Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[fieryred33143]

That's unfortunate RT. How exactly did your boss find out? I would be rather upset since you still have a long way to go and he should have at least given you the chance to prove whether you can do the job or not. Good luck with your other interviews! Last thing a new mommy to be needs is to worry about job hunting.

 

[random_thought]

I think he found out when I was writing an email back to my mom and he saw what I had written, I don't think I'll ever really know for sure though.

The good news? I was just offered a new job that pays the same or more (depending on how much work I get) as my last job!! I also will get to work at home through my pregnancy and will get time off for it as well. It's also in the degree I got in college so it will be a lot less stressful and more comfortable. Sometimes things happen for a reason I guess

Thanks for the information on CO law princess, unfortunately (or fortunately? Guess it depends on how you look at it) I make more than that

 

[fieryred33143]

Wow RT That's awesome You are very lucky. I have friends that haven't been able to find a good job in months and you are finding bigger and better in minutes

 

[secretagent]

RT- well, in about 10 seconds I went from outraged that your boss would do that to happy that you found something better! Congrats!

Noel- lookin' good!

Lynnie- 28 weeks and you are JUST NOW obviously pregnant?!?!? Wow, woman! That's amazing!

AFM- I will be 6 weeks tomorrow and don't feel pregnant yet at all. Waiting for bloat, cravings, aversions, and nausea (hopefully not) to hit. Funny, I can't remember when that all came on last time! Well, I never really had an upset stomach with DD, so we'll see if that happens this go 'round.

How are the rest of the newly-preggo's feeling?

 

[Cupcake*Muffin]

Hi ladies, just checking in. Hope everyone is doing well and feeling good.

RT--That's ridiculous! But congrats on finding a new job so quickly. I am kind of in an awkward situation at work too, the owner of my company might not take me being pregnant very well. My boss knows and he does not think I should bring it up until I am showing. So I am pretty nervous. With DH's injuries and stuff from his accident, he is already getting a pay cut so I can't afford to lose my job.


AFM:
We had our second appointment yesterday since the dr. wanted to remeasure the Gummy (last time we had a hard time seeing it.) Looks like I'm at 8w5d, two weeks ago I was at 6w1d. Looks like the Gummy is measuring right on track with my positive OPKs. It was pretty amazing to see it wiggle and move its little arms and legs . I've gained 1lb in 2 weeks, which is better than I've been doing previously without the Zofran. I can't remember who mentioned this but the Zofran hasn't really given me any stomach issues....but I guess maybe I'm lucky? I am still pretty nauseus and looking forward to getting past the first trimester so I can start enjoying the pregnancy instead of feeling constantly "hung over".

 

[noelwr]

28w3d

to any medical ladies out there - I have an infected belly button. what should I get at the CVS to treat it, if anything? very weird, because I don't even have a belly button ring and I never stick my finger in there. maybe the skin cracked from slowly pushing it into an outie and the heat isn't helping?

no wonder it's so bloody hot here - record highs! 113 F yesterday and then the thermometer broke. we were in Santa Barbara and my ankles were looking like tree stumps so I sat on the edge of a fountain and dunked my feet in. yes, sorry, very rude tourist, but pregnant woman with swollen ankles here. at least it should start getting cooler from tomorrow on.

secretagent - my m/s came on strong at 8 weeks, so enjoy the lack of symptoms while you can. maybe you'll be lucky and won't have any discomforts this time around.

cupcake - don't believe people/books who tell you that after the 13th week the m/s will disappear. on average it is more after the 16th week. I wish someone had told me that before. I thought I was going to be one of those unlucky women who would have it for 9 months!

 

[somethingshiny]

noel~ Bleh. Being preggo in the hot months is awful! I would have gladly stood in muddy puddles in July let alone a lovely cool fountain! Hope you get some relief soon!

secretagent~ My symptoms came on at 6 weeks, good luck!

 

[Dreamer_D]

I know who secret agent is Congrats woman!

 

[Cupcake*Muffin]

Re: 28w3d

cupcake - don't believe people/books who tell you that after the 13th week the m/s will disappear. on average it is more after the 16th week. I wish someone had told me that before. I thought I was going to be one of those unlucky women who would have it for 9 months!

FML....really? Ugh, that was my clinge to sanity. I just choked down some soup for lunch. I think the flu shot I got yesterday isn't doing me any favors. I feel a bit sick, but I guess I already felt sick starting on Thursday. Seriously....16 weeks?

As for your belly button, I would think some kind of antibiotic cream will moisturize and help it heal--though I've never had anything there either so I can't say from experience.

