Weekly rambling chat Feb 19-Feb 25 « Back to Group Discussions

[forestmushroom]

Name:

Weeks/Days along:

Appointments:

Symptoms:

Food:

Exercise:

Body changes and other milestones:

Thoughts:

[janellody]

Name: Janelle

Weeks/Days along: 28 weeks 4 days

Appointments: March something

Symptoms: aching joints, sore belly muscles, hard to sleep and get comfy in bed, and I think I got my first taste of leg cramping today. Joy!

Food: Doing ok... still not 100% back to normal but I can eat more stuff than before.

Exercise: Treadmill sometimes but lots of work right now and when I am massaging it IS a work out so I am not totally sedentary.

Body changes and other milestones: Belly growing everyday, feels like I am carrying a huge weight on the front of me, very weird feeling!

Thoughts: My baby shower is next weekend!!! I am super excited about it!! I know it's a little early but I wanted it to be a little earlier rather than later... I can't wait, it's gonna be so fun!!

[Kamiro]

Weeks/Days along: 29 weeks ish or nearly.

Appointments: still a couple weeks away

Symptoms:

Woke up with this really weird rash right under my breasts. Doesn't itch, or feel scaly but freaked me out when I first saw it. Probably because my bra is too tight and I *always* wear a bra. I hate not wearing a bra.

Third trimester uncomfortableness is starting to rear its head. I just try to be thankful to be this far pregnant, and look forward to a beautiful babe. Heartburn, swollen leg vein, braxton hicks, general tiredness...not so fun though!

Food: Outside of the dolmas and Pepsi cravings like you wouldn't believe....nothing really. I did make a special breakfast of hashbrowns with milk gravy with cheese and onions on top...It was so good. Back to oatmeal though! lol

Exercise: Wed. swim class and I am thinking of just doing a Leslie Sansone "1 mile walk" work out until I can get excited about yoga. I don't know, maybe I should just sell this poor dvd.

Body changes and other milestones: Lots. Belly getting bigger for sure. I know I haven't seen *nothing* yet, but I don't see how I can get any bigger and be comfy. I guess the answer is plainly "You won't be comfy!" LOL

Thoughts:

Almost done knitting the LTK longies pattern. Did it out of patons wool, a brick red with a rose pink stripes, Added the optional footies. So cute so far :)

I have to get this weeks curriculum set up for the kids, clean the house (that big breakfast left a lot of dishes)  and do laundry. Go take care of the animals and settle in and do some of my own homework.I am trying to imagine how this little one will be incorporated into our lives. The newborn stage I am not worried about, but if this one is like her sisters I have less than a year of immobile baby time. Like 5-6 months before crawling.

Yikes.

[lightheartedmom]

Name: lightheartedmom

Weeks/Days along: 27w3days

Appointments: diabetes consult on Tuesday (since I declined GTT), regular check up week after next I think.

Symptoms: I felt pretty great this week. I'm more creaky getting out of bed, off couch, etc, but really, I'm a little surprised that I feel this good this far along, especially since I'm so overweight compared to my "normal" (hah...as of 4 years ago) weight.

Food: Sort of bored with food right now. I had my first major ice cream craving last night and dashed out to the store to buy ice cream...ended up going to the closest corner market type place and spent $27 on a couple different kinds of soy ice cream plus chocolate chips (for fudge sauce, naturally) and ice cream cone. Can you say overboard? Oh well. I'm calling this my only ice cream splurge for the pregnancy. I've been eating lots of organic blueberries (yay trader joes!), asparagus, made oatmeal yesterday with quinoa added and I thought it was great...the girls were a little suspicious, but they ate it, which is good, because sometimes I have a hard time getting DD2 especially to eat healthy foods. Oh! And all you ladies who have been going on about banana and peanut butter sandwiches...I've had a few of those in the last week, but with my own unhealthy twists. Both times I made them like I would a grilled cheese (lightly buttered the outside of two slices of sourdough, placed in a skillet and smooshed a lot with a spatula, cooked until golden and crispy on both sides) - once I had some leftover 7 minute icing (which in our house is basically used as marshmallow fluff), so I put a dollop of that in with the bananas and peanut butter, and then the other time I put chocolate chips in between the bananas and peanut butter. I have to say the marshmallow version was my favorite. But yum!! I am out of honey at the moment, but I will have to try that soon...I'm really loving bananas right now.

