Friends Chat thread May 16th-31st

[Solange]

:

Wow! Can you guys believe we only have two weeks left of this month!??!!! That was fast!

Topics we left off with:

Bears is away on vacation this week

Naturegirl left some really great info on turning breech babies

Caroline is sharing some great recipes

Hiccups in utero

Lotus/Leboyer Birthing

[ketilave]

And I jinxed myself about the whole hiccups thing - baby had them last night and the kid is so low I felt them in my butt and way below my c scar.

DD is cutting her top 2 teeth so the nights are restless and the nursing is up. The kid does ridiculous acrobatics while nursing - yesterday she stood there watching DS while nursed.

[LizaBear]

The IL's brought thier old washing machine up today - we're on our 3rd load of laundry (I can only do SMALL loads or the water will overflow our kitchen sink as the water drains).

I guess I'm officially an adult now - I'm excited about a years-old washing machine ! *L*

No more hand-washing dirty diapers for this mama !


Umm - the Braxton-hicks have kicked in pretty good now - many times of day and night.

[christeenybeany]

Hello there
Congrats on the new washer lizbear! When I got my new washer (used but new to me) I was in heaven! I was washing everything in the house!

I have never had or I should say my babies have never had hiccups while I was pregnant. I wonder what it is like. I hope it happens once.

When does the third trimester start? 27 or 28 weeks? I am at 26 now. I can't believe it!!!! This baby kicks all the time now and really hard! Whenever my dh touches the tummy he stops EVERYTIME I think he's only actually felt a kick like 2 or 3 times. Ug. I feel it so much lately and I want him to catch a glimpse.

[SamuraiEarthMama]

30 weeks tomorrow.

another friend has been admitted to the hospital with pre-eclampsia... but she's 35 weeks along so it's not quite as dangerous for the baby. still, no fun for her... she was planning a homebirth. i've gotta do that fear-release session of the hypnobabies and get rid of all these induction/bloodpressure scare vibes!

i'm sooo tired of needing to eat food but not wanting anything. it all feels like sawdust, nothing sounds good. i wish there was just a pill i could take in the morning that would deal with my nutritional needs for the day so i could just forget about food.

this baby is only about 3 pounds but it seems huge already.

i remember my first washer! it was a used one from a laundromat, fixed so it didn't need quarters (but you still had to slide in the slider to get it to start). it was a workhorse... i loved it!

i ordered my fishy pool today (for water labor/birth at home).

sorry so random... i'm feeling a little scattered today. but it's nice to see how everyone's doing, so i thought i'd put in my adventures too...

g'night and sleep well!

katje

[foxytocin]

Wonder how Bears' vacation is going?

Hi all! Got back from a long weekend in Dayton, OH with my grandparents. We are beat. My poor old car (diesel VW jetta with 330,000+ miles on it) got us there and back on $20 worth of fuel. An hour from home, 8pm, we left the interstate and lost 5th gear. It was there and then it was not. 2 minutes later, the headlights went out. Two unusual and completely unrelated events. But oh, we were lucky! Both DD and the dog were being absolute angels in the backseat. We pulled over and DH fiddled with the headlight switch for a few moments and voila, we could at least see and be seen. Didn't discover until this morning that a part of the gear shifter had snapped off. It's absolutely amazing that the car could move at all. Our trusty parts supplier is mailing us a new switch for the headlights and the missing part for the linkage (I now know that "linkage" is the "proper" term for some part of the shifter).

Naturegirl, thank you so much for the chiropractic info! Very useful to know. The plus-size pregnancy website has a very interesting discussion along this lines..............it just plain makes sense that a contorted body would make for a contorted birth passage.

And ok, then. I'm pretty naieve. What is a lotus birth? Do I take this to mean that the babe's cord is not cut until the placenta is delivered? Or even much longer than after the placenta? OK, then. This topic is not for the sqeamish. I'm going to start a new thread on placentas.

Hope everyone is doing well!
-Leah

[ketilave]

If I am correct you don't cut the cord at all and it comes off at its own pace. I think it is supposed to be faster than the more common cut and treat method. One of the benefits is that the mother isn't up and about and can spend time with her child as well as letting her body do all the things it needs...more to it. This is all I know.

