12/11 Chat - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[Ninetales]

Whoops!  I'll check it out.

ETA: Yep, just cut off too short while I was cutting and pasting.

[andaluza]

Hi ladies!

My important appointment: January 5 ultrasound to check for babe!   Seems soooooo far away! 

I hope that the week goes well for all of you who have appointments and are checking out birthing centers. I need to discuss with my ob where she is affiliated.  I think I know because her practice is right across the street from a major hospital here with a supposedly excellent women's center where a colleague just gave birth.

I am going to the derm tomorrow because I stopped my pregnancy-safe antibiotic acne gel and want to have her check the ingredients in the supposedly pregnancy safe cleansers I have been trying. 

Speaking of pregnancy-safe things, what do you all use for deodorant? I have started mixing baking soda with some mild talc/calamine powder because I had been using and loving Arm and Hammer baking soda deodorant, only to realize it does have an ingredient I'm trying to avoid (triclosan). I am not smelling terribly bad with it, I guess that's the best I can expect for now. Tom's of Maine makes my armpits raw and sore, so I am staying far far away from that one! I found a great Jasmine one at Whole Foods but looked up the herbal ingredients online and one is hops, which it seems best to avoid.

I went through something similar trying to find a face wash. 

Anyone flying around the holidays? Do you avoid the scanners? 

[sallyrae17]

I use the Jason brand deodorant (aloe vera) and it's definitely not holding up lately. I don't know if its my increased sense of smell, but I am so stinky lately. Yeesh. Maybe there's a combination going on or something. I am sweating more because I'm actually warmer. Anyway, I really like the Jason brand and it's the only one I buy. :)

[LilyTiger]

Hey everyone,

I have my blood tests and so on this Friday (12/16).  I was really hoping we'd get to hear the heartbeat, but I guess they don't do that yet at my OB.  We have our first ultrasound 1/5.  It really does seem like forever!

We're lucky that we have a great birthing center 1/2 mile from our house, so I could probably just walk there once labor starts, if I wanted to.  My friend gave birth there recently, so I got to see the jacuzzi and all the fixin's.

As far as Andaluza's question goes, I use Tom's of Maine, the 24 hour stuff.  It's great, but if it doesn't work for you I've also had great luck with Jason brand.  The lavendar seems to last a while.

Any suggestions on non-chemically lotions?  I'm using Burt's Bees body butter for my super dry preggo skin (I'm even using it on my face, and it just soaks it up), but it would be nice to have alternatives.  A lot of the organic brands had Vitamin A added or other sketchy ingredients (dimethicone, etc).  I'm a little disappointed at how difficult it has been to find good stuff.  I guess I should just slather olive oil on my skin and stop worrying about it.

Good luck to everyone!

[~Demeter~]

I don't use deodorant, lol. Usually I don't smell... but before I knew I was pregnant I did notice an increase in body odor which happens to me EVERY time I'm pregnant... that should have been my #1 tip off, lol.

[Knitting Mama]

I make my own deodorant. Here's the recipe I use, though I don't add arrowroot. I usually use EO, but sometimes go without because sometimes I don't want the extra scent. Lavender and tea tree are great choices, though.

[Ninetales]

Ok, tonight has been my first bad night emotionally.  I don't know if it's because we told our families and now this is really real, but I'm feeling very anxious and panicky.  About handling a newborn again, about upsetting my daughter's life and taking away her "specialness."  About the medical part, and the annoyance of nausea and aches and doing that all again (and I didn't even have it that bad last time).  About loving another one as much as my first, about all of it.  Kind of wishing we'd waited another year or two.  And worrying that if I express any negativity about this pregnancy something bad will happen.  I am not well right now.

[marinak1977]

Ninetales I think these fears and worries are really normal in going from 1 to 2. I feel them too (especially about upsetting DS's life - he's just a month older than your DD). I also worry about giving up my body and my me time and my balance just as I started getting it back. It will be ok again, and it's ok to be nervous when your family's life is about to change in a big way.

[eveningstarmom]

Ninetales, I have had similar worries all weekend.  I keep trying to remind myself that sibling relationships grow and change, and even if it is tough for DS at first that it will be great in the long run.  I read an interesting article this weekend on sibling relationships, and the take home for me was that families who actively try to bring the children into each other's lives (for example recruiting the older child to help care for the younger child) rather than trying to keep each child's role distinct and separate in the family, do better at fostering supportive sibling relationships.

