Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[meresal]

Mara- LOL. You are not the only one. For some reason, it is pretty easy for me... but I send these "diagram" ones to my grandmothers and family members to make sure they understand what the picture is.

RPS- Thank you! It''s funny, because I think the same as you, that they look so much like a little tyke already, but my sister had her 20 week scan yesterday as well, and they switched over to the 3D for a second and she screamed at them to switch it back to 2D. It completely freaked her out! LOL! Apparently they don''t look "quite" like a baby yet at this stage. haha.

Here you go Mara:

 

[jcrow]

Date: 12/15/2009 2:49:21 PM
Author: meresal
Mara- LOL. You are not the only one. For some reason, it is pretty easy for me... but I send these ''diagram'' ones to my grandmothers and family members to make sure they understand what the picture is.


RPS- Thank you! It''s funny, because I think the same as you, that they look so much like a little tyke already, but my sister had her 20 week scan yesterday as well, and they switched over to the 3D for a second and she screamed at them to switch it back to 2D. It completely freaked her out! LOL! Apparently they don''t look ''quite'' like a baby yet at this stage. haha.


Here you go Mara:

re: 3D, at our anatomy scan they did the 3D and the techs were ahhing and ohhing over how cute she is [i''m pretty sure that''s the standard thing to say!] and i was all, um she looks like a monkey. haha. probably should have kept that thought to myself. but it''s true, there isn''t much fat on them them right now so they look kinda funny

 

[Mara]

got it now mere.... so cute!!

its funny because when i would show ours to people i was like COME ON ITS RIGHT THERE SEE but when i see everyone elses i am like uhhhh. and yeah that 5 min for 2 people to show me ours was hilarious too hahhaa.

rps...yeah i thought they were a little extreme and odd about letting people hold the baby, she bf also. i plan to let people hold ours (sitting down! hehee) right away.

 

[meresal]

Date: 12/15/2009 4:19:08 PM
Author: Mara
got it now mere.... so cute!!

its funny because when i would show ours to people i was like COME ON ITS RIGHT THERE SEE but when i see everyone elses i am like uhhhh. and yeah that 5 min for 2 people to show me ours was hilarious too hahhaa.

rps...yeah i thought they were a little extreme and odd about letting people hold the baby, she bf also. i plan to let people hold ours (sitting down! hehee) right away.

Mara- I'm trying hard to realize that not everyone can see it as easily as we can! lol!

RE: People not holding the baby...
There was a post on Babycenter about 2 months ago, from a girl who has a rule that she will not take her baby outside of her house for a month, other than doctors appts... and other people, other than family members who are not ill, were not going to be allowed into her house for at least 3 months!

She was asking for advice about how to deal with her brother that was mad she would not only NOT be in his wedding two months after the birth, she refused to leave the baby with a sitter/DH or bring the baby to just the ceremony so that the sister would at least be at the wedding.

This scared me, because I have seen first hand how some mom's have completely shut out thier husbands/families/lives once the baby comes, and she seems to be headed in that direction, IMO.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 12/15/2009 3:10:30 PM
Author: jcrow

Date: 12/15/2009 2:49:21 PM

Author: meresal

Mara- LOL. You are not the only one. For some reason, it is pretty easy for me... but I send these ''diagram'' ones to my grandmothers and family members to make sure they understand what the picture is.

RPS- Thank you! It''s funny, because I think the same as you, that they look so much like a little tyke already, but my sister had her 20 week scan yesterday as well, and they switched over to the 3D for a second and she screamed at them to switch it back to 2D. It completely freaked her out! LOL! Apparently they don''t look ''quite'' like a baby yet at this stage. haha.

Here you go Mara:

re: 3D, at our anatomy scan they did the 3D and the techs were ahhing and ohhing over how cute she is [i''m pretty sure that''s the standard thing to say!] and i was all, um she looks like a monkey. haha. probably should have kept that thought to myself. but it''s true, there isn''t much fat on them them right now so they look kinda funny

LOL I had the same experience jcrow. My tech was like, "He isn''t chubby yet, but he looks great!" And my husband was like, "He looks like Skeletor." Rofl!

