Weekly chat 7/16-7/22 - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[Yeeska]

Help007, there is a visualization/meditation that I learned from Sandy Duncan. I was just PMing someone and remembered it, though I haven't thought of it for years before. I hope the person I sent it to is understanding, b/c I'm about to copy and paste from that message. It's surprised me in the past with how it's helped me hear myself. 

Imagine that you're walking through a park. It is beautiful and peaceful. The path winds before you through shade and sunlight. The breeze is perfect; it smells fresh and wholesome. You see someone coming down the path in the other direction. It is an older woman. Something about her feels warm and familiar. As you reach each other, she motions to a bench that you hadn't noticed before. As you sit down next to her, you glance at her hands and realize with a flash... This is you as an old woman! You look up into her eyes and she tells you that she has something important to tell you. Listen to what she has to say.

Try that and see if it helps. Journal immediately afterwards.

[ArtificialRed]

How is it only Tuesday and I already seem so far behind on the thread?? I really need to start joining in on Mondays!

As far as the heat, I'm like help, getting into my hot car makes me feel like I can't breathe, not unlike claustrophobia. This week the temperatures aren't quite as high as before, but the humidity is awful. In a lot of ways I'm really glad I'm at this stage of my pregnancy during the summer (the great fresh food choices and the ability to go swimming, for example) but I do tend to run any errands in the morning and then try to stay home from noon until after dinner. Not only is the heat harder to handle, I sweat more. Unless I'm purposely trying to exercise and work up a sweat, I hate feeling sweaty. Blech.

Miranda- your DH reminds me a little of mine. He hasn't said anything about how getting all sorts of stuff done after the baby, but sometimes he makes plans and things without really thinking about how it would actually affect me. I feel like I have to treat him like a kid sometimes and really spell it out for him like, hey, if you do this, you know this makes me have to...? Luckily, he doesn't usually take it as me nagging him, he says he's just a guy who doesn't always get it! I'm sure your DH will understand soon enough ;)

Ascher- my final hypnobabies class includes a birth rehearsal. I'm really apprehensive about it, because it just sounds like it could be so awkward! I really don't think I could do it if someone told me to practice some sort of vocalizing, so kudos to you for even trying!

Monkey Keeper- I was thinking earlier about all the things I would say to someone who dares to say anything about my size.  I'm also measuring right on track, and have gained about 20 pounds. I know I shouldn't be, but I feel very defensive of my size. I think it's partially because the only other woman I know that is currently pregnant (besides the women in my class, thank God for them, they make me feel so much more normal) is TINY. She's 2.5 weeks behind me and has only gained 8.5 pounds. Her 28 week photo looks more or less like my 21 week photo. I'm thinking that if someone says I look "ready to pop" about laying into them about when the last time they actually saw a woman in her final weeks was, because clearly they're delusional. You could say the same thing if asked about twins. I think most people don't actually realize how little they see either a due-date approaching pregnant woman or a woman having multiples. As many of us can attest to, the bigger we get the more we stay home.

I'm at the point where I'm ready for things to be all ready for baby's arrival. I don't really feel like it's that soon, 9-11 weeks still seems like a really long time. But I guess I figure if I have everything ready to go 4 or 5 weeks before I can take those last weeks and try to relax as much as possible. And as a planner, I like the idea of knowing that if he were to come early, we would be as prepared as possible. I'm working on compiling my To Do list and plan on posting it in the other thread soon.

On a personal note, DH and I found out over the weekend that his brother is not picking him as his best man. We're not even really sure he's going to be a groomsman. We found out because BIL's fiancee tweeted out a link to their wedding website where they have a list of the bridal party! There is one spot for a groomsman that is "TBA" so I guess that could theoretically be DH, but um, how hard is it to get in touch with your brother about these things? I feel awful because I encouraged DH to choose his brother as his best man over his long-time best friend for our wedding. A friend who has been there for us way more than his brother has. It may be irrational, but I'm really irritated with BIL for doing this.

