May mamas--last half of March

[KKmama]

Okay, here's the new thread...

And here's a link to the old thread (to see the last posts)
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...62#post1203562

User name (name), #which, EDD

Mcsarahb, 4/29 Its a GIRL!!!
Pottermamma, #2 4/30?
Sandra Dee, #5, 4/30? or 5/8?
Sarah'sMama (Sherri), #2, 5/1 It's a GIRL!!!
Dandjsmama (Wendy), #3, 1st week of May
NorthernLight, #2, early May
Fiddlefern, #1, ??, It's a BOY!!! (Luke)
Frankies_Mama (Julie), #2, 5/2 It's a GIRL!!! (Cecelia Louise)
Shalom, #3, 5/3
GoodWillHunter, #5, 5/3
Bekahsmom (Robbie-Lynn), #2, 5/3
Mommasuz (Suzy), #2, 5/4 It's a GIRL!!!!
MorningDove, #1, 5/5
Andriagirlie, #2, 5/6
KKmama (Kristine), #2, 5/7, unmedicated hospital VBAC
Owen&mama (Dinah), #2, 5/10
Learning #1 5/10
Kanpope (Nicole), #3, 5/10, homebirth, It's a BOY!!!
JesikaJ (Jesika), #1, 5/10
Defenestrator, #2, 5/12
Mollyeilis, #1, 5/12
Marbles (Rayna), #3, mid-May
SquirmyWorm, #2, mid-May
Mere, #2, mid-May
Babywearingmama (Mary), #3, mid-May?
Pipermomma, #2, 5/14
PoeticNSoul, #3, 5/15
The Lucky One,#2, 5/18
Mamameg (Megan), #1ish, 5/18, It's a GIRL!!
TwirlGirl (Carla), #4, 5/19
Gus'smama (Elsa), #2, 5/19
Merpk (Amy), #4?, 5/20
Anothermama #2, 5/20-ish, It's a BOY!!!
2nurturemore, #6, 5/21
Phishmama (Julie), #3, 5/23
Kittymama, #1, 5/23
Theelves, #2, 5/23, It's a GIRL!!! (Kathryn Nadine)
A&L+1, #1, edd 5/23
Scbegonias (Stephie), #1, 5/24
Heatherfeather, #1, 5/25
Andrea0408 (Andrea), #3, 5/25, It's a GIRL!!
Kidatheart (Jennifer), #1, 5/26
Jacqulyn, 5/26
Sagesmamacrystal, #2, 5/28
PattyCakes, #1, 5/28
jakobsmami (annika) #2 5/28
Karenpl, #7, late May
Chanin2000, #2, 5/30
Liz-hippymom, #2 or #3?, 5/31
Jacqueline, #1, late May
Kids'ncows, #3, late May, unmedicated hospital VBAC
TurboClaudia (Claudia), #1, late May/ early June
OlyMama (Trish), #2, ??
DawnaRose (Dawn), #3, ??


If you have any additions or changes, please feel free to pm me or post a message, and I will update as soon as I can.

[pottermamma]

Thanks KKmama, I just posted on the last one, but then saw yours here too...so thought I'd jump on here too so I don't lose track!!!!

[mcsarahb]

Good morning, mamas (yawn). It's only 7 am here in the PNW - way earlier than my usual wake-up time. But...I can't sleep! I've been getting up 3-4 times a week at 5:30 or 6 to EAT! I wake up starving and the babe is rocking and rolling, I guess trying to tell me to eat! Sometimes I can eat and go back to sleep, but usually not.

In other news, a friend is journeying down from WA state today to stay the week to "cook, clean and do whatever" for me. I am excited. Hopefully we will have time to shop and take a couple of long walks, too! Plus, my shower is this Saturday, and she will stay for that as well. I feel blessed.

I'm getting my homebirth supplies together, too - the list is amusing. "One new garden hose...check. Two bottles hydrogen peroxide...check. One white king-sized sheet (to line the birthing tub)...check." We also got our blood screening kit in the mail yesterday. I can't believe how close it's getting. Another friend whose due date is exactly a month before mine is 3 cm dilated and 100% effaced...eek!

Thanks for starting the new thread, KKmama. Everyone have a good week!

Sarah

[DawnaRose]

morning momma's!

Just getting suscribed to the new thread so I don't lose track again

Hope everyone has a great day!

[KKmama]

Pottermama, if you want to have the first baby, that's fine by me! How about April 15th? You'd be full term but on the early side...

Y'know how my fundus measured low at the last appt? I'm not sure what the baby is doing today, but it feels like she/he is bracing head against pubic bone and feet against the top of my uterus... Seriously, I know this is *nuts*, but it feels like the top of my uterus is really expanding today. Positive visualization, anyway. (I'll take what I can get.)

