April Mamas Chat Thread: November

[Stream]

Having heard no protest, here is our new chat thread for the whole month of November. I figure we'll get chattier as our due dates approach, but for now we can all be laid back and not have to worry about starting new threads every week.

So... I suppose a bunch of us have ultrasounds coming up-- who is finding out the sex? We're not this time, but I'm super-excited to hear the news from those who are. What else is new with everybody? Did you all have a good Halloween?

We went trick-or-treating with dd, which was nice, but somebody stole our candy bowls while we were gone. I think we might escape to my mom's house in the suburbs next Halloween-- this one was a wee bit depressing for all of the uncostumed candy-grubbing.

Chat away!

[natashaccat]

My house is set in from the main road and not very well lit. I've gotten many election campaigners this fall but no tricker treaters.

Baby seems to have growth spurted over the weekend, my belly is feeling huge today.

[sarajane]

I'm not really feeling pregnant this week. =(

No movement yet, tummy is not growing very fast, and no symptons. I suppose I should be thankful though, plenty of time to grow yet.

I will be finding out the sex of the baby in a few weeks. That is if my little one will face the camera. Does it happen often that the baby is hiding its gender from everyone? That happened with one of my sister-in-law's pregnancies, she had to go back for another to find out. I don't think I can afford to do that though...

[danaalex]

we had our trick or treating sat night. we went to the air force base and joined up with our playgroup. it was fun and after one turn out ( had to stop to use the potty) my oldest decided she was done which was fine by me as we are not a candy family LOL.

we left a bowl of candy at our house and we don't think even one piece was gone. and we had no trick or treaters on sun night. oh well.

i'm huge, one pair of maternity shorts (without any type of elastic or panel, just low ride) are already snug wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. i have no clue how i'm going to clothe myself if this continues. i weighed myself after taking the ill fitting shorts off and i've gained 2.5 lbs. so, that's not the problem.

i'm still throwing up and getting seriously nauseous. friday and sat i was hit pretty bad, but felt better after throwing up. sun i was so sick, but no matter what i couldn't throw up so i took a half a unisom and 10 min later i felt much better. that was the first time i resorted to taking a drug. usually throwing up or grease would do the trick. my boobs are ultra sore and sensative which my DH hates and is getting impatient with (he's a boob man LOL). i just keep telling him to deal.

we're not going to find out what we are having. that is driving everyone that knows i'm pg crazy. we told our parents, via halloween drawing from the girls, this weekend. we have heard from my dad and his wife, but no one else yet. my ILaws are coming next thurs for the weekend. and i am hoping to get away for a day of pampering, massage, facial, manicure and pedicure, while they are here. my DH is spending today pressure washing the house, because we MIGHT be moving to MD in Dec. we haven't decided just yet. so, we're trying to get our house ready to sell.

well, that's all that's up with me

[J-Max]

Hi,
I didn't post much on the last chat thread, but had time today, so thought I would join in!

We had 1 trick-or-treater last night (we knew this, we live way out on a ranch and there are only 3 families with kids, us, the one who came, and the other boys who were hunting). Then we went to "town" the closest town where our kids go to school. We did the whole town in about an hour and then went to a neihbors ranch where we had dinner (taco soup and an awesome veggie tray) and the kids all played. It was really nice!

I have a Dr appt on Friday and my ultrasound is on the 14th. I think we are going to find out the sex. Dh really wants to so I think we will. We will be happy with a healthy baby, but is anyone hopeing for one sex or the other? We are really hopeing for a boy this time .

What is anyone craving? I have been eating dill pickles like crazy for the last month. THey are about the only thing that sounds good to me. I figure I must need the salt or something. MY ms is finally starting to get better. I still have bad days, but they are every few days, instead of all day every day!

Hope everyone is feeling well,
Jess

[Stream]

We're not really hoping for one sex over the other, but I do feel more and more like this baby is a boy. No good reason except when I picture a girl it doesn't feel right. I would love for dd to have a sister, but then again, I would love to have one of each too, so we just can't go wrong. I guess that's part of the reason I'm up to waiting for the surprise!

[proudmamanow]

thanks for starting this thread, Stream
I agree, a monthly one is probably better right now.