30 week appt. today. 14 lbs total weight gain and 12 in the last 5 weeks. Did my glucose and blood sugar came back 72 (reactive hypoglycemic) and my hematocrit was down. But, the iron is no big deal because it was pretty high to begin with - though this is the first time that has ever dropped so it could explain the more recent fatigue. I am told I am should be eating every 2 hours - hahaha - and increase the protein. But right now I am only interested in the fruits that are out there. I am starting to measure behind so I really need to come to terms with the fact that I probably have 12 more weeks to go. I really want to have this baby before 8/9 - I don't want SD here for the birth because of possible complications with the ex. At the same time I want to be able to enjoy celebrating DDs first birthday so anything before 7/18 doesn't work either. Next appt in 2 weeks and then we are doing 3 weeks after that - it was that or 10 days and we couldn't see the point in that.

My sisters boyfriend came in tonight and he picks her up tomorrow. Then we have a full house for awhile. Lots of family time before my Dad takes off. The kids are in heaven with all the attention.

OK - that's all my rambling for now. I hope everyone is doing well.

[mommycaroline]

You have it right, K8, lotus birthing is where you don't cut the cord at all. It's a fascinating birth ritual, and there are a number of ways you can handle the placenta. I've read a lot about it, mostly the technical things, just cause I'm such a birth junkie. The most common thing I've seen done is wrap the placenta in a cloth bag that you've made just for this purpose, and "cure" it in salt and herbal/flower essences. This keeps the placenta from getting all icky, but some people do nothing, and somehow the placenta does pretty well that way too. I've never actually questioned anyone who was planning this for themselves (until now, that is) so the why's have been beyond me. Thanks Tiff for sharing your thoughts.

As for us, all is well. Babe still moving like crazy. I think I'm starting to identify body parts. And, man oh man do I feel big! It was a hot day here today, and I was very aware of it. I will definitely be swimming all summer!

Midwife's appt on Thursday. Hope it goes well. I'm meeting the last midwife in the practice that I haven't met yet (there are three of them) and a lot of people don't like her. I hope I do. I'm already not super crazy about one of the other two.

And, I spoke to several dentists around here today. I have an appt to get my teeth cleaned next Wednesday, and Bonnie's teeth will be looked at at the same time. Nobody thinks it's a big deal, but probably a good idea to just have her looked at, just in case. The pediatric dentists in this town suck royally, I have to say. Not one of them will permit me to go back with Bonnie after the first appt. And, they say it's "okay if they cry the whole time, they can take care of whatever needs to be taken care of." As if that would comfort me. They "strap them down so they don't get hurt." Uh huh, and what about their egos? Do they care about the trauma they cause children? Get real! I can't believe this is okay with people. I know in extreme cases you don't have much choice, but this is insane. I found a regular dentist who can take care of Bonnie unless there's a cause for extensive equipment that she just doesn't have, which is highly unlikely. And, she'll let me be there the whole time. My daughter gets upset if a stranger pats her head, I cannot imagine what would happen if I let a stranger (dentist or not) strap her into a chair and drill away at her mouth. Horrifying!

[lena_girl]

Hi everybody, just wanted to say bye and hope everyone is doing great. Ds and I are going home to visit the grandparents for 2 weeks. Unfortunatley DH doesn't get to come b/c he has to many trips for his job So see you all in two weeks! Hey, I'll have just 2 months to go then! Yay! I swear the pregnancy is moving so much faster than my first. And this time I'm actually looking forward to being in labor instead of being scared of it. Yay!

[Solange]

:
Hey Lena have a nice time visiting your grandparents....post when you get back and let us know how it went...
I cannot believe how fast these last few months are flying by either!!!! I have only 11 weeks left...
Katje and K8 and a few others also are dwindling down to weeks....

Leah bummer on the car issue..glad you guys made it home safe and sound..how stressful....

Caroline let us know how your appt goes Thursday.

Katje I hear you on the food issue...today has been the first day I have really been able to *eat*..I have been plagued again by the m/s monster for the past week...no fun ..no appetite...and just felt yuck-o!

