Calling all the Pregnant PS''ers

[somethingshiny]

Kimi~ You can take your vehicle to a police station to make sure the seat is installed properly for extra assurance.

Mere~ I only had DH with me for the walk through, but with how long I was in the hospital, the moms would have definitely benefited from joining us!! Our hospital is small and it still took a while for family to figure out where they could keep a water, what waiting room had a DVD player, where kids were admitted, etc. I think it''s a great idea! You can probably just call and inform them that you''ll be bringing X number of people on the walk through. I can''t imagine that it would be against any policies.

 

[Jas12]

Oh my goodness, those pictures of jake are *gorgeous* wow, that is one good looking newborn!!!!!

SS--I bet your DH will feel movement soon!! I was feeling really strong, regular movement early on and DH was just a couple weeks behind. Now at 25 weeks movement is visible with the naked eye. My placenta must be at the back b/c it seems like the baby is just under the skin! It''s odd, but kinda cool.
....

Hope everyone is well! I am plugging along at 25 weeks-ish. Getting B-I-G. We found out last week that the baby only has one kidney (no artery to that area of the body so nothing is functioning). We have been told that he/she should be perfectly healthy & everything else looks good, but it is still icky news. I know that ppl can live perfectly healthy lives with one, but they aren''t like wisdom teeth or anything. Still a vital organ, so although we can''t worry about it too much & i am confident everything will be fine, no mom wants to hear anything less than perfect development --IYKWIM. I am waiting for my next midwife appnt. to find out if we can go ahead with the home birth. She is meeting with the OB and pedi. In her opinion it will be perfectly safe. Issues related to one kidney are not something associated with childbirth (more like minor things later in life like UTIs) so we''ll see. I obviously won''t opt for the homebirth if any of the 3 caution against it, but i am still hoping it''s possible.

to the gang, hope everyone is feeling great and doing their Kegels!!!!!

 

[KimberlyH]

I'm in a fog this morning and forgot to say everything I wanted to.

Kit, that is one gorgeous boy! Congratulations!

Great pics, Alj, do you have a vacation to San Diego planned any time soon? I'm worried we're not going to have any good pictures of this baby.

Mer, if you really want to bring them, I'd just call and ask.

SS, he's packing at the moment, we've scheduled the movers for Tuesday, so I'm not going to bother him. He cleaned out his truck yesterday and I'm assuming he'll get it done this afternoon. At least I hope!

Jas, that's scary news for any parent to here. Lots of good thoughts to you and your family.

 

[somethingshiny]

Jas~ I''m sorry to hear about LO''s kidney. That has to be really hard to deal with even though the long term effects sound minor. You and your LO are in my thoughts.

 

[jcrow]

alison + kt - thanks so much for sharing pics of sweet little jacob. he''s absolutely beautiful!!

lisa - yay for such a great thread! thank you. i''m so happy you started it. it''s given me more piece of mind that you could possibly know. and i know i''d be lost without it!

meresal - our hospital tour was part of our birthing classes, so i''m not sure the protocol there. seems like it would be fine.

jas - sorry to hear about your little one. sounds like you''re staying positive, which is great! i''m sure the baby will be just fine.

--

today we had an appt with the ob. looks like they are referring me to a dietitian. the ob said that she thinks my gd will be manageable with diet alone and there should be no need for medication. yay!!!

we have an appointment with the dietitian next tuesday, so i''ll know more then. i''m getting a glucometer tomorrow and will start testing my levels so that i can go into the meeting a little more prepared. my ob also said that as soon as i deliver the placenta, most likely the gestational diabetes will be gone. another yay!

and since i''m a [low] high risk pregnancy thanks to gd, we get more ultrasounds. just when we thought we had no more! ha. in two weeks we have another appointment + ultrasound. hopefully they can run the 3D again and capture her face next time! other than that, i think everything looked good. i''m measuring just right, my weight is good and my blood pressure and all.

 

[jcrow]

Date: 2/23/2010 12:40:48 PM
Author: snlee
SHARING THE NEWS - with my first pregnancy, we told our parents, siblings, close family, and close friends early, around 5-8 weeks. I waited until after the first trimester, 13 weeks, to tell my boss, co-workers, and everyone else. This time around, we planned to wait until we saw the HB on the u/s to tell anyone. We ended up keeping it a secret for only a week. After having a surprise u/s and seeing the gestational sac and fetal pole at 5 weeks, we told my parents and brother. I see my parents almost every day so it would have been really hard to hide since I''ve been feeling so sick and tired lately. Now that we''ve seen the HB we''ll tell my in laws and close family. We let our son spill the beans by wearing a BIG BROTHER shirt.