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

Meresal, I think the whole thing about when to take the baby out is much more of a concern for first time moms who are worried about exposing their little ones to all the germs running around. I''ve never been that worried, probably because I believe that exposure to a variety of germs is good for us because it helps our immune systems.

Even with my first, on the way home from the hospital, we went out to lunch at a local sub shop. I don''t want people that are obviously ill -- like constant sneezing and coughing, wiping their nose, etc. -- to be putting their hands all over a new baby, but most people are going to be ok, IMHO. Besides, my older kids will drag home all sorts of stuff from school and day care.

I think the ONLY reason I wouldn''t be sure about being in a wedding 2 months postpartum is that I wouldn''t want to look all frumpy in a bridesmaid''s dress. That sounds horrible and vain, I know. But I''d have no way of knowing what size I''d be at that point, I wouldn''t want to go on a crash diet...and those pictures are around forever to remind you if you look not quite your best!

The baby wouldn''t be a concern at all because at 2 months, babies are still quite portable.

Some moms do get a bit nuts about shutting their family/friends out, but if you are aware that this isn''t what you want for you or your child, I doubt you''ll make those choices.

 

[qtiekiki]

Meresal
Cute u/s pics.

People holding baby
I let everyone who came to visit hold Meena, even DH''s cousins who weren''t sure how to hold a baby. We told him to hold her like he would hold a football.

Not going out for the first month
It''s a tradition for Mom and baby to not go out for the first month after birth in a lot of Asian cultures. For Chinese, it has to do with your qi and your pores being open to "cold qi" even in the summer. It''s the same reason for not showering and drinking cold things, etc. I didn''t go out except for dr appt, not that I agree with it but did it to make MIL happy. Germs are good for babies, help develope their immune system.

I think our little guy is still feet down b/c my bladder and cervix feel attacked at times. hehe. Otherwise, everything is the same. I bought 2 box of diapers today since we won''t be having any showers. One coworker kept mentioning baby shower to me, but I told her I don''t want one since Meena and the new baby are so close in age and we don''t need much.

 

[KimberlyH]

RPS, I have watched countless number of friends/family sketch our their long detailed plans about what sort of parent they''ll be and so often it all flies out the window. I decided not to set myself up. I have some idea about how we''ll be, there are some things I and my husband sit pretty firmly on and many things that will occur naturally because of who we are, but I''m not going to try to spell it all out or make decisions about what is best for us now, that time will come as the kid arrives, grows, develops, and we learn what works best for all of us as a family. It''s like any relationship, it needs to evolve naturally.

Raging Hormones: I came home in a funk yesterday, I went and laid on our bedroom floor for about an hour and just rested and talked to my husband, felt better afterwards.

Taking the baby out/People holding the baby: I''m more likely to be the "take her" parent, my husband is more overprotective and will struggle a bit more with taking her out for the first time, handing her off, etc. But who knows! That''s another of those wait and see things.

I finally took a picure, it''s not Friday, but it''s better than never. 27w 2d. I got another "No way are you that far along!" comment today, it cracks me up.

 

[qtiekiki]

Kimberly
You are tiny for 27 weeks. Can''t believe you are 27 weeks already. For some reasons, I keep thinking you are only around 20 weeks or so.

Halo Sleepsack
I saw the Halo Small Plush Dot Sleepsack on sale for $9.98 at BRU today, so you might want to check out your local BRU. They are still regular price online though.

 

[Pandora II]

I was really happy for people to hold Daisy from when she was new-born. Small babies are fine about being passed around anyway... we''ve now hit the ''separation anxiety'' phase coming up for 7 months and I''m going CRAZY. D won''t let anyone except me hold her at all, she just goes ballistic - we left my BIL to babysit last night and she screamed for TWO HOURS without a pause, I knew she was capable as she does it for that long in the car, but she knows BIL well and he''s wonderful with babies and small children.