Exercise: Walking, plus our usual Saturday hike which is still only mildly challenging for me (yay!). We ran into a neighbor on our way down from the hike yesterday and she acted a little worried/shocked that I was hiking up that particular hill while pregnant. I've been wanting to start prenatal yoga but my Gaiam DVD is buried somewhere deep in our storage unit and there is less than zero chance of it being found before this baby comes...I finally looked on iTunes and found a decent 20 minute daily practice for free. I did it for the first time this morning and it was really mild, but the breathing and stretching helped me wake up. If you're interested, it's called Mamaste, under podcasts. There are a lot of other podcasts from the same lady, I just snagged that one. They're all free though, which is super cool. Hoping it will get me ready for a flexible, mobile labor.

Body changes and other milestones: Not much...belly feels very very big. I look practically full term and I'm still pretty much right out front. I weighed myself on Monday and I'm officially up 3 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight. And if I keep it up with the ice cream and fudge sauce, I'm sure it will go up quickly. Need to be careful. Me + sugar cravings = very dangerous combo.

Thoughts: So excited to meet this baby. I feel like May should be a lot closer than it is...but it's going by fast. I was organizing clothes today, trying to sort through the girls' stuff (we have very limited storage for clothes right now, I have to be really on top of putting away stuff that doesn't fit) and I came across two little sleepers that my MIL gave us for baby and I got all misty eyed with excitement for having another babe in the house. Yay!

Baby moves a lot and I cannot figure out where he or she is positioned...the other night I was sure we had head down, back and butt on the left, hands and feet on the right (and also kind of posterior)...but I feel a lot of movement in the very low regions....I'm hoping it's hands, but, at times it feels very much like kicks from feet and that makes me worried. Hoping the yoga will move and/or keep him/her in the right position for an easy birth.

Onemore - I am trying to visualize how this baby will fit into our lives....to me the newborn part is pretty easy, but I already dread running errands with the two kids and leave one of them home with DH for stuff like grocery shopping whenever possible...I'm having a hard time getting my head around what it will be like to do the normal stuff with three....I have a feeling I'll be using that Moby carrier a LOT. at least the LO's are pretty wearable. ;-)
Have a great week ladies!

[cookie_]

Name: Marina

Weeks/Days along: 26 weeks and change

Appointments: Appt with midwife last Thursday. She was a little concerned because my urine came back with really high level of ketones. It does help explain why I'd been feeling so ill the last several days, seems like I'm not eating enough or drinking enough. I've been making a real effort the last few days to hydrate and eat, and I am feeling better. Have to go back in see her in two weeks to check up on things. I'm under orders to eat about 600 extra calories a day until then, which is hard because I have zero appetite. Has anyone else had ketones show up? Any lasting problems or were you able to fix it?

Symptoms:  I'm in the 2nd trimester sweet spot right now. Still sleeping pretty good, and Chiro/PT appts have really been helping with my lumbar neuralgia and hip tendonitis, so feeling overall not too bad.

Food:  Meh. The only thing I want to eat all day long is rice with a medium runny egg, tons of ginger scallion sauce, bok choy and sriracha. Yum!

Exercise:  Mostly just the exercises the PT assigns me, plus the normal walking urban living requires.

Body changes and other milestones:  Only gained about 7 pounds at this point, which is crazy compared to the 15 or so I'd put on by this point for first baby. This baby won't stop moving! Breasts are huge (for me) and leaking a little colostrum overnight. Lots of freckles popping up on my face for some reason.