[katt]

For some reason today I got this feeling that this baby is HUGE.  at least much bigger then my first.    My first at 6lbs 8oz.  I'd like this one to be about that size too.  I can use the newborn clothes longer.  A bit bigger or smaller is okay i suppose.  but I just had this feeling...

Then I vowed to drastically reduce my carb and sugar intake... then i went on to eat some crab-cake sandwich with fries... yeah, not so good for my new resolve.  Better then pasta I suppose?

Other then that everything is going well baby-wise.  Lots of movement.  some really good kicks up high, so i'm pretty confident baby is well settled head down.  Thank goodness.  I know there's still lots of time to move around, but baby has been head down since the beginning, i'm pretty sure.  Fingers crossed he/she stays that way.

In other news, no new Name news unfortunately.  :(  oh well.  

that's about it for now.  

[WindyCityMom]

katt- I too feel like this is a big baby!  I'm getting a little nervous since I declined my GTT, but once I start my home monitoring I think I'll have a better idea as to whether or not I should be worried about it.  

This baby is also in a really awkward position.. she's all on my right side, and there is either a head or a butt crammed under my ribs.. she's slightly transverse, with the other lump (head or butt) crammed into my left hip.  Ouch!!

Names, names, oh names.  I feel the need to name her Nova.  I can't think of a middle name for it, though.  And I don't want things to be too rhymey.  Our short last name has three "a" sounds in it, with one at the end.  All of the middle names I can think of end in an "a" as well.  Blah!

Though I do like Nova Trinity.  She is our third girl, yknow!

[Carlin]

I can't believe it's Wednesday and I haven't posted yet! I've been reading, but I'm so scatter brained lately that actually getting a post together has been challenging!

Yeeska, that's a beautiful visualization. I planned to try it before sleep last night, but instead got to deal with a toddler who refuses to go to sleep until 2 in the morning. I'm definitely going to try it next time I have a chance though!

ArtificialRed, sorry about your BIL. I'd be irritated too, even though rationally I know there's nothing that I can really say or do about it. No one likes to see their significant other hurt, and I think especially when we're pregnant it brings out that protective, mama-bear side of us, even when there's not much we can actually do.

Katt, yay for head down babies! Especially with your feeling that this one's bigger, it's reassuring that he or she at least isn't messing around about getting in the right position.

WCM, Nova Trinity is very pretty. I like it! I've been following your work saga on your other thread, and it sounds to me like your boss isn't being really fair about all this. I totally get training someone early, just in case, but don't really think messing with your shifts is going to help either you or your company much. I hope you can get things worked out in a way that works for all of you!

AFM, I've been having a minor panic attack about the fact that I'll be 37 weeks in only 6 weeks. I fully, fully expect this baby to hang around until at least 40 weeks so I've been basing things on having 9 to 11 weeks left, but I'd like to be ready by 37 weeks and have a few weeks to relax rather than scrambling right up to the last minute. I suddenly feel like I have so much to do! So of course I'm spending way too much time on the computer procrastinating.

We are still nowhere on the name front too. We have a tentative name for a boy, and it's OK but I don't love it, or feel like it's the name. DH likes it though, so I'm not sure how open he'll be to other ideas, especially as I don't have anything that I absolutely love anyways.

Girls names are still totally up in the air. Honestly, we've barely discussed them. I was feeling like I had enough girls names that I liked that we'd definitely come up with something but now I'm not sure about any of them either. And my darn cousins keep using some of my favourite names, so the pool is getting smaller!

As for positioning, I have no idea what this baby thinks s/he is doing. I'm feeling lots of movement but it's sort of all over the place. I hope baby is head down, and it sort of feels like it most of the time, but I kind of get the feeling that baby is still shifting positions a lot. Either that or s/he has at least 8 limbs, but there was no sign we were having an octopus on the ultrasound!

[judybean]

WCM-- This baby of mine is definitely head down, but likes to turn slightly transverse and grind his/her head into my hip often... silly baby.