28 weeks Christine re:3rd tri

K8 wishing you all the luck to have your little babe come when you need it too...start talking to your little bean...you never know...he/she may just listen! I recently read somwhere where expecting mothers talked to their little beans in utero about the whole birthing experience and their labors turned out to be very less hard and they felt more focused and bonded with the baby in labor, as they were a team birthing together.

I think my little one has finally flipped all the kicks for the most part have been up high...also count us in for 1st time hiccups too...so weird how we share the same developments with our little beans....

ok..gtg..storms a brewin' outside....
ttyl

[Jlcampbellkidz]

Hi everyone. Just been reading everyones posts lately so I can keep up. I just haven't felt like I had much to contribute.

I have no complaints on the pregnancy front. Feeling kinda big but still getting around fine. I have to wear flip flops or slip on shoes most of the time though. Bending over for more than a second or two really makes me sick. I am not sure what position this baby is in. Most of the time I would guess and say head down. A lot of movement in my ribs. Past coulple of days have felt some really low movement. In fact today, I was standing washing dishes and I could have sworn that one of her extremities was going to emerge from you know were. Strange and somewhat painful feeling. Usually I love her movements but that was a weird one.

If going by due date I have 11 and 1/2 weeks left. Whoa!!!!!!!!!! I am getting very excited and maybe even a bit anxious. I am even really excited about the birth. I have read so much and experienced so much as a doula since my last birth and I feel so prepared. I'm not getting over confident in myself though and I have made sure to have serveral support people available when the time comes.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful afternoon!

[madrone]

My bean has gotten the hiccups now also. And I was feeling them in the pelvic region also K8. It is really weird that we are all starting to feel them now AP.

I made the tortillas last night Caroline. They were yummy. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I made them thicker to try to have them more like Naan. Next time I do it, I need to pull out a spatula to help me flip because I was really dumb and kept burning my finger tips when flipping them with my hands. I also think that I need to flip them less often so that they'll bubble up more. We decided that I'm going to make them for my due date buddy and her husband sometime to have them over.

Thanks for the explanation of what a chiropractor does to adjust the baby's position Sheryl. I am going to go ahead and make an appointment with the one that my due date buddy gave me the name for. The baby has descended down now, so I'm not in pain like I was before unless I lean over to the right side and compress my stomach. But I shouldn't be doing that anyway. But DS was head down but on the left side instead of back to the center of my stomach and I think that is probably why my labor was so long. I do want to make sure this one is centered and straight head down. And once s/he gets bigger, the horrid pain may return if s/he's not in the most ideal position.

Take care all - Tiff

[naturegirl]

Your very welcome Madrone. Anything to help.

I am feeling bigger too! I have gained about 16-17 lbs so I am on target to gain between 27-30 lbs I think. A little less than what my midwife wanted : but plenty as far as I am concerned. The baby has big movement days and quiet days still. Somedays it feels like a circus in there! Other days I have to poke and prod to wake the little one up I don't know if it is just getting more crowded in there or what but the movements don't seem as significant or "big". Oooh, just had a kick I am so going to miss the feeling of having life growing and thriving inside of me...

I have a couple of trips planned for upcoming weekends and I am sooo excited! Dh coaches at a local high school and their state meet is coming up soon. That means a trip to the other side of the state and a weekend away. Then we are going to Wisconsin for a wedding the first weekend in June. Dh is going to see some old friends he hasn't seen in years. It has been almost 4 years since he saw the groom! And he was in our wedding. I love travelling! I hope that I can figure out how to do it with a new baby.

I have also been starting to have bh contractions, I think. I never have had menstrual cramps so I can't compare them to that. Yesterday I also had a real "pressure" feeling "down there" that I am sure the baby was pressing on my cervix. It was an odd, and a little scary, feeling.

Officially in the third trimester now! 12 weeks to go! I can't believe it and I feel like I have soooo much to prepare, but in reality the only things I need are my boobies right? And those are ready 24-7! :LOL

Anywho, outta run. I believe I have blabbed enough for one day.

Cheryl

[Solange]

:
I had my 29 week appt today.

