*June is Here!! Bring on the babies!!- Week 1 Chat Thread* - Page 4

[Smokering]

Smokering, I hear you on the money issues. It seems like they always crp=op up right when you need to deal with financial pressures the least. Hopefully he can find some new clients soon and/or his book thingys suddenly take off.

Indeed! The annoying thing is, he is very good at what he does, and gets critical acclaim all over the place - people send him fan mail because they love his website design so much, for goodness' sake! But acclaim ain't money.

And unfortunately, my earning powers are miniscule even when I'm not nine months pregnant. I dabble in freelance writing, but only magazine-type stuff, and this is a terrible time to be doing that - since the recession, all the editors are just making their house staff write everything and cutting the freelancers. There's money to be made, apparently, in commercial writing, but that's not really my thing (plus, it's sorta what DH does, and obviously that isn't working out so well!). I bake and ice the occasional wedding cake for an acquaintance, but that's really WAY more stress than is worth it for the money - if I added it all up I'd be making slave wages, and I usually do it as a semi-favour, you know? I wouldn't mind selling friends my homemade bread or ice cream or whatever, but I doubt they'd buy it when they can always get it for free by showing up at my house. :p And anyway, that's hardly a viable solution once I have the baby. It's frustrating! I want to help, but I can't think of anything workable. I did do some searching on DH's behalf this afternoon and got him some possible leads for marketing guys who might be willing to endorse his product (or do affiliate marketing or whatever - again, not my area of expertise!)... but that's about the extent of my usefulness. And to make matters worse, he's kinda depressed and finds it hard to summon up the oomph to work - which I completely understand, being in that situation a lot of the time myself, but someone has to be the breadwinner, you know?

Oh well. SIL are going out tomorrow to a really huge op shop; hopefully I can find some stuff to wear after the baby's born, and maybe even some winter clothes for DD. It's very hard to find decent baby/toddler clothes in op shops round here; I guess kids just go through them so fast, and so many mothers give each other hand-me-downs, that there aren't enough left over for the op shops? If I could find her a sturdy denim pinafore and some winter trousies, I'd be happy.

[Snowflake777]

Originally Posted by MaryElizabeth 

ay yay yay..... Im sorry that I can't keep up and respond to everyone. I am just.so.tired. And I hurt. The ctx are killing me. My cervix is like hooked up to a lightning bolt. My hips are falling apart and my pelvis is just... wow. Anywho, I locked DD in our van (thankfully, it was running with AC) and it took the cops, fire dept, and EMS to get into my van. Yeah... mother of the year. 

I almost have everything done... kinda. I am just done with being pregnant. We leave tomorrow for DD's party and after that is over... I am going to lay in bed until we go to the hospital Wednesday morning!

Hugs to all of you!

Was she calm about being stuck in the car? My friend locked her baby in her car last year. Thankfully he was pretty chill and just spent the entire time looking at us kind of puzzled, but otherwise just fine.

I hope your contractions produce a baby soon!

Smokering - I'm sorry to hear about your financial stress. It always hits at the worst time, huh? (Not that there's ever a great time to be broke..) Money's tight here too. I know what you mean about having a DH who has trouble cutting back on the little stuff. Mine's the same way. He gets it that he can't go out and buy a new stereo system, but he'll still splurge on little things, like expensive food, etc. It all adds up!

I made the mistake of going to the mall yesterday to pick up some last minute postpartum supplies, and now my pelvis is very, very angry with me. I don't know what I'll do if I go into labour feeling like this. Ouch! 

It's 7am now. I've been awake since 5.30 thanks to some painful, somewhat regular contractions, which of course disappeared as soon as I got up. I can be having them every few minutes for an hour or two, but if I fall asleep or get up, they're gone! Maybe I just need to find a way to stay awake in bed until a baby comes out.

Plans for today? I was going to go to a new mama-group for foreigners living here, and meet up with a friend later, but I'm going to have to flake out on both. I just hurt too much. I'm going to try to take it easy, maybe clear up the worst of the mess that accumulated while I was finishing my finals. I'm not sure I'm up to it, but I can't bare to bring a baby home to this chaos.

The nesting bug has evaded me completely this time. When I was 9 months pregnant with DD1, I was enthusiastically scrubbing the skirting boards and alphabetising the bookshelves.

[Lidamama84]

Hey everyone! Oh, boy, I take one day off MDC and the postings just PILE up!!!

