Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[steph72276]

Viz, glad things looked well with baby!

 

[anchor31]

vizsla - Sorry to hear about your mom stressing you out. My ILs are very competitive too and it sucks. Your day yesterday does sound interesting! I didn''t know about this procedure. I''m glad to hear your LO is doing well.

 

[KimberlyH]

Sorry for anyone having issues with family, cramping, etc.

I thought I felt a flip in my belly last night and a few thuds that could be baby. Hope this is the beginning of feeling kicks and movement; when I get impatient I get really impatient and this is one of those times.

We''re making our first move towards moving today, putting the rental on the market. When it sells we''ll buy a house/move then put ours on the market. Hopefully we''ll have some good luck in that regard and this will all happen sooner rather than later.

Maternity Clothes: I like the full panel pants. I have two pairs of the low rise and they tend to cut into my stomach as well, but they aren''t terrible and I still wear them because I''m being cheap about mat. clothes and don''t want to spend any $ that I don''t have to.

 

[Mara]

steph..don''t quote me but maybe search on pre-term labor. i found something a few days ago that was pretty extensive and talked about what to look for, when to go in etc. since i was not that well versed on it before, it was good data. i also asked my dr yesterday about a few things, and one of them was when to worry about stuff like that. from what i read...and i guess it can vary because everyone is diff...but she was saying that if it feels like your uterus is tightening up and releasing and it''s ''rythmyic'' and does not lessen, and it''s accompanied by the ''pressure'' on the cervix like pushing down...and potentially leaking or bleeding that is when to come in and get checked out. but you know what, if you are really worried, call the dr at least and ask the question.

i have had some lower period like cramping on and off recently but it''s very intermittent and it goes away so i don''t tend to worry. i also asked her about all these diff weird things that i feel and she is like ''totally normal''. pregnancy def does strange things to your body.

the crib and bumper came yesterday... YAY! i love the crib rustic honey color, it put 99% of my fears to rest re: the colors and being too country. i took out the one rail just to lay it against the wall to see what sort of contrast we have, and i love it! and my prints came from etsy, SO CUTE. i am so excited, i hope it all comes together the way the idea board looks.

and we are freaks so i will have greg assemble the crib this wkd. i can''t wait to get started.

viz...yikes sorry to hear about the day yesterday but when are you off of work? it better be soon, you never know!! did they check to see if you are dilated at all?

pg i think you will be next. so exciting!

 

[drk]

Steph - my ongoing tightenings are painless. I know something''s happening, and can palpate more than I can tell without touching are going on. I was told if there''s cramping or bleeding to get in touch with my OB. I''d call if I were you. I''d rather feel silly for getting checked out than kick myself later on for having a very preemie preemie because I''d missed early PTL signs. Hope you feel better soon! It doesn''t take too much effort for them to bring you in to L&D triage and put you on a monitor to see what''s going on contraction-wise.

 

[vizsla]

steph - my midwife is *very* chill.. but doesn''t mince actions when baby is concerned. and if it''s concerning enough for you, that alone is concerning enough to call. a happy *at ease* mom is better than a stressed out mom IMO. i would call and just explain the situation. let them make the call on if you should come in. you are probably right that it''s bh contractions or something (although i didn''t think they were supposed to be painful, just tightening and releasing). in any case, i know i felt 100milliontrillion% better after they said everything looked good yesterday... and i didn''t even care if i was ''that'' girl in l&d

thanks everyone.. it was more scary to think that yesterday was going to be ''the day'' then anything else. i went to the hospital kinda completely oblivious to that fact. DH isn''t packed, toiletries aren''t packed, still need to get a pedicure and shave my legs

just that kind of stuff.

no, they didn''t check to see if i was dilated - they put the contraction monitor on me as well as the h/b monitor... and nada... i have my weekly apt. tomorrow.. maybe something will surprise me then.... i''m not getting my hopes up. i''ve mentally prepared to be pg forever

, so if it happens before then, i''ll be happy. it''s the fatigue and anxiousness i didn''t prepare for.

mara - yeah! that the furniture is exactly what you wanted.... let the decorating begin!

