It's April, Mamas!!!!

[sistermama]

Figured we might as well start our April thread. Anyone get any pranks pulled on them or pull any today? Usually I think of something to do to dh today, but haven't come up with anything good yet. Wish I had an appt today so I could tell him mw said twins!

Steph - glad your appt went well. How long have you been out of the states for? I am also so glad to leave and so glad to come home

Caroline - sorry you have been puking! :( I bet it will go away soon.

I'm off on Thursdays, so I'm having fun just lazing around with Jack. Might get some bins so I can start packing some. We are moving in a month and a half, but I HATE packing and like to do it slow and easy. We were going to be renting an apt, but dh's dad does that as seen on tv home buying and reselling. Well, he told dh he would buy a house we pick out (in price range of course) and let us rent it from him. He's kind of an ass most of the time, but I'd just about sell my soul not to be in an apt again, so we'll see how this works out.

[sistermama]

Caroline, I forgot to say you are so right about not remembering how bad it can be. For 8 weeks this pregnancy I was laying on the couch all day wanting to die (at one point I even told dh I wish I could go to the hospital and just be put in a coma until this part was over). I swore that this was it no more babies, I will never do this again. Now, it's like, what was so bad about it? I must have been exaggerating!

[adventuregirl]

Happy April Fools Day! I love April!

OK, now that its a new thread and I can't scroll down to remember everything everyone said, I'm lost. Anyone else have a piss poor memory lately? I'm blaming it on pregnancy, whether that's where its coming from or not.

Steph, how exciting that you are on the move soon, it will be fun! I hope we both get some good sleep soon! Sounds like your appt was good, no worries is the best way to go! So you will have to go and find a new doc/midwife when you finally get home, huh? That will be a project, hopefully an easy one.

Anna, I hope the pain goes away before the baby comes! Maybe more things will move around and make it go away. Have you considered acupuncture?

Sarah, thanks for starting the new thread. I hope your move goes easily and smoothly. A house would be wonderful!

I have thought about birth a lot so far during this pregnancy and just last night I realized that I never think much past delivery, meeting baby and breastfeeding for the first time. But I realized I never thought of things like putting on baby's first diaper and clothes, how that will be, what time of day it will be, who we will call first, and how many calls we will have to make. I am feeling lots of excitement over this, but ever so glad to have several months still to get there.

Anyway, gonna be a warm one here today with snow expected for tonight, better get out and enjoy the warmth while I can! Happy Day!

[banana girl]

Yesterday, I FINALLY went to visit my garden to see how it was doing. (the site our wedding last spring, we restored / planted a garden) The weather has not cooperated with my schedule for afew weeks now and boy was it exciting to see all the plants coming up. There are daffodils and iris showing as well as tiny little bleeding hearts, columbine and jacobs ladder! One foxglove has made it through the 2nd winter and should actually bloom this year!

Yeah Flowers!

As i was raking last years dead leaves out of the beds i thought about how all my fears and anxieties about the future were like the leaves in the bed. The leaves serve a purpose in the winter and early spring, they protect the plants from the worst of the weather, and nourish the soil. The plants WILL come up through those leaves regardless of my raking them out or not. However, there comes a time in the spring, when removing those leaves, allows the plants to receive more light, the ground to warm up more and the plants to REALLY grow.
So, I need to start cleaning up all my fears and anxieties, so i can really GROW!

Listening to the universe
Anna

[RaeInBC]

A Tricky April 1 to All:

It's great to read everyone's news. I too think that I can feel movements--I'm pretty sure that's what it is! And I heard a heartbeat, so there's definitely something going on. It's not just the weirdest flu ever. I'm pretty sure it's a boy.

Remind me *not* to travel unecessarily when pregnant--my trip to San Antonio was lovely, except that I felt crappy for much of it. I think that air pressure, time zone changes, different food and a strange bed are just that much harder on a pregnant body. I found out that I'm having what I think are called "rounding pains"--ligaments stretching all around the bottom and sides of my emerging belly. Not sharp pain but definite discomfort. It's absolutely cut into my running (like, no running). Sigh.

Rachel

[chumani]

Woohoo! we have a subforum!! I love having all these threads!!!

adventure girl- I remember with my first I read all I could on pg and birth. It didn't occur to me to read any baby care books or bf books. After dd was born I was so nervous to dress her etc. After the first day I was reading the LLL book womanly art of bf like mad to try and catch up.

bananagirl- thanks for such an inspirational thought. It was just what I needed to read!!!

RaeinBC- I have been having round ligament pain too. No fun! I hope it goes away soon for you.

I can hardly believe I am already 18 weeks. This pg is going way too fast for me. My oldest daughter (8) is showing some interest in being at the birth. I have a great sibling at birth video and some really nice books. I am so excited if she does want to.

We heard heart tones yesterday, always such a reassurance. Babe is really active in the morning as well between 6:30-7:00.

I love April Fools Day!! I have such fun tricking dh. The kids have had a blast being in on tricking daddy as well. He needed a new briefcase so I bought one exactly like his old one but filled it with goodies ect. so it would weigh/feel the same as his old one and set it out for this am. He ended up being a little behind this am so he didn't even notice. He came back a couple hours later to exchange bags :D! Its a good thing his work is only 5 mins from home. Later I went and moved his truck to the next parking lot over, can't wait 'til he discovers that!! :D

Have a great day!
Sarah

[hjohnson]

Sarah those tricks sound like a riot! Let me know what your DH thought about you moving his truck.

[Mom2baldie]

Sarah,

I was the exact opposite with my 1st pregnancy. I spent all my time reading about AP and breastfeeding and NOTHING about birth. I had a cesarean, but also a very successful nursing relationship.

What sibling at birth video do you have? I own Gentle Birth Choices and my 6 year old son likes to watch it. Im also letting him watch the videos that my midwife loans me because I would really like for him to be at my babys birth and be prepared.

[4under6]

Last year on April Fools Day, my husband was in the bedroom, and I was in the living room. We have a large picture window, so I said, "Oh MY GOD! Look at THAT!"

My husband says "What?" from the other room, totally not interested.

I said, "There is a woman jogging down the street in a sports bra with HUGE boobs!"

He ran from the bedroom to the window so fast, going "Where? Where?"

"April Fools, horndog!"

He's a breast man, all the way! LOL!

[chumani]

Lynsey- my video is called "Children at Birth" it is a bradley method video put out by academy communications.

DH had a lot of fun explaining in his meeting this am and sharing the treats. He thought my moving his truck was pretty funny after he found it. He had forgotten I had keys to it. :D All in all a pretty fun day.

I'm off to bed, I can't believe how posty I have been today. Gotta get some sleep before my nursling wakes up at 4am!!

Sarah

[chrissy]

I woke up this morning totally craving Count Chocula cereal, mmmmmmmmmm those chewy, stale, chocolatey marshmallows. Went to the grocery store up the street and they don't have it! But I won't be discouraged. Taking Noah to another grocery store now.

Hope you all are well!
Love,

[greenbeing]

Happy April ladies!

Chrissy-I haven't heardof/seen Count Chocula in ages!!!! Good luck on your search.

I totally let April Fools get by without any tricks on my dh, darn. Maybe next year. You guys definitely had some good ones.

Anna-hope your pain subsides soon and you're feeling better.

Not too much reading here about after the birth either. Anyone have any suggestions?? I'll read The Womanly Art of BF and I've heard The Baby Book by Sears was good. Any others????

Went out for a couple of long bikerides the past two days...of course my cycling shorts don't fit anymore, so my bum is totally sore:( I know dh is going to try to get me to go today, but no way!

Hope you all enjoy your Friday!!!

[adventuregirl]

Happy Friday, woo-hoo its the weekend!

Danielle, that April Fool's joke made me :LOL nice one!

Chumani, my dh would freak if he couldn't find his truck, nice job. :)

Rachel, sorry your trip was uncomfortable, better to find out now!

Anna, what a wonderful post, thanks for sharing. I really like that metaphor and will use it, it fits so well.

I'm really tired today, we stayed up way late last night, went to see some local music, but now I'm bushed. Looking dreary outside, perfect day for napping.

Any fun plans for the weekend?

We are visiting with some friends from Florida who are here for a ski vacation tonight, and going to a "progressive" party tomorrow, the kind where you move from house to house. Should be fun. Expecting snow again, haven't had any yet.... we need it bad there are already wildfires burning. Time to go do a snow dance.

[badomama]

Nice April Fools jokes! I completely forgot to do something!

I've been having a lot of round ligament pain. It is quite sharp too and uncomfortable, but it means growth, right? That's exciting.

All these threads are totally overwhelming! I need hours to check them out. Luckily I do have hours of time, just not now.

I've also been reading about post-birth issues, including a lot on sleeping arrangements. My friends are struggling right now, so it's become a topic of interest. The most interesting thing I've read so far that I will keep in mind is that just when you feel like you can't stand something a certain pattern any longer, it changes. This is also what has just happened with my friend. Bf is also an interesting subject, especially about the latch, the jost memorable line there was, "remember, you don't nipple feed, you breast feed." Can't wait to go to the library when I get home.

I told a Bradley instructor that I decided to go with someone else because I had received some negative feedback about her and she had never answered my question about price. She sent me back a rather nasty email, so I guess that is double confirmation that she was not a good choice. Still, I hate to have hurt her feelings, but doesn't every business owner want to know about the feedback going around about them? I thought it was constructive, but apparently not.

Happy weekend all,

Steph

[Mom2baldie]

The only April Fools joke I played was on my best friend. I told her that another mutual friend of ours had her baby (she is actually due tomorrow).

That didnt require much thought.

[sistermama]

So glad it is Friday!!! Every other weekend, Jack and I sleep over at my best friend's house (who has a 2 year old). It is so fun and relaxing. I leave lots of our "supplies" there, so I don't even have to pack much.

greenbeing - I can't say enough about The Baby Book. In a year and a half, my copy is so dogeared. It is the first place I turn for just about everything Jack related. It is indispensable.

I haven't figured out what we're going to do with Jack during the birth yet. He'll be at the house I'm sure, but I don't know who will be in charge of him. Although knowing him, he will probably get a kick out of grunting and moaning along with me.

Guess I should go and pretend to work for a little bit....Happy Weekend!

[mylittlelaney]

Hello everyone. I'm new here. My name is Andrea and I'm due on 9-21. I have a daughter who was born on 9-25-02. I was wondering why all the posts are on one thread? It's kind of hard to keep up that way. I didn't know if you all liked it this way or what. I look forward to getting to know you all!

