Due Nov/Dec 2002 (part 4)

[lilyka]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing. Even the last of due in Dec have reached the home stretch, the blessed third trimester. Is anyone as anxious as me to have that little bundle in thier arms intead of thier middles? I can hardly wait. I am so excited about meeting my baby. Dec just can't get here fast enough.

How is every one feeling. I am huge and stretched to the limit. I don't know how it is possible that i will grow more (and thi is my third time. you would think I would be used to it by now). I am hungry all the time and nothing sounds good. Morning sickness is back too. Sounds a wee bit like my first trimester.

it is so nice to feel baby bean kicking all over the place. It is so comforting to have those semi daily check ins.

[XmasEve]

I'm so happy to hear that I'm not the only one with 3rd trimester morning sickness! (Not that I'm happy you have it, Lilyka, just that I'M not the ONLY one.) Big is definitely the word, but at least the doctor has stopped talking twins now that baby is big enough to palpate. Is it a tragedy or comedy that doctors these days are so helpless without ultrasound?

DH and I were talking last night about how this is the first year we're both REALLY looking forward to Christmas! We'll see if he can talk me into going to church.

[sassytapped]

I'm due middle to end of November and am continually being asked if I am carrying twins! Just 1 big baby (dh was12#, my momwas 10#, dadwas 11# --nobody less than 9# anywhere in the family: ) I still feel great, but ankles are getting puffy at the end of the day. Dd thinks my big belly is a great seat (why not since my lap is getting too small ) but she grumbles when the baby kicks her while she's nursing. Dh jokes that they are already fighting. Sleeping is becoming a bit of a problem, between dd waking 2x/night (not bad really) and me having to pee 2-3 x/night, but I'm enjoying this time and getting so excited to meet this little pumpkin who likes to have his/her feet in my ribs to stretch. I'm getting antsy to have everything in order and getting the urge to make little cuties for th new baby -- and I'm NOT the crafty type. I'm looking forward to x-mas too, and to sending out the pictures in the cards. I hope all goes well for everyone.

[smaug]

Hi ladies! I am in my 7th month, and today is about the second day I haven't been nauseated!!!! I was so anxious to have this baby so I wouldn't be sick anymore. Now if the nausea is over, I am excited about these last coupla months! I know what you all are saying about wanting to hold this little one, though. With my son, I couldn't imagine the reality of having him outside of me. Now I know how amazing it will be and can't wait. At the same time, this is probably my last pregnancy, so I am kinda sad too.

this is a thought from the other thread,lilyka, but I think Beck is the coolest name. My dh and I are huge fans of the musician Beck, so I could not use it myself. Wouldn't want everyone to know what a freak I am. Loyal is great for the middle name. Who cares if there is already a cousin. But I think Beck sounds good with a two-syllable "L" name. Landon, Larson, Lewis, etc. Unless your last name starts with "O":LOL It is always nice to name after a relative. If you liked them!!

[lilyka]

Smaug - where do you think Dh got beck from? : We might just go with Loyal because heck, grampa great is by far the coolest person in our family and deserves a double portion of honor. i agreed to Beck, despite its orgin because I could live with it better than I could live with the other names my dh would agree to (well he didn't agree to anything really he said it will be this or this : ) and since he got beck I get to pick the girl name which is Ava Esther (i think )and we have a really good chance of having a girl one "maybe" ultrasound and in another thread it said if your first two are the same sex you have a 93% chance of having a third the same sex.

I am glad I am not the only one starting to nest. i have to pace myself (I allow one baby project a day) so i don't run out of things before the baby comes. So far this week we went to the Friendship Factory ( a store where you fluff, stuff and accesorize your own doll) and the girls made a stuffed animal for the baby, I have scrubbed and assembled the carseat. made fleece/terry diaper liners and started thinking about a quilt. This afternoon I am going to start organizing and sorting clothes. I still have three months worth of time to pass. Perhaps I should make some complicated fitted diapers. That will take up some time.

[crzymommy]

I'm here!