I have only gained 19lbs so far Cheryl ...my CNMW was kinda happy with my weight gain..... I feel waaay smaller this time than with ds#1-I gained 60 lbs with him.

I am still measuring ahead by one week...

CNMW said I need to eat more protein to help ease this morning sickness. I eat my dinner at 5pm and then nothing else(b/c I am so tired by days end I end up falling asleep with ds at 8:30-9:00 but then pay for it in the a.m. b/c essentailly I am starving the both of us until breakfast ...did not mean to do that, but after we talked about that today it makes sense..so I am really focused on this right now....

gtg-sss looong day..busy next few too.....

keep smiling...we are almost there friends!!!

[SamuraiEarthMama]

hey, naturegirl... boobies and DIAPERS! i figure those are the absolute minimum... cus that's all i have right now!

as far as traveling... with luck, your baby will be happy in the car seat. if so, you are in like flynn... newborns up to about 4-6 months is a great time to travel! once they start crawling and walking, your travel days are over (just for a little while) because they are sooo active. flying, as long as they're happy nursing, you're good... once they get distracted from the boobie, you are out of luck for a bit. so get your travelling done now... it really is sooo much easier with a little one than a toddler!

i saw my midwife today, and now i'm down to the once-every-two-weeks schedule. everything is measuring and testing just fine, and aside from hating food and this ongoing heartburn, things are doing well. no swelling yet, active baby (head down, even! bonus!), all systems go.

last night we had tremendous thunderstorms from about midnight to about 5 a.m. there were flashes every second... sometimes more than one a second. i never knew a thunderstorm could discharge so rapidly! that part, it was pretty far off so the noise was a constant, distant rumble with occasional closer booms; then at the end, the last hour was right over our part of town. and it was a downpour the whole time. the poor dogs were freaking out, but i sort of liked it. i wish i'd gotten more sleep, but it was exciting to be in the middle of such a powerful natural phenomenon. once i unplugged all the expensive things, i could just relax and enjoy the show. it made me start thinking about labor... since i wasn't scared and i dealt with the things i could, it became fun and not stressful. i hope i'll be able to do that when my own personal labor storm hits... deal with the necessary tasks, then relax and enjoy the ride.

this will be my fourth, and final, journey through labor. i'm afraid i wasn't very graceful or relaxed the other three times... but i'm hoping i can apply what i've learned as a doula and mama in the interim to really open myself up to the whole labor experience. i know better than to hope for something like Ina May's "orgasmic" labors, but i do believe i will appreciate it more now.

i'm still working through the hypnobabies scripts, and spending a little more time on my birth ball (when my kids aren't bouncing on it... they LOVE it!). it's hard to believe it's coming up so fast... and then again, it's hard to believe i still have two whole months to go!

i've been bitten by the knitting bug... i think i'm gonna try to knit a few pair of wool soakers for the baby. we'll see if i can pull it off...

my hip is acting up a bit, but my hot tub chemicals are off and i don't trust the water right now so no tubbing (i tried to check the ph, and the test, which is supposed to range from yellow to red, turned out BLUE!? what the heck? i think it's time to drain it and start over. oh well!).

gonna take the kids to see shrek II tomorrow (one of the great advantages of homeschooling... cheap matinees of new flicks, and usually pretty empty theaters!). hope this movie goes better than my last cinematic experience (i barfed halfway through).

hang in there, everyone!

katje

[christeenybeany]

Hey guys
I had a doctor appointment yesterday. All went well. I had the gestational diabetes test and I haven't heard back yet so no news is good news right?
I can't believe what I weigh compared to how I look and feel. I have gained 20 pounds so far. 7 this month. I just don't feel very big though, and everyone tells me that I'm not carrying as big as last time. However, I weigh the same as this point last time because I started off heavier. So the numbers are decieving. I have one more appointment in 4 weeks, then we'll start them every 2! I can't believe how fast time has flown!!! I am 26 weeks. I have 14 to go. Everytime I tell myself only 12 weeks till graduation, I have to say only 14 til baby comes. Aug 9 is graduation Aug 22 is baby day. I get nervous when I think of it like that. Summer school will be only 10 weeks long of me student teaching 12 3 year olds--in my 3rd trimester. I was given that age group because they won't have to be pickedup as much or I won't have to change diapers. The assistant will. So the only thing I"m a teensy bit worried about is bending over to talk on their level all day long. My back will be hurting I'm sure. I can do it though. I guess it is better than chasing around my toddler who insisting on being held all the time now.