[sistermama]

Hi Andrea! :D

I know I like it this way - seems easier to keep up with everyone and see how everyone is doing. :hippie

[Mom2baldie]

Well I had to take my son to the Dr. today because he has a rash that I thought was strep throat/scarletina and I feel that that is def. something to get antibiotics for, but it turns out he has fifths disease. The dr. said that I need to get tested to see if I have antibodies against it and gave me an info sheet saying that of all the women who arent immune to it (maybe 1 %) 10% of their babies will be born with severe anemia and 2% will die.

Has anyone else here had the experience of being exposed to Fifths and what did you do?

[Caroline248]

Oh Lynsey, I just went through this, but it turned out my daughter did not have it. I was given the same info as you. I don't have any advice, just hugs becuase I know how you must be nervous right now. Just look at the numbers, there really is no chance your baby will be affected...

Caroline

[Mom2baldie]

Caroline,

Thanks for writing. Yes, Im wondering if its even worth it to get the blood test because it doesnt seem very likely that the baby would be affected. How is a severely anemic baby treated anyways?

How did you find out your daughter didnt have it? I didnt get the blood test for him because I just figured I would get it instead and save us from both getting stuck.

I guess I will have to do some research tonight when the kids are in bed.

[Mom2baldie]

Welcome Andrea! :wave I am due the day after you are!

I like all the posts being on the one thread because its easier for me to keep up with and know what I have and havent read already. JMO.


Sistermama,

My daughter is about 5 months older than Jack and we will have her here for the birth. Either dh or a good friend will "take care of her" while I labor - the hubby is NOT good labor support so he will be being put to use elsewhere. :D Hopefully it will be during the night though so she will be sleeping!

[Caroline248]

Well, one of my 2cd daughters problems was severe anemia, but it stemmed from a blood disorder. She needed transfusions to get through the first few weeks before they were able to pin down what was causing it....

My daughter showed signs of fifths, and was exposed to it, so I assumed she had it. But when I took her in, turns out she didn't. The nurses gave me info when I was there, before she ssaw the dr, and I looked it up myself...

Anyway, I don't have the info saved, sorry, I usually save everything I find. How are they treating him?

Caroline

[Mom2baldie]

Well its a virus...It cant be treated with medicine. He already has the rash so hes past the contagious stage.

Hes not really being treated. He hasnt actualy felt bad at all from it. I only took him in because I thought he had strep.

[4under6]

Hi Andrea, and welcome!
9/21 is my b-day! Good day to have a baby!

Chrissy-
Count Chocula! What a blast from the past!

I just got home fom work, and tomorrow I got wrangled into working a double...UGH!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

[hjohnson]

3under3 I am sorry to hear that you have to work a double. That doesn't sound like fun at all. I am working on cleaning up the house this weekend since my parents are coming to visit next weekend.

[adventuregirl]

Welcome, Andrea! Its great to have you with us! If you use the email option for when a new post is posted in a subscribed thread, it makes this format really easy. The email link takes you directly to where you last left off.

Lynsey, I'm sorry about the Fifth's Disease in your little boy and the scare for you. It looks like super low risk, so that's great. Hope it all clears up soon.

Danielle, hope that double just flys by for you today and you come home with some big bucks.

We got almost a foot of sloppy wet snow last night, great, great, great for the moisture factor and hopefully its not killing anything in my garden, should just be doing good things out there.

DH is getting us a free hot tub today! Yippeeeeee!!!! He is a carpenter and will be tearing down a house soon to build a new one, there is a hot tub inside that the owners were looking to give away and we got lucky! I am so excited, have been wanting one forever! I am having visions of myself laboring in there on a beautiful sunny colorful Fall day. If anything it will sure help with the back soreness that has been bugging me like crazy.

Have fun weekends everyone!

[banana girl]

Holy cow! One day away from my desk and all these messages to read! I took the entire day off on Friday and stayed in BED! It turns out, I sprained my wrist some time last week and by Thursday I was icing and wrapping it.
Anyway, the misery of the day culminated in one of THOSE headaches and I ended up barfing my head off in public, at work! Once I started, i just kept barfing. I actually broke some blood vessels on my FACE from throwing up!!!! AAARGGGHHH! It looks like freckles, or a rash or something, but it's burst blood vessels and they aren't gonna go away for awhile.
Once I got in to see my chiropractor my wrist and headache got WAYYYYYY better, but the barfing didn't stop till i fell asleep on an EMPTY stomach.
So friday was a LAZY, LaZY, Lazy, lazy day for me. I stayed in my jammies untill 5:30 p.m. I had a super yummy BLT and read alot. YAY!
Today has been super fun so far. I am currently taking a ceramics class at the college where I work. (Auditing instead of for credit) And we are currently working with earthenware and today was the big firing. Our instructor has a farm outside of Madison and we set up a traditional bonfire style firing for this set of work. So i got to help pile up the pots and build the fire. Had to leave before the really fun part where you smother the fire with sawdust and manure! anyway, the pots should come out of the fire with some areas completely blackened while others will remain an earthy, terra cotta shade! A very traditional approach to pottery, not all glassy and brightly colored but lovely all the same. It is gorgeous out today, all sunshiney and springy. It was fun to be out in the country and to see his studio and HUGE outdoor wood fired kiln. He has a very unique set up and it was fun to tour the place.

So, here I am at work. Time to go sort some mail so i can leave. But I am really looking forward to the rest of this weekend. We are going to a Pow Wow later this evening and tomorrow we have plans to see a movie and Hubby is getting his very first Tatoo! I wish it was always the weekend!!!!

Welcome Andrea! I hope you have fun exploring our little club and finding all the threads we have going.

Lynsey, I am soooo sorry to hear about your worries! I will be thinking of you and sending happy healing thoughts to you and your family.

Adventuregirl i hope you garden is happy and enjoys the extra moisture. Those plants are tougher than you think... Oh and so jealous about the hot tub! Sounds marvelous!!!!!

Steph glad you are doing well and enjoying the respite from work. I hope traveling goes well for you and i am looking forward to when you will have more consistent access to a computer. Take care!

Jen WE MISS YOU! Come back from your trip soon!!!

P.S. Am feeling the "baby love" alot more in the last few days. It seems like I am starting to feel more connected to the "joy" part and less to the "ordeal" part.
For instance.. Last night as I lay awake in bed at 3 in the morning, resenting my snoring husband, and wishing i was asleep....someone let me know that they were awake too! It was such a distinct thump from inside my uterus that I layed there grinning thinking it was well worth every minute of sleeplessness to feel that little hello. I promptly fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Listening to the Universe
Anna

[chrissy]

hi all!

anna, that pottery thing sounds really cool! what a great way to spend a spring day.

sheryl, woo hoo on the free hot tub score!! i would so love a hot tub, or even just a big bath tub.

3under3, hope your double shift doesn't tire you out too much and you make LOTS of tips!

welcome andrea! i am due exactly one week after you.

lynsey, i am sorry you are dealing with that scare. it does sound like there is little to worry about though and it sounds like you feel pretty calm about it too.

sarah, what fun to have sleepovers with your little ones!

steph, i've started having a lot of round ligament pain this week too. mostly it just feels sore, though sometimes i get sharper pains too.

oh girls, i have hemmorhoids. i don't even know if that's how you spell it, but i've got 'em. i acquired some while i was pushing noah's big old self out but they went away soon after his birth. for the past few days my bum has been kinda itchy though so i got out my mirror last night and took a look. :eek sure enough i've got some little bulgy vein looking thingies. not sure what to do about them but i sure hope they don't get worse.

OH, i found count chocula. thank goodness. they had it in the special request section. i bought two boxes and have eaten one and a half already.

well, that's all for now. happy saturday,
chrissy

[chrissy]

oh, i almost forgot! i have started to feel some movement!!! i only feel it when i am lying in bed at night before i fall asleep. it takes a few minutes and then mainly it feels just kind of fluttery, like something is going on in there, way down low. sometimes i will get a little flick or two. woo hoo!! i :love it!

[fourlittlebirds]

I am getting movement too! I am so thrilled, that is my favorite part. Well, except for having a big belly to show off. :D

[Caroline248]

Who was the jerk that said morning sickness was during the first trimester?????????:rolleyes:


I was up nice and early today, apparently my body wanted to get an early start on teh puke-fest today. I am happy to pregnant, I am thankful to be pregnant....but this sucks.

Okay, vent over....I have to get ready to drvie two and a half hours to go to my very good friends bridal shower....hope you all have great Sundays!!

Caroline

[Mom2baldie]

I think I have been feeling something also - only since yesterday though. Im really not sure if its even the baby or not, but I think it fits the definition of "flutters". :scratch Yesterday I kept laying down trying to concentrate and then I would feel a little something and it would be so fast and tiny I wondered if I imagined it. This morning I felt several little "somethings" before I got out of bed. I know I wasnt imagining those!:love You would think I would know already what its supposed to feel like but its been so different every time. With Paityn I felt her around this time also, but she was much more forceful about letting me know she was there. I could feel her little kicks with my hand on my belly from the beginning. This baby must just be much more gentle. :throb

[Mom2baldie]

adventuregirl,

you are SO lucky to be getting a free hot tub! that is going to be wonderful! I envy you. :p

Chrissy,

have you heard the potatoe treatment to get rid of hemmorhoids? Ive never had this problem, but Ive heard that its very effective...Or a pad with witch hazel on it?

[Mom2baldie]

one more thing....

I was wondering whether or not any other girls having homebirths are going to have a doula also?

[greenbeing]

awesome score on the hot tub, sheryl!

caroline, so sorry you're still getting sick...it will end.

anna, sounds like you had an eventful weekend! sorry you're still getting sick too. at least you were able to rest on friday.

lynsey- i'm feeling the same about movement. I think I felt some movement a few times, kind of like little bubbles. I have nothing to compare it to though so I don't know if I'm just thinking I'm feeling something, or if it really is the babe.

welcome andrea!!

We're not planning on a doula with this birth. If I was having a babe in the hospital, then I'd have one. My midwive's assistant will come whenever we need her, and I guess I'm just feeling confident in myself and don't think I want one. I'm curious too about the rest of you???

