June Mamas May 23-29

[Greaseball]

Ha ha, I got here first! Now I hope someone else isn't starting a thread as I am typing.

Yesterday I walked for about an hour and I think I had some of those b/h everyone is talking about! So that's what they feel like...I had this intensely uncomfortable belly feeling the whole time, but it went away when I stopped walking. Maybe I'll do it again today and see what happens.

I just realized I got here first because I'm a day early! No wonder. :duh Oh well. No one post anything else here until tomorrow.

[3girlsmommy]

:LOL
Preggo brain strikes again!

[crunchywannabe]

:laugh:

[Greaseball]

And the worst thing is, when I first posted this the date said "May 17-23."

[3girlsmommy]

And the worst thing is, when I first posted this the date said "May 17-23."
It's called denial that your so close to having this baby!! :) I can't tell you how many things I have missed because I'm in denial about how close to June we really are!

[Queen of Cups]

Happy Sunday! We went out for Chinese last night and I've felt ill ever since... I think I ate way too much heavy food. I'm still having constant diarhea, sporatic contractions, and loosing huge globs of cm every day. When is birth going to happen?! Looks like I'll make it to yet another midwife appt tomorrow...

[LizD]

Sorry your Chinese food disagreed with you! As far as when the baby will be born, remember two weeks after your due date is as perfectly normal as two weeks before. It can be really hard work to keep it together when you're expecting it any minute, but try not to dwell on how "long" it's taking.

I have been so much more uncomfortable, had so many more stabs in the cervix, that I got anxious about keeping the baby in long enough (also the gbs was worrying me until I talked to a pediatrician). Yet my due date isn't for more than three weeks which means it could, really, be almost six weeks before the baby is born. I don't know how that could be possible (or how enormous I would be at that point), but I am trying to prepare myself so I don't get hung up on "when?" I have had some clients literally make themselves ill over it. The babies will be born. We all have to remember so many factors contribute to the beginning of labor- many we can't pinpoint or monitor, so we have to trust the process.

I am still dawdling along in procrastination-land! May still seems far in the future, let alone June.

[Doodlebugsmom]

Liz, I've been getting more and more uncomfortable too. I've also been having lots of painful contractions at night. I'm not due for 4 more weeks, so I could actually go into July if I go past my EDD! I don't know how I would stand up if I went that long, but I'm trying to prepare for it! With all my night-time contractions, I've been worried about the baby coming too early.

Liz-hippymom! Congrats! I can't wait to hear you birth story.

[3girlsmommy]

Ugh! I've got a yucky tummy again! This is the second time in a month. Last night though I was a little worried because I was having surges every 8 to 12 minutes and I was sick to my stomach(which I had during both of my previous birthing times). Also we were getting MAJOR tunderstorms, we were under a tornado watch and then warning for most of the night unusual for where we live. Anyway this is the second time we've had a really intense set of thunderstorms and I've had regular surges. I have a feeling that this baby is going to be like his/her sisters and come w/ a major storm. We shall see.

[Smithie]

So sorry about the yucky tummies! The amoxycillin seems to be winning the war with the enterococcus, so at the very least I have a week before the course is finished and the UTI comes raging back.

Julie, dh finally put up your valences and they look great! We also assembled James' bookcase, although he's going to have to move some of the shelves since he apparently forgot that many baby books are quite tall. :LOL

I have a mw appt tomorrow, and I complete the 39th week on Tuesday. I've been having a lot of pelvic pressure and James was pretty active yesterday - hopefully he has wiggled out of the sunny-side-up position and into one that will hurt me less!

[ksjhwkr]

(also the gbs was worrying me until I talked to a pediatrician).

And what did the pediatrician say? I am curious about this.

I am also very uncomfortable. I am not 'due' for another 4 weeks, but we'll see. If this baby is anything like his/her big sister, I could be giving birth in 2 weeks! But, who knows! I am really trying to stay calm and just enjoy this time with the baby on the inside, but boy howdy am I tired! Oh well, we all are, that is some consolation! Knowing I'm not in this alone!! :) I look at my bracelet and remember that there are lots of other Mommas who are feeling what I am right now also...patience right? :eyesroll

[Queen of Cups]

Bleah! I know this is way TMI, but I have sooo much cm today! (clumpy, stringy, watery - everything!) I'm a bit paranoid, since my bag of water is "bulging" and I've been soooo damp today. I keep thinking surely I'd know if it actually broke, though. My appt is tomorrow at 2pm, so unless anything drastic happens I'll just ask her to check with some litmus paper again tomorrow. Speaking of, where can you even buy litmus paper? If I had some here, I wouldn't be worried.

[LizD]

The pediatrician was reassuring because he said a baby after 36 weeks is just fine and at no greater risk for gbs disease; he said really premature babies are the ones the books are talking about. Also he cited the protocols for administering abx to me in labor and they are looser than my midwife's, so I felt reassured about that as well. While he did say he has seen babies die from gbs infection his information about all the risk factors was very clear and I don't feel concerned about it at all. I am a little worried about PROM due to the gbs colonization but I am working on lowering the colony count as per mw's instructions and a new culture will hopefully give more reassuring news.

[dharmama]

Happy Sunday everyone! Had my baby shower today! It was very fun....a brunch at my mom and dad's house.

Best present of the day (there were two actually)...

A hand knit sweater, hat, and pair of socks from my aunt (who will be our baby's Godmother). They are absolutely beautiful!

And from my SIL...a basket filled with children's books and a gift cert. to Chinaberry! Each of her children picked their favorite early childhood books and put a nice note in the book saying why it was their favorite and that they hoped our daughter would love it too. VERY sweet!

Weirdest gift of the day...

My college room-mate who had a baby in January gave me Ezzo's book :eek :Puke with a note saying how great the book was and they followed the methods and got their daughter to sleep 12 hours at night at 10 weeks. :(

[ksjhwkr]

Ahhh, good to know about the gbs! Thanks for the info! :)

[ksjhwkr]

I am SO sick of people telling me that they just know I am going to have this baby early. I finally told dh tonight to stop saying that. He keeps telling me that there is no way I am going to make it to my due date. Yes, I am huge, and yes, I am having lots of contractions, and yes my first was born 37 +3 weeks, but that doesn't mean a thing!!! I told him to stop saying that because it will get my hopes up, June 21 will come (that oh so magical date!), I will still be pregnant and will get very depressed!:cuss :rant: Anyone else feeling like this?

I'm having lots of pressure down low, something I've never experienced before. So, that is good I am thinking! :scratch Having some good contractions, well I think they're good, whether or not they are doing anything to my cervix..well that is another story all together. I will get my birth kit this week!!! YIPEE!! :bouncy I am really excited, it seems like this is really going to happen. Now if I could just SLEEP! that would be nice. Hopefully soon.... :zzz

[dharmama]

I am SO sick of people telling me that they just know I am going to have this baby early. I finally told dh tonight to stop saying that. He keeps telling me that there is no way I am going to make it to my due date. Yes, I am huge, and yes, I am having lots of contractions, and yes my first was born 37 +3 weeks, but that doesn't mean a thing!!! I told him to stop saying that because it will get my hopes up, June 21 will come (that oh so magical date!), I will still be pregnant and will get very depressed!:cuss :rant: Anyone else feeling like this?


Kim...I'm getting this A LOT too. I wish people would stop saying it because I might start to believe it. :eyesroll

[Smithie]

I took a nap yesterday from 6-11 p.m., so now it's almost 5 in the morning and I can't sleep. I made jello, ate a whole bunch of food, and am now having some EPO and RRL tea. The damned birds just started cheeping outside.

My mw appt is at 11, and I'm hoping they'll do a more enthusiastic membrane strip, because things have not improved on the peeing front. The amoxycillin is killing the bacteria and has alleviated symtoms, but I still cannot empty my bladder and I have all these weird sensations inside when I try - sort of like my poor little bladder is trying to empty itself while being crushed by a giant head. :laugh:

I scheduled one of those pregnancy massages for after the mw appointment. Simultaneously, the dog puke will be shampooed out of my van's carpet. Talk about indulgences!

[dharmama]

Smithie ~ I had a VERY hard time sleeping last night and I didn't take a nap yesterday. :scratch Enjoy your massage!! I had one last week and it was AMAZING. The best part for me was the pillows that allow me to lay on my belly. :love that!

I'm heading out for my u/s shortly. Please send some head down thoughts! One mw thinks she's vertex and one is concerned/unsure of her position. I think she is vertex but really balled up in at the bottom of my uterus. We shall see very soon....

~Erin
:love

[curlygrrl]

Wow girls, welcome to the last week in May! I can't believe it!!

Belated congrats to liz-hippymom, if you're still reading! Can't wait to hear your birth story!!

I'm the opposite of ya'll who said you didn't want to talk about having the baby early. I was soo shocked when DS came at 38 weeks I keep telling myself (and everyone else) that this baby's probably going to come early. I guess I know I could be setting myself up for disappointment, but I'm a procrastinator, so I really have to push myself to be ready.

((hugs)) to everyone and "soothing tummy vibes" for those who need it.

Tamara

[3girlsmommy]

I am SO sick of people telling me that they just know I am going to have this baby early. I finally told dh tonight to stop saying that. He keeps telling me that there is no way I am going to make it to my due date. Yes, I am huge, and yes, I am having lots of contractions, and yes my first was born 37 +3 weeks, but that doesn't mean a thing!!! I told him to stop saying that because it will get my hopes up, June 21 will come (that oh so magical date!), I will still be pregnant and will get very depressed!:cuss :rant: Anyone else feeling like this?

We have the same guess date!! I agree w/ you if one more person tells me that I'm not going to make it to my guess date I might smack them. My mom has been on this HUGE kick to tell me every chance she can that this baby is going to come early nad will be at dd's birthday party or dance recital. She started to say so last night when we were over to her house and I gave her the death look and she quickly changed her statement to this baby will come when it comes so be prepared! UGH!


Smithie- I didn't sleep last night either, but in my case it was because the storms that the weather people said would end by 10:15 swirled around us until 4:00 am w/ LOTS of lighting and thunder as well as wind. We had two littel girls smack dab in the middle of the bed and my oldest keep grabbing me w/ every big BOOM! So sleep was next to impossible. And now the storm has decided to roll back in so getting Lauren to school this morning should be fun! I just pulled the van in the garage just as it was starting again so at least I won't get soaked getting them into the van.

HAve a great last week in MAY!!!

[dharmama]

HAve a great last week in MAY!!!

:eek Wow! :eek


Just got back from my u/s. Baby is in a BEAUTIFUL vertex position. Her head is right next to my cervix. Placenta is up high and he said it looks very healthy. The radiologist re-confirmed her female-ness and took some measurements....I'm 37 weeks tomorrow and she's measuring just over 38 weeks. He estimates her to be 7 pounds 3 ounces and said if I go to my due date, he'd guess she'll be 9 pounds or just under (which fits right in with my family history...so no surprise). :)

~Erin
:love

[HoneymoonBaby]

I've been crying a lot lately. Everything sets me off. I'm so hormonal and emotional, and I'm not used to it. I feel like I'm 16 again, temperament-wise -- Hormonal and bitchy and out of control. I really just want to have this baby now. I know it's not time yet, but I'm soooooo tired of being pregnant and I really dont know how my body can take any more abuse. Ian kicks me so hard all day long that I feel bruised by nighttime. There is NO position that is comfortable for me. My belly is too large for my frame. My back hurts constantly. Eating is an ordeal because my insides are so squished up, and I get crampy after meals.