So, I honestly don''t think that letting other people hold your baby or not makes a big difference in the end, it''s far more about the baby''s temperament and the developmental stage they are at - separation anxiety tends to go hand in hand with crawling and other motor skills that enable the child to separate from the mother physically.

Re not going out for the first month - I was really shocked by how agrophobic I was for the first 6 weeks. I was terrified I would drop her or fall over or something terrible would happen, and so I wouldn''t go out without DH. I was really suprised as I''m not like that at all, but the midwives, Health Visitor etc said that it is very normal and a lot of people feel like this in the early weeks. It did get better and now I wonder why I ever worried.

On the wedding, I would totally go, but if you are breastfeeding it is reasonable to want the baby to be with you. I''m not sure I''d be up for being ''in'' a wedding in the early weeks - you feel like hell, you''re still bleeding, in my case you and your baby have similar levels of bladder control and your boobs are likely to leak/blow up like balloons, all of which does not a lovely bridesmaid make!

Noelwr - Morning Sickness: Mine came at around 7 weeks and hit fairly suddenly. I was nauseaus from morning till night and throwing up tens of times a day. I ended up being diagnosed with hyperemesis and my GP put me on Promethazine which helped a lot. Still felt sick, but stopped vomiting. At one stage I couldn''t go into a shop selling food or open the fridge. I went weeks of eating nothing but Granny Smiths apples and lost a fair amount of weight in the first trimester - stacked on over 70lbs by the end though! The m/s eventually went at around 26 weeks. Ginger beer was one of the few things I could keep down early on.

 

[steph72276]

Welcome to the small tummy club, Kimberly! You are very tiny for that far along, but really cute! It looks like you are carrying kind of low too...I wonder if that has to do with it? I am super low.

 

[meresal]

I''m going to be in a wedding 4 weeks after DS''s due date.

You gals are freaking me out! My sister had my niece at the beginning of Feb, and was in my other sisters wedding less than 25 days later... I was thinking this would be no problem.

I''ll just keep hoping that recovery time runs in the family as well!

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 12/15/2009 7:41:26 PM
Author: steph72276
Welcome to the small tummy club, Kimberly! You are very tiny for that far along, but really cute! It looks like you are carrying kind of low too...I wonder if that has to do with it? I am super low.

Happy to join you, Steph. No complaints here, I''m struggling a bit at work now, it''s getting harder for me to keep up with the kids and standing for long periods of time (typically hours) is getting difficult so I''m thankful I''m still on the small side, I want to work up until as close to my due date as possible. My stomach grew fast low down, then sort of bubbled up. I have a bump from ribs to groin, yours is much more central than mine, but it is definitely bigger in the lower abdominal region. She spends most of her time below my belly button, it''s been in the last week or so that she''s ventured up and I feel her under my rib cage on occasion. I''m concerned about how much work it''s going to take to get back to flat lower stomach, it literally took me a year to get to that point before.

Meresal, I think you''ll be just fine 4 weeks post baby. Even if you only attend the ceremony and a bit of the reception.

Qtiekiki, time is certainly flying. Someone was asking about the nursery today at work and I was like "What nursery?" This kid is likely going to be living in a Pac''n''play (or a dresser drawer if you ask my husband) unless by some miracle we''re moved first,DH is determined that''s going to happen. When I said I''m all about minimal I meant it.

My sister and two aunts have started planning a shower for me, which means lots of good stuff coming our way; I''m so lucky to have such a kind and generous family, and I think there may be another local shower for my friends and co-workers here. My sister sent me an email today and told me she doesn''t care if it''s tacky she''s putting my registry information on the invites (she''s handmaking them) so that we get the stuff we need. Okay then!

