Weekly Thread November 15-21

[SharonAnne]

Everyone sleeping in today? :LOL

DH got mad at me for lounging around on Sunday instead of helping him blow leaves around, or unpacking more boxes, or something. I very gently explained to him that everything I do, I do through waves of nausea. Even when I seem to be fine, and am following him around Home Depot like little puppy, I feel like crap. So, when he went outside to blow around the leaves, I said "Ahhhh, I'll relax all morning. I'll take advantage of this to lay on the couch with the dog (who has become very cuddly with me as of late) and eat Fruity Pebbles."

I do understand that he's frustrated. But, I don't think he understands just how frustrated I am. I mean, I CONSTANLY feel like CRAP! :irked: This is NOT a good time! :LOL

And having just moved, it really sucks that I feel like this. I'm in bed every night by about 8ish, so I'm generally useless after work. I can't look at raw meat without barfing Fruity Pebbles into the kitchen sink, so I can't cook anything. There are still boxes piled up on the front porch, there are boxes in the dining room, there are still boxes in teh kitchen, and my office is a freaking disaster. It's a good thing I took time off my other job, or I'd really be dying right now.

If I WEREN'T pregnant, we'd be totally unpacked, furniture would be moved and stuck where I want it, boxes would be folded up waiting for the recycle truck, and my office would have an actual desk and bookshelves and stuff, so I could actually WORK. Go figure.

However, this pregnancy thing has kind of thrown a monkey wrench into my unpacking plans. NOT that I'm complaining, I'm thrilled to be pregnant, and would gladly live out of boxes for the next nine months if I had to; I just hope I don't have to.

Not sure if you picked up on this, but I've been LIVING on Fruity Pebbles lately. I don't even want to think about all the sugar and dyes I'm ingesting. I'm just glad I'm ingesting SOMETHING :LOL

Last night, I had a taste for Creme Brulee, which I eat maybe once a year. So, we went to a restaurant that has good creme brulee; I ate some salad, some bread, and half a manicotti, and then found out they were out of creme brulee. I actually said to the waitress, "Are you sure? Because I"m pregnant, and I've been craving creme brulee all day. And if you really don't have any, this poor man is going to end up driving all over Central Jersey at four o'clock in the morning trying to find me creme brulee."

They really didn't have any. :angry

How's everyone else doing?

[NiksMom]

Sleeping in? Sleeping in? What's that? :D ;)
I get up at 4:20 a.m. every morning to go to work. The only chance I have to sleep in is on the weekends and on Saturdays and Sundays I get woken up anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 with a 'Good morning Mommy!' (DS cosleeps with us). It's great and I absolutely adore it, but yeah, it'd be nice to have one day to sleep in!

I'm doing ok. Feeling a lot less nauseous and able to control my appetite a little better. Still sleepy, but not as bad either. Feeling like a fat cow though :eyesroll
My first appt. is next Monday, so I'm getting a little excited about that.
Still waiting for my endocrinologist to call back- apparently some of my numbers are a little out of range. I'm guessing that he'll up my synthroid dosage a little. I really hope my sugars are ok.
Nothing really big or exciting so far :D that's the way I like it ;)

[punkprincessmama]

:wave

[Stone Fence]

:lurk:

[fuzzypeach]

I'm doing great. I'm about twelve weeks along, all the queasiness has passed. I don't feel very tired but I'm always one who has needed lots of sleep:) However the hospital called me today and told me I still have a UTI... which is very annoying. I already went through a week-long antibiotic treatment for it, which apparently did no good. I'm going out to get some cranberry juice tomorrow... see if that has any effect...

My inlaws new house is nearly finished, and they will be moving out of the old family farmhouse into it on the 20th. That means my husband and I will be moving into the farmhouse on the 27th. Rent free living.. it's the only way we'll be able to afford this baby. We're both looking forward to it. The city wears me down, it'll nice to be back in the countryside and I'd rather raise kids there anyways.

[twouglyducks]

Sleeping in... you're funny. :)
Nausea is mostly past, just when I'm really hungry which I guess I've always been that way, pg or not. Feeling slightly less tired and I'm able to do more things in the day.

