The Weekly..September 15th-22nd...

[MamaFern]

Oh my! oh my! ohmyohmy.... a week till autumn truly begins... October mamas are starting to be "term" there is already an October baby born! September is half over and their babies are pouring in left, right & center... so pretty much we are next! how does time go so fast?

Actually the past few days have been going by soOOOo slowly.. i guess being sick does that.. im hoping to be able to go apple picking with some friends tomorrow if i can get myself feeling a bit better..at least i slept last night with only a few interruptions..

there are lots of things to get working on.. its chilly cold now in the mornings and i want to start having fires in the wood stove.. so that is top on my list!
i need to do a massive harvest of things from the garden. none of my tomatoes are red but they are starting to get red when i bring them in the house, so im going to pick the whole lot of them and try to find a place to store them im not even sure what else there is.. i guess potatoes, beets, carrots but those can all stay in the ground a bit longer.

on the baby front im feeling pretty good.. still have an insanely sore lower back (PGP?) but im getting more used to it i guess.. walking a little bit every day does help. and now that its cooler i enjoy it a LOT more. I really want to start going for at least an hour walk a day.. my dog will be pleased! if only that blasted hill wasn't there towering between me and the lake or maybe i just need to suck it up and start walking it again. i used to so it almost every day.

my neighbor asked me if i want the rest of her basil plants (she had a TON) so im going to wander over there in a bit to harvest whats left and then make some pesto to freeze.. my house is a mess.... *sigh*

[Earthy Mama]

It's finally cooling down a bit down here and I finally have some energy to get stuff done!
But, of course-dp pulled a muscle in his back and is pretty immobile right now

I'm all excited/nervous about my home birth. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do as far as getting the house ready.

I can't WAIT to start cooking cool weather foods (chilli, soups, etc).

[~Demeter~]

I can't believe we're going to start having babies here soon... eep.

I wonder how our triplet mama has been doing, anybody ever wonder about her??

I can't believe I caught the weekly so early, lol, maybe I'll be able to keep up with it this week?

We have company coming in this week... my house is a wreck and I'm not sure how exactly I will finish it by the time they will get here but I'm going to try. I've been feeling rather slow and sluggish. I don't want to do a whole lot, lol.

I've been trying to figure if baby is head down. I think he is... I feel hiccups down low but I can't find his little head. And then what I think is his little butt could possibly be a head?? Ugh... I don't know, I try and feel around each morning.

[karen1968]

I *do* think about the triplet mom. Think she's still pregnant?

I think my little girl has turned head down. For the longest time, I only felt kicks in the lower left quadrant. Now there is something (Foot? I hope it isn't elbow.) poking my right ribs, and I've been feeling kicks in the upper left. I'm about to head to the midwives, so maybe they can tell for sure.

In other news, I weighed myself this morning, and I've hit the 20 pounds gained mark. Not sure how I feel about it. It seemed like I was gaining less than with DS, but now it's exactly the same. I gained 30.5 pounds total with him, and I guess I'm ok with that (I started off 5 pounds heavier than with him, and 30-40 pounds "overweight").

[LadyCatherine185]

Busy rest of the week and weekend here-- hopefully finishing up all of our house projects!

Funny story (well, it was funny to me..)-- I was at the park this morning with Liam, and chatted with another mom who was due in December and she had an 18 month old.. we talked for about 30 minutes, all the while I kept thinking she looked really familiar.... Figured out, she is a news anchor for our local NBC channel..

Still not getting cold here yet... We're in the upper 80's this week, although that is a nice change from the upper 90's-100's.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

[Ellen Griswold]

I think dh has finally caught the nesting bug! We were in bed last night and he was starting to panic about how little time was left and worrying about carseats....you know, stuff I've only been talking about for forever . My house is a giant cluttered mess too and I just can't bring myself to get up and clean it up - especially because so much of it is on the floor and will require me bending over. I got curious last night again and decided to see if I could feel a baby head - nope. My cervix was difficult to find this time, about as dilated as much as before, but maybe nearly effaced. Would that be uncommon? I don't remember anything from my previous pregnancies, either I didn't check or after the baby was born, it simply didn't matter any more. I still think she is head down, however, from the other movements I'm feeling. Hiccups are low and I'm pretty sure the big round part I can feel is a bum.

[~Demeter~]

I think it's super awesome that my 3 year old daughter is fascinated by the birth process. We were looking at pics of a friend's newborn and then she was talking to our baby (through my belly button) and then all of a sudden she was talking about the birth process (lol) and asking to see my 'peepee' (her word for it... I call it a vulva and for birth a vagina). Then she was telling me we MUST watch a birth video right then and there! So we did... and she cheered when the baby came out.