 

[AmberWaves]

Viz: wow! What a day you had yesterday! I''m glad to hear it was a false alarm, and it''s good to know things are progressing! Your due date is Sunday?? WOW! I hear you on the competition. My MIL seems to think that we''ll keep her out of the loop and only tell my mom/dad we''re at the hospital. So ridiculous. To be honest, I''d prefer to not tell anyone we''re actually in labor until I have a chance to let my poor blown out vagina rest.

Steph: I hope you''re just having BH contrax and not the pre-term labor, you deserve some non-eventful baby baking.

ALSO: I feel so bad for all the family dramas! My shower is this weekend, my dad''s side and my mom''s side coming together for the first time since my wedding shower almost exactly two years ago. They never really see each other since my parents are split up, so it''s always nerve wracking for me. A lot of competition happening between who can give the best gift/most money/cutest clothes.

I always stress an extraordinary amount for these. Toss in my MIL and SILs and it''s like, oooh, god.

MP: I meant to say before: YAY FOR BABY MOVEMENTS! I''m at the point where it''s not really kicks anymore, just a (sometimes painful) shifting throughout the belly. I swear, when I first started feeling the movements I sat there continually with my hand in my pants. Quite a sight!

PG: Thanks for the "girl" confirmation. I''m driving my husband crazy with all this. Every time someone asks what the baby is, I say, "Girl, as far as we know!" He HATES it. Good luck with the PSAT!! You poor thing. At least you get to sit down, right? Am I the only one who doesn''t have to pee super badly until she stands up? I sit down about 99% of my day, and don''t realize until I have to walk something into another office that I have to pee extremely bad. Congrats (?) on dropping!

Mara: Super excited about your bedding/crib stuff! Did you say you picked up frames from Ikea? Which ones did you get?

Ginger: I want your nesting! I STILL can''t muster up enough energy to do anything other than try on clothes to see if anything fits me. THAT is my nesting. Oh, and buying all sorts of frozen foods at Trader Joes. Seriously, did I really need to buy a platter of frozen cheese enchiladas? I''m Mexican, I can make them in minutes. So embarrassing.

KimH: I''m with you on the full panel. Otherwise my belly gets cut into, but I think it''s because I have a short torso and things just don''t fit right anyway. The full panel a.) keeps my belly warm b.) makes me feel like things are contained and C.) keeps my pants up. It IS hard to avoid the saggy butt, though, since I have what DH affectionately calls "no butt".

I''m reading "Birth" by Tina Cassidy and it''s really interesting. It''s kind of a "history of birth", with a slightly strong preference of natural labor, but there are a ton of interesting tidbits. I''m really enjoying it right now. Yes, I should probably be reading the six other books I have on birthing, from Lamaze to Bradley to Hypnobirthing. I''m so not sure what I want to do birth-wise. I know I''d like a natural med-free birth, but I also know our baby is gigantic, and I''m a midget. Add to that my inability to feel pain without fainting and I''m just not sure what to do. I''m practicing breathing exercises, we''re learning acupressure, different positions to get into for successful labor management and well- I''m overwhelmed. I''d prefer to just arrive, huff and puff (not enough to aggravate my asthma, or hyperventilate) for a bit then poof- Baby in Hand.

Ladies: What are your views of rooming with baby for the nights you''re in hospital? I''m torn between having her there constantly with us, or having her in the nursery for a night or so. I want to say it depends on whether or not I have an extremely hard and/or long labor, since when I''m exhausted I''m just not useful in any way.

DH is making me pack a bag this weekend. He seems convinced I''m going early. So we''re going to plan as if I''m due at 37 weeks regarding work and all the stuff in the house. Kind of a practice run. I think I''m at the point where I''m doubting my ability to do any of this stuff.

 

[snlee]

steph, I would call your dr! It''s better to be safe than sorry. I made SIX trips to L&D before I actually delivered my son. Don''t feel silly. If something is going on, you need to catch it early. I hope nothing is going on and you feel better soon.

drk, glad to hear things are going well. Can''t believe your cervix is more than 6cm! Yay for a nice long cervix!

 

[janinegirly]

Oh my goodness how did I miss this...congrats MANDARINE! You sound remarkably calm, you make it seem so easy! I love those names, already full of personality. Can''t wait for pics...I can''t you''re a mommy of 2 now!

