**~Weekly thread August 6~**

[artgirl]

I don't know if just anyone is allowed to start this but since I don't see one yet I'm going for it.

We had a pretty crazy weekend. Dh is trying to pass a kidney stone. He's got a history of them but I think this one is pretty bad timing myself. He'd better have it taken care of BEFORE I go into labor because I'll need him then.

I went and had a 1/2 hour massage yesterday because my upper neck and shoulders have been sooooo tight from the crazy way I have to sleep to ward off acid reflux at night. I was driving home on Sat. and started to have visual disturbances... like I couldn't see right. If anyone has migraines here you know what an aura looks like before you get the headache. Anyway, that scared me into the massge and was it ever worth it! I'm wondering if my OB can give me a referral for another so that insurance will pay for it.

We did a belly cast Sunday morning with the kids. It was pretty comical. We put smocks on them and they choose to wear their rain boots to *protect* their feet. They lost interest pretty quickly though so I was left in the kitchen alone to dry. I was relieved to see that this one doesn't look drastically different than the previous two. (We have quite a collection now). So I'm not as HUGE as everyone keeps saying. HA!

On these super hot days I've been trying to walk on the treadmill while my kiddos are in the tub with daddy. It's helped with my energy level and my mental health. I listen to music that makes me happy and just have some introspective time.

Still no name but the carseat is installed and baby clothes are washed. I have to go buy my special good luck purple nail polish still. I had it on the day I was married and for the birth of both my other two kids. Traditions you know. :

I'm so excited for everyone here either in labor or already having delivered. There's a new one every day now. I LOVE the pictures!

[momuveight2B]

I can't believe it is the 6th already. I'm still here but looking to get on with a new OB this morning. Long story but I can't stand the two peris I've been seeing. I have no intention of going to their hospital seventy miles away to be delivered unless I go by ambulance kicking and screaming. I am hoping for a natural labor here at home and then over to our local hospital to be delivered.

[artgirl]

momuveight,
I think I've been reading your story. They're giving you a hard time about a high glucose reading right? A test result that they failed to notice hadn't come in? I'd be so angry just about the un-needed STRESS they're causing you! I hope you LOVE this new OB this morning!!! Good luck!!

[momuveight2B]

Kelly,

Thanks for the support. I will update later.

[michellemk]

I've had guests all weekend, most of my nesting was directed at cleaning and getting ready for them. Now I'm ready to nest for the baby!
Today I'm going to install the car seat and attach the co sleeper. I think that's all I need to do!
Oh yeah, I need to buy the plaster wrap for my belly cast too. It's about time we do that. I'm 38 weeks on Thursday, so I'm getting pretty close. I have a feeling I'm not going to go early. Most likely a few days late.
I also need to buy a new sling and continue to research the stroller issue. I really can't figure out what kind of stroller I want for a newborn and a toddler. I've been looking at the Phil & Ted's, and might be able to convince MIL to buy it for me. But it's really expensive with the doubles kit and everything! I know I don't need the stroller right away, since we'll be slinging...but I wish I knew what I wanted!

[Twinklefae]

I'm so proud of myself. After complaining about it for a week and a half I have finally mopped my floor! !!! (Yes, it's really that exciting.)

I'm almost set up for baby now. I just need to get DF to wash out the garbage can we will be using as a diaper pail, and clean up the boxes that are in front of the change table. I also need to finish packing for the hospital.

Last Thursday I went for my hospital tour, which had previously sent me into a panic attack, and came through like a trooper! I'm very proud of that too.

I suppose the only thing on the down side for me right now is my INCREDIBLY itchy belly. I have to wait until Friday to see a doctor, as mine is out of town until the 20th. It's either PUPPP or it's just swollen and itchy. It's really really hard for me to see, even in a mirror, so I don't know if there is a rash on top of the stretch marks or not.

Good luck momuveight! Hope your new OB is just right for you!

[dantesmama]

My due date is 6 days away now, and I'm finally *ready* now. I honestly think the baby was "planning" on coming last week - I felt sooo close - but I started having some issues with dp and was really struggling with depression for a few days. I was *not* in the right state of mind to have a baby, and thankfully my body knew that - the intensity of my contractions scaled down quite a bit, and my cervix even closed a little bit (was previously at 4cm, down to about 3 last week). I'm feeling so much better now, and I think I "met" my baby in my dream the night before last, so now I'm officially in love with her! Since yesterday morning I've felt like I'm now completely ready. It's a good feeling . . . so now we're just waiting! Yesterday and today I've been having tons of strong, very crampy contractions and some back pain, and everything in that area feels "different" somehow - I don't really know how to explain it any other way . . . so hopefully the real thing will start soon!