Crystal-I SOOO hear you about the nap thing with your DS-my DD is 2 and a few months and naptimes are becoming a daily struggle, and I did the straightjacket thing a couple times this week. Makes me feel like the world's worst mama! Yesterday, after I gave up on DD's nap, DH is like "oh, it's too early and she hasn't had enough exercise!" Whaaa? Since when is he the expert? But, the last month he's been a semi-SAHD, because I took DD out of daycare for the year I am off work, so presumably he knows what he's talking about. Annnd, he was right. By 2.30 he was able to put her down no prob, and I got to take a 2hr nap too!

Yesterday, at my midwife appointment they said that they want to induce Monday because baby fell again on the growth curve. That said, we would ALL be THRILLED if I could go into labour on my own this weekend. So, no pressure, little one. I am doing everything in the books to get labour started in the next 3 days, and as of last night I have lots of cramping and cervical pressure, but no contractions, that I can tell. I had some bloody show all afternoon and this morning, so that's a start. Problem is, I BARELY slept last night, and I am worried about going gung-ho getting labour started and being exhausted. Oh, well, I'll just follow my body's instincts, I guess. I am aiming for a REALLY long walk today, if I can bribe DD into her stroller, hehe...

[~Nikki~]

Contractions from 3pm until bedtime yesterday.  About 5-6 minutes apart, hurting.  Hips aching.  Pressure in the pelvis.  And then I went to bed and it all went away.  I want to throw some kind of laying on the floor and kicking and screaming tantrum, but I know if I do that I'll never be able to get back up off the floor!  ;)

I've also been making the mistake of watching the birthing shows, now that I'm off work and have nothing better to do.  One yesterday just annoyed the hell out of me.  This woman came in, tolerating labour totally fine, and the nurse talked her into an epidural right off the bat because "You don't want to be too tired to push later."  So of course the epidural required some other drug just before to make the epidural hurt less, and also made the mother stoned out of her tree.  By the time she was sufficiently drugged up, she had stopped dialating.  So they whipped out this crazy-ass contraption I'd never heard of called a foley bulb?  And "mechanically dialated" her, which they were quite proud of themselves about.  Then they came in and told her to push, but of course she was so numb and stoned that it just wasn't happening.

I mean seriously wtf.  What is wrong with just letting a woman labour?  This particular episode had her paired up with an "I want to go natural" woman who totally accomplished that, but was noisy as hell while doing it, haha.  I'm so worried about moaning or screaming or shouting during labour.  I'm totally self-conscious about it.  I know I screamed while labouring with my son.  This totally primal scream that came out of nowhere and I had zero control over.  I don't particularly want to do that again. =/

And I'm bummed that it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  I've spent all week preparing for my kids' OUTDOOR birthday party (cramming both parties into one day for obvious reasons, this year), and now they're suddenly calling for rain.  Grrr.  I can NOT fit 20 kids in my living room!!  And where the heck am I supposed to have them do the pinata?  I hope the rain holds off, or at least goes away for a few hours in the afternoon.  One acre for them to play is a heck of a lot better than the 300ish square feet of my living room!

[kawa kamuri]

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/induction/f/foleycatheter.htm
 

Originally Posted by ~Nikki~ So they whipped out this crazy-ass contraption I'd never heard of called a foley bulb?  And "mechanically dialated" her, which they were quite proud of themselves about.  

[tracymom1]

Jenni, thanks for the info. I liked the snugride - it was lightweight and easy to install... we might just go with that again.

I think I have officially started slowing down... way down. I wake up in the morning, after only a few hours of sleep and the day seems so overwhelming. I am tired already and with DH actually working a regular job now, I have way, way, way more to do - logistically, that is. It just totally sucks that this job had to come when I am poised to have a baby any day and going through a very uncomfortable and draining pregnancy. Such is life.

Smokering, what about craft fairs or flea markets and the like - you could do some baking and set up a booth at the fairs and sell your goodies there. Maybe print out some business cards and offer to cater small events. I can't imagine it would be make or break income, but you never know - and sometimes just a few extra dollars here and there are what can create a comfortable living. I took on some alteration, tailoring and custom household textiles work when I realized how bad of a financial place we were in - it only brings in a few hundred dollars a month but I enjoy it and it does help in some small way. And it is something I can build on in the future if I am so inclined. Anyways, just a thought...

