ARE going to find out if this is a little girl or a little boy in January. We had a surprise baby the first time but for some reason I am really insistant on finding out this time around.

Two names that we have been tossing around:

Boy - Henry James
Girl - Claire ??? (we haven't quite decided on a middle name yet)

Any suggestions for a little girl middle name?

Married I just love the name Jack!! ;) We actually picked that name out for our DS about 3 months into my PG with him and it stuck throughout. So I am a little biased.

Tonysweetie GOOD luck on your last final! :)

Kim you poor thing what a horrible night. I did the "overdoing it" thing on Thanksgiving day. I know that it really sucks. I hope that today is a much better day than yesterday!

[lauren f s]

Annie: Claire was our girl name and I was going to use Claire Elise. I wanted to do Claire Elizabeth, but Elizabeth is DD's middle name.

[AllyLeigh]

Just a drive by post...I don't have internet yet at my new house and I am always swamped at work, but I wanted to come say to add me to TEAM BLUE! We found out on Tuesday that we are having a boy (going to be a very tall boy, he's measuring in the 95th percentile :eek: ) I hope to be around more once we get internet!!! :D

Take care all!

[Tonysweetie]

Ally: Congrats on your baby boy! Very exciting!!! :)


Finals are OVER! YAY!!!! No more school...YIPPIE! lol. Can you tell I'm excited?!

[annielynn]

Congrats on your little man Allyson! That is great news. The 95% already!!! WOW he is going to be a big boy.

You deserve a happy dance Tonysweetie! Enjoy you "no more school" night!

ETA: Lauren, I love the middle name Elise, but my bonehead ;-) hubby doesn't. It is on our list though.

[MarriedaGoalie]

AllyLeigh: Congratulations on your little BOY!!! :)

Tonysweetie: I am also excited that finals are over. After this semester, I will receive my associate's degree and then I won't be returning to start on my bachelor's degree until next fall because of the baby. I am excited for a break! :)

[April07Mamas]

Updated to here!

[lil_nance]

Kim HUGE HUGS to you. I'm sure everyone, especially all of the RO's can more than sympathize. Hope you have an easy, early night tonight.

SarahKatG I really like Rebecca Diane. Alexandra and the "Sam/Alex" thing would be cute too.

Annielynn I was going to suggest Claire Elise and that was before I read Lauren's post. (Insert Twilight Zone music here)

Allyson congrats on your boy

So after my movement concerns for the past 2 days, DD has been a little wiggle worm all day today. How come I have a feeling she's going to be a bit more of a challenge than DS. :rolleyes: The good news is DS got a clean bill of health today so we can resume our social plans. I can't wait to get out of the house again. I've been going stir crazy. It's supposed to continue being warm here so we're planning on a family outing ot go get our tree on Saturday. I hope there are some good ones left. The tree farm we go to tends to be fairly popular.

[Tonysweetie]

Finally have some time to sit down and post...at 11:35 at night. :rolleyes: I'm really happy I'm done with school! It's such a relief. Even if it's not pernament I'm welcoming the break until next year. I'm so excited about our trip in less than 2 weeks! Although I'm a tad nervous on the dress I have to wear in this wedding I'm really looking forward to the time away from home. I'm hoping it snows a little while were there too. Not enough to get stuck there though! Next week DH gets off for Christmas break from work. He gets like 2 weeks off! I'm so thrilled to have him home with me now. We plan to really get started on the nursery. We took our first step today. We had the internet guy come out and re route our internet so we can move the computer into the next room. YAY! So hopefully this weekend we can clean out the office and really get it nice and clean and maybe get the crib set up. I wish we could paint but ohwell. The baby has been kicking tons lately. I just love it! I got a few good solid kicks from DS today. I'm moving on from flutters to stronger kicks now. It's awesome! I hope he keeps it up! Well I hope everyone has a great night!

Got 2 outfits today for DS

Something very similar to these...

http://zoom.jcpenney.com//is/image/0900631b81011b2eM.TIF?wid=250&hei=250&op_sharpen=1

http://zoom.jcpenney.com//is/image/0900631b81006b32M.tif?wid=250&hei=250&op_sharpen=1

They don't have the exact prints I got online.


Tosha: It's a nice feeling isn't it?!

annielynn: Thanks!

LilNance: YAY for DS getting a good bill of health! Have fun with your family outing! :)

[tinkerbell]

Hi April Mommies-To-Be:

I hope this message finds all of you well. I'm sorry that I have not posted in a while. The days seem to fly by right now.

I wanted to give an update on our son: At the last ultrasound, the doctor told us that the cyst on his brain is smaller. We have another ultrasound on January 16th to see if the cyst is gone. I am hoping and praying every day that it is. The good news also is that everything else looked good (hands, spine, and heart). We did decide to decline the amino. The decision was difficult for me, but my AFP numbers came back very good. I am trying to think positive thoughts each day that our DS will be healthy. Thank you again to each of you for your thoughts and prayers.

SarahKatg: I wanted to thank you for your post and directing me to the choroid plexus cysts website. Choroid plexus cysts is what are DS has. I have found the website to be informative and very helpful. Thank you again.

As I am writing this post tonight, I cannot believe that one year ago today (at 11:33 p.m. tonight), I gave birth to my DD Julia. Wow, how a year goes by so quickly! My DH and I watched her videos tonight of her first year. Babies are a true blessing.

Names : DH and I have chosen the name Tanner Stephen for our DS. Stephen is after my dad so it is special to me.

AllyLeigh : Congratulations on your baby boy. I am very excited for you.

Tonysweetie:: Hooray for your finals being over! I remember how awesome it felt to walk out of your last final. I hope you enjoy your holiday season.

Cute outfits that you picked out. I need to start shopping for boy clothes.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Take care

Amy

[MarriedaGoalie]

tinkerbell: So glad to hear the cyst has gotten smaller!! I will keep you in my thoughts and I am sure your DS will be just fine! :)

[Tonysweetie]

tinkerbell: I'm so happy to hear the good report. I hope the next U/S it's completely gone!

