Week of July 12!

[Piglet68]

October Mamas Roll Call :belly

momtol&a
snugglebutter 10/01
mirthfulmum 10/03 BOY! Harrison Eliot Smith
TracyK 10/04
mhurst 10/04
kraftykathy 10/04
Jillerina 10/04
water 10/06
KateMary 10/06 GIRL!
Proudly AP 10/08
mayasmama 10/08 GIRL!
FutureMama 10/09 BOY!
bluehalo 10/10 BOY! Noah Daniel
allformyboys 10/11
Lucysmama 10/12
bendmom 10/12
momadance 10/13 BOY! Gabriel Reed
Mandi 10/14
rhemp 10/14
wannabmommie 10/15
MTBto5 10/15
krnflwr 10/16 GIRL!
gmvh 10/16 TWINS! BOY! and GIRL!
Piglet68 10/18 BOY! Sasha Adam
MommyMuse 10/19
JenDoula 10/19
BeansMomma 10/20 GIRL!
Mom2Lily 10/20
CourtneyandLogan 10/21 BOY! Zander Julian
OakEmber 10/21 BOY! Oakley Kai
mtnjenny 10/22
Stanleymama 10/23 BOY!
gottaknit 10/24
3boyz4us 10/24
Ctmom70 10/24 BOY! Alex Richard
Kim22 10/24 BOY!
aspiring mama 10/25
sunshinegal 10/25
truebluexf 10/27
Soogie 10/27
ameliabedelia 10/29 GIRL! Greta Marie
flitters 10/30
BeauGeek 10/30
AnnR33 10/31
guinnessinu 10/31 TWINS! BOY! and BOY!

Good morning everybody! Hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty relaxing, though I'm SO feeling it at the end of the day when I'm out and about with my daughter. I sleep so much on weekends (bless my sweet DH!), and even with the little I do, I am always so exhausted at the end of the day. I just need to really pace myself, I guess!

Question of the Week: now that many of us are feeling the physical effects of pregnancy, in terms of stamina, etc....how are your partners dealing with this?

My DH has really been great. Sometimes I feel I have to remind him that I may "look" fine, just a few pounds heavier, but that pregnancy is more than just a few added pounds. He teases me about "sleeping all day" and then being tired at night. I also need to remind him that I get emotional. For example: yesterday at our community pool I saw this horrible woman spanking her little boy (couldn't have been more than 3) and telling him to "shut up". Forgive me for being "un-PC" here - but she was the poster child for white trash. Thank goodness they were leaving. And luckily DD didn't see any of this. We live in a fairly poor area because it's so close to work, and stuff like this happens fairly often. I also see/hear parents talking really badly to their kids, humiliating them, shaming them, etc...and alot of smoking in front of kids and babies....so anyways, being rather hormonal (topped with a healthy dose of homesickness for my crunchy BC) I lost it last night and ranted about how much I hate this neighbourhood, how I can't wait to leave here, etc. DH, being a typical male, didn't understand this as a rant, but rather took personal responsibility for me being so unhappy. Thus he got very defensive and accused me of being a snob. Anyways, a few harsh words and tears later (on my part), he apologized and gave me a big hug. Then I explained to him how hormonal I am, and he promised to try to be more sensitive than that.

There, that's my drama! :D

[3bees~1flower]

mornin'!

piglet...i'm glad dh understood in the end...too bad it had to go that way tho. i guess i too get pretty tired at the end of the day, but i just keep going...i guess i'm just not one to let on how i really feel...i proly should, just so i'd take it more easy, but yes, i do get tired. and dh is good about letting me just sit if i need to.

we had an average weekend...not too exciting...i did get to spend the day sewing on sat without the boys...our church had a craft day....bring whatever you're working on and have fun! i got most of a baby blanket made...finished it yesterday..i really like it!!

[bluehalo]

QOTW: Yes, I'm definately feeling this, both physically and emotionally. I can cry at the drop of a hat, even over stuff that I realize is silly at the time. But sometimes it's like I just can't turn the tears off. Hormones, hormones... I still don't feel like I look huge, but I'm finding it harder to get comfortable sleeping or sitting for long periods of time. DH blew up the "birth ball" and I love sitting on that knitting or at the computer, it's so much more comfortable for me than a regular chair. It's also requires some serious innovation to find a comfortable way to be intimate w/ DH. I'm not feeling overly interested in sex physically, but I do love the intimacy of it, and of course it's very important to DH, so I've been trying to make more of an effort even though I may not always be super aroused.

This week I see my doc, and am due for my glucose test and rhogam. I had her nurse practitioner call to see if the rhogam from the hospital has thimerosol in it, and they said no, but you can be sure I'll be asking to verify by seeing the package insert myself. I'm prepared to get a hard time, but oh well. I don't feel overly compelled to do the glucose test, but on one hand I really don't have any *huge* objections to it, so I feel like I need to choose my battles ... I don't know if that makes any sense or not :P

Hope everyone is having a lovely start to their week!

[Lucysmama]

Happy Third Trimester to Me!!! :banana

QOTW: Yes, I am feeling this pregnancy a LOT now. I am hot and sticky and my back hurts and my feet are starting to get really sore by the end of my days. Dh is being pretty good about it. He takes care of dd whenever he is home so I can rest or run errands alone - which is so much easier. I get a back massage every night before bed. He gets me water during the night if I need it, or gets up to turn the A/c on if I want, etc....he always carries Lucy so I don't have to. He does the heavy housework for me like mopping or scrubbing the tub. He sometimes gets a little fed up with my requests and gets a smidge snarky, but hey - he is doing a lot.

I'm feeling the pregnancy hormonally, too. I am a lot more short-tempered with dd :( especially at night, when I am just SOOOOOOO wiped out. She accidentally had some nuts yesterday, so she was up all last night crying and whining. I know she was probably feeling bad, but she was making me so insane - I couldn't help but to feel impatient and upset! I would JUST start to fall asleep and she would wake and start crying and clawing at me. This happened all night long....we are both exhausted! I feel like such a bad mama for getting frustrated with her. (Though I acted sweet and comforting - inside I was screaming, "PLEASE GO TO SLEEP, KID!) Since she was born, I have spent maybe 9 or 10 nights up all night soothing her when she was sick. I don't wanna ring my own bell, but it's something I have felt that I am very good at - taking care of her when she is most needy. But it was just so much to handle last night! My patience level is teeny.

Piglet - :hug Ok, let me just say I know exactly what you are saying about the Metro neighborhood. I used to live on W.14th st and Clark. I saw waaaaaaay more than the average amount of terrible parents up there. It is so painful to see. There is a lot of poverty and very young or absent parents living in that area. The education system there is awful, too.

It is very hard not to judge people for mistreating their children, especially when in such a hormonal state. :hug

Letia, how you doin', hon? Have you come up with any ideas about waterbirthing? Or do you think you just have to abandon the idea?

[bluehalo]

Whoo hoo Lucysmama ... I can't believe how fast the time is flying!

[blessed2bamommie]

:wave

Friday I was hot and dh was laying there and I asked him how hot it was, since even tho I have the a/c on 75 or so, the thermostat still says 80+. :eyesroll He said he was laying down and I got up, he *knows* it takes me an hour to get off the couch :splat I walked into the bedroom and stripped and layed in the bed on his side. I was mad at him and he had the *nerve* to seem like he was irritated with me the rest of the night. Then Saturday was my 30th:bag: birthday. I had a pedicure scheduled, the whole not being able to breathe and give myself one, and the massuese didn't bother to put a message on her machine that she was out of town, so I didn't get a pg massage. (I was ill with dh so maybe it was best so he wouldn't be touching me) When I got back, he had the telltale box on the coffee table (Helzberg Diamonds). He got me some diamond teardrop earrings to match the diamond teardrop pendant he got me in memory of Jordan. (:eek forgot about the whole diamonds controversy....but the last I heard is that its hard to trace...I need to educate myself more and what better place! :thumb) He was forgiven, so then I agreed to the previously planned brunch. Then we came home and we napped since, no massage that day. :splat I started cramping/contracting and I felt bad the rest of the evening. It kept on during the night. I went to church and then came home and decided to call, and on prodding from one of the ministers who knew I was feeling bad. The resident on call said it sounded like I had uterine irritation, take it easy and drink lots of water and she'd check the baby's hb in the am. I didn't wanna call and be know as "The Girl Who Cried PTL," :bag: Mama was talking about going to dinner for my bday and when we decided to go later and I said good I can call the doc and "contractions," they scattered like roaches and the dinner was cancelled. :LOL I layed on the couch with the hot water bottle and drank water. I got up this am and went. Everything is normal. :bag: The feeling so low is normal and could be round ligament stretching and the baby moving around. She was nice, and due next month with #1 :D and said its hard for the pros to tell. She couldn't use the fetoscope but tried! :shake I said since I was coming off schedule, use the doppler on and off. No internal done this time. She went ahead and did the hemercrit? the iron b/t, while I was there. So now I'm home, wishing I was at my mamas in the pool....maybe I can live in the pool the next three months. This is uncomfortable! :bawl: I told mama to tell her grandchild to move up! :shake

Wb.....well, the post in B&B was upsetting! I have had concerns about being pulled out and I think its selfish of me to jeopardize someones job and license. I'm gonna need to discuss it further with the peri coordinator, esp in light that it actually *has* happened! The practice is great, except the MW. :eyesroll Just the hospital is trippin on me! :splat I will ask about a waiver, Katie. I have that written down! I think. :scratch Ya know, they are the backup for the bc, maybe they can use it! :LOL Naaaaaaaaaaaaaah...I think I'd rather be at the hosp than to possibly have to transfer.

I :love seeing the pics! Katie! where are u! I saw those pics of Luc on a link of yours once! Soooooo cute! :love OK, I'm guilty of lurkin too and her commentary on your body had me :laugh:!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeell....I'm gon go and read the Bible and pray for today. :bolt

[KateMary]

Hi all, I had a pretty good weekend. I got a massage on saturday so that was really nice. I relaxed a lot, I am getting really tired and napping a lot too. The wierdest thing is happening, when I lie on my left side, I get heartburn right away but on my right I am fine. Which means I have only one position to sleep in and my right arm and shoulder get all cramped up!

Bad news this week is my husband lost his job but we are staying positive and trying not to stress out. It will be best in the long run because he was very unhappy and he does have some good leads already. The bummer is we worked for the same company for 4 years so I was used to seeing him throughout the day. And everyone keeps giving me sympathetic looks but nobody has said anything to me yet. And I have to work for the bosses that fired him! Anyway, I need to make sure the anxiety doesn't creep up on me, I really hope he finds something quickly.

QOTW: My DH is pretty sympathetic to the emotional changes because they have been pretty obvious throughout my pregnancy but now the physical changes are starting to get in the way. Like yesterday we came to the office to clean out his desk (since he got fired) and he had two big boxes of stuff to carry and didn't realize that I cannot carry a heavy box pressed against my belly! duh! But he is starting to get it.

Hope you all have a great week and send us get a great job vibes please!!

[stanleymama]

First I want to send :hug to all of you who are uncomfortable and tired.

Lucysmama--Congrats on trimester #3!!! I am just a couple weeks away myself and am starting to be ready to have all of this over. And with lucy last night--you did great! We all go through it and our children never stop loving us:)

Well I had a very crazy weekend. We had friends from Maryland staying with us for a mutual friends' wedding on Saturday. The wedding was beautiful. OUtside in a gorgeous flower garden--but wedding's just bore the heck out of me. I was so proud of dh. He is not into weddings either, but he came with me because he knew I really wanted him to and we got to slow dance, which was so nice!! Not something you get to do everyday with your honey.

