Pregnant with #1 in our 30s September - Page 21

[Grace24]

Originally Posted by ~minnow~

Also, does anyone else think it's pretty funny to shoot your husband in the face with your breastmilk?

Puh-leeze, I can't WAIT to be able to do this. hehe

Jenn, good news about the baby being in position! Yay! Glad you don't have to deal with the traffic anymore. I hate traffic in DC, it's the one thing that can really stress me out. I've heard Boston is bad too.

[~minnow~]

Newborn Essentials, Baby Minnow Edition. So what have we found that we used this first week?

Cloth stuff: Cloth dipes and wipes (see below), Gerber onesies in size "Justborn" (we don't snap them), lots of receiving blankets and prefolds as swaddles/burp cloths/bibs/bedpads, the SwaddleMe Designs swaddle blanket (larger than receiving blankets), little hats. I need lighter things to swaddle her in so I'm ordering muslin swaddle blankets for daytime. I wish I'd bought a wool pad for the bed BEFORE baby arrived.

I'm liking the Boppy both to help position her (though I'm insane and sometimes just pick her up and clap her to the boob wherever I am... she's very little so this is possible for now) and also to give her a place to be propped up on the bed, which she sometimes prefers to lying flat.

Lambskin: I'm creeped out by this but I also love it. I like to nap on it. Great for nakey time for baby (though I do usually put a prefold under her leaky parts).

Stretchy wrap and ring sling: I have a Hug a bub but it's like a Moby. Ring sling for me has more of a learning curve but as I figure it out I like it even more than the wrap. Baby gets all balled up in these but she was balled up for months and months so I guess it's all good.

Frozen maxi pads with witch hazel and sitz bath herbs in a peri bottle.

Postpartum support and Excellent Food: THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. I poo pooed the need for people bringing you food but it has been so important (and we only have a few people doing it so it's not like you need a ton... also, we don't know all the people doing it that well; they've just volunteered or been asked by people we do know). The best thing is that they bring complete meals, really healthy. Salads, greens, stuff from their gardens, in addition to whatever the dinner is. I am CERTAIN that main reason I haven't fallen into any of the wormholes of exhaustion is largely because I've had really healthy food and, after the first few days, realized I needed to make a point to keep taking my vitamins and fish oil. Also, if you can make a cheesecake in early labor, I highly recommend it.

Originally Posted by MajorGroover

Is keeping up with cloth dipes overwhelming on top of everything else?

Not a bit! (To be fair, DP has so far done most of the laundry.) I'm so glad I had the dipes ready to go and the wash pattern figured out before the birth. We have a dozen used Kissaluvs 0 that were perfect when she was a tiny 6 pound baby. These came with Imse Vimse covers in newborn which we've also been using. I also bought a huge stack of wipes (like 50) from the Kissaluvs outlet -- they look like washcloths and we use them for everything: wipes, doublers, washcloths. We have some folded and wet in the wipes warmer. Kissluvs Lotion Potion in a spray bottle. Spray the butt, wipe it off, change the dipe, toss old dipe in the hanging diaper pail bag. (Occasional use of disposable wipe [seventh generation] for insurance against poo.) I was all about rinsing the dipes first but DP thinks it's unnecessary. We have a tiny bit of staining but it's very small and will probably sun out.

As she's getting a little bit bigger and wetting more, we are starting to use the Little Beetles size one (old size). Snap ones are working best for us (they seem to vary in size though) but the Snappi ones work good with wool covers. I'm pleased that she's growing into her Lana Wool Cover, which is EXCELLENT for keeping a ton of pee in without it leaking out onto my bed, which has happened with the non-wool covers (which also are a bit scratchy around the edges and leave red marks, but they do work well for all that).

We do wash diapers every single day (cold cycle, hot cycle, bit of detergent in each if dipes are very dirty, sometimes a bit of vinegar rinse, dry on medium in dryer, sun odd diaper on line), but it isn't hard. I almost wish I'd bought 2 dozen Kissaluvs except since she's already growing fatter and we aren't sure what will work best next, maybe it's fine to do it this way and wash the dipes every day.