[SarahKatG]

tinkerbell, I'm so glad that the cyst has begun to shrink and I'm glad the website was helpful to you. I hope things continue to improve so you can enjoy the rest of your pregnancy :)

[Sunshine]

Allyson~CONGRATS on your little boy!!!!

Tonysweetie~Such cute little outfits! I bought a cute onsie today too!

tinkerbell~I am so happy the cyst is smaller!!! That is such great news!


My doc appoint went well today! Doc went over both u/s with us and reconfirmed that baby is doing great!
Also told me not to worry about my weight gain, I am progressing normally! So that was a relief!
Then we got to hear baby's heartbeat again. Such a beautiful sound. It was 155 this time!
Next appointment is January 12!

Hope everyone is well!

[happy1nuv]

Annielynn: I was ALSO going to suggest Claire Elise and that was before I read Lauren's and Diedra's posts. (REALLY insert Twilight Zone music here)... sorry dh doesn't like it. You can always do what I did with Nic...wait until you are in the midst of childbirth to decide on the final name. If dh disagrees with you THEN... well, you have bigger problems than your babies name :)

tinkerbell ~ THat is wonderful news! Hopefully you'll get even bETTER news in Jan...

Kim ~ {{HUGS}} I hope you don't have a repeat night like that for a LONG time...

[kimthebride]

Q: Panty Liners??
I am going nuts. I am now (TMI!) swimming in CM. Good times! The panty liners I have tried are too little or come off my big-butt maternity hipsters, and the superthin maxis i try are just too much. Is there anything in between you all like? I'd love a panty liner with wings to keep it in place, but the only ones I can find are thong ones - so not happening.

My Next OB Appointment
Friday January 12th for the next routine OB appointment and sugar test. YUM that orange drink was delish last time - I am looking forward to it! :p

tinkerbell
I am so glad the cyst is shrinking and hope in the end everything is okay. THinking of you.

Me
Its been 5 days while on 1/2 my ms meds dosage and all is going great! I have, however, had a headache off and on for almost 3 days now but that's totally unrelated. I may have to skip the trip to the P.O. today to mail our gifts to Chicago so i can rest before a weekend trip to MA to visit my family, though it will cost some big bucks to express ship the box on Monday. Oh well....

DS has been a good boy since yesterday, thank God! I ordered a crib tent to keep him from jumping out, that may even get here today. I also ordered 2 new baby gates with doors so I don't have to step over the regular ones anymore. I am quickly losing sight of my feet :o and its not making me any more graceful!

Belly Pics
It seems like not everyone here is doing belly pics....what's up, ladies? I want to see those bumps! :D

Oh, and just a thought....
I am not a big fan of posting pics of my face or DS on here since anyone can access it, but maybe we can do a kind of Holiday Introduction Picture day so we can put faces to the names? You know, put up a pic to say hello, don't post it on the 1st page or anything like that, and for those of us who want to delete ours we can do so after a day or two.
I'd be willing to come out of the shadows for a couple days to introduce myself and DS. :) Anyone else?

[juliemag]

Kim, I love the idea of a picture post! I feel the same way about posting my pix, and will probably take these down in a couple days. But for now... here we are!

DH and I over thanksgiving this year...

*edited*

I took my 24 week belly shot this morning and will try to get it posted tomorrow. :)

[lauren f s]

Tinkerbell: I'm glad the cyst is getting smaller and hope you continue to get more good news :).

Panty Liners: I like Carefree. I've been swimming in CM from day one and swear I've tried every brand out there. I like Carefree best, Kotex 2nd.

Kim: I loved the orange drink last time too :o. Everyone warned me it would be gross and hard to drink, but I thought it was kind of yummy. I'm glad you're finally feeling better and not having to rely so much on the meds!

Ava's 3rd birthday is tomorrow. I'm hoping to make it through the day without turning into a weepy mess. The first birthday was pretty bad, last year I did better. I'd like to think I'll be fine tomorrow, but with these pregnancy hormones who knows?!

Pictures: I think that's a nice idea! We had family pics taken a month ago.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h141/lauren_ballew/family.jpg

[diedra1027]

Pictures - FUN!! I haven't been taking belly shots (Sorry), but here is one of DD and I up at Whistler last month.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/diedra1027/Whistler6-1.jpg

[MarriedaGoalie]

Great idea!

Here is a picture of DH and I in Las Vegas last month...

http://static.flickr.com/113/290171293_5fed6f6b08.jpg?v=0

and one from our wedding 1 1/2 years ago (with SS)...

http://static.flickr.com/111/293380978_bd8af04923.jpg?v=0

[kimthebride]

Introducing....US!

Hi everyone!! Love putting a face to the name. :)

Okay, CLEARLY I am the family photographer, because I have been looking through our pics and the most recent, decent photo of me & DS together is from August! Oh boy! So here we are this summer visiting the ILs in Chicago:
deleted

The soon-to-be big brother enjoying Thanksgiving dinner:
deleted

And because I am taking real liberties ;) here is a wedding pic of me and my fabofrickinlicious DH from 3 years ago (ahhh...to be well rested and look so good again...):
deleted

[Tonysweetie]

I love all the pictures!!! Everyone is so beautiful! :)


Me and DH on our wedding day
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Tonysweetie/321.jpg

Me and DH at a wedding back in July (1 month exactly before we found out that were pregnant)
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Tonysweetie/5b74af56.jpg

A belly shot with a face
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Tonysweetie/DSCN5535.jpg

[kimthebride]

On The Topics Of Pictures...

Now that you know what DH & I look like, here's the funny thing: genetics!
My mom & both her parents were true, deep redheads with loads of freckles.
My father & both his parents were short, olive-skinned, dark-eyed Italians.
(I was apparently found under a rock)
DH's parents & gparents were all short, olive-skinned, dark-eyed Italians.
(He's got light green-blue eyes and light brown hair. Also found under a rock.)
So in the genetics game, we have no idea what our kids will look like! DS looks like us, but DD could come out an olive-skinned, hazel-eyed, black-haired bambino...or totally red-headed and freckled. It definitely adds an element of suprise to the whole delivery event. :D

Anyone else have an interesting genetic pool they are pulling from?