[sistermama]

My mw, Karen, works in partnership with her best friend, Lynn, who is also a mw. They usually are eachother's assistants, unless there is another birth at the same time or the one is out of town, which happens very rarely. I had them both at my last birth with me for a full 40 hours. They will come whenever I am ready for them to come, and leave when its all over. They even stayed at the hospital with me until we were transferred to the Mama/baby floor. They are a perfect combination - Karen is lovey and gentle and good for when you need that and Lynn kicks you in the ass when you need that, too. When they were threatening to section me at the hospital if my contractions didn't speed up, Lynn could order me to have one and I would!!! :p So, no doula for me!

It's so nice to be feeling movement, I think it is really helping me connect too and be more excited about being pregnant. I'll be glad now though to get out of the looking fat instead of pregnant stage.

Caroline - I want to know who the jerk was that called it morning sickness?????

Had a pretty good weekend, but dh took an overtime shift yesterday without asking me and that meant I had Jack all day and night by myself. Sunday afternoons are supposed to be my time to rest and I'm feeling really exhausted as I start my work week. Trying not to look forward to much to taking care of him and a baby by myself most of the time, plus working. Guess I'll figure it out when I get there.

[Lazuli]

I'm back! And I have soooo much to catch up on, eeps! That's what I get for being away for a week or so. My husband was off all last week so I spent all my time with him. I love his professional development weeks. :D

I think I'm getting a sinus infection. :( My head's been kind of stuffy for awhile now, thanks to allergies on top of the whole more mucus cos I'm pregnant thing. *sigh* I've been coughing this morning and the stuff coming out of my head isn't clear anymore. How very very annoying! I did buy a neti pot on Friday and have been using it. I hope it's actually helping and not making things worse....will have to drink lots of orange juice.

We went into Chicago on Friday, which was lots of fun. We went to two really cool toyshops and bought a couple of things for the baby. A very cute and soft little elephant rattle and a stuffed raccoon. (And my husband decided we needed to get an abacus as well.)
My husband's birthday was on Wednesday and his parents got him children's books. I want to get more baby stuff.....

I keep reading about people feeling movement and I haven't felt any yet. It makes me worry a little. I saw the doctor on Monday and he said everything was fine. He offered to let us hear the heartbeat with doppler but I declined so.....I'm trying not to worry but sometimes it's hard.

I had someone leave a really nasty, uninformed anonymous comment in my journal the other week. I think it was either an old friend of mine or my uncle. It upset me at first, then just annoyed me. Telling me I needed to stay away from cats and how hospitals are the only place to give birth and other things.

Anyway, I have rambled on long enough and should go find some breakfast. I hope everyone has a great day, and I need to catch up on all these posts!

Lazuli

[sistermama]

[QUOTE][B]I had someone leave a really nasty, uninformed anonymous comment in my journal the other week. I think it was either an old friend of mine or my uncle. It upset me at first, then just annoyed me. Telling me I needed to stay away from cats and how hospitals are the only place to give birth and other things. [B/][QUOTE]


What in the world Lazuli?? How mean and rude? People should keep stuff like that to themselves. Glad you had a good week though. Sounds very nice!

[adventuregirl]

Is it Monday again, already? Feels like I was typing a Monday post here just yesterday.... Well, I can't really complain much about time going by quickly, the more pregnant I become, the more excited I get, yay!

I am peering out the window at our lovely new hot tub as I type this, so very excited. Yesterday dh put in the footers for the deck we are building to hold it (right now the tub itself is upside down in the yard). We are ordering the deck wood this week and dh will build it once everything is here, yahoo! So it will be a few weeks before we can soak, but every step is oh so cool!

Anna and Caroline, I am so sorry about your puke-fests, how awful! I hope you are both feeling much, much better now.

Anna, the pottery firing sounds so cool, let us know how it all turns out.

Lazuli, its good to see you! I just went through the sinus nastiness, hope yours clears up quick. Don't worry about not feeling movement, its totally normal to feel your first around 20-22 weeks, so you still have plenty of time.

Chrissy, I hope the roids clear up, I think Jen suggested a roid balm that worked really well somewhere around here a while ago.

Jen, we do miss you! Hope your trip is fun, relaxing and full of good things!

Lynsey, I don't think we're going to have a doula. My mw brings her partner mw as an assistant, and they will accompany to the hospital and be doulas if a transfer occurs. I had thought of possibly having a good friend come to the birth and be in charge of taking a few pics and kinda be a support doula, but I don't know. Too many people will surely be too much for me, so right now I'm not considering that.

Better go catch up with everything else that got posted this weekend, happy new week!

[sistermama]

I ended up having, at Jack's birth:
dh
my mom
his mom
my sister
my best friend
my sister's best friend who is a bsn/nurse
my two midwifes
All this was before we even got to the hospital. Amazingly they let them ALL stay in the room as Jack was born so we also added two resident doctors, my labor nurse and the baby nurse. I found that the further in labor I got, the less inhibitions I had. I ended up NAKED in front of all the above people for hours, cause I couldn't stand for clothes to touch me.

Also, I would so let someone videotape the birth if you have a camera and know someone who will. I didn't want to do it and my best friend really pushed me to let her. Now I am so glad that I did. I love to watch it. Pushing is so intense that you are totally unaware of anything going on outside of your own head. They kept trying to get me to look in the mirror, put I couldn't even do that. Took to much attention away from the pushing. I love to watch my son being born on the tape, and I think it will be cool for him to have also. Plus I am so damn funny in the last 10 minutes! Yelling at people and not remembering it later, etc. Let's just say one of my lines is "I can't scoot!!! I am f*** pushing!!!!"

[Lazuli]

We don't plan to have anyone at the birth except ourselves and the doctor and the nurse midwife or two. I've not really thought about having a doula..... My family is all six hours away and my mom and I only get along as well as we do because she lives so far away. My mother in law and I don't get along very well and so my husband agrees that no family members will be present, we don't need the negative energy. Once Vaysh is here we'll call everyone and tell them, then they can come over.

Sistermama - Some highlights of the comment were that I'm not a nice person, that the reason I had morning sickness and headaches and am tired are all because I eat poorly and don't follow my doctors advice on nutrition. There were other things as well, all very uninformed and all of them telling me what a horrible person I am. Random trolls are bad enough, but a troll that's either a relative or an old friend is even worse.

Lazuli

[fourlittlebirds]

No doula here either. At previous births when I've had people around, I really just felt like they got in the way (mostly psychologically.) But then, I am a solitary person. I don't like being fussed over or tended to, or someone holding my hand (figurately speaking.) It's amazing how different people are in what they need!

[4under6]

At this birth it will be:
Dr.
nurse
DH
Dh's sister (she has been a huge help at the past two births)

Last time, we had all of the above, plus my best friend.
Who annoyed me to no end.
Love her to death, but not while birthing!
She has already asked to be at this birth, but I will be politely declining.

Two more days until I find out the baby's gender!


:)

[Mom2baldie]

Lazuli,

Omg. I wouldve thrown up from those comments written in your journal. That is so rude and stupid for someone to post that. Did you reply to them?

3Under3,

What did your friend to do annoy you? Just wondering because I will be at my best friends childs birth in August and I want us to remain friends afterward! :D

[banana girl]

Hi!

Having a lovely day today! This afternoon I did not have class like I usually do, so I went up to the Grotto garden with my hubby instead. We raked leaves and pruned back dead growth and ran around exclaiming over the sight of all the little baby plants coming up out of the ground.
It was so warm out that I ended up shedding both the jacket and the hoodie I was wearing. I got some sun on my cheeks and wonderfull romantic kisses from my husband. We reminisced about our wedding day and worked together in the sunshine. IT WAS AWESOME!!!

The pottery firing from this weekend went really well, i haven't seen all of the peices from the firing yet, but heard from my instructor that one peice turned out so well that he is showing it to another group today as an example of ideal results! I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the peices.

Gotta go, my hubby is looming over my shoulder, says it is time to go see our chiro.

Listening to the Universe
Anna

[hjohnson]

I'm going to have a hospital birth but I am considering having a doula by my side. Just have to convince DH to spend the money.

[badomama]

Welcome Andrea!

Lazuli, mean mean mean trolls. I'll have to check out your website next.

On who will be attending...I'm thinking that a doula is essential in the hospital. I'm very afraid of the cost though, but will make it work. I'm thinking that as much as mom wants to be there, I will call her when it is almost over. I just don't trust her to listen to my decisions, unfortunately. Dh will be great. Dr will be present because she works there, but I hope she just stands back. No videos for me, and the rule on the camera is no shots during contractions. I would like one of baby emerging if possible for baby's photo album.

I'm sick again. Now it is a head cold. Fun fun fun.

:wave Steph

[adventuregirl]

Sleep is driving me nuts! Wah! I want to lay on my back so bad, but I am so trying not to. I woke up one day with a numb pinky and as soon as I rolled onto my side it was gone, so I know the babe is pressing on that artery. But switching from left to right side and back over and over again all night sucks! I just get way uncomfortable on one side for long periods, so I gotta roll over. OK, just had to get that out. I am ordering my birthday present for myself today, I'm getting a Snoogle, check it out:snoogle (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000635WI/103-3253242-2065429?v=glance)
I hope so much that this will help, my pillow pile helps, but just not enough.

Lazuli, what a shitty thing for someone to do to you! That sucks. Well, we can make up for it and say nice things about you, who cares about that jerk anyway. You are a smart, informed, caring mama!

Anna, sounds like you had a wonderful day, I hope that makes up for the yuck of a few days ago.

Its snowy and wet here today, a good inside kinda day. I hope to get lots accomplished.

[chrissy]

:crying I've been puking all morning. I think it's because I have allergies and the postnasal drip is making me gag, then barf. It sucks. Just called my midwife and she thinks it sounds like an intestinal bug. Ick.

Enough about me, Sheryl, that snoogle looks comfy. Let us know how it works out for you.

Steph, I'm sorry to hear you have a cold. Yuck! Hope you are enjoying your free time anyway.

Anna, Sounds like a wonderful afternoon!

Lazuli, I cannot believe that about your website. What a total jerk. I hope you are able to find out who did it and set them straight.

Who will be at this babe's birth?
-me
-dh
-m/w and assistant
-hopefully my mom
-ds, noah, for as much as we are all comfortable with, then mil will take him to her house.
-maybe a doula, who is a local friend from MDC

I like a lot of support and hand-holding.
:p

About pictures, I didn't want any or have any of labor/delivery with Noah and now I wish I did. I'm hoping if my doula friend comes she will take some pics and maybe even some video.

Gonna go try to rest up before the next puke starts.

