February Mamas--we're getting close!

[lexbeach]

Hi mamas!

How is everyone? Are you feeling ready (physically, emotionally, etc.)? What kind of birth are you planning?

I find myself thinking more and more about the actual birth the closer I get. I am hoping for a vaginal hospital birth, but the presenting twin is breech, and his brother is transverse, so right now it's not looking too good. I am definitely ready to not be pregnant anymore, although I'm sure I will miss these kicks and jabs. I am measuring 42 cm, and I feel pretty huge. I've been on bedrest for 3 weeks now due to preterm labor, and getting up to pee now requires much groaning, grunting, and heaving. I get new stretch marks everyday. My belly is striped like a tiger .

We have all the baby clothes we'll be needing (actually, way more than we'll be needing, despite the fact that we requested "no newborn sized clothes." I guess they are pretty irresistibly cute). We are still waiting on a crib and changing table. . . definitely not necessary since we're going to have a family bed, but we decided to set up a little room downstairs for the babies for during the day. So, basically, I'm READY!

I am just hoping to make it to February!

Hope you all are well!

Lex

[LynnE73]

Hi!
We're ready and I can't wait to have this kid out of me!!! I differ from you in the fact that I HATE all the kicking and squirming around in there and I'm quite anxious to have my body back to myself! (With the exception of breastfeeding.)

We're ready as far as stuff goes. I just got my huge order of Kissaluv fitted diapers the other day and we have newborn clothes. I told everyone that we didn't want ANY clothes as both of us ABHOR pastels and I didn't want to deal with telling people I wanted to return stuff. We also don't know the sex of the baby and I didn't want to wind up with a bunch of yellow stuff. I want to purchase baby clothes myself as I tend to have much more expensive taste than my friends and family can afford.

The only thing I've been on the look out for is a good diaper bag and I haven't seen ANY I like enough to buy. My husband wants a backpack variety one and he hasn't found anything he likes yet either. We still have time though and it's not like we can't be good parents cause we don't have diaper bags!

My husband is funny cause I'm FINALLY starting to show and it's really just sinking in for him! He keeps looking at me and saying "Wow! We really are going to have a baby." I'm 5'9" and the baby finally went to a head down position (it was sideways for a long time) so my belly is just getting big.
I don't envy women that carry large from the beginning!
My "due date" is February 23rd. I ovulated on June 3rd. I hope to go a little early but I'm not counting on it.
I've felt completely fine the entire pregnancy with the exception of a Ulcerative Colitis flare up that's just coming under control now.
Feel free to pm me.
-Lynn

[indiegirl]

Ok I'm a big, whiney mess these days. I don't remember being this damn uncomfortable with my dd. My pelvis feels like it is going to split in half and my stomach muscles are seperating, stretching, splitting...ick. Sometimes I can't walk upright because it hurts. I feel so bad for my dh having to listen to my incessant complaints, so I've stopped talking about them. Last night I was hungry and tired and had to sit down. I told him I needed him to serve me dinner. "Are you ok?" he asked. "I don't know! I just want to EAT!" He took the "I don't know" as a possible sign things are going poorly and we needed help from our midwife or the hospital....Which irritated me. I can't blame him--I just got into a car accident on Saturday and spent 12 hours in the hospital with ctx (baby and I are fine).

We had to cancel our birth class because we coudn't get a sitter for the two days. I don't know what we are going to do...

BUT, I hit a great sale and got a ton of stuff for babe for about $20. I have my nursing bras, too. Baby is set as far as necessities go.

And the topper: we are moving at the end of the month. I keep telling myself that I just have to make it through January and then I can relax.

Sorry to be such a grumpola.

Jesse
Mama to Violet 7-14-00 homebirth
Zoe EDD 2-14-03 planned homebirth

[MamaTara]

I'm due on Feb 19th with my third girl and I can't wait! Although I'm feeling quite clumsy and large, but I'm enjoying the little pushes and kicks from the little one inside me. We were totally hoping for a midwife/homebirth but there are no midwives in our area. We have a seemingly cooperative, highly recommended doctor and a wonderful doula.

The plan is to stay at home for as long as possible and go to the hospital only when I really think it's time. I'm curious to see what kind of labor I'll have this time (how long, how long????). As with my other pregnancy, we're going for a totally unmedicated, natural birth.

I'm so excited to meet this little person!

Best wishes to everyone,
Tara

[Pookietooth]

Originally posted by indiegirl

Jesse
Mama to Violet 7-14-00 homebirth
Zoe EDD 2-14-03 planned homebirth

Hi! I'm due 2/14/03 as well. Just thought I'd say hi, since we're due on the same day. It's great that you're planning a homebirth. I wish I could say the same, but for various reasons we are going to do it in the hospital, with an OB.

Hope you feel better. I'm not that uncomfortable, but then this is my first baby.

Jen

[Pookietooth]

Just wanted to do a general post. I'm not really ready for this baby, in terms of setting up a space for his stuff and taking care of him once he's here. I have no close female relatives or friends in the area, and I haven't gotten around to finding a postpartum doula, so I'm a bit nervous about how I will cope once the baby is here. Is there anyone else out there who is relatively alone in the process? I was on Prozac for years for depression, went off it during this pregnancy (because I was afraid it might be affecting my baby's growing brain), and worry about whether I'll end up with postpartum depression, particularly since I'll be home alone with my newborn.

Adding to my worries, we have a 500 square foot 1-bedroom apartment, and there doesn't seem to be any room for the baby's clothes. My husband says that we will be fine, but currently, what clothes we have now (and there aren't a lot) are either in a rental storage space or in my car, because we have no closet or dresser space to spare. I've already put most of my pre-pregnancy clothes into storage, but somehow we still have no room. My husband thinks that we will be relocating to a less expensive area this year (although we have no specific plans or job prospects) and feels that staying in this tiny place with no space will motivate us to do this whole relocation thing. But what about in the mean time?