Also this weekend was a family reunion/camping trip on dh's side of the family. I missed it, but Sunday we had some of his family come over to visit. It was nice to see them, but I am so thankful to have today be quiet and peaceful. I have felt pretty good and energetic this pg but today--I feel so tired and lazy. So I am going with the feeling:)

QOTW: This has been my easiest pg so far. I have felt the best and energetic. With my past 3 pg's I had back pain and was tired, but this one I have had hardly any pain--I am so thankful! I am starting to feel "big" though I have only gained around 15 lbs., and I am dealing with a bit more swelling in my hands and feet due to the weather. I too have been emotional. I was feeling very overwhelmed Friday before our friends arrived. I was getting continuous pressure from mil to come out to the family reunion. She just wasn't getting it that I did NOT have the time to make it.

Well I wish you all a great week. Will check in later!

[True Blue]

Saw the mw this morning, and everything is looking good. :) Had my glucose blood draw (ate a nice big 100g carb breakfast this morning instead of sugar cola), and measured right on at 25cm. I can't believe I made my August appt when I was leaving, wow August!

I guess I'm a bit hormonal, but mostly just tired and really antsy and sick of being on modified bedrest. I'm slowly adding more to my days, but it's getting old, you know? I can't wait to hit 32 weeks or so and know I'm pretty much home free. I have no stamina now either from being so sedentary. DH has been pretty good, he helps out a lot but now keeps saying we should adopt if we have another (this pg has been a big hard on him I guess :eyesroll ) but he'll forget later on. ;) Not that I wouldn't want to adopt, but I really love the feeling of a baby moving inside me and I'm not sure I'm ready for this to be the last time I get to feel it!

I gotta go take a nap....ttyl!!

[flitters]

hi and happy monday!

it sounds like the weekends were pretty good all around. i actually threw a surprise party for my dh on saturday for his 40th birthday. he was completely surprised and it went really well. i exhausted myself frantically cleaning before the party, but sunday i rested and now i feel fine.

katemary, sorry about your husband's job. much luck with the leads.

trueblue, hugs for getting through the scary part and waiting out the modified bedrest, i hope it gets easier from here.

wannabmommie, good luck with getting the care you are looking for... it sounds like it has been a very frustrating experience.

lucysmama, i'm sorry lucy had such a bad night. nuts make me sick too.

QOTW: it's nice to hear that for the most part you are all getting good support from your partners... it must be so difficult giving so much energy to your other children when you have none left! my dh has been wonderful. he does lots around the house, is finally getting going with some projects that really should be done before the baby comes, and he actually encourages me to get more rest than i do. emotionally i'm pretty ok, the only difference is that i cry easily now - happy, sad, whatever. i've probably cried more in the last 6 months than the last 6 years. but he understands it's hormones and is really quite cute about hugging me when i burst into tears watching a hippopotamus give birth on the discovery channel, or even worse, watching that horse race a few weeks ago - for whatever reason seeing those horses run in a big circle was enough to make me cry.



i'm glad to hear mostly things are going well with the pregnancies though, although it sounds like some discomforts are increasing in our group. i'm doing really well, nothing particularly uncomfortable for me, although i do have one weird pain that started last night down low on the right side of my pubic bone. it's a stabbing pain, sharp, but goes away quickly then will come back again randomly. i think it's just more connective tissue stretching and it even feels a bit tender if i press on the bone where it hurts. i'm not worried about it, i think my body is just working on widening itself. has anyone had pain there? i've had soreness there but it was usually in the middle of my pubic bone and less sharp.


i actually have a couple other questions too:

do you have a linea negra yet? i keep expecting one to show up but nothing really yet - i thought it would be here by now... especially with the impressive tummy growth i've had in the last two weeks.

also, what are your belly buttons doing? mine is now much broader and more shallow. the funny thing is that i think part of it is considering starting to stick out... twice now at the end of the day, after much kicking from the inside, a small area of my belly button gets puffy, but then sinks back in later.

[True Blue]

My belly button is getting ready....if i push on my belly around it it becomes an outy...but we're not really there yet! i remember it took a lot longer than i thought it would last time. i kept thinking, next week it'll be an outy! but it took til like 30 weeks or so!

[Piglet68]

26 weeks

Getting ready to join you ladies in the third trimester. Wow!

My belly button has gone from a fairly deep innie, to a pretty flat surface, lol. I don't have a linea nigra yet, but IIRC it didn't start until close to the end with my last pregnancy, then it also went around my belly button. It took quite a long time (months and months) to go away. The only colouration I've noticed is that my nipples are most definitely alot darker than usual.

KateMary: I'm sorry about your DH losing his job, must be doubly hard when you work at the same place! I'm hoping he finds something more to his liking soon. These things can have a way of working out to be better. Like Life is giving us a kick in the pants, kwim? :)

I went to my followup appointment with my cardiologist today. I got to give him back the heart monitor (boy, the novelty of that wore off REAL fast) and basically the diagnosis was that everything is fine and normal, and it's just the regular stuff of pregnancy.

As much as I'm complaining about not being fit, I have to say that I am not feeling "done" yet. In fact, I never felt that way with DD either. I loved being PG, and I still love it. And I'm quite sure this is my last one, so I'm trying to savour this as much as I can. I just hate being so "out of shape" physically, but I'll just slow down a bit and it will be okay. :)

Katie, yup you know the neighbourhood alright! And hey, cut yourself some slack on the rough night with Lucy. It's not like you yelled at her or anything. I've had many a night where, inside my head, I've moaned "oh for godssake just go back to SLEEP already!" but am sweet and patient with DD out loud. That's nothing to feel bad about, though it takes a lot of effort, lol.

[momadance]

:banana :carrot :banana :carrot

Looks like the homebirth is on! Thank goodness! I have been totally freaking out about the Hospital. I don't want to mention my worries here though, because they could be contagios. It's mainly how they handle the babes.

I have been hoping for my belly button to disappear. THis is gonna sound weird, but it seems like the only time you can really get it clean :)

Katemary :hugs

This weekend was ok. We went to Dh's company picnic. I thought it'd be a little more family oriented. It wasn't! He's at an architect/interior design firm, and no one else has kids, and the majority of men he works with are gay, and they seem like a bunch that likes to party! They chose a cool place though, and it had a butterfly sancuary. It was very cool. Lots of awesome photos, and Miles was tripping out at all the butterflies, (as was I)

I want a weekend where we have nothing to do, and it looks like it's not gonna happen until Sept. this was supposed to be our chill and enjoy our last moments as a trio summer :eyesroll So much for planning...

Heartburn is killing me! Last night I made fresh corn fritters, corn on the cob and tomatoe, pesto, and fresh mozzarella salads for dinner, and my esaphagus was flaming for the rest of the night. Ok I know the tomatoes, but this morning I made groats for breakfast, and then got heartburn! THat's just nuts! I mean it's basically whole oatmeal. Now what about that, can give a person heartburn? Yeesh!

[Piglet68]

I have been hoping for my belly button to disappear. THis is gonna sound weird, but it seems like the only time you can really get it clean :)

:LOL

and hey, congrats on the homebirth plans coming together!

Okay, I finally posted some pics. They are a bit outdated but DH still hasn't uploaded our latest batch of photos so I will add the recent ones when I can. I loved looking at all the photos - we ARE a good looking bunch o' mamas!!

:D

[Court]

I loved looking at all the photos - we ARE a good looking bunch o' mamas!!
:D

Yeah we are! :)

My belly button seems to be the same as you guys - flat and sometimes getting puffy. No linea whatever here yet, I was just wondering about that too. Mine took forever to go away last time as well.

KateMary - Sending good job hunting vibes your way for dh, so sorry you guys are having to go through this right now. Like you don't have enough going on already!

Momadance - congratulations on the homebirth, yay, that's so exciting. I'm really excited about mine too (it'll be my first). Oh and I just found out dh's insurance at work changed from HMO to PPO, so we can at least get 50 % of the midwife payed for. We were having to pay for the whole thing out of pocket - which was a little stressful.

QOTW: I'm going to try not to say anything too rude about my husband, but he doesn't really treat me any differently. I still do all, and I mean all of the housework. And I still give all baths, make all meals, etc. I ask repeatedly for him to help, but he's too tired. He does take out the trash occasionally if I ask him over and over - and he's not nice about it when he does it. He's very emotionally supportive, and sort of coddles me when I cry for no reason or whatever. But I really have to ask him to do things that I just can't do anymore and if he wants to be pissy about it, so be it. I'm so jealous of you ladies who get massages from your dh's, mine probably thinks he's more deserving of one than me. This is kind of a sore spot for me, so I may be exaggerating a little. It would be nice to get some special treatment occassionally, though.

Letia - I'm still laughing about your post. Did you really get diamond earrings because dh made you get up from the couch? That's awesome. J/K, I know it was more meaningful than that. Glad everything's okay with the baby.

talk to you ladies later! :love

[BeansMomma]

26 weeks tomorrow!
(Am I the only one that's losing track of this number week to week?)

KateMary - I am so sorry to hear your news - we'll all be sending the good job vibes your way. :grouphug

Man, have I felt tired over this last week; it's reminding me of the first trimester. I actually left work early last Monday to come to the hotel for a nap (I travel for work during the week). It was so luxurious and I didn't feel one bit guilty. It seems as if I can sink into a snooze at the drop of a hat these days. (And secretly, I love naps, so it's not all bad!)

QOTW: DW has been sooo supportive on energy levels and she tries so hard not to laugh at me when I cry over silly things. (Let's see, things that have made me cry include sappy movie scenes, a funeral procession while driving, commercials, you name it!) Sheryl is the cook in the house so I always get that chore off my plate and lately she's been insisting I take it easy when I show the slightest sign of fatigue (and really means it). This has been especially important since we just moved a few weeks ago and there is *so* much work to do.

We painted the nursery over the weekend (or should I say, my family did - again I was relegated to other parts of the house due to the fumes). It looks great - we went with a peachy/orange color that we just love. (You can check it out on our blog - www.sanfordanderson.com/beananderson.) Does anyone else out there do the blog thing? Sheryl does most of the posting, but I update about once a week.

I had the best ego boost earlier today; we had a work meeting where I got to see colleagues that I haven't seen in months. Everyone was so excited to see my belly and I had several remarks that I was looking great - even went as far as asking me what kind of diet I've been on since I haven't gained that much extra weight. (I bit my tongue and didn't disclose that I've been living on chocolate and grilled cheese!) :wink I guess I had enough fat reserves going into this pregnancy that my body doesn't seem to need to add a bunch more - phew. And here I was all paranoid about the recent uptick in weight.

[Piglet68]

Beansmomma: great painting job! I love your house too, has alot of character in the architecture.

I don't blog. I have a journal that I started when I was 12. Funny how, when my life was nothing but boys and crushes, I could write pages and pages. Now that I'm a parent and my life is full of Meaning and Wonderful Things...can I find the energy to write? no...lol.

[Lucysmama]

Thanks for the reassurance, everyone. It is just so darn hard to be patient with toddlers sometimes...add to that my pregnancy, and sometimes I feel like I am losing it inside. I guess that is normal!