I'm wondering how come everyone is such a good detective and can figure out everyone else's secret identities...I have no clue! Oh well, I guess I will just have to wait until the big reveal

 

[Miscka]

Cupcake don't dispair! I think Noel just meant not to hang too many hopes on a magic week #. I had some pretty bad m/s tho not as bad as yours sounds and I am 14w6d and feel awesome and have for about 2-3 weeksish. All depends on the woman and the pregnancy I hope you get relief soon!!!

Noel I would smother it in neosporin but I am def. no expert!!

Thanks everyone for the bumbleride answers no luck so far but we are still way early. I want the spice color to go with the snugride we bought!

LV how goes the protein counting? I think I am doing pretty good but not great. I also lovedthat documentary and ended up with a midwife because of it. I love mine! Are you still hunting or staying put? Sorry if you've said already

Hope everyone is well!!

I'm doing great, check up tomorrow and gender next fri! Also got on list for daycare. I would rather stay home but just in case, and this one takes cloth diapers which I am so pumped about!

 

[Lanie]

Hey preggos!!! I've been lurking, but I'm so busy at work and then when I get home i'm exhausted, so I can't keep up with PS. I do read everything though...but don't have much time to post.

Congrats to the new preggos on here!!!

And congrats to the new babies! I can't remember who had them, but I remember seeing them and thinking they were so cute!

Secret agent -- I'm wondering who you are as well! I wonder if I would know you...I don't stray from this forum too much.

HOU -- hey!!! I have my first of 2 classes in a couple of weeks. I registered for them at Women's so I could take them with one of my good friends who is also preggo.

Lynnie, Laila, and Noel -- I always look for posts from you girls since you are close to me. Can you believe we are almost 3/4 of the way there?!? I'm starting to get very excited!

Cupcake -- I started getting nausea at 6 weeks on the dot. It got to be more and more bad at about 9-10 weeks, and got really bad from that point until about week 18-19. It was AWFUL. But if you are vomiting, it's better than not...I would go for weeks without throwing up and when I finally did, it felt great. So gross, but it did. It finally let up about week 20-21 for good...one day it kind of just went away! Hope you find some remedies and that you get past it soon!

As for me, I'm 28 weeks and chugging along. No name picked out for the boy yet...hahaha! I will post a pic Friday...feeling a little better about my belly these days, but I still hate trying to figure out what to wear every day. UGH. I feel GREAT though...I feel more body parts inside than just general thumps and nudges. I used to get so excited when I felt a thump, but these days when I feel an elbow or a foot, it makes me so happy!!! My nursery and registry are coming along...first shower is in 3 weeks! I can't believe how much time has flown. Evil crotch pain has started to get me, and I thought I was peeing a lot before, but now it's pretty much every 3 hours that I have to get up in the middle of the night. I've also started the waddle...it's bc of the aforementioned ECP. Hope everyone is having a good week!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Noel, I'm also not one of the medical experts here, but would clean with hydrogen peroxide and apply neosporin, an antibiotic cream. Love your vacation photo. I'm so sorry about the heat. I've been hearing about the record high temps. I'm sure you're having fun anyway!!

Miscka, I'm no longer counting protein, just drinking lots of milk and trying to incorporate protein whenever I can. I did decide to stay with my practice, but will definitely have a doula as well. I am meeting a doula on Saturday who will hopefully be a good match for us.

For anyone considering a doula, I did want to mention that this doula will charge only $400. I was really surprised. I thought it would be a lot more!! She is not a newbie either, so definitely worth looking into in case anyone was thinking about it. These are the services she will provide:

An initial consultation to ensure that we are the right match for your birth expectations.
1-2 meetings with your birth support team to discuss (and develop) your birth guide and the needs of each person involved
24-hour phone assistance.
Professional labor support at your home and at your chosen birthing site.
During labor, you can expect massage, visualization, help with relaxation, aromatherapy, body pampering, and informational support, etc.
Photography of your labor and the birth (optional)
Breast-feeding support for your baby’s first latch-on.
Postpartum follow-up. Includes breast-feeding observation and support, answering questions.

 

[cara]

Hi Ladies! Thanks to everyone who offered congratulations on Silas's birth, its been a great whirlwind here. I can't believe he's almost two weeks old. I've been trying to read as I get a chance, but have had less opportunities for typing. Breastfeeding is going pretty well but I am just figuring out how to occasionally reserve a hand for some other purpose.

OK, birth story while someone is still sleeping peacefully.