[Meli65]

I went to the CNM today for my first appointment. I was a little nervous (white coat syndrome?) esp.when I told the nurse, "Um, I wasn't planning on getting an internal exam today," and she said "Oh, YOU'RE getting an internal exam today!" Happily, the midwife was very sweet and accomodating. I caved and had an ultrasound although she was only able to see the baby for a quick second and determine that the little heart was beating, but I kind of regretted it -- it took a while for her to find anything, and it was really for naught. Sigh. Then I went to Arby's and stuffed my face :D Beef 'n' cheddar -- mmmmm.....

[Pepper]

Whoa, I'm 9 weeks tomorrow! How did that happen? I thought I was 7 or 8 weeks along (ok, pretty sad that I didn't know that, huh?). Well, that's pretty cool and just goes to show how busy I am. :)

For those of you due around 6/21 here's what's happening with baby right now:


9 weeks lmp

Early fingers (digital rays) are developing. Baby's upper limbs bend at elbow; external ear beginning to form.
Baby's tip of nose is now distinct. Eyelids are beginning to form.


This Wednesday I have my u/s and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I hope everything is normal and I can see the baby moving around. Hopefully, I'll get a picture.

The farmhouse sounds great, almostfey. Sorry about your UTI, though.

I better go, it's much too quiet in the living room. Mischief is most certainly going on!

[mom2jack]

I had my first appointment last Tuesday and had an ultrasound. Everything looked normal and the baby measured 8 weeks 4 days - exactly what it should:) I'm feeling worse and worse the last few days. Although my OB said that hormones typically peak at 9 1/2 weeks, which is were I am right now. My DH has been great in the evenings when I feel the worst, which has helped a ton. I was getting really down last week about feeling so yucky. But, now I'm trying to stay more positive. When I was pregnant with ds my morning sickness stuck around until around 23 weeks. I'm trying not to think that I could feel like this until February.

Happy baby thoughts.... Happy baby thoughts.....

[Meli65]

I've been reading The Cleveland Clinic's "Guide to Your Childbearing Year" (got it at my prenatal appointment yesterday). It's not terrible although I don't like how they keep talking about "if you choose to breastfeed" (or the free can of formula I got at my prenatal visit yesterday!). But the anesthesia part is killing me
---------------------------
Will a regional block affect my baby?
Consideral research has shown that regional anesthesia is safe for you and your baby.

Will a regional block slow my labor?
In some women, contractions may slow after regional anesthesia for a short period of time. Most women find that regional anesthesia helps them to relax and actually improves their contraction pattern while allowing them to rest.

If I have regional anesthesia, will I be able to push?
....Regional anesthesia should not affect your ability to push -- it will make pushing more comfortable for you.
---------------------------

Now, this goes against just about everything I have ever read about the birth process. I can't think of how many stories I've heard about epidurals slowing labor so much that the women are diagnosed with "failure to progress" and put under the knife -- and even epidural fans saying that it is hard to know when (and how) to push. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

Of course, this is all book-learnin' and anecdotal -- anyone who's had one care to weigh in?

Also, I talked to a woman today who was looking for a no-vax-friendly ped -- it turns out because she is getting induced this week because the baby is "already" seven pounds and the due date is three weeks off. How be so educated about vaccines and not about birth? I don't get it.

I hope I don't offend anyone -- I assume that most, if not all, of the women on this forum are interested in natural, mother- and baby-friendly childbirth practices.

[Awaken]

Hi :)

I'm feeling a lot less drowsy - I can actually make it through a day without napping! Woo hoo. I think the hormones peaking aroun 9 1/2 weeks has been true for me.

So, since I've been such a lump lately, I decided to be more active- I took long walks in the morning and afternoon, mopped the floors, vaccuumed, and of course everything involved in taking care of a toddler- lifting him up and down, dragging the stroller up and down the stairs.

And today at work I went to the bathroom and there was bright red blood. I checked later and it was just brown, and nothing more has happened. So I think I over did it. I never had any bleeding with ds so I was kind of freaked but I know it happens to a lot of women.

Pepper- thanks so much for sharing that info on what our babies are like now...I think I'm ~11 weeks, it's hard to believe the baby has fingers starting and a nose and everything...wow!!