I also just found out that my dad's partner is probably having her surgery in mid-April (on our side of the mts, not theirs). I'm hopeful for her health situation in general, but I'm a little freaked out about the prospect of them being in town for the 3 weeks leading up to my due date (especially since I haven't been entirely honest about when my due date is...). I'm hoping they'll go easy on me, since they know I'll be very pg at that point, anyway (and even crazier than I am now). My worst case scenario is that my dad is staying with me and then I go into labor... Ah, I don't think I'll be letting that happen. My sphincters would be so tight it'd be impossible, anyway.

[jesikaj]

Hello everyone. Just checking in.

The weather has been SO BEAUTIFUL here, today it is going to get into the 90's!!! Ugh! Makes me SO GLAD I am not going to be pregnant in the summertime! It has been miserably hot these past few days, and shorts are out of the question, unless I want to go out and spend $$$ on some. I have two pairs of capris, then off to my capri yoga pants!

DH and I have been going to birth classes every monday and the one we went to last monday we were missing a couple. Then, five minutes into class they walk in, with their baby in their arms!!! Oh, she was so precious! They'd had her THE DAY BEFORE at 3:00 pm, and were really high on the endorphins still. Completely natural birth (our classes are taught through our birth center) and relatively easy first birth, 11 total hours of labor. I hope mine is like that! It was great to have them stop in and share their birth with us and their one day old babe! Made me even more ready for this show to get on the road!!!

Had our midwife appointment this Monday and baby is still breech. Any ideas about how I can encourage it to turn? They gave me the method of getting on hands and knees and resting head on floor to invert baby a little, and I have been trying to visualize the baby flipping, although visualization and meditation have always been challenging to me. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!
Happy springtime.

[mamameg]

Hey Jeskia... where are you in Sonoma County? I'm in the town of Sonoma!

Megan, who will post an update later this afternoon

[jesikaj]

Hi Mamameg-

Well, I work off of Highway 12 right past the Bouverie on the right (going towards Santa Rosa) at a private botanical garden that nobody knows about! www.quarryhillbg.org

I live in Healdsburg. But, because of work I am 50% of my time here in Glen Ellen or Sonoma!

[kids'ncows]

Jesika, I liked this site when #2 was breech in the later stages. I know it's hard not to worry, but you do have lots of time left still. http://www.geocities.com/momcare/breech.htm

Jesika and Megan you are blessed ladies to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Oh man! Now I'm craving a quality red wine...

KKmama, I'm sure it's not nuts. That kid is probably doing some wild gymnastic moves. Lucky for you, you have reason to feel happy about it .

Hope everyone is feeling well. I'm still battling pubic symphysis stuff a little, mostly expressed as groin pain. But it's been much better since my chiropractor visit. I have a Dr app't next week and I'm afraid that might be my last monthly one - uggghhhh! I hate having to get myself and 2 kids into the car and drive a half an hour each way just to have my blood pressure taken and make a mess trying to pee in a cup! (BTW, thanks KKmama for letting me know on the other thread that I'm not the only one with this problem.)

I'm really getting better at taking my prenatals because I can't stand to eat enough food to feel like I'm properly nourishing this baby. I was actually hungry this morning - it felt good!

[pottermamma]

KKmama...You just want me to get this party rollin' huh!!!!! When I look at the calander my eyes jump right to the 20th or somewhere in there...Dh is bettin' on the 27th or so...we'll see...watch now there will bunches of you that go before me and I'll be SOOOOOO jealous

jesikaj You can do the cat/cow (on all 4s with head up back/belly down then head down back arched...our midwife said that this can only flip the baby to the right position (head down etc) not back and forth) and then my acupuncturist said that there is a point on the pinkey toe they can hit that will make the baby turn...There are other strategies too...I also talked to Ds and this baby (who was breech for a bit) about how I wanted them to be in the belly so they knew...not visualization just talking to them.

Our midwife just left (actually her assistant who is also a midwife, but our midwife herself is in Africa for another 2 1/2 weeks delivering babies in fishing villages near Senagal (sp) but, she'll be back for my 37 week appt which works out perfectly and I know her assistant well too so all is good) baby is head down back up to the top of my belly and keeps doing this little thing with her/his butt where he/she just all of a sudden sticks it out way far to get rubbed then relaxes then does it again......so cute!!!!!! Everything looks good so far so I am hoping that keeps up till the baby gets here!!!!!

So, for the old wives tales....what has been true for you guys. For Ds it was the carrying low = boy...not looking preggo from the back = boy. What else is there...the heart rate, pendulum (never done that one myself)..... So, what is/was true for you guys?????

[MorningDove]

Hi all,

Sorry to hear so many are grumpy. I 've been feeling pretty good. A few weeks ago I had a doctor's appt and happened to be grumpy that particular day. Well, she starts telling me that some people get depressed during pregnancy (roll eyes). Dh backed me up when I told her that from what I had been reading, I am a relatively cheerful pregnant person.