As for size, all my babies have been just over or just under 9lbs, so I figure this one will follow suit. I'm not worried about the size though. I prefer having bigger to smaller babies.

I do feel like this baby is laying heavier in me though ... I can't think.of a better way to describe it. Baby hasn't dropped or anything, but I feel like he/she is just laying low and putting more pressure on things than I've ever experienced. And I can't help but hope that might mean an earlier (rather than later) labor and birth? A girl can hope , right?! ... it just feels so different to me. It adds a sense of urgency to get things ready!

Ack. SIL texted to come over and use my snap press. Guess we need to all get dressed

[WindyCityMom]

Judy- I too feel the strange "heavy" feeling.. this baby is just pushing down and around in a strange way.  Oh how nice it would be for her to come at say.. 38 weeks? :) Once can dream!

Carlin- I agree as well.. I did enjoy being in the air conditioning the past two days (being in charge of the printroom is also a "supervisor" duty so I'm happy I still have some things), but the rest of the week, I'd just prefer NOT to be somebody's minion.  The FOUR hour shifts are just uncalled for.  I called HR today and left a message asking her to call me back about my maternity leave but she hasn't returned it.  She's in the office today so I'm hoping she gets back to me soon.  I'm going to call my manager after lunch to discuss the matter with him.  It's wednesday, schedule comes out friday, and not much rearranging has to be done to give me my shifts back.  If anything he'd save the company money by not scheduling my immediate manager 7 days/wk and paying him overtime to work my shifts!

[WindyCityMom]

Yep, baby is definitely breech or some sort of transverse.. hiccups are right in the middle to upper side of my belly.  Drat!

[judybean]

Monkey Keeper -- Gah.  Why on earth would anybody EVER think it's acceptable to say something like that to ANYBODY?!  Let alone a clearly pregnant mother?!  Because they think they're funny?  Because you haven't heard *anything* like that before?!  Ugh.  People need tact.  Too many are lacking that.

Miranda -- um... if you can be gentle with your dh, more power to you ;)  I truly think it's easy for husbands/SOs to not think of those kinds of things... they just think/know a baby will come out and be on the outside, but don't realize the process takes a toll on YOU!!  And as a first-timer, it's hard to really grasp the impact this baby will have!  (heck, even by this fifth time around, I can't tell you exactly what impact this little person will have on our family because I don't know what this baby will be like temperment-wise... ).

Asher -- there's no way I could 'practice' vocalizations without feeling like a complete doofus.  Seriously.  But... I will say that before dd4 was born, my midwife always has a weekend retreat for clients/SOs and at that we did practice some low tones... and I did utilize and appreciate the use of those during labor.  And as for other levels of comfort... I know some women completely lose all inhibitions and can walk about laboring completely naked and not have a care in the world... (more power to them! they totally traveled to labor land!), but I never got quite that un-selfconcious... I wore a nursing tank (Bravado I believe) during birth, but really didnt' care about not having anything on my lower half.

Artificial Red -- Sorry about the BIL situation.  It's rotten... ugh. :/ And sorry you feel kind of guilty about encouraging your dh to use BIL in your wedding, when clearly he doesn't feel the same now..

katt -- I'm with you in loving knowing this baby is head down.  I totally know that babies can and do flip at about any time, but it gives me a bit of peace of mind knowing he/she is at least in the right position right now.

Carlin -- For as much as I can totally tell this baby is head down, sometimes I really wonder if this IS an octopus I'm growing!  Seriously!  I wonder how on earth I can feel movements/flailings/shimmies ALL OVER when I *KNOW* he/she is head down, so that kind of *should* limit where the other extremeties can be laying!  ... and.. I'm pretty much with you on names... because...