[Mom2baldie]

Steph and Heather,

If yall are afraid of the cost of doulas or cant afford one or whatever, you could always find a doula who is not yet certified. They will usually attend births for free or for a discount (thats what I used to do). www.dona.org has a place where you can have a list of non-certified doulas emailed to you. Or you could look on www.doulaworld.com for doulas in your area. Each doulas own page should say how much they charge and what their services are.

Hope that helps and good luck finding someone! I had a doula for my daughters birth and we met very early on in the pregnancy. I thought that was great because we were able to get to know each other very well before the birth.

[banana girl]

Horray!!!

My Grandma is moving to California and has offered to give us her lovely expensive KING size Bed, complete with headboard and some bedding!!!!! All we have to do is go get it! She lives about 4 hours away from us and we will have to rent a U-Haul, but that will be SOOOOOOOOO much cheaper than buying a set ourselves.
We are planning on co-sleeping and know that our double is not gonna cut it. The bigger I get, the more we suffer, and this is before a small fragile human being joins the crowd of kitties and humans. we had intended to start seriously shopping in the next month, but now we don't have to!!!!

Speaking of sleeping, is anyone else waking in the night, bright eyed and bushy tailed? I awoke at 3:30 last night and could not get back to sleep!!!! Yikes! Any suggestions fellow insomniacs?

Spending too much time Listening to the Universe at 4 a.m.
Anna

[Mom2baldie]

Anna,

I have major trouble sleeping through the night while pregnant also. Of course this time it could be related to my 2 year old still waking to nurse a billion times a night. :confused:

But I do have her to thank for my not sleeping on my back. Im constantly on my left side with a boob in her mouth. Not to be graphic or anything. :rolleyes:

[hjohnson]

I have been waking up at 3am and 4am regularly. I am draggin!

[JenInMpls]

Just a short note to say that our trip was great, we're back in town, the cat won't leave my side and I have to go to bed because I have an u/s tomorrow morning.

hugs!

will write more tomorrow

jen

[Mom2baldie]

Jen,

EXCITING about the ultrasound. Gosh everyone is getting to that mid point arent they? Let us know how it goes!

I am 16 weeks along today!

[fourlittlebirds]

I wake up every night to go pee (a pain in the neck, since our bathroom is down the stairs and on the other side of the house) and often have trouble falling back asleep. For a while I was waking up at 5 a.m. like clockwork, that seems to have passed though thank god. I never have insomnia or any trouble sleeping, except in pregnancy. Why is that?

[sistermama]

I am 17 weeks today!!! How is that possible? I can't believe that last pregnancy I found out a week from now that I was having a boy. I want to know so badly what the gender is, but have decided to be surprised this time. The temptation to get an ultrasound is killing me.

All the side sleeping is good prep for flopping back and forth while nursing!

Jen - can't wait to hear how the ultrasound went. Glad you're back.

Anna - king sized bed??? I am so jealous!!! I dream about a room covered in nothing but futon mattresses.

[JenInMpls]

Sarah I threw back my head and laughed at the mental picture of a whole bedroom covered in nothing but futon. That would be GREAT! I love our futon but really kick myself in hindsight when we could have had a good-quality king-sized futon with a bed frame for FREE and we didn't take it. Of course, it would have been a major b* to get up the stairs and wouldn't have fit in any bedroom, but oh! the space!!

I feel a touch guilty for having enjoyed my u/s as much as I did but what a SWEET little baby. 10 fingers, 10 toes, cute face, beautiful closed spinal cord, totally on-track organ and brain development, and a serious case of the hiccups on the screen. I also believe that I saw something hanging between those lovely long legs, but we specifically asked the sonographer not to tell us the sex, so it's still speculation. And at the end of the exam the baby flashed us the peace sign!!?! I also had a Braxton-Hicks on the screen during the exam and that was really cool because I was wondering if that was what my intermittent feelings of pressure in my uterus were.

Baby's est weight is 11 oz, I'm measuring right on target and - best of all - the placenta is waaaaay up high, in front!! yippee.

We're off to my mom's to show her pictures of her grandkid *giggle*

xo, j

ps: I have to wonder about the fairness of Steph's rabbit rabbit considering that she's approx 10 hours ahead of US time??! Doesn't that kind of guarantee winning?! :wink oh well next month you'll be stateside!!

[adventuregirl]

Welcome back Jen, let us know how the trip was and how the u/s goes!

Anna, sweet score on the king size bed! That rocks!

Chrissy, I hope you feel better!

I found out yesterday that my friend and neighbor is pregnant and due in October! So very exciting! Our dh's are good buddies too, so this will be great!

Things are moving right along, making plans for summer, wondering what I'm going to feel and look like along the way, but really excited to become a mom soon! wow

[sistermama]

Jen - What a great u/s! I loved getting to see Jack in his! Didn't you fall amazingly, unrevocably in love? How did you not find out? I could never have managed. Don't guess too much! You could have seen a section of the umbilical cord. :p Jack was playing with himself, so there was no mistaking it. What an introduction for me to boys! I only had sisters, so I was wondering what I was getting myself into!

[wardermom]

That's hillarious, Sistermama!:LOL

[Mom2baldie]

Jen,

Awwww! Sounds like you had a fantastic sono - youre so lucky!

I went with a friend to her sonogram last week and we saw the umblilical cord between her babes legs and got excited thinking it was a boy - but she had another sono a few days later and shes actually having a girl! So you might still be surprised! :D

We wont find out the gender either, but I am dying to know. I seriosly dont know how I am going to wait, knowing that if I request a sono my midwife can probably order one for me...

[sistermama]

Okay - just a quick rant - I HATE MY JOB!!!!!! I am so stuck here and I hate it! I am pregnant - whose going to hire me? I make way more part time than I would anywhere else and we can't afford a salary cut and I'll be able to bring the baby to work with me for a couple of months, which obviously I wouldn't be able to do anywhere else. So you're thinking - she gets paid good, she can bring a BABY with her - why in God's name is she complaining. But this place just eats away at my soul!!! Please God let dh's next year at school go by quickly so I can get out of this place!!! :crying

[banana girl]

Hey Jen!

It is so nice to hear from you! and with such awesome news!!! Must have been exciting, i can hardly imagine.

I am starting to get very excited about my scheduled ultrasound (next week) i finally broke down and agreed to have one. I really need to know why i am measuring so big. Is it twins? Is my conception date wrong? Gotta know.

Gotta go, work beckons!
Anna

[banana girl]

I hear you sistermama! Soul eating sucks!!!!

With love
Anna

[sistermama]

Thanks Anna. You know what's funny? I'm dying to know if you're having twins too! I don't know how you've been able to put the u/s off for so long!!

[banana girl]

high falutin' morals, an overbearing, all natural, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, chiropractic, granolahead sister and a very stubborn nature... that's how I was able to wait this long. Te he heee.

Anna

[4under6]

Just to quickly say that I had the level 2 today....IT's A BOY!

Totally surprised and thrilled! Donny and my husband are beside themselves!

And we have decided on a name:
Finley James, but we will call him Finn!

Here's the not so great part.
Everything looks great, except they couldn't find the nasal bone. The tech couldn't see it, and the perinatologist thought he might have seen it, but the angle was really bad. Then, when he did get a good angle, he couldn't see it. It is a definite marker they look for for Downs Syndrome.

So now, my risk of having a Down's baby is 1 in 50.

Amnio is the only way to find out for sure, but don't know if I want to take that risk. It's a .5% (point 5, not 5%) of a risk of miscarriage. Not that much, but still. I have had 2 previous amnios, but they were all past 36 weeks, and only to check for lung maturity (long story).

I did not have the triple screen, but can go have one if I do it this week (results are no good after week 20).

They said that the level 2 must be preformed no earlier than 19 weeks, and seeing as how I'm 19 weeks just today, maybe that made a little difference, but I don't know. Maybe another ultrasound in a couple weeks will make a difference? The Dr. was kind of vague as far as this went.

We would not do anything different if we had a child with Downs, but I'm just the type who wants to know. You know? I really do. I do not want to go 21 more weeks worrying. And I want to know now, as opposed to the day the baby is born. It just seems like it would be a lot more peaceful of a birth, and less stressful the first weeks afterwards.
My husband is completely awesome about it. He is not worried, and does not care either way whether we find out now or later. He has such a great attitude about it, and I agree with him totally......but somehow it is more stressful for me, I guess.

Any advice or statistics would be greatly appreciated!


Jen-
Maybe we both have little boys????
:thumb

[JenInMpls]

My friend Sasha totally berated me (albeit good-naturedly) on the phone yesterday - "HOW CAN YOU NOT FIND OUT?!!!" she even volunteered to come and stand in the hallway just so the tech could whisper it in her ear - part of me would really like to know, but I find it difficult to convince people of the unique situation that makes us not want to know... most people cannot get their brains around the AI experience and how it can really script your life and take the excitement out of conception... although those of you who ttc for a long time can appreciate life being divided into follicular and luteal phases, I am sure.

Sprout has been very active today, I'm being kicked right now, it feels like. S/he kicked me too while we were at my mom's.

Danielle, congrats on your impending boy. Good middle name, that's ours too!! :wink If you need to know just to put your mind at ease, I guess you need that amnio. AFP is frequently off the mark when it comes to Down Syndrome, I don't know if it would ease your mind at all.

Sarah I'm sorry that work is rough - I feel really lucky to have a job I love. How you feel about your job is how you feel, benefits or no. You technically can't be discriminated against in a new-job interview for being pregnant, pregnancy is classified as a short-term disability that is protected under the ADA, but that doesn't mean that your interviewers won't notice or consider it as part of your interview, sad to say. But if it's driving you too mad - I'd consider changing, for your health and your baby's!

Thanks for the warm welcome back :D the trip was great, the Sawtooth Mts were beautiful as always, and there had been a lot of snow this winter and it was melting, so there were a lot of spontaneous runoff waterfalls everywhere. We stayed at a really great resort in a teeny tiny efficiency cabin (the only drawback of the small cabin being that there was no way to not disturb Jo when I woke up hungry at 4 am) and were the only folks there for much of the time... even the owners went on vacation to CA the Saturday after we arrived!! The only drawback was that there had not been much melting by the time we got there so the majority of the hiking trails were very, very snowy/icy. we got about 40 ft into the Devil's Kettle trail and turned around. If I had had walking sticks maybe I would have tried it but without I fell *last* year, and there was a lot less snow and ice last year than this year. So... hopefully we can go up sometime in the summer, or maybe even with Sproutie in a backpack carrier in the fall (our favorite time for the north shore).