Lucy is feeling much better. She stopped tantruming and crying in the afternoon, so I took her for a nice long swim so she could relax and let go of some frustration. Then, I asked her what she wanted to do most of all that night. She said, "I wish we could go to a birthday party." Well, she had just had a really rough time, so I hated to refuse her sweet 2-year-old request. We went to the store and bought balloons and cake ingredients, and she and I made a huge chocolate birthday cake, complete with rainbow sprinkles and a zillion candles. When dh got off of work, we threw Lucy an "un-Birthday Party." She was over the moon. She must have sang herself the birthday song 20 times, and she ate gobs of cake. So did I. I feel kinda :sick! She totally crashed out afterwards, sooooo happy about going to a party. :love


The belly button: mine never popped last time. :( I really wanted it to! It got really shallow, but that's it. It doesn't look like it will pop this time, either. I still can stick my finger in 1/2 inch or so. So I have this weird indentation in my otherwise round belly. It looks a little weird.

The linea nigra: never got that either. I am the fairest person I know, though...I am like WHITE. So maybe that has something to do with it.

I am however, blessed with the stretch-mark gene. :eyesroll I don't have any yet with this pregnancy, but I got a bunch during my last, all around my belly button. They are pretty faded now. I'm hoping I won't get new ones this time, since I've already been stretched once!!! Do you guys have any?

[Jillerina]

Good evening all (ok, it is night).

First of all I have to say sorry to hear about your DH loosing his job KateMary, Dh lost his job about 1 month before DD was born... it was stressful at first but everything worked out for the best in the end. I will hope that you also get a good outcome.

Re the QOTW, I think I'm more in the position of CourtneyandLogan. Dh does do a few extra things and will pick up Clara if I ask him but I don't get much help in the way of regular housework or any massages or backrubs or anything like that. I have to ask outright to get any special attention which I do from time to time but it is not the same as having these things offered.

I am feeling the physical strain of this pregnancy quite heavily now. Sleeping is uncomfortable, my back hurts, I think I'm getting the beginning of sciatic nerve problems (lots of painful twinges). No linea negra to speak of though and I'll be a bit surprised if I get one cause I hardly had anything noticable with my last pregnancy. The belly button however is a partial innie. The top "lip" sticks out but the bottom still goes in. DH thinks it is hilarious!

I started a whole other thread about my adventures in switching doctors so I won't go into that mess here! Just send me good luck vibes OK?

Have a great, healthy week everyone... keep up the good work amazing mamas!

[3bees~1flower]

:innocent ummmm, anyone got any good sunburn remedies?? i took the boys swimming today and it was 93 degrees and i didn't put on any sunscreen till we had been there awhile and then it was only 10 spf...i'm sorta paying for that now...oh, and we were there a little over 4 hrs...all i have in the house is plain ol' lotion....we did have fun though...:)

katemary...sorry 'bout the job thing...hope he finds something soon.

lucysmama....it is so hard to be patient at all, and then being pregnant to boot is even harder...i know how you feel! and if you want to talk stretch marks, bring it on!! my mom and g-ma NEVER got the blasted things!! but two babies over 10lbs will do that to a gal, i spose... :eyesroll

letia....that is such a bummer about all the troubles in finding a practice you are comfortable with...glad the ctx's weren't anything too serious.

trueblue...i was on complete bedrest with ds #1 for three weeks...and i didn't have any other kiddos...i'm sure being on even modified BR must be difficult...hopefully the rest of you pregnancy is uneventful.

i have a grand canyon belly button...it has never popped out! and this is my 4th pregnancy and i have never had a linea negra...don't know why.

piglet...great news about the heart testing...i'm an RN and i hate cardiology stuff...it gives me the willies! i'll just stick with mamas and babies!

mamadance....horray for the HB!!

courtney...sorry you aren't getting all that much help at home...i'm sure that must be frustrating. :hug

[Court]

speaking of crying at the drop of a hat, I'm sitting here wiping away tears at your birthday party story, Katie. What a lucky little girl.

I haven't gotten any new stretch marks, just have a ton from the last go round. I never got any on my belly - just everywhere else conceivable.

I need to get off the computer, I spend way too much time here.

I really liked your blog site Beansmomma! The nursery is gorgeous!

[sqoya]

Beansmomma, I LOVE your nursery color! What a nice paint job! We're painting our whole house right now. I know what you mean by a lot of work!!! Our house had a lot of peeling lead paint, so DH wet-scraped/sanded it all off, and now our friends are helping us paint. I'm not doing any of the work, just helping with supplies, food, etc. I feel very silly, but I even wear a "P-type" respirator when in the house. It was $30 from Menard's, but removes 99.7% of all paint fumes. Great idea for anyone living with fresh paint!

My belly-button popped out permanently last week! No stretch marks yet, I wonder when those will start?

KateMary - I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's job. I'll be thinking of you. I'm glad you're staying positive! It's so important to not get too stressed right now!

Emotional? Me? I started crying during a discussion with my brother about homeschooling. It turned into a heated discussion, and I just started bawling, upset that he was "yelling" at me. Oh, and I cried in front of a professor at work. Talk about embarassing!

[OakEmber]

Gosh, I don't think I have ever posted this late in the thread :LOL I am sure I will forget to say something to someone because there is so much to catch up on so no hard feelings if I missed something, 'k.

KateMary- Sorry about your Dh being fired...hope it turns out to be a blessing in disguise!

Letia- Sorry you had more contraction worries. Wow, sounds like you have a lovely 3pc diamond set with beautiful sentiments now, that was really nice of your Dh.

Beansmomma- I checked out your room too, awesome! The whole house looks really nice and cozy.

Courtney- My Dh is more along the lines of yours, just to let you know you aren't all alone, I never had a backrub last pregnancy or this one, tho I did get one foot rub. I will elaborate more on the QOTW later.

Katie- :hug, that's the worst time isn't it? Sounds like you are doing a great job of not taking it out on Lucy though...but even still the feelings are hard to swallow.

About the belly button/linea nigra/strech marks....I never got an outie last time and don't expect it this time either...same with the linea nigra (so I guess the old wives tale about that determining sex is just that as I have been pregnant with one of each). Strech marks on the other hand...I've sure been blessed with those :irked: Last time they were climbing so high they almost reached my boobs! It's hard to tell if I have new ones or just the old ones but I noticed there are purplish ones, prob. new. I had one in particular near my hairline that was like a crater, strange!

Now for the QOTW- My Dh doesn't treat me a whole lot different. He is laid off right now so is home more, and does help out a lot more by cooking dinner but that's about it. Well he did fold laundry tonight, I guess that counts too ;) Ember is such a momma's girl and daddy just won't do so I don't get much help in that area, can't even go to the grocery store by myself without bribery (so therefore she just comes). I guess having him home is nice in that way too, he is usually the one to go run errands. The area that he has always been good in though is never getting on my case about housework, and that sort of thing...he knows that Ember comes first and so with being pregnant it's the same

[momadance]

I forgot to respond to the QOTW! Dh is pretty good (when he's home) He works full time, and goes to school full time. We see him Mon. and Wed. he's home by about 6:30. Tues. and Thurs. We don't see him at all. He's gone ALL Day till about 10:30. Every other Fri. He's off which is cool. When he is home, he's all about me and ds. He and ds go play after dinner (outside) and I hang back here. (and the house stays perpetually messy) And they both give me belly rubs befor bed with some stinky stuff that's supposed to keep the stretch marks away. I was complaining about getting them with Miles, and my mom said "oh, you got those because you got too fat" oh! Thanks mom. I gained 45 with him, no big deal. Leave it to mama ya' know!

As far as being oversensitive, I got pretty p.o'd at my sis the other day. She asked me about circing the babe. I told her we didn't plan on it. She asked why, so I calmly told her the deal, and after the many reasons I listed, her main concern was vanity. His penis will look diff. Now, she has a breast job, so I understand she has an "issue" about looks, but it was so hard for me not to lose it on her. She's a chiropractor for god's sake! I just told her, if she was in my shoes, she'd make the same choice, and if she's that interested in the subject, I'd send her some reading material and shoot her to a website that show's a videio of the barbaric procedure. I also asked her how she'd like to have her eyelid removed! Her attitude really made me wanna cry! I don't think my son's penis ever needs to be a topic of converstation like that again :irked:

[ameliabedelia]

24 weeks (beansmama, I get confused on the weeks as well now, I used to just know, but now I am not sure, I have to go to babycenter.com and check LOL).

Wow, I have lots of catching up to do. Haven't been on much lately. DH is unemployed right now as well, although I know he will get a new job quickly. He is a Spanish teacher, but not yet certified, so that is why he is unemployed, he wasn't able to certified in time for No Child Left Behind Act and where we live it is really hard to get certified to teach if you didn't go through a traditional teacher education program from the beginning. So, we are selling the house and moving to another state where certification is much easier to get if you already have a degree in something else. So, that is major stress around here. We need to sell the house ASAP and he needs to find a new job, so we don't really know where we will end up (although we think New York probably). So add me to those movingm pregnant mamas, what a pain!

I can relate to all the hormonal problems. I cry at the drop of a hat and am major sensitive and hormonal. Yesterday I was just screaming and crying at DH because I didn't think he was helping me enough around the house. So, I guess that answers the question of the week. DH is really good with DD, and will watch her for hours and if he is home I can run out and do things no problem. She has no problem staying with him or going places with him. He is really good in that respect, but as for doing housework and such, it is almost all me. He just doesn't see that is needs to be done, and isn't good at keeping up with the house. So, that is hard on me right now, when there is so much to do with selling the house and all. He is helping more now, but I have to ask him or kinda direct him to what to do.

KateMary, I am sorry about your husband's job.

Katie, That birthday party sounded so much fun. What a sweet idea. I can totally relate to you not having as much patience. My patience with DD has dropped considerably. It is soooo hard at times, and I feel like such a bad mommy because I just don't have as much patience, (especially when it comes to nursing, she is driving me crazy with constantly wanting to nurse, whenever I sit down).

I don't have an outie belly buttun either, it never went out with DD and is really in with this one as well. Darn, I kinda wanted one, but oh well. I also don't have linea negra or stretch marks or anything like that, so I guess I can't complain.

My complain right now is my back hurts, a lot. If I am standing too much or sitting too much in one position or bending over to pick things up, it hurts. This morning, I was outside doing some yard work, and I was bending over and went to stand up and couldn't get up. My back was just killing me. It is a little better now, but I feel like I am 97 years old, with all these aches and pains.

momadance, congrats on the homebirth, That is awesome.

It is so much fun to see pictures of everyone. I have to say that no one really looks the way I had pictured them to look. Funny, how you think someone looks a certain way and they really look completely different. LOL

[JenDoula]

Hi everyone! I'm new here :) And 26 weeks today. Why is it that weeks 20-30 crawl by so slowly?? Seems like I was in my first trimester as soon as I found out I was pregnant, then before I knew it, I was having my ultrasound, and now it feels like I've been 20-some weeks forever.

QOTW: my DH has been through this two times before, so he is not treating me any differently. I wish he would, though - I'm pretty emotional, so one wrong word from him sends me into tears. I think he should be a little bit more sensitive towards me when I'm pregnant.

--
Jen
doula and mom to:
Darien (8/12/00 C-section for failed induction, malposition)
Adam (9/19/02 unmedicated 41-week VBAC)
*surprise* (due 10/19/04)

[mirthfulmum]

Phew! Do I have a lot of catching up to do!

I know that if I try to respond to everyone individually I am just going to forget someone, and I'm trying to get this post out before Alias wakes up, so I'm just going to send out some :love and :fingersx: and :sunshine to all who may need it. And of course a :w to JenDoula.

