Chat Thread 2/13-2/19

[mamahen2coop]

Just thought I'd get this weeks going...

It's Pouring rain here in the Pacific Northwest but I did manage to get some exercise in this weekend snowshoeing.  Lugging the 25lbs of DS plus the backpack couldn't have hurt either. :) We'll see about getting some exercise if this rain doesn't let up- yoga videos it is. 

I'm 16.2 now and finally starting to have a belly even if I suck it in.  I doubt anyone would call me on it yet, but soon I think.  I still take a nap most days of the week but am generally feeling great. 

My favorite news this week was that the annual childbirth educators conference that I attend is having Sheri Deveny and Pam England as speakers. (no idea why it started underlining and I cant get it off!) I'll be excited to hear what they have to say.  If anyone is in the Tacoma/Seattle area, I really like this conference.  REACHE

[~Katie~]

We've been dealing with the sickies in our house. DS came down with a viral/upper respiratory infection. The low grade fever he's been running for the last 4 days finally broke today so hopefully this is the start of the end of it.

I'm 20/2 and have my 20 week mw visit tomorrow. I'm going to bring up birth pools and whether they have them available or if I need to look at renting. I'm seriously considering renting an aquadoula because our bedroom is up 2 flights of stairs and our hot water heater will not be able to handle filling the tub (and if I have another quick labor it'll need to be fast). I used an aquadoula with my first birth and self heating was definitely a nice feature.

[serenityjewell]

Having a very sweet day. Nothing like kid's excitement about Valentine's day to get you in the spirit, right?

I am 18 wks and still only feeling occasional movement. It's becoming more regular. I can't wait until I feel lots of consistent, cute kicks!

Gotta go make lunch for my 3 munchkins.

I live in Bellingham, so I'm looking into that conference Jenica. Maybe we could meet up?

Sarah*

[singin_angel]

Today I am feeling tired, but I was teaching all day yesterday, had a prenatal yoga class (I do not get the same workout than the dvd!), and was up all night with twins who didn't want to settle (not mine though). DD is at a valentines party with preschool so I slept most of the day but got up to eat/drink/use the bathroom.

A few days ago I had this dream where I was dripping colostrum. I think it is interesting since every now and again I have this huge let down feeling - the classic tingly/burning/aching sensation in the breast. They are quite different than I remember with DD and I am hoping breastfeeding works out a little easier this time - but she was in the NICU, I was only allowed to feed her every 3 hours and I think both her and I needed more. It took us 4 months to wean off of the lactation aid (and pumping after every feeding for me) but I took the herbs and domperidone forever (she nursed 2.5 years thankfully!). I would love for this one to be a little easier haha.

Tomorrow makes 20 weeks...halfway there! I really want to start celebrating this pregnancy more. I'm not sure what I want though.

I see my midwife on Wednesday, so I hope that visit goes well. I have a list of things to chat with her about and she will be excited since I am bringing DD to the appointment (whom she caught) so it will be cute.

Jenica - that conference sounds great! Wish I was much closer :)

Katie - glad to hear his fever broke...I hope all goes a little easier from here on in. 

[tourist.]

Last night my DS said the funniest thing.  While waving his hand he said "Nite, nite baby" to my belly and then "Nite, nite Daddy." to DH and then "Nite, nite baby in the Daddy belly."  as he waved at DH's belly.  It was soo funny and cute.  He says some funny things.  The other day I was trying to get him to say "ridiculous" so I asked him to say "You're ridiculous."  He repeated "You're ridiculous, Mama!"  It was great.  Ah he's a doll.

This morning, at 6am, I was sitting at my desk and a coworker came up to me and said "What's going on?  You're glowing!"  lol  I was confused but it was nice to hear first thing in the morning. 

Ooh, midwife appointment was today.  Happy to say I'm up a total of 8 lbs at 18w.  Yay!  So hopefully no more talks too about my low weight gain.  I did get told that my blood pressure was kind of low (108/50 or something) so I need to be careful to not stand too quickly.  I was really fainty on Sunday so I wasn't surprised. 

My last recent update:  I scheduled my anatomy scan for next Monday.  I'm sooo excited!  DH and my mom will be going with me.  Yay.  Oooh and I just nailed down how much time I get off after the baby is born:  12 weeks followed by 3 weeks of half days.  I know it's not as much as some places, but it's a long time for me.  I'm super stoked.