BH contractions are frequent and painful. I'm losing tons of mucus. I locked my keys in my car and missed my doctor's appointment this morning, and they can't fit me in again. Like, period. As an alternative, I have my choice of going Wed. to see the doctor I hate, who called me a bad mother for not wanting the 3-hour GD test and asking for alternatives, or going to a different doc June 2. The baby could BE HERE by then. Both appointments are in another city, too, so I'll have to drive 20 minutes out of my way -- NOT fun in this heat in my husband's uncomfortable and bumpy SUV (my car is in the shop -- $3,000 -- ouch).

I have no idea if I'm dilating or not and I don't know how to check myself. I also have no idea if I have GBS, since I missed my appt. this morning. I'm starting to get really stressed about both. With all these little signs of labor happening, I'd like to know if I'm progressing or not. I'm also paranoid that I may be losing fluid. Sometimes when the baby moves, I hear a weird bubbly noise like there's an air pocket in there or something. Someone please tell me that's impossible. Or that it's just intestinal gas being squished by the baby?

Anyway, I'm so stressed out and so over being pregnant. No flames please, just please, someone say something encouraging before I start to cry again.

[Queen of Cups]

Yay, Erin! That sounds great!

I'm going in for my weekly appt at 2pm today - I must admit that I am really leaning toward asking her to break my water. After walking around at 6cm all weekend with my bag bulging, things are getting more and more uncomfortable. I've been having surges fairly regularly this morning (3-6 minutes apart), though they're not terribly intense.... maybe I'll go pump for awhile and see if that helps.

DH and I have both had dreams in the last few days that the baby was born VERY FAST at home, which worries me. I love the idea of a planned homebirth, and may do that for my next birth - but an UNplanned homebirth is not a good idea, in my opinion. I know it seems that everyone has had really bad experiences with AROM, but I just feel like in my situation its not a terrible idea. I've spent most of the weekend doing a ton of research on induction methods, calculated my Bishop Score, etc... and I'm going to discuss it with my midwife today to learn her professional opinion. Please send me kind thoughts/prayers!!!

[eilonwy]

No one has made the "You'll probably go early" comments to me, probably because of what happened with EliBean. (Only 3 weeks early, but a long and miserable experience all around.) I think everyone's hoping for me to make it at least to term. Then there's the fact that I apparently don't look as big as I feel; I think that when you carry bigger, people assume that the baby is closer to delivery. I got tons of those comments with Eli, and I was desperate for him to come early because I was so unhappy, but I certainly wasn't prepared to deal with the realities of it. This time, I'm much more content to wait. I'm going to bet that I'll be the last June Mom to deliver, though maybe not the one to go farthest past term.

All this talk of labor, and I still feel nowhere near it. I have lots of contractions, but nothing serious. I'm sure my cervix is closed up tighter than Fort Knox. :LOL NewBean is perfectly content where she is. She spends a lot more time OA than she used to, but still turns a fair bit. Mostly she's head down, though. It's really rough on my tailbone & lower back; I never had that problem with Eli, so that's a new thing for me. Ick. :(

**Vent ahead!**

Last night, I decided I was finished talking to Mike. I'm ticked off at him because he'd rather play his stupid game than watch Eli or help me clean. He's cut back on the amount of time he spends on it, but it's still way more than it should be. It's more time than I spend on MDC and a)I do other things while I"m here, like hold & nurse Eli; b)I learn useful stuff here; c)I still do as much other work as I can. I'm so ticked off with him right now, I just wanted to strangle him last night but instead I just gave up. :shrug I went to bed, and I'm not doing anything today or again until he gets off his ass. I'm protesting. Well, that's not true.. I did feed Eli. He doesn't need to starve just because his father's being a dork. :eyesroll

It's just not fair. That stupid game takes up way more of his time than we do, it's definately more important to him than anything else. He doesn't seem to care that the house is a mess, only that he gets to his game. I used to play the piano, you know.. just for me, all by myself, something which benefitted no one but myself. You know when the last time I did that was? Me neither! It was before I got pregnant with Eli, that's for sure. He says that MDC serves the same purpose for me as his game does for him, but that's totally not true. He goes to work and gets to talk to people all damned day, and who the hell do I get to talk to? Eli. That's it. If I get two phonecalls a week, it's a lot. At this point, I'd welcome telemarketers just to hear an adult's voice! This is the *only way* I get to communicate with the outside world. It's totally different from that game! Not only that, but when he's playing the game he can never just drop what he's doing; it's always "wait a minute, I'm in the middle of something." I can't do things like that! There is no "wait a minute" when you're dealing with a toddler! :bonk I'm soooo tempted to do nasty things to that game! I hate it I hate it I hate it!!!! :rant:

[Queen of Cups]

Kirsten - I'm sending hugs and prayers your way! I completley feel for you - and it sounds like your doctor's office is not being helpful. Just a random suggestion - do they have a nurse practitioner that you squeeze you in? Sometimes you have better luck getting in to see an NP than the doc. They should at least be able to tell you over the phone about the results of your GBS test!

Last week I was a complete wreck and my parents treated me to a pre-natal massage - it helped immensly. Any way you could get one? Call around, because there's a ton of variation in pricing. You might be surprized at how inexpensive one could be (especially if there's any massage schools in your area).

As friends keep reminding me - "You won't be pregnant forever. It may feel that way, but it is impossible. The baby will come."

[crunchywannabe]

well--I am still getting a few people saying they can't tell I am pregnant :eyesroll

then dh had one of his employees ask him last week if I was having twins! :angry It actually shocked him because I am small....and he said "does it look like she is having twins??" turns out that was the rumor in the restaurant :LOL

Still no weight gain....I skipped the ecoli culture because my stools went back to normal.

Nesting like crazy! and the kids keep asking me about my water breaking....what will it look like, what will happen, will we deliver at home, when will it happen??? :rolleyes they are just totally excited. they want it to happen during the week so they get to miss school to come to the hospital with us for the birth (yes, they are all attending!!)

[3girlsmommy]

Ryanna- I know where you're coming from. Dh use to be addicted to any type of computer game he could get his hands on and he would play for HOURS!! ONe day my nephew was playing on our computer and came across one of the lovely violent games that dh had on there and he started playing it. I freaked!! MY nephew was only 8 at the time and I felt the game was extremly inappropriate not only for my nephew but for dh as well. At that point I told him NO violent games on our computer. Then When I was pregnant w/ our oldest I gave him a choice the games or us. I calmly explained all the things that needed to be done and all the things I was doing and that if he was going to spend all his time on the computer and not with his family he would need to find an alternate place to live because if I was going to raise a child on my own I was going to do it w/out him sitting in the next room playing video games llike a 16 year old. He relapses every now and again esp. when his co-workers, who are all single and in their early 20's, get a new game and rope him in. For the most part he is so much better about it and also realizes that I'm much easier to live w/ when I have help! :)
I wish you luck w/ your video game junkie!! :)

[eilonwy]

Then When I was pregnant w/ our oldest I gave him a choice the games or us. I calmly explained all the things that needed to be done and all the things I was doing and that if he was going to spend all his time on the computer and not with his family he would need to find an alternate place to live because if I was going to raise a child on my own I was going to do it w/out him sitting in the next room playing video games llike a 16 year old.

I did this when I was pregnant with Eli, too. He didn't get it then and he doesn't get it now. He's addicted to a MUD, which is slightly different from a video game; he makes these obligations to other poeple and then gets mad at me when I tell him I'd much rather see him putting laundry away. I had a pile of laundry that I couldn't lift sitting for two months because I kept telling him I needed him to carry it downstairs for me and he kept saying "Okay, I'll do it later". Well, when he finally did it I could no longer run down the stairs to start it, so it sat down there for another week and he had the nerve to say "you didn't want to do it anyway" :splat. I wish EVIL THINGS on that game!!

[irishgreengables]

Rynna,

Could a litre of coke accidentally spill on his video game?

Last night ws first in 1.5 weeks with no contractions so we all got more sleep around here. Today's OB appt. shopwed soft cervix but nothing else. I passed gbd test -- yeah!

Cut out a bunch of wipes for baby and am now serging them. Decided not to try and use ds's wpes (he'll still be in dipes) because will have to transfer from room to room. Feel productive, though.



Peace,

[curlygrrl]

((hugs)) Kirsten!! I hope maybe it will encourage you to hear that weepiness can be a sign that your baby will be here soon! Here's hoping you won't have to hang in there too much longer! :hug

Tamara

[Greaseball]

I HATE VIDEO GAMES. I think they should be banned. They destroy relationships and are just generally not good. I'm so glad we don't have a Sega or Nintendo or whatever else they use to play those things on.

Dh used to go into a chat room a lot (no, not one of THOSE!) and I pointed out that every free moment he had, he was in there, and he agreed it was excessive. He still does it, but only once or twice a week and is OK with it when he can't be there.

On the rare occasion we get to go to a movie, he will play a few games before it starts. I can deal with that. Also, sometimes he will take dd to one of those arcades where she can win prizes, and she loves it.

I will do anything I can to keep a video game player out of our house.

[ksjhwkr]

Erin!!!! I am SO glad that your sweet little GIRL is doing SO wonderful and HEAD DOWN! That is such a relief I know! Not much longer lady! :)

[ksjhwkr]

I've been crying a lot lately. Everything sets me off. I'm so hormonal and emotional, and I'm not used to it.

I am right there with you!!! The other night dh saw that I had 2 holes in my denim capri's...right by the pockets. I started BAWLING! It was just the LAST STRAW! Dh fixed my pants, but still! I want to do so much cleaning, but I am SO tired and sore that I can't do it. My crotch hurts, the baby is a wild one, and I can never sleep. You are not alone sweetie!!! I am not due till June 21, so we are so in the same boat! Hang in there, I promise it doesnt' last forever!!!

[Frazzled Mama]

Uggg...I'm 38 weeks and am wondering why those BH and contractions that I've been having for the last 4 months have stopped. :rolleyes I'm tired of not being able to have energy for the slightest thing. I'm scanning the chinese food menu and deciding if I'll do take out for dinner.....which of course entails getting in the car and driving for it....sigh.

I hate my OB's office and wish I never had to go back. Its such a waste going there and I find I get no information that I didn't already know. (But the office is on the 3rd floor and I know that when I can't climb the stairs anymore that its time to deliver. Last week I huffed and puffed so the time should be near.) I'm hoping he'll check me this week and I've progressed more than the measley 1cm like last week. I tried checking myself but thats totally unrealistic especially since I can't even put on my socks without a struggle. I'm so ready to be not pregnant again. I long to sleep on my stomach and roll over without it being an olympic event. I can't wait to meet my new baby! :love
Ok...vents and complaints over...who's next?

[Doodlebugsmom]

I want to do so much cleaning, but I am SO tired and sore that I can't do it. My crotch hurts, the baby is a wild one, and I can never sleep.

Kim, I am right there with you! I feel like I constantly need to be cleaning and doing laundry, but I just can't muster up the energy. I just want to sleep all day long. The thing is, I probably could sleep all day long but at night I can't sleep at all! Why is that?!