QOTW: My husband has been great helping out. He shares in the house work and meal prep, but he always has. What has been really helpful lately is that he has taken on more of the Alias stuff. Yesterday he made Alias dinner, gave him a bath and put him to bed. And I got to spend the evening on the couch reading, it was reading for school but it was still relaxing.

As for the stretch marks, linea negra and belly button... No new stretch marks yet, seems the ones I got last time are providing enough stretch room. but I seem to remember not getting any sign of stretch marks until pretty late in the pregnancy so I won't be surprised if I get any new ones by the time Harrison is born. Never had linea negra and don't think I'll get it this time. I'm probably giving Katie a run for her money on the palest gal here. So I don't think I have enough skin pigmentation to get one. And my belly button is starting to pop out. Most of it is flat but the top part of popping out. So it's kind of at a down wards slop.

The condo is once again free of house guests. I love having visitors but it is so great to have our home back. And now the craziness of school begins. It's a year long class that is being condenssed into 6 weeks, so I'm going to be insanely busy unitl mid-August. But it'll only last 6 weeks so at least it won't be for too long.

[OakEmber]

Welcome JenDoula!

Mirthfulmum- Yikes, I can't imagine trying to cram a years worth of learning into my preggo brain right now...although I am sure you will do fine with it :thumb

Amelia- Good luck with selling the house, moving and Dh finding a job...I've got my :fingersx for you.

Momadance- Gosh I hate that "it'll look different from his peers" argument :irked: When are these people going to wake up and realise that times have changed and they will be the norm...at least where I live, there is only about a 30% cir. rate so he'd look like 70% of his peers! And what's with this notion that men stand around and compare with each other!!! I'm with you :xnocirc: And congrats on the HB BTW!

3Boyz- I probably am too late to be of any help with the sunburn thing...but aside from Aloe Vera the only thing I have heard of is soaking a washcloth in milk and laying it on your burn, thought about that while I was lying in bed last night. Hope everyone is feeling better today tho!

[Lucysmama]

:balloons Congrats on the homebirth, Momadance!!!!! :balloons I hope you have a beautiful labor and delivery!

:w JenDoula! I had a failed induction/c-section with my daughter, too. We are planning a home VBAC with this baby. I agree with you, the 20-30 week stretch goes by really really slow. But I remember 39-41 weeks going by even slower! That whole two weeks I was like, "C'MON BABY!!!!!!"

:hug To all those with unemployed partners. My dh was unemployed for 16 months straight. It was great to have him around to be with Lucy, but man! It was really stressful, too.

[blessed2bamommie]

:wave

I forgot to say :greet to our newbies! :blush

Naw, I didn't get the earrings b/c dh wouldn't get up. It was already planned;but, he redeemed himself after makin me mad! :shake

Went to the doc for my *regular* appt today. I wouldn't have gone; but, we have classes and they are informative. The MW behaved herself. :D The peri told me to just be examined just in case, even tho I did it yesterday. She didn't measure; but, checked the hb. The couple in my group was *so* loud she couldn't hear, so I let her use the doppler. :eyesroll That couple is soooooooo annoying. I don't usually feel that way about folks but MAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!! I talked to the peri after....she asked me if I was more comfortable today and I said yeah. I said did u talk to her and she said she'd been giving her the evil eye all day! :LOL I really like her! :thumb We talked about the wb, and she said that we can request a room and that it was just crazy the whole wb fight. L&D is fighting but infectous disease said no (due to outside pools being brought in and cleaned by an outside firm. the hosp is NEW they shoulda put in tubs!!!!!) and legal. :splat She said we can request a room on the corner with a jacuzzi, and the only issue is membrane that are ruptured prior to getting in the tub or something. She said my team is really laid back. The L&D nurses are the ones. They think fmy practice are :nuts. :eyesroll: She said just tell them that you want to talk to your doc and they'll back off. My team is all about if I'm comfortable. I felt more assured. We're gonna talk some more throughout the whole thing and she's gonna work with me. I reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally don't want to walk and she doesn't want me to. We're gonna work together. My fear of being pulled out...well, I'll just tell them to get my doc. He/She will be the final word.

The MW isn't convinced I had round ligament pain. She thinks it sounds like I was having ctx. They're gone now tho. Oh! The baby kicked the doppler today! :LOL Po baby! He probably said ummmmmmmmmm....is this my mom. He's only had it twice and then the EFM in the L&D. He was going :nuts then! Running and they couldn't find him!

OH! But yall! the BEST part! I went to do the urine. I had a full bladder so I was ready to catch a good bit! OK, I'm feeling good. I did a good catch and then I pull it up and its coming out! :yikes: I'm thinking am I spilling it! Butthen I see a HUGE hole in my cup! :shake I toss it and try to clean up and hope that it didn't get all over my clothes and walk to the classroom and announce no pee today! :shake Good grief!!!!

:wave

[Piglet68]

26w2d

I'm so feeling the love here, ladies. I was just thinking this morning about how close I feel to all of you, and how great it will be to share our joys of birthing and having our little ones...last PG I was in a great group - who soon began with the weaning and the CIO and the sleep training stuff not long after birth...was very heartbreaking for me. So hugs to all of you!! :grouphug

Emotional? Oh yeah! In fact, I had to edit a post of mine yesterday that came out SO snarky and I had no idea until I read it the next day. I apologized and everyone was cool about it, except this one newbie who said she thought I was opinionated! 'Scuse me? Try hanging out here for more than a couple of posts and then pass judgement on me. Sheesh! :rolleyes (and let's keep my very un-mod-like comments amongst just us PG gals, 'kay? lol)

And Katie, holey smokes you win mother-of-the-year for that "un-Birthday" party. I'm with CourtneyandLogan...it brought tears to my eyes!

Fortunately, I get to do the REAL THING with DD this Friday. It's her second birthday and she is so into birthday's right now I just know she is gonna be thrilled!

Letia, OMG, your "cup with a hole" story had me laughing. I have to do the "pee in the cup" thing every visit and I can just see the mess. Poor thing!

amelia: I can't believe another one of us is moving. now, had you told us about this already and my PG brain forget? seems to me this is new news...New York sounds cool - where are you now?

3boyz: I used to have this aloe vera gel with eucalyptus in it that I used for sunburns. I don't think it actually did anything but the cooling sensation of the eucalyptus was very nice. unfortunately i have no idea what it was called.

Well, I had better get home. DD woke up at 1:30 am and didn't get back to sleep until 4 am. I got to sleep a little bit this morning but DH is bagged so I'd better get home and relieve him of duty.

:grouphug

PS - I know THREE people who are all due with their first babies in the next 2 - 4 weeks. Two are colleagues, and one (due friday) is a dear friend who I totally convinced to AP - I told Mum to give her Sears Baby Book as a shower gift (I got her some cloth diapers) and she LOVED it...I'm so feeling the baby love!! :love :baby :love :baby :love

[JenDoula]

Ya know.. I think I'm in love with you all. :) LOL. It's so unusual to read words like "the joy of birthing" on a message board. I host a babycenter board and I swear, ALL I hear is "my doctor says my baby will probably be too big for me to push out if I go to term, so he's gonna induce me at 37 weeks." There's so much wrong with that statement, I don't even know where to start. I just read something today that absolutely broke my heart - a mom saying that she doesn't think she can afford to stay home AT ALL after her baby's born, a week maximum. They have a brand new house and two brand new cars (?!?! and you knew you had a baby coming?!). I know affording a baby is hard, but it just makes me physically ill. We made SO many sacrifices - we put off buying a house, sold one of our vehicles and lived with just one for a while, got rid of satellite TV, long distance, stopped eating out so much.. well, I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here.

The rest of the internet, as far as pregnancy and birth is concerned, is like downtown Manhattan to me, and coming here is like walking into a spa with gentle music playing and candles lit. Aaaaaaahhhhhhh. Thank you for the respite.

[JenDoula]

I just realized my post may have offended moms who do need to go back to work after baby. I didn't mean for it to come across that way!

[AnnR33]

Happy Belated Birthday Letia!!

I kept thinking I should be getting a notification for this board then realized we started a new week-duh-pregnant brain strikes again!

Well I'm still working on the birth ctr I want. I talked to their insurance person yesterday and they are checking on coverage for me so I'll know just how much it will be so DH can lighten up. It doesn't sound like it'll be as much as he thinks.

DH is gone all week again in WA-only 2.5 weeks to go until the BIG MOVE! We fly out on July 31 and I can't wait. I hate just biding my time....

Reading "Active Birth" and "Gentle Birth Choices" this week.

Take care
Ann

[gottaknit]

I know what you mean about the babycenter board, JenDoula. Before I knew MDC existed I frequented the October babies board there and every day it got my blood boiling. (ie comments like "breastfeeding baby girls is weird and gross and will turn them into lesbians" and "not circumcising is just unnatural") :splat I felt like I must be from another planet. Then I discovered mothering.com and realized what planet I'm from! :love

[3bees~1flower]

thanks for the suggestions on the sunburn....yesterday i used the last little bit of some vit e lotion with lanolin in it...and tonight i bought some suave aloe vera lotion. thankfully i'm the only one that got burned so bad...ds#3 did get a little red despite having the baby sunblock on...i didn't see any redness till after we had gotten home...i did notice his shoulders starting to turn pink and put more sunblock on, but didn't see any pink on his little tummy till later, :( thankfully it isn't that bad and doesn't seem to bother him.


welcome, JenDoula!! :wave

[stanleymama]

:w to the JenDoula!!!

And Letia---I was :rotflmao :laugh: at you "peeing in the cup" story. I can just imagine. Oh and I hope everything gets worked out for you concerning the wb. If it doesn't just try to think that God has some reason for it.

[guinnessinu]

Hello Mammas,

I just wanted to send out :sunshine vibes to everyone needing them. Pregnancy is tough enough without having to deal with any extra stresses.

I'm starting to feel big and uncomfortable now. It's hard this time around because I can only compare this pregnancy with my last one but two babies are a lot different than one. No stretch marks or anything yet. I had the linea last time but avoided the marks. I carried compactly last time though. This time I think it is sadly only a matter of time...

Dh is pretty good. No massages or anything but he does sweet little things for me. He can get grumpy sometimes though, about my moodiness etc...

I finally have an appt. with an Ob group that is associated with the birthing center close to where I will be living. I hope that I will like the practice as much as the one I was going to in NJ. I'm a little nervous that I won't be able to have the birth experience I want with twins. And I'm terrified of my increased risk of having a C-section.

I was also wondering what everyone who is moving is planning to do with their older ones while in labour. We have family staying with us as time gets closer but I feel like I need other options just in case these little ones come when no one else is here?

[BeansMomma]

26 weeks!

Welcome JenDoula! :wave

Re: circumcision - glad to hear that the % has dropped to 30% in some areas. I'm not sure what it is here in Portland, but I suspect it's pretty low too. When we toured the hospital a few weeks back one couple asked about when and where that happens and our tour guide / birth educator handled it so well. She said that the hospital no longer does that procedure; that they would need to check with their pediatrician. When the couple asked why, she said that most medical professionals no longer recognize it as being necessary and thus it's usually not covered by insurance nor done as frequently. It was a sobering conversation for me because it was like this couple just assumed it was standard procedure, etc. When Sheryl and I got to the car, we were both simultaneously like 'OMG - can you believe that?!?' It was all I could do to not pipe up - but not my place, you know?!? :shake

As for belly changes, I've got a couple of new stretch marks showing up and my belly button is basically level now - not quite an outey. Linea negra - I'm super pale too, but I do have a very very faint line starting to show, but it's more like a shadow now.