PKU: I think I read this becomes accurate after 2-3 days. My midwife did it at 4 days. AT OUR HOSPITAL, if you leave before 24 hours you can request that a home nurse come to your house and do the PKU after 2-3 days; that way you don't have to stay around the hospital just to do the PKU. You all might check if they offer this at your hospital.

[dctexan]

Originally Posted by MajorGroover

I'm shopping for nursing bras now & looking for advice. Is 34/35 weeks the right time to buy them? I normally wear lightly padded bras so I don't announce to the world every time I'm cold. I can't find padded nursing bras without underwire except on the internet and I'm really hesitant to order a bra I haven't tried on. Do they make them mostly unpadded b/c you're wearing a bra pad all the time? Don't most women stop leaking at some point?

Nursing bras...you might want to buy one or two now, but from what understand you really need to wait until your milk supply is established to get an accurate size. I had one Bravado bra that I bought during pregnancy (it's a flexible size bra, so I wasn't too worried about sizing, I knew my boobs would be huge), but to be honest I don't really wear it that often. I am MUCH preferring the nursing tank tops. Even though they do not provide the greatest support, I LOVE that they cover my stomach when I nurse. I am actually shopping around for nursing bras now (because at some point I WILL want to wear a real bra and go out in public like a normal human being) and have found that I really like THIS SITE for online ordering (plus they have my special needs sizes). Shipping for each item is only $1 and returns are very easy. I know some women do wear underwire while nursing, but so far I've been too chicken to try it (the last thing I want to do at this point is create a problem with my boobs or milk supply).

As for leaking - I only leak now after a shower or if I've gone too long without pumping or nursing (3-4 hours seems to be my max and if he doesn't feed on both boobs, I can end up leaking). I wear nursing pads sometimes (like when I am going out in public), but otherwise, I just mop it up with a burp cloth and stick the babe on the boob

Originally Posted by MajorGroover

I have two nursing tanks that I plan on sleeping in, but nothing else.

OMG this is one of the funniest things I have read in awhile. I also had two nursing tanks that I planned on sleeping in. Ha ha. What a joke. After your milk comes in you will find that between leaking and having baby spit up (and the occassional diaper blow out), you may need two nursing tanks per DAY. If you are going to spend money on aything right now, please buy more nursing tanks. I currently have 6 and I do laundry every 4 days (we are not CDing...but we need to do the wash that often to keep us in burp cloths, blankets, baby clothes, and nursing tanks for momma). I had two nursing nightgowns I purchased during pregnancy, but they are not useful AT ALL unles I wear a nursing bra underneath because I DO leak if I don't have pressure (from a nursing tank or a bra) on my boobs

[PiePie]

i find cds hard to keep up with and i'm washing just the covers (have service). :

[Dee-Groovy]

Originally Posted by Grace24

Is your baby head-down? I'm 32 weeks now and he's still breech/transverse. I won't worry for a couple weeks, but I wish he'd turn already so I don't have to worry that I'll get worried that he's not turning, KWIM?

Julia I don't know whether she's head-down or not, but I think she is b/c I feel hiccups near my right hip. I was going to ask my doc at my last appointment but forgot. Oh well. It's not worth worrying about, seriously, b/c they can turn at any time from what I hear. I think too much sometimes, so if I knew she was head-down I would worry that she'd turn breech. :

Judy hooray for being almost halfway! Thanks for hosting next months thread too!

Lane OMG I can't wait to squirt my DH with breastmilk either! How funny! I love that your baby smells like Froot Loops too - I always tell DH that our babies will be so adorable that we'll want to eat them. If they smell like Froot Loops they'll have no chance! Thanks so much for the newborn essentials rundown. It's good to know that the cloth dipes aren't overwhelming and you can make do with 12 if you wash every day. I'm relieved that I have a lot of the stuff you mentioned, like a swaddle blanket, pad for bed, wrap to wear baby, etc. You may have inspired to me to feed my freezer too, since I probably won't have anyone bringing me food. I might steal the cheesecake labor project too.

