weekly thread Nov 8th-14th

[nannymom]

Hi Mamas. I hope this Monday finds everyone well.

I am exausted last week sucked. I was feeling very depressed and overworked and really tired. However, I am trying to view this week as a fresh start.

My boss and I were filmed this morning for a news story about nannies vs. day care. I have never spent so much time getting ready for work. It airs Thursday night-I am afraid to watch it and see myself looking like I'm carrying triplets instead of one baby .

Dh painted the dining room! He must have sensed I was going to snap and so he just did it. Now all we have left to paint is the bathroom and we are good before the baby comes.

Speaking of the baby we have our final class at the birth center tommarow. It's so strange b/c I can remember being at the first class in August and thinking I will be so close to having this baby at the next class.

Well, I have rambled enough...happy one week closer.

p.s.-if anyone has the inclination please go to the I'm pregnant board and take my maternity leave poll and also note that it took me three flase starts to get it going

[Jessviola]

I just had to post because I finally made that sling that I've been putting off for weeks. I just need a baby to try it out on now though....:LOL

I think I actually just saw a few snowflakes falling outside! The sky is silvery but the sun peeks through the clouds every now and then. We need to get our butts in gear and take the a/c out of the window :LOL

Nannymom,
I hope you feel better this week!

[Oregonicmama]

I'm sorry I keep complaining about my sleeping problems...but now I am plagued with BIZARRE nightmares! : Night before last, I was under attack by maneating aliens (!). And last night my Mother was trying to kill me in a gas station. I woke up and was still so tired I went back to sleep only to be chased through a subway station by some women thinking I stole her Jack-o-Lantern!
WTF?!? I just want a peaceful nights sleep!!!!! Now its noon, and I feel like I slept about 4 hours. I guess I will just have to indulge in some espresso!

I really hope all this crazyness stops soon. Back and leg pain I can deal with, but the nightmares really throw me off.

Other than that, I am doing good. The baby is moving around a lot. It even kicked me so hard it hurt last night! WOW!

I have an appointment with my midwife on Wednesday. Oh and I got DP to agree to watch DD so I can go to my Yoga class on Tuesday night instead of Saturday (I keep oversleeping and missing the Sat class!). So hopefully that will help my miserable back!

on a good note I cleaned my bathroom from top to bottom yesterday. I found some funky black mold under the toilet tank- EWWW!- and I feel better knowing it is gone (mold is a big problem in the Northwest). I used only baking soda and I have to say the bathroom looks pretty good!

Ok. Wah, wah,wah... I'll come back when I feel a little better!

[mamamoo]

35w 3d

I had a wonderful weekend as far as getting ready for baby...got a bunch of beans(for burritos), and chili frozen for dinners when the babe comes. I am going to make double meals for the next few nights so I can freeze one ahead, and I am hoping to make some muffins and waffles to freeze for easy breakfasts this afternoon. And we are getting there on decluttering...painting is another story. LOL

But...on thursday night someone stole our exhaust system off of our van!! It was so crazy. I called our crime check to report it, and the woman thought i was joking!! So we were without a car all weekend(maybe why I got so much cooking done), but it should be ready today.

I woke up with a horrible leg cramp last night(first time with this pregnancy...I got them all of the time with my first little one), and I am still limping around.

Dh is finally starting to help out more, I kind of freaked out on him this weekend...I am in such a nesting mode, and I don't think he gets how stressed I am about having things ready before the baby comes. Last time Sam was two weeks early, and our house was a disaster, he was up cleaning from 2 in the morning and no help at all to me while I was in labour, and I was sorting and washing baby clothes...not how I want it this time!! That is for sure. LOL

Anyway, I can't believe that I could have this baby in as little as 2 and a half weeks!!! Amazing! Hope everyone has a great week. Debi

[nikirj]