[crunchywannabe]

Kim, I am right there with you! I feel like I constantly need to be cleaning and doing laundry, but I just can't muster up the energy. I just want to sleep all day long. The thing is, I probably could sleep all day long but at night I can't sleep at all! Why is that?!

ugh Susan...that is SOOO me too!

I want to sleep all day...but I know I have to clean. I finally get a small burst of energy and get up to clean...but then I am running to the toilet. Then I am tired and just want to lay back down again. I try to take a nap, but I can see the mess and can't relax.

Then at night, I can't go to sleep, I am wide awake and watching tv! :rolleyes

[ksjhwkr]

She started to say so last night when we were over to her house and I gave her the death look and she quickly changed her statement to this baby will come when it comes so be prepared! UGH!


:LOL That cracks me up! :laugh:

[ksjhwkr]

Kim, I am right there with you! I feel like I constantly need to be cleaning and doing laundry, but I just can't muster up the energy. I just want to sleep all day long. The thing is, I probably could sleep all day long but at night I can't sleep at all! Why is that?!

Yeah, I can't sleep at night to save my life..but right now, I feel like I could fall asleep and stay asleep for A LONG TIME! :zzz: I guess these are just the "joys" of pregnancy!!! Good thing I forgot about all this from last time! ;)

[wildthing]

I can't believe almost everything I wanted to say has already been said! :LOL

I find that I have a lot more contractions on the weekend, when I drink less than usual because my routine is different and dh and I are running around doing all of our errnds then because he works late during the week. Usually a nice big glass of RRL tea stops them.

I REALLY do not want to have this baby early. Have I said that before??? I am leaving Thursday night to go to the LLL conference and will be back Monday. After Monday would be *okay*, but I so much prefer after June 11th or so.

I am getting pissy about a lot of things in general. My house isn't as clean as I want it, I am waiting on about 3 different diaper orders to arrive in the mail, my pubic bone hurts often (although chiro adjustments help), and I am just tired because I get up at least 2x a night to pee. I have also been a hormonal wreck lately, just crying, and while I am crying I am thinking "I have no idea why the hell I am crying, but it sure feels good."

I have to say though, that I still enjoy being pregnant. I still love feeling my baby move and wiggle. I love the extra attention I get from people. We used one of the preggo parking spots at the mall yesterday! :D

Rynna, my dh has a friggin video game that he plays and it pisses me off too. It is on his computer. I HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, he will also play for HOURS, especially if I am not home. Then later he moans and whines about all the stuff he didn't get done that day....duh! What makes me so irritated is, he can't/won't stop in the middle of the game because he has to get to a *save* spot. If I am on the computer, I can, will, and have dropped whatever I am doing when he gets home from work to talk. Not because he demands it, but because I enjoy talking to him, I missed him during the day, and it is POLITE!!! Okay, rant over. ;)

Anyway, I have to get from work....hope everyone is having a great day!

PS-Incidentally, it has taken me about 3 hours to write this post. :eyesroll

[mattjule]

I used to post a lot, but I find lately that I don't really have much to say. Like Rynna, I am due 6/30 so my edd is still a long way off compared to the rest of you. The more I read about everyone being ready to labor or showing signs, the more paranoid I get that I'll go early. I REALLY want my homebirth, I am terrified of birthing in a hospital. My mw assured me that baby was floating really high up, she said we all know that second babies tend to drop during labor rather than before, but that they still tend to be a little lower than mine is before labor starts. That was comforting. I am barely 35 wks today, my labor support doesn't arrive until June 24, and I am very scared of having a premature baby. So I think that I will probably not be hanging out here as much as I was before. I told dh I have to consciously stop myself from doing cervix opening visualizations-I am not doing hypnobabies, but I did do visualizations like that for Tain and I find myself doing them now when I am not paying attention. So I need to stop focusing on labor and birth for a while.

In other news, I am feeling tired more and I think I took my last bath with ds today. He is going to be upset about it, but I have too much trouble getting out of the tub. Baby has started hitting my cervix and bladder a lot-PIMPH is a private joke between dh and I now. :) I can definitely commiserate with the shooting pains in my nether regions as well as the occasional pleasurable one, which is just confusing.

I told ds I was tired of him today. I guess I'd feel more guilty about it if I thought he understood, which I am sure he didn't since I didn't use a negative tone and he doesn't comprehend language very well, or if I wasn't so totally tired of him. Dh didn't care for it. Dh doesn't have a toddler accidentally pinching his painfully sensitive nipples all the time or climbing all over him or elbowing him in his immensely large tummy or leaning back on his belly so he can't breathe or throwing fits if he doesn't pick him up. He isn't the only one in the whole house that can possibly kiss an owie or cuddle at night or sit with when ds is grumpy. I am so tired of my son! Dh has been home for a week straight (he's laid off for 2 weeks) and I still do the brunt of the parenting, mostly b/c ds won't allow dh to do anything. I am frustrated, mostly b/c not only did I count on this as a reprieve, which it isn't that much, but also b/c it is painfully clear that I am going to have major issues mothering a mama magnet and a newborn.

My house is a mess, I really don't care at all. I have a bunch of projects to do that I haven't started yet and I don't care. oh, Smithie, would you be able to find someone to make the extensions for you if I sent all the stuff? In my present state, I feel like I am not going to get them done before James gets here and I hate to think about you waiting on them. If there is no hurry, I'm more than happy to do them, I just don't want the pressure of needing to do them NOW, kwim?

My reflux is so bad, but I knew that would happen. I try not to think about it since it is pretty much a constant thing.

I am starting to sleep in increments instead of all at night. It is good when I can do it i.e. ds decides napping is okay, but it is miserable when I am tired (like now) and he refuses to be. I think of it as my body training me again for having a newborn around.

Video games...I feel like the only wife/mother on MDC who doesn't mind them. Dh plays them at night after ds and I go to bed. His usual job was a semi-night shift so he got home late anyway and it helps him de-stress. Sometimes he'll play during the day when we are all just lazing around. It has never been an issue in our marriage or our parenting and it doesn't make him a more violent person or anything. For him, it is a great tool, the way I imagine sewing is for me. If I need him and he is playing, he'll immediately pause it and come back to it later. He'll stop playing if I want to spend time with him. It is all about how you use or abuse them, not the games themselves, IMO.

Well, I got colostrum in, though Adventures in Tandem Nursing (AITN) says it is actually pre-colostrum. At any rate, it doesn't hurt quite so much to nurse ds, but he asks more. He has started asking in the middle of the night again. It is hard to refuse, but I REALLY don't want to be tandem night nursing. Ideally, I'd like to stick with the down to nap, down to bedtime nursing we have now, but I know my ds and once he realizes my milk is back, he'll want to nurse every minute of the day. Don't know how I am going to handle that, I guess we'll have to see how it goes. Hey Rynna, strange question but have you tasted the colostrum you have now? I've only ever tasted mature milk, the really sweet stuff, but the stuff I have now is salty. AITN says that our bodies make "weaning milk" that is really salty and I guess I am trying to figure out if what I have is weaning milk or colostrum b/c it isn't really yellowish like I remember colostrum being. FYI, it also says that the placenta detaching from your uterus releases a signal for your body to stop making so much progesterone which in turn signals your breasts to start making colostrum. So I no longer have to feel like a freak for not having milk/leaking before Tain was born. Get this, it also says that milk drying up is actually caused by elevated progesterone levels during pregnancy, not lower prolactin levels. That is why most remedies like teas don't work b/c they are designed to raise prolactin levels and that isn't the problem. Evidently the progesterone levels are so high they basically cancel out anything you try to do with prolactin. And of course, lowering progesterone levels during pregnancy is not a good idea. This is totally off subject, but I find it fascinating the way our bodies work, how intricate the system is, and how determined it is to function in a certain way.

AITN also mentioned that our mothering hormones at the end of pregnancy/during the babymoon focus on the newborn to the extent that we start to feel less attached/more irritated with our older children. She is always careful to preface these comments with "everyone's experience is different and some may experience the opposite, but this is the general trend..." (paraphrased). I find this to be really helpful lately in finding patience for ds and it helps to know that it won't always be this way, that a little down the road it will even out again. So those of you who are also struggling with your current dc, hopefully that helps a little.

Well, I think I have written a long enough post to get me through another few days, LOL. Good birthing vibes to everyone reading to go...

[rubelin]

Geez, I feel kinda bad that I am actually doing pretty well for the past few days. Really all that's changed is that my Pubic Symphasis pain is mostly gone, but it makes such a huge difference to not be in constant agony that everyting else is negligible. I am FAR from comfortable, but, for the first time in practically my entire pregnancy, I am actually enjoying being pregnant. I don't think I'm quite ready for it to end.

The moms at Ben's school threw us a little shower today. It was really sweet of them, most everyone chipped in on gift cards for Babies R Us, I think I might go crazy buying little outfits since we've got most of what we need already.

I can't say much about video games, Dan produces them for a living. We do go through phases where he gets a little too involved in one, like now he's a Beta tester for a Massivly Multiplayer game so he wants to play all the time. He is good about only playing when Ben is asleep but he'll stay up until the early hours of the morning and not get enough rest and neglect the dishes and such which I have a huge problem with. We do not have any console systems (PS2 or Xbox and the like) and I plan never to have anything like that. There are plenty of PC games that he can play that are usually higher quality anyway and I really don't want to have gaming in my living room, I can see too many ways that can get out of control.

Gotta go, I promised Ben we'd read stories. Lots of labor vibes to those of you on the cusp and "stay in" vibes for those not ready yet :D

[Queen of Cups]

I'm so proud of myself - I declined induction today. My midwife said she was fine with doing an induction, but was totally supportive of waiting awhile longer. She prefers to induce with cytotec rather than pitocin, and I'm not sure based on my research which is the lesser of the two evils. We talked about AROM, but the head doctor at the practice insists that if you don't start contractions within 1-2 hours, that you start on either the pitocin or cytotec. So, that didn't seem like as great of a plan to me, either - I thought that they'd give me longer than that... So, I decided to stick it out for at least a few more days. In fact, I'm going back to work this week and am going to fling myself into packing/housecleaning, so hopefully being very active will get things going.

Anyone know a first time mom that went several days at 6cm / 90% effaced / 0 station??? I've been that way since last Friday, and I just can't imagine that I'll stay this way much longer... neither can my midwife! It has to happen soon, right?

[Doodlebugsmom]

Julie, I also feel like I don't have much to say either! I'm not due until the 21st and although dd was born at 37+3 weeks I'm certainly not convinced that this one will come early. I've actually been thinking that it's possible that this baby could come in July! That seems worlds away to me. This whole pregnancy I've been so worried about going prematurely. Now that I'm at 36 weeks I don't worry about it any more. I'm sure you won't go early either. I know what you mean about taking baths! I relax so much in the tub, but dang, I can hardly pull myself out. Oh, and the reflux. I can't tell you how many times in the last few weeks I've awakened choking on vomit. It is not pleasant. As for the colostrum, I tasted mine one night. My dd gave up nursing back at the start of my 2nd trimester, so mine may be different than yours, but yuck! It tasted awful. Nothing like breastmilk! Please don't stay away too much! We'll miss you!