[lil_nance]

Here's a pic of us from Sept.
http://static.flickr.com/130/323548071_5fb887ea47.jpg?v=0

Bellyshot 22wk 1d
http://static.flickr.com/127/323544080_ea2ab94c64.jpg?v=0
I don't feel like I'm getting a baby bump more like my whole stomach just keeps expanding. Wish I had more of the basketball look but guess that's just not me.

Genetics I think DH and I look a lot alike. Everyone says DS looks like me but it's mainly because of haircolor. DH was also blond when he was little. Fairly certain DD will have blue eyes hair will most likely be blond but could be brown.

[pg_jess]

names
I love all of the names everyone's been posting. Some of my favorites are Claire and Jackson (both of which were vetoed by DH). I have two nephews named Mason and Cole, those are great names too! DH and I decided (rather quickly, actually) on Ethan Michael for our DS. Actually, we decided rather quickly once he vetoed everything I loved. :)

pictures
I'll have to try and find a recent pic to post sometime in the next couple of days. In the meantime it's been fun seeing everyone else's!

[juliemag]

Everyone is too cute! I love putting a face with a name.

Genetics - Well, My father and all 5 of his brothers are fair-skinned red-heads with blue eyes (hello, irish!). My mom is olive-skinned and has black hair, and her sister is a white-ish blonde naturally. My mom's mom is also a natural red-head, and her father has brown hair. Everyone on both sides of my family has blue eyes, with the excpetion of my mom - who has hazel/green.

Even though dad is a red head, and mom has almost black hair, I somehow managed to come out a dirty blonde. But I have alot of red in my hair, espeically when I get sun. I have blonde hair around my "crown". My skin is my fathers. Pale white and freckley, burns easily, you know the drill.

DH is olive-skinned, and was born with white hair and blue eyes (which he gets from his mother). He is 1/8 cherokee indian. His father is olive-skinned with dark brown hair.

Who the baby will look like - well that's a funny one. DH and I actually look strangely alike, despite our very opposite gene pools. We've been asked if we were brother and sister on more than one occasion. There is a very good chance that DS will have red hair, but if that's the case - lets hope he gets the olive skin, and not my cheap irish skin. :p I think it's safe to say that the baby will have blue eyes. Mine are dark blue, and DH's are crystal clear "bedroom blue" (as my mom calls them...EW! haha).

[Tonysweetie]

and DH's are crystal clear "bedroom blue" (as my mom calls them...EW! haha).

LOL!!!


Who the baby will look like: Well me and DH both have brown hair so I'm fully expecting this baby to have blondish or brown hair. DH has blue eyes and I have brown. I'm expecting him to have brown eyes for some reason. I've always heard brown dominants blue so we'll see I guess. My Moms side of the family all have brown hair and brown eyes. My Dad is all over the place. I expect him to have olive skin like me. DH tans easily and so do I. My Dad has olive skin as well. I expect him to be no taller than 5'8 when he is grown too. I'm short...5'2 and DH is on the shorter side as well. He is 5'7. My whole family is short and so is DH. Poor kid! lol.


Have a great weekend everyone! :) The last one before Christmas! CRAZY! :eek:

[myshel]

This is a picture of DH and I before prom last year. We were chaperones for the prom at the HS where I teach.
http://static.flickr.com/46/143163248_801a07f9db.jpg?v=0

This is a picture from October. DH was the best man in his BF's wedding.
http://static.flickr.com/95/281800231_58f6d257c5.jpg?v=0


Baby's looks:DD will likely be brown haired and brown eyed. DH and I have both. Because DH is of Honduran ancestry, those genetics seem to override everything. My father and brother have blue eyes. DH's mother is blonde and blue eyed. The Latino genes seem to take over though. I suspect that DD will look a lot like DS.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Genetics: Well my mom has blonde hair and my dad has black hair and I somehow have red hair, so I don't know what is up with that... DH has black hair, so I am betting we get another black-haired kiddo.

Who the Baby Looks like: On the 3D picture of our little guy's face, it is pretty obvious that he has my upper lip and DH's nose... as for the rest... I don't know yet!

Btw, I had my 1 hour GTT today. Wish me luck!

[Tonysweetie]

Good luck Tosha!!!! I feel pretty dumb asking this question but what is the 1 hour GTT and the 3 hour GTT. I always see people talking about it but I don't know what it is...:o


I hate days like this when DS doesn't move around much or at all. Well I'm sure he's moving I'm just not feeling it. I've only felt him kick maybe 3 times today instead of my usual 20ish times. I've noticed I'll have like 2 days in a row where he is super active and then have 3 days where he isn't. Always makes me nervous to the point I want to call the Dr. but I need to remember I'm only 21 weeks along so ya know?

[lauren f s]

It's so nice to have faces to put with everyone's name!

Genetics
Me: I look like my dad; auburn hair, dark brown eyes, fair skin. My mom also has dark hair, hazel eyes, and fair skin. My sisters are far more interesting. One has fire engine red hair, green eyes, super fair skin. The other is blonde with olive skin (we always said she was adopted ;) ).
DH: Resembles his mother a lot. As a baby he had blonde hair & blue eyes; now his hair is light brown but turns blondish in the sun. Most of his siblings are blond with blue eyes as well, which is interesting because his dad has black hair and brown eyes.
*Ava is a good mix of us both. She has light brown hair and hazel eyes, but her features are a good mix of both of ours. As a baby I think she looked just like me but the older she gets, the more she looks like DH. She has my eyes, though, which are my dad's eyes. It scares DH a bit when she gets mad because he says it's like having my dad give him the evil eye :p. I'm curious to see what this baby will look like. His hair and eyes could be a rainbow of colors!

Ava's 3rd birthday is today :). She woke up and attacked her presents and spent much of the day playing. We took her to lunch at Chuck E. Cheese with one of her cousins and grandma. It was an adventure I don't want to repeat for a long time, but she had fun. Now she's busy whipping up some eggs and hot sauce, apparently, in her new play kitchen.

[Tonysweetie]

. Now she's busy whipping up some eggs and hot sauce, apparently, in her new play kitchen.