[dantesmama]

Originally Posted by Twinklefae

I suppose the only thing on the down side for me right now is my INCREDIBLY itchy belly. I have to wait until Friday to see a doctor, as mine is out of town until the 20th. It's either PUPPP or it's just swollen and itchy. It's really really hard for me to see, even in a mirror, so I don't know if there is a rash on top of the stretch marks or not.

Is it your stretch marks that are swollen and itchy? I have stretch marks on the underside of my belly that are puffy and itchy - I have a whole bumpy patch the size of the back of my hand. I can see it with a hand mirror and it doesn't really look any different except the puffy stretch marks are white instead of purply like my other ones. No idea what it is.

[jandj+1]

Good luck, momuveight2b! I hope this doctor is more simpatico.

Am I ever ready to have this baby! 39 weeks 2 days and I can't wear underbelly pants anymore because they get pushed down so far by the belly that they fall off And...umm...all I have is underbelly pants/shorts, so I spend much of every day yanking them up so I don't expose my granny panties to everyone.

It's also starting to get very hot today. The heat index is supposed to get up to 108 today.

Think I'll stay in the air conditioning.

[PiePie]

kelly, not be be alarmist, but please check in with your care provider about the strong headache with visual disturbance -- might be pre-e.

there i go projecting my worries onto somebody else. i am sorry, i am trying to keep them contained.

[PiePie]

Originally Posted by artgirl

On these super hot days I've been trying to walk on the treadmill while my kiddos are in the tub with daddy. It's helped with my energy level and my mental health. I listen to music that makes me happy and just have some introspective time.

i am so impressed that you have the energy for that. i can barely make it between the subway and my destination.

[PiePie]

my cold is worse today than yesterday. i really want it to go away before labor. i went on a mission for nursing bras and then have been dozing for the rest of the day. didn't feel like very restorative sleep, but the sore throat and ears and stuffiness are better.

[mamamoo]

I'm due Sat, and thinking that would be a nice day to have a baby. I don't feel close at all, and actually feel better at nearly 40 weeks than I EVER have with any of my other pregnancies. I do have some pretty good back/pelvic/hip/sciatic stuff going on, but I'm used to it. LOL

I am almost ready for her to come. I got my huge order of mama pads in on Sat, they are gorgeous. I need to wash baby clothes and dipes, rearrange a bedroom downstairs, and the house could definitely use a good deep cleaning(ain't going to happen), but I am pretty much ready to go.

I am so glad that I decided to have a mw come see me these last couple of weeks, she still might not get here in time, but she has been a wealth of info and support for me already, in just two weeks! She is helping me work through some of my feelings about myself and my seperation, and just makes me feel so damn good. I know she trusts me and my body, and that is so important to me.

I am in a good place today.

[mamamoo]

Originally Posted by PiePie

my cold is worse today than yesterday. i really want it to go away before labor. i went on a mission for nursing bras and then have been dozing for the rest of the day. didn't feel like very restorative sleep, but the sore throat and ears and stuffiness are better.

My mw just left and told me to take this for my cold:
Olive leaf tincture and cherry bark tincture

She is an herbalist, and she said it should help me with my cough, sore throat and tickle. Not sure what all your symptoms are...but I am *hoping* mine goes away before labor too. I feel worse today then yesterday, but I am drinking tons of fluids, and going to get the tinctures in a bit.

[Twinklefae]

Wow! Just got back from seeing a friend, and I feel like all my worries are over! We have to move at the end of September, and I've been stressing about where, and how we are going to afford it, etc... Well, my friend is going away to become a border guard and will rent us her mini-home, for a very reasonable price, while she's gone! Hooray! Laundry facilities! A yard! A garden! We can have a cat! Sooooooooo excited that I don't have to go house hunting with a newborn!!! Yippee!

[Jster]

Hi all! Welcome to the SECOND week of August :

Mamamoo, cherry bark tincture is nice for sore throats! Hope you feel better soon!

PiePie, I just got a cold as well, my second in the last few weeks!! DD1 keeps finding them somewhere, I've just no idea how as we haven't really been around other kids much...

jandj+1, I know what you mean about the underbelly pants, I stopped being able to wear them the first time baby dropped around 33-34 weeks. Now my uterus actually falls over my pubic bone...making any undies terribly uncomfortable! Luckily I have a few big loose dresses, not maternity but they're perfect, and I wear them all day with no undergarments at all Gotta keep comfy above all else!