QoC, I think you made the right decision. Only allowing 1-2 hours after AROM! Jeesh, that seems a bit ridiculous to me. After my water broke, I didn't feel a contraction for 7 hours. Of course, by the time I started feeling them I was in transition, which you're almost in now! Anyway, try to hang in there and don't feel guilty about any decision you make if you feel it's truly the right thing to do. I'm sure you'll be holding your sweet little baby in no time!

[rubelin]

Queenie, I'm so glad you got a straight answer about it all from the birth center. I wish I had known all that before I agreed to the AROM, I would have waited, too. I do know lots of mommas who hung out way dilated for a long time, it's probably more common than most of us know, since most don't get checked until closer to their EDD's. I have no idea how long I was dilated before having Ben, I was technically about 38 wks when first checked, but had probably been that way for a while. I just keep thinking how fast your birth will probably be, since you have such a tiny bit left to dilate fully. Not to mention that you must have amniotic sacs of steel to be still intact :) Maybe your babe will be born in the caul!! Great idea to throw yourself into packing; all the little tasks I keep finding to do have definitely helped keep my mind off of stressing!

[Smithie]

I wonder how Queenie's appt went...

I had a pretty good day, got some nice bloody show and learned a lot from the massage therapist about where to press and such. Then I puttered around and now my downstairs is much less of a disaster area than it was and my poor neglected rats have a nice clean cage. I feel crampy as the mw said I would. James has flipped around into the "ideal" birth position. PLUS, I found out that my mom is coming on June 1st, not June 4th as I had thought. Only 1 week from now! Yay!

Dh started up Atkins again today, so we're going to use a coupon we have for a steakhouse. I feel hungry.

Kirsten, I hope you are feeling better. :hug

Oh, and I hate games too, so glad dh got bored with them in college. We have some (male) friends who are absolutely certifiable about games, to the point of neglecting real life responsibilities. It sucks.

ETA: Congratulations, Queenie! You are one tough mama!

[Queen of Cups]

Thanks for the support, ladies! I appreciate it so much...

I've been a Tarot reader for the past 5 years, and I posted a quick note to an email list I belong to asking if anyone wanted to do a quickie reading for me about the upcoming birth. I immediately got back three sarcastic/nasty emails about how horrible the birth would be, how I'd want an epidural immediately, and how I had no business asking for a reading about something like that, because the cards wouldn't tell me anyway. ?!?! WTF? I sent a little message saying I was unsubscribing because I choose to surround myself with positive energy and affirmations, and that I would never respons in such a nasty way to anyone who ask me for a reading...

Why do people act like that?

On the gaming topic, I know lots of people who get honestly addicted to playing online games. Its really sad, and I don't really know what to suggest. It seems like most of the folks who get seriously obsessed do "snap out of it" at some point, and decide that REAL life (not on a computer) is a lot better. But, its really really hard on friends and family until they make that realization.

[rubelin]

Wow Queenie, WTF indeed!! I hope this wasn't a group near to your heart, what nasty people! I have a set of cards but no experience reading them, or I'd do a reading for your myself! Have I ever told you that a friend did a reading for me just before I had Ben (really a reading for Ben) and the primary card she drew was the Queen of Cups?? I think of that all the time when I see your screen name :) Overnight labor vibes to you!!

[seedling]

QoC, I'm glad you declined the induction yesterday. Please do some reading about cytotec before you agree to it. I loaned out my copy of Ina May's newest book but if I remember correctly, there are some really disturbing things about cytotec. Like besides just making labor miserable. Doesn't someone else on here have a copy of that book? Julie was it you? If anybody has it, look up cytotec and let us know what it says. Anyway, best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

I'm actually NOT feeling AS miserable and ready for the baby to come out right now. I'm officially 38 weeks today and I keep finding things that need to be done. I want to wax my kitchen floor first. And I want to clean out my car (carob ALL over the backseat from a popsicle DH gave DD to eat back there...what WAS he thinking?) and install the baby seat. I also am working REALLY hard at keeping the house clean and doing at least one organizational thing per day. I'm so 'into' this mode that I do find it irritating to have to stop and do the fun kid stuff my DD expects. And of course my DH is sick of all my requests for little projects. But tough.

I am having to get up constantly at night to pee...up to six times some nights. Which sucks. Leaves me in a slump if I don't keep moving all day. And I'm usually in quite a bit of pain by nightfall with my tailbone/lower back. I keep freaking out when I wake up at night trying to figure out if I'm starting labor...it only takes a minute to realize I woke because I have to pee. I think second time around I'm just hyper aware of everything.

We're not gamers here but DH does spend way too much time at this chat room (again not THAT kind). He can surf for hours and I find it quite irritating. I usually cheat a couple minutes here and there from my work time to come here but he would literally come home and be on all evening if I didn't ride his a** about it.

Well, I've got to get back to work. Happy hump day.

[eilonwy]

Rynna,

Could a litre of coke accidentally spill on his video game?

If it was that simple, we wouldn't be having this discussion beacuse I'd have done it years ago. Unfortunately, Mike's addiction is net-based. :eyesroll He has computer games that he used to play occasionally, but since our computer is temperamental and the soundcard driver doesn't work at all a lot of those are unplayable. I liked them a lot better, though, because he could hit pause at any time. You can't pause Gemstone. :shake :eyesroll The game is always running, and if he just stood up at any time (God forbid he should even attempt it) his character might die. Then he gets all upset like the world has ended. :eyesroll I'm not allowed to have any activities that I can't stand up from right away, and he shouldn't either.

I told him last night to make his decision, Gemstone or me & Eli & NewBean. He said that wasn't a decision, but honestly he's said that before and I have a hard time believing it. Actions speak louder than words! I'm going to have my own vehicle probably around the 1st of June, so if he hasn't logged off of that evil by then, I'm packing up and moving back in with my mother. It's very simple for me; if I'm going to be a single parent, I may as well be a single parent who can get on the telephone whenever she needs to. :crying

I told ds I was tired of him today. I guess I'd feel more guilty about it if I thought he understood, which I am sure he didn't since I didn't use a negative tone and he doesn't comprehend language very well, or if I wasn't so totally tired of him. Dh didn't care for it. Dh doesn't have a toddler accidentally pinching his painfully sensitive nipples all the time or climbing all over him or elbowing him in his immensely large tummy or leaning back on his belly so he can't breathe or throwing fits if he doesn't pick him up. He isn't the only one in the whole house that can possibly kiss an owie or cuddle at night or sit with when ds is grumpy. I am so tired of my son! Dh has been home for a week straight (he's laid off for 2 weeks) and I still do the brunt of the parenting, mostly b/c ds won't allow dh to do anything. I am frustrated, mostly b/c not only did I count on this as a reprieve, which it isn't that much, but also b/c it is painfully clear that I am going to have major issues mothering a mama magnet and a newborn.

I know *exactly* how you feel, except that Eli does understand when I tell him I'm frustrated with him. Then he climbs up on me and wraps his little arms around my neck and cries, which of course sets me off bawling. It's heartbreaking. :crying :bawl :crying Then Mike has the nerve to yell at me for yelling at Eli, and he turns around and does the same thing because (of course) Eli turns off the computer while he's playing that EVIL GAME!! (See, everything in this household revolves around that hideousness. :angry)

I tasted the clearish-whitish whatever that's coming out of my nipples, and I too thought it was a bit strange, but not terribly salty.. more like unflavored. I didn't think it was all that great, but Eli says it's "mmmm yummy" and " 'liscious" so :shrug. It's definately not sweet like real milk, or super-creamy like early milk. It's really quite watery. Eli's happy with it, I think because he's still getting Mamma and it's more than was there before, but when the real milk comes back, I'm sure he'll want to nurse all the time. I'm kind of hoping he'll get chubby for a little while on real, fatty, newborn milk. I saw him on camera over the weekend and for the first time, I think I saw him the way others see him-- he really looked malnourished. :eek Apparently, the camera only adds 10 pounds if you're an adult. :eyes They got me sitting on a beach, and I look like a beached whale. :LOL Anyway, I've heard that kids sometimes gain a lot of weight when the milk comes back in.. maybe for the first time in his life, Eli will have little chubby thighs, or arms that don't look like pencils, or maybe, just maybe, his ribs won't flare out over his belly anymore.

[eilonwy]

I've been a Tarot reader for the past 5 years, and I posted a quick note to an email list I belong to asking if anyone wanted to do a quickie reading for me about the upcoming birth. I immediately got back three sarcastic/nasty emails about how horrible the birth would be, how I'd want an epidural immediately, and how I had no business asking for a reading about something like that, because the cards wouldn't tell me anyway. ?!?! WTF? I sent a little message saying I was unsubscribing because I choose to surround myself with positive energy and affirmations, and that I would never respons in such a nasty way to anyone who ask me for a reading...

I used to read Tarot all the time, but that's one of those things that's really difficult to do with a toddler around. :LOL I actually did a few readings a couple of months ago, but before that it'd been years. I can't find my favorite deck (Hanson-Roberts, I think) but I found my first deck (mythic tarot) which is still a lot of fun. :) I can't understand why people would be nasty about that, though. It just doesn't make any sense to me. :scratch

[curlygrrl]

AITN also mentioned that our mothering hormones at the end of pregnancy/during the babymoon focus on the newborn to the extent that we start to feel less attached/more irritated with our older children. She is always careful to preface these comments with "everyone's experience is different and some may experience the opposite, but this is the general trend..." (paraphrased). I find this to be really helpful lately in finding patience for ds and it helps to know that it won't always be this way, that a little down the road it will even out again. So those of you who are also struggling with your current dc, hopefully that helps a little.

Wow, that is really interesting! I wonder if this is true for DH's too, I swear he has no patience these days and I find myself using my "stern mommy voice" to my DS constantly! My tolerance level for his behavior is really low! Although the other half of the time I find myself cuddling him close, thinking about how we only have a few more weeks of being alone together.

QoC: Congrats on refusing the induction and hanging on a little while longer. Your baby will be here soon and all this discomfort will be a distant memory! :hug Jeez, I can't believe that about the tarot readers. I never really read tarot myself, although I have a couple cool decks, but I have lots of friends who do readings. I haven't had one in 4 years though because I got paranoid that a reading would tell me something I didn't want to know about my child(ren). It's weird, I know. Anyhow, I'm sorry you were treated so shabbily by that list...just a shame!!

Rynna: I'm really really sorry your DH is driving you so crazy. I've been about ready to pack up and take off a few times, I can really sympathize. I wish I could be there to help you vent. :hug

:grouphug to everyone feeling rotten! I'm going to see an osteopath tomorrow because my yoga teacher said he could help with the aches and pains (particularly the pubic symphasis), I'll let you know how it goes.

Tamara

[Steve's Sweety]

Gosh, I hope you all don't hate me for saying this, but I still feel pretty good. I mean, I have my moments, that's for sure, but overall I think I'm pretty lucky. Well, either that or this baby is going to be late late late and I just haven't hit that stage yet. ;)
I'm hoping for the former though, as I am totally excited and ready to meet this little wiggleworm. :love

As for the thing on the less patience with your kids, well, I don't have my own kids yet other than the in utero babe, but I have noticed less patience with the ones I take care of, as well as with my furkids!
Very interesting!

