~*Introductions*~

[~Katie~]

Name:
Due date:
Older Children and Ages:
Birth Plans:
Anything else you'd like to add:

Name: Katie
Due date: May 20th
Older Children and Ages: DS Liam (1)
Birth Plans: Home waterbirth, maybe UC
Anything else you'd like to add: Looking forward to getting to know everyone and seeing how this pregnancy progresses in comparison to DS. I had a fairly easy pregnancy and birth with him and I can't wait to do it again!

[Rose-Roget]

Name: Jill
Due date: EDD MAy 21
Older Children and Ages: DS Julien (4 in September)
Birth Plans: no idea; I'm a wimp, but I'm considering a midwife and attempting natural this time...
Anything else you'd like to add: I had a very easy pregnancy last time, so I'm expecting the complete opposite this time! lol! I'm still a bit freaked out. We were trying, but I'm still not sure how my personality or our finances will handle 2.

[EMandM]

Name: Emily
Due date: May 2
Older Children and Ages: None
Birth Plans: Home waterbirth with a midwife
Anything else you'd like to add: I'm just super excited to be here and get to know everyone!!

[Haydee]

Name: Kerry
Due date: May 18
Older Children and Ages: Kathleen (11) Ronan (6)
Birth Plans: Homebirth, possibly water, probably with a midwife
Anything else you'd like to add: Excited to be here!

[crystallane]

Name:crystal
Due date:May 5th
Older Children and Ages:conner almost 6 and Caitlyn 4 next month
Birth Plans:birth center i think
Anything else you'd like to add:happy to be here

[russianthistle]

Name: Erin
Due date: late April/Early May
Older Children and Ages: Casimir (boy) 30 mo.
Birth Plans: homebirth, water is likely

[lotus.blossom]

Name: April
Due date: April 28 (but I think May 3rd)
Older Children and Ages: Lochlan 2
Birth Plans: midwife attended HBAC most likely in a fishy pool
Anything else you'd like to add: I am thrilled to be able to experience birth again and hoping that this baby is sunny side down and slips right out into my arms.

[ColoradoMama]

Name: Misty
Due date: May 11th
Older Children and Ages: Beth Ann 9/99, Ray 12/01, Olivia 11/03, Louis 8/06
Birth Plans: Homebirth with super awesome midwife - if it's a waterbirth, cool, but I sort of planned two and then didn't want to be in the water at the end. So, we'll see.
Anything else you'd like to add: Truly hoping to NOT have another posterior baby - ouch.

[CAUCmama]

Name: Aine (CAUCmama)
Due date: May 21, 2009
Older Children and Ages: DS Gage, 3 1/2, DD Logan 21 months
Birth Plans: UC in the water again
Anything else you'd like to add: I'm just really happy to be here too. =)

[ann_of_loxley]

Name: Ann
Due date: 20th May (based on day of Ovulation!)
Older Children and Ages: Duncan (pic of him in my sig!) - He will be 3 on the 19th of this month (September)!
Birth Plans: I am going to have an HBAC! - I am so excited! Duncan was breech and large (at nearly 11lbs) so I ended up with a section. At the time I was devastated but looking back, it might have been the best decision at the time due to his size and position. I am looking forward to this pregnancy and birth as it is so far very different from Duncan's. The first thing is that this one was planned - got it on the second try!...and hopefully I will get to at least feel a contraction with this baby! - My waters broke first with Duncan and it all went down hill from there when they could feel his testicles coming out of me where his head should be!...so I never really go to experience labour and birth! To put it bluntly, I am looking forward to pushing a baby out of my vagina - the way it should be! hehe
Anything else you'd like to add: I am still in the shock 'omg im pregnant!' phase...I guess my baby is only 'technically' 13 days old today!...Though they give you 2 free weeks so I am near the 4 week mark! I am so happy and proud we are going to give Duncan a sibling! I just hope this baby sticks and grows healthy!...I am having so many more worries this pregnancy around - I guess its because I know more and it kinda frightens me a bit!...I will try not to worry about such things though as it cant do me good! I hope Duncan will be a proud brother. I think a sibling is the best gift I can give him and I think I am going to be pretty happy with this age gap - I wouldnt have really wanted anything much smaller!

Can you tell I am happy to be here? lol

[woodstar]

Name: Faye

Due date: 22 May 2009

Older Children and Ages: DS (3.5), DS (2)

Birth Plans: Planning a second HBAC :-)

Anything else you'd like to add: I had a cesarean with my first DS and then a HBAC with my second. The experience was amazing!! I am simply hoping for everyone here to have a wonderful, healthy pregnancy and birth....and of course beautiful, healthy babies

[itsang]

Name: Angie
Due date: May 7th
Older Children and Ages: none
Birth Plans: midwife-attended homebirth...will have a birthing pool (borrowing my friend's la bassine), so maybe the baby will be born in that. we'll just have to see what works for me during labor.
Anything else you'd like to add: hmmm....well, my mom bought me 2 pair of maternity jeans yesterday & i'm oddly stoked about that. no, seriously though, i'm really excited to be here & share this experience with y'all. i have been dreaming of being in a DDC since 2006 & i am finally freaking here. i plan to enjoy every second of it.