I''ll wait till about 13 weeks, after the NT scan, to tell everyone else.

very cute! we thought long and hard about how to reveal the news to our family. there''s already 1 grandchild on hub''s side of the family and we thought about getting her a shirt that said i''m going to be a big cousin, but when we were going to tell them, they weren''t going to be there. what we ended up doing was spilling the beans during a prayer before dinner. hub''s dad usually leads the prayer, but i suggested to hub that he offer to do so before his dad could. so, hub mentioned it in the prayer. it was such a sweet moment!

for my family, i designed and printed cards and mailed them out. inside said that we were expecting a baby. my family aren''t nearby, so they loved getting them in the mail and were definitely shocked!

 

[snlee]

Jake is beautiful! Those eyes! Alj, thanks for sharing your pics! You take beautiful photos.

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh Jake is sooooo cute. Many thanks for the fabulous pics Alj!!!

 

[drk]

Kit - beautiful baby! Alj - those are incredible photos. Professional quality, seriously.

Lulu and Mere - we went with green. I loved the orange as well. Thought yellow would be a bit too light, though I liked the darker graphite frame. Green''s my favourite colour though, so that''s what I had to get.

Lisa - ditto on the thanks for starting this thread. It''s been a great source of support and information throughout my pregnancy.

Jas - sorry to hear about your baby having only one kidney. My SIL only has one kidney now, but that''s because she had to have the other removed as a child. She apparently had some congenitally abnormal second kidney (maybe a rudimentary one) that kept making her sick. Once she had it out, she was much better off, and hasn''t had any problems during her life with only having the one kidney. Glad to hear everything else checked out though!

I started having stronger and more frequent than usual contractions on the bus on the way home from work tonight. Then they stopped for a couple hours, and seem to be back, though not as strong, right now. Wonder if things are finally starting to happen here? Only time will tell!

 

[mtjoya]

Ginger-What a beautiful gingerbebe! Congrats!

KT-Beautiful baby! Lovely eyes!

Re: Telling everyone about pregnancy, I told DH first and then my mom, mom TOLD EVERYONE! lol... well, all my family. People at work started to notice the bump at 5-6 months and told only initimate friends, everyone else can guess!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

So...I told my boss yesterday. She actually took it really well and is excited for me. Ahhh big sigh of relief.

I''m 10 weeks as of yesterday!

 

[So Excited]

Hello Everyone!
Quick update on my job/insurance issue: As for the insurance, we will have to try to apply for Badgercare as Cobra is definately not an option for me and I have no other options. I spoke to someone from there today and they said I have to wait until I have a "change in income" because my current "reported wage" is over qualification level and would be denied at this point.... basicly she said "Wait and when you have proof of a changed income apply for benefits and your application will be processed in 30 days!" Definately not what I wanted to hear because its gonna be an issue that I am getting 30 days of "sorta severance" (not really because it was a clause in our employment contract) and with the 30 days I will have pay, but no insurance and will not qualify for the insurance. Then I get to wait another 30 days for them to process.. UGH..!! I dont have 60 days to not be covered becuase of a "technicality" It''s so stressful becuase I have always been very independent and responsible working and paying taxes since I was 14 and not needed any state aid/help and now that I do (don''t get me wrong, thats what it is there for and if you need it than use it- no offense meant to anyone that is receiving any help) I am going to have to jump through hoops to get it. SO FRUSTRATING! We pay all that $ into the gov''t in taxes and then when you get in a "rut" and need the help of the public services/aid you can''t get it!

Kaleigh- Thank you so much for starting this thread, YAY for over 1 MILLION!!! I wish I would have known about it earlier/with my first pregnancy because everyone is so great and helpful!

Allison- Thanks for giving the update on pics - Jake is definately a cutie! So Alert!

Jas- Sorry about the disappointing news with the LO, good to hear that you are in positive spirits and still rooting for the home birth! Sounds like you have a little acrobat like we do.. I have been feeling movement since 13-14 weeks and now at the 25ish weeks my entire stomach looks like its having a PARTY! I''m not really looking forward to my uterus growing closer to my ribs as right now it''s wild movements ALL the TIME! I was actually going to get the video camera out the other day because our daughter was playing with him in my belly by giving him a little poke and he would kick/punch back and it was obvious enough movement to get on camera. Best of Luck to you, I''m getting big now too, it''s amazing how much different the 2nd pregnancy is from the first and how Im carrying this boy all in the front and our girl was all in the back.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 2/24/2010 9:45:30 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
So...I told my boss yesterday. She actually took it really well and is excited for me. Ahhh big sigh of relief.

