Weekly chat? April 4 - Page 2

[Pinoikoi]

Fun arrivals today!

I got in the mail- 1 birth kit! and 1 birth pool! (I am incredibly excited over this )

Dp went and picked me up a moby wrap D from craigslist.. pretty Asian print silk one.. had a bunch of dog hair on it (ick) but it is in the dryer on "air" at the moment and is lovely!

[Aka mommy]

Ohh sounds like a fun day of getting stuff Pinoikoi!

[*mama moose*]

I love getting stuff in the mail! I'm super excited to get my beads and swap gift! I'm a slacker and still working on my gift for my swap mama. This week, it WILL get done this week!

I have a year round CSA and love it! One reason I love living in CA, we can grow food year round. We've mostly gotten citrus, root veggies, and greens for awhile, but last week we got a little box of strawberries and some asparagus.....summer is on it's way!

Burnindinner- I'm glad the spotting is getting lighter. I really hope it's nothing, and I hope the placenta issues resolve!!

SPD mamas, I have it too....it's awful isn't it I can barely walk around my house. ugh. I'm taking prenatal yoga once a week and it seems to be helping, my teacher for that had a lot of suggestions for me on modifying movements to help with the pain, and I've found myself doing some of the yoga stuff at 3am when I just want to cry!
I also have restless leg, so my nighttime "sleep" is a joke!! A nursing newborn will be a welcome change from the searing pain/need to pee/creepy crawlies in my legs all night long!

As far as nesting....babe will be in our room, so there's not much to do, but I'm getting a dresser from Freecycle so I'm excited to fold and put away all the little baby clothes! Other than that I'm just cleaning as much as I can around the pain, and making lots of "honey-do lists" to try to make my house a birth-happy place.....I want to birth in a CLEAN house!

Ok, 2 year old is telling me she has poop. Don't you love that, when they can tell you they did it, but not yet do it on the potty so you still have to change it??

[lisko15]

Aka mommy - I'm having a hard time focusing on the pelvic pain book when I read it. Isn't that awful? DH has been scanning it too, and found a couple exercises we've tried that need a partner. There is a lot of post-pregnancy info, but I'm really hoping all the pain is gone by then! Currently I don't feel like my SPD has gotten any worse, even with the bigger belly, so that is a relief. Its the shooting pain I get in my inner thighs with some movements that makes me cringe the most.

The book did clue me in to WHY I'm having SPD this time around. Trauma to the pelvic area or tailbone can cause it. About three years ago this summer I fell down our stairs HARD and injured my tailbone. It took a good 8 weeks for it to heal. I figure since then something has been totally out of whack and all the loose ligaments are making it worse. At least it helped me to identify a WHY!

Burnindinner - I've never gone to the chiro. Something about it weirds me out... However, if post-baby my symptoms aren't better I think I will need to definitely think about it.

*mama moose* - Symphathizing with you on the SPD...

I really wanted to exercise with this pgcy, stay aerobically in shape, to assist in labor this time around. DD was really big and it was exhausting. But so many exercises just make the SPD worse. Sigh... I think I'm going to need to experiment with a few different things over the next week to see if I can find something that doesn't hurt too much.

I'll be ordering the baby's bedding set in the next week or so, and another set of diapers from Cotton Babies. Once we get the baby's bedding, I can get my Mom over to paint the baby's room... put away some baby clothes, and it will start to feel SO REAL! We do need a crib, but baby won't be sleeping in it right away, so I think that might be last.

DD's up... must get her ready for school!

[GoBecGo]

Finally, 5 minutes to sit and chat here!

I had my 32 week appointment with my MW this morning. I now see her fortnightly, which seems so odd and sudden, even though i am more than ready to be "done" and have this baby! Obviously not now, since that would be rather drastic for the baby, but 40weeks is eagerly anticipated in this house!

On books and films - i just finished Cunt by Inga Muscio and am lending it to various other feminist friends now. I enjoyed it but found that the sort of lines one can draw in the sand as a white lesbian american aren't that handy for many OTHER types of women in the world. Still it had good things in it. I have no films in the offing, i'm waiting for Cemetery Junction, the new Ricky Gervais film to come out at the cinema. The Invention of Lying was appalling but this one has gotten better reviews so hopefully it'll be fun.

