*~*Weekley Chat Thread- October 15-22*~*

[LadyCatherine185]

It's a NEW WEEK Mamas!!!!

to all those not feeling well, hopefully this week will bring lots of healing and NESTING ENERGY for us!!

AFM-- I am 37 weeks TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!! I had an appointment yesterday with my midwife, and it was the best one yet. I felt like we REALLY connected (I have only been seeing her since I was ~28 weeks) and we had a great conversation about making a "birth invitation"... like we want to invite calm, quiet, progress, safety, etc to the birth.. Once I write it all out I will post it.

The weather here is going to be GORGEOUS this weekend, and tomorrow night we have our church's Fall Festival. And then Sunday a friend from highschool is getting married! Should be a fun, exciting weekend.

[BirdMum]

Sounds like you're in for a lovely weekend.

And it's crazy how fast this has all gone by! We are all now coming into the home stretch, several are full term, lots more are having their bodies get ready for labour. It's insane how fast these months have gone!

AFM, I had a bit of a miserable night. For the most part, I've been able to sleep through these prodromal ctx, but last night they were more intense than usual so I was up every 20-30 minutes to breathe through them. I am *so* exhausted. Had a huge glob of bloody show this morning, and I am puffy everywhere so something is up. She is still high up and the ctx are still far apart, so I don't think labour has begun but it feels close. I'm thinking of asking my mother to take DS for a few hours this afternoon (they haven't had time alone in a long while) so that I can nap.

My husband is sick and has been for weeks (at first they thought strep, now they're thinking mono. Just waiting on a blood test) so we've decided that, given the fact that he isn't functioning at 100%, UC probably isn't the best plan. He's really in no condition to handle an emergency if it came up, kwim? So I'll be birthing in the hospital. At least my mother will attend that, so there is an upside.

[kittywitty]

Sounds busy, Catie! I'm glad the mw is working out so well, too!

Good luck, Kay!

We have a busy day today and then sunday we are going to see family and go to the pumpkin patch.

[kittywitty]

OMG all the new babies!!!! Soon we're all going to have them!!!

[my kidlets and me]

I think it's so great that our babies are starting to come! Good luck with the next couple of days, Kay - I hope you can get some rest today.

AFM, I'm 35+2 today and not sleeping well at all. Even when I don't wake up (to pee or change positions), I'm not rested. Dh has sleep apnea (and has a CPAP machine) and is wondering if I have mild sleep apnea - apparently, it's not uncommon for pregnant women to have this, due to swollen tissues in the throat and nose. Anyone know anything about this? Any remedies?

My one cup of coffee in the morning is tasting so good today - mmmmmm eggnog in my coffee!!!

[Ellen Griswold]

Originally Posted by kittywitty

OMG all the new babies!!!! Soon we're all going to have them!!!

Exactly what I was thinking!

Dh's team lost the soccer game last night in double overtime. I hate that they went out to their big rival, but I'll be so happy to not worry about going into labor while he's out on the field (where he can't hear a cell phone, and doesn't have his own transportation). Hoping to find some energy to do some serious nesting this weekend.

[birthdancedoula]

A new week, oh my! Time is really flying by now, huh? And all these new babes being born...super exciting!

Kay, mama I hope you either get a little relief from all the prodroming you seem to be doing or else your labor decides its time to get the show on the road and have a babe. I'm glad you'll have the support of your mom when you go to the hospital. If you can stay home as long as possible and just show up to the hospital to push out the babe, you should be fine. Let your mama and DH do the advocating for you after the birth.

Mama D, have fun in the pumpkin patch! Pregnant bellies in pumpkin patches make for some cute photo opportunities!

Catie, thanks for the new thread, mama! So glad that you had a great appt. with your mw! How exciting that you'll be term tomorrow!!

AFM: I had a major pregnancy brain fart this morning. I insisted that ds1's parent-teacher conference was today so dh and I drove to his school. His class was busy doing their writing workshop and his teacher looked at dh and I at the door like we were lost or something. I completely read her e-mail wrong...the conference is really on Nov. 5th, not today. Now dh keeps mocking me about my absentmindedness today. Ugh. I feel stupid.

In happier news, I slept awesomely last night. Despite having dreams about my water breaking and the babe coming early, I still slept really well. My heartburn was even tolerable, too.

Well, today is my dd, Iris' 2nd birthday. It seems so crazy that she's been apart of our family for 2 years already. I've got to go ice her carrot cake and make gum paste bunnies to decorate it. She is currently bunny-crazed and I would be in big trouble if I put her cake in front of her sans bunnies.