Melissa- I eat olives out of the jar all the time! I LOVE them! Garlic stuffed, esp.! And OMG, you got a free can of formula already at a prenatal appointment? What the heck are they thinking??? I can see the formula companies sending it to you in the mail, but a doctor's office giving it to you before you've even had the baby??

[mclisa]

I got a "pro breastfeeding" pack from my doctor. It was a nice size cooler (like you would bring your lunch in. Black in color. Inside was another smaller cooler that held 2 freezer packs so that you could pump at work and store bottles in there to bring home. It also came with a note that your provider could fill out that explains to your boss the importance of being able to take time to pump at work. There was also a little door knob sign that you can hang on your door so you aren't disturbed while pumping. And there was also some formula tucked in there as well. At least the formula companies are trying now to support some aspects of bf. And I don't mind the freebie coolers.

I'm at 11 weeks now. I skipped my Zofran this morning so we'll see how I do. I'm just getting so constipated on it. Now I just need to get my support hose on and get off to work.

Michelle

[Stone Fence]

I ordered 6 dozen cloth diapers, snappis and a gently used Maya wrap.

Over the weekend I visited a friend who has 3 boys and she gave me 2 huge bags full of clothes (Size/seasonally appropriate), toys and books as well as a Baby Bjorn for DH. I feel so rich. I also got tons of great advice. I should have taken notes (can you tell this is my first one?) :D

[Meli65]

Wow, McLisa, that sounds great! I wish I had gotten one of those.

Is anyone else eating like a total pig? I don't want to lord it over those of you poor ladies with terrible m/s, but that hasn't been a problem for me. The problem is that I am eating everything in sight -- I feel like one of those skinny actresses who gain 100 pounds when they're pregnant (except I'm not that skinny ;) ).

Yesterday I ate almost a whole jar of pickles (tiny crunchy kosher dills -- yum!) and after dinner (pot roast) I ate almost a whole container of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cupt. Stereotypical, me?

[SharonAnne]

I eat like that in waves, Melissa. So far, today, i've had two bowls of cream of wheat (maple brown sugar, yum) and a bag of cheetos. Dont' ask me why, but cheetos are amazingly wonderful lately.

Hey, Snapple make a decaf iced tea. I'm in heaven. I drink one a day, more if I need it. I'm finding it helps to settle my stomach.

I'm having an issue with my prenates, they just recently started to make me unbearably nauseous. I was fine on them for a while, then they caused constipation, and now the nausea. I haven't taken them in a while because of how sick I felt the last few times I took them. I"m worried that I"m not getting enough folic acid. What do you guys think?

[twouglyducks]

Yesterday I sat in front of the icebox and ate hamburger dill chips pickles out of the jar, so many I felt sick b/c I hadn't eaten much before then. Then all that sounded good to eat was more pickles. :LOL
And Sharon-anne, now I"m craving cheetos. Ew! :D

[punkprincessmama]

Sharon-Anne, are you the one that has only been able to eat fruity pebbles? Not dissing you or anything, just checking. If your diet is not well rounded at this point (and mine certainly isn't!) I would really really try to take some kind of prenatal. Try a different brand. I think there are some threads on the I'm Pregnant board if you do a search that talk about the different brands.

Meli65 - ugh. :( What a bunch of :censored and a free can of formula allready :dropjaw Maybe it's just me but I'd be offended.

[mom2jack]

I bought two jars of pickles when I went shopping yesterday:LOL Now, I'm really craving cheetos. I have reallly been craving salads. Big salads w/ beans, and cheese, and mushrooms, and tomatos and cumcumbers....

Sharron-Anne, I haven't even filled my prescription yet for prenatals. Last time they made me really sick. I am just taking a multi vitamin every day that I always take. It has 400 mcg (is that right?) of Folic Acid. I've never had problems w/ them. It's just a centrum.

[Awaken]

Stone Fence- sounds so awesome!! You will love your new purchases, and what a terrific friend for being so generous. People were SO generous with us, too, in giving us clothes and diapers for ds, and gifts months after he was born. I have been overwhelmed with people's kindness.