I'm nesting a little. Mainly washing baby's things in anticipation, but don't currently own anything to put them in (we'll probably go with storage boxes from ikea as the baby is going in our bedroom where we don't have space or need for a dresser and then in with DD who has masses of wardrobe space they can share. I just did a big load of onesies and sleepsuits (which my babies live in for a few months, i am not excited by "outfits" for people whose limbs are shorter than my feet!) and the nappies are done and waiting to be put somewhere... I sewed my ring sling up last week, and a little receiving blanket which will do for about a day. I've got 3 friends due this summer, one later this month in fact and 2 in July and need to sew up a little gift for each of them too. One i'm doing a sling and a little blanket for, but the other two...no idea. Probably a blanket each actually, since they are so quick. I have some lovely flowery cotton and some super-soft wincyette so i'll probably use those combined for one friend (who is definitely having a girl) and the others...no idea. I made our baby a rockin lap rug for winter, which is red fleece on one side and black-with-flames-cotton on the other....

We still need to buy a new bouncer (DD bent the last one out of all recognition) and i guess i should dig the tummy tub out and wash it out sometime too. Also we need to bring in and set up the cot, we bought a new mattress at the weekend, but my dad has one side of it (we cut bars out when DD learned to try to climb out because it wasn't a drop side so i just provided an exit rather than risking head injuries, and my dad is fitting new dowels where the cut ones were) so that will have to wait. I also need to go buy some strong necklace thread, to thread my nursing necklace, i bought the beads ages ago. And i got a bunch of wool to knit a nice wee cardigan/jacket but am yet to look out my needles. I feel a bit like everything is in chaos and i'm waiting to see through some of the chaos to get everything settled.

I've lost my csection birth plan (in case of transfer) for DD, but can't quite get around to writing another. We're not really going to do a birth plan with our MW because she and i are on the same page ideologically (basically her "normal" aim is a drug-free vaginal birth with everything as natural as possible and she deviates from that only as medically required) and labour is unpredictable enough that i'd rather see what happens than have a fixed idea in my head about how i want it to go. I had a birth plan with DD but as a defence against hospital protocols (it was an NHS homebirth with one ward midwife and one community midwife) which i have no need for with Al, my independent middie.

I'm listing things i have to do before the birth to fill in the time:
- wash baby clothes (In Progress)
- ditto sheets/bedding
- get storage and put clothes/nappies away ready for baby
- set up cot
- sew gifts for 3 summer babies
- write cs/transfer plan
- knit baby jacket
- do 10k (May 9th, i will be WALKING it of course!)
- got to MW's 10-years-as-an-independent-midwife-picnic (last weekend in may when i will be 39+4 or something!)

There's probably a lot more, i add as i go, stops me going mental when i'm overdue...lol

[neldabean]

Today I really need to get the house in order. I feel like everything is looking at me. lol I had a weird dream I had to clean under the fridge. I feel the nesting bug coming on!

GoBecGO We have the tummy tub and love it! I wish I had found it for my first two babies.

mama moose we are on OR. I love the fact we can grow year round. We do need to use a cold frame for green though. I am going to check out that math book. Thanks.

I am with you all on the SPD. That is interesting about the pelvic trauma. After dd was born I fell on a chair and hurt my tail bone and couldn't sit for weeks. It didn't feel better for three months. The with ds2 I had SPD really bad. This time it's sore and hurts when I sit or stand to long but not as bad as it was with ds2. I have dh massage my tailbone that really helps.

[Aka mommy]

Whats a tummy tub???

Interesting about the SPD. Definitely not the cause of mine though. I had pelvic trauma with my first dd, we went snowboarding before i knew i was pregnant and broke my tailbone. But never had SPD with my previous 3 pregnancies. And i go to a chiro. Ironically, the chiro adjustments make my SPD pain intolerable and give me contractions. DH says NO MORE adjustments to my pelvic region, last time he was afriad i was going into labor. i assumed it was due to having back to back pregnancies (4 months apart) and the relaxin never got completely out of my system and everything is far too loose down there??? Last night was the worst. I can barely roll out of bed, which sucks because im up peeing every hour. Oh well, this is far easier to deal with then a newborns needs so i'm just trying to tell myself it's only a few more months of this pain.