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by my kidlets and me

AFM, I'm 35+2 today and not sleeping well at all. Even when I don't wake up (to pee or change positions), I'm not rested. Dh has sleep apnea (and has a CPAP machine) and is wondering if I have mild sleep apnea - apparently, it's not uncommon for pregnant women to have this, due to swollen tissues in the throat and nose. Anyone know anything about this? Any remedies?

My one cup of coffee in the morning is tasting so good today - mmmmmm eggnog in my coffee!!!

I've noticed I've been snoring on occasion lately, though that could be due to a mild cold.

Oh gosh, I want eggnog now. I suppose I could make it, but I don't think they have it in stores here yet.

[Lemoncello]

Haven't joined the last couple chat threads...I kept missing them til they were just too long to keep up with!

I can't believe that so many of our babies are already being born! I keep saying that I'm ready, but at the same time, when the reality of it all hits I feel rather overwhelmed! At least I finally got my bag mostly packed and have the baby's things all ready to go. We have yet to figure out what we're going to do about the pets while we are at the hospital. The cats would be okay for 24 hours, as long as someone popped in to feed them once and scoop their litter boxes. But the dog is going to need someone to actually take her out for potty breaks and make sure she doesn't get too lonely. She is a rescue and still has alot of fear and shyness issues, so she won't let just anyone take care of her. My poor, sweet girl...

Anyone been having more baby dreams lately? I didn't have any for the longest time, but this week I've had one labor or baby related dream every night. Last night I was dreaming that I was in labor and just couldn't get comfortable anywhere except on the toilet....then I woke up and realized I needed to go to the bathroom! I suppose I've been having more of these dreams because I've been thinking alot more about the baby's arrival this week. I don't know why, but I just feel like it's going to happen before my due date. Is that just wishful thinking? I know everybody says first timers go late, but that was not the case with me or DH...both first babies and both early! It's so hard to balance patience and contentment with expecation and readiness.

[~Demeter~]

I had a dream the other night about the baby... not about the birth or even holding the baby, just a swaddled up babe and I heard, "It's a girl." and then I woke up. I'd have loved to have seen the baby, really.

My 3 year old is being a miserable beast to be around lately. She's totally stopped listening to me and is just in general being unruly. Uh... can I have my precious daughter back?? Please? lol We'll weather through this, I'm sure she senses things are about to change BIG time for her.

[MamaFern]

new week. new babies! its all going by so fast! its already mid October!

36+4 today! I was feeling kind of freaked out last night. my sister is a nurse and though she means well she is a bit more medical minded (actually a lot more) than me. I cant imagine NOT having a home birth and no one has said that I cant but its definitely been on my mind. she wanted to talk to me and make sure that if we thought it was safer for me and the baby that we would go to the city to the big hospital..and i would, of course but it would be very sad for me. but I slept well and woke up feeling a renewed sense that everything is going to work out. there is still lots of time for me to heal and be well enough to have a wonderful home birth. i may need an extended baby moon but that's fine with me
my lungs do feel better today, still a bit tight but im thinking from all of the coughing more than from the pneumonia. i go to the Dr this am and he is going to tell me that they are recovering well maybe i need more help with the lungs.. its feeling more like asthma every day..even though I have never had asthma.. i know its more easily treated than pneumonia.
and i slept on my sore rib side half of the night things were popping around (my rib bones are seriously like rice crispies right now) till i got into a good position but it felt so good to not be sitting up, sleeping. and when i woke up to sit up there was a storm with thunder & lightening that turned to a big wind and rain thing. it was so nice to listen to and watch through my bedroom window. the air feels really good today even if it is bRrrR out there and dp didnt even make a fire before leaving for work

i have breakfast in bed awaiting me. i never thought i would get used to that!

will check in again after i see dr. and reply to all of your posts.

[earthyamber]

BirdMum - I hope you get to relax a bit before you are in full blown labor. Sorry about the UC and hubby. I hope he gets better soon. As for the hospital, just make sure you have your mom stand up for what you want. I am doing a hospital birth and it is my husband's job to advocate for me.

my kidlets and me - I don't know much about sleep apnea sorry but my husband has it (he doesn't treat it). Maybe talk to your midwife/doctor. That is awesome you are limiting you coffee intake. I suck at it. I have 1-2 starbucks a day, way too much. I just don't sleep and can't function without it.

birthdancedoula - Happy birthday, Iris! I hope she has a great birthday and her cake sounds so yummy!


I am excited that November babies are being born! I just can't wait until it is my turn.