Thoughts: My husband and I took a 5 day trip to the island of Culebra (off coast of Puerto Rico) last week, while my parents flew up from Austin to stay with our son. Our son had a marvelous time being adored and spoiled by his grandparents, and it was really wonderful to have some time to ourselves, sleep peacefully and read and knit for hours on the beach without interruption. We figured this would be the last time for several years that we'd take a child-free vacation, so we really enjoyed it. The best part, of course, was walking into our apartment and having our little boy run into our arms with a big smile. I feel really rejuvenated and ready to tackle the next 3.5 months!

[MeredithA]

Name: Meredith

Weeks/Days along: 28 + 5 days

Appointments: nope!

Symptoms: it is harder to get comfy at night - i have to wedge a small throw pillow between my knees to keep my back from getting sore. My face is SO PUFFY! It makes my whole body seem bigger to have such a puffy face. I am drinking a lot of water...not sure why I'm so puffy. It has been like this for a few weeks but getting worse. I'm loving the shape of my huge growing belly though. 

Food: Everything!!! I love food right now! Also... have you ladies heard of "pica"?? Like, when you crave things that are not food?? I've read about it before and thought to myself that it was the craziest thing. How could people crave stuff that isn't meant to be eaten? Anyway, the past 2 days, the thought has crossed my mind because I love the smell of certain things. Of course I didn't actually eat anything non-food, but the smell of these things made me think mmm I'd like to take a bite out of that  For example, my son got some new animal-shaped bath sponges that smell amazing and as we were playing with them in the tub I kept thinking these smell so good I wish they were food LOL.  From what I've read craving weird things could be a sign of iron deficiency, so maybe I'll try to add more iron into my diet.  

Exercise: I walked a few blocks from my car to the children's museum on Friday. That's it for this week :-)

Body changes and other milestones: Bigger belly, of course, and bigger bum. Face-puff, and belly button is 1/2 outie now. I've gained over 20 lbs. 

Thoughts: I need to practice my hypnobirthing relaxation techniques, do kegels, and get more prepared for the actual birth but I keep forgetting/getting caught up in other things. Then I look at the calendar and am like omg i only have 11 1/2 weeks left! I've gotta get on this! 

I am SO EMOTIONAL and weepy these days too. 
Last night I had to take my kitty to the emergency vet because he was straining in his litter box for so long and shaking -  I thought he might be badly constipated or have eaten something that made him sick. Turns out he had an obstructed bladder - his bladder was full of crystals like kidney stones! He had to have emergency surgery to flush his bladder and he is now on a special diet of prescription food ($4 per can!) and his little ER visit cost almost $400 plus he needs a follow up visit tomorrow. <sigh> When I took him in, they were telling me that he'd need anesthesia and I just burst into tears in front of everyone in the waiting room and bawling about how I just couldn't bear to lose my kitty right now, and I made such a scene. I kept thinking to myself that I was really overreacting but I couldn't stop crying. I blame the hormones. 

Janelle, you'll have to post some pics of your shower! that is exciting!

onemore, I was thinking the same thing the other day -- the newborn stage won't be too difficult, but when this little guy starts to crawl, it is going to be a lot different around this house!

lighthearted, I am feeling lots of low movement too. Sometimes I can feel what I think is the head up high, but I'm never 100% sure what I'm feeling.

cookie, that vacation sounds wonderful and relaxing! 
 

[Astraia]

Janel- yay babyshower! That's exciting. There's been talk about a little "sprinkle" for a few of us friends due around the same time - one at my work and one at the playgroup I attend- and I like the idea, even if I don't really feel I need anything. Babyshowers are just fun :)

Onemore- I keep looking at my belly and thinking the asme thing- how can it get any bigger with me still being comfortable? And I came to the same conclusion: these last few weeks are probably gonna suck!