For those cloth diapering, which types are you going with? I did AIO's with my last, but this time I think i'm going to go to pockets or covers with trifolds. I have yet to get any. I'm somewhere in my 32 week and have nothing lol. I did buy 1 box of swaddlers for the first week of meconium, but that's it! i really need to get on the ball and get some CDs! Thankfully dh just got 2 extra jobs and hopefully that will be enough for us to be able to finish everything we need.

GoBecGo, you're so organized! I have fleeting thoughts of things i need to do, but just push them aside lol. Normally i'm NOT a procrastinator, but 8 weeks feels like such a long time off!

[GoBecGo]

A Tummy Tub video on YouTube. I didn't buy the stand, i stuck it on a worktop usually, or sat on the floor. I really like it though, and it saves a TON of water when they're small.

I am NOT organised. Some of that list i only thought of while i was composing....

[Aka mommy]

Originally Posted by GoBecGo

A Tummy Tub video on YouTube. I didn't buy the stand, i stuck it on a worktop usually, or sat on the floor. I really like it though, and it saves a TON of water when they're small.

I am NOT organised. Some of that list i only thought of while i was composing....

Wow, those are really cool. Smart concept!

And shhhh just take credit for seeming organized lol! At least your brain has enough cells left to make a coherent list! Last night dh was telling me that i really needed to get on my oils and supplements once this baby came because our children had stolen all my smarts. Good thing i love him, i told him they had stolen all his looks.

[GoBecGo]

I was actually much less sharp, intellectually, with DD. But this baby is my first with DH, who is an aspie, and i think it's a boy, and the combination means i am much sharper this time around. That's my theory anyhow

[neldabean]

I am using prefolds with covers and I also have a some fitted diapers and will use covers. There is something I really like about a prefold and snappi. The brand of prefold I like is green mountain diapers.

[*mama moose*]

I'm having kind of a crappy day. I took my BP at the gerocery store and it was 135/84 And then I had a good day at the Farmer's Market with the family, and kinda de-stressed, but then came home and re-stressed myself out over money. My CSA I guess had an extra box in this billing cycle so it's 95 dollars this month instead of the usual 63....blah. Which then cuts into the $ I was saving for my birth tub, and now I just don't think I'm going to have it in time. Soooo....I sucked it up and emailed her to tell her I'm just going to go without this time I think it will be ok, last time I was dying to get in but after being in an hour or two I got out anyways and birthed on my bed. I have a shower with a handheld head so I can always use that, bring my ball in there or something and have someone hold it on my back. I could get in my bathtub if I really really need to but it's a bit small. It just sucks that money made the decision for me But I'm having my homebirth, and in the grand scheme of things I don't NEED the tub, and it was one of the only things I could cut. I could cut my CSA box but in general it actually saves us $ in the food budget ($30 a box, every 2 weeks, covers almost all of our fruit/veggies needs for the month), the only other 2 bills I have are the energy bill and the cable bill, but the cable one is also internet and phone, so I can't even cut there, you know? And really, we aren't HURTING for money, it's just I can't really squeeze out an extra hundred dollars this month in particular, and that's my deadline for this tub.
And I'm freaking out over my BP because my MW has said if it starts getting high like last time we might try some herbs and membrane sweeps to get things going before I risk out of HB, which is making me feel rushed. I could have a baby by the middle of next month, and I feel so unprepared!!