AFM, I am doing pretty good. I am very achy and miserable but trying to hang in there. I am just ready to be done. I am almost done with everything I need but I still need to pack the hospital bag and finish prepping the cloth diapers. I also need to finish cleaning. I want this baby out so soon but I am worried I will go late like I did in the past. Honestly, I may just do castor oil again around my due date because I can't handle waiting this time. I am so stressed about finding someone to watch my kids, how I will finish my school work, etc, that I kinda want to have some control over her arrival. Wishful thinking though!

I did get great news yesterday at my doctors appointment. Some of you may remember my battles with MRSA at the beginning of the pregnancy. I could not get rid of it and had a total of 6 weeks worth of a very strong antibiotics (not counting being cut up and in complete pain). I was told I would be a carrier for MRSA for years and that I would be in isolation at the hospital because of it. They did a test just to make sure and amazingly, it came back negative! I am not a carrier and MRSA is completely gone. So, no isolation treatment for me and no worries about the baby getting it. It is a miracle that it is completely gone and my doctor said she has never seen it go away so quickly. I am soooo happy!

[butterflies]

Wow! Babies everywhere around here!

earthyamber-- that's amazing and wonderful that your MRSA cleared!

Fern-- enjoy breakfast in bed and good luck at the drs.

ocelotmom and my kidlets-- also looking forward to eggnog season! Yum!!

Catie-- The new midwife sounds lovely. I'd love to hear more about your invitation.

BirdMum-- Sorry about your UC plans. dh is struggling with terrible allergies and wheezing here... it's hard on everyone when both adults are only partly functioning. I hope he recovers a bit before the birth.

I had an appt yesterday-- babies are each about 4.5 lbs and looking great. i'm 34 weeks tomorrow. Got some prescription-strength steroid cream and antihistamine for the PUPPPS (my dr took one look and said "Wow! That's really bad!") Well, at least the antihistamine worked because last night I actually slept without waking up once! My 4 yo snuggled into bed with us and it was so peaceful. I had been waking every 30-40 min earlier in the week-- waking up to find myself scratching-- so this was desperately needed. I'm still itchy today but it's more manageable. I told dh it's like regular itching from bites or something but not that terrible burning sensation of being put through a cheese grater. So I have some hope this will work and if not, the drs will put me on prednisone next week. They seem to think I have another 3-4 weeks of being pregnant (I hope so!) and the side effects of a low dose are preferable to delivering early or wearing myself out dealing with this condition. I was SO relieved that they took this seriously.

[Stitches]

Holy Babies Batman! I can't believe all the early arrivals around here, October is only half over!

Amber-that is so great about the MRSA being gone!

Fern-I'm sure a few more weeks will make all the difference, take care of yourself

Nic-I think my 2.5 year old knows the jig is up and that's why she's being such a handful lately too. I keep hoping that having an actual baby in the house will turn out to be easier, she understands this baby thing is coming but has no concept of what it really means, and she's been regressing in so many ways and so clingy. The sleep stuff has been so hard. I miss my sweet girl too.

Ashley-Happy Birthday to your little girl! Love the bunny cake idea.

Kay- Hope you get that nap, sounds like you really deserve one!

AFM- It's snowing here! Horsefeathers. Was not expecting that as yesterday was beautiful and 20 C.

M/W appointment yesterday went well, baby IS anterior, but still hanging out on the the right which I'm not too happy about. Go LOA little turkey. She was cool with my plans to use a tens machine, thinks the baby will be 8+ pounds if I go to term. I've decided that I will either have the baby in the next week or not until my due date. As if I have any say in it, . Last night was the first all week that I didn't contract in the night, so I got a decent sleep for once. 37 weeks tomorrow. I fully expect the next few weeks to fly by.

[Lucy&Jude'sMama]

Jumping in since I missed the last few of these.

Well I've been having a rough week. Cant exactly say it's getting better but it's not getting worse. I'm 37 weeks tomorrow and yet I still don't feel ready for this baby! I'm starting to think that I'm going to be late (I was 2 days early with my daughter)... Anyways I just can't believe that I'm 3 weeks from my due date. I don't feel like I'm 3 weeks away. If you took away my vag issues then I'd be feeling pretty good at the point. I can still pick up my kid and other than being uncomfortable while I sleep I feel ok. Soooo it makes me feel like the baby is no where near due. Which would be good in my case since I have to get this darn outbreak fixed. I'm going to call today and see if they got my blood work back. I know it's going to be positive but I need to hear it. Ugh!