I have a mw appt tomorrow and since she's going to be out of town after that until early June, I think I'm going to have her go ahead and check me. I have my GBS test too and and hoping like crazy that I test neg.

Our co-sleeper and bathtub came in the mail, as did our crib mattress, so I think we're all set with what we need and even though the house is not as clean as I'd like, I still am ready for this baby to come! (Is feeling ready a sign that babe is nowhere near coming out?) :LOL

[3girlsmommy]

Anyway, I've heard that kids sometimes gain a lot of weight when the milk comes back in.. maybe for the first time in his life, Eli will have little chubby thighs, or arms that don't look like pencils, or maybe, just maybe, his ribs won't flare out over his belly anymore.

Rynna- My oldest always was and still is a string bean. She can still wear her size 2/3 skort from Old Navy that she has had for over 2 years. Anyway She didn't get all nice and chubby from the newborn milk after her sister was born. She stayed the same ol' string bean she always was! Dh & I joke that she will be our super model and pay for our retirement. She eats like a pig and still has no butt and no thighs. If only I could be that lucky! :)

[mattjule]

So we got rid of our couch a few months ago-Tain had a horrible vomiting/diarrhea spell and it was pretty ripe-since then we have had my dh's recliner, my glider, and two butterfly type chairs. Our living room is small so we thought chairs would end up being better than a couch anyway. But I tell you, I REALLY want a couch! First of all, this baby takes up a lot more room than Tain did, I get short of breath a lot and find sitting upright uncomfortable. So I have taken to lying on the floor. More comfy for breathing, etc, but sucks when I have to get up. Also, I think about nursing and cuddling Tain at the same time, things I can't do in a chair. And then there's watching a movie with dh in the scarce moments we have time alone together and not being able to cuddle up to him. I really want a couch...

[3girlsmommy]

Last night I freaked my dh out! :) I told him after dinner that he was going to take the kids and the dogs outside and I was going to clean. Then I cleaned the entire main floor plus all 3 bathrooms. THen I got our oungest to sleep and while he was getting our oldest to sleep I went down stairs and cleaned the walls and molding and the appliances. He peeked around the stair case and asked if it was safe. I told him sure and as soon as he stepped foot in the kitchen I gave him a job! :LOL I think he figured he had a few more weeks before I turned into psycho cleaning lady but he was wrong! :)

QoC - I have Ina May's Guide To Child Birth if you want to know what she has to say on Cyotec let me know.

[Smithie]

Julie, no problem, my dh is actually not a bad sewer and my mommy will be here soon. Just send along the fabric and let that task drop off your plate.

Re: Cyotec, I was just reading about it last night in Ina May's Guide and it has indeed killed some moms, just as Pit has. For a mom who has never been sectioned, I think Cytotec is still a reasonable choice when you get to the point of needing to make those choices. Ina May is really pissy about it bc it is being used so casually and the stats on complicatiosn are not being well documented. And she should be. But given the choice between a Cytotec tab in my vagina and an IV of Pit, I'd probably choose the Cytotec in hopes of avoiding the IV. Uterine rupture is the primary risk.

Still pregnant today! Dh tried the reflexology points the massage therapist showed me, and they do produce a nice contraction, but no baby, alas.

[Mummoth]

Is it possible to get a half dose of induction drugs? They must have a standard amount that they start with... and isn't it a needle into an IV? It seems to me you *should* be able to request as little as possible. Maybe I'm being overly idealistic... it's what I do at home with medications. For a while, I took 1/2 a multi vitamin, because the whole thing made me nauseous. I've taken 1/2 a Tylenol before, or 1/2 a Nytol (before I got pregnant with Roland)

Julie, I know what you mean about wanting a couch!! We threw ours out when we got fleas this spring (darn cat!) along with our carpet (there was hardwood underneath) We only have 1 chair (a rocker) and Ive been using a mattress on my livingroom floor. DS thinks it (& I) are a trampoline/jungle gym. We bought a new couch/loveseat over the weekend & THEY'RE COMING TODAY!!! It's going to be so nice to *not* get woken up by being headbutted in the stomach (I find myself dosing off alot these days)

[Smithie]

IIRC, Cytotec is manufactured in a 300 mg tab that can be halved or quartered. Ina May thinks it should be quartered, natch. If I were doing a Cytotec induction, I'd ask for 1/4 tab, because you can always add more, but you can't take an excess out of your bloodstream.

Pit can be administered in literally any dosage, and dosing protocols vary WIDELY among doctors, hospitals and geographic regions.

[Greaseball]

Some hospitals allow patients to control their own drug dosages for pitocin and pain relief, and the patients give themselves a lot less medication in those situations. The hospital here says that when a mom comes in to get induced, they start her off at the maximum dose and they don't turn it off until the baby is born (or until the baby goes into severe distress and requires a c-sect.) Although I suppose a mom could pull out the IV line...

I think the Mothering archives have an article about Cytotec.

[3girlsmommy]

The hospital here says that when a mom comes in to get induced, they start her off at the maximum dose and they don't turn it off until the baby is born (or until the baby goes into severe distress and requires a c-sect.)
:jaw
Things like that make me CRAZY!!!

[ksjhwkr]

Queenie -

I also would be very upset!!! I don't know much about card readings, but can't you do it for yourself? Probably not, or you would! :) DUH ME! :duh
Good for you 1.) not being induced...I am SURE it was very difficult. You are one strong Momma!!! and 2.) choosing to only surround yourself with love and peaceful, positive energy.

LOVE TO YOU!!!!!!

[Greaseball]

I went to LLL today, even though dd is not nursing now, and it was kind of frustrating. There were other pregnant women there, and those who had recently given birth, so the leader wanted to talk about how we all pamper ourselves and I felt like the only one who didn't really have opportunities to do so. Everyone else was like "Oh, I just take a break as soon as I feel tired!" and I was thinking it was just so unfair that I don't have the opportunity to do that. So I didn't say anything. All the other women just seem happier, better off, more relaxed, etc.

I wish I would start showing some sign of impending labor. All I get are the faint b/h when I go on a long walk, but those don't hurt very much and don't last long. I just wish I would feel different somehow, YK? I don't feel any different now than I did a few months ago.

[eilonwy]

I get frustrated at LLL meetings too, mostly because everyone has a lot more money than I do and they tend to assume that everyone else is just as affluent. Especially the group I go to that meets in the mornings. It's like, you're a SAHM, that must mean you have money. One of the women was talking about how she had to give up all her dry clean only clothing when she had kids.. "I've got wool sweaters I haven't worn in two years!" I was thinking about how I'm not sure that I own *any* dry clean only clothing at all. :eyesroll Their ideas of nesting involve getting the kitchen redone. I just can't relate. :shrug On Saturday, for the first time in my entire life, I will become part of a two-vehicle family. Ah well. At least I can occasionally stun everyone with my geekiness. :LOL

I've never heard of a hospital that starts women out on the maximum dose of pitocin.. that doesn't make any logical sense at all. :scratch I can't work out any kind of rationale for it at all. :scratch The standard procedure is to start with the lowest dose and work your way up.

ksjhwjr: You can do tarot readings for yourself, but your own ideas/thoughts/feelings will often get in the way of accuracy. To get the most accurate, least influenced reading possible, you want to have someone else who is unaware of the question doing the reading. I always made sure that people didn't tell me their question until afterwards, and I was inevitably surprised at how accurate/applicable the readings were. It works best if the person using the cards has been using them (that particular deck) for a long time, because they get to know the cards and what they tend to signify in different positions/spreads/etc. It's all great fun, if nothing else, and I always found it very relaxing. It's like, the cards do all the thinking for you and you just have to interpret it. It's a great icebreaker in social situations if you're somewhat introverted and/or strange, like I am. I made lots of friends doing tarot readings in college. :LOL

[Smithie]

LLL weirded me right out. I think the issue is that I have no issues with bfing and no negative experiences or perceptions to work through, and since I'm not nursing yet, I also have no problems that need solving. So, there's not much they can do for me until/unless I have a hard time.

[shelbean91]

I ended up having pit with this 3rd baby and we (I) chose to do a very low dose. My birth story is linked in an earlier thread if anyone wants to read the whole story. They said the whole dose of pit is something like 40 and I never made it past 12 or 15, something like that. Very tolerable. Not nearly as bad as I envisioned it, but I was at a very low dose.

If they had tried to start higher, I never would have allowed it. The only reason we started was b/c ds wasn't tolerating the contractions too well (not bad, but not well), it had been 18 hrs since my water broke and absolutely no progress when my previous 2 labors had gone from start to finish in less than 6 hrs, and we wanted to see if the pit would help me to dilate. (It did, but we ended up w/c-section anyway.)

My logic of starting at the low dose was if ds wasn't tolerating contractions w/o the pit, why would he be able to tolerate them with the pit making them stronger. (He ended up doing fine and even better when we started doing amnio-infusion, which is adding fluid back into the uterus to replace the lost amniotic fluid.)

[ksjhwkr]

ksjhwjr: You can do tarot readings for yourself, but your own ideas/thoughts/feelings will often get in the way of accuracy.

Ah, I understand! I have always been curious about that. Thanks for enlightening me!

I haven't been to any LLL meetings since Emma died. It is just too hard for me because I miss breastfeeding so much. I couldn't stand to go and sit and listen to other Mom's talk about it and watch them do it. It just feels like it's being rubbed in my face, you know? I will check out my meetings here after baby is born though. Luckily, I have lots of friends who are very knowlegeable about bf, so if I have any problems, I can just call on them.

So, I have a question about EPO...what is the purpose, when do you start taking it, basically, what does it do? I have read that many women are taking it and was just wondering if it is something that I should be doing.

If this baby follows Emma's pattern (which I am hoping s/he won't...for many reasons) s/he could be born next Thursday, 37+3 weeks! But, I really hope to stay pregnant until at least 39 weeks, if not 40. My sister and good friends are throwing me a Blessing Way on the 9th, so I MUST make it to that! But, I got the rest of my diapers today in the mail, so I am set and ready to go! Except I don't have any of my birth supplies yet :duh I'll get them on Thursday at my midwife appointment.

Hope everyone is doing well....lots of labor vibes to those who REALLY need/want them, and lots of staying in vibes to those of us who REALLY need/want them!! :)

[LizD]

You can start pitocin at a low dose, you just need to insist on it. Cytotec and cervidil and things like that, however, cannot be turned off or somehow washed out of the cervix. So there is that to consider also. Any of these things should be used *far* less frequently in this country than they are, so you should have a real medical need. The benefits should outweigh the risks, and unfortunately convenience for mom or dr is often seen as a benefit of high value, instead of coming after medical safety. These things also can make your labor more painful, and while I use that "can" there, in my work I have never seen a labor with these things that is not very, very painful. Only twice have I assisted clients who could make it through an induction without pain medicine, and both of them had very fast labors. I have experienced cytotec myself for a stillbirth induction and it was nothing like ordinary labor at all.

