Weekly thread June 25-July 1 - Page 3

[Mel L]

Half of my body is asleep from having an angel fall asleep on my shoulder. She is wearing a cute pink dress with a rose very baby aio (made by me), and she couldn't be any cuter!! Just had to share....

Quick responses...sorry that I can't remember who said what.
-Totally understand about not wanting people just waiting around for something to happen. That is what I didn't want at all. Mil did show up for a while, I threatened to kill dh, and she left before I really went into labor.

-Dh didn't get moody before the baby came, but Benji and I both did. Maybe they just sense something that they don't know they are sensing. Make any sense?? Sending good vibes to all!!!!

Benji pooped in the potty twice today after only going in his pants for...oh...about 2-3 months. I am SO proud! He was going around saying he is a big boy now. I think he had been watching too many pull up commercials behind my back!

Anyone heard from barb? Wasn't she supposed to know by now, or is that on a different thread?

I also have to say that I love the Bravado Original Plus bra!!! I didn't think I would like a sporty bra, but it feels so good on my sore back. Wow! I forgot about all those holding and nursing muscles! They are starting to get me today!

[luckydog]

I love the bravado original, too - I wore them pretty much exclusively for 2.5 years with DD3. Very comfy, supportive and no uniboob look. (YMMV - I'm a teensy-chested girl with a narrow torso...) I have one so far for postpartum - the sexy leopard print rrrrwaaaaar.

[bdavis337]

Nic, TWO WEEKS? I'd go NUTS with someone from the "outside" in my house for 2 weeks, even if they did go home at night. Wow. Every other day for a few hours to help clean up, do the dishes, fold laundry....that's ok, but 2 whole weeks? Geee.

Well I beat you on weight gain! I put on almost 5 lbs in 2 weeks, and I was really pleased about that. I worked HARD for that 5 lbs, and I do admit to feeling a lot better now that I'm deliberately eating as much as I possibly can.

I'd come visit you if I could, but she'll only be here for 3 hours. Just enough time for me to get a nice cup of iced coffee at the mall, and then let the ladies at the makeup counter in Bergner's fuss over me. I've never done that before, and I think it might be fun.

[Panthira]

Originally Posted by Jen H.

OK - Alberta - that totally makes sense then!

Liberal is a political party here, but it's also a value system just like in the US. I'm very liberal-minded, and I vote Liberal. We have more than two parties though and I often go even more lefty than Liberal! Are you confused yet??

I lived in Toronto for years and I love it there too. I miss it!

I'm a little confused with the political stuff in Canada. My ILs HATE with passion Liberals. They say they are loony and too out there. I have no idea, since I've never studied the Canadian political system, but I'll have to ask my BIL what he thinks. My ILs are Conservative (is that a party? You all have so many, which rocks, but it's still confusing for my little American mind. ).

ETA: My inlaws are Reformed party, which is more conservative than Conservative, because the conservatives are smarter about money. Quote unquote from DH.

---------------------------

We got our birth tub, the La Bassine, in the mail today. I want to put it up and soak in it, but it has all of these cleaning instructions. Is that really neccesary? We do have t at least blow it up to make sure it doesn't leak, but I badly want to sit in water.

And if I was a nester, I would say I'm starting to nest. I've made 2 awful but functional diaper covers. I've thoroughly cleaned the master bath where the birth and birth tub will be. I can't seem to make headway on the rest of the house thanks to two little destroyers following me wherever I go. : I have the urge to sew diapers. This is probably as close to nesting as I get.

[pilllowhead]

Originally Posted by luckydog

When I pout around and get hypercritical like your DH is now, my DH is AMAZING. No matter how hard I push, all he gives back to me is love love love. If I push him too much and he can't take it, he will sometimes yell at me and stomp off (he's human), but he's always back withing 10-15 minutes saying, "No, I won't give up on you. I know you love me, I know it's in there. I'm going to hug you and kiss you. I believe in you and us and I love you..." and so on.

OMG, could your highlyevolved man teach some marital classes to mine please. That sounds so incredible right now, being the only grown up, as I keep saying.