Jenn yay I'm so glad your baby is in position! Great to hear that the blood pressure is down and back hurts less too. Are you totally ready and waiting on the baby or are you finishing up last minute stuff? Thanks for reminding me that I might find nursing stuff at the consignment store. I have one set of nursing PJs that I got months ago from a consignment store in my hometown. There's ONE store here that sells secondhand mat clothes - I'll have to dig through the disorganized rack to see if there are any nursing clothes mixed in.

Originally Posted by dctexan

I also had two nursing tanks that I planned on sleeping in. Ha ha. What a joke. After your milk comes in you will find that between leaking and having baby spit up (and the occassional diaper blow out), you may need two nursing tanks per DAY.

Emily thanks for the advice & links to nursing bra websites. Yeah I knew I needed at least 4 nursing tanks if I planned on wearing them constantly. I'm just so cheap that it hurts to spend the money all at once! Now target.com says that they'll ship "in 2 to 6 weeks" - gah! I'm due in 5 weeks! Guess I'll have to hit up my local Target again ASAP.

Holy cankles batman! Is it normal to have my feet and ankles swell up huge over the course of 2 days? I walked a lot on Wednesday but wasn't uncomfortable. Thursday evening my ankles were a little puffy. Friday morning I had elephant feet. Are they going to stay like this until the baby comes? I've been doing all the right stuff yesterday and today - ice water soak, elevated feet, drinking lots of water, wearing compression hose. They're less swollen after being horizontal all night but wow - I outgrew my flip flops. It's not pitting edema and AFAIK my blood pressure if fine, it's just ugly and uncomfortable. I'm SO bloated now too - I've gained 8.5 pounds in 2 weeks and I'm sure most of that is water. At least I hope it is! I was doing so well for the past month or so and now I feel like I've hit a wall. Even the baby's movements aren't very comfortable sometimes. I feel like I'm wearing a fat suit, like Gwyneth Paltrow in Shallow Hal. Elizabeth I know you said that I want my baby fully cooked but I'm starting to think that any time now would be good. :

[Grace24]

Lane, thanks so much for the newborn essentials tutorial. Really helpful to hear what works for everyone. Made me realize I need cloth wipes still! I've gone from wanting to CD right away, to wanting to use sposies for a couple weeks, then wanting to use a service even though we already bought a NB size CD stash, and now I'm back to wanting to CD right away cuz I orderd some sewing stuff online and want to make them now.

Dee... sorry you're so uncomfortable, me too. The swelling is no fun. I haven't worn my wedding ring in a couple of weeks and the silver band we got as a replacement (size bigger) gave me hives (sensitive skin). So now I look like my baby daddy left me. I do have some swelling in my feet and legs (by the way, does swimming help you? I think it helps me) but my most uncomfortable thing so far is the pelvic pain. I keep saying to DH, "My Vajay jay hurts!" It's getting worse by the day, to the point that every time I get up in the night to pee I curse all the way to the bathroom and all the way back, til I'm settled on my body pillow again. Augh. It's really excruciating. 8 weeks to go, really? Are we sure?

So my DDC had a little gift swap and the mama who drew my name sent me all this homemade stuff... a homemade sleep gown with the covers over the hands, and a Very Baby AIO dipe that she made. It totally got me on a sewing kick again! So I ordered the VB pattern and some material and can't wait for it to come! I know the AIO's take a while to dry, but I think I will start with those and then move on to pockets. I'm getting more restless the closer I get to the end of the pregnancy, so this will give me something to do rather than lying on the couch jiggling my legs constantly (anyone else have the restless leg thing? I hate it!)