[jshannyn519]

Originally Posted by ~Nikki~ 

Contractions from 3pm until bedtime yesterday.  About 5-6 minutes apart, hurting.  Hips aching.  Pressure in the pelvis.  And then I went to bed and it all went away.  I want to throw some kind of laying on the floor and kicking and screaming tantrum, but I know if I do that I'll never be able to get back up off the floor!  ;)

This SAME thing is happening to me! It's driving me totally nuts. However, when I woke up this morning the ctx started up almost right away so maybe that means that something will actually happen today. Last night was night 3 of contractions that are intense and then go away. :(

Originally Posted by tracymom1 

Jenni, thanks for the info. I liked the snugride - it was lightweight and easy to install... we might just go with that again.
 

No problem! Glad to help. :)

I need to whine. I'm tired and cranky. I feel like throwing up this morning. And frankly I'm totally pissed that I've been contracting since the 20th of freaking MAY and here it is June 3rd and still no baby. With my birthdaughter I had 9 days of prodromal labor that ended when I had a c/s because she was a footling breech. I didn't have any of this junk with my other kids, or if I did I was blissfully unaware of what was going on. Since I can't imagine not realizing that I was having contractions, I'm going with the didn't have prodromal labor theory. I'm also equal parts starving and not hungry at all. I wander around the house trying to decide what to eat and I end up eating watermelon or toast because nothing else sounds good. I'm basically just living off of ice-water and rainbow sherbert the past few days.

Part of me also wants to just go crazy nuts with natural at home induction techniques. But my rational mind doesn't even want to put the time and energy into it because I'm not sure that they'll be all that effective. I could go buy some EPO capsules, but I'm already dilating and it's just one more thing to deal with. I swear if I could reach that far inside my own cervix, and I knew what I was doing, I'd totally do my own membrane sweep.

However, I do need to do a big shopping trip to Costco at some point very soon. Maybe I'll do that this morning while the kids are still in school. Maybe walking around that enormous store and lifting huge quantities of food into the cart will push me over the edge... And then I need to come home and do a bunch of cooking for the freezer this weekend.
 

[swimming-duck]

Originally Posted by kawa kamuri 

I'm sorry. Maybe after he fills the tub you can both get in it and relax?

That was my idea - let's make it some nice together time. I mean, we've been so busy and stressed with him being in school and then clinicals. He'll be done with all of that the night that we do this. I guess I felt we could put a positive spin on it and try to reconnect, but he's just been a grumpy a-hole lately. I don't even know if I can relax with him around. And to be fair, it's not 100% his fault. Our medical insurance took away his ability to fill his Concerta script (unless we can pay $200 which we can't). He had to switch last minute to Ritalin and I can tell he's not at the right dosage now. So he's just an irritable mess. 

Originally Posted by Mommy2Austin 

Send all the labor vibes you can ladies...if this doesn't happen tonight I have a feeling I will be losing my marbles. Contractions have gotten more intense.

Thought I would share an awesome video (its in 4 parts) that shows an awesomely happy medium for birth. I totally would have given birth at this place!

Waterbirth in the 21st Century

Ooh - I hope you're busy having a baby and/or enjoying a newborn right now!

Originally Posted by Smokering 

Sigh. We're having money issues.

DH started his own business a bit more than a year ago, and has done pretty well - very well, really, considering how home businesses tend to do in their firs year running. He made more working from home than he had the previous year in his "proper" job. Only unfortunately, freelancing-type work being what it is, he's currently rather low on clients. And he's invested a huge amount of energy writing some ebooks, or "information products", or... something... it's all a bit opaque to me, honestly... which were supposed to sell like hotcakes and make us millions, but which, well, haven't. So now, instead of taking off a good solid month after the baby's born, he's frantically marketing and trying to find new clients, while our money dwindles and the bright idea we had of going to Disneyland at the end of the year fades into the distance.

I'm no stranger to being broke; we grew up poor; but this could be better timing! I have a bunch of stuff I want, and semi-need, to buy; not just luxuries like post-partum herbal sitz bath mixtures, but winter pyjamas and breastfeeding-friendly winter clothes, and things like that. I'd LOVE a cosleeper/sidecar crib thingy; and I'd like to know we have some leeway after the birth to eat a lot of takeout if we need to. You know? Stuff like that. And DH, bless him, has gotten used to the high life and buys himself fancy cheese and all sorts of goodies every time we go shopping. We spend  fortune on food as it is, what with the Atkins diet - which he's pretty much given up on, incidentally - and buying free-range and grass-fed etc where we can. And we can't switch to beans and rice, because our flatmate is still doing Atkins properly, and DH doesn't like legumes and would complain bitterly.