Finally: we noticed the Danish-American Center was having a rummage sale on our way home from my mom's today and stopped in - scored BIG on baby stuff - 2 blankets, about 8 pairs of socks and 15 hats/shirts/pants for $5. Most of the shirts and pants (and one of the hats) are baby gap, too, and none of them are pink or blue, woo hoo! We did not buy the multitude of onesies that were there because Jo said that if we did not leave *something* for people to buy us, they would get mad.

Did I mention already that I knit a baby sweater while on vacation? I got kind of obsessive about it. It is cute! Royal blue with rainbow flecks throughout. I need to go buy buttons for it.

Wishing you all well,

j

[adventuregirl]

Sarah, I know exactly what you mean about the job, I went through the same thing with my last "job", awesome money, easy hours, but I just hated it! Too hard to leave all that, so it was a good thing (at least for me emotionally) that they laid me off. Of course now I have to figure out how to make ends meet without a job because as you said, who is going to hire a pregnant woman, but whatever, we'll figure something out. I have some at home opportunities I am working on...

Danielle, congrats on the BOY news, so cool! Best wishes to you in your testing decision you now have to make.

Jen, sounds like a wonderful trip and u/s. Yay!

[banana girl]

Hey 3under3

Congratulations! How exciting to see your little man!

I am awfully sorry to hear that the "establishment" has gotten you all worked up. sometimes it is just as hard to know things as to remain in the dark.... Hope you find a good solution to your worries.

hugs and kisses
Anna

P.S. Jen it sounds like a wonderfully relaxing trip and we missed your "terribly chatty" posts! glad to see you back on screen.

[greenbeing]

Hello!

Wow, so far 3 boys we know of, right??? Congrats!

Jen, glad to see you back and that your vacation and u/s were wonderful. Any way you could post pics of the sweater you made?? I would love to see it!

Danielle, do what puts your mind at ease. I'll be thinking of you and the decision you have to make.

Sarah, sorry to hear about your job. I've been there when I've just had to put up with it---it definitely can eat at you. Are there any things you could change about it to maybe make it a bit easier on your mind???

Looking forward to my appointment tomorrow with my midwife!

Those of you who have read Birthing From Within, have any of you tried the ice exercises at the end of the book?????

[Mom2baldie]

greenbeing,

I read Birthing From WIthin with my pregnancy with Paityn and did do the ice exercises. The hardest place for me to put it was on my wrist - Ouch!

I always tried to get my hubby to do it with me using his hands though and he never could/would. He is a total wuss. Its a good thing its me that has to give birth to the babies. I probably wouldnt like the decisions he'd make.

[Mom2baldie]

one more thing about the book. I never really mastered any of the other exercises in the book and I def. didnt use them while in labor. My fav. part of Birthing From WIthin was the taming your tigers part and all the stuff about how you think its "okay" to labor.... I really learned a lot about my fears through that book. I will prob. read it again this time.

[Caroline248]

Wow, another boy!! We are holding the market on boys around here!! 3under3, I am sorry the U/S gave you some worries. I would do more testing, maybe another U/S later on? The triple screen would do nothing for me, it is so finicky. Finn will be in my thoughts and prayers...

Jen, I can't beleive you could hold out! I was going to try, but htere was no way! I know what you mean about leaving something as a surprise, but the way I figure it, actually giving birth is surprise and miracle enough! Glad it all looked good!

Everyone else...who is next?

Caroline

[JenInMpls]

One of my friends is due in June and another friend is throwing her a henna shower! And I get to go! How exciting is that! I love henna art. Do you think I should get one on my belly around my navel? Usually they're done in the 3rd trimester, and at the time of the shower I'll only (only! ha!) be 21 weeks along, but I'm so tempted. Imagine the midwife's reaction when she lifts up my shirt to feel my uterus!!

I was already planning on getting one at the Powderhorn Art Festival - normally I get henna'ed ivy around my wrists. Since that's the first week of August I should have a nice ample 'canvas' for the artist to work on :LOL

Yours in henna art anticipation,

j

[Mom2baldie]

Danielle,

Congrats on your little boy! I love the name Finley, in fact, it was one that we were thinking of using.

About the marker for downs syndrome - is the amnio or another sono the only ways to tell for sure?

I think you should do whatever you can that will eliminate the need for worry (have another sono or whatnot to maybe get more answers). One good thing about finding out beforehand would be that you would have a chance to do lots of research and learn everything you could about D.S. - of course you could do that anyway I guess. I think I would want to know as well if I had gotten a sono and saw markers for that.

Either way, you are having a new baby boy and thats fantastic!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Mom2baldie]

Anna,

What day is your sono next week? Man, all this talk of ultrasounds is making me so jealous. I want to see my baby. :o

Are you hoping for twins? Are you a little nervous?

[greenbeing]

Good morning!

Lynsey, I, too, liked the perspective the book gave on fears. I found it extremely helpful that it encouraged you to confront those now and work through them. I'm the type who doesn't want to think about them (for example, having to go to the hospital/having a cs) because I sometimes think if I do, then I might bring them on. I know, sounds ridiculous, but ...

[Mom2baldie]

greenbeing,

I dont think its ridiculous at all. I feel the same way. I do think that if you dwell on things - having an extremely long hard labor or something like that, you will bring it on yourself just because youve already been telling your mind thats whats going to happen.

With my last pregnancy I made a list of everything I was worried about and then wrote down what I could do to prevent that particular thing from happening and it really helped me stop obsessing about things.

I think I need to start making my new list now. :D

[banana girl]

We are going in on Tuesday afternoon. I am excited to find out some answers to our questions
1. Is it twins or not?
2. When am I due?
However I am worried that they will notice something that will be questionable, and then they will want more tests done and I'll get all worried about something that will prove to be nothing. also if it is twins i will be transferred to an OB and be labelled high risk and have to fight even harder for the birth i want.

If there is only one baby, then I think i might look into finding a midwife more seriously. So, I feel like I am just waiting now and can start making decisions once we know more.

Well Gotta run, work is calling
Anna

[adventuregirl]

I have to pick up Birthing From Within from the library again, I read it between pregnancies because I spotted it and had been wanting to read it. So I didn't go into any of the exercises really, but I would love to now. Is the ice exercise something about how you deal with pain? I would like to get into some of the art too.

Does anyone else find it strange that women who have never been pregnant don't understand that more than just your belly grows? I have run into this with a few friends, not understanding why I would need new undies if they are low enough to go under the belly. I just say something to the effect of, it ain't just your belly growing sister. I just find it odd because I already knew that, seems like I always have.

Hope your days are great. Its rainy and dreary here, but I am loving it, its actually a rare thing around here.

[chrissy]

hey mamas!
i had a great appointment with my midwife this morning. uterus is measuring 16 cm, which is just a tiny bit ahead of schedule. heard the sweet ba-boom ba-boom so that was nice too. we talked some about the birth and i got so excited. yee haw! my hypnobirthing stuff should be coming in the next few days and i am looking forward to starting in on that.

i have 'birthing from within' from my pregnancy with noah. i really enjoyed it. i did the ice thing and didn't find it too difficult, but truth be told pitocin induced labor was a totally different thing. i definitely will re-read the book though this time.

looking forward to my prenatal yoga class tonight and hopefully lots of gardening and being outside this weekend.

jen, a henna shower sounds like so much fun. i can't wait to henna my belly! i've never done it before but brian gave me a kit from www.dharmatrading.com for my birthday. you'll have to take pictures for us! and i'd love to see pics of your baby sweater too. did you like the pattern you used? if so, what pattern was it? i really need and want to start knitting some for baby.

danielle, congrats on your growing boy!! and what a great name you have for him too. i am sorry for the concerns you are now having. i have no idea what decision i would make in that situation. lots of :hug and strength to you in deciding how to proceed. just know that whatever decision you make is the right one for you.

sarah, i am so sorry you are stuck in a job you hate. that is a really yucky situation to be in. thank goodness it is not full time.

blueviolet (and others who aren't sleeping), i'm not sleeping well either. i don't get it either but it sucks!

speaking of sleep, i need to try to nap with noah. happy thursday to all,
chrissy

[Mom2baldie]

Jen,

The shower you are going to sounds really cool! I would like to do that this time, but I dont know anyone around here that does it. Do yall think it would look okay to henna over a tattoo? I have a butterfly tattoo under my bellybutton and it might look weird... When you have yours done be sure to take pics and send them to us!

[Mom2baldie]

adventuregirl,

the book tells of several different "distraction" techniques or whatever you want to call them and I *think* that the whole point of the ice holding is NOT that its supposed to compare to labor (because it DOESNT!!! :D ) but it IS uncomfortable and you can practice the different distraction techniques while holding the ice to differnt parts of your body - in your hands, on your wrists (which was the hardest for me) and behind your ear. Its a really great book, my favorite. One of the artsy ideas they give is to make a special something out of clay to hold or look at while you labor. I think thats really neat and Id like to do that this time.

[Mom2baldie]

Anna,

Thats the main reason I wont be having a sono, even though I am really wanting to. I am on the ICAN list (Intl Cesarean Awareness Network) and am very active with the N TX chapter (chapter leader) and I read stories all the time about sonos showing things that were never really there but that lead to many more things and that leads to something else...... Ive gotten lucky with my last 2 pregnancies but I figure my luck with sonograms will run out soon so Id better avoid them.

But I can completely see why you would want them and I am excited for you! I am living vicarously through all you girls who are having them. AND I dont mean any of that I wrote above to scare or upset you, its just what I have seen being involved in that particular community of women. But I know that most people have no problems at all and I am going to be quiet right now before I shove my foot further in my mouth.

Anyways, GOOD LUCK!!! :D

[banana girl]

Hey y'all!

Today has been a hat day. I didn't want to shower, and my hair was loking pretty snaggly so I opted for the hat, but the funny thing is how many freaking compliments I have gotten today, ON MY HAT! Seriously, it is getting hard to even thank people who tell me they like my hat. Granted, it is a cute hat but geez, does every person I talk to today have to tell me so.... Oh man, what a ridiculous thing to complain about! Sometimes I am so silly!

Tomorrow is the 9th, which my hubby and I alway's try to celebrate (Day we met, our First date, our wedding Day... etc) Every 9th we try to do something special with each other. What can I say, Newlyweds!
So, i think we are gonna have a picnic tomorrow (weather permitting) Otherwise, we have a gift certificate at a fancy Steak joint we have been holding on to for awhile. And then we must do some re-organizing in preparation for getting that NEW KING BED! Gotta make some room.