Mclisa- the pro-breastfeeding pack sounds so great! I would just love something like that! I really could have used that last time! Those little coolers really do come in handy- and a sign to hang on the door when pumping- that is great.

Sharon-anne- re:prenatals- you don't need specific prenatal vits or a prescription kind- a regular centrum type is fine as long as it has 400mcg of folic acid and iron. I have never taken a prenatal nor has it ever been offered to me by my mw. They say it is all just hype and regular vitamins are fine.


Re: food- I just ate 1/2 a jar of garlic olives for dinner. YUM! And someone else mentioned the tiny kosher dill pickles, and the dill hamburger chips- my faves!!!

[mclisa]

The pro-bf stuff was from Similac. You might ask around or check their website.

SharonAnne: try taking your prenatals right before bed. That might help with the nausea. You could try just taking folic acid for the next few weeks instead or try taking 2 chewable flintstones. 2 of these has enough folic acid for a pg woman.

StoneFenceAmy: I got a used Maya wrap off the trade/sell part of the site. I have the DVD, but I haven't looked at it yet. When our babes are here we will have to see who can figure them out first! I don't know of anyone who uses them around here so I'm stuck with the DVD and website.

DH is at church choir so I'm desparately trying to stay awake while he's gone.

Michelle

[Meli65]

All this talk about pickles is cracking me up! Who knew?

I sent dh with ds to the library today and asked him to try and get some books to explain the baby in the belly ... the first one I saw had a baby sleeping in his crib with a bottle in his mouth !!!! I may have to order some books from LLL...

I ate four bowls of homemade soup today, and had a milkshake at my mom's house (dairy is verboten for ds so I have to eat this stuff on the sly and am totally craving it) -- then stood over the sink and ate even more ice cream right out of the box.

Mmmmm.... Cheetos......

PS PunkPrincess, I left a note in their suggestion box on the way out about the formula -- I said I thought it send a poor message. Why don't hospitals just give that stuff away to shelters for people who have already been sucked in and actually need it? Grrr.

[Pepper]

Melissa, what a load of mainstream crap from that guide! Of course, they don't mention the cascade of interventions that most likely will result from the drugs. Why don't they truly support women by empowering them and showing them that an unmedicated birth is possible for everyone and so much better for Baby? :angry /rant

Mary, Please take it easy! I tend to overdo it myself so I know how that goes but listen to your body and treat yourself gently. (Remind me of this in a few months when I'm trying to keep up with two wild and crazy toddlers/preschoolers.)

I had my u/s today and got to see *ONE* baby (whew!) moving around and heart beating. It was simply amazing. It felt so much more meaningful now that I have two other children because I fully understand the potential of that tiny fetus. I see my children's faces, laughing, digging in the sand, munching on a cracker, sleeping peacefully, and I know that this baby is all of that...not just some "idea" in my head.

On the negative side I had to wait 40 minutes and got a lecture from the woman who did my u/s (name: Tiffany Title: unknown?) about the many tests that I should do now that I am 35. She actually told me that it would be good to get this one test now that can detect down's syndrome because if they find out at the 20 week ultrasound and I decided to "take care of it" it would be a birth/abortion :eek :crying She was so cold in her assumption that I would abort a downs syndrome baby.

When I was in the waiting room a pharmaceutical rep walked in with cookies for the staff and an armload of samples....I am having real misgivings about this whole medicalized process. This is SO not what I want. Dh is not on board with a homebirth because of the costs. In our area a hb is around $5k versus a basically free hospital birth under our insurance...I really need to talk to him about this, though..

Thanks for listening. I hope everyone is feeling well today. I started this post around 3:30p today and it's now 7:30p and I'm just able to finish it!

[Pepper]

Just had to come back and chime in about the prenatals being a bit of a scam. A regular vitamin with enough folic acid is just fine! I've never understood the whole prescription thing regarding them (another way for the pharmaceutical companies to make money off pregnant women, I guess).

Right now I'm taking a natural, vegetarian-based mega-vitamin bought at Whole Foods (beware of the big brand names as many of them contain dyes, artificial colors, etc.), a folic acid, and spirulina.