Also, my computer just died (although we might be able to get the spare parts free from a friend), and yesterday our 22-year-old car started making suspicious noises as I was driving. And we need a toaster; and I accidentally killed our flatmate's handheld beaters the other day, and now we don't have any. And DD could really use some new dresses and winter trousies, which in theory isn't a problem because I can sew them for her, but... meh. I'm halfway through a dress for her right now, which I might wrap up and give her as a new-baby-brother-having present; but I've developed a mental block about finishing it, and started yet another baby shirt instead. I get a lot of mental blocks about my sewing projects, and nothing even went wrong with this one... it's very annoying.

Anyway. Moan, gripe, blah. Hey, I found my birth records yesterday! I'd never read them before - from when I was born, I mean, not DD. The doctor only had two things to say about me: 'Vernixy" and "Fussy between feeds". Not altogether inspiring, is it?

Sorry Smokering. Money issues suck. We're currently having a lot of them around here. This is NOT the time for money issues! I've watched our savings slowly decrease more and more as we've had this and that little issue. Now the money we were supposed to have to live on during six weeks of unpaid maternity leave is not there. We have part of it, but at this rate we may end up charging our way through my maternity leave as my daycare is the only means of support we have right now. I'm really hoping that DH ends up being offered a CNA position, although he's being kind of weird about it. His eventual goal for nursing is ER stuff and most of the opportunities for CNA are long term care which he's not at all interested in - that's where he's currently doing clinicals. So he's all like, well I don't really want to do this - maybe I should just go get on at McDonalds for the summer. Ummmm...WTF???? Won't it look better on applications for the RN program to have CNA experience, even if it's in a different area than what you're going into than getting your CNA and doing nothing with it. Not to mention he'd have to put in more hours to make less money. I'm beyond irritated with him right now. Anyways, I went off on a tangent there. I hope that things improve for your hubby's business so that you don't have to stress as much. I know how overwhelming money issues can be!

Originally Posted by MaryElizabeth 

ay yay yay..... Im sorry that I can't keep up and respond to everyone. I am just.so.tired. And I hurt. The ctx are killing me. My cervix is like hooked up to a lightning bolt. My hips are falling apart and my pelvis is just... wow. Anywho, I locked DD in our van (thankfully, it was running with AC) and it took the cops, fire dept, and EMS to get into my van. Yeah... mother of the year. 

I almost have everything done... kinda. I am just done with being pregnant. We leave tomorrow for DD's party and after that is over... I am going to lay in bed until we go to the hospital Wednesday morning!

Hugs to all of you!

MaryE - you poor thing. I hope you have that baby soon so that you can feel better!

Originally Posted by Lidamama84 

Hey everyone! Oh, boy, I take one day off MDC and the postings just PILE up!!!

Crystal-I SOOO hear you about the nap thing with your DS-my DD is 2 and a few months and naptimes are becoming a daily struggle, and I did the straightjacket thing a couple times this week. Makes me feel like the world's worst mama! Yesterday, after I gave up on DD's nap, DH is like "oh, it's too early and she hasn't had enough exercise!" Whaaa? Since when is he the expert? But, the last month he's been a semi-SAHD, because I took DD out of daycare for the year I am off work, so presumably he knows what he's talking about. Annnd, he was right. By 2.30 he was able to put her down no prob, and I got to take a 2hr nap too!

Yesterday, at my midwife appointment they said that they want to induce Monday because baby fell again on the growth curve. That said, we would ALL be THRILLED if I could go into labour on my own this weekend. So, no pressure, little one. I am doing everything in the books to get labour started in the next 3 days, and as of last night I have lots of cramping and cervical pressure, but no contractions, that I can tell. I had some bloody show all afternoon and this morning, so that's a start. Problem is, I BARELY slept last night, and I am worried about going gung-ho getting labour started and being exhausted. Oh, well, I'll just follow my body's instincts, I guess. I am aiming for a REALLY long walk today, if I can bribe DD into her stroller, hehe...

Lidia - I actually think my DS's body would actually prefer to nap an hour later and I think that's part of the problem. BUT with doing home daycare I don't have a choice. That's the best naptime for all of the other children and it's the only time I have during the day to put him down for nap. I love what I do for a living, but it irritates me sometimes how it gets in the way of some of the choices that I make for my child. I would so prefer to go with his natural body rhythm. But it's just not possible right now. Some days (once in a great while) he will drop off right away. I don't know. I'm considering experimenting with earlier bedtime and trying to give up nap again.We tried to give up nap once and he was an emotional mess. But maybe if he got more sleep at night it would work. The problem is, I think if he went to bed earlier, he'd probably just get up earlier the next morning, so I'm not sure it would help anything.