Jenica - That's awesome that you carried your DS while exercising!  I haven't carried my DS much since he's been 25lbs, it seems to hurt my back. That conference sounds wonderful, I would love to attend a birth focused conference at some point in my life.

Katie - That sounds like what we just went through with the illnesses.  My DH is still struggling with the cold, but luckily DS is better.  I just hope that the 2 sick kiddies at daycare have the same virus DS had (they were both exposed to the same person that got my son sick) so he doesn't get sick again.  The aquadoula sounds *wonderful*!  I'm kind of wishy washy about if I want a water birth or not, so I'm having trouble making a decision.  I loved the shower last time, and would have really benefited from being submerged, but would have had to get out to push anyway.

Sarah - Yay for feeling movement!  I agree that it is so super cute.  The best feeling.  Sunday morning I was actually able to feel the LO kicking from the outside with my hand.  It was awesome!!  Then I felt it again on Monday, but today has been pretty quiet.  Every time I reach down the LO gets quiet. 

Nicole - That dream is funny.  I had a lot of breastfeeding dreams last time, I think I was anxious about it (rightfully so).  I'm feeling the same as you, although my breastfeeding challenges don't seem near as complex as yours were.  It was incredibly hard and I really hope it goes easy this time.  Have fun at your appointment tomorrow!  I love going to see my midwife.  DH thinks I'm weird. 

[~Katie~]

Had a midwife appointment today and we heard two heartbeats again, one in the 120's and one in the 140's. I have an ultrasound on the 24th so we'll know for sure then. I still really only think there's one. I had a bit of an emotional breakdown of sorts over a lot of things, mostly neglecting myself while caring for others and my DH working long hours. I feel bad about not being able to carry my burden better.

I think we're going to go with their birth pool, they said they're willing to cart pots of water up the stairs if need be. It'll cost me $35 and I have to buy the liner, as long as they want to do the work with filling it I'm okay with that.

As far as breastfeeding goes, my second was by far easier than my first. I swear we ran the gamut of breastfeeding problems but with my DD it came like second nature and it was definitely easier since I wasn't learning how to nurse all over again. I'm feeling sensations of let-down also but I think my bra pressure is doing a good enough job of preventing any colostrum leakage.

[AnnieA]

2 heartbeats?!? Can't wait to hear how things go next week!

[SuburbanHippie]

Katie, I can't wait for your u/s!  I'm more excited about yours than I am about my own.  LOL.

[~Katie~]

I keep telling myself that there has to be a plausible explanation. I've tried reading about other twin pregnancies to see if there are any similarities, but just like singletons every twin pregnancy is different so it's hard to say. Today I'm going to say that it's just one baby and a weird fluke because we really can't know for sure without an ultrasound.

[SuburbanHippie]

I had my u/s this morning and I totally caved about finding out the sex.  I was trying to hold out, but for some reason I really wanted to know this time.  So I told the sonographer to go ahead and tell me and GUESS WHAT????

I'm having a SURPRISE!  The baby wouldn't give up the goods.  LOL.  It also wouldn't move at all to get a profile view of the face.  It was all straight on views.  Silly baby.

[matty02]

I too am excited to hear if it is two babies! 

I get my 20 week ultrasound next week (I will be 21 weeks but DH is out of town for work this week). I hope the baby shows itself! I want to know more for my other kids. I didn't find out with my first but did find out for my second. I felt for my first I wanted that surprise.

I so wanted to do a water birth but only had access to a bathtub with DS. I spent most of labor in the bathtub. With DD I thought I would be in the tub again but in my ninth month she would squirm every time I sat in water. She hated it! I thought that was so weird. 

I have been so cranky this week and run down. I know I should do some yoga or walk but instead I want to eat and sleep. Problem is I can't sleep. I know that I have terrible dark circles under my eyes and my skin is breaking out because people at work are asking if I feel okay. I must look as cranky as I feel. My belly is getting bigger (I have gained 15 lb!) but people that don't know me can't tell I am pregnant. That makes me feel they must think I am fat. There is a lady at my work that is two weeks behind me with the cutest tiny bump and then big old blob me. I wonder if I have a distorted view of myself though because other people tell me I look small still. Hmm...I think I really should do some yoga. 