 

[Mara]

lol kimi i didn't know it was tacky for the reg on the invites for baby shower... all the showers i have ever been to did it. how else to know where to get stuff. hehee. and you look great girl, very small.

i however am ballooning out in the gut. my friend was like 'oh you are bigger this week'...tell me something i don't know! thankfully it seems to be all extra belly. but yeah it feels huge now.

kimi i also agree re 'type of parents' we'll be. there are definite things that we talk about like we know we want to be strict and not let our kid get away with crap, but in terms of how we want to do little things i figure we'll just use our instincts. it pays to research and get knowledge under your belt but i don't want to hold too strictly to things because it seems like it's mostly trial and error. and your kid may not want to cooperate. like i don't plan to do the whole bf'ing while laying down in bed with the baby, but if i am so exhausted that is the only way then i might have to. and we don't plan to co sleep or anything but i have heard sometimes that is the only way you can get rest. also my friend just had her baby last week and for the first week she couldn't really bf very well so she just pumped and it was much easier on her and the baby got food immediately but now it's been about a week and she said that she is bf'ing at night and then bottle feeding during the day and that the bf'ing is getting easier. overall i figure however you make it, as long as you make it...you're doing ok!

mere... i'm sure you will be fine with the wedding in 4 weeks. you seem tiny ...doubt you'll have much to really get off, and you might not be going crazy on the dance floor but hopefully you'll be ok.

so i've decided to stop wearing my e-ring, in the mornings i seem more swollen and it just isn't as comfy to wear it since it is heavy so it feel like a tight lead weight, but my w-ring still seems ok so i'll keep wearing it. i was hoping to get most of the way to the end before stopping but i guess i got farther than a lot of people. if i can wear my w-ring to the end it would be great.

 

[KimberlyH]

Mara, I just don''t see it being worthwhile to get hung up on things we might not be able control. Kids come with lots of variables and they can make what seems so obvious in theory -- what parenting books, which so often disagree, say is right or best -- impractical to just plain ridiculous in reality (a lesson I am thankful to have been taught by the kiddos I work with). John and I each wrote a top ten list of things we want to teach our kid, it was beneficial for us to see each others thoughts laid out in black and white, literally, and we are so close in our line of thinking that working out the how as we go along shouldn''t be too difficult. We''ll certainly disagree at times, but coming back to the common thread of our hopes for our kid will help us work through those disagreements, at least I''d like to think so!

 

[PrettyBlues]

So I don't really have time to go back through the posts since I leave for the big ultrasound soon

Any guesses for Boy or Girl?

Yes, we are caving and finding out. As I told my FI, as a little kid I used to sneak under the tree and unwrap my presents before Christmas, so I'm not very good at waiting for surprises

Oh, and thanks for all the info on stuffy noses. I guess I'm not the only one, and there seems to be nothing I can do about it!

 

[anchor31]

Date: 12/16/2009 7:53:25 AM
Author: PrettyBlues
So I don''t really have time to go back through the posts since I leave for the big ultrasound soon

Any guesses for Boy or Girl?

Yes, we are caving and finding out. As I told my FI, as a little kid I used to sneak under the tree and unwrap my presents before Christmas, so I''m not very good at waiting for surprises

Oh, and thanks for all the info on stuffy noses. I guess I''m not the only one, and there seems to be nothing I can do about it!

I always vote girl, so girl it is!

 

[lovelylulu]

I''m going to go girl as well.

enjoy!!

 

[noelwr]

I vote boy for PrettyBlues !

I am also lousy at surprises.

 

[Kaleigh]

Prettyblues,
I am guessing girl!!!

 

[meresal]

PB- I''ll go with Boy!

 

[Puppmom]

PB, I love voting! I''ll go with boy.

I have a question - I''ll be 7 weeks in a couple of days and I totally have a gut. I had a pretty flat tummy before - it was no six pack or anything but was even with my hips. I know this can''t be my little bean because it''s the size of, well, a bean! I''m really constipated even though I''m drinking a lot of water and already have a pretty high fiber diet (AND have been taking colace). I''ve been "going" lately but there was a solid week with no action and I certainly haven''t made up for lost time.

Anyway, my question is - did this happen to anyone else? Will it go away before I really "show"? I seriously look 4 months pregnant!