We had a dissapointing TOT turnout, we bought about 250 chocolate bars and as many rockets (ok, a bit overboard), but only got about 40 kids. They each got a lot of candy. I think it may have been because the weather was kind of lousy & it was a school night. But we got some cute costumes, lots of little firefighters, ghosts, and a fabulous homemade Sponge Bob, v. impressive.

Congrats on winning the pumpkin carving contest, btw! (it was you Stream, right?). Dw and I would love to see a picture.

to sarajane...this is our first too and I'm having such trouble figuring out if there is any movement...still some symptoms (having to pee, stretching feelings in my uterus, and sore back). I hope you have a wonderful u/s!

to danaalex on your continuing sickness, I'm so sorry! I hope it goes soon!

And...we heard the heartbeat at 16 week midwife appointment yesterday!! finally! And I`m in good shape bp wise and otherwise, so I'm pleased. My tummy keeps on getting bigger. I'm going to post a new tummy shot this week.

We don't really have a major gender preference. I did want a girl at first, but by now I'd be thrilled with a little boy as well, and all I really want is a healthy baby!

[natashaccat]

Originally Posted by sarajane

I'm not really feeling pregnant this week. =(

No movement yet, tummy is not growing very fast, and no symptons. I suppose I should be thankful though, plenty of time to grow yet.

I will be finding out the sex of the baby in a few weeks. That is if my little one will face the camera. Does it happen often that the baby is hiding its gender from everyone? That happened with one of my sister-in-law's pregnancies, she had to go back for another to find out. I don't think I can afford to do that though...

I'm not sure how common it is but this was the case for my dd#1. We got a lovely view of her rump.

[danaalex]

we never went in to intentionally find the sex of our girls. with our oldest we just had a regular U/S at the 20 something week and they did all the measuring, and we didn't want to know so they didn't look. with our youngest we had a 3D U/S it was a trial thing and we just wanted to see what it looked like, it only cost us like $15.00 so we did it. we didn't want to know the sex, but the tech said, "did you already know you were having a girl?" we were floored, after we got past the shock of his telling us, he explained that on that type of U/S they can look for the ovarian arteries. that way if the babe is shy they don't have to look for the genitalia.

so, ask your tech if that is possible, looking for ovarian arteries that is. he said something like, if they are there, it's a girl, if they aren't he CAN'T guarantee it's a boy.

[Stream]

Y'all, I just closed my office door and took an hour nap at my desk. Tell me again when we get that burst of energy?

[sunbaby]

and i'll bet it was a lovely rump too, natashacat . baby butts are the cutest. i guess if this happens to us i will know that i am not really meant to know.

sorry danaalex, that you are still feeling so poorly. i wish i could take that away for you. seems that once you were wondering about twins, are you still? could that be causing extra sickness? and when could you know,since you arent having a sonogram?

glad you heard the heatbeat, jesse.

i am doing better right now. eating well is helping.

we took dd out trick or treating and it was fun. too bad though about so many scary costumes, she was pretty careful about which houses she'd go to, and who walked past. in a way, i guess its a good thing, i definately didnt argue when her intuition said no about a house, its good practice for her.

i go back and forth about which sex i hope for. at first, i was sure i wanted another girl. in the past few days though, i have been hoping boy. so i just dont know. whatever. we thougth we wanted a boy with dd, but once you know what your babe actually is, its pretty hard to spend very long wanting anything else, other than the perfect thing you have been given, ya know? still, i cant wait to find out at the sonogram, and i dont know why.

i heard on another thread that you can have caffien or sugar before the ultrasound, and hope the babe is more active because of it, and you are more likely to get a peek at the genitals. i am kinda creeped out by the idea of a 3-d sonogram, dont know why, but dont think i'll be having one. although the info from danaalex has tempted me...

[natashaccat]

;

Originally Posted by Stream

Y'all, I just closed my office door and took an hour nap at my desk. Tell me again when we get that burst of energy?

Yeah, and where's all that second trimester bedroom action?!

Actually I am feeling more energetic today than I have for a while, I'm working harder at going to bed by 9:00 which feels horribly early but seems to help.

[Stream]

Eek! Election anxiety has finally gotten to me... I've felt strongly all along (doesn't matter which candidate, not trying to be political) and now it's just. so. close. I wanna know!

[seren]

Originally Posted by natashaccat

;

Yeah, and where's all that second trimester bedroom action?!