On the name front... ugh... I can't find a girl name I like enough to stick with.  Or even really put on a short list.  I got "Willa" in my head a couple days ago, but when I suggested it to dh, he said, "oh.. that's... interesting..."... so... oh well.  Not sure it's The Name anyway, but I'm getting a bit concerned about not having even a short list.  For a while Penelope was on top of the list, but it's RAPIDLY shooting up in popularity and that's just not my style :/  Plus, from naming boards I visit occasionally, I see a Khardashian (sp?) got named that.... hrm... I liked the name meaning of "Weaver" and thus the association with being a weaver of dreams... because somehow in my head that seemed perfect for a rainbow baby.  But I still wasn't sure it was The Name either.  Have I used up all the good girl names already?!  Argh!!  I'm just drawing blanks here.  There are names I like by sound, but wouldn't actually name *my* child that.  .. ... For boys, no absolute set name or anything, but a short list that I'd happily use any off of (Leo, August, Elias, Benedict ... middle name of Michael).  With just over seven weeks until my due date (and feeling like there's a lot more 'weight' to this baby.. or he/she has settled down.. or ... maybe even working towards NOT coming out LATE), I feel like I really need to pick up the pace and at least come up with a list.... ack!...

At least whatever stomach bug I had has finally passed.  That sucked.  Because on top of being a million degrees, I was sick :/  I was sitting in the basement (much cooler than anywhere else), directly in front of a fan, and would still be breaking out into sweats (like the kind before puking... only I couldn't puke... it was like extreme motion sickness... if I stayed motionless, it wasn't quite as bad, but if I moved I was guaranteed to feel sick).  Yuck.

Since it's still a million degrees out (with no relief in sight.. except yesterday!  It was blissfully only 90*!!!  First time in WEEKS!!  AAAAAAND, we got a bit of rain!  Not much, but I couldn't remember the last time it rained here), I've been getting a lot more sewing done.  Even busted out a onesie pattern that I've had forever.  I'm not always a big fan of onesies, but sometimes they really can be kind of cute I think.  I like that they don't always crawl up the back of baby when baby is being passed around/held all the time.  So... I figure I'll make a few more and just see how it goes.  I sent one home with SIL so she could put it on her littlest (my new nephew, Lincoln, who is three weeks old now) and see how the fit is.

Off to retreat to my sewing room.  It's too hot upstairs.  It was only supposed to get to 96* today... but it's already 97* and only 2p.m., so plenty of time for the mercury to continue to rise....

[ascher21]

Can I vent for a sec? I just went to yoga class and I'm feeling so heavy at this point (yeah, 2 more months to go, so I should shut up, right?) that my legs are shaking trying to do the poses. Plus, we always do a recap before we start of how everyone is feeling and all the first time mamas at 31 weeks like me are like "I feel great, I can't complain!" and I'm thinking "what the heck am I doing wrong??" I woke up this morning and I could tell my pelvis had stretched open more and it was sore. My back is sore. Everything down there just generally feels heavy and uncomfortable. If I sleep too long on my right side I end up sore on that side. If I sleep on either side baby is kicking me.  Oh and did I mention I'm having nightmares again? I end up going back to sleep in the morning because I can't sleep too much at night. I get dizzy spells now. And I'm still trying to figure out if the lumbar pillow and yoga I do on my own is actually helping me, or if it's just making the aches worse.

ok. now I'm done. *sigh*

[judybean]

asher21 -- vent away.  Pregnancy is different on every person's body.  I'd probably be one of those ridiculously perky people (even with this being my fifth baby) because truly, pregnancy is pretty good to my body and I have few complaints.  But.. that doesn't mean your complaints/aches/pains are any less legit -- it's just how your body handles it all.  I hope it doesn't get worse for you.. and maybe even better!

I had a couple pictures I thought I'd share from our lovely mountain excursion on Sunday... I'm seriously longing for cool weather right now (high of 100* again... **melt**) because it was a beautiful, perfect 67/68*.  Seriously amazing. 

My mostly-fabulous dh isn't really a camera hog (whereas I grew up with parents who were good at picture-taking since they've worked at newspaper offices forever and we were in front of cameras often and pose a lot!), so getting a pic with him is a lovely rarity... and this one captures the joy of the trip perfectly, I think...