Awh! Happy Birthday Ava! Is it bad that it sounds good? Eggs and hot sauce, YUM! lol.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Tonysweetie: I explained the GTT in my journal because I visited there first. :)

lauren_f_s: Happy birthday, Ava!! How exciting!! :)

[diedra1027]

Genetics - DD has so many of my features that DH likes to say that he is a member of the recessive gene club ;). It seems like I have all of the stronger/dominant genes - brown eyes (although my mom has blue eyes so I do have blue eye genes floating around in there somewhere!), brown hair, darker skin tone, etc. Actually, the older DD gets the more of DHs features she is getting - like the blond hair that turned up this summer. I think this baby will be more of the same - strongly favor me in the beginning and slowly change to take on some of DH too.

GTT - is the glucose tolerance test, to make sure that you don't have pregnancy induced diabetes. They start out with the one hour test (drink a sugary drink, then have your blood sugar tested an hour later) and if you 'fail' that they move on to the three hour test.

[happy1nuv]

Pictures of us... I'm too lazy now...I'll post some tomorrow if I can find some online somewhere...

Genetics ~ Well, dh and I are both dark haired/brown eyed. If this child comes out otherwise...dh will thing I have some splaining to do... ;) And...its really too bad I don't have a scanner... because my mom and I were going through some old photos, and we came across a picture of my dad as a baby. Cover the ears, and take some of the pudge out of the cheeks and it IS nic. :) (although, everyone always says he looks like dh, go figure...)

I go for my 1 hour gtt tomorrow... ugh! I get one complete hour baby free, and there's nothing I can get done for christmas.. go figure! (I have a bunch of projects to get done... some sewing, I'm making 2 calendars, etc. ... and NONE of it is portable...)

[SarahKatG]

Great idea! I love seeing everyone's pics. I'll post one tomorrow.

On genetics, it's all a guessing game really. DD got many of my recessive traits, like blond hair and blue eyes, and even got my lighter coloring. We were fully expecting a brown haired, brown eyed baby since those are DH's features. It'll be really interesting to see if the next baby looks more like him!

[Tonysweetie]

I go for my 1 hour gtt tomorrow... ugh! I get one complete hour baby free, and there's nothing I can get done for christmas.. go figure! (I have a bunch of projects to get done... some sewing, I'm making 2 calendars, etc. ... and NONE of it is portable...)

Good luck! I know what you mean about the projects you need to get done by Christmas. I have more shopping I need to do and when that's actually going to happen this week I have no idea. :confused:

[diedra1027]

I go for my 1 hour gtt tomorrow... ugh! I get one complete hour baby free, and there's nothing I can get done for christmas.. go figure! (I have a bunch of projects to get done... some sewing, I'm making 2 calendars, etc. ... and NONE of it is portable...)ACK! They make you sit there for the whole thing???? My office gives me the drink to take home, then I just come back for the blood draw. They ask people to get there within 45 minutes just to make sure you make it on time, but otherwise we don't have to sit there. Thank goodness!

[lauren f s]

Awh! Happy Birthday Ava! Is it bad that it sounds good? Eggs and hot sauce, YUM! lol.
Who doesn't love eggs & hot sauce? ;) Her play kitchen came with eggs and she's convinced all the bottles contain hot sauce. The kid loves to cook. She honestly prefers watching Food Network to cartoons. I'm hoping to turn this into a high dollar career so she can support mom & dad ;).

Happy1: Good luck on your GTT! Stinks you can't tackle anything Christmas related, but enjoy that hour! I plan to bring a good book so I can sit, read, and relax while I wait on mine.

We spent yesterday running errands and trying to finish up Christmas. I know we won't actually finish it until the weekend. I still have to get Ava's clothes, a toy for one nephew, DH's last gift, and my parents' gift. I did manage to wrap everything I've bought so far, so that much is done. Now I just have to make sure Ava stays away from the tree! She thinks all presents are for her, since she's had her birthday and opened so much already this month!

[MarriedaGoalie]

ACK! They make you sit there for the whole thing???? My office gives me the drink to take home, then I just come back for the blood draw. They ask people to get there within 45 minutes just to make sure you make it on time, but otherwise we don't have to sit there. Thank goodness!

They made me sit there the whole time for mine too. I even asked if I could take it home and they said no... that they had to dispense it themselves. I don't know why...?

[Tonysweetie]

I'm so bummed out. I'm getting stretch marks on my tummy now. It started off on my hips and bb's now it's on my stomach. A bunch too. They just sorta showed up over night. I have faithfully been putting that expensive stretch mark cocoa butter stuff on myself to. I know it's not suspose to be the "cure" but I thought I'd try it anyways. I hope they fade and don't grow anymore than they already have. They are surrounding my lower stomach. :( :( :( I weighed myself this morning and I've gained close to 20 lbs. so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I don't understand how I'm gaining so much weight. I'm not over eating at all. I don't eat that bad. I'm eating like I used to pretty much.


Another thing I'm sorta bummed out about. My MIL is beyond excited about the baby coming and all but I noticed she doesn't want to participate in anything baby related. My best friend and my Mom and a couple other ladies are throwing me a baby shower in Feb/March and my Mom called up MIL to tell her about it. She got very defensive and said she will NOT be bringing a gift for the baby but she would bring one for me. My Mom was stunned and was like alright. Well then she proceeded to go on how she will not be buying the baby anything until after he is born. I have a pack and play picked out at Sears that matches our travel system that I want and my Mom metioned that to her and she again said she will not be buying anything for the baby. She told my Mom that DH grandmother which is MIL Mom lost two baby boys late in her pregnancy but had two healthy girls. So basicly they are afraid to buy anything for the baby. This really hurts my feelings. I mean I totally understand and respect her feelings of course and I'm very sorry that happened but goodness! It's almost like they are preparing for something to happen which hurts my feelings and freaks me out! Last night DH and I went over to her house for dinner and I was telling her about some things we've done so far to prepare the nursery. And she said that I didn't need to set up the crib until after he was here b/c he won't be sleeping in it anyways (she doesn't know that I know about the conversation). I said well I would feel less stressed knowing everything was ready incase he came a little early or whatever. She again said I didn't need to really do anything until after he was here. She told my Mom that when DH and SIL were born they didn't have clothes, car seats, cribs, nothing at all. My FIL had to run out and buy everything while she was still in the hospital. I'm just so confused now and feel like I can't tell her anything that I'm doing to prepare. A couple weeks ago we were at the grandmothers and I told her we got the crib and she just looked at me like I murdered someone or something. Now I know why but it's really making me feel like I'm doing something wrong for being excited about having a baby. THey are making me feel like I should be stressed out and worring 24/7 or something.

