FEB thread..... - Page 2

[jjsexton]

Originally Posted by wan2bemama

-I get heartburn occasionally, although not too bad, and I have chewed the occasional TUMS...I thought they were okay, but I'm very open to hearing why not & what would be better....
-My mother in law was here last week & has started to knit us some adorable soakers and is going to sew us some pocket diapers...our diaper stash is starting to grow and I'm feeling more confident about prefolds after practicing on a stuffed toy this weekend :

I'm using papaya enzymes for heartburn and they are wonderful...you can get tablets at health food stores, or just eat papaya! Slippery elm is supposed to work too. I forget what it is about Tums that isn't so great...I think it's just that they have a lot of chemicals.

And LOL re: stuffed animal practicing...that's exactly my plan for when my diapers arrive! DH and I will practice wiggling the teddy bear around while the other of us is trying to diaper. As I just said on another thread, our dog doesn't know how lucky he is to be too big to play dress-up!

[speedknitter]

Originally Posted by jjsexton

And LOL re: stuffed animal practicing...that's exactly my plan for when my diapers arrive! DH and I will practice wiggling the teddy bear around while the other of us is trying to diaper. As I just said on another thread, our dog doesn't know how lucky he is to be too big to play dress-up!

: The visual on us practicing diapering on one of our 140 lb Mastiffs was just too much.

[proudmamanow]

LOL on the dog! we contemplated trying our cats, but thought that the risk of injury was too much...OTOH dw has been slinging our high needs elderly cat (okay, only 2X) and it has been hilarious. I have some photos I will try and post at some point.

jjsexton, I will check out our local health food store for papaya enzymes thanks for the suggestion!

april-- to you for your labouring situation and for the crap weather! I kind of know what you mean, even though typical Feb. weather here is –20 (Celsius). We’ve had grey, rainy days with higher than usual temps and I actually miss the frosty, snowy days with sun, where at least you can play outside!

Julesmiel, thanks for the compliment on the name, as I've said here before, I think it's short for avocado, and also a play on 'cadeau' in French. And thanks for the good luck on getting Cado to move!

please send healing vibes to my dw, Beth. She left a msg on my work voicemail telling me she has hurt her knee and thinks her hockey season might be over, which would be very dissappointing for her! Plus she is supposed to start her 2nd teacher's college practical tomorrow with an outdoor field trip, and this may make it difficult!

fun to chat with everyone

[danaalex]

just a little note on the PIH/ pre e thing. IMO they are not the same. i get hypertensive at the end of my pregnancies, but i do not develop pre e with them. my BP with dd#1 ran 120/70s until i hit 33 weeks then it was in the 140/90s till i went into labor. nothing else changed, just my bp. ( i went into labor on my own at 37 weeks). as soon as labor started it was down to the 110s/60s. i didn't have any special interventions during labor for the BP other than them checking it once in awhile.

with dd#2 different doctor, but same thing happened. this time my bp had been 100/60s the entire pregnancy till i hit 35 weeks then again it was in the 140/90s for 3 weeks, till i went into labor on my own at 38 weeks. again, no special interventions during labor or delivery.

i'm fully expecting it to do the same this time. i know i'll be stressing a lot with the new house and trying to get all of our stuff ready for the baby, and i'm sure that won't help my bp stay low LOL.

[natashaccat]

Originally Posted by aprildawn

i also went in for my 32 week appt today. my blood pressure has gone up again, but it's still normal. doctor thinks it's just due to the fact hypertension runs in my family and the additional stress on my body that pregnancy is creating.

so, good news is it's not pre-e, but bad news is she wants to start doing non-stress tests when i come in from now on. and i'll have to be monitored almost continually in labor. i feel like my desire to have the birth i want is going down the tubes because my bp is on the rise. of course, i want myself and the baby to be safe and healthy. but i'm just irked that there are women out there who don't have any problems, and could have an intervention-free birth, who choose to be hooked up to all the machines or induced, etc. here i am wanting to be as free from interventions as possible and i'll probably have to be hooked up to the machines, and possibly induced!

ok, enough whining.

Would getting more exercize help with your bp? I know nothing about such things in pg but isn't more exercize usually one of the things reccomended for lowering non-pg high bp? I had a couple of high bp readings early in my pg (due to stress I think) but since I've been doing daily stairmaster time my readings have been consistantly low even when I go in feeling like a basketcase.

[aprildawn]

Originally Posted by natashaccat

since I've been doing daily stairmaster time my readings have been consistantly low even when I go in feeling like a basketcase.

i walk 3-4 days a week. that's about all i can fit in since dd doesn't always enjoy being in the stroller. plus, it's just getting harder and harder to push that many pounds for that far.

how long do you do stairmaster each day? and when you say daily do you mean every day. even weekends?