Wednesday Sept 15, I woke up and felt slightly more crampy then usual. Like menstrual cramps in that they were where my uterus *used* to be pre-pregnancy (front, low, and fairly small region relative to actual uterus size at 39wks 5 days). But definitely not cyclical cramping, just constant feeling. Went to work. Before leaving early for a doctor's appointment, had an urge to neaten my desk an extra bit. Spend 5 minutes doing that, I must have suspected something was up! At the doctor's appointment, I was not in labor. Still 1.5 cm dilated (same as last week) but 50% effaced vs. 25% last week. I went home, made and ate dinner (which I later regretted), and watched some TV with the hubs.

Around 9 pm I started to notice mild contractions. Around 9:30 I downloaded some free contractions counter app to my phone and started trying to time them. Had urge to go to bathroom all the time, but going didn't relieve urge. Had some smallish amounts of mucousy fluid discharge somewhat frequently. This proved to be the leaky version of water breaking, versus the 'gush' version. By 10ish, the contractions are 30-45 seconds long but 3-4 minutes apart. They hurt. I tell husband it is time to pack the hospital bag! At first he is some combination of skeptical and reluctant. Skeptical, as we both were expecting long drawn out days of labor, and reluctant as he had been on call the night before and was looki ng pretty sleep-deprived. I decide to take a shower, which felt great but the contractions were definitely ramping up and it was taking more mental effort for me to get through them, and they are 2-3 minutes apart now but still 30-45 seconds long. When I get out husband is still finishing up the packing, I vomit in a trash can. Husband is looking more and more convinced. We load up in the car and drive to the hospital around 11:30. (These times are all a little fuzzy.)

The car ride sucked, as seated position was horribly uncomfortable for contractions. We have some issues parking the car, husband leaves me on the first floor of the hospital puking in a bag to move the car from the fire lane to a slightly less illegal spot. Finally we make it to L&D around midnight. They are also skeptical when I say I am a first timer and contractions started at 9pm. However under examination I am 4-5 cm dialated and positive for amniotic fluid, so they admit me! I ask for the epidural, haha. Didn't really have a plan for avoiding the epidural, but didn't exactly plan to ask for it in the admitting room. Guess I am kinda wimpy! And, my doctor is on call that night (versus one of the others in her practice) so she will hopefully deliver me! She is pretty surprised to hear I am in after being at her office not in labor at 4 pm.

The contractions are now pretty bad, still 2-3 minutes apart, and I vomit some more. They give me zofran, make excuses for the anesthesiologist being not instantly available. By the time he shows up, they consent me, drape me, teach me how to sit for the procedure, it is ~1 am before the epidural is in. Then life is good... I fall asleep. At 2 am I am 9 cm dilated. Just after 3 am I am 10 cm, but my legs are overnumb and my arms/torso are a bit tingly so they realize that the epidural is a bit too strong and have the anesthesiologist come turn it down.

I start pushing at 3:30 - well, the L&D nurse called it practice pushing at first. I wasn't really sure what this was but I guess it is pushing before the baby's head is engaged to get used to the feeling? At first it feels like pushing on nothing, so it was hard to know what to do. Anyway my blood pressure is a little low and I am feeling lightheaded between pushes, especially when I stay on my back. Not sure if this is from the over-strong epidural or the fact that I haven't been comfortable on my back since early in the second trimester or that I sometimes get a little shocky/low blood pressure after serious exercise for which I haven't properly trained. Labor strikes me as serious exercise for which it is nigh impossible to properly train. Anyway, I try pushing on my side but that doesn't seem to work as well according the staff, so we eventually settle into a routine of me pushing on my back but then rolling onto my side between contractions. After about an hour of pushing, I start to feel more effective at pushing, either because the baby's head is more engaged or the over-epidural is wearing off or something. At some point my doc shows up. My L&D nurse was super-nice, but my doc was a little more assertive and this was good for me. Also she brought in a mirror on a stand that helped a lot. I definitely didn't think I'd be someone that wanted a mirror for labor (who wants to see that?), but it really helped once I could see a little bit of head to be able to have something to focus on pushing out. I think they also gave me a touch of pitocin during the pushing, as my contractions had petered out a bit and that did help firm them up. Towards the end especially I can feel the urge to push much more clearly and am really focused on getting the guy out!

More pushing, slow progress each time, and finally the little wriggleworm is born just after 6 am on Thursday Sept 16! Slipping into the world just before the shift changes. He gets cleaned up and measures big (9 lb 4 oz, 22 inches) and is just so sweet. I was in denial on the size - thinking upper 8 pounds but not 9! - but husband was prepared. The 37 week ultrasound was pretty accurate, apparently. I had a second degree tear that needed stitches and a smaller tear (no stiches) but otherwise was fine. And the baby was/is beautiful!