I''m 10 weeks as of yesterday!

YAY!
Wow, it''s going by fast, ten weeks already!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

wow HH, I cant believe you are 10 weeks already!!! congrats, and I''m glad that you were able to tell your boss and it went well.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

So Excited- Shouldn''t your termination letters be considered evidence of your new income situation? Do they mention your severance?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I know this is two weeks late and a day early for BFP, but I finally got around to uploading my 8 week picture. And this is with me relaxed but standing up straight. I''m not a gut sucker inner, so these are letting it all hang out.

 

[Jas12]

HH--i bet you will be one of those women who barely looks pregnant entering her third tri. That''s still one super flat stomach!

Soexcited--yes, the movement is SO much more obvious with the second kid. And much earlier too. Funny tho, i feel like i am carrying this baby more ''all over'' my butt got bigger this time too, whereas it didn''t change much last pregnancy. However, this kid is still way more active & every movment is exaggerated. Like you, not looking fwd to when he/she is bigger b/c i am already uncomfy. At least we are about to enter the last tri. The end is in sight.
.....

When did everyone start to see the Linea Nigra (that brownish pigment line down the belly?) I can''t remember when it appeared with my son, but i def. had one. This time, 25 weeks in and no sign of it. That''s kinda funny no?
I know not everyone gets it, but i assumed since i did last time it would appear again. It is kinda cute. It took a while for it to fade but i remember looking at my belly in a bikini 2 summers ago just a few months post partum and it was a wonky crooked line down the belly b/c obvioulsy the skin was not pulled in a nice round way. I didn''t mind it, it was a harmless reminder of my pregnancy --but it was gone by the winter.

 

[Jena17]

Hi girls, I have a question, I am pretty sure it is quite normal but I wanted to get opinions. I had my pap smear and first U/S on Monday and yesterday afternoon I had a couple very light pink blood marks when I wiped. I am sure this is from the pap 2 days earlier but it is still scary. Should I call my Dr. just to tell him or just relax since it has stopped today?

 

[snlee]

HH, yay for 10 weeks! double digits! You look great! Wonder when you'll start to show. You still have a very flat tummy!

Jas, So Excited, when did you start to feel movements with your 2nd? I can't wait! That's one part I loved about being pregnant, although not so much when it became uncomfortable!

Linea Nigra, I had a really dark one last time, which never completely went away. It's a very faded line now. I'd have to look at pictures to see when it appeared but I'd say sometime in the 2nd trimester. Jas, maybe this time you won't get it!

jena, sorry to hear about the spotting. It could be due to the pap but since it's 2 days later, to be on the safe side, I'd call your doc. I would ask for an u/s to make sure everything is okay. It's probably nothing. Spotting during pregnancy is sometimes normal. Keep us posted.

 

[KimberlyH]

Jena, calling can''t hurt but there isn''t much they can do for you; some doctors will order an ultrasound, others won''t, but you can push for it if it will make you feel better. For what it''s worth I spotted for 7 weeks during this pregnancy . Hang in there!

Linea negra: never got one. I still don''t even know what the inside of my belly button looks like either.

Finishing up packing and we''re off to my NST and then tonight I get induced. Surreal. And so exciting. I''m giddy.

 

[MonkeyPie]

HH, you seriously have the cutest belly ever. I see no Carlos!

Jena, I had some of that after my pap at my 12 week appointment, too. It''s normal and my midwife noticed I bled right away during the test, so she told me not to worry unless I started bleeding excessively.

I haven''t gotten the linea negra, either, but my belly button is totally flat in the evenings now. I don''t think it will pop out, but it feels weird to touch it and feel the bottom that I normally don''t come into contact with.

Kim, yayyyyy! How exciting!

 

[Jas12]

Jena--according to my midwife, spotting after a pap is normal, but if you are worried, call.

Snlee--i started feeling clear movement by around week 15. You know what to expect this time, so just from talking to friends i think 2-3 weeks earlier than when you first thought you felt movement during your first pregnancy is when you actually feel it the second time around. DH felt it waaay sooner too (20 weeks) i guess the dads get used to interpreting the outside movement too. Also helps that this kid is womb-hyper!

 

[Jena17]

Thanks everyone! I will probably call just to ease my mind but I am not too worried since it was soooo little of it and it''s gone now.