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 10/13/2009 10:33:22 PM
Author: gingerB

jcrow - it will get better! i had the same throat ickyness too. i still get it occasionally, but much less frequency and intensity. seriously, when i was in your shoes i told hubs if there aren't twins in this belly, we may be doing the solo kid thing! now i'm feeling better and can talk about a larger family again

LOL ginger, me too! I keep telling my husband there may very well only be one baby so he better not expect more. I think in a few years I may feel differently but right now, this is bad enough!

steph, you can never to be too much of a nuisance to your doctor - I would call. Better safe than sorry.

Amber, LOL, I am totally the woman with my hand in my pants now. I can't feel it from the outside yet, but I keep checking to see if I can because I am dying for my husband to feel it. He keeps touching my belly when we go to bed like he's hoping for a kick.

 

[steph72276]

Thanks girls.....I did a little bit of research and most everything I''m seeing says to call the doc if you are having period like cramps that persist, so I am going to do that. Thanks for talking me into it even though I will feel kind of like a nutcase if nothing ends up being wrong. I''ll update later when I can, but last time I went to triage, I was there for 6 hours! Hope everyone has a great day!

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 10/14/2009 11:25:41 AM
Author: AmberWaves


Ladies: What are your views of rooming with baby for the nights you''re in hospital? I''m torn between having her there constantly with us, or having her in the nursery for a night or so. I want to say it depends on whether or not I have an extremely hard and/or long labor, since when I''m exhausted I''m just not useful in any way.

Amber,

I hope this isn''t too personal of a question but are you planning on bfing or ffing? If ffing, then you can have her in the nursery because the nurses can feed. If bfing, I think it would be best to have her in the room with you. That way you can a) feed on demand and b) feed every 2 hours to help your milk come in. That''s just my opinion though. If you are bfing, the nurses could always just bring her in when she''s hungry.

We had Sophia in the room with us the entire time but that was our hospital''s policy. The only babies in the nursery were c-section babies in order to give mom time to recover and babies that had to be monitored closely. DD would go in every 6 hours for an hour because of her jaundice but otherwise she was in the room with us.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/14/2009 12:16:51 PM
Author: fiery

Date: 10/14/2009 11:25:41 AM

Author: AmberWaves



Ladies: What are your views of rooming with baby for the nights you''re in hospital? I''m torn between having her there constantly with us, or having her in the nursery for a night or so. I want to say it depends on whether or not I have an extremely hard and/or long labor, since when I''m exhausted I''m just not useful in any way.

Amber,


I hope this isn''t too personal of a question but are you planning on bfing or ffing? If ffing, then you can have her in the nursery because the nurses can feed. If bfing, I think it would be best to have her in the room with you. That way you can a) feed on demand and b) feed every 2 hours to help your milk come in. That''s just my opinion though. If you are bfing, the nurses could always just bring her in when she''s hungry.


We had Sophia in the room with us the entire time but that was our hospital''s policy. The only babies in the nursery were c-section babies in order to give mom time to recover and babies that had to be monitored closely. DD would go in every 6 hours for an hour because of her jaundice but otherwise she was in the room with us.

I''ve gotta put my 2c in on this-send them to the nursery! I was BFing and the nurses just brought them in as soon as they woke up and were hungry.

You are going to be sleep deprived enough as it is when you get home-give yourself a break and get some good quality sleep for a night or two!

The first night I had them in with me and it was a disaster. Every time they peeped I was up and making sure all was ok. So surprisingly I got NO sleep. After that I sent them to the nursery and was much better off.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 10/14/2009 12:21:10 PM
Author: neatfreak
[

I''ve gotta put my 2c in on this-send them to the nursery! I was BFing and the nurses just brought them in as soon as they woke up and were hungry.


You are going to be sleep deprived enough as it is when you get home-give yourself a break and get some good quality sleep for a night or two!


The first night I had them in with me and it was a disaster. Every time they peeped I was up and making sure all was ok. So surprisingly I got NO sleep. After that I sent them to the nursery and was much better off.

big HUGE ditto on sending them to the nursery. I didn''t when I had my first and she was up the whole night. I didn''t get any rest and was just exhausted. when I had #2 and #3 they went to the nursery at night and during the day some so I could nap. the nurses will bring them to you if you are nursing and you can call them when you are done and they will take the baby back to the nursery. seriously, take advantage of the extra help and try to rest as much as you can.