We spent another 36 hours finalizing the name (Silas Cole) and now we've got him home to enjoy and get to know! I definitely was not one of those women who could really bond superwell with the baby when he was in my belly, but once I saw him on the outside it has been

Anyway, that's my treatise. Good luck to everyone with your pregnancies and babies, now that I've actually seen the baby I can say it was all worth it! And yes, pregnancy does end eventually. Thankfully.

 

[random_thought]

Congratulations Cara! What a cutie he is!

 

[fieryred33143]

Congratulations Cara!! He's beautiful!! Hope you are recovering well!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Congrats Cara, he's beautiful!

 

[Lanie]

Congrats Cara! What a cute little baby and great name! I have enjoyed reading about your pregnancy from day one, and thanks for your help always! See you on "the other side"!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Cara Silas is lovely!

 

[curlygirl]

Congratulations Cara, great story! And good for you, pushing out a nine pounder!!!! Silas is beautiful. Enjoy this time, it goes by fast!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Cara- CONGRATS, mama! Silas is a cutie

 

[Lynnie]

Congrats, Cara!!! Silas is absolutely adorable !!! And I love how detailed your birth story was, so thank you for that!

 

[Burk]

Congrats Cara! What a cutie!

 

[Miscka]

Congrats Cara!!!!!!

 

[E B]

Congratulations, cara! What a beautiful baby boy.

 

[puffy]

cara, congrats!!! he is so darling!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Cara, Congratulations again on your sweet little boy!! And, thank you so much for posting your detailed birth story. I do love reading birth stories!!

 

[CatLuver]

cara, thanks for sharing your birth story. It’s quite a feat that you pushed your boy out - congratulations.

noelwr, sorry you had to hit the heat wave on your babymoon! hope you enjoyed nonetheless.

RT - I know who you are now, after reading more of your posts

hou - thanks for the support re: weight gain. Exciting that you bought your Indie!

icekid, thanks for your thoughts too. Wow, your schedule sounds so grueling. Hope no more kidney stones!

congrats to secretagent and tuckins.

---
AFM, I am soooo excited for our anatomy scan tomorrow. I can’t believe I’ve waited so long (4.5 weeks since last appointment). It will be so different to know that it’s either a boy or a girl, I imagine. So far it’s just been an abstract idea of a baby (we just call it “he” for convenience), so it’ll be weird to actually know that’s it’s a he or a she! Part of me thinks it would be neat to keep it a surprise, but the other (more dominant) part of me just has to know. I’m more anxious to hopefully find out that everything is in its place. It’ll be a relief to finally “come out” at work to everyone except my boss and a couple other people who know (since I’m super paranoid and wanted to make sure everything looks as good as it can before absolutely everyone knows). Eeek I can’t wait! I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight. Any guesses on gender anyone? I’m leaning towards girl because that’s what the tech thought at my 12wk even though it was too early to really tell.

 

[brooks]

Hi all ... I'm a newbie on this thread. I was previously on the Just Barely PG thread but it's time to jump over here. This is our first baby and we're so excited. I'll be 13 weeks on Sunday and I'm starting to feel like I'm in the land of the living again. We had our NT scan yesterday and the baby was just precious, moving and stretching. I haven't gained any weight yet, except for gaining back the few pounds that I lost early on, but I do feel like my shape is starting to change now. I have a feeling I'll be breaking out the Bella Band soon.

Looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you!

 

[somethingshiny]

Congratulations Cara! Having 9 and 10 lbers come out c-section was hard enough for me let alone pushing one out! You did so great! Have fun with your precious little man!

 

[Loves Vintage]

Catluver, I guess GIRL!!!! Such an exciting time! Enjoy every minute of it!!!

Brooks, Welcome!!! Glad to hear you're feeling better!

***********

I've been feeling pretty darn tired! I definitely have a diminished ability to focus. Not good!! Last week, I had a mini-scare. It was the end of the day at work, and I almost certainly could have passed out in my chair. I wasn't lightheaded so much, just felt like something was pulling my head down to the right. My doctor thinks it was my uterus pressing against whatever artery or vein that is that can get pressed on if you lie on your back. <----- This would be an example of pregnancy brain. I honestly cannot remember what it is. Anyway, he said to get up and walk around more, AND if it happens again, to lie on my left side for 10 minutes, and I should feel better right away. It hasn't happened again, but soooooooo tired.