Anyway, that's enough venting from me for one day.

Jennifer R
mother to be
EDD 2/14/03

[ColesMom]

We ARE getting close! I can't believe it. It seems like I've been pregnant forever, but it still doesn't seem like it should be over quite so soon - February 24th is my due date. I'm enjoying the pregnancy these days - I love the kicking and moving and seeing my ds interract with my belly. I feel ready, I THINK!

We're planning on having the baby at a local maternity center with a doula in tow. She came in very handy at our last birth in the hospital and I give her full credit for keeping me focussed on having a natural childbirth. Hopefully this time will be even better without the hospital setting.

We just finished our last hypnobirthing class. We had the same problem regarding no babysitter so we bit the bullet and had the teacher come to our house two afternoons for a couple of hours each time while ds watched videos and played. It was a tradeoff, but I really needed the feeling that I was prepared for the birth and I knew that I wouldn't have that if I didn't have an official class.

We have nothing set up for the new baby - no room at the inn at the moment! I don't feel too much pressure to set up the perfect nursery anyways, since ds never spent a single sleeping moment in his crib - the family bed is just going to have to expand and that's my focus now - ordering a futon that we can pull out at night to increase the sleeping space in our small bedroom.

I'm toying with the idea of trying cloth diapers out this time - just need to figure out which ones are best to start with and order them.

I could ramble on and on about this topic so I better stop myself now! Hope we can all make it to our due dates - I was three weeks early last time!

[jessikate]

Getting excited!

I'm getting way excited to have this baby! I realized yesterday that the baby dropped! I was sitting here thinking about why it's suddenly gotten easier to breathe and I have to pee like every 15 minutes and came to that conclusion. DH thinks my belly looks lower and "more pregnant" (I can't tell the difference, really) and just finds it irresistible. Good thing I don't mind him touching it. Other people, however, are another story.

We're accumulating things slowly, what little we need. I still need some diapers - I've got about 2 doz and want at least another doz CPF's and need covers yet. I've got some onesies but no t-shirts. I suppose I'll wait until after the baby shower to buy any clothes - I know we'll get tons.

For myself, I need to figure out what sort of nursing bra to order - with these puppies, I can't buy anything locally - Minnesota women must have a reputation to all retailers as being small-busted. Ah, well, I'll figure it out eventually.

I'm at 34 weeks, due date 2/18.

JK

[WriterMama]

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[Chiromom]

I am torn between not being able to wait anymore to meet this little one, and savoring my last weeks of relative "normalcy" before life changes again forever.

I am going on maternity reduced hours beginning monday and will now only be working two days a week, which will be awesome. I have lots of little projects I want to accomplish before the next little one gets here. Just setting up a changing station again (my toddler just gets changed on the fly) and washing the baby clothes I will recycle from DS (he was a summer baby so it doesn't all work). I need to finish a quilt I am making for my friend while I still can get anything like that done. I am waiting to buy anything until I find out gender and size. Ds went thru the newborn clothes soo fast, it just isn't worth geting a lot in my opinion.

I am planning a blessingway ceremony for early Feb and am looking forward to that process of spiritually preparing for the birth (which is planned as an unassisted homebirth). February seems so far away when I can't sleep at night and can't get up, and throw up for no good reason other than having to change a poopy diaper, but I know it will be here so soon. Right?

[zombiemommie]

Am I ready ? I don't know. I haven't hit the *wall* yet like I did in my last pg where I was SOOOOO ready to have the baby. I'm tired, I'm very hormonal, I'm VERY emotional and having a hard time dealing with my very active toddler (keeping myself from being demon mom) and have been a very mean wife but otherwise this pregnancy is SOOOOOO much better than last time. Last time at this point (35 1/2 weeks) I was ready to die. Literally, couldn't have cared less. Had pre-eclampsia, HORRID swelling, didn't take care of myself, bad attitude, still working full time as a trauma nurse (what the heck was I thinking).

Anyhow, I am not "emotionally" ready for the baby in the sense that things are not done. Not that I need things finished, but in 2 days our whole 2nd floor is being recarpeted, there is furniture and clothes and boxes everywhere. We took down the xmas tree this weekend and I felt like I took valium because I was so relaxed to have the decorations away. I am nesting BIG time and I am not a nesty, orderly person. Then ds is getting his "big boy room" (he does actually play in there and sleep the first part of night in there he is 2 1/2) and that is in shambles because we can't finish until carpet done). I have to finalize things with my doula. We have no family closeby to leave ds with when the time comes, so my MIL is coming from Florida to stay at week 38. I cannot relax until she is here, because my biggest worry is do I have to drop ds at the neighbors in the middle of the night KWIM ? That scares me because he has never been away for night-time and "what if" I go early. I'd rather have DH stay with him than me, I am that worried.

I am also attempting a VBAC. I had a terribly medicated, interventional induction that failed and a csection last time for pre-eclampsia at 38 weeks, and altho I have switched groups to a CNM practice I am always waiting for "something". I have developed borderline gestational diabetes (TG my m/w is not officially diagnosing me just making me follow the diet and monitoring carefully) and I am awaiting results on a fasting and after eating normal food blood sugar today. My BP has been fine but I am always worried that it might start creeping up and I'd get P/E again. I've done Bradley classes but have practiced nothing. I feel enlightened but not "relaxed" LOL. I just need to get to term, is all I keep telling myself, all I need to do is just GO INTO labor and it will be "easy" from there. I plan a completely non-medicated labor.

Good luck everybody. BTW my due date is 2/7