I've been on iron for 3 weeks now and seem to be handling OK without having to take a laxative or anything. What a relief. I think I have a little more energy, but not sure. I think part of what helps me feel generally good is that baby is up higher, not on my bladder or pubic bone. My tune will probably change when baby begins to drop down.

I had a few days of excellent, dreamless sleep. Now the dreams are back, which wakes me more. I have the hip soreness/numbness/ both sides are worn out problems too. I had a chiropractor appt scheduled for today but it had to be changed to Friday My upper back has been pretty sore the last couple of days.

I'm on spring break next week. Woo hoo. But I need to really concentrate on finishing the rough draft of my master's project and we have at least one appointment scheduled every day. Dentist, interview pediatrician, meet with doula, meet with financial planner, haircut, doctor appointment, meet with lactation consultant, and at least one afternoon of tours of home daycares with a mentor who is helping me learn more to set up my in home daycare. Some break! I'm going to be relieved to go back to work.

I think I have all the diapers I need for a newborn. We'll have to do laundry every other day for the first week or so, but I don't want to buy any more fittededs that the baby is going to grow out of right away. Once the umbilical cord falls off, we should be able to go a couple day between washings. As for other stuff, we have a baby shower in a couple of weeks so we'll see how that goes and then fill in the cracks.

Oh my! I've written a novel. I better stop.
Happy Spring!

[PoeticNSoul]

Hi! I'm kinda new here. Well not really, just lurk most of the time. But I'm due May 15th with #3. I'm cranky and clumsy and just can't wait for May 15th to get here and praying that somehow this babay makes it on time.
Poetic

[mcsarahb]

Welcome, Poetic! Not too much longer .

I am trying so hard to balance my own crankiness with being happy to be pregnant. It's hard. I try so hard not to complain but sometimes I am miserable. Some days are glorious, though, and remind me how amazing this whole experience is and how happy I am to be here.

Happy Thursday
- Sarah

[owen&mama]

checking in ladies to suscribe to the new thread. to all of you going through the grumps. It comes and goes with me. And of course, there's the crying.....

We're frantically trying to get ready for the baby. I still haven't pulled out any clothes. Most of the newborn stuff I have is unisex, so we're okay there. I did order a new glider rocker and ottoman this weekend. Hopefully, it will be here in time for the baby!

Other than that, I'm also battling the hip/shoulder pain and the pubic symphysis. But, amazingly I haven't gotten completely tired of being pregnant yet. I can feel it coming, though. I'm out of clothes and just can't bring myself to buy new ones. I ripped one of the last two pairs of pants on a nail this weekend. : If it weren't for work, I'd be in pajama pants all the time!

Take care everyone!

[sugarmoon]

Okay, I need to whine.

We've had the stomach flu this week.

Ds threw up all over me every 20 minutes or so on Monday. Tuesday, Dh called me from work to say that he was going to the ER to have his ankle xrayed, cause he thinks he broke it. Turns out to be just a really bad sprain. I start throwing up around midnight that night, and am up all night. Wednesday, Ds wakes up at 5 am, cranky as all get out. Dh is home from work, but can't walk at all, so is laying on the couch. I'm waiting on him, taking care of Ds, puking, and feeling delerious from no sleep. Ds also starts in with the diarehha (sorry can't spell that), and takes only a 1 hr nap instead of his usual 2 1/2, so thats the only sleep I get.

Today, I'm doing okay, provided I don't actually eat anything, but dfs reports in the am, that he was throwing up in the night, so he's home from school. Dh decides his ankle is good enough to go to work, but then starts throwing up, so he's home too....

Yeah. I can handle pregnant. Pregnant, puking, and taking care of 3 other pukers is putting me over the edge.

Baby seems soooo big lately. Poor thing hated it when I was throwing up.

Oh, and one more complaint, on the TMI scale, sorry, but you guys will understand. yk how everything is all compressed and any pressure in the belly area sends pressure everywhere? Every time I threw up, I peed all over. Ick Ick Ick.

So, on that note... I hope everyone else is feeling better about their day
:LOL

[mittendrin]

hi all,
i'm still on vacation in germany but will come back to the states on the 29th. dreading the day. it's beautiful here, spring allover and it's snowing at home. crap!
i can't believe it's getting so close now that we'll hold our beautiful babies. i still got 2 months but some mommas here will have their babies really soon...
anyways, just wanted to check in to let you know i'm still around and will post more faithfully again when i'm back home...

good luck to everyone with preggo ouchies and hang in there girls!!!

[anothermama]

gus'smama...yuck!!!!!!!!

I was just thinking about how I've lucked out........knock on wood, I haven't been sick this pregnancy.........