Well, bloody show is a good sign. I hope you're able to go on your own, but if not,  you know you'll see your baby sometime early next week!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Nikki~ 

Contractions from 3pm until bedtime yesterday.  About 5-6 minutes apart, hurting.  Hips aching.  Pressure in the pelvis.  And then I went to bed and it all went away.  I want to throw some kind of laying on the floor and kicking and screaming tantrum, but I know if I do that I'll never be able to get back up off the floor!  ;)

I've also been making the mistake of watching the birthing shows, now that I'm off work and have nothing better to do.  One yesterday just annoyed the hell out of me.  This woman came in, tolerating labour totally fine, and the nurse talked her into an epidural right off the bat because "You don't want to be too tired to push later."  So of course the epidural required some other drug just before to make the epidural hurt less, and also made the mother stoned out of her tree.  By the time she was sufficiently drugged up, she had stopped dialating.  So they whipped out this crazy-ass contraption I'd never heard of called a foley bulb?  And "mechanically dialated" her, which they were quite proud of themselves about.  Then they came in and told her to push, but of course she was so numb and stoned that it just wasn't happening.

I mean seriously wtf.  What is wrong with just letting a woman labour?  This particular episode had her paired up with an "I want to go natural" woman who totally accomplished that, but was noisy as hell while doing it, haha.  I'm so worried about moaning or screaming or shouting during labour.  I'm totally self-conscious about it.  I know I screamed while labouring with my son.  This totally primal scream that came out of nowhere and I had zero control over.  I don't particularly want to do that again. =/

And I'm bummed that it's supposed to rain tomorrow.  I've spent all week preparing for my kids' OUTDOOR birthday party (cramming both parties into one day for obvious reasons, this year), and now they're suddenly calling for rain.  Grrr.  I can NOT fit 20 kids in my living room!!  And where the heck am I supposed to have them do the pinata?  I hope the rain holds off, or at least goes away for a few hours in the afternoon.  One acre for them to play is a heck of a lot better than the 300ish square feet of my living room!

You poor thing. I hope your body stops messing with you and you can go into labor for real. Yeah - I can't bear the birth shows right now. Especially being on the verge of my first home birth I don't want to see birthing in "crisis mode" right now. Bleh - stupid hospital birthing system.

I accomplished some nesting last night. My midwife is coming today so I was scrubbing baseboards, vacuuming floors and couches, reorganizing, etc...I still have things I want to accomplish before she gets here this morning and yet here I am catching up on MDC. Priorities! 

I was thankful that last night was the last time I had to do garlic in the vag (GBS test is today). I also did a Hibiclens wash this morning. I hope hope hope this all results in a negative test. Even though I'm birthing at home, I so want the negative test on paper on the off chance of a transfer. I don't want to be forced into abx if they're not necessary! For those that have done garlic as prevention, did you resume garlic at some point prior to your EDD in order to ensure continued negative status?

Okay, I guess I have to get off of here and get ready for the day and finish cleaning or it's just not going to get done in time!

[~Nikki~]

Originally Posted by jshannyn519 

I'm also equal parts starving and not hungry at all. I wander around the house trying to decide what to eat and I end up eating watermelon or toast because nothing else sounds good. I'm basically just living off of ice-water and rainbow sherbert the past few days.

Hah I'm having the same issue.  My partner is getting annoyed with me because he'll come home from work and ask what I had for lunch, and I'll respond "I just kind of grazed I guess?" and then he thinks I was too lazy to make anything for myself.  Sigh.  It's not that!  I just either have zero appetite, or have no clue what I want!

I washed the car today.  Labor did not start. =/  I'm going to lug a pail of water to the back of the yard (a half acre walk) to water the new trees we just planted.  Labor probably still won't start.  I'm just so tired of being pregnant, haha.  I hate the fake-out contraction sessions.

[jshannyn519]

Originally Posted by ~Nikki~ 

Hah I'm having the same issue.  My partner is getting annoyed with me because he'll come home from work and ask what I had for lunch, and I'll respond "I just kind of grazed I guess?" and then he thinks I was too lazy to make anything for myself.  Sigh.  It's not that!  I just either have zero appetite, or have no clue what I want!