Due Dec 22! I feel, and am HUGE. I keep scaring people when they ask when I'm due. I'm glad I'm not the only one who is big. LOL.

I'm nesting like a maniac. Made about 3 dozen diapers and 6 covers so far. Made dh move the furniture all around the house, and I have an actual list of sewing projects. I haven't started to go through baby clothes yet, but I am finding it hard not to.

Anyone else having Braxton Hicks contractions? I tend to have them in the afternoons especially if I am tired. I had them first time around too, but I don't know if they were this early.

Amy

[lilyka]

I have been having braxton hicks contractions since I was 8 weeks. I am not going to believe I am in real labor until the baby is amonth old

[tea olive]

at the grocery yesterday a man asked me if i was having twins.....i have also have plentiful braxton-hicks, i think on standard care i'd be on bedrest. basically i'm just really wimpier than i would like.....i'm looking for gauze to get ready for a belly cast, am starting to envision reality of having three children, etc etc

[XmasEve]

It started that I just got Braxton Hicks when I mopped. Now it's when I sweep as well. As soon as they start happening when I vacuum, I'm out of a job! (I'm a house cleaner.) At least then I'll have time to start nesting.

This is my first, so I'm actually not anxious to have my baby in my arms-- I just keeping thinking how much I'm going to miss being pregnant! Crazy, huh?

-M

[Vixenmama]

Hi Ladies, I haven't checked in here in a while...

I just feel so darn crappy today I have to vent. I haven't had much uncomfortableness at all (well except for the non-stop ms from weeks 6-15) but i'm just hitting the 7th month mark and and feeling huge and unwieldly. I just called dh at work to whine a little and he was soooo unhelpful (you know, 'you're not fat, you're pregnant" and that type of thing)! LOL!

Today I got really mad at myself because I guess I'm not one of those pregnant woman whose shape doesn't change except for a nice, tasteful basketball-my body is like 'hey, let's get biiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggg! I marvel incredulously at my maternity pants every morning that my but IS actually that big. Why do I need a big but to be pregnant? Oh, and can we talk lumpy, bumpy legs? What the hell is that for and why doesn't every pregnant woman get it--what makes me so blessed.

I was actually bitter last week in our birthing class when a cute woman came in about 30 weeks or so, wearing the sweetest little hippie maternity top with elastic around the bust and NO BRA. I can't really go without a bra even when not pregnant, but I dare not even sleep without one now. In the last 7 months my breasts have turned into the those of an Eastern European grandmother who exclusively breastfed each of her 15 children until they were 3.

I've been eating very, very well. Lots of fresh veggies, protein, fruit, yogurt, whole grains--I don't get it. I do have sugar occasionally, but junk food isn't a part of my diet. I've been going to one prenatal yoga class per week and I've just bought a pny dvd and started doing it in the morning before work. When I went for a walk at lunchtime today I scared myself when I saw my profile in the department store windows as I walked by---not a tasteful basketball--well maybe that's how you could describe each but cheek.


Anyway, I have to have some sort of attitude adjustment fast because I have 10-12 weeks to go and I know I have nowhere to go but out.



all the best,
Victoria
#1 edd 12/04/02

[J&G's mom]

Hey all. I am due Dec. 20-28 depending on whose due date system you use. I really do not want to have this baby on Christmas day! I am already bummed enough that none of my kids get to have summer birthdays (Sept 30, Feb 10, Dec ?) I always loved having my bday parties at parks in the summer, oh well.
I too am huge, although I am fairly overweight to begin with so people have finally just started being confident enough to say something...is she just getting fatter or is she pregnant? Although I think all the weight has gone into my tummy these last two pregnancies so that's good. But I too get the "are you having twins?", and "WHEN are you due? Are you sure?" comments through every pregnancy. Oh well.
I posted before about my blood sugar being high and after we changed my diet we have brought that down and everyday it seems to get a little easier to stay away from the sweets. It's only three months right? Not that I don't plan to cheat a little, my sons bday party is on Sunday and if I am going to spend all morning baking, frosting, and decorating a cake you better believe I am damn well going to eat a piece!
I also have had some odd vaginal infections and while we did get rid of one of them by resorting to antibiotics, one stayed (Staph) and I have since caught Group B Strep. So I get to see a naturalopath tomorrow and see what she can do about it, otherwise it is back to antibiotics, yippee.
The thing that seems so unfair is that this has been the pregnancy where I have felt the best physically. No symptions of the infections since like week 11 when I thought I had yeast, no real backaches, nothing. But my body is doing the worst. Even my midwives say they are suprised how healthy my body, tissues and skin look considering all that my body has been going through.
The baby has been kicking through this whole message....I love it. This one is so active!! Hope everyone else is doing well, and just think how many posts of births there will be come December.