I feel exhausted. I don't know why. It really sucks that I feel this way. I try to move around and my heart starts racing and everything, it totally sucks. I checked my BP and it is normal - DH says he started feeling sick again this morning and I might just be getting sick AGAIN. I think that's it, I'm getting sick again and since this will be the third cold in three weeks, my body is just giving up and telling me to STAY FREAKIN PUT until it can take care of things. The problem? Nesting. Yes, it has hit even me, the slob. I have sudden urges to scrub the floor. I spent half an hour last night trying to get the mildew stains off the tub caulking (no such luck, the stains are actually UNDER the caulk and just kind of show through as shadows). I reamed out DH for not washing the dishes last night. And I sorted all the baby clothes by age and washed the under-6-month batch. I so badly want to clean (this is SO out of character for me, believe me) and every time I try to do anything that takes more than 5 minutes or so I feel so awful. It is some measure of consolation to me that I've got another month and a half or so before this baby arrives (probably) but then, I realize that the urge to clean is so rare for me, I'll probably not find the motivation again if it dissappears before I get over this whatever-it-is. I got some satisfaction out of shaving DS's head (our version of a haircut), cutting kid fingernails, etc. - kind of like cleaning, only I get to sit still and make the kids hold out body parts ("let me see your TOES!")

And I realized yesterday that my mom is visiting this weekend, and that may be the last time anyone visits me before Christmas/baby. So I've been running around trying to get gifts for my island-dwelling family members so that she can bring them back with her. And I'm totally stuck home today, there's no way I could handle being out-and-about feeling this crappy. I do all kinds of things that my in-laws consider nuts for a pregnant woman to do, and I've always said I know my own limits - well, I've hit my limit. I need to sit my butt down and not do anything today. Well, maybe walk DD to and from school. But that's it. Nothing today.

Nannymom - cool, you're going to be on tv? Neat I doubt you look like you're carrying triplets

I got my first "you're about to pop!" comment today, some woman as I was walking home from dropping off DD at school just shouts at me "wow, about to have a baby now, huh!" Errr, do I know you? But I just smiled and said "nope, another two months!" and she just looked at me like I was nuts.

On the other hand, last night my MIL told me I was looking good and she couldn't even tell I was pregnant from the rear (I've vented quite a few times before about my MIL slipping in snide comments about my appearance, so this was quite the shocker). She and DH's aunt both said they looked a lot bigger at my stage - but I think they're thinking "due in December = really far along" and forgetting about the END of December thing, hope they don't expect me to deliver right after Thanksgiving or anything. And I also realized that usually when I go to her house I'm wearing a rather shapeless sweater or similar, and last night I was wearing some tight-at-the-rear jeans and a form-fitting sweater. Now I'm wondering if all her weird little weight comments weren't just misunderstanding, like she thought I was actually filling out all the (sideways)space in those sweaters? (Usually they were DH's 3X sweaters)

OK, gonna go watch a DVD with DS. Like I said, it is a sit-on-my-ass type day over here.

[cinnamonamon]

Sit! Get comfortable, Niki! I didn't stop when I needed to with ds1, and my body was just too tired to function... Remember that it isn't pampering yourself, it is taking care of yourself -- and your little one.

It sounds like lots of us are in the nesting stage -- I just cleaned up a big stack of boxes/bags, & it's now a smaller stack, lol. And we started working on the bookshelf again -- once that is built everything in the stack will go IN the bookshelf & free up a bunch of space...not to mention be much less of an eyesore.

lovelocks -- those nightmares sound really irritating! I had that with ds1...maybe the yoga will help you sleep better.


I'm doing pretty well, my stack of sewing is getting smaller & smaller, and I am finally getting excited about the birth (as opposed to hoping he would wait a little longer so I could finish everything).

[Jenelle]

32 1/2 weeks

Niki, so glad to hear your MIL actually made a nice comment! I've definitely noticed that I feel better and look smaller when I wear clothes that actually fit - the problem is that most of the time I just want to be comfortable!

For anyone who read my last post on last week's thread, I am a little less whiny today. I went to the dr. and have only gained 1/2 pound in the last two weeks, instead of the 5-6 I thought it would be! So that gives me a total of almost 30 pounds... that's not so bad for where I'm at, right?

Ah, nesting. Yes, it seems we all have it going on! And I'm quite sure that none of our spouses/partners can fully understand or relate to the damn urgency we feel about it.

Everybody have a good week!

[KoalaMommy]

Wow, I wish I could "nest" more. I mean, I have nesting instincts, and nesting urges, but as soon as I'm up and about for more than 10 minutes my back and my feet start to hurt and I then I start getting cramps and I just can't do it anymore. So then I take some sewing to bed and work on that until I fall asleep.