 

[Mara]

pupp i don''t know why but i am having a sense of deja vu reading your Q but maybe it''s because we have so many newly preggos!!

i think i said this last time this Q came up too but i was soo bloated and gassy in the first tri i was way bigger. my boss thought i was MUCH further when i told her at 12 weeks because she was like ''you are normally so tiny'' ...i was like THANKS. she thought i was like 5-6 months! hahaa. my pants stopped fitting me at like nine or ten weeks. it was so sad! and i hadn''t really gained any weight, like maybe 3-5 lbs, definitely nothing that would make my pants not even go over my hips anymore.

around 13 or 14 weeks the bloating and gas got a lot better and i felt like my stomach ''went down'' and i just had a little rounding. but yeah in the beginning it''s not fun because you are like seriously this is not pregnancy baby gut...what the heck is going on?? just hang in there!

 

[KimberlyH]

Pupp, my clothes started getting too tight around 10 weeks due to bloating, it''s totally normal; my stomach never got smaller, it evened out a bit and then started growing again. Colace helped with constipation.

 

[lovelylulu]

Date: 12/16/2009 10:30:41 AM
Author: Mara
pupp i don''t know why but i am having a sense of deja vu reading your Q but maybe it''s because we have so many newly preggos!!

i think i said this last time this Q came up too but i was soo bloated and gassy in the first tri i was way bigger. my boss thought i was MUCH further when i told her at 12 weeks because she was like ''you are normally so tiny'' ...i was like THANKS. she thought i was like 5-6 months! hahaa. my pants stopped fitting me at like nine or ten weeks. it was so sad! and i hadn''t really gained any weight, like maybe 3-5 lbs, definitely nothing that would make my pants not even go over my hips anymore.

around 13 or 14 weeks the bloating and gas got a lot better and i felt like my stomach ''went down'' and i just had a little rounding. but yeah in the beginning it''s not fun because you are like seriously this is not pregnancy baby gut...what the heck is going on?? just hang in there!

ha! i think that i brought this up not too long ago - the lovely bloat/constipation combo - not pleasant. i took the advice of eating some prunes/apricots and just waited out the bloat. now i''m around 13 weeks and feeling much better overall.

 

[anchor31]

Kimberly - You''re so tiny! You look really great.

Re: People holding the baby/going out... I don''t think I''ll be the type to have issues with that. The only issue I think I may have is having to dress up both me and the baby for the cold weather. Just heading out to the doctor''s today was a hassle... It''s -11C today and feels like -20C (12F/-4F for my American friends

), so it''s COLD!

I just had my 38 week appointment. I''ve been feeling sort of crampy for the last couple of days, and when my doctor did the internal, she said I''m 1cm dilated! She even touched the baby''s head. She says I have good chances of going into labour next week or so.

I''m kind of bummed though, because my doctor told me that unless I give birth on a Thursday, she won''t be the one delivery the baby, since the doctors in the clinic are on 24h rotations for the holidays. That plus the fact that the maternity ward visits were cancelled because of the flu... those unknown variables make me uncomfortable.

Good thing I''ll have DH and my mom with me and they are well aware of my wishes.

On a happy note, I had the nicest wishes from my grad school program coordinator today. Instead of saying good luck, she said "best wishes for a peaceful birth". Such a nice thing to say.

 

[taovandel]

Anchor: I love the use of the word peaceful....what a sweet thing to say.

 

[meresal]

Anchor, she touched the head!!! How cool!!!

I really hope you get to have your doctor deliver you.

 

[E B]

So much good news around here! Congratulations to lulu on a great NT scan, and to Anchor on entering the home stretch!

I'm sorry to anyone I've missed- as you'll soon find, these little monkeys take up a lot of time!

Has anyone heard from Lindsey? Didn't she have her NT scan last week? I hope she's okay.

 

[Mara]

anchor so when she said she touched the head you mean through the sac? how did it feel? did the baby do anything?