[True Blue]

Wow I'm so excited to almost be in my third trimester.....

I'm suddenly starting to feel kinda big. Which I should, I gained 1.5 inches in my waist in two weeks!! Anyone else have big growth spurts? I feel a bit suffocated when I sit back on the couch sometimes. I have to lean forward to breathe again!

My maternity shorts I bought are all getting too small....anyone else finding they have to buy new stuff? Mine don't fit my thighs and are really tight in the hips now. It sucks! Sure it doesn't help I've gained 25lbs already, but I'm still about where I was in weight gain last time with DS. But I guess since I started out heavier last pg, my clothes were mediums to begin with....I wound up starting with smalls this time and there is no way I can wear them anymore LOL except the ones with spandex blended in! SO we're taking a trip down to my parents' this weekend so we can go to Gap maternity. For some reason Motherhood's shorts look ridiculous on me.

Jillerina--Congrats on the birthing center!!! :banana

I met a new mom to be in the grocery store yesterday, who was new to town. She asked me about OB's in the area. I really wish I had taken her number (I gave her mine) bc she really needs help, and I didn't register how much til afterward. She didn't even know what an episiotomy is! She is due in Nov. She didn't know the word epidural either, though she was fairly sure she didn't want one bc her sister in law or someone has a back problem from it (poor girl still has numbness in her back 5 months later!!!!). Anyway, I really hope she calls me so I can take her under my wing.

I think I'm going to order hynobabies this week. I know it's like a 9 week home course, and I figure by the time I get it, and start, I can at least be prepared in case this babe comes early. Anyone else going to try this?

[blessed2bamommie]

:duh I forgot the belly changes....weeeeeeeeeell..I'm black, albeit light skinned, so its not as bad as I've seen on some darker bellies, linea nigrea. The MW at group yesterday, said, b/c the fair red hed didn't have it, that its related to pigment. There's another black girl and she's darker than me and she piped up and I have a light line and looks like a faint one coming from the top. My belly button has gotten brown and feeling the top of it, it feels stressed out. :LOL I'm thinking that my innie turning inside out would *not* be cool! :shake But, I didn't think I could *finally* get down in there! :LOL Mama would fuss at me and tell me not to go in there as a kid. Now, I have a little scar from the lap last summer. Dh is all examining the other incisions below my belly but and right inside my hair line. He's wondering if they should look like they look. I've got *no* stretch marks *on my belly; but, on my side I've got a newbie and seems like on my hips there are some friends and one little one right at the upper part of my butt! :shake The natural health consultant said use the belly stuff when I started itchin; but, when I was in the nfs the other day, I picked it up b/c it said at least 3 mos to birth and after. So, I've been using it. I can't reemember the name. I know a few of yall have some stuff, are yall using it? I kinda like the look of when I'm all moisturized. And I don't like my body at *all*! :eyesroll The most has been since I was pg, despite the evil mw. :angry Well, that's a purty picture for all yall! :;shake I think I noticed some silvery ones on my boobs......:scratch

I worked on my registry for my showers :bag: At this time there will be one given by the church women, my mama colleagues and my old teachers/friends, (she's a teacher and I grew up and went to school there), and one at a restaurant to include my SIL, a girl from high school and Youth Group, *and* who introduced me and dh, and couple girls I met thru dh and girls that used to be in his dept. My workout group I workout with gave two girls a shower; but, I've noticed since Jordan died I've been on the outside, which *I* decided; but, since I got pg it still hasn't been the same. Soooooooooo.....I'm not sure if they will give me one or not. I got a present from one when she gave the other girl, now, having her second in 14 mos, a present before she went on mat leave. It kinda smarts; but, its only July. Its kinda the principle, not racking up. Anyhoo! :shrug Sooooo...last night I dreamed about registries, Katie, :shrug :hide:, I can't remember what else. Very wierd!

So, tell me is *anybody* registering but me, who's having a shower? I shopped at Ecobaby, the Ecomall and then after I left there I went to target. :shrug Done there, so I checked out Wally :hide: b/c the Target is across town, and my registry is still kinda skimpy, so I thought BRU :eyesroll or TRU, since BRU isn't in the city where one of my showers is. :idea: Burlington is in the city.....nearer the school.....(for those folks)

[JenDoula]

I know what you mean about the babycenter board, JenDoula. Before I knew MDC existed I frequented the October babies board there and every day it got my blood boiling. (ie comments like "breastfeeding baby girls is weird and gross and will turn them into lesbians" and "not circumcising is just unnatural") :splat I felt like I must be from another planet. Then I discovered mothering.com and realized what planet I'm from! :love

Yes, I remember that thread about breastfeeding girls! A friend of mine thinks breastfeeding is the most disgusting thing ever.. I don't get it. And my mom is always telling me "horror stories" (in HER mind, LOL) about how "this woman just STARTED BREASTFEEDING!! RIGHT THERE IN THE STORE!!" I don't know why she keeps telling me these things - I've made it clear how I feel about it. I've said to her before, "Mom, if she took out her elbow and started feeding her baby with it, you wouldn't be bothered. It's not the baby's fault that America has sexualized the breast."

Gotta go feed breakfast to the 3-year-old (4 next month, I can hardly BELIEVE IT?! I've been a mom for FOUR YEARS?!).

[mirthfulmum]

The whole circumscision debate drives me crazy! I hear people tell me that they think it's important that their sons look like their dad and that the other boys will make fun of them... Do men really spend that much time comparing and contemplating thier penises? My brother is uncircumscised and said that he had a few guys make comments in the locker room but he said that it was the friendly/joking kind of teasing. And says they could've just as easily teased him about something else. My brother never felt uncomfortbale or self-conscious getting undressed in front of other guys. And when Alias was born and my borther came to visit us, and just before he began his first diaper change attempt (ever), my brother turned to me and asked "Is Alias a WHOLE man?". He was very pleased that we hadn't had him circumscized.

Circumscicion rates here in Canada are much lower than those in the US because it isn't covered by medical. So while the pre-natal care, the labour and delivery, and the recovery are all covered by our socialized medical system, families have to go to a specialized clinic and pay about $250 to have thier children circumscized. So there just aren't that many people who are going to go through the trouble and cost.

Phew, Boy had a lot more to say than I thought about the subject (and I even restrained myself). Guess this is a hot button for me. Perhaps its the hormones. It dosen't seem to take much to get me all riled up right now.

And since I'm on a hot button roll... what kind of person thinks that breast feeding theier daughter is going to turn their child into a lesbian? Who are these people? I feel so sorry for their children.

"Mom, if she took out her elbow and started feeding her baby with it, you wouldn't be bothered. It's not the baby's fault that America has sexualized the breast."
:LOL :thumb

[AnnR33]

Oh yah-it gets me going to! My mainstream SIL just had a baby boy a few wks ago and I asked if they were doing a circ and she said yes-I asked why? She didn't have an answer and looked at my BIL-I asked him if he remembered what his dad's penis looked like (I swear I did!LOL) and he squirmed and said no, but they were doing it anyway. I said "he's your son but there is no medical reason to do it and I don't understand why you'd inflict that kind of pain on a baby" I do this sort of thing to them all the time so they're used to me but I hope i plant a seed now and then.
I did convince her to nurse when she wasn't planning on it so I feel good about that-it's only been 3 wks and she's already supplementing a little but I figure it's progress and healthy for that baby.
And the BFing comments always get me riled up! My first nursed for a yr but I was getting comments at 6 mos when was I going to quit and when I nursed my DD for 2 yrs you should have heard the comments-even my mom was terrible-she said it was "disgusting" at that age and unnatural-I loved getting into debates with her but it was tiring sometimes. Of course, she also doesn't understand how we even conceived our 3rd with our "family bed" LOL
OK, hopping off my soapbox now...
Ann

[Jillerina]

Today is a pregnant day for me. I'm sitting here in the living room moving between the computer and the couch. I just don't seem to have an ounce of energy. Luckily DD is having a great day playing by herself. This is not the norm so I'm taking advantage of it and just letting her do her thing. I've even managed to keep the TV off!!!

My intentions for the day were to get a bunch of laundry done (I've done 1 load) and take DD out to the wading pool or the park. I got as far as getting her covered in sunscreen but we never made it out! Hopefully after we both nap I'll be up to going somewhere.

It amazes me to hear that people still circ. their sons as often as they do. I don't know ANY circ'ed babies! DH wasn't circ'ed and neither were most of his friends, I guess it is a regional phenomenon!?! There has never been any conversation about this with DH, as far as we are concerned there is nothing to discuss!

[True Blue]

Well, DS is circed as will be the next one if it is a boy...but I am Jewish and it is a religious thing...otherwise, I probably wouldn't do it! But I must say, the way we had it done, at home, with TWO mohels (one was a urologist, the other a plastic surgeon...talk about a great team!), was the way to go. DS had emla cream to numb him, and a few tsp of wine....he never cried during the cutting, only at one point bc he was sick of being stuck in one position (he was somewhat restrained with receiving blankets....NOT tied down coldly on a baby papoose) and we could be there with him.

I do actually have a friend whose DH is not circed, and he opted to have his sons circed bc he had always felt uncomfortable growing up.

But like I said, if it weren't for my religious beliefs, we probably wouldn't do it. DH is circed, and on some level would like his boys the same (he is not Jewish), but he also doesn't like anything that can cause pain so he probably would opt out!

[flitters]

good morning ladies!

let's see... i'm just feeling all warm and fuzzy at having such a wonderful october pregnancy group right now. dh is so cute - i talk about stuff from this board regularly so he even sometimes asks how "the group" is doing.

so, if this babe is a boy he will not be circ'ed. dh is really open minded about the whole issue. some friends of ours now have a 4 week old who they did not circ either - apparently when they went to the hospital for the tour the nurses were very anti-circ and so they did the research and decided against it. :)

the breastfeeding comments are unbelievable. really, i just can't fathom how those attitudes develop.

i'm pretty pale too but i figure i'll probably have a linea by the time things get farther along. i should ask my mom if she had one... but then again, she's hispanic and i was not blessed with her olive skin tones. i'm white and pink with insanely sensitive skin. funny, i think the linea negra looks nicer on skin that is darker to begin with. i have a feeilng if i end up with one it will be like maroon colored or something ridiculous.

i don't have stretch marks yet but i've only just started getting round (finally, yay!). i think i'll probably get some cause i have some silver old ones on my hips from puberty.

jendoula, welcome! and as a mom who will go back to work (dh will be a sahd), i took absolutely no offense at your post! i agree the prioritization of things sounds really weird when you have 2 new cars but can't afford some time with a newborn.

mamadance, congrats on the homebirth - that sounds great!

we actually just met the back-up obstetrician for our midwife today. he was awesome - just what i would hope for if i were planning to have a birth attended by an OB. our midwife's transfer rate is around 7% so it's not likely he will participate in the birth, but it was still great to meet him. i know i will feel more comfortable knowing the doctor on the other side if we do end up needing to transfer.

wow, suddenly nauseated. need to eat!

:grouphug

[blessed2bamommie]

Dh isn't circed and so the circumcision discussion wasn't too much of an issue, then he can look like his daddy. I soooooooooo want to ask MIL why she didn't circ him. :LOL :bag: But, seems like some blacks aren't. Did I hear that it was b/c of the better sex not circed thing....:scratch I like him looking like his daddy so we won't do it.