J&G's mom

[tea olive]

for my last pregnancy i was due a week before christmas, i saw it as an opportunity to relax and enjoy the holiday, no one expected any fancy stuff from me and families tend to have vacation days to help out around that time. i will warn y'all that it is a strange thing to be be overdue and christmas come and go, and then an entire new year appear. they are just days like any other days but at that time it will make people extra antsy if the baby is not ready to come yet.

victoria, the woman with no bra, the tiniest breasts, will have sorer arms, a crick in her neck and have to maneuver more in the bed to get those breasts to her baby than you will. you will be able to lie flat or on your stomach, anyway you want and the baby will be able to nurse. hope that makes you feel better. the reason your butt gets so big is so your back doesn't cave in from all the weight. i am short and have a regular sized body and i gain at least 50 pounds (this is my 3rd) everytime, i was astonished to find i had gained 17 pounds in the last two months (and no i am not a diabletic type). i am exuding tons of heat and i always need new maternity clothes around now so i don't get aggravated with how i look. one nice dress is enough to get you by. feel proud of your body, it has amazing powers. you are making a whole person!

for those of you with tiny breasts, and everyone in general, i highly recommend a good sling for after the first few weeks to get mobility. i am fanatical about the sling.

greenfaeriedog, i always get sentimental about being pregnant. enjoy this very special time being alone with your secret friend. go out as much as you can to really quiet places and really loud places, everywhere. take long baths and try to appreciate that you are getting more sleep now even though if you are like me you have to get up to pee every hour. everyone that has offered to help you, use your pregnant charisma and get it in writing so you will call them when you really need it, or ask them to bring you a meal the first few weeks.

[lilyka]

If your butt didn't get bigger and your legs sturdier, the weight suddenly sticking out oin front of you would cause you to fall on your face. That would be embarrassing.

i have been feeing pretty crappy. Throughout my preg. i have had bacterial vaginosis (why does that sound just a million times yuckier than a yeast infection? It is basically the same thing except bacterial instead of fungal) and pretty much ignored it but now that Iam getting toward the end I will have to do something about it as it increases the risk of preterm labor. Don't want to go there again. Also I have a stomache virus or somthing on top of my returning mornng sickness, my hips really really hurt (does anyone know what is up with this?) so it hurts to lay on my side, stand or sit for too long. I need a recliner to park my big ole butt in.

I can't wait to have this baby.

[Vixenmama]

thanks for the kind words ladies...

I know the big butt theory, but it seems like there are some gals who are just immune to it---alas, I am not one. When I called dh yesterday and started ranting about my butt, he said "well, all that padding protects your coccyx (which he mispronounced)". Anyway, I felt sorry for him---he just wanted to say something to make me feel better.

I got up early this morning so I could walk to the train instead of taking the bus, this is about a mile and a half or so and it took 30 minutes, but by the time I got to work I felt great. I realized I need to keep moving, and the prenatal yoga dvd's/classes are just not cutting it.

J&G's mom, good job with the sweets, I made a pan of brownies the other night which usually sits on the counter until dh and I pick them to death (about 4 days). Anyway, I cut them into tiny pieces, wrapped them in wax paper and froze them in a rubbermaid container. What a concept. Now we have to defrost a portion (which is now much smaller) if we want to eat one! Somehow, this also seemed like a triumph.