I love the xbox and was very distressed when it was not working the last few days. I don't play on it much but we do play some games together and it's so cool, and so much fun, and I can't possibly see a problem with my husband having whatever toys he wants. After all we're on here typing away about boring old pregnancy, as far as they're probably concerned. :) My friend's husband said he really wanted one but his wife doesn't understand, not having been a d&d person. I said, you men are out paying for all this, and these kids that the women want, and a house and cars and nice things for everyone, and you come home tired as a dog and looking for some food and a break from dwelling on how you're working for the Man- every working man deserves an xbox, say I. :)

I feel fine too. I haven't slept in several days, I mean I really haven't slept, and while that is getting a bit difficult to manage I am otherwise fine. I went to my midwife's chiropractor at her request and was unimpressed. I feel exactly the same and he seemed kind of mad at me. The other patients were fawning all over him. He was so icky I was actually rather gleeful when I still couldn't sleep last night because at least he was wrong about everything. HAH!

*But* because my daughter was born so early and so fast my mw asked to check me and I said sure and things are moving right along. Of course I know and Queen here knows for sure one can be walking around dilated for weeks. :) Hang on, it will be worth it when the baby is born according to its own timetable, it really will be!

[Doodlebugsmom]

Kim, EPO is used to soften and ripen the cervix. My mw reccomended that I start it at 36 weeks last time, so tonight I will start it again. I puncture two capsules and insert them vaginally before bed. If you would choose to do this, WEAR A PANTYLINER to bed! It can also be taken orally, but I chose to use it vaginally. It's so weird, if this baby is born when dd was, he'll be born next Thursday! We have the same due date and both of our other children were born at 37+3! Wow!

[rubelin]

hmm, no Queenie today... I hope you are off having that baby Sweetie!! :love

Got a haircut today!! It feels so much better! Ben was very good for his, too, he looks very handsome :) Then we went off to do errands, return something to Old Navy and then down to Babies R Us to spend our gift cards! Got a bunch of mundane things, none of the outfits appealed to me. Then on the way home I started having rather painful contrax. They don't seem to be regular or in any pattern, and I'm trying not to pay much attention to them, cause they are probably just more prodomal stuff and I am not getting my hopes up that they will turn into anything more. Dan says I'm being poopy about it cause I won't time them, but I figure, if this is the real thing, I will know it soon enough. Besides which, it is hard to time them when Ben keeps interrupting :)

Julie, I had to lol about the couch. I have a very hard time sitting on ours lately, I keep getting stuck! It takes me about 5 minutes to extricate myself, so I've been sitting in our chair instead. It isn't as cushy, but at least I can get up out of it failrly easily :)

Man, my belly hurts! If this is not going to be the real thing, I would really appreciate it if it would stop hurting now!! It's making me fiercely grumpy :angry So much for my gleeful couple of days, it would have been nice to have a few more of those.

Hope you all sleep peacefully and comfortably!

[mattjule]

My first LLL group was great, mostly b/c I don't go to church and didn't have any friends in the area, let alone friends with children. It was a great way to meet moms that felt the same way I did about childrearing. When I moved out here I was looking for the same thing-not really bfing support, but a way to meet mamas. The meetings I went to felt clannish. Not rude, just not really inclusive. I ended up crying when I left the last one b/c I felt so lonely so I stopped going. I have come to believe that the reason my first group was so eager to embrace me was b/c we had a high rate of new members. I was really bummed when I couldn't get that comraderie here. Thank god I eventually found MDC!

Robin- I feel that way about our butterfly chairs (and the floor LOL). It is so hard to get out of, I grunt and groan. I sound like my overweight, arthritic mother!

I used EPO orally and not for that reason. My mw started me on it to try to control my bp as it had started to rise at the end of my pregnancy. That it helps ready your body for labor was really not a part of the plan, though she waited until I was term before asking me to take it. It worked, my bp leveled off and I did end up giving birth 3 days before Tain's edd, I think about a week or so after starting it.

Oh, and FYI, my best friend was on pit after her water broke for about 14 hours and no steady ctx. She had a 28 hour labor. No pain meds. At one point a nurse she didn't recognize came into the room, looked at the monitor, turned the pit way up, and left. She had a TWO MINUTE ctx. They called the nursing staff and a familiar one came in and turned it back down, but my god! How crappy is that? I think they turned it off when she reached a certain dilation (I don't remember what, but it was large, like 8 or so) and her body was able to take over. I really admire her for not taking pain meds. She isn't a person that preps a whole lot. She didn't do any reading, etc. Luckily her parents were/are big hippies...She sure looked wracked afterward, though.

I have pants half made for Tain's doll. They way I sewed the legs on makes it look just indecent to have it naked. I still feel really unmotivated. But I remember that with Tain's pregnancy. I never got the nesting urge at the end of that pregnancy either. I kept thinking "Man, whoever said that women get the urge to nest is a liar". The day I went into labor I cleaned the whole house. It was the first day in, like, a month at least that I remotely felt like doing it. And I still didn't really want to, but I thought, "well, I am close to my edd and I don't want the mws to see my house such a sty!" It worked out well that I had a nice, clean place to labor in. So I anticipate that I will force myself to do some things, but won't really want to from here on out.

Thanks for the release Smithie. I'll just send all the fabric that is left so you are sure to have enough. I did already get the velcro, too (see, I had intentions...LOL). I'll make sure to send instructions.

Okay, this may be a little TMI, but does anyone else really not like the way they smell lately? I know it is just pregnancy b/c I remember it from Tain's, but it is still yucky. Just a different smell that I can smell really well, especially when I sweat. Ew. It makes me want to take 5 million baths a day, only I have so much trouble getting out of the tub at this point that I don't want to take any baths! :eyesroll Just can't win, I guess.

Well, I am going to go shower or something then I need to go draw more pencil lines on the announcements so I can put the quotation on the front. Man am I tired of measuring and drawing pencil lines! At least I am over half-way done...

Matt thought of putting "another sunrise" on the front, which I thought was cute since we are having another boy, but I am paranoid about the u/s being wrong and then they would be dorky. So instead I put "A scared moment has come, a moment old like the mountain, yet unique and new as a dream. It is the moment of beginning." A.A. Attanasio. Pretty cool considering we live at the foot of the Rockies. Anyway, it has a butterfly stamp in the upper left corner, then the quotation on the rest of the front. on the inside I plan to put a pic of new baby, preferably with Tain, though I don't know how well that will work (Tain is really hit and miss with how tolerant he is of having his pic taken), and then the usual announcement stuff on the other side of the inside. I chose to do it in green and gold pen. So I think when they are done they will look elegant and lovely. If I ever feel like getting them done...

Anyway, hope everyone has the labor they envision. Sleep well...

[dharmama]

Okay, this may be a little TMI, but does anyone else really not like the way they smell lately?

OMG!!! So funny that you wrote that. I JUST asked DH last night....ummmm....do I stink to you? Because I can't stand my own smell!!! :gross

At first I was blaming it on DH (mainly his shoes) but I moved all of them out of our room and realized....damn....the stink is still here. Then I decided it was my PJs...must be wearing them for too long....so I threw them in the wash....still stinky. :eyesroll Finally I realized....YIKES! It's ME!! :eek

I can't figure out exactly where it's coming from...like it's not really from my pits....nor does it seem to be from 'down there.' :scratch It's like I just smell bad all over.

BUT...DH says he hasn't noticed. :shrug

Anyway....

Sorry to hear that some of you have had bad experiences with LLL. My group is really great! The leader is a friend of mine from my UU church and there are several other women from my church who attend. It's the first time I have been around so many slinging, co-sleeping, EBF-ing, "crunchy" mamas in my life and I felt SOOOOOO at home.

Oooo...can I ask you guys a carseat question?

I got the Peg Perego at my shower and it is beautiful and very safe and all BUT....it was crazy expensive. Even the second base (which we have to buy ourselves) for it is like double what most are.

So my question is...since I'm expecting a nice plump baby :thumb I will most likely not be using the infant seat for very long. I thought about going right to a Britax but I read enough posts here on MDC that suggested starting with an infant seat so I'm going to do that.

So now I'm thinking of returning the Peg and getting a SnugRide (almost 1/2 the price), which would allow me to get the second base for DH's car (AND put a good chunk of change towards the jog stroller that I really want :eyesroll ).

Anyway...

:blah

Has anyone used the SnugRide (or the Peg Perego for that matter) and have any thoughts about it? I have a Toyota Corolla and I read that the SnugRide is well...snug in the center of the Corolla so that concerns me a little.

Thanks!

~Erin
:love

[Steve's Sweety]

Erin - One of the moms in our bradley class has been checking out carseats and I believe the places have been letting her take them out to her car and try them, so that's what I would suggest.

We have a mw appt today and I'll have my GBS test done. Please send vibes for it to be neg. I *really* don't want an IV, not even a hep lock (had a horrorible exp w/ one as a child) and I'm paranoid about it.
How long does it take to get the results anyway?

I also think I'll go ahead and let her check me. I have been saying I wanted to wait, but I'm almost 38 wks so I have waited some and she is going out of town for the next week after today and I am curious!

Got a call from BIL last night about SIL. They have scheduled her to come in tonight for (presumably) cytotec and then will either keep her or have her come back tomorrow am for further induction. So by Friday at the latest (but hopefully tomorrow for her sake) I should have a new nephew!

Now, everyone please send SO's to our BOL to come out by tomorrow! That way I get to have tied status for the first grandbaby as well as get my May baby, and still have it before my mw leaves town.


And oh yeah, I meant to post a link so you guys could see who the heck blabbers in here on occasion. ;)
9 months of belly shots (http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeKNGjFs0ZuJA )

Ack, I don't know what happened! I spent all this time u/l them to Shutterfly yesterday and all except the first couple are all mosaic like! :(

[HoneymoonBaby]

I stink, too. :blush I keep thinking it's my pits, but when I sniff them, they don't stink, so it must just be all over. Fabulous.

Went to the doctor this morning and they whipped out the U/S again. :rolleyes: That would be the EIGHTH time. They wanted to confirm he's head down. I told them I KNOW for a fact he is, since I can feel his butt/legs/head/etc. in detail by his movements and through my belly. They said "We can't just take your word for it." Whatever. They also did the GBS swab. "Negative result" vibes needed here, too, please -- I hate needles and even the heplock scares the shit out of me. Not what I need when I'm trying to go natural with no pain meds.

The good news is, Ian IS head down (duh), in exactly the position I told them he was. Their wild guess is that he's going to be almost exactly 7 pounds. Sounds good to me! My cervix is soft and ripe, but still closed. The Doctor said both Ian and I are "ready to go," though, so it's nice to know that if I get REALLY sick of being pregnant, I can have sex/take walks/eat curry/do visualizations/etc. and try to speed things along without feeling guilty. Just knowing that takes some of the pressure off and suddenly, I think I can wait a couple more weeks. ;) I have lots of cleaning to do!

Best to everyone, and thanks for the hugs earlier this week. I needed them.

[Greaseball]

I also didn't find much help from LLL because I didn't need help! DD had no problems nursing until she started biting. :( I wonder if this baby will be the opposite, and I'll end up with cracked nipples and reflux and mastitis.