[abigail_b]

Name: Abby
Due date: 05/18/08
Older Children and Ages: Matthew, 2 years old
Birth Plans: I would like to give birth at our hospital again (it is small and the birthing suites are really nice- hardwood floors, curtains, deep bath tubs, total privacy etc.) but this time I want to have a midwife and a doula and I want to do it without pain meds. I would love to have a water birth. My first birth experience was really great except for some excruitiating back labor but I did have an epidural (prompted by the back labor). I didn't like the after effects of the epidural-I did end up peeing on my own but there was this whole stressful period of trying, and them debating when they would need to cathertize etc, also I threw up, and also my nose was really itchy. In addition I had terrible insomnia- I don't know if that was related to the epi but it might have been.
Anything else you'd like to add: I am still nursing my son and am overwhelmed by the thought of tandem nursing but also don't want to wean him.

[PaytonPlace]

Name: Tara

Due date: middle/late May - not sure of date yet

Older Children and Ages: DD Fiona 2 1/2

Birth Plans: would really like a home waterbirth, but due to insurance, probably a hospital VBAC

Anything else you'd like to add: I didn't enjoy being pregnant w/ dd. When people would say they loved being pregnant, I thought they escaped from the looney bin. My mom said she was the same way w/ both me & my brother. However, I can tell this time will be totally different. I am really looking forward to growing & feeling the baby. (Now, ask me at 41 weeks, and I might be singing a different tune!)

[AlmightyIsis]

Name: Isis
Due date:EDD May 15
Older Children and AgesS #1, 6, DS#2, 2
Birth Plans: I'd love a water birth too, but I had a really bad tear last time. I don't know if my rectum can handle another vag birth
Anything else you'd like to add: thrilled to be here, even if this was totally unexpected!

[burm_keep]

Name: Rebecca
Due date: May 9th, but I may have miscalculated and it's actually the 8th. Oh well

Older Children and Ages: Liam, who will be 3 in October

Birth Plans: HBAC! We planned a home birth the first time around and I'm hoping it will work out this time!

Anything else you'd like to add: We're still nursing a lot, and expect we'll be tandeming when new baby comes.

[zejh]

Name: Emily
Due date: May 1st
Older Children and Ages: none
Birth Plans: Most likely a hospital midwife practice, though I'm interested in a homebirth.
Anything else you'd like to add: I'm working on being cautiously optimistic...

[iana703]

Name: Iana
Due date: May 13
Older Children and Ages: Avia 2
Birth Plans: Home waterbirth, with my teaching midwife although i am considering a uc if dh goes for it.
Anything else you'd like to add: First birth was in the hospital with a cnm labored in water had a doula great experience. I am looking forward to having a peaceful homebirth and the surprise of gender at birth.

[michaelsmama]

Name: Erika
Due date: May 16-ish
Older Children and Ages: Michael- almost 6, Jacob- almost 3, Maggie, 9 months
Birth Plans: Once again we'll have a new hospital and new midwife practice, in a new city (South Bend, IN, with my parents). Water birth if they'll let me (only 2 hospitals there and one's MW practice has a backup doc i hate from doula-ing a birth there); if not, land will be fine. Unsure which children will be present (or outside the door) for this birth...
Anything else you'd like to add:

We're a bit freaked out since we hadn't figured on having this one. Dh works in international development and we're just 6 weeks into our first overseas post, so we're a bit nervous as to how this all works with 4 kids - both the separation that will happen for 8 weeks or so this spring as the kids and I go back to the states to stay with my parents and await the birth (he'll be back for birth, hopefully), plus the logistics of living overseas and doing so much travelling with 4 kids, as well as the fact that he'll travel a lot with work while the kids and i are at home, far from family and close friends. It's a lot to figure out and we only found out saturday night (and he's out of town this week), but we're hanging. Being able to joyfully announce the pregnancy in this comunity helps, though. Our parents and sisters and a few chosen friends know and are happy, but many others will say we're nuts, I'm sure - but screw the unsupportive ones. We love our kids and will love this one just as much.

Thanks for the support and friendship, and I look forward to a good 9 months with y'all!

[cmoma]

Name: Christina

Due date: May 19th

Older Children and Ages: Jaden almost 5; Annie 2.5

Birth Plans: Plan to deliver with midwives at our birth center. Both J and A were born there, wouldn't go anywhere else, their like family Hoping to have the kids present for this one or atleast my son

Anything else you'd like to add: From deciding to have another to actually getting pregnant was quick for us and I'm still in the excited but OMG what have we done stage, LOL!! I can't wait for my belly to pop out. I love my big ol' belly. I am a little anxious about adding a third to the mix and seeing what it does to our family dynamic. But we are so thrilled about having another baby! Looking forward to going through this with you all.
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