[lauren f s]

Tonysweetie: I'm sorry your MIL is upsetting you. I've actually heard that lots of people are very superstitious about buying anything baby related until the baby is born. I'm sure she doesn't mean to come off as bad as she is. If I were you, I'd just keep quiet around her about baby related topics. I do this with my MIL, but mostly because she thinks that because she's had 7 kids she's the pregnancy expert :rolleyes:. As far as the stretch marks go, try not to stress them. I know they're not pretty, but they happen. I got a lot with Ava and it really upset me, but they do fade. I try to be proud of mine and know that they just mean my body is healthy and able to stretch and grow and carry a baby. Hope you feel better :).

[kimthebride]

Happy Birthday Ava! I was actually looking at play kitchen sets for DD's first bday...in April of 2008. :o DH totally caught me too, he thinks I am insane now.

Get Baby to Wiggle
I know the usual thing is to drink OJ & lay on your left side if baby hasn't moved much and you're worried...but I was eating Dots (you know, the movie theater candy) and about 2 minutes after my 1st mouthful DD went INSANE! DH could not stop laughing at how he could feel her really moving from the outside because of the Dots. So that's my make-you-feel-better tip of the day.

GTT
I head in early, get the drink and drink up while reading. And reeeelaaax. This way they the time my appointment is up I can do my thing, then they can take my blood before I go.
My OB is high risk, and with DS he said I got the best score EVER on the GTT that's he's seen in his career. I told him if there's one test I'd never fail, its on that is related to sugar ;) .
I'm not worried about it this time, either.

Tonysweetie
I can understand your being a bit hurt, but just try to be sensitive as to how horrible that must have been for MIL. She's likely just saying to wait to protect you, because it was probably awful for her to come home to all that baby stuff after her losses. I bet I'd be a wreck myself, and make DH get rid of it all before i stepped back in the house.
Maybe you can just drop initiating baby talk with her for now, unless of course something does get aked in her presence that has to do with baby prep.
And as for getting you a gift versus the baby, heck - enjoy it! You'll notice soon enough that once you have a kid everything is about the baby and you're just this pod that carried him/her for 9 months :rolleyes: . So take what luxuries you can get, while they're still being offered. Lol!

So How's Everyone's Body Acting?
I forgot how many little things go on when pg. here's the latest on me.
Electric Shock Therapy - I get the zaps in my boobs and my hooha pretty frequently. Same with DS.
BABs - My Big Ass Boobs are back with a vengence. They are scary and need their own zipcode. I wasn't exactly flat to begin with...must now dig out my EE's from lane Bryant that I tucked away after my last pregnancy. Oh, and they are super veiny too. Sexy.
Cravings - Now that my m/s is ending, I am getting cravings. I would have murdered someone for a slice of cake the other day. And since yesterday all i want is Peppermint Stick Ice cream.
Headaches - Still getting them. Had one from Wed-Fri last week.
Runny Nose - Argh so annoying! I did get a Rx for it, since I have it anyway due to asthma. But seriously it is out of control and everyone thinks I am sick all the time.
Growing Growing - My hair and nails are growing so fast!
Back Fat - Good times.
Skin - With DS I had crazy bacne, but not this time. I am really dry, so have to lube up. My face is getting better, though I do use a really heavy cream now for the winter.
M/S - Pretty much gone (YAY!). My friend saw me today and said I look like a whole different person, like I did before I was pg. She totally saw a difference.
Back - I get a little achy, which tells me I now need to start working out, but the thing that hurts is when I'll get a little pinched in the nerve at the base of my spine. Youch. I had this with DS, too, a bit. Not often, but enough that i wish it never happened!
Movement - I feel her all the time now, and DH can feel her from the outside. love it.
Dreams - Even more vivid than usual! I am having a little insomnia, in that I wake up really early in the morning and can't get back to sleep. Worrying about selling our place and getting a house doesn't exactly help.
Pressure - I'm already getting a little pressure on my cervix, though the OB told me she was low. DS was under my ribs and it hurt like heck - i could barely eat more than a few bites at a time - so maybe this will be better?

[happy1nuv]

tonysweetie.... what she said :) ... no, really... totally don't let your mil rain on your parade... it's your first baby and you SHOULD be excited! Just don't talk about it with her.. her loss!

[Tonysweetie]

lauren f s: Thanks, Ever since I found out about the conversation I haven't said to much about the baby unless he brought it up but goodness I just wish she could be a bit more positive instead of trying to bring me down about it. Thanks for the encouragement ont he stretch marks. I know it's my bodys way of making room for baby and I'm so glad for that but at the same time I wonder if I'll ever look the same in a swimsuit again, lol.

kimthebride: Good tip on getting the baby to move, I've noticed mine is either soda or ice cream. The OJ laying on side stuff doesn't work for me. I've noticed DS is super active late evening and late at night, early morning. During the day and early evening he's not very active. Thanks for the advice about my MIL. It wasn't my MIL that had the losses it was her Mom. So they would've been my MIL brothers. I'm just going to keep my baby preparness to myself. DH is a bit more disappointed about it than I am. He feels so bad but I'm trying not to let it bother me. So happy for M/S is just about gone and your having cravings. Thats great! Now you can really enjoy the hoildays!

happy1nuv: Thanks, that is what I'm going to do. :)

[MarriedaGoalie]

GTT: I passed!! They did mention that my iron count was low, though (no surprise there... it always is). They suggested I take some iron supplements along with my prenatal vitamins. I plan on getting some after work today.