DS has an ear infection and not feeling well. So I brought him in bed with us. Big mistake. He just played around and we didn't get any sleep. grr.

I'm concerned with his speech. i think I need to get a referal to an ENT to get his hearing tested because by now he should be talking more. I expressed concern to his doc at 15 months, but he told me I was just giving him what he wanted without making him talk for it. I was offended and felt blown off. Now I'm going to find another doc--one that doesn't automatically think I can't know what I'm talking about just because my son's on medicaid. I think with all the ear infections he has had in his little life, that someone else needs to give me their opinon. He's almost two and can't put two words together. I have alot of friends in speech pathology and early intervention and they have told me that this is a real concern--not just paranoid mama.

Sorry to ramble on and on. I just get carried away.

[mommycaroline]

Midwife appt this morning. No weight gain. That means 2 pounds this entire pregnancy. Now, admittedly, I'm quite overweight but I should be gaining something by now. I'm just so darned sick all the time. I'm spilling trace ketones and protein now, already, and they're slightly worried. This is the same path I started down last time. I've got to do something to change it. They suggested that I drink more juice. Juice???? I don't touch the stuff, personally. Too much sugar, not enough good stuff. They also said Gatorade would work, so maybe I'll find something similar with less sugar. I'm thinking the sugar would be a very bad idea for someone who's trying to avoid GD, you know??? Ugh!

This is the ultimate irony of my life. When I'm pregnant, I just can't eat enough to keep the meds happy. If I only had that problem when I wasn't pregnant. And, I have the one hour glucose test in the morning. Wish me luck!

[ketilave]

hi mommies -

just getting by here with a houseful. I'm over people at the moment so that doesn't help. Everyone is being very needy and no one very giving.

We have to stick the kids in the car this weekend. Big family todo before my dad goes to Iraq. DS does better with it and DD not so good. Once kids figure out there is more space out there the car seat thing starts to become trouble!!! It will be a while before we can turn DD around too - I moved DS to the back of the minivan and she loves to stare at him. Need to start to figure out how I am going to configure all three car seats.

Glad to hear the appt. are going well.

[SamuraiEarthMama]

hey, christeeny... my oldest ds didn't really start talking until he was two years old. also, he didn't walk until 18 months. fortunately, he was my first kid so i didn't know when he was "supposed" to do anything. my second kid started walking and talking at about 9 months, so if i'd had her first, i'm sure i would have been convinced that ds was brain damaged!

he's just this laid-back kid who doesn't try to do stuff until he's very, very certain that he will succeed. he's 16 and a half now, and not at all interested in learning to drive yet (which is actually just fine with me). he's really quite bright, just a very cautious creature (as opposed to his sister, who gets herself into all kinds of trouble with diving into stuff before she's ready).

of course, if you are having an intuition that something's wrong, definitely go for some testing. you know your baby better than anyone else! but if you're just concerned because you think he "should" be doing something and he's not yet, i'd say try to relax and let him develop according to his own schedule.

just my 2 cents!

katje

[Jlcampbellkidz]

Good Morning ladies. It sounds like everyones appointments are going well!!!
My apt. is next Tuesday and then I think we go to every two weeks. Is that really nessasary? I have been feeling lots of BH lately. They always make me need to pee, even if I have just gone. Also, the itching belly has arrived. I experienced this much earlier with my DD, probably because I was much smaller to start out with her and I got huge. This time the skin was already stretched and willing to stretch easily some more. Some of you mentioned using something called body butters. I live in Texas and have not heard of this. Where is it sold? Can I order it online?

Well, I just wanted to check in. We are having High 80's and low 90's days here. I am wishing we had a pool in our backyard! Still not feeling miserable though. Maybe my tune will change when the 100 degree days hit. Wich our weather station says is not too far away. We usually get several starting in June.

Have a great day!