In just a few days, I've outgrown another dress and 2 pairs of underwear. :crap I have an appointment tomorrow, my 40-week appt (well, 2 days before 40 weeks) and am not looking forward to it. I was hoping I'd have made some more progress or shown some signs of impending labor by then. :(

[Smithie]

Erin, we decided to go with the Snugride and get a Britax for the next step up. We have a minivan and a clunky American-made sedan, though, so size was not a factor in our decision. Everything about Peg Perego just screams "ripoff" to me. I installed the Snugride a couple of days ago, and I think it would fit just fine in the backseat of a Corolla. I guess it depends on how far back your dh needs to put his seat. I drive all squished up behind the wheel like somebody's grandma ;)

[Smithie]

"They said "We can't just take your word for it."

Forget YOUR word - how about feeling Ian's little butt THEMSELVES? Good grief.

[HoneymoonBaby]

"They said "We can't just take your word for it."

Forget YOUR word - how about feeling Ian's little butt THEMSELVES? Good grief.


Seriously. But this is the same OB who called me a bad mother for questioning the necessity of the GD test (I'm 23 with ZERO risk factors). Science is his god. Ian kicked his hand good and hard when he was measuring me, and stuck his butt out for display, too. There's no reason they needed to do an ultrasound to confirm his position. I'm skinny as a rail and it is OBVIOUS where the baby is. But I honestly think this guy could actually WITNESS the second coming of Jesus Christ (complete with lightning, thunder, descending on a cloud, etc.) and not believe it was Him until he got a blood sample. :rolleyes

[Greaseball]

Well, after looking at the small cd stash I put together for the new baby, I decided to get some cd's for dd as well, even though she has been almost exclusively sposie'd. She only has 2 so far - a fuzzi bunz and a wonderoos which really doesn't fit her - and has worn them both today, and only peed in them. So I was thinking, good, I can just hand-wash them in the shower...and then she had diarrhea all over the bathtub! I almost wish she had pooped in the diapers...

My chicken is sick. She won't touch her food or water. I took her to the vet yesterday and he gave her some antibiotics that I'm supposed to give twice a day, but she won't eat them. She won't eat food, and I haven't been able to force the dropper into her mouth. :( I hope she starts eating and gets better soon. :crying

Have to go clean the bathtub now...

[Queen of Cups]

I HAD MY BABY!

Killian Jameson was born on Tuesday May 25th at 7:00am. I awoke in labor at 12:04 that morning, went to the hospital about 1:45am, my water broke at about 4am, started pushing at 4:30am. Almost no interventions during most of the labor, and the hypnobabies worked wonderfully. Unfortunently, there was meconium in the water, and the pushing stage took a very long time. At the end I ended up with an episiotomy and he was taken to NICU for observation. BUT he was released w/i three hours and we were released from the hospital about 1pm today. Killy is doing great and is a very avid nurser! I'm recovering nicely and we're happy to be back home!

[Greaseball]

YES!!! :thumb :thumb :thumb Yay for #3!

[irishgreengables]

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations and post pictures!

Peace,

[shelbean91]

I HAD MY BABY!

Killian Jameson was born on Tuesday May 25th at 7:00am. I awoke in labor at 12:04 that morning, went to the hospital about 1:45am, my water broke at about 4am, started pushing at 4:30am. Almost no interventions during most of the labor, and the hypnobabies worked wonderfully. Unfortunently, there was meconium in the water, and the pushing stage took a very long time. At the end I ended up with an episiotomy and he was taken to NICU for observation. BUT he was released w/i three hours and we were released from the hospital about 1pm today. Killy is doing great and is a very avid nurser! I'm recovering nicely and we're happy to be back home!

CONGRATS!!!!!

[wildthing]

Congratulations Queenie!!!!!

Oh my gosh!!!! Here come the babies!

:banana :banana :balloons :balloons :champagne :champagne

Oh, this is sooo exciting!!!!!

[3girlsmommy]

Congrats Queenie!!!!! :birthday: Killy!!!
:balloons :champagne :balloons :champagne

[Smithie]

YEEHAH!!!!

:birthday:

[ksjhwkr]

I puncture two capsules and insert them vaginally before bed. If you would choose to do this, WEAR A PANTYLINER to bed! It can also be taken orally, but I chose to use it vaginally. It's so weird, if this baby is born when dd was, he'll be born next Thursday! We have the same due date and both of our other children were born at 37+3! Wow!

Ok, so when you insert them vaginally, do you insert the whole capsule or just squirt the liquid up in there? Sorry, I know that's a little graphic, but I am just trying to figure this out! :)

I know! I think it is so wild that both our babies were born at the same time and we are due the same time this time. A little twilight zoneish!! ;)

[ksjhwkr]

YIPEE QUEENIE!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad that Killian is here and can't wait to hear his birth story!!!! Congratulations Mama, enjoy your babymoon!!!!! :hug

[Queen of Cups]

I posted Killy's birth story in the June Forum... And here's a picture: Killy (http://www.photogrove.com/gallery/album12/Killy_in_yellow)

PS- When discussing cytotec with my midwife, she said the dosage she gives is either 100 micrograms orally, or 25 micrograms vaginally (she prefers orally, though, because the smallest pill is 100 micrograms and you have to try to evenly divide it to get the vaginal dose, which isn't very exact). Sounds like a much more reasonable dosage than most practices, IMO.

[HoneymoonBaby]

YAYYYYYYY! Congrats! DH says he's adorable, and I agree! :D

[Doodlebugsmom]

OMG! Congrats Queenie! I'm so glad that you and Killy are doing well. He is just gorgeous! You must be on cloud nine.

Kim, I stick the whole capsule up there. They do dissolve. Like I said though, wear a panty liner because some does leak out and it's messy.

[seedling]

Yay Queenie! What a beautiful baby!

[ksjhwkr]

Oh Queenie, he is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! I can't wait to be holding mine soon!!!!

Susan, thanks for the info! :) I'll have to go get some :)

[rubelin]

YEA QUEENIE!!!! I just knew that's where you were! He is abosolutely gorgeous and I'm so glad to hear it went well. Congrats Momma, enjoy your wonderful babymoon!!

[Greaseball]

How much did he weigh? I couldn't find it...

[underthebluerug]

:birthday: Welcome to Killy! Is he ever beautiful! :clap

Kate

[Queen of Cups]

wow, i am tired! he's 7 lb 11 oz & 19.5 inches.... thank you, everyone for your kind words! I'm so looking forward to hearing about everyone else's babies!

[Modesto Doula]

:birthday:

Congrats Queenie!! Happy BabyMoon!! I hope everything continues to go well!!

Yikes, three babies now!! We are getting so close!

[dharmama]

:banana Yay Queenie! :banana He's GORGEOUS!!! Heading over to read Killy's birth story now.... :)

[curlygrrl]

CONGRATULATIONS, Queenie!!! He's just beautiful!!!

As far as the evening primrose oil, I insert the capsule vaginally and it seems to dissolve overnight.

Yesterday I was having quite a few contractions, but nothing to be concerned over. I felt just peaked enough to take the afternoon off work. I wish I could just work half-days or something, I'm soo tired!

We finally got the crib put up yesterday, we use it as a sidecar so we had to completely rearrange our bedroom. Hard work but we managed to do it all in a couple of hours. I've also gotten the diapers and some baby clothes washed, so I'm feeling much more ready. Now I really need to pack our bags!

Tonight I'm going to an A/P meeting. I've never been before, I just found out there is a group that meets at night nearby. The topic is Babywearing, and I've got about a million questions about that, so it should be good!

[eilonwy]

Congrats, QoC! He's a doll! :) :balloons :banana :balloons

Eli had his 18 month WCC yesterday. I spent the night before tossing him around on the bed and saying "32 inches! 22 pounds!" in hopes that that's how big he'd be, and lo and behold, he was! Exactly 32 inches and 22 pounds 7 oz, so almost 22.5! He's finally tripled his birthweight! :banana That's my growing man! The doctor we saw was a moron; she asked if I had any questions or anything to report and I said that Eli had had roseola a few weeks ago. She said "Really? Didn't he get the shot?" I said "Um, there are no shots for roseola" and then she said "Measles and roseola are the same thing." :scratch Um, no, they're not. Measles is rubeola not roseola. :eyesroll. She looked at me like I was nuts. (Sadly, this statement is the second stupidest thing I've heard come out of a doctor's mouth. I had a doctor try to tell me once that robitussin isn't red. :LOL :eyesroll)She also spoke baby talk to Eli, who kept looking at her like "What the hell are you talking about, lady?" :LOL Go Eli!

She went to look for his teeth and said "I see seven." I told her he had twelve teeth, and showed her the baby book and she looked again and could only see eight and asked "Where are the rest of them?" I'm said they're in his mouth, just like everyone elses. She started making funny noises at him to get him to open his mouth, but Eli had no idea what she was doing and was just looking at her, trying to figure it out. I said "Eli, where is your tounge?" And he grinned, stuck his tounge out and pointed at it with his finger. :LOL That's my boy! :LOL He really showed her up, but the poor woman didn't get it at all. :LOL

As for my appointment: Fabulous news! Eli did not have GBS when he was born. He had a different infection in the cord & placenta and meconium aspiration syndrome. So I had a GBS swab done; if it's positive, I'll have time to take abx before labor and if it's negative, I don't have to worry about that at all! YAY!!!! :balloons :banana I've gained 2.5 pounds since last week, leaving me at -25 (I think) and I'm feeling pretty darned good. NewBean felt head down (and I can't imagine anyone wanting to do an ultrasound to check that every time... don't they know how to palpate a baby?! :scratch) and she stuck out her minibuns. :LOL I got a lot done yesterday, but boy was I ever exhausted. I pretty much collapsed at 9:30 last night. :LOL

I'm getting a minivan on Saturday, a much later model year than I was expecting (2003!!) and I'm soooo excited! And, Mike hasn't logged on to his game since I threw that fit at him. He's been playing solitaire instead, which is great because he can stand up at any moment and grab a clean diaper for Eli, or take him potty or give him zerberts or whatever. :) :thumb I asked him if he was in withdrawl and he needed a 12 step program, and he said he thought he'd be all right. (He was seriously addicted to this game!) He's emailed the people he's played with and told them he's not going to be around much anymore and he says they'll deal with it. Yesterday he did dishes for the first time in noone knows how long, and we have a kitchen counter again! :eyes I'd forgotten what it looked like!

As for using MDC as a comparison to video games... I don't think there is one. First of all, Mike goes to work every day and talks to people; this is one of my few opportunities to talk to people aside from Eli during the day (though that will change once I have a car). Secondly, I actually learn useful things from MDC which positively impact quality of life for myself as well as Mike & Eli; absolutely nothing useful comes from Gemstone. Third, I spend a lot less time at this than Mike did at Gemstone. A lot less! Plus, I'm almost never online when both of us are home. Fourth, you can stand up from this at any old time to, say, change a poopy diaper. Fifth, I do this while I'm doing other things. Nursing, reading, needlework, etc; Gemstone is a single focus. So you see, there's really no comparison for me. Gemstone is pure evil, and MDC is just not. :LOL

[Doodlebugsmom]

Jeesh Rynna, was that your regular ped., or someone else you saw? I think I'd be shopping for a new dr. if that was your regular one! I've never heard anything like that before. That's great that Eli is growing. My dd is pretty small too. Well she's tall, but very thin. She's 35in. and 24lbs. She's gained about 8oz. in the last year, but grown about 5in. She is perfect and healthy, so neither her ped. or I worry about it. She also eats very well. She's just thin like her Daddy! Oh, and good luck with your GBS test!