 

[somethingshiny]

HH~ You''re so cute!!

Kimi~ I thought you went in early this morning. Can''t wait to hear your birth story and see pics!!

I will be 20 weeks and I was *thinking* about posting my first bpf tomorrow. I had DH take a pic last week but I looked virtually the same as I did when I was about 2 weeks along (and didn''t know it.) I had just started working out right before I got pregnant so my belly got flatter during early pregnancy while I was doing the same workouts and throwing up. But, I think I''ve popped quite a bit over the last few days. If I could figure out how to put 2 or more photos into one, I could do one of those cool comparison pics.....

2nd pregnancy for me is very much the same as the first in terms of milestones. My waist measurement is right at the same (although with JT I had gained a few lbs by now and I haven''t started gaining yet.) Movement for both pregnancies was right at 13 weeks. At just about 20 weeks Baby is non-stop. My linea negra was apparent at around 30 weeks with JT and is no where to be found yet. Differences: I have had less MS this time (!) but more cravings (usually bad stuff.) I couldn''t stand most meat with JT and now I want a hamburger or a steak every day. I have less frequent heartburn this time.



Early movement: I don''t know anyone who has felt movement as early as I did with both pregnancies. And, yes I''m sure it was actual baby movement. I''ve suffered with cysts and endometreosis for years and years. I have a very high threshhold for pain but not in my abdomen. I wonder if all the years of female problems, my nerves became more sensitive in that area or something. Also, I have lots of scar tissue on my uterus from the aforementioned and the surgeries to remove gunk. Since the scar tissue doesn''t stretch, maybe the uterus is "feeling" more intensely where it can?? Or maybe the uterus has been compromised by all the cysts and is more lax? Sorry, I was just wondering about all of these things....

Hope you''re all doing well!!

 

[meresal]

Ohh Kimberly! I hope tonight goes wonderfully!

Thanks everyone for the advice regarding hospital tours. My mom immediately said she would love to, and MIL made up a couple of excuses about how she couldn''t plan that far in advance just yet. I just told her that we would try to go another time.

HH- You look great! Congrats on 10 weeks!
Jena- I had some very very light pink when I wiped about 2 or 3 times between 7 and 9 weeks. I would worry about seeing it everytime I used the RR. It freaked me out horribly, but here I am at 31 and perfectly fine! I''m sure you are good, but if calling would make you feel better, then by all means, ring them up! The thing that I just kept telling myself, is that if my body had decided the baby wasn''t healthy then there is nothing that the doctor is going to do to help. Getting to that 12 week mark was a very big accomplishment in my mind, and since getting there, my mind has been at ease. You''re doing great!

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 2/24/2010 12:56:09 PM
Author: KimberlyH


Great pics, Alj, do you have a vacation to San Diego planned any time soon? I''m worried we''re not going to have any good pictures of this baby.

Kim, yanno....it certainly could be arranged!

I''m most happy to do shoots for any of the PS ladies.

 

[cara]

Good luck KimH!

Nice pics HH! not so shabby.

I'm also 10 weeks and feel like an overstuffed, nauseous sausage with a big beer gut. It's really no fun and not particularly attractive. (*)(*) have also surpassed pleasantly plump and moved on to inconveniently, uncomfortably large. I see new bras in my future. But it is nice that the LO is moving onto the fetal stage! Hope I get to see it next week at my appt...

 

[lovelylulu]

Thinking of you Kim!!!

 

[So Excited]

HH- Yes, my termination letter is 1/2 the proof, but it also does state the "end pay date" so does no good. Once I get a new job/go on UI I have to submit my "new pay" to qualify.

Snlee- I felt movements this time around at 13 weeks. They were pretty clear and actually confirmed with my US cuz I could see him kick and feel it all at the same time so I knew what to "look for". SOOO different than my first where she gave me NO CLUE she was there until 24 weeks!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 2/25/2010 5:01:38 PM
Author: Allison D.

Date: 2/24/2010 12:56:09 PM

Author: KimberlyH

Great pics, Alj, do you have a vacation to San Diego planned any time soon? I''m worried we''re not going to have any good pictures of this baby.

Kim, yanno....it certainly could be arranged!

I''m most happy to do shoots for any of the PS ladies.

After you''ve visited SD, can you please shoot up the freeway to me in L.A?

Seriously, Alj those pics are FABULOUS! KT- you''ve got a cutie on your hands!

Thinking of you, Kimi- sending lots of PS dust for you, DH and your LO!!