[kittywitty]

I have sooooo much to do around here and my dream last night freaked me out a little about not getting "done" in time.

Making my IKEA trip this weekend, so hopefully that will take care of a good part of the nesting. Once we actually have furniture, I might be able to get something done around here.

I am going to try to get a massage and pedicure this weekend. Also going to a Renaissance Festival and staying at a hotel with a pool.

I found a chiropractor! He won't be Webster certified until early November, but his prices are more decent than the other chiros, he and his wife had homebirths, and he's convenient to my mw appointments (which I have on Monday), so hopefully it will work out and he'll fix me some!

I keep feeling hiccups down low and on top, so this either confirms my suspicions that this kid has two heads and octopus legs and arms, or just does it to confuse me to position.

[BirdMum]

I totally got lost in the other weekly thread, so hopefully I can keep up with this one!

We recently started my DS on a higher dose of melatonin to see if it will help him sleep since he's only been getting 5-7 hours a night. It has helped BIGTIME! He's been steadily getting 10 hours of sleep at night, and even occasionally taking a nap. He's almost a different kid when he's getting enough sleep - more verbal, less defiant, better able to cope with sensory stuff, etc.

Last night, my husband brought up that he's really thinking a UC might be the best option. We both really dislike the obstetric medicine (they're very pro-intervention) and while we had discussed UC at length, we'd decided against it. Seems he's really reconsidering that decision, and it's making me think about everything again as well.

I have to say that I find it incredibly adorable to hear a man start a sentence with "Well, don't you think it'd be empowering...."

[BirdMum]

Originally Posted by kittywitty

Making my IKEA trip this weekend, so hopefully that will take care of a good part of the nesting. Once we actually have furniture, I might be able to get something done around here.

Seeing all you guys talk about Ikea over the past few weeks has been driving me nuts. We used to live near one, but now the nearest is like 10+ hours away! My brother is driving in that direction next week and we're actually thinking of giving him a list of stuff to pick up, lol.

[birthdancedoula]

Wow, a new week already? Where did last week go??

to our mamas in the hospital now. They are in my thoughts.

Fern, enjoy your veggie harvesting! We really let our garden slide this year and I am so bummed about that. I hope we'll have a decent garden again next year, I really miss fresh, homegrown veggies.

Gosh, a massage sounds lovely right about now. My lower back and hips are killing me- I'd give anything for some relief.

Birdmum, I'm glad to hear the increased dose of melatonin works for your son and he's getting good sleep. I have heard that it can really work wonders for some kids. Oh, and I have to agree...I think what your dh said is pretty adorable, too! Good luck with your UC plans!

Well, yesterday sucked big time. I'm not really into talking about why exactly now, but suffice it to say, I'm just glad that yesterday is over. I keep reminding myself that I have so much to be thankful for in my life, including the new babe who is joining us in a few short weeks, and that helps to refocus my sadness. I know part of it is raging pregnancy hormones I've got going on right now, too.

I did see my mw today. Babe is LOA! Not that she'll stay that way but it was nice that she was cooperative today. I did gain a little over 3# in the last 2 weeks I blame it on all the cake I've baked...and ate for my oldest ds's birthdays.

Anyone thinking about preggo Halloween costumes?

[BirdMum]

Originally Posted by birthdancedoula

Well, yesterday sucked big time. I'm not really into talking about why exactly now, but suffice it to say, I'm just glad that yesterday is over. I keep reminding myself that I have so much to be thankful for in my life, including the new babe who is joining us in a few short weeks, and that helps to refocus my sadness. I know part of it is raging pregnancy hormones I've got going on right now, too.

I did see my mw today. Babe is LOA! Not that she'll stay that way but it was nice that she was cooperative today. I did gain a little over 3# in the last 2 weeks I blame it on all the cake I've baked...and ate for my oldest ds's birthdays.

Anyone thinking about preggo Halloween costumes?

Sorry you had a tough day. The good thing about bad days is that they end, and every new day is a new chance at something good happening.

I am now thinking "Mmmm... cake." That seems to happen anytime people start discussing food around me these days, lmao.

I celebrate Samhain, and don't generally dress up, but we are taking DS ToT-ing this year because he'd get a kick out of it. He's going to be dressing up as Mario (as in the video games.) What I'm planning to do is get a t-shirt and draw a '1Up' mushroom over the belly with fabric paint.

[mzminty]

Originally Posted by BirdMum

I have to say that I find it incredibly adorable to hear a man start a sentence with "Well, don't you think it'd be empowering...."

I agree. My obnoxious BIL was talking at a family get-together a few weeks ago, saying how his wife never wanted to have kids because pregnancy was so uncomfortable and how the worst part was pushing a baby out at the end. I concentrated hard on my knitting and said nothing so I wouldn't say something rude. I was so happy and proud when DH turned to him and said, "Oh man, you don't know what you're missing. That's the best part!"