Something really weird has been happening in the last few days. My BMs were starting to get more frequent and looser (I took that as a good pre-labor sign). But then they stopped and suddenly I was getting this constant, gotta go feeling which wasn't true. And though they've returned, now I get sharp stabbing pains in my intestines that sometimes become sharp stabbing pains all over my lower abdomen. Does anyone have anything similar going on? I'm wondering if it's just that the babe has dropped lower or what.

I am so ready to have this baby! I was rather dissapointed to learn on Friday that she is not yet engaged and that I haven't begun dilating. Though apparently my cervix is thinning. The midwife did say, though, that those things didn't mean I couldn't go into labor any moment now, they just meant that early labor would be longer. She was of the opinion that one generally goes into labor within 2 weeks of losing the mucous plug (which was a week ago Sunday). So maybe this week will be it for me. Right now I'm just trying to get through each day. I hope to have my work wrapped up by the end of this week (then I can start working on stuff I'll need to do when I get back).

I hope the mammas with colds are feeling better now. I can only imagine how miserable it would be to add a cold on top of the constant bladder pressure, cramping, swelling and hip pains!!!

I also hope y'all are hanging in there better than I am. At least right now everyone keeps telling me I look great (and that I look like I'm about to pop). I guess if I have to feel uncomfortable, I can at least take comfort in knowing I don't look it.

[cinnamonamon]

Hilary -- I had a bit of the same thing yesterday -- nasty abdominal cramps & trapped/painful gas feeling; after a bit I started to think that it may actually be bh contrax -- with ds1 the only contrax I ever felt felt like nasty pms cramps. Dh & I were intimate yesterday, too, so I think that may have something to do with it.

Oops, gotta go, ds is trashin dh's office!

[PatchyMama]

hey everyone! not too much longer

36w 2 days

Had midwife appointment today... which was nice, I really enjoy seeing my midwife I'm now measuring only 40.5 cm (was 41 last week, LOL). But I have a feeling baby just moved down a bit cause she is definately kicking lower than she was a few days ago. But the midwife did talk a bit with me today about laboring positions and what not. By the feeling of this ones butt along with my measurements she is pretty sure this baby is not going to be a tiny one, so she wanted to go over some of the easier labor positions for larger babies. I gotta admit I'm a bit nervous about pushing out a big baby... Kyla was only 7lbs and was pretty tiny and was definately an easy labor.

Otherwise I'm feeling OK! My allergies are acting up, but nothing serious. Tho I really wouldnt mind if my feet would stop swelling so much. I sit down to sew and because im so short my feet end up kind of dangling which just makes the swelling worse :LOL But I did finally get a changing pad cover made and a new fairy wetbag! I really need to start cutting out some newborn diapers but I've been in such a crunch to do business work so I can pay off the midwife... but I realized that she coudl really be here at any time now so I better make her some darn diapers :LOL

ramble ramble...

[rainy32]

35 weeks

so much going on! the baby has dropped -- I am measuring 29 cm which is 1 1/2 cm less than 2 weeks ago. yet the nurse said he could move up again, first babies sometimes do. I sure am enjoying being able to breathe. but I also notice looser bowels. (TMI)

I have ANOTHER UTI. I am so bummed about it. I was so careful -- going whenever I felt the urge, drinkign tons of water, etc. I think its the refined sugar. Boy have I had a sweet tooth lately! But the thing is (another TMI warning) my urine is testing positive for UTI but when they culture it it comes back negative. Like you need 10,000 organisms to "qualify" for a UTI, and I only get 1,000 or so. So the dr. said I must be really sensitive or something to feel the UTI when it doesn't "culture." OR its not a UTI, its something else, but she didn't know what it could be .... argh. Now I'm on another drug, Klefix, 4 times a day for 10 days. But I feel better after just a day on, so thats good.

I REALLY need to slow down -- work is crazy and I feel like I'm doign too much. Last night I was doing dishes adn cookign dinner and I just wanted to cry I felt so tired and out of breath and crampy. I know I need to relax, I just have a big deadline in 2 weeks and if I can make it till then ... but thats also not the right attitude to have for the baby, so I feel guilty about trying to push through ....

I'm not as sad as it sounds, honest! Just a bit upset with myself for being such a perfectionist and "doer"

And my "nesting" instinct is a SHOPPING instinct and all I want to do is shop on line ! Not good !