[Meli65]

It is a drag being pregnant after 35 in a mainstream practice -- like you are a ticking time bomb! However the Clinic midwife I saw already knew I was freaky --home birth, lay midwife, hairy legs (just a side effect of laziness, and I was a little embarrassied -- they're fine for others but not for me!) so she was like -- "I assume you won't want this, or that..."

Pharmaceutical reps give me the willies.

I can't believe how expensive homebirth is for you, Pepper! We are payng our midwife $1100 for everything. I talked to dh about this and said that maybe we should go to a hospital to we don't have tos pend so much money, and he said, "Honey, this is an investment. I don't want to see you strapped down in some hospital just because we want to save some money." WAG! (What A GUY!)

[Pepper]

$1100 ????? Wow, that's a great deal! I'm so jealous.

A midwife in our area is about $4000, doula services run about $7-800, and then supplies...so I figure roughly $5,000.

[punkprincessmama]

wow Pepper, that is a lot of money!! I wonder though if you might find a mw you could make payments to over time? Our homebirth midwife is $1600 plus about $150 for supplies. For us, that is a lot of money, I know it sounds like a dream to some of you though!

Meli65, our husbands sound similar!

Pepper, so only one babe after all :) Sorry the lady was such a drag. It seems like we all face some problems with the medical establishment - we are all either too old (need more tests!!) or too young (don't know what we are doing!!) :irked:

I am seeing my midwife for the first time on Monday. I will be 9 weeks and 6 days. It's a little earlier than we had planned actually, but my mw will be out of town for awhile in December and she wants to make sure and see me before she leaves.

Gotta run --- toddler melt down....

[Meli65]

We figured we wouldn't need a doula with a homebirth/lay midwife -- the midwives I talked to said they actually see doulas at 10% or fewer of the birth they do at home. So,maybe a little savings there.... :)

[twouglyducks]

I think our MW charges $1600 or $1800, can't remember. Then, supplies. I haven't thought about that. And a birth pool, $30. BUT insuranse supposedly covers 70% of a homebirth and MW said in those cases she will bill the ins. enough to where it covers our costs, too. She said they almost never cover as much as they say they will, so she does this to help parents out. Then, of course, she usually has to wait several months and do lots of paperwork and phonecalling to get her money. Anyway, I'm just rambling. I do that. :)

[miamommy]

Pepper, I am on the West Coast also and so far I still don't have a midwife because of the costs! I did hear about a birth center in LA that will bill insurance first and the person who told me about it said she ended up paying $1100 out of pocket. Much better than the $5000 that I have been getting. I am just trying to figure out if the midwives at that birth center do home birth. I had my first in a hospital, without drugs and interventions but it was an exhausting up hill battle with tons of forms and waivers and I just can't go through that again. The kept us there for 3 days because they thought dd "might" develop jaundice. It was just ridiculous.

I wish that I could find a midwife here who would bill ahead! So far the two that I have met both want monthly payments of $350 and twice montly in the last few weeks. ouch!

On a ligher much happier note - morning sickness has left the building!!!!!!!!!!
WoooHoooooo!!!!

Has anyone had their breasts get bigger? I am nursing and thought that this wouldn't happen because of that, but they are a size bigger than they were pre-preg (they are huge to begin with). Oh well, what can you do? All part of the fun!

[5kidsmama]

My MW (In FL) charges $2950. That includes all the lab work, etc. Not sure about the supplies, but I think it does according to the papers she gave me. My last birth in a birthing center cost $3500 - and the hb was about $400 cheaper then too. Dr was $4000, not including any hospital bills.

The great thing about FL is there is a law that says that ins has to cover (as in-network) birth anywhere it happens :love So it may be a hassle, but my ins should cover 100% of this birth (like they did the last one)

[fuzzypeach]

Wow 5kidsmama, that's great! There's no such laws here: ( And our insurance does not cover a midwife. However, the midwifery center here in town only charges $2000, I think that includes everything, whether you do it at home or there. We could've afforded it if we stretched... but as this is my first birth I want to be where the doctors are, with a CNM, just in case. Insurance covers everything except a $200 hospital charge at the end.

[aja-belly]

my midwife charges around $2000 also. we're getting new insurance in january, o we'll see if anything is covered then.

aja