I'm also worried because DS seems to be more anxious than usual recently.  This weekend I had an awful experience where I was busy in the kitchen trying to do three things at once and I had put a pan of hot biscuits up on the counter.  I saw DS reaching for it and yelled "No, HOT!"  He pulled his hand away and I thought he was fine, but a couple minutes later I saw he was hiding in the corner with tears streaming down his face.  He had just touched the pan and had a small burn on his finger, but it was like he was afraid to tell us because he thought he was in trouble because I had yelled.  I felt so awful seeing him try to hide while he was in pain.  As soon as I asked if he was hurt, he started bawling and was clearly hurt both physically and emotionally. Now, I seldom raise my voice, so it may have just been the scary combination of getting hurt just as I yelled that scared him more than usual, but I still feel like there is something more wrong that he would get so anxious about being scolded that he would hide that he had gotten hurt.  Part of me wonders if he has more than an inkling of what's to come and is worried about his place in the family and is trying to be extra good or something.  I know this is probably mostly illogical guilt on my part, but it was just so hard to see him like that.  He's usually such a happy, giggly boy, and I hate to see him upset or anxious.  We have been talking abstractly about the baby when he is around without talking specifically to him about it.  DH wants to remain oblique because he doesn't want DS to repeat something about the baby before we are ready to share the news officially, but I wonder if he understands enough to be confused and anxious by the ambiguity.

Anyway, I certainly understand the concerns.  Still, I think about how sweet and caring DS is with the younger kids in daycare and with his dolls and stuffed animals, and I hope it will be a wonderful experience rather than a traumatic one when the baby arrives.  Probably it will fall somewhere in between depending on the day!  Hope you feel better tomorrow.

Now I better go to sleep, I have a long day tomorrow and the first trimester exhaustion is definitely setting in.

[foxadillo]

Oh, Ninetales! I have been having the same feelings in regards to my son. I could have written your post. My mom keeps telling me its normal to worry about Joey and that I will be amazed at how much love Joey and i will have for the new babe as they both grow. The funny part for me is that we have beenTTC for 7 months and now I worry we should have waited...
I did do one exciting baby thing today! I bought my first lot of cloth diapers specifically for this baby! I have a few things from Joe and a few I bought while we were TTC, but this is the first thing I have purchased for THIS baby!!

[eleuthia]

I'm feeling kind of deflated about the birth center... the orientation was fine, it seems like a great place with nice midwives, BUT they require you to have a car and a licensed driver with you in case you need to do a non-emergency transfer to their affiliated hospital 15 minutes away. We don't own a car and my partner doesn't currently have a license. He can get one, but he won't be eligible for any of the car-sharing services in the area (which we could likely reserve on a moments notice) so in order to have a car at the ready we'd have to... rent one for a month?! Which would cost somewhere between $800-1200!!! Our families live hundreds of miles away so we can't expect any of them to be here for the birth. And I think it would be a lot to ask friends to borrow their car at any time or to wait around at a birth center with us. 

[andaluza]

Lily Tiger, we are ultrasound day buddies! Seems like so long from now. Grow, little ones, grow!

I've been using a lotion from Whole Foods' 365 line, but my hands have become seemingly dehydrated. I put a layer of jojoba, creamy lotion, and later they are just as dry and cracked as before :(

Thanks, everyone who gave deodorant suggestions.
 

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama 

I make my own deodorant. Here's the recipe I use, though I don't add arrowroot. I usually use EO, but sometimes go without because sometimes I don't want the extra scent. Lavender and tea tree are great choices, though.

I think I'm going to investigate this one asap! Those items in powder alone don't seem to be sticking.

Sorry you are feeling down, Ninetales. 

Eleuthia, that sounds like a hassle about the birthing center. I hope you find a good solution soon. 

[Knitting Mama]

Yeah, that is why the oils are nice! I forgot to add-- I put 2 T cornstarch in there too. It helps with the wetness!

[IntuitiveJamie]

Originally Posted by andaluza 

Speaking of pregnancy-safe things, what do you all use for deodorant? I have started mixing baking soda with some mild talc/calamine powder because I had been using and loving Arm and Hammer baking soda deodorant, only to realize it does have an ingredient I'm trying to avoid (triclosan). I am not smelling terribly bad with it, I guess that's the best I can expect for now. Tom's of Maine makes my armpits raw and sore, so I am staying far far away from that one! I found a great Jasmine one at Whole Foods but looked up the herbal ingredients online and one is hops, which it seems best to avoid.

I went through something similar trying to find a face wash. 