 

[AmberWaves]

Thanks Fiery and NF! I plan on BFing because I've been leaking for MONTHS now, and if I can't use that to my advantage I'm going to go ballistic.

Luckily, the hospital we are delivering in is tiny, and the nursery is not far from the rooms, so I don't think it'll be an issue to have her brought to me (staffed 24/7). I guess I'll ask my OB tomorrow at my appointment what a lot of women do.

I really appreciate the points of view!

ETA: Thanks for the vote of "Nursery!" Mrs. Salvo!!

 

[fieryred33143]

If its small and close, that makes sense. Our nursery was huge and on another floor. Even if they had allowed it, I don''t think I would have done it (except for maybe day 2 when she decided to stay up ALL NIGHT LONG lol)

 

[AmberWaves]

Fiery, I totally understand why you would want her to room with you! Especially with a nursery on another floor. We''re delivering in a tiny Catholic hospital that has the nursery right down the hall, according to everyone who asks where I''m delivering, the hospital is fantastic! That''s good to hear, man!

 

[vizsla]

Date: 10/14/2009 11:58:28 AM
Author: steph72276
Thanks girls.....I did a little bit of research and most everything I''m seeing says to call the doc if you are having period like cramps that persist, so I am going to do that. Thanks for talking me into it even though I will feel kind of like a nutcase if nothing ends up being wrong. I''ll update later when I can, but last time I went to triage, I was there for 6 hours! Hope everyone has a great day!

awww steph, never feel like a nut case.. you are a *mom* who is concerned for your peanut. always always always better safe than sorry

 

[qtiekiki]

Amber
I think it''s best to ask your OB and other moms who delievered at the hospital. The hospital that I delivered at has a small nursery on the same floor, but they are not super supportive of BFing and some nurses are known for giving the babies formula in the nursery even when told the mom is BFing (according to our childbirth class instructor). So we opted to keep Meena in the room with us. If that wasn''t an issue, the we might have send her to the nursery. But I actually wasn''t too tired or sleepy; I think I was just too excited and happy to have her in my arms.

 

[qtiekiki]

Steph
Hope the cramps are nothing. You are not a nutcase. That''s what the dr and nurses are for... to answer questions/concerns.

 

[AmberWaves]

Qtie: great point there! I know the hospital is very supportive of Bfing, as they have lactation consultants on hand all day, and whoever delivers there will have free access to them no matter where you are, home or hospital (or WHEN it is). They''ll come to your house for you! I''m actually super excited about that, sadly.

 

[vizsla]

OK, totally off subject BUT i''m cracking myself up over here... if baby was going to be bigger at halloween, it would def. be getting one of these costumes

i mean, just look at how happy banana baby is

 

[lili]

Date: 10/14/2009 1:08:38 PM
Author: vizsla
OK, totally off subject BUT i''m cracking myself up over here... if baby was going to be bigger at halloween, it would def. be getting one of these costumes
i mean, just look at how happy banana baby is

haha, the banana would be perfect if the parents dressed up as gorillas.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 10/14/2009 1:08:38 PM
Author: vizsla
OK, totally off subject BUT i''m cracking myself up over here... if baby was going to be bigger at halloween, it would def. be getting one of these costumes

i mean, just look at how happy banana baby is

LOL omg! That is hilarious!

 

[AmberWaves]

I bet those costumes are WARM, too!

 

[curlygirl]

Date: 10/14/2009 12:27:07 PM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 10/14/2009 12:21:10 PM
Author: neatfreak
[

I''ve gotta put my 2c in on this-send them to the nursery! I was BFing and the nurses just brought them in as soon as they woke up and were hungry.


You are going to be sleep deprived enough as it is when you get home-give yourself a break and get some good quality sleep for a night or two!


The first night I had them in with me and it was a disaster. Every time they peeped I was up and making sure all was ok. So surprisingly I got NO sleep. After that I sent them to the nursery and was much better off.

big HUGE ditto on sending them to the nursery. I didn''t when I had my first and she was up the whole night. I didn''t get any rest and was just exhausted. when I had #2 and #3 they went to the nursery at night and during the day some so I could nap. the nurses will bring them to you if you are nursing and you can call them when you are done and they will take the baby back to the nursery. seriously, take advantage of the extra help and try to rest as much as you can.