[natashaccat]

Originally Posted by aprildawn

i walk 3-4 days a week. that's about all i can fit in since dd doesn't always enjoy being in the stroller. plus, it's just getting harder and harder to push that many pounds for that far.

how long do you do stairmaster each day? and when you say daily do you mean every day. even weekends?

I do 20-30 minutes, at a low setting, 4-6 days a week, I started this at the begining of my second trimester to help with sleep problems and because I gained 20 lbs during my first trimester inspite of a concious effort to stay away from sweets. I've got several GD risk factors and that crazy weight gain was kinda freaking my MW out, they kept nagging me about doing a food diary and giving me the third degree on my diet.

Three months into this routine I passed the GD w/flying colors, my bp has stabilized to it's normal low, and my total weight gain is back to what's more or less normal for this stage of pg (about 30 lbs so far). Plus I feel GREAT!

I joined a gym w/a daycare for dd, kinda spendy but so far I've been able to scrape up the time and cash by eliminating daily lunch outings and trips to the coffee house etc.

[seren]

I got the results of my one hour glucose test, I failed. So tomorrow I go in for my 3 hour. I talked to my midwife about this. Nothing will make me too high risk to deliver at the birth center, so that helps me feel better. She said I barely failed it, so they are pretty conifdent i can manage it with just my diet. Which I should have changed more anyways. So, I'm not too worried about it.

[julesmiel]

Originally Posted by wan2bemama

OTOH dw has been slinging our high needs elderly cat (okay, only 2X) and it has been hilarious. I have some photos I will try and post at some point.

I'd love to see those photos. Joe (dh) got me a sling for solstice, and the first thing we did was try our cat Roy in it. He was very patient, but not at all happy! My parents have had fabulous success with slinging their lazy cat Henry. (As soon as my sister heard about the concept of slinging babies, she went right out and bought one for the cat.)

Roy was pretty cooperative for the trying on of baby tees, however. How could you have clothes that small and NOT put them on the cat? I keep threatening him with the onesie.

please send healing vibes to my dw, Beth. She left a msg on my work voicemail telling me she has hurt her knee and thinks her hockey season might be over, which would be very dissappointing for her! Plus she is supposed to start her 2nd teacher's college practical tomorrow with an outdoor field trip, and this may make it difficult!

Sorry to hear about Beth. Hope she heals quickly! Maybe arnica would help?

[danaalex]

ok, i woke up feeling "weird" today and i'm still feeling odd.

my lower back is KILLING me. it's a constant, stabbing pain. and i'm feeling kinda nauseous. i've walked to the bathroom twice now cause i feel like i'm going to throw up. i ate breakfast, normal and healthy LOL . so i don't think it's that. i called my DH to see if he could come home a little early from work, and then maybe i'll be able to lay down for a little while and see if that makes it better ( but that won't be until probably 3pm).

uggh!!!! yesterday i received a phone call from my dad and his wife to tell me that my grandfather died yesterday morning. i had a dream about a week ago that my grandparents came to me to tell me good bye. they were so young and healthy looking with full round faces and awesome tans. they were walking their dead dog Pepper. my grandfather said to me, "we've come to say good bye, call your dad and let him know we say good bye." and they walked away. and now my grandpa has died. i feel like i predicted it or something weird like that.

i told my mom about the dream, the day after i had it. she told me that inorder for a new family member to be born an older family member has to die. uggh. before alexandra was born my maternal grandfather and one of my great aunts died, and before isabella was born my DH's grandmother died . this year my aunt and my paternal grandfather have died.

on a brighter note we close on our house 2 weeks from today!!!! hooray!!!! i can't wait. we've been talking about if we want to paint the whole house or not, before we move in officially, and if we want to gut the master bath and have it redone as soon as we move in. i have NO clue. i want to get in as soon as possible, but at the same time i know once we're in there with three kids and all of our stuff the last thing i will want to do is have a bathroom ripped out and people painting everyroom LOL. i have no clue how to make that decision LOL.

hmmm, that's about it for now

[julesmiel]

Originally Posted by danaalex

my lower back is KILLING me. it's a constant, stabbing pain. and i'm feeling kinda nauseous. i've walked to the bathroom twice now cause i feel like i'm going to throw up. i ate breakfast, normal and healthy LOL . so i don't think it's that. i called my DH to see if he could come home a little early from work, and then maybe i'll be able to lay down for a little while and see if that makes it better ( but that won't be until probably 3pm).

So sorry you're not feeling well! Have you tried any yoga stretches for the back pain? You can find some good ones here. The stretches and remembering to supporting myself really well with pillows when I'm resting help a lot. Here is another yoga for pregnancy site. The cat pose is my favorite!