[kittywitty]

Ikea is about 5 hours from me, so it's quite a trip!

Ashley, I'm sorry yesterday sucked but at LOA!

I've been thinking about preggo costumes since I found out I was pg. I want something good this year. I love Halloween.

Good luck with the decision, Birdmum. Dh is pro-uc but I'm not comfortable with it this time.

As for weight gain, according to my (hopefully) inaccurate scale, I've gained 13 lbs this month.

[lrpurro]

finally posting!

I am TERRIBLE about joining in and posting when I don't have something very specific to say, so I've been lurking around on our due date club for months!

Today, I went in for my regular prenatal visit and my BP was 178/108! Ack. Exact same scenario as my last pregnancy [due date club Feb 2007--my DD was born 1/27/07]. Midwife looked back in my chart and it happened the same time [32 wks 5 days] and the BP was exactly the same also--weird! No swelling or scary pre-e symptoms, just a big BP rise. I was so hoping that my BP would stay somewhat "normal" this time. At least my birth was still completely natural and largely unhindered in spite of the BP.

So, now I am couch bound for the duration. With a 3 1/2 year old. And almost NO helpful family or friends nearby. And a DH that gets COMPLETELY stressed out when he has to cook. Ack. Oh my goodness.

[HeatherB]

BirdMum, love your DH's comment! And I am SO impressionable when it comes to food! I *really* need to improve my diet but it's hard when everything sounds good!

Lisa, so sorry about the HBP! I'm glad your last experience was good, though, and hope this will be, too!

I can't believe we have mamas on bedrest and in the hospital already. Wow! That's half "I can't believe we're that far along" and half "I can't believe the mamas have so long to stay there!"

My BP and pulse have gone crazy today. I was standing at DH's office door waiting for him and just felt really weird. Had DS bring my BP cuff to check while standing there and my BP was fine but pulse was 130! A bit later, my BP was 10pts higher than it had been. Even after driving 15-20 minutes (so sitting a good while), my pulse was over 100. I felt better after awhile and got to do our Costco shopping (must have food for the party tomorrow!), but my MW said I *really* need to be focusing on eating enough and eating well to see if that will help stabilize everything. Phooey. I hate thinking about eating. So now I have to figure out how to do that.

Well, we're supposed to be out the door already to go to a new small group meeting but DH is resting and UPS still hasn't come! I saw the truck in the neighborhood almost 45 minutes ago and it was NOT that far away. Ugh. I really want my stuff!! And I need the books in on package for DS's birthday tomorrow so I can't afford to not get it. Hoping they get here before we load up.

[BirdMum]

Lisa, I feel your pain. My son is 3.5 as well and my being essentially couch bound has been tough on him, but we all do what we need to do to keep these babies baking. Hopefully your experience this time will be good as well.

Heather - sorry about your heartrate - that's so uncomfortable. I have to take a medication occasionally that makes my heart race light that and it is such a miserable feeling. I hope it calms down with just some dietary changes. Did the UPS guy come?


So earlier today, I called my OB's office because I've had a headache going on 4 days now, and my vision is getting blurry and my BP was up (146/90) when I checked it earlier at the pharmacy. I wanted to come in just to check for proteins, to be on the safe side. The nurse never called me back and they wouldn't answer the phones when I called back. This is not the first time that stupid office has blown me off and I am getting really freaking sick of them. I hate that I have no options when it comes to maternity care here. Provided my risk factors stay low, UC really is looking like the preferable option - I really do not want to trust these people with my body or my baby.

[HeatherB]

UPS did come! Not sure if this link will work, but here's what came today (the two Goodmamas came Monday): http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...8&id=783248080

I've been feeling better this evening. Need to focus on eating enough and well and all that good stuff. I know I can but I can't say it's my favorite part of pregnancy.

[my kidlets and me]

Wow - lots of diaper goodness!

[ILoveMySofie]

Originally Posted by birthdancedoula

Anyone thinking about preggo Halloween costumes?

Im loving the idea of a newborn costume instead

So glad to see a new week roll in. Time is being so weird-one second its flying and the next it stops... but overall definitely flying-what joy!

Kitty-have a fun trip! I imagine having new furniture will send you into a crazy nesting frenzy. Ill never forget how with our first DH and I spent that entire day nesting up post-Ikea- assembling our new furniture and setting up new mattress...and at midnight my exhausted DH fell onto the new bed and prepared to pass right out when-bam!-my first contraction hit hard By the time we got into that new bed we were three.

Nic-so cute when little girls that age are so interested in the birthing process-little DD is the same way. She insists to be in the room when the baby is born (hmm i donno about that).