Tonysweetie: I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can be excited about buying things even if your MIL is not... did she have a bad experience with losing a baby early or something? Something like that might cause her not to want to purchase items for your little guy yet. Don't stress about it and just be happy. She will be happy once he's here! :)

Baby to Wiggle: DH and I have a fun time pushing our little guy back and forth and he doesn't like it and pushes back at us. Its kinda funny. He always is on the left side of my stomach and you can almost feel his butt (or at least I think that is what it is) and so we try to push him to the other side and he doesn't like that. haha DH made a comment about how we were already bugging the little guy and he's not even out yet! :)

[kimthebride]

Tonysweetie
Sorry, I was reading and writing and making sure DS didn't knock the tree over at the same time. :) But same message. Just insert GMIL not MIL.

A Good Product
Something I forgot I had and love! I bought this Boppy Pregnancy Wedge at Target when pg with DS. You use it under your bump while pregnant, like in the photo. Then I found a way to use it afterwards: when DS has a cold, I use it to prop the head-end of his mattress up just a bit to help drain the snot (not too high, not too low).
http://www.boppy.com/images/prenatal/Pregnancy-Wedge.jpg

MarriedAGoalie
Congrats on passing! Sooo...did you like the drink? ;)

[MarriedaGoalie]

kimthebride: Thanks for the product recommendation! I was wondering if there was something out there for that... I might look into that one! Thanks!

Btw, I didn't really think the drink was bad at all. To me it tasted just like Sunkist orange soda. I was pleasantly surprised!

[SarahKatG]

kimthebride, I'm definitely picking one up! Just last night I was thinking I need something like that. Good to know it exists!

[Tonysweetie]

Kim: hehe thanks! :)

[juliemag]

Here is my 24 week belly shot from the other day!

http://pics.livejournal.com/juliemag/pic/0008pgxh/s640x480

[wonderousglance]

Tonysweetie - I lurk in this thread sometimes, just so I know what to expect (due in May) and I saw your post about your MIL. My mom is the same exact way. Everytime we get something for the baby's room she'll say, "what if something happens to the baby, what are you going to do with all this stuff". :mad: It's frustrating, but my mom is 65 and very old school when it comes to pregnancy. She doesn't get the technology available to us these days. I just shrug it off as ignorance. :)

[lauren f s]

Getting Baby to Move
Go to sleep. Any time I lie down to rest, he starts moving around like crazy. Never fails. The only other surefire way to get him to move is when DH, Ava, and I are playing and laughing. Once we start he seems to get real excited and bounces all over the place.

Runny Nose: All the time and it's gross! I keep Kleenex at my desk at work and nearby whenever I'm at home to catch anything that might drip out.

Skin: Mine's extremely dry, esp. my face and hands. I feel as though I'm always putting on more moisturizer or lotion.

Cravings: PIZZA! Doesn't even have to be good stuff. I'll happily eat frozen, yummy take out, or the crap they served us at Chuck E Cheese on Saturday. It all tastes sooo good to me.

Moving: We move into our house in 2 weeks and I'm slowly panicking. We've done next to nothing to prepare! I finally packed up 4 boxes of stuff last night but am scared to tackle Ava's room or our own. I put up some of Ava's toys last night, things she never plays with, and of course she had a fit that I was boxing them up and had to start playing with everything right away. Moving should be fun :rolleyes:.

I have a dr appt this afternoon. I'm only 25-26 weeks, I think (I feel awful, but I stopped counting weeks ago!), so I figure won't have my GTT until next month. I'm also have an u/s and getting my rhogam shot next month. Should be a pleasant appt. Thankfully today should just be quick and easy.

[pg_jess]

boppy wedge pillow
I bought mine something like two months ago and it was a LIFESAVER. It makes sleeping so much more comfortable. Originally I bought a body pillow, and that was just too huge to have in bed (even though we have a king-sized bed). I even use my wedge pillow when I'm on the couch watching t.v. I carry it with me everywhere.

GTT
I have a doctor's appt tomorrow (I'll be exactly 25 wks). My office usually does the GTT at 26 weeks, so I'm pretty much expecting they'll do it tomorrow. I have no idea whether they'll make me sit there or let me come home, so I plan to be prepared with a good book or magazine. A whole hour with the perfect excuse for doing nothing? At this time of year? I couldn't be happier... :)

Childbirth Classes
When shopping for our new car at Thanksgiving, we had a salesman tell us to skip the childbirth classes because all that Lamaze sh@$! doesn't help! I couldn't believe he was saying that to us (we did not buy a car from him). We're planning to sign up for whatever our hospital offers ASAP because they said classes fill quickly. But I'm just curious what everyone else will be signing up for or reading about or looking into regarding childbirth options. I'm so clueless about everything! :)

[Sunshine]

Childbirth Classes~We signed up. We figure that since this is our first child, it cant hurt, even if it all does go out the window come labour day.
It has been fun for us so far, its a way for us both to learn about these things together, and kind of in a weird way bond even more.
Plus, at our next class they have a sympathy suit for DH to wear! AS IF I am missing that! LOL!

[myshel]

Childbirth Classes: With DS, we did take the late pregnancy class and the labor and delivery class. The late pregnancy class didn't really help me much because I had read a ton anyway. The L&D class was slightly helpful. There were some pain management techniques that I used during labor, but most it, again, I knew from reading or seeing things here. The only class I plan to take this time around is the BFing class. I think I also might make an appointment with a LC after the new year too.

[lauren f s]

Childbirth Classes: Waste of money, IMO. We did them all and didn't take much from them. We both read dozens of books and lots of things online and learned just as much that way - and for free. The childbirth classes were really interesting, but I'd already read everything one could possibly read. The Lamaze classes seemed great at the time, but once I was in labor, I got the epidural when I was dilated 2 cm. No amount of breathing or anything else we learned eased my pain - but the glorious drugs did. They didn't matter too much to us, so I'm not going to bother with it this time around, but others might find them useful.

[basketcase]

Childbirth classes: We took ALL the classes last time (lamaze, infant CPR, breastfeeding, c-section, infant care) and I remember feeling like they were somewhat useful. At the very least we learned what my hospital's policies were and how the whole labor, delivery, and postpartum thing worked there.