Twinklefae and dantesmama, sorry about your itchies! Hope you get some relief soon! I've got one stretch mark that, in my third pregnancy, is now very swollen and sore underbelly. No knew ones this time, though, thank goodness, but then again they're all over so not much more room for them anyway! Thankfully DH says I'm beautiful now more than he ever has...many times a day! It really keeps me going!

momuveight2b, glad you're looking into a different provider, its so worth it for the peace of mind and will let you start labor feeling empowered! I changed at 39+ weeks with dd1, and it was well worth it!

artgirl, belly cast sounds fun...I've thought about it, but know I have such a hard time getting rid of things I'd have them forever! Still, if I do go to 42 weeks with this baby, I might just to keep busy :

michellemk, good luck with the stroller issue! I'm just going without for now...but maybe after baby is a couple of months old and I start going on outings with the girls a lot (homeschooling this year, yay!) I'll want one...so wait and see...

So...anyone dealing with skin tags? For some reason I've got oodles of them right now, especially where I usually would get a couple from a bra (under arms, under breasts) but I haven't been wearing one for weeks! And even a few on my areolas...weird! I hope they go away nicely after baby!

We've been enjoying feeling baby a lot lately...and the other day felt the coolest thing: TOES! Not just the outline of the foot, but tiny bumps at the end, those dear little toes! Then last night I had a dream that I could see a much tinier baby foot actually through my skin, it was very strange, but boy, I can't wait to meet this little one!

I got the last couple of things ready today...of course there's always more sewing that can be done, but I finally got an infant carseat. I really didn't want to spend the money on one, but I found a graco snugride at baby depot clearanced for $25, couldn't pass that up! The changing table is all set up, baby clothes and diapers washed, I'm going to start sewing some fitteds just to keep busy...and maybe more mama pads...and a new sling...

"Due" tomorrow...but anticipate it will be a while :

[Mearaina]

We are all ready. All that is left is to set up the co -sleeper once baby is here. The sheets are washed and ready, so are clothes. L's dipe supply has increased and is ready. I wonder what she'll think when she sees brother wearing her dipes? Depending how chubby he is they could wear the same size - L is soooo slender she is in 10-22 pound dipes. If he is near her birth weight (which was 9,3) and is chunky like R was, I could see the same dipes fitting them both.
I really want to meet our son. I am so excited. Dh thinks tomorrow, my mom says Sat, my dad says the 15th. I think I will go into labor between the 10th and the 17th. We will see who, if any of us, are correct!

[artgirl]

kelly, not be be alarmist, but please check in with your care provider about the strong headache with visual disturbance -- might be pre-e.

thanks PiePie,
actually had an OB appt today and all was well. The thought that something really sinister was at work did cross my mind while I was having the flashing light effect in my periphereal vision, but after the massage I knew that I had found the real culprit. I never did get the headache... just the pre-cursor.

Sorry all of you with colds! Yuck! I hope you get better before labor starts!

Twinklefae, funny how things just sometimes work out huh?

[jandj+1]

Twinklefae-that's great news. When I was pregnant with C we were house hunting and it was soooo stressful not knowing where we would be when baby came. It all worked out for us, and I'm glad to hear it will for you, too.

I started spotting a bit this afternoon, then had a contraction that felt different from the BH I've been having--more 'stabby.' But it wasn't repeated. Maybe I will take a walk down to the park (ugh, the heat!) and see if it will bring on some action!

[Cujobunny]

Today is my due date and.... no baby Not that I was really expecting her today anyway, but some sign that it is coming would be nice! I have been having TONS of BH ctx and I think maybe some other ctx I felt thru my back as I was asleep last night, but now today nothing. I walked quite a bit today, so hopefully that will get things moving!

Seeing all the pics of the babes from this DDC is getting me really excited to hold my baby! I can't even imagine how tiny and light she will be compared to carting around a 29 mo

My mom is coming tonight, she is my doula and was going to wait until I go into labour to come but she lives 4 hrs away and was driving me NUTS calling me 6 times a day so I just told her to come already Now she can hang out with ds too, he just loves her, they have lots of fun together, and I can get some rest. DH is on vacation this week and next so he'll be glad for the downtime too.

So we're all ready - clothes and diapers are washed, dh has shown an interest in CD, which I just recently switched to with ds after using disposables on him his whole life. I honestly don't know what took me so long - and for the first time ever he has NO red spots anywhere in his diaper area. He always seemed to have little rough patches on his penis Now I know why. And I'm totally addicted to CD I have some prefolds and fitteds and covers for ds and my neighbour gave me a whole bunch of newborn fitteds and I bought some covers for them. I think when she grows out of those, she can use the prefolds I have for ds, I'll just have to fold them differently. Am I weird that I even love washing the CDs? I have an outdoor clothesline in my beautiful backyard and I find hanging laundry to be soooo relaxing. Then I throw them in the dryer for a few mins to fluff them up and I just love folding up these soft cute little dipes and putting them away.