And then, my girls and dh enjoying wading in the lake (this pic was taken before dd4 completel fell in... and then later we had to totally strip her down and wrap her in a blanket because she was cold ;) )..

I love where I live :)  (well... not the heat... but accessibility to cooler temps by just heading up to the mountains!)

[ascher21]

What lovely photos, judybean! You have such a wonderful family. And I'm glad the stomach bug you had has gone away. 

And as another side-vent: how is it anatomically possible that I've gained 2 lbs in 4 days?? I want to chuck my wii fit out the window. 

[Monkey Keeper]

Size comments-I should be used to them by now. I don't really gain anywhere but my midsection, so my arms and legs still look non-pregnant while my belly gets HUGE. And it admittedly gets huge, but I also birth 9+lbers! Usually I just (a little snarkily) say, "I just grow 'em big," and end the convo. Hearing it all the time gets thoroughly annoying, though.

Thinking baby is large--I felt this way with my 2nd, and she ended up being over a lb and a half bigger than her sister! After she was born, I read or was told (forget which) that mamas are usually right when they think that the baby *feels* bigger. My MW friend palpated me yesterday and said baby also is "good sized". She said that about the last one, and he was 9-5 :)  I fully expect this one to be mid-9s as well since the only one of my 3 who was NOT was my pre-e baby who I believe was growth restricted in the last month. Like judybean, I really prefer larger babies. I just visited a friend with a newbie who is right around 6lbs, and it's so foreign to me!

 

Baby position--Mine is, shocklingly, head down. ROP but head down. 

ascher--People lie. Seriously. There are very few women who truly feel *great* at this point of pregnancy in this heat!  I can't even go to yoga because my pubic bone hurts too much! And there's no way you gained that much. Just water retention. Take it easy on yourself, mama :) 

judy--It should come as NO surprise that Willa is on our short list! It might be in the lead right now; I'm not sure. It actually was on our long list for DD1 as well. I agree about Penelope

AFM-- We absolutely are NO closer on names than we were months ago. Our two boy options are set but for girls, we have about 12 first and/or middle options with none in the lead. DH doesn't want to talk about it at all which is par for the course. I knew this would be a drawback of not finding out the gender, but I don't think I anticipated him hemming and hawing until AFTER BIRTH! I figured we'd at least have a couple options by now which we don't.

I'm off to the chiro this morning. My pubic bone pain is getting to the point where it's affecting my day-to-day life, so I need some attention. I hope she can get me put back together, but I think the ligaments are pretty messed up, so it may not be an easy fix. It sucks because the pain really keeps me from doing much of anything. Even walking to get a glass of water can double me over! I did 2 days at Disney World when I was 33w pg last time and then a week at the beach, so this is all new to me, feeling a bit like an invalid. I don't like it one bit!  And also this freaks me out about labor since by far the worst part of my last labor was hip spasms in the hip where the ligaments are acting funky. 

[help007]

Family picnic this afternoon for husband's office, with a high of 98. Lots of free food, games, activities, and no shade (unless they're renting tents). I think I'll head to REI on the way and see if they have any really big tents, I mean tunics, that have the UPF fabric. I have a UPF jacket, but this belly is really stretching it. It all sounded like much more fun when the projected high was 88. Maybe I'll take my knitting so I have an excuse to just sit around.

My baby has been head down for awhile. S/he's hanging out nearly back-to-back with me, though, so I need to spend more time letting my belly hang. That works very well when baby is kicking and punching (ie awake), but then she/he goes back within a day. The position makes for some very alien looking activity when s/he is active. Right out of Spaceballs (the parody counts when you've never seen the original).

After dealing with alternating pain and numbness in my hip and shoulder, I finally figured something out: I put a firm, flat pillow under the mattress pad at waist/belly level. This allows my midsection of bare some of the weight without my spine bending. I tried it with the pillow directly under me, but that was too thick.