LHM- your grilled banana sandwhich sounds pretty awesome! I also with you on being baffled with baby's movements. I often can't tell which end is up, if it's feet or hands that I'm feeling, and I often feel that whole body move and bounce instead of a typical kick. Very confusing, definitely has me scratching my head.

Visualizing having three- oh boy. Sometimes I think I need to just stop thinking about it, because mostly it makes me feel a bit panicky. I avoid shopping with two as much as I can, I already find it stressful. It's hard to get out and do stuff- even fun things, like getting to the park- because it involves wrangling two kids. I keep thinking it will be better even a few months from now as the kids get older (and hopefully more responsive???) but we'll see how it goes.

Marina- your food sounds like our almost daily dinner. I'm really into the garlic ginger soy and sesame and I've been getting a lot of free organic baby bok choy in perfect condition from work. Not sure what's going on there, I guess it's just not selling? The ketones are weird, I've never heard of that before (except in one overweight friend whose doctor had her on a super strict diet so her baby didn't get too big, and then when she had ketones they started acting like it was HER fault for being overweight). Your vacation also sounds awesome!

Meredith- what kind of food is your cat eating now? My cat had issues with crystals... and other isssues... and we switched him to a really good food and make sure he always gets wet food as well. The ash content in a lot of canned, cheap cat food can cause crystals and a straight dry diet can also cause those problems. A lot of vet food has me scratching my head too because in many cases it is NOT any better than grocery store food, it's just double the price. Still has all the same crap grains, preservatives, and mystery additives. 

My update:

Weeks: 30+2 (wow! How did that happen!?!?)

Appointments: March 12. I mistakenly wrote it on the 6th on the calendar and was VERY confused for awhile.
Symptoms: lots more BH's, some puffiness in my hands and feet despite the mass amounts of water I'm drinking. Peeing a ton because I'm drinking so much. I'm drinking a LOT of water- easily more than the 10 cups per day recommendation. Funny because my whole life I've despised plain water, and now all of a sudden it's fabulous and i love it.

Food: super sweet oatmeal- I usually do peanut butter and nutella mixed into my oatmeal. This morning I'm doing pumpkin caramel sauce, and it's pretty darn fabulous. Loving the pickles and saurkraut right now, too. My favorite food is a grilled cheese with extra sharp 8 year old cheddar, red pepper jelly, and sliced dill pickles. I've been eating saurkraut out of the jar, or mixing it in with some leftover boiled potatoes and topping it with more cheese. My DH is getting really really sick of all the dinners I'm preparing because of the high fermented food content.

Exercise: I feel like a freaking elephant. I'm still walking almost every day for about 20 minutes, still playing with the kids, going to the dog park once or twice a week for a good long walk (usually 1-2 hours) and often some sledding, although I think that might be done for the year. I'm getting worn out easily, and things like standing up and doing stairs are getting pretty difficult.

Body: big belly. That's about it.

Thoughts: about 10 weeks left. I should really, really, really be doing something. I had a ton of craft items I wanted to get started on, I haven't even found my bins of newborn clothes let alone washed or sorted. I haven't asked about getting my pack n' play back from my friend. I really really wish nesting would kick in, I've been so useless the last few weeks. I'm barely doing any maintenence work on the house. It's a good thing my husband is picking up the slack or we'd never have a clean dish to eat off of.

[MeredithA]

Astria, my little Gus has been eating Trader Joes dry cat food. On a rare occasion I'll give him a can of the TJs wet food as a treat. I guess he needs more wet food... after reading about it more, I think all dry foods probably have too many grains/carbs for a kitty. He is having his follow up appointment at the vet this afternoon. 

You're 30 weeks already!! Well, 30 + 2, so 9 weeks and 5 days left!!! That seems SO SOON!!! I'm getting excited about seeing everyone's baby photos and reading birth stories already!!!! 