Eventually, we are leaving this weekend to go see family and do the Easter dinner thing. Should be fun.

I can't wait for today to END!!!!! I do not have to work Friday or Monday!!! Horrayyyy! I will be draggin my sorry self in to work for a few hours on Saturday, don't have to... I volunteered. Didn't want to have all the mail from Friday, Saturday and Monday waiting to be sorted on Tuesday. This way some of it will be done, and Tuesday won't suck quite so much. And I get to make up for the day i was sick and came in a few hours late this week.

Trying not to get worked up about my upcoming u/s. Must admit that I am REALLY curious about the twins issue..... I can't say if I do or don't "want" twins. Pregnancy is really freaking awful at times and it would be kinda cool to get two kids for the price of one... but am worried about coping with everything that twins would mean right now. Yikes!

Henna belly art can be really fun, but remember, it will only look as "pretty" as the artistic ability of those applying the designs. At my sisters blessingway, we dyed her belly, and it ended up looking kinda stupid. Different people all tried their hand at designs and they ended up looking weird. Human skin is a weird canvas, akward to brace your hand against, etc. people seemed hesitant to be in "full contact" with the belly while drawing. Also the applicator wasn't very fine tipped. Maybe different kits have better applicators included. You might want to bring along a really fine tipped paintbrush in order to create any intricate patterns.

I'm thinking about trying a belly cast, anyone have real life advice on doing them? i seem to recall someone had a website that had a lovely image of her last belly cast... can't remember who.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, now get off the computer and go play outside!

Anna
:banana

[fourlittlebirds]

Anna, here is my bellycast I did last pregnancy, and some directions:

http://home.earthlink.net/~eaglefalconlark/birth/bellycast.html

Re: Birthing From Within, I really liked parts of that, didn't find the art therapy or ice cube thing helpful, and I really get put out every time I read her theory that pain is not only inevitable but necessary to giving birth :rolleyes: but I really loved the rest of it and often recommend it to friends.

[chrissy]

blueviolet, that is GORGEOUS! :thumb

[JenInMpls]

Well, it has been the day from hell in our house. Jo quit smoking today, for which I am TOTALLY proud of her, but I can't tell her so because she doesn't want to think about the fact that she's quit or she'll want a cigarette. She made it through today without one (but with plenty of pieces of Nicorette gum)... Keep your fingers crossed for her!!

We made the move from the 'green room' to the 'rose room' today... the green room was our bedroom, but now it's the den, and we are bedding down in the rose room. It's much bigger and will allow us to have Sprout with us in our room and still have some breathing space. Since I couldn't help with lifting and carrying futons and bed frames, a friend of Jo's from work came by today and helped. Although we cleaned a lot and I vacuumed and mopped a lot (first time I vacuumed since I got pregnant, I figured that we're probably beyond the miscarriage due to electromagnetic energy possibility), we stirred up a LOT of dust and Jo's asthma and dust allergies are really bad tonight, she's used two inhalers already. She bit my head off this morning, I cried, I've been short tempered, she's been short tempered, it's all-in-all been a lousy day. Plus I'm having my usual lower-back/bum pain from standing and doing dishes, vacuuming and mopping. Must. make. chiro. appt. !!!

Oh, and Sydney dashed outside between Jo's feet today, scared the CRAP out of me. She came right back inside, but I was still shaking 5 mins after the incident.

But now everything's mostly peaceful... the bed is made with clean sheets, there are 2 HEPA filters running in the bedroom, the cat is on my lap purring and Sprout is doing somersaults.

I'M GOING TO BED!!!

nighty night,

j

ps: I think the hostess of the henna shower is actually hiring a real henna artist. So keep your fingers crossed that she does a great job! I'll see if Jo can bring the digital camera home from work and I'll get photos of the baby sweater and the decorated belly :D

pps: anyone who wants the sweater pattern, pm me your address and I'll send it. It was ridiculously expensive for a pattern so I don't feel bad about making a few copies of it. Lazuli, I know you want the pillow doll pattern, our handwork teacher cannot locate her dollmaking book and I made the last one free-hand...

[Mom2baldie]

I am so excited today! One of my very best friends might be having her baby. Her water broke last night around 9 and I havent heard anything since. She is having her 2nd HBAC with a midwife and she has been my main support for my HBAC. She is a really amazing person, so sweet and very educated. Everyone please keep her in your thoughts! :love

[Mom2baldie]

Anna,

My husband and I did a belly mask with Paityn and it turned out really nice. I have it hanging in Paityns room on the wall. I really love it and would like to do another one this time. I think this time it would be really special to just do my belly (instead of boobs, shoulders, top of thighs...) with one of Rileys, Paityns and my hands on it. Dont know if they could keep their hand still for that long though...

My advice would be to buy the supplies from a craft store instead of buying a kit. It much cheaper that way. Also, we ruined a towel that I was sitting on to protect a chair - it wouldve been better if we wouldve used a drop cloth for me to sit on or some other plastic sheet. If I think of anything else I will make sure and let you know!

[Mom2baldie]

Linda,

That belly mask is beautiful! Did you decorate it yourself? It looks professional!

[fourlittlebirds]

Thanks, yes, I did it myself. :innocent

Also, you can get the plaster strips even cheaper, usually, from a medical supply store.

Jen, oh my gosh, that is great that Jo is trying to quit, but I sure feel for you! If she keeps with it, just be forewarned that the real Jo will not be present for at least the next two weeks. You will have a grouchy, snippy alien being on your hands. This is the nature of nictoine withdrawal -- *don't* take any of it personally! I've told my husband that when he is planning on quitting to warn me so that I can take the kids and go on a two-week trip to visit friends. I do *not* want to be around! Ack!

[adventuregirl]

blueviolet, your belly cast is breathtaking, you did an incredible job! I want to do one too. I second the suggestion for the medical supply plaster strips, I did a huge casting project when I was an art student in college (my whole body from the waist up), so I used a ton of it, and that was by far the best deal.

Jen, hang in there, you will be so happy when its all over. I hope she can stick to it. I was just reading last night about how pregnancy can make you feel insane with all of the hormones, emotions and such just flinging around in your world.

I want to have dh henna my big belly this summer, he is a painter and a tattoo artist, so I think he'll do some amazing work, got to honor that big tum! Lynsey, I bet you could work your tattoo into the henna work somehow, you could even henna the lines of the tat to make it stand out more, I bet it would look really cool.

Happy Friday everyone, enjoy your weekends!

[JenInMpls]

HA Linda that is hilarious, I wish I could have scheduled the two-week vacation. As it is I am glad that she did not try to quite *while* we were on vacation, that would have been nightmarish. We slept surprisingly well and as much as I wish we could have tried something natural for jo's asthma I am glad that the inhalers help - she did not wake up coughing and we both slept well.

This may sound sad and morbid, but it always brings a smile to my face every year on Good Friday: my dad died on Easter Monday 5 years ago. He had cancer and had been going steadily downhill for 2 weeks before his death, after he learned that the tumor in his lung was growing again and there was nothing that could be done. He then mentally committed himself to dying, and proceeded to. It was incredible. When Good Friday came, he felt like it was time to say goodbye, and gave the reason that "if Good Friday was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me." His spirit died that day, but his body hung on through Easter. How and why my mom continues to celebrate Easter every year, I haven't yet figured out.

Gosh, if I were to dye Easter eggs this year, they wouldn't go to waste, I could legitimately eat them all!!!

j

[JenInMpls]

Wow, I got bitten by a productivity bug and made a chiro appt as well as signed up for hypnobirthing classes.

We saw a funny book today called "The Inappropriate Baby Book" - if you are ever in a book store, look for it - it's hilarious!!! A nice spin on the traditional first visitors-weight and length - first teeth - footprints - lock of hair baby book.

Greetings from Jen and her fluffy orange shadow with tail in the face *sputter* *cough*

[JenInMpls]

ok, you're probably getting tired of me posting repeatedly today... just had to say that Jo and I were out shopping (as you probably inferred from the bookstore reference) and saw batik wrap skirts at Nordstrom Rack, and when I told them how you wear them when you're pregnant (below the belly, rolled a bit maybe so they don't drag on the ground, as they would on me) - she said:

"Ooh. Sexy."

I may buy a couple just because I liked that reaction :LOL they are only $10 and not exactly my style but after such a comment I can hardly resist!!

j

[4under6]

Henna bellys, Batik-skirt bellys!

I LOVE pregnant bellys!!!!

I wish I were thinner and didn't have stretch marks SOLELY for the reason to show off my belly while pg! Tee hee!

[fourlittlebirds]

Naw, Jen, keep talking. Just because nobody else has anything to say doesn't mean we don't like reading what *you* have to say. ;)

3under3, I like showing off my belly too. The bigger the better. :D But I am usually covered up too -- I think exposed cute little pregnant bellies on cute little people are probably hard enough for the general populace to take, the sight of my big hulking belly would probably make people faint. :rolleyes: However, in a few months I will probably do a little belly exposure at the Oregon Country Fair. I mean, there are men and women running around almost totally naked there, I don't think anybody is going to worry about my belly too much there.

[JenInMpls]

Oh Linda, I don't think anyone would faint at your belly, if you walk around with it exposed at a fair people will probably want to touch it...

Apropos, is anyone experiencing belly patting and petting yet? I just get it from a few of my little students which I don't mind one bit, that somehow is meaningful and wonderful when a little one feels the need to connect with an even littler one! Only a few grown-ups have given me belly pats, but they were close friends so it didn't bug me...

curious what your experiences have been

j

ps: found a sewing machine on eBay, I think.

[Caroline248]

I want a sewing machine...

My 2 year old talks to my belly. It is so cute. I have had some people touch, most notably a tailor that is making me a maternity bridesmaid dress (YUCK)....he declared it was a boy, and he was right!

Jen, about he quitting smoking...I am sooooo sorry!! My husband quit FOUR times, the last time I told him if he started again, he would kjust have to smoke forever becasue I couldn't take it anymore. That was about 2 years ago, and he hasn't had another since.....I am thinking of you!!

Caroline

[adventuregirl]

I have only gotten belly rubs/pats/kisses from my one close girlfriend, and dh of course. But I am apparently not all that obviously showing at this point, so we'll see who's touching when things get out there a bit more.

I have visions of belly showing this summer, but I do wonder if I'll feel different when the time comes.