[teegan db]

Is anyone else doing a happy dance after last night's rain? Here in Massachusetts, we not only got the first rain in weeks, but the temperature after dropped into the 70s, and now it's 69!

asher21 - I still feel really good, and it's not a lie, but I also live in dread of when the aches and pains and discomforts you all talk about will hit me and make up for lost time. Or I assume that if it's not during pregnancy, I'll have a really rough time of it after the birth. I know that I'm young (25) and this is my first pregnancy and I'm eating well and moving around a lot and was in good shape to begin with - but I'm still pretty sure it's just luck that I deal with little more than gas, thirst, and rare achy hips - oh, and nasty nasty mood swings if I don't get in a couple sessions of yoga a week. So mostly I don't say anything to other women unless they ask - because I know they don't want to hear it (I wanted to post here so you knew it wasn't an urban legend), and because I don't want karma to bite me in the butt. 

DH teaches high school, and he's been off for almost a month now! He's started working as a bicycle rickshaw driver a few days a week (and loving it), but other than that we're just trying to enjoy the last few months of our coupledom. Lots of ocean time, snuggling in bed, date nights, and random adventures around the eastern half of the state. I'm still working three days a week (but now very much appreciating the fact that my boss lets me sit down when I need to), and I marvel at the fact that at LEAST once a day, a customer who has seen me 3-4 times a week, every week, will very very hesitantly ask if I'm pregnant. YES! I'm not "letting myself go." I didn't strangely gain 25 pounds all in my belly over the past seven months. There's actually a baby in there. 

For a long time in this pregnancy, I was playing the anxious first timer, doing tons of research on pregnancy and parenting, practically living on this web site, checking books out of the library, worrying about every thing I ate, drink did. Then, maybe six weeks ago, I just stopped. It had become more stressful to research than it was not to. I hit my threshold. And it's been really nice NOT to think about it. Not to worry about every ounce on the scale (I've stopped weighing myself except for every few weeks) or whether I've gotten two cups of leafy greens AND yogurt AND eggs AND raspberry leaf tea AND everything else. Not to worry about whether or not I'll be a good enough parent. Because I will be. DH is going to be AWESOME, and I know that we'll be a good team. Maybe it's just pregnancy chemicals, but the stress that was coming and going before seems to be pretty much gone for now. 

Of course, in 7-11 weeks, the little wiggle worm will be OUTSIDE my body and need infinitely more care, and I'm sure the worry will be back...

[WindyCityMom]

I usually feel great, but at the end of a 10 hour shift mostly on my feet in 90 degree weather.. Yeah, I'm in the feel like crap boat too.

I think I have my work situation figured out! I emailed my manager (I wanted it in writing) and let him know that I'm doing great health wise and am now able to return to my usual duties of supervising. I also thanked him for the break he gave me this week. I also asked to be taken off of my supervisory shifts September 1st, and let him know that I'd be returning December 1st.

He emailed me back this morning and let me know that I'd be taken off of the supervisory shifts in September and that he let my immediate manager know about it. I *think* I have my shifts back!! And it's in writing now... So yay!

I go to see my midwives today. Hopefully my infection is gone and everything. Im going to start my blood sugar monitoring this Monday, as I'm ordering the meter from amazon and am just waiting until I get paid. Hopefully they don't yell at me for that .. I have been religiously taking my floradix and eating spinach! They will sure be happy about that, I think!

Although I got off to a rocky start with these midwives, I'm happy Im seeing them. If I decide to oops UC it (which I think I'll decide on in labor, unless some complication arises beforehand) it has been worthwhile to have them monitoring my blood levels.

And on that front, UC. My husband isn't fond of the idea, but he isn't fond of the hospital birthing idea either. His ideal scenario is home birth with a midwife, but that's not on the financial table for us right now. I'm totally fine with it. It would be my go to route if my husband weren't iffy on it. I'm comfortable with it and I'd actually like to be alone and birth. But blah.. It doesn't have me stressed out, just annoyed with the situation.