My baby boy is POKEY and is in love with poking me in the round ligament......soooooooo fun.
:

I have the wonkiest sleeping schedule on the planet right now.....it sucks. I SHOULD be in bed right now but I'm not. *sigh*

Other than that, I'm finally back to measuring right on target and the babe has been head down for ages...midwives say they dont expect him to be larger than his sister was (9 1/2).

Ok........gonna go try to sleep now..........

[Marco Esquandolas]

Hey mamas! Gee, it sounds like it is time for a !!

I am soooo sorry that so many of you are achy or are straight up sick. I've just been so in with my kicker that I don't have time to get down. I'm sending each of you who need them some <<< healing >>> vibes and positive vibrations!

Yeah, baby is getting to be a heavy load to take and yeah, I'm getting unfun bh contrax and pelvic & ligament discomfort and painful movements, but I just don't care. I hope all of you find comfort in knowing that even if this isn't your last baby, it is getting down to wire so these are last times you'll feel this way b/c of this baby. Please just go machiavelian for a bit and KNOW that the means justify the end......Hang in there!

Poetic-glad you came out of lurkdom to join in!

jakobsmami-I'm so happy that you're enjoying being back in Germany. The weather here bites the big one...this is our second snow storm this week!

Here's a quick funny-dh has been preggo right along with me (read: weight gain), so he pulled his shirt up to show me his belly and my 2 yo patted it and asked "daddy, baby in dere too???" Too cute! :LOL

[Defenestrator]

Jesika -- If you have an acupuncturist nearby, now would be the time to visit and have moxibustion done. I was just chatting this week with the acupuncturist that works down the hall from me and she says that she has been having great success with mamas from 32-35 weeks, but not so much success with mamas after that. Moxibustion (which is the burning of special herbs near a specific position on the outer edge of the baby toes) stimulates the uterus to move in ways that make the baby disengage and be able to flip. With a bigger baby, there is less room to move. Moxibustion may need to be repeated many times, but you can usually do it at home after a little lesson.

Chiropractors also can perform the webster technique, which helps balance the space in the pelvic area and encourage baby to assume a head-down position. This may also need to be repeated, but I have seen it work much later in pregnancy as well, up to about 38 weeks or so.

Swimming is an excellent way to turn breeches, especially doing surface dives and handstands in the pool.

A lot of the moms I work with are breech at 32 weeks, but the majority of them will have had their babies turn by 34 weeks. Hope this is the case with you!



Sad to hear about everyone's discomforts. I am starting to have a difficult time sitting. My RLS, which has been mercifully absent while sleeping, seems to attack everytime I sit for more than 45 minutes or so. The one place I can sit comfortably is on my birth ball, so I have been perching there while watching tv or knitting. I have been pretty busy lately, though, so I haven't been sitting much.

My babe is turning posterior a lot, which isn't a big deal at this point, but creates a weird kind of discomfort, as I get a lot of feet up front, up top. Still kicking a huge amount.

I attended the most beautiful birth the other day. I don't wanna tell too much of the story because I don't wanna violate the family's privacy, but it was a really peaceful waterbirth where the baby was born in the caul, the big sisters climbed in the tub afterwards to swim around and giggle at their new baby, and the baby was so peaceful we had to double check to make sure he was breathing/ok. He was The dad took video using infrared so that we could keep it really dark and when I watched it a few days later during a postpartum visit, I cried, because it was just so cute to see him staring up at his parents, all blissed out.

I am beginning to panic a little bit. I am having a baby in 8 weeks. Eeek!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Stacia

[kanpope]

Hello Ladies! Just wanted to check in and sunscribe! I am doing great! I am starting to feel huge! There is pressure around my belly button (I think because I had a hernia repair there?) and I often get breathless! My heart feels like it is working so hard but my blood pressure remains (as always) very, very low. I went to go see my mw on Monday! It was a fun visit because she gave me a list of all the things that I will need to have and prepare for the birth. She said to keep on doing whatever I am doing because I am doing great! That was nice! 6-10 weeks feels like a long time but not in the perspective of the mw! I go see her one more time and then for my 36 week visit, she comes to me for the home visit! Then, at 37 weeks I have the green flag to have the baby whenever he is ready! At 38 weeks, I go see her again and that may be my last appointment. If not, I go see her at 40 weeks! In 2 week intervals, it seems super short! :-)
I am having a lot of fun getting my list together. I was reading through some of the posts and it is interesting to hear what other mw want!
For those of you open to or planning a water birth, what are your plans to keep the water warm? Are you just going to run the tub when you are ready to get in and wait? Or do you have a plan to keep the water warm? I know that the rentatubs have covers but what about those of us using our home tubs? Any ideas?

Anyway, just wanted to drop by and see how ya'll are doing! Keep your chins up, no grumpy faces, we are in the home stretch!