[Astraia]

We have our cat on a grain free food. He was on Wellness for awhile, and now he's on... Origin, I think it's called? He also doesn't do well with chicken, so I've been buying him pheasant and rabbit wet food. It's expensive, but he doesn't puke it up like other wet food :/ My cat gets about 1/2 c dry food and a big tablespoon or so of wet food every night and so far that seems to be enough, although I think it's the grain free that's making the biggest difference. Definitely expensive, but it makes him better overall so we're just sucking it up.

[cookie_]

Astraia - I'm with you on the fermented foods kick. Besides my rice dish obsession, the only things I want are Korean banchan-type dishes - kim chee, Korean pickles, mung bean sprouts in vinegar, etc. Luckily, my husband loves this stuff as much as I do (and my toddler is currently on a strict self-imposed plain cereal, peanut butter on toast, or pasta plus broccoli diet plan, sigh), but I do worry a little about my sodium intake! And yeah, the ketones thing is kind of weird, right? I was slender but at a good, healthy weight before pregnancy, so I didn't start off underweight or anything. My midwife said it's probably because I've always had a high metabolism and the pregnancy has increased it, and it sounds like I'm only eating enough calories sustain a pre-pregnancy lifestyle. She seemed confident that a week or two of sustained extra calories would straighten it out. It's just too bad I didn't have this kind of dietary restraint before I got pregnant, maybe I'd have lost those last 15 pounds of first-baby weight, haha.

I also am having a hard time feeling too "nesty". I think because it's my 2nd baby...I don't really know what to do to prepare! Last time, I needed to buy things and make things, but this time I already own all the stuff we'll need or can borrow it as time gets closer, I have my diapers already, etc. I've been working on some knitting projects - baby hats and a new baby blanket - just so I can feel like I'm doing something.

Meredith - I'm glad your cat is going to be ok, although I know it sucks to be faced with unexpected big costs. Losing a pet is traumatic at any point, but I can't imagine going through it while pregnant....sad hormone overload!

Also, remember how I said I was still in the pregnancy sweet spot of being big but comfortable? I think I jinxed myself. I slept so poorly last night...couldn't get comfortable, baby kicking me all night every time I'd find a good position, had to get up to pee every 3 hours, etc.

[MLog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MeredithA 

You're 30 weeks already!! Well, 30 + 2, so 9 weeks and 5 days left!!! That seems SO SOON!!! I'm getting excited about seeing everyone's baby photos and reading birth stories already!!!! 

I'm so excited for this too, especially since I'm not due to the end of May. I'm really looking forward to anxiously checking the board 500 million times a day to see when everyone has their babies!

Cookie - that vacation sounds awesome!

Meredith - I'm glad your kitty is on the mend.  DH and I loved the pics you posted on the pets thread.

Name: Megan

Weeks/Days along: 26 weeks + 2 days

Appointments: MW this Friday.  GTT and other bloodwork next Monday.

Symptoms: Occasional indigestion and heartburn but not often enough for me to discern a pattern.

Food: Not as excited about food as I have been.  I guess I'm running out of space.  I was having huge sugar cravings the past couple of weeks but now I pretty much don't care to eat anything.

Exercise: The usual ballet/yoga once a week, a bit of conditioning.  According to our Bradley homework I'm supposed to walk at least 5 minutes a day.  Hm... does walking to and from the parking lot at work count.

Body changes and other milestones: I can finally feel LO moving around quite a bit.  Like others I was trying to determine positioning, but it's a mystery to me.

Thoughts: Just the usual MIL rant... I have to laugh at this one though - I've posted a couple of times about her concern over us flying to CA for Easter.  So this week she sends me an email inviting us to the beach with them at the beginning of June.  Really?  So it's dangerous to fly on a plane at 32 weeks, but she sees nothing complicated about packing up a first time mom and newborn (probably less than 2 weeks old!) and taking us to the beach.  I mean, I love the offer and would go in a heartbeat - except for the brand new baby thing!