This baby, however, does have me stressed out. She can't make up her mind.. She was vertex last night, now she's transverse. She's always posterior and I reallllllyyyyy don't want back labor again! I'm going to try and follow some spinning babies protocol.. Once I get my new yoga ball I'm hoping to use it as a chair all the time. At least at work I'm always standing up straight - that's good for positioning, right?

[help007]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom 

And on that front, UC. My husband isn't fond of the idea, but he isn't fond of the hospital birthing idea either. His ideal scenario is home birth with a midwife, but that's not on the financial table for us right now. I'm totally fine with it. It would be my go to route if my husband weren't iffy on it. I'm comfortable with it and I'd actually like to be alone and birth. But blah.. It doesn't have me stressed out, just annoyed with the situation.

Have you asked around (both of midwives and doulas- they likely all know each other) for a HB midwife who works on a sliding scale? If you are able to get most of your prenatal work done through insurance, it is possible a HB midwife could work with you on her fees.

[ArtificialRed]

Teegan- DH and I are trying to spend our time like you too. I normally would feel terrible about spending an entire Sunday morning hanging out in bed, being completely unproductive, but I've realized that I should just enjoy it while I can. Sure we don't get as much done as we probably should during DH's days off, but that's okay. Soon we'll probably be spending too much time on Sunday mornings just watching our baby be adorable and not getting anything done then either

WCM-I'm glad things are figured out for you at work!

Help- You pretty much described the exact reason I don't think we'll be going to DH's company picnic. What if it's super hot that day?? Okay, and the fact that I eat mostly vegan, so I'd pretty much have to bring all my own food doesn't help. Oh, and I can only imagine the attention I'll get (it's still several weeks away) for being SO PREGNANT. I can't stand being the center of attention like that, especially from strangers.

[crystal_buffaloe]

Originally Posted by teegan db 

I still feel really good, and it's not a lie, but I also live in dread of when the aches and pains and discomforts you all talk about will hit me and make up for lost time. Or I assume that if it's not during pregnancy, I'll have a really rough time of it after the birth.

This is me I had a totally blissed-out first pregnancy. Seriously, I felt fantastic -- for large chunks of the second trimester well into the third I felt better than normal! I worked a full day 12 days past my due date with no problems at all ... and then holy mother of god, postpartum was awful. I realize that sounds horribly scare-mongering. Maybe someone will chime in and say that both her pregnancy and recovery were super-smooth. Please! Chime in and say it! I promise that we won't hate you -- er, I promise that I won't hate you, beacon of shining light!

Similar to ascher, though, whenever I'd hear a new mom (or an old pro) say something about a quick recovery, or easy nursing, or a baby who actually slept, I would just assume she was lying through her teeth and/or had pregnancy amnesia.

I am perhaps just a tiny bit more uncomfortable this time around (I've gained more weight and was not in as good FTM shape when I got pregnant), but nothing to write home about, and I feel great most of the time. We're having lots and lots of sex. I'm moody, but I was moody before. (Ha!) I definitely wouldn't say this pregnancy is as joyful as my last one, but really that's just because of stress about the VBAC and switching care providers -- nothing about the way I'm feeling physically.

[Worldshakerz]

Hi mamas! I haven' t been online much this past week. My smartphone broke which is also my only regular internet connection currently so I've just stopped at my parents house to use the computer before I go pick up my husband. I just caught up on the chat thread.

I am very very tired. So very tired. It takes me forever to get comfortable to fall asleep at night and I wake up a lot. I've also had some very strange dreams/nightmares - like someone was trying to drug me with a needle and I took it from them and stabbed them with it and they passed out! LOL. I have been taking naps daily for the past few days. Having lots of braxton hicks. We are apartment searching and I'm feeling disheartened because I really want to move before Benji arrives but I'm not sure its gonna happen in time. I wasn't able to schedule my 3 HR GTT until this coming Monday and I really just want to get it over with. I have so much to do and I am starting to do some nesting but it takes a lot of effort to get myself into nesting mode physically!