Actually I am feeling more energetic today than I have for a while, I'm working harder at going to bed by 9:00 which feels horribly early but seems to help.

I found the bedroom action over here.

I have had more energy lately, but it's sure not a lot.

Have had a lot going on lately. Feeling great pregnancy wise, not sick, I think the migraines I had for a few days are gone. I'm wearing my jeans I wore before I got pregnant, that didn't fit before my miscarriage in July. That's nice, but I am a big girl, so I don't look pregnant. I was 16 weeks yesterday. I have an appointment with a midwife (not sure which) on Monday, hopefully will hear the heartbeat, if not, will have some definite anxiety. But have been feeling more and more movement. Not everyday, but sometimes several times a day. I have had a bit of anxiety today. I finally got medicaid (we don't have insurance, yet and the insurance we will have won't cover the midwife), but it caused not so desirable results. Dh just got a new job, about 5-6 weeks ago. We still qualify for medicaid for pregnancy (which is fantastic), but no longer qualify for food stamps. I know this is what we want, to make enough money to not need them, but it's still scary, when we've had them for 2 years I didn't have to ever worry about feeding my children. Maybe no one understands, but I feel scared.

And I've had good news and scary stuff with my ds. The good news, great really, is that he gained 3 lbs in the last 2 1/2 months. At his 15 month check up he had finally hit 20 lbs and was offically off the bottom of the chart. Then he got sick and lost half a lb, since then he's gained 3 and is back on the chart. Sure made me feel a lot better. BUt he has started when he gets hurt, holding his breath. Not intentional, but he does until he can't hold himself up. Yesterday I didn't pick him up in time (I was in another room) and he fell. When he's in my arms he goes limp. I'm not sure if he's actually passing out or not. I spent 20 minutes on the phone with the peds nurse yesterday and she asked a million questions. We decided it's not on purpose and he only does it when hurt, but not every tiem. Then today I was really watching closely and thinking a lot, I think it might only be when he hits his head, no matter how softly. And then I wondered, if it is only when he hits his head, could it be related to when he fell off the couch, landed on his face on the hardwood and was unconcious? We had to call 911 and he was fine by the time they got here, but could it be related to that? DO I need to call the ped back? I jsut don't know.


And as for find out the sex. I don't want to. We did with both before and I really really really want to be surprised this time. Dh doesn't, but I finally convinced him. Well now my grandma might be coming for Christmas. She will be 79 then. SHe has never seen an ultrasound and I told her I would wait for her to do it. But she is pressuring me to find out, she really wants to see it. So now dh is saying he wants to know again. Everyone I know is going crazy wanting to know. And it's driving me crazy.

And my breasts hurt. For those of you have breastfed a baby, you know how when your breasts get cold, it feels differently when there's milk, then when you aren't breastfeeding? Too tired to really find the words to explain, well anyways, I feel that when I get cold. It's not a really pleasant feeling.

And yesterday I talked to the receptionist at my midwife's office. She's really so much more than just a receptionist. I told her my concerns with the evil midwife and we talked about it. She made me feel better (she has an amazing ability to do that) and convinced me to give her one more chance, with an opne mind. She's going to tactfully find a way to give this midwife a headsup, without telling her I called (a big fear of mine) and gave me some tipes. Like to beat her to the punch, say I lost weight this week, didn't gain, did gian, whatever and me bring it up and put an end to it. SO we will see how it goes.

Gosh, sorry this is so long ladies.

[danaalex]

serenity, my girls are small too. neither of them hit 20 lbs till about a year and a half. my oldest is now about 25% for both height and weight, and the babe is like 10% for weight and 25% for height?

i have a friend who's oldest DD used to cry and hold her breath till she'd pass out, right around your son's age. once she'd officially pass out and her body realized she needed oxygen again, she'd wake up. her ped told her it was a phase and her DD would grow out of it, which she has. when you have to worry about head injuries, is if your son falls and immediately goes unconscious, as soon as he hits the floor. when a person passes out at the time of a head injury you have to worry about a concussion. also, if shortly after the fall your son can't walk straight, can't do things like feed himself or hold a cup, if his pupils appear to not change with the amount of light shining in them, stuff like that is more indicative of trauma to the brain.