[BubbleMa]

I like the idea of a "baby sprinkle".  Cute. :)

Name: Sarah

Weeks/Days along: 29 weeks

Appointments: the 27th

Symptoms: Same ol' same ol'.  Plus, I got a charlie horse in each leg the night before last.  And my pelvic area is really sore when I walk or move a certain way.  It's hard to explain.

Food: Everything.

Exercise: Walking

Body changes and other milestones:  Nothing new really.

Thoughts:  I can't believe how fast it's going!  I feel so unprepared.  I sold some stuff on eBay so I bought more diapers and a couple misc. little things.  I still have some PP left, so I'm trying to decide what to get with it.  I think I had a nesting episode yesterday.  I was in the bathroom getting dressed and just decided to clean it.  I cleaned the bathtub, counters, sink, toilet, baseboards and floor.  Then did the kids' bathroom.  And the kitchen.  And the windows in our bedroom.  And now everything else feels so much dirtier.  Seriously, how does a printer get dirty?!  :|  I had to stop though because the pelvic pain started.  I think I did something weird while cleaning.  I could barely walk yesterday, but it's feeling a little better today.

[Sky]

Name: SKY

Weeks/Days along: 27 weeks

Appointments: this friday

Symptoms: My nose finally cleared up some so that has been a relief. Feeling goo overall.

Food: Not any carvings much right now

Exercise: 3x a weeks still (zumba) and some plain cardio machines

Body changes and other milestones: belly is there :-) not big but there. measuring right on :-)

Thoughts:  Announced on FB. Lots of congratulations! many were surprised because we had only told close friends and family, I am surprised it did not leak out before this.

[callieollie]

Name:    Katie

Weeks/Days along:  28w1d

Appointments:    Next Monday I have an appointment with a bunch of the blood work being done, including the glucose test.

Symptoms:   HORRIBLE round ligament pain.  I feel like I'm a 90-year-old woman waddling around.  Rolling over in bed is difficult and I'm having trouble working out because it makes it worse.  I'm not sure what exercise to do that won't make it worse. I have started swimming, and that's heavenly, but I really don't like being in cold water in the water normally so even though it feels good while I'm in, I don't like swimming 3-4 times a week.  I would love to try to do some dry land activity at least once or twice a week.  It got worse after doing some light lifting with squats and lunges so maybe if I stay away from that (and walking, that makes it worse too), I'll be OK. Maybe I'll try the elliptical and see if that's Ok.  I just really need to work out. It usually helps me feel better and more in shape for the birth, and I really need a way to keep my weight down so I'm not carrying as much weight around, which is going to just make all the discomforts that much worse.  I've already gained 30 pounds so I don't need to be packing more on! 

Food:  I've been less starving than I have been.  I'm getting heartburn, but only really at night.  Ice cream is basically the only thing that helps. I used to do tums with my other pregnancy and that helped so maybe I'll try that instead so I'm not packing on more weight with the ice cream.  

Exercise:  Like I said, trying to figure out what I can do, but I am going at least twice a week.  

Body changes and other milestones:  My dd saw me get out of the shower today and said, "mommy, are those our nursies? (she still calls them that from her nursing)  You have really big nursies!"  I just had to laugh because I'm normally just barely a B normally so I'm not someone who often hears how "big" they are! lol!  

Thoughts:  We just got a new king sized bed this week so I'm loving that!  There's enough room for dd when she comes in - almost too much because now she can lie diagonally between us and kick us!  But it'll be just the right size when we have the baby in there, then me, then my dd when she wakes up, and then dh.  I also started the hypnobabies program this week and am excited about that.  I'm hoping that knowing that I need to go up to do that will get me up to bed earlier. I've been exhausted!  I'm also contemplating giving up the internet for lent this year (which means I'd be gone starting on Wednesday). I just don't know if I can do it!  I did it before and it was really good for me. It forced me to spend more time with the kids and dh rather than popping on "just for a second" to look at something and it gave me nothing to do at night, so I ended up getting a lot of things that I wanted to do done (scrap books, photo albums, cleaning up, etc.) or I had time to do more reading or just get more sleep.  But it's SO HARD!  I tried last year to just lessen it so my plan was to have no internet during the day and then only an hour after 8:00 or something, but I was really bad with sticking with that and kept making exceptions.  So I think I'm the kind of person that just needs to be all or nothing.  It is hard though because there are things where I feel like I would sort of need to be on, like even to order birthing kits and the pool and everything and I might need to get on just to check those things out too, to figure out what I need. But it's so easy to cheat.... We'll see. But if I disappear until April 8th, that's why!  