[cinnamonamon]

Tiffany, you could whip up a dozen prefolds in just a couple hours, then not have to stress about it -- that's what I did, then I started with a dozen newborn size fitteds, and I'm going to make a dozen tiny poopockets after that -- those are really fast too & fit 4 - 10 lbs. Of course you said your baby probably won't be really tiny, so that would overkill -- but the prefolds would be easy -- & they're really fun to make. If dh will show me how to post pics again I'll post pictures of the ones I made out of old shirts...

Oh, and don't forget you'll need like 10 covers -- gotta contain all those explosive bfed baby poops, remember! :LOL

[Jessviola]

Dierdre,
Those sound like some pretty intense dreams! I hope they ease up on you soon and you can get some restful sleep!

Debi,
Wow, you sound very organized! I haven't even started to think about preparing meals or anything yet. Although admittedly that's a huge weakness of mine, I'm a total procrastinator. Sorry about your exhaust, I hope they can do something about it.

Niki,
I hope you aren't getting sick again! Take it easy and take care of yourself! What a nice surprise comment from MIL. I hope she continues with that attitude!

Rainy,
Sorry about the UTI, I hope it clears up quickly for you!

As for nesting, I'm really wanting to nest, but don't really have a place to nest. We're trying to find an apt, but time is quickly running out and I don't know if we'll find a place before the baby comes. But I don't want to get everything ready here and then have to pack up. Plus we just don't physically have the space.

[michray]

34 weeks, 2 days

and I am right there with all of you who cannot sleep and are exhausted all of the time! I have the WORST insomnia of my life and during the day I get winded from just carrying laundry from one room to another! I desperately want to clean, clean, clean ( ok.. what I REALLY want to do is throw out everything in the house that isn't absolutely NEEDED, but dh would have a fit!) and keeping up with dd is just impossible!

Vivien is VERY, VERY active and very high, so Im gonna have a chat with my midwife on Wed about ways to maybe get her to move a lil. Her lil butt is constantly pushing on my ribs and I SWEAR that her turning her head feels like a knife in the cervix! Sorry if TMI, but its the most uncomfy feeling.

BUT! I am happy that we are still pg and haven't had any more signs of PTL. I just cannot handle the thought of having this one in the local hospital or having to find a way to manage my other 2 kids if Vivien had to stay in the hospital to develop if born early. I'd be perfectly happy with 3 more weeks

Speaking of pains.. I keep having these really sharp pains right up the center of my stomach. DH thinks they are from the fact that I am doing too much and that I keep getting up from chairs too fast, or picking up DD too fast and that I may be stretching or separating my abdominal muscles. He's kinda freaking my out cause he keeps telling me that the more I do it, the more likely I am to do serious damage to that muscle. Anyone know if he is right??

Ok... 11pm and I am off to clean the kids bathroom.... wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[mamamoo]

Oh gosh...I didn't mean to make it sound like I was doing so good. :LOL I am doing good for me, that's for sure. I detest cleaning, and am a total procrastinator, but after last time(having Sam at home totally unprepared)I was really gung ho this weekend. LOL I thinkI might have over done it though, becasue I feel like I have this cold AGAIN!! and I am tired...maybe part of the reason I had such a good weekend was on Friday night I got the best nights sleep in years! I woke up only one time(usually I am up at least 5-6 times), and I woke up on Saturday feeling great!! My butt has been dragging the last 2 days though, and I have great food in the freezer, but it is all frozen so we had McDonalds for dinner last night. Blech!!

Today I am going to try to hop in the shower real quick and try to be motivated...it is getting hard to do all the things on my list, I start getting contractions after a bit of moving around, so I have to sit down for a while, then I get sucked into MDC. :LOL

Anyway...I am so glad all of you pregnant mamas are hanging in there, especially those of you with PTL scares!!

Only a few more weeks and we will be holding our new babies in our arms!!

[Changed]

I"m sorry to hear that so many of you are feeling so crumby and achy. Fortunatly, I'm feeling really well until the end of the day when I start to feel super sore in my groin. Other than that no pain whatsoever. No hip back or sciatic pain. God is smiling on me! Maybe it has to do with my last 2 miserable pregnancies. I think it has alot to do with not gaining to much weight. It's so hard on your frame to adjust to a big, fast gain. I gained alot with my other kids and felt horrible the whole time. Swollen and sore. I have yet to have swollen feet this time! I'm probably making you all gag... sorry. I'm rather amused and thankful to feel so great.