Here's a recipe I'll be trying next when my deodorant runs out: http://frugallysustainable.blogspot.com/2011/11/homemade-probiotic-deodorant-that.html. I must admit that deodorant is one area I fail at being chemical free so far. Other than that, my home is about as chemically free as I can get it. For some reason, I haven't gotten on board with deodorant, but have been looking around at recipes. I had decided on the one I posted when mine runs out. 

For shampoo I use a bit of baking soda and conditioner is ACV.  I'm not in love with the combo. Mostly the "shampoo" part. I do love the ACV as conditioner though. That works well.  

For body lotion I only use either pure virgin coconut oil or pure shea butter. I've been using C.O. for a good while now and love it. I highly recommend it. The shea butter is nice, but hard to apply b/c it's so thick. It melts down pretty quickly in the hand when applying, but is still harder to apply.
 

[IntuitiveJamie]

Ninetales, just remember, that there are mass hormones at work right now. I'm not trying to downplay your feelings, but ever since my first pregnancy it helps me sometimes to remind myself of how much hormones do affect me when I'm pregnant and they can make things seem so much worse then they are. I mean, I really don't think the hormone part is something to take lightly; not after how I experienced it the first pregnancy!

As far as your first born goes, the specialness will never be taken away. It grows in the sense that they always remain your "first born," the one that made you a mama for the first time. That never changes. Your heart will always feel that and you will always emanate that toward your child. Also, they take the roll of older sibling and that is super special too. And there will be so many moments when she (the older sister) as they grow, does some really super great big sister thing and your heart melts and you'll realize it was in divine order that she is the older sibling..and that is super special. I always hear that girls, even very young, tend to take on a mama roll with a new sibling and that it's super sweet to witness.

Lastly, people used to tell me when I was having the same concerns you are now, that I was actually giving my oldest child the gift of a sibling. And I would say that has turned out to be true.

Eluthia- That's a bummer to hear about the birth center. But don't give up hope, sometimes things have an amazing way of working themselves out better then you could have possibly thought.

[Willovia]

For deoderant, I've been alternating between Kiss My Face and another crystal kind I got at Whole Foods. I've heard roll-ons are definitely better for natural deoderants, as opposed to solids or sticks. But, I am also having a hard time using natural only. Every so often I just want to go back to Degree and not feel wet/sticky. I'm definitely going to try these deoderant recipes, though!

For lotions, I just use Yes to Cucumbers for my hands and for my face in the winter, I use this from an Etsy seller. http://www.etsy.com/listing/71139994/fourmula-multi-purpose-cocoa-shea-butter?ga_search_query=fourmula&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_6073131 Her stuff is great - and she says on everything which products/herbs are not safe for pregnancy.

Eluthia - this is a shot in the dark, but would you be able to consider the help of a doula (with a car)? They'd already be attending your birth, no matter where you go, and they would be on call anyway. Maybe they'd be willing to be your transportation, and the birth center would see that as sufficient? Either way, you would get the added labor support - which would be really beneficial if you did need to transfer. 

[Thebyr]

I suck at not using a natural deodorant. I thought about it again yesterday and panicked a little. I tried Toms a while back but it made me sore and raw too! I thought I was the only one. For lotion - I apply trader joe's lavender bath oil in the shower and shea butter when I get out. For face wash - I'm acne prone too - I use Purpose as a cleanser and ACV/water as a toner at night. So far - no major break outs.

[andaluza]

Ok, ladies, slight freak out here!  I just warmed up some Thai sweet potato soup for lunch and ate some spoonfuls before wondering if lemongrass is ok for pregnancy. It's not! I stopped eating it and now wonder if I should worry about just a few spoonfuls? It would be less than 1/8 of a cup what I probably consumed.

What do Thai women do when pregnant? Do they really avoid an ingredient so prevalent in their own food? GAH. :( And I'm so hungry and need to make something else for lunch now.

[~Demeter~]

Andaluza, I am fairly certain it's fine... with anything herbal there's lots of different schools of thought on safety during pregnancy. I think you'd like have to consume a crazy amount for it to have any sort of negative effect. I haven't looked it up... but I will in a few.

[Thebyr]

yeah - I LOVE lemongrass too. Well - I accidentally had the WRONG tea today. it was NOT my peppermint tea. I only had 2 sips before I realized but I'm SURE it had some bad things in it.. so I just drank 8 ounces of water immediately.

I wonder what Thai women do, lemongrass IS in everything.