In other news, here's how little it takes for a violinist to have to miss work: the skin on my left fingers is a little dry, and it split in just the right place on the tip of my finger, so I can't play and just HAD to call in sick all day. I didn't plan it this way, but I have to say it works well for me cuz it's a double rehearsal I'm missing (6.5 hours of playing, augh) and my mom is coming in tonight so now I have time to prepare her room. Really was hoping to save all my sick days for the very end of the pregnancy, but there you go.

Have a great day everyone!

[dctexan]

Originally Posted by MajorGroover

Holy cankles batman! Is it normal to have my feet and ankles swell up huge over the course of 2 days? I walked a lot on Wednesday but wasn't uncomfortable. Thursday evening my ankles were a little puffy. Friday morning I had elephant feet. Are they going to stay like this until the baby comes? I've been doing all the right stuff yesterday and today - ice water soak, elevated feet, drinking lots of water, wearing compression hose. They're less swollen after being horizontal all night but wow - I outgrew my flip flops. It's not pitting edema and AFAIK my blood pressure if fine, it's just ugly and uncomfortable. I'm SO bloated now too - I've gained 8.5 pounds in 2 weeks and I'm sure most of that is water. At least I hope it is! I was doing so well for the past month or so and now I feel like I've hit a wall. Even the baby's movements aren't very comfortable sometimes. I feel like I'm wearing a fat suit, like Gwyneth Paltrow in Shallow Hal. Elizabeth I know you said that I want my baby fully cooked but I'm starting to think that any time now would be good. :

Aw Dee. I was in the EXACT same position as you. Over a two week period I gained 8 lbs and my feet were so so SO swollen. Midwife said it was all water and that she wasn't worried (BP was fine). By the time I went into labor I looked like a bloated tick - it was NOT pretty. The good news is that at 4 week PP I have lost 32 lbs (of course I gained 50 : ) so everyone thinks look great As I recall, most of the swelling was gone by 7 days PP (I have never been so happy to see the bones in my feet. I truly missed them). Hang in there, you are soooo close! I cannot wait for you to meet your babe!

[rock_dr]

just a note to the nursing and soon-to-be nursing: fenugreek works

I'm amazed, I'm taking about 5 mg/day (10 caplets) and noticed a big change in supply, almost immediately. I also just started pumping at least once on the days I'm with her (during the AM nap) - the extra is enough to get her through the days I'm not here without me having to pump myself dry late in the afternoon right before I come home. anyway, just letting you know.

It's good timing b/c I'm about to venture out for my first field work next week. Quite a production: my mom is flying out to stay with ella in a hotel, and I'm going to have to figure out how to pump behind a shrub or something (oil company reps and students will be with me). should be interesting.

OH and I mentioned starting a faculty mom's group awhile ago. It finally happened and was GREAT! I've been at the university for 5 years and have never met so many female faculty, much less other moms. Potlucks, playgroups, and advocacy are planned, I just hope we can keep the momentum. Ironic how we are some of the busiest people on campus trying to start a new group.

sleep, still working on that.

[Dee-Groovy]

Julia I'm sorry you're uncomfortable too. Thanks for commiserating! I haven't worn my wedding ring since May so I know how you feel kinda naked without it. I don't get those shooting vajay-jay pains very often but it sucks when I do. Maybe you're carrying lower than I am. I definitely know my baby's dropping though, b/c I had thigh pain for the first time last week. I've also doubled my nighttime bathroom trips. : I'm confused about what to do for newborn/small dipes too - I'm so jealous that you can sew! I hope your mom's visit is going well.

Emily OMG I think you just told me that I'm gonna stay bloated until I deliver. Oh my. On the positive side, my ankles are more recognizable now after taking it easy over the weekend. I just still have so much to do! My feet are still swollen and I'll probably be wearing compression hose every day now. At least the weather is cooling off. Congrats on losing so much weight! Wish Benjamin a happy 1 month birthday from me.

CJ it's good to know that fenugreek is working for you & you worked out a way to pump a little extra. Yay! I'm glad your university mothers group is coming together too, that's wonderful. Good luck pumping behind shrubs - I'd love pics!

[Jujubie]

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