We got over a foot of snow yesterday, and its still falling. I'm totally jealous of dh off skiing for the day. It is gorgeous, I will get out and enjoy it in my own way, maybe some sledding or snowshoeing with my dog.

Happy weekend!

[sistermama]

Naptime, blissful naptime!!! I am in toddler HELL today. My little sweetie has been replaced by a changeling and has been screaming, crying, kicking and hitting all day.

I'm excited because I got some new maternity things at Target yesterday that aren't as huge as all my other stuff. I like the Liz Lange things - not too big and tentish. Also, for any other plus sized mamas, I wear an 18-20 normally and her XL stuff fits me nicely, which I didn't expect. I got a great pair of black cotton capris that can be casual but also dressed up for work and the best thing is that they don't have that hated cotton panel, so I can wear shirts that are a little shorter. I also got some cute shirts.

Jack and I dyed eggs with my mom this morning, which he loved. We did them in coffee mugs, so he kept saying, "Oooh Mommy, nice drink!!!" We have to have dinner with my fil tonight, which is a downer in my day. I'm sure he'll have all kinds of wonderful ideas about how we should be living our lives. I.e. Jack should be in daycare and I should be working full time so dh isn't so "stressed out" going to school and working. Of course he has no concept of how much daycare costs, how much it sucks, etc.

About belly touching - it has never bothered me. I don't care who touches my belly, unless it was a nasty man but that hasn't happened to me. I love being pregnant and I think its cute when total strangers are interested and excited.

Happy Saturday!!

[JenInMpls]

Hey all,

Could some of you mamas tell me of your experiences with Braxton-Hicks contractions? I've begun having them a couple of times a day and although I know they are perfectly normal and good, they startle me sometimes. Jo also doesn't understand why all of a sudden I feel this need to lie down regardless of what I was doing.

I read today that keeping yourself very well hydrated may help, I will work on that, I am not the queen of drinking lots of water and I suppose that may be affecting me.

I can't get Jo to go to Target and register for baby stuff without feeling like I'm twisting her arm or making her do something she doesn't want to. I just want to create a little list for the dad at our school who works for target corp who wants to buy us stuff so that he doesn't have to use his imagination and we end up with tons of stuff we don't want :angry

You know how they say you marry people just like your dad? I feel like that lately. He was always wonderful to everyone else and crabbed at my mom. Jo is goodness and light to everyone else and then when we're alone I either get her crabbiness or I get extreme silliness. Why can't I just have a nice loving wife?!!!

Ah well. Spring break has been long. 2 weeks of togetherness... kinda long.

done now -

j

[Mom2baldie]

She had a beautiful home waterVBAC yesterday morning - before I originally wrote. She was only in labor for 2 hours so she said it was really tough, but other than that EVERYTHING turned out exactly like she wanted. She birthed on her hands and knees in the pool after 20 minutes of pushing and her hubby caught the 8 lb 3 oz baby girl. Midwife and asst. didnt arrive until she had already started pushing. :D She had no tearing and baby latched on great afterward.

I am so happy for her and so envious. I hope that I can have as good of an experience with my HBAC as she did. :love

[Mom2baldie]

Jen,

Im not getting any belly patting or rubbing yet since you cant tell that Im pregnant with clothes on and we still havent told that many people. It seems that since this is my 4th pregnancy and 3rd child most people are not really that interested. :( But I am only 16 weeks so I still have lots of time.

And when/if it does happen I wont mind it at all. I really like the attention I get while pregnant - I am cute and I know it (when preggo anyways :p )!

[banana girl]

Lynsey

I am so glad to hear that your friend's birth went so well. It sounds wonderful!
My older sister's last birth went really quick and she said it was super intense because it was so short. she said she wasn't quite "prepared" emotionally for it to be over so fast.
I am so happy to hear that your friend is doing so well and that her family is peacefully together.

May we all do as well!!!!!!!!
Anna

[Mom2baldie]

Thanks Anna! Yeah, Catherine said she felt like one minute her water broke and the next minute she had a baby in her arms. I think that would be really scary for me so I am hoping for a 7 hour labor and 25 minutes of pushing. Last time I labored for about 12 hours and pushed 2 or 3 times. The pushing was WAY too fast and overwhelming for me, this time I hope its slower so I can have a chance to get a grip on what I am doing.

[banana girl]

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and get to spend time with the people you love.
I'm heading out of town with my hubby this afternnoon. I am looking forward to time at "The Farm". Have been daydreaming alot lately about what I would do to the old place if it was mine.... It will be fun to wander around visuallizing the renovations I am dreaming of.
We are planning on having a fairly serious discusion with my dad about the legalities and logistics involved in buying the place from him in the next 2 years or so... Should be interesting. I really hope he is responsive about the plan. It has sometimes felt to me like he is kinda apathetic about the idea.... unless my sister brings it up. But hey, that's just jealousy and insecurity talking.

It will be fun catching up with everyone, when I get back to my computer on Tuesday, the day of my ultrasound appointment!

With love, Listening to The Universe
Anna

[shannon0218]

Afternoon Ladies.... Remember me??
Just wanted to stop and see how you were all doing, I've been keeping an eye on ya all whenever I can mentally stand it. :love

The good news is that DH and I will be starting to try again this month. Emotionally I'm in a good spot, physically everything looks good, so here we go again!!
Anyway just gonna roll in some of your babydust and then head back to TTC!!
I offer you all a virtual belly pat!:)

[sistermama]

Hi Shannon, I'm glad you're feeling in a good place. Here's some baby dust for you :fairy and some love too! :hearts

Where are all you mamas??? I'm up the latest I've been in months and I'm bored! Hope you are all sleeping happy and dreaming baby dreams...

[JenInMpls]

Visiting with a friend after dinner, enjoying talking about parenting with her again since she and her husband are firmly on the adoption track now after 5 years of unsuccessful trying. They are finally out of the slump of not being able to conceive and are looking forward to being parents... it was great to be happy about parenting with her again. It's been a LONG TIME for them!!!

Jo made us steak for dinner. mmmmmm

Only 8 weeks of school left before I have a year off... holy crap! :eek

night night,

j

ps: edited to tell you this: I may have managed to get "What to Expect when You're Expecting" pulled off the shelf at our local feminist bookstore today. Woo hoo!

[sistermama]

Jen - good job on "What to Fear When You're Expecting"!! I pulled all the Ezzo books and hid them in another section at Barnes and Noble yesterday. I read of someone else doing that and have tried to start doing it myself. :p

[JenInMpls]

Have you heard of the stickers that radical organizations give out - ones that say things like "This work is offensive to women" that they encourage you to stick on books in bookstores, or posters, or billboards? I WISH I had something along those lines for the Ezzo books, like "This book advocates child abuse" or something like that.

Ooh that's a big stand I just took there! :soapbox

j

[Mom2baldie]

Jen,

I read on another forum on MDC that women would write something up about Babywise saying something along the lines of "the AAP doesnt support his scheduled feeding ideas because it can lead to failure to thrive..." or SOMETHING like that and just sticking it in the book, that way you dont have to damage the book. Maybe someone else knows better what I am talking about.

[Mom2baldie]

Also Jen,

my experience with braxton hicks was with Riley I had none that I could feel although I was having them and the day of my cesarean at 39 weeks I was 2 cm dilated. Then with Paityn I started having them around 20 something weeks but they were very infrequent. They never really bothered me but I have a tendency to ignore things... One time after a very stressful Drs. appt. I came home and started having them every couple of minutes. It worried me so I called my doula and she said that it wasprob. because of my nerves and to lay down and drink lots of water. I did that and they stopped.

this time I dont think Im having them yet. Sometimes I do feel a little pressure but its just barely there so I pretty much ignore it as well.

so those are my experiences thus far...

Sorry about Jo not wanting to register. Can you just go with a friend instead? My husband doesnt get excited about anything pregnancy and it really sucks. He doesnt think little baby cloth diapers or clothes are cute, hes not interested in midwife appts., he doesnt like to talk about the birth.....

Anyways, registering is FUN so you should go with someone you will have fun with.

Ive heard that about marying someone like your dad and thats exactly what I did. And seeing how my parent relationship has ended up it doesnt realy make me excited to see where DH and I will be 10, 20 years from now. :(

[JenInMpls]

Yes! finally someone has listed a universal sized co-sleeper on eBay!! :banana Cross fingers for me that we can win it, it will be much cheaper than buying it new. Then all that's left is to buy the canopy and that costs half as much..!!! (The canopy, btw, is strictly a cat deterrent for when baby is not in the bed, although if the baby still fits in the co-sleeper when we go up to camp next year - listen to me! "WHEN" we go up to camp, like it's a done deal - it will also serve as a good mosquito net... I hope. Otherwise it will have to share mine)

I dreamt of canoeing last night, and of being in a lake.

Happy Easter, if you're celebrating it... the Easter Bunny missed our house this year, but we're not worried, because tomorrow all the easter candy will be on sale. Maybe EB will simply arrive late!

btw, have you read this thread (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132043) ? :yum

:D

j

[greenbeing]

Good morning!

Jen, my fingers are crossed for you to get that co-sleeper!!

Speaking of dreams... I have a lot of dreams being pregnant, but not so many about the baby :( Dh had one last night that he was slinging our little boy with fuzzy blonde hair and blue eyes. So cute.
Chumani...where are you??? I dreamt last night that you were on my caller ID, and I was wondering why you were calling :confused:

Baked some Polish coffee cakes yesterday. I wanted them so bad (my mom/grandma makes them every year for Easter), and there are no Polish bakeries here in Denver :( So, had to do it myself. And let me tell you, they are delicious!!!

Lynsey-sounds like your friend had a wonderful birth. Yours will be just as perfect!

Well, I found out that they're not going to make me move to 4th grade next year, BUT-they told my teammate that she has to go. Now, I'm feeling guilty and want this guilt to go away!!! Should I feel bad??

[chrissy]

You guys, check this out:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=133131

It is AMAZING!

[greenbeing]

Thanks Chrissy-that was beautiful! It brought tears to my eyes :love

[Mom2baldie]

Jen, good luck with winning the co-sleeper! do you get a lot off of ebay?

greenbeing, I dont think you should feel bad about your team mate being moved to 4th grade. after all, someone else made the decision right, so its not your fault? try to be happy you get to stay where you are!

chrissy, thanks for sending that link. its going around on the AOL homebirth boards as well. my fav. pic was the one where mom is pushing and the 2 kids are peeking in. and I REALLY want Riley to get to cut the cord with this baby!! seems like it would be such a neat experience for a kid!