[Kamiro]

It has been a long day and I am tired~!

My second lost her first tooth last night. I was kind of surprised because for the last year all I heard was her hyperfocusing on how awful losing her teeth would be. Last night there was really a minimum of tears.

That deserved a trip for all three of them to the carosoeul, and for ice cream. We don't teach them about the tooth fairy, but they always go to sleep laughing and deciding amongst themselves if Mommy or Daddy is getting dressed up to play tooth fairy that night.

Last night they decided it was my turn so after they were asleep I wrote them certificates, 1 for the brave girl who lost the tooth and 2 for awesome, supportive sisters. It included the trip to town for ice cream and rides. WELL at 6:30 am the eldest woke up, read what it said and ...as you can imagine it was "Dad, Mom. Dad. Mom. Dad. Mom" x 3

lol

My husband said "I remember when losing a tooth got you a quarter." he was only half grumbling.;)

Ended up stopping at Costco to get some fresh produce and bought some chicken sausages and pasta. I am making that with some steamed carrots right now for a late dinner.

I didn't even do their lessons or any of my assignments today. BUT----

All in all, it was a good day. :)

Saw a couple babys out today and on the drive home I was almost overcome with giddiness about having a new baby! How blessed I really feel...I didn't think I would ever get to feel a baby kick inside me again or any of the other things.

I still am mostly nervous, but really....just excited!

[Astraia]

I attended my first ever birth as a doula last night. It was really hard, on a few different levels. Waiting for someone to go into labour is hard, I felt like my whole world could change any instant. Whenever the phone rang I'd panic. Waiting around through early labour was hard- hard to be there and be supportive for someone who doesn't need you yet at all. Working with her through the more serious contractions was difficult, where she needed someone there but not "too" there. Towards the end where she needed constant support (and constant double hip squeeze) was incredibly hard and physically exhausting. And it was late, my feet hurt, I needed to pee, and was really sleepy. I also kept thinking, "holy @)!)#$, I have to do this in 10 weeks!??!  I don't want to!" Even the adorable new born baby wasn't quite enough to get me over my shell-shocked "what the hell were were thinking?" musings.

The midwife was also driving me crazy with her constant questions, having the mom shift positions to accomodate her, etc. I sort of want to tell my midwife we'll just UC this one and thanks for her time, but I know I won't. Just need to be that annoying client who tells her to do as little as possible (the midwife there was on the phone with someone and said something along the lines of, "I wish that one would just have her baby, I have no idea what we're supposed to do with a mom who doesn't want us to DO anything. UGH! It just makes me so mad, I wish she'd get over herself." This would be me. So now I'm hyper-sensitive about being one of "those" moms.)

I think saying I don't want to be a doula after only one birth is a bit preemptive, especially when I'm in my third trimester and freaking out a bit. I have the opportunity to maybe doula for a first time mom at the end of March, if I ever get around to emailing her back.

Onemore- the certificates are cute! I'm a little baffled about what to do with the tooth fairy. We don't do easter bunny or santa claus, so saying there's a tooth fairy would be a bit head-scratching. I might snag this idea :)

I also knwo what you mean about feeling a little one moving. I am NOT excited about labour or birth or newborns or sleeplessness, but I am very excited with pregnancy. Is that strange? I love being pregnant.

Maybe starting to get nesty. I've actually developed a mental list of stuff to do before baby is born- this is a step in the right direction! Before I just saw no reason to give it any thought at all.