I couldn''t agree more! I sent both of mine to the nursery and have absolutely NO regrets. Even though you will be on a crazy high, you NEED to rest and your time in the hospital will probably be your last chance for a while!!

 

[MonkeyPie]

LMFAO, I just found out an interesting pregnancy side affect. Has anybody else noticed that if they run up a flight of stairs or something (which is what I did) and get your heartrate up really quickly, that you can feel your heartbeat in your uterus now? That was freaking hilarious!

 

[Mara]

steph...hope everything is ok!! i don't know how it works for your practice but since i am HMO i can either call advice nurse who advises me on preggo symptoms OR call my dr's office and talk with the nurses there. if there is an appt avail today they will typically let me come in for a quick 15 min appt even if it's not with my dr, and not have to go to ER or L&D....those latter are such PITA's for anything, i always avoid them if i can.

amber, i got the RIBBA white frames...they are the thinner ones that have a big mat... i think i got like 12x16 and my pics are 8x10. they were cheap, $9.99 and it already has the mat, you just put your picture or print in. i think these are the same ones mandarine got for her woodland critter prints. they also have diff sizes so i got a few 4x6 prints to go on the bookcase just to tie in with the ones on the wall and i got 8x10 frame sizes from RIBBA for those too (4.99 i think).

when i went to ikea last week i was looking for sheer kind of cheapie green drapes just to put over our plantation shutters and tie in with the room a bit more but they only had one set that i liked, in kind of a light green, but i am not sure it will work with the other greens. and one set of 2 was $50! i was like JEEZ ikea i thought you were cheap??? so i'm holding off on that until i get everything else setup and can see if the room really needs anything else before i drop $100 for 2 windows. baby's bedroom is the only one with 2 windows in the house. oh and FYI ikea has really cheap hangers, like a set of 8 for $1.29. they are multicolored plastic in a 'smaller' size for baby clothes.

mp...lol i can feel my heartbeat in my uterus all the time, it's hilarious. if i press my fingers on my belly right now i can feel it. whenever greg would listen for the baby he'd bel like 'all i can hear is you!'... interesting because that means the nugget hears that ALL the time too!! i wonder what he thinks.

viz ...baby is too comfy in there!!

oh and amber i def plan to do nursery..! the nurses will bring him in when it's time for me. i know a lot of mom's like to have them there all the time but i also know most have admitted it contributes to no sleep...and i figure you need some sort of 'sleep rejuvenation' so get it while you can, before taking them home and starting the new life together!

 

[natalina]

Steph- hope all is ok

Amber- i intended to send baby to nursery; our hospital birthing center is awesome and hugely supports BFing so I knew they would not interfere with that. I really thought i would take everyone''s advice and try to catch up on sleep. But the reality was, once she was HERE, I could not fathom sending her. Even after a fairly hellacious first night, it literally made me cry when the nurses/DH suggested sending her to the nursery. So FWIW, I would say just play it by ear and see how you feel. I definitely do not regret keeping her with us. There is no right or wrong way to go on this one, IMO. It''s just what''s right for you, and you probably won''t know until the time comes.

 

[anchor31]

steph - I hope everything is okay too... I''m not a worrier, but I agree thaat you''re better safe than sorry. My doctor told me BH contractions aren''t supposed to hurt, more like a tightening of the uterus that lasts for about a minute than releases. I haven''t been having them yet.

Amber - I hope your shower goes well. Family competition is sooo irritating! About sending baby to the nursery or not, I''m still undecided. I think I''ll just play it by ear.

Question: I just had my 29-weeks appointment. The baby''s in top shape and possibly already head down, but my iron levels are a bit low. I''m not anemic, but I do need more. I stopped taking pre-natal vitamins weeks ago because they were making my nausea so much worse... I could try taking them again, but I wanted to know if there are any foods you know about that are iron rich AND easy on the stomach. I''ve been having a hard time eating much meats as well, after a few bites I just can''t seem to get any more in. Apparently, I should stay away from liver because it has a high concentration of vitamin A. TIA!