[Lazuli]

*sniffle* I'm sick! And it's most annoying. Didn't sleep well last night thanks to coughing and my head is so stuffed up....*sigh* I hope i feel better tomorrow, otherwise I'll be calling the doctor.

My husband left this afternoon for a week away. :crying He gets back on Friday and has to leave again on Sunday for another week away. I miss him so much when he's away. (And of course, being sick makes it a bit worse.)

Does anyone know if Ricola cough drops are okay to eat? I got a neti pot and it seems to help when my head hurts too bad from sinus pressure. *sigh* Sometimes I really miss being able to take a sudafed or something.

I'll have to catch up on posts later. I think I'm going to wander off and take a nap.

Lazuli

[Caroline248]

I was told the ricola with echinacea is okay after the first trimester.

I have been sick all week, and it was reccomended to me by several people to try the GSE saline spary...WOW!!! It really helped with the respitory infection, I was ready to go on antibiotics becuase of all the nasty stuff in me, but this cleared it up in two days...

Feel better...

Caroline

[JenInMpls]

Lazuli, I'm sorry that you're feeling sick, especially when you're alone. I think that all that chat between us a few weeks ago about head colds is somewhere in this thread... steam your head! that helps too.

Lynsey I don't buy a ton of stuff on eBay, but we have gotten some substantial things: our dining room table, for example, is from eBay (antique, tiger oak... shipping from WA was incredible, but even with shipping it was cheaper than anywhere around here), and I've bought 5 wool diaper covers so far. I've heard, though, that the trading post is a better deal for buying diapers than eBay, but I personally thought that $11 for two wool covers wasn't a bad deal... and the woman I bought two covers from threw a third in that she happened to find; that was sheer dumb luck!! I got a lot of my school clothes this year off of eBay, a sweet deal on an xl summer pregnancy lot, and I occasionally manage to deal with someone in Germany to get things that I can't locate here or are simply way cheaper in Germany (e.g. my leather school bag that cost me about $60 including shipping instead of $200 new). Jo says I'm an eBay-aholic, but I don't agree...

greenbeing - don't feel bad. It wasn't your decision and someone who is not pregnant is much more flexible and able to deal with a big change in curriculum. you're going to have other things on your mind. Someone who makes decisions cut you some slack; hopefully your teammates see that and honor that you deserve a little tlc at this point in your life.

and: mmmmmmm, coffeecake!!

well, it's back to the grind tomorrow. And the little kids - but for the last time this year, and really only 2 weeks, since we've got our off-site week the week of the 19th and no one has asked me to do anything with their classes other than the 3rd grade field trip, which I need to plan out in great detail. we're going to a German restaurant and they will have to order in German - many of them are already nervous and asking questions like "If we get scared and can't do it, do we still get to eat?". They're so earnest! I just hope sam and ben don't ask for beer :rolleyes: they've been joking about that.

In May I get a student teacher. I hope it goes well.

I think we should be renaming Sprout to Pogo - because s/he feels like she's constantly pogoing in my belly! Holy cow, baby! The movement is finally noticeable on the outside and Jo's been spending time with her hand on my belly. And this morning she said the sweetest thing: she says she is ready for me to be done being pregnant, because she wants to meet Sprout. This from the woman who only 3 months ago was totally freaked out that we are becoming parents. What a turnaround! Yippee!

With mirthful girth,

j

[Lazuli]

Thanks Jen, I'd forgotten all about the cold discussion! I'm pretty sure I have some peppermint tea, but I'm fresh out of chamomile and not going to the store. I'll go fetch my ricola from the car in a minute and hopefully that will get rid of the annoying tickle in my throat.

I really wish I'd start feeling some movement.... *frets a bit* (I have thought I might have felt a kick a time or two, but I'm not sure.....maybe I have felt some movement and just haven't realized.) I can't wait for September to get here. :)

I am babbling, I should just curl up in bed with a book or watch a movie......

Lazuli

[JenInMpls]

Lazuli - even if you just use steam - without the chamomile - it will help.

healing vibes!

Aley (Mommyto3): welcome! We have named our incubating wonder 'sprout' too!!

:D

j

[Mom2baldie]

Hello Hillary and Aley! Nice to meet you! :D

Well I had a great weekend. We went to get professional pics taken of the kids yesterday and they did wonderful. I was so pleased because I have tried several other times and it never works out - Paityn cries, Riley scowls, this one time there was a bleeding incident...:rolleyes: but yesterday no one cried and they both looked at the camera and smiled. I dont have any pictures of them (besides snapshots of course) since Paityn was 6 weeks old and Riley 4. I cant wait to get the proofs back and order. Im just nervous about how much its going to cost. I know I will want to buy prints of every shot.

Anyways, the proofs will be on a CD so possibly I can figure out shutterfly or one of those websites and send a few pics to everyone. Im not very good at that stuff though and the pics will have PROOF written across the front, but you will still be able to see how cute they are.

I finished reading the book I borrowed from my MW: Vaccinations: the issue of our times. It was really interesting, although outdated. Even though she is not a child getting 500 shots at a time, it really makes me wonder why my mom gets a flu shot every year since she has so many other medical problems... Well I guess I am getting a little off topic.

I will "talk" to everyone tomorrow. Good night!

[sistermama]

Good morning - I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing day yesterday. Jack ate nothing but junk and hunted for eggs for a long time, so he had a fabulous time. We went for dinner with dh's family and they didn't annoy me to much - I actually had a pretty good time.

I am Ebay crazy. I sell a fair amount of stuff and then save the money in my Paypal account so I can afford to buy! Mainly I buy baby stuff, but lately have gotten maternity and Teletubbie things. Jack is crazy about Teletubbies, but you can't really buy toys anywhere anymore.

We started looking for houses, which is exciting but stressful too. We want to move pretty quickly and there aren't a lot of acceptable houses in our price range. Plus since fil in helping us buy, he has to be involved and give his approval as well. My mom is "hurt" that we are moving out :confused: (we have been there for 6 months longer than the original agreement, so the guilt trip is driving me crazy). So now she is rushing us out, I think to hurt me back a little. Mothers and daughters - so wonderful and so guilt ridden!!!!

Almost no one is in the office today, which is wonderful. Makes it worth having gotten out of bed on this dreary, rainy day.

[JenInMpls]

I just totally dated myself with that subject line, but I'm thinking that most everyone here, save the "really" young ones ;) are familiar with that song by the Bangles...

What a fine start to the week... a bad night's sleep and Eddie meowing and scratching at things early to get one of us up. So not only am I tired, but I feel guilty because the first thing I did was be mean to my cat... :rolleyes: I'm ready for my maternity leave now! And of course Sydney is here trying to cheer me up by stepping directly on my uterus. What dear, understanding felines I have.

Re-entry into life after vacations is so hard.

This kind of behavior can't be good for Sprout.

And then when I think of the fact that I only have to teach 1.5 hours today I am ready to kick myself for being such a whiner.

Perhaps I should just kick myself into the shower.

Luckily, things can only get better from here.

j

[4under6]

eBay.

If you ever go read my profile, you will see it says "eBay Ho". :LOL

I buy things, but mostly sell on eBay; it helps me earn a substantial part of our income. Though lately I've been lazy! I have to get my butt in eBay mode.

I have been buying diapers and diaper covers like mad ( a couple on eBay, but mostly not). I even bought some specific girly diapers before I knew the gender of the babe because they were simply too cute to pass up! I think I seel those on eBay or on the TP; hopefully I'll make most of my money back.
I have about 1/3 of my stash complete!

Jen-
I think teachers suffer from post-vacation blahs more than anyone! Poor hubby gets so cranky when vacation is over!

[4under6]

Oh yeah- I was the one who previously mentioned that whenever I come across an Ezzo book at the store, I put them all in the science fiction section!

[hjohnson]

Woohoo! Thanks to a diaper swap I participated in, I got three cute AIOs for our up and coming little guy.

[Lazuli]

I wanna buy diaper covers and stuff but my husband won't let me! *sniffle* He says I have to wait until after my mom has a baby shower for us. (Which isn't until June.) Then I can buy some things. *sigh*

I need to drag myself to the grocery tonight to get the ingredients for garlic soup and some vitamin C...oh, and some chamomile tea too so I can steam my head. :) I wish my stomach could handle some nice spicy food....Tom yum soup would be so good! (Not that I can gt any of that around here anyway.)

Lazuli

[hjohnson]

Aren't men a drag when it comes to buying something? They always say wait, wait, wait and then they go out and buy something.

Lazuli I hope you feel better soon. My allergies are giving me a run for my money.

[JenInMpls]

Lazuli I am curious which Chicagoland suburb you live in. We have relatives who live in Libertyville.

The day was not as bad as I thought it would be, and I went to Dunn Bros. inbetween classes and meeting and they made me a steamed milk with honey for $1!!

Danielle - I think it was extra hard since spring break was 2 weeks long. Luckily all of the children were very ready to come back to school and in tremendously good spirits. The 2nd grade is now very earnest after I told them that there are 8 whole days of German left this year and then I won't be their teacher until they're in 4th grade at the earliest. That made their eyes very big and then they were suddenly much better behaved.

The first graders are very excited about my baby.

Time to cook dinner.

j

[Lazuli]

Jen - We're in Joliet. It's a nice enough place and we like our house, but I really miss all the yummy restaurants in Chicago. I really wish there was a Whole Foods around here. The closest one is a good half an hour away and it's pretty small and seems to have more gourmet type stuff. There isn't even a health food store here! Ah well....it could be worse, I could still live in Ohio. :D

I should go make my garlic soup and take my vitamin C and some garlic capsules and then...steam my head. I just hope I can get rid of this before it moves into my chest and vocal cords.

Lazuli

[JenInMpls]

Mmmmmm... garlic! But maybe good that your husband is away with all that garlic you're eating? :LOL

My brother-in-law is from Ohio (Bryan). Home of Ohio Arts and Spangler candy canes. Only thing that would make me happy about living in Ohio is regular access to Skyline chili.

Sprout is doing gymnastics.

j

[hjohnson]

I couldn't live if there wasn't garlic in my kitchen. Garlic is a wonderful thing. My husband loves it as much as me.

Jen- 2 weeks is a long spring break! I am glad the 2nd graders straightened up.

Lazuli - I love Gino's East Pizza. I have been to Chicago once and I miss all the good eating there.

[adventuregirl]

Good Morning Ladies! I sure missed a lot,