The lamaze breathing techniques? Totally useless, IMO. Never remembered them when the time came, never used 'em. In fact, the best prep I could have done for labor was taking a prenatal yoga class. I used those relaxation techniques throughout my whole labor. Would highly recommend it!

All in all, I'm glad I took all the classes, even lamaze. What doesn't work for one person might work for another. And at the very least, taking lamaze felt like one of those rites of passage for a pregnant couple! (Even if it ended up not working for me.)

I won't be taking any classes this time around, except the prenatal yoga (if I can find a regular sitter at that time).

[April07Mamas]

Updated to here!

[Tonysweetie]

juliemag: Lookin' good Mama!

wonderousglance: Thanks, I'm glad I'm not the only one who is going through this. I'm just at the point where I'm going to do what I want and how I want and if she doesn't like it then ohwell. I'm not going to tell her about anything were doing either. Me and DH are the parents not her.


lauren f s: What is a rhogam shot? Also I'm having major cravings for Pizza also! My favorite is the cheapy frozen kind. The cheaper and crappier the better, lol!


Childbirth classes: Were still undecided. In the beginning I had full intentions of taking them at the hospital and I have looked into them. IMO they are sorta expensive. Everyone keeps telling me I won't use them and that is what everyone seems to be saying here too. I have a feeling we won't and just read up what we can beforehand.

[lauren f s]

Tonysweetie: I'm RH negative and at 28 weeks and after the baby's born I have to get a Rhogam shot. I can't explain it well at all, but I'll try. Basically there's a good chance my blood is incompatible with the baby's, which is likely to be RH positive. It usually doesn't affect the first baby, but if at any point Ava's blood were to have gotten into mine while I was pg or during her birth my body would have started producing antibodies agaisnt RH positive blood. Then when I got pg again my body would attack this baby. So you get a shot of antibodies at 28 weeks and again after birth to protect yourself & the baby. They usually tell you if you're RH negative after they draw all your blood. I'm guessing if you don't know, you aren't. It's not too big of a deal. The shot hurts a lot, but that's about it.

[michael'sbride]

Childbirth Classes: Took them with #1 and I thought they were great for DH to have a tour of the hospital and be forced to diaper and swaddle a baby. For me, I'd been a nanny for years and there was nothing beyond the basics that they presented so I didn't learn anything new. I did really appreciate the breastfeeding class with #1. I was more confident and had specific questions for the lactation consultant after the baby came.

Didn't take any classes with #2 and with #3 I could probably teach my own class based on the things that I think someone should know compared to the things that they actually spend the time telling you.

[kimthebride]

Childbirth Classes
My OB is in NYC, Upper West Side. Apparently every single woman in Manhattan was pg at the same time as me with DS so even though I tried to do some classes EVERY ONE was booked up. My hospital has a ton of classes, all were booked months in advance. Whoops!! I even tried other places, and had no luck.
So since I am a researcher anyway, I read every book I could get my mitts on, web research, talked to all my friends who went thru L&D. I did fine, though was not prepared for how fast mine was. I'll reread my books during my last trimester this time again, just to refresh.

I did take an infant CPR class (kept my notes in the diaper bag in case I needed them) and a breastfeeding class during my last trimester. VERY glad I took both, I ended up needed to use the tools I learned in both and neither was much of a cost. I'd highly recommend those, if you're thinking about it.

Belly Pics
Here I am this week:
http://static.flickr.com/134/327354363_c6e4d08f13.jpg?v=0

[diedra1027]

Child prep Classes - We took a New Baby class and a breastfeeding class. I skipped all the childbirth classes because I knew ahead of time that I was having a c-section (due to previous uterine surgery). I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know, but both classes had prior 'graduates' come with their new babies and speak/answer questions which was nice. In hindsight, the breastfeeding class wasn't enough for me - I still had no idea what a proper latch should look like even though they showed a video with about 10 different babies latching on! The biggest prep tip I can offer is if you plan on breastfeeding 1)Ask to see the staff LC at the hospital - even if it's just to confirm that everything looks right and 2)Have the number of an LC who makes house calls on hand before you get home with the baby (my ped gave me a business card) - If you decide that you need more help once you get home, you will want someone at your side ASAP!

[kimthebride]

The biggest prep tip I can offer is if you plan on breastfeeding 1)Ask to see the staff LC at the hospital - even if it's just to confirm that everything looks right and 2)Have the number of an LC who makes house calls on hand before you get home with the baby (my ped gave me a business card) - If you decide that you need more help once you get home, you will want someone at your side ASAP!

ITA!
The BFing class I took was with my hospital and had a few BFing moms who would go up front and nurse while the LC talked about what was going on. She had us all come up and look close-up, first-hand how the baby was latched on, look at how the baby's mouth looks, etc to help in giving us the tools to look for a proper latch and tell whether they are suckling (eating) versus sucking (using mom as a pacifier). Though I am not a fan of seeing strangers' lactating nipples :D it was helpful to see it so up close.

All the nurses were impressed with DS's latch in the hospital, but on the 3rd day when we were home and saw our pediatrician for the 1st time we realized it looked like he was latched and nursing but he wasn't getting much...and lost over a pound in those 3 days. Maybe if an actual LC saw me she'd have seen the issue?? Not sure, but it may have been a good idea just to check it out - though the nurses were very experienced and genuinely thought all looked good.

My Ped gave me the card of a fabulous LC who came over that night and worked with us for hours, then took my calls for weeks until the issue was cleared and his weight gain was on track. My Ped is also very well versed with BFing so I had a good team to work with.

So that was my long-winded agreement with diedre, and details as to why. You never know what's going to happen, so its good to have the contacts on hand in advance just in case!

[happy1nuv]

Childbirth classes ~ Well, we did the hypnobabies home study course - we didn't do any hospital classes. BUT, we did do the hospital tour. I thought that was SOOO helpful, cause you can ask about policies, etc. - and its free So...whether you decide on classes or no, definitely look into a tour. In retrospect, I would have liked a b/f class but we managed fine without it... BUT, Nic was in the nicu for jaundice and one of the nicu nurses was trained as a lactation consultant and if we didnt deal with her at all I dont think we would have had such a good start (the hospital had a l/c, but she wasn't as good, imo... ) I had a c/s, so we were there for 4 days so she was able to work with me quite a bit... if we didn't have her, I would have wanted a home visit.