I just asked dh to ask her...he said it probably was a black thing or his grandmother told her not to. I'd be kinda interested....and wonder if she circed either of her boys....that might be toooooooooooo much for me to know about my BIL. :shake


ugh....baby didn't like dh's jalpeno cheddar dip....:Puke

[Piglet68]

Funny, Letia, my MIL doesn't seem to recall exactly why she didn't have her sons circ'd. She birthed here, so I'm sure it was asked of her. And she was so young. She didn't BF because they told her not to bother, and yet somehow she stood up for this issue? :scratch

Ah well.

Oh boy am I feeling big these days. I'm not so comfortable sitting in chairs with arms, because I can't get my knees far enough apart not to squish my belly. And...last night I discovered that sleeping on my tummy, even with my leg drawn up, is no longer an option, lol. I feel I've grown several inches in the last week. I also seem to have gained 3 pounds in the last week, but think that may be water (or all the Eggos I ate for breakfast, lol). I'll have to weigh again tomorrow to double check.

And yeah, one of my maternity pants no longer fits across the hips and thighs. It happened last time too, though I'm happy to report I was able to wear them for longer this time, since I started out this PG lighter than the first. My other pants are stretchy material so they are still very comfy.

i just don't get the "Looks like daddy thing" re: circ'ing. I mean, if his hair is a different colour than daddy's are they gonna run out and dye it? :rolleyes Men are just so hung up on their penises! :LOL Luckily DH is intact so it's not an issue for us, either. We're "just saying no". And, like mirthful said, it's not something they do routinely in hospitals in Canada.

Well, I"m gonna run and go check out the websites for various hospitals in vancouver. it occurred to me i might not get a private room (something to be said for teh consumer-driven health care in the US - my room in Boston was luxurious!). God forbid I end up rooming with some mama who leaves her baby in teh bassinet while everybody visits and then stuffs him with formula and complains about when is her milk gonna dry up. sorry if that sounds harsh - i just had this sort of nightmarish thought the other day!

[bluehalo]

Happy Wednesday to everyone :)

I'm so sorry I've been having a hard time keeping up and responding to each person individually. I know it feels good to be personaly acknowledged, but lately I'm doing well just to check in a few times a week. So please know it's nothing personal :)

Re: circumcision ... Ethan is circ'ed and I feel very badly that we didn't do more in depth research first. This next baby will *not* be circ'ed, and while DH is slightly uncomfortable with having one circ'ed son and one intact son, he agrees that it's the best decision. My question to him, that he had no good comeback to, was "So, we made a poor decision at one point, but to be "fair" to our sons we should continue to make bad decisions even though we *now* know better?". NOT. This will be the first uncirc'ed boy in our family, so I'm anticipating some questioning, but I plan to have some information printed out so I can just hand them something instead of getting into a huge discussion, ie, "If you're really curious, feel free to read this and see what you think". Then if they *still* want to discuss it with me, that's fine. But if they just want to give me a hard time they'll get the "this is *not* up for discussion" response.

[Soogie]

Well I left the circumcision decision up to my DH. He had to be circ. at the age of 19 due to chronic infections. Not due to poor hygeine, as his Dad had to have it done later in life at age 30, for the same reason. DH said it was awful being an adult and needing to have it done. So he felt strongly about having our son (s) circs'd at birth. He and a friend of ours were present when my son had the procedure, and they both said he never cried or looked uncomfortable at all. They had given him a topical numbing agent, before they injected lidocaine. The only time he cried was when he urinated for the first time afterwards. Ok, it was more like a shrill, very disturbing to mommy, but that too quickly subsided.

I get all fired up about people's ignorance and breastfeeding. No one in my family has ever bf'd and they are all pretty much skeeved out that I would choose to use my breasts for what they were intended for! When I was having supply issues with my first, everyone kept telling me that I just needed to snap out of my "hippy" stage and feed my kid formula already. I was infuriated!

I'm trying to remember what other topics you ladies have been discussing. It's hard to keep up *and* post responses! Oh, linea negra...I don't get one. But I do get a really fuzzy belly. What's up with all the hair growth on my belly?!? I look like a peach!

I had my mw appt yesterday. So far so good. I'm just concerned about my lack of weight gain this time around. I'm only up 7 lbs so far at 25 weeks, and at this point with my other 2 pg's I was already up 25 lbs. I've started each pg at the exact same weight. And also, my fundal height is measuring 1-2 weeks behind, even though baby was measuring right on at the ultrasound. I just don't want my low weight gain to harm the baby. I've been trying really hard to eat protein rich food. But my appetite is non exisitent.

I'll be out of touch for the next 2 weeks. The kids and I are heading to NY to visit family.

[sqoya]

Want to know something funny? My husband didn't even know whether he was circumcised or not! he hee. All the men he'd ever seen looked like him, but he didn't know whether that meant they were all circums or intact. He says the kids he grew up with just never walked around in the locker-room comparing each other. After I explained the procedure to him, he grimaced and said, "people do that to their babies?" Needless to say, we're not circumcising!

[mirthfulmum]

:yawning: Ugh. It's only 5:30 and already I am sooo tired :zzz. Having my class start at 1:30 and go until 4 means that I do not get the chance to nap during the day anymore. And boy oh boy, am I feeling it.

I have a midwife appointment tomorrow, which are always fun. I can't wait to hear the heart beat again and see how much I've grown. And for some reason I always get some kind of sick pleasure from seeing how much weight I've gained. I don't think I'll reach the 50 pounds I did when pregnant with Alias, but who knows...

[flitters]

just a quick update for wannabmommie, i just learned i am having something of a shower after all! two of our good friends are throwing a "sproglet party" for me and dh some time in late september with about 20 of our friends.

i don't intend to register anywhere though unless my family insists on it... my friends already know how i don't want much stuff so they planned that if people want to give shower gifts it should be either their favorite book for a baby or clothes (we haven't bought any besides 6 pairs of socks).

and mandi, your husband made me laugh!

[momadance]

Letia: I use Beautiful Belly Balm from the HFS!

3boys4us: I recently found that prego's burn easier due to excess estrogen in their systems, so all of us need to watch out!

How could a circ be excrutiating for a 19 yo, and not for a newborn? I suspect it has to do with comunication and the use of language, not so much "it doesn't hurt" just my opinion!

I told Dh last night that I have fear about birth because I have no fear, if that makes sense to anyone. So after this conversation, I go to bed and have a dream that I had been knocked out and given birth, and didn't nurse him for over 12 hours, and then turned out I had no nipples to nurse him. Pretty freaky!Ugh, and then, I had him in a sling and looked down at him, and he had shriveled up to a pre term 20 week old fetus! It was pretty awful.

I slammed my thumb in the door of our Exterra today. completely shut it, was dazed and now I have a huge throbbing thumb. Super painful! How the he*! am I gonna handle childbirth again :eyesroll :)

[Lucysmama]

Letia-
We aren't having a shower, as we already have everything we need. If people REALLY want to go shopping and buy little outfits, dh and I plan to ask them to take dd shopping instead, as she is the one who really *needs* stuff. Or, we will just return little 0-3mo stuff and buy toddler things.

We are going to ask my MIL, who is very um, pushy and overbearing, to organize a new-parent food feeding schedule. She is great at just jumping in and organizing stuff for groups of people. We are thinking she could call people when the baby is born and ask them to sign up for a date to bring dinner/take out/frozen casserole/etc for us. Is that wrong of us? :LOL We just know people will want to help, and thought this would be one of the best things people could do.

So no real shower per se, but I am sure we will have people showering us with love and gifts anyway!

No circ'ing for us, either. I am totally against genital cutting on males and females, and dh feels the same. He is really bummed that he was cut as a baby.

[True Blue]

Re: showers....My mom is dying to throw one for me since she didn't even get to come last time (we were stationed in CA), so I'll definitely be having one this time. There are still a few things I need, and I'm hoping I can get some people to buy some cloth dipes, too. I'm also thinking maybe I can get cash gifts to go towards a birthing tub??? Maybe anyway, that would be cool!!!

Katie, a dinner rotation sounds awesome...wonder how I can get my friends to do that? LOL

[3bees~1flower]

3boys4us: I recently found that prego's burn easier due to excess estrogen in their systems, so all of us need to watch out!

How could a circ be excrutiating for a 19 yo, and not for a newborn? I suspect it has to do with comunication and the use of language, not so much "it doesn't hurt" just my opinion!

wow...thanks...i didn't know that! wished i had known that on mon!

on the circ thing being painful for an adult but not a baby thing.....being in the medical field, this is how i would answer that....it would be the same as comparing a tonsilectomy as a child to a tonsilectomy as an adult....adults *can* die from them as they don't heal as quickly as you do when you are young and getting it done...my brother had to have a tonsilectomy at 23 yrs old and it was EXCRUTIATING for him...i had it done at 3 and don't even remember it. i have seen kids eating normally hours after having it done and an adult in severe pain at the same interval. the same would go for a baby getting circ'd...they heal sooooo much quicker than an adult does...thus the reason for it being so much more painful as an adult rather than a baby. b/c as adults we don't heal as quick as we did as babies. ds#3's circ has been somewhat of a problem...he wasn't as...ahem...well endowed when he was born as the other boys so my dr couldn't do a "whole" circ on him b/c it just wasn't possible...he developes adhesions on it that i have to break and it is very painful for him...i can't imagine if he weren't circed at all! i'm hoping that when he looses his fat pad and his lil' pecker sticks out more that we won't have to worry about this anymore. the other boys' have never caused a problem. i guess it's the stories that i hear about needing to be circ'd as adults that make my mind up to circ...a friend of mine had to have her boy circ'd at a year b/c of infections and it wasn't a cleanliness thing at all. i just wouldn't want to put an older child/adult child thru that when they heal so much quicker as baby...and if i asked my boys if they remember it, they'd look at me like i had two heads...i look at it as saving them from potentially *more* pain if they would happen to need to have it done later in life.

[OakEmber]

Maybe I'll soften when I actually have a son...but up until now I am sorry but my feelings about adult men having to get a circ. when necessary is pretty much.... :bawl cry me a river...I mean us women GIVE birth for goodness sake! God forbid men have to experience some pain sometimes too. Ok, I really probably shouldn't post this...but I think some others will agree with me. Like I said, maybe when I have a son I will feel that I don't want him experience pain...but I don't want to protect my Dd from the pain of childbirth so wouldn't that be a bit sexist??

Mirthfulmum- I have to respectfully disagree about having to pay for a circ. in Canada being the reason for the low percentage...out of all the moms I know with uncirc. boys (and it would be easier to count the ones who are because I only know 2 that are and dozens that aren't) never once have I heard anyone mention the out of pocket expense, actually I am the only person I know to ever use that in an argument and it was only because my SIL is so money orientated that it seemed like the only way to nip the conversation in the bud :LOL I'd say that some of my friends probably don't even know how much it costs because they never looked that far into it. I know when my brother was born, in 1990, the rate had already dropped dramatically and it was only $50 at the time to preform, not much of a deterrant...my mom got some resistance from family about not cir. but not nearly as much from her friends as plenty of them weren't either. The fact that it is considered Cosmetic surgery probably helps.

I love that we can discuss this and other heated issues without flaming each other but it makes me nervous because I have seen bad things on mainstream boards and I'd hate for us to fight :grouphug Which reminds me, earlier in the week Piglet, you talked about a group falling apart after the babies were born...please tell me it wasn't a MDC, I can't imagine that happening to us! I was apart of an EC on Parents Place with Ember and it had the same fate but I have higher expecations from this group.