I washed the car today.  Labor did not start. =/  I'm going to lug a pail of water to the back of the yard (a half acre walk) to water the new trees we just planted.  Labor probably still won't start.  I'm just so tired of being pregnant, haha.  I hate the fake-out contraction sessions.

It's hot here today and I'm soooo tempted to go mow the other half of our front yard to see if that does anything. I suspect all it will do is dehydrate me. Of course that could irritate my uterus...

I think I've lost my mind.

[sharita]

Wow, I too took a day off kinda and now I cant keep up, lol.

Baby dropped deep into the pelvis yesterday and I noticed instantly because now I can no longer walk.  No exaggeration.  That has aggrivated the SPD so bad that I can barely get around my house, and it takes 5 minutes to get out of bed at night to go pee.  This morning DH took me to breakfast at this local place I have been wanting to try and it took 3 minutes to talk the 10 feet to the door.  I felt like people were staring trying to figure out what was wrong with me besides my huge pregnant belly, lol.  It so painful though I seriously can't do this much longer.  I am already at the point I need crutches but have none.  After this mornings outing, i realized I can't leave the house anymore. So... Baby better come this weekend!

On the upside, I am no longer feeling I am going 2 weeks late.  I actually lost a little plug, my body is now cleaning out, and I dont think any of my babies (after #1) dropped until a day at the most before labor.  I think its a good sign.  Hopefully my body doesnt expect me to be imobilized for long.  Also had my first real intense prodromal labor last night.  So convincing.  Its looking good!!!

[~Nikki~]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharita 
Baby dropped deep into the pelvis yesterday and I noticed instantly because now I can no longer walk.  No exaggeration.  That has aggrivated the SPD so bad that I can barely get around my house, and it takes 5 minutes to get out of bed at night to go pee.  This morning DH took me to breakfast at this local place I have been wanting to try and it took 3 minutes to talk the 10 feet to the door.  

I know exactly how you feel.  That was me a week ago.  I couldn't walk.  It hurt so bad with the baby being that low.  Thankfully a trip to the chiropractor alleviated most of the discomfort.  Baby had thrown me all out of wack again.  One of my legs was substantially shorter than the other due to the shifting, heh.

I was pleasantly surprised today to actually find RRL tea...at Walmart of all places!  I got a gift card as a baby shower gift at work, and figured I should go wander around and see what they had available.  I don't know what lead me to the pharmacy section, but that's where I found it.  Specifically advertised to induce labour.  So that was nifty.

I have to finish decorating the cake, decorating the pinata, and blowing up balloons (which some bizarre website also told me induces labour, haha, we'll see!) and then baby can come anytime. ;)

[Smokering]

Smokering, what about craft fairs or flea markets and the like - you could do some baking and set up a booth at the fairs and sell your goodies there. Maybe print out some business cards and offer to cater small events. I can't imagine it would be make or break income, but you never know - and sometimes just a few extra dollars here and there are what can create a comfortable living. I took on some alteration, tailoring and custom household textiles work when I realized how bad of a financial place we were in - it only brings in a few hundred dollars a month but I enjoy it and it does help in some small way. And it is something I can build on in the future if I am so inclined. Anyways, just a thought...

I've toyed with the idea in the past, but unfortunately NZ has really draconian laws about home cooking. If you sell food commercially, you have to have a separate kitchen that meets all these random hygiene standards (including being painted white!). Technically I shouldn't even sell my wedding cakes - or the Christmas truffles and things I've sold to DH's coworkers in the past (back when he had coworkers!), but I wouldn't dare do it on a more official basis.

Sewing could work in theory, but I'm not very good at it. :p And again, NZ isn't the best place for this kind of thing - I know a few people who sell handcrafts at markets, and apparently Kiwis are very reluctant to buy anything they "could" make themselves, even if they aren't likely to actually do it. :p I'm like that myself, so I can't complain! Mum's sold the odd apron and things at markets, but I really don't think she gets her money back - and that's without having to pay for the stall (she used a corner of a friend's).

So, yeah. It's a pity, 'cause I love markets, but I don't think I'd actually turn a profit... and if I did, I'd immediately spend it on infused olive oil or fancy cheese from the stalls next door!

Until recently I was making a few hundred a month through web writing, but the site I wrote for (Suite101) has TANKED since Google Panda came into being, and my revenue has absolutely plummeted. Very, very annoying.