[Aka mommy]

Originally Posted by *mama moose*

I'm having kind of a crappy day. I took my BP at the gerocery store and it was 135/84 And then I had a good day at the Farmer's Market with the family, and kinda de-stressed, but then came home and re-stressed myself out over money. My CSA I guess had an extra box in this billing cycle so it's 95 dollars this month instead of the usual 63....blah. Which then cuts into the $ I was saving for my birth tub, and now I just don't think I'm going to have it in time. Soooo....I sucked it up and emailed her to tell her I'm just going to go without this time I think it will be ok, last time I was dying to get in but after being in an hour or two I got out anyways and birthed on my bed. I have a shower with a handheld head so I can always use that, bring my ball in there or something and have someone hold it on my back. I could get in my bathtub if I really really need to but it's a bit small. It just sucks that money made the decision for me But I'm having my homebirth, and in the grand scheme of things I don't NEED the tub, and it was one of the only things I could cut. I could cut my CSA box but in general it actually saves us $ in the food budget ($30 a box, every 2 weeks, covers almost all of our fruit/veggies needs for the month), the only other 2 bills I have are the energy bill and the cable bill, but the cable one is also internet and phone, so I can't even cut there, you know? And really, we aren't HURTING for money, it's just I can't really squeeze out an extra hundred dollars this month in particular, and that's my deadline for this tub.
And I'm freaking out over my BP because my MW has said if it starts getting high like last time we might try some herbs and membrane sweeps to get things going before I risk out of HB, which is making me feel rushed. I could have a baby by the middle of next month, and I feel so unprepared!!

That all sounds so stressful, i'm so sorry. Wish i had great words of wisdom, but instead just a hug.

[at_the_hip]

Hi everyone,
It is really great to read about all of the projects everyone has going on!

As for me, I'm attempting to get everything in order since I know that my home visit from our mw isn't far out!

Our IKEA bedframe broke for the LAST time. :P Seriously, I told dh to take it apart and dispose of it because there is no way it is going to break on us when I'm having a baby. haha! I can't even tell you how many times we have fixed it in the last 7-8 years. So we will have a boxspring delivered tomorrow and be on solid ground...no frame at all. I am looking forward to being comfy again and not so low to the ground since our mattress is currently there!

I think I am (more than LOL!) set up for my newborn CD stash:
18 sm old style Fuzzi Bunz pockets
6x Monkey Doodlez AIO
12 Kissaluv 0 fitteds
3 xs ME Sandy fitteds
a bunch of me-sewn nb snap fitteds
2 xs Thirsties covers
2 s Thirsties covers
xs / s ME airflow covers
a bunch of preemie & infant PF
premium PF for changing on
extra sm microterry inserts
wool longies / covers / snappi's
tons of washcloths

Unfortunately my 21 mo old will still be in dipes too since she has tummy problems, so I have plenty more diapers for both of them to grow into. I need to get a couple new diaper pail liners though.

We are in a 2-level home for the first time so I found a second change table/shelf on craigslist so I don't have to go up and down constantly between the two diapered ones!! We're picking that up on Thurs. I already have the bins/baskets to go on the shelves.

My next appointment isn't until mid-week next week, and I will have them call in my 6 week herbal blend so I can pick it up from the natural health centre at the same time as my birthing supplies.

SOOoooo...other than that I am getting dd 21mo's new bedroom together and going through tons of baby girl clothes to pass on to a friend at church. Once I have her room done then I will move our gate so that she will have access to our room and hers. So she will have a safe place to play and her own bed when she is ready for it.

I had to buy a few new maternity clothes because my belly is huge and he is sitting so high! Actually he flipped breech a couple days ago so he must have plenty of room still...feels weird to have him kicking my bladder again and his head up in my ribs. :P

[*mama moose*]

Does anyone else lurk in other DDCs???
I was just in the May DDC and saw that they have TWO babies who have been born already!!! May, people, MAY!!!! OMG!! Can I freak out now??

[GoBecGo]

*Mama moose* permission is granted to freak out, but you must do so while remembering that most of us will have to slog the full 40 weeks at LEAST.

I have 31 prefold inners and 7 nb and small bambino mio wraps, which i can use until babe is 7kg. Beyond that the plan is flats and wraps, but i haven't bought them yet (DD hit 7kg at 4.5 months so i have a while to worry on that one).

I do however need to get another lidded bucket. Given it will be summer i intend to dry pail my wet nappies and wet pail my poopie ones outside the back door (the washing machine is just inside the back door and there's a tap and a drain right outside there too, very handy )

Does anyone else feel big right now? I have just hit that stage of looking so pregnant that my (big fat) thighs are now slim in comparison to my round belly...