[TexasMum]

Blah. Rewind to the 1st trimester this morning. I was brushing my teeth which resulted in me puking my guts out and peeing my pants simultaneously. I'm 19 weeks. I thought we were over that! 

I am having a GREAT hair day though, despite the fact.

I'm off to my big ultrasound in about 30 mins. I'm really excited. We are finding out if we got a girl or a boy growing in there. My other children should really enjoy getting to see the baby in there. 

[tourist.]

Katie - Wow!  I would be going nuts waiting for the ultrasound, you could be receiving some potentially really big news that day.  Good luck! 

SuburbanHippie - Congrats on your surprise!  While I really really really want to know what I'm having...a part of me thinks it would be fun to find out gender at the birth. 

TexasMum - Sorry you're feeling yucky.  A few weeks ago I started feeling really bad in the evenings again, but it went away thankfully.  Have a great time at your u/s! 

matty02 - Sorry you're feeling run down also.  I hope you start to feel more energized and are able to do some yoga (do some for me too, would ya? ).  While I know people can tell I'm pregnant and don't think I'm fat, I do think that my view of myself is somewhat skewed.  I have been told several times "But you're so tiny still!!"  Ugh, drives me batty because I think I look much beyond tiny.  Oh well.  Eventually we'll all be on the same page and think I look enormus. lol

I'm super excited for Monday and our anatomy scan.  I do hope baby shares the goods, I really want to start looking for the nursery bedding and choose a name.  If baby doesn't share, bedding will be no big deal to pick out, but I really don't want to choose two names.  Not at all. 

This weekend I'm buying tickets to Florida for our family vacation.  This will be my son's first big vacation, and first flight, and first cruise, and actually first time getting to play on a beach (he was too young - and asleep - last time we were on the beach)...It's going to be so great.  I hope the flight goes well, I think he'll enjoy it though.  We cruise in April on "Allure of the Seas"..I guess it's one of the two largest cruise ships in the world and it has all sorts of fancy stuff on board.  I can't wait to go, although I'm having *major* issues figuring out what to do at each port.  The more I read about Nassau, the more I think I want to stay on the boat - but that just seems crazy to not get off at a port.  Ugh, no idea what to do.  Anyway...Happy Thursday all!

[matty02]

tourist-I get that "your so tiny" too but I don't see it at all!

I moved my 20 week ultrasound to next week (21 weeks) because DH found out he had to work out of town all week. He just called to say he will have to go back to finish the job next week too. He gets really bad reception (or none at all) so we couldn't talk more than that. I hate to move the ultrasound again and my OB said it really needs to be done as close to 20 weeks as possible. I don't know if I should keep the appointment and just email DH the news or put it off longer until DH is back. He might be able to make it but he won't know until closer to that day. Uggg... 

[Inkedstar]

Hey DDC Ladies! Just wanted to quick update that my anatomy scan was yesterday and all looks well.  Baby was arching his/her back and doing alot of movement for the "camera". No telling if it's a boy or girl, we're planning to wait.

Happy to be able to exercise again this week (was ill last week). Exercising really helps my overall energy level and motivates me to eat better.

Feeling more nausea lately and some heartburn in the evenings. Also alot more movement, seems like we may have a little firecracker a'brewin.

Still on the midwife hunt. It's between 2 MW's that I really really like. Doing my homework...

and a friend of mine offered to photograph for us (maternity + birth + newborn). She needs to build her portfolio and offered to do the work for us in trade for childcare costs (for care while she does our work). I like her work alot and hope it works out well!

[lovelylisa]

Originally Posted by tourist. 
.  We cruise in April on "Allure of the Seas"..I guess it's one of the two largest cruise ships in the world and it has all sorts of fancy stuff on board.  I can't wait to go, although I'm having *major* issues figuring out what to do at each port.  The more I read about Nassau, the more I think I want to stay on the boat - but that just seems crazy to not get off at a port.  Ugh, no idea what to do.  Anyway...Happy Thursday all!

Tourist, you could buy passes for the Atlantis. That is an excellent thing to do in Nassau :) Or, just book a bunch of spa treatments while everyone is in port that day! The days in port usually are wide open for the spa! You will have an excellent time, that ship is AMAZING!

I'm so excited for everyone's big ultra sounds! Mine is next Thursday.