My DH is picking up the slack for my unwillingness to walk or stand much in the late evenings. He cooked dinner and then went on a craving emergancy mcdonalds trip after that. I am not eating meatloaf right now. YAK! He said he was going to clean the kitchen so I went to take a bath and go to bed. He ended up getting up at 5 this morning to clean the kitchen so that I wouldn't have to do it. I guess he fell asleep last night..

My 4 yo is driving me nuts. She must be sensing a shift in attention coming and I think she's decided that I'm going to pay for it ahead of time. She's doing everything she can think of to irritate me. I am SO ready for her to go to kindergarden. I never thought I would say that. Just a few hours right down the street learning and playing. Oh yes, come August she's going! I NEED to miss her a little.

I've made one freezer meal so far. I'm going to make a few more. DH cooks pretty well though so I'm not worried about it. My main focus and goal is keeping things clean. I need my house to be squeaky clean while I labor. It's a fetish. I need laundry smelling clean and put away neatly, ALL of it.

You should have seen the look on DH's face last night when he came home to our house all done up for Christmas.. He's SURE i've lost my mind.

My goals today: wash my zolo as I hear it will soften it up more, clean and organize guest bedroom/sewing room for midwives to sleep in, make another freezer meal, clean bathroom #3.

If I can do that i'll be on top of the world...

[Jessviola]

I'm not swollen this time either Last time my feet and legs got soooo huge and tight. I'm so happy to not have that this time, although as far as pregnancy woes go, it's not that bad.

I had my first appt with the new MW office. It went very well and I feel sooo much better now. I was nervous when I first went in, but after talking with her again and everything I really feel more at ease. I'm so glad I switched.

The baby is doing great. She helped me feel his position and he's head down for now, although she said he could do lots more moving around before settling. Big improvement over labeling me breech at 18 weeks

[NeKisha]

35 weeks

went to my mw last friday and i am measuring 32 :

i feel really, well, sort of guilty. like i should be force feeding myself. i havent read any women on here with a similar problem, but maybe someone here can relate. ive only gained almost 8 lbs. and ive probably lost 15 or more on myself. i eat very regularly. 3 meals a day, plus at least one snack. i guess i should have been eating more.

they want me to go to another ultrasound on the 22nd, same day our kitty gets spayed (thats a whole other issue). the mw is afraid the amniotic fluid is low or the baby has fallen off her/his growth curve. i fear that i might have too tiny a baby and have to leave the babe behind at the hospital. then i will feel like the worst mama ever...if only i would have eaten more i know i will think.

idk, anyway....i feel pretty good, not to cumbersome yet dh starts a new job next week, so i know he will be happier away from his old job where he wasnt treated all that well.

i am ending work as of next week and cannot wait! i am exhausted by 11 or so in the morning and find myself taking 2-3 hr long naps sometimes cant say i will be able to do that for much longer lol. i cannot wait to meet our baby, and especially to see if it is a boy or a girl. i had originally hoped to have an earlier than my edd baby, but after reading all the remarks on mhl's post about speeding up her due date, i have changed my mind. i want this little one to grow happily inside me for maybe past my due date, just to make sure he/she is big enough and strong enough to nurse on their own and most importantly, leave the hospital with me.

i still have a ways to go to everything ready for baby, but i am hoping that i get a lot done this weekend. since weve moved less than a month ago, things are slowly finding their place in the apartment. but there is a lot of things that have yet to be put away. working full time, trying to cook homemade meals every night, and do all the post-moving organizing on my own has been tough, but i will be rewarded with the 3 weeks of rest before my due date once i stop work.

[Jenelle]

NeKisha, if you are really worried about it - add in a couple more snacks during the day. It doesn't have to be much - milk and peanut butter both come to mind. Something with some calories! Or add healthy oils like flax and olive to whatever you're eating. Flax oil has the EFAs that are great for brain development anyway. I'm not sure what you mean... did you lose 15 pounds in the beginning and you're only 8 up from that???

And I'm with you after reading the responses on that thread. We were hoping for a couple weeks early, but I'll gladly take this babe nice and cooked!

[rainy32]

another way to add some calories, and protein, is to make one of the snacks a protein shake or a powerbar plus protein. those will add 200 - 300 calories, and 24 or so grams of protein.