I have experienced a lot of nausea, so here's a tip: peppermints! I never leave the house without them. I can feel nauseated even after a good meal, but peppermints work even better than my homeopathic remedies (nux vomica) for quelling it.

Sorry to hear about your grandpa. Maybe the extra stress is contributing to the way you're feeling. Hope you're feeling better soon, and best of luck with the house!

[proudmamanow]

thanks for those stretches, julie, I could use them too. And I love that you tried your cat in a sling too!!

I went skating today, sort of! Ottawa has the world's longest skating rink http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skat...x_e.asp?bhcp=1

and it's a superfun winter activity here, but it challenges my back at the best of times and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with my friends who wanted to skate the whole thing. So we rented me a sleigh & I rode along with a friend's 18 month old the whole way. What fun! I know it's good to get exercise...but it was so much fun to be treated like a pregnant queen

danaalex so sorry to hear about your grandpa
great that you are closing on your house soon! I bet it will feel great to get in there.

Poor dw is still suffering from an injured knee she's going for an Xray on Monday, so hopefully they can tell why it hasn't felt any better in 3 days.

Just off to get some butterscotch brownies from the oven....mmmmm....

[heket]

Originally Posted by danaalex

[snip]
i told my mom about the dream, the day after i had it. she told me that inorder for a new family member to be born an older family member has to die. uggh. before alexandra was born my maternal grandfather and one of my great aunts died, and before isabella was born my DH's grandmother died . this year my aunt and my paternal grandfather have died.

I'm sorry about the passing of your grandpa.

I can really relate to this because my maternal grandfather, and dh's paternal grandmother also passed before dd was conceived. I felt the same way about it -- that one has to make room to allow the next to come. Like a circle of life kind of thing (I know, that sounds pretty sappy...)

Hmm, now that I think about it this should've clued me into the fact that #2 would be coming... oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

[julesmiel]

Originally Posted by wan2bemama

I went skating today, sort of! Ottawa has the world's longest skating rink http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/skat...x_e.asp?bhcp=1

and it's a superfun winter activity here, but it challenges my back at the best of times and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with my friends who wanted to skate the whole thing. So we rented me a sleigh & I rode along with a friend's 18 month old the whole way. What fun! I know it's good to get exercise...but it was so much fun to be treated like a pregnant queen

What tremendous fun! I'd love to go up there and skate someday.

[elbee]

Dana! I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather.... and hope you're feeling better!

Seren, that's a drag about the test results but very good news that it won't affect your birthing plans! : )


Laura

[danaalex]

thanks ladies, for the kind words.

friday was a rough day, but i decided i need to get moving. i would love to walk the girls everyday, like i did in FL. but my mom lives in an extremely hilly area and it's hard when i'm NOT pg to push about 100 extra lbs ( 50 for the two girls and 50 for the double stroller that i have LOL i'm going to start doing my prenatal yoga again. i have to find a video because mine are OF COURSE in storage. i am also going to borrow a birthing ball to sit and bounce on ( mine's where everything else i need right now is!!!! LOL)

saturday was my birthday so we had family over for that. the girls had a great time because they love birthdays and they got to see their paternal grandparents and my SIL and her fiancee. yesterday i went to a friends' baby shower. it was unbeliveable how much stuff she got. she was opening gifts for like 1.5 hrs LOL. she is having a boy ( they think LOL) and she got SOOOOOO many adorable little boy outfits and hats and blankets . it was fun. she's due right before me, first baby.

woke up this morning to my oldest telling me her "chin" hurt pointing to her throat. and she had a nice little fever of 102.0 uggh. what a valentine's day for me LOL. i'm hoping she gets over whatever it is FAST, like today fast.

[speedknitter]

Happy Birthday, danaalex!!!!
And happy Valentine's Day to all!

There have definitely been some BH contractions going on in the late afternoon and evening for me. They are not painful (yet) and it's actually good to know that my body is "getting ready" for the big event.

Later this week we are hopefully going to meet with our friend Sharon, who is also our massage therapist. We are considering having her as our doula/labor assistant, although she is not specifically trained as a doula. She has provided labor support once or twice before, and she is comfortable with being there, and we are comfortable with her as we have known her for 10+ years. For those of you who have used doulas before, are there any questions we should ask her? I think I am more comfortable with her than I would be with hiring a doula...

A good friend is going to be giving a baby shower and she asked if we wanted it to be co-ed, and we do. I really want DH to be as involved in this whole process as possible, and he really WANTS to come to the baby shower so I don't want to discourage that! Has anyone been to or given a co-ed baby shower? Any ideas on how to word the invitations, etc.?

Gotta go have some lunch...Penelope Pitstop is complaining!!!