[CarrieCo]

I had my appt. yesterday.  BP is normal, heart rate in the 150's, urine good ... and I didn't gain any weight from the previous appt.!  That puts me up to 7lbs in 17 weeks! Woohoo!  That's good b/c I was obese to start! Though I have no idea how I haven't gained more b/c I eat like crap! I must be loosing muscle! lol

I do have to go back in Tuesday to ultrasound my gallbladder ... ugh! Not looking forward to the rest of the pregnancy with my gallbladder hurting too.  Even if there was a problem, I doubt I would do surgery while preggo.  On the bright side ... maybe the tech will be kind and tell me the sex of the baby!

[tourist.]

matty02 - That stinks that you are probably delaying your u/s. I hope the time flies by for you.

Inkedstar - I'm surprised at how many ladies I hear say that the baby wouldn't show the goods.  At least you're cool with waiting, and it makes for a nice surprise at the end.  That's awesome that your friend offered to do photos for you!  I really want to get some professionally done this time, and I think I'm having a sister attend the birth for that sole purpose. Good luck choosing your MW.

lovelylisa - Thanks for the info.  I was initially planning on going to Atlantis, but I read some stuff about there as well that didn't sit well with me (namely outrageous prices and a few personal experiences of other cruisers)...I think I might send my husband off to do some awesome non-cruise snorkel excursion and DS and I will enjoy the deserted ship.  I cannot WAIT to go.  We're going with two of our best friends and their 11 month old (that I was at the birth of ), it's going to be awesome.  

Carrieco - Congrats on your good appointment and weight gain.  It's funny how it seems like we should be packing on the pounds, but the scale doesn't agree.  It's bizarre.  I'm just assuming that my body is using all those extra calories to build the baby so they're getting burned off.  Good luck getting the tech to peek at the baby...I had an upper abdominal u/s last time for some random pain and the tech didn't take a single glance in the direction of the baby.  Hopefully your tech will be more fun.  

I had my two prenatal appointments this week.  I see a MW but get shadow care from and OB.  They are both AWESOME.  Seriously, my OB provided shadow care for me during my last pregnancy and was aware of my intentions to have a homebirth - same thing this time.  During the appointment he spent literally 1 minute listening to the baby and then we chatted for another 20 minutes about birth, pregnancy, and obstetrics in general.  He's rad.  I feel kind of like a freak though that I love going to my prenatals, I like that I have a million of them.  I guess, because I don't have any risk factors and everything is going good, they're people I can talk to about my favorite topic (pregnancy/birth) so I really enjoy it.  I think my OB likes my appointments too because in his very mainstream practice, I'm a rare bird.  While I was there he was looking for a book to loan me about this journalist and her path to having a natural birth (homebirth I think).  I got incredibly lucky to end up with him.  

[SuburbanHippie]

CarrieCo- Have you tried taking any supplements for your gallbladder?  My sister and I both suffered nasty gallbladder issues last summer and started taking Biotics Research Corp. Beta-TCP.  It can be taken by pregnant women.  It was a lifesaver for us. 

[TexasMum]

Well, the ultrasound went nicely yesterday, but I have decided to fire my OB. I am new to this area, and kinda just picked this guy going by word of mouth from another Navy wife. It took ALL I had to not run out of that office crying yesterday. He asked me if I had any questions, so I started firing some off at him. I asked him his stand on episiotomy. I am deathly afraid of them. I had one with my first child and it really traumatized me. With my last two children, I had a good doctor who respected my wishes to "just let me tear." I tore, he sewed me up, no biggie. Just the way it should be. Well this doctor told me he wouldn't let me tear and his exact words were "it's easier for me to sew up a straight cut than a jagged tear." I was it total shock already at this point. I asked him if this hospital had any tools for me to use like a tub to labor in, or a squat bar or a stool to which he replied "No. This isn't California." Again I was in total shock....I found it almost amusing because Texas had all those tools as well as hospitals in Kansas. I was already done with the dude at this point. I then decided to just see what he said when I asked if I was allowed to give birth in other positions other than my back. He said no, it's to hard for him to deliver a baby in any way other than on my back. 

SO long story short, he's fired.

I'm now very happy to say I am going to meet with a midwife tomorrow afternoon, and likely sealing the deal on a home birth. It's going to take a big chunk out of our savings, but it's what I want. The midwife was reccommended to me by my doula, and I had a long conversation on the phone with her and she sounds really great. My husband is really excited about our appointment with her tomorrow too. I'm just so happy.  I can do this!