I think the baby's dropped. I had backache last night, and didn't get to sleep until after 3 because I kept wondering if it were early labour! I'm still in no rush for him to be born, but that doesn't stop me being interested in potential laboury symptoms... apparently!

[sharita]

Originally Posted by jshannyn519 

It's hot here today and I'm soooo tempted to go mow the other half of our front yard to see if that does anything. I suspect all it will do is dehydrate me. Of course that could irritate my uterus...

I think I've lost my mind.

Losing your mind (or feeling like you have) usually happens right before I go into labor.  Wonder if that is where you are now...  In labor that is, lol.

[JosieAK]

Well, good-bye nesting.  It was so nice to have you while it lasted! 

I am not motivated to do anything.  I know I'm tired too.  I felt so restless last night, I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, then when I woke up at 5 AM for the traditional trip to the potty, I couldn't fall asleep again.  But I took a little nap with DD, and after waking to transfer her to her own bed, I can't fall asleep again.  I sure hope I can sleep tonight!

Last night I went to the pool and paced, stretched, bounced, and did every kind of movement I could with my legs and arms under the water--my own personal water aerobics .  I felt so many pops and crackles.  It was very liberating to be able to move any way that I wanted without pain and tremendous effort.  I've been going to the pool and walking through the water, but the pool was so busy that I kinda had to stay in one place so I had to get creative.  I think it was really good for me!

Today I've had only a few contractions.  Of course, I haven't hardly been moving at all, so it's not terribly surprising, but on other days, I've had some regular contractions while sitting still as well.  Every time the midwife checks, she says the baby is firmly head down, but today the spine is in such a weird place, it almost seems to be transverse.  If the head isn't engaged, it would make sense why the contractions have lessened, but I am not going to really think about that possibility right now.  Maybe I will go bounce on my ball a while and work on some hand stitching while DD is still napping.

[Smokering]

Just got back from op-shopping with SIL. Buying PP clothes is pretty much guesswork, size-wise, but hopefully I have a few things I can wear. And I couldn't resist buying a CUTE leather-look bomber jacket for the baby to wear... in two years' time. :p Also bought a somewhat unglamorous pair of PJs to wear postpartum, and a few tops for DD... and a really neat, arty skirt that's longer at the back than the front. I hope it fits!

[Snowflake777]

Oh how I'd love to go swimming! I wish my bikini still fit!

I bought DD a present from baby sister yesterday. It's a little portable stereo so that she can listen to music or stories. Kind of a bigger gift than I intended to get, but I'm sure it will be used more than yet another stuffed animal or doll. It's garishly pink & purple with flowers on it, which means she's gonna LOVE it.

[jshannyn519]

Originally Posted by sharita 

Losing your mind (or feeling like you have) usually happens right before I go into labor.  Wonder if that is where you are now...  In labor that is, lol.

Nope, not yet! Although I did lose my sh*t on the poor ladies in the front office at DD's school this afternoon... She had a library book that was lost so I had to go pay for the book so they would release her report card. It's the last day of school for the year and of course I'm expecting to give birth any day now so I needed to take care of the fine ASAP. I got down there and was told that the librarian is only taking exact change. The fine is $9.30 and I have a $20 bill. I started crying in the office because the thought of walking back to my car in the heat with my hips and pelvis hurting and then having to drive to the store and get change and come back and walk back into the school just overwhelmed me. Plus, the walking had kicked up the contractions and I was just exhausted. Of course, the office ladies and the principal were all horrified when I burst into tears and basically snapped at all of them because no one had thought to tell me that I would need exactly $9.30 and the stupid school does. not. take. freaking. checks!!!! They called around to a couple of different people and ended up not only breaking my $20 for me, but the principal herself walked down to the library and paid the fine and brought me my change back!

That just reinforces my acting like a crazy lunatic pregnant woman. I apologized profusely to the office ladies and the principal and I still feel terrible. Thank God DD doesn't go back to school there next year because I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to look any of them in the eye again. Of course, our community is very small so I'm sure I'll see them ALL at the grocery store and the like.