Panthira, oops, someone has already posted about gay pride, I can't keep up with anything! Yes, Alberta makes sense, though my friend's dad was a gay rodeo clown in Alberta, wonder how he got on!!! The reform party are a bit of a joke further east in Canada, from what I can remember, though I sometimes feel like a bit of an imposter talking about Canadian politics since I left 6 years ago, voted green, etc.
But... Bravado bras are definitely made in canada, yay!!!
Nic, I know what you mean, I can't stand other people running my house, unless they are taking strict orders, doing things the way I want them to do them, etc.
Bethany, your guy senses the upcoming changes and just needs some time to come back into himself at bedtime right now. Ds is at a waldorf school and this was happening last week to him. He needs his cry and it's all healthy and good. Hope you can handle it though

I should be ready now for this baby to come, laundry stands in my way but I sort of feel like I'm just laying about waiting. We are going to see a house on Wednesday, lord knows why but it has a thatched roof and a gorgeous garden from what i can tell.
My best friends just sent me a birthday package with a CD that is beautiful. I don't listen to music much these days, trying to stay present with ds or just too exhausted, but sitting in the back yard with an enormous chocolate pastry and listening to this beautiful orchestral/acoustic guitar backed female voice was just such a great way to feel like myself again.

[jee'smom]

luckydog~ Thank you so much, that's just what I needed to hear. It's just so hard, b/c I feel so emotional, that whenever he's mean to me, my eyes start to well up, I can't help it (I HATE when that happens!!!) Then the other day, I started crying, and he's like "WOW, you're so sensitive. I thought you were tougher than that..." and on and on and on... It really hurt me, b/c I pride myself on being so tough, but with the pg hormones, I can be a blubbering mess sometimes. ugh. Anyway, thanks... I'll have to really think about what you said today.

[DoulaClara]

Sons of pups. I just tried to order a Swaddlebees Mattress pad, to no avail. I'm sure I could find one somewhere else, but I really wanted to buy it from a local store. My bad for waiting until the last, final few days! I am finding some other little last minute goodies, though... (Now I ask myself- do I really need premade flannel wipes, or do I just make them myself?)

Neat MW appointment yesterday. I'm still very low, and the baby's still in a great position. Good heartbeat (DH got to hear it in the fetoscope!) and he or she is active and squirmy today. I still feel touchy and cranky- I keep trying to talk myself out of it- or at least find something I can fix about it. Not working. Oh well. Buck up, Clara.

My DH remains antsy, and is trying to get a thousand things done at once still. He's got the nesting that I had last week! I think pregnancy affects the men in multiple ways, too. No excuse for disrespectful or demeaning behavior, of course, but it's still affecting them. This little family unit is going to change forever very soon, and I think men in our society have an interesting go of it. Be manly, but not too manly, but not unmanly. Provide, but not overly, but not "underly" either. Men and particularly fathers in the media are poor examples, and yet all of our husbands or SO's (if male) have been on the recieving end of this sort of BS for a long time. The tricky part is convincing them that they can do differently. The whole weird, convoluted ball o' crap that is America's perception of men horrifies me.

At any rate, I have things that need to be accomplished. Hope everyone does something awesome for themselves today, whether it's soak in a pool, or snuggle with a LO for a nap, or accomplish a major task... or birth a baby!

Clara

[~Demeter~]

:My grandparents just showed up here unexpectedly with a buttload of groceries. We have food again!! Of course there are things in there that I wouldn't dream of buying but it will be eaten. I feel so much better not worrying what I'm going to cook for our next meal. I love my grandparents so much.

I woke up to some crampy pains, pressure and general discomfort. Why must my body mess with my head? I don't think this is anything more than my body teasing me. I'm all of 36 weeks, I don't think it's likely I'm in labor especially given my history. I just wish I knew what to expect... sounds silly for someone on their fourth.

[BrownEyed]

Well as of today, the MW considers herself on baby watch when it comes to me.

I've had contractions 10 minutes apart for the past 7 hours. They're not very painful which is the opposite of the ones I had last week. My belly is so tight that I can't even move without help. I think I'm going to get in a nice warm bath for awhile and see if that helps.

And of course today I have tons of plans. Thankfully my mom is here so I can send her out to do all my errands.

It could be today or it could be next week, and either is fine with me.

ETA: It doesn't sound silly Nic, each babe is different.

[goddessjulia]

omg, three pages already! oh, I forgot, it is already tuesday : I'm not going to try to catch up because my fingers and ankles are already swelling from sitting here my quick update is: had mw appt yesterday, gained 7 lbs in 3 weeks (holy sh*t), and baby was posterior again! : that explains my back pain the past few days. I know I got sloppy with my body mechanics after she stayed OA for a couple of weeks, and I know exactly when she turned-- I was lying on my back trying to hear her with ds's stethoscope and got the big "whoosh" of limbs all across my front I did hands and knees last night until she turned back. don't know if she's all the way OA, but she's less OP than she was, and the back pain is almost gone. I guess as long as she can still move, she will when it's time. trying not to stress about it.. trust the baby, trust the baby...

henna belly pix forthcoming, and WOOT! my bathroom is done!!! yeah baby! now I'm just ready to get this labor over with!! this is as bad as the tww at the beginning!!