[eilonwy]

Jeesh Rynna, was that your regular ped., or someone else you saw? I think I'd be shopping for a new dr. if that was your regular one!

Good grief, no! :LOL No, we had to make an appointment with a different doctor because I wanted it to be on the same day as my PN (less travel time). Eli's regular doctor thinks I'm a little strange, but he's not stupid and he's certainly not missing pieces like this woman was. :shake

Oh! About carseats: We had a SnugRide for EliBean which we will be using for NewBean. I looked at the Primo Viaggio, and aside from being ludicrously expensive, they'd also been recently recalled and reinspected. Apparently some of them didn't meet American safety standards. They're also a bit smaller than the Graco's, I think they're only good to 24". Still, I thought about it because I really liked the Peg Perego stroller. We ended up getting a Milano XL (Peg Perego) stroller as our one and only baby shower gift from the IL's, but I'm glad we passed on the matching carseat. The SnugRide is lighter, easier to use (PV has a strange locking mechanism) and, as you already know, much cheaper.

Of course, if you're expecting a moose baby, either tall or heavy, it might make sense for you to skip the infant seat entirely. Eli was small, but he was still too tall for the infant seat at 7 months (although he only recently passed the weight limit for it.) Lots and lots of people use those infant seats when their kids are too big for them, because they just don't know and don't bother to read the instructions. If you can afford a Britax, go for it; they look like great seats, and I'd love to get one one day. :LOL

[Mummoth]

She started making funny noises at him to get him to open his mouth, but Eli had no idea what she was doing and was just looking at her, trying to figure it out. I said "Eli, where is your tounge?" And he grinned, stuck his tounge out and pointed at it with his finger. That's my boy! He really showed her up, but the poor woman didn't get it at all.


...and I'd classify her as one of the *more* competent doctors, had I encountered her! I've taken Roland to a few where their first suggestion is that I hold him downwhile they look in his mouth!! Uh, NO! I bring along a flashlight, and get him to peek into my mouth with it (and the doctors' if they'll cooperate) Then I get him to point it in his own mouth and... Hey! lookie there!! The doctors' gotten to see in his mouth, without it being a big fight!!! It's amazing how frequently we've had mouth issues... *sigh* ... and I've never had to force him. He's 2 1/2... last time we went to the dentist, he cooperated so well!! He got his teeth counted by the dentist & brushed by the hygenist.

When Roland got scratched in the eye by a friends' cat, it was the same thing... I was asked to hold him down. Uh NO! Again! She *knew* she wouldn't get a good look that way, but couldn't/wasn't willing to think up a better way. We had gone in the evening, so DH was there, too. I'd *thought* about how to get Roland to cooperate before we went (he had to hold his head still & look to one side) We told him the doctor needed to look at his eye, then DH held his head facing forward, while I squeaked his rubber ducky next to Rolands' head & said "Look at the ducky!!" He did. The doctor got a *really* good look at his eye. She actually breathed a sigh of relief, and said "I wasn't expecting this to go so smoothly... usually I can't even get them to open their eyes!!"

We saw a newborn at the midwives yesterday. The dad put the carseat down on the floor & the baby started crying... Roland showed him his toy to try & calm him down. The mom asked the receptionist for a place to nurse him, so they were only in the waiting room for a moment. Then Roland said "Baby crying" So I explained to him that babies don't know words yet, so sometimes they cry when they need something. I told him that baby was hungry for a booby (I *never* anticipated nursing Roland long enough that he'd ba able to say it... we weaned during my first trimester) Roland thought for a minute, while we heard the baby stop crying in the other room & he said "Baby crying 'Booby! Booby!'... feel better" Yeah!!!! He's been very interested in feelings lately... when we're reading he looks at the facial expressions on the pictures & says "Sad, Mad, Feel better now, Happy, Sleepy, etc..." I hope, hope, hope it means he's at a good stage to have a new brother or sister :fingersx:

[Greaseball]

I told her he had twelve teeth, and showed her the baby book and she looked again and could only see eight and asked "Where are the rest of them?" I'm said they're in his mouth, just like everyone elses.

:LOL
Did she expect them to be sticking out of his elbow or something?

[mattjule]

Congrats QoC!!!!! I am so happy for you and he is just gorgeous!

I had a convertible carseat as well as an infant seat when Tain was born. He wasn't very big-7 lbs, 19.5 in-but he grew very fast and the convertible says it fits newborns 5 lbs and up. yeah, right. Tain was only in the infant seat for about 4 months, but it was much safer and I think still worth the money. Then again, I've only bought one carseat in my life, the rest have been trusted hand-me-downs or gifts. I honestly didn't see any way a newborn could be truly safe or comfortable in a convertible seat.

I don't take Tain to well baby check-ups. Why take a healthy kid somewhere that has a high concentration of sick ones? Also, I can see there is nothing wrong with him. I keep buying new shoes and clothes so I know he's growing. I am not going to vax him anymore so I don't need that. I figure the only reason I would need to take him would be if he got sick. Unfortunately the only times he's been sick enough to go somewhere, it was directly to the er. But that has only been twice so that isn't too bad. I don't need a stranger to be telling me what I can clearly see every day. Plus he doesn't have insurance AND we don't qualify for govt aid in our state AND when we did, the Drs we had to see were total anti-AP idiots. I don't feel like subjecting myself or my son to that. So that is my soapbox. LOL

Same ol', same ol' on this front. Still working on announcements, still sick of working on announcements. Dh is laid off for at least 3 wks instead of the 2 we thought, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out. We got a mattress and box spring for the "guest room" (bro's room while he is gone for the summer) for $100. It was a floor model and fairly beat up cosmetically, but it is a Simmons back care and it it nice and firm. My mom will hate it-she likes really soft beds-but we need it to last and since she is a heavy woman and we tend to have frequent/long term guests, we thought starting out with something really firm was a good idea. At least she can't complain about having to get up off the floor every day. It is nice to have that taken care of-she'll be here for a month and my bf is here for 2 wks at the same time, then a 3 day gap, then my other bf comes for 2 wks, all while my mom is here. We have one queen size air mattress and the 2nd bf is bringing her 1.5 yo ds so we needed to be able to sleep multiple ppl. That was a long, boring story...

My joints are starting to hurt. I am kind of bummed. Rowan must have had a growth spurt b/c he feels really heavy all of the sudden. And it feel weary all of the sudden. Body weary more than anything else. Anyway, I should go...

Have a great day

[Greaseball]

I just realized that if I have twins, my announcements will be ruined! :eek :LOL I guess I could write on the back "Oh yeah, and there's another one. Call for details."

I've been meaning to seek dh's assistance in, you know, getting things going...wink wink nudge nudge...but he has been sooooo tired for the past several days that there hasn't been an opportunity. Now I may never know if it helps, since I'm due in 2 days anyway and if sex brings on labor it may just be coincidence.

[crunchywannabe]

Oh my gosh...i am :eyesroll at your pediatrician Ryanna! I uesd to work in a practice with 8 pediatricians (and 7 family practice) and I never encountered anything like that!

roseola/rubeola....good grief!

I haven't taken my youngest in to the doctor for a check up since the last time we went and I refused some of the vaccines that day and he "fired" us from the practice and then CPS showed up :irked: I just have to find confidence in a doctor around here and I can't find it yet! Plus, I get sick of them telling me my children are too small! My almost 7 year old weighs 41 pounds and they still think I am doing something wrong :eyesroll Can you imagine if they saw my youngest who at 22 months still wears 12 month clothes and size 2 disposable diapers?? :LOL

Feeling ok today...I am exhausted. My allergies are really bad and the medication is just not helping. The only thing is does is make me tired! :irked:

I am overly hormonal, am crying at everything (like dh's employee cooking my salmon wrong 2 times the other night) and then I am a total beeyotch and about to deck everyone that ticks me off out in public! I think I should just stay home until she is born so I don't run into all these horrible people...I think I am the "RUDE" magnet! :LOL

[Mummoth]

I don't take Tain to well baby check-ups. Why take a healthy kid somewhere that has a high concentration of sick ones? Also, I can see there is nothing wrong with him. I keep buying new shoes and clothes so I know he's growing. I am not going to vax him anymore so I don't need that. I figure the only reason I would need to take him would be if he got sick. Unfortunately the only times he's been sick enough to go somewhere, it was directly to the er. But that has only been twice so that isn't too bad. I don't need a stranger to be telling me what I can clearly see every day. Plus he doesn't have insurance AND we don't qualify for govt aid in our state AND when we did, the Drs we had to see were total anti-AP idiots. I don't feel like subjecting myself or my son to that. So that is my soapbox. LOL

We don't do the well-baby check-up thing, either. Most often, when we go it's because Rolands' injured himself! This week, he dropped a cast iron pot lid on his foot. Huge bruise... and he's limping. No fractures, though... which I kinda suspected... Dh got his shoe on without a fuss, thats all I needed to know he was okay. DH had to see the doctor for his back anyway, so we got it looked at while we were there... he doesn't have the benefit of mothers instinct, so he needed some peace of mind about it. Rolands foot *does* look awful.

[dharmama]

I just got my preggo photos from the photographer. I will scan and post some later today but I just have to say WOW!!! :eek My belly is FREAKIN' HUGE! :LOL I know I'm big (especially since everyone tells me ALL the time! :eyesroll ) but I guess I just didn't realize I was THAT big. And these photos were taken last week....so I'm sure I'm even bigger now!

Hey Grease ~ How's your chicky?

[ksjhwkr]

Well, I went to my 36 week appointment today...I am measuring 46 cm!!!! I've been measuring 7 cm big the whole time, but to grow 3 cm in one week??? My only concern is that often when babies are breech, Mom will measure bigger. My midwife suggested I have an ultrasound, just to check things out. But, then she said, "But you had one, and everything was fine right?" I answered yes, so maybe I don't need one. I don't know. I am just scared. I am scared that there is something wrong with baby, or something wrong with me, or just something wrong...ugh. I am just confused. Baby's heartbeat is found down low, which suggests that s/he is head down...but with Emma, we always thought she was head down too. I don't know. Any advice would be wonderful. Other than that, my appointment went great. My bp is good, weight is good, and I got my birth kit and birth pool! I just can't wait! I am so excited to have this baby!!!!!!

Jessica- I am feeling the same way, get out of my way, I am feeling VERY hormonal and just don't want to deal with ANYONE!

I am feeling really lucky that I have found a great pediatrician here, he is just wonderful. I had a great one in Kansas too, I am just lucky I guess!

[Greaseball]

Kim - You may just have lots of fluid. At the beginning of the third trimester I always measured 3 or 4 weeks ahead, but in the past few weeks I haven't. Also, you may have a distended uterus since it's been only a year or so in between pregnancies, right? After giving birth, I mean.

Fluffy is doing OK. We finally got her to eat some of her medicine by bringing her in the house and giving her bread and corn with the medicine on it. I also mixed some of it with water and egg yolk, and gave her some bread I had soaked in it. So I think she may be able to finish the bottle. Alice (the other chicken) is being very annoying, suddenly deciding she wants all the special food Fluffy is getting instead of the regular corn and oats. She follows me around the yard and tries to take Fluffy's food, and pecks on the glass door when Fluffy is in the house. She has also gotten very loud; she stands