[heket]

I am such the downer...

Dana: :


Well ladies, this 7 month point is really turning into the 7th inning stretch for me. I think I'm ready for this baby only so I can have some hormonal control back. Anyone else having emotional extremes that are making them feel highly insane? Yesterday was one of the more worse moments of my pregnancy. I think I cried through most of it. Dh and I have just been at complete odds with one another in these last few weeks and I think it started to come to a head. We're stressed at just about everything -- finances (or lack thereof), how soon this bundle will be here, how early we conceived, my emotional sensitivities (I am WAY more sensitive this time around), how we're going to get through my maternity leave (prolly only 6 weeks ) if it's going to be 4 weeks unpaid... the list seems unending. It seems like we're constantly working against one another instead of together. I try to talk to him about it, but we can't seem to get things in sync. Plus it doesn't help that he's constantly putting up blocks to prevent himself from actually *feeling* emotions... : So we have an argument, have a mini-blow up, calm down, discuss it and things go fine until the next time. (Yesterday this happened twice). I'm so ready for this to all be over.

I can't seem to concentrate at work, either. My boss is on vacation at the moment, so the whole department is getting pretty laxed. I'm not certain if it's my emotional state, how long I've been doing this type of work, or both, but I'm really not *here* nor enjoying it lately. On top of that, my scheduled work day falls on Valentine's, so I'm here until 9pm -- no dinner out or special time with dh to see if we can move past our phase. Since he's up early, he'll probably be alseep when I get home.

Oh, did I mention that in the last 2 weeks dd has hit separation anxiety? So everytime her godmother comes over to babysit, she starts crying. She understands that soon I'll be leaving and pouts for the rest of the time until then. Afterwards, she's fine, running around the yard and playing.

Today, I just want to go back to bed and wait for tomorrow.

[seren]

Dana : Hope you had a great day!


I had a really nasty day today. First off, it's my due date with my miscarriage. Still sad, even though I am pregnant again.

Then I had to go to a funeral for a friend's two month old. It was very heartbreaking. I just prayed and prayed that I will never have to be in that situation.

And then I found out I have gestational diabetes. I had my 3 hour test on Friday. Even my fasting levels were really high. So this week I have to go in for a nutrition appointment and to get a glucose monitor. Yucky yucky yucky. But, at least I can still deliver at the birth center.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[Stream]

Hello again!

I've been MIA for about two months now, so I thought I would poke my head in to say hello and give a quick update. I hate to see that so many of our mamas are having a tough time right now-- lots of bad news in the last several posts. I'll be keeping all of you close to my heart and wishing you much strength.

Let's see, the last time I was here was probably December. I took a long leave of absence from my job (which I really don't like, as some of you with really good memories may recall). It will eat into my maternity leave to a significant extent, but it was worth it-- I was just miserable and it gave me a chance to refuel. I've just been back for a couple of weeks now, and so far its manageable-- definitely better than it was before. So that's good.

I am 32 weeks as of yesterday. Babe is head-down and flip flops between left, right, and posterior quite often. Not nearly as active as my first baby, but still gives me some good movements. Has recently discovered my ribs and really seems to enjoy playing with them-- once he or she "finds" them, he/she tickles them for a good 5 minutes or so before moving onto something else. I'm thankfully tall, so the rib-tickling isn't awfully uncomfortable.

I'm gaining a lot of weight these days and at my appt yesterday, the MW said baby is loooong. Interesting. I'm going to try to watch my eating habits a little more closely in the next few weeks-- yesterday I was up *9* lbs. from the previous appointment, two weeks ago! 9! Of course, today, I woke up 5 lbs. lighter than yesterday morning, so who really knows what any of it means. My blood pressure is still the same (110/60-ish) and my protein/sugar still tests negative, so the weight just looks to be a flukey thing. I remember that at about this stage with my first baby, I gained 8 lbs. in 2 weeks, so maybe it's normal for me-- dunno. Going with yesterday's high weight, I've gained 27 lbs. total. Eh. I'm slowly but surely edging towards the 200 mark n the scale, and as much as I'd like to avoid it, I figure I'll gain what I need to and trust it will come off later.

Oh-- and not knowing the gender is driving me batty! I'm well into nesting, and not knowing what to do with all the pink stuff we have (it's strange how gendered everything is, when I thought we were fairly neutral) is making me crazy. We found out with my daughter, but kept it a secret. Now I wish we hadn't found out with her and had done that with this baby instead-- it would make my life so much easier. I'm hoping I'll think it's worth it when I get the surprise at the end.

Well, after that novel, my update is complete. I'll keep checking in on y'all, even if I don't get to post much. Happy last few weeks! We're in the home stretch!