[goddessjulia]

Originally Posted by DoulaClara

I think men in our society have an interesting go of it. Be manly, but not too manly, but not unmanly. Provide, but not overly, but not "underly" either. Men and particularly fathers in the media are poor examples, and yet all of our husbands or SO's (if male) have been on the recieving end of this sort of BS for a long time. The tricky part is convincing them that they can do differently. The whole weird, convoluted ball o' crap that is America's perception of men horrifies me.

ITA- very well put! I have had long convos with one of my teachers about how the sexism that we all know has oppressed women is equally as oppressive to men in this culture. at least we have had the feminist movement for many years now, so that among reasonable people it's not a secret that limiting the definition of what a woman can be is wrong, but we haven't yet had that awakening for men across the board. I think it's beginning in some communities but it's very much still in its infancy to consider this side of things.

[luckydog]

Originally Posted by Mumof3Nic

I woke up to some crampy pains, pressure and general discomfort. Why must my body mess with my head? I don't think this is anything more than my body teasing me. I'm all of 36 weeks, I don't think it's likely I'm in labor especially given my history. I just wish I knew what to expect... sounds silly for someone on their fourth.

FWIW, I've been feeling like that this week, too, Nic. It made me wonder if it was all having any effect. Well, had a cervix check (bah) with my GBS screen today and there was NUTHIN' going on down there. Fingertip, no effacement. My baby gets to keep cooking awhile.

Yay for your grandparents and the groceries - how wonderful of them. I'm glad that's one less strain for you right now.

[~Demeter~]

I had my GBS test last week Bee.. and had the same letdown feeling of a cervical check. I was questioning my reasoning behind getting one so early because it was such a disappointment to me. I suppose it's really great to hear that SOMETHING is happening down there... yesterday's visit I didn't get a check but I learned that baby is a lot lower than she was last visit so I think that might have been what I was feeling. Although this morning's discomfort would have sent me running to the hospital with my first and second I'm not going anywhere until I know without a doubt it's labor. FWIW it stopped, I had a particularly strong contraction about an hour or two ago and really nothing since.

[luckydog]

I had zero interest in the cervix check - even if I was dilated it wouldn't have meant much to me. Since I was already bare from the waist down and I wasn't ASKED if I wanted to be checked (I assume most women want?), it would have been awkward/a scene to refuse it. Not a battle worth fighting, I thought.

Especially since it seems I now have bigger fish to fry. : (See thread I just posted about how I hate going to the doctor. )

Getting the GBS, having a cervix check and now she's ordering an u/s to check size??? It feels like the intervention snowball is starting to roll. I don't like it.

[IamPink]

Just got back from my chiropractor appointment. Have I mentioned that I love her?!

Ended up taking all 3 kids with me, but even though the ride is 1 hour each way, they were all pretty good.

Just ate a huge lunch, now I'm gonna take a nap while dd is down for her's.

[ahdoula]

The GBS test is a poor excuse to do a internal on a preg woman! Sneaky OBs. I got to go into my own bathroom and swab myself at my 36 week mark, and my midwives have shown zero intrest in my vaginia since I got pregnant.

[goddessjulia]

Originally Posted by ahdoula

The GBS test is a poor excuse to do a internal on a preg woman! Sneaky OBs. I got to go into my own bathroom and swab myself at my 36 week mark, and my midwives have shown zero intrest in my vaginia since I got pregnant.

my mw's have also shown no interest in my vagina I almost asked for an internal check yesterday-- I **really** want to know if anything is going on-- but we didn't do it. I think I'll put a glove on today and see if I can reach anything I'll probably just be disappointed, if I can even find my cervix!

[~Demeter~]

Julia I've recently tried to find my cervix... it wasn't easy! Mine appears to be pretty high up there or it did last I tried to check although I think I found baby's head.

[tatermom]

Grrrrr.... I do NOT want to hear the words "c-section" tossed in my direction again unless it's due to some absolute emergency-- fetal distress, cord prolapse, etc.... An abdominal circumference measuring "too big" according to some arbitrary standard set by statistics and measured rather poorly on an ultrasound??????? Not a good enough reason!!!!

[ahdoula]

I think I bumped the baby's head too, but I wouldn't know my cervix if I felt it! Despite my trying! I have been tempted to ask for an internal too, but it wouldn't really tell me anything.

I could be closed and thick and locked with a padlock and still go into labor tomorrow. Or I could be thin, soft and open with a welcome mat out in front and be that way for 4 more weeks! Ahhh! Don't you love this waiting part?