Casina, good thoughts about the breasts--truthfully, I never thought of it like that, we hope to co-sleep so I do plan on nursing through the night. I am generating tons of heat too--I usually need pajamas, but now I sleep in the buff (except for the ubiquitous bra of course). That was a really beautiful post about 'being alone with your secret friend'. When are you due?

Lilyka,
So sorry about your 'conditions'. As for hips, two things I can think of:

1. do you have a nice firm pillow to prop between your knees when you sleep? I invested in a really nice one, round, over five feet long and very firm and my hips have felt great ever since (I have wider hips though--are yours narrow?) and
2. I practice squatting quite a bit and I think this helps. I have a couple of low stools I squat on and it is really a comfortable way to sit and opens and stretches the hips (one of my favorite squatting seats is a 'cat tuffet' I bought from marthastewart.com for $18--it was marked down from $40--after I paid $18 it was marked down again to $10. I just checked the website and it looks like they're all gone. My cat sat on it a few times then went back to her basket--maybe Martha should re-purpose them as 'birth tuffets'--she could probably raise the price to $80!!)

all the best,
Victoria
#1 edd 12/04/02

[XmasEve]

I feel like a bad mom already. I'm angry at my baby for going breech again. I'm not worried about delivering breech, but I'm soooo sick of my bladder and colon being used as kick balls. DH promises to deliver a stern lecture to my belly when he gets home from work. I feel awful for taking all this wonderful baby movement for granted, but OWW!

BTW, should I count myself as doubly cursed because I'm still a B cup in bra size, but am pushing XL in panty size?

Meg

[lilyka]

>>"I have wider hips though--are yours narrow?"<<



Not hardly!! I thought nice wide birthing hips were supposed to make things easier though? I spent the rest of the day sleeping on the couch and more or less ignoring my children. They were more or less angles about it. I should make them treats tomarrowl.

[mcimom]

lilyka, oh I'm glad someone else is "ignoring" their other kids every now and then. I feel like I've had so much energy up to this point w/my two toddlers and every time we go out, people will comment about it, but now...ugh. I can't believe I still have 8 more weeks! I'm so abusing the television. I've got to stop! Gosh knows we'll be parked in front of it come nursing season. oh well.

I gained 65 w/my first pg, 55 w/my second and I think I'm on target for 45 this time. Is it sick that I'm thrilled about that number? Isn't the top of the average supposed to be 35? Well, maybe I'll make that next time (if there is one!)

And though I can't believe it's still 8 more weeks, I'm so happy to have this baby inside of me where I can take care of it, feed it, change it, etc. all w/out lifting a finger. I'll be happy to go two weeks overdue so that I can keep enjoying the low maintenance. Being pregnant isn't always easy or fun and I feel like a moose, but I'll just be fat once she's out of me and then I'll have to start working at caring for her - changing diapers, BFing 24/7 - oh am I really ready for that again? Though I can't wait to see her! and I can't wait to have my 3 girls.

I still so enjoy the time of just the two of us though. No one else really knows when Isabel moves - it's just a special thing for me. If I want to share her I can, but I don't have to yet and that's so nice.

[lilyka]

I am a control freak so being preg is really a hard thing for me because I more or less have no control. I love it once the baby is outside and I can know for sure she is being taken care of properly and that she is well. Also it is so much work right now just to get off my butt and waddle up the stairs. Getting out of the car is especially bad. i still have 12 (probably more like 14)weeks It wil never end. I am sure of it.