My BIL, niece, and two nephews came over this afternoon and all the kids played. I made 4 loaves of banana bread and some child ate the tops off of two of them! Little stinker. I'm freezing 3 of the loaves so we have some for after baby is born. I adore my BIL and it's always fun to hang out with him. He's funny though. He has ADHD too (as do I, and my son) so he has a hard time just hanging out. So he mowed the other half of our lawn, did the weed whacking and edging, pulled  some weeds, dug up part of the lawn where we're putting in a brick patio, and pulled more weeds out of the driveway cracks. And he watered the lawn as well. I sat on the front steps and chatted with him while he worked. lol

Contractions still don't seem to be doing anything. I was probably having them the whole time that BIL and the kids were here, but the nice thing about having 5 kids in the house and baking and making dinner and all of that is that it's all distracting so I wasn't hyperfocused on the ctx. It was a nice change of pace.

Now I'm waiting for the kids' movie to be over so I can watch mine and then crash. I'm sooooo sleepy! But tomorrow I get to sleep in! Yay!!!

[erigeron]

We finished putting together our crib tonight. Also after purchasing a grocery bag full of baby clothes off of Craigslist, I've determined that I have >50 items for this child that should fit her some time between now and age 2. I do not have too many gaps I need to fill. (Made a spreadsheet, so I know exactly where the gaps are.) If I can manage to get another random lot of baby clothes then it would probably just about do it.

I needed a primary care doc and decided to choose a family practice doc for both me and the baby. I had an establishing visit with the doc today and liked her. Afterwards dropped in to see my mother, who lives right nearby, and it turns out that is her doc too! I had thought she saw some other guy, but she switched a while back. So we have a true family doctor here, about to be 3 generations of the same family seeing her. (It's not quite so random that my mother and I chose the same doctor as it might seem, because both of us had somewhere in our reasoning that she attended the same college as me.)

It's weird for me to read this thread and everybody is having contractions. I think I'm just having the same ol' Braxton Hicks. They don't hurt, they're just a little uncomfortable.

Jenni, I wouldn't worry too much about what the people at the school will think about you. I'm sure they've all been there! I've never been partial to the "You're pregnant and can get away with whatever you want" school of thought (or the accompanying "She's pregnant and therefore when she gets upset we don't need to take her seriously" that a lot of people seem to have), but I do think that if a 9-months pregnant mom gets overwhelmed and has a meltdown over something, it's totally understandable and most people do typically understand it, and those who don't are sort of jerks.

[jshannyn519]

Originally Posted by erigeron 

We finished putting together our crib tonight. Also after purchasing a grocery bag full of baby clothes off of Craigslist, I've determined that I have >50 items for this child that should fit her some time between now and age 2. I do not have too many gaps I need to fill. (Made a spreadsheet, so I know exactly where the gaps are.) If I can manage to get another random lot of baby clothes then it would probably just about do it.

I needed a primary care doc and decided to choose a family practice doc for both me and the baby. I had an establishing visit with the doc today and liked her. Afterwards dropped in to see my mother, who lives right nearby, and it turns out that is her doc too! I had thought she saw some other guy, but she switched a while back. So we have a true family doctor here, about to be 3 generations of the same family seeing her. (It's not quite so random that my mother and I chose the same doctor as it might seem, because both of us had somewhere in our reasoning that she attended the same college as me.)

It's weird for me to read this thread and everybody is having contractions. I think I'm just having the same ol' Braxton Hicks. They don't hurt, they're just a little uncomfortable.

Jenni, I wouldn't worry too much about what the people at the school will think about you. I'm sure they've all been there! I've never been partial to the "You're pregnant and can get away with whatever you want" school of thought (or the accompanying "She's pregnant and therefore when she gets upset we don't need to take her seriously" that a lot of people seem to have), but I do think that if a 9-months pregnant mom gets overwhelmed and has a meltdown over something, it's totally understandable and most people do typically understand it, and those who don't are sort of jerks.

1. If you lived in my city I would totally be your BFF! LMAO!!  I have spreadsheets for EVERYTHING! I seriously looooove them. I haven't made a spreadsheet for the clothes that I have for this little guy, but it's a great idea! I have a huge box of stuff that's 12-24 months sizes and I haven't even begun to look through it because it's a little overwhelming right now.

2. That is crazy and cool that you and your mom ended up with the same doctor. I've thought about finding a family physician to see all of us, but I adore the kids' pediatrician and I get free care at my school health clinic so it's just too much energy. lol

3. I'm not a fan of the "I'm pregnant and I'll do whatever I want to" school of thought either. Which is part of the reason I was so mortified when I broke down like that. I"m sure they won't look down on me forever, but I'm also sure the other staff and teachers will hear about it. Oh well, I do have the excuse that I've been in some form of labor for like 2 weeks now.