[mirthfulmum]

I know what you mean Amie, I'd hate for a fight to break out, but I think that so far we've all been pretty respectful of each other's positions. It seems like we have all agreed to disagree on certain issues. Much like my frineds IRL. I have 3 friends who have sons who are circumcized (1 who is Jewish and the other 2 actually live in the states). And I consider these women to be wonderful and loving mothers and great friends. And I'm sure I do things that they wouldn't do to their children but they have never held it against me.

One of the things I love about you women here is that you are so open. I mean what a diverse group we have here... but we all share a common goal so we are able to find a common bond. You all are a breath of fresh air.

Oh and Amie, you know I had always assumed that the money thing was a factor for people when choosing to circ. or not. But thinking about it more, you're probably right. There are greater factors at play in Canada's low circ. rate.

[Piglet68]

I also wanted to say I hope we can all feel respected here for our decisions. When this topic came up I thought "oh no, i hope this doesn't end up like all the other circ discussions!" b/c we are such a close group here. :grouphug

No, OakEmber, it wasn't MDC. I didn't discover that until I was about 6 months PG. It was a mainstream board spin-off from a fertility website. I did make a couple of good friends (who both post here now, lol) but many of the others...it was hard to deal with. That's why I'm so glad I'm PG here on MDC and joined up with all you awesome mamas!

[Piglet68]

Jillerina: I just read your other thread and I am SO happy for you that you got into the birthing center! Fate really smiled on you!!

Where is everybody? I've had a crappy day in the lab (again). I'm plagued by lab gremlins - little things are going wrong and I'm just not having a good time with my experiments. I only have a few weeks left here, and desperately want some good data to take home with me.

Jillerina's thread got me thinking about my own birthing dilemma. I'm moving back home at 32 weeks PG. The family doctor I had ages ago has since left his practice. Apparently, I need to find a family doctor BEFORE I find an OB, because I need a referral to see an OB. It's so hard to find a good doctor. Someone who you click with, who agrees with your philosophy...I want someone the whole family can use. Not going to be easy to find that in such a short term. I'm also not sure where to birth, though thanks to some info from mirthful I'm checking out more options. Anyways, I am just starting to feel like this is all going to be so last-minute...I'm going to be dealing with finding the perfect family doctor, an OB, a hospital, and a pediatrician.

I'm also one of those people who always sees the good in everybody (at first), who desperately wants it to "work out" and who has a hard time leaving.

Sigh. Oh well, sorry for my pity party. I know things will work out...they'd better!

[BeansMomma]

26 weeks

Piglet - so sorry that you have to face finding a new family Dr. Somehow I've managed to not have a primary care physician for the last year or so - and I know it's something I need to do as well (not to mention a pediatrician)... I also don't really know where to start. For pediatricians, I know my Dr. has some she recommends and their practice is pretty liberal, so maybe the peds are too.

So - is anyone else bruising easy and finding them hard to heal? I fell about a month ago (silly me, I stepped in a hole) and still have this ugly lingering bruise on my shin. It seems with all those extra fluids we have swimming in our legs that the bruise would be healing faster - not slower. Sigh - just another excuse to hide from the shorts :-)

[Lucysmama]

<----Big. Hot. Uncomfortable.

[mirthfulmum]

I hear ya Katie!

I actually had always planned not to be pregnant in the summer. I've had a few friends warn me that it is just an especially uncomfortable time to be pregnant. But here I am... you know what they say about best laid plans.

[True Blue]

LOL I figured since I live in Florida, it doesn't really matter when I'm pg....just different levels of hotness....it was 98 here today....

[OakEmber]

I didn't find it too bad when I was pregnant with Ember through the summer, then again most of it was spent in Calgary which is notorious for it's crazy weather patterns (as in if you don't like the weather, wait 10 mins...it'll change), so it was a real mixture and never scotching hot. My EDD with her was Nov.5, so not much difference in the stage I was at. I did try to avoid being pregnant through the summer, was infact due in June at one point, but you know what...today I had the Mom and Tots group at my house and there were two little babies, one just under 2 months and the other about 4 months and seeing how hot and fussy they were in thier moms arms got me thinking that maybe it isn't so bad being pregnant right now...didn't look too fun nursing a sweaty, fussy baby! So, on the bright side...we'll get to snuggle up and be cozy in Oct. (exect of course those of you like Amy who are in Florida). Just wanted to add though that I am glad that this summer has not been like it was last summer here...that would have been unbearable!

BeansMomma- I hope you heal up fast...I bruise pretty easily most of the time so I haven't noticed a difference, boy do I notice how much faster my Dd heals than me though...ah, youth.

Piglet- Sorry you are having a crummy day! Wishing you luck finding a Dr. and OB etc...I had to find a new one too, and have only seen him once so I don't really feel like he's my Dr., KWIM? I wish I had someone that I truly felt comfortalbe with...I am loving my midwife but unfortunately I only get to see her until 6 weeks pp. Glad that it wasn't a MDC board BTW!

Mirthfulmum- I guess it probably does have a big infuence too because there are people who really couldn't afford it, not like you can just put it on your Visa, hey!

[Court]

Hey just checkin' in. I feel big and hot too. So, Piglet, what kind of experiments are you working on? That sounds so interesting, despite the gremlins. I hope everything falls into place when you move, it must seem pretty daunting.

I've had a pretty good week. I finally found a mom's group, and I love it so far. We went to our second park date today and had a little picnic. There was a wading pool and a playground, so Logan had a blast while I got to talk to other moms. I've been pretty lonely here as far as friends are concerned (we've lived here a year) so it's been really nice to talk to other adults. There was a little baby there and Logan was being so sweet to her, he kept putting her pacifier back in her mouth gently when it would fall. He told me, "It's like a nipple." Someone told him, "you're gonna be such a good big brother!" and he says matter-of-factly, "yes."

Oh, and we're a no-circ family here, if anyone's interested. Dh was circ'd and he's always been kind of upset about it, like he didn't get a say in it, yk? And I too am loving this October moms group. :love

[flitters]

Wow. I just continue to be amazed at how well the moving mama's are handling things! I'm kind of overwhelmed by the amount of projects that need (I know, strong word) to be done by the time the baby comes but they don't even remotely compare the whole adjustment of moving. So much good luck to all of you as it gets closer!

Piglet, sorry your day in lab sucked. Work has been really slow for me today too. I really should finish this document so I can leave, but instead I'm posting here! :) It's very difficult to think about technical stuff when mostly I just feel like thinking about being pregnant.

Beansmama, I don't know about healing time... I think I may actually be healing a bit faster than normal, but it might just be that since my activities have become more gentle I'm just bruising myself less!

Lucysmama, Mirthful, trueblue, so sorry you guys are too hot! I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, but I had the strangest thing last night. I woke up absolutely freezing. I think it was a cool night and I was losing the blanket and I just got so so cold I couldn't stop shivering and I pressed up completely against dh who couldn't believe how cold I was. I eventually got warm (maybe even a bit clammy warm) but it was so weird. It's July, I live it California... Very strange!

OakEmber, I like your point - it's much easier for us to keep our babies at a comfortable temperature through the hot summer than it is for them to keep themselves comfy!

I should really get back to work.

By the way, my bigger dog Deek (he's 4 years old) would really appreciate it if you could send some good vibes his way. He is having a mast cell tumor removed from his side on Monday. It's small and slow growing and just under his skin so we are optimistic the surgery will have clean margins and will be curative, but since this kind of tumor can be invasive they are going to take out a big chunk to be on the safe side... Dh and I are trying not to worry too much... our dogs are our family and we love them so so much - it can be scary when one of them isn't perfectly healthy. Hopefully it will all be fine once they lumpy is removed and he heals.

:grouphug


oh, and hi courtney&logan - we must have crossed posted. logan sounds like he's going to be a wonderful big brother!

[Lucysmama]

:grouphug I am totally feeling the October Mama love, too! I get all choked up thinking about us all having our babies at the same time, going thru the same stuff, feeling each other's pains, and ending up with adorable babies to take care of. We are going to have to continue this after the babies are born!

[gottaknit]

Hi. I haven't been posting much, but I check the thread several times a day. :lurk:

Courtney, are you in Portland? I know Beansmama is in Portland, too. It'd be fun if we three could meet up after the babies get here and let them say Hi!

Piglet, I work in a research lab, too. I swear pregnancy is putting bad juju on my assays lately.... I'm just not mentally "there" maybe and that's what's making things so wonky. I'd much rather be daydreaming about the baby and lurking on the diaper forum. (BTW, if any of you haven't been sucked in by the diaper hyenas yet, just AVOID the diaper forum entirely! It is one crazy addictive world I'd probably have been fine never knowing about! :LOL )

Is anyone getting nervous about birth? It just hit me this week. Up until now I had the attitude of, "It'll be tough but I can do anything. Women in my family have babies without batting an eye." (I have a VERY LARGE extended family. My grandparents on one side have 35 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.)

But lately I've been getting a little scared about it. I'm starting to get big and uncomfortable, and 14 weeks more (getting bigger and bigger) is beginning to sound like a long time. I find that I'm complaining a lot about sore back, sore pelvis, etc.... :o And I worry that if I'm complaining now, good god how will I ever manage a non-medicated homebirth! :eek Just had to get that off my chest. Someone tell me I'm not the only first-timer starting to freak out! :)

Good luck flitters with the doggy! Hope he heals up fast! :hug

[OakEmber]

Nancy...I think there comes a time in everyone's first pregnancy when you realise that there is only one way out (well nowadays that is figuratively speaking I guess, but the other alternative isn't any better). :hug There will come a point when you start to get excited and look forward to giving birth too...at least there was for me. (imagine rollercoaster smilie here)

I agree with Flitters, wow, the idea of moving seems beyond what I could accomplish right now! Kudos to the ones doing it!

Keeping Deek in my thoughts Flitters. :hug

Lucysmama- yes, we will definately have to continue doing this...and I must say I am really looking forward to hearing everyone's birth stories! It will be so nice having a group of friends who actually understand the issues important to us...and I am pretty sure we won't be hearing about 3 week old babies being given cereal to sleep through the night :irked:

Courtney- What a sweetie Logan is, I am sure he will be an awesome big brother!

[Court]

Nancy - yep, I'm in Portland too. I'd love to get together after the babies are born. Though, I'm guessing I wont have my act together till after the holidays. And if ya ever need a cool mom's group (that actually plans playdates and activities all the time) I know of one. :)

I was really nervous about giving birth the first time around too. Then, after it was over I was kinda sad cause I wanted to do it again, weird huh. Now, I'm totally looking forward to it. In my mind it seems so easy to just push him out. Also, I know what you mean about "if I'm feeling this big and uncomfortable now, what about 3 mo. from now?" But, if I remember correctly, it didn't seem to get a whole lot worse after the 7 mo. point. My ribs got a bit more crowded, but overall it just felt the same for a long time.

Thanks for putting up w/ my mushy stories about Logan you guys.


edited to add: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Emily, Piglet! :birthday: :balloons :carrot :banana

I hope you guys had a great day!

[JenDoula]

Anyone else just super emotional lately? I swear, there are days when I cry all day long. I am also trying to wean myself off of Wellbutrin, so that might have something to do with it. But I don't have any of the other "depression" symptoms that I usually deal with: I have the same appetite, am still leaving the house every day, still enjoying the things I love to do, still getting dressed and putting on makeup every day, today I got 2 loads of laundry and a lot of cleaning done. I just have ZERO patience for the kiddos, and I cry with the snap of a finger. I think it sounds more like pregnancy emotional rollercoaster and crabbiness than depression, don't you think?