[smaug]

I get Fit Pregnancy magazine, but recently the have had some bad, bad stuff in there that I refuse to believe. First, the have a little side note that says gaining more than the "recommended" 30-35 lbs. during pregnancy increased risks of breast cancer 40%!!! How the heck can someone come up with that!? Also, and this really burns me, another side note entitled "the kindest cut" (or something stupid like that) says circumsizing your boy will be beneficial to future women in his life b/c of some std that is more likely to occur in intact men!!!! I want to write a letter, but my grammer is not so good. I will try though. I want to say something like, raising my son with respect for HIMSELF and his partner(s) will do more good than circumsizing! That comment in the magazine implies my intact son is going to be sleeping with women (who give it tho him first before he can give it away!!!!) in some sort of unprotected way or something. They are making judgements about my boy's moral decisions when he is a newborn!? To circumsize in order to "spare" some sex partner a disease that my son may never even get!? OOOOH, ANYONE ELSE THINK THIS SOUNDS LIKE BS???? Well, maybe I shouldn't go getting all us pregnant women wound up right now. But with all the weight gain talk, I thought you would like to know some bad info that is starting to circulate out there. I gained 42 lbs. with my son and didn't feel concerned at all. And I was told breastfeeding decreased my cancer chances. I am choosing not to believe their statistic. Any other thoughts????

[tea olive]

yes, i have to be careful of any poison with these hormones.....a shame, i enjoyed fit pregnancy my first time around, if only just to see pictures of actually pregnant women even though they were models. my understanding of breast cancer is that nursing women are less likely or not at all likely to get it, women who have had babies that don't nurse are most likely to get it, not sure where the women that don't have kids stand in this.

it's my opinion that the weight gain thing is really an average. somewhere there are women seriously fretting over not gaining enough and their doctors are giving them a hard time. it also seems to me that in general vegetarian/vegans tend to gain more, though i am omnivorous myself. leave me alone, i'm soaking up a hurricane.

i'm due nov 18. ds1 was two weeks early, ds2 was three weeks late. so i'm doing my best to not look at a calendar. at least i'm fairly sure that i'll have the baby this year!

now i'm wondering if i have vaginosis.....

meg, my baby is posterior and when i asked my midwife about what she thought, i expected some positions and exercises but she told me women who are busy busy need to spend more time with the baby and talk to them about turning around. i'm passing the advice along even though i have not been able to practice it, i spent the day furious with my kids and then recovering from that.

i reminded my husband yesterday that he needs to stay home for at least a week, he always plans to and then we go through a money /job crisis (he has been home for four months with an injured back already).

for those of you having the first baby, i feel i should tell you to get everything you can in order for after the baby comes. expect that you will only go from the bed to the bathroom for at least two days. yes, you will have a great birth and you will feel fantastic but your body needs to recover. after a natural birth i feel euphoric and ecstatic and try to do too much and prove what a woman i am and then i come crashing down after i've chased everyone away. take care of yourself, happy kids need healthy mammas. for me, i need the option of staying in bed for a week.

not everyone feels this way after birth but you should do what you can now to make things easier for you then. not only will you be sore, losing blood and learning to nurse, having a new baby is like having a new job, falling in love, and a new roomate at the same time, with a bed wet from the baby or your milk. even if your baby sleeps like a dream you may not because you just want to stare at them. i have the dilemma where i need people to help and stop by to give me food, take out trash and do laundry but i will get overwhelmed and stimulated if they hang out and visit and think i feel good when i should be doing nothing. so think about what you need. for my first baby i had no family around and all my friends didn't have kids yet. one of my little ideas is to one day start a non profit organization where all mammas with new babies get home doulas for free for a month. anyone is welcome to steal this idea.
i'm thinking about borrowing a dorm fridge to put by the bed, nursing makes you thirsty and hungry. ask for some frozen homemade meals at the baby shower ( i guess at #3 i won't be getting one of those), get a sign up sheet together for grocery runs and cleanup or just to call and check on you.

i think this is by far my longest post ever, i really wish someone had told me this before i was a mamma, and even reminded me before the second time. i guess i'm reminding myself to do these things as well. one more thing, after two weeks the baby will start to show their personality which means crying for more than food and clean butt.....you will still want some kind of help after then if you can get it, at least just to have adult company. have i forgotten about dh? no, i have a wonderful dh but they will be going through the same stress you are and also lacking sleep and freaked out about responsibility of money etc etc so enlist all the outside help you can. it will help you recover faster, it will get your milk flowing, your baby will cry less if you feel great.