[Kamiro]

Hey Grace,

We don't do Santa or Easter or tooth fairy either, but we still have great fun over imagining Daddy dressed up like a tooth fairy to deliver goodies under their pillow at night. *chuckle* ;) I have done stickers & a new toothbrush (have to buy these things ahead of time obviously) ...this last time I didn't have crap saved up so I got the idea of the certificate. Big hit!

Wow. Midwives sound like they need to get over themselves!

I won't even say what I think regarding THAT situation.

IMO, it isn't exactly like the midwife being present is going to progress labor any faster and the opposite is usually true! (same for doulas a lot of the time)...So that 'won't let us do anything for her" statement..

oh I'm sorry I said I wouldn't say what I thought. lol

Ok on to the physically demanding part - some births are more physically demanding than others, true. Some are easy peasy. Some are emotionally hard and others are just joyous. Every birth is different and that is the beauty of it!

I've came home emotionally and physically exhauasted in bad and good  ways, and I've got to experience the high of births gone well and happy families.

It is a good with the bad kind of thing. I would not doula while pregnant...oh heck no.

I don't get the "I love being pregnant" part, no. LOL This is the first pregnancy I haven't been crying and complaining and a hormonal mess with. I think because after 3 in a row and a 5 year  break - I didn't think I'd get to be here again so I am cherishing it. For all I know, I could be having my fifth a year from now. Life is funny that way.

[shastalily]

Is anyone else having horrible hip pain, especially when sleeping?  The last two nights have been bad.  Lots of tossing and turning.  Last night I was up from about 3-4:30 am.  It hurt so much to lay down I went to the couch and propped myself up with my legs elevated and just researched hip pain online.  I even took a warm bath with epsom salts before bed.  I think I'm gonna go get a mattress topper today.  We have a nice, only 1 year old mattress but it is on the firm side.  I also ordered a maternity belt that came a couple days ago but I haven't tried it yet.  I will be trying that today.  I also read that yoga or taking walks and stretching can help.  Not sure which stretches to do though.  Anyone know?  If anyone has any other ideas, let me know.  No way I can do this for 10 more weeks! My 30 week appt is Friday so I will ask my midwife for ideas too.

As for other pregnancy stuff.  I have had a break from heartburn for a few days (other than minor anyway).  Glad for that!  I think maybe the probiotics I started taking 1.5 weeks ago may be working.  :-)  I bought some cute baby stuff for my cousin's shower Saturday at Ross.  They have great prices on baby blankets, towels, onesies, etc. although the selection is small and random.  I got 2 short sleeve maternity shirts for a great price too while there and should be set now for the last two months.  My shower is set for a few weeks from now.  My sisters and mom are throwing one for me since it's been 8 years since I've had a baby and they were all girls.  I'm excited for that.  :-)  I've started thinking about how I want to decorate the baby's room and want to get that done soon.  Need to get a valance or material for my mom to make me one this week.  Baby has been super active since last night.  He definitely goes in spurts.  He's had 3 very active spells with rolling and kicking since I went to bed.  He will probably take a long nap soon.  lol

[BubbleMa]

Grace, that midwife sounds like a real biotch.  I can't imagine my midwives saying anything like that.

Shasta, I've been having bad hip/pelvis pain at night too.  :(  I sleep with a pillow between my legs but it doesn't help.

[Masel]

Last time I was pregnant it seemed like my hip pain was tied to being constipated. I guess there's only so much room in there. As soon as I'd go the pain would be gone. 

The annoying pain this time is just up under my ribs in the back. I hardly feel it at all when I up and walking around or even sitting. I feel it laying down and it is difficult to adjust position. Snuggling with my daughters at bedtime is very painful. The last couple days it has been almost completely gone. 

This weekend my family has a big thing. DH and I will be the center of attention for a bit. There are a ton of little things to get done by then and I just want to curl up on sofa.