anytime a child falls on their head it is terrifying. my girls have both done it numerous occassions, and we have ceramic tile and wood floors. i just look for those symptoms or changes. and then reasses frequently till i am SURE they are ok. if you are really concerned, ask your ped for a full neuro work up ( and maybe a CAT scan or MRI if you are REally really really worried). a less scary test is an EEG, measures brain waves, but you have to do it right after the episode, so kind hard to do that......................................

i'm glad you spoke to the woman in your midwives office, hopefully she'll be able to get through to the evil midwife for you !!!!!!!

thank you to sunbaby for your kind words. i don't know about the twins thing. my OB did my U/S and she is just NOT GOOD at them LOL, so i have no clue if we'll get a definitive answer or not, unless we move and i can get an actual U/S tech to do an U/S for me. my OB wants to do an U/S at 22 weeks, but i really don't want her doing it. i know she'll tell me some crazy wrong info and it will piss or freak me out, and it's not worth it to me to go through that. so, we'll see..................................

uggh, this election reporting is killing me. too close, too damn close!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[speedknitter]

My energy returned just in time for us to finish up our move last week - boy that was a LOT of work! 7000 sq ft of auto parts is a pain in the you-know-what to move! We still have lots of unpacking and organizing to do at the new place, but at least we are OUT of the old building. I was the truck driver, going back & forth several times a day - it was something I could do and not have to do a lot of heavy lifting.

We have one main business partner that we want to tell first, before telling everyone else here at work - he is great and is kind of like family, so we want him to be the first to know. He lives out of town but is arriving next Monday, then DH and I are going to take Thurs-Sunday OFF to have a little break after all this work. I can't wait to just sit and and watch a few movies!!!

The next Ultrasound is not scheduled yet but we definitely want to find out the sex...with this being our first and at our age there will be enough surprises!!! We don't care which it is, but my DH is betting its a girl.

[aprildawn]

good idea to have a monthly thread for at least the next couple months, stream.

we went in for our one and only ultrasound today and the baby was playing shy. so, as desperate as i was this time around to find out the gender, we won't know until april! ack!!! it's driving me insane. the tech pushed at the little kid with the transducer to try and get him/her to uncross their legs, but they'd just kick back and cross their legs again!

so, like any good mom, i sentenced the kid to a 5 month time-out.

[liawbh]

Where's the "phew" smilie? It's nice in here, and quiet! I've spent entirely too much time in W&P this week - yikes!
Had my 16week appt Mon. Met the 2nd midwife, she's very nice too! Sh found the hb right away!!
We turned down the quad screen, but DH wants u/s so we'll schedule that at 20 wks.

Yeah, where is that energy? The m/s is gone FINALLY, but I'm still so tired.
Oh, and the mw's said they *like* for mamas to gain weight when I mentioned that the place I went first was snippy about it. how nice!

[seren]

Well, today has been a sucky day. Ihad to call my mom and ask her to come and get my kids this morning. I just couldn't be a mommy today. And as horrible as that sounds, it wasn't my fault. I had the mother of all migraines. Dry heaves and everything. I can't do this anymore. I didn't have them for so long and now this is about the 6th in two weeks. I called the midwife and she told me to just treat with Tylenol and caffiene until my app on Monday. I think they will want to put me back on zoloft and at this point I don't care. When I was in high school I had migraines 4 out of 7 days a week. Too often to take the meds you're supposed to take when you actually have the migraine. So they gave me an anti-depressant to prevent them. Worked great! When I was preg with dd, they were horrible. So bad that hydrocodone and demerol didn't even dent them. With ds, I was on zoloft because I had depression similar to post-partem depression. It took care of my migraines. So, I think I'm desperate enough to go on it again. Does this make me horrible?

[natashaccat]

Originally Posted by liawbh

Oh, and the mw's said they *like* for mamas to gain weight when I mentioned that the place I went first was snippy about it. how nice!

Wow I'd sure like to hear that from my MW. With dd 1 my OB wasn't terribly concerned about weight gain (or nutrition either). I'm getting mixed vibes from the MW clinic that I'm using this time though. They've asked me several times about my diet and I can't quite figure out if these are routine questions or if they are specifically directed at me. I'm pretty sure that they are routine but they definately make me feel a bit self concious esp since I'm gaining tons of weight inspite of my low sugar-healthy diet.