Naming help... SO, I am really digging the name Cole, but I HATE it with our last name. (I saw it as a nickname for nicholaus...and can't get it out of my head)... So... would you name a kid nicholaus (cole) if you already have a dominic (nic)... or do you know another name that shortcuts to cole? (drama, drama, drama I know...)

[lauren f s]

Hospital Tour: I LOVED ours! I was so glad we did it with DD and because we're using a new hospital this time am definitely signing up for another.

Happy: I have a friend who loved the name Cole, but couldn't come up with a good middle name for it. She named her son Nathaniel Cole, and they call him Cole. Don't know how you feel about using a middle name as the first name, but that's an alternative you may not have considered.

I have my dr appt yesterday afternoon. I've gained 3 pounds and everything looks fine. I go back January 24 for an u/s (to check baby's size), GTT test, and the rhogam shot.

[wendstress]

Update on Baby Boy #2
I had a regular appointment with Dr. C. just a couple days after my visit to L&D so I filled him in on the details. He commented that intestinal cramping could feel a lot like contractions, so I was wise to go. It made me feel good, because I was feeling guilty for going and having it end up being nothing.

During that appointment I also had another U/S to check on cervical condition. All is tight and around 3 cm (normal). The U/S also did a quick check on Baby and we got a nice picture of his face. I need to get it scanned in! She also said he was in a breech position, but not to worry because he's got plenty of time to move. But naturally, I'm a little worried.

Progesterone injections started on Monday. Every Monday now for 10 weeks, I believe. That'll get me to 24 weeks. The injection wasn't bad, but I did feel a lot of depression during the day yesterday. Not sure if it is connected or not, but I suspect it is.

Everything is on track.... I admit to feeling more nervous as this PG progresses. I just don't know how I could cope with having to re-live another situation like what we went through with James!

Next appointment is 1/10, for the GTT. I'll also stop by L&D for my pre-admittance paperwork and birth plan discussion.

QOTD - Have you thought about your birth plan? What are your goals?
I went natural last time, with the exception of one shot of Nubain (sp?) which didn't do much!

Child Prep Classes - Yeah. Need to sign up for one. Missed out on the Lamaze last time (including the hospital tour) since James was early, but we did the Bradley Series. Bradley was very informative, although I think some of the info was out of date.

We also took the BFing class which was good. Our hospital has great LC's, and one worked with me quite a bit in the hospital to make sure James was doing well. I also took James to 'Mommy and Me' for several weeks after he was born, which was hosted by the LCs for anyone that wanted to come to an open nursing session.

[MarriedaGoalie]

Child Prep Classes - I really need to look into these! I am scared to death of L&D and need to start being "prepared". :(

[kimthebride]

happy1
Hmmm....Nicholaus & Dominic...I see them as very related, as in I'd want one or the other, KWIM? I do like the idea of using Nicholaus as a middle name and calling him Cole (I may do something like that) or name him Cole something-that-rolls-nicely-into-yourlastname LastName. I don't think it sounds funny with your last name, I have been sitting here saying it out loud to myself and think it works.
But whatever makes you happy, mama!

wendstress
So glad to hear everything is locked up tight and you got a good pic of h is face. :) Yay!
ITA that the stomach virus really felt like labor pains...if I were you I would have ended up in the ER or L&D myself. I knew I was exposed, so didn't freak out too much.

Birth Plan
With DS I had this lovely. well-researched Birth Plan all written out, multiple copies made etc but my L&D was so fast & dramatic it never even made it out of my bag :rolleyes: . Basically I got there, asked for drugs, made it into my gown, screamed for drugs, got on the monitor, begged for drugs, held the baby in until they got the doctor there then pushed without so much as a Motrin to help with the pain. Not much room for a plan there, lol!

I will use the same plan, and pray I actually get to use it. I'd like a walking epidural, if at all possible. Quite franky, I'll take any drugs they can get into me to both slow the labor down (I feel like I missed out on the experience, it was so fast) and help with the pain.

Mid-Jan I have my next OB appointment and will talk drugs with him then. My mom's L&Ds got progressively faster & faster so I may be looking at a another scary-fast L&D. So the plan may be ditched. Which means, my plan may simply be: get to hospital in an ambulance immediately upon 1st contraction and take it from there (so I don't birth at home).

As you can tell, I am a bit freaked out about my next L&D. I have a fast-labor thread in the Pregnancy Forum and some posts in the 'getting over your L&D trauma' thread as well. I'm sure you'll see my stress levels rising as we get closer.

[lauren f s]

wendstress: I'm glad things are going well for the baby. I had a nasty stomach bug recently and agree those pains feel very much like contractions. Very smart to go to the dr, even if it was nothing. Better to be safe!

Birth Plans
I didn't have one with Ava and her labor/deliver was awful. I was 11 days past my due date and induced. Labor went fine, for the most part; I got my epidural and wasn't in pain for too long. However, I never had an u/s at the end of my pregnancy to check her size and we had no idea just how huge she would be. I pushed for 2 hours before my dr came in to check on things. I didn't know until recently, but apparently things weren't looking good and Ava needed to get out right away. I ended up having my epidural increased and she was pulled out with forceps, causing me to get a 4th degree tear because the kid was 9lbs 14oz :eek:! It was a good 30-45 mins before I even got to see her, because the dr was so busy stitching me up and doing God knows what else.

I had a very difficult recovery and am not looking forward to repeating that this time around. I have a new dr and have talked to him extensively about my concerns. I'm fully expecting to have another big baby, at least 9 pounds if not bigger and am fine with that. I'd even prefer to deliver rather than have a c-section, I just don't want it to be as traumatic as it was with Ava. DH gives me a hard time because I'm more nervous about L&D this time around than I was with Ava because I know exactly what to expect and the closer we get to April, the more nervous I get.