[neldabean]

mama moose ~ I hope you are having a better day today. I was going suggest buying a kiddie pool for birthing in then you could use it as a pool for the kids in the summer. I have seen some for around $30. Oh and I am totally having a freak out today at how close I am to meeting baby!!!!!!!!!!

gobecgo ~ I am HUGE!!!

[azdaisy]

As I told DH last night, I was having a major "pregnant moment". I was stressed out about not getting enough exercise, stressed out about how busy I'm going to be with my upcoming temp part-time job (on top of my other jobs), stressed out about money, stressed that it was getting later and later and we still hadn't been to the grocery store, and I could just feel the tears coming on. Thank goodness for an understanding DH and DS! DS gave me a hug and made funny faces to cheer me up, and DH helped by getting us out for a walk, then to the store for groceries.

The funny thing about DH is that he has started a workout program. He's telling me how sore he is, but when I say anything like, "Welcome to my world", he proceeds to tell me I couldn't possibly be as sore as he is. Really? I've been sore for months, every time I stand up/get out of bed, my hips hurt and I have pains that shoot through my butt, but I have no idea what you're feeling?? ;-) Sure.... ;-) At least he's understanding in most arenas...right? :-)

[pepper-gina]

WOW!!! Everyone is so busy on here. I haven't checked this post since the first day it was posted (bad me). LOL It's good to see that everyone is staying busy and doing (mostly) well.

As for me....

Movies- We have Netflix, but might have to post-pone for a short while, while I get bills caught up. DF will be upset, since he uses the instant view all the time. Our current cue for DVD's is over 500 and our instant view pretty much stays at 500. But we don't seem to have a lot of time to watch anything. LOL We just finished the 3rd season of Deadwood, and watched Precious.

Books: I am in the middle of reading "Smoke and Mirrors" by Neil Gamien, who I love. I really want to read some more of Chuck Palinuk's books, but hate switching authors b/c I will get story lines mixed up.

Easter: OMG, I wish I could re-do it. We went back to Fort Worth on Saturday so we could spend Easter with family and our kids, since I haven't seen my girls in a month. We spent the night, after picking up my step-son, at my parents house. We went to church on Sunday morning, which was good and then went back to eat lunch. My mom made ham. My SIL's mom and brother came over, which was nice. But after dinner, DF and my mom got into a HUGE fight which sent me out of the room BAWLING. My ex-DH came and picked up the girls for Easter with his family and we left to go back to DF's family's house. We ate dinner and didn't really do anything. It was just a crazy, tension ridden weekend. But I loved spending time with my girls, my brother, SIL, and my neice.

As for everything else: Had 2 DA's so far this week, which I have already posted about, so I won't retype it. We left Fort Worth yesterday afternoon on the train to head home and thought we were going to be back by 7pm last night. NOPE!!! We got delayed by two hours due to construction on the track. UGH. I am so glad to be home now, but have to clean the crap out of our apartment, since I didn't get to before we left. DF and I did do some materninty photos on Friday and he surprised me with three finished photos on Tuesday. I've pretty much got most of Merrick's things put up. I do need to find a dresser for the rest of his stuff and we still need some things (ie: car-seat, more clothes, diapers, etc).

[Burnindinner]

pepper-gina, I can't remember your story. You moved recently and are looking for a new doc?

Aw, azdaisy, the pregnant mood swings are crazy! I remember completely falling apart when I was pregnant with DS, crying hard about what if I don't like the baby, or being a mom, or this that and the other. And that was just regular, not all the other stressful stuff you have going on.

*mama moose* what's going on with you and your BP and everything?

Wait, the May DDC is having babies?! NOOO! I am NOT ready. I am looking forward to meeting this new babe, but really wanting him to stay in as long as possible.

No spotting since Monday, woo hoo! I've been really good and spent a lot of time on the couch. Also, friends and family have been awesome at taking DS off to places to play. I will actually sit down if he is gone, but if he's here, even if someone else is here I will be up and down and too active.

I've been out of the house ONCE this week, to go get Motherlove Rhoid Balm from the birth center. Oh the joys of pregnancy!