[Ellen Griswold]

Originally Posted by earthyamber

I did get great news yesterday at my doctors appointment. Some of you may remember my battles with MRSA at the beginning of the pregnancy. I could not get rid of it and had a total of 6 weeks worth of a very strong antibiotics (not counting being cut up and in complete pain). I was told I would be a carrier for MRSA for years and that I would be in isolation at the hospital because of it. They did a test just to make sure and amazingly, it came back negative! I am not a carrier and MRSA is completely gone. So, no isolation treatment for me and no worries about the baby getting it. It is a miracle that it is completely gone and my doctor said she has never seen it go away so quickly. I am soooo happy!

That is great news!

[kittywitty]

My digestive system has not been happy the last couple of days. This better just be stress and not a lead up to anything. This baby is BANNED from coming out until mid-November, dang it!

[HeatherB]

I cannot keep up with the new thread dates since... Is it me or is it a different day each week? Anyway, no wonder there were no replies after my middle-of-the-night posting.

earthyamber, so glad to hear the MRSA is gone!!

Lucy&Jude, I hope you get everything cleared up in plenty of time!

to the prodromalling mamas!

I'm 35 weeks today! Just one more week until my MW would attend me at home. I've NEVER gone anything like that early and don't expect to, but it's always reassuring to hit that milestone and know this baby will be born at home.

I can't believe how quickly yet ANOTHER week has flown by! I was marveling at it a week ago that the days had disappeared much faster than I could've expected - and here it's done it again! It had slowed an awful lot for a few weeks, but someone apparently found the knob and sped it all up again. I get to go hang out with my MW and a good friend with her 4 kids this afternoon. Then my MW comes on Monday, and I'm suspecting we go to weekly visits after that - though we might do two weeks one more time and then start 1 week. I scheduled out several more chiro/massage visits to get me through until my due date. And this bathroom remodel that is now underway should be done in 21 days - which is 38 weeks exactly! I am pretty sure the next few weeks are going to be really busy with various activities and will disappear! Though I will probably also have to cut back on some of what I'm expecting to do so I can get more done around here!

DS3 and I slept on the futon last night and it really wasn't bad at all. Whew! I was worried I'd be miserable but with my regular head and body pillows it was fine. Not sure where DH will sleep, though, 'cause a full-size futon is just about perfect for just DS and me. And apparently they've very thoroughly tarped the entire bedroom so there's no way DH is sneaking in there to sleep! He may end up stealing DS2's bottom bunk, though that mattress is old and foam and not so comfy. But we'll make it!

We finally finalized and have ordered the new tub and fixtures for the bathroom so they'll show up next week. So excited!! We got a tub with lumbar jets which may be just amazing in labor, even though I would plan to labor/birth in my birth pool. I have so many back issues that we thought it most prudent to go with the extra jets and this tub has extra space, too. Can't wait to try it! I'm so glad to see the old beast of a tub (that was only used once while we lived here and not by me - it leaked a ton!) out of here! That's one giant headache gone. Whew.

Ramble, ramble... Should get my boys on with schoolwork.

[BirdMum]

I hope that everyone who is tired can get some rest. It's so hard to lug around a huge belly when you're exhausted.

My DS went down for a nap so I just managed to get a quick nap. I'm feeling surprisingly energized now, but I guess that's just the weirdness of all these hormones.

earthyamber - yay for not being a MRSA carrier! That must be a huge relief!

Lucy&JudesMama - truly hope that you get the all-clear soon!

Fern - sounds like you're at least on the mend, even if it is slow going.

Heather - I have massive tub-envy right now. We rent so of course can't do anything like that, but a tub with lumbar jets sounds heavenly these days!

Kitty - hope it turns out to be nothing!

I've been getting crazy baby dreams too. You know those dreams where you wake up within the dream thus thinking you're completely awake? I had one of those where I woke up and the baby was already crowning. It was SO convincing that my heart was racing when I actually woke up a few minutes later.

Last week, I bought my husband a new wedding ring because his old one is tungsten and can't be resized. Just got it back from the sizing so we had to go to the mall to pick it up. It was really nice to be able to walk around and not fear the contractions like I have. They didn't speed up (I would have stopped if they did) but I have just come off 10 weeks of having to go lay down any time I started having any contractions. It's SO nice to be able to actually go for a walk and not have to go home to lay down when I have one.

[ocelotmom]

Originally Posted by HeatherB

We finally finalized and have ordered the new tub and fixtures for the bathroom so they'll show up next week. So excited!! We got a tub with lumbar jets which may be just amazing in labor, even though I would plan to labor/birth in my birth pool. I have so many back issues that we thought it most prudent to go with the extra jets and this tub has extra space, too. Can't wait to try it! I'm so glad to see the old beast of a tub (that was only used once while we lived here and not by me - it leaked a ton!) out of here! That's one giant headache gone. Whew.

OMG! Tub envy!