Tonight some friends from Wisconsin are coming by and we're going out to dinner (with the kiddos, please keep your fingers crossed that they're easy to deal with tonight), and tomorrow night is a neighborhood BBQ/picnic at our next door neighbor's which should be fun and a little chaotic. Our neighbor estimated about 25 "knee-biters" (LOL! AKA small children), so it's going to be kind of crazy over there. Glad we live right next door and can leave easily, LOL.

Anyway.. What are everyone else's weekend plans?

[Soogie]

I was checking my e-mail and saw that there were a few responses to the fact that my DH needed to be circs'd as an adult. Yes, it was excruciating for him. At the time, he was fighting infections that could not get under control. If you had a penis, and it was swollen and raw from a ravaging infection, I'm sure you'd be in a wee bit of pain as well from a circumcision. And as my3boyz stated, adults do require more time to heal than a child does. And to this day, my husband has not had one problem with his penis since the circ. It was the best decision/procedure for him. I am completely confident that we have not scared our son by circ him at birth, but perhaps have spared him the familial trait of needing to be circ. later in life.

Susan

[momadance]

OWE! Well, not only do I have my smashed thumb, but Ds threw a jagged rock the size of a golfball at me from 3 feet away, and now I have a gapping wound under my right eye. Closed on the house, and the painting's coming along nicely, our lease here isn't up until the end of Sept. so we're taking things nice and slow. THe house is just up the road from this place.

I've not been struggling too much with emotions... Except for that freaky no nipple dream, I guess I have some issues to work out!

Piglet, Flitters, and Jendoula BIG :hug

I too look forward to hearing everyone's birht stories.
You portland mama's, Dh and I dream of moving out there in the next 5-10 yrs.


I'm so happy to be back to the apt. Georgia summers are steamy, and theres no electric at this point. Poor dh and his step mom are sweating buckets while painting. To this I say THANK YOU my sweet little Gabriel Reed, for if not for you, I'd be painting! :love
much love mama's! :Peace :hippie

[Lucysmama]

:banana <----This is me!

I just went to my midwife, and everything looks PERFECT! I don't have any nitrates or leukocites in my urine anymore. My blood pressure is still very low (108/60). No swelling. I am measuring 29 weeks. I heard the heartbeat with the fetoscope, and so did dd! Best of all....the baby is in the Optimal Fetal Position, head down, left anterior! I hope he/she stays that way! I felt so happy that everything is going so well!


Momadance - Dontcha secretly love getting out of stuff like painting the house?!? It's such a pregnancy perk IMO. :)

Jen - Yes, I am very emotional too! And my patience level is not what it should be with my toddler, I'm sorry to say.

[Court]

Katie - I'm so glad to hear everything is going well with you and your babies health, and that you had a good appointment. That must be such a relief. :)

[OakEmber]

Katie...that's awesome! Congrats on getting to hear the heartbeat...I am looking forward to hearing it via the fetoscope at my next appt. Hope your baby stays in that position :thumb

Momadance- Ouch, sounds like you are having a run of bad luck, hope that's all done with! Feeling better today? At least you aren't painting...I agree with Katie on that one!

Ya know, my emotions haven't been anything like they should be :LOL...I am pretty even keeled and have been for pretty much the whole time. Wasn't like that with Dd....could it have anything to do with the baby's personality?? Wouldn't that be neat...maybe it means that I am having a mellow boy ;)

Susan, I realised later that I had not said anything about your Dh having to have a circ. as an adult...sorry to hear that, I am sure that was not fun by any strech of the imagination!

ETA: I have been looking into purchasing some cloth diapers and really got my head spinning last night...I have quite a few Kooshies (AIO) given to me by a friend, I've heard both good and bad about them, but figure they will be worth a try (as they were free). I also have about 1/2 dozen diaper basic fleece fitted, anyone familiar at all with them? and some that aren't identifiable. I just got 2 new bummis super-whisper wraps to go over the fleece ones. Dh is on EI right now so I want to just get a few things at a time...I was thinking of just getting a dozen Chinese Prefolds to see if I like them since I do have some AIO, etc. Anyone have any advise?? I know there is a diaper forum but I was hoping to get some advise from people I know, KWIM??

[Piglet68]

Jen, I'm very emotional lately...I cry easily, get crabby easily...I really notice it!

gottaknit: to be honest.....[warning: deep dark, not-admitted-on-MDC before confession coming out...] the thought of labour absolutely terrifies me. I am petrified of it to the point where I have had this recurrent nightmare for years that I am in labour, at the hospital, but nobody will give me any drugs...they laugh at me and say "what are you going to do? NOT give birth?"...[insert evil doctor laugh here]. I would then imagine being totally traumatized by the pain, to the point where all feelings/concerns about the baby were gone.... :crying

But because I had a scheduled cesarian (I have HSV and a few other complications), I never experienced so much as a single contraction. So I never had to deal with my fears. Sometimes I get really jealous hearing homebirth stories...until it comes to the pain part, then it brings up all sorts of really bad feelings. Ah well, I guess it's all the for the better that I'm destined to be a c-section mama. I'd probably have to pay out of pocket for the therapy, otherwise! :D

momadance: I'm so sorry to hear about all your wounds! No fun dealing with that on top of pregnancy. that's great that the stuff with the house is going so well.

re: being pregnant in the summer. Well, I actually have always thought that having a summer baby was best, because you can get them out of the house, and they can be in just a diaper, against your skin all the time, etc. I'm a bit sad that Sasha will be a fall baby. His adorable diapers will be covered up whenever we go out, and he'll be bundled up in my cozy pouch (I like the attention of having a newborn, lol). Plus we won't be spending alot of time outside. He'll be a big baby by the time summer comes to Vancouver! :(

Well, thanks to everybody for the hugs. I ended up having a wonderful day. I came home early and took Emily to the water park, apparently she'd been asking all day to go "swimming in the water!", but DH was all sunned out. Me, I'd spent the day in an air-conditioned lab, so it all sounded great to me. We had a lovely time together, and I am trying to really savour this time - soon we'll be a family of four, and Emily will no longer be the centre of it all...

Today I've had SUCH a relaxing day. In fact, we didn't even leave the house (well, DH did to get his hair cut). It was a cool and cloudy day, and I really enjoyed the break from the heat and sunshine. While DD napped, I did some "decluttering" in preparation for our move. We really don't have much at all, so it should go smoothly. Anyways, I feel like a whole new woman today!! :)

Lucysmama: glad to hear the midwife appt went well, and that all is looking good!

[Lucysmama]

Amie-

Ok, I LOOOOVE to talk diapers, so I will jump right in! We are doing mainly fitteds with covers. I think we have 15 or so fitteds now. We also have about 8 newborn AIOs and a dozen infant prefolds. But the prefolds are just back up. I personally just suck at folding and snappi-ing prefolds, so I don't like to use them. I prefer fitteds, because they are so easy, and I hear they work AWESOME for containing breastmilk poopy explosions. I have a bunch of Bizzy B Hive fitteds, some Nanipoos, some Tootsweet, some Kissaluvs and a few random others bought from the Trading Post. For covers, I have a few Proraps I found at a consignment store....and I figure I need about 4 more covers. Dh wants to use ONLY wool on the new baby, because he thinks it is so much healthier.....but he doesn't realize how expensive and sometimes difficult-to-find good newborn wool covers are. I think we will do about half wool covers and half PUL covers/AIOs.

Oh, BTW a few mamas who just had babies said in the Diapering forum that they use between 20-25 changes/day in the first few weeks. I really wanna only wash every 36 hours at most, so that is why we are buying so much. :)

And, I am uploading my newborn diaper stash into an online album, so when it is done, I will post the link if you wanna take a look!

[bluehalo]

re: cloth dipes...

I'm trying to avoid the cloth diaper forum b/c it makes me itch to spend money ;) So I'm happy to talk diapers somewhere that I don't have to struggle w/ my willpower :LOL ...

We're using a combination of fitted and prefolds w/ covers and FuzziBunz. I have some very sweet newborn fitteds that I can't resist not using, but after this baby grows out of those, I'll probably phase out the fitteds and just do prefolds w/ covers (mostly wool, and I'm learning to knit my own soakers :) ) and FuzziBunz. I get overwhelmed with too much variety, so it helps to keep things simple, both for me and for DH when he tries to help w/ diaper changes and/or laundry.

I'm so excited to have another tiny bum to cloth diaper!!

[OakEmber]

Ok, so now I have a prefold question...I have pretty much decided that I want to have a dozen on hand partly for back-up. I have come across them on so many different sites and I am not sure if there is really a difference between Chinese prefolds and ones that are just called prefolds...does it really matter.

And I am finding this to quickly become an addiction, before even using them :LOL With Ember I had one Mother-ease diaper w/cover that I used on occasion but that hardly counts... I found a site with fuzzi bunz for by 2 get one free, so I am tempted (they are really expensive here in Canada, like $21 a piece)...too bad Dh is not working right now.

[3bees~1flower]

on dipes......i make all my cloth...i made 10 pocket fitteds to use with wool/pro-care covers....and then decided i wanted to be able to SEE the cute fabric i have picked out, so the rest of the baby stash will be AIO pockets...i use fleece for the binding...they look soooo comfy!!

can i get you gals' opinion on a name...i know we've done the name thing already, but i didn't get any comments on my name choices then...

BOY: Micah Lane (all the boys have the same middle name, which is daddy's middle name) OR, and this one i have just started mulling about, Tait Daniel. Tait seems to be growing on me, but it doesn't go with Lane, so i picked my dad's name to go with it...do you think he would feel left out if he didn't get daddy's middle name too or do you think it would be special for him to have g-pa's name?

GIRL: Makenna Grace has been our girl's name since baby #1. i had come across the name Trinity awhile ago, but dh just never seemed to like it, it would be Trinity Grace if he did like it.

thanks for the input!!

[OakEmber]

Darn, wasn't FuzziBunz....that deal is on Wonderoos, anyone tried them??

3boyz- Hmm, I think that I like Micah Lane best for a boy...I have always liked Tait too though, but I do think that if the other boys have Lane for a MN I'd continue that....Or you could use Tait Micah Lane or Tait Daniel Lane.

As for a girl, Trinity is Ember's MN so of course that gets my vote :thumb Sorry, looks like you weren't really asking for an opinion on that one as your Dh doesn't like it. Maknna is a nice name too, would your Dh go for Makenna
Trinity?

[Lucysmama]

3boyz4us-

Dh and I considered 'Tate' for our baby....for about 10 seconds. We then realized we would be Nate, Kate and Tate. :LOL Uh...no. I do really like the name, though!!!

Makenna is really pretty. Mak-names are really popular here. There are a LOT of Makennas, Mackenzies, and Makaylas. I don't know if that is important to you or not to consider.

[stanleymama]

Just checking in and hoping you all are having a nice weekend. I took Collin and Aidan to a park nearby today and they had a blast!! Good excercise for me too!

On the whole circ thing, We are a circ family and it wasn't until recently that I even heard that some people don't circ. It is just so common here. All 3 boys did really well too through it and healed very quickly. They didn't even need meds the whole day. Just me nursing brought them comfort and they never fussed when I changed their dipes. Now we don't vax, and we cloth diaper so that makes us the oddballs. Anyways it just all comes down to personal convictions.

I had a really odd dream the other night. I dreamt I was getting ready to bring our new little guy home and across the room he was being held by a friend of mine. When she brought him to me he was the size of another friends baby who is 5 mos. old--being 25 lbs. I fell over just trying to hold him. I woke up and start praying, "Please dear God don't let him be that big!"
I have average size babies so it really freaked me out!